Ancient super crocodile fossil found in museum drawer

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Long-forgotten remains of a long-forgotten species, have been discovered in a museum drawer in Scotland. The beast, a dolphin-shaped crocodilian “super predator,” was able to eat other species its size and larger.

The ancient newfound crocodilian is named Tyrannoneustes lythrodectikos, Greek for “blood-biting tyrant swimmer.” Sounds pretty friendly, doesn’t it? “Tyrannoneustes was a dolphinlike crocodile that lived 165 million years ago,” said researcher Mark Young, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the University of Southampton in England.

The predator possessed a long snout, large flippers, armorless skin and a tail fin where the bottom half is larger than the top half, resembling an upside-down version of an ordinary shark’s tail fin.It’s uncertain how large Tyrannoneustes was, but the right side of its lower jaw was at least 26 inches (67 centimeters) long. It featured enlarged teeth with serrated edges, and a jaw that evolved to open wider, allowing it to swallow smaller prey whole.
Back when Tyrannoneustes was alive, the area in central England where the fossils were discovered was covered in a shallow sea encompassing much of what is now Europe. Originally found between 1907 and 1909, the fossil has been lost in a drawer at the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow for nearly 100 years.

There are no modern descendents of the animal. Instead, this predator was a kind of metriorhynchid, an extinct family of marine crocodiles.

The discovery of Tyrannoneustes shows that during the Middle Jurassic, metriorhynchid crocodiles were beginning to evolve into predators of large-bodied prey. By the Late Jurassic, numerous metriorhynchid species were suited to feeding on large prey, but Tyrannoneustes is the first known from the Middle Jurassic. How this impacted upon other predatory groups such as pliosaurs and ichthyosaurs is still unclear.
 

Future research can scan Tyrannoneustes bones to develop computer models of how it might have fed, Young said. He and his colleagues detailed their findings online Jan. 4 in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

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The World’s Smelliest Man: this man has not bathed in over 38 years!

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The world’s smelliest man is Indian, Kailash Singh (66) who did not bathe in over 38 years. He listened to the priest’s advice back in 1974., that would have a son if stop to take a bath!
Today he has seven daughters and still not giving up on a given testament.

More precisely, the priest has guarantee him a son if he stop to take a bath and to cut his hair.
– He said he would rather die than take a bath and that the only son could force him to change his opinion. It’s been so many years that I have already got used to it, says wife Kalavati Devi.

Make no mistake, Kailash is still “cares about personal hygiene.” Every night he performs “fire bath” to resolve the odor. His bath form includes smoking marijuana, including a prayer to God Shiva and dancing around the fire. He claims that in this way solves the stench, but his family and neighbors is absolutely disagree with that. 

Although the priest’s advice was obviously not good, this man still refuses to bathe, and only son could force him to change his opinion. Of course, it is unlikely that they will have another child, given that his wife is now sixty years old. 

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World’s Earliest Prosthetics: Egyptian Mummy’s Fake Toe

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Two artificial big toes – one found strapped to the mummified remains of an Egyptian woman – may be the world’s earliest functional prosthetic body parts, according to a study: the linen and plaster “Greville Chester toe,” which dates back past 600 BC; and the wood and leather “Cairo toe,” which was built between 950-710 BC.

A superbly preserved artificial big toe from the Cairo museum in Egypt was found in 2000 in a tomb near Luxor in the ancient necropolis of Thebes. Archaeologists speculated the 50- to 60-year-old woman the prosthesis came from might have lost her toe due to complications from diabetes.

 

The Greville Chester Great Toe also shows signs of wear, suggesting that it may have been worn by its owner in life and not simply attached to the foot during mummification for religious or ceremonial reasons. However, unlike the Cairo specimen, the Greville Chester Great Toe does not bend and so is likely to have been more cosmetic.

That would easily make it the most ancient replacement limb known, several centuries older that the Roman-era bronze-and-wood leg unearthed from a burial site near Capua, Italy.

