Dromornis
Name: Dromornis
(Thunder bird).
Phonetic: Dro-mor-nis.
Named By: Richard Owen - 1872.
Synonyms: Bullockornis.
Classification: Chordata, Aves, Anseriformes,
Dromornithidae.
Species: D. australis (type),
D. murrayi, D.
stirtoni.
Diet: Usually considered a Herbivore, refer to
main text for more information.
Size: 3 meters tall.
Known locations: Australia - Alcoota Fossil Beds.
Time period: Late Miocene to Early Pliocene.
Fossil representation: Usually post cranial
remains, but skull fragments are also known.
Dromornis
is also often referred to by the English translation of its Greek name
'Thunder bird', as well as the Aboriginal 'Mihirung paringmal'
which means 'giant bird'. Dromornis was
certainly a big bird
being just a bit shorter but much heavier than the Moa
from New
Zealand, while being slightly lighter but a bit taller than Aepyornis
from Madagascar. The size of Dromornis came at a
price however, and
the short stubs that are wings confirm that Dromornis
was not capable
of flying. Such a condition is referred to as being secondarily
flightless, as the ancient ancestors of Dromornis
would have
certainly been flight capable. Although Dromornis
may appear to be a
much larger and more dangerous version of an ostrich, study of the
fossils has revealed that the huge Dromornis was
more closely related
to geese.
The
actual diet of Dromornis remains a subject of
debate amongst
palaeontologists. The actual skull of Dromornis
is only known from
fragmentary remains so it is hard to infer diet based upon its
description. Body features such as the lack of sharp claws have been
taken as signs that Dromornis may have been a
herbivore, reaching up
into trees to crop vegetation with its beak. However more complete
skulls belonging to other members of the groups such as Genyornis
suggest that the dromornithids would have been equally
capable of killing and eating meat. Another suggestion for Dromornis
which can also be applied to others of the group is that they were
omnivores, typically feeding from plants, but also supplementing
their diet with meat by either hunting small animals or scavenging
carrion.
Because
Dromornis disappears from the fossil record during
the early Pliocene,
it most probably never encountered early human settlers (an event
that happened during the Tarantian of the Pleistocene up to forty-eight
thousand years ago). Because this disappearance occurred this
early, it cannot be blamed upon hunting by human settlers and serves
to cast doubt on the claim that the disappearance of the Australian
megafauna was solely down to human hunting.
Further reading
- The skull of dromornithid birds: anatomical evidence for their
relationship to Anseriformes. - Records of the South Australian Museum
31(1):51-97 - P. F. Murray & D. Megirian - 1998.
- The extinct flightless mihirungs (Aves, Dromornithidae): cranial
anatomy, a new species, and assessment of Oligo-Miocene lineage
diversity. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. - Trevor H. Worthy,
Warren D. Handley, Michael Archer & Suzanne J. Hand - 2016.
- Sexual dimorphism in the late Miocene mihirung Dromornis
stirtoni
(Aves: Dromornithidae) from the Alcoota Local Fauna of central
Australia. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. - W. D. Handley,
Chinsamy, A. M. Yates & T. H. Worthy - 2016.
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