Scientists at the CSIR-Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) have unearthed a fascinating link between India and Australia through the study of long-legged, fleet-footed centipedes from the animal group ‘Scutigeromorpha.’ These creatures, often mistaken for spiders, have revealed an ancient connection tracing back to the supercontinent ‘Gondwana.’ Using specimens from both the Western and Eastern Ghats, coupled with a global genetic dataset, researchers found that Indian ‘scutigeromorphs’ originated in Gondwana and evolved within Peninsular India.
The Ghats mountain chains, renowned for their biodiversity, have intrigued evolutionary biologists for years. Peninsular India, an ancient landmass that drifted from Gondwana approximately 200 million years ago, holds the key to this evolutionary tale. Senior scientist Jahnavi Joshi noted that most of India’s biodiversity results from dispersal events over the past 65 million years, primarily from Asia or Africa, with only a few organisms, including burrowing animals, having Gondwanan origins.
Interestingly, Australia’s current biodiversity in ‘Scutigeromorpha’ also seems to trace back to when their Indian ancestors migrated within the last 100 million years. Researchers propose that these centipedes journeyed through India, connecting ancient Gondwana with present-day Australia. Maya Manivannan, the study’s lead author, highlighted the rarity of Indo-Australian relationships in scientific literature, primarily because India and Australia were last connected over 130 million years ago, long before the emergence of many studied species. The study, published in the Journal of Biogeography, offers new insights into the ancient biogeographic connections between these distant lands.
Original Story https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/a-centipede-throws-light-on-ancient-india-australia-link/article68585593.ece
Category : Telangana
Tags:
