3 million years ago, this brutish giant petrel likely eviscerated dead seals with its knife-like beak
About 3 million years ago, giant petrels terrorized the skies and seas of the Southern Hemisphere with their deadly hooked bills and piercing eyes, a new study on a previously unknown bird species finds.
The discovery — based on a well-preserved skull and weathered humerus (upper wing bone) of the ancient predator from New Zealand's North Island — marks the only extinct giant petrel species on record, the researchers reported in a study published Jan. 30 in the journal Taxonomy
The Tangahoe Formation, where they found the remains, "continues to provide outstanding seabird fossils and is becoming an important piece of the puzzle to understand the evolution and biogeography of seabirds in New Zealand and beyond," the team wrote in the study.
3 million years ago, this brutish giant petrel likely eviscerated dead seals with its knife-like beak
About 3 million years ago, giant petrels terrorized the skies and seas of the Southern Hemisphere with their deadly hooked bills and piercing eyes, a new study on a previously unknown bird species finds.
The discovery — based on a well-preserved skull and weathered humerus (upper wing bone) of the ancient predator from New Zealand's North Island — marks the only extinct giant petrel species on record, the researchers reported in a study published Jan. 30 in the journal Taxonomy
The Tangahoe Formation, where they found the remains, "continues to provide outstanding seabird fossils and is becoming an important piece of the puzzle to understand the evolution and biogeography of seabirds in New Zealand and beyond," the team wrote in the study.
3 million years ago, this brutish giant petrel likely eviscerated dead seals with its knife-like beak