Biologists have used ancient DNA, preserved in fossil bones for millennia, to study the evolution of large species, but now they can employ it to study small animals like lizards and frogs.
The newly discovered Kupoupou stilwelli would have once swam in the waters around Chatham Island near New Zealand.
Illustration by Jacob Blokland
This newly discovered species is the oldest one known to resemble today’s penguins in both size and leg proportions, unlike its giant co-habitants at the time.
About 74% of New Zealand’s land birds, including the endemic takahe, are either threatened or at risk of extinction.
AAP/Brendon Doran
Mike Joy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington and Sylvie McLean, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The latest update on the environment highlights that New Zealand has the world’s highest proportion of indigenous wildlife species either threatened or at risk of extinction.