Ten thousand years ago, mastodons vanished from South America. With them, an ecologically vital function also disappeared: the dispersal of seeds from large-fruited plants. A new study led by the University of O'Higgins, Chile, with key contributions from IPHES-CERCA, demonstrates for the first time—based on direct fossil evidence—that these extinct elephant relatives regularly consumed fruit and were essential allies of many tree species.
  • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
    1·
    8 days ago

    This is why I support de-extinction, despite the controversies. It’s likely even “healthy” ecosystems are degraded in ways we don’t understand because their degradation predates recorded history.

    Mastodons don’t have any close living relatives so they will be tough to bring back but who knows what the future holds.