ScienceDaily (July 16, 2011) — Exceptionally preserved fossils of insect cocoons have allowed researchers in Argentina to describe how wasps played an important role in food webs devoted to consuming rotting dinosaur eggs. The research is published in the scientific journal Palaeontology.
The approximately 70 million year old eggs, from gigantic titanosaur sauropod dinosaurs were discovered in 1989 in the Patagonia region of Argentina, well known for yielding fossils of sauropod dinosaur eggs and even embryonic dinosaurs. Only recently it was discovered that one of the broken eggs contained tiny sausage-shaped structures, 2-3cm long and 1cm wide. The structures closely resembled fossilised insect cocoons, and were most similar in size and shape to the cocoons of some species of modern wasp.
There are many records of fossilised dinosaur eggs, and even several records of fossil cocoons, but, as author Dr Jorge Genise of the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales states "this is the first time that these cocoons are found closely associated with an egg." Such a study of organismal behaviour (e.g. burrows, footprints) is known as ichnology.
The results indicate "that wasps probably participated in the food web, mostly composed of scavenging insects, which developed on the rotten egg." The make-up of carrion communities -- spiders, beetles and other creatures populating rotting organic matter -- is more familiar to us from the screens of crime scene investigation documentaries.
The numbers and different types of creatures indicate the length of deposition and the time since death. In this particular CSI, it appears that the dinosaur egg was broken by force, and subsequent fractures in the egg shell allowed scavenging creatures to feed upon the contents. At egg sizes of around 20cm, this represents a sizable amount of yolk! Other creatures later appeared to feed not upon the egg contents, but on the initial scavengers themselves. The wasps represent the top of the food web, and could have been feeding on insects or spiders gorging on rotting egg contents.
These scavengers also played an important role in cleaning up nest sites. Palaeontologists believe that some dinosaurs revisited nest sites year after year to lay new clutches of eggs. Carrion communities were essential to removing decaying material in advance of new nesting seasons. This new discovery gives us an insight into the murky world of insect communities that thrived at the feet of gigantic dinosaurs.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110715135200.htm
Showing posts with label argentina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label argentina. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2011
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Shape-shifting rotifers (via Chad Arment)
Michael Marshall
In a pond in Argentina three animals are being hunted. They are tiny beasts, animals a tenth of a millimetre long, and are being menaced by monsters many times their size. The prey are rotifers, and each comes with a different complement of defensive spines.
They all look different, but the three hunted rotifers are genetically identical: not only are they from the same species, they are clones. So how did they become so distinct?
Attack the clones
A rotifer is small but intricate. Each one has a mouth lined with tiny hairs called cilia, which pulls food into its stomach and intestine. It also has a simple brain and nervous system. Most of the time they reproduce asexually, only having sex every once in a while – although one group, the bdelloid rotifers, have done without sex for 70 million years.
Keratella tropica is a herbivore, feeding mostly on algae but also snaffling the odd bacterium. It is box-shaped, twice as long as it is wide, and in its normal state it has three pairs of small spines on its front and one pair on its rear.
If predators arrive, Keratella quickly finds out that its standard complement of spines is not much of a defence. It would help if it could grow longer spines to fend them off, but it can't. "Its phenotype is fixed at birth," says rotifer biologist John Gilbert of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Instead, the mere presence of a certain predator can make it change the shape of its offspring. Occasional bouts of sex aside, Keratella's children are clones of the parent and carry exactly the same genes. How it does it is a mystery, but the animal "knows" which specific predators share its water and produces offspring with different defences accordingly. It is the only rotifer that responds selectively to different predators.
Hunted mother
The most dramatic transformation is triggered when it is hunted by another rotifer, Asplanchna brightwelli, which can be a relatively monstrous 0.7 millimetres long – seven times as long as Keratella. It is a voracious but unsophisticated predator that basically swims around randomly until it bumps into something, then tries to pull it in.
The offspring of an Asplanchna-hunted mother grow their right rear spines up to 0.1 millimetres long, four times as long as normal, while the left one disappears. They also grow two of the front pairs a bit, though the big rear spine is the key: it makes the animal too long for Asplanchna to swallow.
A second transformation occurs if Keratella has been hunted by Daphnia pulex. Sometimes clocking in at a whopping 3 millimetres long, these crustaceans are commonly known as water fleas and can take a major toll on rotifers. To deal with them, Keratella grows both its rear spines from the normal 0.02 millimetres to 0.03 millimetres, leaving the front spines unchanged.
Daphnia feeds by pulling a current of water through its body, then picking out food particles and rejecting everything else. Keratella is often rejected but gets damaged in the process. Having longer spines makes Daphnia reject it sooner, reducing the chance of fatal damage fourfold. Still, the spines are no good against Asplanchna, and Keratella faced with both enemies will always develop the enormous rear spine.
