For more than 100 years, paleontologists have thought that a fossil discovered in South Australia was a powerful grave eagle (Taphaetus lacertosus). Now, new research has revealed its true taxonomy: it's a vulture, and it's the first one discovered i
For more than 100 years, paleontologists have thought that a fossil discovered in South Australia was a powerful grave eagle . Now, new research has revealed its true taxonomy: it's a vulture, and it's the first one discovered in the country. and this scavenging raptor would have lived between 500 and 50,000 years ago. It's what's known as an 'Old World' vulture, and similar species are still around today – though not in Australia.
The reclassification highlights just how diverse the megafauna and other wildlife were in this part of the world back in theEagle and vulture comparisons. "We compared the fossil material to birds of prey from around the world, and it became clear right away that this bird was not adapted to being a hunter, and so was not a hawk or an eagle,""The features of the lower leg bone are too underdeveloped to support the musculature needed for killing prey. When we placedin an evolutionary tree, this confirmed our suspicions that the bird was a vulture, and we are very excited to finally publish on this species.
The discovery of new fossils from the Wellington Caves in New South Wales and Leaena's Breath Cave in the Nullabor Plains of Western Australia helped the researchers to prove it. These vultures would have shared the skies with wedge-tailed eagles and looked down on some fairly large beasts – including the marsupial herbivore
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