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ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
 Posted: 20-12-2012 02:53 Post subject: |
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Possible new species of spider found that builds fake spider decoys
December 19th, 2012 in Biology / Plants & Animals
The decoy spider constructed out of leaves. Credit: Phil Torres
(Phys.org)—While traveling with a group of researchers in the Amazon rain forest this past September, biologist Phil Torres came upon a type of spider he'd never seen before. Upon closer inspection, it turned out the spider wasn't a spider at all, but a decoy created by a real spider. He documents the find in a blog post for Rainforest Expeditions.
In consulting with experts in the field, Torres has come to believe that the tiny striped spider is a member of the genus Cyclosa, which are known for adding material to their nests to either attract prey or hide from predators.
In this case, it appears the spider has developed a special skill to help it avoid being eating by paper wasps. Not only does it build pseudo-replicas of itself, in larger form, it shakes the decoy to convince passersby that the fake spider is the real McCoy, causing the fake to be attacked instead of its own tiny self.
The webs of the spiders stand about face high, Torres reports, and are about the size of a stretched-out hand. The spider itself is about a quarter of an inch in length while its decoy is about a full inch. In surveying the area, Torres and colleagues found 25 of the arachnids in a single square mile in a floodplain in Peru on the western edges of the Amazon. Outside of that area, they found none, though Torres notes that it's possible that beyond the range where they looked, there could be many more.
The actual spider (left) and examples of the constructed, false spiders (right). Credit: Jeff Cremer and Phil Torres.
In examining the decoys, Torres found them to be made up of compiled masses of dead insects, leaf bits and assorted debris. And while each was somewhat different from all the others, the overriding theme was the image of a spider, with legs and a body that resemble the real thing.
Torres isn't sure yet if the spider he's found is a new species – a thorough review process will have to be undertaken before that can be established.
Once it passes muster, the findings will then have to be published in a science journal for it to become official.
© 2012 Phys.org
"Possible new species of spider found that builds fake spider decoys." December 19th, 2012.
http://phys.org/news/2012-12-species-spider-fake-decoys.html |
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rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 20323 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-12-2012 14:35 Post subject: |
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Marine Scotland survey uncovers 'huge' flame shell bed
A huge colony of an elusive and brightly coloured shellfish species has been discovered in coastal waters in the west of Scotland.
The extensive bed of at least 100 million flame shells was found during a survey of Loch Alsh, a sea inlet between Skye and the Scottish mainland.
The Scottish environment secretary said it could be the largest grouping of flame shells anywhere in the world.
The colony was uncovered during a survey commissioned by Marine Scotland.
It was conducted as part of work to identify new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
The small, scallop-like species has numerous neon orange tentacles that emerge between the creatures' two shells.
Flame shells group together on the sea bed and their nests create a living reef that supports hundreds of other species.
The Loch Alsh flame shell reef is much larger than expected, covering an area of 75 hectares.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead described the seas around Scotland as a "hotbed of biodiversity".
"With Scottish waters covering an area around five-times bigger than our landmass, it's a huge challenge to try and understand more about our diverse and precious sea life," he said.
"The flame shell must be considered among the most remarkable species in our waters, with a dazzling array of orange tentacles.
"Many would place such an exotic species in far-flung tropical reefs - not realising they dwell under the waves just off the coast of Skye."
He added: "This important discovery may be the largest grouping of flame shells anywhere in the world.
"And not only are flame shells beautiful to look at, these enigmatic shellfish form a reef that offers a safe and productive environment for many other species."
The Loch Alsh survey was carried out by Heriot-Watt University on behalf of Marine Scotland.
Dan Harries, of Heriot-Watt University's School of Life Sciences, said: "Too often, when we go out to check earlier records of a particular species or habitat we find them damaged, struggling or even gone.
"We are delighted that in this instance we found not just occasional patches but a huge and thriving flame shell community extending right the way along the entrance narrows of Loch Alsh.
"This is a wonderful discovery for all concerned."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-20838775
They look like Scots sports fans wearing orange wigs!
A few miles north of Loch Alsh is Strome ferry, in the news because of a landslip:
http://forargyll.com/2012/12/fellow-feeling-for-wester-ross-as-landslide-closes-a890-on-christmas-day/ |
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| Kondoru Unfeathered Biped Joined: 05 Dec 2003 Total posts: 5719 Gender: Unknown |
| Posted: 27-12-2012 17:43 Post subject: |
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| Are they good to eat? I love queen scallops. |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 20323 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
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| gncxx King-Size Canary
Great Old One Joined: 25 Aug 2001 Total posts: 13303 Location: Eh? Gender: Male |
| Posted: 28-12-2012 19:01 Post subject: |
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Johnny Depp's arseing about again? |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 18-01-2013 15:20 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | New insights into anatomy of ancient tentacled creature
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/21029364
By Michelle Warwicker
BBC Nature
Scientists have shed light on a peculiar tentacled marine creature that lived 520 million years ago.
