Where was the dodo bird fossil found?

The dodo bird is an extinct species that was endemic to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Dodos were large, flightless birds that went extinct in the late 17th century, within less than a hundred years after the island was colonized by the Dutch. The sudden extinction of the dodo was caused by over-hunting and predation by invasive species introduced to Mauritius by humans. Despite its rapid extinction, the dodo achieved recognition and notoriety due to its unique appearance and the fact that it was one of the first species to be documented going extinct at the hands of humans. Due to its significance as an extinct species, fossils of the dodo have been highly sought after by paleontologists and collectors.

Where have dodo fossils been found?

Most dodo fossils that have been discovered come from Mare aux Songes, which is a marshy swamp area in southeastern Mauritius where a large amount of dodo bones accumulated. The dodo bird is so closely associated with Mare aux Songes that the bird is sometimes referred to as the “Mare aux Songes dodo”. Mare aux Songes has been the source of nearly all dodo fossils found outside of Mauritius and was first prospected for bones in 1865 by George Clark, an English schoolmaster. Thousands of dodo bones and skeletons have since been excavated from the Mare aux Songes marsh deposits.

In addition to Mare aux Songes, some other sites where dodo fossils have been found on Mauritius include the swamp of Palmar, Bel Ombre, and Vacoas. However, the number of fossils from these sites are dwarfed by the massive haul that has come from Mare aux Songes.

Key dodo fossil discoveries at Mare aux Songes

Some key discoveries of dodo fossils from Mare aux Songes include:

• The first partial dodo skeleton was found in 1865 by George Clark.
• In 1889, Etienne Thirioux excavated the first complete dodo skeleton from Mare aux Songes, which is now displayed at the Mauritius Institute museum.
• Louis Etienne Thirioux, the son of Etienne Thirioux, excavated the majority of dodo skeletons from Mare aux Songes in the early 1900s.
• In 2005, an international team of researchers meticulously excavated Mare aux Songes over 5 years and recovered over 750 dodo bones.
• In 2006, a team led by Kenneth Rijsdijk excavated a nearly complete, well-preserved dodo skeleton at Mare aux Songes that is considered one of the best dodo specimens ever found.

How did so many dodo fossils accumulate at Mare aux Songes?

Several factors led to the accumulation and remarkable preservation of thousands of dodo bones and fossils in the Mare aux Songes marsh:

• The Mare aux Songes swamp was originally a freshwater lake that gradually became marshy as sediment accumulated over time.
• Dodoes likely used the lake environs for drinking water and as a source of food.
• The free-flowing fresh water and high concentration of minerals in the lake allowed for rapid burial and fossilization of bones.
• The anoxic, acidic water inhibited decomposition and protected the bones from scavengers.
• Floods washed bones into the basin, while sediment covered and preserved them.

In essence, the geological conditions and composition of the Mare aux Songes marsh created the perfect environment to collect, bury, and preserve an incredible quantity of dodo bones and skeletons over many years.

What have scientists learned from the Mare aux Songes dodo fossils?

The thousands of dodo fossils from Mare aux Songes have enabled paleontologists to learn a wealth of information about the anatomy, biology, and ecology of the extinct dodo:

• unlocked clues about the dodo’s skeletal structure and size
• enabled reconstructions of the dodo’s physical appearance and musculature
• provided insight into the dodo’s diet based on gizzard stones
• yielded samples for biochemical analysis (proteins, DNA)
• allowed study of bone pathologies and evidence of stress
• provided absolute radiocarbon dating to determine the dodo’s lifespan

Some key findings enabled by analysis of Mare aux Songes dodo fossils include:

• Dodoes likely weighed 10-17 kg and stood about 1 meter tall
• They lived up to 20 years and had low reproductive rates
• Dodo diet included seeds, nuts, bulbs, fallen fruit, and shellfish
• They displayed skeletal signs of vitamin deficiency and stress

In addition to insights about the dodo, the fossils have allowed Mauritian ecosystem reconstructions based on associated animal and plant remains preserved at the site.

Notable dodo specimens from Mare aux Songes

Some of the most significant and well-known dodo fossils to be excavated from Mare aux Songes include:

• The Thirioux skeleton (MB.R.29) – the first complete skeleton, assembled from bones excavated in 1889
• The Clark skeletons (NHMUK A5335 and NHMUK A5337) – two partial skeletons found in 1865
• The Mare aux Songes 90-100 skeleton – the most complete skeleton found during the 2005-2010 excavations
• The Dodo Research Programme skeleton – an exceptionally well-preserved skeleton excavated in 2006

These remarkable specimens continue to be intensely studied to reveal new secrets of the dodo’s biology and evolution.

Have any dodo fossils been found outside Mauritius?

Almost all dodo fossils discovered to date have come from sites around Mauritius. However, a small number of dodo bones have also been found that made their way to other parts of the world either as natural curiosities or scientific specimens:

• Czech Republic – a dodo femur in Prague, likely collected in the 1600s
• Netherlands – a dodo tarsometatarsus in Dordrecht, collected before 1631
• United Kingdom – a dodo cranium (Oxford specimen), acquired in 1656
• Denmark – a dodo femur in Copenhagen, acquired before 1755
• Russia – a beak and foot bones in Moscow, from an unknown date

These scattered fossils represent a meager sampling of dodo bones that were removed from Mauritius between 1602 to 1755. They remain the only known dodo fossils outside of Mauritius and its offshore islets.

How many dodo fossils exist in museums and collections?

After over 150 years of excavations at Mare aux Songes and other sites, a sizable number of dodo fossils have made their way into museums and institutional collections around the world. Many important dodo specimens are housed in Mauritius, but other significant collections can be found at:

Other important dodo fossils are housed at institutions in Paris, Copenhagen, Prague, Moscow, New York, and Honolulu. In total, there are likely over 30 complete dodo skeletons and several thousand individual bones preserved in museums around the world.

What is the significance of the Mare aux Songes dodo fossils?

The Mare aux Songes fossils are highly significant for multiple reasons:

• They represent the largest and densest concentration of dodo remains in the world.
• They have produced more high-quality, complete skeletons than any other site.
• They have enabled the most detailed scientific insights into dodo anatomy and biology.
• They provided critical DNA samples used in genomic research on the dodo.
• They stimulated global interest in the extinct dodo and its story.

Without the remarkable fossil bounty from Mare aux Songes, our knowledge of the dodo would be severely limited. The Mare aux Songes discoveries have driven dodo research for over 150 years and continue to unlock groundbreaking revelations about this famously extinct bird.

Conclusion

The extinct dodo has fascinated humanity for centuries, but was largely a mystery until remarkably well-preserved subfossil remains were discovered at Mare aux Songes in Mauritius. This marshy lake bed has produced thousands of dodo bones, enabling detailed anatomical and biological insights unmatched for other extinct species. Much of what we know about dodoes comes from intensive study of the Mare aux Songes fossils, cementing the significance of this site in telling the story of the dodo’s demise. Ongoing excavations and analyses of these unparalleled fossils continue to reveal surprising new information about Mauritius’ most famous extinct endemic bird.