Latest news with #MartinEbert
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Numerous Fossils Reveal Jurassic Fish Killed in Same, Bizarre Way
An extinct genus of ray-finned fish that lived during the Jurassic period seems to have had quite the penchant for overreaching. A new analysis of fossilized Tharsis fish reveals that the carnivorous marine animals seem to have frequently met their end with large cephalopods known as belemnites lodged quite fatally in their gullets. According to paleontologists Martin Ebert and Martina Kölbl-Ebert of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany, Tharsis fish found in the 152 million-year-old Solnhofen Plattenkalk (limestone) formation in Germany appear in multiple instances to have died while attempting to swallow a belemnite nearly as long as themselves. "A recent review of collection material … uncovered several specimens of Tharsis from the Late Jurassic Plattenkalk deposits of the Solnhofen Archipelago with belemnites wedged in mouth and gill apparatus," they write in their paper. "In all cases, the rostrum [beak] reexits through the gill apparatus, whereas the broad phragmocone [internal shell] of the belemnite is firmly lodged in the mouth opening." Related: Ancient Tyrannosaur's Last Victims Can Still Be Seen Inside Its Stomach Tharsis fish were what are known as micro-carnivores; animals that eat very small animals such as larvae and zooplankton, in this case by using suction to gulp down their food. Their fossils are quite common. Belemnites, which resembled squid with a long hooded body and multiple arms, lived in the open ocean, left far fewer fossils. Interestingly, the belemnite fossils found in the Plattenkalk basins of Eichstätt and Solnhofen often consist of an internal shell overgrown with bivalves – suggesting that the belemnite was dead, kept buoyant in the water column by a gas-filled shell colonized by other animals, such as clam-like molluscs, feasting on the decaying soft tissue. Tharsis fish were unlikely to be looking for food amid the hostile conditions of the seafloor, nor would the fish have been preying directly on the belemnites – but the researchers believe they know why the dead, drifting cephalopods may have posed such a choking hazard for the hapless fish. "Apparently, these micro-carnivore fish were in the habit of sucking remnants of decaying soft tissue or overgrowth such as algae or bacterial growth from floating objects, but when a streamlined floating belemnite rostrum accidentally was sucked into the mouth, they were no longer able to get rid of these deadly objects," the paleontologists write in their paper. "Even though the fish tried to pass the obstructive item through its gills, there was no way of getting rid of it, leading to death by suffocation." Sounds deeply unpleasant, really. The research has been published in Scientific Reports. 'Ball Lightning' Caught on Film After Storm in Canada Expired Cans of Salmon From Decades Ago Contained a Huge Surprise Melting Glaciers Could Reawaken Hundreds of Earth's Volcanoes
Daily Record
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Refurbished Trump Turnberry to reopen one month late after vandalism
The Ailsa course at Trump Turnberry had been due to open again earlier this month but that was postponed following the vandalism in March. US President Donald Trump 's Turnberry golf course is set to reopen this weekend, one month later than planned following a vandalism attack. A refurbished Ailsa course will reopen for members, local residents and pre-booked rounds from Sunday, June 1 before new bookings can be made online from Tuesday, July 1. Renovations were underway on Turnberry 's Ailsa course when parts of the course were ripped up and red paint was sprayed on the clubhouse in March. The course's seventh and eighth holes formed the main part of the refurbishment with the seventh green relocated 50 yards inland and the tee boxes on the eighth hole have been realigned. A number of enhancements have also been made to the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th holes. Turnberry has been closed since October 2024 when architect Martin Ebert began leading a £1 million revamp of the course - nine years after he first got involved at Turnberry. Originally the course was due to reopen in May 2025 but this was postponed following the vandalism. Martin said: 'On the new seventh hole, we wanted to make the most of Turnberry's stunning location by moving the green right to the coastal edge. There aren't many links courses where you have greens right on the cliff edge - so that is very special in its own right. 'For hole eight, it made a lot of sense to move the tees over to the right and produce a much better hole. The tee shot will be far improved with the new alignment, making the hole visually stunning from your first shot to your last.' Nic Oldham, general manager at Trump Turnberry, added: 'We, together with the owner, are always looking for ways to elevate the entire offering at Trump Turnberry. This includes the Ailsa and there is nobody better than Martin Ebert when it comes to taking this course to a new level. 'We look forward to welcoming guests back to experience the best ever iteration of this historic course, including the seventh hole – which now boasts one of the most picturesque and thrilling greens in the UK – and a much-improved new alignment for the eighth.' The Golf Academy at Trump Turnberry opened this month after undergoing its own renovations which include a state-of-the-art Trackman 11-bay range and cutting edge Trackman Simulator alongside a new Academy Café. Seven people have been arrested and charged in connection with the vandalism which took place at Trump Turnberry in the early hours of Saturday, March 8.
