Iterative evolution brings back an extinct bird

13 Oct 2019

Iterative evolution brings back an extinct bird

Iterative evolution brings back an extinct birdUsually irreversible, extinction is when a species is wiped out.

But in a rare case, the only flightless species of a bird in the Indian Ocean – the Aldabra Rail, has re-evolved to inhabit an island, which it had inhabited hundreds of thousands of years ago.

According to a study, it was found that the bird’s native habitat, the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean, has undergone multiple complete submersions* in the past.

Each of these events eradicated every species on the island, yet the Aldabra Rail has always re-evolved back into existence. Scientists attribute this to a biological process known as iterative evolution.
 	Iterative evolution happens when the same or similar structures evolve out of the same common ancestor, but at different times.
 	Fossils of the Aldabra Rail have been discovered dating back 136,000 years, but since then, the island has been submerged by the ocean, wiping out almost all life.
 	After the bird became extinct, it took only 20,000 years for it to return and evolve into the flightless Aldabra Rail again.
 	Other noted species which have re-evolved through iterative evolution are - lizards that are snakelike, crocodiles, marsupial wolves and the marsupial gliders.

*Submersion - The act of putting something under the surface of a liquid so that the liquid completely covers it

Credit: TCP

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Usually irreversible, extinction is when a species is wiped out. But in a rare case, the only flightless species of a bird in the Indian […]

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