SeaPics.com | Ocean Wildlife Nature Pictures | Stock Photo Agency BBC Nature - Video collection: Deadly dinosaurs Two Suns? Twin Stars Could Be Visible From Earth By 2012 - StumbleUpon By Dean Praetorius | HuffingtonPost.com Earth could be getting a second sun, at least temporarily. Dr. Brad Carter, Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Southern Queensland, outlined the scenario to news.com.au. Betelgeuse, one of the night sky’s brightest stars, is losing mass, indicating it is collapsing. When that happens, for at least a few weeks, we’d see a second sun, Carter says. The Star Wars-esque scenario could happen by 2012, Carter says... or it could take longer. But doomsday sayers should be careful about speculation on this one. In fact, a neutrino shower could be beneficial to Earth. UPDATE: To clarify, the news.com.au article does not say a neutrino shower could be beneficial to Earth, but implies a supernova could be beneficial, stating, "Far from being a sign of the apocalypse, according to Dr Carter the supernova will provide Earth with elements necessary for survival and continuity." UPDATE II: In a follow-up piece on news.com.au, Dr. Top Image: Source
5 Bizarre Dinosaurs You Didn't Know Existed Admit it, everything you know about dinosaurs you learned from watching Jurassic Park. Or, possibly, you learned it while paying attention in school. That's never really been our scene, but to each their own. But no matter what route you took, there's a good chance your education was less than adequate. If that wasn't the case, you'd already know about these ridiculous dinosaurs that history seems to have forgotten ... #5. Homestead.com Look, we're all adults here. Oh, you thought we were going to mention the shiny red shaft and matching set of testicles that's taken up permanent residence on this absurd dinosaur's stupid head? To be fair, the dinosaur in this picture is actually a toy. See? #4. Dinossaurosecia You know how people like to make fun of the T. rex because it has those stupid little arms that would be completely useless in a fistfight? What the hell are those things? #3. Critters.Pixel-Shack No, seriously, we're asking. #2. Wikipedia #1. Dinopedia
Repost: Cookie-Cutter Cat Not as Cute as the Name Sounds [This is a repost of an essay I originally published October 27, 2011.] The prehistoric cookie-cutter cat was not as cute as the name suggests. That’s especially true when you consider the fossil felid’s scientific label — Xenosmilus. That roughly translates to “alien knife.” The name certainly fits. The unique nature of Xenosmilus was not immediately clear when the cat was discovered. At the time, the two partial sabercat skeletons were thought to have belonged to a widespread form called Homotherium serum. Up until the discovery of Xenosmilus, the saber-toothed cats of the past 23 million years or so have been categorized by paleontologists into one of two categories on the basis of their dental cutlery and body shape. Xenosmilus doesn’t fit into either category. That’s almost all there was to say about Xenosmilus for over a decade. An illustration of the reconstructed skull of Xenosmilus (BIOPSI 101; left) compared to the skull of Homotherium serum (right). References:
Velociraptor - Predatory Behavior Smaller than other dromaeosaurids like Deinonychus and Achillobator, Velociraptor nevertheless shared many of the same anatomical features. It was a bipedal, feathered carnivore with a long tail and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on each hindfoot, which is thought to have been used to tackle prey. Velociraptor can be distinguished from other dromaeosaurids by its long and low skull, with an upturned snout. Description V. mongoliensis compared in size to a human Velociraptor was a mid-sized dromaeosaurid, with adults measuring up to 2.07 m (6.8 ft) long, 0.5 m (1.6 ft) high at the hip, and weighing up to 15 kg (33 lb).[4] The skull, which grew up to 25 cm (9.8 in) long, was uniquely up-curved, concave on the upper surface and convex on the lower. Skeletal restoration As in other dromaeosaurs, Velociraptor tails had long bony projections (prezygapophyses) on the upper surfaces of the vertebrae, as well as ossified tendons underneath. Feathers History of discovery Provenance Paleoecology
Great inns open only to those with good hiking shoes Interested in uplifting stories on the natural world, sustainable communities, simple food, and new thinking on how to live well? Please enter a valid email address and try again! No thanks Egg-laying beginning of the end for dinosaurs Their reproductive strategy spelled the beginning of the end: The fact that dinosaurs laid eggs put them at a considerable disadvantage compared to viviparous mammals. Together with colleagues from the Zoological Society of London, Daryl Codron and Marcus Clauss from the University of Zurich investigated and published why and how this ultimately led to the extinction of the dinosaurs in the journal Biology Letters. The dinosaur's egg and the tiny dino baby Weighing in at four tons, the mother animal was 2,500 times heavier than its newly hatched dinosaur baby. By way of comparison, a mother elephant, which is just as heavy, only weighs 22 times as much as its new-born calf. In other words, neonates are already big in large mammal species. Many species occupy one niche each; one species occupies many niches In addition, new-born mammals occupy the same ecological niche as their parents: As they are fed with milk directly by the mother, they do not take any niche away from smaller species.
