Giant 'gastornis' bird definitely roamed Arctic 53m years ago

A giant flightless bird called 'gastornis' did, in fact, roam the Arctic some 50 million years ago, researchers have confirmed. The proof? A fossilized toe bone from one of the birds, which had weighed several hundred pounds, was several feet tall, and had a head as big as that of a horse. University of Colorado Boulder and Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing researchers made the confirmation.

Confirmation was found on Ellesmere Island near the Arctic Circle; that's where the aforementioned toe bone was found, one that is very similar to another bone found in Wyoming and other places around the globe. These fossils are described as being very rare, making each discovery particularly exciting, with the Ellesmere Island discovery placing the bird in the Arctic about 53 million years ago.

The toe bone itself is not a new discovery — it was found back in the 1970s; however, researchers have only now been able to look at it up close and personal and compare it with similar bones found elsewhere.

Though very cold now, researchers believe that far enough in Earth's past, Ellesmere Island was probably a swampy and warm place, and that's why there is evidence of other creatures — turtles, for example — having existed there. Of course, no such creatures live there now, as the frigid tundra often drops below well below zero.

Gastornis wasn't the only large creature to roam the island, but despite its size, it was likely a vegan, busying itself with foraging for fruits and seeds rather than smaller critters. The island is said to have had a very diverse array of plants during that period of time, though survival would have been challenged during the dark months of the year.

The researchers also looked into a different bird, a smaller one called Presbyornis, which would have been akin to a goose or similar bird. In that case, a wing bone had previously been found in the Arctic, and was similarly studied by researchers. Remains of that species have likewise been discovered in Wyoming.

Furthermore, the research could help shed light on the Arctic's (very distant) future, at least in terms of what kind of animals may one day again populate the region.

Said Eberle, one of the researchers:

Permanent Arctic ice, which has been around for millennia, is on track to disappear. I'm not suggesting there will be a return of alligators and giant tortoises to Ellesmere Island any time soon. But what we know about past warm intervals in the Arctic can give us a much better idea about what to expect in terms of changing plant and animal populations there in the future.

SOURCE: Phys.org