Scientists have found that a bird that went extinct 16,000 years ago "came back from the dead" after re-evolving.
In 136,000 years, as sea levels rose, the island of Aldabra in the Indian Ocean was eventually submerged by the sea, and a "flightless bird" that lived on the island went extinct.
Aldabra Island
Thirty thousand years later, however, as sea level dropped, the island once again emerged, and surprisingly, the island's extinct "flightless birds" also appeared.
Why can extinct species come back from the dead because sea levels have fallen?
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > bird that went extinct 136,000 years ago and "came back from the dead" after re-evolution</h1>
Scientists have found that this "flightless bird" was originally a native malagasy species, the white-throated buzzard, and their population often exploded, forcing the birds to migrate in large numbers from islands off the coast of East Africa.
Many of the white-throated buzzards that flew north and south eventually drowned in the Indian Ocean. The white-throated buzzards that flew west landed in Africa, where they were eaten by predators.
The few lucky ones who flew east eventually arrived on Aldabra Island. With no natural predators on this island, these birds evolved and lost the ability to fly, like the dodo on the island of Mauritius.
The dodo of the island of Mauritius, which evolved to the point of inability to fly because of the lack of natural enemies, was extinct after being discovered by humans in the 17th century.
Unfortunately, when the island is submerged, they cannot fly but are submerged by the sea along with the island and are all extinct.
Scientists have studied fossil evidence from 100,000 years ago and found that unlike the dodo birds that went extinct in the 17th century, when sea levels fell during the subsequent Ice Age, they from Madagascar migrated here again, and the "flightless birds" were revived.
"Flightless bird" – the white-throated buzzard
Scientists have pieced together this evolutionary mystery by studying fossil evidence before and after the island was flooded. More specifically, two humerus that date back at least 136,000 years are compared to another railroad leg bone found in sediments about 100,000 years ago.
They found that the bird humerus from 10 years ago showed an advanced state, and the ankle bone showed a unique property that it was evolving in a direction that could not fly.
Left, can not "flying birds", right, can fly diphtheria buzzard.
This means that in just a few thousand years, diphthered buzzards from Madagascar have formed two different "flightless birds" on the island of Aldabra. This is one of the fastest timelines of known bird inability to fly.
Why do disappearing species < h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > occur frequently? </h1>
In addition to the appearance of the white-throated buzzard, which was declared extinct at 136,000, there are actually many disappeared species that have been rediscovered.
For example, the Dutch short-winged waterfowl was declared extinct in 1898, and just 50 years later, it was rediscovered.
Short-winged waterfowl
The pygmy tarsier, no specimens were found before 1930, and 80 years later, the expedition found it again.
Pygmy tarsier
Black gibbons, which were thought to have gone extinct in 1950, were rediscovered in 2006.
Extinct species such as the New Dutch rat, the Lao rock rat, the four-lined stone dragon, the New Caledonian gecko and other extinct species have been rediscovered. The reappearance of these extinct species has surprised us, how did they "come back to life"?
Of course, there may be many possibilities here. The first, like the white-throated buzzard, scientists call "repetitive evolution." Second, scientists don't seriously search for the species to think the species is extinct.
The geocentric world
Third, maybe this species still exists somewhere unknown, the outside world is extinct, and they have spread out from the inside again.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
One of the reasons scientists were able to find examples of "repetitive evolution" in Aldabra was that it was an isolated place, and the fact that there were no land predators and competing mammals, so that the bird was able to independently evolve in flightless states in each case.
Many extinct species have reappeared in front of humanity, and we must cherish them extraordinarily. Each species has its place in the earth's food chain, and once a species goes extinct, the planet's ecosystem gradually collapses.
White dolphin
Having said that extinct species are re-emerging, which species do you most want to "come back from the dead"? If you don't have one below, you can leave a message in the comment area.
What species do you most want to "come back from the dead"? Multi-select
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