Fossilized Creature named after Johnny Depp!

I have to hand it once again to the intrepid geeks and nerdlings over at ScienceDaily.com!

Actor Johnny Depp Immortalized in Name of Fossilized Creature With ‘Scissor Hand’ Claws

The article begins, “A scientist has discovered an ancient extinct creature with ‘scissor hand-like’ claws in fossil records and has named it in honour of his favourite movie star.”

The 505-million-year-old fossil called Kooteninchela deppi (pronounced Koo-ten-ee-che-la depp-eye), which is a distant ancestor of lobsters and scorpions, was named after the actor Johnny Depp for his starring role as Edward Scissorhands — a movie about an artificial man named Edward, an unfinished creation, who has scissors for hands.

(What a cutie. Just like its namesake!)

Kooteninchela deppi is helping researchers to piece together more information about life on Earth during the Cambrian period when nearly all modern animal types emerged.

David Legg, who carried out the research as part of his PhD in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, says:

“When I first saw the pair of isolated claws in the fossil records of this species I could not help but think of Edward Scissorhands. Even the genus name, Kootenichela, includes the reference to this film as ‘chela’ is Latin for claws or scissors. In truth, I am also a bit of a Depp fan and so what better way to honour the man than to immortalise him as an ancient creature that once roamed the sea?”

It lived in shallow seas off the coast of what is now British Columbia, Canada, although in those days, the area was closer to the equator.

It was approximately four centimetres long with a trunk for a body and millipede-like legs and large eyes which it used to search for food along the sea floor, according to research published in the Journal of Palaeontology.

The researcher believes that Kooteninchela deppi would have been a hunter or scavenger. Its large Edward Scissorhands-like claws with their elongated spines may have been used to capture prey, or they could have helped it to probe the sea floor looking for sea creatures hiding in sediment.

(Kooteninchela deppi – a distant relative of lobsters & scorpions)

It also had large eyes composed of many lenses like the compound eyes of a fly. They were positioned on top of movable stalks called peduncles to help it more easily search for food and look out for predators.

The researchers discovered that Kooteninchela deppi belongs to a group known as the ‘great-appendage’ arthropods, which includes spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes, insects and crabs.

Mr Legg said: ‘Just imagine it – the prawns covered in mayonnaise in your sandwich, the spider climbing up your wall and even the fly that has been banging into your window and annoyingly flying into your face are all descendants of Kooteninchela deppi.’

‘Current estimates indicate that there are more than one million known insects and potentially 10 million more yet to be categorised, which potentially means that Kooteninchela deppi has a huge family tree.’

Legg now wants to study the fossils from the Ordovician period, when species diversity increased.

The research was published in the Journal of Palaeontology 2 May 2013.

__________________________________________________________

Journal Reference:

1. David Legg. Multi-Segmented Arthropods from the Middle Cambrian of British Columbia (Canada). Journal of Paleontology, 2013; 87 (3): 493 DOI: 10.1666/12-112.1

Read Full Post »

The Spider, the Porcupine, the Lizard and the Bat

Reblogged from Nature Box:

• 
• 
• 
• 

Spiders, porcupines, lizards and bats. What could they possibly all have in common? Well according to a recent suite of published research, each of these animal groups has a new addition to their ranks.

Scientists working in Sri Lanka have described a new species of tarantula 'as big as your face', in the British Tarantula Society's latest journal. The species has been named…

Read more… 841 more words

THE SPIDER, THE PORCUPINE, THE LIZARD AND THE BAT

by Lydia O'Donoghue

(Spider the size of a dinner plate... or your face)

Read Full Post »

Bean Leaves a Trap for Bedbugs?

Many years ago, my first wife Susan and I would often spend lazy Sunday afternoons lying on the floor leafing through the New York Times.

More than a few things have changed since then [1] but I still browse the NYTimes (albeit online) on Sundays.

That is how I stumbled across this article about bean leaves and bedbugs.

How a Leafy Folk Remedy Stopped Bedbugs in Their Tracks

New York Times science journalist Felicity Barringer writes, “Generations of Eastern European housewives doing battle against bedbugs spread bean leaves around the floor of an infested room at night. In the morning, the leaves would be covered with bedbugs that had somehow been trapped there. The leaves, and the pests, were collected and burned — by the pound, in extreme infestations.”

Now a group of American scientists is studying this bedbug-leaf interaction, with an eye to replicating nature’s Roach Motel.

(Hooks on the bean leaf  trap bedbug’s exoskeleton. The more the bug struggles, the more stuck it gets)

A study published Wednesday in The Journal of the Royal Society Interface details the scientists’ quest, including their discovery of  how the bugs get hooked on the leaves, how the scientists have tried to recreate these hooks synthetically and how their artificial hooks have proved to be less successful than the biological ones.

