Auspex Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Of course, I would like to have a complete Elephant Bird egg, but even the piece-meal reconstructions on the market go for thousands (and usually aren't very attractive). So, to fill the hole in my line up, I finally won a nicely mounted fragment for a very low bid. Aepyornis maximus, a giant ratite native to Madagascar (and extinct since at least the 17th century), was the world's largest bird (over 3 metres (10 ft) tall and weighing close to half a ton (400 kilograms (880 lb)). Remains of Aepyornis adults and eggs have been found; in some cases the eggs have a circumference of over 1 metre (3 ft) and a length up to 34 centimetres (13 in).[3] The egg volume is about 160 times greater than a chicken egg. It is the 5/32" thickness of the shell that is impressive: Maybe someday I will acquire a whole one, but for now I at least have an example. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Auspex...... Very nice and fantastic proportions.... Thanks for posting that and enlightening me, I never knew birds had reached such a size..... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmorefossil Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 very nice, i hope one day you will come across a complete egg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 That is one big bird that would have been a site to see. Glad you got a peice for your collection. Oneday the hole egg will come. Now I have to go read more about this bird. Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions? Evolution is Chimp Change. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain! "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Owens Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 The shrieks in egg laying season must have been deafening. Ouch! -----"Your Texas Connection!"------ Fossils: Windows to the past Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lordpiney Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 very cool. it's hard to imagine a bird that size! even though i know they were docile for the most part, i still think id run if i saw one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommabetts Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Menser Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Auspex...... Very nice and fantastic proportions.... Thanks for posting that and enlightening me, I never knew birds had reached such a size..... Hey, I saw a bird on fourth and main..... I know, shamefully sexist.... Nice frag! Reminds me of back at Liion Country when I got the unfortunate task of hollowing out some not so new Ostrich eggs... Be true to the reality you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Dactyll Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Frank Menser was she 12 foot tall?.... Cheers Steve... And Welcome if your a New Member... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreekCrawler Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 That's a great piece Auspex,how is the tar bone cataloging going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Of course, I would like to have a complete Elephant Bird egg, but even the piece-meal reconstructions on the market go for thousands (and usually aren't very attractive). So, to fill the hole in my line up, I finally won a nicely mounted fragment for a very low bid.Aepyornis maximus, a giant ratite native to Madagascar (and extinct since at least the 17th century), was the world's largest bird (over 3 metres (10 ft) tall and weighing close to half a ton (400 kilograms (880 lb)). Remains of Aepyornis adults and eggs have been found; in some cases the eggs have a circumference of over 1 metre (3 ft) and a length up to 34 centimetres (13 in).[3] The egg volume is about 160 times greater than a chicken egg. It is the 5/32" thickness of the shell that is impressive: Maybe someday I will acquire a whole one, but for now I at least have an example. Yeah, sometimes you see moa eggs (glue-together jobs with questionable fits) available at a gem show. Geological Enterprises once offered a dodo bone back in the 80's. It's funny because your eggshell reminds me of a question I once fielded years ago from a jewelry dealer. He understood people buying a skeleton (a nice Green River fish or a cave bear), but when he learned I collected shark teeth, he asked, "Why would you want to own just a piece of something?" I answered with words to the effect of, "For many species across time, all you get are pieces. You could wait your whole life and never even see a fossil shark skeleton or even decent percentage of one." I understand the level of interest, as does anyone else here of this forum, in just a piece of something that was alive a long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32fordboy Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Great piece! I bet you have all kinds of cool stuff we don't even know about. It would be neat to see all your best stuff. Nick www.nicksfossils.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Very very awesome specimen Auspex. If this was the worlds largest bird, how big was the terror/moa bird in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFossilHunter Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Of course, I would like to have a complete Elephant Bird egg, but even the piece-meal reconstructions on the market go for thousands (and usually aren't very attractive). So, to fill the hole in my line up, I finally won a nicely mounted fragment for a very low bid.Aepyornis maximus, a giant ratite native to Madagascar (and extinct since at least the 17th century), was the world's largest bird (over 3 metres (10 ft) tall and weighing close to half a ton (400 kilograms (880 lb)). Remains of Aepyornis adults and eggs have been found; in some cases the eggs have a circumference of over 1 metre (3 ft) and a length up to 34 centimetres (13 in).[3] The egg volume is about 160 times greater than a chicken egg. It is the 5/32" thickness of the shell that is impressive: Maybe someday I will acquire a whole one, but for now I at least have an example. Congrats on getting eggshell from the biggest egg that's ever existed. it alwatys fascinates me how the elephant birg eggs are bigger than any dino egg with the weight of the egg being a quater of the weight of the bird itself.. Alan from upstate NY who owns a eurypterid quarry near herkimer has a complete one in his museum..it's made of pieces though. He says it was, in fact, expensive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 The limiting factor to the size of dinosaurs' eggs was their fused pubic bone tips. In modern birds, this architecture is modified into a high, broad vault, affording a strong, light weight framework for the internal organs that doesn't restrict egg size. "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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