A previously unknown goose species has been identified from ancient fossils in New Zealand, challenging long-held ideas about the evolution of the country's giant birds.
Researchers from the University of Otago, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the University of Cambridge have described the new species, Meterchen luti, based on fossils from the St Bathans deposits in Central Otago. The bird was roughly the size of a small goose and is unrelated to New Zealand's extinct giant flightless geese of the genus Cnemiornis.
The study, published in Historical Biology, shows that the ancestors of Meterchen luti reached the region more than 14 million years ago. Their lineage later vanished without descendants. This finding contradicts an earlier theory that linked the St Bathans fossils directly to Cnemiornis and instead supports genetic data indicating the giant geese arrived from Australia only about seven million years ago.
Associate Professor Nic Rawlence of the University of Otago noted that the discovery highlights the complex and dynamic history of New Zealand's bird life. Lead author Alan Tennyson of Te Papa added that many large bird species reached the islands more recently than once thought, including the takahē and Haast's eagle.