Ancient Parrot found, Monty Python references forced upon the world

Scientists find an ancient parrot named Mopsitta tanta and can’t resist making Monty Python references. And neither can the story author. Sigh… anyway, this ancient parrot dating back 55 million years is an exciting find, because how often do you hear about ancient parrots? Especially parrots in temperate areas. The closest thing is probably the Carolina Parakeet, and that thing is dead as a Dodo. Except for the pair I cloned and keep in the barn, with the breeding Dodo colony. But I digress… Enjoy the picture, the story, but not the jokes the lame writer explains.

Parrot Fossil 55 Million Years Old Discovered In Scandinavia

ScienceDaily (May 17, 2008) — Palaeontologists have discovered fossil remains in Scandinavia of parrots dating back 55 million years. Reported May 14 in the journal Palaeontology, the fossils indicate that parrots once flew wild over what is now Norway and Denmark.

Parrots today live only in the tropics and southern hemisphere, but this new research suggests that they first evolved in the North, much earlier than had been thought.

The fossil parrot was discovered on the Isle of Mors in the northwest of Denmark – far from where you’d normally expect to find a parrot. It’s a new species, officially named ‘Mopsitta tanta’. However, already its nick-name is the ‘Danish Blue Parrot’, a term derived from a famous comedy sketch about a ‘Norwegian Blue Parrot’ in the 1970s BBC television programme ‘Monty Python’.

The article goes on to explain the Monty Python Show for a long time. Seriously, a LOOOOOONG time. Science writers suck.