Will mammoths be cloned?

Russian scientists have developed the most detailed picture ever of the insides of prehistoric animals. They made the discovery after studying a 37,000 year-old baby mammoth found immaculately preserved in the Yamalo-Nenets region in Russia. The scientists say it was crucial for the study of prehistoric life to pinpoint the exact location of the animal’s internal organs.

Some experts hope that the perfect condition in which the body of the mammoth was found could allow scientists to extricate intact DNA from his cells, and, as a result, clone the animal in future.

With the mammoth's trunk still intact, eyes in place and small tufts of fur still on its skin, it looks more like a museum fake than an actual specimen. The creature’s organs were also perfectly preserved, and its heart could be clearly seen with the help of computer scanning techniques.

The animal was immediately buried in a watery area or a bog after its death (see this post for more on bogs). It was located there in a frozen state for several thousand years until it reappeared to the world after a part of the river’s bank slipped off.

Below is a brief video on the find:

Fun with Tree Growing

Cool Animal Pics

More Antarctic Creatures

As a follow up to this post, below are some more pictures of sea creatures recently found off Antarctica.

Below is a sea cucumber, known as a "sea pig." Sea cucumbers are part of a group of marine animals that inhabit the sea floor, including sea squirts, sea stars (starfish), sea slugs, corals, clams, sponges, and urchins.



An Antarctic octopus found at 3,280 feet in southern Antarctica's Ross Sea was one of about 18 octopus species recorded during the survey.



This predatory fish, called a stareater, uses its luminous red chin appendage to lure prey into striking distance.



This 19-inch-long daggertooth sports an iridescent body and sapphire blue eyes. An Antarctic neighbor of the predatory stareater, this fish is one of the southernmost daggertooths ever caught. The animal uses its long mouth and forward-curved teeth immobilize prey, clamping down and pulling back to tear through and paralyze the victim's spine.

Monkeys Riding Tiny Motorcycles

Monkeys are apparently evolving to the point of using human means of transportation!

Elephant Painting a Self Portrait!

Click on the picture below to see an amazing video of an elephant painting a self portrait!

Animal Hand Art

From an Italian artist:

Ele-vision

Below are several screen shots that a filmmaker shot by attaching cameras to elephants. He fixed webcams to four elephants. One carried a "trunk-cam" - a device resembling a huge log concealing a camera which could be held in its trunk and dangled close to the ground. Another had a "tusk-cam" hooked over its tusk. The elephants moved so steadily that the images are pin-sharp. Other log-cams were left on the forest floor as well.

Giant sea creatures found in Antarctica

Scientists who conducted the most comprehensive survey to date of New Zealand's Antarctic waters were surprised by the size of some specimens found, including jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles, 2-foot-wide starfish, large sea spiders, huge sea snails, and "fields" of sea lilies that stretched for hundreds of yards across the ocean floor. Cold temperatures, a small number of predators, high levels of oxygen in the sea water and even longevity could explain the size of some specimens.

The picture above features scientists holding giant Macroptychaster sea stars.

Henry the Hexapus

Marine experts in England have discovered an octopus that is missing two of its legs. They have thus dubbed the creature a "hexapus" and named him Henry. Ordinarily, octopi have eight legs, and if they lose one in an accident they can grow it back. Henry's missing legs stem from a birth defect. This appears to be the first known case of an octopus born with only six legs. Henry was picked up from a local zoo along with seven other octopi for a new exhibit. No one noticed his missing legs until he attached himself to the inside of his glass tank.