Several fossil remnants of a vast raspberry calledGenyornis newtoni , include the first intact skull , have been describe , offer insight into the lifestyle of the last of the gargantuan thunder birds that once roamed Australia .
If you thinkAustralia’sexisting animal are terrific , take a look at what used to inhabit the continent . A star role proceed to the Dromornithidae ( also known as mihirungs or smack shuttle ) , which let in what is intend to have been the largest bird that ever lived , Dromornis stirtoni . By the time the first people reached the continent , Dromornis and many other mihirungs were long gone , but at least one extremity of the family remained . Whether through hunt , egg consumption , or the widespread use of fervour , humans quickly write its doom .
At 230 kilograms ( 500 pounds),G. newtoniwas about half the weight of its heavy ancient congeneric – but it was still one of the largest birds man has ever come across , making it a national of much interest . Nevertheless , it has take 128 yr from first being scientifically described for us to get much estimation of how it see and hold up .
A comparison of the size of Genyornis newtoni, a human, and modern birds, including the cassowary – which, while not related provides a comparison for how scary the thunderbirds could be.Image Credit: Phoebe McInerney.
The original skull used in the scientific description was ; “ carry to Adelaide on camel and lodge together with flour and water ” to repair the damage , Flinders University PhD student and subject field cobalt - authorJacob Bloklandtold IFLScience . “ There was lots of aesthetic license in the reconstructive memory . ” For more than a century nothing well was found .
The original skull was found at Lake Callabonna , and subsequent scientists have been aware there are plenty moreGenyornisfossils there , along with others that reveal biography in a long - lose wetland . However , Blokland explain ; “ It ’s on secret demesne , very hard to get to and has sandstorms . ” To make things bad , the website is now a salt lake , and as shortly as fossils removed from it dry out out the salinity start breaking them up . Visits by paleontologists have been few and far between .
Eventually , however , the want of an intactG. newtoniskull was too much , andDr Trevor Worthyorganized a series of sojourn , which refund with several high - character specimen .
Some of the valuable fossils used to reconstruct G. newtoni accurately for the first time.Image Credit: Jacob C. Blokland
These reveal a skirt that could take the air comfortably , but still keep on a heavily aquatic life-style . Specifically , it has feature that allow modernistic - daylight water bird to seek food underwater without ingesting unwished-for quantity of water .
Blokland tell apart IFLScience thatGenyornisprobably ; “ Walked long distances between passing wetland , ” and would have eaten any fruit it encounter on the way , but bank heavily on the foods those wetlands offered after rainfall . “ We imagine it was anecosystem locomotive engineer , crash around in the reeds and uprooting things . ”
The specimens reveal a braincase describe as “ monumental ” in the paper – but according to first source PhD candidatePhoebe McInerney , that does n’t meanG. newtoniwas impudent . “ Their brains were smaller than you would expect . Normally the cranium is very near to the nous . ” McInerney told IFLScience . G. newtoniinstead filled the space with airy bone . “ Brains are very energy and nutrient - athirst . If you do n’t require more wit , then its more energy - efficient to take the space up with bone . ” Words some people seem to have take to marrow .
Artistic reconstruction of the skull of Genyornis newtoni, revealing its large braincase and its remarkable beak.Image Credit: Jacob C. Blokland
The brainpan grew , McInerney said , not to make way for brains , but to support beaks capable of eating bombastic yield . McInerney noted there are report of trees clinging on in stray Australian locating that produce fruits that no outlive species , human beings aside , can distribute . It ’s possibleGenyorniswas once creditworthy for their ranch , like a true translation ofthe avocado myth .
The pecker the braincase endure is particularly interesting . “Genyornis newtonihad a tall and nomadic upper jaw like that of a parrot but shaped like a goose , a wide gape , strong snack force out , and the ability to crush piano flora and yield on the ceiling of their mouth ” , McInerney said in an emailed affirmation .
The Dromornithidae have been labelled the “ demon ducks of doom ” for their huge size of it and relationship to populate waterfowl . Blokland noted the relationship may be close to the South American birds cognise as screamers and Australia ’s magpie goose . However , he added ; “ The term goose can cover quite a wide range – it really just think a long - legged waterfowl that has become a bit more terrene .
On that basis thisGenyorniscertainly qualifies . At a system of weights fifty time even a large living cuckoo , the team thought the term “ gigagoose ” was appropriate .
A final feature ofGenyornisrevealed by the newfangled specimen is a distinctive casque on its pass . Whether this was for sexual signaling is unknown .
The survey is put out in the journalHistorical Biology
