Aepyornis
Sign in to saveAepyornis is an extinct genus of elephant bird formerly endemic to Madagascar. The genus had two species, the smaller A. hildebrandti and the larger A. maximus, which is possibly the largest bird ever to have lived. Its closest living relative is the New Zealand kiwi. They became extinct sometime around AD 1000, probably as a result of human activity.
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Taxonomy
- Evolution
- Description
- Ecology
- Extinction
- See also
- Footnotes
- References
Aepyornis is an extinct genus of elephant bird formerly endemic to Madagascar. The genus had two species, the smaller A. hildebrandti and the larger A. maximus, which is possibly the largest bird ever to have lived. Its closest living relative is the New Zealand kiwi. They became extinct sometime around AD 1000, probably as a result of human activity.
==Taxonomy== Brodkorb (1963) listed four species of Aepyornis as valid: A. hildebrandti, A. gracilis, A. medius and A. maximus. However, Hume and Walters (2012) listed only one species, A. maximus. Most recently, Hansford and Turvey (2018) recognized only A. hildebrandti and A. maximus. ?Aepyornis grandidieri Rowley 1867 nomen dubium Aepyornis hildebrandti Burckhardt, 1893 Aepyornis gracilis Monnier, 1913 Aepyornis lentus Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, 1894 ?Aepyornis minimus ?Aepyornis mulleri Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, 1894 Aepyornis maximus Hilaire, 1851 Aepyornis cursor Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, 1894 ?Aepyornis intermedius Aepyornis medius Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, 1866 Vorombe titan (Andrews 1894) Hansford & Turvey 2018,