Adzebill

Adzebills
Temporal range: Miocene–Holocene 19–0.005 Ma
Skeleton of A. otidiformis, Canterbury Museum

Extinct (NZ TCS)[1](A. defossor)

Extinct (NZ TCS)[2](A. otidiformis)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: †Aptornithidae
Mantell, 1848
Genus: †Aptornis
Owen, 1844
Species
  • †Aptornis otidiformis
    Owen, 1844
  • †Aptornis defossor
    Owen, 1871
  • ?†Aptornis proasciarostratus
    Worthy, 2011
Synonyms
  • Apterornis
  • Dinornis otidiformis
Aptornis defossor from the collection of the Auckland Museum

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]

  1. ^ "Aptornis defossor. NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Aptornis otidiformis . NZTCS". nztcs.org.nz. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  3. ^ Worthy, Trevor H.; Tennyson, Alan J. D.; Scofield, R. Paul (2011). "Fossils reveal an early Miocene presence of the aberrant gruiform Aves: Aptornithidae in New Zealand". Journal of Ornithology. 152 (3): 669–680. doi:10.1007/s10336-011-0649-6. S2CID 37555861.