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文章數:102 |
茶六燒肉堂商務聚餐適合嗎?》公益路美食推薦|吃貨實測十間真心話 |
| 知識學習|考試升學 2026/04/21 00:03:51 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
身為一個熱愛美食、喜歡在城市裡挖掘驚喜的人,臺中公益路一直是我最常出沒的地方之一。這條路可說是「臺中人的美食戰場」,從精緻西餐到創意火鍋,從日式丼飯到義式早午餐,每走幾步,就會有完全不同的特色料理餐廳。 這次我特別花了一整個月,實際造訪了公益路上十間口碑不錯的餐廳。有的是網友熱推的打卡名店,也有隱藏在巷弄裡的小驚喜。我以環境氛圍、口味表現、價格CP值與再訪意願為基準,整理出這篇實測評比。希望能幫正在猶豫去哪裡吃飯的你,找到那一間「吃完會想再來」的餐廳。 評比標準與整理方向
這次我走訪的10家餐廳橫跨不同料理類型,從高質感牛排館到巷弄系早午餐,每一間都有自己獨特的風格。為了讓整體比較更客觀,我依照以下四大面向進行評比,並搭配實際用餐體驗來打分。
整體而言,我希望這份評比不只是「哪家好吃」,而是幫你在不同情境下(約會、家庭聚餐、朋友小聚、商業午餐)都能快速找到合適的選擇。畢竟,美食不只是味覺的滿足,更是一段段與朋友共享的生活記憶。 10間臺中公益路餐廳評比懶人包公益路向來是臺中人聚餐的首選地段,從火鍋、燒肉到中式料理與早午餐,每走幾步就有驚喜。以下是我實際造訪過的10間代表性餐廳清單,橫跨平價、創意、高級各路風格。
一頭牛日式燒肉|炭香濃郁的和牛饗宴,約會聚餐首選
走在公益路上,很難不被 一頭牛日式燒肉 的木質外觀吸引。低調卻不失質感的門面,搭配昏黃燈光與暖色調的內裝,讓人一進門就感受到濃濃的日式職人氛圍。店內空間不大,但桌距規劃得宜,每桌皆設有獨立排煙設備,烤肉時完全不怕滿身油煙味。 餐點特色
一頭牛的靈魂,絕對是他們招牌的「三國和牛拼盤」。 用餐體驗整體節奏掌握得非常好。店員會在你剛想烤下一片肉時貼心遞上夾子、幫忙換烤網,讓人完全不用分心。整場用餐過程就像一場表演,從視覺、嗅覺到味覺都被滿足。 綜合評分
地址:408臺中市南屯區公益路二段162號電話:04-23206800 小結語一頭牛日式燒肉不僅是「吃肉的地方」,更像是一場五感盛宴。從進門那一刻到最後一道甜點,都能感受到他們對細節的用心。 TANG Zhan 湯棧|文青系火鍋代表,麻香湯底與視覺美感並重
在公益路這條美食戰線上,TANG Zhan 湯棧 是讓人一眼就會想走進去的那一種。 餐點特色
湯棧最有名的當然是它的「麻香鍋」。 用餐體驗整體氛圍比一般火鍋店更有質感。 綜合評分
地址:408臺中市南屯區公益路二段248號電話:04-22580617 官網:https://www.facebook.com/TangZhan.tw/ 小結語TANG Zhan 湯棧 把傳統火鍋做出新的樣貌保留臺式鍋物的溫度,又結合現代風格與細節服務,讓吃鍋這件事變得更有品味。 如果你想找一間兼具「好吃、好拍、好放鬆」的火鍋店,湯棧會是公益路上最有風格的選擇之一。 NINI 尼尼臺中店|明亮寬敞的義式早午餐天堂
如果說前兩間是肉食愛好者的天堂,那 NINI 尼尼臺中店 絕對是想放鬆、聊聊天的好地方。餐廳外觀以白色系與大片玻璃窗為主,陽光灑進室內,讓人一踏入就有種度假般的輕盈感。假日早午餐時段特別熱鬧,建議提早訂位。 餐點特色
NINI 的菜單融合義式與臺灣人口味,選擇多樣且份量十足。主打的 松露燉飯 濃郁卻不膩口,米芯保留微Q口感;而 香蒜海鮮義大利麵 則以新鮮白蝦、花枝與淡菜搭配微辣蒜香,口感層次豐富。 用餐體驗店內氣氛輕鬆不拘謹,無論是一個人帶電腦工作、或朋友聚餐,都能找到舒服角落。餐點上桌速度穩定,服務人員態度親切、補水與收盤都非常主動。整體節奏讓人覺得「時間變慢了」,很適合想遠離忙碌日常的人。 綜合評分
地址:40861臺中市南屯區公益路二段18號電話:04-23288498 小結語NINI 尼尼臺中店是一間能讓人放下手機、慢慢吃飯的餐廳。餐點不追求浮誇,而是以「剛剛好」的份量與風味,陪伴每個平凡午後。如果你在找一間能邊吃邊聊天、拍照也漂亮的早午餐店,NINI 會是你在公益路上最不費力的幸福選擇。 加分100%浜中特選昆布鍋物|平價卻用心的湯頭系火鍋,家庭聚餐好選擇
在公益路這條高質感餐廳林立的戰場上,加分100%浜中特選昆布鍋物 走的是截然不同的路線。它沒有浮誇的裝潢、也沒有高價位的套餐,但靠著實在的湯頭與親切的服務,默默吸引許多回頭客。每到用餐時間,總能看到家庭或情侶三兩成群地圍著鍋邊聊天。 餐點特色
主打 北海道浜中昆布湯底,湯頭清澈卻不單薄,越煮越能喝出海藻與柴魚的自然香氣。 用餐體驗整體氛圍偏家庭取向,桌距寬敞、座位舒適,帶小孩來也不覺擁擠。店員態度親切,補湯、收盤都很勤快,給人一種「被照顧著」的安心感。 綜合評分
地址:403臺中市西區公益路288號電話:0910855180 小結語加分100%浜中特選昆布鍋物是一間「不浮誇、但會讓人想再訪」的火鍋店。它不追求豪華擺盤,而是用最簡單的湯頭與新鮮食材,傳遞出家常卻不平凡的溫度。 印月餐廳|中式料理的藝術演繹,宴客與家庭聚會首選
說到臺中公益路的中式料理代表,印月餐廳 絕對是榜上有名。這間開業多年的餐廳以「中菜西吃」的概念聞名,把傳統中式料理以現代手法重新詮釋。從建築外觀到餐具擺設,每個細節都散發著低調的典雅氣息。 餐點特色
印月最令人印象深刻的是他們將傳統中菜融入創意手法。 用餐體驗服務方面完全對得起餐廳的高級定位。從入座、點餐到上菜節奏,都拿捏得恰如其分。每道菜都會有服務人員細心介紹食材與吃法,讓人感受到「被款待」的尊榮感。 綜合評分
地址:408臺中市南屯區公益路二段818號電話:0422511155 小結語印月餐廳是一間「不只吃飯,更像品味生活」的地方。 KoDō 和牛燒肉|極致職人精神,專為儀式感與頂級味覺而生
若要形容 KoDō 和牛燒肉 的用餐體驗,一句話足以總結——「像在欣賞一場關於肉的表演」。 餐點特色
這裡主打 日本A5和牛冷藏肉,以「精切厚燒」的方式呈現。 用餐體驗KoDō 的最大特色是「儀式感」。 綜合評分
地址:403臺中市西區公益路260號電話:0423220312 官網:https://www.facebook.com/kodo2018/ 小結語KoDō 和牛燒肉不是日常餐廳,而是一場體驗。 永心鳳茶|在茶香裡用餐的優雅時光,臺味早午餐的新詮釋
走進 永心鳳茶公益店,彷彿進入一間有氣質的茶館。 餐點特色
永心鳳茶的餐點結合中式靈魂與西式擺盤,無論是「炸雞腿飯」還是「紅玉紅茶拿鐵」,都能讓人感受到熟悉卻不平凡的味道。 用餐體驗店內服務人員態度溫和,對茶品介紹詳盡。上餐節奏剛好,不急不徐。 綜合評分
地址:40360臺中市西區公益路68號三樓(勤美誠品)電話:0423221118 小結語永心鳳茶讓人重新定義「臺味」。 三希樓|老饕級江浙功夫菜,穩重又帶人情味的中式饗宴
位於公益路上的 三希樓 是許多臺中老饕的口袋名單。 餐點特色
三希樓的菜色以 江浙與港式料理 為主,兼顧傳統與現代風味。 用餐體驗三希樓的服務給人一種老派但貼心的感覺。 綜合評分
地址:408臺中市南屯區公益路二段95號電話:0423202322 官網:https://www.sanxilou.com.tw/ 小結語三希樓是一間「吃得出功夫」的餐廳。 一笈壽司|低調奢華的無菜單日料,職人手藝詮釋旬味極致
在熱鬧的公益路上,一笈壽司 低調得幾乎不顯眼。 餐點特色
一笈壽司採 Omakase(無菜單料理) 形式,每一餐都由主廚根據當日食材設計。 用餐體驗整場用餐約90分鐘,節奏緩慢但沉穩。 綜合評分
地址:408臺中市南屯區公益路二段25號電話:0423206368 官網:https://www.facebook.com/YIJI.sushi/ 小結語一笈壽司是一間真正讓人「放慢呼吸」的餐廳。 茶六燒肉堂|人氣爆棚的和牛燒肉聖地,肉香與幸福感同時滿分
若要票選公益路上「最難訂位」的餐廳,茶六燒肉堂 絕對名列前茅。 餐點特色
