Prehistoric life
Gastornis
Gastornis was a giant of its time, one of the largest animals of the Eocene at two metres tall. It is thought to have been a predator, because its huge beak would have been far too powerful for simply crushing nuts and other vegetation, and it also had impressive talons on its toes. Its size and heavy build show that it can't have been a fast runner, so it probably ambushed prey. Gastornis was formerly known as diatryma, as fossils found in the USA had been given that name before they were identified as being the same species. Gastornis fossils are common at the site of Geiseltal, Germany and in the USA.
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Big bird
Walking with Beasts
Skeletal remains of Gastornis show a huge, powerful, bone-cracking bird.
Skeletal remains of Gastornis show a huge, powerful, bone-cracking bird.
Horse-eating birds
Walking with Beasts
The predators of the Eocene forests are on the prowl for unwary prey.
The predators of the Eocene forests are on the prowl for unwary prey.
Forest horses
Walking with Beasts
Propalaeotherium, the nervous ancestor of the horse, forages for forest food.
Propalaeotherium, the nervous ancestor of the horse, forages for forest food.
Top birds
Walking with Beasts
Giant Gastornis birds are top predators in the Eocene forest.
Giant Gastornis birds are top predators in the Eocene forest.
Behaviours
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Carnivorous
Egg layer
Predator
Adapted to runningAdditional data source: Animal Diversity Web
When they lived
Discover the other animals and plants that lived during the following geological time periods.
About
Gastornis is an extinct genus of large flightless bird that lived during the late Paleocene and Eocene epochs of the Cenozoic. It was named in 1855, after Gaston Planté, who had discovered the first fossils in Argile Plastique formation deposits at Meudon near Paris (France). At that time, Planté (described as a "studious young man full of zeal") was at the start of his academic career, and his remarkable discovery was soon to be overshadowed by his subsequent achievements in physics.
In the 1870s, the famous American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope discovered another, more complete set of fossils in North America, and named them Diatryma ( /ˌdaɪ.əˈtraɪmə/ dy-ə-try-mə, from Ancient Greek διάτρημα, diatrema, meaning "canoe").
The fossil remains of these birds have been found in western-central Europe (England, Belgium, France and Germany).
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Classification
- Life
- Animals
- Vertebrates
- Birds
- Gastornithiformes
- Gastornithidae
- Gastornis
Elsewhere on the web
- 3D gastornis skeleton (aves3d.org)
- Gastornis Q&A (abc.net.au)
- Gastornis (wikipedia.org)
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BBC links
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