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Post by Agent 204 on Nov 13, 2007 1:14:11 GMT
Didjaall get the memo that the genus will probably be declared a junior synonym of Heiraeetus? Just google for the DNA studies that show that the Haast's eagle was not a descendant of the aquiline eagles! No need to google- just look upthread at Peter's links. If this data is accurate (and it's hard to say if it is; these studies make one very questionable assumption, namely that the mutation rate is constant, which it may not be) then Heiraeetus would be paraphyletic, something which is frowned on in modern taxonomy. |
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Post by Melanie on Mar 21, 2008 21:35:41 GMT
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Post by sordes on Apr 10, 2008 10:42:57 GMT
I just wanted to ask if somebody has better information about the pouakai in maori legends. I looked already for a long time in the internet, but found only composites or rudimentary anecdotes. In what I am most interested are stories about which I read, which tell that the pouakai attacked warriors and killed and ate children.
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Post by Melanie on Apr 10, 2008 15:12:24 GMT
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Post by sordes on Apr 10, 2008 18:42:07 GMT
Thank you very much Melanie! Most of them are about the pouakai mountain, but there are some highly interesting books about maori myths, including a pouakai rock drawing, But this special book is only partly visivle and shows only fragments of the pages.
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Post by another specialist on Apr 12, 2008 8:49:18 GMT
 Description Comparison of the huge claws of Harpagornis moorei with those of its close relative the Hieraaetus morphnoides, the “little” eagle. The massive claws of H. moorei could pierce and crush bone up to 6 mm thick under 50 mm of skin and flesh. Source Bunce M, Szulkin M, Lerner HRL, Barnes I, Shapiro B, et al.: Ancient DNA Provides New Insights into the Evolutionary History of New Zealand's Extinct Giant Eagle. PLoS Biol 3/1/2005: e9. dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030009 |
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Post by another specialist on Apr 12, 2008 11:45:24 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Apr 14, 2008 6:37:37 GMT
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Post by another specialist on Apr 14, 2008 18:35:51 GMT
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Post by another specialist on May 20, 2008 20:06:52 GMT
 Image copyright Dave Gunson New Zealand Eagle Harpagornis moorei Two possible plumages have been illustrated by Dave Gunson in the picture above. This was the largest bird of prey in the world, with a wingspan of about 3 metres and talons the size of a tigers. www.janetemarshall.co.nz/kids/Extinct%20Birds.html |
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Post by another specialist on Jul 17, 2008 17:28:52 GMT
 Extinct birds : an attempt to unite in one volume a short account of those birds which have become extinct in historical times : that is, within the last six or seven hundred years : to which are added a few which still exist, but are on the verge of extinction (1907) |
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Post by another specialist on Sept 8, 2008 13:49:48 GMT
   The Lost World of the Moa By T. H. Worthy, Richard N. Holdaway, Rod Morris |
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Post by another specialist on Sept 8, 2008 13:50:31 GMT
   The Lost World of the Moa By T. H. Worthy, Richard N. Holdaway, Rod Morris |
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Post by another specialist on Sept 8, 2008 13:51:13 GMT
   The Lost World of the Moa By T. H. Worthy, Richard N. Holdaway, Rod Morris |
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Post by another specialist on Sept 8, 2008 13:51:55 GMT
  The Lost World of the Moa By T. H. Worthy, Richard N. Holdaway, Rod Morris |
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Post by Melanie on Sept 11, 2008 8:43:12 GMT
Haast's Eagle reconstruction
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Post by another specialist on Nov 20, 2008 9:58:05 GMT
 Conservation Biology in Theory and Practice By Graeme Caughley, Anne Gunn |
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Post by another specialist on Jan 13, 2009 6:47:48 GMT
Ancient DNA Helps Solve The Legend Of Giant Eagles ScienceDaily (Jan. 11, 2005) — Hamilton, ON - Gigantic eagles swooping from the skies to rescue Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings may not be just the stuff of legends and fairytales, according to research published in the journal PloS Biology McMaster University anthropologist Michael Bunce has shed new light on the evolution of the extinct Haast’s eagle, the giant bird that once ruled the skies over New Zealand.Weighing between 20 and 30 pounds, the enormous Haast's Eagle dominated its environment. It was 30 to 40 per cent heavier than the largest living bird of prey around today, the Harpy Eagle of Central and South America.Working in New Zealand, Bunce extracted DNA from fossil eagle bones dating back about 2000 years.He says, "When we began the project it was to prove the relationship of the extinct Haast's Eagle with the large Australian Wedge-tailed Eagle. But the DNA results were so radical that, at first, we questioned their authenticity. "The results showed that the New Zealand giant was in fact related to one of the world's smallest eagles – the Little Eagle from Australia and New Guinea, which typically weighs under two pounds."Even more striking was how closely related genetically the two species were. We estimate that their common ancestor lived less than a million years ago. It means that an eagle arrived in New Zealand and increased in weight by 10 to15 times over this period, which is very fast in evolutionary terms. Such rapid size change is unprecedented in birds and animals," adds Bunce.Before human settlement 700 years ago, New Zealand had virtually no terrestrial mammals. Apart from bats, the only inhabitants were approximately 250 species of birds. At the top of the food chain was the Haast's Eagle, the only eagle known to have been the top predator in a major terrestrial ecosystem. The eagles hunted moa, the herbivorous, flightless birds of New Zealand, which can weigh more than 400 pounds. Scientists believe the eagle died out within two centuries of human settlement of New Zealand.McMaster University, named Canada’s Research University of the Year by Research InfoSource, has world-renowned faculty and state-of-the- art research facilities. McMaster's culture of innovation fosters a commitment to discovery and learning in teaching, research and scholarship. Based in Hamilton, the University has a student population of more than 20,000 and more than 112,000 alumni in 128 countries. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050111093910.htm |
