Wednesday 29 August 2012

Rare fish seen alive and Mites in Amber,shades of Jurassic Park



Science News
Rare, elusive marine fish observed
MONTEREY, Calif., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. marine scientists say they've captured the first-ever video of a rare anglerfish first identified from a dead specimen in 1891 but never seen alive. Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California are reporting the first observations of the deep-sea anglerfish Chaunacops coloratus using remotely operated undersea vehicles. All anglerfish have ability to attract prey, using parts of their bodies as lures. During one ROV dive, the researchers said, they observed C. coloratus deploying a shaggy, mop-like lure, called an esca, which it dangled from the end of a modified fin near the top of its head.


Triassic amber yields 'ancient mites'
By Jonathan Ball BBC News

Some of the earliest fossils of pre-historic arthropods - dating to about 230 million years ago - have been discovered entombed in amber, PNAS journal reports.
Arthropods - a highly diverse family of invertebrates, which includes insects, arachnids and crustacea - constitute more than 90% of the entire species within the animal kingdom.The previous earliest records of arthropod-containing amber dated back to the Cretaceous period, around 135 million years ago.The researchers hope that the recent find - of two plant-feeding mites and one insect - will provide important insight into the early evolution of this highly diverse family of animals.Amber is fossilised plant resin. The resin often entraps plant and animal material which then become buried - as "inclusions" - when the fossil amber forms.

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