![]() These raptors and the earliest songbirds lived in temperate rainforests. Meet the giant wombat relative that scratched out a living in Australia 25 million years ago Archaehierax sylvestris and its smaller contemporary show that Australia was an important geographic location in the early global evolution of raptors.Īustralia is already widely understood to be a cradle of evolution of songbirds, and our island continent doubtless played a similar role in the evolution of other types of birds too. Previously, raptor fossils as ancient as 25 million years old were only known from Europe and North America. This is consistent with previous genetic analysis suggesting most living groups of hawks and eagles evolved only in the past 20 million years - roughly 5 million years after Archaehierax lived and died. Rather, it represented an ancient lineage that split off near the base of the raptor family tree. Our analysis suggests Archaehierax was probably not closely related to any living raptor. It was adapted to capture prey in holes in trees. Pengana robertbolesi is a few million years younger than Archaehierax, and not closely related to the Pinpa bird. There is another fossil raptor known from deposits at Riversleigh World Heritage Area in northwest Queensland. Isolated bones show a smaller eagle also lived in these forests, but the fossils are too fragmentary to give this species a name. But its bones differed in many ways from all other raptors, including similar-aged ones from elsewhere in the world.Īrchaehierax sylvestris was not the only raptor we found at Lake Pinpa. Ellen Mather, Author providedĪrchaehierax was clearly a member of the raptor family, which includes most hawks and eagles. Silhouettes show relative sizes of these birds. The fossil was distorted during burial so the top half is rotated 90 degrees to the lower half. Left tarsometatarsus (lower leg bone) of the fossil raptor Archaehierax sylvestris, beside Aquila audax (Wedge-tailed Eagle). Since the 1970s, the barren, salt-crusted sediments in South Australia’s arid north have yielded a range of bone fragments, teeth, and other fossils of the animals that lived there - many of which would have been prey for Archaehierax. But from a high perch, it would also have made forays over the lake where it could catch ducks and flamingos.Īncient bilby and bandicoot fossils shed light on the mystery of marsupial evolution In the forest, it probably preyed on medium-sized marsupials. With its relatively short wings and long legs, this eagle was likely an ambush hunter, waiting for unwary prey to approach, rather than a soaring forager. And it had short, robust wings adapted to fly within the cluttered confines of a forest, rather than to soar through the skies. It was slightly smaller than a wedge-tailed eagle, with talons spanning 15 centimetres that allowed it to grab prey the size of a koala or possum. We have named it Archaehierax sylvestris, meaning “ancient hawk belonging to the forest”. ![]() ![]() Silhouette of an osprey skeleton with shading to show the bones preserved in the new fossil raptor, Archaehierax sylvestris Ellen Mather, Author provided ![]() Partnersįlinders University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU. Blokland do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Michael Lee receives funding from the Australian Research CouncilĮllen K. Worthy receives funding from The Australian Research Council and the Sir Mark Mitchell Research FoundationĪaron Camens receives funding from Sir Mark Mitchell Foundation. ![]() Professor in Evolutionary Biology (jointly appointed with South Australian Museum), Flinders University Vertebrate Palaeontology PhD Candidate and Casual Academic, Flinders University Lecturer in Palaeontology, Flinders University Associate Professor, Vertebrate Palaeontology Group, Flinders University ![]()
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