Agnostids Summary

The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.

Some ways in which sea horses have adapted to better survive in their habitats. One of their abilities that can help them survive is their ability to camouflage and hide from their predators. The second thing is that they don’t have scales they have bony plates. The final thing is that they have special senses.

First, the author asserts that being the kind of creature with so much mass, Brachiosaurus needed long legs to support them on land, yet the buoyancy would help share this burden. In the lecture, however, the professor indicates that Brachiosaurus were able to walk on land with the fossil tracks of such creatures

The magazine cover is Tiktaalik which is a very famous fossil that is the first to show aquatic creatures becoming more associated with being on land and adapting. Tiktaalik is the first cross between fish and tetrapod. The chapter speaks of all the necessities and struggles of uncovering fossils and the wonderful things discovered by them, such as the fact that Tiktaalik is over of the first creatures that showed similarities

As the book progresses, we are introduced to the three most influential people on western biological thought that emerged from ancient Greece, and the classical world. First came Socrates (470 – 399 B.C.) who was revered as the “moral philosopher” rather than a “natural philosopher,” as his ideas contributed towards two jurisdictions of thought – philosophy and natural science. Although he left little proof of his written accounts, his ideology has made it through centuries of history in the form of “Socratic dialogues” by his pupil, Plato (429 – 347 B.C.). Plato contributed to the transcription, of the dialogues between himself and Socrates and the members of Athenian

Another important piece of evidence was fossil distribution. Fossils of many different species were found on multiple continents yet these species fossils showed no evidence that they could swim across the extensive oceans that separate the continents in present day. One of these species was Mesosaurus, a crocodile-like reptile that lived in freshwater lakes and ponds. Mesosaurus was found only in South Africa and South America and, being a coastal animal, there was no way it could swim across the large ocean that now separates the two continents. Another species was Lystrosaurus, which was only found in Antarctica, India, and South Africa. Being a land dominant species, Lystrosaurus would not be capable of crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Glossopteris,

First, the author states that agnostids may have been predators and tries to justify this theory by mentioning that other types of primitive arthropods existed that were active predators and furthermore since there were plenty of smaller organisms in the ancient ocean, they might have been a great source of nutrition for agnostids. However, the lecturer challenges this point by explaining that predators usually have large, well developed eyes while

Although the professor opposes this by saying that agnostids population was so large and they were found in vast amounts that could have killed the animal they were living on. We learned from the professor that agnostids enormous population rules out the possibility that they have been

First, the reading claims that agnostids may have been strong swimmers and active predators that hunted smaller animals. The professor refutes this point by saying that all of the predators have been well developed to hunt prey. He states that agnostids were completely blind and so if they want to chase prey they should have some sensors, but the evidence doesn't show the existence of these sensors.

Astraspis was one of the earliest fish of all time. It lacked fins and had a poorly evolved tail, making it a horrible swimmer. Its lack of fins and related lack of movement ability would have made it an easy target for Ordovician carnivores such as eurypterids and orthocones.

This explains a give and take of predator/prey, host/parasite, and even technological advances. The book references parasite to host many times over, the host evolves to become better adapted to fend off the parasite, and the parasite evolves to counter the better adaptation, leaving both

As the author objective was to describe the zoological features of the animals existed at that age, and he talked about the naturalistic characteristics, technical rendition and decorative significance of that creatures

Second, it gives the sense that Agamemnon was never in charge of his own fate, a theme that repeats in the Oresteia. Agamemnon, the fish in this scenario, seems like a helpless creature. Third, since a fishing net is unseen by its prey, Agamemnon does not know the fate that awaits him. This, in turn, can be connected to Cassandra’s vision that symbolizes Clytemnestra as the net. “Now the net [Clytemnestra] - the fish-eye terror [Agamemnon]. Death is bundling him up, like a mother swaddling a child” (55). If the consensus is that Clytemnestra did this deed solely for the purpose of avenging her daughter's death, ignoring Aegisthus involvement for the moment, then I could not have said it better myself. By understanding Clytemnestra is the net in Cassandra’s vision, and the fish is Agamemnon, the reader can focus on the urgent need for revenge that Clytemnestra holds. Another passage that relates well to these two is the chorus’s response to Clytemnestra. After revealing the murder, she is compared to a spider that had cast a web. “The spider’s web swaddled him helpless” (75). The change of the net imagery is what makes this sentence unique. Throughout the play, Clytemnestra is symbolized as a serpent, a spider and more. Now, she is the spider, perhaps the black widow, who eats their significant others. She is once again in a position of power and superiority

Firstly, the reading passage argues that the agnostids may have been free-swimming predators that hunte smaller animals since the other types pf primitive agnostids were strong swimmer and active. Conversely, the lecturer holds the view that other types of agnostids have had big eyes and they have ability to see even small animals, but Agnostids didnt have this capability. Some of them were even blind, so they could not prey very well.

The article lectures about a mysterious disease that is killing an animal called Saigas. Saigas roamed the Earth before the last Ice Age and roamed in millions. After a long time spending time in the northern hemisphere they moved to the steppes of Central Asia where they continue to thrive. When during the 20th century, these strange looking antelopes started to go extinct for its horns. Ninety-five percent of its population was extinct, leaving a low amount of fifty thousand Saigas left in the world.