Cygnus falconeri

Cygnus falconeri, Falconer's swan, is a giant extinct swan (Anatidae) from Pleistocene deposits of Malta and Sicily, standing up to 1.5 m at the shoulder and weighing an estimated 15–16 kg. Paradoxically coexisting with the dwarf Cygnus equitum on the same islands, it developed gigantism rather than dwarfism, possibly exploiting different ecological niches. Named in honour of palaeontologist Hugh Falconer, it browsed on tall vegetation and shallow aquatic plants. Both swans vanished with Neolithic human colonisation.