茶六主打 和牛燒肉套餐,價格約落在 $700–$1000 間,份量與品質兼具。 用餐體驗茶六的服務效率相當高。店員親切、換網勤快、補水速度快,整場用餐流程流暢無壓力。 綜合評分
地址:403臺中市西區公益路268號電話:0423281167 官網:https://inline.app/booking/-L93VSXuz8o86ahWDRg0:inline-live-karuizawa/-LUYUEIOYwa7GCUpAFWA 小結語茶六燒肉堂用「穩定品質+輕奢氛圍」抓住了臺中年輕族群的心。 吃完10家公益路餐廳後的心得與結語吃完這十家餐廳後,臺中公益路不只是一條美食街,而是一段生活風景線。 有的餐廳講究細膩與儀式感,像 一頭牛日式燒肉 與 一笈壽司,讓人感受到食材最純粹的美好 有的則以親切與溫度打動人心,像 加分昆布鍋物、永心鳳茶,讓人明白吃飯不只是為了飽足,而是一種被照顧的幸福。 而像茶六燒肉堂、TANG Zhan 湯棧 這類人氣名店,則用穩定的品質與熱絡的氛圍,成為許多臺中人心中「想吃肉就去那裡」的代名詞。 這十家店,構成了公益路最動人的縮影 有華麗的,也有溫柔的;有傳統的,也有創新的。 每一家都在自己的風格裡發光,讓人吃到的不只是料理,而是一種生活的溫度與節奏。 對我而言,這不僅是一場美食旅程,更是一趟關於「臺中味道」的回憶之旅。 FAQ:關於臺中公益路美食常見問題Q1:公益路哪一區的餐廳最集中? Q2:需要提前訂位嗎? 最後的話若要用一句話形容這趟美食之旅,我會說: 三希樓尾牙氣氛熱鬧嗎? 如果你也和我一樣喜歡用味蕾探索一座城市,那就把這篇公益路美食攻略收藏起來吧。加分100%浜中特選昆布鍋物慶生氛圍夠嗎? 無論是約會、慶生、家庭聚餐,或只是想犒賞一下辛苦的自己——這條路上永遠會有一間剛剛好的餐廳在等你。KoDō 和牛燒肉適合約會嗎? 下一餐,不妨從這10家開始。一笈壽司好吃嗎? 打開手機、約上朋友,讓公益路成為你生活裡最容易抵達的小確幸。TANG Zhan 湯棧適合跨年聚餐嗎? 如果你有私心愛店,也歡迎留言分享,NINI 尼尼臺中店年末聚餐推薦嗎? 你的推薦,可能讓我下一趟美食旅程變得更精彩。TANG Zhan 湯棧第一次來要點什麼? The aerial scene depicts two Late Devonian early tetrapods — Ichthyostega and Acanthostega — coming out of the water to move on land. Footprints trail behind the animals to show a sense of movement. Credit: Davide Bonadonna The evolution of the humerus helped early tetrapods become better walkers, enabling the rise of land ecosystems and diverse life on Earth. It’s hard to overstate how much of a game-changer it was when vertebrates first rose up from the waters and moved onshore about 390 million years ago. That transition led to the rise of the dinosaurs and all the land animals that exist today. “Being able to walk around on land essentially set the stage for all biodiversity and established modern terrestrial ecosystems,” said Stephanie Pierce, Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and curator of vertebrate paleontology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. “It represents an incredibly important period of time in evolutionary history.” Focusing on the Humerus to Understand Locomotion Scientists have been trying for more than a century to unravel exactly how this remarkable shift took place, and their understanding of the process is largely based on a few rare, intact fossils with anatomical gaps between them. A new study from Pierce and Blake Dickson, Ph.D. ’20, looks to provide a more thorough view by zeroing in on a single bone: the humerus. The study, published in Nature, shows how and when the first groups of land explorers became better walkers than swimmers. The analysis spans the fin-to-limb transition and reconstructs the evolution of terrestrial movement in early tetrapods. These are the four-limbed land vertebrates whose descendants include extinct and living amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. The researchers focused on the humerus, the long bone in the upper arm that runs down from the shoulder and connects with the lower arm at the elbow, to get around the dilemma of gaps between well-preserved fossils. Functionally, the humerus is invaluable for movement because it hosts key muscles that absorb much of the stress from quadrupedal locomotion. Most importantly, the bone is found in all tetrapods and the fishes they evolved from and is pretty common throughout the fossil record. The bone represents a time capsule of sorts, with which to reconstruct the evolution of locomotion since it can be examined across the fin-to-limb transition, the researchers said. “We went in with the idea that the humerus should be able to tell us about the functional evolution of locomotion