The sad fate of the dodo. Dodo bird: the history of extermination How the extinction of the dodo bird was predetermined

dodo bird or the Mauritius dodo, one of the most mysterious and interesting representatives of birds that have ever lived on Earth. The Mauritian dodo managed to survive in prehistoric times and live up to our times, until it collided with the main enemy of all animals and birds, with man. The last representatives of this bird died more than three centuries ago, but fortunately, many interesting facts about their life have survived to this day.

Origin of the species and description

There is no exact information about the origin of the dodo bird, however, scientists are sure that the Mauritian dodo is a distant ancestor of the ancient pigeons that once landed on the island.

Despite the significant differences in the appearance of a bizarre dodo bird and a dove, birds have common characteristics, such as:

naked areas around the skin of the eyes, reaching the base of the beak;
specific structure of the legs;
the absence of a special bone (vomer) in the skull;
the presence of an enlarged part of the esophagus.

Having found sufficient comfortable conditions for living and breeding on the island, the birds became permanent residents of the area. Subsequently, evolving over several hundred years, the birds changed, increased in size and forgot how to fly. It is difficult to say how many centuries the dodo bird peacefully existed in its habitat, but the first mention of it appeared in 1598, when the Dutch sailors first landed on the islands. Thanks to the notes of the Dutch admiral, who described the whole animal world that he met on his way, the Mauritian dodo gained its fame throughout the world.

Appearance and features

Despite being related to pigeons, the Mauritian dodo looked more like a plump turkey. Due to the huge belly, which practically dragged along the ground, the bird not only could not take off, but also could not run fast. Only thanks to historical records and paintings by artists of those times, it was possible to establish the general idea and appearance of this one-of-a-kind bird. The length of the body reached up to 1 meter, and the average body weight was 20 kg. The dodo bird had a powerful, beautiful beak, yellow-greenish. The head was small, with a short, slightly curved neck.

The plumage was of several types:

gray or brownish;
former color.

The yellow paws were similar to the paws of modern poultry, three of which were located in front and one behind. The claws were short, hook-shaped. The bird was decorated with a short, fluffy tail, consisting of feathers curved inward, giving the Mauritian dodo special importance and elegance. Birds had a sexual organ that distinguishes females from males. The male was usually larger than the female and had a larger beak, which he used in the fight for the female.

As many records of those times testify, everyone who was lucky enough to meet a dodo was very impressed by the appearance of this unique bird. It seemed that the bird did not have wings at all, since they were small in size and, in relation to their powerful body, were practically invisible.

Where does the dodo bird live?

The dodo bird was a resident of the Mascarene Islands archipelago, located in, not far from. These were deserted and calm islands, free not only from people, but also from possible dangers and. It is not known exactly where and why the ancestors of the Mauritian dodos flew from, but the birds, having landed in this paradise, remained on the islands until the end of their days. Since the climate on the island is hot and humid, quite warm in the winter months and not very hot in the summer months, the birds feel very comfortable and cozy all year round. And the rich flora and fauna of the island made it possible to live a well-fed and calm life.

This type of dodo lived directly on the island of Mauritius, however, the archipelago included the island of Reunion, which was the home of the white dodo and the island of Rodrigues, which was inhabited by hermit dodos. Unfortunately, all of them, like the Mauritian dodo itself, had the same sad fate, they were completely exterminated by people.

Interesting fact: The Golan navigators tried to send several adults on the ship for its detailed study and reproduction, but almost no one survived the long and difficult journey. Therefore, the only habitat remained the island of Mauritius.

Now you know Where did the dodo bird live?. Let's see what she ate.

What does the dodo bird eat?

Dodo was a peaceful bird feeding mainly on food of plant origin. The island was so rich in all kinds of food that the Mauritian dodo did not have to make any special efforts to get food for itself, but simply pick up everything you need right from the ground, which later affected its appearance and measured lifestyle.

The daily diet of the bird included:

ripe fruits of the patching palm, small berries in the form of peas with diameters of several centimeters;
buds and leaves of trees;
bulbs and roots;
all kinds of grass;
berries and fruits;
small insects;
hard tree seeds.

Interesting fact: In order for the grain of the Calvaria tree to germinate and sprout, it had to be removed from a hard shell. This is exactly what happened during the eating of grains by the dodo bird, only thanks to its beak, the bird managed to open these grains. Therefore, due to a chain reaction, after the disappearance of birds, over time, the Kalvaria trees also disappeared from the flora of the island.

One feature of the digestive system of the dodo bird was that in order to digest solid food, it deliberately swallowed small pebbles, which contributed to a better grinding of food into small particles.

Features of character and lifestyle

Due to the ideal conditions prevailing on the island, there were no threats to the birds from outside. Feeling completely safe, they had a very trusting and friendly character, which later played a fatal mistake and led to the complete extinction of the species. The approximate life expectancy was about 10 years.

Basically, the birds kept in small flocks of 10-15 individuals, in dense ones, where there were a lot of plants and the necessary food. A measured and passive life led to the formation of a large belly, which practically dragged along the ground, making the birds very slow and clumsy.

These amazing birds communicated with the help of screams and loud sounds that could be heard at a distance of more than 200 meters. Calling each other, they began to actively flap their small wings, creating a loud sound. With the help of these movements and sounds, accompanying all this with special dances in front of the female, the ceremony of choosing a partner took place.

A pair between individuals was created for life. Birds built nests for their future offspring very carefully and accurately, in the form of a small mound, adding palm leaves and all kinds of branches there. The incubation process lasted about two months, while the parents very vehemently guarded their only large egg.

Interesting fact: In the process of incubation of the egg, both parents took turns taking part, and if an outside dodo individual approached the nest, then the individual of the corresponding sex of the intruder went to expel.

Social structure and reproduction

Unfortunately, thanks only to modern studies of the skeletal remains of Mauritian dodos, scientists have been able to find out more information about the reproduction of this bird and its growth pattern. Before that, almost nothing was known about these birds. These studies showed that the bird bred at a certain time of the year, approximately in March, while immediately completely losing its feathers, remaining in fluffy plumage. This fact was confirmed by signs of the loss of a large amount of minerals from the bird's body.

By the nature of the growth in the bones, it was determined that the chicks, after hatching from eggs, quickly grew to large sizes. However, it took them several years to reach full sexual maturity. The fact that they hatched in August, during a calmer and more food-rich period, served as a special survival advantage. And between November and March, dangerous cyclones raged on the island, often ending in a lack of food.

Interesting fact: The female dodo only laid one egg at a time, which was one of the reasons for their rapid extinction.

It is noteworthy that the information obtained by scientific research was fully consistent with the records of sailors who were lucky enough to meet these unique birds in person.

Natural enemies of dodo birds

Peace-loving birds lived in complete peace and security, there was not a single predator on the island that could hunt for a bird. All sorts of insects also did not carry any threat to the harmless dodo. Therefore, in the course of many years of evolution, the dodo bird has not acquired any protective devices or skills that could save it from an attack.

Everything changed dramatically with the arrival of man on the island, being a gullible and curious bird, the dodo herself made contact with the Dutch colonists with interest, unaware of all the danger, becoming an easy prey for cruel people.

At the beginning, the sailors did not know whether it was possible to eat the meat of this bird, and it turned out to be tough and not very pleasant, but hunger and a quick catch, the bird practically did not resist, contributed to the killing of the dodo. Yes, and the sailors realized that the extraction of the dodo is very profitable, because three slaughtered birds were enough for the whole team. In addition, the animals brought to the islands brought no small damage.

