50,000 years ago, Australia had vultures

November 25, 2023 9:00 PM

50,000 years ago, Australia had vultures. When the megafauna went extinct, so did the vultures.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (6 comments total)

Interesting that the more generalist predators survived. Specialization is risky.
posted by airing nerdy laundry at 9:38 PM on November 25, 2023

I feel like there's a metaphor about capitalism in there somewhere.
posted by krisjohn at 2:55 AM on November 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

So when the megafauna were dying out - and there were fewer and fewer and fewer carcasses to scavenge - then that old cartoon with the two vultures sitting in the tree becomes real:

"Patience my ass, I'm gonna kill something."
posted by thecincinnatikid at 7:19 AM on November 26, 2023 [4 favorites]

In very loosely related: NZ has no native ground mammals (except maybe this?). Wētā cricket fits into it's ecosystem in the place where you'd normally expect small mammals. It's only natural predator is the Morepork Owl.
posted by ovvl at 7:58 AM on November 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

And consider that aboriginal Australians go back about 65,000 years, so they have a 15,000 year overlap with all these megafauna -- including Megalania, the largest ever terrestrial lizard.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:36 AM on November 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

And consider that aboriginal Australians go back about 65,000 years, so they have a 15,000 year overlap with all these megafauna -- including Megalania, the largest ever terrestrial lizard

The Pluto Gangsta, in some parts of Australia, the estimate (based on carbon dating of buried charcoal remains from campfires) is more like 80,000 years.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 2:11 PM on November 26, 2023 [1 favorite]