DRONT habitat. Bird Dodo: The history of disappearance. List of used literature

DRONT was discovered on the islands east of Madagascar, which are called the Muskarent archipelago today. Three rather large islands forming this archipelago stretched along 20 parallel south of the equator. Now they are called Reunion, Mauritius and Rodriguez.

The names of the discovers of these territories are unknown. It is clear that the Arab commercial ships were swimming here, but did not pay special attention to their discovery, since the islands were uninhabited, and to trade on uninhabited islands is extremely difficult. The European discovers were the Portuguese, although, if it was not surprising, but only from the second approach, the Portuguese discoverer gave the islands his name.

This man was Dioi Fernandish Pereira, who floated in these waters in 1507. On February 9, he discovered an island located 400 miles to the east of Madagascar, and called him Santa Apollonia. It must be a modern Reunion. Soon the ship chapped "Serne" came across the current Mauritius. Sailors landed on the shore and called the island named their ship - Ilya Du sulna.

Pereira was moving towards India, and in the same year, a little later, Rodriguez opened. At first, the island was named Domingo Fris, but also Diego Rodriguez. The Dutch, obviously, found this name to be difficult, and talked about the island, called Diegoray, which was then gallicated and turned into dygarroys; However, the French themselves called Ile Marianna Island.

The second "discoverer", Pedro Mascarenas, arrived at six years later, he visited only Mauritius and Reunion. On this occasion, Mauritius was not renamed, but Sant Apollonia (Reunion) was called Mascarenhas or Mascaragne, and to this day the island is called Mascares (http://www.zooeco.com/strany/str-africa-10.html).

The Portuguese opened Mauritius, but did not become on it. However, in 1598, the Dutch landed there and declared the island with their own ownership (Leopold, 2000). The Mascarenie Islands presented a convenient transshipment station on the way to India, and soon the crowd of adventurers were flooded with them (Akimushkin, 1969).

In 1598, after arriving at the Mauritius squadron of 8 ships, the Dutch admiral Yakov Van Negov began to draw up a list and a description of the whole living thing that was encountered on the island. After the records of the admiral were translated into other languages, the scientist learned about the unusual, strange and even bizarreally unauthorized bird, which is known all over the world as Dodo, although scientists most often call it DRONT (Bobrovsky, 2003).

Let's learn about it more ...

Fig. Reconstruction of the appearance of DRONT (http://www.google.ru/imghp?hl\u003dru)

They said that Drona made an impression of almost manual, although they could not keep them in captivity. "... they are trusting about the person, but they are not able to tame them: as soon as they fall into the unfortunate, they begin stubbornly refuse any food until they die."

Quiet life for Dreams ended as soon as a person began to actively interfere with the life of the island nature.

Commands of the courts were replenished on the islands of food reserves, for this purpose, exterminating all living in the forests of the archipelago. The sailors eaten all the huge turtles, and then hit the clumsy birds.
On the small ocean islands, where there are no land predators, Dreams gradually, from generation to generation, lost the ability to fly. Coki Dutch courts did not know whether it was possible to eat this easily accessible bird with hard meat. But very quickly hungry navigators realized that DRONT was edible and extremely beneficial to mine. Defenseless birds, harshly overturning from the side on the side and waving the pity "wings", unsuccessfully tried to escape from people flight. There were just three birds to feed the ship's team. For a whole swimming, there were enough few dozen saline drone. It was so accustomed that the ship's trims were stuffed by the fair and dead drone, and the sailors of passing vessels and Karavel was just for the sake of sports interest competed in the one who will score these clumsy birds. From that moment on, Mauritius Dream remained to live in nature less than 50 years old (Green, 2000; Akimushkin, 1969; Bobrovsky, 2003; http: //erudity.ru/t215_20.html).

Flutening Dreams were completely helpless in the face of new enemies, and their number began to decline rapidly. Soon they disappeared at all. All together, people and animals, by the end of the XVIII century, destroyed all Dodo (Akimushkin, 1969; Leopold, 2000).

On the three islands of the Mascarensky Archipelago - Mauritius, Reunion and Rodriguez - lived, apparently three different types of drones.

In 1693, Dodo first did not hit the list of animals of Mauritius, so that by this time can be considered, he has already disappeared.

Rodriguese Donta, or the Dustcher, was last seen in 1761. Also, as in other cases, not a single stuffed him remained, and for a long time, scientists had no one bone. Integrate: And was this DRONT? Especially since Francois Lega, the author of the most detailed description of Rodriguese Donta, sometimes called a 100% liar, and his book "Travel and Adventures Francois Lega and his companions ..." Some scientists considered a collection of retelling of other people's inventions (Akimushkin, 1995; http: // www. Bestreferat.ru/referat-6576.html).

Reunon donont was late. For the first time he mentions in 1613. English Captain Castleton, landed on the reunion with pets. Then the Dutchman Bontechevan Mountain, who spent on this island on 21 days in 1618, mentioned this bird, calling it a "hohlohlostka". The last traveler who saw and described this species was the Frenchman Bory de Saint-Vensene, who visited Reunion in 1801. Pets and man were also the reason for the disappearance of this species. There was not a single skeleton and a single stuffed white drone (Bobrovsky, 2003).