All this raises the question: why bother? If the anti-Daphnia defence is so much weaker, why not just use the anti-Asplanchna defence all the time? Perhaps the distended rear spine is more expensive to make, but Gilbert has found no evidence for a cost: anti-Asplanchna rotifers live just as long, and reproduce just as well, as their normal and anti-Daphnia counterparts.
Somehow these genetically identical animals recognise their enemies and, with no genetic mixing, create offspring with custom-made defences. What's more, as far as we can tell, it doesn't cost them anything. Talk about parenting skills.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19875-zoologger-child-clones-shapeshift-to-escape-hunters.html
In a pond in Argentina three animals are being hunted. They are tiny beasts, animals a tenth of a millimetre long, and are being menaced by monsters many times their size. The prey are rotifers, and each comes with a different complement of defensive spines.
They all look different, but the three hunted rotifers are genetically identical: not only are they from the same species, they are clones. So how did they become so distinct?
Attack the clones
A rotifer is small but intricate. Each one has a mouth lined with tiny hairs called cilia, which pulls food into its stomach and intestine. It also has a simple brain and nervous system. Most of the time they reproduce asexually, only having sex every once in a while – although one group, the bdelloid rotifers, have done without sex for 70 million years.
Keratella tropica is a herbivore, feeding mostly on algae but also snaffling the odd bacterium. It is box-shaped, twice as long as it is wide, and in its normal state it has three pairs of small spines on its front and one pair on its rear.
If predators arrive, Keratella quickly finds out that its standard complement of spines is not much of a defence. It would help if it could grow longer spines to fend them off, but it can't. "Its phenotype is fixed at birth," says rotifer biologist John Gilbert of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Instead, the mere presence of a certain predator can make it change the shape of its offspring. Occasional bouts of sex aside, Keratella's children are clones of the parent and carry exactly the same genes. How it does it is a mystery, but the animal "knows" which specific predators share its water and produces offspring with different defences accordingly. It is the only rotifer that responds selectively to different predators.
Hunted mother
The most dramatic transformation is triggered when it is hunted by another rotifer, Asplanchna brightwelli, which can be a relatively monstrous 0.7 millimetres long – seven times as long as Keratella. It is a voracious but unsophisticated predator that basically swims around randomly until it bumps into something, then tries to pull it in.
The offspring of an Asplanchna-hunted mother grow their right rear spines up to 0.1 millimetres long, four times as long as normal, while the left one disappears. They also grow two of the front pairs a bit, though the big rear spine is the key: it makes the animal too long for Asplanchna to swallow.
A second transformation occurs if Keratella has been hunted by Daphnia pulex. Sometimes clocking in at a whopping 3 millimetres long, these crustaceans are commonly known as water fleas and can take a major toll on rotifers. To deal with them, Keratella grows both its rear spines from the normal 0.02 millimetres to 0.03 millimetres, leaving the front spines unchanged.
Daphnia feeds by pulling a current of water through its body, then picking out food particles and rejecting everything else. Keratella is often rejected but gets damaged in the process. Having longer spines makes Daphnia reject it sooner, reducing the chance of fatal damage fourfold. Still, the spines are no good against Asplanchna, and Keratella faced with both enemies will always develop the enormous rear spine.
All this raises the question: why bother? If the anti-Daphnia defence is so much weaker, why not just use the anti-Asplanchna defence all the time? Perhaps the distended rear spine is more expensive to make, but Gilbert has found no evidence for a cost: anti-Asplanchna rotifers live just as long, and reproduce just as well, as their normal and anti-Daphnia counterparts.
Somehow these genetically identical animals recognise their enemies and, with no genetic mixing, create offspring with custom-made defences. What's more, as far as we can tell, it doesn't cost them anything. Talk about parenting skills.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19875-zoologger-child-clones-shapeshift-to-escape-hunters.html
Shape-shifting rotifers (via Chad Arment)
Michael Marshall
In a pond in Argentina three animals are being hunted. They are tiny beasts, animals a tenth of a millimetre long, and are being menaced by monsters many times their size. The prey are rotifers, and each comes with a different complement of defensive spines.
They all look different, but the three hunted rotifers are genetically identical: not only are they from the same species, they are clones. So how did they become so distinct?
Attack the clones
A rotifer is small but intricate. Each one has a mouth lined with tiny hairs called cilia, which pulls food into its stomach and intestine. It also has a simple brain and nervous system. Most of the time they reproduce asexually, only having sex every once in a while – although one group, the bdelloid rotifers, have done without sex for 70 million years.
