Contrary to popular belief, penguins are not originally from Antarctica but from Oceania. This is what researchers say in a new study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The species would indeed have appeared 22 million years ago in New Zealand and Australia. It would therefore have first evolved in an environment with a temperate climate, before migrating to Antarctica, believe researchers at the University of Berkeley. According to their study, relayed by CNN, migration would have been motivated by the search for food, more abundant in the cold regions of the south of the globe.
Incredibly different environments in terms of temperature
Tectonic landslides that occurred 12 million years ago would have facilitated bird migration. The Drake Strait, which separates the northern tip of South America and Antarctica, opened up during this period. The penguins were then able to cross the ocean and dispersed to different islands in the polar region. They have also settled in less cold areas, such as the coasts of Africa or Latin America.
"We show how penguins managed to diversify and occupy incredibly different environments in temperature," says Rauri Bowie, co-author of the study. “It ranges from 9 ° C in the waters bordering Australia and New Zealand to negative temperatures in Antarctica or 26 ° C in the Galapagos Islands. "
To arrive at their conclusions, the Californian academics studied 22 current genomes from 18 different species of penguins in collaboration with museums and universities around the world. The study of tissues and blood allowed them to trace the past of animals and their migrations through several millennia.
Science
Brazil: Cayman's tears could help us cure human eye diseases
Planet
Antarctica: Eleven new emperor penguin colonies discovered, good news for the species
- Planet
- Migration
- Antarctic
- Australia
- study
- Animals