Experts thought that Cotyledion tylodes may have belonged to the jellyfish-like cnidarian group.
But new anatomical evidence from the animal's fossilised remains suggests the species was an early member of the group of small marine organisms called entoprocts.
The findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Results of the study, by an international research team, suggest that entoprocts appeared earlier than previously thought.
Continue reading the main story
Wonders of the Cambrian period
Marvel at creatures of evolution's 'big bang'
When was Wales underwater?
See how trilobites used life's first complex eyes
Entoprocts are small organisms that feed by straining food particles from water.
Scientists analysed hundreds of Cotyledion tylodes fossils preserved in the Chengjiang fossil site in Yunnan province, China, dating from the Cambrian geological period (545 to 495 million years ago).
To date, the only uncontested fossil entoproct comes from the Jurassic (205 to 142 million years ago).
However this reinterpretation of Cotyledion tylodes as an entoproct places the fossil record of this group in the earlier Cambrian period.
Some anatomical characteristics of Cotyledion tylodes are comparable to those of modern entoprocts, especially the presence of a U-shaped gut with a mouth and anus surrounded by a crown of tentacles.
"This is... the first time to confirm that [Cotyledion tylodes] had a U-shaped gut accommodated in the calyx cavity," said Zhifei Zhang, from Northwest University, Xi'an city, Shaanxi Province, China, who worked on the study.
Cotyledion tylodes fossil from the Chengjiang site
The bizarre-looking creature also had a goblet-shaped body with an upper cup-like cavity and lower elongated stalk, with which it "attached to exoskeletons of other organisms", explained Mr Zhang.
Cotyledion tylodes was larger than extant entoprocts, measuring between 8mm and 56mm in height. Its body was covered in external, hardened structures called sclerites, which are not found on modern entoprocts.
Evolutionary big bang
The "Cambrian explosion" saw the relatively sudden appearance of abundant life forms in the sea.
Mr Zhang said that the team's reinterpretation of Cotyledion tylodes as belonging to the Entoprocta phylum adds further support to the idea that "nearly all the living phyla of animals suddenly appeared in the Cambrian".
However, few fossil representatives of Lophotrochozoa (the superphylum containing the entoprocts group of animals) have been found in Cambrian fossil records.
Join BBC Nature on Facebook and Twitter @BBCNature. |
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| lordmongrove Great Old One Joined: 30 May 2009 Total posts: 792 Location: Exeter Age: 43 Gender: Male |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 20-01-2013 16:05 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Welsh Bristle-moss: New species found near Dryslwyn Castle
The Countryside Council for Wales said Welsh Bristle-moss might have evolved from a genetically similar moss
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-21043636
A new species of moss has been found growing on 10 maple trees in a Carmarthenshire car park, but experts are in two minds about its origins.
Welsh Bristle-moss was discovered near Dryslwyn Castle, close to Llandeilo, by the Countryside Council for Wales.
It said it might have evolved from a genetically similar moss.
But it could be an undiscovered species that was imported from the Continent on maples used to landscape the car park in the 1990s.
There are about 900 species of moss in Britain and 587 of those are found in Wales.
The Welsh Bristle-moss was discovered during a survey which is recording mosses growing on trees in south Wales.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
This is a high-point in our regular work of recording mosses which grow on trees in south Wales”
Sam Bosanquet
CCW moss ecologist
Experts said the moss had a unique combination of distinctive traits. It differed from related mosses because of its round-tipped leaf tips and flat leaf edges.
'Vigilant'
Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) moss ecologist Sam Bosanquet, who made the new find, said: "Welsh Bristle-moss highlights the need to be ever vigilant and open-minded, even when looking at plants in mundane places like car parks.
"This is a high-point in our regular work of recording mosses which grow on trees in south Wales.
"Over the last decade, we have also discovered three mosses that had not previously been found in Wales and which are more typical of continental Europe.
Mr Bosanquet said he had been recording mosses for 15 years and had found 25 new species never before found in Wales, but which had been found in England and Scotland.
"Now that the species has been recorded, I hope that more research will determine whether the moss is extending its range to other areas of the county and beyond," said Mr Bosanquet. |
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| oldrover Great Old One Joined: 18 Oct 2009 Total posts: 2106 Location: Wales Gender: Male |
| Posted: 20-01-2013 21:43 Post subject: |
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| This is a great day for Carmarthenshire, and a great day for car parks everywhere. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 20-01-2013 21:58 Post subject: |
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| Maybe call it Stirling Moss. |
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| rynner2 What a Cad!
Great Old One Joined: 13 Dec 2008 Total posts: 20323 Location: Under the moon Gender: Male |
| Posted: 20-01-2013 23:41 Post subject: |
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I reckon there are triffids around some of the car parks here!
