and so the two may be sister taxa. This remains disputed however, as recent mitochondrial phylogeny instead supports a sister relationship between cracticids and African bushshrikes and allies. Additionally the mottled berryhunter may be another sister taxa to cracticids. Within the cracticids, the morphology of the tarsometatarsus suggests the Kurrartapu is more closely related to currawongs and butcherbirds, who diverged likely in the mid miocene. The currawongs appear to have evolved earlier than the butcherbirds, which is possibly indicative as to which group shares more traits with the Kurrartapu. Distribution and Habitat The Kurrartapu fossil was found in the early Miocene deposit of Riversleigh. Australia then was experiencing the effects of the global warming phase which followed the melting of the polar ice caps. Plant and animal fossils also found in the deposit are closely related to extant rainforest (subtropical and tropical closed forest) dwelling species. During the early miocene, fossils suggest central Australian lakes and swamps hosted sclerophyll forests, dominated by acacia, casuarina, and eucalyptus. In temperate rainforests, the canopy consisted mainly of coniferous podocorp and araucarian, and deciduous nothofagus trees, with an understory of tree ferns (predominately cyatheacean and dicksoniacean), along with a diversity of other flora. The rich diversity of the early miocene Australian forests approximates that of modern lowlands in Borneo. These forests were forever wet, and ranged between warm and cool temperatures. At this time (the early Miocene) Australia had broken off from Gondwana. This implies the Kurrartapu was restricted to the continent, and likely resided within the widespread rainforests aboard. Similar to the non-migratory black butcherbird, peltops, and extant Australian magpie one might assume the Kurrartapu was equally sedentary, although contemporary currawongs do undertake altitudinal migration. Demise The Kurrartapus likely diminished with the rainforest habitat loss accompanying increasing aridification and expansion of the savannas that occurred in the mid and late miocene. Gondwana's break-up and the movement of the continents altered ocean currents and precipitated the icehouse conditions that brought reduced rainfall, cool temperatures, and extinction to many lineages. Behaviour Based on a comparison between currawongs and the Australian magpie, one might infer that Kurrartapus were also territorial and possibly flocked. It is likely they also cached food, as do the currawongs, butcherbirds, and Australian magpies. Based on membership to the cracticid taxa, it can be imagined that the Kurrartapu may have had lifespans which potentially exceeded 15 years, and took a year to