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[12] [13] For comparison, the living bird with the largest wingspan is the wandering albatross, averaging 3 m (9 ft 10 in) and spanning up to 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in). When grounded, Argentavis' height has been estimated at 1.5 to 1.8 m (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in), roughly equivalent to that of an adult human.
Aepyornis is an extinct genus of elephant bird formerly endemic to Madagascar. The genus had two species, the smaller A. hildebrandti and the larger A. maximus, which is possibly the largest bird ever to have lived. [2] Its closest living relative is the New Zealand kiwi. [3]
The largest dimensions found in this species are an approximate head-to-tail length of 1.44 m (4.7 ft) and a wingspan of 3.65 m (12.0 ft). The largest bird of all time was likely the elephant bird Aepyornis maximus, which was estimated to have weighed 275–1,000 kilograms (610–2,200 lb) and stood at 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall. [4] [5]
The researchers said it sheds new light on what the region looked like millions of years ago and the food chain there. Scientists think the region was humid and full of rivers and other water bodies.
Analyzing a leg bone from a fossil site in Colombia, scientists have identified a massive “terror bird” that lived about 12 million years ago.
The heaviest bird ever capable of flight was Argentavis magnificens, the largest member of the now extinct family Teratornithidae, found in Miocene-aged fossil beds of Argentina, with a wingspan up to 5.5 m (18 ft), a length of up to 1.25 m (4.1 ft), a height on the ground of up to 1.75 m (5.7 ft) and a body weight of at least 71 kg (157 lb).
Pelagornis is an extinct genus of prehistoric pseudotooth birds, a group of extinct seabirds. Species span from the Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene. Members of Pelagornis represent among the largest pseudotooth birds, with one species. P. sandersi, having the widest wingspan of any bird known.
They are thought to have gone extinct around AD 1000, likely as a result of human activity. Elephant birds comprised three species, one in the genus Mullerornis, and two in Aepyornis. Aepyornis maximus is possibly the largest bird to have ever lived, with their eggs being the largest known for any amniote.