Species Thought Extinct Was Just Wearing a Mask

A species thought to be extinct for centuries was just wearing a mask all this time. Scientists have long assumed that the Masked Booby was a close cousin of the Tasman Booby, which had presumably been pushed out of its natural habitat by humans.

But the two species are one and the same. Researchers cleared up the confusion through DNA and fossil research.

From The National Geographic, via Treehugger:

The double-naming came about, Steeves said, “because paleontologists and biologists in recent decades did not communicate.” The fossil experts unknowingly compared ancient bones of female Tasman boobies to those of male “masked boobies.” Unaware that Tasman booby females are markedly smaller than males, the paleontologists assumed they were looking at two species.

The Masked/Tasman Booby is a large seabird that breeds on islands in tropical oceans, except in the eastern Atlantic. Not only is it not extinct, it ranks as “least concern” on the IUCN ratings. Considering how many species we lose every day, getting one back (sort of) is just a drop in the bucket, but it’s a hopeful story nonetheless.

Link [Treehugger]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

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