Animal News Stories

News stories and articles that do not necessarily feature extinct animals.

15 05, 2013

We Could Have the Smile of a Crocodile

By Mike|2023-02-17T08:00:55+00:00May 15th, 2013|Categories: Animal News Stories|2 Comments

Stem Cell Study of Alligators Provides Clues to Tooth Regeneration in Humans

A team of international researchers led by scientists at the University of California have been getting their teeth into the problem of tooth renewal in humans. Their study of the toothsome American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis), a reptile famed for its powerful bite may lead to the demise of certain aspects of dentistry, if a tooth is lost why not simply grow a replacement?

Could Alligators and Crocodiles Hold the Key to Human Tooth Renewal?

Crocodile (top) and Alligator (bottom).

Alligator Teeth

One of the fascinating aspects of the Archosauria, that’s animals such as the dinosaurs and some of today’s living archosaurs the crocodilians, is these creatures’ ability to replace teeth that are lost throughout their adult lives. Reptiles and fish have the ability to regenerate teeth if they are lost. For example, a Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), has the ability to replace teeth that are lost. Dinosaurs are sometimes referred to as “land sharks”, because they too, had this impressive ability. Good news for both the sharks and the tyrannosaurids for example.

After all, if T. rex lost teeth either fighting or feeding then being toothless would have been a very serious and fatal drawback. Nobody is going to watch “Jurassic Park” to see a fourteen-metre-long apex predator lick its victims to death.

Fish and reptiles have the ability to regenerate teeth that have been lost, mammals on the other hand have much more limited dental options. Humans for example, can renew their dentition just once, (milk teeth replaced by adult teeth). In essence, our species has just two sets of teeth for a lifetime (diphyodont dentition). However, new research involving the microscopic study of the structure of Alligator teeth could help scientists to learn how to stimulate tooth regeneration in humans.

Research to Understand Tooth Renewal

The research team led by pathology Professor Cheng Ming Chuong (University of Southern California), have discovered unique cellular and molecular processes which permit tooth renewal in the American Alligator. The academic paper detailing this new research has been published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences”.

Professor Chuong commented:

“Humans naturally only have two sets of teeth — baby teeth and adult teeth. Ultimately, we want to identify stem cells that can be used as a resource to stimulate tooth renewal in adult humans who have lost teeth. But, to do that, we must first understand how they renew in other animals and why they stop in people.”

Mammals evolved from reptiles, our species shares a common ancestor with the American Alligator. We may look very different from the scaly crocodiles with their impressive teeth, but there remain similarities. For example, like the alligator, our teeth are implanted in sockets in the dental bone. In the human jaw there is the lingering presence of a band of epithelial tissue referred to as the dental lamina. This same type of epithelial tissue was found to be present within the components that make up each tooth of an Alligator.

Epithelium tissue is one of four types of tissue found in the higher Animalia (muscle, connective, epithelium and nerve tissue). This band of epithelial tissue is crucial to tooth development and growth, the research team reasoned that because crocodilians have well organised teeth with a similar form and structure to our own, their dentition would make a suitable model for studying the process of tooth replacement with the objective of finding ways in which humans could grow replacement teeth.

Assistant Professor of Pathology at the Keck School of Medicine Ping Wu, stated:

“They [alligators] have eighty teeth, each of which can be replaced up to fifty times over their lifetime, making them the ideal model for comparison to human teeth.”

Understanding Tooth Components

Under microscopic investigation, the authors of the scientific paper found that each separate alligator tooth is actually a complex “family” of three tooth components, the functional teeth in the jaw, a replacement tooth ready to erupt to replace the tooth if and when it is lost and the dental lamina. In essence, each tooth has components at different stages of development, tooth replacement is essentially a “conveyor belt operation”, as one member of the Everything Dinosaur team commented. There is a smooth transition from the loss of a mature tooth to its replacement and the dental laminae seems to hold the key to this process.

Microscopic Analysis of Alligator Teeth Reveal Complex “Family of Components”

Research into alligator tooth regeneration.

Picture credit: University of Southern California – Health Sciences

University of Southern California researchers identified three developmental phases for each alligator tooth unit, comprising a functional tooth (f), replacement tooth (r) and dental lamina. The two-headed arrow provides orientation in the mouth, the buccal direction is towards the cheek, the lingual direction is towards the tongue.

The research team have concluded that the alligator dental laminae contains what appear to be stem cells from which new replacement teeth develop.

