Wellington, Sep 3 (IANS) New Zealand’s true ancient species are animals like kakapo, small wrens, bats, and freshwater limpets, not like kiwi birds, moa and takahe which were recent “Aussie immigrants,” according to a study released on Tuesday.
An international team of palaeontologists reached this conclusion after two decades of groundbreaking research at the St Bathans fossil site in the New Zealand South Island’s Central Otago, which revealed thousands of fossil bones, Xinhua news agency reported.
The study, published in the journal Geobios, said the large site, which was once at the bottom of a large prehistoric lake, offers the only significant insight into New Zealand’s non-marine wildlife from 20 million years ago.
“Many of the species that we thought of as iconic New Zealand natives – a classic example would be the takahe – we now know are relatively recent blow-ins from Australia, arriving only a few million years ago,” said Canterbury Museum Senior Curator Paul Scofield, who has been involved in digs at St Bathans since 2002.
The research had prompted a rethink of New Zealand’s native fauna and the importance of some animals over others, Scofield said.
“Until now we thought that birds like kiwi and moa were among the oldest representatives of New Zealand fauna … We are now realizing that the kakapo, tiny New Zealand wrens and bats, and even a bizarre freshwater limpet, are the real ancient New Zealand natives,” he said.
The research concludes that this menagerie of exotic animals was wiped out by dramatic temperature drops over the last about five million years.
The research was jointly conducted by scientists from New Zealand’s Canterbury Museum and University of Canterbury, Australia’s Flinders University, University of Queensland and University of New South Wales, as well as Denmark’s University of Copenhagen.
–IANS
int/psd/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