Both replicas, which even look like toes, were tested on two volunteers who had lost their right big toes. Lead researcher Dr Jacky Finch, from the University of Manchester, carried out the tests in the Gait Laboratory at Salford University’s Centre for Rehabilitation and Human Performance Research. Sure enough, the false toes offered greater mobility and comfort. Said Manchester study leader Dr. Jacky Finch in a recent article in The Lancet:

To be classed as true prosthetic devices any replacement must satisfy several criteria. The material must withstand bodily forces so that it does not snap or crack with use. Proportion is important and the appearance must be sufficiently lifelike as to be acceptable to both the wearer and those around them. The stump must also be kept clean, so it must be easy to take on and off. But most importantly, it must assist walking. The big toe is thought to carry some 40% of the bodyweight and is responsible for forward propulsion although those without it can adapt well […]
My findings strongly suggest that both of these designs were capable of functioning as replacements for the lost toe and so could indeed be classed as prosthetic devices.
If that is the case then it would appear that the first glimmers of this branch of medicine should be firmly laid at the feet of the ancient Egyptians.

A three-part wood and leather artefact housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and the Greville Chester artificial toe on display in the British Museum, helped their toe-less owners walk like Egyptians.

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156 Years from birth of Nikola Tesla

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Today, on the 156th anniversary of Tesla’s birth, you could ask Europeans who Nikola Tesla was and their eyes will light up as they comment on his remarkable inventions. Over 100 years ago, Nikola Tesla proved the energy establishment wrong by creating something the establishment believed was impossible: a motor driven by alternating current. Ask most Americans, however, who Tesla was, and you’ll often get a blank stare.

Nikola Tesla (10 July 1856 – 7 January 1943), American scientist of Serbian origin, gave his greatest contribution to science and technological progress of the world as the inventor of the rotating magnetic field and of the complete system of production and distribution of electrical energy (motors, generators) based on the use of alternate currents.

He was an important contributor to the birth of commercial electricity, and is best known for his many revolutionary developments in the field of electromagnetism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tesla’s patents and theoretical work formed the basis of modern alternating current (AC) electric power systems, including the polyphase system of electrical distribution and the AC motor, which helped usher in the Second Industrial Revolution. His name was given to the SI unit for magnetic induction (“tesla”). Tesla also constructed the generators of high-frequency alternate currents and high-voltage coreless transformer known today as “Tesla Coil”.

Tesla reminded us that a windmill is one of the most efficient energy devices ever devised, and suspected we’d eventually be able to harness the sun’s rays in an efficient way. He also advocated utilizing the heat “in the earth, the water, or the air.”

He proposed, essentially, geothermal energy plants, one capturing the heat of the earth, the other floating on the ocean, using the temperature differential between the surface water temperature and the deeper water temperatures to drive turbines to generate electricity.

Born an ethnic Serb in the village of Smiljan, Croatian Military Frontier in Austrian Empire (today’s Croatia), he was a subject of the Austrian Empire by birth and later became an American citizen. He received his education in Austria i.e. Austro-Hungary: primary school at Smiljan and Gospic (1862-70), and secondary school (Realgymnasium) at Karlovac (1870-1873). From 1875 to 1878 studied at the Polytechnic at Graz, and in 1880 he enrolled in the studies of natural philosophy at the Charles’ University in Prague. After his demonstration of wireless communication through radio in 1894 and after being the victor in the “War of Currents”, he was widely respected as one of the greatest electrical engineers who worked in America. During this period, in the United States, Tesla’s fame rivaled that of any other inventor or scientist in history or popular culture, but because of his eccentric personality and his seemingly unbelievable and sometimes bizarre claims about possible scientific and technological developments, Tesla was ultimately ostracized and regarded as a mad scientist by many late in his life.

Not only did this gifted genius bring the world AC power and radio — the foundations of modern civilization — but he progressed far beyond in the latter half of his life; and the world is still playing catch-up, a century later. He is the well-deserved icon of the free energy movement, providing inspiration to thousands of researchers around the world, who labor to embody some of Tesla’s later work, with the vision of having devices that can harness the inexhaustible sources of energy available to us freely from the environment and cosmos.
Tesla spent his last years in the hotel “New Yorker” in New York, where he died on January 7, 1943.

As Tesla said at his famous lecture in 1891, “We are whirling through endless space with an inconceivable speed; all around us, everything is spinning, everything is moving, everywhere is energy. There must be some way of availing ourselves of this energy more directly.”
“Then, with the light obtained from the medium, with the power derived from it, with every form of energy obtained without effort, from the store forever inexhaustible, humanity will advance with great strides. The mere contemplation of these magnificent possibilities expands our minds, strengthens our hopes and fills our hearts with supreme delight.”

