More than 60,000 year ago , elephantine eagle were flying aroundAustraliawith a wingspan of nearly 3 meters ( 9.8 substructure ) across . They are thought to be the largest birds of prey ever to live on the continent and peradventure the largest continental eagles in the globe , concord to new research .
This elephantine raptor from the Pleistocene era has been key out from fresh and existing fossils found in 1956 , 1969 , and 2021 . It was give the name Gaff ’s hefty eagle ( Dynatoaetus gaffae ) after blanket research of Mairs Cave in South Australia .
Initially in 1956 and 1969 , only a sternum , distal humerus , and two ungual phalanx were found . However in 2021 , a further 28 bones from the individual were discovered , though most of them were uncompleted . Inside the cave the team make out to find a fragment of distal humerus that was able-bodied to be reattached to the bone found over 50 years before in 1969 .
Flinders University fossil hunters descend the 17-meter (56-foot) drop at the entrance to Mairs Cave in the Flinders Ranges. Image credit: Aaron Camens (Flinders University)
“ After half a century , and several wait make by the pandemic , the expedition with volunteer from the University ’s Speleological Society found a further 28 bones spread out about mysterious among the boulder at the internet site designate by one of these museum keepsake , ” enjoin Flinders University palaeontology research worker Dr Ellen Matherin a command .
These further fossils allowed other bones antecedently retrieve in three unlike positioning to be recognized as member of the same coinage . The hind limb of the doll suggest that the species was a predator , and may have been Australia ’s largest knownbird of prey . The researchers reckon it could have lift a small kangaroo or koala with its powerful talons .
Given the size of a lowly kangaroo is around 50 - 70 kilograms ( 110 - 154 lb ) this means these ancient eagles – just like the Great Eagles of Tolkien ’s halfway - earth – could have lifted Frodo and his hobbit pals with comfort , as they are only around 1.2 beat ( 4 feet ) tall and theoretically would have count importantly less than that .
Comparison of the tarsometatarsus (footbone) ofDynatoaetus gaffaeand wedge-tailed eagle, with estimated silhouettes of the living animals above. Image credit: Ellen Mather (Flinders University)
The squad evoke that the Gaff ’s power eagle coexisted in prison term with the still extant poor boy - track eagle ( Aquila audax ) and would have limited the distribution of that species . The squad think the ancient eagle would have had a wide distribution , from the juiceless domain of inland Australia to the more temperate coastal regions , and was likely the top avian marauder during this timeframe .
“ impart that the Australian birds of quarry used to be more various , it could mean that the Wedge - tailed Eagle in the past was more special in where it dwell and what it ate , ” continued Dr Mather . “ Otherwise , it would have been direct contend against the giantDynatoaetusfor those resourcefulness . ”
researcher hint that the species became out in the megafaunal mass quenching around 50,000 year ago along with a scavenge vulture speciesCryptogyps lacertosus .
The study is published in theJournal of Ornithology .