It's all due to heavy metal pollution from mine waste... |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 27-01-2013 14:11 Post subject: |
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Previous Unknown Fossilized Fox Species Found
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130123115350.htm
This is a Malapa fox fossil. (Credit: Wits University)
Jan. 23, 2013 — Researchers from Wits University, the University of Johannesburg and international scientists have announced the discovery of a 2-million-year-old fossil fox at Malapa, South Africa, in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
In an article published in the journal Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, the researchers describe the previously unknown species of fox named Vulpes Skinneri -- named in honour of the recently deceased world renowned South African mammalogist and ecologist, Prof. John Skinner of the University of Pretoria.
The site of Malapa has, since its discovery in 2008, yielded one of the most extraordinary fossil assemblages in the African record, including skeletons of a new species of human ancestor named Australopithecus sediba, first described in 2010.
The new fox fossils consist of a mandible and parts of the skeleton and can be distinguished from any living or extinct form of fox known to science based on proportions of its teeth and other aspects of its anatomy.
Dr. Brian Kuhn of Wits' Institute for Human Evolution (IHE) and the School of GeoSciences, an author on the paper and head of the Malapa carnivore studies explains: "It's exciting to see a new fossil fox. The ancestry of foxes is perhaps the most poorly known among African carnivores and to see a potential ancestral form of living foxes is wonderful."
Prof. Lee Berger, also of the IHE and School of GeoSciences, author on the paper and Director of the Malapa project notes: "Malapa continues to reveal this extraordinary record of past life and as important as the human ancestors are from the site, the site's contribution to our understanding of the evolution of modern African mammals through wonderful specimens like this fox is of equal import. Who knows what we will find next?."
The entire team has expressed their privilege in naming the new species after "John Skinner, one of the great names in the study of African mammals and particularly carnivores. We (the authors) think that John would be pleased, and it is fitting that this rare little find would carry his name forever."
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of the Witwatersrand.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Adam Hartstone-Rose, Brian F. Kuhn, Shahed Nalla, Lars Werdelin, Lee R. Berger. A new species of fox from the Australopithecus sediba type locality, Malapa, South Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 2013; : 1 DOI: 10.1080/0035919X.2012.748698 |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 28-01-2013 03:19 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | 'Blood-biting' predator identified
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-21220499
Researchers said the marine predator would have been suited to feeding on large-bodied prey
Prehistoric remains discovered more than a century ago have been identified as a new species of marine super-predator.
Researchers said the 165-million-year-old creature was distantly related to modern-day crocodiles.
Parts of its skeleton were found near Peterborough in the early 1900s and are held at Glasgow's Hunterian museum.
The species has been named as Tyrannoneustes lythrodectikos, meaning "blood-biting tyrant swimmer".
Scientists found that the partial skeleton - including a jawbone and teeth - belonged to a group of crocodiles that were similar to dolphins.
The animal's pointed, serrated teeth and large gaping jaw meant it would have been suited to feeding on large-bodied prey.
A team of experts led by the University of Edinburgh said it would help scientists better understand how marine reptiles were evolving about 165 million years ago.
'Missing link'
The researchers believe the species represents a missing link between marine crocodiles that fed on small prey, and others that were similar to modern-day killer whales, which fed on larger prey.
Their findings have been published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
Dr Mark Young of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, said: "It is satisfying to be able to classify a specimen that has been unexamined for more than 100 years, and doubly so to find that this discovery improves our understanding of the evolution of marine reptiles."
Dr Neil Clark, palaeontology curator at the Hunterian, said little research had been done on the specimen since it was first listed in 1919.
He added: "It is comforting to know that new species can still be found in museums as new research is carried out on old collections.
"It is not just the new species that are important, but an increase in our understanding of how life evolved and the variety of life forms that existed 163 million years ago in the warm Jurassic seas around what is now Britain." |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 14-02-2013 14:18 Post subject: |
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| Quote: | A new owl species from Indonesia is formally described
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/21443913
New owl species Otus jolande, found in Lombok, Indonesia
A new species of owl discovered in Lombok, Indonesia, has been formally described by scientists.
The Rinjani Scops owl (Otus jolandae) was discovered by two separate researchers just days apart in September 2003.
The "common" owl is the first endemic bird species recorded on the island of Lombok.
The first study of the species, by an international team of scientists, is published in the journal PLoS One.
Lead researcher George Sangster, from Stockholm University's Department of Zoology in Stockholm, Sweden, described his first encounter with the new species.
"I found the new owl on 3 September 2003, and Ben King found it independently at a different location on 7 September 2003."
Continue reading the main story
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See how burrowing owls attract dinner with their decor
What can ancient owl vomit tell us?
