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Extinct ‘Mega Claw’ Creature Had Spider-Like Brain

By Guest PostOctober 20, 2013Science3d feature, ancestors of chelicerates, ancestors of crustaceans, chengjiang formation, complete nervous system, computed tomography, crustaceans, ct, ct scan, earliest known, elbow joint, extinct, extinct genus alalcomenaeus, fossilization, fossilized remains, fuxianhuia protensa, ganglia, gengo tanaka, greg edgecombe, horseshoe crabs, kunming, large claws, london, long nerves, lower cambrian, marine arthropods, mega claw creature, megacheirans, millipedes, natural history museum, nerve cells, neuroanatomical feature, nicholas strausfeld, relational tree, scorpions, southwest china, spider like brain, spiders, technique, university of arizona, xianguang hou, xray photograph

UA Regents’ Professor Nicholas Strausfeld and an international team of researchers have discovered the earliest known complete nervous system exquisitely preserved in the fossilized remains of a never-before described creature that crawled or swam in the ocean 520 million years ago.

A team of researchers led by University of Arizona Regents’ Professor Nick Strausfeld and London Natural History Museum’s Greg Edgecombe have discovered the earliest known complete nervous system, exquisitely preserved in the fossilized remains of a never-before described creature that crawled or swam in the ocean 520 million years ago.

The find suggests that the ancestors of chelicerates – spiders, scorpions and their kin – branched off from the family tree of other arthropods – including insects, crustaceans and millipedes – more than half a billion years ago. (more…)

Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs Knotted Together

By Guest PostJuly 10, 2011Environment, Naturearctic breeding grounds, atlantic loggerhead sea turtles, chesapeake bay, conor mcgowan, crabs, delaware bay, ecological links, ecosphere, horseshoe crab, james hines, james lyons, james nichols, mid atlantic region, migrating shorebirds, new jersey, nutrient rich eggs, red knot, scorpions, sea turtle, shorebird species, spiders, ticks, U.S. Geological Survey, usgs, virginia

*Research Bolsters Importance of Horseshoe Crab Spawning for Migrating Shorebirds*

LAUREL, Md. – Speculation that the welfare of a small, at-risk shorebird is directly tied to horseshoe crab populations is in part supported by new scientific research, according to a U.S. Geological Survey- led study published in Ecosphere, a journal of the Ecological Society of America.

Population health of the red knot, a shorebird species whose population has plummeted over the last 15 years, has been directly tied to the number of egg-laying horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay — between Delaware and New Jersey — during the red knot’s northward migration each spring. (more…)

Scorpion Venom – Bad for Bugs, Good for Pesticides

By Guest PostMay 1, 2011Scienceamino acid, bugs, dong, fables, hapless turtles, insecticides, israeli desert scorpion, ke dong, michigan state university, nervous and muscular systems, neurobiologist, protect plants, protein, rapid electrical signaling, scorpion toxin, scorpion venom, scorpions, sodium channels, toxicologist, venom, voltage gated sodium channel

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Fables have long cast scorpions as bad-natured killers of hapless turtles that naively agree to ferry them across rivers. Michigan State University scientists, however, see them in a different light.

Ke Dong, MSU insect toxicologist and neurobiologist, studied the effects of scorpion venom with the hopes of finding new ways to protect plants from bugs. The results, which are published in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, have revealed new ways in which the venom works. (more…)

Tag Archives: scorpions

Extinct ‘Mega Claw’ Creature Had Spider-Like Brain

Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs Knotted Together

Scorpion Venom – Bad for Bugs, Good for Pesticides