Fossils from Alcoota site shed more light on origins of gigantic, goose-like bird

ABC Alice Springs By Emma Haskin
Posted about 7 hours ago



A recent sketch of what Dromornis stirtoni may have looked like.

Supplied: Adam Yates/MAGNT

The central Australian outback was once home to a large flightless bird thought to be the largest bird ever to walk the planet.

The goose-like Dromornis stirtoni is thought to have stood about three metres tall and weighed up to 650 kilograms, making it heavier than the Giant Moa of New Zealand and taller than the Elephant Bird of Madagascar.

More is being discovered about this giant, flightless creature from extensive digs at a the fossil-rich Alcoota site, 200 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs.

Dr Adam Yates, the senior curator of Earth Sciences at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Alice Springs, said the site was about 8 million years old.

More:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-16/goose-like-creature-dromornis-stirtoni-once-roamed-outback/9870192