” This is the very first time a taxonomic identification has been originated from an elephant bird eggshell and it opens up a field that no one would have considered in the past,” said paper co-author Gifford Miller, prominent professor of geological sciences and professors fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at CU Boulder. “Here might be another method of checking out the past and asking, Was there more variety in birds than were aware of?”.
Surface area scatter of Aepyornis eggshell exposed by active wind disintegration of dune in which the birds nested. Credit: Gifford Miller.
Similar to a small continent, Madagascar has been separated from Africa and surrounding continents by deep ocean water for at least 60 million years. This geology has permitted advancement to cut loose, producing lemurs, elephant birds and all sort of animals that exist no place else on earth. For the Polynesian individuals who arrived here around 2,000 years earlier, the biggest of the elephant birds, Aepyornis, was a feathery horror to behold: at more than 9 feet tall, weighing more than 1,500 pounds each, and outfitted with a pointy beak and fatal foot talons, it was Madagascars largest land animal.
Due to minimal skeletal remains– and the reality that bone DNA degrades quickly in warm, damp locations– it was not understood until just recently where the birds suit the evolutionary tree. The most scientists understood was that they became part of the flightless ratite family, a hereditary sister to the New Zealand kiwi, the worlds smallest living ratite.
Ancient eggshell DNA, however, has validated not only where the elephant birds sit in this tree, but exposed more about the variety within the family tree.
” While we discovered that there were less types living in southern Madagascar at the time of their extinction, we also discovered novel variety from Madagascars far north,” said lead author Alicia Grealy, who performed this research for her doctoral thesis at Curtin University in Australia. “These findings are an essential advance in understanding the complex history of these enigmatic birds. Theres remarkably a lot to find from eggshell.”.
An eggshell-ent idea.
Miller has analyzed eggshell remains in Australia and worldwide for more than 20 years– among couple of scientists who study these pieces. So, in 2005, when he was awarded $25,000 as part of the Geological Society of Americas Easterbrook Distinguished Scientist Award, Miller gathered a little team to study the evolutionarily evasive elephant bird.
The team initially set out in 2006 to collect elephant bird eggshells from the dry, southern half of the island. When an unaffiliated researcher utilized bone pieces to resolve this evolutionary mystery before they could, Miller and Grealys team turned their attention to the wet, forested north half of the island, wishing to better comprehend the bird in a different biome.
The field team in May 2007, while in northeastern Madagascar where the samples in the paper were collected. From delegated right: Ramil, lead guide from the National Museum in Antananarivo, the Capital City; Gifford Miller; Steve DeVogel; and a local guide. Credit: Gifford Miller.
Utilizing high-resolution satellite imagery, the team scouted areas where winds had blown the sands away and exposed ancient eggshells. No birds of any similar size presently live on the island, so the cracked pieces are easily identifiable to the naked eye. After the group passed through the island and gathered more than 960 ancient eggshell pieces from 291 areas, the difficult work began: examining the ancient DNA.
Due to their chemical makeup, skeletons can be “leaking” with their DNA, making them less ideal for this sort of work. In comparison, the physical chemistry of these thick eggshells locks in its raw material for approximately 10,000 years and secures its DNA like it did the baby bird that when grew inside of it. This implies it can be rather difficult to extract for analysis.
Another issue is discovering long enough strands of DNA to analyze, as ancient DNA is frequently degraded. As a result, the scientists pieced together the much shorter pieces in a kind of “genetic jigsaw puzzle”– with no idea it would lead them to discover a brand-new type of elephant bird.
” Science often advances in odd pathways. You do not constantly discover what you were trying to find,” stated Miller, director for the Center for Geochemical Analysis of the Global Environment (GAGE) at CU Boulder. “And its much more fascinating to find what you didnt understand you were searching for.”.
The human or the egg?
Miller studies the “Quaternary,” the most recent geological period in Earths history and when people first appeared on the landscape. When human beings appeared, he stated, often large animals went extinct– however scientists still dont know why the elephant bird was among them.
” What is it that early humans are doing thats leading to extinction of huge animals, particularly? This is a debate thats been going on for my whole life,” said Miller, whose profession now spans five decades.
If geologists, archaeologists, and biologists are able to gather and date more eggshell fragments from around the world, however, Miller and Grealys pioneering work in the field of eggshell DNA science could lead to a much better understanding of why large animals like the elephant bird went extinct after the arrival of humans.
” With great deals of little contributions from a whole lot of people, you really can resolve some fascinating questions,” said Miller. “This might open a brand-new way of looking at things.”.
Referral: “Molecular exploration of fossil eggshell discovers covert family tree of giant extinct bird” by Alicia Grealy, Gifford H. Miller, Matthew J. Phillips, Simon J. Clarke, Marilyn Fogel, Diana Patalwala, Paul Rigby, Alysia Hubbard, Beatrice Demarchi, Matthew Collins, Meaghan Mackie, Jorune Sakalauskaite, Josefin Stiller, Julia A. Clarke, Lucas J. Legendre, Kristina Douglass, James Hansford, James Haile and Michael Bunce, 28 February 2023, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/ s41467-023-36405-3.
Extra authors on this paper include: Matthew J. Phillips, Queensland University of Technology; Simon J. Clarke, Integrity Ag & & Environment; Marilyn Fogel, University of California Riverside; Diana Patalwala, Paul Rigby and Alysia Hubbard, The University of Western Australia; Beatrice Demarchi, University of Turin; Matthew Collins, Meaghan Mackie, Jorune Sakalauskaite, and Josefin Stiller, University of Copenhagen; Julia A. Clarke and Lucas J. Legendre, The University of Texas at Austin; Kristina Douglass, Columbia University; James Hansford, Zoological Society of London, Northern Illinois University, University College London; James Haile, Oxford University; and Michael Bunce, Curtin University.
Funding for this work was supported by the Easterbrook Distinguished Scientist Award from the Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division of the Geological Society of America (GSA), the National Science Foundation, the Australian Research Council (ARC), an ARC future fellowship, and the National Geography Society.
What a whole Aepyornis egg would have appeared like when newly laid, seen in a market near the town of Toliara on the southwest coast of Madagascar. Credit: Gifford Miller
More than 1,200 years back, flightless elephant birds roamed the island of Madagascar and laid eggs larger than footballs. While these ostrich-like giants are now extinct, brand-new research from the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) and Curtin University in Australia reveals that their eggshell residues hold valuable clues about their time in the world.
Released on February 28 in the journal Nature Communications, the study describes the discovery of a previously unidentified, different lineage of elephant bird that strolled the wet, forested landscapes on the northeastern side of Madagascar– a discovery made without access to any skeletal remains.
Its the first time that a new lineage of elephant bird has actually been recognized from ancient eggshells alone, a pioneering accomplishment that will allow researchers to read more about the variety of birds that when roamed the world and why a lot of have actually since gone extinct in the past 10,000 years.
This geology has actually allowed evolution to run wild, producing lemurs, elephant birds and all kinds of animals that exist nowhere else on the planet. For the Polynesian peoples who arrived here around 2,000 years back, the largest of the elephant birds, Aepyornis, was a feathery fear to see: at more than 9 feet high, weighing more than 1,500 pounds each, and equipped with a pointy beak and fatal foot talons, it was Madagascars biggest land animal.
“These findings are a crucial action forward in understanding the complicated history of these enigmatic birds. No birds of any comparable size presently live on the island, so the cracked pieces are easily identifiable to the naked eye. In contrast, the physical chemistry of these thick eggshells locks in its natural matter for up to 10,000 years and protects its DNA like it did the infant bird that as soon as grew inside of it.