Overview
- Researchers led by Matias Motta published the species description in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.
- Field work beginning in 2019 at Estancia La Anita near El Calafate produced a claw fragment and later, especially in 2024, cervical vertebrae and teeth that together allowed the team to identify a new species.
- Computed tomography and electron microscopy revealed diagnostic anatomy, including conical teeth with fine striations and distinctive neck vertebrae that separate Kank australis from northern 'raptors'.
- Kank australis represents one of the most southern unenlagiine records in the Americas and supports the idea that these bird‑related theropods ranged across southern Gondwana shortly before the end‑Cretaceous extinction.
- The genus name honors Aonikenk/Tehuelche mythology and researchers estimate the animal weighed about 27 kilograms and stood on two legs, with preliminary evidence suggesting a diet that may have included fish and small vertebrates.