Current location:Culture Connection news portal > politics
An extinct, deeply divergent tiger lineage identified in northeastern China: study
Culture Connection news portal2024-05-21 12:57:56【politics】4People have gathered around
IntroductionPhoto taken with a monitoring camera shows a wild Siberian tiger in the Northeast China Tiger and Le
Photo taken with a monitoring camera shows a wild Siberian tiger in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in northeast China, April 14, 2021. (Xinhua)
BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese paleontologists identified an extinct and deeply divergent tiger lineage from a fossil found in northeastern China, revealing a more complex evolutionary picture of the big cats.
The researchers from Wuhan-based China University of Geosciences found that the ancient lineage diverged from modern tigers approximately 268,000 years ago. More than twice the known age of modern tigers' maternal ancestor, living around 125,000 years ago.
A tiger mandible was collected from Da'an karst cave in northeastern China's Jilin Province. Hyena fossils were also found in the cave. Da'an karst cave lies in the historical distribution range of tigers and the current habitat of Amur tigers.
The analysis on its residual DNA showed that the jawbone belonged, not to hyenas, but an individual tiger of unknown lineage. It dates back to more than 43,500 years ago, according to the study published recently in the Proceedings of The Royal Society B.
The researchers managed to recover both mitochondrial and nuclear genome data of the fossil to display the ancient tiger's maternal and patrilineal history.
The researchers said that fossils of cave lions were also recorded in nearby regions although it's still not clear whether they ever coexisted with the newly-identified predator, a distant cousin of modern tigers.
But the geographical overlap between two top predators, which prefer highly distinct habitats, still seems unlikely, according to the study.
The study brings a new insight into tigers' evolutionary history prior to their recent radiation and highlights the genetic antiquity of fossil tigers in China, said the researchers. ■
Address of this article:http://philippines.liveandunplugged.org/content-60a099878.html
Very good!(56)
Related articles
- Election 2024: Biden and Trump bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates
- Xi Meets Senegalese President in Johannesburg
- Saudi Arabia stuns Argentina in World Cup Group C
- Steeled for an almighty challenge
- Lynn Williams breaks NWSL goal
- Company Law draft revision to bolster confidence
- Liaoning claims its third CBA title in team history
- Xi Says BRICS Important Force in Shaping Int'l Landscape
- Kristin Cavallari, 37, ignores critics of her age
- Revitalized Lyu back with a bang
Popular articles
Recommended
Biden says Brown v. Board of Education ruling was about more than education
Xi Says China
Greece hands over Olympic Flame to Beijing 2022 organizers
Team China braced for tough challenge
'Constantly learning' Imanaga off to impressive start with the Chicago Cubs
Company Law draft revision to bolster confidence
Hainan expands visa
Liaoning claims its third CBA title in team history
Links
- Commentary: Washington abusing national security concept leads to insecurity for all
- Commentary: Sowing discord, fanning flames no good for peace in Middle East
- Lecherous family doctor, 47, who 'desecrated' a terminally
- Moment So You Think You Can Dance star fears she's suffered 'acid attack'
- Girl, five, dies in horror crash with a lorry while riding her bike outside the school gates
- Meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers held in Minsk
- Commentary: Sowing discord, fanning flames no good for peace in Middle East
- Friendship Standing Test of Fire and Blood
- News Analysis: Türkiye's economic woes far from over amid tumbling currency, looming debt
- Commentary: Sowing discord, fanning flames no good for peace in Middle East