They were also able to compare the endocasts representing the brain of the dodo's closest relative, the extinct Rodrigues solitaire. The scientists then imaged it with high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scanning, and built virtual brain endocasts out of these scans to look at the differences between the species. With her team she compared a well-conserved skull of a dodo belonging to the British National History Museum, with the skulls of different varieties of pigeons. Today, they are almost exclusively known for becoming extinct, and I think that's why we've given them this reputation of being dumb," she explains.Īlice in Wonderland famously featured the flightless birds Istock "Because of that behaviour and invasive species that were introduced, they disappeared in less than 100 years after humans arrived. Eugenia Gold, lead author of the paper, who is a researcher at the American Museum of Natural History's Richard Gilder Graduate School, says because dodos didn't fear human presence and were unable to fly, they were quickly turned into prey by the first men who came on the island, and subsequently killed for their meat.
Very little is known about the biology of these birds, which were first discovered on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean in the 16th century. However, a new study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, shows that these judgements are now probably unfounded. While the animal actually became extinct in 1662, it has been associated with a lack of intelligence and a variety of odd behavioural patterns ever since.
#Ice age dodo bird movie#
Dodos have appeared in children's classics over the years such as Alice in Wonderland and the movie Ice Age, and are often portrayed as rather clumsy of nature, often confined to being played purely for comic effect.
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