Category Archives: Evolution

Evolution Theatre Companys 2022 season rolls on with the area premiere of Gently Down the Stream, Martin Shermans touching look at the struggles, triumphs and tragedies of the last half century of the gay liberation movement, in a production empathetically directed by Joe Bishara.

Gently Down the Stream follows cabaret accompanist Beau (Mark Phillips Schwamberger), through a love triangle that turns into deep friendship with English banker Rufus (Jarrod Turnbull) and Rufus eventual husband Harry (Akky Oyagi).

I thought I was getting sex, not an interview, Schwambergers Beau says to Turnbulls Rufus in the first scene of the play as Rufus machine-guns giddy questions about Beaus history he seems to know an uncomfortable amount about, especially Beaus extended period as pianist for legendary torch singer Mabel Mercer.

Theres an interesting tension in these early scenes where the more paranoid of us might think were seeing a stalker situation. Bisharas direction subtly plays out that relatively quickly resolved red herring, while he and the actors tease out the power dynamics of both a May-December romance and the power dynamics of a fan and an artist; how are these similar and where they diverge, what happens when the two intertwine?

Schwamberger walks a razors edge, his character simultaneously flattered by the attention and wary of being fetishized for where hes been, what hes done, and who hes known. Turnbull does an excellent job shading Rufus from a puppy-dog fanboy, desperate to romanticize any past era and vibrate with someone who was there, into a three-dimensional person with his own needs and desires who must as we all do live in the now. When that energy triangulates with the introduction of Oyagis Harry for the final third of the 80-minute one-act, the quiet intensity of his performance shifts everything and adds a balance and a middle ground.

At moments I started to roll my eyes at the Zelig-like nature of Beau hes at the Upstairs Lounge the night of the fire; he dated James Baldwin. But every time that reflex seized me, in the next breath, I was won over by the specifics of the story Schwamberger is telling, by the carefully-chosen, cut-crystal details, and the easy rhythms Bishara and his cast settle into, letting every scene breathe. Bishara also keeps the proceedings (two, then three men, in a small apartment) from getting too static with a handful of indelible images, shifting the Upstairs Lounge story to a video screen atop the set framed as an old camcorder recording, or Oyagi, in a yellow boa, extracting a slow-burn read at the side of the stage of the Gershwin standard The Man I Love.

Gently Down the Stream is one of the best depictions Ive ever seen of the immutable human sense that we understand our lives in retrospect. Its subtlety and warmth reverberated with me all the way home as I sat down to write this. The sharpness of the storytelling, the charisma of Schwambergers narrator Beauregard, and his chemistry with Turnbull and Oyagi made for an incredibly satisfying evening at the theater as well as an excellent example of the kind of work Evolution does so well, and I cant picture another company in Columbus bringing to us.

Gently Down the Stream runs through July 30 with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For tickets and more information, visit evolutiontheatre.org.

Follow this link:

Theater Review: Evolution's Warm and Touching 'Gently Down The Stream' - Columbus Underground

The Burgess Shale is located in British Columbia and is a site of marine fossils that are 506 million years old. It is celebrated for its weird wonders, containing a treasure trove of astonishingly well-preserved fossils.

These organisms harken back to the Cambrian explosion, a time in Earths history when major animal groups were diverging from each other in a burst of evolutionary innovation. In addition to the first representatives of most surviving animal groups, Cambrian deposits preserve a menagerie of sea-dwelling invertebrates unlike anything alive today.

Read more: Exquisite fossil finds shed new light on the 'Cambrian explosion', when oceans first filled with complex animal life

One of these bizarre animals is Stanleycaris hirpex, a distant arthropod cousin of insects and spiders. As a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, I had the privilege of working with a previously unstudied collection of Stanleycaris fossils from the Burgess Shale. Before this, Stanleycaris was only known from fragmentary bits and pieces. Our study is the first to reveal intact specimens. The amazing preserved details give us insight into the evolution of the brain and head in the most diverse group of animals.

Stanleycaris is a relative of one of the most iconic animals of the Cambrian, Anomalocaris. Both were predators with bulging compound eyes, round, tooth-lined jaws, swimming flaps and a pair of jointed frontal claws used to snare prey. These and other species were members of a diverse group called radiodonts, which were among the first to branch off from the arthropod group. This happened prior to the evolutionary divergence of major living subgroups like insects, arachnids and millipedes.

