Genyornis

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Genyornis
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Clade: incertae sedis
Order: †Gastornithiformes
Family: †Dromornithidae
Genus: †Genyornis
Species:
†G. newtoni
Binomial name
†Genyornis newtoni
Stirling & A. H. C. Zietz, 1896[1]

Genyornis newtoni, also known as the Newton's mihirung, Newton's thunder bird or mihirung paringmal (meaning "giant bird" in

Tjapwuring), is an extinct species of large, flightless bird that lived in Australia during the Pleistocene Epoch until around 50,000 years ago. Over two metres in height, they were likely herbivorous.[2] Many other species of Australian megafauna became extinct in Australia around that time, coinciding with the arrival of humans. It is the last known member of the extinct flightless bird family Dromornithidae which had been part of the fauna of the Australian continent for over 30 million years. They are not closely related to ratites such as emus, and their closest living relatives are thought to be fowl
.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1896 by Edward Charles Stirling and A. H. C. Zeitz, the authors giving the epithet newtoni for the Cambridge professor Alfred Newton. The name of the genus is derived from the ancient Greek γένυς (génus) 'jaw; chin' and ὄρνις (órnis) 'bird', because of the relatively large size of the lower mandible.[1] The type specimen is a left femur.[1][3] The type locality is

diprotodont
fossils, then largely complete specimens including crucial evidence of the crania emerged from the site. The paper reviewed previously described fossil remains of "struthious [ostrich-like] birds in Australia", which had either been assigned to the ancient emus of Dromaius or the only described species of Dromornis, D. australis Owen.[1]

A letter from George Hurst concerning the discovery of a partial skeleton of the species alerted Stirling to its existence in 1893.[3]

The placement of this dromornithid species may be summarised as:

Dromornithidae (8 species in 4 genera)[2]

  • Genyornis newtoni Stirling & A. H. C. Zietz, 1896

Description

Life restoration

Genyornis newtoni was a medium-sized dromornithid with a robust body. While larger than

Dromornis planei. The fossils of the species have been found remaining in articulation; no other dromornithid species has been discovered in this state. The remains of eggs have also been attributed to this species. Gastroliths belonging to these animals have been found alongside their remains, a feature that has revealed the sometimes shallow site of fossils.[3]

Distribution

This mihirung has been found at sites in South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, dating to the Pleistocene Epoch. Genyornis newtoni is the only species of dromornithid known to have existed during the Pleistocene.[3]

Extinction

Blackened egg shells

Two main theories propose a cause for megafauna extinction - human impact and changing climate. A study has been performed in which more than 700 Genyornis

mass extinction
event in Australia was due to human activity, rather than climate change.

A 2015 study collected egg shell fragments of Genyornis from around 200 sites that show burn marks.

Northern Asia, and present-day India and China, though they were unable to determine to what extent humans interacted with Genyornis.[11] A 2021 study found that, if Genyornis eggs were being consumed at similar rates to the eggs of the emu and the Australian brushturkey, then Genyornis would have become extinct at far lower rates of total consumption than these still-extant birds.[12]

In May 2010, archaeologists announced the rediscovery of an

Nawarla Gabarnmung rock art site in the Northern Territory, that they suggested depicts two Genyornis individuals.[13] Late survival of Genyornis in temperate south west Victoria has also recently been suggested, based on Aboriginal traditions.[14] However, a later study suggested that the painting could not be more than 14,000 years old, long after the bird is thought to have gone extinct,[15][16] and it could not be morphologically distinguished from depictions of other birds.[17]

Fossil evidence suggests that the population of Genyornis at Lake Callabonna died around 50,000 years ago as the lake dried up as the climate changed and became drier. The birds recovered from the site also seemed to have been particularly prone to osteomyelitis as a result of getting stuck in the mud of the drying lake bed as the water receded. Eventually, when the lake dried, the population was left without their main source of water and subsequently died out.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Stirling, E. C.; Zeitz, A. H. C. (1896). "Preliminary Notes on Genyornis newtoni; A New Genus and Species of Fossil Struthious Bird found at Lake Callabonna South Australia". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. 20. The Society: 171–175. Read August 4, 1896.
  2. ^
    doi:10.3390/d13030124
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-0-253-34282-9
    .
  4. Stirling, E. C. (1894). "The recent discovery of fossil remains at Lake Calabonna, South Australia. [part b]"
    . Nature. 50. Macmillan Journals Ltd., etc.: 206–211.
  5. Stirling, E. C. (1894). "The recent discovery of fossil remains at Lake Calabonna, South Australia. [part a]"
    . Nature. 50. Macmillan Journals Ltd., etc.: 184–188.
  6. PMID 9880249
    .
  7. PMID 26823193
    .
  8. ^ Worthy, Trevor H. A case of mistaken identity for Australia's Extinct Big Bird The Conversation, 14 January 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  9. hdl:2328/35952
    .
  10. ^ "First Australians ate giant eggs of huge flightless birds". University of Cambridge. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  11. S2CID 249045755
    .
  12. PMID 33783356
    .
  13. ^ "Megafauna cave painting could be 40,000 years old". www.abc.net.au. 31 May 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2010.; Gunn, R. C.; et al. (2011). "What bird is that?". Australian Archaeology. 73: 1–12.
  14. ISBN 978-0-9872141-4-0
  15. ISBN 978-1-76046-161-4
    , retrieved 9 May 2023
  16. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.04.003
    .
  17. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2017.09.013
    .
  18. S2CID 245257837
    .
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