The Lost America | Mind Junker - StumbleUpon The Lost America America, One of the Most Powerful Continent in World as well as, the Most Modernized and Advanced Continent of Today. But somewhere in this Race we have Lost the America that it looked before. Source: Shorpy.com Be Sociable, Share! Monster octopi with scores of extra tentacles ~ Pink Tentacle - StumbleUpon In nature, it is quite rare to encounter octopi with extra tentacles (or "arms," for the purists), but a pair of aquariums in Japan's Mie prefecture have some extraordinary specimens on hand. The permanent display at the Shima Marineland Aquarium in the town of Shima includes a 96-tentacled Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris) that weighed 3.3 kilograms (about 7 lbs) and measured 90 centimeters (3 ft) long when it was captured in nearby Matoya Bay in December 1998. Before dying 5 months later, the creature laid eggs, making it the first known extra-tentacled octopus to do so in captivity. 96-tentacled octopus laying eggs The preserved octopus actually has the normal number of 8 appendages attached to its body, but each one branches out to form the multitude of extra tentacles. The Toba Aquarium in the nearby town of Toba also has a few extraordinary octopus specimens, although they no longer appear to be on permanent display. 85-tentacled octopus at Toba Aquarium
Humans Killed off Australian Herbivores | Wildfire & Landscape Changes | Effects of Colonization Humans landed on the shores of Australia more than 45,000 years ago. The land they encountered was full of huge plant-eating animals, such as the 6,000-pound rhinoceros wombat and giant kangaroo. Sadly, things would soon change. Soon after humans settled on Australia, some 55 giant animal species vanished from Australia, with various theories, from climate change to human hunting, put forth to explain the extinction. Now, researchers have discovered that the arrival of these humans was likely the driver of intense changes to the region, which led to the annihilation of Australia's giant herbivores and drastic changes to the habitat that turned a patchy, shrub-filled landscape into a fire-prone grassy eucalyptus forest. "People turn up in Australia and it's quite soon after that you start to see this series of events unfolding," study researcher Christopher Johnson, of the University of Tasmania in Australia, told LiveScience. Ancient forests Fecal fungus A recurring problem
The Experimental Food Society Spectacular *rugenius in food+drink , 11:58 From our London based editor, Justine Aw… Some fun highlights from this year’s Experimental Food Society Spectacular exhibition housed in Brick Lane’s Old Truman Brewery! How could we not check out an event that boasted “an awe‐inspiring assemblage of jellymongers, sonic food artists, one‐of‐a‐kind dining conceptualists, cake sculptors, food landscape artists and food magicians”? There were some amazing cakes (including a dodo!), beautiful pieces created from chocolate as well as incredible quail egg cakes (made both from and in the eggs!) These are some absolutely adorable quail egg cakes (made from the eggs and then baked and served inside the shells!) I also loved sampling my way through ‘medicinal marshmallows’ from The Robin Collective (who are behind the Barbican’s cryptozoology tours and other fun projects). And here are some more highlights from the show! Incredible bust of chocolate from Paul Wayne Gregory.
Venus, Jupiter & Moon Conjunction | How to Watch Online Two bright planets in the evening sky, Venus and Jupiter, will put on a nice celestial show on Sunday (March 25), and NASA is inviting people to talk about it online as it happens. This weekend, Venus and Jupiter will shine together in the western sky, and the slim crescent moon will also play a part in the celestial show. The agency is hosting a webchat Sunday from 8 to 10 p.m. Melissa McGrath, chief scientist in the Science & Technology Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsvilla, Ala., will also be on hand to answer questions about the skywatching event, which astronomers call a conjunction. During the webchat, users will also be able to tune into a live feed of NASA's view of the planets as they brighten the night skies. "This will be the best Venus-Jupiter conjunction for years to come," NASA officials said in a statement. On Sunday, the slender crescent moon will hover slightly above Jupiter, about 3 degrees to the right of the planet.