At first glance, the whole notion seems far-fetched, said Catherine Loudon, a biologist at the University of California, Irvine, who specializes in bedbug locomotion.

“If someone had suggested to me that impaling insects with little tiny hooks would be a valid form of pest control, I wouldn’t have given it credence,” she said in an interview. “You can think of lots of reasons why it wouldn’t work. That’s why it’s so amazing.”

But even though there is no indication that the bean leaves and the bedbugs evolved to work together, the leaves are fiendishly clever in exploiting the insects’ anatomy. Like the armor covering knights in medieval times, the bedbug’s exoskeleton has thinner areas where its legs flex and its tiny claws protrude — like the spot where a greave, or piece of leg armor, ends.

“The areas where they appear to be pierceable,” Dr. Loudon said, “are not the legs themselves. It’s where they bend, where it’s thin. That’s where they get pierced.”

This folk remedy from the Balkans was never entirely forgotten. A German entomologist wrote about it in 1927, a scientist at the United States Department of Agriculture mentioned it in a paper in 1943, and it can be found in Web searches about bedbugs and bean plants.

But the commercial availability of pesticides like DDT in the 1940s temporarily halted the legions of biting bugs. As their pesticide-resistant descendants began to multiply from Manhattan to Moscow, though, changing everything from leases to liability laws, the hunt for a solution was on.

The first task was to determine exactly how the hooks — the technical name is trichomes — worked. The process was viewed through an electron microscope, Dr. Loudon said. “The foot comes down onto the surface, but as it’s lifting up, it’s catching on these hooks,” she said. “The point is pointing down. So all of their legs get impaled.”

“And as soon as one leg gets caught,” she added, “they are rapidly moving legs around and try to get away on the surface. That’s when they get multiply impaled.”

Dr. Loudon and her co-authors — Megan W. Szyndler and Robert M. Corn from Irvine and Kenneth F. Haynes and Michael F. Potter of the University of Kentucky — then set out to mimic the mechanism.

The scientists, though, think they know what needs to be done. “Future development of surfaces for bedbug entrapment must incorporate mechanical characteristics of whole trichomes,” they concluded in their paper.

And they are far from giving up. As they wrote in the study, “With bedbug populations skyrocketing throughout the world and resistance to pesticides widespread, bio-inspired microfabrication techniques have the potential to harness the bedbug-entrapping power of natural leaf surfaces.”

Or as Dr. Loudon said, “It would be our greatest hope that ultimately this could develop into something that could help with this horrible problem.” Already, she said, she and her colleagues have a patent on the technology pending. It has, she said, been optioned by a commercial company.

__________________________________________________________

[1] One of which was our Maine Coon cat, Toots, flopping himself down on our opened newspapers, not because he wanted us to pay attention to him but rather because he hated the idea of us paying attention to anything else.

Image credits: Megan W. Szyndler and Catherine Loudon/University of California, Irvine

Read Full Post »

Bug Self-Medication Widespread!!

Torn from today’s headlines!!

Self-Medication in Animals Much More Widespread Than Believed

YES!! Drug use in the animal kingdom is a much more pervasive activity than originally suspected!

As our intrepid geeks and nerdlings over at ScienceDaily.com reveal, “It’s been known for decades that animals such as chimpanzees seek out medicinal herbs to treat their diseases. But in recent years, the list of animal pharmacists has grown much longer, and it now appears that the practice of animal self-medication is a lot more widespread than previously thought, according to a University of Michigan ecologist and his colleagues.”

The fact that moths, ants and fruit flies are now known to self-medicate has profound implications for the ecology and evolution of animal hosts and their parasites, according to Mark Hunter, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and at the School of Natural Resources and Environment.

(A parasite-infected monarch butterfly lays her eggs on medicinal tropical milkweed that will help to protect her offspring from disease.) [1]

In addition, because plants remain the most promising source of future pharmaceuticals, studies of animal medication may lead the way in discovering new drugs to relieve human suffering, Hunter and two colleagues wrote in a review article titled “Self-Medication in Animals,” to be published online today in the journal Science.

“When we watch animals foraging for food in nature, we now have to ask, are they visiting the grocery store or are they visiting the pharmacy?” Hunter said. “We can learn a lot about how to treat parasites and disease by watching other animals.”

Much of the work in this field has focused on cases in which animals, such as baboons and woolly bear caterpillars, medicate themselves. One recent study has suggested that house sparrows and finches add high-nicotine cigarette butts to their nests to reduce mite infestations.

“Perhaps the biggest surprise for us was that animals like fruit flies and butterflies can choose food for their offspring that minimizes the impacts of disease in the next generation,” Hunter said. “There are strong parallels with the emerging field of epigenetics in humans, where we now understand that dietary choices made by parents influence the long-term health of their children.”

