The Giant Scorpions

Paleontology – Analyses performed on the fossil of a giant scorpion 417 million years old, a species extinct (thank goodness!) revealed traces of a substance called chitin in the exoskeleton of the creature. This finding demonstrates something that until now was considered impossible: The age of the chitin found, is several hundred million years older than what was considered the maximum possible in terms of conservation of this material.

The discovery was made ​​by a team of scientists led by George Cody of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Analyses were conducted at the ALS (Advanced Light Source) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California

The work of these experts contradicts the classical idea that the organic material can not be mantained for so long because it would be decomposed by microorganisms. However, scientists have found a fibrous mesh of chitin in the fóssil. Chitin is a polysaccharide rich in nitrogen.

Some species of these huge animals had reached over two meters in length. Chitin was also found in younger fossils, like a scorpion 310 million of years and even others, with 25 million years. The size of the giants scorpions is a frightening demonstration that in the past, arachnids, insects, crustaceans and other creatures were much larger than today. It is known that Eurypterids are aquatic ancestors (and extinct) of land scorpions and possibly of all arachnids of today.

SORCE: Detectan vestigios de quitina en el fósil de un aterrador escorpión gigante.
IN NCYT, published in 04/11/2011
[http://noticiasdelaciencia.com/not/862/detectan_vestigios_de_quitina_en_el_fosil_de_un_aterrador_escorpion_gigante/]

Mutant tadpole

PARÁ state – In Uruará location, near the city of "Porto dos Milagres"a fisherman known as "Neuzito" captured in his fishing net a strange creature. Its head and tail seem like of a fish. Where there should be fins, there are the legs of a frog.

The fisherman, intrigued, said that never saw similar animal. It measures around 30 centimeters and called attention of the local dwellers that gathered to see it. His limbs doesn't has fingers. It doesn't has gills too. The photo of him was published at the Tapajós TV website and it hoped the help of readers to indentify the animal.

SOURCE: Pescador captura estranho animal em Uruará, no Pará.
IN O Globo, published in 04/27/2011
[http://oglobo.globo.com/cidades/mat/2011/04/27/pescador-captura-estranho-animal-em-uruara-no-para-924330022.asp]

Rhinoceros: The stolen horns

PORTUGAL – At Coimbra town, on Tuesday – 19, two horns of rhinoceros of the eighteenth century were stolen from the Museum of Science, University of Coimbra. Authorities believe the theft was an act of a international gang which operates in the black market, where these horns can reach the price of 80 000 euros.

The robbery happened at the section of zoology at around 17.00 at a closed section of the gallery. Museum director commented: We believe that this is a work of an international gang because thefts similar to this have occurred in other museums. Theft of rhino horns are happening some years ago. They started in South Africa this year, the latest happened in the UK, (in February) in an antiques shop in Essex and in the Museum of Natural History at Rouen in March in France.

The destination of the goods is Asia, where these horns are used in the preparation of aphrodisiacs. But the director of the Museum warns: These horns are impregnated with toxic products used for its conservation. Are poisonous for human consumption.

SOURCE: GERALDES, Helena. Chifres de rinoceronte do século XVIII roubados da Universidade de Coimbra.
IN Público-Ecoesfera/Pt, published in 04/23/2011
[http://ecosfera.publico.clix.pt/noticia.aspx?id=1491053]

The bizarre baby of Dominican Republic

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – In the touristic town of La Romana, in the afternoon of a monday – april 14 (2011), in Hospital de Saúde Pública Francisco Gonzalvo (public Health Hospital), a woman from Haiti, identified like Tossent Luis, 20 years of age, gave birth to a bizarre baby.

The child had a human body but her face was like a frog face. The mother, when looked the litlle girl, was taken of terror and left the hospital, running. Nobody knows to where she gone.

The news spread. Many people moved by morbid curiosity gone to the hospital hoping to see the abnormality. Were not allowed to view the child. As is common in such cases, the child died after half an hour after birthing.

