insert_link World Africa is full of bats, but their fossils are scarce – why these rare records matter By Mariëtte Pretorius, University of the Witwatersrand Africa is home to more than 20% of the world’s bat population. There are over 200 species to be found on the continent. South Africa is particularly diverse, with 72 bat species. I am a zoologist who has studied bats for many years. Recently, while doing some reading about South Africa’s fossils, I started wondering about bat fossils. Given […] todayApril 18, 2024 16
insert_link Environment Fossil beetles found in a Botswana diamond mine help us to reconstruct the distant past By Sandiso Mnguni, University of the Witwatersrand When most people think of fossils they probably picture bones. But there’s much more to the global fossil record: plants, shells, minerals and insects. The study of fossil insects is called palaeoentomology. Palaeoentomologists like myself seek out and study fossil insects that were trapped in mud which later became rock sediments, and those found in amber (tree resin). Very few deposits […] todayApril 11, 2024 10
insert_link Africa Duckbill dinosaur discovery in Morocco – expert unpacks the mystery of how they got there By Nicholas R. Longrich, University of Bath Why are fossils of duckbill dinosaurs, a North American family, found in North Africa? Dinosaurs couldn’t just walk there. Sixty-six million years ago, when duckbills suddenly appear in Africa’s fossil record, the world’s land masses formed a series of islands. A seaway divided eastern and western North America; Europe was an archipelago. South America, India, Australia and Madagascar were all island […] todayMarch 22, 2024 26
insert_link Africa Morocco dinosaur discovery gives clues on why they went extinct By Nicholas R. Longrich, University of Bath 66 million years ago, the last dinosaurs vanished from Earth. We’re still trying to understand why. New fossils of abelisaurs – distant relatives of the tyrannosaurs – from north Africa suggest that African dinosaurs remained diverse up to the very end. And that suggests their demise came suddenly, with the impact of a giant asteroid. The causes of the mass […] todayFebruary 13, 2024 12
insert_link Environment Tropical forests share similar mix of common and rare tree species, study shows A flowering tree in the Amazon rainforest canopy. Photo credit: Rhett A. Butler By Liz Kimbrough via Mongabay A new study has for the first time identified the most common tree species in the tropical forests of Africa, the Amazon and Southeast Asia — and their similarities have surprised scientists. “The [study] shows some uncanny similarities among the world’s great tropical rainforests,” said tropical ecologist Bill Laurance, a co-author of […] todayFebruary 1, 2024 38
