Aepyornis

American  

[ee-pee-awr-nis] / ˌi piˈɔr nɪs /

noun

1. an extinct genus of ratite birds, best known from the Pleistocene Epoch of Madagascar, having massive legs and rudimentary wings, and growing to a height of 8 feet (2.4 meters).

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aepyornis British  

/ ˌiːpɪˈɔːnɪs /

noun

1. any of the large extinct flightless birds of the genus Aepyornis, remains of which have been found in Madagascar

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Etymology

Origin of Aepyornis

< New Latin (1850) < Greek aipý ( s ) steep, lofty, + órnīs bird

Example Sentences

Just a few thousand years ago, gargantuan fauna roamed the planet, from the gorilla-sized sloth lemur Archaeoindris fontoynontii to the elephant bird Aepyornis maximus.

From Nature • Dec. 11, 2018

Last week the chance that Madagascar could escape World War II seemed as rare as an Aepyornis egg.

From Time Magazine Archive

About 25 football-sized Aepyornis titan eggs exist in various museums.

From Time Magazine Archive

They still tell of a great bird, called Aepyornis by paleontologists, which used to roam the island until a few thousand years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

The second day I broached one of the Aepyornis eggs, scraped the shell away at the end bit by bit, and tried it, and I was glad to find it was good enough to eat.

From The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)