Adzebills | |
---|---|
Skeleton of A. otidiformis, Canterbury Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Gruiformes |
Family: | †Aptornithidae Mantell, 1848 |
Genus: | †Aptornis Owen, 1844 |
Species | |
| |
Synonyms | |
|
The adzebills, genus Aptornis, were two closely related bird species, the North Island adzebill, (Aptornis otidiformis), and the South Island adzebill, (Aptornis defossor), of the extinct family Aptornithidae. The family was endemic to New Zealand. A tentative fossil species, (Aptornis proasciarostratus), is known from the Miocene Saint Bathans fauna.[3]