A fungus found within ancient mammoth dung is providing scientists with clues about how the large ancient mammals collectively known as megafauna went extinct. The fungus, Sporormiella,
produces spores in the dung of large herbivores. These are then preserved in the layers of mud and can provide an index of the number of these animals, or megafauna, that roamed the environment at a particular time [BBC News].
For a new study, researcher Jacquelyn Gill collected and analyzed spores in sediment samples from an Indiana lake and several sites in New York.
From Gill's analysis, published in the journal Science, she concluded that North American megafauna began a slow decline around 15,000 years ago and vanished about 1,000 years later. The data suggests megafauna started going extinct much earlier than previously though, which basically wipes out two theories of their extinction.
There are several theories surrounding the extinction of North American ...