Co-author of the study, Associate Professor Randall B. Widelitz explained:

“Stem cells divide more slowly than other cells. “The cells in the alligator’s dental lamina behaved like we would expect stem cells to behave. In the future, we hope to isolate those cells from the dental lamina to see whether we can use them to regenerate teeth in the lab.”

The researchers went onto demonstrate that tooth growth is speeded up by novel cellular mechanisms in response to unexpected, premature tooth loss. Although, growing human teeth to replace adult teeth lost in trauma or as a result of disease is a long way off, the authors of this paper hope to apply the principles of alligator tooth renewal to regenerative medicine in the future.

Perhaps dentures will be redundant in the future, we will all have “crocodile smiles” instead.

For replicas and models of extinct and extant archosaurs, take a look at the Mojo Fun prehistoric life model range: Mojo Fun Prehistoric Life Models.

18 04, 2013

Coelacanth Gets Its Genome Unravelled

By Mike|2023-02-15T18:16:06+00:00April 18th, 2013|Categories: Animal News Stories, Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories, Educational Activities, Teaching|0 Comments

Genome Analysis Shows that the Coelacanth May Not be Too Closely Related to Tetrapods

The genome of one of the most bizarre and enigmatic of all the vertebrates known to science, the coelacanth, has been decoded revealing how this animal may have remained virtually unchanged as a species for millions of years. The data collected is also helping marine biologists and palaeontologists to understand how closely related the coelacanth group may be to the first land living animals with backbones.

Termed a “living fossil” by many lay people, two extant species are known, one from the waters around Indonesia and a second from the Indian Ocean. The coelacanth is a member of the actinistian group of fishes, the first of these fleshy-finned fish with their distinctive tails with three lobes probably evolved in the Devonian geological period. The last of the coelacanths were believed to have become extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, that is until one was caught by a trawler fishing off the eastern coast of South Africa in 1938.

A Coelacanth Model

Ancient fish model – coelacanth.

Occasionally, specimens of these deep-water fish are caught, although marine biologists have expressed concern about the fate of this strange creature as overfishing and the development of industrial port facilities along the fringes of the Indian Ocean threatens their survival.

Coelacanth

With the genome having been sequenced, scientists are able to understand a little more about how this fish relates to other more advanced teleost fish and to also gain an insight into the evolution of land-living vertebrates, a significant moment in evolution of life on Earth as this led ultimately to the evolution of amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and of course, our own species.

The international team of researchers including some from the Broad Institute of the MIT (Harvard, USA), from the Uppsala University (Sweden) and Washington University (United States) were able to sequence and analyse the near 3 billion protein letter combinations from the DNA of the coelacanth as well as examining the RNA from both the African and the Indonesian species. They then compared this data to the genomes of twenty other species of vertebrate as well as with typical representatives of the lungfish family. The lungfish comparison would hopefully shed light on the evolutionary origins of tetrapods – were they more closely related to actinistians (coelacanths) or dipnoans (lungfishes)?

Published in the Journal “Nature”

This study, published in the academic journal “Nature” suggests that the lungfish has more genes in common with tetrapods than the coelacanth. It can be inferred from these results that the actinistians, assuming extant coelacanths are representative of this group, are not that closely related to the first animals that dragged themselves up onto the land.

An Illustration of the Coelacanth (Latimeria genus)

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Coelacanth Genome

The genome of the coelacanth is also providing scientists with additional data on how gene sequences may change over time. The study suggests that some genes may evolve very slowly, this in part would help explain this prehistoric fish’s appearance, it having remained virtually unchanged for millions of years. Such a stable gene assembly may be attributed to the coelacanth’s habitat and lifestyle. It lives in relatively deep offshore waters, usually at depths of more than 300 metres. It may live in sea caves, and it is largely nocturnal moving little during the day and then hunting at night. The very uniform environment and an absence of other fish species competing for this particular niche in the offshore ecosystem may explain why the coelacanth has had little need to change and evolve over vast periods of time.

The international team of scientists admit there is much more to learn about the transition of vertebrates from water onto the land. However, the lungfish genome represents more of a challenge than that of the coelacanth. Although collecting specimens of lungfish is easier, after all, extant lungfish are all freshwater fishes, making them theoretically easier to collect, the lungfish genome is much larger, estimated to exceed 100 billion letters (C G A T), in length. The more modestly sized genome of the extant coelacanth is permitting scientists to study changes that may have helped the first tetrapods to adapt to a terrestrial habitat. Comparisons with tetrapods had led the researchers to isolate chains of genes that regulate and control other portions of the sequence, these studied in conjunction with an analysis of what genes are present in the coelacanth but absent in tetrapods has enabled some startling insights to be made.

