Shark Ancestor had Bone

It was though that the evolution of sharks was known. However, a 380 million year old fossil found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia indicates the presence of bone as well as cartilage. In other words a virtual missing link has been found.

It means that an ancestor was a bony fish. Obviously, they lost the bone, lightening the body, to enable them to swim faster. The theory of a lineage containing only cartilaged ancestors has now been dropped. This is an indication of accepted beliefs about life in general being without foundation.

Animals with only cartilage were thought to be more primitive than boned ones. Accepted for centuries, this concept was incorrect all along. Be careful what you believe. This could be extended to the religious sphere. You could be following a false faith.

✴ Evolution by Ty Buchanan ✴

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Platypus Ancestor Found

When a platypus specimen was first viewed in England it was a sensation, Many people including scientists said that it was a fake: it was a combination of parts from other animals. However, it did exist in the Australian niche where it evolved.

I should be noted that this was in an era when the English were still struggling with Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest. The majority of the population still believed that God created Man. The Garden of Eden was foremost in their minds.

Today, the platypus' existence is accepted without question. There has not been a lot of fossil evidence about how it came to be. Recently, this gap has been filled by a fossil of an ancient duck-billed marine reptile. Like most fossils which illuminate family trees it was found in China.

Eohupehsuchus brevicollis lived 248 million years ago. Only two other examples of this creature have been brought to light, both in other parts of China. Like the platypus it was small for its time. It lived in an inland sea.

While its body proportions were different from the platypus, clear parallels can be seen: a broad body, no teeth and paddle arms for swimming. Eohupehsuchus brevicollis had a very short neck like the platypus. The fossil is an excellent specimen for research being nearly complete. It has evidence of being attacked, though it did survive this and lived for some time afterwards. The animal was a survivor of the mass extinction of the Permian era 252 million years ago.

✴ Evolution by Ty Buchanan ✴

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Fish Fossil Sheds More Light

There are new facts about the evolution of fish. An ancient fish fossil has provided preserved muscle tissue. European and Australian scientists have examined a placoderm fossil 380 million years old. Early fish did not have moving jaws with joints. Their mouths were fixed partially open, though they could still move.

Jaw structure was presumed to be like sharks, because that was taken to be a living example. The fossil has changed this assumption. It shows a pronounced shoulder structure. From this girdle neck muscles attached to a dermal joint. So the head moved relative to the body but the jaw did not. Sharks do not have joints in the neck - their necks are flexible.

Another difference is musculature in the abdomen much like four-limbed vertebrates such as horses. Rather than being a evolutionary step for four-legged animals it was fully developed by placoderms, the first vertebrate with armoured plates and no teeth.

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Conservation

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Humans Did Not Kill Off Megafauna

During the Middle-Late Pleistocene, one million to 10,000 years ago, more than 50 species of animal disappeared, the last to do so 46.4 thousand years from the present. The reason for the demise of the giant creatures is hotly debated. Some scientists claim that the spread of Man across the globe was the cause. This is suspect, however, because there were so few of them. Killing the odd animal would not have made a significant impact.

Many believe that the end date for megafauna is incorrect. As stated above, the theory that humans killed them off by definition means that people and animals lived side-by-side for a considerable time. Evidence in Australia certainly points to this - 13 species of large animals were here on human arrival. Moreover, the people mainly relied on subsistence strategies for food. Their weapons were not very efficient. A boomerang is highly inaccurate and the range of a spear is limited.

Megafauna died out over a long period of time, not all at a specific date. Species lingered on in many regions. Just assuming that humans killed them is a mistake and diverts from the discovery of why the large animals became extinct. This was a time of extremes in climate. Perhaps a series of wild swings in climate gradually reduced their number to the tipping point where reproduction did not take place.

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Society

Fossil Find Shines Light on an Ancient Whale

A fossil find in Victoria, Australia, throws light on the origin of baleen whales. The artifact is 25 million years old. It is the 45 cm long skull of Mammalodon colliveri. Information about it has remained open since its discovery in 1932.

Though it had teeth it spent its time sucking mud in the search for prey on the seafloor. A short, blunt snout made this possible. This type of feeding led to the filter method of modern whales. The baleen whale was only three meters long, a far cry from the monsters that followed. Its ancestors though were also very large.

Other fossils have been found in Torquay, Victoria, notably Janjucetus hunderi which was unique to the area. This region is believed to be the cradle of tiny whales. Some form of isolation must have occurred for this to happen.

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Paleontology

Alzheimer's Can Now Be Diagnosed When No Symptoms Are Present

New findings on Alzheimer's have been released in Australia. The build up of beta-amyloid plaque is thought to be the main cause of Alzheimer's and it is also responsible for cognitive decline over the long term. The presence of plaque in the brain enables diagnosis of Alzheimer's even in people who show no immediate symptoms. This was announced by Dr Christopher Rowe, professor of nuclear medicine at Melbourme's Austin Hospital.

A patient can now know years in advance that he/she will develop Alzheimer's. Whether this is a good thing is debatable, though it does give time for a person to get their things in order. Depression could be the result of making such an emotive discovery.

Eighteen million people suffer from Alzheimer's worldwide. With the large segment of the population moving into the elderly group this is expected to reach 34 million by 2025. A new drug to fight plaque has been approved in the US. Hopefully, a medication can be found that will dissolve the plaque.

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Health

We Would not Be Here if Dinosaurs had not Existed

If an asteroid hadn't collided with the Earth 65 million years ago we would not be here today. Reptiles would still probably rule the world and apes would never have evolved. There was so much devastation after the impact that only small animals survived - very small mammals. These small creatures only came out into the open to take over the world when it was safe after the dinosaurs had gone.

Mankind's development actually depended on the dinosaurs existence. Small animals evolved to give birth to live young so dinosaurs could not eat their eggs. Even giving milk to their young was to avoid the danger from dinosaurs. Becoming warm blooded allowed them to hunt at night which dinosaurs could not do.

After the dust had settle it was a virtual paradise for mammals. The sun came out and they basked in it. A niche for large animals was vacant so mammals grew large and were successful. The climate changed and trees disappeared. Large mammals grazed happily until an intelligent ape began hunting them. Then large mammals died out and these apes, men, bred and spread all round the globe. Unfortunately, this "intelligent" animal is now threatening small mammal with extinction.

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Paleontology

Fossil Find Throws Light on an Ancient Whale

A fossil find in Victoria, Australia, throws light on the origin of baleen whales. The artifact is 25 million years old. It is the 45 cm long skull of Mammalodon colliveri. Information about it has remained open since its discovery in 1932.

Though it had teeth it spent its time sucking mud in the search for prey on the seafloor. A short, blunt snout made this possible. This type of feeding led to the filter method of modern whales. The baleen whale was only three meters long, a far cry from the monsters that followed. Its ancestors though were also very large.

Other fossils have been found in Torquay, Victoria, notably Janjucetus hunderi which was unique to the area. This region is believed to be the cradle of tiny whales. Some form of isolation must have occurred for this to happen.

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