Extinct Non-Hopping Kangaroo Species Discovered In Queensland, Australia

A recent discovey by researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia, reveal a tiny kangaroo species that was unable to hop. Findings have been published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Researchers at The University of Queensland, have revealed an ancient and extinct kangaroo fossil, found at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in north-western Queensland, Australia. The ancient kangaroo fossil defines a new species of extinct, non-hopping kangaroos.

This new genus is known as Cookeroo, named in honour of a museum researcher, Bernard Cooke. Cooke led most of the research program that focused on the evolution of ancient kangaroo species known as Cookeroo buldwidarri and Cookeroo hortusensis. 
"They lived around 15-23 million years ago and were the size of very small wallabies or pademelons," University of Queensland researchers Kaylene Butler said, according to a press release. The kangaroo species also moved on all four legs and were situated in a densely forested habitat.=read more =http://www.hngn.com/articles/181988/20160224/new-species-found-kangaroos-hop.htm

Texas Fish of Dinosaur Era Found to be New Species

A 90-million-year-old fossil fish, which has been on display at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, turns out to be a new species. Research conducted by Kenshu Shimada, a doctorate professor at DePaul University in Chicago and research associate of the Sternberg Museum in Kansas, reveals the 5.5-foot-long fossil fish to possess a tuna-like body with a unique 'hook-shaped sail' on its back. The fish has been given a new species name, Pentanogmius fritschi, in honor of Joseph Fritsch, a local amateur collector who discovered the fossil, dug it up with the help of another avid fossil collector, Kris Howe, and donated it to the Perot Museum=read more =http://www.rdmag.com/news/2016/02/texas-fish-dinosaur-era-found-be-new-species

Shiv Sena chief's younger son discovers new species of crabs in Western Ghats -

While the elder brother is making his mark on the political stage, the younger Thackeray sibling is finding his feet on a different playing field. Tejas Thackeray, younger son of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, along with two other researchers, recently published a scientific paper on new species of freshwater crabs the group discovered in the Western Ghats last July. - See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/shiv-sena-chiefs-younger-son-discovers-new-species-of-crabs-in-western-ghats/16992191#sthash.VF0kUwKr.dpuf

Whip Spiders: Eight New Species Found In Amazon Rainforest

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered eight new whip spider species in the Brazilian Amazon, which nearly doubles the number known to inhabit the region.Sometimes referred to as "tailless whip scorpions," these arachnids are neither scorpions nor spiders, but resemble a cross between the two. While they lack venomous fangs and don't produce silk, the creatures get their name from their long, spiny, whip-like front legs, which are actually used as sensory structures to make up for their poor vision, rather than for walking. =read more =http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/20108/20160222/whip-spiders-eight-new-species-found-amazon-rainforest.htm

Scientists have found a mysterious boiling river straight out of Amazonian legend

For centuries, Peruvian locals have talked about a river in the Amazon that burns so hot it can kill. According to legend, Spanish conquistadors foolishly ventured into the rainforest in search of gold, and the few men that returned told stories of poisoned water, man-eating snakes, and a river that boiled from below.
For Peruvian geoscientist, Andrés Ruzo, the myth had fascinated him since childhood. But it wasn't until he was completing his PhD project on geothermal energy potential in Peru that he began to question whether the river could actually be real.=read more=http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-found-a-mysterious-boiling-river-straight-out-of-amazonian-legends

Extinct plant species discovered in amber

Biologists have described a new species of extinct plant, based on two fossil flowers that were trapped in chunks of amber for at least 15 million years.

Strychnos electri belongs to the genus whose tropical shrubs, trees and vines are famous for producing the deadly toxin strychnine.
The US researchers named it after the Greek word for amber ("elektron") - the fossilised resin of long-dead trees.
Their discovery appears in the journal Nature Plants.
The two flowers were among 500 fossils collected on a 1986 field trip by Professor George Poinar of Oregon State University.
Prof Poinar is a renowned entomologist and most of these specimens were insects. But after nearly 30 years working on the bugs, his eye settled on the flowers.
They were remarkably complete - unlike most plant fossils found in amber, which are usually just fragments.
In 2015, he sent high-resolution photos to Professor Lena Struwe at Rutgers University.read more =

New Species of Parasitic Plant That Lives Off Fungi Found in Japan

Most plants team up with fungi, forming a mycorrhiza, a symbiotic relationship in which roots provide sugars to the fungi, which in turn provide the plants with minerals and water. But a small number of plants cheat this system, taking minerals and sugars from mycorrhizal networks other than their own—and not giving anything back in return.
These parasites are little known and hard to spot, as they only make their way above ground when flowering. Japanese researcher Kenji Suetsugu, from Kobe University, fortuitously came across one of these plants on a field trip to Yakushima Island, in the far south of the country. The plant looked like nothing he had ever seen before, and he soon identified it as a new species. He and two=read more=http://europe.newsweek.com/parasitic-plant-fungi-japan-428378?rm=eu

Neanderthals and humans interbred '100,000 years ago'

Neanderthals and modern humans were interbreeding much earlier than was previously thought, scientists say.

