Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Dead alligators dropped deep into the sea lead to a surprising find
cnet.com ^ | January 11, 2020 | Bonnie Burton

Posted on 01/11/2020 4:07:38 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-70 next last

1 posted on 01/11/2020 4:07:38 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

How much did THAT cost the taxpayer?


2 posted on 01/11/2020 4:09:15 PM PST by Westbrook
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

So, what happened?

TIA


3 posted on 01/11/2020 4:09:39 PM PST by OKSooner (Free Beer Tomorrow)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper
Giant Isopod
4 posted on 01/11/2020 4:11:29 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper
What could go wrong?


5 posted on 01/11/2020 4:12:05 PM PST by freedumb2003 (As always IMHO)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OKSooner
The scientists found that another one of their alligator carcasses went missing altogether. On further investigation, the scientists discovered drag marks where they'd left the gator.

"Whatever did that had to be huge.


6 posted on 01/11/2020 4:12:34 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: OKSooner

“when they came back to their last dead alligator 51 days later. It was eaten completely down to its skeleton, except for a mysterious brown fuzz left on the bones.”
The fuzz was a newly discovered species of bone eating worms


7 posted on 01/11/2020 4:12:38 PM PST by nuconvert ( Warning: Accused of being a radical militarist. Approach with caution.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: OKSooner

Yes, what happened?

I hate clicking the link to read...I’m too lazy.


8 posted on 01/11/2020 4:12:56 PM PST by Cowboy Bob ("Other People's Money" = The life blood of Liberalism)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

Not the first time.

https://www.popsci.com/alligator-food-fall/


9 posted on 01/11/2020 4:15:48 PM PST by samtheman (I hope someone close to Trump is reading FR every day.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper
Elk found dead from eating corn in northern Wisconsin
10 posted on 01/11/2020 4:16:35 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: OKSooner

“So, what happened?

TIA”

Basically, they were eaten - sometimes in less than 24 hours. One was dragged away from its anchor. Nature “Red in tooth and claw” and all that!


11 posted on 01/11/2020 4:20:46 PM PST by Fai Mao (There is no rule of law in the US until The PIAPS is executed.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

Whose idea was this?


12 posted on 01/11/2020 4:21:16 PM PST by Repeal The 17th
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

Should I apply for a grant to see what happens
when you drop dead fish in the desert?


13 posted on 01/11/2020 4:23:05 PM PST by Repeal The 17th
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

Amazing


14 posted on 01/11/2020 4:25:18 PM PST by WashingtonSource
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Repeal The 17th

scientists


15 posted on 01/11/2020 4:26:44 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

...scientists...
-
Sounds like something two guys would think of
after consuming too many lagers.


16 posted on 01/11/2020 4:28:47 PM PST by Repeal The 17th
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

a good experiment to try with live demonrats...


17 posted on 01/11/2020 4:29:30 PM PST by heavy metal (your reward will be in heaven not on your paycheck...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

This blog is not on the excerpt-only list. Spoilers ahead.

**********

The researchers, Craig McClain and Clifton Nunnally from Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (Lumcon), share the surprising results of their experiment in a newly published study in the open-access science journal PLOS One.

The scientists placed three dead gators 6,600 feet in the Gulf of Mexico and made their biggest find when they came back to their last dead alligator 51 days later. It was eaten completely down to its skeleton, except for a mysterious brown fuzz left on the bones.

Scientists found brown fuzz on one of the alligator skeletons happens to be bone-eating worms.

DNA studies of the brown fuzz revealed it was a newly discovered species of bone-eating worm from the Osedax genus. This is the first time any Osedax species have been spotted in the Gulf of Mexico, the researchers say.

“We confirmed it as a new species through comparing the DNA of the animals that we collected to the DNA of known Osedax species,” River Dixon told Gizmodo. (Dixon is a Ph.D. Fellow in the McClain Lab at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and a co-author of the new study.) “We found that the DNA was different enough to qualify our samples as a new species.”

The other two dead alligators offered up some interesting findings too. One was devoured in less than 24 hours by giant isopods, which are known for going without food for years.

The scientists found that another one of their alligator carcasses went missing altogether. On further investigation, the scientists discovered drag marks where they’d left the gator.

“Whatever did that had to be huge. The carcass and weight combined to be over 36 kilograms (80 pounds), and its shape and length made it quite unwieldy,” Dixon told Gizmodo. “With some calculations we were able to figure out that the bite strength needed to cut cleanly through our rope was consistent with that of a large shark.”


18 posted on 01/11/2020 4:30:45 PM PST by Larry Lucido
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

OK
I’ll go get the boat,
you go get the dead alligators!
We’ll meet back here.


19 posted on 01/11/2020 4:31:01 PM PST by Repeal The 17th
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper
"Whatever did that had to be huge."


20 posted on 01/11/2020 4:31:34 PM PST by Viking2002 (Epstein and Ukraine Airlines Flight PS752 didn't kill themselves. Yeah, I went there.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-70 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson