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Puijila Darwini
''Puijila darwini'' is an extinct species of stem-pinniped (seal) which lived during the Miocene about 21 to 24 million years ago. About a metre (3 feet) long, the animal had only minimal physical adaptations for swimming. Unlike modern pinnipeds, it did not have flippers and its shape was otter-like, albeit more specialized; its skull and teeth are the features that most clearly indicate that it is a seal. It is considered to be the most primitive pinnipedimorph yet found. The genus name is an Inuktitut word for a young seal; the species name honours Charles Darwin. The holotype and only known specimen is a nearly complete fossil skeleton. It is housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario. Background ''Puijila darwini'' was a semi-aquatic carnivore which represents a morphological link in early pinniped evolution. Its fossil shows enlarged, probably webbed feet, robust forelimbs and an unspecialized tail. This suggests that ''Puijila'' swam quadrupedally using i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from Ancient Greek (''olígos'') 'few' and (''kainós'') 'new', and refers to the sparsity of Neontology, extant forms of Mollusca, molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major chang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enaliarctos
''Enaliarctos''From Greek language, Greek , ''enalios'', of the sea; and , ''arktos'', bear, "referring to the arctoid, including ursid, Carnivora" (Mitchell & Tedford, 1973, p. 218). is an extinct genus of Pinnipedimorpha, pinnipedimorph, and may represent the ancestor to all pinnipeds. The five species in the genus ''Enaliarctos'' have been recovered from late Oligocene and early Miocene (ca. 28-17 million years ago) strata of California and Oregon. Description It had a short tail and developed limbs with webbed feet. Unlike modern sea lions, it had a set of slicing carnassials; the presence of slicing teeth (rather than purely piercing teeth as in modern fish-eating pinnipeds) suggests that ''Enaliarctos'' needed to return to shore with prey items in order to masticate and ingest them. Still, ''Enaliarctos'' had some sea lion-like characteristics, such as large eyes, sensitive vibrissae, whiskers, and a specialized inner ear for hearing underwater. Evolution ''Enaliarctos'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Pinnipeds Of North America
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing having spread to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. It is based on an old conception of history that without written records there could be no history. The most common conception today is that history is based on evidence, however the concept of prehistory hasn't been completely discarded. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Scientist
''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organisation publishes a monthly Dutch-language edition. First published on 22 November 1956, ''New Scientist'' has been available in online form since 1996. Sold in retail outlets (paper edition) and on subscription (paper and/or online), the magazine covers news, features, reviews and commentary on science, technology and their implications. ''New Scientist'' also publishes speculative articles, ranging from the technical to the philosophical. ''New Scientist'' was acquired by Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) in March 2021. History Ownership The magazine was founded in 1956 by Tom Margerison, Max Raison and Nicholas Harrison as ''The New Scientist'', with Issue 1 on 22 November 1956, priced at one shilling (). An article in the magazi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Terrain Vehicle
An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat that is straddled by the operator, and has handlebars, similar to a motorcycle. As the name implies, it is designed to handle a wider variety of terrain than most other vehicles. It is Street-legal vehicle, street-legal in some countries, but not in most states, territories and provinces of Australia, the United States, and Canada. By the current American National Standards Institute, ANSI definition, ATVs are intended for use by a single operator, but some ATVs, referred to as tandem ATVs, have been developed for use by the driver and one passenger. The rider sits on and operates these vehicles like a motorcycle, but the extra wheels give more stability at slower speeds. Although most are equipped with three or four wheels, six or eigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway (Nordland, Troms, Finnmark, Svalbard and Jan Mayen), northernmost Sweden (Västerbotten, Norrbotten and Lapland (Sweden), Lappland), northern Finland (North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu and Lapland (Finland), Lappi), Russia (Murmansk Oblast, Murmansk, Siberia, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Nenets Okrug, Novaya Zemlya), the United States (Alaska), Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), and northern Iceland (Grímsey and Kolbeinsey), along with the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying cryosphere, snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost under the tundra. Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places. The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, second-largest country by total area, with the List of countries by length of coastline, world's longest coastline. Its Canada–United States border, border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both Temperature in Canada, meteorologic and Geography of Canada, geological regions. With Population of Canada, a population of over 41million people, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in List of the largest population centres in Canada, urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, ''Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'', which provided this territory to the Inuit for self-government. The boundaries had been drawn in 1993. The creation of Nunavut resulted in the territorial evolution of Canada, first major change to Canada's political map in half a century since the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) was admitted in 1949. Nunavut comprises a major portion of Northern Canada and most of the Arctic Archipelago. Its vast territory makes it the list of the largest country subdivisions by area, fifth-largest country subdivision in the world, as well as North America's second-largest (after Greenland). The capital Iqaluit (formerly "Frobisher Bay"), on Baffin Island in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devon Island
Devon Island (, ) is an island in Canada and the largest desert island, uninhabited island (no permanent residents) in the world. It is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the largest members of the Arctic Archipelago, the second-largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canada's List of Canadian islands by area, sixth-largest island, and the List of islands by area, 27th-largest island in the world. It has an area of (slightly smaller than Croatia). The bedrock is Precambrian gneiss and Paleozoic siltstones and shales. The highest point is the Devon Ice Cap at which is part of the Arctic Cordillera. Devon Island contains several small mountain ranges, such as the Treuter Mountains, Haddington Range and the Cunningham Mountains. The notable similarity of its surface to that of Mars has attracted interest from scientists. History and settlement Robert Bylot and William Baffin were the first Europeans to sight Devon Island in 1616. William Parr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Natalia Rybczynski
Natalia Rybczynski is a Canadian paleobiologist, professor and researcher. She is a research scientist with the Canadian Museum of Nature and holds a professorship at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. Her doctorate was obtained at Duke University and her main interests are evolutionary functional morphology, particularly at the polar climes. Rybczynski is notable for having discovered a previously unknown carnivorous arctic mammal, a proto-seal, which represents a "missing link" between land-dwelling mammals and modern day ocean-going seals. '' Puijila darwini'' was discovered in 2007 on Devon Island in the Canadian arctic. Discovery of this specimen was announced in the journal ''Nature'' in April 2009. She has also contributed to the understanding of the biomechanics of ''Suminia'', a primitive mammal thought to exhibit early evidence of teeth and jaw structure specialized for chewing. Her discovery of a fossil tibia of a High Arctic camel was featured in a November 20 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2007 In Paleontology
Plants Angiosperms General paleobotanical research *An approximately Pennsylvanian ( Desmoinesian) age rainforest is reported from the Herrin #6 coal mine in Illinois by DiMichele ''et al''. Fungi newly named Arthropoda Crustaceans Research * Schram (2007) publishes a revision of Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ... stomatopods, erecting the families Gorgonophontidae and Daidalidae. New taxa Insects New taxa Fish Bony fish * * * Cartilaginous fish * Archosauromorphs Pseudosuchians Pterosaurs Newly named non-dinosaurian dinosauromorphs Newly named non-avian dinosauromorphs Data courtesy of George Olshevky's dinosaur genera list. Newly named birds Lepidosauromorpha Plesiosaurs * * Synapsids Non-mammalian Mammals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puijila
''Puijila darwini'' is an extinct species of stem-pinniped (seal) which lived during the Miocene about 21 to 24 million years ago. About a metre (3 feet) long, the animal had only minimal physical adaptations for swimming. Unlike modern pinnipeds, it did not have flippers and its shape was otter-like, albeit more specialized; its skull and teeth are the features that most clearly indicate that it is a seal. It is considered to be the most primitive pinnipedimorph yet found. The genus name is an Inuktitut word for a young seal; the species name honours Charles Darwin. The holotype and only known specimen is a nearly complete fossil skeleton. It is housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario. Background ''Puijila darwini'' was a semi-aquatic carnivore which represents a morphological link in early pinniped evolution. Its fossil shows enlarged, probably webbed feet, robust forelimbs and an unspecialized tail. This suggests that ''Puijila'' swam quadrupedally using i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
