Giant Sloth Lemurs

Genetic investigation reveals that the giant "sloth" lemurs of Madagascar were a sister group to the living indriid lemurs. Paper can be downloaded here.

Borneo Clouded Leopard

Here's an interview with a researcher, trying to protect the recently described Borneo clouded leopard.

First Lungless Frog

A rare aquatic frog, Barbourula kalimantanensis, from Borneo has been confirmed as the only known (so far) lungless frog. The frog "lives in cold, fast-flowing water, they noted, so loss of lungs might be an adaptation to a combination of factors: a higher oxygen environment, the species’s presumed low metabolic rate, severe flattening of their bodies that increases the surface area of their skin, and selection for negative buoyancy—meaning that the frogs would rather sink than float." (Eurekalert)

Loch Ness

Gordon Holmes is back on Loch Ness with sonar and video equipment. (News source.)

Biomimetics

NG has an article on engineering following in nature's footsteps.

UAV Potential?

Australian researchers are planning to use UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) for surveying whales and dugongs. Might be some potential for cryptozoology research with this technology? (News source.)

Crypto New Zealand

Tony Lucas passed along notice of a new article from New Zealand on cryptozoological research there.

Bald Ibis

Some interesting news here about the rare bald ibis, as tagged birds in Syria migrate to eastern Africa.

Psittacosaurus "Feathers" Debate

A researcher has more to say in the "feathered dinosaur" fray, arguing for the collagen side. From the news:

"Prof Theagarten Lingham-Soliar at the University of KwaZulu Natal, claims today to have 'refuted' a suggestion that primitive bristle-like structures that adorn the tail of Psittacosaurus are prototype feathers, as claimed by those seeking evidence to back the widely accepted idea of avian origins." ...
"But Prof Lingham-Soliar, who attacks this interpretation of the Chinese fossil in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, tells The Daily Telegraph: 'Scientists must really now choose - belief in the nebulous idea of protofeathers or the reality of collagen, the dominant protein in vertebrates.
"'I am convinced from the nonsense spouted by many of the people who denounce collagen in favour of protofeathers that they have never actually seen collagen in its natural or decomposing state.'
"He adds that, thanks to a quirk of preservation, the fossil provides a 'remarkable, unprecedented' insight into the structure of dinosaur skin.
"'What is highly significant in the present study are the masses of collagen fibres found - over 40 dermal layers seen for the first time in a fossil animal, which shows how vitally important collagen was in providing support and protection of the enclosed body mass of dinosaurs per se.'"

H. floresiensis Debate Continues

A new study suggests that Homo floresiensis is not a new species, but is based on individuals with a rare growth disorder, MOPD II, caused by a gene, PCNT. The gene causes the formation of a small brain and small (but proportional) body size, but retains normal intelligence. The condition also causes subtle wrist and hand bone anomalies, similar to those found in the floresiensis bones. (News source.)

A Price to Pay

Funding for the search for more evidence of the ivorybill woodpecker may run out if the bird isn't confirmed in 2008. Researchers are worried, while detractors continue to pile on. (News source.)

Bigfoot in SciAm

Scientific American has a profile on Dr. Jeff Meldrum and his Bigfoot studies. (Noted by Kevin Stewart)

H. Floresiensis: The Debate Continues

Research being published today in Science notes "evidence in three wrist bones that these people were members of a distinct species rather than humans with a physical disorder." From the NYT:

"In the new study, scientists led by Matthew W. Tocheri, an anthropologist of human origins at the Smithsonian Institution, examined wrist bones from the skeletons and found them to be primitive and shaped differently than the wrist bones of modern humans. For example, the trapezoid bone connected to the index finger was wedge-shaped, not boot-shaped, as in humans. In fact, the scientists said these wrist bones were closer in shape to those of apes."

One critic says the study is mostly obfuscation, disregarding the variation naturally found in wrist bones.

Celebes Sea Expedition

An ocean explorer with the New England Aquarium will be exploring the Celebes Sea, renowned for its diversity. From the press release:

"Stone is part of an undersea expedition which will explore the unique Celebes Sea, just south of the Philippines. The Celebes Sea is unlike anywhere else on the planet. With a shallow rim that protects it from deep-running frigid currents, it is one of the only deep ocean areas filled with warmer, life-sustaining water from its surface to its great depths. Scientists believe that most of the Earth’s oceans were similar 25 million years ago. The deep waters of the Celebes Sea just might be an ancient, biological time capsule. There has been little exploration of the deeper waters of the Celebes Sea. From September 24 to October 16, a joint expedition of the New England Aquarium, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Geographic Magazine, in cooperation with the Philippine government, will do a top-to-bottom exploration of the twisted trenches and seafloor basins of this strange sea. Operating from a 175 foot research vessel, the scientists will use a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can descend to 10,000 feet and is also outfitted with HDTV and biological collecting equipment. They will also use baited deep sea cameras and deep sea trawl nets. Dr. Stone is a veteran National Geographic expedition leader, yet he exclaimed, 'We expect to make spectacular findings, including discovering new species and capturing images of beautifully strange creatures.'"

Thylacine Research

A researcher with the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA is testing animal scat from the 1950s and 1960s to determine whether any were left by thylacines. The scat was collected in Tasmania by Eric Guiler, a thylacine expert, who thought they possibly came from thylacines. (News source.)

