Posts: 69248
Threads: 3759
Joined: August 2, 2009
Reputation:
259
Dinosaurs' Super-Sized Fleas.....
March 1, 2012 at 1:15 pm
(This post was last modified: March 1, 2012 at 2:03 pm by Minimalist.)
Yikes..... evolution in action to the everlasting annoyance of creationist assholes.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2...-ones.html
Quote:Engel and his co-authors studied nine flea specimens from two sites: the 165-million-year-old Jurassic deposits in Daohugou and the 125-million-year-old Cretaceous strata at Huangbanjigou, both in China. The insects were not quite like fleas as we now know them. Whereas modern fleas range from 1 to 10 millimetres in length, the Jurassic and Cretaceous species were between 8 and 21 millimetres. "These were hefty insects as far as fleas are concerned," says Engel.
I wonder how dinosaurs scratched their balls?
Posts: 4345
Threads: 43
Joined: February 21, 2012
Reputation:
64
RE: Dinosaurs' Super-Sized Fleas.....
March 1, 2012 at 1:21 pm
Server not found 
Posts: 19788
Threads: 57
Joined: September 24, 2010
Reputation:
85
RE: Dinosaurs' Super-Sized Fleas.....
March 1, 2012 at 1:23 pm
a flea an inch long!
Posts: 66328
Threads: 140
Joined: June 28, 2011
Reputation:
160
RE: Dinosaurs' Super-Sized Fleas.....
March 1, 2012 at 1:29 pm
(This post was last modified: March 1, 2012 at 1:32 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Higher levels of oxygen in the atmosphere translated to higher levels of oxygen in the bloodstream (thus lessening the difficulty in getting oxygen to large structures allowing for bigger and bigger creatures).
Another fun one, high concentrations of gasses like methane also made thunderstorms massive pyrotechnic displays. Lightning could literally set the air on fire.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
Posts: 69248
Threads: 3759
Joined: August 2, 2009
Reputation:
259
RE: Dinosaurs' Super-Sized Fleas.....
March 1, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Oops, sorry. Fixed the link.
Posts: 4345
Threads: 43
Joined: February 21, 2012
Reputation:
64
RE: Dinosaurs' Super-Sized Fleas.....
March 1, 2012 at 2:11 pm
(March 1, 2012 at 2:00 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Oops, sorry. Fixed the link.
Thanks 
Posts: 19788
Threads: 57
Joined: September 24, 2010
Reputation:
85
RE: Dinosaurs' Super-Sized Fleas.....
March 1, 2012 at 2:24 pm
(March 1, 2012 at 1:29 pm)Rhythm Wrote: Higher levels of oxygen in the atmosphere translated to higher levels of oxygen in the bloodstream (thus lessening the difficulty in getting oxygen to large structures allowing for bigger and bigger creatures).
Another fun one, high concentrations of gasses like methane also made thunderstorms massive pyrotechnic displays. Lightning could literally set the air on fire.
Hmmm, but the mesozoic age when dinosaurs flurished is characterized by dramatically lower atmospheric oxygen levels, and higher carbon dioxide levels than what we see now.
If fact, dinosaurs had bird like throughflow respiratory systems that were much more efficient in extract oxygen and getting rid of CO2 than mammalian bellow lungs. Many paleotologists think it was dinosaurs' superior ability to function in a low oxygen environment that allowed them to displace primitive mammals that had been dominant before.
Posts: 66328
Threads: 140
Joined: June 28, 2011
Reputation:
160
RE: Dinosaurs' Super-Sized Fleas.....
March 1, 2012 at 2:45 pm
(This post was last modified: March 1, 2012 at 2:48 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Was speaking generally in the case of the giant bugs of distant prehistory. However......these fleas would be a sticky issue in the timeframe they were placed in, if they weren't fleas, benefiting from whatever adaptation their hosts were benefiting from. 
(I omitted the word "once" in my post...typos kill, thx for picking that up. Wouldn't want our resident creationists pouncing.)
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
|
