Wonders Under the Sea

Big animals both living and extinct
showcase exquisite detail in bulk

Extinct Wonders

Fossils of giant sea lizard show how our oceans have fundamentally changed since the dinosaur era (University of Bath, 5 March 2024). A “nightmarish” mosasaur the size of an orca has been found at a phosphate mine south of Casablanca, Morocco. Researchers claim it lived 66 million Darwin Years ago. Do the evolutionary scientists know why there were so many top predators in the ocean when dinosaurs were roaming the land? Dr Nick Longrich of the University of Bath answers:

“Modern ecosystems have predators like baleen whales and dolphins that eat small prey, and not many things eating large prey. The Cretaceous has a huge number of marine reptile species that take large prey. Whether there’s something about marine reptiles that caused the ecosystem to be different, or the prey, or perhaps the environment, we don’t know”

Mosasaur skull in display case at Fick Museum, Oakley, Kansas. (DFC)

Dinosaur-age ‘nightmarish’ sea lizard fossil found (BBC News, 5 March 2024). The BBC News echoes what the evolutionary paleontologists say about this mosasaur, and about relationships between mosasaurs and living representatives today. It seems unbelievable; they are so different. “Khinjaria acuta is a member of a family of giant marine lizards known as mosasaurs, distant relatives of today’s Komodo dragons and anacondas.” Neither press release explains how mosasaurs “emerged” or why their relatives became forked-tongued dragons and snakes on land after the alleged impact that killed off all the dinosaurs and marine predators.

Study of slowly evolving ‘living fossils’ reveals key genetic insights (Yale News, 4 March 2024). Another “slowly evolving” animal is described in this article from Yale University: the gar.

The study, published in the journal Evolution, shows that gars — an ancient group of ray-finned fishes that fit the definition of a living fossil — have the slowest rate of molecular evolution among all jawed vertebrates, meaning their genome changes more slowly than those of other animals.

But then they allege that “gars’ slow rate of molecular evolution has stymied their rate of speciation,” which sounds like either circular reasoning or a tautology. If they had a fast rate of molecular evolution would they have more speciation? Well, duh. With this logic, Chase Brownstein, a graduate student inductee into the Darwin Party, waxes eloquent about all the understanding he is getting in evolution class. He thinks his work might cure cancer some day.

“Our paper shows that living fossils aren’t simply strange accidents of history but provide a fundamental demonstration of the evolutionary process in nature,” Brownstein said. “It shows that analyzing patterns in living fossils’ evolutionary history might have implications for our own story. It not only helps us better understand the planet’s biodiversity, but potentially could one day be applied to medical research and improve human health.”

It’s not improving his mental health so far. A non-evolving fish is helping him understand the evolutionary process, and this might help his doctor? Ever hear of a non-sequitur?

Landlubber Ocean Tortoises?

Galapagos giant tortoises were supersized before arrival (Nature, 29 Feb 2024). We all know and love sea turtles, which are marvelously adapted for life in the ocean with big paddle-like flippers, as Illustra Media’s film Living Waters presents (see excerpt here). But giant tortoises at sea? They look like millstones ready to drop to the bottom. The old story was that little tortoises rafted across to the Galapagos Islands and grew gigantic in their new habitat. Now, “An Ecuadorian fossil hints that the giant tortoises of the Galapagos were already colossal when they arrived at the islands,” Nature says. Someone has some ‘splainin’ to do. Maybe they joined the rafting monkeys.

Living Wonders

Scientists track world’s largest turtles to previously unknown foraging locations (Frontiers, 19 Feb 2024). Darwinese was unnecessary in this article about sea turtles. Researchers at the University of Miami were more focused on conservation of the world’s largest living turtles.

Leatherback sea turtles are the largest turtles roaming Earth’s oceans. Covering thousands of miles on their migrations, they stop at breeding and foraging locations along the way. Now, a team of marine scientists has tracked leatherbacks migrating along the US east coast and discovered previously unknown hotspots where the turtles displayed inferred foraging behavior. Knowledge of these locations as well as deeper understanding of migratory routes is also important to the conservation of the endangered turtles, the researchers said.

Discovering the world of dolphins and their three ‘super senses’ (The Conversation, 4 March 2024). This delightful Darwin-free article (See, biologists? It can be done!) describes three remarkable ways that dolphins perceive their environment: magnetism, electricity, and sound. Marine biologist Juliana López Marulanda tells about her own research, and how she found that dolphins use their ‘super senses’ to synchronize their movements.

Mysterious Seafloor Pits May Be Made on Porpoise (EOS, 15 Feb 2024). What were thought to be methane seeps turn out to be holes dug by porpoises. They use their snouts to dig for fish they detect with their biosonar. This technique is also shown in the Living Waters film (see excerpt here).

Humpback breach, from Living Waters (Illustra Media).

How whales sing without drowning, an anatomical mystery solved (Nature, 22 Feb 2024). Baleen whales can recycle the air in their blowholes to produce songs for long periods of time. Despite the insistence of this article and audio podcast that “whales evolved from land-dwelling mammals,” the story is really about design.

Now a team of researchers have discovered the structure used by baleen whales — a modified version of the larynx. Whales like humpbacks and blue whales are able to create powerful vocalizations but their anatomy also limits the frequency of the sounds they can make and depth at which they can sing.

The BBC News wrote about this research, claiming that “Humpbacks and other baleen whales have evolved a specialised ‘voice box’ that enables them to sing underwater.” If it is specialized, and has a function that works, it did not happen by accident. But the two lady Darwinist reporters carry their story onto land and back into the water.

The research also paints an evolutionary picture – of how the ancestors of whales returned to the oceans from the land, and the adaptations that made it possible to communicate underwater.

How can it be true that “mysticetes evolved unique laryngeal structures for sound production,” if their ancestors did not know or care about sound production till accidental mutations came together and “made it possible”? Another episode from Living Waters shows that whales defy Darwinian evolution.

Biologists, can we just enjoy the wonders of nature without having to hear Darwin just-so stories? It can be done. Please try it. We’ll like it.

For relief of Darwin hot air gas pains, let’s enjoy a portion of Illustra’s film about Dolphins.