In a new research, it has been found that the feathered dinosaurs may not have looked as imagined by people and portrayed in popular media. The study has found that these extinct reptiles were not entirely feathered and had either scaly skin or feathery patches.

In a new research, it has been found that the feathered dinosaurs may not have looked as imagined by people and portrayed in popular media. The study has found that these extinct reptiles were not entirely feathered and had either scaly skin or feathery patches. The new discovery has added a twist to the theories of how the evolution of feathers happened in the dinosaurs. How did the scientists find what feathered dinosaurs' skin looked like? The scientists exposed the unremarkable dinosaur fossil to ultraviolet (UV) light which revealed not-known patches of preserved skin which fluoresced a vibrant orange-yellow. The discovery was made during a Psittacosaurus specimen's examination by palaeontologists at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland. The new findings have hinted that the body of the dinosaurs was not solely covered by the feathers. Also Read: Climate change may have forced some dinosaur groups to become warm-blooded: Study The areas of preserved skin which did not have feathers and were exposed to UV light suggested that these reptiles have a more complex integumentary system than earlier believed. “The fossil truly is a hidden gem. The fossil skin is not visible to the naked eye, and it remained hidden when the specimen was donated to Nanjing University in 2021. Only under UV light is the skin visible, in a striking orange-yellow glow,” said Dr. Zixiao Yang, who was one of the lead researchers, as reported by Earth.com. Fossils of feathered dinosaurs hint at glassy skin: Study Advanced imaging techniques were used by the research team to utilise X-rays and infrared light for examining the details of the fossilised skin. This helped them observe the skin's intricate cellular structure which was kept preserved for millions of years. In the analysis, it was found that the primary composition of the skin was silica, a mineral compound which is commonly called the main component of glass. Watch: These animals are real climate heroes This is the first time that scientists have discovered silica-based skin preservation in vertebrate fossils. The well-preserved soft tissue of the fossil hinted that more secrets may be hidden in specimens. “The evolution of feathers from reptilian scales is one of the most profound yet poorly understood events in vertebrate evolution. While numerous fossils of feathers have been studied, fossil skin is much more rare,” said Prof Maria McNamara, a senior author of the study. (With inputs from agencies)

Did feathered dinosaurs exist? Study says these reptiles had scaly skins like lizards

Thousands of native Australia lizards with a market value of around $805,000 (or A$1.2 million) have been rescued from being smuggled out of the country to Hong Kong. In a statement, the New South Wales (NSW) Police said that the criminal syndicate allegedly planning to export the reptiles to Hong Kong has been "dismantled".

<h2>The rescue</h2>

Police rescued some 257 lizards and three snakes. As per a BBC report, the reptiles were allegedly being kept in poor conditions. They have now been treated and returned to the wild.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/vulcan-centaur-americas-first-lunar-lander-in-more-than-50-years-takes-off-for-the-moon-677762">Vulcan Centaur, America's first lunar lander in more than 50 years takes off for the Moon</a>

Three men and women have been arrested in Sydney. All four suspects have now been charged with multiple offences, including exporting native reptiles, dealing with the proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal group. If found guilty, they face up to 15 years in prison.&nbsp;

Two men, as per the Guardian, were refused bail.

Previously, in September 2023, the police had set up a taskforce called Strike Force Whyaratta to investigate alleged smugglers after 59 live lizards were intercepted on their way to Hong Kong. They were being kept in nine small containers.

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With assistance from state and federal departments, the strike force between December&nbsp;20 and January 5 executed search warrants and vehicle intercepts in Sydney's Pendle Hill, Panania and East Hills. There, they arrested the woman aged 41 and three men, aged 31, 54 and 59.&nbsp;

During one of their searches in East Hills, officers came across 118 lizards, three snakes, eight eggs. Alongside them, 25 dead lizards were also found.

According to the police, the group were catching live native animals and selling them for a profit to Hong Kong. On average, one lizard sells for AUD$5,000 (or around US$3,350) on the black market. This means that the total haul had the value of around AUD$1.2 million (or around USD$870,000).

(With inputs from agencies)

Thousands of native Australia lizards with a market value of around $805,000 (or A$1.2 million) have been rescued from being smuggled out of the country to Hong Kong.

