Presenting Puijila Darwini!
Via Pharyngula.
A 23 million year old fossil from the Canadian Arctic has been discovered that has scientists buzzing! This is a fossil remnant of a transitional mammal that has not been seen before. It looked a lot like a seal except for one important difference. Instead of flippers it had front legs! It was a walking seal! This is an artist’s representation of how it might have looked:
A website about Puijila Darwini has been setup here.
The importance of Puijila is that it represents an evolutionary link between a mammal that once walked on land and one that now swims in the sea.
It represents a completely new genus and species, so the scientists who discovered it had to come up with an original name. Puijila is a derivation of a word in the Inuktitut language, which is spoken by the Native Americans who occupy Nunavut, the area of Canada where the fossil was found. It is a word that is generally used to refer to a young seal and is intended to honor the people of Nunavut whose support has been critical in to the success of archeological research in the area.
And don’t ask me how it’s pronounced. This site has a pronounciation guide plus lots more information. The Darwini piece you guys should be able to figure out.
Isn’t this stuff just so much more interesting than reading about the blatherings of Those Darn Republicans? Some days, anyway.
Posted by marindenver on 04/24/09 at 04:52 PM • Permalink
Categories: Critters • Messylaneous • Politics • Nutters •

