Dromornithidae
| Dromornithids Temporal range: Oligocene - Pleistocene, Possible Eocene record | |
|---|---|
| Dromornis stirtoni | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Clade: | incertae sedis |
| Order: | †Gastornithiformes |
| Family: | †Dromornithidae Fürbringer, 1888 |
| Genera | |
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Dromornithidae, known as mihirungs (after Tjapwuring Mihirung paringmal, "giant bird") and informally as thunder birds or demon ducks, were a clade of large, flightless Australian birds of the Oligocene through Pleistocene Epochs. All are now extinct. They were long classified in Struthioniformes (the ratites), but are now usually classified as galloanseres. Dromornithids were part of the Australian megafauna. One species, Dromornis stirtoni, was 3 m (9 ft 10 in) tall. Only a single species, Genyornis newtoni survived into the Late Pleistocene. They are thought to have been herbivorous.
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