''Barawertornis tedfordi'' was a

dromornithid Dromornithidae, known as mihirungs and informally as thunder birds or demon ducks, were a clade of large, flightless Australian birds of the Oligocene through Pleistocene Epochs. All are now extinct. They were long classified in Struthioniformes, ...

(mihirung), a large

flightless Flightless birds are birds that through evolution lost the ability to fly. There are over 60 extant species, including the well known ratites (ostriches, emu, cassowaries, rheas, and kiwi) and penguins. The smallest flightless bird is the ...

fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; together ...

hailing from Late

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...

to Early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

. The only

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Barawertornis'', its

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

remains are found in strata of the Riversleigh deposits located at two sites in Northwestern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

.Boles (2005) It was described in 1979 by

Patricia Vickers-Rich Patricia Arlene Vickers-Rich (born 11 July 1944), also known as Patricia Rich, is an Australian Professor of Palaeontology and Palaeobiology, who researches the environmental changes that have impacted Australia (including the ancient super ...

from fragmentary but diagnostic remains, three pieces of the hind limbs and a vertebra.SAPE (1999) More fragments specimens were described in 2004 and new material that emerged from Riversleigh was analysed and compared with other

s to test previously published theories on relationships within the family. ''B. tedfordi'' is currently the smallest known species of dromornithid, comparable in size to the cassowaries and weighing in at 80 to 95 kilograms.Boles (2001) This mihirung was a fleet-footed species, probably a

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

, that dwelt in the

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

habitat covering most of Australia at the time of the bird's existence. These birds were similar in the form and habitat of the modern ''

Casuarius casuarius The southern cassowary (''Casuarius casuarius''), also known as double-wattled cassowary, Australian cassowary or two-wattled cassowary, is a large flightless black bird. It is one of the three living species of cassowary, alongside the dwarf ...

'', the flightless and rainforest dwelling the southern cassowary. The name of the genus, ''Barawertornis'', derives from an Aboriginal language, a word for ground ''Barawerti'', and the Ancient Greek ''ornis'', bird. The specific epithet refers to

Richard H. Tedford Richard Hall Tedford (April 25, 1929 – July 15, 2011) was Curator Emeritus in the Department of Vertebrate Paleontology of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, having been named as curator in 1969.Staff"14 ARE APPOINTED AT MU ...

for that researcher's discoveries of

tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

avian fauna in Australia.Rich, P.V. 1979
The Dromornithidae, a family of large,extinct ground birds endemic to Australia: Systematic and phylogenetic considerations
Canberra Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics Bulletin 184, 1–196.

Footnotes

References

* (2001):

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

Fact Sheets
'Thunder Birds' - The Family Dromornithidae
Retrieved 2006-OCT-17. * (2005): A New Flightless Gallinule (Aves: Rallidae: ''Gallinula'') from the Oligo-Miocene of Riversleigh, Northwestern Queensland, Australia. (2005) ''Records of the Australian Museum'' 57(2): 179–190
ODF fulltext
* (1999): ''Information Letter'' 13

Dromornithidae Oligocene birds Miocene birds Extinct flightless birds Miocene birds of Australia Bird genera Riversleigh fauna Neogene birds of Australia Fossil taxa described in 1979 {{paleo-bird-stub

See also

Footnotes

References