Keratella tropica is a herbivore, feeding mostly on algae but also snaffling the odd bacterium. It is box-shaped, twice as long as it is wide, and in its normal state it has three pairs of small spines on its front and one pair on its rear.
If predators arrive, Keratella quickly finds out that its standard complement of spines is not much of a defence. It would help if it could grow longer spines to fend them off, but it can't. "Its phenotype is fixed at birth," says rotifer biologist John Gilbert of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Instead, the mere presence of a certain predator can make it change the shape of its offspring. Occasional bouts of sex aside, Keratella's children are clones of the parent and carry exactly the same genes. How it does it is a mystery, but the animal "knows" which specific predators share its water and produces offspring with different defences accordingly. It is the only rotifer that responds selectively to different predators.
Hunted mother
The most dramatic transformation is triggered when it is hunted by another rotifer, Asplanchna brightwelli, which can be a relatively monstrous 0.7 millimetres long – seven times as long as Keratella. It is a voracious but unsophisticated predator that basically swims around randomly until it bumps into something, then tries to pull it in.
The offspring of an Asplanchna-hunted mother grow their right rear spines up to 0.1 millimetres long, four times as long as normal, while the left one disappears. They also grow two of the front pairs a bit, though the big rear spine is the key: it makes the animal too long for Asplanchna to swallow.
A second transformation occurs if Keratella has been hunted by Daphnia pulex. Sometimes clocking in at a whopping 3 millimetres long, these crustaceans are commonly known as water fleas and can take a major toll on rotifers. To deal with them, Keratella grows both its rear spines from the normal 0.02 millimetres to 0.03 millimetres, leaving the front spines unchanged.
Daphnia feeds by pulling a current of water through its body, then picking out food particles and rejecting everything else. Keratella is often rejected but gets damaged in the process. Having longer spines makes Daphnia reject it sooner, reducing the chance of fatal damage fourfold. Still, the spines are no good against Asplanchna, and Keratella faced with both enemies will always develop the enormous rear spine.
All this raises the question: why bother? If the anti-Daphnia defence is so much weaker, why not just use the anti-Asplanchna defence all the time? Perhaps the distended rear spine is more expensive to make, but Gilbert has found no evidence for a cost: anti-Asplanchna rotifers live just as long, and reproduce just as well, as their normal and anti-Daphnia counterparts.
Somehow these genetically identical animals recognise their enemies and, with no genetic mixing, create offspring with custom-made defences. What's more, as far as we can tell, it doesn't cost them anything. Talk about parenting skills.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19875-zoologger-child-clones-shapeshift-to-escape-hunters.html
In a pond in Argentina three animals are being hunted. They are tiny beasts, animals a tenth of a millimetre long, and are being menaced by monsters many times their size. The prey are rotifers, and each comes with a different complement of defensive spines.
They all look different, but the three hunted rotifers are genetically identical: not only are they from the same species, they are clones. So how did they become so distinct?
Attack the clones
A rotifer is small but intricate. Each one has a mouth lined with tiny hairs called cilia, which pulls food into its stomach and intestine. It also has a simple brain and nervous system. Most of the time they reproduce asexually, only having sex every once in a while – although one group, the bdelloid rotifers, have done without sex for 70 million years.
Keratella tropica is a herbivore, feeding mostly on algae but also snaffling the odd bacterium. It is box-shaped, twice as long as it is wide, and in its normal state it has three pairs of small spines on its front and one pair on its rear.
If predators arrive, Keratella quickly finds out that its standard complement of spines is not much of a defence. It would help if it could grow longer spines to fend them off, but it can't. "Its phenotype is fixed at birth," says rotifer biologist John Gilbert of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Instead, the mere presence of a certain predator can make it change the shape of its offspring. Occasional bouts of sex aside, Keratella's children are clones of the parent and carry exactly the same genes. How it does it is a mystery, but the animal "knows" which specific predators share its water and produces offspring with different defences accordingly. It is the only rotifer that responds selectively to different predators.
Hunted mother
The most dramatic transformation is triggered when it is hunted by another rotifer, Asplanchna brightwelli, which can be a relatively monstrous 0.7 millimetres long – seven times as long as Keratella. It is a voracious but unsophisticated predator that basically swims around randomly until it bumps into something, then tries to pull it in.
The offspring of an Asplanchna-hunted mother grow their right rear spines up to 0.1 millimetres long, four times as long as normal, while the left one disappears. They also grow two of the front pairs a bit, though the big rear spine is the key: it makes the animal too long for Asplanchna to swallow.
A second transformation occurs if Keratella has been hunted by Daphnia pulex. Sometimes clocking in at a whopping 3 millimetres long, these crustaceans are commonly known as water fleas and can take a major toll on rotifers. To deal with them, Keratella grows both its rear spines from the normal 0.02 millimetres to 0.03 millimetres, leaving the front spines unchanged.
