Report: Ostriches Existed In India Over 25,000 Years Ago, Study Finds
More than 25,000 years ago ostrich has discovered in India. The evidence was founding during a DNA analysis of a fossilized eggshell fragment of ostrich.
According to The Hindu, the researchers have conducted DNA analysis of avian shell fragments recovered from various part of India. They found that they were, in fact, belong to an Ancient African Ostrich relative, supportive at least some aspects of continental drift theory.
Ostriches are native to Africa. For them o be living in India at some point suggests a path between Africa and India that does not exist. The origin of the ostrich is largely unclear and these findings can provide more insights into the evolution and history of these large living birds.
The theory has suggested that Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, Arabia, and India were once part of the single supercontinent called Gondwanaland. Gondwanaland has spat almost 200 million years ago and formed the continents that we known today. The theory explains how ostriches could have made their way India and perhaps other far-off places.
I4U news has suggested that scientists have done DNA of the ancient eggshells for the first time. The eggshells samples came from either the excavation sites or the personal museum collections of team members. DNA was isolated from five eggshells fragments and their and their analysis revealed that there is a 92 percent genetic similarity between the fossil eggshells samples and Struthio camelus, common ostrich species found in Africa.
However, for the first time, long-term DNA preservation collected from tropical environments has been studied in India. Sonal Jain, the student from Indian Institute of Technology said," Eggshells are a better substrate than bones for preserving ancient DNA".
Meanwhile, the shells are made of calcium carbonate. The researchers hope that they could get this much information considering that the sample was very old and well-preserved.
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