Identifyin Differences Between the Coelacanth and Tetrapods

A number of immune-related regulatory differences have been identified between coelacanths and land-living animals. The scientists have postulated that these changes reflect adaptations as a result to new pathogens the first tetrapods encountered as semi-aquatic vertebrates. Other differences in the genomes provide clues to sensory development, senses such as a lateral line in a fish is not much use to a creature that lives on land. Genes involved in smell perception and detecting airborne odours have been identified as a result of this research.

Similarities in genetic material have also been found between the marine coelacanth and animals that live entirely on land. the HoxD strand of genetic material is common between coelacanths and tetrapods. It is likely that this particular strand of genetic material was a prerequisite to enable the first land animals to develop hands and feet, to assist with locomotion, but as tetrapods evolved and became more specialised, this region of genetic material played a role in the evolution of our own dexterous, tool wielding hands.

Coelacanth Model

Safari Ltd have produced a model of a coelacanth, it forms part of the company’s Wild Safari Dinos & Prehistoric Life model series. The model measures fifteen centimetres in length approximately and is a fine example of a replica of a lobe-finned fish. Not only has this model been popular with collectors but it has also proved to be very useful for schools and home educators who have used this model in teaching topics on evolution and life on Earth.

A Useful Teaching Aid – Coelacanth Model

To view the range of prehistoric animal figures: Safari Ltd. Models of Prehistoric Creatures.

One of the more unusual puzzles concerning the move to a terrestrial existence was the way in which waste products from the body were excreted. Fish excrete ammonia into the water, this gets rid of waste nitrogen. Land animals evolved a method of converting ammonia into the less toxic urea – the urea cycle, whereby ammonia is converted to the more inert urea, or uric acid. If ammonia is allowed to build up in cells it will prove toxic to the cell, the researchers found that the most important gene involved in the regulation and control of urea or uric acid production had been modified and was present in tetrapods.

Commenting on the study, Chris Amemiya (Professor at the University of Washington), stated:

“This is just the beginning of many analyses on what the coelacanth can teach us about the emergence of land vertebrates, including humans, and, combined with modern empirical approaches, can lend insights into the mechanisms that have contributed to major evolutionary innovations.”

An International Research Project

This research project brought together a number of institutes and universities, it was a truly international effort, and it is hoped that the publishing of the genome will help to raise the profile of conservation efforts to help ensure the survival of the coelacanth. A second team of scientists, a joint expedition from the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and the French National Museum of Natural History set out earlier this month to explore the sea cave home of a population of coelacanths living in the Sodwana Bay area (off the coast of South Africa). By studying the coelacanth in its natural habitat, the scientists hope to learn more about how these strange creatures use their fleshy fins for locomotion and how they hunt and what prey animals are their preferred food.

To read more about this expedition: Scientists Set Off in Search of the Lair of the Coelacanth.

The scientists responsible for the genome research, acknowledge the importance of their work but also recognise that there is a lot more to learn when it comes to this “living fossil”. Future studies will help to shed further light on that very significant period in the history of life on Earth when vertebrates first moved onto land.

9 04, 2013

Bowhead Whales Reveal Link to the Last Ice Age

By Mike|2023-02-15T07:57:15+00:00April 9th, 2013|Categories: Animal News Stories, Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Scientists Use Computer Model to Assess the Future of the Bowhead Whale

The extinction of the large mammalian megafauna that roamed much of western Europe and North America around 11,000 years ago is well documented. There have been extensive scientific studies undertaken into the extinction of iconic Ice Age mammals such as the Woolly Mammoth (M. primigenius), as the world suddenly warmed at the end of the last glacial period that marked the beginning of the geological Epoch referred to as the Holocene. However, in comparison, little research had been carried out into how marine megafauna fared with the transition from a cold climate to a much more temperate one.

Studying Ancient DNA

A team of European scientists have attempted to address this imbalance by studying the ancient DNA and extant populations of Arctic Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus). It seems these giant Cetaceans not only survived the end of the last Ice Age but the retreating ice sheets opened up extensive new habitats for these large mammals and their population subsequently boomed.