Daphnia feeds by pulling a current of water through its body, then picking out food particles and rejecting everything else. Keratella is often rejected but gets damaged in the process. Having longer spines makes Daphnia reject it sooner, reducing the chance of fatal damage fourfold. Still, the spines are no good against Asplanchna, and Keratella faced with both enemies will always develop the enormous rear spine.
All this raises the question: why bother? If the anti-Daphnia defence is so much weaker, why not just use the anti-Asplanchna defence all the time? Perhaps the distended rear spine is more expensive to make, but Gilbert has found no evidence for a cost: anti-Asplanchna rotifers live just as long, and reproduce just as well, as their normal and anti-Daphnia counterparts.
Somehow these genetically identical animals recognise their enemies and, with no genetic mixing, create offspring with custom-made defences. What's more, as far as we can tell, it doesn't cost them anything. Talk about parenting skills.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19875-zoologger-child-clones-shapeshift-to-escape-hunters.html
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Argentina: Family Faces the Dreaded Chupacabras
Source: Diario Popular OnLine
http://www.popularonline.com.ar/nota.php?Nota=569210
Argentina: La Pampa Family Faces the Dreaded Chupacabras
By Pachi LaFata
This is among the most traumatic and complex episodes of UFOlogy in recent times, and it took place in the Pampean locale of Santa Rosa on a 70 hectare field belonging to a cattle ranching family. One afternoon, the Giménez family witnessed strange movements and upon looking closely, the came face to face for ten seconds with a strange being they identified as the infamous “Chupacabras” as it fled the area after mutilating a cow.
In an interview with Expedientes Secretos, Andrea Perez Simondini of the VisionOVNI group remarked that “the La Pampa episode is among the most complex that we have had to investigate, given the fact that it contains many elements that link the phenomenology popularly associated with the Chupacabras to everything concerning the UFO phenomenon.”
Pérez Simondini also provided an important clue by highlighting that “in the La Pampa case, as in many others, there are direct links with the last study carried out in the Misiones incident, with the mass mutilation of ten sheep.”
A Detailed Report
Regarding the La Pampa event, Simondini recently published a document written by the protagonists themselves – the Giménez couple – making evident yet again the need for investigating these cases in depth. “We are Alberto and Alicia, and we are writing to tell you about our somewhat startling experience, involving a close encounter with the alleged Chupacabras,” said the couple in the document about the 2008 incident.
“We are from Santa Rosa, La Pampa Province, west of Buenos Aires Province. We live in a small seventy hectare field where we keep 30 cows and general livestock. Our country has recently suffered the strange phenomenon of cattle mutilations, attributed in great measure to this bizarre being,” stated the protagonists.
They explained: “Our cow pasture is approximately two kilometers away from our home. We tend to release them from their pens at eight in the morning, a task carried out by our three farmhands, and we bring them back ourselves in the afternoon, aided by our eldest son.
Among the Trees
Winter was just starting when the events occurred, and the couple was getting ready to bring in the cows around five o’clock in the afternoon. At that moment, Alberto saw three of his cows running some 200 meters from the stables. “This surprised us, because the cows have learned their daily routine. It should be noted that the pasture is located near a very dense patch of vegetation. This prompted us to jump into our pickup truck and head toward them in a hurry, feeling concerned.”
“The closer we got, the more we were alarmed as the cows were scattered. Our son jumped out of the pickup to round up the cattle, when were struck by a pervasive and disagreeable smell. We tried find out the source of the smell, and after walking 300 meters into the wilderness, we found the mutilated carcass of a cow missing its internal organs and genitals,” they said in the document.
According to the story “there was no trace of blood, which was surprising.” But that wasn’t all, because after combing the area for 10 minutes, Alicia heard strange noises from the pasture near the brush. He thought it was someone trying to sneak away. “We approached thinking we’d find a cattle rustler or an animal responsible for the cow’s death. We were scant meters away when we saw a being with the Chupacabras’s characteristics. We could see it for approximately 10 seconds, as it vanished into the trees,” they stated.
Simondini explained about the case that “it is very serious, confirmed even further by interviews to the family unit and with field work performed in the area.” She added: “the episode can be added to a long chain of events of similar characteristics. The latest was in Misiones, with the mutilated sheep that are still under study.”
An Uncommon Entity
Tales of encounters with the chupacabras are uncommon. In general, cases become known when mutilated animals are found. For this reason, the Gimenez family’s report in La Pampa is special. “The witnesses had the chance to run across the chupacabras, defining it as a 2-meter tall being with abundant fur, a face similar to that of a dog, claws, and great agility when it comes to leaping or climbing.” Simondini seeks “the close relationship between these cases and the UFO phenomenon, including events where the creature’s manifestations are tied to apparitions of lights.”
