Washington, July 04: Scientists have worked out
what an extinct species of giant bird -- the moa -- must have
looked like, using DNA from buried feathers.
An international team, led by University of Adelaide,
has performed the first DNA-based reconstruction of the giant
extinct bird, using prehistoric feathers recovered from caves
and rock shelters in New Zealand.
In fact, the scientists have identified four different
moa species after retrieving ancient DNA from their feathers
believed to be at least 2,500 years old.
The giant birds -- measuring up to 2.5 metres and
weighing 250 kilograms -- were the dominant animals in New
Zealand's pre-human environment but were quickly exterminated
after the arrival of the Maori around 1280AD.
According to lead scientist Nicolas Rawlence, until
now, the scientific community has not known what 10 different
species of moa looked like. "By using ancient DNA we have been
able to connect feathers to four different moa species."
The team compared the feathers to others found in
the sediments from red-crowned parakeets that are still living
today determining they hadn't faded or changed in colour. They
then reconstructed the appearance of stout-legged moa, heavy-
footed moa, upland moa and the South Island giant moa.
"The surprising thing is that while many of the
species had a similar, relatively plain brown plumage for
camouflage, some had white-tipped feathers to create a
speckled appearance," Rawlence said.
Co-scientist Jamie Wood said it was likely that the
drab colouring was driven by selection to avoid predation by
the extinct Haast's eagle, the largest and most powerful eagle
in the world.
The team also demonstrated that it is possible to
retrieve DNA from all parts of the ancient feathers, not just
the tip of the quill, as previously thought.
"This important finding opens the way to study DNA
from museum bird skins while causing almost no damage to these
valuable specimens, just by clipping a small part of a single
feather," team member Dr Kyle Armstrong said.
The findings are published in the 'Proceedings of the
Royal Society of London Series B'.
Bureau Report