(Fruitfly larva – Is this young’un getting the benefits of Mom’s drug use?)

The authors [2] argue that animal medication has several major consequences on the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions.

In addition, animal medication should affect the evolution of animal immune systems, according to Hunter and his colleagues.

The authors also note that the study of animal medication will have direct relevance for human food production.

___________________________________________________________

[1] Image credit Jaap de Roode

[2] The first author of the science paper is Jacobus de Roode of Emory University. The other author is Thierry Lefevre of the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement in France.

Journal Reference: J. C. de Roode, T. Lefevre, M. D. Hunter. Self-Medication in Animals. Science, 2013; 340 (6129): 150 DOI:10.1126/science.1235824

Read Full Post »

Black & White Striped Bat: New Genus!

Yes, my little geeks and nerdlings, the folks over at ScienceDaily.com have done it once again!

Striped Like a Badger: New Genus of Bat Identified in South Sudan

Researchers have identified a new genus of bat after discovering a rare specimen in South Sudan.

Bucknell University Associate Professor of Biology DeeAnn Reeder and Fauna & Flora International (FFI) Programme Officer Adrian Garside were leading a team conducting field research and pursuing conservation efforts when Reeder spotted the animal in Bangangai Game Reserve.

“My attention was immediately drawn to the bat’s strikingly beautiful and distinct pattern of spots and stripes. It was clearly a very extraordinary animal, one that I had never seen before,” recalled Reeder. “I knew the second I saw it that it was the find of a lifetime.”

(Niumbaha superba –  Is this the cutest little thing or what?? [1])

After returning to the United States, Reeder determined the bat was the same as one originally captured in nearby Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1939 and named Glauconycteris superba, but she and colleagues did not believe that it fit with other bats in the genus Glauconycteris.

“After careful analysis, it is clear that it doesn’t belong in the genus that it’s in right now,” Reeder said. “Its cranial characters, its wing characters, its size, the ears — literally everything you look at doesn’t fit. It’s so unique that we need to create a new genus.”

Reeder and her colleagues placed this bat into a new genus – Niumbaha. The word means “rare” or “unusual” in Zande, the language of the Azande people in Western Equatoria State, where the bat was captured. The bat is just the fifth specimen of its kind ever collected, and the first in South Sudan.

Thanks, Dr Reeder, for bringing this adorable little sweetiepie to our attention and giving it the proper classification!

Well done!

__________________________________________________________

[1] Photo Credit: LeeAnn Reeder, Bucknell University

Research Paper: ”A new genus for a rare African vespertilionid bat: insights from South Sudan”, published by the journal ZooKeys, author:  DeeAnn Reeder, along with co-authors from the Smithsonian Institution and the Islamic University in Uganda.

Read Full Post »

The Yak is Back!

Last week, science writer Jennifer A. Kingson wrote in an article in the New York Times Science Section…

“What’s big and wooly and making a comeback on the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau?” [1]

(A yak grazing on grassland on the Tibetan-Qinghai Plateau [2])

“Wild yaks are icons for the remote, untamed, high-elevation roof of the world,” said Joel Berger, who led an expedition for the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of Montana that counted 990 wild yaks.”

(A big yak attack!)

“The yak population there had been decimated by hunting, much like the American bison population, so the expedition team, which included Chinese and American conservationists, was understandably best pleased to see so many of them up there.”

(We’re yak… and we’re back!)

Well done, yaks. Keep on going forth and multiplying!

________________________________________________________

[1] OK. BIG question. Is it ‘wooly’ or ‘woolly’? Talmudic sages for generations have pondered this profound question. Here’s the answer.  The English (i.e. proper) spelling is ‘woolly’ (two Ls). “Wooly” (one L) is the American spelling. It’s kind of like the difference between humour and humor, travelled and traveled, aluminium – aluminum, burnt and burned.

[2] Frederic J. Brown/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Read Full Post »

Nature Photo du jour!

Saw this U.S. Antarctic Program photo and just had to share it!

(A jellyfish under the Ross Sea ice, Antarctica) [1]

The National Science Foundation funds and manages the U.S. Antarctic Program, which supports research in aeronomy and astrophysics, biology and medicine, geology and geophysics, glaciology, and ocean and climate systems. Outreach, such as the Antarctic Artists and Writers program, and education programs are also supported.

To learn more about the program, visit the USAP Web site.

_____________________________________________________________

[1] Photo: Henry Kaiser, National Science Foundation. (Date of Image: Oct. 14, 2005)

Read Full Post »

What’s With the Spiders??

I get this question a lot, really.

Why the fixation on arachnology?

Spiders are interesting, sure…

But they’re not cute and cuddly like some of our furrier friends.

(I will call him Squishy. And he will be mine… and he will be my Squishy!)

Although some are rather cute…

Some spiders are downright alarming!

