Giant malleefowl
| Giant malleefowl | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fossil remains from the Naracoote Caves | |
| Fossil | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Galliformes |
| Family: | Megapodiidae |
| Genus: | Leipoa |
| Species: | †L. gallinacea |
| Binomial name | |
| Leipoa gallinacea (De Vis, 1888) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The giant malleefowl (Leipoa gallinacea) is an extinct megapode that was native to Australia. It was described from Plio-Pleistocene deposits at the Darling Downs and Chinchilla in south-east Queensland by Charles De Vis, who erected the genus Progura for it. Material referrable to the species has also been collected from South Australia and from Wellington Valley and the Wombeyan Caves of New South Wales.
Taxonomy
Comparison of Australian megapodes showed that Progura was closely related to the living malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata), though the fossil species gallinacea was considerably larger than the living one. A second species, P. naracoortensis, was described in 1974 by van Tets from deposits in the Naracoorte Caves of south-eastern South Australia indicating differing size and leg proportions. It is now considered a synonym of L. gallinacea, which was evidently sexually dimorphic.[1]
Description
Its weight was estimated by van Tets to vary from 4–7 kg (8-15 lb). The proportions of the long bones were similar to, though larger and more robust than, those of the malleefowl, and it had a relatively broader bill, head and body. The deep keel on the sternum indicates that it was capable of flight.[2]
References
Further reading
- Dekker, René W. R. J. (2007). "Distribution and Speciation of Megapodes (Megapodiidae) and Subsequent Development of their Breeding". Topics in Geobiology 29: 93–102. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-6374-9_3. ISSN 0275-0120.
- Worthy, T. H. (2000). "The fossil megapodes (Aves: Megapodiidae) of Fiji with descriptions of a new genus and two new species". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 30 (4): 337–364. doi:10.1080/03014223.2000.9517627. ISSN 0303-6758.