Researchers have found that there are distinct differences in how fingerprint ridges split between people of European and African ancestry

They analysed the prints of 61 African American women, 61 African American men, 61 European American women and 60 European American men. While they could not find any significant differences between men and women, they did find significant differences in the level two details of fingerprints between people of European and African descent. Level two details are specific variations such as bifurcations – where ridges split - ridge endings and other structures. The researchers found that black people tended to have around 5% more bifurcations than those who were white.