According to a new study by researchers at the University of Queensland, "giant killer lizards" used to stomp around Australian land roughly 50,000 years ago. #giantkillerlizard #aussies #iceage - http://clapway.com/2015/09/25/giant-killer-lizard-ice-age-aussies123/

According to a new study by researchers at the University of Queensland, “giant killer lizards” used to stomp around Australian land roughly 50,000 years ago. The discovery came as a surprise to the team of scientists, who now believe that Australia’s first human inhabitants may have lived during the same time as this giant predator.

DISCOVERY OF THE GIANT KILLER LIZARD

In a statement, Dr. Gilbert Price, a vertebrate palaeoecologist, expressed his disbelief at coming across the find, “Our jaws dropped when we found a tiny fossil from a giant lizard during a two meter deep excavation of one of the Capricorn Caves, near Rockhampton.” The 0.4-inch (1-centimeter) bone, which scientists have now classified as an “osteoderm,” comes from underneath the lizard’s skin. So far, it’s the youngest record of a giant lizard ever found in Australia, uncovered just 6.5 feet (2 meters) below ground during the dig.

MORE ON THE GIANT KILLER LIZARD

Today, the biggest lizard in Australia (and the fourth largest on Earth) is the perentie, which can grow to be 6.5 feet long. Although scientists have not yet classified which species the bone belongs to, they believe it might come from the Komodo dragon or the now extinct Megalania Monitor lizard – a giant goanna that once reached 20 feet in length and weighed over 1,000 pounds.

Based on carbon-dating, the bone is estimated to be about 50,000 years old, which means the presence of this species would have coincided with the time Australia’s first human inhabitants are believed to have arrived during the last Ice Age. During this period, the continent was still home to varying species of giant crocodiles and lizards. Most have disappeared since then, although the exact reason why has not been conclusively settled upon.

“It’s been long-debated whether or not humans or climate change knocked off the giant lizards, alongside the rest of the megafauna,” Price states. “Humans can only now be considered as potential drivers of their extinction.” For more information about the giant killer lizard, the study has been published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

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Giant Killer Lizard And Ice-Age Aussies Co-Existed

Paleontologists are particularly interested in the discovery of an unusual #bison #fossil from the #IceAge. - http://clapway.com/2015/09/06/ice-age-fossils-construction-site-carlsbad213/

Ice Age fossils were found at a construction site in Carlsbad, CA, where hundreds of new homes are anticipated to be built. The fossils date to the Pleistocene Epoch, and are from 50,000 to 200,000 years old. The discovery includes bones of ancient mammoths, horses, turtles, and prehistoric bison.

Development Company Unearths Ice Age Fossils

In July, the San Diego-based developer, Cornerstone Communities, discovered Ice Age fossils while grading at the Quarry Creek development site in Carlsbad. Work was temporarily stopped in order for scientists to step in and begin excavating the 60-acre site.

John Suster, Cornerstone’s project superintendent didn’t view halt in construction as a complete set back. He said to scientists, “Take your time, this is kind of cool.”

“It’s a perfect example of how a mass grading operation can still be sensitive to historical and paleontological concerns.”

Cornerstone will continue to work closely with paleontologists during the grading of the site over the next two months. If possible ice age fossil are unearthed, work will stop to allow scientists to come into the area for investigation.

What We Can Learn from Ice Age Fossils

Tom Deméré, curator of paleontology at the San Diego Natural History Museum was called in after the discovery was made.

“It’s really an exciting project in terms of geology and paleontology,” Deméré said. “The fossils have the potential to tell us a great deal about the climate, the environment, (and) the ecology of that time when they were living…They are direct connections with the past, an ancient ecosystem that was once common here. We can understand how climates can change by studying these ancient ecosystems.”

Paleontologists are particularly interested in the discovery of an unusual bison fossil. The specimen includes a skull and partial skeleton, and is the most complete of the larger animals found at the project site.

“These are big animals, much larger than modern plains bison” Deméré said.

The bison has already been taken to the museum where it will be put on temporary display.