The Arctic Bowhead whale is the only whale species alive today that spends its entire life in Arctic waters. Known also as the Russian whale these creatures, some of whom can weigh more than seventy metric tonnes are believed to be the longest lived of all the mammals. It has been estimated that some individuals can reach the age of two hundred years or more. These cold-adapted mammals have the thickest blubber of any extant whale species, given their adaptations, the warming of the Earth at the beginning of the Holocene should have spelled trouble for these krill-feeding giants but the research team discovered that those whales that had once swum off the coast of the United Kingdom had a population boom.

The Modern Day Arctic Bowhead Whale

Once swimming in British waters.

Picture credit: Dr Andy Foote

Arctic Bowhead Whales

Dr Andy Foote, (Natural History Museum of Denmark) and his co-authors set out to discover how these whales coped with the climate change. The scientific paper which details their research has just been published in the academic journal “Nature Communications”.

Using DNA from extant whale populations, the team compared this data with DNA extracted from partially fossilised material found in the North Sea. To the team’s surprise, the fossils found indicate that these mammals lived in the southern North Sea during the last Ice Age. In total fossil remains from the North Sea and from the waters around Denmark and Sweden were studied. From this work, a computer model could be created, one that predicted the change in sea ice levels and the subsequent movement of whale populations over thousands of years.

Dr Foote, who is based at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) commented:

“Based on all previous studies using ancient DNA to estimate the population size it seems the trend was for cold-adapted species either [to] go extinct or decline in numbers at the end of the Ice Age as the temperature increased.”

Prehistoric Mammals

However, whilst the likes of Megaloceros (giant elk), the Woolly Rhino and the Mammoths declined and became extinct it seems that some species of whale actually thrived as the Pleistocene gave way to the Holocene Epoch. The researchers were able to demonstrate that the Bowhead whales essentially moved their range, migrating northwards to follow the retreating ice. It is why these creatures are found in the Arctic today, but their numbers are threatened due to hunting and of course the changing climate of our modern world.

To read an article about Woolly Mammoth blood included in a museum exhibition: Canadian Museum to Display Woolly Mammoth Blood.

Dr Kristin Kaschner, a research affiliate at the University of Freiburg (southern Germany), stated that:

“The retreat of the ice in that particular case actually opened up very large areas where you all of a sudden had these ideal habitat conditions for these Arctic species.”

Long Distance Migrations

Marine animals such as members of the whale family are used to migrating very long distances, in this instance the ability to travel great distances probably worked in the mammal’s favour, they were simply able to move to more suitable habitats. The retreating ice very probably opened up extensive new habitats for them and the population increased as a result.

The scientific data shows that today’s Arctic Bowhead whales can be genetically linked to the same population identified in the fossil material. These cetaceans have a direct link to whale populations that once swam around the British coast during the last glacial period.

This study does not just reflect on past populations, the model can be used to predict whale populations as climate change threatens the Arctic. This research proposes that this whale’s “core habitat” will be greatly reduced in the next fifty years or so. The environment that these whales have to live in could be halved by the end of the 21st century. If whale populations boomed when the habitat got bigger in the past, then the model predicts with shrinking habitat extinction would be a real possibility.

Loss of suitable core habitat in conjunction with the continued whaling could see the end of the Arctic Bowhead whale.

24 03, 2013

Four Sets of Frogspawn in the Office Pond

By Mike|2023-02-13T17:38:14+00:00March 24th, 2013|Categories: Animal News Stories, Everything Dinosaur News and Updates|2 Comments

Cold Weather May Kill Frogspawn

There are now at least four sets of frogspawn in the office pond, less than was laid this time last year and most certainly, we have not seen as many frogs in the pond as we have on previous spawnings. The current cold weather does not seem to have disturbed the amphibians too much, day temperatures in this part of England have not exceeded two degrees Celsius and in the easterly wind there has been a considerable chill factor giving the feeling of an air temperature around minus four degrees Celsius throughout the morning and into this afternoon.

Frogspawn

Team members from Everything Dinosaur have been inspecting the pond at regular intervals to check on the progress of the frogs – Common Frogs (Rana temporaria), we should not really be surprised that these small creatures are able to tolerate and even breed in these chilly temperatures as this species of frog has a widespread distribution and can be found much further north in Europe. However, there has not been the mass spawning activity that we have seen in recent years. This could be down to a number of reasons, it could be because fewer adult frogs survived the winter and into the spring (if that is what you can it at the moment), to breed, or perhaps there have been less females about and the actual spawning season is likely to be prolonged.

