Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rhodes Gift, 7701, South Africa.
Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, United Kingdom.
Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 24;7(1):7993. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-08536-3.
The dodo, Raphus cucullatus, a flightless pigeon endemic to Mauritius, became extinct during the 17 century due to anthropogenic activities. Although it was contemporaneous with humans for almost a century, little was recorded about its ecology. Here we present new aspects of the life history of the dodo based on our analysis of its bone histology. We propose that the dodo bred around August and that the rapid growth of the chicks enabled them to reach a robust size before the austral summer or cyclone season. Histological evidence of molting suggests that after summer had passed, molt began in the adults that had just bred; the timing of molt derived from bone histology is also corroborated by historical descriptions of the dodo by mariners. This research represents the only bone histology analysis of the dodo and provides an unprecedented insight into the life history of this iconic bird.
渡渡鸟，Raphus cucullatus，一种毛里求斯特有的不会飞的鸽子，由于人类活动在 17 世纪灭绝。尽管它与人类同时存在了将近一个世纪，但关于它的生态学几乎没有记录。在这里，我们根据对渡渡鸟骨骼组织学的分析，提出了有关渡渡鸟生活史的新观点。我们提出渡渡鸟在 8 月左右繁殖，雏鸟的快速生长使它们在南半球的夏季或旋风季节之前达到健壮的体型。羽毛更换的组织学证据表明，夏季过去后，刚刚繁殖的成年渡渡鸟开始换羽；骨骼组织学所推断的换羽时间也得到了水手对渡渡鸟的历史描述的证实。这项研究是对渡渡鸟骨骼组织学的唯一分析，为这种标志性鸟类的生活史提供了前所未有的深入了解。
