Wild Tobago

Dr Anjani Ganase, coral reef ecologist, brings the latest scientific research on an extinct giant shark, how tonka bean trees make space in the Panamanian forests and how our ears are like fish gills. Our evolutionary origins are fishy The outer ear of a mammal is oddly shaped and weird looking. The ear folds seem unnecessary in contrast to the smooth conical disc devices, like the satellite dish, that we’ve invented to collect sound signals. The path of evolution is meandering and mysterious. All land animals evolved from the ocean, a place that really has no use for an ear. However, on land, the growth of ears provided clear benefits for mammals. Researchers from the School of Medicine, University of Southern California found that the outer ear of mammals can be linked evolutionarily to the gills of ancient fish. Both organs share a unique tissue called elastic collagen that make the outer ear (and gills) flexible but durable. In present day, the tissue is predominantly found ...

Dr Anjani Ganase discusses recent research and findings about sharks .   MEGALODON THE SUPER PREDATOR The megalodon (Big Tooth) sharks were massive predators that roamed the oceans for over 13 million years until they went extinct three million years ago. During that time, megalodons could grow to 15 m in length. The closest rivals were the great white sharks that overlapped with the megalodons for about 400,000 years but were dwarfs - 5m - in comparison. From the size of the skeleton and teeth - one tooth is the size of a hand - the megalodon was a major predator on the high seas feeding on large fish, whales, and even other sharks. Scientists found a fossilized whale bone with markings and pieces of megalodon teeth in it. Recently scientists were able to chemically confirm that megalodons were on the very top of the ocean food chain, capable of feeding on whatever, whenever it wanted.   Through nitrogen found in the teeth of a megalodon species - Otodus megalodon ...