Dodosnever had the best reputation . The extinct , flightless birds are often tag as slow , awkward , and incompetent . But that may soon change , as scientist have discovered dodo were stronger and faster than antecedently assumed .
misconception surround the dodo because people know so little about them . Theclassic imageof the squat , bumbling shuttlecock we have today comes from descriptions from Dutch Panama hat and artist , as well as incomplete dodo . The species was driven to extermination by humans in the later 17th C . This was before collecting a “ type specimen”—a individual , continue creature used as a reference work for a newfangled metal money — became a regular practice . Zoological nomenclature , the system of classifying and labeling brute , was n’t found at the time either , causingmany of the dodo ’s characteristics to be misidentified .
To bring out more about the extinct metal money , researchersfrom the University of Southampton , the Natural History Museum in London , and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History reexamined several resource dating back to 1598 , including diachronic literature and dodo specimens . They recently published their findings inZoological Journal .
According to theNatural History Museum , the scientists determined that the bird was built differently from what we ’re used to seeing . We typically conceive of dodos as embonpoint brute that easily died out due to their slow and docile nature . However , this late study record that they were leaner than most multitude think . The dodos ’ bone complex body part also entail they were degenerate and participating .
Dr. Neil Gostling , a palaeobiologist from the University of Southampton , explained in a press statement that “ the Raphus cucullatus ’s tendon which closed its toes was exceptionally powerful , analogous to climbing and running fowl alive today . ”
The enquiry squad confirm the chick belonged to the dove and pigeon family . They also found that the fogey and its close ( also extinct ) relative the patience were the only member of their subfamily , and like specie chance on throughout the twelvemonth were incorrectly categorise .
So how did the specie get such an inauspicious strike ? Theiconic drawingsof the bird from the 1600s likely did n’t show them under typical circumstances . The subjects of those sketch may have been overfed captives , or overstuffed specimens . When food was more scarce , the creature ’s lean material body was probably more apparent .
It may take a while to dispel the inaccuracies attach to the metal money . In the meantime , the birds are still do good us 350 years after their demise : because dodos played amajor rolein their ecosystem , the newfangled research institute us closer to bionomic convalescence in their native home of Mauritius .
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