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What else does nature have up its sleeve?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD63kwQuZ2I

Ice Age Fossils Unearthed at Construction Site

Understanding Our Ice Age Friend, the Woolly Mammoth - http://clapway.com/2015/07/03/understanding-our-woolly-friend-the-mammoth765/

Finding out something new

If you have every wanted to know more the Woolly Mammoth but could never find any new developments in their study, here’s your chance. A research study was published just yesterday featuring our woolly friend, with new findings about its DNA structure and how it was adapted to its arctic conditions in the Ice Age. The study was published with cell.com in more scientific detail, and elaborates on the differences between the elephants that live today and the ones of yesterday.

It comes as no surprise that there was some huge reconfigurations of the DNA of the Woolly Mammoth that allowed it to live in such harsh frigid conditions. However, the study went in-depth to discover the differences and found the unique changes to be fascinating.

Genetic changes to the Woolly Mammoth

In short, the changes in the DNA that differed from the elephant creatures of today allowed for physical changes to occur in order for it to survive the cold. Basically, the gene TRPV3 helped to create the Wooly as we know it today and is extremely sensitive to change.

One researcher, Vince Lynch PhD, assistant professor of human genetics at the University of Chicago, said in a news release, “This is by far the most comprehensive study to look at the genetic changes that make a Woolly Mammoth a woolly Mammoth. They are an excellent model to understand how morphological evolution works, because mammoths are so closely related to living elephants, which have none of the traits they had.”

Lynch’s research focus at the university focuses itself on that premise of morphology in terms of evolution on the genetics level and how at the molecular level, genetics can be very influential towards that morphology, as well as other interesting focuses.

Before this study, all efforts to sequence mammoth DNA were failures

However, this team of researchers found a backdoor so to speak, in that in that they sequenced not only mammoth genes but also the genes of the Asian elephant. After that, the comparisons began. Most changes in the genes dealt with fat metabolism and other such things to help brave the cold.

These genes could ostensibly be used to bring back the wooly mammoth. But that is likely a terrible idea, and sure to spark parallels to Jurassic Park. Suffice to say, the animal wouldn’t survive in conditions present today as it did then, due to the huge change in environment.

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Understanding Our Ice Age Friend, the Woolly Mammoth

Excavation of Secret Untouched Cave Slated to Reveal Black Hills History - http://clapway.com/2015/06/07/excavation-of-secret-untouched-cave-slated-to-reveal-black-hills-history-123/

In the Black Hills region of South Dakota, a cave never before explored is currently being excavated. A National Park Service worker first located the cave, dubbed “Persistence,” in 2004 on Wind Cave National Park land. Now, a team also working for the National Park Service will begin opening up its entrance. A group of Eastern Tennessee University scientists will conduct thorough analysis of the bags of sediment and animal fossil that are set to be removed from the untouched cave.

 

Persistence Cave excavation already paid off.

 

Bones dating back about 11,000 years have already been found. Maybe even more interestingly, fossils of at least three species (pika, pine marten, and platygonus) that had never been seen in the Black Hills region before. Fossil findings from the dig are expected to clue scientists in on animal migration patterns and, from there, climate change in the region. For example, around forty years ago in Hot Springs, which is near the Black Hills area, a well-preserved wooly mammoth graveyard was discovered. Wooly mammoths died out around 26,000 years ago, while the oldest of the bones from Persistence’s entrance, as mentioned before, were found to be 11,000 years old. Scientists thus hope to use the data to better understand how the Ice Age changed over time. They expect to find at least a hundred thousand bones by the end of the dig, sometime this summer. Hopefully, the fossils will help paint a rich picture of the natural and climatic development of the area.

 

Untouched cave’s location is being kept a secret, for now.

 

In order to protect the cave and whatever it may contain, the National Park Service is keeping its location under wraps. All they would say was that the mouth of the cave is around a third of a mile away from the edge of the Wind Cave’s tunnel system.

 

Fossil research is only part of this untouched cave’s story.

The fossil and climate study is only a part of the secrets this cave may hold. Judging by the wind speed and direction inside the entrance of the cave, the scientists believe the cave is likely very large. In fact, they even acknowledge the possibility that Persistence Cave connects to Wind Cave, perhaps through a sediment-filled or otherwise inaccessible passage. This may be the reason the untouched cave was undiscovered for so long.

Excavation of Secret Untouched Cave Slated to Reveal Black Hills History