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Categories: Ecology: Sea Life, Paleontology: General

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Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Bees evolved from ancient supercontinent, diversified faster than suspected      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The origin of bees is tens of millions of years older than most previous estimates, a new study shows. A team led by Washington State University researchers traced the bee genealogy back more than 120 million years to an ancient supercontinent, Gondwana, which included today's continents of Africa and South America.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems
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New research highlights risks of selective adaptation in extreme coral habitats      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Resilient corals, often referred to as 'super corals', have recently been seen as potential saviours in the face of climate change and its detrimental effects on coral reefs. Now, a team of scientists is working to better understand these corals in order to develop strategies to protect fragile ecosystems such as the Great Barrier Reef.

Environmental: Ecosystems Paleontology: General
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Genome analysis of 46,000-year-old roundworm from Siberian permafrost reveals novel species      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Some organisms, such as tardigrades, rotifers, and nematodes, can survive harsh conditions by entering a dormant state known as 'cryptobiosis.' In 2018, researchers found two roundworms (nematode) species in the Siberian Permafrost. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the nematode individuals have remained in cryptobiosis since the late Pleistocene, about 46,000 years ago. Researchers have now used genome sequencing, assembly, and phylogenetic analysis and found that the permafrost nematode belongs to a previously undescribed species, Panagrolaimus kolymaensis.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life Environmental: Ecosystems Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Oceanography
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Arctic terns may navigate climate dangers      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Arctic terns -- which fly on the longest migrations of any animal on Earth -- may be able to navigate the dangers posed by climate change, new research suggests.

Biology: Evolutionary Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: General
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New archosaur species shows that precursor of dinosaurs and pterosaurs was armored      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Researchers have described a new species of armored reptile that lived near the time of the first appearance of dinosaurs. With bony plates on its backbone, this archosaur fossil reveals that armor was a boomerang trait in the story of dinosaur and pterosaur evolution: the group's ancestors were armored, but this characteristic was lost and then independently re-evolved multiple times later among specialized dinosaurs like ankylosaurs, stegosaurs, and others.

Archaeology: General Ecology: Invasive Species Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Missing island explains how endemic species on the Miyako Islands emerged      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Miyako Islands are home to various native species of snake and lizards. How these species came to call these islands home has long puzzled scientists. A group of researchers have compiled the latest geological and biological data, proposing that an island once facilitated migration between Okinawa and Miyako Islands.

Ecology: Endangered Species Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Spurge purge: Plant fossils reveal ancient South America-to-Asia 'escape route'      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Newly identified plant fossils found in Argentina suggest that a group of spurges long thought to have Asian origins may have first appeared in Gondwanan South America.

Biology: Marine Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Research Ecology: Sea Life
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Scientists discover new isopod species in the Florida Keys      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have discovered a new species of marine cryptofauna in the Florida Keys. Cryptofauna are the tiny, hidden, organisms that make up the majority of biodiversity in the ocean. The tiny crustaceans are the first new gnathiid isopod to be discovered from the Floridian ecoregion in 100 years and are named after singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett.

Ecology: Invasive Species Ecology: Trees Environmental: Ecosystems Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Miocene period fossil forest of Wataria found in Japan      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An exquisitely preserved fossil forest from Japan provides missing links and helps reconstruct a whole Eurasia plant from the late Miocene epoch.

Anthropology: Early Humans Paleontology: General
Published

These bones were made for walking      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

The genetic changes that made it possible for humans to walk upright have been uncovered in a study that also shows how slight variations in skeletal proportions are linked to arthritis.

Ecology: Sea Life Geoscience: Environmental Issues
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Artificial 'rocks' from macroplastics threaten ocean health      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Plastic waste is a problem on our beaches. Hence, it is largely removed in a coordinated manner within a few weeks. However, it can litter other coasts of the world for many months to years due to unregulated waste disposal. Often the garbage on the beach is simply burned and a special form of plastic waste is created: so-called plastiglomerate. This 'rock' is made up of natural components, such as coral fragments, held together by the melted and reconsolidated plastic. A new study has now demonstrated, using field samples from Indonesia, that such rocks pose an increased environmental risk to coastal ecosystems such as seagrass beds, mangroves or coral reefs. The melted plastic decomposes more quickly into microplastics and is also contaminated with organic pollutants.