The table shows the anthropogenic rate of destroying DRONTs (Table 1).

Table 1

So, the very first mention of this form was made in 1598, and the most recent - 1801. Thus, it can be concluded that the form disappeared in about 200 years.

When, at the end of the 18th century, naturalists rushed in the footsteps of Dreams, and the search led them to the island of Mauritius, everyone, to whom they appealed to the tips, only doubtfully swung their heads. "No, Mr., we have no such birds and have never been," said shepherds, and peasants.

Photo 3.

1.3. DRONT in Europe

The navigators tried many times to bring drone to Europe to surprise Europeans in a fishing bird. But, if the gray Mauritius Dream could sometimes be alive to be pregnant to the northern latitudes, then with his White Reunonic Meeting it did not work. Almost all birds died during the trip. As he wrote in 1668, an unknown French priest who visited Mauritius's island: "Each of us wanted to take two birds with me to send them to France and transfer it to Majesta; But on the ship, the birds were dying, probably from longing, refusing food and drink "(quota. By V.A. Krasilnikov, 2001).

The legend says that two drone from the island of Reunion, dried on a ship to Europe, really dropped tears when parting with their native island (Bobrovsky, 2003).
Although sometimes this idea was still succeeded and, according to the Japanese environmentalist of Dr. Masaui Khachisuk, studied in detail the story of an amazing flawless bird, in total to Europe was delivered from Mauritius 12 individuals of this obscure bird. 9 copies of Dodo brought to Holland, 2 - to England and 1 - to Italy (Bobrovsky, 2003).

There is also a random mention that one of the birds was exported to Japan, but, despite numerous attempts by Japanese scientists, it was not possible to find a mention of this in Japanese chronicles and books (http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_buks /Science/lei/01.php).

In 1599, Admiral Yakov Van did not bring the first living Dream to Europe. In the homeland of Admiral in Holland, a strange bird made a noisy perolet. They could not put on it.

Artists especially attracted her to the grotesque appearance. And Peter Holstain, and the Huftnagel, and Franz Franken, and other famous painters were fascinated by the "Drartopus." At that time, they say, more than fourteen portraits were drawn from the captured DRONT. Interestingly, the color image of Dream (one of these portraits) only in 1955 found Professor Ivanov in the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Institute of Orientalistics!

Another living Dodo came to Europe half a century later, in 1638. With this bird, rather, a funny story happened to her chuckle. Dronta brought to London and there for money showed everyone wishing to look at him. And when the bird died, with her removed the skin and wondered her straw. From the private collection, the stuffed fell into one of the Oxford museums. The whole age has crushed it there in the dusty corner. And in the winter of 1755, the keeper of the museum decided to produce general inventory of exhibits. For a long time, he looked at the stuffed poultry with a ridiculous inscription on the label: "Ark" (Ark?). And then ordered to throw it into the trash bunch.

Fortunately, a more educated person accidentally passed by the heap. Surprised by unexpected luck, he pulled the drone head from the garbage and the clumsy paw - everything left from him, and with his invaluable finds hurried to the merchant merchant. Saved and paw, and the head later again, but this time already with great honors were adopted in the museum. These are the only relics in the world remaining from the only stuffed dragon-like "dove", "said Willi Lei, one of the connoisseurs of the sad history of Dreams. But Dr. James Greenway from Cambridge in an excellent monograph on extinct birds argues that another foot is kept in the British Museum, and in Copenhagen, the head undoubtedly belonged to the living Dodo with Mauritius (Akimushkin, 1969).

Fig. Early Dodo drawings (left), Dronta reconstruction (right) (http://www.google.ru/imghp?hl\u003dru)

The traditional image of Dodo is a fat, clumsy pigeon, but this opinion is disputed lately. Scientists have proven that old European drawings show crowded birds in captivity. The artist Maestro Mansour drew Dodo on the Native Islands of the Indian Ocean (Fig. 4.) And I portrayed the birds slimmer. His drawings studied Professor Ivanov and proved that these drawings are the most accurate. Two "living" samples were delivered to the Islands of the Indian Ocean in the 1600s, and the drawn samples coincided with the description. As noted on Mauritius, Dodo was eaten by ripe fruits at the end of the rainy season to survive in the dry season, when little food. In captivity with food there were no problems and poultry became stolen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/dodo).

Photo 4.

