ISTANBUL

Scientists from Australia and New Zealand have discovered ancient animal remains in a cave near Waitomo on New Zealand’s North Island, showing the country’s wildlife was shaped by dramatic climate shifts, according to a study published Thursday.

The research, published in Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, identified fossils from 12 bird species and four frog species.

The site also contains an extensive collection of fossils dating back about 1 million years, including remains of a previously unidentified ancestor of the kakapo, a large flightless parrot.

The findings suggest New Zealand’s wildlife was shaped by dramatic climate shifts and major volcanic eruptions, which drove repeated waves of extinction and the emergence of new species long before human arrival.

Lead author Trevor Worthy, an associate professor at Flinders University, said the research reveals a previously unknown chapter in the country’s biodiversity.

“This is a newly recognized avifauna for New Zealand, one that was replaced by the one humans encountered a million years later,” he said.

The team estimated that 33% to 50% of species disappeared in the million years before human arrival in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Researchers said the extinctions were caused by rapid climate changes and major volcanic eruptions, adding that the findings help fill a long-standing gap in New Zealand’s fossil record by shedding light on a previously undocumented period spanning millions of years.