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Scientists have identified a new species of giant monk seal, which lived three million years ago in the southern hemisphere, generating new clues to the evolution of these animals marine, according to a study published in the journal The Conversation.
According to the analyzes, this species was about 2.5 meters long and its weight exceeded 200 kilograms. Scientists baptized it Eomonachus belegaerensis (Belegaer Dawn Monk Seal).
This is the first new species of monk seal, alive or extinct, that has been discovered in this part of the world, specifically in New Zealand. It is also the oldest found on the planet, according to research, in which scientists from an Australian university analyzed seven skulls of Eomonaco which were found between 2009 and 2016 and found off the coast of Taranaki on that country’s northern island.
The discovery of an extinct species of monk seal, which lived 3 million years ago, reverses what we previously knew about the evolution of seals. https://t.co/Gc4V2u2E6B pic.twitter.com/V1hVBjAQDc
– New Scientist (@newscientist) November 11, 2020
The name given to the new species was given in allusion “In the fictional sea west of Middle-earth in JRR’s Lord of the Rings trilogy Tolkein, who is often associated with New Zealand, ”explained James Rule, Monash University and author dean of the firm.
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The researchers said the discovery “rewrites the history of evolution”. of the seals living today, including monks, elephants and some Antarctic seal species, according to results published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society.
Scientists suggest that “nuns “, the seals that populate the southern hemisphere, may have crossed the equator, whose warm waters have always been believed to be a thermal barrier to the movements of marine mammals.
“If there is a southern origin for the ‘nuns’, that would mean that the group has crossed the Equator at least eight times in its evolutionary history,” the authors specify, underlining that they can then return to the northern area.
The monk seal is found mainly in the Mediterranean. Photo: Pixabay
Climate effects
According to the researchers, it is necessary to remember that 2.5 million years ago there was a massive extinction of the marine megafauna, probably due to the decrease in water level as a result of the cooling of the planet. phenomenon that affected prehistoric seals such as Eomonaco.
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According to the researchers’ results, It is suggested that climate change endangers the last two species of monk seals left on the planet, as rising sea levels could deprive them of the beaches they need to rest and rising water temperatures could disrupt their food web.
The monk seal is in danger of extinction and it is estimated that there are fewer than 2,100 specimens currently in the Mediterranean and Hawaii, as those in the Caribbean were hunted in the 1950s until their disappearance.
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