Latest news with #CarletonUniversity
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Researchers discover ancient predatory, fanged fish that swam in Nova Scotia waters
HALIFAX — Researchers have discovered a new species of ancient fish with hooked front fangs that made them a fearsome and effective predator. A paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology this week says the long, curved jaw of the animal sheds light on how fish were evolving smaller, front teeth that acted like fishing hooks, about 350 million years ago. Meanwhile, the centimetre-long back fangs were used to chew the catch before digestion into a body that may have been almost a metre long. They hunted for prey in the inland waters of Nova Scotia, in what was likely a vast inland lake. Lead author Conrad Wilson, a doctoral candidate in paleontology at Carleton University, said in an interview Friday that the fish has been named Sphyragnathus tyche, with the first phrase meaning "hammer jaw." "I would say it's a fairly fearsome looking fish. If its mouth is open, you would see those fangs in the jaw," he said. But the fossil is also significant for the clues it offers to the evolution of ray-finned fish — a huge and diverse vertebrate group that occupies a wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic environments around the globe. "These fish were the last major group of vertebrates to be identified and we still have big gaps in our knowledge about their early evolution," said the researcher, who published his paper with Chris Mansky, a fossil researcher at the Blue Beach Fossil Museum in Hantsport, N.S., and Jason Anderson, a professor of anatomy at the veterinary faculty at the University of Calgary. "The fossils are telling us about what the fish existing right after a mass extinction looked like," said Wilson, referring to the transition from the Devonian to the Carboniferous periods. Wilson says paleontologists have wondered how ray-finned fish recovered from the extinction period as other groups of fish, such as the heavily armed category referred to as placoderms, were disappearing. "The beach where this fossil was discovered tells us is ... this is a group of animals that is doing well, pretty quickly, after a mass extinction," he said. The paper theorizes that the feeding methods of the evolving teeth may have played a role, creating an evolutionary advantage for the species. Wilson noted "that particular feature of the curved and pointy fang at the front and processing fangs at the back became a feature of many species in times to come." The area where the fossil was found — at Blue Beach on the Minas Basin, about 90 kilometres north of Halifax — was believed to be part of a vast freshwater lake not far from the ocean. The research team's paper credits Sonja Wood, former director of the Blue Beach Fossil Museum, for finding the fossilized jaw by urging Mansky to check along a creek that flowed onto the beach. Wood, who died last year, was in a wheelchair and had urged her colleague to search the area. "She had a good feeling about what could be found ... and she said he should go and have a look," said Wilson. "He went down and sure enough it (the jaw fossil) was sitting right there," said the researcher, adding that Mansky managed to recover the fossil before a storm rolled through that night. Wilson said more discoveries are possible as examination of the fossils from the Blue Beach area continues. "We have lots of different anatomies that simply haven't been described yet. And we'll be working on that in a paper that's coming up in a few months," he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2025. Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press
CBC
13 hours ago
- Science
- CBC
Researchers discover ancient predatory, fanged fish that swam in Nova Scotia waters
Researchers have discovered a new species of ancient fish with hooked front fangs that made them a fearsome and effective predator. A paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology this week says the long, curved jaw of the animal sheds light on how fish were evolving smaller, front teeth that acted like fishing hooks, about 350 million years ago. Meanwhile, the centimetre-long back fangs were used to chew the catch before digestion into a body that may have been almost a metre long. They hunted for prey in the inland waters of Nova Scotia, in what was likely a vast inland lake. Lead author Conrad Wilson, a doctoral candidate in paleontology at Carleton University in Ottawa, said in an interview Friday that the fish has been named Sphyragnathus tyche, with the first phrase meaning "hammer jaw." "I would say it's a fairly fearsome looking fish. If its mouth is open, you would see those fangs in the jaw," he said But the fossil is also significant for the clues it offers to the evolution of ray-finned fish — a huge and diverse vertebrate group that occupies a wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic environments around the globe. "These fish were the last major group of vertebrates to be identified and we still have big gaps in our knowledge about their early evolution," Wilson said, who published his paper with Chris Mansky, a fossil researcher at the Blue Beach Fossil Museum in Hantsport, N.S., and Jason Anderson, a professor of anatomy in the veterinary faculty at the University of Calgary. "The fossils are telling us about what the fish