Andrea Perez Simondini is one of the country’s best-known researchers. Both she and her mother, Silvia Simondini of the VisionOVNI team, carry out a number of studies on cattle mutilation cases and their link to the UFO phenomenon. With regard to the La Pampa incident, and the Gimenez family’s story, she remarks that “mutilations occur all the time, throughout the country,” explaining that “not only the discoveries are involved: there are strange episodes before and after the animal attacks.”
“For example, we’ve recorded episodes of cattle attacks which also left hens in the area sterile, unable to lay eggs, within the framework of biological consequences that probably share the same origin,” notes Simondini. She also commented about the case involving “a rooster in Misiones that had to be put down in the area where the mass sheep mutilation occurred, due to its abrupt change of behavior.”
The La Pampa incident is associated with many episodes. In the locality of Colonia Elia in Entre Rios, in 2004, the creature was also seen by witness, in this case the son of the owners of an industrial chicken farm. He fired four times at the entity, but never managed to wound it. We carried out in-depth field work in the area, and we even found hairs in a trap that the family had placed to catch the entity.” As part of the report created around the event, the protagonist made a drawing which highlighted the “visitor’s” main characteristics.
http://www.popularonline.com.ar/nota.php?Nota=569210
Argentina: La Pampa Family Faces the Dreaded Chupacabras
By Pachi LaFata
This is among the most traumatic and complex episodes of UFOlogy in recent times, and it took place in the Pampean locale of Santa Rosa on a 70 hectare field belonging to a cattle ranching family. One afternoon, the Giménez family witnessed strange movements and upon looking closely, the came face to face for ten seconds with a strange being they identified as the infamous “Chupacabras” as it fled the area after mutilating a cow.
In an interview with Expedientes Secretos, Andrea Perez Simondini of the VisionOVNI group remarked that “the La Pampa episode is among the most complex that we have had to investigate, given the fact that it contains many elements that link the phenomenology popularly associated with the Chupacabras to everything concerning the UFO phenomenon.”
Pérez Simondini also provided an important clue by highlighting that “in the La Pampa case, as in many others, there are direct links with the last study carried out in the Misiones incident, with the mass mutilation of ten sheep.”
A Detailed Report
Regarding the La Pampa event, Simondini recently published a document written by the protagonists themselves – the Giménez couple – making evident yet again the need for investigating these cases in depth. “We are Alberto and Alicia, and we are writing to tell you about our somewhat startling experience, involving a close encounter with the alleged Chupacabras,” said the couple in the document about the 2008 incident.
“We are from Santa Rosa, La Pampa Province, west of Buenos Aires Province. We live in a small seventy hectare field where we keep 30 cows and general livestock. Our country has recently suffered the strange phenomenon of cattle mutilations, attributed in great measure to this bizarre being,” stated the protagonists.
They explained: “Our cow pasture is approximately two kilometers away from our home. We tend to release them from their pens at eight in the morning, a task carried out by our three farmhands, and we bring them back ourselves in the afternoon, aided by our eldest son.
Among the Trees
Winter was just starting when the events occurred, and the couple was getting ready to bring in the cows around five o’clock in the afternoon. At that moment, Alberto saw three of his cows running some 200 meters from the stables. “This surprised us, because the cows have learned their daily routine. It should be noted that the pasture is located near a very dense patch of vegetation. This prompted us to jump into our pickup truck and head toward them in a hurry, feeling concerned.”
“The closer we got, the more we were alarmed as the cows were scattered. Our son jumped out of the pickup to round up the cattle, when were struck by a pervasive and disagreeable smell. We tried find out the source of the smell, and after walking 300 meters into the wilderness, we found the mutilated carcass of a cow missing its internal organs and genitals,” they said in the document.
According to the story “there was no trace of blood, which was surprising.” But that wasn’t all, because after combing the area for 10 minutes, Alicia heard strange noises from the pasture near the brush. He thought it was someone trying to sneak away. “We approached thinking we’d find a cattle rustler or an animal responsible for the cow’s death. We were scant meters away when we saw a being with the Chupacabras’s characteristics. We could see it for approximately 10 seconds, as it vanished into the trees,” they stated.
Simondini explained about the case that “it is very serious, confirmed even further by interviews to the family unit and with field work performed in the area.” She added: “the episode can be added to a long chain of events of similar characteristics. The latest was in Misiones, with the mutilated sheep that are still under study.”
An Uncommon Entity
Tales of encounters with the chupacabras are uncommon. In general, cases become known when mutilated animals are found. For this reason, the Gimenez family’s report in La Pampa is special. “The witnesses had the chance to run across the chupacabras, defining it as a 2-meter tall being with abundant fur, a face similar to that of a dog, claws, and great agility when it comes to leaping or climbing.” Simondini seeks “the close relationship between these cases and the UFO phenomenon, including events where the creature’s manifestations are tied to apparitions of lights.”
