Forensic Science

Megalania

Does a Komodo Dragon-type monitor roam the fringes of the Outback of Australia? Is there a surviving population of a huge species of the family Varanidae in Oz? Rex Gilroy thinks so, and he rolls the name off his tongue with ease, Megalania, the man eating giant lizard:

First Live Sightings of Shepherd’s Ziphiid

Shepherd’s beaked whale, Tasmacetus shepherdi. The oceans hold many natural history treasures and wonders. New animals are being discovered at a faster rate from the seas than in freshwater or on land. But these finds from the marine environment often get little attention from Homo sapiens versus, say, a new giant peccary or a new monkey. Overnight, famed marine biologist Bob Pitman shared with me breaking news about several new marine mammal species. The news will not get as much of a read as a fuzzy picture of a land mammal from the woods of Pennsylvania or of a rapid [...]

New Species of Tropical Pacific Beaked Whale?

In the latest edition of Marine Mammal Science there is an article about a likely new species of Mesoplodon (a beaked whale). As Robert Pitman says in an email tonight, “the last two years two new species of dolphins were also described in the pages of MMS – snubfin dolphin (Orcaella heinsohni) and costero (Sotalia guianensis). Genetics has revolutionized cetacean systematics – talk about cryptic species!” The new Marine Mammal Science, 23(4): 954–966 (October 2007), carries an article entitled “A Divergent mtDNA Linegage Among Mesoplodon Beaked Whales: Molecular Evidence for a New Species in the Tropical Pacific?” by Merel L. [...]

Dwarf Killer Whale Discovered in Antarctica

A new paper written by Robert Pitman of the NOAA Fisheries – Ecosystem Studies Program and his colleagues provides evidence that there is at least one new species of killer whale in Antarctica. In a new 2007 issue of Journal of Mammalogy, the article’s following abstract summarizes their findings: In the early 1980s, 2 groups of Soviet scientists independently described 1, possibly 2 new dwarf species of killer whales (Orcinus) from Antarctica. We used aerial photogrammetry to determine total length (TL) of 221 individual Type C killer whales—a fish-eating ecotype that inhabits dense pack ice—in the southern Ross Sea in [...]

Suttons, Flatwoods & Oompah-Loompahs

One reason [the Flatwoods Monster case] might remind you of the Kelly goblins is the name “Sutton.” It’s the town next to Flatwoods and the name of the family that was besieged one night by goblins, aliens, eagle owls or Oompah-Loompahs.Robert Schneck, November 6, 2007. Don Getty, River Otters, Grand Tetons. Used with full permission of Mr. Getty. Images and laughter sometimes are worth a thousand words.

Chupacabras DNA Results Are In

Contributed Photo: Phylis Canion Well, no need to dwell on this one. We all saw this coming, and it appears only a few people and the media thought this was going to be anything different. The DNA results are back from tests run on the “Chupacabras” (as it was called) found by Phylis Canion, near Cuero, Texas, in July, 2007. The biologists at the Texas State University have announced that it is a coyote (Canis latrans). The DNA sequence is a virtually identical match to DNA from the coyote. This is probably the answer a lot of folks thought might [...]