Namely:

Practically, in just 65 years, man managed to completely destroy the centuries-old population of this phenomenal feathered animal. Unfortunately, people not only barbarously destroyed all representatives of this kind of bird, but also failed to preserve its remains with dignity. There are reports of several cases of dodo birds transported from the islands. The first bird was transported to in 1599, where it created a sensation, especially among artists, who often depicted an amazing bird in their paintings.

The second individual was brought to, almost 40 years later, where it was put on display to the surprised public for money. Then, a stuffed animal was made from an exhausted, dead bird and exhibited in the Oxford Museum. However, this effigy could not be preserved to our days; only a dried head and leg remained of it in the museum. Several parts of the skull of a dodo and the remains of paws can also be seen in and. Also, scientists were able to model a full-fledged model of the dodo bird, so that people can see what they looked like before extinction. Although many copies of the dodo ended up in European museums, most of them were lost or destroyed.

Interesting fact: The dodo bird gained great fame thanks to the fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland", where the dodo is one of the characters in the story.

dodo bird intertwined with many scientific factors and unsubstantiated conjectures, however, the true and undeniable aspect is the cruel and unjustified actions of man, which have become the main cause of the whole species of animal.

The dodo was discovered on the islands east of Madagascar, today called the Mascarene Archipelago. Three fairly large islands that form this archipelago stretch along the 20th parallel south of the equator. Now they are called Reunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues.

The names of the discoverers of these territories remain unknown. It is quite obvious that Arab merchant ships sailed here, but did not pay much attention to their discovery, since the islands were uninhabited, and it is extremely difficult to trade on uninhabited islands. The European discoverers were the Portuguese, although, surprisingly, it was only from the second call that the Portuguese discoverer gave the islands his name.

This man was Diogo Fernandes Pereira, who sailed in these waters in 1507. On February 9, he discovered an island located 400 miles east of Madagascar and named it Santa Apollonia. It must be modern Reunion. Soon Pereira's ship "Serne" stumbled upon the current Mauritius. The sailors landed on the shore and named the island after their ship - Ilha do Cerne.

Pereira moved towards India, and in the same year, a little later, Rodriguez discovered. At first, the island was named Domingo Freese, but also Diego Rodriguez. The Dutch apparently found the name difficult to pronounce, and spoke of an island called DiegoRay, which was then gallicized and became Dygarroys - however the French themselves called the island Il Marianna.

Six years later, the second "discoverer", Pedro Mascarenhas, arrived, he visited only Mauritius and Réunion. On this occasion, Mauritius was not renamed, but Sant Apollonia (Reunion) was named Mascarenhas or Mascaragne, and to this day the islands are called Mascarene ().

The Portuguese discovered Mauritius, but did not settle on it. However, in 1598 the Dutch landed there and claimed the island as their own (Leopold, 2000). The Mascarene Islands were a convenient transit station on the way to India, and soon crowds of adventurers flooded them (Akimushkin, 1969).

In 1598, after the arrival of a squadron of 8 ships to Mauritius, the Dutch admiral Jacob van Nek began to compile a list and description of all living things that were found on the island. After the admiral's notes were translated into other languages, the scientific world learned about an unusual, strange and even bizarre flightless bird, which is known throughout the world as a dodo, although scientists most often call it a dodo (Bobrovsky, 2003).

Let's learn more about it...-

Rice. Reconstruction of the appearance of the dodo ()

It was said that dodos gave the impression of being almost tame, although it was not possible to keep them in captivity. “... They trustingly approach a person, but they can’t be tamed in any way: as soon as they fall into captivity, they begin to stubbornly refuse any food until they die.”

A quiet life for the dodos ended as soon as a person began to actively interfere in the life of the island nature.

Ship crews replenished food supplies on the islands, for this purpose exterminating all life in the forests of the archipelago. The sailors ate all the huge turtles, and then set to work on the clumsy birds.
On small oceanic islands, where there are no land predators, dodos gradually, from generation to generation, lost the ability to fly. The cooks of the Dutch courts did not know whether this easily accessible bird with tough meat could be eaten. But very quickly, hungry sailors realized that the dodo is edible and it is very, very profitable to get it. Defenseless birds, heavily waddling from side to side and waving miserable "stumps" of wings, unsuccessfully tried to escape from people by flight. Only three birds were enough to feed the ship's crew. A few dozen salted dodos were enough for a whole voyage. They got used to it so much that the holds of the ships were filled to the top with living and dead dodos, and the sailors of passing ships and caravels competed for the sake of sporting interest in who would kill these clumsy birds more. From that moment on, the Mauritian dodo had less than 50 years to live in nature (Green, 2000; Akimushkin, 1969; Bobrovsky, 2003-).

The flightless dodos were completely helpless in the face of new enemies, and their numbers began to dwindle rapidly. They soon disappeared altogether. All together, people and animals, by the end of the 18th century, they exterminated all dodos (Akimushkin, 1969; Leopold, 2000).

On the three islands of the Mascarene archipelago - Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues - lived, apparently, three different types of dodos.

In 1693, for the first time, the dodo was not included in the list of animals of Mauritius, so by this time, it can be considered that it had already disappeared completely.

The Rodrigues dodo, or hermit, was last seen in 1761. As in other cases, not a single stuffed animal of it remained, and for a long time scientists did not have a single bone of it. It is time to ask: was this dodo? Moreover, François Lega, the author of the most detailed description of the Rodrigues dodo, was sometimes called a 100% liar, and some scientists considered his book “The Journey and Adventures of Francois Lega and His Companions…” to be a collection of retellings of other people's fictions (Akimushkin, 1995-).

Later, the Réunion dodo was exterminated. It was first mentioned in 1613 by the English captain Castleton, who landed on Reunion with his pets. Then the Dutchman Bontekoevan Gorn, who spent 21 days on this island in 1618, mentioned this bird, calling it "hohlohvostok". The last traveler who saw and described this species was the Frenchman Bory-de-Saint-Vincennes, who visited Réunion in 1801. Domestic animals and humans also became the reason for the disappearance of this species. Not a single skeleton and not a single stuffed white dodo remained (Bobrovsky, 2003).

The table shows the anthropogenic rate of destruction of dodos (Table 1).

Table 1

So, that the very first mention of this species was made in 1598, and the most recent - in 1801. Thus, we can conclude that the species disappeared in about 200 years.

When, at the end of the 18th century, naturalists rushed in the footsteps of the dodos, and their search led them to the island of Mauritius, everyone to whom they turned for advice here only shook their heads doubtfully. “No, sir, we don’t have such birds and never have,” said both shepherds and peasants.

Photo 3.

1.3. Dodo in Europe

Sailors tried many times to bring dodos to Europe in order to surprise Europeans with an outlandish bird. But, if the gray Mauritian dodo sometimes managed to be brought alive to the northern latitudes, then with its white Reunion counterpart it did not work out. Almost all birds died during the journey. As an unknown French priest who visited the island of Mauritius wrote in 1668: “Each of us wanted to take two birds with us to send them to France and hand them over to His Majesty there, but on the ship the birds died, probably from longing, refusing from food and drink” (quoted by V.A. Krasilnikov, 2001).

