Six New Ant Species Found in Madagascar

First it was 10 new species of spiders, and now it’s six new species of ants found in Madagascar. Two researchers from the California Academy of Sciences, Rick Overson and Brian Fisher, have described six new species of strange subterranean ants from the genus Prionopelta found in Madagascar and Seychelles. The descriptions appear in the journal ZooKeys. Members of the ant genus Prionopelta are fierce, social predators that hunt down their prey with dagger-like teeth. These ants live throughout the tropics of the world, but usually go completely unnoticed for two main reasons. First, they are tiny. The smallest of the newly described species makes a fruit fly look huge. At 1.5 mm in length and 0.2 mm wide, it is a barely visible speck, skinnier even than the diameter of some single-celled protozoa. And second, they lead an extremely cryptic lifestyle. Unlike many ants that are seen marching around at picnics, Prionopelta are either -READ MORE -http://entomologytoday.org/2015/06/23/six-new-ant-species-found-in-madagascar/

Platydemus manokwari-New Guinea Flatworm, One Of The World's 'Worst' Invasive Species, Found In Florida

A worm called one of the world's "worst" invasive species by conservationists has been found in the United States for the first time, an international team of researchers announced on Tuesday. The Platydemus manokwari, also called the New Guinea flatworm, poses a major threat to the planet's snail biodiversity, according to an article published in the scientific journal PeerJ. "It is considered a danger to endemic snails wherever it has been introduced," the report states. The flatworm is thought to originate in New Guinea, but researchers say it has spread to Florida, New Caledonia, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, and the Wallis and Futuna Islands. Jean-Lou Justine, who led the research team, said that scientists had previously found the animal in other Pacific islands and in France.READ MORE -http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/23/new-guinea-flatworm-invasive-species_n_7645346.html

New version of your glow-in-the-dark friend found by undergrad student Read more at Clapway: http://clapway.com/2015/06/26/new-species-of-firefly-found-by-undergrad-in-california

Recently, a new species of firefly was discovered in Southern California by an undergraduate, Joshua Oliva, while he was collecting specimens for his semester insect collection. The discovery was announced by the Entomology Research Museum at the University of California in Riverside yesterday. The find was confirmed by head of the museum, Doug Yanega after the student brought it to him. More info about Doug Yanega can be found in an interview with nature.com about his work. Read more at Clapway: http://clapway.com/2015/06/26/new-species-of-firefly-found-by-undergrad-in-california967/#ixzz3eGtZjr6I

Sefapanosaurus.-Dinosaur Discovered in Africa is a New Species of Sauropodomorph

Researchers may have discovered a new species of dinosaur. They've uncovered a 200-million-year old specimen that they've now named Sefapanosaurus. The fossil itself was discovered in the late 1930s. When researchers took a closer look a few years ago, they thought it was the remains of another South African dinosaur, Aardonyx. Recently, though, scientists took a closer look and found that it was a completely new dinosaur. One of the most distinctive features on the dinosaur is that one of its ankle bones, the astragalus, is shaped like a cross. "The discovery of Sefapanosaurus shows that there were several of these transitional early sauropodomorph dinosaurs roaming around southern Africa about 200 million years ago," said Anusuya Chinsamy-Turan, co-author of the new study, in a news release. The animal reveals that there was remarkably high diversity among herbivorous dinosaurs in Africa and South America about 190 million years ago, when the southern hemisphere continents were a single supercontinent known as Godwana.-READ MORE -http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/27102/20150625/dinosaur-discovered-africa-new-species-sauropodomorph.htm-

New Species: Hairy-Chested Yeti Crab Found in Antarctica

It's white. It's hairy. It's elusive. It's a yeti … crab. Meet Kiwa tyleri, the newest member of the yeti crab family and the first to be found in the cold waters off Antarctica. Unlike its Abominable Snowman namesake, this clawed crustacean ranges in length from half a foot (15 centimeters) to under an inch (0.5 centimeter). It's only the third known species of yeti crab, a group of shaggy-armed creatures first discovered in the South Pacific in 2005. (Related picture: "'Yeti Crab' Discovered in Deep Pacific.") In search of the new yeti, in 2010 scientists piloted a remotely operated vehicle to the hydrothermal vents of East Scotia Ridge, more than 8,500 feet (2,600 meters) deep.READ MORE -http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150624-new-species-yeti-crab-antarctica-oceans/

