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This Sarlacc-Like Creature Existed 520 Million Years Before Star Wars

Edit IFL Science 26 Sep 2016
Who knows what nightmares inspired George Lucas to create the Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi, but what he came up with looks like a giant version of a mouth that haunted the oceans 520 million years ago ... The fossil imprint of the mouth on a 520 million-year-old Pambdelurion whittingtoni. Fletcher Young ... The mouth was made up of teeth-like sclerites (hardened body parts) and circles of radial plates bearing rounded nodules....

Mount Spokane ice crawler may be a unique species, scientists say

Edit The Spokesman-Review 10 Apr 2016
Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of years ago, flightless, cold-loving bugs on Mount Spokane became separated from the rest of their species ... Meet the Mount Spokane ice crawler ... Even so, they mostly go unnoticed ... Turns out the males at Marys Peak have a “distinct secondary accessory sclerite,” according to their published research. What makes their “accessory sclerite” unique? They look like a “square-topped tooth,” Marshall said....

Spiky, Armored Worm Lived Half A Billion Years Ago

Edit IFL Science 26 Nov 2015
Researchers working with 535 million-year-old rocks from southern China have discovered the fossils of an armored worm-like creature that’s just a few millimeters long with at least five pairs of large spikes along its body ... head, neck, and trunk ... The new species E ... rarus and modern kinorhynchs are divided into segments each consisting of small, articulated plates, and they all have hollow spines called spinose sclerites ... Dinghua Yang ... ....

500-million-year-old 'sea monster' brains help solve evolution mystery

Edit Mashable 09 May 2015
The new research focuses on an oval structure, called the anterior sclerite, found in the heads of ancient arthropods. The anterior sclerite has long baffled researchers, especially because some prehistoric arthropods have it while others don't, and its location in the head changes, depending on the quality of the fossil....

500-Million-Year-Old Brains of 'Sea Monsters' Get Close Look

Edit Yahoo Daily News 08 May 2015
The new research focuses on an oval structure, called the anterior sclerite, found in the heads of ancient arthropods. The anterior sclerite has long baffled researchers, especially because some prehistoric arthropods have it while others don't, and its location in the head changes, depending on the quality of the fossil....

500 mn years old brain reveals evolution of head

Edit The Times of India 08 May 2015
"The anterior sclerite has been lost in modern arthropods, as it most likely fused with other parts of the head during the evolutionary history of the group," said Javier Ortega-Hernandez, researcher from Cambridge University's department of earth sciences, who authored the study. A hard plate, called the anterior sclerite, and eye-like features at ......

Clues contained in 500 million-year-old brain point to the origin of heads in early animals (University of Cambridge)

Edit noodls 07 May 2015
It found that a hard plate, called the anterior sclerite, and eye-like features at the front of their bodies were connected through nerve traces originating from the front part of the brain, which corresponds with how vision is controlled in modern arthropods ... Ortega-Hernández observed that bright spots at the front of the bodies, which are in fact simple photoreceptors, are embedded into the anterior sclerite....

Never mind drones; these scientists have discovered how to control cyborg beetles wirelessly

Edit DNA India 17 Mar 2015
Scientists strap a computerized sensor on to Flower Beetles to wireless steer them ... The critters measure about 6cm in length and weigh 8gms--a tad more than a 10-rupee coin. Using the specially-created strapped-on computers, scientists have found that a muscle--insect’s coleopteran third axillary sclerite (3Ax)--originally assumed to control only the folding of insect wings also happens to be central to in-flight steering ... ....

Cyborg beetle research allows free-flight study of insects (University of California - Berkeley)

Edit noodls 16 Mar 2015
(Source. University of California - Berkeley) BERKELEY -. Hard-wiring beetles for radio-controlled flight turns out to be a fitting way to learn more about their biology ... A giant flower beetle is shown flying with an electronic backpack ... What the new study found was that the coleopteran third axillary sclerite (3Ax) muscle, found in the articulation of insect wings, plays a key function in the beetle's ability to steer left or right....

New to nature: No 132 Empis vockerothi

Edit The Guardian 31 Aug 2014
This North American species of dance fly engages in courtship deception by presenting would-be mates with empty gifts. Empis vockerothi with his deceptive balloon. Photograph. Allen B Coovert ... In such cases, females employ elaborate anatomical modifications to catch the male's eye including darkly coloured wings, feather-like leg scales, and inflatable bags between abdominal sclerites ... Sign up for the Guardian Today ... ....
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