Legend has it that two dodos from Reunion Island, taken by ship to Europe, really shed tears when they parted with their native island (Bobrovsky, 2003).
Although sometimes this idea was still successful, and, according to the Japanese ecologist Dr. Masaui Hachisuka, who studied in detail the history of the amazing flightless bird, a total of 12 individuals of this flightless bird were brought to Europe from Mauritius. 9 dodos were brought to Holland, 2 to England and 1 to Italy (Bobrovsky, 2003).

There is also an accidental mention that one of the birds was taken to Japan, but, despite numerous attempts by Japanese scientists, it was not possible to find a mention of this in Japanese chronicles and books ().

In 1599, Admiral Jacob van Neck brought the first living dodo to Europe. In the homeland of the admiral in Holland, a strange bird made a noisy commotion. She could not be surprised.

Artists were especially attracted by her downright grotesque appearance. And Pieter-Holstein, and Hufnagel, and Franz Franken, and other famous painters were carried away by "drontopis". At that time, they say, more than fourteen portraits were painted from a captive dodo. It is interesting that a color image of a dodo (one of these portraits) was found only in 1955 by Professor Ivanov at the Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) Institute of Oriental Studies!

Another living dodo came to Europe half a century later, in 1638. A funny story happened with this bird, or rather, with its stuffed animal. The dodo was brought to London and there, for money, they showed it to everyone who wanted to look at it. And when the bird died, they took off its skin and stuffed it with straw. From a private collection, the stuffed animal ended up in one of the Oxford museums. For a century it vegetated there in a dusty corner. And in the winter of 1755, the curator of the museum decided to make a general inventory of the exhibits. For a long time he stared in bewilderment at the stuffed animal of a surreal bird with a ridiculous inscription on the label: “Ark” (ark?). And then he ordered to throw it in the garbage heap.

Fortunately, a more educated person happened to pass by that pile. Marveling at his unexpected luck, he pulled out of the garbage dump the hook-nosed head of the dodo and the clumsy paw - all that was left of him - and hurried with his priceless finds to the dealer in curiosities. The rescued paw and the head were later accepted into the museum again, this time with great honors. These are the only relics in the world left from a single stuffed dragon-like “pigeon,” says Willy Ley, one of the experts on the sad history of dodos. But Dr. James Greenway of Cambridge, in an excellent monograph on extinct birds, claims that the British Museum has another leg, and in Copenhagen a head, which undoubtedly belonged to a once-living dodo from Mauritius (Akimushkin, 1969).

Rice. Early dodo drawings (left), dodo reconstruction (right) ()

The traditional image of the dodo is a fat, clumsy pigeon, but this view has been challenged in recent times. Scientists have proven that old European drawings show overfed birds in captivity. The artist Maestro Mansour painted dodos on the native islands of the Indian Ocean (Fig. 4.) and depicted the birds as slimmer. His drawings were studied by Professor Ivanov and proved that these drawings are the most accurate. Two "living" specimens were brought to the Indian Ocean islands in the 1600s, and the painted specimens matched the description. As noted in Mauritius, the dodo fed on ripe fruits at the end of the rainy season to survive in the dry season when food is scarce. There were no problems with food in captivity and the birds became overfed ().

Photo 4.

1.4. Cultural and historical significance of the dodo

Dodo in astronomy

Dodos became famous even in astronomy. In honor of the dodo from Rodriguez, one constellation in the sky was named. In June 1761, the French astronomer Pingres spent some time on Rodrigues, observing Venus against the background of the solar disk (she was crossing it just then). Five years later, his colleague Le Monnier, in order to preserve the memory of his friend's stay on Rodrigues for centuries and in honor of the amazing bird that lived on this island, named the new group of stars discovered by him between the Dragon and Scorpio the constellation of the Hermit. Wanting to mark him on the map, according to the customs of those times, with a symbolic figure, Le Monnier turned to Brisson's Ornithology, then popular in France, for information. He did not know that Brisson did not include dodos in his book, and, seeing in the list of birds the name solitaria, that is, "hermit", conscientiously redrawn the animal named so. And he mixed everything up, of course: instead of the impressive dodo, the new constellation on the map was crowned with its little representative figure by the blue stone thrush - Monticolasolitaria (it still lives in the south of Europe, and in our country - in Transcaucasia, Central Asia and southern Primorye) (Akimushkin, 1969 .).

When compiling an essay on the ecology of the species, the method of autecological description by V. D. Ilyichev (1982) was used with additions of individual elements of a similar technique by G. A. Novikov (1949).

Photo 5.

2.1. Ideas about the taxonomy of the dodo and their evolution

By the beginning of the 19th century, knowledge about the systematic position of dodos was very contradictory. At first, according to rumors and the first sketches, dodos were mistaken for pygmy ostrich birds, since the loss of flight and even a strong reduction in the wing skeleton is a common occurrence in this group of birds. So at first thought Carl Linnaeus, who in his 10th edition of The System of Nature in 1758 classified the dodo in the genus of ostriches. There were also more bizarre opinions. Some naturalists considered the dodo a kind of wingless swan, others attributed the dodo to albatrosses, and even to waders and plovers. In the 30s of the 19th century, the dodo was even classified as a vulture because of its bare head and curved beak. This extravagant point of view was supported by Richard Owen himself - the undisputed authority of that time, an English morphologist and paleontologist, to whom we owe the word "dinosaur". And yet, over time, the opinion of scientists leaned in favor of the fact that dodos are some kind of chicken birds that have lost their ability to fly, as is often found on the islands.

The fact that scientists now consider the proximity of the dodo to pigeons was first expressed by studying the skull of the dodo, the Danish naturalist J. Reinhard. But, unfortunately, he soon died, his point of view was supported by the English scientist H. Strickland, who carefully studied all the available collection materials, including drawings. Strickland called the dodo "a colossal, short-winged, frugivorous pigeon." This view became widely accepted in science when hook-billed pigeons (Didunculus strigirostris) first entered European collections from the oceanic islands of Western Samoa. The hook-billed dove is small, the size of an ordinary sizar, but also has a wonderful beak, ending in a sharp hook and a curved upper beak - along its edge there are teeth. The beak of this hermit from the island of Samoa immediately allows you to "recognize" in him a kind of bizarre dodo beak. And what is remarkable, according to the reports of the first navigators, toothed pigeons also nested on the ground and laid only one egg. On many islands, where pigs, cats and rats appeared along with humans, toothed pigeons began to quickly disappear, but on two islands - Upolu and Savaii, they switched to nesting in trees, which saved them. Unfortunately, the dodos could not fly up to the trees (Bobrovsky, 2003).

Photo 6.

All modern pigeons, and there are 285 known species, fly well. In the order of pigeon-like (Golumbiformes), in addition to the families Pigeon and Dodo, there is also the family Ryabkovye (Pteroelidae). But they (16 species in the world) fly beautifully. In addition, in addition to the dodo and its relatives, the discoverers of Mauritius and other Mascarene Islands discovered there many species of real ones, i.e. flying pigeons. Why didn't they lose their wings? It turns out that there is not a single species of pigeon that, once on a deserted (without predators) island, would become flightless.