New species of turtle nicknamed ‘Old Stinky’ found at Gray Fossil Site

The Gray Fossil Site has produced another animal that is completely new to science. This time, it is an ancient type of small pond turtle.Dr. Blaine Schubert, associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at East Tennessee State University and director of the ETSU and General Shale Natural History Museum, recently completed a paper about two new species of the oldest fossil musk turtles known, one of which was discovered at the Gray Fossil Site. The paper was completed with Jason Bourque, a paleontologist and preparator at the Florida Museum of Natural History who is particularly well-known for his research on turtles. The paper was published earlier this year in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and describes two new species of musk turtles, one from Gray and the other from Florida. “Turtles from the Gray Fossil Site are significant because they fill in major gaps in the fossil record and can teach us about the evolution and prehistoric distribution of many turtle groups that inhabit North America today, including musk turtles, painted turtles, box turtles, and snapping turtles among others,” Schubert and Bourque wrote. “Because our fossils fill significant gaps in the fossil record, they tend to represent previously undescribed new species that show intermediate characteristics between more ancient and modern forms. It truly is a wonderful glimpse of evolution in action.” Musk turtles are small and spend much of their time underwater. These turtles earned the name “musk turtle” from their ability to emit a foul, musky odor from scent glands along the edge of their shell.read more -http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/new-species-of-turtle-nicknamed-old-stinky-found-at-gray/article_ece01290-15f2-11e5-a421-33f650961ee6.html

Genus Opisthoteuthis,-Cute’ octopus may be new species with adorable name

MONTEREY, CA— Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California think they have found a new species of octopus that is being described as adorable.

Some people say it looks like a cross between a Pac-Man ghost and a Pokemon creature. Others believe it looks like it has puppy dog ears.

Stephanie Bush, a postdoctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, is helping to collect specimens for the aquarium’s new exhibit.

“As someone that’s describing the species you get to pick what the specific name is,” Bush told Science Friday,  “One of the thoughts I had was making it Opisthoteuthis Adorabilis — because they’re really cute.”

The octopus she found belongs to the Genus Opisthoteuthis, also known as flapjack octopus.

Chupacabra sightings in Pennsylvania? There have been reports, believe it or not: Monsters of Pennsylvania

The chupacabra, which originated as an undiscovered animal of legend and lore in Puerto Rico in the mid-1990s and then spread into South America, Mexico and Texas, reportedly arrived in Pennsylvania in the past few years. Along the way the description of the animal has changed dramatically. In Puerto Rico, the chupacabra is a reptilian creature with scaly green-gray skin and sharp quills along its back. It stands about 3-4 feet tall on its hind-legs and hops about similar to the motion of kangaroo. In North America, including the rare Pennsylvania sightings, chupacabra is more of a hairless, wild canine. It has an over-sized head, particularly around the jaws, and pronounced, bony ridge along it spine. That transformation appears to have coincided with a growing interest in the creature by monster-hunting shows on television. Camera operators on the shows seemed much more able to film wild dogs and coyotes with mange that could be misinterpreted as -READ MORE -http://blog.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2015/06/chupacabra_rarely_reported_in.html

Most kangaroos are 'left-handed'

Wild kangaroos tend to favour their left hands during common tasks like grooming and feeding, a study suggests.

The researchers say this is the first demonstration of population-level "handedness" in a species other than humans, who are mostly right-handed.

The evidence comes from hours spent observing multiple species in the wild.

Two species of roo and one wallaby all showed the left-handed trend; some other marsupials, which walk on all fours, did not show the same bias.

The research, published in the journal Current Biology, was conducted by Russian scientists from St Petersburg State University, who travelled to Australia to do the fieldwork. There they collaborated with Janeane Ingram, a wildlife ecologist and PhD student at the University of Tasmania.

Ms Ingram told the BBC the work had faced some scepticism.

