The kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus) is a living species of flightless parrot endemic to Fresh Zealand.
The kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus). Picture credit ranking: Jake Osborne.
“Our learn had caused a rethink of our native fauna,” acknowledged Canterbury Museum’s Dr. Paul Scofield.
“Various the species that we regarded as iconic Fresh Zealand natives — a classic example would be the takahē — we now know are somewhat present blow-ins from Australia, arriving most consuming a pair of million years ago.”
Of their learn, Dr. Scofield and colleagues fascinated with the so-called St Bathans Fauna, a series of additional than 9,000 specimens from 33 paleontological sites or discrete sedimentary beds near the village of St Bathans, Central Otago, Fresh Zealand’s South Island.
These sites, which were as soon as on the bottom of a massive prehistoric lake, provide potentially the most consuming main insight into Fresh Zealand’s non-marine natural world from 20 million years ago (Early Miocene epoch).
Ordinary creatures of the St Bathans Fauna consist of Heracles inexpectatus, a massive parrot that scientists nicknamed Squawkzilla; two mystery mammals; flamingos; a 3-m crocodile; a massive horned turtle; and a extensive bat.
“Twenty-three years of digging at St Bathans has changed our device about the age of the Fresh Zealand fauna and the importance of some animals over others,” Dr. Scofield acknowledged.
“For instance, unless now we device that birds luxuriate in kiwi and moa were amongst the oldest representatives of Fresh Zealand fauna.”
“We are undoubtedly realizing that the kākāpō, exiguous Fresh Zealand wrens and bats, and even a unusual freshwater limpet, are the explicit extinct Fresh Zealand natives.”
The authors concludes that this menagerie of outlandish animals changed into as soon as wiped out by dramatic temperature drops over the final about 5 million years.
“The learn at St Bathans had transformed our device of how non-marine vertebrate existence in Fresh Zealand regarded around 20 million years ago correct by device of the Early Miocene generation,” acknowledged Flinders University’s Dr. Trevor Worthy.
“It’s thrilling to be alive to a pair of challenge that continues to obtain fully new discoveries about what animals lived in Fresh Zealand’s lakes and rivers, and the forests around them, correct by device of this severe length in history.”
“Every Twelve months we gain original specimens. Finds that level to amazing original species that we couldn’t include imagined when we first started working there.”
“The animals that lived in Fresh Zealand 20 million years ago were very diverse to what we include,” acknowledged University of Canterbury’s Dr. Vanesa De Pietri.
“For instance, we had one other extensive eagle that changed into as soon as now now not connected to the Haast’s eagle (Hieraaetus moorei).”
“We had a complete bunch of songbirds that were barely diverse, crocodiles and even doubtlessly a exiguous mammal that we’ve nicknamed the waddling mouse.”
“We are composed in the course of our learn into device exactly what that changed into as soon as.”
This learn is described in a paper published in the journal Geobios.
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Trevor H. Worthy et al. A synopsis of the Early Miocene St Bathans Fauna from Fresh Zealand. Geobios, published on-line August 6, 2024; doi: 10.1016/j.geobios.2024.03.002
This text changed into as soon as tailored from an common delivery by Canterbury Museum.
