New Zealand's extinct giant raptor (Hieraaetus moorei) killed like an eagle, ate like a condor
| Autor: | D R Mitchell, Gabriele Sansalone, Stephen Wroe, D Sustaita, R P Scofield, P Ross, A H van Heteren, Marie R. G. Attard, Justin A. Ledogar, Leah R. Tsang, Philip Clausen |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Eagle 0303 health sciences General Immunology and Microbiology Zoology General Medicine Biology biology.organism_classification 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Predation 03 medical and health sciences medicine.anatomical_structure Beak Neurocranium biology.animal medicine Carrion Hieraaetus Haast's eagle General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Predator 030304 developmental biology General Environmental Science |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 288 |
| ISSN: | 1471-2954 0962-8452 |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rspb.2021.1913 |
| Popis: | The extinct Haast's eagle or harpagornis (Hieraaetus moorei) is the largest known eagle. Historically, it was first considered a predator, then a scavenger, but most recent authors have favoured an active hunting ecology. However, the veracity of proposed similarities to carrion feeders has not been thoroughly tested. To infer feeding capability and behaviour in harpagornis, we used geometric morphometric and finite-element analyses to assess the shape and biomechanical strength of its neurocranium, beak and talons in comparison to five extant scavenging and predatory birds. The neurocranium of harpagornis is vulture-like in shape whereas its beak is eagle-like. The mechanical performance of harpagornis is closer to extant eagles under biting loads but is closest to the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus) under extrinsic loads simulating prey capture and killing. The talons, however, are eagle-like and even for a bird of its size, able to withstand extremely high loads. Results are consistent with the proposition that, unlike living eagles, harpagornis habitually killed prey larger than itself, then applied feeding methods typical of vultures to feed on the large carcasses. Decoupling of the relationship between neurocranium and beak shape may have been linked to rapid evolution. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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