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Scientists draw ancient squid using its own 150 million-year-old ink
Fossilized remains of squid were so well-preserved that scientists were able to draw a picture of it -- using its own ink.
Wed, Aug 26 2009 at 1:51 PM
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Photo: BNPS
An ancient squid was so remarkably well-preserved, that scientists were able to draw a picture of it using its own 150 million-year-old ink. The remains of a Belemnotheutis antiquus were found by paleontologists during a dig in Wiltshire, England, when they cracked open what looked like an ordinary rock.
What they found inside was anything but ordinary. After mixing the powdery one-inch-long black ink sac with an ammonia solution, the ink they created was of good enough quality to draw the squid-like creature and write its Latin name.
"Normally you would find only the hard parts like the shell and bones fossilized but there are a handful of locations around the world where soft preservation of the muscle, guts and gills has taken place,” leader of the excavation Dr. Phil Wilby told The Telegraph.
"We think that these creatures were swimming around during the Jurassic period and were turned to stone soon after death. It's called the Medusa affect.”
Wilby says that about 155 million years ago, millions of these creatures were dying out or being killed in this area of the United Kingdom for reasons scientists still don’t understand. One possible explanation is that they all congregated in one area to mate after being poisoned by algae in the water.
As the remains of the ancient squid are very rare and valuable, the scientists didn’t use all of it to make ink, but they just couldn’t resist creating the drawing.
"We felt that drawing the animal with it would be the ultimate self-portrait,” said Wilby.
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its neat that they can do things like that on the job its like art time in preschool and by the way atheist dont pray to any god or demon they dont believe in afterlife period
I wonder if they got any DNA to sequence...
Many people would have never heard of this discovery if it was buried in a tiny obscure newspaper or journal somewhere. By using the ink, many people, (especially me), read an article and were very much intrigued.
What a great way to increase awareness and probably spark the imagination of some future scientists!
Well done.
scientists arent meant to be immaginative, thats not what we pay them for. as a christian american i believe that my taxes should not go to those whosupport the idea that science is God. these scientists who think its so great to waste ink from a beautiful creature are probably atheist assholes praying to some cthulhu type god. notice i lowercased that god because the true god is the only version that should be capitalized.
Ignore the troll. :/
Cthulhu type god? Are you nuts or is this a joke? Oh, geez, you almost got me! Everyone knows atheists don't pray to Cthulhu, they pray to Satan. Silly.....
What a turd!! P-U
what a bunch of nerds crying over some damn squid. how about goin out and kissing a girl for once in your lives.
Wait, there are still people who think scientists are inherently anti-social rejects, unable to go out, meet people, or form relationships? Or who are ignorant enough to think that anyone with an appreciation of science is pathetic and "crying over" a legitimately interesting and fascinating discovery?
Wow.
Finding that squid? Awesome! What, does he think that people who get excavated over skeletons of T-Rexes are better than them? It's awesome, using its own ink to draw it :o
um.....Maybe they should have had an artist draw the picture....
Maybe when you get off your a$$ and accomplish such an amazing discovery, you'd have a leg to stand on.
Until then, you are just another internet troll with a disproportioned sense of confidence.
Fail. More like 10,000 years tops.
So you find a 150 million year old squid's ink and that's the best drawing you can come up with? Thanks for giving the retard the pen. It should've been a cool drawing, like the squid wrapping it's tentacles around a megalodon or something.
And why the hell did this turn into a religious debate? And how is carbon dating "not accurate" according to the creationists? Proof please, and citing your precious book isn't good enough.
the world "retard" is not used to describe the group you suggest.
Great reply to that idiot!
Thank you for pointing that out, that guys truly an idiot
So you find a 150 million year old squid's ink and that's the best drawing you can come up with? Thanks for giving the retard the pen. It should've been a cool drawing, like the squid wrapping it's tentacles around a megalodon or something.
And why the hell did this turn into a religious debate? And how is carbon dating "not accurate" according to the creationists? Proof please, and citing your precious book isn't good enough.
HI PEOPLE THERE IS'NT HOW WE DRAW
i dont get why theres so many people fighting about ancient squids ink....but its quite entertaining
I think exactly the same...
People are taking this way too serious..This is awesome! And so cool that they are using SOME of the ink (its not like they used all of it people!) to draw it.
maybe they did use all the ink you have know clue i have know clue you need to chill your pen aint going to run out of ink theres plenty in the world okay and maybe they did they have gotten facts that it could be 100 millions of years old and ther may have only been enough to draw the squid
Perhaps all of the ink was used. Neither of us knows, so calm down. Plenty of ink remains in the world and your pen won't run out. Research shows that its most likely millions of years old and perhaps there was only enough ink recovered to create the squid drawing.
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