Traces of human DNA found in a Neanderthal genome suggest that we started mixing with our now-extinct relatives 100,000 years ago.
Previously it had been thought that the two species first encountered each other when modern humans left Africa, about 60,000 years ago.
The research is published in the journal Nature.
Dr Sergi Castellano, from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in Germany, said: "It is significant for understanding the history of modern humans and Neanderthals."read more =http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35595661

New phase in Scottish polar bear breeding project

An attempt to breed polar bears in Scotland looks set to go ahead this year.

Polar bear cubs were last born in the UK almost 25 years ago.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has begun preparations to pair up two bears at its Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore.
A crate has been placed in the male bears' enclosure which will be used to transport Arktos to where the female, Victoria, is kept.read more and see video=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-35603473

Tiny sea snail 'swims like a bee'

A tiny species of sea snail "flies" underwater using movements just like winged insects, according to a study.

US scientists observed the so-called sea butterfly - actually an aquatic snail - using high-speed video and flow-tracking systems.
The 3mm critter flaps its wing structures, which grow where a snail's foot would normally be, in a characteristic figure-of-eight pattern.
It also uses some of the vortex-making tricks that keep insects in the air.
"It looks like it's flying, like a very small insect," said Dr David Murphy, a mechanical engineer at Johns Hopkins University.
The study, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, was part of his PhD research while studying at Georgia Tech.-read more-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35586935

Cyrtodactylus rex=Two New Giant Bent-Toed Gecko Species Discovered In New Guinea

New Guinea is popular for its rich geological history. As a proof, a team of Australian scientists found two new giant bent-toed Gecko species. The team revealed that the two new species, whose names mean "Knight" and "King", belong to the world's most diverse gecko genus Cyrtodactylus, one of the world's most diverse species found in Australia and Asia.

The researchers, led by Dr. Paul Oliver from the Australian National University, published their findings in the journal Zookeys. The genus where the two species belong to, comprises more than 200 gecko species. All of them vary greatly in build, size and color and they are widely popular as bent-toed or bow-fingered geckos mainly because of their slender and curved toes.

One of the newly-discovered species, "King" or Cyrtodactylus rex, is the largest species included in the genus. The gecko is =read more =http://www.techtimes.com/articles/133108/20160213/two-new-giant-bent-toed-gecko-species-discovered-in-new-guinea.htm

Two new zoantharian species found on eunicid worms in the dark in the Indo-Pacific ocean

While studying the abundant, yet poorly known fauna of the zoantharian Epizoanthus genus in the Indo-Pacific Ocean, Japanese graduate student Hiroki Kise and Dr. James Davis Reimer, both affiliated with University of the Ryukyus, Japan, focused on examining the species living on eunicid worm tubes. These Epizoanthus species form colonies and are only found living on the outside surfaces of tubes in which the eunicid worms live. Although these zoantharians often live in areas that are deeper than the range of SCUBA divers and tend to be indistinguishable on the outside, the present research, published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, reports the discovery of two new species. Both new species have been found in low-light environments. While one of the species, scientifically named Epizoanthus inazuma, showed preference for coral reef slopes, reef floors, or the sides of their overhangs in Okinawa, the other one, E. beriber was seen to tolerate cave environments exclusively, and is found in Palau and Papua New Guinea. To recognise them as new species, the researchers turned to molecular analyses combined and compared to =read more=http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/pp-tnz021116.php

New species that causes Lyme Disease discovered at Mayo Clinic

ROCHESTER, Minn – Until recently, it was believed that only one kind of bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) caused Lyme Disease in North America. However, an unintentional discovery in a Mayo Clinic lab proved that wasn’t the case.

The Director of the Mayo Clinic Clinical Parasitology Lab, Bobbi Pritt, MD, was doing some routine tests looking for the organism B. burgdorferi when she noted some atypical results. After further testing, Dr. Pritt came to the realization of what was found.

