Science

New species of ground-dwelling bird, the largest of its kind, identified in same cave as Homo floresiensis

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Briefings

A 2009 discovery in Liang Bua cave on Flores Island revealed a 190,000–120,000-year-old leg bone identified as a bird, suggesting a ground-dwelling bird species coexisted with Homo floresiensis. This finding challenges previous assumptions about the bird's extinction timeline and implies a potential link between the two hominins. The evidence is limited to a single bone fragment and does not provide information on the bird's morphology, behavior, or population dynamics.

Key points

• Researchers identified a leg bone from a 190,000–120,000-year-old fossil in Liang Bua cave on Flores Island in 2009.
• The bone was initially misidentified as a bird bone and overlooked, leading to a potential coexistence of a ground-dwelling bird with Homo floresiensis.

Context

This discovery occurs in the context of ongoing paleoanthropological research on Flores Island, where Homo floresiensis remains are the primary focus. The Liang Bua cave is a known site for hominid fossils, and the bird bone discovery adds a new layer to the island's fossil record, potentially indicating a bird species that lived alongside early humans.

Limitations

The evidence is limited to a single leg bone fragment with no information on the bird's size, shape, or behavior. The fossil's age range is uncertain, and the identification as a bird bone is based on initial misclassification rather than definitive morphological analysis.

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