Remora fossil body. The sucker is boxed off in white. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Oxford)
Posted on 07/28/2013 3:14:40 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
'The remora sucker is a truly amazing anatomical specialisation but, strange as it may seem, it evolved from a spiny fin,' said Dr Matt Friedman of Oxford University's Department of Earth Sciences, lead author of the report. 'In this fossil the fin is clearly modified as a disc but is found on the back of the fish. It enables us to say that first fin spines on the back broadened to form wide segments of a suction disc. After the disc evolved, it migrated to the skull, and it was there that individual segments became divided in two, the number of segments increased, and a row of spines were developed on the back of individual segments.'
Modern remoras use their sucker to fasten themselves to hosts including whales, turtles, and sharks. The researchers have shown that the fossil remora (Opisthomyzon), dating from the Oligocene period and unearthed in Switzerland, falls outside the branch on the evolutionary tree occupied by all living remoras. As such it preserves primitive aspects of the shape and construction of the adhesion disc not found in modern remoras, all of which share discs that are broadly similar in construction...
'One of the remarkable things we've learned about modern fishes is that some creatures that look very different, for example pufferfishes and anglerfishes, are actually very closely related,' said Dr Friedman. 'It's through fossils like this one, which preserve body plans and structures that have been pruned from the evolutionary tree by extinction, that we can unravel how they diverged from one another to assume the very different forms we see today.'
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Remora fossil body. The sucker is boxed off in white. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Oxford)
So they found the oldest know fossil evidence of the existence of Democrats?
You’re thinking of sea lampreys. Remoras don’t do any damage and just hitch a ride.
Actually, remoras have a suction of around 30 lbs. per square inch. I really didn’t want the sensation of the one attacking me. Imagine the bruise! And I’d have a really hard time explaining it my husband.
Yes, a remora did attack me for about 15 minutes. It was hand-to-fin combat! My dive buddy was no help except that he nearly choked himself to death laughing so daddgum hard.
In Obama’s land the exact opposite is true. Americans are suckers who have a leach on their backs sucking out our life’s blood.
The (seems to be .. I didn't measure it) 16" pipe, approx 20 ft joints are set in place by a suction crane (I at first thought it was electro mag .. ) and the guy said it was a 30 lb "suction"
THAT should put some perspective on .. 30 lb.
So this fish has something in common with Larry Sinclair?
We’ve all had the IRS sucking on our backs all our lives.
No suction can be more than about 14.7 lbs/in2 unless you’re diving under pressure.
Ususally if you see a 30 when it comes to vacuum its a unit of measure with water in a glass tube, many of the air ducts I build have to withstand 30” of water in the vacuum tests before they collapse.
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