Category Archives: Science

When Did We Stop Being Apes? – #365papers – 2017 – 143

#365papers for May 23, 2017

Fuss, Spassov, Begun, and Bohme, 2017, Potential hominin affinities of Graecopithecus from the Late Miocene of Europe: PlosONE, v. 12, e01771127

What’s it about?

Yesterday’s paper was about the age of the new species Graecopithecus, an early relative of humans. This paper discusses what separates Graecopithecus from other apes and what unites it more closely with humans.

Why does it matter?

With a clear definition of what distinguishes humans and their closest relatives from apes, and by also having an age for the oldest member of the human lineage, we can better understand how we came to be who we are.

Why did I read this?

This paper was all over social media. I felt obligated to read it.

Maybe the oldest hominin? – #365papers – 2017 – 142

#365papers for May 22, 2017

Bohme, Spassov, Ebner, Geraads, Hristova, Kirscher, Kotter, Linnemann, Prieto, Roussiakis, Theodorou, Uhlig, and Winklhofer,  2017, Messinian age and savannah environment of the possible hominin Graecopithecus from Europe: PlosONE, v. 12, e0177347.

What’s it about?

Hominins are humans and their non-ape ancestors. Graecopithecus appears to fall into this group. Using geochemical methods plus study of the sediments that the fossils came from, the researchers show that this fossil is the earliest hominin by a few hundred thousand years and that the environment was one of wooded grasslands or braided streams and supports the ‘Savannah Hypothesis’ of human evolution.Continue reading “Maybe the oldest hominin? – #365papers – 2017 – 142”

Because Isotopes of Carbon and Oxygen Are So Last Century… – #365papers – 2017 – 141

#365papers for May 21, 2017

Martin, Tacail, and Balter, 2017, Non-traditional isotope perspective in vertebrate palaeobiology: Palaeontology, p. 1-18.

What’s it about?

The authors discuss the utility of isotopes of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc for study of ancient environments, dietary preferences, and food chains.Continue reading “Because Isotopes of Carbon and Oxygen Are So Last Century… – #365papers – 2017 – 141”

Animal Extinctions Don’t Mean Plant Extinctions – #365papers – 2017 – 140

#365papers for May 20, 2017

Barbacka, Pacyna, Kocsis, Jarzynka, Ziaja, and Bodor, 2017, Changes in terrestrial floras at the Triassic-Jurassic Boundary in Europe: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 480, p. 80-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.05.024.

What’s it about?

A major mass extinction terrestrial and marine animals occurred at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. Here, the authors examine whether land plants also suffered an extinction. It appears that plants were largely unaffected.Continue reading “Animal Extinctions Don’t Mean Plant Extinctions – #365papers – 2017 – 140”

Volcanoes and the Late Ordovician Extinction – #365papers – 2017 – 139

#365papers for May 19, 2017

Jones, Martini, Fike, and Kaiho, 2017, A volcanic trigger for the Late Ordovician mass extinction? Mercury data from south China and Laurentia: Geology,

What’s it about?

One of the “Big Five” mass extinctions that has affected life on this planet is the Late Ordovician mass extinction or LOME. The causes of such extinctions are topics of focused research efforts. Here, the authors show that pulses of volcanic activity may be related to the extinction events.Continue reading “Volcanoes and the Late Ordovician Extinction – #365papers – 2017 – 139”

All Your Carcass Are Belong in Carnivore Belly – #365papers – 2017 – 138

#365papers for May 18, 2017

Chichkoyan, Figueirido, Belinchon, Lanata, Moigne, Martinez-Navarro, 2017, Direct evidence of megamammal-carnivore interaction decoded from bone marks in historical fossil collections from the Pampean region: PeerJ 5:e3117; DOI 10.7717/peerj.3117

What’s it about?

Trace fossils (scratches, pits, fractures) on the fossils large mammalian herbivores from the Pampean region of Argentina are used to infer that carnivores completely utilized the carcasses of their prey.Continue reading “All Your Carcass Are Belong in Carnivore Belly – #365papers – 2017 – 138”

Dinosaur Fossils: Dating the Rock to Date the Bones – #365papers – 2017 – 137

#365papers for May 17, 2017

An, Kuang, Liu, Peng, Xu, Xu, Zhang, Wang, Chen, and Zhang, 2016, Detrital zircon dating and tracing the provenance of dinosaur bone beds from the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group in Zhucheng, Shandong, East China: Journal of Palaeogeography, v. 5, 72-99.

What’s it about?

Geochemical and sedimentological methods are used to determine the age and provenance (i.e. where did the sediments come from) of dinosaur-bearing rocks. The bones themselves could not be directly dated, but cannot be younger than the rocks they’re found in. Continue reading “Dinosaur Fossils: Dating the Rock to Date the Bones – #365papers – 2017 – 137”

How Do Populations of Giant Snails Cope Annual Changes? – #365papers – 2017 – 136

#365papers for May 16, 2017

Miranda and Fontenelle, 2015, Population dynamics of Megalobulimus paranaguensis (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) the the southeast coast of Brazil: Zoologia, v. 32, p. 463-468.

What’s it about?

This study used techniques described in yesterday’s paper to examine the annual changes in activity of a population of Megalobulimus paranaguensis snails in southeast Brazil. There are specific periods of time when more snails are active and when they are reproducing, based upon the environmental conditions such as evaportranspiration and precipitation. These snails are more active during the winter months and are dormant during the summer.Continue reading “How Do Populations of Giant Snails Cope Annual Changes? – #365papers – 2017 – 136”

A New Cynodont and the Evolutionary Path to Mammals – #365papers – 2017 – 134

#365papers for May 14, 2017

Martinelli, Eltink, Da-Rosa, and Langer, 2017, A new cynodont from the Santa Maria Formation, south Brazil, improves late Triassic probainognathian diversity: Papers in Palaeontology, 1-23

What’s it about?

This paper is a description of a new species of non-mammalian synapsid from Brazil. Non-mammalian synapsids are vertebrates that are on the lineage toward mammals (and far removed from other reptiles), but lack the specific characteristics of the ear and jaw that distinguish mammals from all other vertebrates. This particular new species is based on a left lower jaw with most of its teeth.Continue reading “A New Cynodont and the Evolutionary Path to Mammals – #365papers – 2017 – 134”

How Did the Earth’s Crust Grow – #365papers – 2017 – 133

#365papers for May 13, 2017

Rozel, Golabek, Jain, Tackley, and Gerya, 2017, Continental crust formation on early Earth controlled by intrusive magmatism: Nature.

What’s it about?

The Earth didn’t always have continents. This paper explores how the planet’s first continents probably formed. The major hypotheses were that the continents formed by volcanic eruptions primarily, or by upwellings of magma that never erupted on the surface. It seems that the latter is most likely.Continue reading “How Did the Earth’s Crust Grow – #365papers – 2017 – 133”