Ancient fossil flea-like creature found

Rare body parts provide vital clues to identity:

A geologist from the University of Leicester is part of a team that has uncovered an ancient water flea-like creature from 425 million years ago -- only the third of its kind ever to be discovered in ancient rocks.

Professor David Siveter of the Department of Geology at the University of Leicester worked with Professor Derek Siveter at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Professor Derek Briggs at Yale University USA and Dr Mark Sutton at Imperial College to make the rare discovery.The specimen, which was found in rocks in Herefordshire, represents a new species of ostracod, and has been named Nasunaris flata.

Like water-fleas and shrimps, ostracods belong to the group of animals called crustacea. The find is important because the fossil has been found with its soft parts preserved inside the shell.Today its descendents are common, and inhabit ponds, rivers and lakes and many parts of the seas and oceans, having first appeared on Earth about 500 million years ago.Geologists find ostracods useful in order to help recreate past environments- the type of ostracod found in a rock sample would, for example, help to determine a picture of ancient conditions like water depth and salinity.

The study is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. and in Planet Earth, the online journal of the Natural Environment Research Council.Professor David Siveter: "Most fossil ostracod species are known only from their shells. You need exceptional conditions to preserve the soft body- there are only two other known examples of ancient fossil ostracods where the complete soft parts of the animal are preserved along with the shell."Professor Siveter and colleagues were able to identify the 5mm-long fossil, its body and appendages inside the shell, including the antennae and also a set of paired eyes.The ostracod was so well preserved that the team managed to spot the Bellonci organ, a sensory structure observed in modern species which protrudes out of the middle eye located at the front of the head.'This is the first time the Bellonci organ is observed in fossil ostracods,' says David Siveter.Had the soft body parts not been preserved, the scientists were likely to misidentify the fossil based on the shell record alone, claims Professor Siveter. –ScienceDaily

Sea lion pups starving in California

Starved and emaciated(abnormally thin), sea lion pups are beaching themselves along the Pacific Coast.A strong El Nino tropical weather pattern is to blame.

Unusually warm sea surface temperatures in the western Pacific are moving east, forcing the sea lions' natural food sources - squid, hake, herring and anchovies to seek out cooler waters.

Adult sea lions have enough fat stored up to survive the resulting food shortage, but their pups aren't so well-equipped. Richard Evans, medical director of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, Calif., tells NPR's Guy Raz that by the time the animals get to his team, they're in the third stage of starvation."We stage starvation in humans and animals: one, two, three. Three is when you've gone so bad that you start digesting your muscle as a source of protein."

The Pacific Marine Mammal Center rescues and nurses starving sea lions back to health, and then releases them back into the sea.

Scientists at the centre started seeing an increase in starving sea lion pups last spring.The centre sees sick animals all the time, but not usually this severe.

The pups began coming in so sick that it took much longer to nurse them back to health - up to six months instead of the usual two or three.

Courtesy:Environmental News

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