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Dromornis stirtoni, or Stirton's Thunder Bird, a member of the family of Dromornithidae, is the largest flightless bird found through fossil evidence. It was three metres (10 feet) tall and weighed half a tonne. It inhabited subtropical open woodlands in Australia during the Late Miocene and may have been carnivorous. It was heavier than the Moa and taller than Aepyornis. Due to the poor fossil record of Dromornis australis (the type species of the genus) and the large time gap between the two Dromornis species, D. stirtoni may eventually be reassigned to the genus Bullockornis.
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[edit] References
- Rich, P. (1979): The Dromornithidae, an extinct family of large ground birds endemic to Australia. Bureau of National Resources, Geology and Geophysics Bulletin 184: 1–196.
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