A giant early Pleistocene bird from eastern Europe: unexpected component of terrestrial faunas at the time of early <i>Homo</i> arrival
Journal: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Year: 2019

Giant birds, comparable in size to elephant birds and moa, have never been reported from Europe. Here, we describe a femur from the lower Pleistocene of the north Black Sea area (Crimea) that is referred to Pachystruthio dmanisensis, comb. nov., a giant bird with an estimated body mass of about 450 kg. This value makes this extinct bird one of the largest known avians (comparable to Aepyornis maximus) and the only bird of such giant size in Europe and the Northern Hemisphere in general. In contr