Overview
- Researchers led by Dr. Matías Motta formally described the new unenlagiine species Kank australis in a paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology on May 28, 2026.
- The species is based on fossils recovered at La Anita farm near El Calafate, including teeth, toe bones and a diagnostic pneumatic cervical vertebra found during ongoing fieldwork that began in 2018 and yielded the key neck bone in 2024.
- Anatomical features — highly pneumatic (air‑chambered) neck vertebrae, structures for strong neck muscles and teeth with sharp longitudinal ridges — indicate Kank used rapid neck strikes like modern herons and likely fed on fish.
- Researchers estimate adults reached about 2.5–3 metres long and retained a raptorial second‑toe claw; associated fish fossils and wetland plant and soil evidence show Kank lived in temperate, humid rivers and seasonal ponds about 70 million years ago.
- The discovery narrows a distribution gap for unenlagiids in southern Patagonia and the team plans more digs in the Chorrillo Formation to recover additional material and refine the species' ecological and evolutionary role.