Scientists: 53 million years ago in the Arctic live giant flightless birds – REGNUM

Saint-Petersburg, 14 February 2016, 11:33 – REGNUM during the Eocene – about 53 million years ago – at the Arctic spaces, which at the time looked like a swamp inhabited by herbivores flightless bird about two meters tall and weighing about 100 kilograms – gastornis. To such conclusion the American and Chinese scientists, having studied the fossilized bones found back in 1970 on the northern Ellesmere Island, Canada. The study results were published yesterday in the journal Scientific Reports.

By studying the find, the US-Chinese team of scientists concluded that Ellesmerian bone remains absolutely identical gastornis found on the US west in Wyoming. The researchers suggest that with the onset of winter in the Arctic and the polar night birds to temporarily migrate to the south.

«Today there are several sea ducks that spend the winter in the cold, the frozen Arctic, but we also know a lot of waterfowl, which are in the Arctic only during the relatively warm spring and summer months,” – says the University of Colorado employee Boulder Dzheylin Eberl The Guardian newspaper.

In addition, as a result of the study, researchers have questioned the popular belief that the giant bird was carnivorous. Despite the powerful and massive beak, explain the researchers, there is reason to believe that gastornis ate leaves, nuts, grains and fruits.

Canadian Ellesmere Island is one of the largest islands in the world, is located near Greenland. He is also considered one of the most remote and coldest places on the planet, the winter temperature is minus 40 ° C. But 53 million years ago, the climate and nature here were different: growing bald cypress and, scientists believe were carried out turtles, alligators, primates and probably larger mammals like rhinos or hippos.

According Dzheylin Eberl, research gastornis fossils will allow scientists to better understand the impacts of climate change. “Permanent Arctic ice, which has been here for thousands of years, is on the way to extinction, – the scientist said. – I Do not think that in the foreseeable future on Ellesmere return crocodiles and giant turtles, but information on past periods of warming in the Arctic will prompt us, what changes to expect from native plants in the future animal populations »

If you find a mistake in the text, select it and press Ctrl + Enter, to send information to the editor.