Tag Archives: Aepyornis ingens Milne-Edwards & Grandidier

Vorombe titan (Andrews)

Giant Elephant Bird (Vorombe titan)

The Giant Elephant Bird was originally described in 1894, however, the whole elephant bird family was in urgent need of a proper revision, which indeed took place in 2018 and which lead to a reduction of the number of species and the description of a completely new genus for the largest of the species. [1]

The species must have reached a size of 3 m and must have weighted up to 730 kg, making it the heaviest known bird, dead or alive.

The Giant Elephant Bird died out shortly after the arrival of humans on the island of Madagascar, most likely due to habitat destruction and overhunting.

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References:

[1] James P. Hansford; Samuel T. Turvey: 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): 1-28. 2018

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edited: 22.01.2022