Adventure Ausrama Blog

Anthropologists say the Hobbit of Flores did exist. The naysayers have had to accept that the Hobbit discovered on the island of Flores in Indonesia did exist. They survived until about 15,000 years ago. Anthropologists should have taken notice of local folklore. Stories were handed down to the present about tiny "people" raiding food crops at night. Remains have been closely examined by scientists. It was a tiny version of Australopithecus a human predecessor which lived in Africa from 4.5 million to 2 million years ago. The creature grew to small stature because it was trapped on an island. Short legs made it hard for them to walk but they did nonetheless - large trees do not grow on Flores. Despite having a small brain Homo floresiensis  developed stone tools to a complexity equalled only by humans. Its teeth were closer to human teeth than any other ape-like pre-human. This accounts for its naming as homo rather than Australopithecus . The real mystery ...

SOCIOLOGY Work is being done to make the earliest human habitation of the Great Swan Region in Western Australia clearer. This covers the glacial period before the post-glacial sea rise, 30,000 to 6,000 before the present. Aboriginals were making flake stone tools. Though for the most part natural forming cutting edges of quartz and chert were utilized Aboriginals evolved to adapt to hot conditions they survived the extremely cold conditions. Rottnest Island was inhabited during the fall in sea level but not thereafter. Aboriginals do have folk memories in the their culture about a past period when trees grew on intervening land now beneath the sea. The sea flooded in 6,500 years ago, quite recent. Pollen records of close onshore land that wetland and woodland. There were changes over the years as the climate changed. Aboriginals did not take to cave dwelling as they had to hunt for food. They lived in the open around fires. Bush food and fresh water were available t...

GENETICS I've been everywhere man - I mean mouse! João   Gonçalves  Zarco, the Portuguese explorer, thought he had discovered a pristine island untouched by man. However, Madeira had been reached earlier by other people . Mouse move with man and their genetic fingerprint showed that Vikings had got there first. Mice began "travelling" with humans when people stated storing grain. There is nothing like a free feed to hitch a ride. As grain was moved aboard ship, mice got on too. When a ship reached its destination the mice alighted and started a new colony of their own. The mice who populated Madeira do not have DNA traces of Portuguese mice. They are related to north eastern European mice. Apparently, viking did not construct any lasting structure on the island. This is also the case in North America where very little evidence has been found of Viking exploration. Carbon dating of mice skeletons on Madeira show the earliest to be 1,000 years old. T...

Yes, we have something new for you! Aenigmatinea glatzella is a new moth that is very primitive indeed - a living dinosaur in fact. It is in a new family of its own. With its feathered wingtips and specs of purple and gold it is certainly unique. A new primitive moth in over forty years, it is something to get excited about. This new moth was found on Kangaroo Island, a place that people regularly visit, yet it remained unknown until now. Be sure though that many more will be found by motivated naturalists. The moth's ancestry goes back to Gondwanaland. It is extremely short-lived: leaving the cocoon, mating and dying in a day. This is why it was not observed by previous researchers.  It is only a centimeter long. DNA analysis shows that moths and butterflies have a complex evolution. Enigma moth has no tongue. Moths and butterflies developed tongues later, probably more than once independently. More moths will be found because it is believed that over 10,000 ...

Why do Whales beach themselves? The theory is that some coastal regions are shallow so sonar does not bounce back to the animals to tell them to keep away. This is only a theory. There seems to be no way of stopping the mammals from laying themselves on the sand to die a painful death. Dragging them out to sea is an attempt to save them, but they continue toward the beach again within hours. A few days ago killer whales beached themselves on sandbars near Fraser Island. Three of them died. Fishermen have been told to keep their boats well away from the animals. They are trying to find deeper water. The hope is that open sea will attract them and they will move away from the shallow sand. Apparently when a whale beaches, the whole pod panics. The presence of boats, particularly motorized ones, stresses them more. One would have thought that evolution would have "bred" out the beaching trait. The numbers who die each year on beaches is obviously not high enough to ...

The "miniature" humans on the island of Flores in Indonesia have had extensive tests performed on them. Their remains have been examined in detail.  While their brain was as small as an orange it was large enough for them to develop many skills. At a third of the weight of modern-day people it was in proportion. The world of the "Hobbit", Homo floresiensis, was composed of pygmy animals, so it was a natural environment for them. They would not have perceived themselves to be small. This sub-species developed from one of the first branches of humans that walked upright, going back two million years. Their direct forebear, Homo erectus, was larger than modern humans. It roamed over a large part of Asia. Isolation on a small island led to dwarfism occurring. All mammals progress this way when trapped in a limited domain, though reptiles get larger. It was doubtful that they hunted the much bigger reptiles. If their environment was more challenging they woul...

Australia is about to lose the Christmas Island pipistrelle bat forever. Wildlife experts say the government is not doing enough. Only 20 of the small bats remain on an island in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia. The small group are staying together under the bark of a tree. Watchers say the only answer is to collect all of them and try to breed them in captivity. Otherwise, they will be lost. The government has offered to set up a breeding program for a related small bat, but this will not save the pipistrelle. A zoologist, Mr Penney, says the species will not exist this time next year. Scientists are planning to collect the bats and set up a breeding program themselves, ignoring the government. The government is not paying attention to the scientists, so that is what will happen. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/AdventureAustralia http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ http://adventure--au...

Nations in the Pacific are the first to be affected by global warming. The tide is literally coming in higher and higher. Children play in sea water as it enters homes built on the highest points available on small islands. The Australian Government's Pacific Climate Change Science Program (PCCSP) has released a report on the Pacific region. The last decade has been the warmest ever recorded. Acidity in sea water is also rising because there is more carbon dioxide. Cyclones are predicted to increase with greater rainfall. Day and night temperatures will be higher. While the report will help Pacific nations show what damage has been done by the developed world, it is doubtful advanced countries will assist financially. Knowing what will happen will help island nations plan for the future though the changes are already apparent as the sea takes over the land. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://www.feeds.feedburner.com/Adv...

An Indonesian island is home to fossils of a giant stork. This is the little island where the tiny humanoid hobbit was found. It is a wonderful place for exploration and scientific discovery. Animals who lived there range from dwarf elephants to giant lizards and rats. The giant stork lived on the island at about the same time Aboriginals populated Australia. A leg bone shows the 6 feet tall bird was a marabou stork weighing about 16 kilograms. It couldn't fly. Bones were found in the Liang Bua cave where skeletons of the hobbit were found. These creature got to the island then became cut off from mainstream evolution. The island has never been joined to the primary landmass. Findings prove that the "island rule" is valid. This theory holds that animals trapped on a small island will change size in order to survive in particular niches. Large mammals become smaller and small warm blooded animals grow larger. The stork was originally quite small but with less competition i...