Lost Worlds wrapping up: dead birds, island hopping and the value of museum collections

With the Science Blog Network closing, Hanneke Meijer reflects on her contributions to the Guardian ’s Lost Worlds RevisitedDespite all the splendid fossils we have covered here on Lost Worlds Revisited, nothing lasts forever (apart from the cold November rain here in Norway). In my time on here, I have covered a range of topics, fromDarwin ’s finches, thepeculiar nature of island faunas, andpenguin feet, tochickens, theevolution of feathers, andClub Med. Although they may seem rather arbitrary at first, they reflect my main interests in island paleobiogeography and avian evolution.Lost Worlds Revisited allowed me to rave on about research and fossils I felt the world needed to hear more about. For instance,dodos were not dumb sitting ducks, but exquisitely well adapted to their environment (a hill I ’m willing to die on),Komodo dragons may be dwarfs instead of giants, and preciousbaby birds in amber. But it also gave me the opportunity to delve into topics and ideas that I felt I needed to learn more about, such as theevolution of feathers,how bird eggs get their colours, and evenfrogs.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Science Birds Fossils Evolution Museums Source Type: news