Dec 29, 2016 03:15 AM
Sea Scorpions: Terrifying Predators of the Paleozoic
http://blog.hmns.org/2016/12/sea-scorpio...paleozoic/
EXCERPT: [...] Because of their appearance, Eurypterids are sometimes called Sea Scorpions. However, despite their nickname, these Paleozoic predators are not actually scorpions. [...] Most of the fossil specimens that have been discovered are about the size of lobsters or smaller, but there are two giant species. The first, Jaekelopterus, may have been the largest arthropod ever to live, coming in at about seven feet long. [...] Eurypterids have six pairs of appendages attaching to their prosoma (or “head section”) the first pair acted as fangs and in some species are quite large resembling pincers, the next four pairs are legs which would have allowed the creatures to scuttle along in their shallow, brackish habitats. [...] there were few places for their prey, which may have included early arthropods, fish and amphibians, to hide. The evolutionary arms race going on in the Paleozoic oceans that led these creatures and other scary, armored predators to evolve is believed to have spurred the ancestors of modern terrestrial animals to abandon the ocean...
The Chelyabinsk Meteorite Impact, Remains a Mystery
http://www.visiontimes.com/2016/12/26/ch...stery.html
EXCERPT: [...] In summary, scientists do not know where the object came from. Coincidentally, the explosion came on the same day that an asteroid was flying by Earth. The asteroid, called 2012 DA14, passed within 17,200 miles of Earth. NASA was quick to point out that the asteroid was travelling in the opposite direction to the smaller meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk. Three years and hundreds of published scientific studies later, scientists are unsure of the origin of the Chelyabinsk superbolide. While they continue to confirm that it was not related to asteroid 2012 DA14, they are still no closer to knowing if the Russian meteor had a parent body, since asteroids in space are known to travel in pairs or groups....
http://blog.hmns.org/2016/12/sea-scorpio...paleozoic/
EXCERPT: [...] Because of their appearance, Eurypterids are sometimes called Sea Scorpions. However, despite their nickname, these Paleozoic predators are not actually scorpions. [...] Most of the fossil specimens that have been discovered are about the size of lobsters or smaller, but there are two giant species. The first, Jaekelopterus, may have been the largest arthropod ever to live, coming in at about seven feet long. [...] Eurypterids have six pairs of appendages attaching to their prosoma (or “head section”) the first pair acted as fangs and in some species are quite large resembling pincers, the next four pairs are legs which would have allowed the creatures to scuttle along in their shallow, brackish habitats. [...] there were few places for their prey, which may have included early arthropods, fish and amphibians, to hide. The evolutionary arms race going on in the Paleozoic oceans that led these creatures and other scary, armored predators to evolve is believed to have spurred the ancestors of modern terrestrial animals to abandon the ocean...
The Chelyabinsk Meteorite Impact, Remains a Mystery
http://www.visiontimes.com/2016/12/26/ch...stery.html
EXCERPT: [...] In summary, scientists do not know where the object came from. Coincidentally, the explosion came on the same day that an asteroid was flying by Earth. The asteroid, called 2012 DA14, passed within 17,200 miles of Earth. NASA was quick to point out that the asteroid was travelling in the opposite direction to the smaller meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk. Three years and hundreds of published scientific studies later, scientists are unsure of the origin of the Chelyabinsk superbolide. While they continue to confirm that it was not related to asteroid 2012 DA14, they are still no closer to knowing if the Russian meteor had a parent body, since asteroids in space are known to travel in pairs or groups....