Magnificent mihirungs : the colossal flightless birds of the Australian dreamtime
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Magnificent mihirungs : the colossal flightless birds of the Australian dreamtime
(Life of the past)
Indiana University Press, c2004
- : cloth
Available at 1 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 383-393) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
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 Ele-phantbird 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.
Table of Contents
Preliminary Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introductioin
I. Discovery
1. The Discovery of the Dromornithids
II. Systematics and Morphology
2. 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 Dromornithidae
III. Paleobiology
9. Appearance, Posture, and Stature
10. Body Mass Estimations
11. Could Dromornithids Run?
12. The Feeding Apparatus
13. The Economy of Scale
IV. Paleoecology
14. Evidence from Local Faunas
15. Habitat and Diet
16. Evolution
Conclusion
Appendix: Basic Avian Skeletal Morphology
Glossary
References
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"