Elephant tusks on 'lost ship' taken from the African forest elephant 500 years ago
A hoard of more than 100 elephant tusks aboard a sunken ship that was lost for nearly 500 years has been traced to West Africa in a new study. Scientists used DNA analysis to compare the well-preserved tusks – recovered from a 16th century Portuguese shipping vessel called the Bom Jesus that was discovered in 2008 – to those belonging to various species of modern-day elephants. The 500-year-old ivory matched up with the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), which is native to humid forests in West Africa and Congo Basin. Traders aboard the ill-fated shipping vessel would have m...
Source: dailymail.co.uk