to Vorombe titan (specimens MNHN MAD 364 and NHMUK A2142) were sent for accelerator mass spectrometer carbon-14 dating at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit and calibrated using ShCal13. Both specimens were dated to the Holocene (3,680 to 2,352 BP). Size Vorombe stood tall and weighed , with a mean of . This is greater than the mass estimates of other extinct Quaternary giant birds such as Dinornis (which was between ) and Dromornis stirtoni (between ) making it the largest known bird. The largest femur (MNHN MAD 368) measured by Hansford and Turvey could not be formally assigned to a cluster (group) as it was incomplete. The specimen is thought to belong to Vorombe on the basis of its size. It had a least-shaft circumference of , which gives a weight estimate of , making it the largest known bird individual ever recorded. This is comparable to or greater than the mass estimates of the smallest (insular dwarf) sauropod dinosaurs: Europasaurus, at ; and Magyarosaurus, between . Ecology Vorombe titan, Aepyornis maximus and Mullerornis modestus were found across much of Madagascar, and were sympatric in the arid spiny forests in the south, succulent woodlands in the southwest, and grassland/subhumid forest mosaic in the Central Highlands. The significant size differences between the three taxa indicates that they exploited different dietary niches and plant interactions. Elephant birds shared the Quaternary ecosystems of Madagascar with dwarf hippos, giant lemurs and giant tortoises. See also Island gigantism References Elephant birds Extinct animals of Madagascar Birds described in 2018 Extinct monotypic bird genera