A Cold Morning

With a thin layer of ice on the pond this morning, staff were concerned that some of the freshly laid spawn in the shallows may be frozen and the eggs killed. We do not normally interfere but on this occasion it was decided to gently relocate the spawn to a slightly deeper area so that it could sink a little and thus avoid becoming exposed to too much of the ice. We shall monitor the pond and see if the current cold weather and subsequent cold water temperature delays the hatching of the spawn.

19 03, 2013

Saltwater Crocodile Shot after Fears of Attacks on School Children

By Mike|2023-02-13T17:49:08+00:00March 19th, 2013|Categories: Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Community Lived in Fear of Crocodile

The remote community of Palumpa located in the Daly River Reserve (Northern Territory, Australia), can breathe a sigh of relief after local wildlife rangers and police officers trapped and shot a four and a half metre long Saltwater crocodile that had been threatening to attack school children.

Saltwater Crocodile

The crocodile, the second four metre plus specimen to be captured in the Northern Territory this week, was trapped and shot at a small billabong on the outskirts of the town. Locals had reported that the crocodile had been in the area for about two years and it sometimes took up residence at a river causeway crossing used by children on their way to school.

Having to dodge the attentions of a large predator, getting on for fifteen feet in length would have been enough to deter all but the most determined scholar. Unfortunately, attacks by Saltwater crocodiles (sometimes also referred to as Estuarine crocodiles), are becoming increasingly common in the Northern Territory as the crocodile population continues to increase after the imposition of a hunting ban some forty years ago.

The Difference Between a Crocodile and an Alligator

Crocodile (top) and Alligator (bottom).

A Call to Reinstate Hunting of Crocodiles

A number of Government officials have called for a reinstating of the permit system to hunt crocodiles, others favour a formal crocodile cull to reduce the threat of crocodile attacks. For the school children at the small community of Palumpa, some 150 miles south-west of Darwin, their daily school run just got a little safer.

For models and replicas of extinct and extant archosaurs, visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning model section of the company’s website: Archosaurs, Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animal Figures.

4 03, 2013

Thailand Due to Call for New Crocodile Export Limits to be Lifted

By Mike|2024-04-29T10:31:23+01:00March 4th, 2013|Categories: Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Thailand Government Calls for Siamese and Saltwater Crocodile Protection to be Downgraded

With an increasing number of Australian officials keen to permit the culling of Saltwater crocodiles in the Northern Territory in a bid to reduce the risk of fatal crocodile attacks, it seems that crocodilians in south-east Asia are going to be threatened by a two-pronged attack. The Fisheries Department of the Thailand Government is hoping to gain support for a proposal to ease restrictions on crocodile exports.

Call for Resumption of Crocodile Exports

Officials will try to get support from members of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to downgrade the status of two species of crocodiles so that the country can continue to export goods made from crocodiles. The Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) grows to lengths in excess of three metres and it was once relatively widespread in south-east Asia, but now it is critically endangered with scientists estimating that there may be only a few wild Siamese crocodiles left in Thailand. Siamese crocodiles are bred extensively in captivity and along with the Saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), the Fisheries Department of the Thailand Government are trying to get them downgraded to Appendix II from the much more restricted Appendix I status.

Crocodile

At the moment, international trade in these two species of reptile is severely restricted, however, the 16th international CITES conference being held in Bangkok (Thailand) over the next two weeks will give the officials the opportunity to press their case.

A Model of a Siamese Crocodile

Family Zoo Siamese crocodile model.

Visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website for models and replicas of extinct and extant archosaurs.

Visit: Everything Dinosaur’s User-friendly Website.

Hundreds of Crocodile Farms

There are something like 800 commercial crocodile farms in the country, the sale of crocodile skin, meat and crocodile related products can help to earn Thailand valuable export dollars to help support the economy. For the proposal to be passed, a two-thirds majority of CITES members needs to be obtained. However, concerns have been raised about the proposal, for example, there are very few wild crocodiles left in the country and any lifting of trade embargoes could lead to the highly vulnerable wild crocodile population being exploited, ultimately leading to their extinction.

Note

In a series of votes taken on Friday (8th March) the proposal put forward by the Fisheries Department was defeated. Both the Saltwater and Siamese crocodiles will retain their Appendix I status.

