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TwitterThe squid-like creature perished some 155million years ago. But despite the vast passage of time, experts who unearthed the fossilised remains were able to extract ink from its perfectly-preserved sac and use it to paint a picture of the ancient animal. The odds of finding something as delicate as a squid’s ink sac intact after so long are put at a billion to one.An eye on history: A palaeontologist views the fossil found in inland WiltshireThe key is the speed with which it was fossilised in rocks in Wiltshire that were under the sea during the Jurassic period. Scientists describe it as the Medusa effect, after the monster in Greek mythology whose face was so terrible to behold that anyone gazing at her was turned to stone. Dr Phil Wilby, who led the team which found the fossil, said: ‘The decomposition process usually means only the hard parts of an animal are preserved. ‘It is extremely rare to find any fossil with the soft parts preserved.
Posts Tagged ‘Dr Phil’
155million years old and still inky: The perfectly preserved squid fossil amazing scientists
August 19th, 2009 
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Posted in Discoveries 
Tags: Ammonia Solution, Analysing, Ancient Animal, Black Ink, British Geological Survey, Decomposition Process, Dr Phil, Fossilised, Greek Mythology, Ink Sac, Jurassic Era, Jurassic Period, Medusa, Palaeontologist, Passage Of Time, Squid, Squid Ink, Stone Dr, Time Experts, Wilby 
Comments OffHow scientists can now find penguins all around Antarctica – by tracking their droppings by satellite..
June 2nd, 2009 admin When penguins get a call of nature, they’re generally not too fussy where they go.And as they may stay in the same area for up to eight months at a time, the ice under their feet can lose its pure white lustre by the time they move on.Luckily, scientists have a reason to be excited over the excrement, using the reddish-brown areas of guano (sea bird poo) to plot the movements of emperor penguin breeding colonies.Emperor penguins, among the largest in the world, are hard to track during Antarctica’s harsh winters – but now scientists can now track by satelliteThe ‘reddish-brown’ spot helped to identify the colony of penguinsExperts used satellite images to survey sea ice around 90per cent of Antarctica’s coast, and were able to identify a total of 38 colonies, including 10 that were new, by looking for the tell-tale patches.Of the previously known colonies, six had re-located and six were not found.Experts need to track the movements of emperor penguins to monitor their response to climate change.Mapping expert Peter Fretwell, from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), said: ‘We can’t see actual penguins on the satellite maps because the resolution isn’t good enough.’But during the breeding season the birds stay at a colony for eight months.
Posted in Tech News Tags: Antarctic Winter, Antartica, British Antarctic Survey, Brown Areas, Call Of Nature, Climate Change, Dr Phil, Emperor Penguin, Emperor Penguins, Excrement, Fretwell, Harsh Winters, Lustre, Nappy Changes, Penguins, Population Size, Satellite Images, Satellite Maps, Sea Bird, Sea Ice Comments Off