Happy 156th Birthday, Nikola Tesla.

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Do The World’s Tiniest Fly Really Decapitate Ants?

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A new species of phorid fly from Thailand is the smallest fly ever discovered. The tiny fly, Euryplatea nanaknihali, is also the first of its genus to be discovered in Asia, and it belongs to a fly family (Phoridae) that is known for “decapitating” ants.

It is a gruesome parasite that lives inside the heads of ants, growing in size until the victim is decapitated.
They lay their eggs inside their victims. When the maggots hatch, they move towards the ant’s head, where they gorge upon the brain and other tissues. The ant stumbles about in a literally mindless stupor until the connection between its head and body is dissolved by a enzyme released from the maggot. The head falls off and the adult flies burst out.

It is five times smaller than a fruit fly and tinier than a grain of salt (0.4 millimeters) in length — half the size of the smallest “no see-ums.””It’s so small you can barely see it with the naked eye on a microscope slide. It’s smaller than a flake of pepper,” said Brian Brown, of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, who identified the fly as a new species. “The housefly looks like a Godzilla fly beside it.”

Although this has not yet been observed, it is highly likely because the fly’s only known relative, Euryplatea eidmanni, is known to parasitize ants in Equatorial Guinea.

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Lolong, The Monster Crocodile Of The Philippines

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A man-eating beast feared by locals, has set a Guinness Book of World Records mark as the world’s largest saltwater crocodile in captivity. Reptile measuring 6.17 metres (20.24 feet) and weighs more than a ton, thought to have killed several people, before its capture by officials in the southern Philippines town of Bunawan in September, 2011. Lolong was captured with steel cable traps during a three-week hunt, after a child was killed in 2009 and a fisherman went missing. Water buffalos have also been attacked by crocodiles in the area, officials said.

Lolong, the monster crocodile of the philippines sets record as world’s largest in captivity

Lolong is responsible for an influx of tourists to the remote town where it was captured. Bunawan mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said the news sparked celebrations among the 37,000 inhabitants, but was also causing concern that more giant crocodiles might be lurking in a nearby marshland and creek where villagers fish.

“There were mixed feelings,” Bunawan Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde told the Associated Press. “We’re really proud because it proves the rich biodiversity of our place but at the same time, there are fears that Lolong may not be alone.”

Elorde claimed to have seen a larger crocodile escape where Lolong was captured, and villagers remain wary of fishing in Bunawan at night. He said he has a new team of hunters and would seek government permission to start looking for the reptile.

Since its capture, Lolong has become the star attraction of a new ecotourism park and research centre in the outskirts of a new ecotourism and research center in the town and has drawn thousands of tourists since news of its capture spread.. And while the park has brought in 3m pesos ( $72,000, £46,000) in park fees since Lolong’s debut, most of that money goes to feeding and taking care of the crocodile and for park maintenance.

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This is the Mugly – the New World’s Ugliest Dog

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Mugly Wins World’s Ugliest Dog Title

Mugly, the eight year old Chinese crested dog, took the title of ugliest dog in the world for 2012. year.
And now lets look at some other competitors: 

Mugly beat 29 dogs in the competition and won the $ 1,000 annual food supply.
Ugliest dog competition held every year in the town of Petaluma, California.

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Unknown Creature in Kanas Lake

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Kanas Lake, which means “beautiful, mysterious lake” in Mongolian, is tucked away in Xinjiang and China’s far North Western corner. The scenery here is more like Kazakstan or Russia than China with the 24km long and up to 2km wide lake flanked by birch and larch forest. The lake is 1,374 meters above sea level and covers an area of 45.73 square kilometers with the deepest point of 196 meters. The famous legend about “Kanas Monster” adds another air of mystery to the lake. If the stunning, Siberian-like scenery wasn’t enough there is some mystery thrown in regarding what is known as China’s Nessie – the Kanas Lake Monster! According to the legend, huge monsters dwell in the lake’s depths and often dragged horses and camels drinking into the water before swallowing them.

Some scientists believe, however, that the monsters may be taimen trout, one of the world’s largest and most ferocious freshwater fish which can grow as long as 10 meters.