Smaller than the size of a human hand, Stanleycaris is shorter than the metre-long Anomalocaris, but no less odd-looking. The new fossils are also much better preserved, showing surprising features.

For example, Stanleycaris sports a large third eye in the middle of its head, between the two compound eyes. This has never been seen before in a radiodont, and emphasizes that these early arthropods had already evolved a complex array of different visual organs to help them navigate the ocean depths. This can also be seen in many of their distant modern kin.

However, perhaps the most exciting discovery is the preservation of much of the central nervous system of Stanleycaris in stunning detail. The fossils show that the brain of Stanleycaris surrounds part of the digestive tract. The brain is likely composed of two segments connected with the eyes and the frontal claws, respectively. Behind the brain are a pair of filamentous nerve cords that run along the belly of the organism.

For decades, an academic dispute raged over the arthropod head problem. This debate has far-reaching implications: The bodies of arthropods are made up of a repeated series of segments, and understanding how head segments line up is key to unlocking an understanding of nearly every aspect of their anatomy and evolution.

Since arthropods make up roughly 85 per cent of living animal species, this is important for understanding the origin of much biodiversity.

Much progress has been made on the problem, particularly for living arthropods, in which recognition of a ubiquitous brain composed of three segments a protocerebrum, deutocerebrum and tritocerebrum was critical.

Fossils have proven more difficult to interpret, as only limited information is preserved. Information on brain anatomy is extremely rare in the fossil record.

However, over the last decade this has begun to change with the discovery that some Cambrian deposits can occasionally preserve remains of nervous systems. Although so-called neuropaleontology is not without controversy, these discoveries have shed some light on the evolution of arthropod heads in early fossil groups.

Owing to their early divergence in the arthropod group, radiodonts are well-positioned to help inform the ancestral traits of arthropods. However, the alignment of their head segments with other extinct and living groups has been unresolved.

Prior to our study, the only information on brain anatomy came from a single specimen from China showing only partial preservation, the interpretation of which was contested. Based on new Stanleycaris fossils, we can now say with confidence that the radiodont brain already included both the protocerebrum and deutocerebrum. The protocerebrum was connected with the eyes of Stanleycaris, while the deutocerebrum innervated the large frontal claws.

Other fossil groups such as certain worm-like animals called lobopodians, taco-shaped arthropods called isoxyids, and megacheirans, which look similar to radiodonts but have jointed limbs instead of flaps share similar-looking frontal appendages.

Based on our discoveries in Stanleycaris, we think all of these structures share a common origin. Ultimately, these grasping frontal appendages were transformed into the sensory antennae of insects, the fangs of spiders, and their equivalents in other living groups.

While our new research is by no means the end of discussion about the arthropod head, it represents a key leap forward in understanding the evolution of this diverse and significant group of animals.

View original post here:

Three-eyed Cambrian fossils shed new light on arthropod head evolution - The Conversation

A Twitter video that showing the gradual change of Michael Jacksons face from 1969 (when he was 11 years old) to 2009 (when he was 50) has reignited the debate about his appearance, one of the many controversial aspects of the King of Pop.

The video shows how Jacksons skin colour and facial features changed over the years, his complexion getting lighter and nose and cheekbones becoming sharper.

The video posted on June 26 has gathered over 5.2 million views. In the comments section, many fans bemoaned that Jackson, one of the 20th centurys most popular cultural figures, underwent excessive cosmetic surgeries while others defended the late star saying the surgeries were part of a medical treatment.

Jackson suffered from vitiligo, a disease in which skin loses its colour in patches. He also suffered from lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the bodys immune system attacks its own organs. Many believe that Jackson had to undergo surgeries owing to these illnesses.

Other than this in 1979, Jackson broke his nose during dance practice and had to undergo surgery. Later in 1984, he suffered second-degree burns to his scalp when he was shooting for a Pepsi commercial. This accident forced him to undergo treatments to hide the burn scars on his head.

However, there are conflicting opinions on how many plastic surgeries that Jackson undertook were mandated for health reasons and how many were done for aesthetic reasons.

Jackson died at the age of 50 on June 25, 2009.

More here:

This video about evolution of Michael Jackson's face has netizens divided - The Indian Express

Football is a simple game, complicated by idiots. So said Bill Shankly, and few people of his generation will have known more about the sport than him. Times change, though, and some of the complications in the form of data can be very enlightening. Some people believe analytics is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.