Hear the familiar hoot of an urban owl
"I was on Lombok to collect sound recordings of the local population of a species of nightjar. On the first night I arrived on Lombok, we heard the vocalisations of an owl that [I was] not familiar with."
Coincidentally researcher Ben King, from the Ornithology Department, American Museum of Natural History in New York, USA, was in Lombok at the same time, recording the same nightjar species even though the researchers had never met.
Mr King commented, "My experience was similar to George's. While I was tape-recording the nightjar, I heard a song that sounded like an owl, but unlike any I'd heard in years of field work in Indonesia."
Initially Mr Sangster was not certain whether it was a previously known species from Java and Bali that for some reason had been overlooked on Lombok.
This explanation was quickly ruled out when he played back the sound recordings of the owl.
"When we first heard them, the owls were very vocal, and either involved in a duet (of male and female) or a duel (between two males).
Because we were not sure which species this was, we made recordings and played it back.
Owls are territorial, so when their sound is played back in their territory, the owl usually comes to investigates the 'intruder'."
The owls responded strongly to the recordings and approached the researchers, meaning they had a clear view of the owls.
This meant that the volcalisations were indeed the song,a crucial piece of information according to researchers.
Researchers attracted the owls by playing back sound recordings
The Rinjani Scops owls initially looked very similar to the Moluccan Scops owl, a species of owl that was reported to occur on Lombok.
However, their whistles sounded completely different from the "raven-like croak" of the Moluccan Scops Owl.
The researchers only realised that they had in fact discovered a new species when they checked the taxonomic literature and examined their recordings more closely.
Previously no endemic species of birds from the island of Lombok were known.
To verify their findings the scientists studied plumage differences in museums, took measurements of various body parts and analysed the songs.
They used playback in the field to determine which species are present on Lombok and Sumbawa, before using DNA data to compare all relevant species.
Further finds
Mr Sangster explained that there may be further undiscovered bird species in Indonesia.
"Several species have already been announced in the scientific literature but await formal description. There are probably several other species of Scops owls in Indonesia that remain overlooked, even if they are already named.
Until recently, many species of owls were included as 'subspecies' of highly variable, widespread species. Step-by-step, we are learning that this is not always correct, and that some of those are better considered as species."
Mr Sangster was most surprised by how common this new species was. The researchers found the owls at several locations and often heard multiple individuals calling from different directions.
He suggested how this discovery can have long-reaching implications for study.
"In the past, ornithologists and birdwatchers have largely ignored the island because, unlike Java, Bali, Flores and other islands in the region, no bird species were unique to it," he told BBC Nature.
"Our study underscores that even after 150 years of scientific study we still do not know all birds in the Indo-Malayan region. In fact, Indonesia is a treasure trove for taxonomists."
Join BBC Nature on Facebook and Twitter @BBCNature. |
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| ramonmercado Psycho Punk
Joined: 19 Aug 2003 Total posts: 17657 Location: Dublin Gender: Male |
| Posted: 15-02-2013 23:31 Post subject: |
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Spectacular forcepfly species discovered for the first time in South America
February 15th, 2013 in Biology / Plants & Animals
This picture shows the newly-discovered forcepfly Austromerope braziliensis. Credit: Dr. Renato Jose Pires Machado
Forcepflies are usually known as earwigflies, because the males have a large genital forceps that resembles the cerci of earwigs. A new species of forcepfly Meropeidae (Mecoptera) from Brazil was described, representing only the 3rd extant species described in this family and the 1st record of the family from the Neotropical region. The distribution and biogeography of the family are discussed and it is even proposed that Meropeidae originated before continental drift and then divided into two branches, northern and southern, with the breakup of the old supercontinent Pangea. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
This picture shows a close-up of the peculiar forceps of Austromerope. Credit: Dr. Renato Jose Pires Machado
Despite all previous collecting efforts in this area the species had never been recorded before. The specimen was collected in a private ranch near a forest fragment surrounded by farms in the Atlantic Forest biome, one of the most threatened in Brazil. It can be found in a variety of habitats, including woodland, Jarrah forest, and sand plain vegetation. What makes forcepflies special is the fact that little is known about their biology and the immature stages remain a mystery to scientists. The adults, who are nocturnal and seem to live on the ground, are also capable of stridulation, or the production of sound by rubbing certain body parts.
This picture shows another species of the rare forcepflies (Merope tuber). Credit: Dr. Renato Jose Pires Machado
"The discovery of this new relict species is an important signal to reinforce the conservation of Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome. Certainly there are many more mecopterans species yet to be discovered in these forests", said the lead author Dr Renato Machado from the Texas A & M University, College Station, USA.
More information: ZooKeys 269: 1–10. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.269.4240
Provided by Pensoft Publishers
"Spectacular forcepfly species discovered for the first time in South America." February 15th, 2013. http://phys.org/news/2013-02-spectacular-forcepfly-species-south-america.html |
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