The Aldabra white-throated rail was reportedly wiped out by rising sea levels a very long time ago, however, has reappeared twice since that time through a phenomenon known as “iterative evolution.”
That means that while a bird’s ancestors might have disappeared, that DNA still remains – and provided the environment is right, there’s nothing to stop those ancient genes from replicating in modern times.
So identical species can indeed produce multiple, slightly evolved offshoots, throughout the course of their species’ history.
But don’t get your hopes up that this means dinosaurs and wooly mammoths will be popping up next. This scientific phenomenon only occurs within species that are nearly identical to their ancestors.
While iterative evolution has previously occurred in species such as turtles, it has never been seen in the realm of birds.
“We know of no other example in the rails, or of birds in general, that demonstrates this phenomenon so evidently,” said paleobiologist David Martill, in a statement.
“Only on the Aldabra, which has the oldest palaentological record of any oceanic island within the Indian Ocean region, is fossil evidence available that demonstrates the effects of changing sea levels on extinction and recolonization events.”
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