1.4. Cultural and historical value of Dream

DRONT in astronomy

Dreams became famous even in astronomy. In honor of DRONT from Rodriguez, one constellation was named in heaven. In June 1761, the French Astronte Pingra spent some time on Rodriguez, watching the Venus against the background of a sunny disk (she just crossed him then). Five years later, his colleague Le Monie to keep the memory of his friend's stay in Rodriguez in the centuries and in honor of the amazing birds inhabited on this island, called the new group of stars with the constellation of the hermit on this island. Wanting to celebrate it on the map, according to the customs of those times, the symbolic figure, Le Monie applied for a certificate to popular then in France "Ornithology" of Brisson. He did not know that the brisson did not include Drontov in his book, and seeing the name of Solitaria in the list of birds, that is, the "hermit", conscientiously redrawn the named so animal. And everything confused, of course: instead of an impressive Dodo, a new constellation on the map turned his little representative figure Blue Stone Drozd - Monticolasolitaria (he lives and now in the south of Europe, and we have in Transcaucasia, Central Asia and South Primorye) (Akimushkin, 1969 .).

In compiling the essay of the ecology of the species, the Outecological description method was used by V. D. Ilyicheva (1982) with the additions of individual elements of a similar methodology G. A. Novikova (1949).

Photo 5.

2.1. Representations of the systematics of Dream and their evolution

By the beginning of the XIX century, knowledge of the systematic position of Dreams was very contradictory. At first, according to rumors and first sketches, Drontov was taken for dwarfish birds, since the loss of flight and even the strong reduction of the wing skeleton is a non-discovered phenomenon in this group of birds. So first thought and Karl Linney, attributed to Dream in his 10th edition of the Nature Systems in 1758 to the genus of ostriches. There were more bizarre opinions. Some naturalists considered DRONT by a type of swan, who lost the wings, others delivered Dodo to Albatrosam, and even to Kulikov and Rzhanka. In the 1930s of the XIX century, dodo due to the bare head and curved beak even attributed to the griffs. This extravagant point of view was supported by Richard Owen himself - the undisputed authority of that time, an English morphologist and a paleontologist, to whom we owe the word "dinosaur". And yet, over time, the opinions of scientists bowed in favor of the fact that Dreams are some who lost the ability to fly, as is often found on the islands, chicken birds.

The fact that scientists are considering now the proximity of Dodo to Poland, first expressed, studying the drone skull, Danish scientist Naturalist J. Reinhard. But he, unfortunately, soon died, his point of view was supported by an English scientist H. Strickland, who carefully studied all the available collection materials, including drawings. Strickland called Dream "with a colossal short flip, festive dove." This point of view has become widely accepted in science when the European collections with the oceanic islands of Western Samoa first hit the croculusstrigirostris (Didunculusstrigirostris). The hook-free pigeon is small, the value from the usual sisar, but also the owner of a wonderful beak, ending with a sharp crochet and curved cluster; By his edge - teeth. The beak of this hermit from Samoa immediately allows you to "find out" in it some kind of bizarre beak dodo. And what is noteworthy, the gears of the first navigators also nest on the ground, and only one egg was postponed. On many islands where pigs, cats and rats appeared with a person, the gears began to quickly disappear, but on the two islands - heaven and Savaii, they switched to nesting on the trees that they saved them. Unfortunately, Dronta take off on trees could not (Bobrovsky, 2003).

Photo 6.

All modern pigeons, and they are known 285 species, fly well. In the pigeon-shaped detachment (GolumbiFormes), except for family pigeons and donont, there is still a Ryabkov family (Pteroelidae). But they are (16wides in the world) perfectly fly. In addition to Dodo and his parents, Mauritius's discovers and other Muskarent Islands found there many types of real, i.e. flying, pigeons. Why did they not lose the wings? It turns out that there is no type of pigeon, which, being uninhabited (without predators) island, would become unauthorized.

In 1959, at the International Zoological Congress in London, the German naturalist Luttswager first advanced a completely new hypothesis of the origin and related links of Dreams. In the structure of the head of Dreams and the pigeons, he found a lot of differences. Then other authors joined it, especially after comparing bones and skeletons with Mauritius and Rodriguez. In his book, Dronty (1961) Luttswager criticized the "pigeon" hypothesis of the origin of these gigantic birds. In the structure of hip joints, chest bones and paw drops, he discovered a lot of common with pigeons, but with korostals belonging to the family of shepherd birds. Korosets are badly flying and trying not to take off at risk, but to escape. Moreover, the kosozel donating on the isolated islands lose the ability to fly, and many of those like it are not fluttering shepherds (Mauritius Cowlook, Muskarenskaya Lyshuha, some sinks and breams - only 15 species) extinct, like Drarts (http://www.mybirds.ru/forums /Lofiversion/index.php/t58317.html).

In 2002, an analysis of the sequences of cytochrome genes B and 12S RRNA was conducted on the basis of which it was determined that now the living grivy dove (Fig.) Is the closest relative of Dreams (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/drons).

According to the modern classification, the DRONT family is included in the dove detachment.

Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordovy
Subtype: vertebrae
Class: Birds
Subclass: New-light
Detachment: Powder-shaped - Birds with a dense massive body; legs and neck short; Wings are long and sharp, adapted to the rapid flight. The plumage is thick, dense; Feathers with a well-developed fluff. The beak is rather short, the nostrils are covered on top of leathery caps. Food is almost extremely floating and primarily seeds, less often fruits and berries. All pigeons have a well-developed goiter, employee for both accumulation of food and its softening; In addition, the pigeons feed the chicks with "milk", produced in Zobu.
Family: Dronet (Raphidae) included 3 types:
- Mauritius donont. Dodo, or Mauric Dream, he is gray drone. It dwells this view on the island of Mauritius - the largest island from the Mascarensky Islands in the Indian Ocean. This species first described Karl Linney himself.
- Reunon Dream. In the tropical forests of the island, Reunion died another species - white, or bourbon, donont (raphusborbonicus), really almost white, slightly smaller than Dodo. Some specialists doubt the existence of this species, as it is known only by description and drawings.
- Rodriguese DRONT. On the island Rodriguez, the third representative of the family - Dream Helf (Pezophapsolitarius). Back in 1730, DRONT-Herf was quite common, but by the end of the 18th century and this species stopped existing. There was nothing left of him - there is neither the skin in the museums, nor the eggs of this bird (http://www.ecosystema.ru/07referats/01/dodo.htm).

Enemies and limiting factors

On the islands where Dream did not have large mammals that would have hunted on him. This is a trusting, the ability to recognize the enemies really lost an uncommon creature. The only defense of DRONT was the beak. In 1607, Admiral Verguven visited Mauritius, who first noted that Dronta, it turns out, can "be very hurt" (Darrell, 2002; http://www.bestreferat.ru/referat-6576.html).

After the opening of the islands, people began to actively exterminate the clumsy birds. In addition to the islands, pigs were delivered to the islands, which crushed the eggs of Dreams, goats, who submitted shrubs, where Dronta built their nests; Dogs and cats destroyed old and young birds, and pigs and rats devoured chicks (Leopold, 2000).

Photo 8.

Ecological consequence of extinction of the form

An interesting fact regarding Dreams was discovered in 1973, when scientists noticed the fact that there are old trees on the island of Mauritius - the calcimetor, which are almost not renewed. The trees of this species in the past were also not uncommon on the island, and now on the entire area in 2045 square kilometers there are no more than one and a half dozen specimens of calvary. It turned out that their age exceeds 300 years. The trees still gave nuts, but none of the nuts germinate, and the new trees did not appear. But after all, almost 300 years ago, in 1681, the last DRONT was killed on the same island. The American ecologist Wednie Temile was able to establish the relationship between the disappearance of DRONT and the extinction of calvary. He proves that these birds were an important factor in the reproduction of trees. He suggested that the nuts would not be sprout, until they were curled drone and won't pass through his intestines. Pebbles that Drohot swallowed, in the exzhelitus destroyed the solid shell of nuts, and the calvaries sprout. Temle suggests that such a solid sheath Evolution has developed because Calvarria seeds willingly swallowed dodo's pigeons.

To check the hypothesis, the nuts rained with turks having a similar stomach, and after passing through the digestive system, new trees rose. With the disappearance of Dreams, no other bird in Mauritius could destroy the solid shell of nuts, and these trees were under threat of disappearance (Bobrovsky, 2003; http://km.ru:8080/magazin/view.asp?id\u003dc17036e18e469caa6022be1699e434).

Material remnants of type

For a long time after the destruction of DRONT, no one could find evidence of the existence of this bird. Dodo hunters, disappointed and embarrassed, returned with nothing. But J. Clark (fig.11.), Not believing local legends, stubbornly continued to seek forgotten caps. He climbed in the mountains and swamps, not one Camzole truncated his spiny bushes, digging the land, rummaged in dusty cropping on river circles and in ravines. Good luck always comes to the one who persistently achieves it. And now Clark was lucky: on the same swamp he dug out a lot of massive bones of a large bird. Richard Owen (English Zoologist and Paleontologist) examined in detail these bones and proved that they belong to Dreams.

Fig. Excavations J. Clark on the postage stamp (http://www.google.ru/imghp?hl\u003dru)

At the end of the last century, the Government of Mauritius Islands ordered to produce more solid excavations in the swamp, open Clark. Found a lot of bones of Dreams and even a few full skeletons that are decorated with the most valuable collections of some museums in the world.

After a fire in the Oxford Museum in 1755, the last complete set of bones of Dream burned down.

A team of Dutch paleontologists in 2006 found the Mauritius part of the DRONT skeleton on the island (Fig.). Among the remains found are part of the femoral bone, paws, beak, spine and the wings of Dream. The bones of the disappeared bird were discovered in the dried swamp of Mauritius. Dutch researchers continue to search and hope to detect whole skeletons.

Fig. Drone's bones found by the Dutch (http://www.google.ru/imghp?hl\u003dru)

Dronta's bones are not as rare as his eggs, although they belong to the most valuable scientific finds.

Currently, the only Dream Egg has been preserved. Some zoologists consider this big cream-colored egg as the most important exhibit for their science. It should, must be hundreds of pounds more expensive than a pale green egg of a large gagar or fossil egg-colored ivory of Madagascar epiornis - the biggest bird of the ancient world (Fedorov, 2001).