In 1959, at the International Zoological Congress in London, the German naturalist Luttschwager for the first time put forward a completely new hypothesis on the origin and relationship of dodos. In the structure of the head of dodos and pigeons, he found many differences. Then other authors joined him, especially after comparing the bones and skeletons from Mauritius and Rodrigues. In his book Dodos (1961), Lüttschwager criticized the "pigeon" hypothesis of the origin of these giant birds. In the structure of the hip joints, breast bones and paws of dodos, he found much in common not with pigeons, but with corncrakes belonging to the family of shepherd birds. Corncrakes do not fly well and, in case of danger, try not to take off, but to run away. Moreover, the corncrakes living on isolated islands are losing the ability to fly, and many flightless shepherds like them (Mauritian shepherd, Mascarene coot, some chariots and moorhens - only 15 species) have died out like dodos ().

In 2002, an analysis of the cytochrome b and 12S rRNA gene sequences was carried out, on the basis of which it was determined that the living maned pigeon (Fig.) is the closest relative of dodos (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodos).

According to modern classification, the dodo family is included in the order pigeon-like.

Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordates
Subtype: Vertebrates
Class: Birds
Subclass: New palatine
Squad: Pigeons - birds with a dense massive body - legs and neck are short - wings are long and sharp, adapted for rapid flight. The plumage is dense, dense - feathers with a well-developed downy part. The beak is rather short, the nostrils are covered with leathery caps on top. The food is almost exclusively vegetable and, first of all, seeds, less often fruits and berries. All pigeons have a well-developed goiter, which serves both to accumulate food and to soften it; in addition, pigeons feed their chicks with "milk" produced in the goiter.
Family: Dodo (Raphidae) included 3 species:
- Mauritian dodo. Dodo, or Mauritian dodo, he is also a gray dodo. This species lived on the island of Mauritius - the largest island of the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus himself.
- Reunion dodo. In the tropical forests of Reunion Island, another species lived - white, or Bourbon, dodo (Raphusborbonicus), really almost white, slightly smaller than dodo. Some experts doubt the existence of this species, since it is known only from descriptions and drawings.
- Rodrigues dodo. The third representative of the family, the hermit dodo (Pezophapssolitarius), lived on the island of Rodrigues. Back in 1730, the hermit dodo was quite common, but by the end of the 18th century, this species also ceased to exist. There is nothing left of it - there are no skins or eggs of this bird in museums (http://www.ecosystema.ru/07referats/01/dodo.htm).

Enemies and limiting factors

On the islands where the dodo lived, there were no large mammals that would hunt it. This trusting, extremely peaceful creature has completely lost the ability to recognize enemies. The dodo's only defense was its beak. In 1607, Admiral Verguven visited Mauritius, who was the first to note that dodos, it turns out, can "bite very painfully" (Durrell, 2002-).

After the discovery of the islands, people began to actively exterminate clumsy birds. In addition, pigs were brought to the islands, which crushed the eggs of dodos, goats, which ate the bushes where the dodos built their nests, dogs and cats destroyed old and young birds, and pigs and rats ate chicks (Leopold, 2000).

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Photo 8.

Ecological consequences of the extinction of the species

An interesting fact about dodos was discovered in 1973, when scientists drew attention to the fact that on the island of Mauritius there are old trees - calvariimetor, which almost never renew. Trees of this species in the past were also not uncommon on the island, and now no more than a dozen and a half calvaria specimens grow on its entire area of 2045 square kilometers. It turned out that their age exceeds 300 years. The trees still produced nuts, but none of the nuts sprouted and no new trees appeared. But almost 300 years ago, in 1681, the last dodo was killed on the same island. American ecologist Stanley Temil managed to establish a connection between the extinction of the dodo and the extinction of the calvaria. He proves that these birds were an important factor in the reproduction of trees. He suggested that the nuts would not germinate until they were pecked by the dodo and passed through his intestines. The pebbles that the dodo swallowed in his stomach destroyed the hard shell of the nuts, and the calvaria sprouted. Temil suggests that evolution developed such a strong shell because the seeds of calvaria were willingly swallowed by Dodo pigeons.

To test the hypothesis, the nuts were fed to turkeys with a similar stomach, and after passing through the digestive system, new trees grew from them. With the disappearance of dodos, no other bird in Mauritius could destroy the hard shell of nuts, and these trees became endangered (Bobrovsky, 2003-).

Material remains of the species

For a long time after the destruction of the dodo, no one could find evidence of the existence of this bird. The dodo hunters, disappointed and embarrassed, returned with nothing. But J. Clark (Fig. 11.), not believing local legends, stubbornly continued to look for forgotten capons. He climbed mountains and swamps, tore more than one camisole on thorny bushes, dug the earth, rummaged in dusty screes on river steeps and in ravines. Good luck always comes to those who persevere. And Clark was lucky: in one swamp, he dug up many massive bones of a large bird. Richard Owen (English zoologist and paleontologist) examined these bones in detail and proved that they belong to dodos.

Rice. Excavations by J. Clark on a postage stamp ()

At the end of the last century, the government of the island of Mauritius ordered more thorough excavations in the swamp discovered by Clark. We found many bones of dodos and even several complete skeletons that now adorn the halls with the most valuable collections of some museums in the world.

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

A team of Dutch paleontologists in 2006 discovered a part of a dodo skeleton on the island of Mauritius (Fig.). Among the remains found are part of the femur, paws, beak, spine and wings of a dodo. The bones of the vanished bird were discovered in a dried-up swamp in Mauritius. Dutch researchers continue their search and hope to find complete skeletons.

Rice. Dodo bones found by the Dutch ()

Dodo bones are not as rare as its eggs, although they are among the most valuable scientific finds.

A single dodo egg has survived to this day. Some zoologists regard this large, cream-colored egg as the most important exhibit for their science. It must cost hundreds of pounds more than a pale green egg of a great loon or an ivory fossil egg of the Madagascar epiornis, the largest bird of the ancient world (Fedorov, 2001).

The dodo is of considerable interest in the scientific world. This is evidenced by the fact that the prospects for the restoration of this species by genetic engineering have been actively discussed in recent years (Zeleny Mir, 2007).

2.8. View recovery prospects

A group of American biologists were able to isolate the DNA (Fig.) of a bird from the shell of a single egg.

Experiments with the isolation of paleo-DNA (that is, DNA from ancient fossils) have been conducted for a long time. But until now, researchers have used the technology of extracting hereditary material from the bones of fossil animals, in particular birds.

In 1999, British scientists embarked on a program to recreate the extinct species using the preserved genetic material. Moreover, the famous dodo bird was chosen as the first object.

It is curious that in Moscow, in the State Darwin Museum, there is one of the few dodo skeletons. Scientists know only a few skeletons (fig.) and bones of the dodo, and the specimen kept in the Darwin Museum is the only one in Russia.

Researchers at the Darwin Museum expressed serious doubts about the successful outcome of the experiment, conceived by British scientists. The arguments were like this. First, it is very unlikely that such a complex three-dimensional structure as DNA is well preserved. According to the museum staff, even from the carcasses of mammoths that have lain in the permafrost, it is not possible to isolate intact DNA - they are all “broken”. Second, DNA itself does not replicate. To start the process of its division, you need an appropriate environment - the cytoplasm and other organelles inherent in a living cell.

