Flinders University researchers have discovered Pleistocene fossils from what they believe is Australia’s largest species of eagle – about twice as big as present day wedgetails.
While a few of the bones were uncovered in the 50s and 60s, the researchers latest trek into the Mairs Cave in the Flinders Ranges found 28 new bones – enough to designate a new species.
The researchers have called the new species Dynatoaetus gaffae. It may have lived 700,000 and 50,000 years ago. They have not provided an image of the bird but have provided drawings of its bone structure.
Their work has been published in the Journal of Ornithology.
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Originally published by Cosmos as Watch: Largest Australian eagle fossil discovered in the Flinders Rangers
Jacinta Bowler
Jacinta Bowler is a science journalist at Cosmos. They have a undergraduate degree in genetics and journalism from the University of Queensland and have been published in the Best Australian Science Writing 2022.
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