Posts Tagged ‘discovery’
Ida “The Missing Link” Creates Buzz and Controversy
Posted by: Avi in New Discoveries on May 24th, 2009
Darwinius masillae - History/Atlantic Productions
It is hard for those who love science to go onto the web or read a paper and not see something about Ida “The Missing Link”. Ida is indeed remarkable as one of the best preserved and earliest primate fossils we have. But some in the scientific community are weary of the hype. Although Ida is indeed a transitional form between Lemur-like creatures and more modern primates it is not entirely certain that we humans are a direct descendant.
A copy of the fossil is on display as part of the American Museum of Natural History’s “Extreme Mammals” exhibit.
The New York Times has a good general article about the discovery here.
Brian Switek, a scienceblogs blogger who covers paleontology has a really good write up of some of the science and controversy here.
Amazing deep-sea fish with tubular eyes and transparent head
Posted by: Avi in New Discoveries, Videos on May 24th, 2009
At Evolvems we are always looking for the strangest of the strange creatures on Earth. The types of adaptations that natural selection has produced are remarkable. The barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) is possibly one of the weirdest we have run across.
This fish has super sensitive tubular eyes that are embedded inside a clear fluid filled shell that resembles a jet fighter’s cockpit cover. The barreleye lives deep in the ocean and points it’s eyes upward looking for small fish and jellyfish passing above. When prey is spotted, the barreleye is able to swivel it eyes forward to track food, helping guide food towards its small mouth.
Read more about the barreleye and the Monterey Bay Aquarium researchers who are studying it here.
Predator X – Giant Jurassic Sea Reptile Fossils Found in Arctic
Posted by: Avi in New Discoveries on March 20th, 2009
An illustration of a pliosaur, with its crushing bite force, on attack. -Atlantic Productions
Scientists digging in the arctic island regions of Norway have found the enormous remains of a new member in a family of ancient ocean reptiles, called pliosaurs, that lived during the reign of the dinosaurs. This sea hunter was at least 50 feet long and weighed 45 tons. The skull alone measures 10 feet long as well as the front two flippers. The average length of previously studied pliosaurs is about 16-20 feet. It is estimated that Predator X had a bite 2-3 times as powerful as T-Rex and 100 times more powerful than any animal alive today, at 33,000 pounds. As the top predator in it’s habitat, Predator X probably fed on fish, squid and other marine reptiles, such as the long necked plesiosaur and the dolphin like ichthyosaurs.
Excavating the Skull of Predator X - Kelly Nobay
The story of the discovery and excavation of Predator X will be shown in a documentary on the History Channel on March 29th at 8pm.
Giant Stingrays Found Near Thai City
Posted by: Avi in New Discoveries, Videos on March 12th, 2009
Zeb Hogan, of the University of Nevada in Reno, is documenting the rays as part of the Megafishes Project, an effort to document Earth’s 20 or so freshwater giants. watch as he searches for a Giant Stingray in Thailand and gets more than he could even imagine.
Dino ‘graveyard’ reveals first Asian triceratops
Posted by: Avi in New Discoveries on January 8th, 2009
The world’s largest dinosuar fossil site that was recently found in China’s Shandong province has yielded its first big discovery. A 2 meter long skull resembling that of the famed horned dinosaur triceratops has been found. This is the first evidence that Ceratopsids, which is a family of four-legged, horned and crested dinosuars, lived outside of what is now North America.
Although early ancestors of ceratopsids have been found in China, true Ceratopsids have only been found in Alaska, western Canada and the western US… until now. The bones have not been precisely dated but are thought to be from 100 to 65 million years old.
