Latest news with #ScientificReports
Yahoo
a day ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Prehistoric ‘scalopini' mole fossil uncovered in an ancient Spanish volcano crater
Researchers have discovered a new genus and species of prehistoric mole in Spain. Vulcanoscaptor ninoti lived during the Pliocene Epoch, from 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago and belonged to the Scalopini, a tribe of moles that currently exists in North America and Asia. Before we dive into the details of a discovery, there is one matter we should immediately set straight. If 'Scalopini' sounds familiar, you're probably thinking of scallopine, or scallopini—a delicious Italian dish consisting of thin sautéed slices of meat served in a variety of sauces. Needless to say that the food scallopine will (unfortunately) not be playing a large part in this story. Researchers found V. ninoti in an excellent state of preservation, recovering its mandible with a complete set of teeth, sections of the torso, and a number of leg bones in their correct anatomical connection. The specimen represents one of the oldest and most complete small mammal fossils in Europe, as they explain in a study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports. The team examined the delicate remains via high-resolution micro-computed tomography (microCT) scanning, which generated a 3D reconstruction of the skeleton. 'With the microCT, we were able to analyze extremely small and delicate structures—such as phalanges and teeth—that would have been nearly impossible to study otherwise,' Adriana Linares, lead author of the study and a predoctoral researcher at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, explained in a statement. While the anatomy of the fossil indicates that the animal was a strong digger and highly adapted to an underground lifestyle, 'the fact that this individual was preserved in lacustrine [lake] sediments and in a lateral position raises the possibility that it may also have had some aquatic locomotion abilities,' Linares added. 'We can't confirm this with certainty yet, but there are modern moles that are powerful diggers and also excellent swimmers.' The name Vulcanoscaptor ninoti means 'the Camp dels Ninots volcano digger' in reference to where it was discovered. Camp dels Ninots is an important paleontological site in the crater of an ancient volcano near Girona in northeastern Spain. An eruption about 3.1 million years ago created ideal conditions for the preservation of fossils. In fact, the researchers claim that V. ninoti is also the most complete known Pliocene mole fossil from Europe, presenting an excellent opportunity to investigate the evolutionary history of the small mammals. [ Related: These moles may have been hiding for 3 million years. ] 'Despite its clearly fossorial morphology, this mole is closely related to extant North American species of the genera Scapanus and Scalopus, which points to a far more intricate evolutionary history for these animals than we had imagined,' said Marc Furió, co-lead of the study and a geologist at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. 'Its presence in Europe suggests past transcontinental migrations of moles, challenging the assumption that they are mammals with low dispersal capacity.' It seems like both prehistoric and modern mole species still have a lot of surprises in store for paleontologists. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Major change off Aussie coast linked to 'worrying' event thousands of kilometres away
Watching the migration of whales up Australia's east coast, researchers have documented something 'worrying'. Humpbacks are leaving their northern breeding grounds for Antarctica three weeks early. While smaller fluctuations in their departure are normal, researchers from the University of Queensland have observed a 'clear and sustained change' since 2021 and published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports. Lead author, Associate Professor Rebecca Dunlop, believes there is likely a connection to warming waters around Antarctica, as it causes: A depletion of sea ice Which leads to a reduction in algae And this means less food for krill As a result, krill numbers drop, and there's less food for humpbacks 'Post 2020, there has been a significant decline in sea ice, and it's during that period that they changed their migration,' Dunlop told Yahoo News Australia. "It seems they're returning to those feeding grounds earlier.' Why whales must accumulate huge amounts of blubber To carry out their 10,000km migration, humpbacks need to build up an enormous amount of blubber. Females face an even bigger challenge because they're normally pregnant as they travel to their winter breeding grounds, and then have to give birth and produce milk to sustain the calf. During their time in the tropical north, they generally don't eat except for during the odd temporary stopover, adding pressure on them to return home to Antarctica as their energy runs out. 'If they've got less energy... then obviously that's going to change how they behave and how they migrate,' Dunlop said. If the oceans keep warming and the sea ice keeps declining, then that has massive impacts, not just for whales, but for everything else that lives down Professor Rebecca Dunlop Two separate events could increase pressure on food resources East Antarctic whale numbers plummeted to around 300 individuals in the 1960s, primarily due to hunting by the Soviets. After whaling was banned a decade later, numbers rebounded and in 2025 they're estimated to be close to 40,000. 🥺 Emotional decision looms as ancient site faces extreme storm 📚 Backlash over radical climate change plan for Aussie schools 🪱 Aussies warned as brain worm spike detected following extreme weather event Today, the population is thought to exceed pre-hunting numbers, which were thought to be roughly 30,000. There are concerns that vanishing krill combined with increasing humpback numbers could create a 'perfect storm' of pressure on their food resources. 'You've got this train crash happening where you've got more whales trying to feed on less krill,' Dunlop said. 'We have no idea what the carrying capacity is in the Antarctic, because we don't know what the krill density is. We don't know if the numbers have overshot, or what's going to happen in the future. Numbers might start to decline, or they might absolutely crash.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Subtle change off Aussie coast linked to 'worrying' event thousands of kilometres away