No matter how much we learn, and how advanced data becomes, football remains a simple game at heart though. Score more goals than them and well do alright, you know? And how do we do that? Get the ball away from our goal and towards their end of the pitch.

A new way of measuring this latter attribute of the game illustrates both the importance and the evolution of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Shanklys view of playmaking right-backs was understandably unrecorded, but hed no doubt approve of how Liverpools number 66 dominates Europe in this regard.

READ MORE: Liverpool midfield pledge is vital to Jrgen Klopp's plans as Mohamed Salah target in sight

READ MORE: Jrgen Klopp discovered how to solve a massive Liverpool problem vs Salzburg with quality cameo

The metric which highlights the value of Alexander-Arnold when it comes to advancing the ball up field is called Fields Gained. This is explained with the following definition: if a player progresses the ball 10 yards from a point 100 yards from goal, thats 0.1 Fields Gained, as it is 10 per cent of the field. A player advancing it three yards from 30 yards away gets the same amount of credit, even though it will likely be harder to achieve. Thanks to the Markstats website, we can now see the rates per 90 minutes for players in Europes big five leagues for the past three seasons.

In 2019/20, Alexander-Arnold was the sole Reds representative among Manchester City men in the top four. Aymeric Laporte led the chart, with 7.01 fields gained per 90, ahead of Trent (6.05), Fernandinho (6.00) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (5.56). Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk were next in line but three of the four players directly behind them also played for the Premier League runners-up that season.

Much of the following campaign was undoubtedly a struggle for the Reds. However, Alexander-Arnold upped his fields gained by almost 10 per cent, Laporte fell away, and the Liverpool right-back was now top of the pile in the division. Interestingly, Jordan Henderson (5.75 per 90) and Thiago Alcntara (5.46) were now in the top four with him.

And so to last season, and another significant advance for Alexander-Arnold. He improved by another 11 per cent to gain 7.36 fields every 90 minutes he played. Not only did he top the standings once again, but with the highest Premier League figure recorded for the limited period for which the data is available.

Nobody in Spain bettered his efforts in 2021/22 either, with Toni Kroos (7.21) the closest. That was better than anyone in Ligue 1 managed Sergio Ramos was top on 6.61 and a long way clear of Serie As best, Marcelo Brozovic (5.74).

German football was able to provide someone who gained more fields than Alexander-Arnold: Manuel Riemann. Is he a playmaker whose numbers would interest Liverpools transfer analytics team? No, hes the 33-year-old goalkeeper for Bochum who completed significantly more long passes than anyone else in the big leagues last season. Roy Hodgsons dream he might be, the future of football he is not.

It's also possible to measure fields gained by carrying the ball. Alexander-Arnold is nowhere near the top here, its more of a Jol Matip thing. But Trents figures do indicate how his game has changed. From 2019/20 onwards, his carrying contribution has been 2.21, 2.35 the following year and then 1.47 last season. This means the proportion of his fields gained which came from passing was 74 per cent for the first two campaigns but rose to 83 per cent in 2021/22.

Alexander-Arnold has always possessed a sublime ability to play the perfect pass. Where many people think he relies on crossing, the percentage of his expected threat like expected goals, but for all actions from crosses has never been lower. His evolution into a central playmaker rather than a flank-hogger has been superb, and may not be finished yet: the positions in which he has been popping up in pre-season are more extreme than ever. In a simple game, Trent is making the rest look like idiots.

Read the original:

Trent Alexander-Arnold is continuing his Liverpool evolution and he is now unmatched in Europe - Liverpool.com

Press Releases

07/11/2022

(HARTFORD, CT) Governor Ned Lamont today announced that Evolution, a live casino operator for digital platforms, has begun operating in Connecticut. The company, which has already hired 140 employees to work at its newly built studio in Fairfield, is expected to hire up to 400 total workers in Connecticut, offering technical, production, administrative and information technology positions, as well as security.

With the addition of Evolution, we are continuing to provide a modern, technologically advanced gaming experience that provides an elevated user experience for eligible residents and is competitive with our neighboring states, Governor Lamont said. Connecticut has proven to be a leader when it comes to the gaming economy going back decades, and this expansion allows those who want to participate to continue doing so, responsibly.

We are proud of the hard work our Gaming Division has done to ensure Evolutions facilities and offerings meet the high standards set by our regulations to create a safe and successful opportunity for live dealer games in Connecticuts online gaming marketplace, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull said. We encourage anyone who chooses to participate in this new form of online gaming to do so responsibly by monitoring their activity and setting limits for themselves utilizing the tools that are required to be available on these platforms.

