An exploration of our Earth's ever-captivating fauna through musings on the bizarre side of Zoology, Cryptozoology, Paleontology, and Paleoanthropology

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Recent News in Zoology: Of Giant Squid and Vietnamese Salamanders

I've been very busy lately, and I was hoping to do a non-cryptozoological article this week. I've decided to share this article by anthropologist and cryptozoological researcher Dale Drinnon, where he shared some recent zoological discoveries. The first news that Mr. Drinnon shared is about the diversity of the giant squid species known as Architeuthis. Through the growing advancements in genetic analyses, we have been finding that animals which were thought to be one species are actually genetically different. However, it has been discovered that Architeuthis (which is a globally ranging species) from diverse locations vary little in their mitochondrial DNA.

The other zoological discovery which has been shared on the Frontiers of Zoology website, is the exciting discovery of a new species of Vietnamese salamander. It was originally thought to have been a specimen of the known Vietnamese crocodile newt, but further morphological and genetic analysis showed otherwise. The new species has been named Ziegler's crocodile newt, with the scientific name of Tylototriton ziegleri.

Please read this article by Dale Drinnon to learn more about these exciting zoological discoveries.
Frontiers of Zoology: Recent News in Zoology