A recent study of ancient and modern elephant has
come up with the unexpected conclusion that the African elephant is divided into
two distinct species. The discovery was made by researchers at
York and Harvard Universities when they were examining the genetic relationship
between the ancient woolly mammoth and mastodon to modern elephants-the Asian
elephant, African forest elephant, and African savanna elephant.
Once they obtained DNA sequences from two fossils, mammoths and
mastodons, the team compared them with DNA from modern elephants. They found to
their amazement that modern forest and savanna elephants are as distinct from
each other as Asian elephants and mammoths. The scientists used
detailed genetic analysis to prove that the African savanna elephant and the
African forest elephant have been distinct species for several million years.
The divergence of the two species took place around the time of the
divergence of Asian elephants and woolly mammoths. This result amazed all the
scientists. There has long been debate in the scientific
community that the two might be separate species, but this is the most
convincing scientific evidence so far that they are indeed different
species. Previously, many naturalists believed that African
savanna elephants and African forest elephants were two populations of the same
species, despite the elephants’ significant size differences. The savanna
elephant has an average shoulder height of 3.5 metres while the forest elephant
has an average shoulder height of 2.5 metres. The savanna elephant weights
between six and seven tons, roughly double the weight of the forest elephant.
But the fact that they look so different does not necessarily mean they are
different species. However the proof lay in the analysis of the DNA.
Alfred Roca, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at
the University of Illinois, said, "We now have to treat the forest and savanna
elephants as two difficult units for conservation purposes. Since 1950, all
African elephants have been conserved as one species. Now that we know the
forest and savanna elephants are two very distinctive animals, the forest
elephant should become a bigger priority for conservation purposes." Which of the following can be the best title for the passage
A. Naturalists’ Beliefs about Elephants
B. Amazing Experiments about Elephants
C. An Unexpected Finding about Elephants
D. A Long Scientific Debate about Elephants