Alcuni ricercatori dell’Università di Oxford hanno ricevuto 57 campioni di pelo provenienti da musei e collezioni private, sospettati di appartenere a misteriosi primati. Dopo aver scartato fibre di vetro e sostanze vegetali, la squadra, capitanata dal professore di genetica umana Bryan Sykes, ne ha selezionati una trentina per il loro valore storico o la loro provenienza. I risultati? Orsi, cavalli, canidi, mucche, addirittura esseri umani, ma nessuna creatura leggendaria.
Nessuno yeti ma un nuovo orso
La vera sorpresa, gli scienziati l’hanno avuta estrapolando il DNA di due tipi di pelliccia provenienti da India e Bhutan: corrispondono a quello del fossile di un orso polare che risale a 40'000 anni fa. Secondo gli studiosi, nonostante nell’Asia centrale e nell’Himalaya si abbia qualche segno della presenza del plantigrado, in questo caso è molto più probabile si tratti di una specie sconosciuta. Il gruppo ha promesso nuove analisi.
ATS/AFP/FrCa
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