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Post by Melanie on Sept 11, 2009 9:01:54 GMT
WELLINGTON (Reuters Life!) - Long before humans fully colonised New Zealand some 750 years ago, a giant, and now extinct, eagle ruled the skies, swooping down on its prey of flightless birds, according to a new study. Scientists have known about the existence of Haast's eagle for over a century based on excavated bones, but the behaviour of these giant birds was not entirely clear. Because of their large size -- these eagles weighed up to 40 lbs (18 kg) -- some scientists believe they were scavengers rather than predators. But the new study showed that not only was Haast's eagle a fearsome predator that probably swooped on its prey from a high mountain perch, it also it evolved over a relatively short period of time from a much smaller-bodied ancestor. Researchers Paul Scofield of the Canterbury Museum in New Zealand and Ken Ashwell of the University of New South Wales used computerised CT and CAT scans to reconstruct the size of the brain, eyes, ears and spinal cord of this ancient eagle. These data were compared to values from modern predatory and scavenging birds to determine the habits of the extinct eagle. "This work is a great example of how rapidly evolving medical techniques and equipment can be used to solve ancient mysteries," said Ashwell, co-author of the study. It is also an example of how the oral traditions of ancient peoples and scientific research can sometimes reach the same conclusion, added lead author Scofield. "This science supports Maori [native New Zealander] mythology of the legendary pouakai or hokioi, a huge bird that could swoop down on people in the mountains and was capable of killing a small child," he said. Haast's eagle became extinct a mere 500 years ago, probably due to habitat destruction and the extinction of its prey species by early Polynesian settlers. The study was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. in.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-42383920090911?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0 |
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Post by another specialist on Sept 12, 2009 5:30:17 GMT
. yahoo.com/s/ap/20090911/ap_on_sc/as_sci_new_ zealand_killer_ eagle_2 Extinct New Zealand eagle may have eaten humans By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer Michael Casey, Ap Environmental Writer – 1 hr 58 mins ago BANGKOK – Sophisticated computer scans of fossils have helped solve a mystery over the nature of a giant, ancient raptor known as the Haast's eagle which became extinct about 500 years ago, researchers said Friday. The researchers say they have determined that the eagle — which lived in the mountains of New Zealand and weighed about 40 pounds (18 kilograms) — was a predator and not a mere scavenger as many thought. Much larger than modern eagles, Haast's eagle would have swooped to prey on flightless birds — and possibly even the rare unlucky human. Ken Ashwell of the University of New South Wales in Australia and Paul Scofield of the Canterbury Museum in New Zealand wrote their conclusions in the peer-reviewed Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Using computed axial tomography, or CAT, the researchers scanned several skulls, a pelvis and a beak in an effort to reconstruct the size of the bird's brain, eyes, ears and spinal cord. They compared their data on the Haast's eagle to characteristics of modern predator birds and scavenger birds to determine that the bird was a fearsome predator that ate the flightless moa birds and even humans. The researchers also determined the eagle quickly evolved from a much smaller ancestor, with the body growing much more quickly than the brain. They believe its body grew 10 times bigger during the early to middle Pleistocene period, 700,000 to 1.8 million years ago. "This work is a great example of how rapidly evolving medical techniques and equipment can be used to solve ancient medical mysteries," Ashwell said. Because fossils are so fragile and most of the species were never seen by humans, CAT scans allow researchers to closely examine body parts of the long-extinct animals to learn about their behavior, Scofield said. "The fossils are very valuable and you can't just cut into the skull to look at the brain," he said. "So by using nondestructive techniques, you can get a much better idea of the neurobiology of these animals." Scientists believe the Haast's eagle became extinct about 500 years ago, most likely due to habitat destruction and the extinction of its prey species at the hands of early Polynesian settlers. Before the humans colonized New Zealand about 750 years ago, the largest inhabitants were birds like the Haast's eagle and the moa. Scofield said the findings are similar to what he found in Maori folk tales. "The science supports Maori mythology of the legendary pouakai or hokioi, a huge bird that could swoop down on people in the mountains and was capable of killing a small child," he said. New Zealand paleontologist Trevor Worthy said the study did a good job of proving the eagle was a killer. "They provide a convincing case that the body of this eagle has rapidly enlarged, presumably adapting to the very much larger prey it had access to in New Zealand, but that the brain size had lagged behind this increase," he said in an e-mail interview. "Convincing data shows beyond doubt that this bird was an active predator, no mere scavenger. It is a nice use of modern technology and the same old bones as yesteryear to advance knowledge." Jamie R. Wood, a researcher from New Zealand who has done extensive research on the moa, said the analysis strengthens the case that the eagle evolved quickly from a much smaller ancestor, "in what must be one of the most dramatic examples anywhere of how rapidly evolution can occur on islands." |
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