Aepyornis is an Elephant bird, one of three genera of ratite birds endemic to Madagascar until their extinction about 1000 A.D. The species "A". "maximus" weighed up to , and until recently was regarded as the largest known bird of all time. However, in 2018 the largest "Aepyornis" specis, weighing up to , was moved to the related genus "Vorombe".