Thousands of native Australia lizards with a market value of around $805,000 (or A$1.2 million) have been rescued from being smuggled out of the country to Hong Kong. In a statement, the New South Wales (NSW) Police said that the criminal syndicate allegedly planning to export the reptiles to Hong Kong has been "dismantled". The rescue Police rescued some 257 lizards and three snakes. As per a BBC report, the reptiles were allegedly being kept in poor conditions. They have now been treated and returned to the wild. Also read | Vulcan Centaur, America's first lunar lander in more than 50 years takes off for the Moon Three men and women have been arrested in Sydney. All four suspects have now been charged with multiple offences, including exporting native reptiles, dealing with the proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal group. If found guilty, they face up to 15 years in prison. Two men, as per the Guardian, were refused bail. Previously, in September 2023, the police had set up a taskforce called Strike Force Whyaratta to investigate alleged smugglers after 59 live lizards were intercepted on their way to Hong Kong. They were being kept in nine small containers. Also read | US coal miners discover mammoth tusk buried for thousands of years With assistance from state and federal departments, the strike force between December 20 and January 5 executed search warrants and vehicle intercepts in Sydney's Pendle Hill, Panania and East Hills. There, they arrested the woman aged 41 and three men, aged 31, 54 and 59. During one of their searches in East Hills, officers came across 118 lizards, three snakes, eight eggs. Alongside them, 25 dead lizards were also found. According to the police, the group were catching live native animals and selling them for a profit to Hong Kong. On average, one lizard sells for AUD$5,000 (or around US$3,350) on the black market. This means that the total haul had the value of around AUD$1.2 million (or around USD$870,000). (With inputs from agencies)

Criminal gang planning to smuggle lizards worth almost $1mn nabbed in Australia, 257 animals rescued

A tiny gecko travelled all the way Barbados to Yorkshire as it comfortably sat in a woman’s bra during a long transatlantic flight.

Lisa Russell had carefully packed all her clothes and undergarments in her suitcase before leaving Barbados. However, when she arrived back in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, she got a surprise that she would have never expected.

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Russell was unpacking her suitcase after her holiday in the Caribbean when a tiny lizard started moving in one of her bras, sending Russell into a shock.

"When it moved, I started screaming. It is not what you expect to find in your bra after a 4,000-mile journey,"&nbsp;she said.

Russel, a 47-year-old resident of Thrybergh misjudged the lizard to be a speck and shook the garment to get rid of it. However, as soon as she shook it, she noticed the lizard.

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"The tiny lizard was lucky as the bra was on top of my suitcase on my clean pile. As it was so hot out there, I didn't bother wearing one,"&nbsp;she said.

She quickly informed the RSPCA, who then sent an officer to Ms Russell’s house to pick up the traveller reptile.

The reptile is healthy and unharmed, even after being packed in a suitcase for a long journey, the RSPCA said. Named 'Barbie', it is currently living with a specialist reptile keeper.

A tiny gecko travelled all the way Barbados to Yorkshire as it comfortably sat in a woman’s bra during a long transatlantic flight. Lisa Russell had carefully packed all her clothes and undergarments in her suitcase before leaving Barbados.

A tiny gecko travelled all the way Barbados to Yorkshire as it comfortably sat in a woman’s bra during a long transatlantic flight. Lisa Russell had carefully packed all her clothes and undergarments in her suitcase before leaving Barbados. However, when she arrived back in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, she got a surprise that she would have never expected. Also read | This asteroid may have formed its own moons Russell was unpacking her suitcase after her holiday in the Caribbean when a tiny lizard started moving in one of her bras, sending Russell into a shock. "When it moved, I started screaming. It is not what you expect to find in your bra after a 4,000-mile journey," she said. Russel, a 47-year-old resident of Thrybergh misjudged the lizard to be a speck and shook the garment to get rid of it. However, as soon as she shook it, she noticed the lizard. Also read | Research of upside-down rhino wins Ig Nobel Prize 2021 "The tiny lizard was lucky as the bra was on top of my suitcase on my clean pile. As it was so hot out there, I didn't bother wearing one," she said. She quickly informed the RSPCA, who then sent an officer to Ms Russell’s house to pick up the traveller reptile. The reptile is healthy and unharmed, even after being packed in a suitcase for a long journey, the RSPCA said. Named 'Barbie', it is currently living with a specialist reptile keeper.

Wanderlust: Barbie, the tiny lizard, travels from Barbados to UK in woman's bra

The arrival of European colonists led to a mass extinction of between 50 to 70 per cent of the snake and lizard populations of the Guadeloupe Islands, according to a large fossil study published on Wednesday.

The paper, which appeared in the journal&nbsp;Science&nbsp;Advances, highlights human impacts on animals that are often seen as less "charismatic" and therefore neglected in scientific study, its authors wrote.

Corentin Bochaton of the Max Planck Institute for the&nbsp;Science&nbsp;of Human History and the Centre National de la&nbsp;Recherche Scientifique&nbsp;said that he and his colleagues studied 43,000 reptile bone remains from the Caribbean archipelago's six islands.

