The dromornithidae, an extinct family of large ground birds endemic to Australia  


Authors / CoAuthors

Rich, P.V.

Abstract

Many of Australia's birds are unique to this continent, but none are more impressive than a group of giant ground birds, the Dromornithidae, one member of which may have exceeded in volume and weight any bird that has ever trod the surface of the earth. Although first discovered in the early 19th century, only two genera (Genyornis and Dromornis), both monotypic, had been recognized when work beginning in the 1950's in central Australia brought to light at least six new forms including three new genera (Barawertornis, Bullockornis, and Ilbandornis), described for the first time in this paper. Based almost entirely on post-cranial material, the Dromornithidae appear to be most closely related to the Casuariidae, the only other Australian ratite group, but before a satisfactory higher taxonomic allocation can be made, good cranial material is needed. Unfortunately, the maximum age of known dromornithid fossils is about 15-20 million years, and from that first record to the last in the late Pleistocene, only minor evolutionary changes are known to have occurred, namely: reduction of the forelimb, reduction of the medial digit of the foot, and development of hoof-like ungual phalanges on the foot. A much more fascinating evolutionary picture of this diverse group awaits future palaeontological discoveries.

Product Type

document

eCat Id

40

Contact for the resource

  Custodian

Corp  

  Owner

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)  

  Custodian

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)  
Cnr Jerrabomberra Ave and Hindmarsh Dr GPO Box 378
Canberra
ACT
2601
Australia

Keywords

  • GA PublicationBulletin
  • AU
Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
  • Earth Sciences
  • Published_External

Publication Date

1979-01-01T00:00:00

Creation Date

Security Constraints

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

Classification - unclassified

Legal Constraints

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

Access - license

Use - license

Status

Purpose

Maintenance Information

unknown

Topic Category

geoscientificInformation

Series Information

Bulletin 184

Lineage

Unknown

Parent Information

Extents

[-44.0, -10.0, 112.0, 155.0]

Reference System

Spatial Resolution

Service Information

Associations

Downloads and Links

Download the Bulletin (pdf)  

Source Information

Source data not available.