If you thought parrots are cute little birds, that wasn't always the case. Long ago, they were huge and tall enough to wrestle down a grown man, and even snap his neck off.
At least that's what a team of paleontologists have uncovered in fossil records -- a Godzilla Parrot!
Dr. Brian Choo, Flinders University
Australasian paleontologists Trevor H Worthy, Suzanne J Hand, Michael Archer, R Paul Scofield and Vanessa L De Pietri have discovered fossils of an?extinct, ginormous breed of parrot which was as tall as a meter with a beak strong enough to turn its food into a pulp effortlessly. They've published their findings in Biology Letters (Royal Society).
The discovered bird is now named Heracles inexpectatus -- synonymous to its Herculean size and strength. The 19 million years old fossil was discovered near St Bathans in Central Otago, New Zealand. This area is popular for discovering fossil birds from the Miocene period.
Upon this discovery, Flinders University Associate Professor Trevor Worthy states, "New Zealand is well known for its giant birds. Not only moa dominated avifaunas, but giant geese and adzebills shared the forest floor, while a giant eagle ruled the skies. But until now, no-one has ever found an extinct giant parrot-anywhere."
The fossil for Heracles is almost as big as the giant 'dodo' pigeon of the Mascarenes. Moreover, the bird is twice the size of the critically endangered and flightless New Zealand Kakapo, which was the largest known parrot until Heracles's discovery.?
Prof. Paul Scofield/Canterbury Musuem
According to researchers, the Heracles would have weighed around 7 kilograms and had a beak that was strong enough to crack open any animal with ease to devour as its meal.?
Professor Mike Archer, from the UNSW Sydney Palaeontology, Geobiology and Earth Archives (PANGEA) Research Centre says "Heracles, as the largest parrot ever, no doubt with a massive parrot beak that could crack wide open anything it fancied, may well have dined on more than conventional parrot foods, perhaps even other parrots."?
He further adds, "Its rarity in the deposit is something we might expect if it was feeding higher up in the food chain. In general, they are very resourceful birds in terms of culinary interests".