"Unfortunately, even my own colleagues think that studying left-handedmacropods is not a serious issue, but any study that proves true handedness in another bipedal species contributes to the study of brain symmetry and mammalian evolution," she said.READ MORE -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33169547

DNA reignites Kennewick Man debate

A long-running debate over an ancient skeleton known as Kennewick Man has been reignited. The 9,000-year-old was claimed as an ancestor by Native Americans, who called for his remains to be reburied. However, a group of anthropologists said the specimen's features were not similar to people from local tribes and won a legal bid to study the bones. Now a genetic analysis has revealed his DNA is more closely related to modern Native Americans than to anyone else. The findings are published in the journal Nature. Ancient One The discovery of Kennewick Man along the shores of the Columbia River in Washington State in 1996 sparked a bitter legal battle. For its age, the skeleton was one of the most complete ever found, and scientists said it could provide an unprecedented insight into America's early inhabitants. We can conclude very clearly he is most clearly related to contemporary Native Americans Prof Eske Willerslev, University of Copenhagen However, local Native American tribes - who call the skeleton the Ancient One - said the remains should not be studied. And under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (Nagpra), asked the US government to seize the bones and return them so they could be reburied. This in turn prompted a lawsuit to block the move-READ MORE -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33170655

YES FOLKS TIME FOR ANOTHER GIANT RAT TALE

YES  ITS TIME FOR ANOTHER GIANT RAT TALE .POSTMEN IN CROYDON HAVE STOPPED DELIVERERS IN THE AREA .THIS IS DUE ATTACKS FROM CAT-SIZED RATS, LOCAL COUNCIL HAVE VOWED TO DEAL WITH THEM

Jellyfish Sightings on Dorset Beaches-Dorset Wildlife Trust

Eight jellyfish species have been recorded in Dorset. The moon jellyfish is probably the most common but we also receive frequent sightings of the compass, blue and barrel jellyfish in the spring and summer. On occasion, these have included swarms. The barrel jellyfish is one the largest we see in Dorset. Odd sightings of these have occured over the last few decades but this changed in May 2014, when swarms appeared along the South Coast. Similar numbers have been reported throughout April 2015. Barrel Jellyfish, which grow up to an impressive 1 metre wide and weigh 25kg, can give a mild sting, even when dead. Dorset Wildlife Trust (DWT) is advising members of the public not to touch any jellyfish they find and to send in photos of the sighting. These are are essential to aid identification particularly as jellyfish change colour, shape and size when stranded. (See the slideshow above) Conditions are just right for jellyfish to feed along the coast of Dorset Most jellyfish are seen inshore during the spring and summer. During April, longer sunny days, warmer sea temperatures and an upwelling of the nutrients from the depth of the water column, create an increase of microscopic plants and animals, known as the spring plankton bloom. This fabulous food source is the main diet for many marine species and this bloom, along with a mild winter, creates the perfect conditions for jellyfish to flourish. Jellyfish swarms could entice more marine life The leatherback turtle and the oceanic sunfish have been known to visit Dorset. Whilst confirmed sightings of the leatherback are -READ MORE AND HEAR AUDIO-http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/jellyfish_sightings.html

NEW DINOSAUR IN WALES FIND

A FOSSILIZED  SKELETON OF A 201 MILLION OLD FORERUNNER TO T-REX HAS BEEN FOUND IN WALES.20 IN-50 CMS HIGH,6.5 FT -2 M LONG,NEEDLE SHARP SERRATED TEETH EAT INSECTS,SMALL MAMMALS AT TIME OF WRITING THIS POST THIS JUVENILE DINOSAUR IS UNNAMED

DRUNK APES

THE FONDNESS FOR ALCOHOL MAY BE FROM OUR APE ANCESTORS .A 17 YEAR STUDY OF CHIMPANZEES ,GUINEA,WEST AFRICA FOUND THEY WERE DRINKING FERMENTED PALM SAP USING LEAVES .THIS WAS A ROYAL SOCIETY STUDY WHICH FOUND SOME APES DRANK A LOT EVEN SHOW SIGNS OF INEBRIATION,SCIENTISTS THINK IT MAY SHOW HOW HUMANS GOT TIER LOVE FOR BOOZE.

