Heracles
Name: Heracles
(After the mythic hero Heracles).
Phonetic: He-ra-cles.
Named By: T. H. Worthy, S. J. Hand, M.
Archer, R. P. Scofield & V. L. De Pietri -
2019.
Classification: Chordata, Aves, Psittaciformes.
Species: H. inexpectatus
(type).
Diet: Seed Eater/Frugivore?
Size: Roughly estimated about 1 meter tall.
Known locations: New Zealand.
Time period: Burdigalian of the Miocene.
Fossil representation: Left and Right tibiotarsi leg
bones (both partially preserved).
Although
only named from two leg bones, these are of such size that Heracles
was a very large bird in life. Originally thought to belong to an
eagle, the bones were later identified as belonging to a parrot.
Although incomplete, comparing the bones to other parrot genera and
scaling their bones to fit quickly led to the startling realisation
that in life this parrot may have stood as much as one meter tall.
This would be yet another case of insular gigantism seen in the birds
of New Zealand with other giants including the moa
birds and the
predator Haast’s
Eagle.
Because
Heracles is so far only known from leg bones details
about tis life are
speculative at best. A popular thought though is that the parrot
Heracles may have lived much like the Kakapo (Strigops
habroptilus). The Kakapo is a large flightless parrot
that eats
plants, seeds, nuts and even sapwood, grinding them with its
powerful beak. Being even larger and heavier than the Kakapo, the
giant parrot Heracles would have also been
flightless, and with a
presumably larger beak, also ate tough food.
Further reading
- Evidence for a giant parrot from the Early Miocene of New Zealand.
Biology Letters 15:20190467. - T. H. Worthy, S. J.
Hand, M. Archer, R. P. Scofield & V. L. De
Pietri - 2019.
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