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

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Created 14/01/2025

Updated 14/01/2025

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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.

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Title The dromornithidae, an extinct family of large ground birds endemic to Australia
Language eng
Licence notspecified
Landing Page https://devweb.dga.links.com.au/data/dataset/b667152c-1ad3-4da6-9508-8b6d7f611057
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 20/04/2018
Geospatial Coverage {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[112.0, -44.0], [155.0, -44.0], [155.0, -10.0], [112.0, -10.0], [112.0, -44.0]]]}
Data Portal data.gov.au