(It’s OK, honey… I got this one!)

In their own ‘other-worldly’ way, spiders can be both awesome and beautiful.

So let’s try not to freak out next time we see our multi-legged little pals.

Look on the bright side… they eat other critters!

(OK, not exactly what I had in mind)

Read Full Post »

Can Blue Tits Save The Conker Trees?

Hurray for Blue Tits!!

(No! Not THOSE kind of… oh, never mind!)

Could they be the key to solving a serious British environmental problem?

(THIS kind!! [1])

Yes, bird-watchers and tree huggers, the geeks and nerdlings over at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology have uncovered the wonderful truth about blue tits.

(A bird feeder sporting a nice pair of British blue tits)

The article begins, “Blue tits, a familiar garden bird, could be the salvation of our imperiled conker trees (horse-chestnut trees), which are under severe attack by a tiny non-native moth that has spread from continental Europe.”

Yes, the foreign illegal alien moth arrived in London just ten years ago, and has since spread across most of England and Wales. The moth caterpillars eat the leaves while hiding inside them, so damaging the leaves and causing them to turn brown and making the tree appear as if autumn has come early.

(Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner Cameraria ohridella. [Photo © Ian Kimber]) 

Experts at the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) and the University of Hull are asking today (August 30, 2012) for the public’s help to find out how many moth caterpillars are eaten by birds, such as blue tits. They are asking volunteers to check leaves from a horse chestnut tree for the distinctive damage caused by the birds to the leaf mines and report it through the Conker Tree Science website.

(Damaged horse chestnut leaf, showing whitish leaf mines [2])

Dr Michael Pocock, from CEH, said, “It’s a big mission and we’re reliant on people’s help to discover how much birds are feeding on the alien moths.”

Dr Darren Evans from the University of Hull added, “In discovering whether garden birds, like blue tits, can help to protect conker trees, we will also be learning more about the behaviour of the birds themselves.”

The alien moth, which was discovered in the 1980s, has caterpillars that live inside the leaves, forming distinctive patches of damage called “leaf mines”. Up to 700 leaf mines have been recorded on a single leaf and the damage caused by large numbers of larvae can be striking. A previous Conker Tree Science mission discovered that predatory wasps were not effectively controlling the alien moths, possibly explaining their rapid spread.

(Signs of a bird attack on the leaf mine home of the moth [3])

This project, where anyone can get involved with genuine scientific research, is one of the largest of its kind in the UK and is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

Find out more by visiting the Conker Tree Science project’s website. People in Britain can take part in the new “Bird Attack” mission from August 20 to September 23, 2012.

Let’s keep those cute blue tits up front in our battle against these pesky moths!

____________________________________________________________

[1] A blue tit in front of horse-chestnut leaves that are covered with brown patches of damage caused by the caterpillars of the leaf mining moths. (Photo Credit: Richard Broughton/CEH)

[2] [3]  Photo credit: Dr Michael Pocock/CEH

Read Full Post »

Spider Version of Bigfoot in Pacific West Coast Caves!!

The folks over at ScienceDaily.com have alerted us to a new and terrifying menace on the West Coast!!

Spider Version of Bigfoot Emerges from Caves in the Pacific Northwest

The new spider breaks new ground in arachnology!

(Trogloraptor)

The article begins, “The forests of the coastal regions from California to British Columbia are renowned for their unique and ancient animals and plants, such as coast redwoods, tailed frogs, mountain beavers and the legendary Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch). Whereas Bigfoot is probably just fiction, a huge, newly discovered spider is very real. Trogloraptor (or “cave robber”) is named for its cave home and spectacular, elongate claws. It is a spider so evolutionarily special that it represents not only a new genus and species, but also a new family (Trogloraptoridae). Even for the species-rich insects and arachnids, to discover a new, previously unknown family is an historic moment.”

(Scanning electron micrograph – Trogloraptor spider claw)

As the boys over at Wired Science put it, “The spider is about 1.5 inches wide with its legs stretched out, bigger than a half-dollar coin. It was found living in loose strands of web hanging from cave ceilings and under forest debris. It wields a set of lethal-looking claws (right), but its hunting and fighting behaviors remain to be seen.”

Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences, San Diego State University, and citizen scientists from the Western Cave Conservancy all helped discover the spiders. The California Academy of Sciences team led the study to analyze and describe the new arachnid family.

Well done, geeks. We didn’t need to sleep tonight, anyway!

____________________________________________________________

Images: California Academy of Sciences

Journal Reference:

1. Charles Griswold, Tracy Audisio, Joel Ledford. An extraordinary new family of spiders from caves in the Pacific Northwest (Araneae, Trogloraptoridae, new family). ZooKeys, 2012; 215 (0): 77 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.215.3547

Read Full Post »