Andrea Perez Simondini is one of the country’s best-known researchers. Both she and her mother, Silvia Simondini of the VisionOVNI team, carry out a number of studies on cattle mutilation cases and their link to the UFO phenomenon. With regard to the La Pampa incident, and the Gimenez family’s story, she remarks that “mutilations occur all the time, throughout the country,” explaining that “not only the discoveries are involved: there are strange episodes before and after the animal attacks.”
“For example, we’ve recorded episodes of cattle attacks which also left hens in the area sterile, unable to lay eggs, within the framework of biological consequences that probably share the same origin,” notes Simondini. She also commented about the case involving “a rooster in Misiones that had to be put down in the area where the mass sheep mutilation occurred, due to its abrupt change of behavior.”
The La Pampa incident is associated with many episodes. In the locality of Colonia Elia in Entre Rios, in 2004, the creature was also seen by witness, in this case the son of the owners of an industrial chicken farm. He fired four times at the entity, but never managed to wound it. We carried out in-depth field work in the area, and we even found hairs in a trap that the family had placed to catch the entity.” As part of the report created around the event, the protagonist made a drawing which highlighted the “visitor’s” main characteristics.
Argentina: Family Faces the Dreaded Chupacabras
Source: Diario Popular OnLine
http://www.popularonline.com.ar/nota.php?Nota=569210
Argentina: La Pampa Family Faces the Dreaded Chupacabras
By Pachi LaFata
This is among the most traumatic and complex episodes of UFOlogy in recent times, and it took place in the Pampean locale of Santa Rosa on a 70 hectare field belonging to a cattle ranching family. One afternoon, the Giménez family witnessed strange movements and upon looking closely, the came face to face for ten seconds with a strange being they identified as the infamous “Chupacabras” as it fled the area after mutilating a cow.
In an interview with Expedientes Secretos, Andrea Perez Simondini of the VisionOVNI group remarked that “the La Pampa episode is among the most complex that we have had to investigate, given the fact that it contains many elements that link the phenomenology popularly associated with the Chupacabras to everything concerning the UFO phenomenon.”
Pérez Simondini also provided an important clue by highlighting that “in the La Pampa case, as in many others, there are direct links with the last study carried out in the Misiones incident, with the mass mutilation of ten sheep.”
A Detailed Report
Regarding the La Pampa event, Simondini recently published a document written by the protagonists themselves – the Giménez couple – making evident yet again the need for investigating these cases in depth. “We are Alberto and Alicia, and we are writing to tell you about our somewhat startling experience, involving a close encounter with the alleged Chupacabras,” said the couple in the document about the 2008 incident.
“We are from Santa Rosa, La Pampa Province, west of Buenos Aires Province. We live in a small seventy hectare field where we keep 30 cows and general livestock. Our country has recently suffered the strange phenomenon of cattle mutilations, attributed in great measure to this bizarre being,” stated the protagonists.
They explained: “Our cow pasture is approximately two kilometers away from our home. We tend to release them from their pens at eight in the morning, a task carried out by our three farmhands, and we bring them back ourselves in the afternoon, aided by our eldest son.
Among the Trees
Winter was just starting when the events occurred, and the couple was getting ready to bring in the cows around five o’clock in the afternoon. At that moment, Alberto saw three of his cows running some 200 meters from the stables. “This surprised us, because the cows have learned their daily routine. It should be noted that the pasture is located near a very dense patch of vegetation. This prompted us to jump into our pickup truck and head toward them in a hurry, feeling concerned.”
“The closer we got, the more we were alarmed as the cows were scattered. Our son jumped out of the pickup to round up the cattle, when were struck by a pervasive and disagreeable smell. We tried find out the source of the smell, and after walking 300 meters into the wilderness, we found the mutilated carcass of a cow missing its internal organs and genitals,” they said in the document.
According to the story “there was no trace of blood, which was surprising.” But that wasn’t all, because after combing the area for 10 minutes, Alicia heard strange noises from the pasture near the brush. He thought it was someone trying to sneak away. “We approached thinking we’d find a cattle rustler or an animal responsible for the cow’s death. We were scant meters away when we saw a being with the Chupacabras’s characteristics. We could see it for approximately 10 seconds, as it vanished into the trees,” they stated.
Simondini explained about the case that “it is very serious, confirmed even further by interviews to the family unit and with field work performed in the area.” She added: “the episode can be added to a long chain of events of similar characteristics. The latest was in Misiones, with the mutilated sheep that are still under study.”
