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Research from New Zealand universities suggests evolution is not necessarily reflected in an animal's appearance.
Craig Millar, of Auckland University's School of Biological Sciences, said the study, which looked at gene changes of Antarctic Adelie penguins over 37,000 years, found that while genetic changes had occurred at a faster rate than predicted, the penguins had changed very little physically over the same period.
"Genetic changes allow us to track the evolutionary relationships between species, but in the case of Adelie penguins we have found that genetic change is not necessarily equal to morphological change," Dr Millar said.
The study was conducted by comparing DNA extracted from ancient bones with DNA from living penguins, which was made easier by the penguins' environment.
"The Antarctic is the ideal place to study evolution, due to ancient remains being preserved in the cold, dry environment with little disturbance," Dr Millar said.
The research, conducted by scientists from Auckland, Victoria and Massey universities in New Zealand and Griffith University in Queensland, was published in the Public Library of Science journal.
- NZPA