DRONT causes considerable interest in the scientific world. This is evidenced by the fact that the prospects for the restoration of this type of genetic engineering methods are actively discussed in recent years (green world, 2007).

2.8. Prospects for the recovery of type

A group of American biologic scientists were able to allocate DNA (Fig.) Birds from a sole egg shell.

Experiments with the selection of Paleo DNA (that is, DNA from fossil ancient remains) is held long. But so far, researchers have used the technology of extraction of hereditary material from bones of fossil animals, in particular, birds.

In 1999, British scientists have begun to implement the recreation program using the preserved genetic material of the disappeared type of animal. Moreover, the famous Bird Dream was chosen as the first object.

It is curious that in Moscow, in the State Darwinian Museum, there is one of the few DRONT Skeletons. Scientists know a few skeleton units (Fig.) And bones of Dream, and a copy that is stored in the Darwinian Museum is the only one in Russia.

Researchers of the Darwinian Museum expressed serious doubts about the prosperous outcome of the experiment conceived by English scientists. The arguments were so. First, it is very small likely that such a complex three-dimensional structure as DNA has been well preserved. According to the Museum employees, even from the Mammoth masmonts, which have broken in permafrost, cannot allocate intact DNA - they are all "transit". Secondly, the DNA itself is not replicated. To start the process of its division, the corresponding environment is needed - cytoplasm and other organelles inherent in a living cell.

This consists of the current achievement of American biologists, that they have developed the technology of excretion of hereditary material (DNA) not from bones, but from eggshell. The authors of the new work found that it was in this fraction that most DNA contains - it turns out to be as sealed in the matrix of calcium carbonate. Prior to this, when extraction from the bones, most calcium was simply washed out of the source material. After all, earlier, as they did - from the residues of the bone material, the squeezing was made by special methods; It was placed in saline and washed all the unnecessary. Then the well-preserved cells were selected and the kernel (we will remind, it contains DNA in the nuclei).
Success was even big than expected. It was possible to obtain not only nuclear DNA, but also the DNA of the so-called mitochondria - organelle, working as energy stations cells. Mitochondrial DNA is less nuclear, so it is better preserved in samples and it is easier to extract it. However, it bears significantly less information about living creatures. In addition, this information is transmitted only to the female line.

According to scientists, the shell is a more convenient source of DNA not only because it is easier to extract nucleic acids. An additional advantage is the smaller "attractiveness" of the shell for bacteria whose DNA pollutes the DNA of the desired species and makes it difficult to work with it.

Nevertheless, the most intriguing question remains open: is it possible to use the obtained DNA to recreate long-extinct animals?

Fundamental restrictions for the cloning process seem to be not. The schematic diagram is clear: transplant the resulting cell kernels in the eggs of cows, pre-deprived of native nuclei (with cow eggs it is more convenient to work: they are large in size, the technology of their production is established, there are banks of such cells); Then the "surrogate" mother of the relative species is shears the embryo ... it remains only to wait. In the case of cloned sheep, the probability of success was 0.02% (frost, 2010).

Thronts are believed to be the first types of feathered, whom a man felt purposefully. But is it really? Documents of that time do not confirm the established error that people organized mass hunting on them. So what did it lead to the disappearance of these fun and gullible birds? Alas, tragic chance.

When the British want to say that some living being extinct enough quickly, they use phraseologism: " aS DEAD AS A DODO"What can be translated:" Dead, like DRONT. "And this is not by chance - the blatant relatives of pigeons from the family Raphinae., more famous as drone, who inhabited on the Muskarent Islands, were exterminated before Zoologists managed to try to really explore them. Perhaps that is why the accuracy of these birds in most cases is very doubtful. Dronta's name is still shrouded in a large cloud from myths and legends.

And perhaps the most famous myth is that Dronta destroyed people directly. Like, uncontrollable hunting on these defenseless birds and led them to their rapid disappearance. True, another two reasons are called - the destruction of the habitat of the DRONTs and the harm inflicted by them with the brushed person alien for mascaras of animals. However, all this is considered as the side factors that only finished already driving birds.

But is it really? Most probably not. Oddly enough, but people for the extinction of Dream put much less effort than rats, cats, pigs and dogs. However, let's go about everything in order.

In any ornithological directory you can read that the DRONTs were three types. One of them, Mauritius Dream ( Raphus Cucullatus.) It has been studied most fully - in Oxfordskrom Museum I had (alas who died in a fire) It was stuffed, and in addition, there are several incomplete skeletons at the disposal of biologists (one of them is stored in the Moscow Darwinian Museum). In addition, several DRONTs were removed from the island to Europe, where they lived in captivity for a long time, but, alas, did not multiply. And they saw a lot of people. That is, you can say for sure that this bird really existed.

But with other species much more difficult. No drawings, nor stuffed, nor skeletons at the disposal of zoologists. And never happened. So, for example, all information about the DRONT-DECOMETE ( Pezophaps Solitaria.), who lived on Rodriguez Island, are limited to only five posts of captains of ships and travelers. His most detailed description made Francois Leg. However, this traveler even his contemporaries called one hundred percent liar. Therefore, so far his book "The journey and adventures of Francois Leg and his companions ..." Many scientists consider the collections of retelling of other people's fiction.