as you go from being a fish that’s just swimming around and as you come onto land and start walking,” Dickson said. Analyzing 3D Fossil Bones to Trace Movement Evolution The researchers analyzed 40 3D fossil humeri for the study, including new fossils collected by collaborators at the University of Cambridge as part of the TW:eed Project. The team looked at how the bone changed over time and its effect on how these creatures likely moved. A fossil humeri from an aquatic fish (Eusthenopteron), a transitional tetrapod (Acanthostega), and a terrestrial tetrapod (Ophiacodon). Credit: Stephanie Pierce The analysis covered the transition from aquatic fishes to terrestrial tetrapods. It included an intermediate group of tetrapods with previously unknown locomotor capabilities. The researchers found that the emergence of limbs in this intermediate group coincided with a transition onto land, but that these early tetrapods weren’t very good at moving on it. To understand this, the team measured the functional trade-offs associated with adapting to different environments. They found that as these creatures moved from water to land, the humerus changed shape, resulting in new combinations of functional traits that proved more advantageous for life on land than in the water. That made sense to the researchers. “You can’t be good at everything,” Dickson said. “You have to give up something to go from being a fish to being a tetrapod on land.” Mapping Evolution from Water to Land The researchers captured the changes on a topographical map showing where these early tetrapods stood in relation to water-based or land-based living. The scientists said these changes were likely driven by environmental pressures as these creatures adapted to terrestrial life. The paper describes the transitional tetrapods as having an “L-shaped” humerus that provided some functional benefit for moving on land, but not much. These animals had a long way to go to develop the traits necessary to use their limbs on land to move with ease and skill. Evolutionary Advancements Spark Biodiversity As the humerus continued to change shape, tetrapods improved their movement. The “L” shaped humerus transformed into a more robust, elongated, twisted form, leading to new combinations of functional traits. This change allowed for more effective gaits on land and helped trigger biological diversity and expansion into terrestrial ecosystems. It also helped establish complex food chains based on predators, prey, herbivores, and carnivores still seen today. Analysis took about four years to complete. Quantifying how the humerus changed shape and function took thousands of hours on a supercomputer. The researchers then analyzed how those changes impacted functional performance of the limb during locomotion and the trade-offs associated. The innovative approach represents a new way of viewing and analyzing the fossil record — an effort Pierce said was well worth it. “This study demonstrates how much information you can get from such a small part of an animal’s skeleton that’s been recorded in the fossil record and how it can help unravel one of the biggest evolutionary transformations that has ever occurred,” Pierce said. “This is really cutting-edge stuff.” For more on this research, read From Fins to Limbs and Water to Land: Evolution of Terrestrial Movement in Early Tetrapods. Reference: “Functional Adaptive Landscapes Predict Terrestrial Capacity at the Origin of Limbs” by Blake V. Dickson, Jennifer A. Clack, Timothy R. Smithson and Stephanie E. Pierce, 25 November 2020. