Fly fossil found in Antarctica

Netscape ^ | May 25, 2003

[byteback]

It's just a tiny fossil of a fly that scientists found some 300 miles from the South Pole. But this fossil will help them: --figure out what life was like millions of years ago in ancient Antarctica and --help explain global changes in today's climate. One of the biggest surprises of the discovery: No one even knew there were flies in this frozen land where summer temperatures are a bone-chilling 20 degrees below zero. The fly fossil is from the Cyclorrhapha family, the so-called "higher flies" that include the common housefly, reports CNN.

North Dakota State University geologist Allan Ashworth, who found the fossil and is recognized as a pioneer in using insect fossils to research climate changes, speculates that flies could have existed during a short-lived warm spell in Antarctica several million years ago. They could also have been part of the animal life on a mega-continent called Gondwana that later split up and formed Antarctica, South America, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa. Finding such fossils is "painstaking stuff," Ashworth admitted. But the payoff can be huge because so much can be learned from them. CNN reports that the fossil Ashworth found in Antarctica is 5 to 7.5 millimeters long. The fly is actually in the puparium stage, which is similar to the butterfly's cocoon state--a transition period between the larva and adult insect.

So now the big question to be pondered: If a warm spell in Antarctica allowed the fly to live there, what caused the temperatures to rise? Some 15 million years ago, it was not greenhouse gases to blame. So what was it? This ancient clue could help scientists learn more about global warming now. The findings were published in the British journal Nature.

[byteback]

I bet Gore knows the answer.

[Mister Baredog]

Fly fossil found in Antarctica

SERIESLY HUGH NEWS

[ChadGore]

Gore is a inventet fosils.

[Khepera]

Gore invented flies too!

[ChadGore]

Re: HUGH NEWS

Thus is hugh.

[GreenHornet]

Okay, who left the screen door to Antarctica open?

[Larry Lucido]

and --help explain global changes in today's climate

The fly was found sitting in a tiny SUV.

[ALS]

[ChadGore]

Re: The fly was found sitting in a tiny SUV.

ROFL ! smoking a tiny cigar, eating tiny take out food.

[Mike Darancette]

They could also have been part of the animal life on a mega-continent called Gondwana that later split up and formed Antarctica, South America, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa...

Later in the article they talked of a warming period 15 mya which is confusing because Gondwana ceased to exist about 95 mya when splitting off of Austrailia .

[martin_fierro]

Cool site showing past and future continental drift

[HalfFull]

If a warm spell in Antarctica allowed the fly to live there, what caused the temperatures to rise?

Biblically, a better question is "what caused the temperatures in Antarctica to fall?"

[martin_fierro]

The little bugger was wearing lots and lots of polyester.

[Normal4me]

Anyone else here think this guy could be useful in Iraq? ;-)

[razorbak]

Maybe the flies rode in on those rocks from Mars. If they had stayed on Mars they would've probably evolved into alligators or even chimpanzees by now.

Sounds like the world underwent a cataclysmic change in climate in it's ancient past. More scientists adhere to catastrophism than ever before. And gradualism has gradually given way to punctuated equilibrium [the hopeful monster] in the evolutionary perspective. It's not creationism, but is much closer to it than when I was in high school 30 years ago. Velikovsky is not considered as heretical as he was when he published his work Worlds in Collision in 1950.

[Sacajaweau]

Thank God for this discovery! We'll finally put the "human cause" of global warming to rest!!!!! Of course, it will turn out that a Frenchman was there just a-cookin his dinner after searching for gold. Alas, he was from California and inadvertantly brought some flies with him in his raunch, smelly clothes.

[gcruse]

How did they know this fly was a fossil?
Well, modern day flies have zippers.  This
fly was zipless, and thus ancient.

[b4its2late]

Shoo fly, don't bother me!

[William Tell]

Much of the science explaining continental drift has developed since I was in school so I have little expertise.

However, if the continents drift relative to each other, then they must certainly drift relative to the axis of rotation of the earth. This means that the "seasons" which are experienced can vary on any given continent independently of the average temperature of the earth.

The more surprising result might be if it was determined that there had never been flies on a particular continent. I suppose that the 15 mya time frame suggests that Antartica was located at the south pole roughly where it is now.

[Licensed-To-Carry]

You mean Gore left his fly open.