This case resembles another episode occurred at Nepal in 2006. The breakingnews said: Bizarre baby born. The text is reproduced below:

NEPAL

Bizarre baby born in Dolakha 
By Rajendra Manandhar

Charikot, Dolakha, March 29 - The birth of a bizarre-looking baby in Charikot, the headquarters of Dolakha district, on Wednesday, drew a huge number of onlookers to witness the astonishing sight.

The neck-less baby with its head almost totally sunk into the upper part of the body and with extraordinarily large eyeballs literally popping out of the eye-sockets, was born to Nir Bahadur Karki and Suntali Karki at the Gaurishnkar Hospital in Charikot.

The Karki couple is a permanent resident of Dolakha’s Bhirkot VDC. The bizarre baby, however, died after half an hour of its birth, Suntali, the mother, informed. It was taken to the hospital after its death.

The news about such a baby being brought to the hospital spread like wildfire and there were hundreds gathered at the hospital to have a look. The police had to be deployed to control the crowd.

“We wouldn’t have been able to save it, even if it had been brought here alive, said a nurse attending to the mother at the hospital. This is an extremely abnormal case.

The “baby” weighed 2kg at birth and was born after the normal nine-month gestation period. Suntali, already a mother of two normal daughters, was not suffering from any illness during the pregnancy.

Nir Bahadur, the father, says he does not feel any remorse for the newly-born baby’s death. “I am happy that nothing happened to my wife, he said.

SOURCE: VEGA A. Manuel. Nace niña con cara de rana en hospital de La Romana
IN El Nuevo Diario/Republica Dominicana, published in 04/14/2011
[http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=238025]

The past encaged on a crystalline stone

PERU – In Chiclayo (a town located at northwest of Peru, capital of Lambayeque region, one of the 25 political divisions of the country) scientists found several examples of small insects preserved in amber stones. Researchers believe that these tiny specimens lived around 20 millions of years ago. Were – therefore, contemporary of the dinosaurs and, they passed, at least, for a glaciation.

In the stones of amber insects like Psocoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Hemiptera and spiders, as well as spores, pollen fossils, and even a drop of blood and hair of rodents, all of these fragments of the past remained preserved.

The discovery was made ​​on a beach in far north of Peru by paleontologists from the Paleontological Museum Meyer-Honningen. The team found more than a hundred stones, among the river sediments, but still could not identify the majority. Some of the insects are nor even known, like the , long-legged mosquito Zancudo or a wasp, that has the stinger in the front of its body. These are possibly species already extinct that indicate changes in the flora and fauna of the area.

However, the Peruvian museum has invited Austrian scientists to assist in the study of fossils and new expedition will be made in the Santiago River, for try to uncover new clues about the evolution of the Amazon.

SOURCE: Âmbar alberga fósseis de insectos extintos.
IN Ciência Hoje/Pt, published in 04/21/2011
[http://www.cienciahoje.pt/index.php?oid=48649&op=all]

UFO-Brazil – Sighting in Santa Catarina

SANTA CATARINA (state) – Sunday, march – 10 (2011) an UFO was filmed at 'Erechim' town, north of the state. The images were obtained by a professional filmaker, Osnei de Lima that relates: When I took knowledge about something of strange at the sky, I got my camera and filmed the object. It was moving in all directions.

Lima recorded the images during one minute and 28 seconds until the bright object followed eastward, then north and finaly, disappeared. The director says this is not your first time that he observes a foreign object near his home, in Poland Street (rua Polônia) , one of the highest regions of the city. "But it was the first time I captured images. The object had a rounded shape and its light was very bright.

The UFO appeared to be far, far away. Moreover, its movements were made with great speed. I know very well the trajectory of an aircraft and can assure you that was not an airplane, he said.

Director of 24 films - six long and 18 short films, winning several times - Osne Lima, 36, used a camera with high definition, full HD to capture the sequence. The Commander Kraemer of surveillance Airport of Erechim confirmed that on Sunday no aircraft took off down the runway or terminal.

FONTE: Depois de Xanxerê, Joaçaba e Piratuba, ovni é visto em Erechim.
IN Rádio Rural/sANTA cATARINA state, published in 04/14/2011
[http://www.radiorural.com.br/noticias.php?nId=leitura&idnot=11142]