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2974-5 This research was supported with funding from the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, the Robert A. Chapman Fellowship, and the Natural Environment Research Council. Pictured is a rock slab with the earliest evidence for deep-sea vertebrates. The fossil evidence consists of pits and trails produced by feeding fishes during Early Cretaceous times. The dish-like structures are approximately 4 cm wide. Credit: Andrea Baucon Scientists discover missing evolution puzzle piece in 130-million-year-old rocks. The discovery is a result of an international collaboration, in which the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) is involved. Despite vertebrates being a dominant element in contemporary deep-sea ecosystems, there has been no fossil evidence of deep-sea fishes older than 50 million years. Now, the recent unearthing of exceptionally rare fossils provides the earliest known evidence of deep-sea fishes. This pushes back the timeline of deep-sea colonization by a staggering 80 million years. The findings were recently published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “When I first found the fossils, I could not believe what I was seeing,” says paleontologist Andrea Baucon, leader of this study, researcher at the University of Genova (Italy). It was he who discovered the fish fossils in the NW Apennines, close to Piacenza, Modena, and Livorno (Italy). Red mullet producing a feeding pit in the shallow seafloor of the Ligurian Sea. The new study report identical structures from the Cretaceous deposits of the N Apennines, Italy. Results indicate that the fossil feeding pits are the earliest evidence for deep-sea vertebrates. Credit: Andrea Baucon The reason for this astonishment is the remote age of the fossils, which predate any other evidence of deep-sea fish by million years. The newly discovered fossils date back to the Early Cretaceous (130 million years ago). “The new fossils show the activity of fishes on a dinosaur-age seafloor that was thousands of meters deep,” adds Andrea Baucon. Using photogrammetry, scientists delivered a photo-textured height map of fossil feeding pits and trails. These represent the earliest evidence for deep-sea vertebrates. Credit: Girolamo Lo Russo The newly discovered fossils are rare and unusual. They comprise bowl-shaped excavations produced by ancient feeding fishes, as well as the sinuous trail formed by the tail of a swimming fish, incising the muddy seafloor. These trace fossils do not comprise body fossils such as fish bones, but they record ancient behavior. As such, the Apennine fossils mark a critical point in space and time. It is the point at which fishes moved out of the continental shelf and colonized a new harsh environment, located far away from their original habitat. Thousands of meters below the surface of the Tethys Ocean – an ancient ocean that existed between 250 and 50 million years ago, a precursor of present-day Mediterranean Sea -, the earliest deep-sea fishes faced extreme environmental conditions relative to their shallow water origins: total darkness, near-freezing temperatures and enormous pressures challenged the survival of these pioneers of the abyss. The video shows a chimera swimming over the sediment at the Kermadec Trench (depth: 1544 m) and then