Dr. Julian Hume

Research Associate, The Natural History Museum, London

The Mare aux Songes marsh fossil locality on Mauritus has produced almost all of the Mauritian fossil remains including dodo.  Despite the fossil bones being exceptionally well preserved, dodo DNA extraction has failed.  Successful bird DNA extraction has been obtained from cave fossils from other islands, but these were from limestone caves.  On Mauritius, two limestone cave systems have been discovered which contain fragments of fossil bone buried in the sediment, including dodo.   The Gen Foundation has provided funding for excavation of the fossil remains and for DNA analysis in the new Ancient DNA laboratory, Natural History Museum, London.