New dodo bones discovered in a undisclosed location

He is also a regular at archaeological excavations in Mauritius, having participated in the Mare-aux-Songes campaigns in 2010. The dodo bones which were found there 14 years ago are exhibited at the natural history museum in Port-au-Prince. Louis.

With the presence in Mauritius of Julian Hume from the National History Museum, in London, whose specialty is extinct birds, Owen Griffiths wanted to return to where “several years ago, I had found rare specimens of snails now extinct. On site, under basalt stones “forming like a miniature cave”, the remains of three adult dodos were found.

The exact location of this discovery is kept secret, “at the request of the owners of the land”, underlines Owen Griffiths. “We don’t say if it’s in the south of the island?” we ask. "No. We only say that it is in the Republic of Mauritius,” replies Owen Griffiths. “It’s a decision of the owners of the land,” he repeats. He specifies that he holds a permit issued by the National Heritage Fund, authorizing him to “carry out archaeological excavations in search of fossils”.

"Why am I someone who looks for snails?" asks Julian Hume. He explains that experience has shown that where there are shells of extinct species of snails, "it is an indicator that bones could be found there". With a gloved hand, to avoid any contamination, he shows a femur, a tibia, a metatarsus. As well as toe bones "which are very rare elements" . All in an "incredible state of preservation". Unlike the bones found at Mare-aux-Songes, "which spent centuries in a humid environment, which considerably degraded the genetic material". He adds that "we followed in the footsteps of Louis Thiroux who, in the 19th century, found dodo fossils under basalt stones in Port-Louis". He was a hairdresser who, in his time, had a passion for fossils. He found one of the most complete skeletons in the world, which is in the Port-Louis museum.

De-extinction

Second incredible coincidence: at the very time of the discovery of these new dodo fossils, a “team from Colossal Biosciences is currently in Mauritius”, reveals Owen Griffiths. “She visited the site where the new bones were found. She wishes to contact the owners of the land, given the good state of conservation of the bones. Dodo DNA could possibly be extracted from it. The people from Colossal Biosciences are accompanied by a film crew making a film.” Colossal Biosciences is the company of Ben Lamm and Beth Shapiro which has embarked on a process of de-extinction of the dodo. This in collaboration with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation. “Colossal Biosciences is looking for dodo DNA.” The company has the funds to finance this scientific research. Tests have already, for example, been carried out on a specimen kept in Copenhagen.

Owen Griffiths specifies for his part that to conduct research on DNA, "it is necessary to obtain authorization from both the Mauritian authorities and that of the owners of the land where the bones were found. We have only found these fossils, the next steps are not up to us."