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Magnificent Mihirungs – The Colossal Flightless Birds of the Australian Dreamtime: Life of the Past

Autor Peter F. Murray, Patricia Vickers–rich
en Limba Engleză Hardback – 3 mar 2004
Over millions of years, Australia’s unique biodiversity has produced a large cabinet of curiosities. Among the weirder members of this group were the Mihirungs, members of the now extinct family Dromornithidae. Made up of several genera of flightless birds—among them one of the very largest birds that ever lived—the dromornithids ranged from 60-kilogram beasts, 1.5 meters tall, to giants twice that size, weighing nearly half a metric ton. They were, by orders of magnitude, the largest “geese” that ever lived. One species was comparable in size to the Elephantbird of Madagascar and the Giant Moa of New Zealand. This book is the first major study of this unique and highly diverse group. It aims to present as complete a synthesis as possible of current information about this fascinating family of birds.Peter F. Murray is a researcher at the Museum of Central Australia in Alice Springs.Patricia Vickers-Rich holds a Chair in Palaeontology at Monash University, where she lectures in the Earth Sciences Department. She is co-author (with Thomas H. Rich) of Wildlife of Gondwana: Dinosaurs and Other Vertebrates from the Ancient Supercontinent (IUP, 2000) and Dinosaurs of Darkness (IUP, 2000).
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Specificații

ISBN-13: 9780253342829
ISBN-10: 0253342821
Pagini: 416
Ilustrații: 248 b&w photographs
Dimensiuni: 185 x 260 x 39 mm
Greutate: 1.07 kg
Editura: MH – Indiana University Press
Seria Life of the Past

Locul publicării:United States

Cuprins

IntroductionI. Discovery1. The Discovery of the DromornithidsII. Systematics and Morphology2. Mihirungs: Extinct, Gigantic Australian Geese; 3. Classification; 4. Overview of Dromornithid Species, Localities, and Associated Fauna; 5. Description of Dromornithid Structure; 6. Relationships and Phylogeny; 7. Dromornithids and the Origin of Anseriform Birds; 8. Relationships within the DromornithidaeIII. Paleobiology9. Appearance, Posture, and Stature; 10. Body Mass Estimations; 11. Could Dromornithids Run?; 12. The Feeding Apparatus; 13. The Economy of ScaleIV. Paleoecology14. Evidence from Local Faunas; 15. Habitat and Diet; 16. EvolutionConclusionAppendix: Basic Avian Skeletal Morphology; Glossary; References; Index

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Descriere

The first major study of the Dromornithids, the extinct gigantic "geese" of Australia