Archive for December, 2017

WFS News: Como Bluff:The Dinosaur Graveyard

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev Como Bluff is a long ridge with views of sagebrush prairie for as far as the eye can see. It extends roughly east-west, and is about 10 miles long and 1 mile wide. Geologically, the ridge is one limb of an anticline, formed as a result of the […]

WFS News:Tick with dinosaur blood found in amber fossil

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev In a discovery which is eerily similar to the opening scenes of Jurassic Park, experts found the fossilised blood sucking parasite trapped in amber. The insect is actually a newly discovered species of tick, which has been called Deinocroton draculi or “Dracula’s terrible tick”, and would have fed […]

WFS News: Mongolian microfossils point to the rise of animals on Earth

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev A Yale-led research team has discovered a cache of embryo-like microfossils in northern Mongolia that may shed light on questions about the long-ago shift from microbes to animals on Earth. Called the Khesen Formation, the site is one of the most significant for early Earth fossils since the […]

WFS News: Ancient dolphin species Urkudelphis chawpipacha discovered.

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev A new dolphin species likely from the Oligocene was discovered and described in Ecuador, according to a study published December 20, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Yoshihiro Tanaka from the Osaka Museum of Natural History, Japan, and colleagues. Many marine fossils described in previous research […]

WFS News: Habelia optata, A 508-million-year-old sea predator

@ WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev Paleontologists at the University of Toronto (U of T) and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto have entirely revisited a tiny yet exceptionally fierce ancient sea creature called Habelia optata that has confounded scientists since it was first discovered more than a century ago. The research […]

WFS News: Origins of photosynthesis in plants dated to 1.25 billion years ago

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev The world’s oldest algae fossils are a billion years old, according to a new analysis by earth scientists at McGill University. Based on this finding, the researchers also estimate that the basis for photosynthesis in today’s plants was set in place 1.25 billion years ago. The study, published […]

WFS News: Treasure trove of highly detailed fossils uncovered

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev A team of researchers from Uppsala University have uncovered a hidden diversity of microscopic animal fossils from over half a billion years ago lurking in rocks from the northern tip of Greenland. The ‘Cambrian explosion’ of animal diversity beginning ~541 million years ago is a defining episode in […]

WFS News: 3.5 billion-year-old fossil is oldest ever sign of life identified by scientists

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev In a nearly 3.5 billion-year-old piece of rock from Western Australia, scientists have identified the oldest life forms ever known.The evidence consists of cylindrical and thread-like shapes thought to be fossilised microbes from the early days of life on Earth. The “microfossils” have been known for over two decades, […]

WFS News: Chemical tipping point of magma determines explosive potential of volcanoes

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev Volcanic eruptions are the most spectacular expression of the processes acting in the interior of any active planet. Effusive eruptions consist of a gentle and steady flow of lava on the surface, while explosive eruptions are violent phenomena that can eject hot materials up to several kilometres into […]

WFS News: Late Permian (Lopingian) terrestrial ecosystems: A global comparison with new data from the low-latitude Bletterbach Biota

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev Citation: “Late Permian (Lopingian) terrestrial ecosystems: A global comparison with new data from the low-latitude Bletterbach Biota” .MassimoBernardiabFabio MassimoPettiacEvelynKustatscherdeMatthiasFranzfChristophHartkopf-FrödergConrad C.LabandeirahijTorstenWapplerkJohanna H.A.van Konijnenburg-van CittertlBrandon R.PeecookmKenneth D.Angielczykm The late Palaeozoic is a pivotal period for the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems. Generalised warming and aridification trends resulted in profound floral and […]