Move over ostriches, the elephant bird was the real giant of the avian world! Fossilized eggshells reveal new insights about these massive birds, which once roamed Madagascar over 1,000 years ago.
Gifford Miller
"They must have very flexible DNA that allows them to grow big fairly quickly. And they're at a size where they could sort of defend themselves from any natural predator who might be out there," Miller said. "The skeletal fossil record is pretty patchy. There's not a lot of complete bones," said Alicia Grealy, a researcher with Australia's national science agency and another co-author on the study.
Fragments of elephant bird eggshell can be found lying on the beach or buried in sand dunes in Madagascar.Fragments of elephant bird eggshell can be found lying on the beach or buried in sand dunes in Madagascar."It was pretty exciting," Miller said."We had a Malagasy guide with us at all times that could help us get around and negotiate with [locals] to get permission to be on the land, and then to wander around and find these.
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