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Elephant bird

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                 iElephant birds

                             Conservation status

   Extinct  (16th century)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom:    Animalia
   Phylum:     Chordata
   Class:      Aves
   Superorder: Paleognathae
   Order:      Struthioniformes
   Family:     Aepyornithidae

                                   Genera

   Aepyornis
   Mullerornis

   Elephant birds are an extinct family of flightless birds made up of the
   genera Aepyornis and Mullerornis. These large birds, which were native
   to Madagascar, have been extinct since at least the 16th century.
   Aepyornis was the world's largest bird, believed to have been over
   three metres (10 feet) tall and weighing more than half a tonne (500
   kilograms, or 1,100 pounds), until being dethroned by Phorusrhacidae in
   October 2006. Remains of Aepyornis adults and eggs have been found; in
   some cases the eggs have a circumference of over one metre (three
   feet). Four species are usually accepted in the genus Aepyornis today;
   A. hildebrandti, A. gracilis, A. medius and A. maximus (Brodkorb,
   1963), but the validity of some is disputed, with numerous authors
   treating them all in just one species, A. maximus. Aepyornis was a
   ratite, related to the ostrich; it could not fly, and its breast bone
   had no keel.

   The National Geographic Society in Washington holds a specimen of an
   Aepyornis egg which was discovered by Luis Marden in 1967. The specimen
   is intact and contains an embryonic skeleton of the unborn bird.

   Whilst it is often believed that the extinction of the Aepyornis was an
   effect of human actions, a study in 2000, by a team of archaeologists
   from Sheffield University and Royal Holloway University in the UK,
   suggests otherwise. Their study in Madagascar aimed to investigate
   human relationships with this bird. Research reports from Sheffield
   University stated that there was no evidence for the suggestion that
   the bird had been hunted to extinction. The archaeologists also believe
   that the killing of the bird may have been taboo, or "fady," as no
   evidence was found that it had been killed for food.

   The modern Malagasy name for the bird is Vorompatra, meaning "marsh
   bird". They are commonly known as the 'elephant bird', a term that
   originated from Marco Polo. It has also been suggested, (compare text
   on the Fra Mauro map of 1467-69) that the legend of the roc may have
   originated from this bird.
   Reconstruction of Elephant Bird Egg, Ipswich Museum, England
   Enlarge
   Reconstruction of Elephant Bird Egg, Ipswich Museum, England

Elephant Bird Species

     * Aepyornis gracilis (Monnier, 1913)
     * Aepyornis hildebrandti (Burckhardt, 1893)
     * Aepyornis maximus (Geoffroy-Saint Hilaire, 1851)
     * Aepyornis medius (Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, 1866)
     * Mullerornis betsilei (Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, 1894)
     * Mullerornis agilis (Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, 1894)
     * Mullerornis rudis (Milne-Edwards & Grandidier, 1894)

In literature

     * H.G. Wells wrote a short story entitled Aepyornis Island about the
       bird. It was published in The Complete Short Stories of H.G. Wells
       ( ISBN 0-7538-0872-2). Full text.

Gallery

   Aepyornis
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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