Evolution began operations with a seven-day soft launch, authorized by the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, July 11, 2022. Evolution will provide live dealer games on both the FanDuel and DraftKings iCasino platforms offered in Connecticut. During the soft launch, only blackjack and roulette tables will be available to a limited number of participants. The soft launch will transition seamlessly into the full launch at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, July 18, 2022, pending the resolution of any issues discovered in the soft launch.

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection will monitor the soft launch to ensure Evolutions games meet the states regulations for online gaming. Connecticut law requires Evolution to operate an in-state facility in order to offer live dealer games on Connecticut gaming platforms.

Information about gaming in Connecticut, including the most up-to-date statistics, is available at ct.gov/gaming.

Information on services available in Connecticut for those who may have a problem with gambling is available at portal.ct.gov/problemgaming. Information about self-exclusion is available at ct.gov/selfexclusion.

Read the original here:

Governor Lamont Announces Opening of Evolution Gaming Studio in Connecticut - CT.gov

ROME, July 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NetBet - one of Italys most popular online casinos - has introduced the best titles from Evolution to its players.

NetBet Italy is progressively forging their identity as an exceptional online casino for the Italian market, continuously evolving their product offering to bring players the best games in the industry. Evolution are a well-respected developer whose products already have a strong following across NetBets international markets.

Evolution are experts in creating Live Dealer and RNG games that appeal to all kinds of players. This partnership with NetBet Italy will make highlights from their catalogue, including Live Roulette, Live Blackjack and Lightning Roulette, available to fans of Live Dealer games.

NetBet Italys PR manager, Claudia Georgevici, said: Evolution are a fantastic brand that were delighted to bring into the fold. Were certain that our players will enjoy their unique brand as part of their NetBet playing experience.

For more information contact pr@NetBet.it

About NetBet.itNetBet.it is a single-member BPG srl site, founded in 2008. It is one of the first Italian portals specialising in online gaming and is licensed by ADM. With access to thousands of industry-leading casino games and daily sports events, NetBet.it has evolved into one of Italy's favourite online gaming brands.

For more information please visit: https://www.netbet.it

Read this article:

NetBet Italy partners with Evolution - GlobeNewswire

For more than a century, insect-eating plants have captivated biologists, but how plants gained the capacity to catch and eat live prey has mostly remained a mystery.

Scientists from Salk and Washington University in St. Louis have now studied the molecular underpinnings of plant carnivory and discovered evidence that it developed from defense mechanisms used by plants.

(Photo : Andi Superkern/Unsplash)

The study described how calcium molecules move dynamically within cells in the leaves of carnivorous plants in reaction to touch from living prey.

It was published on July 11 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Changing calcium levels cause leaves to move in order to grab prey, perhaps by producing more defense-related hormones, as per ScienceDaily

The information advances scientists' knowledge of how plants interact with their surroundings.

In order to live in nutrient-poor environments, plants like the spoon-leaved sundew (Drosera spatulata) probably evolved carnivory.

However, because sundews are difficult to produce and their DNA has only recently been decoded, researchers have had trouble understanding how carnivory functions at the cellular level.

Additionally, they were unaware of how carnivorous plants evolved prey-capture-related characteristics including leaf motion and the release of digesting enzymes.

Carl Procko, the co-first author of the research and a staff scientist in Salk's Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, asserted that carnivorous sundew plants are not model organisms.

The scientists had to learn new procedures to closely investigate the plants because only a small number of labs throughout the world had previously been able to genetically change them.

To conduct this work, the researchers used genetic methods to visualize the dynamic changes in calcium molecules in the leaves as insect prey touched down on them and were subsequently trapped by sticky secretions.

Calcium signaling is essential for non-carnivorous plants in several ways, including activating the jasmonate defense pathway to ward off pest insects.

Electrical activity, a crucial component of prey capture in some carnivorous plants, including sundews, is similarly reacted to by jasmonic acid.

The researchers wondered if the carnivorous habit of the sundew would also require this similar defense mechanism found in non-carnivorous plants.

The team discovered that as the leaf bent inward, encasing the insect in digestive secretions, changes in calcium within the plant cell were necessary for the activation of genes generally targeted by jasmonic acid.

Sundew leaves exhibited less bending when offered non-living prey and when their calcium channels were blocked, according to the researchers.

