Historical eggshells unlock discovery of extinct elephant hen species

Greater than 1,200 years in the past, flightless elephant birds roamed the island of Madagascar and laid eggs greater than footballs. Whereas these ostrich-like giants at the moment are extinct, new analysis from the College of Colorado Boulder and Curtin College in Australia reveals that their eggshell remnants maintain invaluable clues about their time on Earth.

Revealed final week in Nature Communications, the examine describes the invention of a beforehand unknown, separate lineage of elephant hen that roamed the moist, forested landscapes on the northeastern aspect of Madagascar — a discovery made with out entry to any skeletal stays.

It’s the primary time {that a} new lineage of elephant hen has been recognized from historic eggshells alone, a pioneering achievement which is able to permit scientists to be taught extra concerning the variety of birds that after roamed the world and why so many have since gone extinct previously 10,000 years.

“That is the primary time a taxonomic identification has been derived from an elephant hen eggshell and it opens up a discipline that no one would have considered earlier than,” mentioned paper co-author Gifford Miller, distinguished professor of geological sciences and school fellow on the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Analysis (INSTAAR) at CU Boulder. “Right here could also be one other method of trying into the previous and asking, ‘Was there extra variety in birds than we’re conscious of?’”

Largest elephant birds stood greater than 9 ft tall

Akin to a small continent, Madagascar has been separated from Africa and neighboring continents by deep ocean water for at the least 60 million years. This geology has allowed evolution to run wild, producing lemurs, elephant birds, and all types of animals that exist nowhere else on the planet. For the Polynesian peoples who arrived right here round 2,000 years in the past, the most important of the elephant birds, Aepyornis, was a feathery terror to behold: at greater than 9 ft tall, weighing greater than 1,500 kilos every, and outfitted with a sharp beak and lethal foot talons, it was Madagascar’s largest land animal.

Attributable to restricted skeletal stays — and the truth that bone DNA degrades rapidly in heat, humid areas — it was not identified till not too long ago the place the birds match into the evolutionary tree. Essentially the most scientists knew was that they have been a part of the flightless ratite household, a genetic sister to the New Zealand kiwi, the world’s smallest residing ratite.

Historical eggshell DNA, nonetheless, has confirmed not solely the place the elephant birds sit on this tree, however revealed extra concerning the variety inside the lineage. 

“Whereas we discovered that there have been fewer species residing in southern Madagascar on the time of their extinction, we additionally uncovered novel variety from Madagascar’s far north,” mentioned lead creator Alicia Grealy, who carried out this analysis for her doctoral thesis at Curtin College in Australia. “These findings are an essential step ahead in understanding the advanced historical past of those enigmatic birds. There’s surprisingly lots to find from eggshell.”    

An eggshell-ent concept 

Miller has analyzed eggshell stays in Australia and all over the world for greater than 20 years — considered one of few scientists who examine these fragments. So, in 2005, when he was awarded $25,000 as a part of the Geological Society of America’s Easterbrook Distinguished Scientist Award, Miller gathered a small workforce to check the evolutionarily elusive elephant hen.

The workforce initially set out in 2006 to gather elephant hen eggshells from the dry, southern half of the island. When an unaffiliated researcher used bone fragments to resolve this evolutionary thriller earlier than they may, Miller and Grealy’s workforce turned their consideration to the moist, forested north half of the island, hoping to raised perceive the hen in a special biome.

Utilizing high-resolution satellite tv for pc imagery, the workforce scouted areas the place winds had blown the sands away and uncovered historic eggshells. No birds of any related measurement at present stay on the island, so the cracked items are simply recognizable to the bare eye. After the workforce traversed the island and gathered greater than 960 historic eggshell fragments from 291 areas, the difficult work started: analyzing the traditional DNA.

Attributable to their chemical make-up, skeletons might be “leaky” with their DNA, making them much less best for this sort of work. Compared, the bodily chemistry of those thick eggshells locks in its natural matter for as much as 10,000 years and protects its DNA prefer it did the child hen that after grew inside it. This implies it may be moderately troublesome to extract for evaluation.

One other downside is discovering lengthy sufficient strands of DNA to research, as historic DNA is usually degraded. Because of this, the scientists pieced collectively the shorter fragments in a form of “genetic jigsaw puzzle” — with no concept it could cause them to uncover a brand new kind of elephant hen.

“Science typically advances in obscure pathways. You don’t all the time discover what you have been searching for,” mentioned Miller, director for the Middle for Geochemical Evaluation of the International Atmosphere (GAGE) at CU Boulder. “And it’s far more fascinating to search out what you didn’t know you have been searching for.”

The human or the egg? 

Miller research the “Quaternary,” the newest geological interval in Earth’s historical past and when people first appeared on the panorama. When people appeared, he mentioned, typically giant animals went extinct — however scientists nonetheless don’t know why the elephant hen was considered one of them.

“What’s it that early people are doing that’s leading to extinction of huge animals, particularly? It is a debate that’s been occurring for my entire life,” mentioned Miller, whose profession now spans 5 a long time.

If geologists, archaeologists, and biologists are capable of collect and date extra eggshell fragments from all over the world, nonetheless, Miller and Grealy’s pioneering work within the discipline of eggshell DNA science might result in a greater understanding of why giant animals just like the elephant hen went extinct after the arrival of people.

“With a number of little contributions from a complete bunch of individuals, you really can remedy some fascinating questions,” mentioned Miller. “This would possibly open up a brand new method of taking a look at issues.”

Due to the College of Colorado Boulder for offering this information.