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New Goose Fossil Rewrites NZ Bird History | Science News
Scientists unearthed a tiny, ancient goose fossil in New Zealand’s lakebeds — Meterchen luti, or “mother goose of the mud” — that’s rewriting the story of how the islands’ iconic birds evolved. This new species, unrelated to the giant flightless geese, proves New Zealand’s bird history is far more complex than once thought. DNA and fossil evidence now suggest many famous species, like the takahē and Haast’s eagle, arrived only 4-5 million years ago — not millions of years earlier. While the ancestors of this goose reached New Zealand 14 million years ago, their lineage vanished, showing how…
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