From giant rodent to miniature elephant , the tropic archipelago of Indonesia used to be pour with weird and wonderful creatures . In an expedition to understand why so many of these incredible animals no longer stalk these timberland , researchers have detailed the species that once lived on one such island called Sumba .
As part of a radical known as the Wallace Islands , this realm is of particular involvement to biologists simply due to its saturated peculiarity . turn up as a gateway between Asia and Australia , the island have a bizarre mix of creatures from both Continent that have subsequently been isolate on islands for thousands of years .
On Sumba , it seems this led to the organic evolution of multiple specie of giant scab , the massive komodo flying dragon , as well as the smallest elephant species ( a pigmy stegodon ) yet notice . This study , published in theProceedings of the Royal Society B , is the first to describe in contingent the ancient fauna that once hold up on the Indonesian island of Sumba .
“ These discoveries volunteer a bewitching and touching glimpse at a baffled public , as many of the fauna that evolved in closing off on islands in Wallacea were turn a loss follow the prehistorical arrival of modern humans , ” says lead author Dr Samuel Turvey in a affirmation . “ Understanding the preceding diversity of these islands can give a singular insight into the processes of evolution , excuse why some metal money were lost while others survived . ”
Interestingly , the species that lived on Sumba were similar to those that are know to have evolved on the nearby island of Flores , which kick upstairs some fascinating possibility . Flores is the island on which anthropologists made the volatile uncovering of the “ hobbit ” people , orHomo floresiensis , a metal money of human that stood only 1.1 meters ( 3 feet 7 inches ) tall .
The researchers of this a la mode field of study suggest that if many of the other animals that lived on Flores were also able-bodied to hybridize the strait that separates the islands , there could be the possibility thatH. floresiensisalso made this journeying too . This might not be too far - fetched , debate their ascendent would have had to have crossed candid pee to get to Flores in the first office .
What needs to be done now is to look at the differences between the zoology incur on both islands , to see if these other species were indeed moving from island to island . If they do seem to be from a single or closely related universe , then it would support this hypothesis . evenly , if it wrick out that the different coinage individually produce and shrunk as they were all exposed to similar environment and thus like selective pressure , then it would imply they were far more stray .