Diving expedition yields trove of new species for Cal Academy

Scientists diving amid deep-water corals and ranging the shallows for sea creatures never seen before have returned to the California Academy of Sciences from an expedition in the Philippines bearing new collections of exotic ocean life and a record of discovery for countless new species. The life-forms the researchers observed during their sea-going venture are “so amazing, spectacular and weird,” academy biologist Terry Gosliner said this week, that they will surely help shed new light on animal evolution and advance measures to protect the diversity of the long-threatened underwater region. Gosliner led the seven-week expedition to a remote ocean region called the Verde Island Passage that lies between the islands of Luzon and Mindoro. It’s “one of the most astounding regions of biodiversity on Earth,” Gosliner said. Some 90 scientists and their assistants joined the venture. Near-record depths Teams of researchers scoured the near-shore shallows, netted organisms from the sea surface and -READ MORE AND SEE PHOTOS-http://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/Diving-expedition-yields-trove-of-new-species-for-6324413.php

Virgin births’ won’t save endangered sawfish

Fishermen don’t like sawfish. Species of sawfish, a type of ray, can get caught up in fishing gear and damage it. Sometimes, the fish accidentally hurt the fishermen. So it’s no surprise that fishermen who were unlucky enough to find a sawfish caught in their nets or lines often killed the fish before dumping their bodies back in the ocean.
The fish have also had to deal with the loss of much of the habitat in which juveniles grow up. And these threats have had consequences. Every species of sawfish is considered endangered or critically endangered. Of the two species of sawfish once found in U.S. waters, the largetooth sawfish hasn’t been seen in 50 years (it’s still found in other parts of the world). The smalltooth sawfish can still be found in waters off the tip of Florida, but studies indicate that its numbers have dropped by 95 percent or more.
A few female smalltooth sawfish have figured out how compensate for the low numbers, though, by reproducing without a male partner. Andrew Fields of Stony Brook University in New York and colleagues found evidence that female sawfish are capable of reproducing without sex. This is the first time that viable offspring of a wild vertebrate have been produced through parthenogenesis, the researchers report June 1 in Current Biology.
Parthenogenesis is common among many invertebrates, and scientists have documented cases of vertebrates (though no mammals) reproducing this way in captivity. But the vertebrate offspring frequently die or are stillborn.
Fields and colleagues were studying smalltooth sawfish in Florida. Between 2004 and 2013, they caught 190 fish in Florida waters. The researchers snipped a small piece of fin off each fish and analyzed its DNA to look for signs of inbreeding in the population. The fish were then tagged and released, and some were fitted with acoustic transmitters so the scientists could track them.
Offspring produced via parthenogenesis can be identified through DNA. Normally produced fish share DNA from mom and dad. Twins will have the same DNA profile. An animal created through parthenogensis, though, will have no dad DNA and half the genetic diversity of its mom, notes study coauthor Demian Chapman of Stony Brook University. And in their search for evidence of inbreeding, the researchers found something intriguing — about 3 percent of the fish had been produced via parthenogenesis.
Scientists don’t yet know how commonplace parthenogenesis is in the wild, but it may be more common in low-density populations where females have trouble finding mates, Chapman says. And it may help a species to stave off extinction for the short term. “But only females are produced, so it won’t work forever,” he says. The fish “still need sex for males.”-READ MORE -https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/wild-things/%E2%80%98virgin-births%E2%80%99-won%E2%80%99t-save-endangered-sawfish

Johnny Kingdom's Wild Exmoor

Johnny Kingdom watches the seasons on Exmoor. In spring he sees red deer, tawny owls, adders and Exmoor ponies, makes a badger sett and enjoys a village fair and a duck race.LINK-https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/johnny-kingdom-s-wild-exmoor/series-1/episode-1

Search for the Lost Giants

Stonemasons Jim and Bill Vieira are on a quest to investigate an incredible theory: that the myths and legends we’ve all been told about giants are actually rooted in fact. Jim has researched over 1,000 accounts of skeletons seven feet tall or over unearthed across America in the 19th and 20th centuries. SEARCH FOR THE LOST GIANTS will follow the Vieira brothers on their quest to find evidence of these missing bones, which seem to have slipped through the hands of history. They’ll dig for secret chambers, explore underground tunnels and dive into the deepest museum storage vaults–all to find that one bone, that one hair, that single strand of giant DNA that will answer the question: did giants walk the Earth?LINK-http://www.history.com/shows/search-for-the-lost-giants

The Secret Life of Your House

Leading entomologist George McGavin deliberately infests a house with thousands of pests in order to study them. The menagerie includes bedbugs, spiders, mice and cockroaches.LINK-https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/the-secret-life-of-your-house/series-1/episode-1-the-secret-life-of-your-house

LESS BUGS THAN THOUGHT?