plunging its mouth into the sediment to feed. In the new study, scientists studied the behavior of modern fishes to understand the behaviors associated with the earliest fossils of deep-sea vertebrates. Credit: Thomas Linley, Alan Jamieson Such extreme conditions required adaptations for deep-sea life that are evolutionary innovations as significant as those that allowed the colonization of the land and the air, such as wings and limbs, for example. The newly discovered fossils represent not just the earliest deep-sea fishes but the earliest deep-sea vertebrates. The evolution of vertebrates – backboned animals – has been punctuated by habitat transitions from shallow marine origins to terrestrial, aerial, and deep-sea environments. Invasion of the deep sea is the least-understood habitat transition because of the low fossilization potential associated with the deep sea. “The new fossils shed light on an otherwise obscure chapter of the history of life on Earth,” comments Carlos Neto de Carvalho, a researcher at Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon (Ciências ULisboa) (Portugal). Height map of the rock slab above, preserving the earliest evidence for deep-sea vertebrates. Color coding is related to height, with the warmer colours at the higher elevations. Credit: Girolamo Lo Russo The Apennine fossils force scientists to reconsider which factors might have triggered the vertebrate colonization of the deep sea. The authors propose that the trigger was the unprecedented input of organic matter that occurred between the Late Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous. The availability of food in the deep seas favored bottom-dwelling worms, which, in turn, attracted fishes that used specific behaviors to expose them. In this study, researchers turned to present-day seas to understand fossil behavior, studying the behavior of modern fishes in their habitats. Scientists explored the depths of the Pacific Ocean to study chimeras, also known as ghost sharks, in their living environment. The new fossils are identical to structures produced by modern fishes that feed by either scratching the seafloor or exposing their bottom-dwelling prey by suction. This is reminiscent of Neoteleostei, the group of vertebrates that includes modern jellynose fishes and lizard fishes. Chimaera swimming over the sediment at the Kermadec Trench in the Pacific Ocean (depth: 1544 m). In the new study, scientists studied the behavior of modern deep-sea fishes to understand the formation mechanism of Cretaceous trace fossils. Results reveal the earliest evidence for deep-sea vertebrates. Credit: Thomas Linley, Alan Jamieson “Contrarily to the common belief, the deep-sea floor sediments are packed with fossil remains of ancient life, but normally from small organisms that dwell well above in the water column as phyto or zooplankton,” explains Mário Cachão, co-author of this study and researcher at Instituto Dom Luiz, Ciências ULisboa. “However, to discover and interpret direct evidences of organic activity of vertebrates imprinted and geologically preserved in such sediments, after being tectonically deformed and exposed as the Northern Apennine mountain range, emplaced mostly during the Miocene and Pliocene geological epochs – that is, approximately the last 20 million years ago -, is a very, very, rare find indeed,” adds Mário Cachão. The newly discovered fossils may represent the first major step in the origins of modern