Scientists have discovered golden-crowned manakins, a strange yellow-headed bird from Amazon rainforest in Brazil. According to ornithologists from the University of Toronto Scarborough, these birds are related to the hybrid offspring of two other living species.
According to Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the researchers did not know the evolution of these birds clearly but after genetic testing, they concluded that it was a distinct species.
To get more clarification about golden-crowned manakin's origin, researchers have collected the feathers from Brazil and sequenced most of its genomes. After observing the similarities between the bizarre bird and other two birds, opal-crowned and snow-capped manakins, scientists have assumed that three of these birds are related to each other.
However, after comparing all the collected materials, ornithologists have come to a conclusion where they stated that the golden-crowned manakin has come from opal-crowned and snow-capped manakins. According to the published data, the parent species have produced these hybrids around 180,000 years ago, which later developed as a different crowned bird.
Apart from the golden-crowned manakin, in 2017, there is a huge list of unbelievable discoveries done by researchers. Here IBTimes Singapore has compiled some of the major findings, which have made headlines this year.
Snailfish in the Mariana trench:
A team of international researchers has discovered a new species of snailfish from the Mariana Trench. The snailfish species are found in depths which are restricted to larger predators.
New species of orangutans in Indonesia:
Researchers have identified a new species of orangutan, the reddish-haired ape, in the Sumatra Island of Indonesia.
World's first fluorescent frog:
Scientists in Argentina have discovered the world's first fluorescent, which emits a bright green glow when under UV light.
Skywalker hoolock gibbon:
Chinese scientists have discovered a new species of gibbon in the southwestern province of Yunnan.
Giant Rodent:
18-Inch rat species has been discovered in the Solomon Islands.
