Scientists have discovered a complete Fossil of a 25-million-year-old eagle that once flew over South Australia and preyed on koalas. Experts said that it is incredibly rare to find the Fossil because of how well preserved it is. The study was published on Monday in a peer-reviewed journal.
The newly discovered species, Archaehierax sylvestris, is one of the oldest eagle-like raptors in the world. Palaeontologists from Adelaide’s Flinders University unearthed the Fossil in March 2016 on a remote outback cattle station during a research trip at Lake Pinpa in South Australia.
Ellen Mather, author of the study and Flinders University postdoctoral candidate said that the largest marsupial predators at the time were about the size of a small dog or large cat, so Archaehierax was certainly ruling the roost.The partial Fossil skeleton consists of 63 bones, making the species one of the best-preserved species found around Lake Pinpa. The completeness of the skeleton allowed researchers to determine where it fits on the eagle family tree.
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