Ecology: Endangered Species Ecology: Extinction Ecology: Sea Life
Published

Shark shock: Scientists discover filter-feeding basking sharks are warm-bodied like great whites      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Approximately 99.9% of fish and shark species are 'cold-blooded', meaning their body tissues generally match the temperature of the water they swim in -- but researchers have just discovered the mighty basking shark is a one-in-a-thousand exception. Instead, these sharks keep the core regions of their bodies warmer than the water like the most athletic swimmers in the sea such as great white sharks, mako sharks and tuna.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Offbeat: Plants and Animals Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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Paleontologists identify two new species of sabertooth cat      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sabertooth cats make up a diverse group of long-toothed predators that roamed Africa around 6-7 million years ago, around the time that hominins -- the group that includes modern humans -- began to evolve. By examining one of the largest global Pliocene collections of fossils in Langebaanweg, north of Cape Town in South Africa, researchers present two new sabertooth species and the first family tree of the region's ancient sabertooths. Their results suggest that the distribution of sabertooths throughout ancient Africa might have been different than previously assumed, and the study provides important information about Africa's paleoenvironment.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
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Flying reptiles had nurturing parental style      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Did the pterosaurs, flying reptiles from the days of the dinosaurs, practice parental care or not? New research shows that pterosaurs were indeed caring parents -- but only the larger species.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Dinosaurs Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Unusual fossil shows rare evidence of a mammal attacking a dinosaur      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have described an unusual fossil from around 125 million years ago in China that shows a dramatic moment in time when a carnivorous mammal attacked a larger plant-eating dinosaur. The two animals are locked in mortal combat, and it's among the first evidence to show actual predatory behavior by a mammal on a dinosaur. The fossil's presence challenges the view that dinosaurs had few threats from their mammal contemporaries during the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs were the dominant animals.

Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
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New fossil flying reptile 'Elvis' takes flight      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

In an exciting scientific development, an international team of researchers have officially named a newly discovered 145-million-year-old pterosaur. The animal had enormous 2-meter wingspan and was nicknamed 'Elvis' when the fossil was first unearthed in Bavaria, Germany because of the giant pompadour-like bony crest on its skull. Now the animal has been given a formal scientific name of Petrodactyle wellnhoferi. The name translates as 'Wellnhofer's stone-finger' honouring legendary German palaeontologist Peter Wellnhofer who spent his career working on German pterosaurs. Petrodactyle is a very complete skeleton with nearly every bone preserved and in remarkable detail.

Offbeat: Paleontology and Archeology Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves suffered from diseased joints      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Ice Age saber-tooth cats and dire wolves experienced a high incidence of bone disease in their joints, according to new research.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geology Paleontology: Climate Paleontology: General
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Crawford Lake, Canada, chosen as the primary marker to identify the start of the Anthropocene epoch      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team of researchers has chosen the location which best represents the beginnings of what could be a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene Working Group have put forward Crawford Lake, in Canada, as a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Anthropocene. A GSSP is an internationally agreed-upon reference point to show the start of a new geological period or epoch in layers of rock that have built up through the ages.

Paleontology: Early Mammals and Birds Paleontology: General
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Tiny scales reveal megalodon was not as fast as believed, but it had a mega-appetite explaining its gigantism      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A new study reveals the iconic extinct Megalodon, or 'megatooth shark', was a rather slow cruiser that used its warm-bloodedness to facilitate digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Ecology: Invasive Species Paleontology: Fossils Paleontology: General
Published

Marine fossils are a reliable benchmark for degrading and collapsing ecosystems      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Humans began altering environments long before records were kept of the things that lived in them, making it difficult for scientists to determine what healthy ecosystems should look like. Researchers show the recent fossil record preserves a reliable snapshot of marine environments as they existed before humans.