These results support the hypothesis that jasmonic acid is involved in insect digestion and show how calcium facilitates insect prey-capture reflexes.

Also Read: Carnivorous Plant Gives Unique Insight on 'Junk' DNA

The evolution of generally mild-mannered floral plants into homicidal meat-eaters is one of botany's greatest unanswered mysteries, and carnivorous plants are currently experiencing another major turning point, as per theSmithsonian Magazine

More recently, developments in molecular science have aided researchers in understanding crucial mechanisms underlying the carnivorous lifestyle, such as how a flytrap snaps so quickly and transforms into an "intestine" to absorb its prey's leftovers after crushing insects.

But the fundamental question remained: how did evolution give these meat-eating dietary outlaws the ability to do so?

Despite being strange, carnivory has undergone numerous evolutionary changes during the more than 140 million years that flowering plants have existed.

According to Tanya Renner, an evolutionary biologist at Penn State, the adaption appeared independently at least 12 times.

The necessity to discover a different supply of essential nutrients catalyzed evolution each time.

Carnivorous plants thrive in ecosystems deficient in the nitrogen and phosphorus necessary for growth, such as swamps and bogs, nutrient-poor bodies of water, and thin tropical soils.

Both, as well as other nutrients plants, require to thrive, are abundant in insects and other tiny invertebrates that are high in protein.

Many aspects of the carnivorous way of life are still guarding their genetic secrets.

However, research on two of its most gruesome components-digestion and absorption-is showing how evolution repurposed already-existing genes, giving some new jobs to do while giving others new functions and the occasional change to better fit their new responsibilities.

The same genes have frequently been reused in plants that separately developed carnivory.

Beyond digestion, evolution has a propensity to acquire and modify existing tools.

The trap must transfer the smaller molecules created as chitin, proteins, and DNA are broken down from the outside environment to the interior of the plant.

Related Article: Taste for Meat: Scientists Trace Genetic Route of Carnivorous Plants

2022 NatureWorldNews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

See the article here:

Researchers Study the Molecular Basis of Carnivorous Plants and Found the Evolution of Them Through the Past - Nature World News

Grime artist Jammers basement studio Courtesy of the Museum of London

Originally an underground sound, grime has gone mainstream in Britainand since its creation, it has become hugely influential for artists around the world.

Now, a new free exhibition celebrates the scenes origins and evolution. Grime Stories: From the Corner to the Mainstream at the Museum of London features photos, videos and memorabilia documenting two decades of grime.

The display is co-curated byRoony RiskyRoadz Keefe, who the museum calls one of grimes early documentarians. In particular, his DVD series Risky Roadz helped propel artists to fame in the years after the genres creation. Per theGuardians Joseph Patterson, much of what is on display comes from the archives of Keefe and others like him.

Grime is one of those genres that once its in you, it never leaves, Keefe tells the Guardian.

The museum originally asked Keefe, a London cab driver by day, to conduct interviews about the grime scene in the back of his taxi. Now, a series of films, which include Keefes interviews with influential grime artists like Skepta andDJ Slimzee, are at the center of the exhibition,BBC News reports.

Its a big thing, you know, says Keefe to the New York Times Desiree Ibekwe. You never think youre going to end up in a museum.

Grime emerged in the early 2000s among artists in east London who wanted a sound that was uniquely theirs. It was both an evolution from and reaction to U.K. garage music, as the Times writes. Other British forms of rap had become overly Americanized, some felt, with slang borrowed from across the Atlantic.

While the genres definition has evolved over the years, grime music generally has a tempo of 140 beats per minute; the Guardian describes it as post-punk angst on waxa heady mix of dancehall, jungle and U.K. garage, inspired by Jamaican ragga toasting and the storytelling of U.S. hip-hop.

Artists in the scene align themselves with grime crews that produce and perform music together. One of the most notable crews isRoll Deep, formed in the early 2000s, which has included performers likeWiley,Danny Weed,Breeze, Skepta andDizzee Rascal.

In recent years, grime has seen a resurgence with the arrival of new artists likeStormzy, who the Times calls grimes most successful breakout. In 2017, the Labour Partys Jeremy Corbyn enlisted grime artists toencourage the public to vote for him, per the Times. In 2019, IKEA featured grime M.C. D Double E in a Christmas commercial.

This is a monumental moment in the U.K., especially for Black British culture, Jammer, an early grime artist, tells the Guardian.

