Vultures and flamingoes, Down Under?

Palaeo Jam

When we think of Australia and its wildlife, the first thing that comes to mind is the iconic, often-hopping, marsupials! (Ok… and all the things might kill and maim you!) In exploring Australia’s recent prehistoric past, it’s also often the marsupials that we get to hear of. Giant wombats, rather large, short-faced kangaroos, and leopard-sized, scissor-toothed, tree-climbing pouched predators!

What we don’t often think of, is Australia as a land of vultures and flamingoes! And yet, the evidence now tells us that these birds also made Australia home. We’ve known about flamingoes living in the Land Down Under for a while, but its only very recently that fossils have come to light to tell us that vultures in Australia were also a thing.

In this episode of Palaeo Jam, host Michael Mills chats with Dr Ellen Mather, Adjunct Associate lecturer at Flinders University, and Tim Niederer, PhD student, also at Flinders University, about these lesser known Australians, what we know of them, and why they may have gone extinct.

A great article examining Ellen’s recent work on the discovery of vultures in Australia can be found here…

https://theconversation.com/it-was-long-thought-these-fossils-came-from-an-eagle-turns-out-they-belong-to-the-only-known-vulture-species-from-australia-187017

Ellen was also co-author for an article on a prehistoric species of eagle… https://theconversation.com/meet-the-prehistoric-eagle-that-ruled-australian-forests-25-million-years-ago-168249

You can find Ellen on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Ellenaetus

Here’s a link to a 1963 chapter on fossilised flamingo bones from Australia…

https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v065n04/p0289-p0299.pdf

And here’s a short mention in National Geographic… https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2017/02/australia-was-once-full-of-flamingos/

We all very much look forward to the additional insights that Tim’s research will bring to our understanding of the place of these fascinating birds in Australia.

You can find Tim on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Gaylaeontology

Each episode of Palaeo Jam is recorded with a strict 30 minute time-limit and is unedited. What you hear is how it went! As part of each episode, the host and each guest bring along an object to open the discussion on the day’s theme. Michael’s item was part of a skull of Thylacoleo. Tune in to find out what Ellen and Tim brought along, and what it all means for what prehistoric Australia looked like.