Struthio oldawayi
| Struthio oldawayi Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Comparison between femora of Struthio oldawayi (D) and other extinct ostriches | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Infraclass: | Palaeognathae |
| Order: | Struthioniformes |
| Family: | Struthionidae |
| Genus: | Struthio |
| Species: | †S. oldawayi
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Struthio oldawayi Lowe, 1933
| |
Struthio oldawayi is an extinct species of ostrich from the early Pleistocene in Tanzania and possibly Kenya. Zelenkov et al notes it differs little in morphology from modern ostriches but notably is much larger in size.[1]
Taxonomy
Harrison and Msuya (2005) treated this species as a synonym of S. camelus.[1]
Description
Bones of a large ostrich found in the Pleistocene of Kenya may refer to this species.[1] Mass has been roughly estimated at 275 kg, making Struthio oldawayi is one of the largest species of its genus, however those of Pachystruthio were significantly heavier.[2]
Femur
A femur of the species was found in Olduvai Gorge and has a length of 400 mm and a minimum shaft width of 64 mm, significantly larger than those of extant ostriches, and notably longer than those of other extinct Struthionidae including Struthio Anderssoni and all but one specimen of Pachystruthio dmanisensis, despite being less robust.[2][3]
Possible eggs
Mikhailov and Zelenkov et al note that this species may have laid the eggs of the oospecies Psammornis rothschildi, which at a size of 28 / 21 cm and a mass of 7 kg,[1] is likely the largest known egg of any Struthioniformes and one of the largest bird eggs ever found, though surpassed in size by those of Aepyornis and potentially Dromornis. More eggshells from the Calabrian Pleistocene of Psammornis or their suggested assignment Struthio chersonensis also belong to this species.
References
- ^ a b c d Mikhailov, Konstantin E.; Zelenkov, Nikita (2020). "The late Cenozoic history of the ostriches (Aves: Struthionidae), as revealed by fossil eggshell and bone remains". Earth-Science Reviews. 208 103270. Bibcode:2020ESRv..20803270M. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103270.
- ^ a b Kostopoulos, Dimitris S.; Konidaris, George E.; Amanatidou, Marina; Chitoglou, Krystalia; Fragkioudakis, Emmanouil; Gerakakis, Nikolaos; Giannakou, Vasiliki; Gkeme, Anastasia; Kalaitzi, Christina; Tsakalidis, Christos; Tsatsalis, Vaggelis (2023). "The new fossil site Krimni-3 in Mygdonia Basin and the first evidence of a giant ostrich in the Early Pleistocene of Greece". PalZ. 97 (1): Fig. 5. Bibcode:2023PalZ...97..147K. doi:10.1007/s12542-022-00632-8. ISSN 0031-0220.
- ^ Buffetaut, Eric; Angst, Delphine (2021-01-26). "A Giant Ostrich from the Lower Pleistocene Nihewan Formation of North China, with a Review of the Fossil Ostriches of China". Diversity. 13 (2): 47. Bibcode:2021Diver..13...47B. doi:10.3390/d13020047. ISSN 1424-2818.