From the early days, Jammers familys basementknown as the Dungeonwas a critical place for grime artists, and the new exhibition features many references to the space.

When grime began, he adds, it was the only thing we knew how to do to make a better life for ourselves. Grime is like our therapy: you go into it with your pain, get your lyrics out and then you get better and you learn.

Grime Stories: From the Corner to the Mainstream is on view at the Museum of London through December.

Recommended Videos

Continued here:

Inside the Evolution of Grime Music | Smart News - Smithsonian Magazine

Remarks on the residual color patterns in the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves

Residual color patterns in the form of visible pigmentation on fossil molluscan shells are generally uncommon2,3. In the Paleozoic to Mesozoic fossil records, the color patterns were limited to marine species3, which are preserved as black to dark-colored bands running on the shell surface as melanin pigments20,21. The black to dark-colored stripes on the shells of the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves resemble the color patterns in some extant freshwater bivalves, suggesting that the dark bands are residual color patterns remaining as melanin pigments. Consequently, the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves represents the oldest and second fossil record of residual color patterns among fossil freshwater bivalves.

The residual color patterns of the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves resemble the color patterns of extant freshwater bivalves in terms of width, number, and distribution of the colored bands. Both the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves and extant freshwater bivalves examined in this study consist of two types of color patterns: stripes along the growth lines and radial rays tapered toward the umbo. Notably, the former pattern is similar among all the species examined, as it forms in the peripheries of prominent growth lines occurring periodically. In the latter pattern, however, the morphology and distribution of the bands are slightly different between the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves and the extant species. The Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves exhibits relatively distinct and wide radial rays running roughly parallel to the lengths of the sculpture elements (radial plications and/or wrinkles), while the extant species bear obscure and fine radial rays running diagonally to the lengths of the sculpture elements. Nonetheless, the taxa with V-shaped sculpture elements (wrinkles, ribs or arranged nodules) lack or bear ambiguous radial rays, whether extant (e.g., Triplodon spp., Indochinella spp. and Tritogonia spp.)13,15,22 or extinct (Trigonioides tetoriensis).

The resemblance of the color patterns between the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves and the extant unionids possibly resulted from the phylogenetic constrains. Each of the three species of the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves belongs to a separate family (Trigonioides tetoriensis: Trigonioididae, Plicatounio naktongensis: Plicatounionidae, and Matsuomtoina matsumotoi: Pseudohyriidae) in the order Trigoniida19. Trigoniida in turn, forms the subclass Palaeoheterodonta with Unionida23. This raises a possibility that the color patterns observed in the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves and the extant unionids is inherited from their most recent common ancestor. In other words, these color patterns, stripes along the growth lines and radial rays tapered toward the umbo, may be the apomorphy for Palaeoheterodonta. In fact, some extant trigoniid species belonging to Neotrigonia exhibit color pattern similar to those in the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves and extant unionids in this study (e.g. Neotrigonia margaritacea)1.

Interestingly, the coloration of color patterns is quite different between unioniids (green to blue colorings) and trigoniids (red to yellow colorings), and the oldest known color patterns of the Palaeoheterodonta (Myophorella nodulosa, a marine species of Trigoniida from the Oxfordian of the Early Jurassic) appears different (concentric rows of patches)10 from those of the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves or the extant unioniids. These observations suggest that colorations evolved independently, in contrast to the color patterns, between Trigoniida and Unionida, and that Trigoniida more diverse color patterns than Unionida did in the Palaeoheterodont evolutionary history. Although further examination of the fossil record for the residual colors and color patterns in Palaeoheterodonta is essential, it is plausible that the habitat differences may have caused such discrepancy in the colorations and color patterns between Trigoniida (mainly marine) and Unionida (freshwater) in spite of the phylogenetic constrains.

The other possible interpretation of the color pattern similarity between the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves and extant Unionida, is the convergent evolution. One potential factor that may have caused this convergent evolution of the color patterns is an adaptation to their habitats. In general, much of the convergent evolution in animals occurs through the morphological evolution in response to their habitats24. Similarly in mollusks, shell colors and their patterns are generally influenced by their habitats2,6,25. Considering marine mollusks, the shell colors and their patterns have great diversity due to varying habitat environments, especially in coral reeves that exhibit various colors and complex ecosystem2,6. Conversely, in the freshwater ecosystem, the environmental colors are relatively monotonous with rocks, sand, mud, and green algae8, and such habitat conditions are likely indifferent between the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. As a result, the freshwater bivalves retained simple and monotonous color patterns for adapting to such environments throughout their evolution.

