Editing Elephant bird (section)

=== Species ===
Up to 10 or 11 species in the genus ''Aepyornis'' have been described,{{sfn|Brodkorb|1963}} but the validity of many have been disputed, with numerous authors treating them all in just one species, ''A. maximus''. Up to three species have been described in ''Mullerornis''.<ref name="Davies">Davies, S. J. J. F. (2003)</ref> Recent work has restricted the number of elephant bird species to three, with two in ''Aepyornis'', one in ''Mullerornis''.<ref name="Molecular exploration of fossil eggshell uncovers hidden lineage of giant extinct bird">{{Cite journal |last1=Grealy |first1=Alicia |last2=Miller |first2=Gifford H. |last3=Phillips |first3=Matthew J. |last4=Clarke |first4=Simon J. |last5=Fogel |first5=Marilyn |last6=Patalwala |first6=Diana |last7=Rigby |first7=Paul |last8=Hubbard |first8=Alysia |last9=Demarchi |first9=Beatrice |last10=Collins |first10=Matthew |last11=Mackie |first11=Meaghan |last12=Sakalauskaite |first12=Jorune |last13=Stiller |first13=Josefin |last14=Clarke |first14=Julia A. |last15=Legendre |first15=Lucas J. |date=2023-02-28 |title=Molecular exploration of fossil eggshell uncovers hidden lineage of giant extinct bird |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=914 |doi=10.1038/s41467-023-36405-3 |issn=2041-1723|doi-access=free |pmid=36854679 |pmc=9974994 |bibcode=2023NatCo..14..914G }}</ref> 
* '''Order Aepyornithiformes''' <small>Newton 1884</small> [Aepyornithes <small>Newton 1884</small>]{{sfn|Brodkorb|1963}}
** '''Genus ''[[Aepyornis]]''''' <small>Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1850</small><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hume |first1=Julian P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7RIAkGw0-UC&q=greater+elephant-bird&pg=PA26 |title=Extinct birds |last2=Walters |first2=Michael |publisher=T&AD Poyser |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4081-5861-6 |pages=544}}</ref> (Synonym: ''Vorombe'' <small>Hansford & Turvey 2018</small>)
*** ''Aepyornis hildebrandti'' <small>[[Carlos Burckhardt|Burckhardt]], 1893</small> (Possibly divided into two subspecies<ref name="Molecular exploration of fossil eggshell uncovers hidden lineage of giant extinct bird" />) 
*** ''Aepyornis maximus'' <small>[[Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire|Hilaire]], 1851</small> 
** '''Genus ''[[Mullerornis]]''''' <small>Milne-Edwards & Grandidier 189</small>4
*** ''Mullerornis modestus'' <small>(Milne-Edwards & Grandidier 1869) Hansford & Turvey 2018</small>
All elephant birds are usually placed in the single family Aepyornithidae, but some authors suggest ''Aepyornis'' and ''Mullerornis'' should be placed in separate families within the Aepyornithiformes, with the latter placed into Mullerornithidae.<ref name="Molecular exploration of fossil eggshell uncovers hidden lineage of giant extinct bird" />