Komodo dragons and eel-like prehistoric sharks

[wraithfodder]

In the science news today... who needs men! Yes, Flora (a female Komodo dragon) apparently didn't require the male of the species to help her produce five fertilized eggs. Today, five little Komodo dragons (aw, so cute, till they bite you, of course) hatched at the Chester Zoo in London. Scientists announced in December in the journal Nature that Flora had fertilised the eggs herself, without any male help, in a process culminating in parthenogenesis or virgin birth. The baby dragons, all males, are being cared for in a special area of the zoo and feasting on a diet of crickets and locusts.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070124/sc_nm/shark_japan_dc_2 reported that the Awashima Marine Park in Shizuoka, south of Tokyo, was alerted by a fisherman who spotted an odd-looking ee-like creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. They caught the 5 foot long creature, which they identified as a female frilled shark (sometimes called a "living fossil" because of its prehistoric appearance. Alas, the poor thing expired not long after they moved it to a seawater pool, but they were able to film it in motion. They normally live 600-1,000 meters under the water, where humans just can't go. Here are some neat photos, and check out various news sites for videos. CNN at http://www.cnn.com/ has a video of it (really weird) as does the BBC on their science page at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/default.stm. You may need to search around as it will get shuffled around, but the Beeb is good at keeping stuff online for a while. I mean, can't you just see this critter on Atlantis....

 

Comments

[xfkirsten.livejournal.com]

Heee! That komodo dragon situation is actually a fairly common method of reproduction in many lizard species. Two sexual species can hybridize together to create an asexual one that can reproduce by parthenogenesis (because they are polyploid, having extra sets of chromosomes). It's been theorized that that may have evolved because of its benefits in colonizing new areas - it only would take one individual to create an entire population. It's fascinating! :)

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I read a further article and they said (scientisty-types) that they've never seen it happen with Komodo dragons before, but that other lizards do it. Yeah, parthenogenesis, that's the word :) Fascinating, as Spock would say ;)

[whisper99.livejournal.com]

parthenogenesis...hm...I'm gonna write me a fic wherein all of SG1 comes back pregnant from a mission...yeah....

lol!!!

[parisindy.livejournal.com]

saw this on the news... hehehe as a sort of surfer i got to say that creeps me out a bit lol

[alyssa22.livejournal.com]

Is that shark the most bizarre looking thing ever? It's been all over TV here, and in the newspapers, too. A guy on one of the radio stations even used it as a question in a quiz last night!

Very, very strange looking creature!

[alaxes.livejournal.com]

OMG that's weird. But how knows what other creatures live deep in the ocean!?

[wraithfodder.livejournal.com]

I like the fish with the little illuminiated bulbs they dangle in front of them so they can eat little fish that get attracted by the light. And boy, these are ugly looking fish with wicked teeth!