| Asian ostrich | |
|---|---|
| |
| An artist's illustration of Struthio asiaticus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Struthioniformes |
| Family: | Struthionidae |
| Genus: | Struthio |
| Species: | †S. asiaticus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Struthio asiaticus Milne-Edwards, 1871 | |
| Synonyms | |
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The Asian or Asiatic ostrich (Struthio asiaticus), is an extinct species of ostrich that ranged from Morocco, the Middle East to China and Mongolia. Fossils date from the upper Pliocene to the early Holocene (3.6 MYA - c.6000 BC or BCE).
Asian ostriches were widespread around Europe and Asia. They also used to live in northern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and southern Siberia. In China, it is known that Asiatic ostriches became extinct at the end or shortly after the end of the last Ice Age.