Month: August 2017

Ancient DNA giveth and ancient DNA taketh away: The penguin that never was

Dr Nic Rawlence & Tess Cole, University of Otago

Australian politics is mired in a duel-citizenship scandal. Certain politicians have discovered that they are in fact part kiwi and accusations of interference in Australian politics are flying. This trans-Tasman identity shock, however, is not unique to Australian politicians. Now new ancient DNA research has surprisingly shown it’s also found in Australia’s penguins as well. Continue reading “Ancient DNA giveth and ancient DNA taketh away: The penguin that never was”

Hiding in plain sight: how we found New Zealand’s newest seabird, the Kōhatu Shag

New Zealand was once a land of birds. A bustling and cosmopolitan metropolis of different species that had evolved in isolation until the arrival of humans. Scientists thought we knew the characters that made up this enigmatic ecosystem of a time long past, but we were wrong.

Hiding in plain sight, in fossil deposits throughout Northland, and natural history collections, was an entirely new species of seabird, the Kōhatu Shag, albeit sadly extinct. This research has just been published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution and included collaborators from the Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory (University of Otago), Arizona State University, Birds New Zealand, Auckland Museum, Canterbury Museum and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Continue reading “Hiding in plain sight: how we found New Zealand’s newest seabird, the Kōhatu Shag”