Elephant bird DNA preserved in ancient eggshells
Posted by staff / March 10, 2010
Well-preserved ancient DNA has been found in the fossil eggshells of the extinct elephant bird of Madagascar, the heaviest bird known to have existed.
Mike Parker Pearson, professor of archeology at the University of Sheffield, discovered the 19,000-year-old eggshells. The bird, known as Aepyornis, weighed about half a ton. Its eggs are the largest bird eggs ever known, with a capacity equivalent to about 200 chicken eggs.
Full story at Futurity.
Photo credit: University of Sheffield
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