existing right after a mass extinction looked like," said Wilson, referring to the transition from the Devonian to the Carboniferous periods. Wilson said paleontologists have wondered how ray-finned fish recovered from the extinction period as other groups of fish, such as the heavily armed category referred to as placoderms, were disappearing. "The beach where this fossil was discovered tells us ... this is a group of animals that is doing well, pretty quickly, after a mass extinction," he said. The paper theorizes that the feeding methods of the evolving teeth may have played a role, creating an evolutionary advantage for the species. Wilson noted "that particular feature of the curved and pointy fang at the front and processing fangs at the back became a feature of many species in times to come." The area where the fossil was found — at Blue Beach on the Minas Basin, about 90 kilometres north of Halifax — was believed to be part of a vast freshwater lake not far from the ocean. The research team's paper credits Sonja Wood, former director of the Blue Beach Fossil Museum, for finding the fossilized jaw by urging Mansky to check along a creek that flowed onto the beach. Wood, who died last year, was in a wheelchair and had urged her colleague to search the area. "She had a good feeling about what could be found ... and she said he should go and have a look," said Wilson. "He went down and sure enough it [the jaw fossil] was sitting right there," he said, adding that Mansky managed to recover the fossil before a storm rolled through that night. Wilson said more discoveries are possible as examination of the fossils from the Blue Beach area continues. "We have lots of different anatomies that simply haven't been described yet. And we'll be working on that in a paper that's coming up in a few months," he said.
CTV News
17 hours ago
- Science
- CTV News
Researchers discover ancient predatory, fanged fish that swam in Nova Scotia waters
A research team led by Carleton University's Conrad Wilson has uncovered a new species of ancient predatory fish—Sphyragnathus tyche—shown in this handout illustration, from a fossil found along the Blue Beach cliffs of Nova Scotia. The fossil is the earliest known example of a 'back-fanged' predatory fish. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Hailey Sexsmith (Mandatory Credit)
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Science
- Hamilton Spectator
Researchers discover ancient predatory, fanged fish that swam in Nova Scotia waters
HALIFAX - Researchers have discovered a new species of ancient fish with hooked front fangs that made them a fearsome and effective predator. A paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology this week says the long, curved jaw of the animal sheds light on how fish were evolving smaller, front teeth that acted like fishing hooks, about 350 million years ago. Meanwhile, the centimetre-long back fangs were used to chew the catch before digestion into a body that may have been almost a metre long. They hunted for prey in the inland waters of Nova Scotia, in what was likely a vast inland lake. Lead author Conrad Wilson, a doctoral candidate in paleontology at Carleton University, said in an interview Friday that the fish has been named Sphyragnathus tyche, with the first phrase meaning 'hammer jaw.' 'I would say it's a fairly fearsome looking fish. If its mouth is open, you would see those fangs in the jaw,' he said. But the fossil is also significant for the clues it offers to the evolution of ray-finned fish — a huge and diverse vertebrate group that occupies a wide range of aquatic and semi-aquatic environments around the globe. 'These fish were the last major group of vertebrates to be identified and we still have big gaps in our knowledge about their early evolution,' said the researcher, who published his paper with Chris Mansky, a fossil researcher at the Blue Beach Fossil Museum in Hantsport, N.S., and Jason Anderson, a professor of anatomy at the veterinary faculty at the University of Calgary. 'The fossils are telling us about what the fish existing right after a mass extinction looked like,' said Wilson, referring to the transition from the Devonian to the Carboniferous periods. Wilson says paleontologists have wondered how ray-finned fish recovered from the extinction period as other groups of fish, such as the heavily armed category referred to as placoderms, were disappearing. 'The beach where this fossil was discovered tells us is ... this is a group of animals that is doing well, pretty quickly, after a mass extinction,' he said. The paper theorizes that the feeding methods of the evolving teeth may have played a role, creating an evolutionary advantage for the species. Wilson noted 'that particular feature of the curved and pointy fang at the front and processing fangs at the back became a feature of many species in times to come.' The area where the fossil was found — at Blue Beach on the Minas Basin, about 90 kilometres north of Halifax — was believed to be part of a vast freshwater lake not far from the ocean. The research team's paper credits Sonja Wood, former director of the Blue Beach Fossil Museum, for finding the fossilized jaw by urging Mansky to check along a creek that flowed onto the beach. Wood, who died last year, was in a wheelchair and had urged her colleague to search the area. 'She had a good feeling about what could be found ... and she said he should go and have a look,' said Wilson. 'He went down and sure enough it (the jaw fossil) was sitting right there,' said the researcher, adding that Mansky managed to recover the fossil before a storm rolled through that night. Wilson said more discoveries are possible as examination of the fossils from the Blue Beach area continues. 'We have lots of different anatomies that simply haven't been described yet. And we'll be working on that in a paper that's coming up in a few months,' he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2025.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Carney guided the G7 through the 'diplomatic Rockies,' says expert