But the strangest thing is that this bird is either lady nor other naturalists sketched (despite the fact that, according to the information, the wilders were not afraid of people at all - that is, they did not need to wear around the island to capture on paper ). As a result, no one else knows how the wildfish actually looked. And no real evidence, even a small flock, from Dream from Rodriguez is no one ever seen. Even paleontologists, who recently spent several skulls of the Mauritius Dream on Mauritius, could not find anything like that at Rodriguez.

The pace of his extinction is also very interesting, if you compare them with those of Mauritius Dream. That was the first time described in 1598 (the message of the Dutch captain van Neka), and the last meeting was dated 1693. That is, the type of extinct about a hundred years before the first stage of the colonization of Mauritius. Now let's see what was with the wilderness: the first meeting in 1730, and the last one - in 1761. That is, this species have destroyed in 30 years! And this is despite the fact that Rodriguez was much less visiting the Dutch than Mauritius. I do not know how you, and me all this story seems suspicious.

Therefore, the question is quite logical - did this DRONT existed at all? Maybe it was just a kind of local white hot, which was captains and travelers after they came through with Rom? It is difficult to believe that the bird, which, according to eyewitnesses, was "... ordinary for these places", no suffering from this thirty years in general without any traces. Which even paleontologists cannot be found to this day.

Also very dubious information about the third form of Dreams - White or Reunonsky ( Raphus Solitarius.). There are no real evidence and drawings here. Just three reports, the most detailed of which belongs to Naturalist Bori de Saint-Wensen, who, by the way, was the last one who saw this bird in 1801. And for the first time he saw him in 1613! It turns out, this donont died almost two hundred years. And so shock that, like his Rodriguese colleague, did not leave anything that resembled him (including paleontologists). As you can see, there are big doubts that this donont, like the wilderness, was a real animal, not myth.

But back to the Mauritius Dream, in the existence of which no one doubts. These were large birds, weighing up to 15-23 kilograms that could not fly at all (due to the reduction of keel on the sternum and underdeveloped wings). They were inhabited in the forests, rummaged with nuts and other fruits with trees. Most likely, Dreams conducted a single lifestyle, connecting with his "half" only for the time of pairing and sitting down the masonry.

All the eyewitnesses noted some straight pathological credulity of DRONTs (they were absolutely not afraid of people and pets, but for the inhabitants of the island, where there were no major predators at all, it is quite normal), but they said that in case of danger, DRONT was desperately defended Using your sturdy beak with a length of 23 centimeters.

The most interesting thing is that Dronets did not make nests at all. The female was postponed his only egg right to the ground, and she started. The male brought her food, and also helped protect the masonry from lovers to shook eggs (mostly there were lizards and snakes). But the Dreams hatched in the hatched chickle almost did not care, and he early began his independent life. And, apparently, a lot of their skirt in the first years of life from accidents and snakes in the stomachs.

It follows from this that the number of drone, apparently, never was especially large. Therefore, reports about hundreds of birds killed by sailors are likely to be the fiction of journalists and zoozhechnikov twentieth century. The fact is that in the ship magazines of Portuguese, Dutch and French ships of that time there is not a word about mass "dontotuspens". Although these documents report on the hunt and harvesting of huge sea turtles.

However, messages about the hunt for Dreams could not be because everyone who tried this bird taste recognized that she was practically incredible. Dutch captain Vibrand Wang Varvike wrote that their meat disgustingly tasted. "There are these large birds it was impossible," the sailor reports, which before that was a few months in swimming and did not see all this time of fresh products!

Other captains confirmed the opinion of their colleague. There is even evidence that sailors have specifically forbidden to hunt DRONTs in order not to spend time. The English traveler Thomas Herbert in 1634 also gave an unflattering assessment of the taste qualities of Dreams: "These birds are most likely a miracle than food, as their greasy stomachs, though they could satisfy hunger, but they were tastefully disgusting and indentible."

From this follows only one thing - a person could not exterminate DRONTs through uncontrollable hunting, because they simply had no need to hunt them. The version that people contributed to the extinction of birds, destroying their habitat, also not withstands no criticism - the first large plantations on the island arose in the 70s of the XVII century, when the number of drone has already been seriously reduced. It remains only the third assumption - birds destroyed animals brought by people.

But she is quite similar to the truth. However, pigs, cats and dogs are unlikely to be especially guilty of the extermination of Dreams - they lived together with the settlers on the coast and deep into the island, where Dreams were mainly and hid, did not come. However, besides them, there were still "aliens" on the island. In the trums of ships, people accidentally brought to the island of gray rats, which was very liked.

These Yurki and smart animals immediately realized that the chicks of dontov were very easy - because their parents practically do not protect them. It is not excluded that they also stole the eggs of these careless birds. Of course, no one has seen this directly (rats prefer to robbery at night), but there are indirect evidence that they are those who brought Dream in the grave.

