(Press-News.org) New archaeological research by the University of Sydney has discovered for the first time clear links between fossils of the iconic Australian dingo, and dogs from East Asia and New Guinea.
The remarkable findings suggest that the dingo came from East Asia via Melanesia, and challenges previous claims that it derived from pariah dogs of India or Thailand.
Previous studies used traditional morphometric analysis – which looks at the size and shape of the animal using callipers – to trace the dingo’s ancestry to South Asia.
However, the new study, published in Nature Scientific Reports, uses sophisticated 3D scanning and geometric morphometrics on ancient dingo specimens to show clearly that they are most similar to Japanese dogs, as well as the ‘singing dogs’ of New Guinea and the highland wild dog of Irian Jaya.
Dr Loukas Koungoulos, a research associate in the Discipline of Archaeology at the University of Sydney, said: “The origins of this controversial Australian native animal have been heavily debated for more than a century. Our research has found the elusive first links between fossil material that suggest dingoes have evolved locally from an East Asian dog-like ancestor.”
Dr Koungoulos added: “The archaeological sites at Lake Mungo and Lake Milkengay hold some of the oldest evidence of dingoes in the whole of Australia. It is incredible to see how these remarkable animals have evolved over thousands of years and gives us a greater understanding of this uniquely Australian species.”
The study team – which included Associate Professor Melanie Fillios from the University of New England and Dr Ardern Hulme-Beaman from the University of Liverpool – looked at the remains of ancient dingoes found at Lake Mungo and Lake Milkengay in western NSW.
Associate Professor Melanie Fillios said: “Our research underscores the antiquity of dingoes, pointing to a common ancestor between dingoes and the more recent canines in Southeast Asia.”
In collaboration with the Willandra Lakes Region World Heritage Area Traditional Owners, the team used radiocarbon dating to discover that some remains were over 3,000 years old.
The team also found that modern-day dingoes have evolved to become larger and leaner, standing at an average of 54cm tall compared to between 40-47cm for their ancient ancestors – a size much closer to their contemporary relatives in Southeast Asia and Melanesia.
IMAGES
Dr Loukas Koungoulos - Supplied University of Sydney
RESEARCH
Koungoulos, Loukas G. et al ‘Phenotypic diversity in early Australian dingoes revealed by traditional and 3D geometric morphometric analysis’. (Nature Scientific Reports)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-65729-3
DECLARATION
Research funding was received from the Australian Government Research Training Partnership, the Carlyle-Greenwell Postgraduate Scholarship and the Ben Sandford Cullen Award.
The authors declare no competing priorities.
END
Early dingoes are related to dogs from New Guinea and East Asia
Australian dingo has evolved over 3,000 years to become larger and leaner
2024-09-18
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
$1 million grant to fund research of nerve regeneration in multiple sclerosis patients
2024-09-18
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (USA) has awarded a grant of 1 million dollars to Dr. Isabel Pérez-Otaño, who leads the Plasticity and Remodeling of Neural Circuits laboratory at the Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University (UMH) of Elche. The grant is part of the NMSS 'Pathways to Cure' program that funds innovative therapeutic approaches to treat multiple sclerosis (MS). The team will work on identifying mechanisms that mediate a special kind of brain plasticity, known as myelin plasticity. The goal is to find ways to stimulate myelin plasticity ...
New tool to assess equity in scholarly communication models
2024-09-18
[Strasbourg, 18th September 2024]
A new online tool designed to assess the equity of scholarly communication models is launched today at the OASPA 2024 conference. The “How Equitable Is It” tool, developed by a multi-stakeholder Working Group, comprising librarians, library consortia representatives, funders and publishers, and convened by cOAlition S, Jisc and PLOS, aims to provide a framework for evaluating scholarly communication models and arrangements on the axis of equity.
The tool, which was inspired by the “How Open Is It?” framework, is targeted at institutions, library consortia, ...
Research shows finger counting may help improve math skills in kindergarten
2024-09-18
Preschool teachers have different views on finger counting. Some teachers consider finger counting use in children to signal that they are struggling with math, while others associate its use as advanced numerical knowledge. In a new Child Development study, researchers at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and Lea.fr, Editions Nathan in Paris, France, explored whether a finger counting strategy can help kindergarten-aged children solve arithmetic problems.
Adults rarely use their fingers to calculate a small sum (e.g., 3+2) as such behaviors could be attributed to pathological difficulties in mathematics or cognitive impairments. However, young children between ...
Proteins in meat, milk, and other foods suppress gut tumors
2024-09-18
Researchers led by Hiroshi Ohno at the RIKEN Center for Integrative medical sciences (IMS) in Japan have discovered that food antigens like milk proteins help keep tumors from growing in our guts, specifically the small intestines. Experiments revealed how these proteins trigger the intestinal immune system, allowing it to effectively stop the birth of new tumors. The study was published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Immunology on Sep. 18.
Food antigens get a lot of negative press because they are the source of allergic reactions to foods such as peanuts, shellfish, bread, eggs, and ...
