Missing link in shark evolution found

'Missing link' in shark evolution found in 380m-year-old Australian fossil

Fossilised skeleton found in Kimberley shows sharks once had bone cells within cartilage, suggesting a sophisticated evolutionary path.A 380m-year-old fossil found in Western Australia has been hailed as the “missing link” in shark evolution, revealing the marine predator has a far more sophisticated lineage than previously thought.The fossilised skeleton, jaws and teeth, found at the Gogo formation in the Kimberley region of WA, shows the ancient shark had a small amount of bone as well as cartilage.As modern-day sharks have fully cartilage skeletons, the fossil suggests they evolved from an earlier, bonier fish, transforming to a cartilage skeleton to make them lighter, more nimble and quicker through the water.It was previously thought that sharks came from a primitive lineage that didn’t ever develop bone, unlike other fish.

“That idea of shark evolution has been completely turned on its head,” said palaeontologist John Long of Flinders University, who discovered the fossil. “Cartilage is seen as the precursor to bone, so sharks must be primitive because they never developed bone. This fossil suggests sharks went in the opposite direction because modern sharks lost bone.”

Read rest here: http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/29/missing-link-in-shark-evolution-found-in-380m-year-old-australian-fossil

Bones of ancient human found, new species

New species' of ancient human found

By Rebecca Morelle Science Correspondent, BBC News

A new species of ancient human has been unearthed in the Afar region of Ethiopia, scientists report. Researchers discovered jaw bones and teeth, which date to between 3.3m and 3.5m years old. It means this new hominin was alive at the same time as several other early human species, suggesting our family tree is more complicated than was thought. The study is published in the journal Nature. The new species has been called Australopithecus deyiremeda, which means "close relative" in the language spoken by the Afar people.

Read rest here : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32906836

Maybe they will  find a relative to bigfoot soon. There seem to have been many variants of humans in the early days so who knows Bigfoot Fans ,a relative may yet turn up.

Another Bigfoot type creature The Wawa Grande .

The Wawa Grande or the Monster of the Cajas Mountains in Ecuador has been around for 200 years according to stories.It  is similar to a Bigfoot being described as a tall hairy humanoid creature. Reports say it is up to 8 feet tall ,weighs up to 400 lbs and depending on the witness can have red, white, grey or brown/blackish hair. Sometimes it walks on all fours ,sometimes it stands upright on two legs.
The creature had been sighted several times in the 1980s. In July 1988 a Scottish hiker claimed  he was attacked by two Wawa Grandes. The man named as Robert Burns said he sheltered in a cave from a snow storm and was attacked  and thrown out of the cave. He was treated at Cuenca hospital for a broken arm, lacerations and bite marks .
In 1997 a guide, Carlos Castro, said he took video of the creature during a hike with three German tourists. He also  claims to have seen the creature on  another occasion.
In 2008 and 2009 that there was another rash of sightings in a small but very high area of the National Park. Two Swedish Hikers in 2009 saw a Wawa Grande and a photo they said they took appeared in a Swedish Newspaper in July 2009.
An article published in May 2013 said that some British tourists has seen the creature in April and taken photos. One of them is a scientist and he said he could not explain what he saw except it  was a hairy humanoid with  light coloured fur .The photos have never been released to the media.

So another bigfoot type creature. Whether you think they are real or not, it is interesting that all the descriptions of these creatures from all over the world have similar characteristics. Some have been reported to show aggression. So large unknown  apes or gorillas or something else, a relic humanoid perhaps?

Lake Pepin creature in the news

Lake Pepin town hopes its own Loch Ness monster draws the curious

By Richard Chin

rchin@pioneerpress.com

Is having a monster in the neighborhood good for business? A couple of small towns in the region are hoping so, thanks in part to a Twin Cities author and paranormal researcher. Chad Lewis makes a living writing guidebooks like "The Minnesota Road Guide to Haunted Locations" and "The Minnesota Road Guide to Mysterious Creatures."
In 2013, the Minneapolis man co-wrote a book about the "Van Meter Visitor," a giant half-man, half-animal creature with batlike wings, a glowing horn, three-toed feet and bad body odor that supposedly emerged from an abandoned mine and terrorized the small town of Van Meter, Iowa, for several days in the fall of 1903.
Renewed interest in the bizarre old tale led to Lewis helping Van Meter organize a "Visitor Day's Festival," including a monster hunt walking tour. "It was successful for us," said Van Meter resident Rachel Backstrom, who was on the monster festival planning committee. The town of about 1,000 people drew about 300 people to the second annual event in September, Backstrom said. "We pretty much sold out our T-shirts," she said.
Now Lewis is doing something similar for Lake Pepin, south of the Twin Cities. He and co-author Noah Voss recently published "Pepie: The Lake Monster of the Mississippi River" about a creature supposedly lurking in the waters of Lake Pepin. On Sunday, they're helping Lake City, Minn., put on Pepie Fest, "the world's largest lake monster hunt and festival," according to Lewis. "There's not a lot of lake monster festivals around the world," Lewis admits.
Tales of a sea serpent swimming in Lake Pepin supposedly reach back to native Dakota people and early pioneers and explorers. For example, a "Book of Days Almanac" published by the Minnesota Historical Society reports that a strange creature was seen swimming in the lake on April 28, 1871

