A 25 million-year-old fossil of a raptor was recently discovered in one of the regions of Australia. The animal's bone collection is believed to be the 'oldest and most complete' skeleton of a raptor ever unearthed in palaeontological history. The Australian dig contains a vicious, eagle-like variant, which experts believe is one of the few most respected members of the food chain's peak back in the ancient times of the region.
Archaehierax Sylvestris in Australia
The apex animal has anatomical features that are fit for the animal's characteristics. The raptor have very long legs and a foot that measures 15 centimeters long, perfect for hunting the endemic animals of the place such as koala bears and flamingos. The near-complete fossil was assembled from one of Australia's remote cattle stations. The place is located in the southern regions of the country, just near Lakes Pinpa and Namba, and the Coombalarnie and Cooraninnie Dam.
The raptor, also known as the Archaehierax sylvestris, was discovered by the Finders University's College of Science and Engineering expert and lead author of the study Ellen Mather. The raptor existed back at 33.9 million to 23 million years ago, during the Oligocene period. The place it considers a habitat was previously an area containing a large body of water with lush forests surrounding it, which in the modern-time is known as Lake Pinpa.
The A. sylvestris fossil was discovered with 64 pieces of bones, making itself an almost complete skeletal body compared to other findings in past studies. Because of this, researchers were able to consider the fossil set as the best-preserved remains of the eagle-like raptors than any other pieces of evidence that support raptors.
25-Million-Year-Old Raptor Not an Eagle or Hawk
Mather said in an Ancient Origins report that the raptor has a body that scales smaller than the modern-day wedge-tailed eagle we can see in the wild. The same species of the eagle was theorized to be the last lineage flying in Australia. However, the expert emphasized that the raptor did not evolve into the wedge-tailed eagle or any other flying species living in the modern world, but its lineage continued to a separate family that was also extinct and has no traceable connection on today's eagle.
The study said that A. sylvestris has a distinct appearance compared to the flying species we are familiar with, including eagles and hawks. In addition, the raptor is much stronger than any living fowls of today, having the capability to target medium-sized animals such as koalas, possums, flamingos, and commorants. The experts believe that large birds are able to tackle their small dog-sized prey using their feet and long legs.
One of the bizarre findings from the A. sylvestris is that they have wings relatively shorter than their main body. This led the expert to conclude that the raptor was not a fast-flying species, but rather possessed great agility, which explained how it was able to apprehend its ancient preys. The study was published in the journal Historical Biology, titled "An exceptional partial skeleton of a new basal raptor (Aves: Accipitridae) from the late Oligocene Namba formation, South Australia."
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