Vorombe
Name: Vorombe
(big bird).
Phonetic: Vo--rom-be.
Named By: J. P. Hansford & S. T.
Turvey - 2018.
Synonyms: Aepyornis ingens, Aepyornis
titan.
Classification: Chordata, Aves,
Aepyornithiformes, Aepyornithidae.
Species: V. titan (type).
Diet: Frugivore?
Size: Larger individuals about 3 meters tall.
Known locations: Madagascar.
Time period: Extinction roughly estimated about
1000AD.
Fossil representation: Remains of numerous
individuals including eggs.
Originally
described as a species of Aepyornis,
A. titan was declared distinct
enough to be its own genus in 2018. The new genus name Vorombe
basically means ‘big bird’, which is fitting because Vorombe
may
well be the largest of the currently known ‘elephant birds’. The
‘elephant birds’ which is the colloquial name for members of the
Aepyornithidae, were very large and heavy flightless birds that once
lived in Madagascar. These birds lived within the Madagascan forests
probably looking for things like fruits to eat. An over development
of sense of smell while having relatively poor eyesight is thought to
suggest that elephant birds like Vorombe were more
active at night
while using the sense of smell to find food.
The
elephant birds like Vorombe are thought to have
died out by about
1000AD. Human predation, especially of elephant bird eggs is
thought to have been the primary factor, though avian diseases
inadvertently carried by livestock transported by humans to Madagascar
may have also been a factor.
Further reading
- 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): 181295. - J. P. Hansford &
S.
T. Turvey - 2018.
- Nocturnal giants: evolution of the
sensory ecology in elephant birds and other palaeognaths inferred from
digital brain reconstructions. - Proceedings of the Royal Society
B - Christopher R. Torres & Julia A. Clarker -
2018.
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