Scientists working in a cave near Waitomo on New Zealand’s North Island have uncovered a collection of terrestrial vertebrate fossils dating to about 1 million years ago, a find researchers describe as the first large assemblage of its kind from that period in the country’s history. The remains include fossils from 12 bird species and four frog species, and the study has been published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. Researchers say the site offers a rare snapshot of a vanished ecosystem that existed well before humans reached New Zealand.
Among the most notable finds is a newly identified parrot species, Strigops insulaborealis, described as an ancient relative of the kākāpō. Based on the fossil bones, the research team says the bird may have had weaker legs than the modern kākāpō, raising the possibility that it spent less time climbing and may have retained the ability to fly, though they say more study is needed to confirm that. The cave also yielded fossils from an extinct ancestor of the takahē and an extinct pigeon species related to Australia’s bronzewing pigeons.
The fossils were preserved between two volcanic ash layers, one linked to an eruption about 1.55 million years ago and another to a major eruption about 1 million years ago, giving the site unusually clear age boundaries. Researchers say that dating evidence also indicates the site is the oldest known cave on New Zealand’s North Island. They argue the discovery helps address a major gap in the country’s fossil record between older finds at St Bathans in Central Otago, dated to roughly 20 million to 16 million years ago, and the later ecosystems known from much closer to the present.
The study’s authors contend the fossils show New Zealand’s wildlife had already undergone substantial turnover before human arrival, estimating that about 33% to 50% of species disappeared during the following million years. Associate Professor Trevor Worthy said the remains represent a previously unrecognized avifauna, while Dr. Paul Scofield argued that rapid climate shifts and major volcanic eruptions were the main forces behind those losses. The researchers say the evidence suggests natural environmental upheaval, not only later human impacts, played a significant role in shaping the islands’ bird life and broader fauna over deep time.
That interpretation adds context to long-standing focus on the ecological changes that followed human settlement roughly 750 years ago. The researchers say the newly described fossils provide a missing baseline for understanding how New Zealand’s ecosystems evolved, and they argue that repeated habitat disruption from volcanism and climate change helped reset bird populations and open paths for new species to emerge. While the team presents the cave as a major step toward rewriting part of New Zealand’s natural history, some conclusions, including whether the newly identified kākāpō relative could fly, remain provisional pending further research.