This flea preserved about 20 million years ago in amber may carry evidence of an ancestral strain of the bubonic plague. Photo by George Poinar, Jr., courtesy of Oregon State University [CC BY-SA 2.0]The flea in this picture could contain the ancestor to one of the most horrifying diseases known to the human race, the Black Death. Also called the bubonic plague, this disease killed an estimated 50 million people in the 14th century, or 60 per cent of Europe’s entire population.
Examination of this flea found droplets of the deadly bacteria on its proboscis (sucking mouthpart) and in its backside. This thing’s got it bad!
George Poinar, Jr., an entomology researcher in the College of Science at Oregon State University, told Discover News reporters “Aside from physical characteristics of the fossil bacteria that are similar to plague bacteria, their location in the rectum of the flea is known to occur in modern plague bacteria, and in this fossil, the presence of similar bacteria in a dried droplet on the proboscis of the flea is consistent with the method of transmission of plague bacteria by modern fleas.”
In other words, it looks like we’ve got a winner!
Just as the mosquito that started all the trouble in Jurrasic Park, this chunk of amber was pulled from a mine in the Dominican Republic. Is it possible that this bacteria could somehow be revived? It’s not likely. Generally things that have been trapped in rock for 20 million years are going to be pretty dead. However, we have discovered bacteria that can survive in space, so what do we know?
The arrow points at bacteria on the proboscis of this flea preserved in amber, which researchers believe may be an ancestral strain of the bacteria that causes bubonic plague. Photo by George Poinar, Jr., courtesy of Oregon State University [CC BY-SA 2.0]Another question is could an early form of this plague have been partially responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs about 66 million years ago? Research suggests that the big event was a large asteroid (and that more may be coming). But imagine the double-whammy of terrible disease and an astro-event!Poinar added “If this is an ancient strain of Yersinia, it would be extraordinary. It would show that plague is actually an ancient disease that no doubt was infecting and possibly causing some extinction of animals long before any humans existed. Plague may have played a larger role in the past than we imagined.”Hopefully all of this will remain scientific curiosity and we won’t have some strange event that brings on the zombie apocalypse. Though, it wouldn’t hurt to have a few cans of food and some extra water handy.
A White Rhino calf with it's mother. Javan Rhino's are very similar in apperance but have smaller, more rounded horns.
Sadly, these beautiful creatures are never again to be seen in the country of Vietnam.
The Javan Rhino has been hunted to extinction by illegal poaching.
You hear about species being added to the Endangered Species list all the time, but when a particular animal is crossed off that list and it’s NOT because they’ve grown in number and are now safe, it’s a sad day for all of mankind.
The BBC News writes:
A critically endangered species of rhino is now extinct in Vietnam, according to a report by conservation groups.
The WWF and the International Rhino Foundation said the country’s last Javan rhino was probably killed by poachers, as its horn had been cut off.
Experts said the news was not a surprise, as only one sighting had been recorded in Vietnam since 2008.
Fewer than 50 individuals are now estimated to remain in the wild.
“It is painful that despite significant investment in Vietnamese rhino conservation, efforts failed to save this unique animal, ” said WWF’s Vietnam director Tran Thi Minh Hien.
“Vietnam has lost part of its natural heritage.”
One of the few pictures of a Javan Rhino caught on a trap cam.
These animals are amazing, intelligent, and this should never be allowed to happen to anything else, ever again.
This is just so sad. I know that the only reason we’re hearing about this particular animal is because the rhino is one of the larger mammals on Earth, and I know there are tons more creatures that disappear from that list every year that we never hear of…
Found this on Discovery.com, thought our readers would be interested. Enjoy!
A Triceratops may have been the last dinosaur standing, according to a new study that determined a fossil from Montana’s Hell Creek Formation is “the youngest dinosaur known to science.”
The Triceratops, described in the latest Royal Society Biology Letters, dates to 65 million years ago, the critical period of time associated with the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) extinction event that wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs and many other animals and plants.
Since this rhinoceros-looking, three-horned dinosaur lived so close to the mass extinction moment, it could negate an earlier theory that dinosaurs gradually died out before 65 million years ago.
