Abra Science

  Reconstruction of A. nikolovi sp. nov. from Bulgaria. Artwork by Velizar Simeonovski, Chicago. Credit: © Velizar Simeonovski, Chicago Fossilized teeth originally found in the 1970s actually belong to a new, sizeable close relative of the modern giant panda. A new species of panda has been uncovered by scientists who state it is currently the last known and “most evolved” European giant panda. It lumbered through the forested wetlands of Bulgaria around six million years ago. Unearthed from the bowels of the Bulgarian National Museum of Natural History, two fossils of teeth originally discovered in the eastern European nation in the late 1970s, provide new evidence of a sizable relative of the modern giant panda. Unlike today’s iconic black and white bear, however, it was not purely reliant on bamboo for sustenance. “Although not a direct ancestor of the modern genus of the giant panda, it is its close relative,” explains the Museum’s Professor Nikolai Spassov, whose findings are ...

Female sage grouse move as a group at a site in northwest Colorado. New research examines the impact of hunting restrictions on the iconic bird across the West. Credit: Jeff Beck A thorough review of the history of sage grouse hunting and populations across the Intermountain West shows that declines in the bird's numbers have prompted significant reductions in hunting opportunities in recent decades with mixed results for grouse populations. Research led by University of Wyoming Professor Jeff Beck and Oregon State University Assistant Professor Jonathan Dinkins, a former UW postdoctoral researcher, examined the history of grouse hunting regulations in 11 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces and the impact of hunting restrictions on growth rates of the iconic Western species in recent decades. The scientists' findings are detailed in two articles published in PLOS ONE. "We found that wildlife agencies throughout western North America have set increasingly more conservati...

  Researchers have described 12 gecko species from the Western Ghats mountain range in India, ten of which are found nowhere else. The geckos were given some creative names, including a quick and nimble species named after martial arts superstar Jackie Chan, a couple named after fictional dragons, and one named after the cosmos. The quest to find geckos was part of a larger survey to document the diversity of the frogs, lizards and snakes of the Western Ghats and to search for critically endangered species in the diverse region. The Western Ghats have been identified as a biodiversity hotspot and there are many protected areas in the region, but a growing human population is putting pressure on the unprotected habitats through expanding urban areas, logging, dams, and the spread of agriculture. Researchers have described 12 new gecko species from India’s Western Ghats mountains, 10 of which are found nowhere else on Earth. One particularly stealth gecko, described as “nearl...

 A new species emerged from three-dimensional x-rays of droppings left by a close dinosaur relative Still from video showing a 3-D model of a likely Silesaurus coprolite with Triamyxa beetles. Credit: Qvarnström et al. About 230 million years ago a Silesaurus opolensis was hungry. The close dinosaur relative, which stood as tall as a Great Dane and had a meter-long tail, foraged for food in the swampy vegetation of what is now southwestern Poland. Then, like all vertebrates, the reptile pooped out what it could not absorb. Millennia passed, and the waste petrified along with several minuscule beetles embedded within it. These beetles, ambassadors of a long-lost lineage, now represent the first ever insect species described from a piece of fossilized excrement. The finding was reported on Wednesday in Current Biology. Historically, amber has been the best source for paleontologists and entomologists to study ancient arthropods in three dimensions. Suspended in fossilized dol...