This is precisely the current achievement of American biologists, that they have developed a technology for isolating hereditary material (DNA) not from bones, but from eggshells. The authors of the new work found that it is in this fraction that most of the DNA is contained - it is, as it were, sealed in a matrix of calcium carbonate. Prior to this, when extracted from bones, most of the calcium was simply washed out of the source material. After all, before they did it - they made a squeeze out of the remnants of bone material by special methods - they placed it in a physiological solution and washed out all that was superfluous. Then, well-preserved cells were selected and the nuclei were “knocked out” from them (recall, it is in the nuclei that DNA is contained).
The success was even greater than expected. It was possible to obtain not only nuclear DNA, but also the DNA of the so-called mitochondria - organelles that work as energy stations of the cell. Mitochondrial DNA is smaller than nuclear DNA, so it is better preserved in samples and easier to extract. However, it carries much less information about a living being. In addition, this information is transmitted to offspring only through the female line.

The shell is a more convenient source of DNA, scientists say, not only because it is easier to extract nucleic acids from it. An additional advantage is that the shell is less "attractive" to bacteria, whose DNA contaminates the DNA of the target species and makes it difficult to work with.

Nevertheless, the most intriguing question remains open: can the resulting DNA be used to recreate long-extinct animals?

There seem to be no fundamental limitations to the cloning process. The principle scheme is clear: we transplant the obtained cell nuclei into cow eggs, previously deprived of native nuclei (it is more convenient to work with cow eggs: they are large in size, the technology for their production has been established, there are banks of such cells) - then a “surrogate” mother of a related species bears an embryo ... just wait. In the case of the cloned sheep Dolly, the probability of success was 0.02% (Morozov, 2010).

NCBI EOL

The Dodo was well known to the public due to its prominent role in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, which has become an integral part of pop culture. The name of the bird subsequently became associated with the concept of extinction and extinction.

Taxonomy and evolution

Prior to the classification of the dodo, there were many speculations about its origin. The Dodo has been compared to many birds, including ostriches and vultures, but the exact taxonomic position of the bird was unknown. In 1846, based on studies of a dodo skull in Copenhagen, Johann Reinhardt suggested that dodos were related to ground pigeons. From Reinhardt's memoirs:

A recently discovered sketch of a dodo's head in the Oxford Museum.

This view was later supported by Hugh Strickland and Melville after analysis of the effigy's preserved head and paw in the Oxford Museum, however this view remained controversial until the genetic examination. After a molecular study of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b and the 12S rRNA sequence, the "pigeon" theory was confirmed. Comparative analysis of the DNA of dodos and other birds has shown that the ancestors of Mauritian dodos differed from their closest known relatives. A similar analysis performed on the DNA of extinct white dodos also showed differences between ancestors that lived during the Paleogene-Neogene period and a recently extinct bird. Since the Mascarene Islands were of volcanic origin and were 10 million years old, the ancestors of both the Mauritian and the white dodo likely retained the ability to fly for a considerable time after separating from their lineage. The same study also shows that the Southeast Asian maned dove is the closest relative of both the dodo and the white dodo. The generic name of the dodo, like the scalloped pigeon from Samoa, is Didunculus, which means "little dodo" in Samoan. The scalloped dove and the dodo were also shown to be closely related in the same study, however the putative phylogenetics of the relationship of the two species is problematic. After research, it is now safe to say that the ancestors of dodos were pigeons from southeast Asia or Wallace, thus confirming the theory of the origin of most Mascarene birds.

For a long time the Mauritian and white dodos, together with the so-called Didines were in the family Raphidae. This was explained by the fact that their relationship with other groups of birds, such as chalets, remained unclear. After a proposal that resulted in the removal of the name Didines, Mauritian and white dodos were placed in the subfamily Raphinae .

Etymology

A 1634 drawing by Sir Thomas Herbert of a broad-billed parrot (left), a rufous Mauritius shepherd (centre) and a dodo (right)

The origin of the word "dodo" is unclear. According to one version, it originates from the Dutch word dodoor meaning "lazy". However, according to the most likely version, the name of the dodo comes from another Dutch word - dodaars, meaning either "fat-backed" or "back-knot", referring to the narrow tuft of the bird's tail feathers. First entry of the word dodaerse was made in a journal by Captain Willem van Westsanen in 1602. Sir Thomas Herbert used the word "dodo" in 1627, but it is unclear whether he was the first, as the Portuguese who visited Mauritius in 1507 are not known to have used it in their speech. However, according to dictionaries Encarta And Chambers The name "dodo" comes from the Portuguese word doudo(similar to another Portuguese word doido), meaning "fool" or "crazy". However, the existing Portuguese name for the bird, dodo, taken from the international word dodo. David Quamen believed that the word "dodo" was an onomatopoeia of the voice of a bird, and two notes pronounced by doves resembled the phrase "doo-doo". There are different hypotheses about the origin of these names. It was believed, for example, that dodo comes from the Portuguese word duodo - stupid, stupid, blockhead. Given the silly appearance and carelessness of these birds, the discoverers of Mauritius chose the right name. The Danish language has a word drunte ("to move slowly, clumsily"). By the way, the Danes really sailed to Mauritius in the 20s. 17th century and could participate in word formation.

The Dutch scholar A. S. Oudemans, in his book on dodo, gave a more reasonable explanation for the word "dodo". In Middle Dutch, the verb "dronten" in the old days meant "flabby", "bloated", "haughty" or "swanky". This fully corresponded to the appearance of the bird, some individuals of which, according to contemporaries, almost carried their belly along the ground. And it didn’t look like a swan or a dove, but like a broiler chicken, swollen to the size of a turkey. In modern Dutch, the word "dronten" is considered obscene.

Painting by Roylant Savery bird landscape(1628). Dodo in the lower right corner.

The original name of the dodo was called walghvogel, meaning "fell" or "disgusting bird" (referring to the taste of poultry meat). It was first used in the journal of Vice Admiral Wiebrand van Warwijk, who visited the island with Van Neck's expedition in 1598.

From the logbook entries:

On the left side of the ship was the small island of Heemskirk, as well as Warwick Bay ... the discovery in this place of a large number of "dirty" and "dry" birds, twice as large, such as swans, was a very good prey. However, the presence of many pigeons and parrots was most despised, since it was impossible to eat these large birds, thus calling them "dried birds" because of the disgusting and tough meat.

original text(English)

On their left hand was a little island which they named Heemskirk Island, and the bay it selve they called Warwick Bay... finding in this place great quantity of foules twice as bigge as swans, which they call Walghstocks or Wallowbirdes being very good meat . But finding an abundance of pigeons & popinnayes , they disdained any more to eat those great foules calling them Wallowbirds, that is to say lothsome or fulsome birdes.

Wiebrand van Warwijk, 1598

The bird was also mentioned by the Dutch under the name dronte meaning "swollen". It is still used in some languages today.

In his work of the XVIII century "The System of Nature" Carl Linnaeus introduced a specific name - cucullatus, meaning "hooded", and the combination of this word with the name of the bird genus gave the name Struthio, which was applied to ostriches. Mathurin-Jacques Brisson introduced a new name for the genus - Raphus, which was a reference to the bustard, which has survived unchanged to this day. Linnaeus later came up with a suitable name - Didus ineptus, but it has become synonymous with the early name due to nomenclature priority.

Dodo skeleton assembled from bones found in a swampy area on the island of Mauritius.

