Discovery of colossal cranium means that “thunder fowl” was a large goose

Geese have a fame for being aggressive, disagreeable birds, so think about one which’s greater than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall and weighs about 230 kg (507 lb). That’s Genyornis newtoni, an Ice Age “thunder fowl” from Australia, for which scientists have now discovered the primary full cranium.

Indigenous Australians lived alongside some unbelievable megafauna for tens of 1000’s of years. That features a clade of gigantic flightless birds scientifically often called Dromornithidae, or mihirungs within the language of the Djab Wurrung individuals. Informally, they’re generally known as “thunder birds” or “demon geese,” due to their big dimension and shocking relation to geese and geese.

The final recognized species, Genyornis newtoni, went extinct about 45,000 years in the past, that means that they had some crossover with the primary people to name the land residence. However one vital piece of the puzzle was lacking from fossil data: the one recognized cranium, described in 1913, was too broken to infer a lot about what the pinnacle regarded like, particularly the higher jaw.

Now, scientists have found the primary intact cranium of the species, revealing extra about what the fowl regarded like and the way it behaved. It was discovered to have an enormous braincase, giant jaws, and a bony crest on the highest of its head known as a casque. Such options are just like these of different species within the early waterfowl lineages.

“The precise relationships of Genyornis inside this group have been sophisticated to unravel, nevertheless, with this new cranium we now have began to piece collectively the puzzle which exhibits, merely put, this species to be a large goose,” stated Phoebe McInerney, lead creator of the research. “Genyornis newtoni had a tall and cellular higher jaw like that of a parrot however formed like a goose, a large gape, robust chew power, and the power to crush tender vegetation and fruit on the roof of their mouth.”

The crew additionally discovered clues which counsel the fowl had uncommon diversifications that may have helped it dwell a semi-aquatic life-style. As an illustration, bones of the inside ear have a sure form that may forestall water flooding into the ears and throat when the pinnacle is submerged.

The cranium was found within the dry, salty beds of Lake Callabonna, South Australia, the place the crew was in a position to verify that it belonged to Genyornis as a result of it was discovered close to almost-complete skeletons of the species. The discover allowed scientists to provide essentially the most correct recreation of the fowl’s head to this point, as seen within the picture on the high of this text.

“We have been notably excited to find the primary fossil higher invoice of Genyornis, for the primary time we may put a face on this fowl, one very totally different to another fowl, but like a goose,” stated Dr. Trevor Worthy, co-author of the research.

The analysis was revealed within the journal Historic Biology.

Supply: Flinders College by way of Scimex