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California scientists discover mouse-like mammal related to elephants
Reuters ^ | June 26, 2014 | Laura Zuckerman

Posted on 06/27/2014 5:36:33 PM PDT by blueplum

(Reuters) - A new mammal discovered in the remote desert of western Africa resembles a long-nosed mouse in appearance but is more closely related genetically to elephants, a California scientist who helped identify the tiny creature said on Thursday.

The new species of elephant shrew, given the scientific name Macroscelides micus, inhabits an ancient volcanic formation in Namibia and sports red fur that helps it blend in with the color of its rocky surroundings, said John Dumbacher, one of a team of biologists behind the discovery.

Genetic testing of the creature – which weighs up to an ounce (28 grams) and measures 7.5 inches (19 cm) in length, including its tail – revealed its DNA to be more akin to much larger mammals.

"It turns out this thing that looks and acts like shrews that evolved in Africa is more closely related to elephants,"

(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: elephants; elephantshrew; evolution; junkscience; namibia; sengi; shrew; taxonomy
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To: BenLurkin

Brilliant match!!! (applause)


21 posted on 06/27/2014 6:17:34 PM PDT by blueplum
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To: blueplum

“Sports red fur”

Another one of them one per centers. Probably drives one of them ritzy Ford Mavericks.


22 posted on 06/27/2014 6:18:47 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: umgud

They’re hooked on Latin to try and make themselves sound “smart”. After all, they dubbed mankind “Homo” arbitrarily.

The English names for this little creature are the Etendaka round-eared sengi or Etendaka round-eared elephant shrew, FTR.


23 posted on 06/27/2014 6:20:09 PM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: blueplum
Impossible!
24 posted on 06/27/2014 6:27:46 PM PDT by Ouchthatonehurt ("When you're going through hell, keep going." - Sir Winston Churchill)
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To: EagleUSA

“Does it eat peanuts too?”

Yeah, but not nearly as many.


25 posted on 06/27/2014 6:30:28 PM PDT by PLMerite (Shut the Beyotch Down! Burn, baby, burn!)
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To: blueplum

” Biologists plan to return to Africa in the coming months to outfit the new mammals with miniscule radio collars to learn more about their habits, Dumbacher said.”

It weighs less than an ounce, and they plan to put a radio collar on them. I do think they’re kidding us.


26 posted on 06/27/2014 6:48:08 PM PDT by kitkat (STORM HEAVEN WITH PRAYERS FOR OUR COUNTRY)
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To: kitkat

All them African Eagles sitting around with their radio direction finders.

“Got another one Steve! Bearing 165. Lunch is ready!”


27 posted on 06/27/2014 6:57:03 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Olog-hai
Remember the time when taxonomists thought that the giant panda was a giant raccoon rather than a bear?

Yes I do. Twas DNA comarison which showed affinity to bears.

ignoring the conclusions of same technique being used in this case is illogical

28 posted on 06/27/2014 7:18:56 PM PDT by Oztrich Boy (Wikipedia is wrong. who knew?)
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To: blueplum

Great! More areas off limits to progress because of its habitat.


29 posted on 06/27/2014 7:42:25 PM PDT by stillfree? (Rome is Burning)
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To: blueplum
Always knew Rat politicians were related to GOPe elephant politicians.

Nothing new here....

30 posted on 06/27/2014 7:46:45 PM PDT by Osage Orange (I have strong feelings about gun control. If there's a gun around, I want to be controlling it.)
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To: blueplum

A mouselike mammal related to elephants is not a new discovery, we have known about them for a long time. Their called the GOP leadership.


31 posted on 06/27/2014 9:17:27 PM PDT by Mastador1 (I'll take a bad dog over a good politician any day!)
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To: blueplum; Olog-hai; smokingfrog; Oztrich Boy; BenLurkin
Elephant Shrew vs elephant:

Elephant Shrews belong to the super-order Afrotheria which includes Aardvarks, dugongs, manitees, hyrax and elephants.
Based on DNA analysis, they split apart from elephants around 105 million years ago, so the relationships are not all that close.

blueplum post #15: "...and if the elephant (or mouse) DNA branched into so many variations, why didn’t gorilla DNA? (I know the Christian answer but I’m always interested in the evolutionist perspective)"

HiTech RedNeck post #17: "Evo answer would be: LUCK"

No, the explanation is that separation of elephants from elephant-shrews took place around 105 million years ago, making them only distantly related.
By contrast: separations of pre-humans from gorillas (7), chimps (5) & orangutans (12) all happened within the past few million years.
That's why we are more closely related to great apes than elephants are to elephant-shrews.

32 posted on 07/12/2014 9:43:22 AM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective...)
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To: BroJoeK

Explanation or speculation?


33 posted on 07/12/2014 9:45:07 AM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: HiTech RedNeck

see above post.


34 posted on 07/12/2014 9:45:09 AM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective...)
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To: BroJoeK

Sometimes the purported evolutionary genetic change is fast and sometimes it is slow and there is only theory to speculate why. Even if environment played a factor, why the particular kind of environment needed in order to do it happened to be present, would again be a matter of luck. Because if the environment outstrips the capability to adapt, the result won’t be to evolve anything new but to cause an extinction.


35 posted on 07/12/2014 9:53:04 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Olog-hai
Olog-hai: "Explanation or speculation?"

Perhaps you know the scientific terms?
Fact is a confirmed observation -- something seen &/or measured.
Hypothesis is a tentative explanation/narrative, subject to future testing & confirmation.
It's more than pure speculation, but not yet confirmed.
Theory is a confirmed hypothesis, confirmed by observations &/or tests.

Much of evolution theory is based on facts -- radiometric dating, fossil cladistics, geological stratigraphy, DNA analysis, etc., etc. -- observed, measured & confirmed many times.
Of course, these all derive from fundamental assumptions, such as methodological naturalism (natural explanations for natural processes) and Uniformitarianism ("the present is key to the past").

Finally, science itself does not require anyone to "believe" a word of any of it, only to acknowledge that these are the best narrative explanations science can produce, so far.

36 posted on 07/12/2014 10:15:09 AM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective...)
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To: Olog-hai

Ultimately it is theorizing.

It is based on one theoretical model, and even then it still needs a lot of “luck” to be able to produce anything.

I don’t sweat the details as much as some do, because it becomes apparent that from any viewpoint you can take, a providential power is intimately involved here. Even if it were (to posit a very wasteful providence) lottery luck, Someone or Something has to have run that lottery.

The inexorable result to a true free thinker, one who is not afraid to think his way towards some traditional faith, is some kind of God.


37 posted on 07/12/2014 10:16:54 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: BroJoeK

Uniformitarianism takes hits or at least acquires deeper dimensions with new discoveries. Dark matter is one such discovery.


38 posted on 07/12/2014 10:17:52 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: BroJoeK

And notice that question-begging word, “best.”

If “best” means to reduce the concept of humanity to that of mechanical automaton, modern atheistic science does pretty “well.” It is a methodological anathema to speak of soul in the context of science, so much so that people get the idea that science has proven that there isn’t a soul, which is not at all the case.


39 posted on 07/12/2014 10:21:25 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

IMHO: there ought to be a division of the humanities that treats the philosophy and sociology of science. Being a humanity, it isn’t beholden to science, so would not be subject to the question begging challenge of “teaching bad science.”


40 posted on 07/12/2014 10:29:12 AM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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