A number of extant and extinct archosaurs evolved an elongate, narrow rostrum. This longirostrine condition has been associated with a diet comprising a higher proportion of fish and smaller prey items compared to taxa with broader, more robust snouts. The evolution of longirostrine morphology and a bulbous anterior rosette of premaxillary teeth also occurs in […]
Archive for June, 2013
Scientists Date Prehistoric Bacterial Invasion Still Present in Today’s Plant and Animal Cells
June 20th, 2013 
Riffin Long before Earth became lush, when life consisted of single-celled organisms afloat in a planet-wide sea, bacteria invaded the ancient ancestors of plants and animals and took up permanent residence. One bacterium eventually became the mitochondria that today power all plant and animal cells; another became the chloroplast that turns sunlight into energy in green […]
How Diving Mammals Evolve Underwater Endurance?
June 18th, 2013 Riffin Scientists at the University of Liverpool have shed new light on how diving mammals, such as the sperm whale, have evolved to survive for long periods underwater without breathing. The team identified a distinctive molecular signature of the oxygen-binding protein myoglobin in the sperm whale and other diving mammals, which allowed them to trace the […]
Fossil Kangaroo Teeth Reveal Mosaic of Pliocene Ecosystems in Queensland
June 17th, 2013 Riffin The teeth of a kangaroo and other extinct marsupials reveal that southeastern Queensland 2.5-5-million-years ago was a mosaic of tropical forests, wetlands and grasslands and much less arid than previously thought. The chemical analysis of tooth enamel that suggests this diverse prehistoric habitat is published June 12 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by […]
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Tags: Fossil teeth, kangaroo, Riffin T Sajeev, Russel T Sajeev, WFS, world fossil society 
No Comments »An Extraordinary Gobioid Fish Fossil from Southern France
June 16th, 2013 Riffin The classification of gobioid fishes is still under discussion. Several lineages, including the Eleotridae and Butidae, remain difficult to characterize because synapomorphies are rare (Eleotridae) or have not yet been determined (Butidae). Moreover, the fossil record of these groups is scarce. Results Exceptionally well-preserved fish fossils with otoliths in situ from uppermost Oligocene sediments (≈23–24 […]
When Will the Next Megathrust Hit the West Coast of North America?
June 15th, 2013 Riffin Understanding the size and frequency of large earthquakes along the Pacific coast of North America is of great importance, not just to scientists, but also to government planners and the general public. The only way to predict the frequency and intensity of the ground motion expected from large and giant “megathrust ” earthquakes along Canada’s […]
Putting Flesh On the Bones of Ancient Fish: Synchrotron X-Rays Reconstruct Soft Tissue On 380-Million-Year-Old Fish
June 14th, 2013 Riffin Swedish, Australian and French researchers present for the first time miraculously preserved musculature of 380 million year old armoured fish discovered in north-west Australia. This research will help scientists to better understand how neck and abdominal muscles evolved during the transition from jawless to jawed vertebrates. The scientific paper describing the discovery is published today […]
High Diversity of Flying Reptiles in England 110 Million Years Ago
June 13th, 2013 Riffin Brazilian paleontologists Taissa Rodrigues, of the Federal University of Espirito Santo, and Alexander W. A. Kellner, of the National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, have just presented the most extensive review yet available of toothed pterosaurs from the Cretaceous of England. The study features detailed taxonomic information, diagnoses and photographs of […]
The flying reptiles
June 12th, 2013 Riffin A fossil of Rhamphorhynchus, an early pterosaur. Ranging from the size of a sparrow to the size of an airplane, the pterosaurs (Greek for “wing lizards”) ruled the skies in the Jurassic and Cretaceous, and included the largest vertebrate ever known to fly: the late Cretaceous Quetzalcoatlus. The appearance of flight in pterosaurs […]
WFS Profiles: Edward Drinker Cope
June 11th, 2013 Riffin Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and evolutionist. He was one of the founders of the Neo- Lamarckian school of evolutionary thought. This school believed that changes in developmental (embryonic) timing, not natural selection, was the driving force of evolution. In 1867, Cope suggested that most changes in species occured by coordinated […]
