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Read the Danish version of this article on Videnskab.dk “In a world where every single individual counts towards the survival of the species, this will be an essential tool in the effort to return illegally caught apes back into their original location,” she says. Then we can return them to at least their original location,” she says.Īpes are specially adapted to a particular location but it’s a process that takes thousands of years to evolve, and so it’s important to return them back to their original habitat, says Hvilsom. “Chimpanzees are often victims of illegal trade, and therefore it’s essential to find out where any confiscated apes have originated from. The results could also help conservation efforts.īy analysing the entire genome of 65 chimpanzees and comparing their geographical distribution with each other, the scientists found that they could precisely identify where an individual ape came from.Īnd this could be vital information to help authorities conserve chimpanzee populations today. Read More: Scientists do away with Darwinian tradition “It would be very strange if other species had developed in a completely different way,” he says. The same has occurred throughout our own development, as demonstrated by the existence of DNA from now extinct hominids, such as Neanderthals, within our own genome.Īnd it is just as likely to have happened in many other species, says Terkelsen. Species are not static but can be linked via the exchange of genes over time,” she says. “Our findings call into question the way we think about speciation, and it’s clear that species are not as strictly divided as we once believed. This is one of the most important findings in the study, says Hvilsom. Read More: Bird study reveals a key assumption in evolution theory is false “This is an exciting find,” says Terkelsen. Instead they can meet again and share their genes at a later date.
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“When you imagine the tree of life today, we imagine lots of species that have branched out from a few original species-the trunk of the tree,” he says.īut now it seems that species do not necessarily branch out and diversify all of the time. The discovery is particularly interesting as it could change our existing perception of species development, says Terkelsen.
![chimpanzee vs bonobo chimpanzee vs bonobo](https://www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/102616_TI_chimp-bonobo_main.jpg)
Read More: Drought in the Horn of Africa delays migrating birds But with this study, we can see that their genes did mix,” says Terkelsen. “Whether it was because the river ran dry, or because some apes accidentally crossed the water on a floating tree trunk, we don’t know. “A lot of really strange things can happen in half a millions years,” he says. He studies genetic sequencing of primates and has read the new study. It is a surprising find, but on the other hand it should not be that surprising, says Assistant Professor Kasper Munch Terkelsen from Aarhus University, Denmark. “Strange things can happen in half a million years” Read More: Ancient horse DNA can help us understand evolution The chimpanzees’ DNA showed that bonobo genes had been introduced twice: first, around half a million years ago, and again 200,000 years ago. “Our study suggests that there must have been dry periods where the river level was low so the apes could’ve come into contact with one another,” says Hvilsom. It made sense because both chimps and bonobos are poor swimmers and would have drowned if they had tried to cross the water, she says. It was previously believed that populations of African apes had been separated by the Congo River. The new results are published in the journal Science.ĭried up Congo River led to ape hanky-panky Chimps and bonobos enjoy wading into the Congo River to catch food, but they cannot swim and so do not cross it entirely.