Bennu heron
Temporal range: Holocene,
Representation of the Bennu deity in Egyptian mythology, possibly based on the Bennu heron
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Ardea
Species:
†A. bennuides
Binomial name
†Ardea bennuides
Hoch, 1977

The Bennu heron (Ardea bennuides) is an extinct, very large heron from what is now the United Arab Emirates at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula.

Background

Standing as tall as the human depicted on an Ancient Egyptian papyrus, the Bennu deity may have been based on the Bennu heron

Found in 1977, remains of the heron have been dated to 2700–1800 BCE, coinciding with the Umm al-Nar period.[1][2] Based on remains discovered, it was approximately 2 m (6.6 ft) tall and had a wingspan up to 2.7 m (8.9 ft), thus surpassing the size of the largest living species in the heron family, the goliath heron.[3] It may have been the inspiration for the Bennu deity in Egyptian mythology, hence the specific name.[1]

Extinction

It has been speculated that the Bennu heron went extinct because of wetland degradation. Another likely cause of their extinction would be humans overhunting their population.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 Hoch, Ella (1977). "Reflections on prehistoric life at Umm An-Nar (Trucial Oman) based on faunal remains from the third millennium B.C.". In M. Taddei (ed.). South Asian Archaeology 1977. Fourth International Conference of the Association of South Asian Archaeologists in Western Europe. pp. 589–638.
  2. ↑ Potts, D.T. (2001). "Before the Emirates: an Archaeological and Historical Account of Developments in the Region c. 5000 BC to 676 AD". In Al Abed, Ibrahim & Hellyer, Peter (eds.). The United Arab Emirates: A New Perspective (PDF). London, UK: Trident Press. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.630.7157. ISBN 978-1-900724-47-0.
  3. ↑ Callahan, D. (2014). A History of Birdwatching in 100 Objects. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. p. 15. ISBN 978-1408-1-8618-3.
  4. ↑ Turvey, Samuel T. (2009-05-28). Holocene Extinctions. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-157998-1.


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