A recent investigation led by Flinders University attempted to reveal the main reason behind the disappearance of Australia's 'thunderbirds.' According to previous paleontological studies, the extinct avian species could grow for five times the massive size of Dromaius novaehollandiae, which are commonly known as emus. The birds are believed to have been wiped out from the planet's biodiversity 48,000 years ago. Experts theorized that the culprit behind the absence of the large bird group is a severe disease that attacks the skeletal system.
Baffling Disappearance of Thunderbirds in Ancient Australia
TO GO WITH Australia-weather-drought-farming, FEATURE by Glenda KWEK In this photo taken on February 12, 2015, an emu, an Australian flightless bird, looks for food in the dry earth near the Australian agricultural town of Walgett, 650 kilometers (404 miles) northwest of Sydney. The Australian agricultural town -- which takes its name from the Aboriginal word meaning the meeting of two rivers -- is in the grip of the worst drought in a century, with disillusioned farmers battling to stay afloat.
Australia's Genyornis newtoni, best known as thunderbirds, were believed to have existed in the continent 50,000 years ago. The giant birds contained a lot of body weight in them, which could reach almost 230 kilograms. Compared with the towering emus, the species in question was analyzed to have a body mass five times more than the famous bird. Moreover, thunderbirds could achieve a height higher than the average human stature, measuring about 6.5 feet or almost 2 meters.
In the recent study, the thunderbirds of Australia were subjected to a new analysis in hopes of uncovering the true reason why they vanished. Conducted by experts from Flinders University and other collaborators, the research unearths several hints from a region northeast of Adelaide. The area where Lake Callabonna sits is filled with various fossils from different prehistoric animals. In the wide 160 square-kilometer spots, bone fragments of the avian species were collected.
The experiments handed over to the skeletal remains of Dromornithidae revealed that a bone infection may have occurred throughout the species before their extinction, which unfortunately assisted in setting up their early departure from Earth's flourishing ecosystems. The findings add more to the initial theory where the thunderbirds had a struggling lifestyle due to the richness of mud on the continent's geological features.
Flinders University's College of Science and Engineering expert Phoebe McInerney said in a DailyMail report that the painful disease found on the thunderbirds' bones potentially impacted the way the avians forage for sustenance and how they travel due to decreased mobility.
Bone Disease and Drought Induced the Extinction of Thunderbirds
McInerney said that out of the fossils excavated near Adelaide, sets from four thunderbirds showed clues of the deadly condition in their feet, chest, and legs. They added that the bone disease alone could hinder the giant birds from continuing the activities they have adapted to, limiting their skill sets and restraining them from harvesting food and water.
McInerney explained in the Australian Associated Press report that the discovery extracted from the bones of thunderbirds is rare to find. In the new paper, the authors were fortunate enough to get ahold of intact specimens that still carry the signs of the disease. The research concluded that out of the general thunderbird population, 11 percent were struck by the skeletal illness known as osteomyelitis.
University of Adelaide's School of Physical Science expert and co-author Lee Arnold also discovered that the salt lake sediments around the Genyornis newtoni excavation spot showed several clues of a massive drought 48,000 years ago.
The evidence from the salt dating convinced the experts that the drought contributed to the bone disease, pushing the helpless thunderbirds to extinction. The study was published in the Papers in Palaeontology, titled "Multiple occurrences of pathologies suggesting a common and severe bone infection in a population of the Australian Pleistocene giant, Genyornis newtoni (Aves, Dromornithidae)."
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