Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
292 / Cenozoic
Gastornis
Gastornis parisiensis
This giant flightless bird had a massive beak, but evidence favors a mainly herbivorous diet.
View original image · 1536 × 1024- Time range
- About 56–45 million years ago
- Final stage
- Middle Eocene
- Geographic range
- Warm forests and wetlands · Europe
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Gastornis?
Gastornis (Gastornis parisiensis) was an extinct organism known from About 56–45 million years ago, with a range in Warm forests and wetlands · Europe.
Life and ecology
Gastornis walked through warm forests feeding on tough plants, fruits and seeds rather than pursuing large prey.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Gastornis disappear?
A cooling climate and changing European forests and mammal faunas are possible context; the fossil record does not establish a specific cause.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Gastornis?
Skeletons, footprints, eggshell and isotopes constrain its locomotion, nesting and plant-based diet.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS