Video of Mysterious Undersea Creature Baffles Scientists

Pink Tentacle posits it might be a Ningen of Japanese urban legend--a blubbery, underwater humanoid! Apparently Ningen live in the icy waters of the Antarctic. This one was sighted southwest of Tokyo in the Sagami Bay.

Lots of weird sealife, but the guest of honor makes its creepy appearance begins after 1:20. Ningen on Wikipedia. 

/props to Boing Boing

Real live Hydra: two-headed, albino snake!

STEP RIGHT UP and feast your eyes on the slithering wonder--a diamond in the rough--an albino aberration with not one but TWO, HUNGRY HEADS! The mighty Hercules himself would feign at the sight of a such a sinister serpent!

Or so the story might go from the Venice Beach freak show proprieter who ponied up a cool $20k for this dual-headed hognose, appropriately called Lenny and Squiggly. It's rarity is enhanced by the genetic crap-shoot that is albinism. Apparently bicephalic animals suffer from many ailments which tend to significantly shorten their lifespans. The snake(s) is/are only 9 months old, but the owner has hopes it will live long and bring him a windfall. From The Examiner:

Like many two-headed snakes, both of their heads are fully functional and independent, though one of them exerts a far greater control over the body. Conjoined animals like Lenny and Squiggly often of difficulty moving due to conflicting orders from the two heads, making survival in the wild all but impossible. Life in captivity fares little better, though several animals have lived their full lifespans.

Not to second guess the founders of Western civilization, but these guys are almost too cute to really be a threat to Mediterranean demigods. Almost (they are snakes after all). Hognoses can be kept as "exotic pets," and it would seem their new owner has hit the mother lode.
 
Full story..
Also on Boing Boing with video...

Scientists Discover Micro-organisms That Don't Need Oxygen

Image: R. Danovaro et al., BMC Biology

Okay, this is getting nerdy, but it's still cool. (Science is ALWAYS cool!). Researchers have discovered the first micro-organism (animal) that doesn't need oxygen to survive. The organism dubbed Loricifera, was found on the L'Atalante basin in the Mediterranean.From Science American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS):

The creature's cells apparently lack mitochondria, the organelles that use oxygen to power a cell. Instead they are rich in what seem to be hydrogenosomes, organelles that can do a similar job in anaerobic (or oxygen free) environments. The find could help scientists understand what life might have looked like in the earth's early oceans, which also had very little oxygen.

Read the full story...

Reptoids of the Los Angeles Undergound!

So here's a plug-n-play RPG adventure if there ever was one. Man claims there's an entire underground city of lizard people living under LA and maps it. Cool, huh? The map above is an artifact from the 1930s and a product geophysicist mining engineer, G. Warren Shufelt. There's your adventure module right there--map and all! Reptoids.com, a reptilian alien tracking site (I'm not joking) has reprinted the original 1934 LA Times article that gives an overview of this strange legend:

So firmly does Shufelt and a little staff of assistants believe that a maze of catacombs and priceless golden tablets are to be found beneath downtown Los Angeles that the engineer and his aids have already driven a shaft 250 feet into the ground, the mouth of the shaft being on the old Banning property on North Hill street, overlooking Sunset Boulevard, Spring street and North Broadway.
And so convinced is the engineer of the infallibility of a radio x-ray perfected by him for detecting the presence of minerals and tunnels below the surface of the ground, an apparatus with which he says he has traced a pattern of catacombs and vaults forming the lost city, that he plans to continue sending his shaft downward until he has reached a depth of 1000 feet before discontinuing operations.

It gets better, apparently the lizard people dug the catacombs with chemicals after a great fire that scorched the Earth....5,000 years ago.

Large rooms in the domes of the hills above the city of labyrinths housed 1000 families "in the manner of tall buildings" and imperishable food supplies of the herb variety were stored in the catacombs to provide sustenance for the Lizard folk for great length of time as the next fire swept over the earth.

Cool! Get the round up of links from Boing Boing.

Bigfoot of Bemidji

Photo: Grand Forks Herald via Minneapolis Star Tribune

I can't say I've ever been a huge Bigfoot believer, but then again there are odd cryptozoological finds every now and again. An ancient species thought to be extinct is found somewhere or something thought to be mythological is found to actually be real.

It appears that someone's motion-sensor camera captured what appears to be a seven-foot primate walking in the woods behind their house. I'm not saying it's Bigfoot. But the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Minneapolis is my neighbor, I'm in glorious St. Paul, Minn.) seems to think it is--though local authorities and the DNR remain skeptical.

From the article:

On the rainy night of Oct. 24, at 7:20 p.m., the camera captured a blurry image of a black creature, about seven feet tall, striding through a stand of trees.

...and...

He said two elderly men who live closest to the site told him that late that night they had gone outside to use their outhouse and had heard strange squealing noises.

When asked to show him the direction of the sounds, they pointed to the area where the camera had been.

...and also...

They compared the image to one of an alleged Bigfoot photo taken years ago in California "and the features were identical," Kedrowski said.