IT IS  THAT THE EARTH HAD A LOT OF SPECIES BUT AUSTRALIAN SCIENTISTS FOUND AROUND 16 MILLION LESS TYPES OF BEETLES,30 MILLION LESS TYPES OF ARTHROPOD-SPIDERS,CENTIPEDES,COCKROACHES THAN CALCULATED IN 1980.THIS WAS FOUND BY A NEW TECHNIQUE EXAMINING INSECTS BODY SIZE TO REACH FIGURES,GRIFFITH UNI,QUEENSLAND.

Seven new species of Australian spider discovered including unique tarantula

Seven new species of spider, including a type of tarantula completely new to science, have been discovered in a Northern Territory national park. The discoveries were made by a team participating in the Bush Blitz nature program which saw 16 scientists, Indigenous rangers and field assistants, searching the 1.3m hectare Judbarra park for new species. “The spider team, led by Dr Robert Raven from the Queensland Museum, had had their heads down all day in search of spider holes when luck finally struck and they spotted a promising burrow,” Professor David McInnes, chief executive of Earthwatch, said in a statement. “Sophie Harrison, a PhD student from the University of Adelaide, started digging and found a tarantula so new and different that it doesn’t fit into any of the existing genus of spider species. It looks just as you’d expect, brown and hairy. But the scientists say it’s beautiful!” Harrison told Guardian Australia the team spent “probably a good hour” digging up the burrow. “When I was about up to my knees we finally saw a big beautiful tarantula sitting at the bottom, so that was really exciting,” she said. She described the spider as “medium to small” on the scale of tarantulas.READ MORE -http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/05/seven-new-species-of-australian-spider-discovered-including-unique-tarantula

Spectacular new species of waterlily discovered in Australia

A perilous expedition in northwestern Australia that had researchers wading through lakes, ponds and creeks stalked by meat-eating crocodiles has ended with the discovery of a stunning new species of waterlily. Scientists from Australia and Kew Gardens in London covered hundreds of miles of Western Australia by helicopter and jeep on a three week mission to collect species of waterlilies. The specimens will help botanists understand the plants’ evolutionary story and how they can be cultivated and preserved. The spectacular new flower, with slender petals of purple and white, was found by chance when the group spotted a narrow body of water shaped like a crescent moon in a remote area off the Gibb River road in the wilderness of the Kimberley. The species is too new to have an official name, but informally botanists call it peony flora, for its resemblance to that flower. The scientists stumbled on the new species after the minor disapointment of checking out a small lake for waterlilies and finding none there. They were just pulling away in their car when someone noticed a narrow waterway, half hidden -READ MORE -http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/05/spectacular-new-species-of-waterlily-discovered-in-australia

New species of dinosaur, the regaliceratops, discovered in Canada

When fossil experts first clapped eyes on the skull, it was clearly from a strange, horned dinosaur. When they noticed how stunted the bony horns were, its nickname, Hellboy, was assured. The near-complete skull of the 70 million-year-old beast was spotted by chance 10 years ago, protruding from a cliff that runs along the Oldman river south of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Painstakingly excavated, cleaned up and measured since then, the fossilised remains have now been identified as a relative of the three-horned triceratops, and the first example of a horned dinosaur to be found in that region of North America.READ MORE -http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/04/new-species-of-dinosaur-the-regaliceratops-discovered-in-canada

New species of ancient reptile found at Tytherington quarry named after Harry Potter character

FOSSILS found in a Tytherington quarry have been identified by a student at the University of Bristol as a new reptile species with self-sharpening blade-like teeth that lived 205 million years ago. Research by Catherine Klein, an undergraduate in Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences, shows that fossils from the previously unstudied Woodleaze Quarry belong to a new species of the ‘Gloucester lizard’ Clevosaurus (named in 1939 after Clevum, the Latin name for Gloucester). Part of the name chosen for the new species – Clevosaurus sectumsemper – takes inspiration from a spell cast in the Harry Potter books. In the Late Triassic, the hills of the South West of the UK formed an archipelago that was inhabited by small dinosaurs. The limestone quarries of the region have many caves or fissures containing sediments filled with the bones of abundant small reptile species that give a unique insight into the animals that scuttled at the feet of the dinosaurs.READ MORE -http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/13315544.New_species_of_ancient_reptile_found_at_Tytherington_quarry_named_after_Harry_Potter_character/