"What we found is that we have massive biodiversity in the past record, with several species we were unaware were present there in the past, and also several species that were never described before," lead author Bochaton said.

The team analyzed the remains of 16 taxa, or animal groups across 31 sites from Guadeloupe, which is a part of France.

These were sorted into four periods: the Late Pleistocene (32,000 to 11,650 years ago), the Holocene before the arrival of humans (starting 11,650 years ago), the Indigenous habitation period, and the modern period.

By carbon dating the remains and their surrounding sediment, they were able to reconstruct the region's evolutionary history, and found that the mass extinction occurred over only the last 500 years.

The islands could have been first inhabited by humans as far back as 5,000 years ago. Columbus arrived in Guadeloupe in 1493, while French colonisation started in 1635 and led to the disappearance of Guadeloupe's indigenous people within 20 years.

"We observed no extinction in the Amerindian time," said Bochaton.&nbsp;

The fossil record also showed reptile species were able to survive the climate transition at the end of the last Ice Age when this region became warmer and wetter.

As to what led to the eradication of species such as the curlytail roquet and the Marie-Galante Boa, the authors believe the colonists' cats, mongeese, racoons and even rats were mostly to blame.

Smaller reptiles fared better than the larger ones, which could be indicative of the invasive predators' preferences.

Their data also revealed that tree-dwelling species were less impacted -- which Bochaton said might be down to the role of agriculture in the destruction of the ground-dwellers' habitats.

Bochaton said the work highlighted the importance of using fossil data to determine how humans impacted a region's biodiversity.&nbsp;

In the case of Guadeloupe, the transformation was so fast and so violent it occurred before contemporary naturalists had time to document the fauna.

The research also comes at a time of increasing recognition that reptiles,&nbsp;long victims of "taxonomic chauvinism" in&nbsp;science, have an important role to play in ecosystems, from seed dispersal and pollination to important ecosystem engineers.

The arrival of European colonists led to a mass extinction of between 50 to 70 per cent of the snake and lizard populations of the Guadeloupe Islands, according to a large fossil study published on Wednesday.

The arrival of European colonists led to a mass extinction of between 50 to 70 per cent of the snake and lizard populations of the Guadeloupe Islands, according to a large fossil study published on Wednesday. The paper, which appeared in the journal Science Advances, highlights human impacts on animals that are often seen as less "charismatic" and therefore neglected in scientific study, its authors wrote. Corentin Bochaton of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique said that he and his colleagues studied 43,000 reptile bone remains from the Caribbean archipelago's six islands. "What we found is that we have massive biodiversity in the past record, with several species we were unaware were present there in the past, and also several species that were never described before," lead author Bochaton said. The team analyzed the remains of 16 taxa, or animal groups across 31 sites from Guadeloupe, which is a part of France. These were sorted into four periods: the Late Pleistocene (32,000 to 11,650 years ago), the Holocene before the arrival of humans (starting 11,650 years ago), the Indigenous habitation period, and the modern period. By carbon dating the remains and their surrounding sediment, they were able to reconstruct the region's evolutionary history, and found that the mass extinction occurred over only the last 500 years. The islands could have been first inhabited by humans as far back as 5,000 years ago. Columbus arrived in Guadeloupe in 1493, while French colonisation started in 1635 and led to the disappearance of Guadeloupe's indigenous people within 20 years. "We observed no extinction in the Amerindian time," said Bochaton. The fossil record also showed reptile species were able to survive the climate transition at the end of the last Ice Age when this region became warmer and wetter. As to what led to the eradication of species such as the curlytail roquet and the Marie-Galante Boa, the authors believe the colonists' cats, mongeese, racoons and even rats were mostly to blame. Smaller reptiles fared better than the larger ones, which could be indicative of the invasive predators' preferences. Their data also revealed that tree-dwelling species were less impacted -- which Bochaton said might be down to the role of agriculture in the destruction of the ground-dwellers' habitats. Bochaton said the work highlighted the importance of using fossil data to determine how humans impacted a region's biodiversity. In the case of Guadeloupe, the transformation was so fast and so violent it occurred before contemporary naturalists had time to document the fauna. The research also comes at a time of increasing recognition that reptiles, long victims of "taxonomic chauvinism" in science, have an important role to play in ecosystems, from seed dispersal and pollination to important ecosystem engineers.

European colonists led to mass extinction of reptiles, says study

A national park in the Netherlands is making an unusual offer to visitors this holiday season: come and chop down your own Christmas tree - for free. Rangers in Hoge Veluwe Park, near the eastern city of Arnhem, have set aside areas where Scots pines are threatening to overwhelm land used by lizards, crickets and other rare species.

Chop-your-own Christmas trees: Dutch park makes festive free offer

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