PDF - How to Tell a Sea Monster

Meant to put this link up earlier, it's a paper from 2002, "How to Tell a Sea Monster: Molecular Discrimination of Large Marine Animals of the North Atlantic," from the Biological Bulletin. It has been out for a few years, but I didn't realize it was available online from the author until Rod Dyke pointed it out. Should be useful to those new to cryptozoology or those who haven't had a chance to pick up a copy before.

New Skink Found in India ?

A group of researchers from the Vasundhra organization of India report they have found a new species of skink in a forested area of Khandadhar in the Orissa state in eastern India.

The 7-inch specimen appears, at preliminary evaluations, to belong to the genus Sepsophis.

Discovered in mid-May 2007, the specimen is awaiting formal description once additional data is collected.

The Vasundhra organization is based in Orissa, India and is a research and advocacy group in India. They work on sustainable environmental controls and conservation.

Source: International Herald Tribune, from an Associated Press report, May 28, 2007

DNA genetic "barcodes"

Genetics reveal 15 new N.American bird species

OSLO (Reuters) - Genetic tests of North American birds show what may be 15 new species including ravens and owls -- look alikes that do not interbreed and have wrongly had the same name for centuries, scientists said on Sunday.

If the findings from a study of birds' DNA genetic "barcodes" in the United States and Canada hold true around the world, there might be more than 1,000 new species of birds on top of 10,000 identified so far, they said.
A parallel study of South American bats in Guyana also showed six new species among 87 surveyed, hinting that human studies of the defining characteristics of species may have been too superficial to tell almost identical types apart.

"This is the leading tip of a process that will see the genetic registration of life on the planet," said Paul Hebert of the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, a co-author of the report in the British Journal Molecular Ecology Notes.

"You can't protect biodiversity if you can't recognise it."

The scientists found 15 potential new species among 643 types of bird studied from the Arctic to Florida. The sample covers almost all 690 known breeding species in North America.

"North American birds are among the best studied in the world," said co-author Mark Stoeckle of the Rockefeller University in New York. "Even in a group where people have been looking very carefully there are genetically different forms that appear to be new species."

Look alike species were of the Northern Fulmar, Solitary Sandpiper, Western Screech Owl, Warbling Vireo, Mexican Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Bushtit, Winter Wren, Marsh Wren, Bewick's Wren, Hermit Thrush, Curve Billed Thrasher and Eastern Meadowlark.

"It would be a reasonable guess that there are likely to be at least 1,000 genetically distinct forms of birds (worldwide) that will be recognised as new species," Stoeckle said.

The genetic tests, for instance of a feather, give a readout of a "barcode" for each creature similar to the black and white parallel lines on packages at supermarkets.

They said DNA diverged by at least 2.5 percent -- enough, they said, to define a species despite almost identical shape, plumage and song. A one percent difference typically indicated a million years without interbreeding, they said.

The study also found 14 pairs of birds with separate identities that were almost genetic "twins", two trios of birds were DNA triplets and eight gull species were almost identical.

"Some of these on close inspection may really be better considered as a single species," said Stoeckle. "Others are probably very young species at the borderline."

The Snow Goose and Ross's Goose, for instance, shared 99.8 percent of DNA and the black-billed magpie and the yellow-billed magpie 99.6 percent. Gulls such as the Glaucous and Iceland Gulls were 99.8 percent the same.

The scientists said there was no clear scientific definition of a species -- inability to interbreed was often favoured.

"But that's difficult -- we're not watching bats mate in caves, we're not often watching small life forms," Hebert said.

The scientists are hoping to raise $100 million to compile a barcode of life -- 10 million DNA records of 500,000 animal species by 2014.


Please note, the entire published paper is entitled BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data System (www.barcodinglife.org) by Sujeevan Ratanasingham and Paul D. Hebert through Molecular Ecology Notes , 2007. This was originally submitted in July 2006, revised in November 2006, and awaiting final print publication in 2007. However, the paper is available through OPEN ACCESS online in PDF format through Blackwell Synergy.

Mid-Atlantic Predator Survey

Researchers will be placing camera traps in hundreds of locations near the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland this year. The purpose is to survey predators in the region. This will include bears, bobcats, skunks, weasels, foxes, etc. While the organizers don't expect to see any, the possibility of cougar is also noted by the journalist. From the news:

"The cameras will be mounted to trees along with scented lures, placed roughly a half-mile apart and moved monthly to new locations.
"The locations will be within the AT corridor, but not along the trail itself to avoid being triggered by passing hikers. The data will be uploaded about once a month to a National Park Service Web site.
"Wildlife studies have been conducted along the Appalachian Trail for years, but this will be the first time motion-sensitive cameras are used to start creating a comprehensive predator inventory along the AT, which crosses all major ecological zones between New England and the Deep South.
"The study's goal is to create a baseline of predator populations so their fluctuations can be charted over time. The first year's data is valuable in itself because it can show how some species are faring by comparing their numbers in different locations such as heavily populated Northern Virginia and rural parts of Western Virginia." ...
"About 100 volunteers -- both professional researchers and 'citizen-scientists' -- are being recruited from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Virginia Master Naturalist Program and other outdoors-oriented groups."