Senckenberg/Van Damme/University of Helsinki/Nevalainen
Fossil Water Flea Comes Alive
A species of cladoceran believed to be extinct has been rediscovered
In a lake in Finland, Senckenberg scientist Kay Van Damme rediscovered in collaboration with an international team a species of water flea that had long been considered extinct. While there are numerous fossil records of this cladoceran species, researchers were now able to document the first living specimens. Based on the small crustacean’s morphology, the scientists were able to describe the animal as Rhynchotalona latens, thereby revising its previous taxonomic assignation. Water fleas serve as important indicator species for modern as well as past ecosystems. The studies were recently published in the scientific journals “Hydrobiologia” and “Zootaxa.”
Jean-Claude Stahl, Te Papa
Newly Discovered: Fossil Slender-billed Albatross
Scientists describe an almost complete albatross skull from the Pliocene epoch
Senckenberg ornithologist Gerald Mayr, in conjunction with his colleague Alan Tennyson of the Te Papa Museum in New Zealand, describe a previously unknown, extinct albatross species from the Pliocene. The bird, which lived about 3 million years ago, only reached approximately 90% of the size of the smallest modern albatrosses. However, the fossil’s most remarkable trait is the unusually narrow beak, which suggests that the new species mainly fed on fish. The diet of modern albatrosses, by contrast, is dominated by squid. The fossil discovery thus indicates a higher diversity in the feeding ecology of extinct albatrosses and raises the question why the fish-eating forms ultimately went extinct.
Senckenberg
30,000-Year-Old Murder Solved
Earliest modern European fell victim to an act of violence
Together with international colleagues, Senckenberg scientist Katerina Harvati was able to uncover an ancient act of violence. Using the latest forensic methods, the scientific team examined the skull of a 33,000-year-old early modern human. The Paleolithic fossil came from the Romanian Cioclovina Cave and is considered one of the oldest representatives of modern Europeans. The fossil’s skull shows multiple injuries that had been interpreted as post-mortem artifacts until now. In their study – published in the scientific journal “PLOS ONE” – Harvati and her team reveal that these fractures were caused by an act of violence and likely led to the individual’s death.
Fossil Water Flea Comes Alive
A species of cladoceran believed to be extinct has been rediscovered
Newly Discovered: Fossil Slender-billed Albatross
Scientists describe an almost complete albatross skull from the Pliocene epoch
30,000-Year-Old Murder Solved
Earliest modern European fell victim to an act of violence
