Showing posts with label small. Show all posts
Showing posts with label small. Show all posts

Anthropologists Puzzle Over the Hobbit of Flores Island

Anthropologists say the Hobbit of Flores did exist.
The naysayers have had to accept that the Hobbit discovered on the island of Flores in Indonesia did exist. They survived until about 15,000 years ago. Anthropologists should have taken notice of local folklore. Stories were handed down to the present about tiny "people" raiding food crops at night.

Remains have been closely examined by scientists. It was a tiny version of Australopithecus a human predecessor which lived in Africa from 4.5 million to 2 million years ago. The creature grew to small stature because it was trapped on an island. Short legs made it hard for them to walk but they did nonetheless - large trees do not grow on Flores.
A Human compared to the Hobbit of Flores island in Indonesia
Despite having a small brain Homo floresiensis developed stone tools to a complexity equalled only by humans. Its teeth were closer to human teeth than any other ape-like pre-human. This accounts for its naming as homo rather than Australopithecus.

The real mystery about the Hobbit is how did it get so close to Australia?
There must have been an exodus out of Africa much like the one that occurred to humans. We obviously were not the first upright ape to spread out widely from its source. Anthropologists have recently accepted the hypothesis that Man lived alongside other bipedal apes. The chain-like evolution of the ape family is now in the waste paper bin.
 Anthropology by Ty Buchanan 
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THE HOBBIT LIVED!
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New Ankylosaur Identified in Australia - Kinbarrasaurus ieversi

Australia has a new dinosaur and a handsome devil he is. He has the necessary accouterments such as spiny tail, armour with spines and size. Unfortunately, he has a beak not teeth. Well, you can't have everything.
kunbarrasaurus kunbarrasaurus ieversi dinosaus ankylosaur
Kinbarrasaurus ieversi is a member of the ankylosaur family, an early type, a new genus. The animal foraged for leafy material and grass. The fossil specimen remained on the shelf from 1989 until now. It is complete showing fossilized skin texture and stomach contents.

Though ankylosaur, kunbarrasaurus has features unlike any other animal. Its ear and nasal structure is unique, though it is similar to the tuatara reptile. apparently, it helped to keep the creature cool. The skull was easy to study because there was no armour covering it. Dinosaurs usually have armour fused to the skull.
 Anthropology by Ty Buchanan 
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Australian Cats Came From Europe Not Asia

Cats are cuddly pets, but if they get into the wild they can cause native animals to become extinct. This has been the case in Australia. They hunt little marsupials until there are none left to eat then move on to consume something else. growing larger in the wild certainly help cats to survive very well indeed.
Australian wild cat
Where did the cats originally come from? It was thought that Asia was the most likely place as Asian fishermen came to Australia's northern shores well before Europeans. However, research shows that they did come on boats from European countries whether as "stowaways" or more likely brought as pets to remind new arrivals of home. Moreover, having cats to hunt rodents on European ships was common in the early 1800s.

Island cats were tested as they had not crossed with new cats imported from countries across the world, so the findings were accurate and Europeans are the culprits for spreading this pest. Keep your cat in the house and don't let it roam. "Darn! Gone again."
 Genetics  by Ty Buchanan 
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Spiders Go Ballooning

Things have been falling from the sky for centuries. The usual things are frogs and fish. However, some odd things fell to earth in times past. A Roman era pillar was seen to settle gently on the ground. Unfortunately, this was not proven as fact. It could have happened, though.
Balloning spiders babies of larger species
Apparently, spiders covered farms in the Southern Tablelands. They have been appearing there for some time now. The occurrence has only just been announced. Threads from the webs is what people usually see, not so much the spiders themselves. You have to look closer to see the tiny spiders floating along with the webs.

This happens all over the world. We just don't notice the arachnids sticking up their rear ends, pumping out silk and floating off into the blue yonder. It has a name: ballooning.  Spiders do this as a group taking off from an isolated spot and landing in another. The weather has to be in a specific condition for this to take place.

Small spiders and babies of larger species partake in ballooning usually in autumn and spring in Australia. Some scientists say that it is possible for an involuntary exodus to another place to happen. The arachnids are so small a strong gust of winds could sweep them up.
Science by Ty Buchanan
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Evidence of Tiny Pygmy Aboriginals

Did tiny people ever live in Australia?  There is photographic evidence of pygmy-like Aboriginals being here, but ignored by scientists. They are widely seen in Aboriginal rock art and are spoken of in Aboriginal mythology. To native Australians pygmy people are here with us all the time. They are just out of our vision.

