Aepyornis
Aepyornis is an Elephant bird, one of three genera of ratite birds endemic to Madagascar until their extinction about 1000 A.D. The species "A". maximus weighed up to 540 kilograms (1,200 lb), and until recently was regarded as the largest known bird of all time. However, in 2018 the largest Aepyornis specis, weighing up to 730 kilograms (1,600 lb), was moved to the related genus Vorombe.[2]
| Aeyornis Temporal range: Quaternary | |
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| Aepyornis maximus skeleton and egg | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
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| Order: | Aepyornithiformes A. Newton, 1884[1] |
| Family: | †Aepyornithidae (Bonaparte, 1853)[1] |
| Genus: | †Aepyornis I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1851[1] |
| Species | |
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Aepyornis hildebrandti | |
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| Map of Madagascar showing where A. hildebrandti (b) and A. maximus (c) specimens have been found | |
References
- Brands, S. (2008)
- Hansford, J. P.; Turvey, S. T. (2018-09-26). "Unexpected diversity within the extinct elephant birds (Aves: Aepyornithidae) and a new identity for the world's largest bird". Royal Society Open Science. 5 (9): 181295. doi:10.1098/rsos.181295. PMC 6170582. PMID 30839722.
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