Aepyornis
Name: Aepyornis.
Phonetic: Ay-pe-or-nis.
Named By: Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire - 1851.
Classification: Chordata, Aves,
Aepyornithiformes, Aepyornithidae.
Species: A. maximus (type),
A. hildebrandti.
Diet: Frugivore?
Size: Larger individuals approach 3 meters tall.
Known locations: Madagascar.
Time period: Extinction roughly estimated about
1000AD.
Fossil representation: Remains of numerous
individuals including eggs.
More
popularly known as an ‘elephant bird’, Aepyornis
is one of the
largest birds ever discovered. This size and associated weight meant
that Aepyornis was completely flightless, even
lacking the deep
keeled breast bone for strong chest muscle attachment. Modern
analysis shows that Aepyornis and other elephant
birds of the
Aepyornithidae appear to be most closely related to the New Zealand
kiwi. Like these Aepyornis seems to have had poor
eyesight and may
have been more nocturnal. Study of Aepyornis
skull structure and
brain area does however show that Aepyornis
probably had an extremely
well developed sense of smell. Aepyornis possibly
roamed around the
dense Madagascan forests looking for food.
Aepyornis
is thought to have gone extinct around 1000AD, though a precise
date cannot be determined. Human activity is thought to have been the
primary cause. Some Aepyornis fossils show signs
of butchery,
though these are in the minority of known Aepyornis
fossils. Perhaps
more tellingly is the large amount of Aepyornis
eggshells that have
been found in association of areas of human habitation. This could
suggest that Aepyornis was perhaps not actively
hunted, but had eggs
stolen to provide food. This would reduce fewer offspring every year
until the species got to the tipping point of not being able to sustain
itself. Another possibility is that other birds species such as
chickens introduced to Madagascar could have also carried avian
diseases that Aepyornis had no natural immunity to.
A
former species of Aepyornis, A. titan,
is now classed as its own
genus named Vorombe.
This means that most of the largest known
fossils once attributed to Aepyornis now belong to Vorombe,
suggesting that Vorombe was slightly larger than Aepyornis.
Further reading
- Ancient DNA reveals elephant birds and kiwi are sister taxa and
clarifies ratite bird evolution. - Science. 344 (6186):
898–900. - K. J. Mitchell, B. Llamas, J. Soubrier,
N. J. Rawlence, T. H. Worthy, J. Wood, M. S. Y.
Lee * A. Cooper - 2014.
- Nocturnal giants: evolution of the sensory ecology in elephant
birds and other palaeognaths inferred from digital brain
reconstructions. - Proceedings of the Royal Society B -
Christopher R. Torres & Julia A. Clarker - 2018.
- 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. - J. P.
Hansford & S. T. Turvey - 2018.
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