Aepyornis

Aeyornis Temporal range: Quaternary
Aepyornis maximus skeleton and egg
Conservation status
Extinct
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Aepyornithiformes A. Newton, 1884[1]
Family:	†Aepyornithidae (Bonaparte, 1853)[1]
Genus:	†Aepyornis I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1851[1]
Species
Aepyornis hildebrandti Burckhardt 1893[1] Aepyornis maximus I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1851[1]
Map of Madagascar showing where A. hildebrandti (b) and A. maximus (c) specimens have been found

Aepyornis is an Elephant bird, one of three genera of ratite birds endemic to Madagascar until their extinction about 1000 A.D. The species "A". maximus weighed up to 540 kilograms (1,200 lb), and until recently was regarded as the largest known bird of all time.

DNA studies have found that Vorombe titan was indistinguishable from A. maximus, and probably (was or) represented large females of the species. Earlier (2018), the largest Aepyornis specis, weighing up to 730 kilograms (1,600 lb), was moved to the related genus Vorombe.^[2]

References

1. Brands, S. (2008)
2. Hansford, J. P.; Turvey, S. T. (2018-09-26). "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. doi:10.1098/rsos.181295. PMC 6170582. PMID 30839722.