deep-sea vertebrate biodiversity. The roots of modern deep-sea ecosystems are in the Apennine fossils, witnessing a key habitat transition in the history of the oceans. “Our fossil discoveries reassess the mode and tempo of the vertebrate colonization of the deep sea. The newly discovered fossils contain fundamental clues about the very beginnings of vertebrate evolution in the deep sea, having profound implications for both Earth and Life Sciences,” summarizes Andrea Baucon. Reference: “The earliest evidence of deep-sea vertebrates” by Andrea Baucon, Annalisa Ferretti, Chiara Fioroni, Luca Pandolfi, Enrico Serpagli, Armando Piccinini, Carlos Neto de Carvalho, Mário Cachão, Thomas Linley, Fernando Muñiz, Zain Belaústegui, Alan Jamieson, Girolamo Lo Russo, Filippo Guerrini, Sara Ferrando and Imants Priede, 5 September 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2306164120 The study results from the collaboration of researchers affiliated to scientific institutions from Italy (Universities of Genova, Modena and Reggio Emilia, Padova, Pisa, Parma; Natural History Museum of Piacenza; Museum of Nature South Tyrol), Portugal (Naturtejo UNESCO Global Geopark; University of Lisbon), England (Newcastle University), Spain (Universities of Sevilla and Barcelona), Australia (University of Western Australia), Scotland (University of Aberdeen). A skull of the extinct horned crocodile from Madagascar (Voay robustus), which is part of the American Museum of Natural History’s paleontology collection. Credit: M. Ellison/©AMNH New ancient DNA-based study on Madagascar crocodile suggests that modern crocodiles likely originated in Africa. A study led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History has resolved a long-standing controversy about an extinct “horned” crocodile that likely lived among humans in Madagascar. Based on ancient DNA, the research shows that the horned crocodile was closely related to “true” crocodiles, including the famous Nile crocodile, but on a separate branch of the crocodile family tree. The study, published today (April 27, 2021) in the journal Communications Biology, contradicts the most recent scientific thinking about the horned crocodile’s evolutionary relationships and also suggests that the ancestor of modern crocodiles likely originated in Africa. “This crocodile was hiding out on the island of Madagascar during the time when people were building the pyramids and was probably still there when pirates were getting stranded on the island,” said lead author Evon Hekkala, an assistant professor at Fordham University and a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History. “They blinked out just before we had the modern genomic tools available to make sense of the relationships of living things. And yet, they were the key to understanding the story of all the crocodiles alive today.” The arrival of modern humans in Madagascar between about 9,000 and 2,500 years ago preceded the extinction of many of the island’s large animals, including giant tortoises, elephant birds, dwarf hippos, and several lemur species. One lesser-known extinction that occurred during this period was that of an endemic “horned” crocodile, Voay robustus. Early explorers to Madagascar noted that Malagasy peoples consistently referred to two types of crocodiles on the island: a large robust crocodile and a more gracile form with a preference for rivers. This suggests that both types persisted until very