Aquila bullockensis

Name: Aquila bullockensis ‭(‬Eagle from Bullock Creek‭).
Phonetic: Ah-kwil-ah bul-lock-en-sis.
Named By: P.‭ ‬Gaff‭ & ‬W.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Boles‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Aves,‭ ‬Accipitriformes,‭ ‬Accipitridae,‭ ‬Buteoninae,‭ ‬Aquila.
Species: A.‭ ‬bullockensis.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Unknown.
Known locations: Australia,‭ ‬Northen Territory.
Time period: Serravallian of the Miocene.
Fossil representation: QVM:2000:GFV:154‭ ‬-‭ ‬Distel end of a humerus‭ (‬upper arm bone‭)‬.

       A.‭ ‬bullockensis is an extinct species of the Aquila genus,‭ ‬the same genus that includes all living eagle species.‭ ‬Although only known by the distel end of a humerus,‭ ‬the shape of this is an almost identical match for the Aquila genus.‭ ‬This means that A.‭ ‬bullockensis was in all likelihood an eagle,‭ ‬but the real exciting discovery concerning this bone is that at the time of its description,‭ ‬it probably represents the eagle species not only in Australia,‭ ‬but the entire world.
       The bone of A.‭ ‬bullockensis has been identified as being most similar to the modern extant‭ (‬still alive‭) ‬species A.‭ ‬audax‭ (‬Wedge-tailed Eagle‭)‬,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬chrysaetos‭ (‬Golden Eagle‭) ‬and A.‭ ‬fasciata‭ (‬Bonnelli’s eagle‭)‬.‭ ‬Out of this A.‭ ‬audax is of particular interest since A.‭ ‬bullockensis has been speculated to have possibly been‭ ‬ancestral to this species due to its earlier appearance.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A New Eagle‭ (‬Aves:‭ ‬Accipitridae‭) ‬from the Mid Miocene Bullock Creek Fauna of Northern Australia,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Gaff‭ & ‬W.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Boles‭ ‬-‭ ‬2010.



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