Dream-extinct bird from the pigeon family. Also, this family includes rabbies and pigeons.

Powder-shaped birds are birds with croxes with legs and necks, with a massive dense body, with long and sharp wings adapted to the rapid flight. Their nature gave a dense plumage, which is covered with leathery covers from above. There were birds exclusively vegetable food, especially seeds, berries and fruits. Almost all pigeons had a well-developed goiter, which served them not only as for accumulating food, but also for her softening. In addition, the pigeons were filtered with "milk", which is produced in Zobu.

The Dream family included three types of extinct birds, inhabited in the seventeenth eighteenth centuries at the Muskarent Islands, namely, Rodriguez, Mauritius and Reunion before Europeans were still opened. These were large birds, the size of turkey and we were weighed around a kilogram twenty. Drontov had a big head and kiguzoy torso. Paws of birds were strong and short, and wings, on the contrary, small. The beak is thick, hooked. The bird's tail was short, and just took place from several Pyryshko, who stick to the bundle.

These birds could not fly, they spent their lives, fed and nests only on Earth. Food with different fruits, seeds, plants and their kidney leaves. As a rule, the DRONT tab, there was one white egg, which was caught not only the female, but also the male for seven weeks.

Mauritius Dront lived on the island of Mauritius, where Europeans came in 1507. The bird had another name - Dodo. The bird was gray and long to one meter. The navigators caught dodo and used food, but it was still not the most terrible enemies of birds. Goats, unchanged at the time of the human satellites who were delivered to the island, eaten the cleaner shrubs, in which birds, dogs and cats destroyed not only young individuals, but also old, and rats and pigs devoured eggs and chicks. As a result, by 1690, the ridiculous, fat and defenseless dove of Dodo pretrally exist. Now you can see in some museums only dried pigeons, several heads and a large number of bones. This DRONT, already as they say "posthumously" was chosen by the symbol of the state Mauritius and began to be depicted on the coat of arms of this state.

Another species dwells in the tropical forests of Reunion Island. It was Burbon, or white DRONT and a little less than Dodo. Dimmer this species in the middle of the eighteenth century.

The third representative of the family dwells on Rodriguez Island, and he was called Dream Herf. These were birds with a more elegant physique and much better developed wings, compared with Dodo. By the end of the eighteenth century, this species stopped existence.

In a short period of time, all representatives of this unique bird family were destroyed. It would seem that there is nothing more to say, and you can put a big and fat point. But at the end of the twentieth century, British researchers set a goal to recreate Mauritius Donta. We hope that they will have to decipher the preserved DNA in mummified heads and paws, to synthesize and transfer the most genetically close type of pigeons into the core of the egg cell.

DRONT is a non-flying extinct bird that dwells on the island of Mauritius. The first mention of this bird occurred thanks to the navigators from the Netherlands who visited the island at the end of the XVI century. More detailed data on the bird were obtained in the XVII century. Some naturalists for a long time considered Drarta mythical being, but subsequently it turned out that this bird really existed.

Appearance

DRONT, known as Bird Dodo, was quite large. Adults have achieved weight in 20-25 kg, and their growth was approximately 1 m.

Other features:

swirling and small wings indicating the impossibility of flight;
strong short legs;
paws with 4 fingers;
short tail of several feathers.

These birds were slow and moved along the ground. Outwardly, Pernoma was reminded by turkey, but there was no crest on his head.

The main characteristic is a hooked beak and a lack of a booze near the eyes. For some time, scientists believed that DRONTs are relatives of the Albatrosov due to the similarity of their beaks, but this opinion was not confirmed. Other zoologists talked about belonging to birds of prey, including vultures, who are also not operas on the head.

It is worth noting that clev's Length of Mauritius Dream It is about 20 cm, and its end is bent down. Body color of fawn or ash-gray. Feathers on the thighs are black, and on breasts and whites wings. In fact, the wings were only their meetings.

Reproduction and nutrition

According to modern scientists, Dreams created nests from palm branches and leaves, as well as land, after which one big egg was postponed. Casual for 7 weeks They were engaged alternately male and female. This process together with the feeding of the chick lasted several months.

In such a responsible period, Dreams did not let anyone to the nest. It is worth noting that other birds drove the DRONT of the same sex. For example, if another female approached the nest, then the male sitting on the nest began to wave the wings and publish loud sounds, calling his female.

The ditch of Dreams was the mature fruits of palm trees, leaves and kidneys. Scientists were able to prove just such a type of nutrition on the stones found in the stomach of birds. These pebbles performed the function of food inheritance.

Remains of the type and evidence of its existence

On the territory of Mauritius, where Dream, large mammals and predators did not have, because of what the bird became gullible and very peaceful. When people began to arrive at the islands, they destroyed Dreams. In addition, pigs, goats and dogs were delivered here. These mammals eaten shrubs where the nests of Dronov were located, pressed their eggs, destroyed chicks and adult birds.

