Fossilized Bird Tracks Aged 3.6 Million Years Discovered, Actually Extinct Only 600 Years Ago

Jejak Burung Purba Berusia 3,6 Juta Tahun Ditemukan, Ternyata Baru Punah 600 Tahun Lalu

"The Footprints of Ancient Birds Aged 3.6 Million Years Have Been Found, It Turns Out They Only Went Extinct 600 Years Ago"

A footprint trail consisting of seven moa footprints and one separate footprint was discovered by paleontologists in the Maniototo Conglomerate river formation in the Kyeburn River, South Island, New Zealand. In their research, Kane Fleury from the Tūhura Otago Museum and his team found that these footprints were left by members of the moa family Emeidae, which most likely originated from the genus Pachyornis.

The footprint has a depth of 4.6 cm, a width of 27.2-30 cm, and a length of 26-29.4 cm. The moa that made this footprint has an average mass of 84.61 kg and moves at a speed of 2.61 km/h.

A surprising discovery was made when a 3D photogrammetry model of the fossil site revealed the presence of a second moa, which left separate tracks measuring approximately 44.8 cm in width and 28.5 cm in length.

Fossilized Bird Tracks Aged 3.6 Million Years Discovered, Actually Extinct Only 600 Years Ago

The animal belongs to the family Dinornithidae, and is most likely included in the genus Dinornis, with an estimated mass of about 158 kg.

"The footprint is the second oldest moa fossil, considering that the single footprint from the Dinornithidae family, moa, reached its legendary size during the Pliocene. "Most of the remains or footprints of moa are very recent in geological terms, less than 10,000 years old," said Dr. Fleury."

"However, the footprints of Kyeburn have been buried for 3.6 million years, offering a rare glimpse into a period of moa evolution that is not well understood. This makes it more significant," explained Fleury.
"Moa is an order of giant flightless birds (Dinornithiformes), consisting of nine species that existed during the Late Quaternary period. Moa has been considered extinct for 600 years."

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The translation of "Memiliki variasi ukuran" to English is "Has size variations".

"This species exhibits a range of sizes, from large turkeys like Euryapteryx curtus to giant female moa standing 3 meters tall (Dinornis spp.). Some types show significant levels of sexual dimorphism, with females being much larger than males."

"The moa seems to be adapted to various habitats and diets. They inhabit environments such as subalpine areas, forests, and open shrubland grasslands."

"The moa is a significant natural food source for the Māori tribe until their extinction."

The footprint of the moa was first discovered around the mouth of the Tūranganui River in Tairawhiti Gisborne in 1866.

"Since that time, several sporadic findings have been discovered on the North Island, but recently moa footprints were found on the South Island, including the newly described Kyeburn footprints found in Paeroa, south of Timaru, South Canterbury in 2022."

"This research is published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand."

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