Dodo remains from an in situ context from Mare aux Songes, Mauritius |
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| Authors: | Hanneke J. M. Meijer Arike Gill Perry G. B. de Louw Lars W. Van Den Hoek Ostende Julian P. Hume Kenneth F. Rijsdijk |
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| Affiliation: | (1) Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013-70122, USA;(2) Department of Geology, Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands;(3) Deltares, Department Soil and Groundwater, P.O. Box 85467, 3508 AL Utrecht, The Netherlands;(4) Bird Group, Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum at Tring, Akeman Street, Tring, Herts, HP23 6AP, UK;(5) Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Computational Bio- and Physical Geography, University of Amsterdam, Sciencepark 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | Since 2005, excavations at Mare aux Songes, Mauritius, have revealed the presence of a very rich, ∼4,200-year-old fossil bone bed including dodo (Raphus cucullatus) bones and bone fragments. The recently excavated dodo assemblage comprises at least 17 individuals and is characterised by the presence of small and fragile skeletal elements, a dominance of leg elements and an absence of juveniles. The hydrology of the area suggests that dodos, like many other species, were probably lured to Mare aux Songes by the presence of freshwater during times of drought. The most likely scenario for the origin of the fossil deposit is that animals became trapped in the sediment in repeated miring events, which would favour the conservation of hindlimbs. Such a scenario is fully in accordance with the taphonomic characteristics of the bone assemblage. |
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