Watching the migration of whales up Australia's east coast, researchers have documented something 'worrying'. Humpbacks are leaving their northern breeding grounds for Antarctica three weeks early. While smaller fluctuations in their departure are normal, researchers from the University of Queensland have observed a 'clear and sustained change' since 2021 and published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports. Lead author, Associate Professor Rebecca Dunlop, believes there is likely a connection to warming waters around Antarctica, as it causes: A depletion of sea ice Which leads to a reduction in algae And this means less food for krill As a result, krill numbers drop, and there's less food for humpbacks 'Post 2020, there has been a significant decline in sea ice, and it's during that period that they changed their migration,' Dunlop told Yahoo News Australia. "It seems they're returning to those feeding grounds earlier.' Why whales must accumulate huge amounts of blubber To carry out their 10,000km migration, humpbacks need to build up an enormous amount of blubber. Females face an even bigger challenge because they're normally pregnant as they travel to their winter breeding grounds, and then have to give birth and produce milk to sustain the calf. During their time in the tropical north, they generally don't eat except for during the odd temporary stopover, adding pressure on them to return home to Antarctica as their energy runs out. 'If they've got less energy... then obviously that's going to change how they behave and how they migrate,' Dunlop said. If the oceans keep warming and the sea ice keeps declining, then that has massive impacts, not just for whales, but for everything else that lives down Professor Rebecca Dunlop Two separate events could increase pressure on food resources East Antarctic whale numbers plummeted to around 300 individuals in the 1960s, primarily due to hunting by the Soviets. After whaling was banned a decade later, numbers rebounded and in 2025 they're estimated to be close to 40,000. 🥺 Emotional decision looms as ancient site faces extreme storm 📚 Backlash over radical climate change plan for Aussie schools 🪱 Aussies warned as brain worm spike detected following extreme weather event Today, the population is thought to exceed pre-hunting numbers, which were thought to be roughly 30,000. There are concerns that vanishing krill combined with increasing humpback numbers could create a 'perfect storm' of pressure on their food resources. 'You've got this train crash happening where you've got more whales trying to feed on less krill,' Dunlop said. 'We have no idea what the carrying capacity is in the Antarctic, because we don't know what the krill density is. We don't know if the numbers have overshot, or what's going to happen in the future. Numbers might start to decline, or they might absolutely crash.' Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Game of Bones! Study reveals dogs' favourite TV programmes
Many dog owners enjoy snuggling up on the sofa to watch their favourite TV show with their pet. But if the remote was in your dog's paw, what would it choose to watch? According to scientists from Auburn University in Alabama, the answer is probably something featuring animals. In a new study, the researchers surveyed more than 450 dog owners about their pets' viewing habits. The results revealed that almost half (45 per cent) of the dogs reacted when they saw an animal on TV. In particular, the pooches took note when they spotted another dog barking or howling on screen. So, if you want to give your dog the ultimate movie night, it's best to stick on something like Bluey, Scooby Doo, or Crufts. 'Companion dogs experience a meaningful, object-filled world when they view television,' the researchers said. While most dogs are regularly exposed to televisions, their preferences for content have remained unclear until now. Writing in their study, published in Scientific Reports, the research team, led by Lane Montgomery, wrote: 'Because companion dogs are regularly exposed to televisions, it is pertinent to understand how dogs behaviorally respond to and interpret these types of stimuli from a welfare perspective.' To get to the bottom of it, the researchers recruited 453 owners, whose dogs ranged in age from two months to 16 years old. The participants were surveyed about their dogs' TV viewing habits. This included whether the owner tried to teach the dog to watch TV, the average number of hours per week the owner's TV is switched on, and the average number of seconds the dog pays attention to the TV. An analysis of the results revealed that on average, the dogs watched TV for 14 minutes and eight seconds in any one sitting. Other animals were the dogs' favourite thing to watch, with 45 per cent responding to animal content such as barking or howling. The researchers also found that the dogs' personalities influenced their viewing preferences. Dogs reported by their owners as excitable were more likely to follow objects on-screen - for example during tennis or football matches. Meanwhile, fearful or anxious dogs were more likely to respond to non-animal stimuli on screen, such as car horns or doorbells. 