 |
|
Joseph Niepce developed the world's first photographic image in 1827. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
New reptiles found in Tanzania's shrinking forests
Reads: 38 |
Posted by Thoth on Wednesday, January 07, 2009 (CST)
 Seventeen previously unknown species of reptiles and amphibians have been found in the threatened rainforests of eastern Tanzania, Italian and Tanzanian scientists reported on Monday. The haul of new species, which include chameleons, tree frogs and snakes, highlights the rich biodiversity of the East African country's South Nguru Mountains region, they wrote in the journal Acta Herpetologica.
Authors Michele Menegon of the Natural Science Museum of Trento in Italy and colleagues said the region's ecosystem was under threat from fire, logging, collection of wood for fuel and land clearance for cultivation.
To stem the damage, the government and villagers have outlined a series of steps needed to improve conservation, such as reducing the population's dependence on unsustainable methods of growing cardamoms, a popular cooking spice and an important cash crop for highland farmers.
(Read More... Animals & Cryptozoology | Word Count: 251 | comments? | Score: 0) |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Seven species that came back from the dead
Reads: 154 |
Posted by Thoth on Thursday, January 01, 2009 (CST)
 Extinction is forever. Or is it? So-called 'Lazarus' species – named after the biblical character who rose from the dead – are creatures discovered alive after being declared extinct. Here's a look at some species that aren't quite as dead as we thought they were.
Coelacanth: The coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) is the archetypical living fossil, thought to have changed little in more than 60 million years. An ugly blue fish, up to 1.8 m long and found in submarine caverns, it was previously known only from fossils and was thought to have disappeared with the dinosaurs.
Then, in 1938, Marjorie Courtenay- Latimer of the East London Museum in South Africa found one among specimens trawled up by fishermen. Populations are now known there and in Indonesia.
(Read More... Animals & Cryptozoology | Word Count: 860 | comments? | Score: 5) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Orangutan's spontaneous whistling opens new chapter in study of evolution of speech
Reads: 84 |
Posted by Thoth on Thursday, December 18, 2008 (CST)
 In a paper published this month in Primates, an international journal of primatology that provides a forum on all aspects of primates in relation to humans and other animals, Great Ape Trust scientist Dr. Serge Wich and his colleagues provide the first-ever documentation of a primate mimicking a sound from another species without being specifically trained to do so.
Bonnie, a 30-year-old female orangutan living at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., began whistling – a sound that is in a human's, but not an orangutan's, repertoire – after hearing an animal caretaker make the sound.
"This is important because it provides a mechanism to explain documented between-population variation in sounds for wild orangutans," Wich said. "In addition, it counters a long-held assumption that non-human primates have fairly fixed sound repertoires that are not under voluntary control.
(Read More... Animals & Cryptozoology | Word Count: 974 | comments? | Score: 4) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Half man, half chimp - should we beware the apeman's coming?
Reads: 199 |
Posted by Thoth on Saturday, December 13, 2008 (CST)
 A leading scientist has warned a new species of "humanzee," created from breeding apes with humans, could become a reality unless the government acts to stop scientists experimenting. In an interview with The Scotsman, Dr Calum MacKellar, director of research at the Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, warned the controversial draft Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill did not prevent human sperm being inseminated into animals.
He said if a female chimpanzee was inseminated with human sperm the two species would be closely enough related that a hybrid could be born. He said scientists could possibly try to develop the new species to fill the demand for organ donors. Leading scientists say there is no reason why the two species could not breed, although they question why anyone would want to try such a technique.
Other hybrid species already created include crossed tigers and lions and sheep and goats. Dr MacKellar said he feared the consequences if scientists made a concerted effort to cross humans with chimpanzees. He said: "Nobody knows what they would get if they tried hard enough. The insemination of animals with human sperm should be prohibited.
(Read More... Animals & Cryptozoology | Word Count: 1442 | comments? | Score: 5) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dogs are envious and petulant
Reads: 182 |
Posted by Thoth on Thursday, December 11, 2008 (CST)
 Dogs can feel a simple form of envy and will respond with petulance to unequal treatment, a new study has found. But while dogs will refuse to give their paw when they see another dog is given a treat for doing it and they are not, they do not seem to care whether the other dog gets a better treat. And unlike monkeys – who in previous experiments got so frustrated with the unequal treatment that they refused to eat the less tasty treat – the dogs never rejected a snack.
Researchers believe that sensitivity to being treated unequally is a critical element in the evolution of social cooperation and until recently it was believed that only humans were capable of this behavior.
But studies with monkeys and chimps have found that primates are also able to feel envy and refused to hand over a token if they saw that another monkey or chimp was given better food for the same task. Austrian researchers, led by Friederike Range of the University of Vienna, believed that this may also occur in dogs because they engage in complex and elaborate cooperation with humans and show a high sensitivity to human behaviour.
(Read More... Animals & Cryptozoology | Word Count: 529 | 1 comment | Score: 5) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our Media Library contains over 600 Paranormal Audio and Video Clips. Click here to view.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
