South Australian eagle fossil identified as one of the oldest raptor species in the world

The 25m-year-old fossil reveals ancient eagle had features unlike any seen among modern hawks and eagles

A 25m-year-old eagle fossil discovered on a remote outback cattle station in South Australia has been identified as one of the oldest raptor species in the world.

Palaeontologists discovered the eagle fossil on the shore of a dry lake known as Lake Pinpa in 2016, and have since identified it as a new species, Archaehierax sylvestris, in a study published in the journal Historical Biology.