An Uncommon Entity
Tales of encounters with the chupacabras are uncommon. In general, cases become known when mutilated animals are found. For this reason, the Gimenez family’s report in La Pampa is special. “The witnesses had the chance to run across the chupacabras, defining it as a 2-meter tall being with abundant fur, a face similar to that of a dog, claws, and great agility when it comes to leaping or climbing.” Simondini seeks “the close relationship between these cases and the UFO phenomenon, including events where the creature’s manifestations are tied to apparitions of lights.”
Andrea Perez Simondini is one of the country’s best-known researchers. Both she and her mother, Silvia Simondini of the VisionOVNI team, carry out a number of studies on cattle mutilation cases and their link to the UFO phenomenon. With regard to the La Pampa incident, and the Gimenez family’s story, she remarks that “mutilations occur all the time, throughout the country,” explaining that “not only the discoveries are involved: there are strange episodes before and after the animal attacks.”
“For example, we’ve recorded episodes of cattle attacks which also left hens in the area sterile, unable to lay eggs, within the framework of biological consequences that probably share the same origin,” notes Simondini. She also commented about the case involving “a rooster in Misiones that had to be put down in the area where the mass sheep mutilation occurred, due to its abrupt change of behavior.”
The La Pampa incident is associated with many episodes. In the locality of Colonia Elia in Entre Rios, in 2004, the creature was also seen by witness, in this case the son of the owners of an industrial chicken farm. He fired four times at the entity, but never managed to wound it. We carried out in-depth field work in the area, and we even found hairs in a trap that the family had placed to catch the entity.” As part of the report created around the event, the protagonist made a drawing which highlighted the “visitor’s” main characteristics.
http://www.popularonline.com.ar/nota.php?Nota=569210
Argentina: La Pampa Family Faces the Dreaded Chupacabras
By Pachi LaFata
This is among the most traumatic and complex episodes of UFOlogy in recent times, and it took place in the Pampean locale of Santa Rosa on a 70 hectare field belonging to a cattle ranching family. One afternoon, the Giménez family witnessed strange movements and upon looking closely, the came face to face for ten seconds with a strange being they identified as the infamous “Chupacabras” as it fled the area after mutilating a cow.
In an interview with Expedientes Secretos, Andrea Perez Simondini of the VisionOVNI group remarked that “the La Pampa episode is among the most complex that we have had to investigate, given the fact that it contains many elements that link the phenomenology popularly associated with the Chupacabras to everything concerning the UFO phenomenon.”
Pérez Simondini also provided an important clue by highlighting that “in the La Pampa case, as in many others, there are direct links with the last study carried out in the Misiones incident, with the mass mutilation of ten sheep.”
A Detailed Report
Regarding the La Pampa event, Simondini recently published a document written by the protagonists themselves – the Giménez couple – making evident yet again the need for investigating these cases in depth. “We are Alberto and Alicia, and we are writing to tell you about our somewhat startling experience, involving a close encounter with the alleged Chupacabras,” said the couple in the document about the 2008 incident.
“We are from Santa Rosa, La Pampa Province, west of Buenos Aires Province. We live in a small seventy hectare field where we keep 30 cows and general livestock. Our country has recently suffered the strange phenomenon of cattle mutilations, attributed in great measure to this bizarre being,” stated the protagonists.
They explained: “Our cow pasture is approximately two kilometers away from our home. We tend to release them from their pens at eight in the morning, a task carried out by our three farmhands, and we bring them back ourselves in the afternoon, aided by our eldest son.
Among the Trees
Winter was just starting when the events occurred, and the couple was getting ready to bring in the cows around five o’clock in the afternoon. At that moment, Alberto saw three of his cows running some 200 meters from the stables. “This surprised us, because the cows have learned their daily routine. It should be noted that the pasture is located near a very dense patch of vegetation. This prompted us to jump into our pickup truck and head toward them in a hurry, feeling concerned.”
“The closer we got, the more we were alarmed as the cows were scattered. Our son jumped out of the pickup to round up the cattle, when were struck by a pervasive and disagreeable smell. We tried find out the source of the smell, and after walking 300 meters into the wilderness, we found the mutilated carcass of a cow missing its internal organs and genitals,” they said in the document.
According to the story “there was no trace of blood, which was surprising.” But that wasn’t all, because after combing the area for 10 minutes, Alicia heard strange noises from the pasture near the brush. He thought it was someone trying to sneak away. “We approached thinking we’d find a cattle rustler or an animal responsible for the cow’s death. We were scant meters away when we saw a being with the Chupacabras’s characteristics. We could see it for approximately 10 seconds, as it vanished into the trees,” they stated.
