Scientists say they've revived an extinct sub-species of zebra, the Quagga
17 replies, posted
[QUOTE]Back in 1883, after having their population decimated by 19th century hunters, the very last quagga - a South African sub-species of zebra that doesn’t have stripes on its hind legs - died in a zoo in Amsterdam. Now, over a 100 years later, scientists claim they've finally brought the dead sub-species back to life over a 30-year period of selective breeding. The project, aptly dubbed The Quagga Project, started 30 years ago when its founder, Reinhold Rau from the University of Cape Town, analysed a series of DNA samples from quagga skin. When the results came back, he was shocked and elated to find that the extinct creature was genetically the same as the zebra, which meant that quagga were not a completely separate species. Knowing this was vital, because it proved that the only true difference between a zebra and a quagga were the markings.
With this information, Rau set about reviving the species by selectively breeding zebras to bring forth more and more quagga qualities. The main difference between the two creatures is that the quagga’s stripes fade from black and white to solid brown or white the closer you get to its hind legs. In a way, a 19th century quagga looked like a zebra that sat in mud up to its naval.[/QUOTE]
Sources:
[URL="http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-say-they-ve-revived-an-extinct-sub-species-of-zebra?perpetual=yes&limitstart=1"]Science Alert[/URL]
[URL="http://www.quaggaproject.org/quagga-whatsnew.htm"]The Quagga Project[/URL]
[url=http://www.africanews.com/2016/02/12/south-africa-the-resurrection-of-the-quagga/]Africa News[/url]
[url=http://www.citizen.co.za/989837/return-of-the-quagga/]Citizen.co.za[/url]
[IMG]http://www.quaggaproject.org/_img/5th-generation-quagga.jpg[/IMG]
so they didn't really revive the subspecies, they selected for it's likeness as a form of genetic art? still pretty cool
Life finds a way.
Up next! Mammoths! Fuck yeah!
oh, this is less impressive and more impressive than the title suggests
30 year breeding program to bring back what is essentially a misscolored zebra
[QUOTE=G-Wash;49743170]so they didn't really revive the subspecies, they selected for it's likeness as a form of genetic art? still pretty cool[/QUOTE]
Yes. Kind of like what the Nazis wanted to do with "reviving" Aurochs. They weren't actually bringing them back to life, they were just going to breed new animals that had their characteristics and resembled them into existence. I thought maybe these guys had cloned a Quagga and literally brought the species back to life, like what was done with the Pyrenean Ibex a few years ago. But breeding projects are of course different from cloning, and cloning is unfortunately the only way that an extinct species can actually be resurrected.
I view it like a chemical occurring 'naturally' or 'synthetically'. If it results in the same DNA, what's the difference? If you took the quagga they breeded back and cloned it, would there be appreciable difference from the quagga from 1883?
[QUOTE=Eonart;49743115]Looks like it's got the ass end of a lion.[/QUOTE]
Maybe it's an evolutionary defense, instead of getting bit on the ass by the Lion, it tricks it and gets raped instead.
[QUOTE=Eonart;49743115]Looks like it's got the ass end of a lion.[/QUOTE]
Looks like it's got the ass end of an ass.
what an unfortunate name
[QUOTE=M.C.;49743245]Up next! Mammoths! Fuck yeah![/QUOTE]
Good luck selectively breeding a mammoth from african elephants.
[QUOTE=ferrus;49745404]Good luck selectively breeding a mammoth from african elephants.[/QUOTE]
I'll do it and make it even harder; breed a mammoth from icelandic horses.
I don't really understand the criticism of things like this. Why is it a bad thing to attempt to recreate lost species? Or even design new ones? Progression is natural, and reclaiming that which was lost seems only a good idea.
All the people saying it didn't count because they didn't clone it: read the article. They had quagga dna and found that it's identical to a zebra, meaning they were just miscolored zebras to begin with.
Hell you don't even have to read the article if you don't want, it's in the quote in the OP.
This is pretty cool, though I wonder if I'm ever going to see a story about an extinct animal being legit cloned though. (Mammoths please)
[QUOTE=Rofl_copter;49745026]what an unfortunate name[/QUOTE]
Incidentally, the g's are pronounced as h's. It's an onomatopoeia for the sound they make, iirc.
in other words this is a pokemon
