Frogs Start Their Exodus

Over the last few days we have observed a number of tiny frogs in and around the office pond.  Although tadpoles have been difficult to spot we were confident that a number of tadpoles had been able to survive long enough to complete their metamorphosis into frogs.  We expect that over the next few days these tiny creatures, most measuring about a centimetre in length will make their way out of the pond and disperse around the yard and the surrounding area.

Office Pond

We are not sure whether this year’s frogs should be referred to as  froglets.  However, it is always pleasing to see these creatures complete the change from fully aquatic tadpole to amphibian.  Occasionally, we come across small frogs around the office buildings, we think that these are survivors from 2010.

To read our earlier post about the first frogspawn spotted in the office pond: First Frogspawn Spotted in the Pond.

Interestingly, when we look back at our records and previous web log articles, we note that frogs had been observed leaving the pond earlier in previous years.  There may be a number of reasons for this.  Firstly, the relatively poor Summer with lots of rain may have kept the water temperature lower than the seasonal norm and this may have slowed the tadpoles development.  Perhaps the poor Summer weather resulted in less food available and this too, would have inhibited the tadpoles growth.  It could also be that  we have simply not observed the frogs leaving as we did last year.

When working late yesterday evening, a went out with a torch to see what I could see in the yard by the pond.  It was raining and as we know from experience frogs seem to be more active in rain then when it is dry.  I counted three frogs within the vicinity of the pond, all of them were large so these were not from this year’s hatch.  Perhaps as the froglets are so small, I just did not see them, so this too could account for the lack of young frog observations outside the pond area.

A Fuzzy Picture of One of Last Years (2010) Frogs

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Our records show that young frogs started to leave the pond in the middle of July back in 2009 and last year.  We have yet to observe one of this year’s tadpoles having left the pond as a fully formed adult, outside the immediate pond area.

For models and replicas of ancient tetrapods including prehistoric amphibians: CollectA Deluxe Ancient Tetrapods and Prehistoric Animals.

Newly Discovered Fossil Could Be the First Evidence of a Great Ape

Scientists believe the hominids evolved in Africa from apes, however, the paucity of the fossil record has prevented researchers from learning more about the evolution of the apes themselves.  Now the discovery of a twenty-million-year-old fossil in Uganda could help scientists piece together an aspect of primate evolution.

Great Ape

The freshly unearthed 20-million-year-old skull may have belonged to a common ancestor of humans and the other great apes so say excited palaeontologists.  A team led by Martin Pickford, a palaeoanthropologist at the College de France in Paris, and Bridgette Senut, at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, discovered the fossils last month, while excavating the semi-arid region surrounding the extinct Napak Volcano in northeastern Uganda.

The team attributed the partially complete skull to the species Ugandapithecus major, a hulking Miocene epoch ape known mostly by its other body parts.

Pickford commented:

“It was a pretty big animal, almost as large as a gorilla, about the size of a chimpanzee.”

His team plans to analyse the fossil more closely in France (it will be cleaned and prepared in France) and describe it in a Ugandan scientific journal.  But he says its small brain already stands out.

He went on to add:

“You’re talking about an animal that has the muzzle of a gorilla with the brain size that would go with a baboon.”

Its small brain and other facial features such as its teeth and palette could suggest that modern chimpanzees and gorillas have evolved substantially from their ape ancestors, the researchers have concluded.  The skull shares a number of features with modern-day orangutans, suggesting that the evolutionary lineage that gave rise to modern orangutans changed less.

Evolutionary Origins of Great Apes

But the evolutionary origins of great apes – humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans – are poorly understood, due to the paucity of the fossil record.  The discovery of well preserved elements of the skull are an important find.  The size of the canines indicate that this animal was probably a male, the lack of wear on the teeth (molars) and other characteristics indicate that it died when it was about ten years of age.

A Model of an Australopithecus

At home on the plains. A model of an Australopithecus.

Pickford stated:

“Finding the skull of Ugandapithecus is really going to focus the debate on that particular linage, but we must not forget there were quite a few other species running around at the same time.”

He went on to comment that closer examination should reveal more about the relationship between U. major and the extant great apes such as gorillas and orangutans that are alive today:

“My gut feeling at the moment is that it’s not far from the ancestor of modern African apes and orangutans.  I’ve been waiting for about 30 years for this kind of discovery.”

For models and replicas of primitive hominins and other prehistoric mammals: Wild Safari Prehistoric Mammals and Early Human Figures.

Fishing Trip Ends in Tragedy

An Indonesian teenager, fishing from a boat with friends was attacked and killed by a large Saltwater crocodile over the weekend.  Despite frantic efforts from his companions the boy was dragged into the water by the large reptile and following an extensive search by locals and army personnel his body was recovered the next day.

Saltwater Crocodiles

Saltwater crocodiles, also known as Estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) can be found over a vast area of the Pacific from Sri Lanka to the Fiji Islands, including northern Australia.  These crocodiles have a deserved, fearsome reputation.  Some specimens have been recorded as reaching lengths in excess of 7 metres and weighing over a tonne.  Unfortunately, attacks from crocodiles are on the increase as crocodile numbers recover from hunting and poaching and people move into areas where crocodiles are abundant.

The Difference Between a Crocodile and an Alligator

Crocodile (top) and Alligator (bottom).

As a consequence of an increased number of crocodile attacks in northern Australia there have been calls for a re-introduction of culling to control crocodile numbers.

To read more about this: Calls for Crocodile Controls in the Northern Territories.

The teenage boy, Hanry Rumfable, was just fourteen.  He and his friends were fishing from a boat just five hundred metres from their village on the Salafem River, in North Misol, Raja Ampat when suddenly the crocodile attacked.

Crocodile Attacks

According to survivors Steven and Melki, the attack was sudden and Hanry stood no chance.

Melki, just fifteen tried in vain to pull Hanry to safety by grabbing his friends T-shirt but it was to prove futile.

He said:

“I saw when he was being pulled by the crocodile off the boat and dragged into the water.”

Villagers accompanied by soldiers conducted a search for Hanry’s body shortly after the incident was reported, though it was not until the next day that they found his body tucked between mangrove trees.  Melki said he was still in shock after witnessing the gory attack and had been too afraid to return home to tell Hanry’s parents what had happened to their only son.

Our thoughts are with Hanry’s family, unfortunately attacks of this nature are an all too common occurrence in areas where Saltwater crocodile numbers are known to be high.