Merging ancient and modern DNA: extinct seabird taxon rediscovered in the North Tasman Sea
Ancient DNA has revolutionized the way in which evolutionary biologists research both extinct and extant taxa, from the inference of evolutionary history to the resolution of taxonomy. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first study to report the rediscovery of an ‘extinct’ avian taxon, the Tasm...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Royal Society Publishing
2010
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/15865 |
| _version_ | 1848749010340282368 |
|---|---|
| author | Steeves, T. Holdaway, R. Hale, M. McLay, E. McAllan, I. Christian, M. Hauber, M. Bunce, Michael |
| author_facet | Steeves, T. Holdaway, R. Hale, M. McLay, E. McAllan, I. Christian, M. Hauber, M. Bunce, Michael |
| author_sort | Steeves, T. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Ancient DNA has revolutionized the way in which evolutionary biologists research both extinct and extant taxa, from the inference of evolutionary history to the resolution of taxonomy. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first study to report the rediscovery of an ‘extinct’ avian taxon, the Tasman booby (Sula tasmani), using classical palaeontological data combined with ancient and modern DNA data. Contrary to earlier work, we show an overlap in size between fossil and modern birds in the North Tasman Sea (classified currently as S. tasmani and Suladactylatra fullagari, respectively). In addition, we show that Holocene fossil birds have mitochondrial control region sequences that are identical to those found in modern birds. These results indicate that the Tasman booby is not an extinct taxon: S. dactylatra fullagari O’Brien & Davies, 1990 is therefore a junior synonym of Sula tasmani van Tets, Meredith, Fullagar & Davidson, 1988 and all North Tasman Sea boobies should be known as S. d. tasmani. In addition to reporting the rediscovery of an extinct avian taxon, our study highlights the need for researchers to be cognizant of multidisciplinary approaches to understanding taxonomy and past biodiversity. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:14:08Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-15865 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:14:08Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Royal Society Publishing |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-158652023-02-22T06:24:18Z Merging ancient and modern DNA: extinct seabird taxon rediscovered in the North Tasman Sea Steeves, T. Holdaway, R. Hale, M. McLay, E. McAllan, I. Christian, M. Hauber, M. Bunce, Michael phylogeography masked booby Sula tasmani ancient DNA Sula dactylatra fullagari mitochondrial DNA Ancient DNA has revolutionized the way in which evolutionary biologists research both extinct and extant taxa, from the inference of evolutionary history to the resolution of taxonomy. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the first study to report the rediscovery of an ‘extinct’ avian taxon, the Tasman booby (Sula tasmani), using classical palaeontological data combined with ancient and modern DNA data. Contrary to earlier work, we show an overlap in size between fossil and modern birds in the North Tasman Sea (classified currently as S. tasmani and Suladactylatra fullagari, respectively). In addition, we show that Holocene fossil birds have mitochondrial control region sequences that are identical to those found in modern birds. These results indicate that the Tasman booby is not an extinct taxon: S. dactylatra fullagari O’Brien & Davies, 1990 is therefore a junior synonym of Sula tasmani van Tets, Meredith, Fullagar & Davidson, 1988 and all North Tasman Sea boobies should be known as S. d. tasmani. In addition to reporting the rediscovery of an extinct avian taxon, our study highlights the need for researchers to be cognizant of multidisciplinary approaches to understanding taxonomy and past biodiversity. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/15865 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0478 Royal Society Publishing unknown |
| spellingShingle | phylogeography masked booby Sula tasmani ancient DNA Sula dactylatra fullagari mitochondrial DNA Steeves, T. Holdaway, R. Hale, M. McLay, E. McAllan, I. Christian, M. Hauber, M. Bunce, Michael Merging ancient and modern DNA: extinct seabird taxon rediscovered in the North Tasman Sea |
| title | Merging ancient and modern DNA: extinct seabird taxon rediscovered in the North Tasman Sea |
| title_full | Merging ancient and modern DNA: extinct seabird taxon rediscovered in the North Tasman Sea |
| title_fullStr | Merging ancient and modern DNA: extinct seabird taxon rediscovered in the North Tasman Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Merging ancient and modern DNA: extinct seabird taxon rediscovered in the North Tasman Sea |
| title_short | Merging ancient and modern DNA: extinct seabird taxon rediscovered in the North Tasman Sea |
| title_sort | merging ancient and modern dna: extinct seabird taxon rediscovered in the north tasman sea |
| topic | phylogeography masked booby Sula tasmani ancient DNA Sula dactylatra fullagari mitochondrial DNA |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/15865 |