Description

Drawing of a dodo's head by Cornelis Saftleven in 1638, which is the last original illustration of the bird

To this day, there are no full stuffed dodos, so creating the appearance of a bird, especially its plumage and color, presents certain difficulties. But from subfossil deposits and dodo remains that were introduced to Europe in the 17th century, they are known to have been very large birds, possibly weighing up to 23 kg (50 lb), although large masses have only been attributed to captive individuals. However, according to some estimates, the bird's weight in its natural habitat was about 10.6-17.5 kg. The bird could not fly because its sternum and small wings were not adapted for flight. These land birds, having evolved, conquered the entire ecosystem of the island, since there were no predatory mammals on it. The dodo also had a 23 cm (9 in) long, hooked, spotted beak. Examination of several preserved dodo head feathers at the Oxford Museum showed that dodos were covered in down rather than feathers. This and other characteristics are features of neoteny.

Mughal-era miniature depicting a dodo among Indian birds

When the dodo was still a living bird, about 15 illustrations were created, which, along with various written reports of sightings in Mauritius, are the main evidence for the description of appearance. According to most images, the dodo had a grayish or brownish plumage, lighter flight feathers, and a light curly tuft at the end of the tail. The bird also had a gray or bald head; green, black or yellow beak; thick and yellowish legs and black claws.

In an early report from the Van Neck expedition, the bird was described as follows:

Blue parrots were very numerous, as well as other birds, among which was a species of very noticeable larger size than our swans, with a large head, only half covered with down, as if wearing a hood. These birds lacked wings, on which 3 or 4 black feathers protruded. The tail consisted of several soft concave ash-colored feathers. We named them Walghvogel for the reason that the longer and more often they were cooked, the less soft and more insipid they became. However, their belly and brisket were palatable and easily chewed.

original text(English)

Blue parrots are very numerous there, as well as other birds; among which are a kind, conspicuous for their size, larger than our swans, with huge heads only half covered with skin as if clothed with a hood. These birds lack wings, in the place of which 3 or 4 blackish feathers protrude. The tail consists of a few soft incurved feathers, which are ash colored. These we used to call "Walghvogel", for the reason that the longer and oftener they were cooked, the less soft and more insipid eating they became. Nevertheless their belly and breast were of a pleasant flavor and easily masticated

One of the most detailed descriptions of the bird by Sir Thomas Herbert in 1634:

For the first time and only on the island of Digarois (the modern name of the island of Rodrigues), a dodo was discovered (probably referring to the white dodo), which in appearance and rarity could compete with the Arabian phoenix: its body was round and fat, and weighed less than fifty pounds. These birds are more likely miracles than food, as their fatty stomachs, although they could satisfy hunger, they tasted disgusting and unnutritious. In her appearance, first of all, a nondescriptness was thrown, in which all the fragility of the creation of such a large body by nature, controlled by such small and weak wings, which served only to prove that it was a bird, was realized. Part of her bare head was covered with fine down, and her beak curved down, in the middle of which were nostrils, the ends of which were light green or pale yellow. Her small eyes were like round cut diamonds, and her plumage and three small feathers were short and disproportionate. The claws and paws were short, and her appetite was strong and voracious.

original text(English)

First here only and in Dygarrois (now Rodrigues, likely referring to the Solitaire) is generated the Dodo, which for shape and rarity may antagonize the Phoenix of Arabia: her body is round and fat, few weigh less than fifty pound. It is reputed more for wonder than for food, greasie stomackes may seeke after them, but to the delicate they are offensive and of no nourishment. Her visage darts forth melancholy, as sensible of Nature's injurie in framing so great a body to be guided with complementall wings, so small and impotent, that they serve only to prove her bird. The halfe of her head is naked seeming couered with a fine vaile, her bill is crooked downwards, in midst is the trill , from which part to the end tis a light green, mixed with pale yellow tincture; her eyes are small and like to Diamonds, round and rowling; her clothing downy feathers, her train three small plumes, short and inproportionable, her legs suiting her body, her pounces sharpe, her appetite strong and greedy. Stones and iron are digested, which description will better be conceived in her representation.

One of the most famous and often copied images of the dodo, painted by Roelandt Savery in 1626

Differences in the illustrations of leading authors such as Antony Cornelis Audemans and Masauji Hachisuki indicate sexual dimorphism, ontogenetic features, periodic changes, and even possible new species, but these theories are not recognized today. Due to the fact that such details as the color of the beak, the shape of the tail and plumage differed from each other in different individuals, it is impossible to determine the exact morphology of these features, since they could indicate either differences in the age or sex of the bird, or a distortion of reality. Apart from the Gelderlandian drawings, it is also not known whether there were other illustrations of living specimens or even stuffed effigies that could affect the reliability of the descriptions. Dodo specialist Julian Hume argued that instead of nostrils, dodos could have slits, judging by Gelderland, Suffleven, Croker and Mansour images. The images of the dodo's beak clearly show open nostrils, and not a defect resulting from the drying of the painting.

The traditional image of the dodo is of a very fat, clumsy bird, although this view may be exaggerated. According to the general opinion of scientists, old European drawings depicted overfed individuals in captivity. Results based on the dodo skeleton indicated that wild dodos could have weighed around 10.2 kilograms (22 pounds). The Dutch painter Roelandt Savery was the most prolific and influential illustrator of dodos, drawing them at least six times. His famous 1626 painting in the British Museum called Edward's Dodo has become the standard image of the dodo. This painting shows a very fat bird, which is the source of many other dodo restorations. A 17th-century painting by the Mughal artist Ustad Mansur, found in the 1950s, depicts a dodo along with endemic Indian birds. According to Professor Ivanov and Julian Hume, this image is one of the most accurate.

Behavior and lifestyle

A sketch of three dodos by Savery in 1626, known as the "Drawing of the Crocker Art Gallery"

Not much is known about the behavior of the dodo, and the most recent descriptions are very brief. They mention that the bird lived on fruit trees, nested on the ground and hatched only one egg. François Cauche's description from 1651 gives some details about the egg and the voice:

The voice was like that of a gosling, but the birds themselves were rather unpleasant in taste ... They hatched one egg at a time, which was as large as a penny bun, against which lay white stones the size of a chicken egg. They hatched their eggs in a nest made of grass, which these birds built and placed in the forests. If you kill a young specimen, you will find a gray stone in the stomach. We called them birds of Nazareth.

original text(English)

The call is like that of a gosling but they are quite unpalatable to eat... They lay one egg, which is quite as large as a penny bun, against which they lay a white stone the size of a chicken's egg. They lay their egg on a nest of grass which they collect and they place the nest in the woods.If one kills the young you find a gray stone in the gizzard.We named them the birds of Nazareth

Carcasses of "young ostriches" taken aboard a ship in 1617 are the only reference to possible dodo juveniles.

Map of the island of Mauritius from 1601. Point D on the far right of the map is where the dodos were found.

It is not yet known which dodo habitat was the most preferred, however, based on old descriptions, it has been suggested that they lived in the forests of the dry coastal regions in the south and west of Mauritius. Probably dodos were not distributed throughout the island, so they died out very quickly. A map from the 1601 Gelderland ship's log indicates the location where the dodos were caught, which was a small island off the coast of Mauritius. Julian Hume believes that this point was the Bay of Tamarin on the west coast of Mauritius.

