According to a report in The Times, the ancient remains discovered in Morocco, belong to a giant flying pterosaur and plant-eating sauropod.

Initial examinations suggest that both specimens are unknown to science.

They were unearthed during a month-long quest during which the research team braved floods and storms to reach the dig site and then preserve the fossils.

The scientists even feared that they would never get the bones out of the desert because they were so heavy that their Land Rover became stuck in sand.

“There was a point when we wondered if we would make it out of the desert with the (sauropod) bone, but we had worked so hard to find it there was no way I was leaving it behind. It took us five days to get the bone out of the ground and down the mountain,” said Nizar Ibrahim, of University College Dublin, a leader of the project.

The first fossil is the beak of a pterosaur, a giant flying reptile that lived about 100 million years ago.

Such discoveries are unusual because pterosaur bones were light and fragile, to be adapted to flight, and few fossilised well.

“Most pterosaur discoveries are just fragments of teeth and bone so it was thrilling to find a large part of a beak and this was enough to tell us we probably have a new species,” said Ibrahim, a doctoral student.

The second significant discovery was a leg bone more than a meter long that belonged to an unknown species of sauropod – the group of long-necked plant-eaters that includes the diplodocus.

The animal would have been almost 20m (65ft) long.

“Plant eaters are uncommon in this deposit, extremely rare in this region and to find one this large is very exciting. It’s a major discovery,” Dr Martill said.

“Finding two specimens in one expedition is remarkable, especially as both might well represent completely new species,” Ibrahim said.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20081217/981/tsc-fossil-hunters-discover-two-new-dino.html

The species was facing imminent extinction in the 1990’s when Fauna & Flora International (FFI) first took action to save it. Once considered a delicacy, these charismatic bats were hunted and eaten widely throughout the island. By the 1990s the bats looked doomed, with 95% of its forest habitat destroyed and an extremely slow reproductive rate (just one young per adult female each year).

The FFI-initiated survey, carried out by Janine Robinson for the University of East Anglia, indicates that the Pemba flying fox population has fully recovered to at least 22,000 but possibly up to 35,600 individuals – proving that conservation can work, even in the most dire-seeming situations.

Over the past 13 years, FFI has helped to reduce the threat from hunting, set up two new forest reserves to safeguard the bat’s habitat and raised awareness of the need for conservation throughout Pemba’s communities. The species has now been downgraded to ‘Vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List for threatened species.

Today, Pemba flying foxes are much loved by islanders, with local people helping to protect the bat through community-led “Pemba flying fox clubs”.

FFI East Africa Programme Assistant, Joy Juma, has played a crucial role in FFI’s efforts to save the bat.

“Less than twenty years ago this bat looked set to disappear off the face of the planet forever. Thanks to the enthusiasm of local people, FFI’s ongoing conservation efforts have managed to claw this species back from the brink of extinction,” said Joy. “At one time roast bat was a very common dish on Pemba. Now people value the bats for different reasons.”

This recovery is testament to successful emergency intervention efforts by FFI, working closely with a local partner, the Department of Commercial Crops, Fruits and Forestry (DCCFF).

Flying Fox Facts:

* The Pemba flying fox is a type of ‘old world fruit bat’, endemic to the island of Pemba, Tanzania, meaning it cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
* The bat’s wingspan is estimated at over 5.5 feet.
* The bat has an average body weight of between 400-650g, which is about half the weight of the average guinea pig.
* Fruit bats are ecologically and economically important – particularly so on oceanic islands – playing a vital role as seed dispersers and pollinators and facilitating ‘gene flow’ between isolated populations of plants.
* Flying foxes belong to the sub-order Megachiroptera, of which there are 167 species worldwide, and are the largest bats in the world.
* Island endemic species are thought to be particularly vulnerable to extinction, primarily due to their small geographic range. The fact that they have evolved in isolation from predators and competitors (particularly humans), makes them vulnerable to the effects of overexploitation and introduced species.
* Islands have been highlighted as one of the priority areas for the global conservation of bats, as they contain a large proportion of the world’s most threatened bats.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081101124904.htm

Most poison dart frogs have brightly colored skin which is used as a warning sign to predators. These frogs can be very small, ranging from one to 6 cm in length, depending on the age, sex, and species of the frog.

Yellow-banded poison dart frog Dendrobates leucomelas

Habitat

They are mostly endemic to humid, tropical environments. These frogs are generally found in tropical rain forests, including in Hawaii, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guyana, Peru, Panama, and Nicaragua. (The species found in Hawaii are non-native introduced frogs.) Poison dart frogs tend to live on or close to the ground, as well as in trees as much as 20 ft from the ground.

Toxicity

Poison dart frogs excrete alkaloid toxins through their skin. Most species are not lethal to their predators, but rather taste foul enough that frogs are released immediately. Dart frogs also do not synthesize their poisons. The alkaloids are sequestered from prey items, such as ants and mites. Because of this, captive bred animals do not contain significant levels of toxin. However, wild caught animals can maintain toxicity for some time, so appropriate care should be taken when handling such animals.

Wild specimen of Dendrobates reticulatus in Peru.

Immunity to Poison

Despite the potent poisons utilized by some poison dart frogs, there are some predators that have developed the ability to survive the toxins, including the amazon ground snake Liophis epinephelus.

Poison Frogs in Captivity

While there is little scientific study on the lifespan of poison dart frogs, estimates range from 3 to 15 years in the wild and up to 20 years in captivity. Most species reach maturity around 1.5 to 2.5 years of age.

The easiest way to determine the sex of a particular species of poison dart frog is by observation of behavior. Mature male frogs will usually make a mating call after eating or after a heavy misting of water. The sound varies from species to species, and ranges from a barely audible series of clicks to a loud, bird-like trill.

In juvenile frogs, the sex can sometimes be determined by the profile of the frog. The backs of males usually slope down with less of a break than females. Females are usually rounder and show a bigger break.

With adult frogs (or sub-adults), another way to sex some species of these frogs is by their toes. Females of some Dendrobates species have narrow toes all the way down, while the male’s toes are wide at the ends. Mature males of some species also show a small section of grey skin on their neck. This is where the mating call is produced.

These frogs eat ants, termites, small beetles, house crickets, fruit flies, spring tails, wax worms, spiders and other small invertebrates. All species of poison dart frogs are tropical in origin. In captivity, most species thrive where the humidity is kept constant at 80-100% and where the temperature is around 72-80°F (22-27°C) during the day and no lower than 60-65°F (16-18°C) at night. Some species tolerate lower temperatures better than others.

Colostethus flotator in Costa Rica

Gallery

Endangered blue poison dart frogs

Dyeing poison dart frog

A strawberry poison dart frog

Golden poison dart frogs

article i came across and felt to share here for your information…sunkan

http://sagribow.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/08/poison-dart-frogs-for-enlightenment.htm