16 02, 2013

“Lolong” Largest Saltwater Crocodile in Captivity is Dead

By Mike|2023-02-12T09:47:28+00:00February 16th, 2013|Categories: Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Locals Mourn the Death of their Giant Crocodile

A huge crocodile known as “Lolong” has died at the Philippine eco-tourism park he inhabited just eighteen months after being captured. The Saltwater crocodile was officially declared the largest crocodile in captivity in 2011. It was measured at 6.17 metres long and it weighed more than one thousand kilogrammes, this reptile resembled a prehistoric monster, not out of place in a dinosaur movie. The crocodile had become a significant tourist attraction and as the local mayor of the town of Bunawan, where the park was located,said: “Lolong helped put our town on the world map”.

Saltwater Crocodile

Believed responsible for the deaths of a number of local fisherman, an extensive crocodile hunt was instigated to bring this man-eater into captivity. The marshes of the Agusan del Sur province of the Philippines were searched and eventually this monster crocodile was caught in a trap, tempted by the carcase of a pig used as bait. When the crocodile was captured, pictures of the huge reptile tied to a cart and surrounded by excited villagers quickly spread around the world, this part of the Philippines had found fame and fortune thanks to this apex predator.

To read an article about this reptile’s capture: Monster Crocodile Caught in the Philippines.

The crocodile, which is thought to have been at least fifty years of age, fell ill after swallowing a piece of nylon cord about three weeks ago and it had been suffering from intestinal problems but the actual cause of death has yet to be determined. An autopsy is being carried out and the results will be published next week. The weather had been unseasonably cold and it is thought that the crocodile could have been affected by the chilly conditions. Whatever, the cause of death, the crocodile will leave much of the town in mourning as it had been a big tourist attraction bringing lots of visitors to Bunawan.

Monster Crocodile

The crocodile was discovered last Monday, floating upside down in its enclosure with a very bloated stomach. A veterinarian who specialises in reptiles was called in and the crocodile was immersed in a pool of tepid water in a bid to revive it but to no avail. Sadly, this crocodile had passed away within eighteen months of its capture.

Mayor of Bunawan, Edwin Elorde commented:

We don’t know what happened to it. Its death is a complete mystery at the moment and I have to admit that I am really depressed. I have come to love that crocodile, it brought fame and fortune to our town.”

A number of other Saltwater crocodiles have already been offered to the specially created eco-tourism park that was set up to house “Lolong”, however, lurking in the marshes surrounding the town there are rumoured to be even larger crocodiles still on the loose. The eco-system in the marshland is particularly rich, providing a refuge for a number of endangered species in the Philippines as well as some very large Saltwater crocodiles.

Although not closely related to dinosaurs, the residents of the town of Bunawan came to appreciate the fact that they had their very own prehistoric monster which was in itself a significant tourist attraction.

For models and replicas of extant and extinct archosaurs: Mojo Fun Prehistoric and Extinct Models.

A pig was slaughtered in honour of the deceased reptile and offerings were made by locals to the spirit of “Lolong”. The crocodile has had its head removed and been skinned. The rest of the carcase was buried so that the flesh could rot quickly away allowing the bones to be exhumed at a later date and an exhibit created. It is hoped that even in death this very large crocodile would act as symbol of the rich natural environment and help to preserve the habitat as well as encouraging eco-tourists into the province.

To read an article about the largest crocodiles in captivity: Philippine Crocodile is Declared Largest in Captivity.

11 02, 2013

Chinese New Year – The Year of the Snake

By Mike|2023-02-12T09:28:09+00:00February 11th, 2013|Categories: Animal News Stories|0 Comments

The Year of the Snake

So we enter the year of the Snake according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar. Of the twelve animals that make up the Chinese zodiac, two are reptiles, there is the Chinese dragon, the fossilised bones of long extinct dinosaurs, no doubt being identified by Chinese sages as proof of the dragon’s existence. The second reptile of the zodiac is the snake and 2013 is the year of the snake according to the traditional Chinese calendar.

Year of the Snake

With the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology (Beijing, China) having the world’s largest collection of vertebrate fossils, it seems fitting to consider the snake, or most certainly the Order Squamata (lizards and snakes) from a palaeontology perspective at the start of the Chinese year of the snake.

