Researchers from Australia and New Zealand have discovered fossils from 16 species, including a new ancestor of the kākāpō parrot, in a cave near Waitomo on the North Island. The remains, dating back about one million years, reveal waves of extinction driven by volcanic eruptions and climate shifts long before human arrival. The find fills a major gap in the country's fossil record.
Scientists from Flinders University and Canterbury Museum, along with experts from the University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington, unearthed a trove of ancient animal remains deep inside a cave near Waitomo on New Zealand's North Island. The fossils, preserved between two layers of volcanic ash—one from 1.55 million years ago and another from around one million years ago—include bones from 12 bird species and four frog species. This marks the oldest known cave site on the North Island and provides a snapshot of ecosystems during a poorly documented period in the region's history. Lead author Associate Professor Trevor Worthy of Flinders University described the discovery as a 'newly recognized avifauna for New Zealand, one that was replaced by the one humans encountered a million years later.' He noted that the ancient forests once hosted a diverse bird population that did not survive the intervening period. Among the highlights is Strigops insulaborealis, a previously unknown relative of the modern flightless kākāpō. Analysis suggests this parrot had weaker legs, hinting it may have been capable of flight, unlike its descendant. Other finds include an extinct takahē ancestor and a pigeon related to Australian bronzewing species. Canterbury Museum Senior Curator Dr. Paul Scofield emphasized the role of environmental upheaval: 'These extinctions were driven by relatively rapid climate shifts and cataclysmic volcanic eruptions.' He called the period a 'missing volume' in New Zealand's fossil record, bridging a 15-million-year gap since earlier sites like St Bathans. The team estimates 33-50% of species vanished in the million years before humans arrived, with shifting habitats forcing evolutionary resets. Worthy added that the fossils offer a 'critical, missing baseline' for the islands' natural history, showing natural forces like supervolcanoes shaped wildlife long ago.