Sherman said the Northern Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team has been receiving reports of Bigfoot sightings in 2006 and has had reports every year since, including four reports this year.

So, it looks like Sasquatch Season has begun!

Read on...

Best Archeological Finds of 09

National Geographic has listed their Top 10 Archeology Finds for the past year, which includes some really great discoveries. My personal favorites:

Blackbeard Pirate Relics!

Who wouldn't want to get their hands on some genuine pirate booty? (Okay, let me rephrase). Who wouldn't want to get their hands on a real-life pirate chest? (Oh, nevermind!) Read the article you scallywags:

Some of the newfound relics add to evidence that the ship belonged to the pirate. ""We feel pretty comfortable that that's what this is," said Marke Wilde-Ramsing, director of the Queen Anne's Revenge project for the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology.

...and...

Navigational instruments were favorite targets of looting pirates, because the tools could easily be sold or traded, said archaeologist David Moore of the North Carolina Maritime Museum, who is working on the wreck site.

World War II Samurai Subs

These WWII era submarines discovered off the coast of Hawaii were at the peak of naval stealth technology for the age and even carried folding-wing planes for sneak attacks. Maybe they should be called Ninja Subs? From the article:

Specifically designed for a stealth attack on the U.S. East Coast--perhaps targeting Washington D.C., and New York City--the "samurai subs" were fast, far-ranging, and in some cases carried folding-wing aircraft, according to Dik Daso, curator of modern military aircraft at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, speaking in the new National Geographic documentary Hunt for the Samurai Subs.

No word on whether the Samurai Sub commanders understood that DC and NYC are clear on the other side of North America....

Pre-Stonehenge Structure Found....Surrounded by Crop Circles!

Cue the sci-fi music, this one is just plain eerie. Archeologists found this site spanning nearly 500 acres when they examined aerial photos of crop circles. What they found were the remains of an undiscovered 6,000 year-old temple complex complete with tombs and burial mounds. From the article:

During the late Stone Age, it's believed, people in the region left their dead in the open to be picked clean by birds and other animals.

Skulls and other bones of people who were for some reason deemed significant were later placed inside the burial mounds, Wickstead explained.

"These are bone houses, in a way," she said. "Instead of whole bodies, [the tombs contain] parts of ancestors."

This one is among my favorites because there are so many unanswered questions. Were the crop circles just coincidence? Or do they exist to draw attention to the site? Be sure to check out both pages of this article on Nat Geo's site.

Read the complete list--it's chock full of fodder for pulp adventure, including the largest Anglo-Saxon treasure every discovered (pictured up top). Wait, let's try that again. I also take no small pride in that I covered one of the discoveries about the "Vampire crypt" on this blog, back in August. Score!

So there's like, 10 new ideas for you--now go have fun!

All photos: National Geographic

Giant Jellyfish Grow in Numbers, Plot Conquest

Photo: Discovery News and ABC Science Online

Well, we've done it. Thanks to overfishing and global warming, giant jellyfish have begun to increase in number. Overfishing has eliminated their natural predators and the rise in ocean temperature has given them an abundance of food. How long before they can do calculus and acquire mental telepathy. And apparently, their growth means even more bad news for seafood fans. From the Discovery Channel:

Jellyfish are normally kept in check by fish, which eat small jellyfish and compete for jellyfish food such as zooplankton, researchers said. But, with overfishing, jellyfish numbers are increasing.

These huge creatures can burst through fishing nets, as well as destroy local fisheries with their taste for fish eggs and larvae.

So not only are they chowing down like never before on a fat food supply, but they're cutting into ours. That's so evil! They're already human-sized. How long before they can pilot space ships?!

"(There is) a jellyfish called Nomura, which is the biggest jellyfish in the world. It can weigh 200 kilograms (440 pounds), as big as a sumo wrestler and is 2 meters (6.5 feet) in diameter," Richardson said.

Richardson said jellyfish numbers are increasing in Southeast Asia, the Black Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea.

Read more about our soon-to-be invertebrate overlords. Click on that photo to scare yourself silly!

Carnivorous Plant Dines on Jungle Rats

Photo: Redfern Natural History via CNN

There's an old saying that if you build a better mousetrap the world will beat a path to your door. Well it looks like mother nature has already made one. Meet Nepenthes attenboroughii the a species of Pitcher Plant, a carnivorous plant. This one eats rodents, namely jungle rats. As you can see in the photo below, they're called pitcher plants because of the vase-shaped vessel that makes up the bulk of the plant. This acts as mouth and stomach all-in-one.

Photo: Crytpomundo.com

Now, I'm sure all of you have at least seen a Venus Fly Trap at one point. Maybe at a conservatory or zoo, or even on TV. And we've all seen carnivorous plants in science fiction. Heck even Roadblock from G.I. Joe has had one run in too many with voracious flora.

But this isn't sci-fi, it's a real meat-eating plant! CNN takes us to the Philippines to where the plant was discovered:McPherson told CNN:

"Around the mouth of the pitcher are secretions of nectar which attracts insects and small animals. The rim has lots of waxy downward-pointing ridges which help prey fall directly into the pitcher.

