A Birds Return From Extinction
>> Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Photograph by Paul Nicklen for National GeographicThere is a bird that has been considered extinct for a while is back. Don't worry. They didn't come back as zombies or undead minions of some sort. It was actually just a bizarre case of mistaken identity.
The Tasman booby had been considered extinct since the 1700's when sailors consumed what was thought to be the last colony of these birds. Many scientists thought that the Tasman booby and the masked booby were closely related, but it wasn't until recently that they were proven to be one and the same. Besides a bone study, they also studied the DNA and found a perfect match! Masked boobies are on the threatened species list so hopefully now we can save them from a second extinction. :D I'm just glad they weren't really zombies!
You can read more here.
The Tasman booby had been considered extinct since the 1700's when sailors consumed what was thought to be the last colony of these birds. Many scientists thought that the Tasman booby and the masked booby were closely related, but it wasn't until recently that they were proven to be one and the same. Besides a bone study, they also studied the DNA and found a perfect match! Masked boobies are on the threatened species list so hopefully now we can save them from a second extinction. :D I'm just glad they weren't really zombies!
You can read more here.
2 comments:
Well, I hope we don't eat all these boobies like the sailors did! Strange looking birds. Almost like cartoon characters.
Recent blog:=- Painting the Deck
They are funny little things, aren't they?
Recent blog:=- How the years have passed...
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