11 new species of chameleon found in Madagascar

The panther chameleon is known for its remarkable ability to shift its skin colour through a rainbow of vibrant reds, greens, blues and yellows. The range of the lizard's colour palette has bewildered scientists, as it seems too amazing to be possible for a single species. Now scientists have figured out the chameleon's secret — it isn't a single species. There are actually 11 species of panther chameleon, each with its own unique colour patterns, scientists reported in a recent issue of the journal, Molecular Ecology. A team of researchers led by Michel Milinkovitch, a professor at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), was trying to understand the genetic key behind the panther chameleon's ability to change through such a vast range of colours. They took photographs of and collected drops of blood from 324 panther chameleons during two expeditions to the northeastern region of Madagascar. An analysis of DNA collected from the blood samples revealed surprising genetic diversity. "It was a a mix of something that was [and was] not totally expected. We started these studies because we were thinking there was something interesting there. So it was not completely out of the blue," Milinkovitch says.READ MORE -http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/11-new-species-of-chameleon-found-in-madagascar-1.3091615

Cooking skills may have emerged millions of years ago

New research suggests that chimps have most of the mental capabilities needed to cook food. This suggests that the ability to cook food is deep seated and may have arisen in human ancestors millions of years ago. The conclusions also indicate that humans may have developed the ability to cook very soon after they learned how to control fire. The study has been published in one of the journals of the Royal Society. Humans must have adopted cooking fairly early in their evolution Dr Felix Warneken, Harvard University Surprising as it may seem, even boiling an egg requires advanced mental skills. Whereas other animals tend to start eating whatever food they find or hunt straight away, humans can store and cook their food, even if we are fairly hungry, because we know that if we wait what we eventually eat will taste better. It seems that our ability to smack our lips at the prospect of a delicious, well prepared meal requires a similar inspired leap of the imagination as producing art, developing language and creating the technologies that make us uniquely human. So when your mind wanders and thinks of a nice meal when you should really be paying attention to something else, be assured that it is this foodie forethought that makes us human. Masterchef-READ MORE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32976352

Seven tiny frog species found on seven mountains

Seven new species of tiny frog have been discovered on seven different mountains in south-eastern Brazil. The cool "cloud forests" of this region have a unique climate, separated by warmer valleys that isolate the peaks like islands. That isolation has produced 21 known species of Brachycephalus frog - and the new arrivals push that count to 28. They are all less than 1cm long and many have colourful, poisonous skin to help them avoid becoming tiny meals. The newly discovered species, reported in the open-access journal PeerJ, are the fruit of five years of expeditions into the wilderness. Marcio Pie, a professor at the Federal University of Parana in nearby Curitiba, said he had climbed more mountains than he can remember. "It's really exhausting," he told the BBC. "The mountains are not that high - most of them are 1,000m to 1,500m - it's just that the trails are not particularly well marked." Guessing game These high forests near Brazil's southern Atlantic coast are a fertile place for ecologists to explore, Prof Pie said, yielding more different species per square km than the Amazon.READ MORE -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32991586

Fake orca used to scare sea lions out of Oregon port

Port officials in an Oregon city have gone to creative lengths to see off hundreds of sea lions from their docks - by shipping in a fake orca whale. The 32ft-long fibreglass whale was brought to rid Astoria's port of the sea lions after they failed to leave as expected once the weather got warmer. Officials say the sea lions are putting thousands of jobs in the city at risk. First attempts to use the fake orca ran into trouble on Thursday, after its motor became flooded. Officials say they may try again on Friday.READ MORE -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-33018086

Whitby sauropod dinosaur fossil is UK's oldest

Britain's oldest sauropod dinosaur has been identified from a fossil bone discovered on the North Yorkshire coast, experts have revealed. Its veterbra was discovered after it fell from a cliff face onto a beach near Whitby. Tests by University of Manchester scientists indicate it is about 176 million years old, dating from the Middle Jurassic period. The fossil is to go on display at the Yorkshire Museum from 8 June. Sauropods, often referred to as brontosaurs, included some of the largest plant-eating dinosaurs to have walked on Earth. They had long necks and tails, small heads, a large body and walked on all fours. Some species, such as the Argentinosaurus, grew up to 115ft long and possibly weighed as much as 80 tonnes.READ MORE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-32958324