Nutrition

The only source on the diet of the dodo was a document from 1631, which does not exist today:

These burgomasters (dodo) were very excellent and proud birds. They showed us their severe and strict heads with wide open beaks. With a brisk and bold gait, they could hardly move in front of us. Their formidable weapons were their beaks, with which they could bite fiercely, fed on fruits. They did not have a strongly pronounced plumage, but there was an abundant layer of fat. Many of them were brought on board the ship, to our delight.

original text(English)

These Burgmeesters are superb and proud. They displayed themselves to us with stiff and stern faces, and wide-open mouths. Jaunty and audacious of gait, they would scarcely move a foot before us. Their war weapon was their mouth, with which they could bite fiercely; their food was fruit; they were not well feathered but abundantly covered with fat. Many of them were brought onboard to the delight of us all.

Mauritius experienced dry and rainy seasons, which allegedly influenced dodo diets. Dodos gorged themselves on ripe fruits at the end of the rainy season to survive the drought when food was scarce. Contemporary reports suggest that the bird had a "brutal" appetite. Some contemporary sources claim that the dodos used stones to digest their food. The English historian Sir Hamon Lestrange, who witnessed the existence of a living bird, described it this way:

About 1638, when I was walking the streets of London, I saw a strange-looking bird [hung on a hook], and I, in the company of two or three people, went there to look at it. The creature was in the room, it was a large bird, somewhat larger than the largest turkey with long and large legs, but thicker and more straight in shape, the color of the chest of a young pheasant in front, and dark in color behind. The owner called it Dodo, in the fireplace at the end of the room lay a pile of large pebbles, from which the owner gave a few large stones like nutmeg to the bird before our eyes, he told us that the Dodo eats them (it helps digestion), and although I don’t know how much the owner knew his business, but I'm sure that after that the bird threw all the stones back

original text(English)

About 1638, as I walked London streets, I saw the picture of a strange looking fowle hung out upon a clothe and myselfe with one or two more in company went in to see it. It was kept in a chamber, and was a great fowle somewhat bigger than the largest Turkey cock, and so legged and footed, but stouter and thicker and of more erect shape, colored before like the breast of a young cock fesan, and on the back of a dunn or dearc colour. The keeper called it a Dodo, and in the ende of a chymney in the chamber there lay a heape of large pebble stones, whereof hee gave it many in our sight, some as big as nutmegs, and the keeper told us that she eats them (conducing to digestion), and though I remember not how far the keeper was questioned therein, yet I am confident that afterwards she cast them all again

Relationships with people

Extinction

surviving remains

Cultural influence

Notes

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This story may seem fictional if it were not a fabulous reality. On the lost deserted islands in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius, Rodrigues and Reunion, belonging to the Mascarene archipelago), dodo birds, representatives of the dodo family, lived in ancient times.

Outwardly, they resembled turkeys, although they were larger than them two or three times. One dodo bird weighed 25-30 kg with a height of 1 meter. A long neck, a bare head, without signs of any plumage or crest, a very massive frightening beak, reminiscent of an eagle. Four-fingered paws and some kind of wings, consisting of a few modest feathers. And a small crest, the so-called tail.

trusting dodo bird

The island on which the birds lived was truly a paradise: there were simply no people, no predators, or any other potential danger for the dodos. Dodo birds could not fly, swim and run fast, but it was useless, because no one offended dodos. All the food was simply under their feet, which did not cause the need to get it, rising into the air or swimming across the ocean. Another distinguishing characteristic of the dodo bird was its large belly, which was formed due to a too passive existence; he just crawled along the ground, which made the movement of birds very slow.

dodo lifestyle

Dodo birds were characterized by a solitary lifestyle, they united in pairs only to raise offspring. The nest, in which a single large white egg was laid, was built in the form of an earthen mound with the addition of branches and palm leaves. The process of incubation took place for 7 weeks, and both birds (female and male) took part in it in turn. Parents tremblingly guarded their nest, not letting strangers closer than 200 meters to it. It is interesting that if an “outside” dodo approached the nest, then an individual of the same sex went to drive it out.

According to the information that has come down to those distant times (the end of the 17th century), dodos, calling each other, loudly flapped their wings; moreover, within 4-5 minutes they made 20-30 strokes, which created a loud noise that was heard at a distance of more than 200 meters.

Brutal extermination of dodo birds

The dodo idyll ended with the arrival of Europeans on the islands, who perceived such easy prey as an excellent basis for food. Three slaughtered birds were enough to feed an entire ship's crew, and the whole voyage took several dozen salted dodos. However, their meat was considered tasteless by sailors, and easy dodo hunting (when it was enough to hit a gullible bird with a stone or stick) was uninteresting. Birds, despite the powerful beak, did not resist and did not run away, especially since their excessive weight prevented them from doing so. Gradually, the extraction of dodos turned into a kind of competition: “who will score more dodos”, which can be safely called a ruthless and barbaric extermination of harmless natural creatures. Many tried to take such unusual specimens with them, but, it would seem, tame creatures could not withstand the captivity imposed on them: they cried, refused food, and eventually died. The historical fact confirms that when the birds were taken from the island to France, they shed tears, as if realizing that they would never see their native lands.

100 malicious years - and no dodos

The birds got their name "dodo" (from Portuguese) from the same sailors who considered them stupid and idiots. Although in this case it was the people of the sea who were stupid, because a smart person will not ruthlessly destroy a defenseless and unique creature.

Ship rats, cats, monkeys, dogs, and pigs brought to the islands by people also took an indirect part in the extermination of dodo birds, eating eggs and chicks. In addition, nests were located on the ground, which only made it easier for predators to exterminate them. In less than 100 years, not a single dodo remained on the islands. The history of the dodo is a vivid example of how a merciless civilization destroys everything in its path that is given free of charge by Nature.

As a symbol of the barbaric destruction of natural creatures, the Jersey Animal Conservation Trust has chosen the dodo bird as its emblem.

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

How did the world know about the existence of such an unusual bird? What island did the dodo bird live on? And did she really exist?

The public learned about dodo birds, which could long remain in oblivion, thanks to Lewis Carroll and his fairy tale Alice in Wonderland. There, the dodo bird is one of the characters, and many literary critics believe that Lewis Carroll described himself in the image of the dodo bird.

In the world there was a stuffed dodo in a single copy; in 1637 they managed to bring a live bird from the islands to England, where for a long time they earned money by showing such an unusual specimen. After death, a stuffed animal was made from a feathered curiosity, which was placed in the Museum of London in 1656. By 1755, it was spoiled by time, moths and bugs, so the museum curator decided to burn it. At the last moment before the “execution”, one of the museum workers tore off the leg and head from the stuffed animal (they are best preserved), which became priceless relics of the world of zoology.

Pereira moved towards India, and in the same year, a little later, Rodriguez discovered. At first, the island was named Domingo Freese, but also Diego Rodriguez. The Dutch apparently found the name difficult to pronounce, and spoke of an island called DiegoRay, which was later gallicized to become the Dygarroys; however, the French themselves called the island Il Marianne.

Let's find out more about it...

Rice. Reconstruction of the appearance of the dodo (http://www.google.ru/imghp?hl=ru)

A quiet life for the dodos ended as soon as a person began to actively interfere in the life of the island nature.

On the three islands of the Mascarene archipelago - Mauritius, Reunion and Rodrigues - lived, apparently, three different types of dodos.

In 1693, for the first time, the dodo was not included in the list of animals of Mauritius, so by this time, it can be considered that it had already disappeared completely.

The table shows the anthropogenic rate of destruction of dodos (Table 1).