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney pulled off a successful performance hosting the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., say some world leaders and foreign policy experts commenting on his perceived pragmatism and savviness. Fen Osler Hampson, international affairs professor at Carleton University, said Carney guided the G7 "through the diplomatic Rockies," navigating "shifting weather" on the global front and avoiding "avalanches and treacherous cliffs." This year's summit took place amid escalating violence between Israel and Iran, which pushed U.S. President Donald Trump to leave Alberta a day early. On Monday, G7 leaders published a statement affirming that Israel "has a right to defend itself" and that Iran "can never have a nuclear weapon." Hampson described Carney as pragmatic and said he was "quite deft" in handling the G7 statement on the Middle East. "He was able to keep Trump on board on that statement," Hampson said. Hampson also said that productive sessions continued on G7 priorities, like global security, despite Trump's departure. During the two-day summit, Carney held bilateral meetings with several world leaders, including Trump. Carney's office said Monday that the U.S. president agreed to have a deal on a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the U.S. by mid-July. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said at a press conference Tuesday that he supports how Carney is dealing with Trump. "He's dealing with a different type of cat with Trump. You don't know which way this guy's going to bounce from morning to morning," Ford said. "He wakes up, eats his Wheaties and all of a sudden everything's changing. So I'm going to back the prime minister 100 per cent and I know all the premiers will. We need to get a deal." Ford said it was "good news" that Carney and Trump agreed to put a deal together over the next month. Despite Trump's early departure, Ford said "at least they had an opportunity to meet, and I'm confident that we'll get a deal done." Carney seemed to impress several world leaders who attended this year's summit. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One after leaving the G7 summit, Trump said he had a "good time." French President Emmanuel Macron, who will host the G7 next year, said Tuesday that Carney fulfilled his mission as G7 host to preserve the unity of the multilateral organization. "We shouldn't ask the Canadian presidency to resolve every issue on earth today, that would be unfair," said Macron. "But he held the group together. He did it with his characteristic elegance and determination." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on social media that he had an "excellent" meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. He says he complimented him and the Canadian government for "successfully" hosting the summit. Canada and India agreed to designate new high commissioners and restore regular diplomatic services to citizens in both countries. Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials last fall, following news that law enforcement had linked agents of the Indian government to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens. At the G7 summit, Carney also pledged $4.3 billion in new support for Ukraine's defence, including $2 billion for weapons like drones, ammunition and armoured vehicles and a $2.3-billion loan to help Ukraine rebuild its infrastructure. Hampson said the announcement of the support package for Ukraine highlights that Carney is positioning Canada as a leading supporter of Ukraine among G7 countries. "He's showing diplomatic agility, a results-driven approach to this meeting," Hampson said. Ahead of the summit, Carney faced some backlash for handing out invitations to some world leaders, like Modi. More than 100 Sikhs gathered in Calgary on Monday to condemn Modi ahead of his visit to the G7 leaders' summit. Hampson says "there never was a good time to try to turn the page with the Indians" but that other countries are always invited to the summit. "It would be odd not to have the world's fifth largest economy at that meeting, right?," he said. Srdjan Vucetic, a professor at the University of Ottawa's graduate school of public and international affairs, said any criticisms of Carney's invitations are likely going to be "muted" and that he can claim he's starting his role as prime minister "pragmatically." Vucetic said Carney did "great" at the summit and that he proved he was "savvy" during his meeting with Trump, including when he jumped in to interrupt Trump's rant to move on to other topics. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025. Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press
