Question: As per the recent study done by IISc Bengaluru, blackbuck of which region is claimed to be the ancestors of blackbuck in India?
(a) Eurasian plateau
(b) Saharo-Arabian region
(c) Mongolian region
(d) None of the above
Answer: (b)
Related facts:
- Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has done a study of four genera of ‘true antelopes’: Gazella, Nanger, Eudorcas and Antilope revealing that the blackbuck’s (Antilope cervicapra) ancestors came into India from the Saharo-Arabian region about two million years ago.
- Antelopes were part of the fauna coming through the northwest gateway into India.
Diverged in India
- The paper states that the there is a lack of blackbuck fossils outside India which allows to speculate that they diverged from their ancestors only after reaching India, long after the intensification of aridification in the Indian subcontinent.
- Blackbucks are largely found in the scrubland regions of India except for the Terai region, northeast and the Western Ghats.
Reclassification need:
- Antilope, another true antelope was found not to be a sister of Gazella as believed previously.
- Research team used nuclear DNA with genetic material from both parents. They used 12 different nuclear markers for the study.
Evolution of chinkara:
- The another ‘true antelope’ of India, chinkara (Gazella bennetti) evolved much more recently about 7,00,000 years ago, probably after the establishment of the Thar desert.
- They are also found in the hilly terrains of Iran. Being facultative drinkers, they were better adapted to the drier, semi-arid region.