What hypothesis regarding kiwi ancestors was briefly supported by a fossil discovery concerning geography?

Answer

That kiwi ancestors might have had Australian roots before final arrival

While the dominant theory for the Moa involved dispersal from the breakup of Gondwana, a specific fossil discovery introduced complexity by suggesting an alternative route for the kiwi lineage. This finding briefly proposed that kiwi ancestors might have originated from or arrived via the Australian continent before settling definitively in New Zealand. Although superseded by stronger genetic evidence pointing toward the elephant bird link, this episode underscored the uncertainty in avian dispersal patterns and highlighted the critical need for concrete genetic data to confirm deep evolutionary theories rather than relying solely on incomplete fossil records or geographical assumptions.

What hypothesis regarding kiwi ancestors was briefly supported by a fossil discovery concerning geography?

Related Questions

Which extinct Madagascan bird is the kiwi's nearest living kin based on genetic mapping?What characteristic defines the group of flightless birds known as ratites, which includes the kiwi?What primary evidence led older studies to suggest the kiwi was a close cousin of the extinct Moa?Where are the external nares, which enhance the kiwi's sense of smell, uniquely situated on its bill?What does the divergence timeline suggest about the kiwi ancestors before they lost flight?The current evolutionary narrative suggests the kiwi lineage diverged from other ratites very early on. Approximately how long ago might this separation have occurred?What specific physical characteristics define the kiwi's terrestrial adaptation in New Zealand?Why has the kiwi's morphology, such as flightlessness, proven scientifically misleading about its deep ancestry?What threat do modern invasive mammalian predators like stoats exploit in the kiwi population?What hypothesis regarding kiwi ancestors was briefly supported by a fossil discovery concerning geography?
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