Simondini explained about the case that “it is very serious, confirmed even further by interviews to the family unit and with field work performed in the area.” She added: “the episode can be added to a long chain of events of similar characteristics. The latest was in Misiones, with the mutilated sheep that are still under study.”
An Uncommon Entity
Tales of encounters with the chupacabras are uncommon. In general, cases become known when mutilated animals are found. For this reason, the Gimenez family’s report in La Pampa is special. “The witnesses had the chance to run across the chupacabras, defining it as a 2-meter tall being with abundant fur, a face similar to that of a dog, claws, and great agility when it comes to leaping or climbing.” Simondini seeks “the close relationship between these cases and the UFO phenomenon, including events where the creature’s manifestations are tied to apparitions of lights.”
Andrea Perez Simondini is one of the country’s best-known researchers. Both she and her mother, Silvia Simondini of the VisionOVNI team, carry out a number of studies on cattle mutilation cases and their link to the UFO phenomenon. With regard to the La Pampa incident, and the Gimenez family’s story, she remarks that “mutilations occur all the time, throughout the country,” explaining that “not only the discoveries are involved: there are strange episodes before and after the animal attacks.”
“For example, we’ve recorded episodes of cattle attacks which also left hens in the area sterile, unable to lay eggs, within the framework of biological consequences that probably share the same origin,” notes Simondini. She also commented about the case involving “a rooster in Misiones that had to be put down in the area where the mass sheep mutilation occurred, due to its abrupt change of behavior.”
The La Pampa incident is associated with many episodes. In the locality of Colonia Elia in Entre Rios, in 2004, the creature was also seen by witness, in this case the son of the owners of an industrial chicken farm. He fired four times at the entity, but never managed to wound it. We carried out in-depth field work in the area, and we even found hairs in a trap that the family had placed to catch the entity.” As part of the report created around the event, the protagonist made a drawing which highlighted the “visitor’s” main characteristics.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Bullfrogs invade Argentina (Via HerpDigest)
American Bullfrog Lithobates Catesbeianus (Shaw, 1802) Invasion In Argentina
Biological Invasion, , Volume 12, Number 4, 4/10
Mauricio Sebastián Akmentins1 and Darío Elbio Cardozo2 1) CONICET-Centro de Investigaciones Básicas y Aplicadas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Avenida Bolivia 1239, 4600 S. S. de Jujuy,
2) CONICET-IBIGEO-Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Mendoza 2, 4400 Salta, Argentina
Abstract
The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) has been introduced throughout the world over the past two centuries. This taxa is a potentially devastating invader because of its large size, prolific reproductive output, and broad ecological niche. Consequently, the extent of this ongoing biological invasion is an increasing conservation concern. In Argentina, several introduced populations have been reported. In most cases, these introductions have been intentional or incidental releases from breeding facilities, yet the consequences and effective controls for captive-breeding programs have not been assessed by government environmental agencies. Further studies are needed regarding the trophic ecology, reproductive biology, ecological niche, and chytrid fungus infection prevalence to predict the ultimate impacts of this species on native ecosystems. The aim of this work is to report a new alien population of L. catesbeianus at La Candelaria, Salta province, Argentina. This record represents the first population of American bullfrogs detected in northwestern Argentina
Mauricio Sebastián Akmentins (Corresponding author)
Email: mauriakme@gmail.com
Darío Elbio Cardozo
Email: darcardz@gmail.com
_______________________________________________________________
Biological Invasion, , Volume 12, Number 4, 4/10
Mauricio Sebastián Akmentins1 and Darío Elbio Cardozo2 1) CONICET-Centro de Investigaciones Básicas y Aplicadas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional de Jujuy, Avenida Bolivia 1239, 4600 S. S. de Jujuy,
2) CONICET-IBIGEO-Museo de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Mendoza 2, 4400 Salta, Argentina
Abstract
The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) has been introduced throughout the world over the past two centuries. This taxa is a potentially devastating invader because of its large size, prolific reproductive output, and broad ecological niche. Consequently, the extent of this ongoing biological invasion is an increasing conservation concern. In Argentina, several introduced populations have been reported. In most cases, these introductions have been intentional or incidental releases from breeding facilities, yet the consequences and effective controls for captive-breeding programs have not been assessed by government environmental agencies. Further studies are needed regarding the trophic ecology, reproductive biology, ecological niche, and chytrid fungus infection prevalence to predict the ultimate impacts of this species on native ecosystems. The aim of this work is to report a new alien population of L. catesbeianus at La Candelaria, Salta province, Argentina. This record represents the first population of American bullfrogs detected in northwestern Argentina
Mauricio Sebastián Akmentins (Corresponding author)
Email: mauriakme@gmail.com
Darío Elbio Cardozo
Email: darcardz@gmail.com
_______________________________________________________________
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)