Measuring how much wood a wood shuck shucks with all-new wood shuck food
2024-09-18
Researchers want to transform the natural and abundant resource wood into useful materials, and central to that is a molecular machine found in fungi that decomposes the complex raw material into its basic components. A Kobe University researcher and his team now were the first to come up with a test feed for the fungal molecular machine that allows them to observe its close-to-natural action, opening the door to improving it and to putting it to industrial application.
Biochemical engineers want to transform the abundant and renewable material wood into bioplastics, medically relevant chemicals, food additives or fuel. ...
AACR Cancer Progress Report highlights innovative research, novel treatments, and powerful patient stories
2024-09-18
PHILADELPHIA – Today, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released the 14th edition of its annual Cancer Progress Report. This comprehensive report provides the latest statistics on cancer incidence, mortality, and survivorship. It also outlines how basic, translational, and clinical cancer research and cancer-related population sciences—largely supported by federal investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease ...
How do exogenous additives affect the direction of heavy metals and the preservation of nitrogen in pig manure compost?
2024-09-18
Most of the heavy metals in pig manure originate from feed additives, such as copper and zinc. When these heavy metals are introduced into agricultural soil, they can significantly increase the heavy metal content in crops, posing a threat to both the environment and human health. While pig manure is rich in nitrogen, an essential nutrient for crop growth, a substantial amount of nitrogen is lost in gaseous form during the composting process, impacting the quality of the compost. Moreover, this process results in the emission of ...
Breakthrough in fertility treatment: Prostaglandin receptors found to promote embryo implantation
2024-09-18
A team from Kumamoto University has uncovered a new mechanism that could revolutionize infertility care by promoting embryo implantation. The discovery focuses on prostaglandin (PG) receptors in the uterus that enhance the critical process of decidualization, which is necessary for a successful pregnancy. This finding opens the door to developing new fertility treatments that target these receptors.
Prostaglandins are bioactive lipids known for their role in body’s response to injury by causing fever and pain, but they are also crucial in reproductive ...
What numbers do you see? A new bistable perceptual phenomenon on symbolic numbers
2024-09-18
Perceptual recognition of numerical characters, like Arabic numerals, is indispensable for our daily activities in the modern society. Studying the perceptual and neural mechanisms that endow us with the ability to understand those characters is an important scientific topic. In this project, researchers explored a bistable perceptual phenomenon of a specially designed character named occluded digital numeral, to get a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the perceptual recognition of numbers.
The digital numeral is a special version of number fonts designed for application in electronic products ...
Quantum speedup and limitations on matroid property problems
2024-09-18
Quantum computers show advantages over classical computers in some problems, such as unordered data base searching and prime factorization. Finding more problems that can take quantum speedup has become one of the focus problems in quantum computing. Before this, there is no research work on the quantum query complexity and quantum algorithm for matroid problems. It is interesting and meaningful to search for structures that can take quantum advantage in matroid problems.
In order to study the possibility and limitation of acceleration of quantum computing in matroid problems, a ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Current antivirals likely less effective against severe infection caused by bird flu virus in cows’ milk
Lassa fever vaccine enters phase 1 clinical trial
Institute for Healthcare Improvement Honors Hebrew SeniorLife’s Orchard Cove and NewBridge on the Charles
Dialing in the temperature needed for precise nuclear timekeeping
Fewer than half of Medicaid managed care plans provide all FDA-approved medications for alcohol use disorder
Mount Sinai researchers specific therapy that teaches patients to tolerate stomach and body discomfort improved functional brain deficits linked to visceral disgust that can cause of food avoidance in
New ACP guideline recommends combination therapy for acute episodic migraines
Last supper of 15-million-year-old freshwater fish
Slow, silent ‘scream’ of epithelial cells detected for first time
How big brains and flexible skulls led to the evolution of modern birds
Iguanas floated one-fifth of the way around the world to colonize Fiji
‘Audible enclaves’ could enable private listening without headphones
Twisting atomically thin materials could advance quantum computers
Impaired gastric myoelectrical rhythms associated with altered autonomic functions in patients with severe ischemic stroke
American College of Cardiology issues concise clinical guidance on evaluation and management of cardiogenic shock
Psychological prehabilitation improves surgical recovery, study finds
Neighborhood dispute among cells: Whichever successfully exerts force wins
Deadline extended for the fifth edition of the SWIM Award for Science Journalism
Unique dove species is the dodo of the Caribbean and in similar danger of dying out
Free University Brussels (VUB) opens its doors to censored American researchers
Neuroanatomy that sets humans apart from other primates
Stress and sex influence traumatic brain injury outcomes
Study: suppressing key protein may unlock immunotherapy for Glioblastoma
Early surgical intervention in children with sleep-disordered breathing reduces need for doctor visits, prescriptions
Statin use and risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease
Gender-affirming hormone therapy and depressive symptoms among transgender adults
Surgery in kids with mild sleep-disordered breathing tied to fewer doctor visits, meds
Magnetic microalgae on a mission to become robots
Impact journals to participate at the AACR Annual Meeting 2025
Webb telescope captures its first direct images of carbon dioxide outside solar system
[Press-News.org] Early dingoes are related to dogs from New Guinea and East AsiaAustralian dingo has evolved over 3,000 years to become larger and leaner