After the final extermination, scientists were difficult to prove that DRONT really existed. One of the specialists managed to find several massive bones on the islands. A little later, large-scale excavations were carried out in the same place. The last study was conducted in 2006. It was then that Paleontologists from Holland found on Mauritius dRONT Skeleton remains:

beak;
wings;
paws;
spine;
element of femoral bone.

In general, the skeleton of birds is considered a very valuable scientific find, but it is much easier to find it than a surviving egg. To this day, it has been preserved only in one instance. His value exceeds the value of Madagascar epiornis eggs, that is, the largest bird that existed in ancient times.

Interesting facts about the bird

Dodo causes great interest from scientists from around the world. This explains numerous excavations and research that are held today on the territory of Mauritius. Moreover, some specialists are interested in restoring the species with genetic engineering.

This story may seem figuratively if it were not for a fabulous reality. On the lost deserted islands in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Rodriguez and Reunion, belonging to the Muskarent Islands archipelago) in ancient times, Birds lived Dodo - representatives of the Drontov family.

Outwardly, they resembled turks, although they were larger than two or three times. One bird dodo weighed 25-30 kg with an increase in 1 meter. A long neck, a naked head, without signs of any kind of plumage or a hokholka, a very massive awesome beak, resembling an eagle. Football paws and some kind of wings consisting of several modest feathers. And a small skiing, the so-called tail.

Pulling Bird Dodo

The island, where birds lived, was truly Paradise: neither people nor predators, nor any other potential danger for Dreams simply had no. Birds Dodo did not know how to fly, swim and quickly run, yes it was nothing, because no one offended Dreams. All food was simply at their feet, which did not cause it to get it, climbing into the air or floating across the ocean. Another distinctive characteristic of the Bird Dodo was a big belly formed because of too passive existence; He simply quenched on the ground, which made the movement of feathered very slow.

Lifestyle Dodo.

For Birds, Dodo was characterized by a secluded lifestyle, they were combined only to raise offspring. The nest in which the only large egg-colored egg was settled, built in the form of an earthen hilly with the addition of branches and palm leaves. The accepted process took place for 7 weeks, and both birds (female and male) took part in it. The parents guarded their nest were guarded, not subparent to it strangers closer than 200 meters. Interestingly, if the "outsiders" drone approached the nest, then he was driven by a special sex similar to him.

According to the rendered information of those distant times (late 17th century), Dodo, convening each other, mashed loudly with wings; And for 4-5 minutes, they made 20-30 crashes than they created a loud noise, which was heard at a distance of more than 200 meters.

Cruel extermination of birds Dodo

The idyll of Dronet ended with the arrival on the island of Europeans who took such easy prey as an excellent basis for food. There were enough three birds clogged to feed a whole ship's team, and several dozen saline drone took place on all swimming. However, their meat from the sailors was considered tasteless, and a light hunt for Dodo (when a gullible bird was enough to hit a stone or a stick) - uninteresting. Birds, despite the powerful beak, did not resist and did not run away, especially in this they prevented excessive weight. Gradually, the extraction of DRONTOV turned into a kind of competition: "Whoever scores more Dodo", which can be safely called the ruthless and barbaric extermination of innocuous natural creatures. Many tried to take away so extraordinary copies with them, but it would seem to be manual creatures, could not stand him imposed by him: they cried, refused food and eventually died. The historical fact confirms that when birds hung off the island to France, they dropped tears, as if realizing that they would never see their native land.

100 malicious years - and dontov no

Your name "Dodo" (from Portuguese) birds received from the same sailors who considered them stupid and idiots. Although in this case the people of the sea were stupid, because a clever person will not grow ruthlessly destroy a defenseless and unique being.

Ship rats, cats, monkeys, dogs, pigs, cats, monkeys, dogs, and pigs, also accepted indirect participation in the extermination of Birds Dodo, drinking eggs and chicks. In addition, nests were located on Earth, which only facilitated predators their extermination. In less than 100 years, not a single donont remained on the islands. The story of Dodo is a vivid example of how a merciless civilization destroys in its path all that is free given by nature.

As a symbol of the barbaric destruction of natural creatures by the Jersey Protert of animal protection as an emblem was chosen Bird Dodo.

Alice in Wonderland - a book from which the world learned about the bird Dodo

Where did the world come from about the existence of such an unusual bird? Which island lived Bird Dodo? And did she really exist?

About Birds Dodo, who could stay for a long time in oblivion, the public found out, thanks to Lewis Carroll and his fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland." There is a bird Dodo is one of the characters, and many literary criticians believe that in the image of Bird Dodo Lewis Carroll described himself.

In the world there was a stuffed drone in a single instance; In 1637, the living bird managed to bring from the islands to England, where money was earned for a long time at the show of such an unusual instance. After death from the Pernata, the evacuations made the scarecrow, which was placed in the London Museum in 1656. By 1755, it was ruled by time, moth and bugs, so the curator of the museum decided to burn his burner. At the last moment in front of the "execution", one of the museum workers touched the foot from the stuffed leg and the head (they are best preserved), which became invaluable relics of the world of zoology.

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