Archive for August 29th, 2012

New theory on the origin of primates

A new model for primate origins is presented in Zoologica Scripta, published by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters and The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The paper argues that the distributions of the major primate groups are correlated with Mesozoic tectonic features and that their respective ranges are congruent with each evolving locally from […]

Oldest Occurrence of Arthropods (Fly, Mite) Preserved in Amber

An international team of scientists has discovered the oldest record of arthropods — invertebrate animals that include insects, arachnids, and crustaceans — preserved in amber. The specimens, one fly and two mites found in millimeter-scale droplets of amber from northeastern Italy, are about 100 million years older than any other amber arthropod ever collected. The […]