Apparently there are thousands of them living in the vast outback where no "physical" people live. They are mischievous, playing tricks on us all the time. Older Aboriginals say they remember seeing them. This is like the local people on the Indonesian island of Flores , where little people died out ten thousand years ago. Obviously, there is some truth in myth and living people really believe they have actually seen them.

There seems to be different types of Aboriginal pygmies and each lives in its own dimension of reality. It is fact that there were two types of Aboriginals on Bribie Island in Queensland and they didn't intermarry. One was tall thick set rather like Papua New Guineans. The other was shorter.

Myth has it that tall thin mainlanders moved down the coast to Groote Island and found little people living there. They interbred with them. However, a dispute arose and there was a great battle between them. The little people were completely wiped out. If this was the case there would be some unusual genes if present day Groote Islanders were tested. Skeletons of short, thin people have been found in caves on the island.

Little people are prominent in Aboriginal mythology. They act as spiritual intermediaries. As in the family religious tradition in China the "Mimih" society lives in the spiritual realm and is structured the same as physical people living today. This is hard to sustain given how technology has radically changed even Australian Aboriginals.

It seems Mimih did once live in the physical world. Over time they dwindled and left for the spiritual realm. It is possible for modern Aboriginals to wander into the bush, make contact them, stay and live with the Mimih. Aboriginal people tell you that the stick paintings on the rock are accurate representations of the little people who are very thin, so they can no longer live in the physical world because strong wind would break their bones.
Anthropology by Ty Buchanan
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ACEAS Database Explains Australian Animal Extinctions

How do we stop the mass extinction of native animals in Australia? That is the big question. Building up a database of endangered species will help but action is needed now. More than a hundred kinds of animal are under threat.

Species are quickly dying off. Small marsupials are becoming extinct. These are in remote regions where humans seldom go, so this is a bit of a mystery. The answer could be imported predators which have been brought here since Europeans arrived.

Though feral cats and foxes are seen as mainly responsible, changing the landscape for farming and housing has also had an impact. Open land assists cats and foxes - they can more easily see their prey.  Small slow-moving native animals
stand no chance at all.

The Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (ACEAS) database has identified areas most in need of conservation management plans. Animals are in the process of moving to new locations as the climate changes. Species fill environmental niches. They must move to places a place where their external needs are met. If they do not find suitable environments they will become extinct.
Conservation by Ty Buchanan
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McDonald's to Deliver

McDonald's has to do something to compete. Last year many branches ran at a loss. Apart from offering so called "healthy meals" several years ago, little has changed. The healthy meals strategy was an absolute failure.  Their Angus Burger was a flop as well.

They are going into an area that competitors have found difficult for years - the home delivery of take away meals. Instead of offering the whole menu, McDonald's is creating family packs. This is to increase income per delivery. It may work in Sydney in the short term, but people will ask for extras from the standard menu.

Another problem is getting delivery drivers at the appallingly low rate of pay. Just about every other pizza shop has a permanent "Delivery Drivers Wanted" sign in the window. Many businesses are forced to buy their own deliver vehicles because people don't want the wear and tear on the own car.

The main issue is portion size at McDonald's. They have the audacity to call their "tiny" burger a Big Mac. The chips are not comparable to even one potato. The main threat is Hungry Jack's. Their complete meal with ice cream at $4.95 is a definite winner. And the $2.00 for separates is also a good deal. Note, Hungry Jack's is drawing customers into the shop. The road that McDonald's has chosen is not lined with gold. They need to change the offerings at the shop.
Hospitality by Ty Buchanan
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Eucalytus Trees Store Gold in Their Leaves

A way of detecting gold deposits beneath the ground has been right in front of our eyes for years. Eucalyptus trees take up gold particles into their leaves. X-ray imaging could replace test drilling.

Eucalyptus roots go down a very long way in search of water. Some sinker roots reach 40 meters below the surface. If there is gold in the ground it is concentrated in the leaves. It is pushed to extremities of the tree because gold is toxic.

Research has proven the theory. Trees above gold deposits store gold, but in gold-free areas there is no stored gold. It is place specific as well: the amount of gold particles varies with the level of gold deposits in the ground.

There is no threat to the trees as the amount of stored gold is minuscule. All types of plants store minerals besides eucalyptus. However, the overwhelming number of plant species in Australia are eucalyptus.

It is no longer necessary to drill in difficult, rocky places. Taking a few leaves for analysis does not damage the trees. This will make the search for gold much easier and cheaper.
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Society by Ty Buchanan
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