'The results suggested that dogs respond to television stimuli based upon both categories of stimuli (i.e., animal, non-animal) and upon types of behavior (i.e., behavior that suggests attendance to the stimuli versus behavior that suggests some expectation of the movements of the stimuli),' the researchers wrote. 'In addition, individual differences in temperament impacted the types of stimuli that dogs engaged with.' While the study might seem light-hearted, the researchers say the findings could have important implications. 'These temperament differences could inform training approaches to rectify problem behaviours towards TVs,' they concluded. WHAT ARE THE TEN COMMONLY HELD MYTHS ABOUT DOGS? It is easy to believe that dogs like what we like, but this is not always strictly true. Here are ten things which people should remember when trying to understand their pets, according to Animal behaviour experts Dr Melissa Starling and Dr Paul McGreevy, from the University of Sydney. 1. Dogs don't like to share 2. Not all dogs like to be hugged or patted 3. A barking dog is not always an aggressive dog 4. Dogs do not like other dogs entering their territory/home 5. Dogs like to be active and don't need as much relaxation time as humans 6. Not all dogs are overly friendly, some are shyer to begin with 7. A dog that appears friendly can soon become aggressive 8. Dogs need open space and new areas to explore. Playing in the garden won't always suffice 9. Sometimes a dog isn't misbehaving, it simply does not understand what to do or what you want 10. Subtle facial signals often preempt barking or snapping when a dog is unhappy
Newsweek
3 days ago
- Science
- Newsweek
Neighbor Tells Woman She's 'Calling Animal Control' Over New Cat's Name
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. A Pennsylvania woman has revealed how her son's choice of name for their new cat led one neighbor to issue an ultimatum. Roxann Setzer, who lives with her husband Mike and son Ricky in Coraopolis, told Newsweek the neighbor demanded that she change the cat's name "immediately" or "animal control would be called." It's just the latest twist in a story that began when Setzer and her family became aware that a number of young stray cats had been frequenting their porch. "They were extremely feral," Setzer said. "We tried to catch them but had no luck so we started trying to befriend them instead by leaving food out." In time, the cats began to reciprocate, leaving "presents" like half a bird, or an entire dead squirrel on the porch. Eventually, the Setzers decided to give the two most frequent feline visitors names. The names we give our pets can be important, particularly in the case of cats. In 2019, a study published in the journal Scientific Reports asserted that cats were able to recognize their own names. Researchers recruited 78 cats to take part in the study. Each cat heard four different words spoken via a recording of a scientist's voice or the owner and then their own name. Researchers were looking for any sign of recognition, be it an ear movement, a head turn, or a flick of the tail. In the experiment, feline interest seemed to taper off as the list of words was spoken aloud. However, they perked up as soon as the animal heard their first name, suggesting some form of familial recognition. If the Setzers gave these two strays names, they might find a way to coax them inside. They began brainstorming names. "We needed to call them something so the long haired gray one became Gacy," Setzer said. "The striped one my son Rick wanted to name Dave the Magical Cheese Wizard, after the meme of shelter cats and their names, so it became Dave and Gacy." Over the weeks that followed, Dave and Gacy continued to visit. But then something unexpected happened. "We noticed Dave was gaining quite a belly," Setzer said. Then, on Friday, June 13, Ricky found a decidedly friendlier Dave outside looking "much skinnier." It turned out Dave was not only a girl, she had given birth. Dave's outward attitude was decidedly different in the wake of her becoming a mom. "We were able to pet Dave now, but not pick her up," Setzer said. So a plan was hatched to find Dave's kitten and, along with their mom, move them all inside. "It took a couple of days, but Dave brought her babies onto our porch and we were able to bring them inside," Setzer said. "There were six beautiful little fuzzballs we called the Beans." Dave the stray cat has had kittens. Dave the stray cat has had kittens. Reddit/u/Mediocre_Lobster_961 Setzer has made an appointment to get Dave fixed, while her pre-existing cats, a pair of 10-year-old littermates, had to make some pretty major adjustments. "Xerxes and Eugenie weren't thrilled about Dave and her kittens at first, but they all get along now," Setzer said. If only the same could be said for their neighbors. In a post shared to Reddit under the handle u/Mediocre_Lobster_961, Setzer revealed that an elderly next-door neighbor had "screamed" at her and was having a "tantrum" over the decision to call the cat Dave as "she's a girl." "She told me she's calling animal control about it," Setzer said. "It was told, not asked, that I must change her name immediately or animal control would be called," Setzer said. She couldn't help but laugh at this demand. Setzer wasn't alone in seeing the funny side. At the time of writing, her Reddit post has over 33,000 upvotes, with many users sharing similar stories and pictures of their own cats in the comments. "Hi, Dave! I'm Billy. I was a feral who was named Billy before they figured out I was a girl. Congrats on your kittens," one wrote. Another said: "This is Athena. Not a stray but rescued from a hoarder situation. She originally had the name Bob and while she no longer holds that name, she sends her support to Dave." Setzer isn't taking her neighbor's threat too seriously, though. Instead, she's choosing to revel in her son's choice of cat name. "Now, even though she's an inside cat who will live with us forever, we now yell 'come here, Davy girl' at the top of our lungs outside every day," she said.
