Adventure Ausrama Blog

The long held "belief" that humans came out of Africa 60,000 years ago has now been officially announced as wrong by scientists. Migrations had been regularly been pushed back as far as 120,000 years before the present. It seems migration was constant not in waves. New research methods detect Homo sapiens in Asia very early, particularly in China. Genetic traces of these people are very low in modern humans. This indicates that the initial movement was slow from Africa. Later it became of a flood of Inquisitive searchers of new regions beyond. The early arrivals interbred with Denisovans and Neanderthals. These humans were taller and slender than those who came later. Neaderthals made tools from large flakes while humans technology involved lighter, finer cutting blades and spear heads. This was probably because Neanderthals were more muscular and tended to bash the quarry to death. Humans were more creative, carving antlers and bone. They made ivory flutes. C...

One evolved feature in an animal can affect another feature. Of course, the environment is the main factor in determining which feature wins out. Some animals have developed hibernation to survive harsh winters, but this can affect foetal development. Bears in particular are born very small because of a short pregnancy due to hibernation. Pandas have this trait even though they do not hibernate. They carry the genes for hibernation, though it is not expressed. Oddly, panda cubs are born weaker than other bears. Adult pandas are 900 time larger than their newborns. This ratio is higher than other bears, though polar bear have a ration of 400:1. Mammals generally have a ratio of 26:1 overall. It seems that baby pandas are born prematurely as the norm. Their bones are underdeveloped. This is making survival of the species difficult. Without help from humans the species would have become extinct. Keywords: panda, science, bears, species, birth, news, animals, pan...

Biology - 100 million unnamed species exist on the planet. We know that many species on the planet are dying out. Apparently, we have nothing to fear. Though 2 million species have been named, a massive 100 million more are out there. This does not include currently unnamed bacteria. Each living creature is placed in a species category because it has independent evolutionary lineage. A horse and donkey for example are different species, but they both have a common ancestor. If they do breed their offspring are infertile. There is debate about this with claims that some mules have had young. This gets into the argument about Neanderthals breeding with humans when they have a different number of chromosomes. Interbreeding should not be possible. Brewer's Sparrow The problem with naming is that animals from two species can look virtually identical. The African elephant is a misnomer. There are actually two species: the bush elephant and the forest elephant. One...

Conservation: Overfishing is just as toxic as pollution. G+ We are already running out of food.  If carbon dioxide doesn't kill us diminishing fish stocks will.  Soon, the humble fish and chips will cost too much for most people.  When the crunch comes the decline will be sudden over a period of five years.  It will not be possible to increase fish stocks in the medium term and some fish species will disappear forever. People must eat and in Asia in particular daily fishing is part of everyday life.  There will be little chance of a freeze on fishing.  It they are allowed to keep fishing and Western countries stop they will export to the lucrative fishing markets and nothing will change. Manufacturers like Birds Eye are alreading putting "rubbish" fish in their food products rather than the old reliable species.  When you get a fishy taste that is the second rate fish formally called baitfish.  It is so bad that major predators have fallen by ...

Science: Extroverts and introverts are on a continuum. Do you mix with others easily?  Are you a loner?  Human beings can be categorized as extrovert or introvert.  There appears not to be a continuum to give variety to the species.  You are either one or the other. Don't get me wrong here.  Introverts can rise to the occasion and mix in a group.  Oddly, many introverts become entertainers to bring themselves out and beat their fears.  Clearly though, extroverts love other people and get lonely quickly, whereas introverts thrive doing things on their own. After a noisy party where alcohol has temporarily changed introverts into extroverts.  The basically quieter type starts worrying about what he/she said at the bash.  The mixers just get on with life and don't fear anything. Wait on.  Research has shown the people do fit on a continuum.  We cannot all be divided into either mixer or loner, not totally.  To make...