Read rest here : http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_28163084/lake-pepin-town-hopes-its-own-loch-ness?source=rss

Read about Pepie here : http://cryptozoo-oscity.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/lake-pepin-creature.html

Some old water beasties

I found this about an old scottish loch creature .Hector Boece's work published in 1536 The History and Chronicles of Scotland, was mainly stories collected from people he spoke to. Duncan Campbell, told him a story about a loch monster. In 1510, a beast rose from the waters of a loch called Garloll in Argyll-shire, Scotland. Campbell described it as being as big as a large dog like a wolfhound but it had the feet of a gander. It was so large it could knock down trees with it's tail and it killed three hunters by hitting them with it's tail. It then fled back to the loch. It was said to be a bad omen if the beast rose .There isn't a Garloll in Scotland but there is Loch Gairloch in Wester Ross, in the North-West Highlands of Scotland.

(you can find the original version on google books to read)

Another old beastie lives in the Irish sea by the Isle of Mann. The Beisht KioneYn as it's called which means 'the beast with the black head,' in Manx .It is said to have been feared by the local fishermen and sailors. They dreaded to see it raise it's head above the waves. Described as a serpentine creature like a giant legless crocodile. Folklore says it will snatch children who stray too close to the edge of the cliffs.

There is also a malevolent seahorse called the Tangie said to inhabit Britain's Shetland and Orkney Islands. It resembles a scruffy pony with a long shaggy mane of seaweed. It likes to frighten travellers along the lochs at night and devours young women.

Further north is the Havhest or sea-horse. It is a Sea-Serpent in Scandinavian folklore. It has a horse like head and the tail of a fish.It has many characteristics such as glittering yellow eyes, a long mane down its back, and forelimbs like a seal’s,plus a double row of fangs and it can breathe fire,It is blamed for sinking ships and has only been seen a few times since the nineteenth century.

A round up of a few beasties you may not have heard of.Some of the old stories have similar traits and the descriptions are often horse like which reminds me of the water horse legends. They were all said to live in lakes and lochs. Folklore passed down through the generations...or some truth in it? You decide .

Lake Pepin Creature

Lake Pepin and the creature known as Pepie

Lake Pepin is the largest lake on the Mississippi River, about two miles wide and 22 miles long with an average depth of 18 feet (5.5 m).. It forms the natural border between Minnesota and Wisconsin . A creature nicknamed Pepie is said to live in it’s waters.

The story goes that the native Dakota people that lived in the area refused to travel on Lake Pepin in bark canoes because of the large "creatures" that would rise from the depths of the Lake and puncture the thin bark skin .They would only travel on Lake Pepin in dugout canoes that were made by hollowing out a large log.

Then in April , 1871 "a lake monster is seen swimming in Lake Pepin" (Minnesota Almanac, published by the MN Historical Society). Many people have reported sightings of an unidentified creature surfacing in the lake since then. There is even a reward for proof it exists.

Lake Pepin Sea Monster? 'Capture' It For $50,000

Reporting James Schugel

There's one creature in Minnesota that's so hard to track that $50,000 reward is out for proof it exists .Ever since the 1800s, residents around Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minn. say they've spotted a sea monster. They call him, Pepie.

"It was very strange," said Larry Nielson, who says he's seen the mysterious creature. "We watched it for quite a while and we watched it for about 15 minutes and could not figure out what it might be." Steve Raymond shares the same story. "Now, I'm the third person who's reported it. I distinctly remember three humps, with one hump looking like a head," recalled Raymond about his experience on Lake Pepin.

The first sighting of the creature was in April 1871. An artist has tried to show what the monster, with a hypnotic red-eye and demon-like head, might look like. It's said to live within the depths of Devil's Abys. "So you never know what you're going to see out here," said Nielson. "There have been stories of something mysterious here."

Boaters have told stories of being attacked while on the water, first hearing several loud knocks on the hull, followed by several violent back and forth swings of the boat.

Nielson wants people to try and see for themselves because this mysterious monster that's eluded most cameras for more than a century. He's offering $50,000 for undisputable photographic and scientific evidence. "The idea behind the reward is make sure you come up with a camera. You might catch Pepie, but the worst thing that's going to happen is that you're going to get pictures of some of the most beautiful scenery in the world," said Nielson. This reward is also a marketing tool for Lake City. The local tourism bureau hopes the chance to see Pepie and get money for it will bring people to the area. Whether anyone finds anything specific on Pepie is yet to be seen. Nielson and Raymond don't need more proof from the public, because they already agree that they've seen something strange in the lake. Source:http://wcco.com/local/lake.pepin.monster.2.717605.html

(unfortunately the link no longer works )

So marketing ploy or is there something in the lake?