Slashdot Mirror
New Zealand's First Land Mammal Discovered
Bob Beale writes to clue us to big news from New Zealand. The country has long been thought to have been devoid of land mammals until recent times. No mammal fossils had ever been found there; but now one has. From the article: "Small but remarkable fossils found in New Zealand will prompt a major rewrite of prehistory textbooks, showing for the first time that the so-called 'land of birds' was once home to mammals as well. The tiny fossilized bones — part of a jaw and hip — belonged to a unique, mouse-sized land animal unlike any other mammal known... The fact that even one land mammal had lived there, at least 16 million years ago, has put paid to the theory that New Zealand's rich bird fauna had evolved there because they had no competition from land mammals."
Only a small change required to the theory:
New Zealand's rich bird fauna had evolved there because they had little competition from land mammals.
I'd suggest a minor change to the theory instead of chucking the whole thing.
www.jmagar.com
-
Well, a few pigs killed off the dodo by eating its eggs. Millions of small rodents could put a significant dent in an ecosystem if they took a liking to bird eggs. And that's only a direct example. They could conceivably out-compete certain birds for seeds. They could be a perfect breeding ground for parasites. They could be lunch for the birds. Their rotting carcases could increase the fly populations, thus indirectly providing more food to the birds. There's dozens of ways that millions of mice could alter an ecosystem.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Umm, New Zealand is about 1000 miles from Australia last time I checked.
Hardly a short flight for anything but an albatross.
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"