17-million-year-old fossil of large extinct songbird discovered in Australia
Fossil remains of a large bird without off flight were discovered in the Boodjamulla National Park in Queensland. Credit: Queensland Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation.
The fossil remains of a large species of birds now axcées have been discovered in the Boodjamulla National Park in Australia.
The species living on the ground – Menura Tyawanoides – is a former ancestor of the native Lyrebird of Australia, according to a press release of September 17 of the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation of Queensland.
Lyrebirds have the remarkable ability to imitate almost all sounds, even “chainsaws, horns, alarms and … trains”, according to wildlife experts.
Scientists believe that mimicry helps them to establish their territory vocally and to “defend it from other lyrebes”, according to experts.
The fossil wrist bone of Menura Tyawanoides would have between 17 million and 18 million years, according to the press release.
The wrist structure suggests that, unlike the Lyrebird, the Tyawanoides menu was a large and mainly a terrestrial bird “with a reduced ability to fly, officials said.
The extinct species probably lived in the dense sub-settlement of the ancient tropical tropical forests, according to the liberation.
The officials said that the discovery “provides key evidence that the roots of the unique singer birds of Australia are deep”.
“As one of the four most important fossil sites in the world, Riversleigh has revealed hundreds of extraordinary extinguished species that have been disputed by previous climate change cycles,” said Mike Archer, professor at the University of South South Gales, in the press release.
“This record gives us an overview of how the ecosystems of today are likely to change in the future and what we could do to avoid extinctions focused on climate change threatening the living animals of Australia – many of which, like the Lyrebes, had ancestors of Riversleigh who faced and survived similar challenges,” said Archer.
Bodjamulla National Park is located in the most northwest corner of Queensland.
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Quote: Fossil of 17 million years of large birds who are extinct discovered in Australia (2025, September 20) recovered on September 20, 2025 from https://phys.org/news/2025-09-million-year-fossil-large-extinct.html
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