The fossilised skull of a now extinct flightless bird is a “stunningly rare find”, researchers say.
It belongs to a now extinct giant flightless bird that weighed 230kg - about five times as much as an emu.has been known for 128 years - and now we've actually got a skull for it."
The only other known skull for this species, reported on in 1913, was heavily damaged and had only a small amount of the original bone, so little could be gleaned from it.They also had a wide gape, strong bite and could crush soft plants and fruit on the roof of their mouth.is a relative of the Australian magpie goose but evolved before them in a separate lineage and is more closely related to the South American screamer species.
The last of the large, flightless mihirungs, or thunderbirds, native to Australia, they roamed the outback at the same time as other giant creatures, including lizards and kangaroos, and when the first humans arrived, about 50,000 years ago. The researchers also discovered the giant birds had many unusual adaptations for aquatic habitats, protecting their ears and throat from water when submerged.
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