recently, but only the gracile form, now recognized as an isolated population of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), is currently is found on the island. Despite nearly 150 years of investigation, the position of the horned crocodile in the tree of life has remained controversial. In the 1870s, it was first described as a new species within the “true crocodile” group, which includes the Nile, Asian, and American crocodiles. Then, in the early part of the 20th century, it was thought that the specimens simply represented very old Nile crocodiles. And finally, in 2007, a study based on the physical characteristics of the fossil specimens concluded that the horned crocodile was actually not a true crocodile, but in the group that includes dwarf crocodiles. “Teasing apart the relationships of modern crocodiles is really difficult because of the physical similarities,” Hekkala said. “Many people don’t even realize that there are multiple species of crocodiles, and they see them as this animal that’s unchanging through time. But we’ve been trying to get to the bottom of the great diversity that exists among them.” To fully examine the horned crocodile’s place in the evolutionary tree, Hekkala and her collaborators at the Museum made a number of attempts to sequence DNA from fossil specimens, including two well-preserved skulls that have been at the Museum since the 1930s. “This a project we’ve tried to do on and off for many years, but the technology just hadn’t advanced enough, so it always failed,” said study co-author George Amato, emeritus director of the Museum’s Institute for Comparative Genomics. “But in time, we had both the computational setup and the paleogenomics protocols that could actually fish out this DNA from the fossil and finally find a home for this species.” The results place the horned crocodile right next to the true crocodile branch of the evolutionary tree, making it the closest species to the common ancestor of the crocodiles alive today. “This finding was surprising and also very informative to how we think about the origin of the true crocodiles found around the tropics today,” Amato said. “The placement of this individual suggests that true crocodiles originated in Africa and from there, some went to Asia and some went to the Caribbean and the New World. We really needed the DNA to get the correct answer to this question. Reference: “Paleogenomics illuminates the evolutionary history of the extinct Holocene “horned” crocodile of Madagascar, Voay robustus” by E. Hekkala, J. Gatesy, A. Narechania, R. Meredith, M. Russello, M. L. Aardema, E. Jensen, S. Montanari, C. Brochu, M. Norell and G. Amato, 27 April 2021, Communications Biology. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02017-0 Other authors on the study include John Gatesy, Apurva Narechania, Shaena Montanari, and Mark Norell from the American Museum of Natural History; Robert Meredith and Matthew Aardema from the Museum and Montclair State University; Michael Russello from the University of British Columbia; Evelyn Jenson from the University of British Columbia and Newcastle University; and Christopher Brochu from the University of Iowa. Funding was provided in part by the University of California, Riverside, Fordham University Faculty Fellowship, and the National Science Foundation grant no.s RAPID DEB-1931213, DEB-1556701, and DBI-1725932. RRG455KLJIEVEWWF |
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