Did They Really Find One?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080318/ap_on_sc/dinosaur_mummy;_ylt=AgtyzNRYt5CKUDnb.wGY5Yis0NUE

Workers uncovering mummified dinosaur

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/03/18/dinosaur.mummy.ap/index.html

Mummified dinosaur unearthed in North Dakota

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23689410/
Rare mummified dinosaur uncovered
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_%28fossil%29Dakota (fossil)

An Answer to Our Prayers...(?)...

Ever since we were third in line to first see Jurassic Park at our local cinema, we've been waiting and yearning for a hope that someday this would happen: Amazing find of dinosaur 'mummy'. We hope and pray that this find is real and genuine and will provide for viable material for a cloned dinosaur. We are waiting for more news on this...
Photo: Kordite

Updated 1/09/2008: Mummified dinosaur heads to Texas

Comments from Dr. Dan Fisher on THE MAMMOTH

Updated Saturday, April 12, 2008: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24049244/

Baby mammoth reveals ancient secrets

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080410/sc_nm/russia_mammoth_dc;_ylt=AndEYZnbyM2llAJWw7p0N00PLBIF

"Lyuba" gives scientists glimpse of mammoth insides

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyuba

Lyuba

Updated Saturday, March 22, 2008: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318214854.htm

Cause Of Death Of Russian Baby Mammoth Discovered

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth

Mammuthus

We Recently Contacted Dr. Daniel Fisher...

(Curator, Department of Paleontology, University of Michigan) and congratulated him on his work on the almost-perfectly preserved Siberian Baby Mammoth. (Photo credit: bgpparsons, July 2007).

Naturally, we asked Dr. Fisher if the baby mammoth material was suitable for cloning. Dr. Fisher was very kind to us and responded with these comments:
"There certainly will be papers written reporting work on this specimen, but that’s still some months or more down the line. At present, we have been able to learn only the information we can get from the exterior of the specimen, and we will not do anything more until after CT-scanning. The specimen almost certainly contains DNA that can be sequenced, but cloning is a much more difficult proposition, as you are no doubt aware. Some work along these lines will likely be done, but how far we will get is a completely open question at present. Some images of this new mammoth are available online through some of the Internet coverage of the discovery, and a few additional pictures can be found on the University of Michigan news archive. If you navigate to the UM press release, then click on the first image, you’ll get to a larger version of that and several more. I’m the guy with the white (or almost so) beard in these photos. Best regards, Dan Fisher".

The baby mammoth is almost perfectly preserved except for missing hair, the tail and part of the right earlobe.

For the story from the University of Michigan website click on: U-M paleontologist part of international team studying remarkably well-preserved baby Siberian mammoth.

And for some of their mammoth photos click here.

Updated Saturday, September 29, 2007: See also: Mammoth hair produces DNA bounty
Updated Saturday, December 29, 2007: Ancient mammoth carcass arrives in Japan

Can The Humane Society Stop the Mad Slaughter?

Can the Humane Society International Stop the Mad Slaughter of Minke Whales?...

That is, can the Humane Society International stop the slaughter of pregnant Minke Whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata and Balaenoptera bonaerensis)?

In their latest press release, the HSI claimed that Japan had slaughtered 262 pregnant Minke Whales of the 505 taken (just over 51% of the "cull"). It is difficult for us to imagine that these near-threatened whales are being culled for scientific purposes when the flesh of it and dining of the same is popularly displayed in certain parts of Japan. Or so it would seem. Click to link to the Yahoo! article here.

For more Minke Whale photos click to this link here.

Is It Time to Release the Whale Sharks?

Is It Time To Release The Whale Sharks?...

from the Georgia Aquarium? We have just read the report of the death of a second whale shark (Rhincodon typus) - Norton - at the acclaimed aquarium. To preserve this gentle giant, should they not begin a cloning procedure(s) and/or release these creatures back to the wild where they belong before they accidentally kill more of them?

Note: for an astounding selection of images of whale sharks, go to http://flickr.com/search/?q=whale+shark.

New Suriname Species for Preservation?

Is Cloning Needed to Preserve these New Species from the Republic of Suriname?...

We think so...see the Planetcatfish site and the Operation Atelopus site. For example, until now, we know of no other frog specie with fluorescent purple rings. And the dwarf, "Big Mouth" catfish is of the guayancistrus genus. For more, see: "Scientists find 24 species in Suriname".