Another conceivable factor to explain the convergent evolution in the color patterns of the studied freshwater bivalves is the selection pressure by visual predators. In general, the shell colors and their patterns in bivalves act as camouflages against the predators2,7,8,26,27,28. Previous studies have demonstrated that extant freshwater bivalves are preyed upon by crayfish, fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals29,30. Because shell colors in freshwater bivalves tend to be greenish, such colors may be an adaptation against visual predators for blending into the freshwater sediments on which abundant greenish phytoplanktons occur2,8. Therefore, the evolutionary conservatism in color patterns of freshwater bivalves may result from camouflages into freshwater microenvironments, which has been advantageous against visual predators since the late Early Cretaceous.

The above discussion assumes that the visual predators of freshwater bivalves remained similar for at least 120 million years. Which animals could have been potential threads to the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves, and, in turn, the Early Cretaceous freshwater bivalves? Among the extant visual predators of the freshwater bivalves, those whose lineages were present in the Early Cretaceous include crustaceans (especially brachyuran decapoda31), fish, lizards, turtles, crocodiles, birds, and mammals. Among them, the fossil record of durophagous lizards and mammals can be traced back only to the Late Cretaceous32,33. Conversely, lines of fossil evidence suggest that some fish34,35, turtles36, and crocodiles35 fed on molluscan invertebrates during the Early Cretaceous, and the Kitadani Freshwater Bivalves indeed occurs with abundant lepisosteiform scales, testudinate shells and crocodile teeth. Additionally, at least one Early Cretaceous avian species with crustacean gut contents can be attributed to the durophagous diet37, and the Kitadani Formation has yielded avialan skeletal remains38, and footprints39,40. Therefore, fish, turtles, crocodiles, and birds are likely candidates for visual predators of the Early Cretaceous freshwater bivalves, and have remained so until present. Additionally, while crustaceans have not been identified in the Kitadani Formation, they flourished in the Early Cretaceous and their remains occur with the fossil freshwater bivalves of the time elsewhere31. Thus, crustaceans may have also played a role as visual predators of the freshwater bivalves since the Early Cretaceous.

In addition to the crustaceans, fishes, turtles, crocodiles and birds, the visual predators of the Early Cretaceous freshwater bivalves likely include extinct lineages. For example, some pliosauroid plesiosaurs are suggested as being durophagous34, although the freshwater members of the group are considered endemic41 and less likely to be a major thread to the Early Cretaceous freshwater bivalves. Another extinct candidate is non-avian dinosaurs. Ornithischians are suggested to have possessed a dietary flexibility including the durophagy. For instance, well-preserved hadrosaurid coprolites from the Late Cretaceous of Montana, U.S.A. include sizeable crustaceans and mollusks, possibly suggesting that the Cretaceous freshwater mollusks were consumed by these herbivorous dinosaurs42. In addition, some basal ceratopsian psittacosaurids are hypothesized for the durophagy based on the predicted large bite force in the caudal portion of the toothrow43. Among saurischians, some oviraptorosaurian theropods are indicated to consume mollusks with hard shells based on their mandibular features44. While hadrosaurids, psittacosaurids, and oviraptorosaurians have not been identified in the Kitadani Formation, psittacosaurids, and oviraptorosaurians are common elsewhere in the Early Cretaceous of East Asia45,46, and hadrosauroid Koshisaurus is present in the formation47. Because dinosaurs occupied a niche of large terrestrial predators throughout the Mesozoic, they may have acted as one of major mollusk consumers in absence of large lizards and mammals in the Early Cretaceous ecosystem. Thus, the predation pressure by visual predators to the freshwater bivalves in the Early Cretaceous is likely similar to that in the present. Consequently, one of evolutionary adaptations of the freshwater bivalves against such pressure has remained to camouflage in the phytoplankton-rich sediments, leading to the long-term evolutionary conservatism of their color patterns.

Read more from the original source:

Case study of the convergent evolution in the color patterns in the freshwater bivalves | Scientific Reports - Nature.com

A new study out of South Africa could rewrite certain aspects of humankinds evolutionary origin story.

The study hinges on an innovative fossil aging technique called cosmogenic nuclide dating. It shows that the fossil record of an early human-like hominid called Australopithecus africanus stretches back 3.8 million years, making the species one million years older than previously thought.