Snakes are not closely related to dinosaurs, but they did evolve in the Mesozoic just like the Dinosauria. Today, snakes and lizards are the most abundant and diverse of all the reptiles. The Squamata represent the scaled reptiles, the bodies of these animals are covered in horny, shield-like scales. The Order Squamata is divided into a number of Suborders, snakes are within the Suborder Serpentes. The paucity of the known fossil record makes pinpointing the approximate evolution of the first members of the Squamata very difficult.

Fossils are known from the Middle Jurassic and as snakes evolved from lizards, the first fossils of lizard-like reptiles pre-date those of the true snakes (Serpentes). Evidence relating to assessments of the molecular clocks of Squamata suggests that this Order may have had its origins in the Permian geological period. However, since there has only been a handful of early snakes and ancestral snake fossils found to date, palaeontologists remain uncertain as to the phylogenetic relationship between snakes and other elements of the Squamata.

The Earliest Snakes

The earliest snakes were probably non-venomous constrictors, these probably evolved during the Late Cretaceous and with the demise of the dinosaurs at the end of this geological period, those groups of snakes that survived the mass extinction event rapidly diversified and became apex predators in a number of eco-systems. For example, beautifully preserved snake fossils from the Messel shales (near to Frankfurt, Germany), dating from the early Tertiary show that a number of snake species hunted in the tropical forests of this part of the world. Palaeopython was one of the largest species with some specimens measuring up to two metres in length.

Titanoboa

The largest snake known from the fossil record is Titanoboa (T. cerrejonensis). Fossils found in a Columbian coal mine and described in 2009 indicate a giant constrictor which may have measured more than fifteen metres in length and it would have had a body as thick as an oil drum.

To read an article on the discovery of Titanoboa: Titanoboa – Giant Snake of the Palaeocene.

The Rebor Titanoboa Museum Class Maquette Brian Diccus.

There have been a number of Cenozoic snake fossils found in China. People born in the year of the snake in traditional Chinese culture are supposed to take on some characteristics of these reptiles. Custom states that these people are not outwardly emotional and tend to value their privacy. They are cunning, meticulous but not good communicators. However, people born in the year of the snake are believed to be dedicated, goal orientated and good at working alone. Some almanacs state that people born in the year of the snake make good scientists, even palaeontologists.

Rebor have introduced a museum class maquette of a Titanoboa swallowing prey. To view this stunning figure and the rest of the models in the Rebor range: Rebor Models and Figures.

Happy Chinese New Year.

25 01, 2013

Crocodile Dumped Outside Pet Shop Finds Love and Happiness

By Mike|2023-02-12T06:30:52+00:00January 25th, 2013|Categories: Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Caiman Happy In Her New Home

A South American Caiman abandoned outside a pet shop in Wolverhampton back in December 2011 has fully recovered from her ordeal, found a new home and even found love in her crocodile enclosure. Nick-named “Snappy” when discovered left outside in a plastic box by pet shop owner Jim Wick, the crocodile has been renamed Edith by keepers at Cleethorpes Jungle Zoo who took her in when they heard of her plight.

Crocodile Dumped

Unfortunately, there remains a sizeable trade in illegal, exotic pets such as crocodiles. These dangerous reptiles do not make good pets, they require very specialised care and even a small crocodile such as Edith would be capable of inflicting serious injury should she get close enough to bite someone. With the economic downturn, Jim, the owner of a specialist pet shop called Wickid Pets had taken in a number of exotic pets as their former owners no longer wanted to or could afford to look after their charges.

To read the article on the abandoned crocodile: Crocodile Dumped Outside Pet Shop.

Craig Gledhill, the manager at the zoo where Edith now lives is very happy with her progress. He stated that although she had a bossy and fiesty side to her character she has settled down well and is a popular attraction. The one-metre-long crocodilian has even found a mate , a male called Colin who shares her enclosure.

It is very pleasing to hear that what was a very sad story when we first reported on this crocodile’s plight has had a happy ending, but we must stress that the keeping of exotic pets is not to be taken on lightly.

For models and replicas of extant and extinct archosaurs, visit Everything Dinosaur’s award-winning website: Everything Dinosaur.