“This was kind of big deal we knew this was going to be really important if this is actually an organism causing Lyme Disease in humans, which it did end up being. So that was our first patient, and then very quickly afterward we detected multiple other patients for a total of 6 patients infected with this new organism,” explains Dr. Pritt.=read more =http://kimt.com/2016/02/12/new-species-that-causes-lyme-disease-discovered-at-mayo-clinic/

Two new species discovered in Phrumsengla

Environment: Phrumsengla National Park (PNP) added two new species to its rich biodiversity with the discovery of Brown Pine (Podocarpus nerrifolious) and Particoloured Flying Squirrel (Hylopetes alboniger) in December last year and in 2014 respectively. PNP research team led by forestry officer, Rinchen Wangchuk discovered Brown Pine from Parang in Saling of Mongar in December. Particoloured Flying Squirrel was spotted in Obi village in Lhuentse by the park’s Metsho gewog Risup (gewog forest representative), Sonam Dorji in July 2014. “It is new species to the park because Brown Pine wasn’t included in its earlier tree species list,” Rinchen Wangchuk said. “The Flying squirrel was spotted for the first time in the park and it certainly is a new record for PNP,” its chief forest officer, Ugyen Namgyel stated in a report. Particoloured flying squirrel Particoloured flying squirrel According to PNP’s report, Brown Pine as per book titled “Flora of Bhutan,” belongs to the family of Podocarpaceae, which represents the broadleaf species although when based on its leaf morphology, it is a conifer species. The research team recorded a total of 23 pole sized Brown Pine=read more =http://www.kuenselonline.com/two-new-species-discovered-in-phrumsengla/

Researchers have discovered two new species of early human

Researchers excavating in South Africa have just uncovered fossils from two previously unidentified species of hominin, or early human.

According to a report on the discoveries in the Journal of Human Evolution, the excavation team found two key specimens, a finger bone and a molar, in a the Sterkfontein Caves, just northwest of Johannesburg.

The study team said the two specimens are part of a set of four specimens, which appear to be from early on hominins. The remains are apparently linked with early stone tool-carrying sediments that came into the cave greater than 2 million years ago.

"The specimens are exciting not only because they are associated with early stone tools, but also because they possess a mixture of intriguing features that raise many more questions than they give answers," study author Dominic Stratford, an archeology lecturer at University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, said in a statement.

A mix of modern and archaic features

The first fossil specimen, which is a big proximal finger bone, is appreciably larger and sturdier than any other hand bone of any hominin ever discovered in South African locations.

Read more at http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1113412552/researchers-have-discovered-two-new-species-of-early-human-021116/#4ChQCrrbwOF4ZPYp.99

Flightless bird with giant head roamed swampy Arctic 53m years ago

A giant, flightless bird with a head the size of a horse’s roamed the Arctic 53m years ago when the icy wilderness was more like a swamp, scientists have confirmed. A joint study by American and Chinese institutions found that the massive beast, known as Gastornis, existed on what is now known as Ellesmere island, found above the Arctic circle. It’s estimated the bird was 6ft tall and weighed several hundred pounds. The evidence for Gastornis’s presence in the Arctic comes from a single fossil toe bone, found by researchers in the 1970s. Scientists have now finally confirmed that the bone matches that of a fossilized Gastornis of similar age found in Wyoming.=read more =https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/13/gastornis-flightless-bird-arctic-ellesmere-island

New spider-like species found in Oregon

Scientists have discovered a new species of arachnid and they’re being described as a monster species. They’re called Crypto-Master Behemoths. They look like spiders, but they’re actually classified separately by biologists. Scientists say they’re closely related to spider-like arachnids sometimes called Daddy Longlegs. Biologists searched across several states in the U.S. and finally found the Crypto-Masters in Oregon’s mountainous regions. Even though they look scary, scientists say this species is actually harmless to people.

Scripps-Led Team Discovers Four New Deep-Sea Worm Species

A pink flatworm-like animal known by a single species found in waters off Sweden has puzzled biologists for nearly six decades. New discoveries half a world away by a team of scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, the Western Australian Museum, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have helped properly identify these elusive creatures through genetic analysis.

In the Feb. 4 issue of the journal Nature, the researchers describe four newly discovered species living near deep-sea cold seeps, hydrothermal vents, and whale carcasses off the coasts of California and Mexico. The new discoveries have allowed the scientists to finally stabilize the placement of the five species, all in the genus Xenoturbella, on the animal tree of life.

The 10-centimeter (4-inch) long Xenoturbella churro, named for its resemblance to the popular fried-dough pastry, is one of four species recently discovered that lie near the base of the evolutionary tree of animals. It was found in a 1,700-meter (5,577-foot)-deep cold seep in the Gulf of California.