The findings, published in the journal PNAS, are significant because they show Australopithecus africanus is just as old as a different hominid species called Australopithecus afarensis.

Au. afarensis was a type of bipedal hominin common to east Africa. The first skeleton of this species was unearthed in 1974 and is now known as the famous Lucy skeleton.

Since paleoanthropologist Donald Johannson exhumed Lucys remains, many scientists have pointed to the remains as the primary intermediary between modern-day humans and our ancient primate cousins. But these new findings make it harder to say, with any degree of certainty, that human beings evolved directly from Lucys species.

We found that Australopithecus africanus is in the same age range as Australopithecus afarensis, which is Lucys species in east Africa, the studys lead author Dr. Darryl Granger told MeatEater. Lucys species started showing up at about the same time, about 3.8 million years ago, but Lucy herself is 3.2 million years old, so these fossils weve dated are older than Lucy herself but not older than her species.

According to Granger, the two species of ancient bipedal hominids are contemporaries, meaning they emerged and existed around the same time.

People used to think about the [human family] tree as being very linear, meaning one species leads to another, Granger said. One of the traditional views is that Lucys species, afarensis, evolved into africanus in South Africa, but that cant happen because theyre the same age. They both have an older common ancestor, and they both showed up around the same time.

Granger has been working in Sterkfontein, South Africaa complex cave site known for its high concentration of Au. africanus remainson and off since the early 2000s. Around 2003, he started to suspect that the fossils there were much older than most anthropologists believed.

Before Granger made his discovery, the Au. africanus fossils of Sterkfontein were dated at only 2.1 to 2.6 million years old. That would have put them on the earth at the same time as the genus homo, which emerged around 2.8 million years ago. As a result, Au. africanus was ruled out as an early precursor to modern humans.

That narrative is shifting now, thanks largely to Grangers work, which relied on the more up-to-date cosmogenic nuclide dating method.

The method measures the amount of cosmic ray exposure in the sedimentary matrix that surrounds the Au. africanus fossils of Sterkfontein.

Cosmic rays originate in outer space, and they leave a traceable imprint on the earth's surface when they interact with certain elements. Once the remains of Au. africanus and the surrounding sediment were buried deep within the Sterkfontein cave complex they were no longer being exposed to cosmic rays. Granger and his team have determined the point when that cosmic ray exposure ceased, thus assigning the new age to Sterkfonteins Au. africanus fossils.

You can think about the cosmogenic nuclides kind of like a sun tan, Granger said. The longer youre exposed, the darker you get. And then if you go inside and stay inside for months, your tan fades away. The same thing happens to these rocks if they get washed into a cave. Whatever they built up at the surface decays away by radioactivity, so you can see how much is left after theyve been buried and figure out how long theyve been in a cave.

While Grangers work updates our understanding of the age and origin of the Au. africanus speciesand increases the likelihood that africanus is in fact one of our earliest ancestorsit doesnt change what we know about the bipedal hominids day-to-day life.

According to Granger, the species wasnt known for using stone tools. While it may have relied on insects and small animals to supplement a fruit, root, and grass-heavy diet, africanus didnt eat meat on a regular basis or engage in organized hunting.

They would have been eating a lot of different things that were around in their environment but mostly plants, he said. The big transition to relying on meat and marrow was later, when you see the transition from australopithecus to homo. Thats when the brains expanded, and you started seeing stone tools probably used for processing animal carcasses, for getting at bone marrow inside the bones, which is really energy-rich.

The evolution from australopithecus to homo, and the corresponding leap in brain size, was driven by the adoption of meat-rich diets, Granger said. Compared to human brains, the brains of the australopiths were relatively smallmore akin to that of a modern chimpanzee.

As for his most recent finding, Granger said that much of the feedback hes received so far has been supportive. But because the study is still so new and its implications so significant, hes anticipating some criticism and resistance from the broader scientific community.

Ive been working in Sterkfontein before, and theres been some resistance to earlier aging from deeper in the cave. People can come up with scenarios where youve got young fossils in old sediment, but that doesnt work here, he said. This paper, in a way, is a response to that resistance, and its reinforcing the idea that these [South African] australopithecines are old. I welcome criticism and other people working at the site. Thats the way science happens. We all try to poke holes in each others work. Its part of the process. Well wait and see.

Originally posted here:

A New Study Will Change the Way We View Human Evolution - MeatEater