Researchers discovered fossils of a giant prehistoric goose in central Australia, which weighed about half a ton and was twice as tall.
Researchers discovered fossils of a giant prehistoric goose in central Australia, which weighed about half a ton and was twice as tall.
Scientists speculate that the primitive animal, which did not have the ability to fly, fed on leaves, fruits and seed pods. Some researchers believe that with the help of his strong beak he could also eat meat.
The giant chicken was given the name dromornothid, which means running bird, because it was apparently agile.
Researchers hypothesize that his legs had straps similar to the straps on the legs of horses and are not found in Bat Yana and his mother, and that these straps allowed him to jump. It also appears that the dromornothid had hooves similar to those of horses.
One of the dromornothids whose fossil has now been found probably lived in Australia about 35,000 years ago, long after humans arrived on the continent. But there is no evidence that the dromornothid was hunted by the ancient aborigines.
"A human who saw one of these animals would keep a distance of several kilometers from it," said Peter Murray of the Central Australian Museum. "They were big and agile, and they had a cruel beak. The possessions in which they could sever a person's hand with a bite."
