Dromornis

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Dromornis
Dromornis stirtoni 01.jpg
Cast of Dromornis stirtoni from Australia
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: †Gastornithiformes
Family: †Dromornithidae
Genus: †Dromornis
Owen, 1872
Type species
Dromornis australis
Owen, 1872
Species

Dromornis is a genus of large to enormous prehistoric birds. The species were flightless, possessing greatly reduced wing structures but with large legs, similar to the modern ostrich or emu. They were likely to have been predominately, if not exclusively, herbivorous browsers. The male of the largest species, Dromornis stirtoni, is a contender for the tallest and heaviest bird, and possibly exhibited aggressive territorial behaviour.

Taxonomy[]

The genus was erected to separate a new species, Dromornis australis, from the previously described Dinornis (giant moas), another lineage of ancient large and flightless birds found in New Zealand that was earlier described by Richard Owen in 1843. A femur that was forwarded to England, probably a dromornithid and since lost, suggested an Australian genus, but Owen withheld publication for many years. The type specimen, another femur, was found in a 55-metre-deep (180 ft) well at Peak Downs, Queensland, and subsequently described by Owen in 1872.[1] The name of the genus is derived from Ancient Greek, dromos meaning running, a race, and ornitho, a bird.[2][3]

The genus and family are referred to as mihirung, distinguishing these birds from the giant emus. 'Mihirung paringmal' is an Aboriginal word from the Tjapwuring people of Western Victoria and it means 'giant bird'.[2]

The placement of these dromornithid species may be summarised as

Dromornithidae (8 extinct species in 4 genera)[4]

  • Dromornis

The dromornithid family are sometimes known by appellations such as Stirton's mihirung (D. stirtoni) to refer to each species. Nicknames describing the species as 'thunderbirds' etc have appeared in reports of their discovery, later terms such as "demon ducks"[7] refer to their relationship to the extant waterfowl of the galloanseres.[4][8]

Description[]

Dromornis is a genus of large to gigantic flightless birds of the Dromornithidae family.[5] They lived from 8 million years ago until less than 30,000 years ago. Although they looked like giant emus, the Dromornis are more closely related to the earliest waterfowl of the Anseriformes order or a basal galliform. Comparative studies using endocranial reconstructions of dromornithids, Ilbandornis and three Dromornis species, suggest that the head and bill of the Dromornis lineage became foreshortened. [4]

The species resemble large birds of the Northern hemisphere, the ratites, whose descendants are known as ostriches and their allies, and the giant moas Dinornis of New Zealand which also attained enormous sizes. As with the ratites, who also evolved alongside mammals, the diversity of species was very low, apparently monotypes that emerged in succession and increased in size.[5]

Dromornis stirtoni is comparable in size to Aepyornis maximus, and is amongst the largest known birds.[9] The height of D. stirtoni would probably have exceeded the tallest species of the genus Dinornis, the giant moas of New Zealand.[9] [8]

Holotype femur of D. australis
D. stirtoni, artist's impression

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Murray, P. F. Vickers-Rich, P. (2004)
  2. ^ a b 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.
  3. ^ Hansford, James P.; Turvey, Samuel T. (26 September 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. doi:10.1098/rsos.181295. eISSN 2054-5703.
  4. ^ a b c Handley, Warren D.; Worthy, Trevor H. (15 March 2021). "Endocranial Anatomy of the Giant Extinct Australian Mihirung Birds (Aves, Dromornithidae)". Diversity. 13 (3): 124. doi:10.3390/d13030124.
  5. ^ a b c Worthy, Trevor H.; ; Archer, Michael; Hand, Suzanne J. (3 May 2016). "The extinct flightless mihirungs (Aves, Dromornithidae): cranial anatomy, a new species, and assessment of Oligo-Miocene lineage diversity". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (3). doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.1031345.
  6. ^ Trevor H. Worthy; Warren D. Handley; Michael Archer; Suzanne J. Hand (2016). "The extinct flightless mihirungs (Aves, Dromornithidae): cranial anatomy, a new species, and assessment of Oligo-Miocene lineage diversity". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Online edition: e1031345. doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.1031345.
  7. ^ Nguyen, Jacqueline (7 November 2019). "Dromornis planei (Bullockornis planei)". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  8. ^ a b Musser, Anne. "Stirton's Thunder Bird". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b Murray, Peter; Vickers-Rich, Patricia (2004). Magnificent mihirungs : the colossal flightless birds of the Australian dreamtime. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-0-253-34282-9.

References[]

  • Murray, P. F. Vickers-Rich, P. (2004) Magnificent Mihirungs: The Colossal Flightless Birds of the Australian Dreamtime. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34282-9.
  • Ellis, R. (2004) No Turning Back: The Life and Death of Animal Species. New York: Harper Perennial. p. 102. ISBN 0-06-055804-0.
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