“The findings have implications for how we understand animal evolution,” said Scripps marine biologist Greg Rouse, the lead author of the study. “By placing Xenoturbella properly in the tree of life we can better understand early animal evolution.=read more=https://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/scripps-led-team-discovers-four-new-deep-sea-worm-species

New species of fluorescent polyps light up gastropod shells

MOSCOW, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Researchers in Russia have discovered a new species of luminous polyps in the Red Sea. The fluorescent sea creatures form small colonies on the shells of Nassarius margaritifer, a species of sea snail.

The polyps put out green "fluorescent lanterns" across the shell of the marine gastropod mollusk.

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Researchers say the new species looks very similar to flourescent polyps found in fresh water known as hydrae. But the two types of glow-in-the-dark polyps are only =read more=http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2016/02/05/New-species-of-fluorescent-polyps-light-up-gastropod-shells/9231454693745/

Kinyongia msuyae: New Species of Chameleon Found in Tanzania

Dr. Menegon and co-authors proposed the scientific name Kinyongia msuyaefor the newfound species.

“The species is named after and dedicated to Charles A. Msuya, a pioneer of Tanzanian herpetology, who collected the first known specimen attributable to this species and has spent most of his life studying Tanzanian wildlife,” they wrote in a paper published in the journal Acta Herpetologica.

Kinyongia msuyae is a small, elongated chameleon (about 16 cm long), lacking distinctive colors or pattern.

“K. msuyae is an overall brown to green chameleon, sometimes with broad pale transversal bands and scattered blue spots formed by single scales or clusters of several scales,” the scientists wrote.

“Females have often a larger round spot of contrasting color on the flanks.”

“The tip of the snout, rostral appendage and limbs and top of the casque are often brownish to grey.=read more=http://www.sci-news.com/biology/kinyongia-msuyae-new-species-chameleon-tanzania-03612.html

The 'unknown chapter of human history' in Europe 15,000 years ago

Almost 15,000 years ago, the population of Europe shifted and changed in ways that researchers have never identified before.

Analysis of DNA taken from ancient teeth and bones uncovered evidence of a major ‘turnover’ in the genetic makeup of people in the region at the same time as a major climatic change.

It is so unprecedented, researchers have called it an ‘unknown chapter of human history’ in which hunter-gatherer groups were replaced with a mystery population

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3432060/An-unknown-chapter-human-history-took-place-Europe-15-000-years-ago-DNA-shows-hunter-gatherers-replaced-mystery-group-people-Ice-Age.html#ixzz3zOWkIDwd
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Black tarantula named after Johnny Cash

A new species of black tarantula that lives near Folsom Prison, California, has been named after Johnny Cash.

The famously black-clad country singer wrote a song about the prison, and also played a historic series of concerts for inmates there in the 1960s.

Aphonopelma johnnycashi is among 14 new tarantula species from the southern US which have been described by biologists in the journal ZooKeys.

Their study completely rewrites the family tree of the Aphonopelma genus.

One of dozens of tarantula genera, this group was previously considered to include more than 50 separate species.

As part of his PhD research at Auburn University in Alabama, Chris Hamilton carefully whittled that down to 29. He eliminated a lot of double-counting, but also =read more =bbc link=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35473946

Spread of bee disease 'largely manmade'

The global trade in bees is driving a pandemic that threatens hives and wild bees, UK scientists say.

A deadly bee disease has spread worldwide through imports of infected honeybees, according to genetic evidence.

Stricter controls are needed to protect bees from other emerging diseases, researchers report in Science journal.

The virus together with the Varroa mite can kill-off whole hives, putting bee populations at risk.

Lead researcher Dr Lena Bayer-Wilfert of the University of Exeter said European bees are at the heart of the global spread of what she calls a "double blow" for colonies.

"This is clearly linked to the human movement of honeybee colonies around the globe," she told BBC News.

"It shows a piece of evidence we can't argue with."

'Major threat'

The pattern of the spread shows the movement of the virus around the world is manmade rather than natural, say scientists=read more=bbc link=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35484763

Bears hibernate 'with bacterial help'

Researchers have discovered seasonal changes in the gut microbes of brown bears, which apparently help the beasts cope with the demands of hibernation.

Bears feast and gain weight in the warm months, ready for the big winter doze.

In faecal samples from 16 wild bears, scientists found a bug population that was more suited to depositing fat in summer, and burning it in winter.

And when transplanted into lab mice, the "summer" bacteria caused greater fat gain than the "winter" ones.

The research is published in the journal Cell Reports.

Senior author Fredrik Bäckhed, from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said it was not a huge surprise to see gut flora change with the seasons - but this is the first time anyone has revealed a role for these different bugs in the energy metabolism of a hibernating animal.

"We know that the microbiota is very responsive to what we eat," he told BBC News.=read more=bbc link=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35441712