Table 1

So, that the very first mention of this species was made in 1598, and the most recent - in 1801. Thus, we can conclude that the species disappeared in about 200 years.

Photo 3.

1.3. Dodo in Europe

Sailors tried many times to bring dodos to Europe in order to surprise Europeans with an outlandish bird. But, if the gray Mauritian dodo sometimes managed to be brought alive to the northern latitudes, then with its white Reunion counterpart it did not work out. Almost all birds died during the journey. As an unknown French priest who visited the island of Mauritius wrote in 1668: “Each of us wanted to take two birds with us to send them to France and there convey to His Majesty; but on the ship the birds were dying, probably from boredom, refusing to eat and drink” (quoted by V.A. Krasilnikov, 2001).

There is also a random mention that one of the birds was taken 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 Jacob van Neck brought the first living dodo to Europe. In the homeland of the admiral in Holland, a strange bird made a noisy commotion. She could not be surprised.

Rice. Early dodo drawings (left), dodo reconstruction (right) (http://www.google.ru/imghp?hl=ru)

Photo 4.

1.4. Cultural and historical significance of the dodo

Dodo in astronomy

Photo 5.

2.1. Ideas about the taxonomy of the dodo and their evolution

The fact that scientists now consider the proximity of the dodo to pigeons was first expressed by studying the skull of the dodo, the Danish naturalist J. Reinhard. But, unfortunately, he soon died, his point of view was supported by the English scientist H. Strickland, who carefully studied all the available collection materials, including drawings. Strickland called the dodo "a colossal, short-winged, frugivorous pigeon." This view became widely accepted in science when hook-billed pigeons (Didunculus strigirostris) first entered European collections from the oceanic islands of Western Samoa. The hook-billed pigeon is small, the size of an ordinary sizar, but also has a remarkable beak, ending in a sharp hook and a curved mandible; along its edge are teeth. The beak of this hermit from the island of Samoa immediately allows you to "recognize" in him a kind of bizarre dodo beak. And what is remarkable, according to the reports of the first navigators, toothed pigeons also nested on the ground and laid only one egg. On many islands, where pigs, cats and rats appeared along with humans, toothed pigeons began to quickly disappear, but on two islands - Upolu and Savaii, they switched to nesting in trees, which saved them. Unfortunately, the dodos could not fly up to the trees (Bobrovsky, 2003).

Photo 6.

In 1959, at the International Zoological Congress in London, the German naturalist Luttschwager for the first time put forward a completely new hypothesis on the origin and relationship of dodos. In the structure of the head of dodos and pigeons, he found many differences. Then other authors joined him, especially after comparing the bones and skeletons from Mauritius and Rodrigues. In his book Dodos (1961), Lüttschwager criticized the "pigeon" hypothesis of the origin of these giant birds. In the structure of the hip joints, breast bones and paws of dodos, he found much in common not with pigeons, but with corncrakes belonging to the family of shepherd birds. Corncrakes do not fly well and, in case of danger, try not to take off, but to run away. Moreover, the corncrakes living on isolated islands are losing the ability to fly, and many flightless shepherds like them (Mauritian shepherd, Mascarene coot, some chaps and moorhens - only 15 species) have died out like dodos (http://www.mybirds.ru/forums /lofiversion/index.php/t58317.html).

According to modern classification, the dodo family is included in the order pigeon-like.

Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordates
Subtype: Vertebrates
Class: Birds
Subclass: New palatine
Squad: Pigeons - birds with a dense massive body; legs and neck are short; the wings are long and sharp, adapted for rapid flight. The plumage is dense, dense; feathers with well developed down part. The beak is rather short, the nostrils are covered with leathery caps on top. The food is almost exclusively vegetable and, first of all, seeds, less often fruits and berries. All pigeons have a well-developed goiter, which serves both to accumulate food and to soften it; in addition, pigeons feed the chicks with "milk" produced in the goiter.
Family: Dodo (Raphidae) included 3 species:
- Mauritian dodo. Dodo, or Mauritian dodo, he is also a gray dodo. This species lived on the island of Mauritius - the largest island of the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus himself.
- Reunion dodo. In the tropical forests of Reunion Island, another species lived - white, or Bourbon, dodo (Raphusborbonicus), really almost white, slightly smaller than dodo. Some experts doubt the existence of this species, since it is known only from descriptions and drawings.
- Rodrigues dodo. The third representative of the family, the hermit dodo (Pezophapssolitarius), lived on the island of Rodrigues. Back in 1730, the hermit dodo was quite common, but by the end of the 18th century, this species also ceased to exist. There is nothing left of it - there are no skins or eggs of this bird in museums (http://www.ecosystema.ru/07referats/01/dodo.htm).

Enemies and limiting factors

On the islands where the dodo lived, there were no large mammals that would hunt it. This trusting, extremely peaceful creature has completely lost the ability to recognize enemies. The dodo's only defense was its beak. In 1607, Admiral Vergouvin visited Mauritius, who was the first to note that dodos, it turns out, can “bite very painfully” (Durrell, 2002; http://www.bestreferat.ru/referat-6576.html).

After the discovery of the islands, people began to actively exterminate clumsy birds. In addition, pigs were brought to the islands, which crushed the eggs of dodos, goats, which ate the bushes where the dodos built their nests; dogs and cats destroyed old and young birds, and pigs and rats devoured chicks (Leopold, 2000).

Photo 8.

Ecological consequences of the extinction of the species

Material remains of the species

Rice. Excavations by J. Clark on a postage stamp (http://www.google.ru/imghp?hl=ru)

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

Rice. Dodo bones found by the Dutch (http://www.google.ru/imghp?hl=ru)

Dodo bones are not as rare as its eggs, although they are among the most valuable scientific finds.

2.8. View recovery prospects

A group of American biologists were able to isolate the DNA (Fig.) of a bird from the shell of a single egg.

In 1999, British scientists embarked on a program to recreate the extinct species using the preserved genetic material. Moreover, the famous dodo bird was chosen as the first object.

This is precisely the current achievement of American biologists, that they have developed a technology for isolating hereditary material (DNA) not from bones, but from eggshells. The authors of the new work found that it is in this fraction that most of the DNA is contained - it is, as it were, sealed in a matrix of calcium carbonate. Prior to this, when extracted from bones, most of the calcium was simply washed out of the source material. After all, before, as they did, they made a pomace from the remnants of bone material using special methods; put it in a saline solution and washed out everything superfluous. Then, well-preserved cells were selected and the nuclei were “knocked out” from them (recall, it is in the nuclei that DNA is contained).
The success was even greater than expected. It was possible to obtain not only nuclear DNA, but also the DNA of the so-called mitochondria - organelles that work as energy stations of the cell. Mitochondrial DNA is smaller than nuclear DNA, so it is better preserved in samples and easier to extract. However, it carries much less information about a living being. In addition, this information is transmitted to offspring only through the female line.

Nevertheless, the most intriguing question remains open: can the resulting DNA be used to recreate long-extinct animals?

There seem to be no fundamental limitations to the cloning process. The principle scheme is clear: we transplant the obtained cell nuclei into the eggs of cows, previously deprived of native nuclei (it is more convenient to work with the eggs of cows: they are large in size, the technology for their production has been established, there are banks of such cells); then a "surrogate" mother of a related species bears an embryo ... It remains only to wait. In the case of the cloned sheep Dolly, the probability of success was 0.02% (Morozov, 2010).

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