2-hour wildfire evacuation notice issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
A newly discovered extinct swordfish-shaped marine reptile estimated to be 130 million years old is helping to shed light on the evolution of ancient animals known as ichthyosaurs.
An international team of researchers from Canada, Colombia and Germany discovered the new species, with a well-preserved metre-long skull, and is hailing it as one of the last surviving ichthyosaurs, which were ancient animals that resemble modern-day swordfish, according to a news release from McGill University.
The team presented its findings in a study published this month in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.
“This animal evolved a unique dentition that allowed it to eat large prey,” said McGill’s Redpath Museum Director Hans Larsson in the release. “Whereas other ichthyosaurs had small, equally sized teeth for feeding on small prey, this new species modified its tooth sizes and spacing to build an arsenal of teeth for dispatching large prey, like big fishes and other marine reptiles.”
Researchers decided to name the new species “Kyhytysuka” which translates to “one that cuts with something sharp” in the Indigenous language from the central Colombian region the fossil was found in.
Researchers chose the name in honour of the ancient Muisca culture that lived in Villa de Leyva area for millennia, according to the release.
According to the study, this discovery clarifies the evolutionary progress of ichthyosaurs and allows them to compare the new species with ones from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, with a chance to study how they evolved.
The Kyhytysuka hails from a transitional time during the Early Cretaceous period, when the Earth was coming out of a relatively cool phase with rising sea levels and the supercontinent Pangea was splitting into Northern and Southern land masses.
The end of the Jurassic period also experienced a global extinction event that changed marine and terrestrial ecosystems, the release states, with many species being succeeded by new lineages evolved from their predecessors.
“We are discovering many new species in the rocks this new ichthyosaur comes from. We are testing the idea that this region and time in Colombia was an ancient biodiversity hotspot and are using the fossils to better understand the evolution of marine ecosystems during this transitional time,” said researcher Dirley Cortes in the release.
The researchers plan to continue exploring the new fossils found in Villa de Leyva in Colombia.
“This is where I grew up,” said Cortes, “and it is so rewarding to get to do research here too.”
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
Saskatchewan RCMP are set to provide an update on what the service calls a 'significant' sexual assault and internet child exploitation investigation.
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.