This footage was filmed in China, where lake monster sightings have been popping up around a Kanas lake. Usually, lake monster “sightings” are later discovered to be common animals such as otters or eels. According to CCTV, about 15 of the unknown creature was found in Kanas Lake in China’s Xinjiang Province on the 5th of July.

Not just one, but more than a dozen huge creatures can be seen churning across Lake Kanas in remote western China, leaving a foamy wake more like an enormous motorboat than a big fish.
The tourists saw the lake monster in the lake at the foot of a mountain more than 2,000 meters away. The lake monster, four or five meters long, appeared in the lake with the huge wave, revealing its white belly.

This video recording is the latest sighting of the creature captured in June 2012, by a local worker Wang.

The tale about this monster has been spread for thousands of years in the Kanas area of China, which is about the creature engulf cattle and horses in one swallow and then dive down into the deep bottom of the cold Kanas Lake.

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‘Depraved’ sex acts by penguins shocked polar explorer

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Hidden for nearly 100 years for being too “graphic,” a report of “hooligan” behaviors, including sexual coercion, by Adelie penguins observed during Captain Scott’s 1910 polar expedition have been uncovered and interpreted. Dr George Murray Levick was among Captain Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova expedition team to the South Pole and was a pioneer in the study of penguins.

Amidst his incredible survival against the odds in the South Pole, Dr Levick made groundbreaking notes on the sexual shenanigans of the Adelie penguin, with findings so shocking they remained hidden for decades after. The naughty notes were rediscovered recently at the Natural History Museum in Tring, in England, and published in the recent issue of the journal Polar Record.

Homosexual acts, sexual abuse of chicks and even attempts by male penguins to mate with dead females are recorded in Levick’s paper “Sexual Habits of the Adelie Penguin”, which had been lost for decades.

To this day, Levick is the only scientist to have studied an entire breeding cycle at Cape Adare after he spent the Antarctic summer of 1911-12 there, the Guardian said.
On his return to Britain, Mr Levick attempted to publish a paper entitled “the natural history of the adelie penguin”, but according to Douglas Russell, curator of eggs and nests at the Natural History Museum, it was too much for the times.
However, scientists now understand the biological reasons behind the acts that Dr Levick considered “depraved”.

Homosexual behaviors in animals are no longer cause for hiding data, or even a blush.
Plenty of animals are out of the closet, so to speak, from dolphins and killer whales to bonobos and greylag geese. Some estimates put the number of animal species that practice same-sex coupling at 1,500.
And while Levick may have viewed the interactions between penguins through an anthropomorphic lens, today that’s not the case, the researchers note.
Necrophilia, for instance, is not the same in penguins and humans; Rather than being sexually aroused by a hot gal, male penguins are chemically wired to respond in certain ways to a seemingly compliant female of breeding age.
“What is happening there is not in any way analogous to necrophilia in the human context,” Mr Russell said. “It is the males seeing the positioning that is causing them to have a sexual reaction.
“They are not distinguishing between live females who are awaiting congress in the colony, and dead penguins from the previous year which just happen to be in the same position.”

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The Hawaiian alphabet (piapa)

The Hawaiian language was first developed in the 1820s by Protestant missionaries from New England. Prior to contact from the Western world, Hawaiians had no written language other than petroglyph symbols.  In order to convert all the Hawaiians to Christianity, they needed to standardize the native language and teach the locals how to read and write it. This goal was accomplished in 1826 in addition to the publication of a Hawaiian Bible.

The alphabet contains 12 letters: 5 vowels a, e, i, o, u (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) and 7 consonants h, k, l, m, n, p, w (he, ke, la, mu, nu, pi, we). Plus a 13th “letter” called “okina” that is written with an apostrophe (‘).
The ‘ (okina) is a glottal stop and is considered a consonant; without it the meaning of a word is changed (ie “ko’u”, meaning “my” and “kou” meaning yours.
Spoken Hawaiian on the other hand also has the letters t,r,v, b, and y sounds. The letters t/k, r/l, v/w, and b/p are interchangeable. Because some individuals pronounce “Hawai’i” as “Havai’i”, or “kūkū” instead of “tūtū”, when creating a written form, one of the two interchangeable letters from each pair had to be omitted. The “y” sound is written as “iā”. Written Hawaiian and spoken Hawaiian don’t always go hand in hand.

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