Paleontologists from Flinders University have unearthed Australia’s oldest eagle fossils on a remote outback cattle station, describing a new fossil species which lived during the late Oligocene.
Named Archaehierax sylvestris, this species is one of the oldest eagle-like raptors in the world.
A comparison of the prepared fossil tarsometatarsus (foot bone) and a hypothesised silhouette of Archaehierax sylvestris (left) compared to the wedge-tailed eagle Aquila audax (right).
“This species was slightly smaller and leaner than the wedge-tailed eagle, but it’s the largest eagle known from this time period in Australia,” says Flinders University PhD candidate Ellen Mather, first author in the new paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Historical Biology.
“It’s rare to find even one bone from a fossil eagle?
The remains of Archaehierax were found on the barren shore of a dry lake (known as Lake Pinpa) in a desolate sandy desert habitat during ongoing Flinders University investigations into a lost ecosystem, when Australia’s interior was covered in trees and verdant forests.
“The fossil bones reveal that the wings of Archaehierax (pron. ah-kay-hi-rax) were short for its size, much like species of forest-dwelling eagles today.
Out of all the species known from this site, Archaehierax is one of the best preserved; the partial fossil skeleton is comprised of 63 bones.
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