Sorry Aussies, You Don't Get Credit For The Kiwi
Sorry Australia, you can no longer lay claim to the origins of the iconic New Zealand kiwi - the kiwi's closest relative is not the emu. Instead, the diminutive kiwi is most closely related to the extinct Madagascan elephant bird – a 2-3 meter tall, 275 kg giant. And surprisingly, a new study in Science concluded, both of these flightless birds once flew. A new study by the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD), has solved a 150-year-old evolutionary mystery about the origins of the giant flightless "ratite" birds, such as the emu and ostrich, which are found across the southern continents. This group contains some of the world's largest birds – such as the extinct giant moa of New Zealand and elephant birds of Madagascar. read more