Pachystruthio

Pachystruthio is a genus of extinct Eurasian bird, which lived in the Late Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene of Georgia and the Crimea.[1] It contains three species, P. pannonicus (the type species), P. dmanisensis, and P. transcaucasicus, which were all formerly placed with the ostrich genus, Struthio. P. dmanisensis has been estimated standing 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) tall and weighing up to 450 kg (990 lb), making it much larger than the modern ostrich and one of the largest known birds.[1] Although Pachystruthio is known as the giant ostrich, its relationship to the extant ostriches of the genus Struthio is not clear.[1][2]

Pachystruthio
Temporal range: Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Struthioniformes
Family: Struthionidae
Genus: †Pachystruthio
Kretzoi, 1954
Type species
Pachystruthio pannonicus
Kretzoi, 1954
Other species
  • Pachystruthio dmanisensis (Burchak-Abramovich and Vekua, 1990)
  • Pachystruthio transcaucasicus (Burchak-Abramovich & Vekua, 1971)
Synonyms
  • Struthio pannonicus Kretzoi, 1954
  • Struthio dmanisensis Burchak-Abramovich and Vekua, 1990
  • Struthio transcaucasicus Burchak-Abramovich & Vekua, 1971

References
  1. Zelenkov, N. V.; Lavrov, A. V.; Startsev, D. B.; Vislobokova, I. A.; Lopatin, A. V. (2019). "A giant early Pleistocene bird from eastern Europe: unexpected component of terrestrial faunas at the time of early Homo arrival". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: e1605521. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1605521.
  2. McRae, Mike. "Giant 11-Foot Bird Discovered in Europe Would Have Weighed Almost Half a Tonne". ScienceAlert. Retrieved 2019-06-27.


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