Current Events #2

This article is about the discovery of an ancient animal. These species are called Kombuisia. Scientists found fossils in Antarctica. These animals are about the size of a cat and have a short tail and stubby legs. They believe that Kombuisia laid eggs and did not have any fur. It is not sure whether these animals are warm blooded or cold blooded. These animals became extinct a long time ago, back when Antartica was part of Pangea. The climate was too hot for these animals, as well as many others to survive. A volcanoe eruption in Siberia caused global warming at that time, making it even worse.
I think that this is a very interesting article. I find it hard to believe that all these animals are exinct because Antartica was too warm. To be exact, about 80-95 percent of species went extinct, land and water. This is a very huge number. Today, Antartica is colder because overtime, it shifted more towards the south pole, making it cold. I think it is fascinating that scientists can find out so much just from looking at fossils.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34259034/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Class Response

One of my favorite things we did in class are the owl pellets. We took apart an owl pellet, found all the bones of the prey that it ate, and put its skeleton back together. It was very interesting and fascinating to see all the bones and feathers. I really liked this activity because I was amazed at how much I learned. I learned that owls do not chew their food, they swallow their prey whole. Owls usually eat rodents and small birds. The proventriculus produces enzymes and acids that help digest. The gizzard holds back the indigestible material such as the bones and feathers. The nutrients are absorbed by the small intestine. The indigestible material forms into a pellet. It goes back to the proventiculus and stays there for 10 hours before regurgitated. Regurgitation means that the owls is ready to eat again.
There are many new things I learned from this link. For instance, owl pellets are different from other pellets because they contain more food residue. This is because an owls digestibe juices are less acidic that other birds. I also learned that when an owl is about to regurgitate, it has a pained expression. It is reluctant to fly. The owl just simply spits the pellet out and leaves.
http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=owl+physiology&title=Digestion