Scientists know everything! Unfortunately, they don't. Much is still being discovered. The Kimberley in Western Australia should be called the place of the unknown because new species are being found there all the time. New Gudgeon Species Forays into the Kimberley rivers area have brought to light 16 new species of grunter ( Terapontidae ), three gudgeons ( Electridae ) and a hardy head ( Atherinidae ). Twelve were found during the first three weeks. Hardyhead from the Kimberley Famous people become more famous because they are - well, famous it seems: one of the new species is to be named after the writer Tim Winton. The rest will be given Aboriginal names, after all, there is the little thing about them being the first on this continent. Kimberley Grunter ◆  Biology by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia Funny Animal Photos Funny Weird Things Articles News Reviews ● Vista Computer Solutions Blog        ...

Animals may look alike and are asumed for decades as being one and the same, but scientists are often wrong. Australian and New Zealand little penguins ( Eudyptula minor ) look identical, However, new reseach shows that they are different species.  The cute little penguin is the smallest of all penguins. It is only 30cm tall. It lives along the southern coast of Australia and coastal New Zealand. Many scientists find it surprising that two different species inhabit the same region and look very much alike. The answer lies in the nature of the niche. Animals evolve to take advantage of a particular niche, so to a large degree the niche shapes the animal. There is strong opinion that the Australian little penguin should be given a name. A name has been put forward: Eudyptula novaehollandiae . There is a problem as the Australia species is also found in Otago on the southernmost tip of New Zealand: how they got there is a mystery. ◆ Biology y Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Aust...

Despite extinctions the number of animal types in the world is at an all-time high. This is due to a proliferation over the last 200 million years. It seems as time goes on the number of species increases. This seems to be a law on this planet and maybe the universe. There are indications that humans could be changing this by causing extinctions. However, it will be a long time before the variation of species declines significantly. With the poles melting a tipping point could be reached where even humans are under threat of disappearing. This is just a theory at this time. Perhaps, changing the way we live will make things better for all creatures. Human knowledge is going on a pace. There are new discoveries minute to minute. Indeed, it is difficult for specialists to keep up with all the reading that is necessary. Even general practitioners say there are not enough hours in the day to keep abreast of the latest breakthroughs. ◆   Evolution by Ty Buchanan ...

You would think that all the snakes in Australia are known.  However a new species has been found.  It is a death adder in the Acanthopis family.  Official named Acanthophis cryptoamudros the Kimberley death adder is two thirds of a meter long.  Like many snakes its head is diamond shaped. Adders hide and blend in with the underbrush then ambush prey.  Four legged reptiles and small mammals are the main food.  Oddly, the new adder does not look like other adders.  It is similar to snakes of other species. Australia has been a happy hunting ground for scientists recently.  Many new animals have been identified.  The search goes on in this sparsely populated region of the dry continent.    New species include: shark , dolphin , antechinus , seadragon , lizard , fish  and  spider , ,     A new water flower has also been discovered. ◆ Biology by Ty Buchanan   ◆ Adventure Australia F...

An endangered animal, Antechinus, has two new members. Well, they have been there all along. A team from Queensland University of Technology discovered the Tasman Peninsula Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus vandycki) in south east Tasmania, and nominated the Mainland Dusky Antechinus   (Antechinus mimetes) . The latter was known to be in New South Wales and Victoria but it is now a species in its own right. The Tasman Antechinus is about 13 cm long with a short tail weighing roughly 90g. It is located in Port Arther, Tasmania. Under threat from clearing of trees it resides in state forest in fragmented groups.  Survival is precarious in the isolated stands. While uncovering new species is rare in developed countries, new ones are being found in Australia all the time. This is due to the low population density of people in inland Australia. Unfortunately, new species when found are usually in small numbers and under threat. Antechinus are not helping themselves...

Things have been falling from the sky for centuries. The usual things are frogs and fish. However, some odd things fell to earth in times past. A Roman era pillar was seen to settle gently on the ground. Unfortunately, this was not proven as fact. It could have happened, though. Apparently, spiders covered farms in the Southern Tablelands. They have been appearing there for some time now. The occurrence has only just been announced. Threads from the webs is what people usually see, not so much the spiders themselves. You have to look closer to see the tiny spiders floating along with the webs. This happens all over the world. We just don't notice the arachnids sticking up their rear ends, pumping out silk and floating off into the blue yonder. It has a name:  ballooning.   Spiders do this as a group taking off from an isolated spot and landing in another. The weather has to be in a specific condition for this to take place. Small spiders and babies of l...