26 12, 2012

The Strongest Bite of All – not T. rex but Piranhas According to New Research

By Mike|2024-04-24T20:05:56+01:00December 26th, 2012|Categories: Animal News Stories, Dinosaur and Prehistoric Animal News Stories|0 Comments

Black Piranha and Extinct Relative Had Strongest Bites of All

The debate about which of all the predators known to science was the most ferocious is a subject area often visited by nature documentary programme makers. We seem to be obsessed with dangerous animals whether it is the extinct Tyrannosaurus rex of the Jurassic Park movies or indeed the Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias). However, one when it comes to which animal had the strongest bite there is one small fish found throughout the Amazon basin that could give these two film icons a run for their money. As a proportion of its body size, the extant Black Piranha is believed to have one of the strongest bites of any animal. So fish of the genus Serrasalmus can lay claim to the title of having the most powerful bite pound for pound of their body weight.

Bite Forces

Piranha have been depicted in a number of movies, not as many as the dinosaurs, but just like those extinct reptiles, the piranhas reputation has been enhanced by its cinematic ability to strip flesh from people in a matter of seconds. Black piranhas in the wild can be aggressive but they rarely attack humans. They can grow up to about forty centimetres in length and they are an important predator of other fish species in the river channels and tributaries of the Amazon basin.

A Skeleton of the Extant Black Piranha with the Fossilised Teeth of M. paranensis (inset)

Fearsome predators with a strong bite.

Picture credit: Grubich JR et al/Grey Taxidermy/Karen Carr

Studying Piranhas and Other Vertebrates

A team of researchers from George Washington University (Washington, District of Columbia, United States) visited the Amazon to study piranhas and other fish vertebrates, the bite force of the Black Piranha (Serrasalmus rhombeus) was calculated to be approximately 320 Newtons. These fish feed by darting in and snatching bite-sized mouthfuls from other fish, attacking the bony fins and softer parts of the victim. The data calculated by measuring the bite force was then used to assess the potential chomping power of a much larger, extinct species of piranha, fossils of which were found in Argentina.

The extinct piranha, known as Megapiranha paranensis is known from just one fragmentary fossil, part of the premaxilla (upper jaw). M. paranensis was a freshwater predator that inhabited Argentinian river systems during the Late Miocene Epoch (approximately 8 million years ago). Reaching lengths in excess of one metre, this ancestor of today’s Serralsalmus genus most likely had a scaled-up bite force. The extinct super-predator shared its world with enormous crocodiles and turtles, being quite large with a very strong bite was an important adaptation for survival.

The Bite Force of T. rex

To read an article on the potential bite force of Tyrannosaurus rex: New Research into T. rex Bite Force.

When body size is taken into account, the scientists working in conjunction colleagues from the Museum of La Plata (Argentina) and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, calculated that the bite forces generated by the Black Piranha and the extinct Megapiranha would have been bigger than those forces generated by Tyrannosaurus rex as well as the extinct Megalodon giant shark (Carcharodon megalodon). Palaeontologists have used studies of extinct animal’s jaws and teeth to try and calculate the bite forces that these creatures could generate. It seems that a fish often kept by aquarium enthusiasts could have had the most devastating bite of all.

The bite force of M. paranensis was calculated by creating a bronze-alloy model of the jaw and using a computer programme to assess the power of the bite force generated when biting into vertebrate bone, turtle carapace or into the scales of catfish, organisms that this extinct fish could have attacked. The strength of the fish bite was due to a combination of factors according to the scientists, the shape and size of the teeth, the amount of muscle associated with the jaws and the ability of the jawbones to conduct huge forces through them as a result of their anatomical configuration. It seems even the jaws of the most formidable predator of the Late Cretaceous – Tyrannosaurus rex may not have been a match for these freshwater predators.

The Fossilised Premaxilla of Megapiranha paranensis

Strong bite from the Late Miocene.

Picture credit: Mark Sabaj-Perez

The teeth of the extinct piranha are serrated and they remind team members at Everything Dinosaur of teeth from extant sharks such as the Tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier).

The research team went onto compare the bite forces generated against a series of other fishy predators, not only the colossal Megalodon but also the Devonian giant placoderm Dunkleosteus. Pound for pound the piranha species came out on top.

A Bite Force Comparison between Extinct and Extant Species of Fish

Piranhas come out on top.

Despite the number of cameo roles piranhas have played in films, where they have been seen to strip their victim of flesh in a matter of seconds, the research team claim that this is the first time that the actual bite force of piranha has been studied in this way.

For models and replicas of ancient fish such as Otodus megalodon, Cretoxyrhina and Dunkleosteus: PNSO Prehistoric Animal Figures.