We think that, possibly, that discovery might be especially dangerous for the two new species above. That is, hobby aquarists will doubtless want their specimens of the new catfish and herptile fans/terrarists will want their specimens of the new (already endangered) atelopus specie.

The Invasion of the Vampire Moth

Straying even further from our original mission...

We recently read of the invasion of this moth - the vampire moth (Calyptra Thalictri) into Finland. Reports say that they have actually been videotaped feeding on human blood. How many vampiric species or genuses are really out there? Do we want these creatures preserved? We don't think so. Apparently this invasion is another result of global warming.

Lake Monster Videos (New?) - from Turkey and Scotland

Is this the purported Lake Monster of Lake Van (Turkey) ?...

Is it truly an ichthyosaur or plesiousaur, or something else altogether? Click here for video link. You can also locate the video at CNN INteractive. (We think the second reference actually has a better view of the 'monster's "eye"').

Updated 6/02/07:

Our editors have come up with another potential animal for the Lake Van Monster - a squid. (We took a hint from the shape of the head combined with the shape of the apparently lidless "eye"). We did ask ourselves how did a squid (or other mollusc of the same shape and size) find itself in Lake Van???

And...did this man really video recently the Loch Ness Monster?...

Click here for video link.

Also, please visit Adrian Shine's Loch Ness Project Site and The Fortean Times (photo credits to The Fortean Times).

We're not sure if this video's quality is sufficient to demonstrate the presence of a monster or even an animal. We think it is possible - without being experts on the wildlife of Loch Ness or Lake Van - that the thing in question is a turtle (of unknown type?) or lake sturgeon (or possibly some other large fish) or even sightings of both.

And some more wild speculation...perhaps these things are even related to the sea serpent of the previous post.

The Sea Serpent off Florida

What Is It?...

Nobody knows. For more see: Scientists Baffled As Florida Diver Captures Sea Serpent On Video; 'Undescribed' at UnderwaterTimes.com.

Is the Ivory-Bill Extant?

Is The Ivory-Bill (Campephilus principalis) Extant?...

Will the "Woodpecker Man" find out? See the Vid Story. See also audio recording.

Can We Restore The Sumatran Rhino?

First Ever Video Footage of the Critically Endangered Sumatran Rhino...

Can this animal (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) be cloned successfully before it vanishes from existence? Is it too late? For the Internet article, URL: http://fe28.news.re3.yahoo.com/s/afp/malaysiaenvironmentanimalsrhino. For the WWF's Internet Video Posting, see the link in the Links List.

Updated 4/25/07:

Or is it the even rarer sub-species, the Borneo Rhino? URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070425/sc_afp/malaysiaenvironmentanimalsrhino;_ylt=AtttUqJKgQnaa7IARHUGQHcPLBIF.

Mammoth Material for Auction

Updated Saturday, March 1, 2008: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080314/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_mastodon_garage;_ylt=Am.mUCVKWtyh6C81XzALFavtiBIF

Mastodon skeleton awaits sale in California garage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastodon

Mammut

Mammoth and other extinct giant mammal material is available at auction at Christie's...see URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070411/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_mammoth_christies_auction





See also the Cosmos article about attempts(?) to clone a mammoth: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/903

The Cloning Ark

Returning to the subject of cloning a Thylacine, we just wanted to suggest extending the concept to the cloning of all endangered or extremely rare species on this planet.

We wanted to use the term arcology, but that is already in use by the visionary architect Paolo Solieri and his futuristic visions of architecture. Click on the hyperlink to access the web site for this very interesting topic.

Is this a project/program for the likes of Craig Venter? Should we begin cold storage of all endangered and extremely rare DNA?

Thylacine Redux?

Is the presumed-extinct Thylacine (Thylacoleo) returning? Or is it just another hoax, or misunderstanding, unidentified animal, etc...? Read the article at the following URL:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070302/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_australia_tiger1

"In February 2005, German tourists Klaus Emmerichs and Birgit Jansen " (reads the article) and have returned to Australia with the mission to video the living animal.

At the right, you can see a recent photo (1964) of a presumed Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger). For good reading on this material, go to forteantimes.com or the following URL:

http://www.forteantimes.com/exclusive/thylacine.shtml

See also the Wikipedia.org.

If somebody does find the animal (living or dead), we hope that the beast is cloned.