"The pitchers are half full of a liquid consisting of acids and enzymes which help break down its prey."

The insectivorous, sometimes carnivorous diet is crucial for the plants' survival says McPherson.

"These plants grow in really harsh areas where soil quality is very poor -- often pure gravel or sand. Catching insects allows the plant to augment nutrients that it otherwise wouldn't have access to."

Still not grossed out? Here's a video of the plant feasting on a rat. And a slightly longer clip with narration explaining the deviousness of said plant. Enjoy!

The plant is named for famed broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough who although had nothing to do with it's discovery, was deemed an all-around, nice enough guy to name a deadly flesh eating plant after. Although he did do a segment on Venus Fly Traps, so that would seem to make sense.

Read more...

Giant Black "Blob" Attacks Alaska!

I guess there's more than one blob out there! This one is "definately organic" according to one official. And it likes cold water. Seriously creepy! From the Anchorage Daily News:

Hunters from Wainwright first started noticing the stuff sometime probably early last week. It's thick and dark and "gooey" and is drifting for miles in the cold Arctic waters, according to Gordon Brower with the North Slope Borough's Planning and Community Services Department.

Brower and other borough officials, joined by the U.S. Coast Guard, flew out to Wainwright to investigate. The agencies found "globs" of the stuff floating miles offshore Friday and collected samples for testing.

Here's some choice quotes about it's physical description:

It's certainly biological," Hasenauer said. "It's definitely not an oil product of any kind. It has no characteristics of an oil, or a hazardous substance, for that matter.

"It's definitely, by the smell and the makeup of it, it's some sort of naturally occurring organic or otherwise marine organism."

and...

"It's pitch black when it hits ice and it kind of discolors the ice and hangs off of it," Brower said. He saw some jellyfish tangled up in the stuff, and someone turned in what was left of a dead goose -- just bones and feathers -- to the borough's wildlife department.

Yuck!

Read more...

Photos courtesy of the North Slope Borough via Anchorage Daily News.

Newly Discovered "Megapiranha" May Be Evolutionary Step Between Nice Fish, Evil-er Ones

A newly discovered fossil of a previously unknown species of piranha, dubbed "megapiranha" (scary!) is being examined as the step between modern piranhas and a related, much larger species called pacu. The megapiranha is 3-foot in length (again, scary!) and holds clues in the formation of its teeth. From MSNBC:

Present-day piranhas have a single row of triangular teeth, like the blade on a saw, explained the researchers. Pacu have two rows of square teeth, presumably for crushing fruits and seeds.

"In modern piranhas, the teeth are arranged in a single file," said Wasila Dahdul, a visiting scientist at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in North Carolina. "But in the relatives of piranhas — which tend to be herbivorous fishes — the teeth are in two rows."

The new fossil shows an intermediate pattern: teeth in a zig-zag row. This suggests that the two rows in pacu were compressed to form a single row in piranhas. "It almost looks like the teeth are migrating from the second row into the first row," said John Lundberg, curator at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and a co-author of a study of the jawbone.

Read more...

Chinese Cat Grows Wings!

This would definitely fall under an X-File type of story--a cat in China has apparently grown "wing-like" appendages due to a genetic malformation. From MSNBC:

While some think the bony limbs may be a mutation of some kind — or even a Siamese twin growing inside the cat — others speculate it's a genetic change perhaps caused by chemicals ingested by the kitty's mother while she was pregnant.

Did the mention of a twin inside the cat make you gag a little bit? You're not alone. Even more disturbing is the fact that this is nothing new. Click this pic from Sodahead for more weirdness:

No word on how much Red Bull these cats may have ingested.

Read more...

Props: Photos borrowed from MSNBC and Sodahead.

Missing Link (to Lemurs?) Found!

Well, it appears the true missing link has been discovered--in Germany of all places. This is a surprise to be sure since most pre-homosapien fossils are found in North or East Africa. No matter, the real surprise is perhaps that we're more related to lemurs than we thought, which if you weren't aware, only hail from one place on Earth--Madagascar.

From National Geographic

The fossil, he says, bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as lemurs.

"This is the first link to all humans," Hurum, of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway, said in a statement. Ida represents "the closest thing we can get to a direct ancestor."

Ida, properly known as Darwinius masillae, has a unique anatomy. The lemur-like skeleton features primate-like characteristics, including grasping hands, opposable thumbs, clawless digits with nails, and relatively short limbs.

"This specimen looks like a really early fossil monkey that belongs to the group that includes us," said Brian Richmond, a biological anthropologist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., who was not involved in the study.

Read more...

Ida has her own website too.

New Antarctic Creatures Discovered

Sea monsters, sea "squirts," and translucent octopi oh my! Yes, Antarctica truly is the final frontier on this small blue-green world. I've long wondered what lies beneath the ice that covers the forgotten continent. Well below the waves, an iridescent octopus flutters in the frigid depths:


Live Science has a nice in-depth article....

Captains Cousteau and Nemo would be proud!