Megafauna extinction mystery unlocked

The rapid extinction of giant animals including wombat-like creatures as big as cars, birds more than two meters tall, and lizards more than seven meters long that once roamed the Australian continent is a puzzle that has ...

Weka: Sandwich-stealing scallywags or ecosystem managers?

Weka are often portrayed as little more than sandwich-stealing scallywags. The large, brown flightless bird's tendency to be curious and gobble any food available (whether it be an unwatched biscuit, penguin egg or endangered ...

Study explores genetics behind evolution of flightless birds

Since Darwin's era, scientists have wondered how flightless birds like emus, ostriches, kiwis, cassowaries, and others are related, and for decades the assumption was that they must all share a common ancestor who abandoned ...

Origins of giant extinct New Zealand bird traced to Africa

Scientists have revealed the African origins of New Zealand's most mysterious giant flightless bird – the now extinct adzebill – showing that some of its closest living relatives are the pint-sized flufftails from Madagascar ...

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