He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
What would you do if you met a parrot one meter high? You would probably think of a joke or you would be scared not a little, accustomed to seeing small colored budgies.
And yet 19 million years, in New Zealand, we could have crossed paths parrots giants more than half the height of a man of the time, heavy 7 kilos, with enormous beaks and moreover carnivores.
As far-fetched as it may seem, according to a study published in the scientific journal Biology Lettters, the ancestors of current parrots they were exactly like that.
I remains of the giant bird were found eleven years ago near Saint Bathans, in the Otago region, in New Zealand, an area known for its abundance of fossils from the Miocene era, between 23 million and 5,3 million years ago.
Paleontologists initially believed that the bones belonged to an eagle or a duck and did not pay much attention to the find.
However, they decided to keep the remains of the animal and recently a team of researchers returned to analyze them, discovering one new species of bird no longer existing, which was classified under the name of Heracles inexpectatus.
despite the considerable size, scholars do not believe it was an aggressive specimen and although it was carnivorous, its diet was probably based mainly on nuts and seeds, because according to paleontologists it is the parrot was unlikely to be able to fly or to move fast enough to be able to hunt large prey.
The finding of large birds is quite common in New Zealand and every year searches lead to the recovery of remains of unknown birds and other animals. This it is the first time that an extinct giant parrot has been discovered, but the area probably still holds many surprises.
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Tatiana Maselli
