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A Monster in the Water

There are some really strange things out there. Some animals are living fossils. They should have died out with the great extinction, but they survived and lived on.

The frilled shark looks more like an eel. Its mouth and teeth are enormous in relation to its body. It was caught for the first time in Australia by a fishing trawler. Fishermen had never seen one before.

Like the platypus it is a mishmash, having a tail like a shark with head and body like an eel. The animal can live in deep water as well as the shallows. This guy had a bad day. They usually frequent deep water. However, this one was swimming at 700 metres, the maximum fishing depth for trawlers.

✴ Science by Ty Buchanan ✴

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Evolution Blog ★ Artilcles News Stories

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Mass Extinction Has Begun

You may stop fearing an asteroid colliding with the Earth. Man himself could be the cause of the next mass extinction. People who harp on about climate change being a religion and an article of faith are like those who ignored Noah.

Remember that humans got down a few hundred individuals in the past. We are very lucky to be here today. Of course the world would have gone on without us: it would be a very different world. There would be no pollution anywhere.

Ebola is out of control. Antibiotics are failing. A world-wide plague could be on the cards. Danger to Man is not the only issue. Twenty five per cent of mammals could soon disappear. Forty per cent of amphibians are at risk.

Because species are already dying off, a mass extinction could have already begun. The hottest decade on record shows that life is declining. When animals die off the food supply for other creatures also goes. So the path of extinction of predator species becomes real as well.

Carbon is the major cause of extinctions. It is in most things and when pumped into the air it warms up the planet. Seemingly mundane thing also pollute. Coke is fizzy due to carbonic acid. This is getting into the oceans, changing the pH level and destroying life.

✴ Science by Ty Buchanan ✴

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New Lizard Found in Australia

Something has been living out there without our knowledge. Yes, it could be called a monster - a very small one. It is in fact a new species of lizard. A team of scientists from the University of Adelaide has discovered a new kind of Varanus lizard.

It was found living in a remote part of the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia. Consequently, it has named the Dampier Peninsula goanna (Varanus sparnus). There are now a total of 77 species of the "genus Varanus". Sparnus is the smallest found so far.

The lizard burrows under the ground beneath hard surface objects like stone and wood. Not much is known about its living habits because it moves very fast. The new species seems to be localized, existing only on the Dampier Peninsula. There are no doubt more currently unknown animals in the region.

✴ Biology by Ty Buchanan ✴

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New Catfish Species in Australia

Carfish are fairly mundane creatures. If you are fishing and you hook one thinking it is a big pike you are annoyed when you drag it in, and "drag" it the defining word. They are usually a dead weight on the line.

On the other hand if you are a biologist all animals are of interest. A combined US, Australia team has discovered a new catfish species in North Queensland. It has a tail like an eel, not the usual fish-like tail. Apparently, people knew of its existence for many years and just assumed it was like any other catfish.

Tandanus tropicanus is cylindrical in body shape. It has a large head and tiny eyes. DNA tests showed that the fish is a distinct species. Overall, its body configuration is different from other catfish.

Unlike many catfish it is good to eat. Fishermen have been catching it for many years for food not knowing how unique it was. Despite the accumulation of human knowledge about the world there is a lot we still do not know about nature.

Biology 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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Dingo is Just an Asian Dog

New research tells us that the dingo is a uniquely Australian dog. This is despite the strong evidence of Asian dogs looking exactly the same and in Asia they are domesticated. This silly "mythification" of animals in Australia says something about Australians generally. Are they seeking something to make themselves unique?

Australian academics have revived the name Canis dingo a term coined in 1793 by German naturalist Friedrich Meyer. Skulls examined by researchers showed the dingo had a long snout and a broad head. A look at a modern dingo in the bush shows it to be exactly the same as Asian specimens living today. There is nothing special about them. Because they are inter fertile with ordinary dogs shows that they cannot possibly be a different species. Their offspring in this case are also fertile. Unlike the donkey which when mated with a horse gives birth to an infertile mule.

Saying they are not descended from wolves is total rubbish - all dogs are descended from wolves! How can they be "distinct from dogs" when they clearly are dogs? They come in all colors: tan, black and tan, black and white, just like domestic dogs.

It is accepted that dingoes were brought here by Asian seafarers five thousand years ago. It cannot be a separate breed. Some European breeds were brought to distant lands centuries ago with no further input from European stock and they have remained the same.

There is not much doubt that academics are for the most part "dreamers'. They do not do much that is practical. Dr Crowther is "on" something, or should be!

Evolution by Ty Buchanan

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New Clam in Australia

There are many kinds of clams, some of them very large. The bigger ones are classified as "giant" clams. All were thought to be known. However, a new species has been identified. Examples were found at Ningaloo in Western Australia and near the Solomon Islands.

The reason it has been overlooked for so long is because it is very similar to Tridacna maxima, which is quite common. There are a plethora of colors including yellow, green, brown and blues. They are in many different shades of these main colors.

Clams produce large amounts of edible meat for human consumption. Their shells are also valuable for displays. Many species are under threat. They cannot run away and hide from divers and snorkelers. Two similar species in the same region means numbers for each are lower than first thought.

Conservation by Ty Buchanan

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Northern Australia Has a New Dolphin

There are many species of dolphin. To most people they do look much alike. We know that they are very intelligent and like to be in the presence of Man, even if it is only following boats

A new species has been identified off northern Australia. It could have always been there or moved there from somewhere else. They are in the "hump" class, having a raised portion below the dorsal fin.

Scientists are treating the dolphin as a new species which makes three species of Indo-Pacific humpback. There are four kinds of humpback in total including the eastern Atlantic type, Sousa teuszil.

Apparently, naming of the "new" species is a complex process based on the previously used naming practice, behavior of the animal itself and its habitat.

Discovery of the northern Australian dolphin came about by the first intense study into the humpback genus. It involved examination of 180 skulls and 235 tissue samples.

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Evolution by Ty Buchanan