Since Darwin’s era, scientists have wondered how flightless birds like emus, ostriches, kiwi, cassowaries and others are related, and for decades the assumption was that they must all share a common ancestor who abandoned the skies for a more grounded life.

Ostriches [Credit: Josh*m, via Flickr]By the early 2000s, new research using genetic tools upended that story, and instead pointed to the idea that flighlessness evolved many times…

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Source: archeo