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qilong.wordpress.com

Skeleton of Anzu wyliei Lamanna, Sues, Schachner & Lyson, 2014. Drawn after Scott Hartman’s and thus a complete ripoff. Modifications will be made at some point with new data now publishe…

prehistoric-fauna.com

G argano giant goose (†Garganornis (Meijer, 2014)) Class: Aves Order: Anseriformes Family: Anatidae Time period: from the Miocene epoch (Gargano, Italy, 9–5.5 Ma ) Size: more than 1,4 m in height, 15 - 22 kg of weight Gargano giant goose had a weight in the range of 15–22 kilograms, larger than any living geese and swans. Is probably the largest waterfowl to have ever existed .This suggests that it was likely flightless. In some specimens of Garganornis, there is a small bony knob on the top of the carpometacarpus that is similar to that of swans, geese, ducks, and other anseriforms; this was likely used for fighting, as in other members of the group. Its leg anatomy also indicates a more terrestrial lifestyle, probably adapted to traversing the steep forested areas of the island, and it's very likely its feet webbing was also reduced. Garganornis peculiarly shares a number of characteristics in the tibiotarsus with another group of large anseriforms, the Gastornithidae. However, given that gastornithids and other Paleogene fauna do not appear to have survived in - or even reached - this region, it is more likely that these shared traits are convergent adaptations to gigantic body sizes.