Posts Tagged ‘Russel T Sajeev’

Cambrian fossil pushes back evolution of complex brains

The remarkably well-preserved fossil of an extinct arthropod shows that anatomically complex brains evolved earlier than previously thought and have changed little over the course of evolution. According to University of Arizona neurobiologist Nicholas Strausfeld, who co-authored the study describing the specimen, the fossil is the earliest known to show a brain. The discovery will […]

Quantifying Rates of Evolutionary Adaptation in Response to Ocean Acidification

The global acidification of the earth’s oceans is predicted to impact biodiversity via physiological effects impacting growth, survival, reproduction, and immunology, leading to changes in species abundances and global distributions. However, the degree to which these changes will play out critically depends on the evolutionary rate at which populations will respond to natural selection imposed […]

“Thunder Thighs” Dinosaur Thrashed Predators to Death?

A newfound dinosaur species that used its “exceptionally powerful” thighs to kick predators likely had a bad temper to boot, one expert says. The 46-foot-long (14-meter-long) Brontomerus mcintoshi had an immense blade on its hipbones where strong muscles would have attached, according to a new study. “These things don’t happen by accident—this is something that’s clearly functional,” […]

Paleotemperature Proxies from Leaf Fossils Reinterpreted in Light of Evolutionary History

Present-day correlations between leaf physiognomic traits (shape and size) and climate are widely used to estimate paleoclimate using fossil floras. For example, leaf-margin analysis estimates paleotemperature using the modern relation of mean annual temperature (MAT) and the site-proportion of untoothed-leaf species (NT). This uniformitarian approach should provide accurate paleoclimate reconstructions under the core assumption that […]

New Fossils Suggest Ancient Origins of Modern-Day Deep-Sea Animals

A collection of fossil animals discovered off the coast of Florida suggests that present day deep-sea fauna like sea urchins, starfish and sea cucumbers may have evolved earlier than previously believed and survived periods of mass extinctions similar to those that wiped out the dinosaurs. The full results are published Oct. 10 in the open […]

Marine Worms Reveal the Deepest Evolutionary Patterns

 Scientists from the universities of Bath and Lincoln have revealed new findings on the evolutionary relationships and structure of priapulids — a group of carnivorous mud-dwelling worms living in shallow marine waters.  The research, carried out by evolutionary biologists Dr Matthew Wills, Dr Sylvain Gerber, Mr Martin Hughes (all University of Bath) and Dr Marcello […]

Unique Ancient Spider Attack Preserved in Amber

Researchers have found what they say is the only fossil ever discovered of a spider attack on prey caught in its web — a 100 million-year-old snapshot of an engagement frozen in time. The extraordinarily rare fossils are in a piece of amber that preserved this event in remarkable detail, an action that took place […]

Which Came First, Shells or No Shells? Contrary Story of Ancient Mollusk

fossil unearthed in Great Britain may end a long-running debate about the mollusks, one of life’s most diverse invertebrate groups: Which evolved first, shelled forms like clams and snails, or their shell-less, worm-like relatives? The small new fossil, found in marine rocks along the English-Welsh border, provides the best fossil evidence yet that the simpler […]

Violent Life of Monogenetic Volcanoes

A new study in the journal Geology is shedding light on the brief but violent lives of maar-diatreme volcanoes, which erupt when magma and water meet in an explosive marriage below the surface of Earth. Maar-diatremes belong to a family of volcanoes known as monogenetic volcanoes. These erupt just once before dying, though some eruptions last for […]

Flexibility along the Neck of the Neogene Terror Bird Andalgalornis steulleti (Aves Phorusrhacidae)

Neck length and neck posture are both relevant to give the appropriate position of the head during all kinds of behaviors . For activities such as mating or defense the neck has the ability to perform more complex movements  linked to the cervical morphology. The head centre of gravity over the feet is deeply correlated with the […]