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☆ Fossil finding uncovers large ‘terror bird’ in Colombia
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The fossil leg bone of an extinct terror bird that was found in Colombia's Tatacoa Desert is shown. While some terror bird fossils have been found in Florida and Texas, the specimen from La Venta is believed to be the northernmost terror bird from South America documented by scientists. Placing terror birds in La Venta “is one step closer to understanding how terror birds finally got to North America,” Degrange said. A map shows the countries in North America and South America (in gray) where terror bird fossils have been found. “We know that probably one of the drivers that led terror birds to get larger and larger was the competition between species of terror birds — but why that big?” he said.

Persons: ”, Federico Javier Degrange, Degrange, phorusrhacids, “, ” Degrange, Karen Moreno, Moreno, ” Moreno, —, Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, National University of Córdoba, Museo, Apex, National Monuments Council, Austral University of Chile’s Institute of Earth Sciences, Scientific Locations: Colombia, La, Palaeontology, Argentina, South America, what’s, Brazil, Venta, Florida, Texas, La Venta, North America, Chile

☆ The Iberian lynx is back from the brink. Now virtual fences could save it from becoming roadkill
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-05 | by ( Victoria Barauna | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Sound and lightYet, the IUCN acknowledges that the Iberian lynx remains threatened. In the 1980s, roadkill played a key role in lynx mortality in the Doñana area (a prominent spot for the Iberian lynx) accounting for almost 17% of deaths. That may not sound like much, but Breitenmoser explains that given that lynx populations were critically endangered at the time, the impact was significant. Ortiz says that in a five-year timeframe, almost €4.5 million ($5 million) will be spent on improving habitats and nearly €2.9 million ($3.2 million) on boosting connectivity, including virtual fences. Innovation aside, for Ortiz the future of the Iberian lynx depends on co-operation.

Persons: Spain’s, ”, Urs Breitenmoser, Breitenmoser, roadkill, ” Breitenmoser, Francisco Javier Salcedo Ortiz, Marcos López, Parra, Brown, Ortiz, Guillermo López Zamora, “ It’s, “ Organizations: CNN, University of Bern, International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, EU, roadkill, LIFE, Spain’s University of Córdoba Locations: Spain, roadkill, Sierra Morena, Doñana, Andalusia, Jaén, Granada, “, Italy, Extremadura, Portugal

☆ Oldest wine ever discovered in liquid form found in untouched Roman tomb
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A 2,000-year-old Roman funerary urn unearthed in southern Spain has been shown to contain the oldest wine ever found still in liquid form. Daniel Cosano/Juan Manuel Román/Dolores Esquivel/Fernando Lafont/José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola“When the archaeologists opened the urn we almost froze,” he said. This was a big surprise, because wine normally evaporates quickly and is chemically unstable, Ruiz Arrebola said. The discovery of a gold ring and other valuable artifacts suggest it was built by a family of considerable wealth, Ruiz Arrebola said. Ruiz Arrebola now plans to try to work out which modern-day local wine it was most similar to, although there are hundreds to work through.

Persons: José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola, Daniel Cosano, Juan Manuel Román, Dolores Esquivel, Fernando Lafont, José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola “, ”, Ruiz Arrebola, José Rafael Ruiz, Speyer Organizations: CNN, University of Cordoba, Archaeological Science Locations: Spain, Carmona, Speyer, Germany

☆ Ancient people may have used human skulls for cups and other body parts for tools, according to a burial site in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Almost 6,000 years ago, communities used a cave in Spain as a burial place. AdvertisementAdvertisementScraping and cutting of these bones left traces "that can only be attributed to human action," Martínez Sánchez said. "The actions of fragmenting and manipulating the bones may well be related to specific ritual events performed inside the cave," Martínez Sánchez said. "They're often viewed as sort of passageways to another world to the ancestors, to other kinds of worlds that are seen as sacred liminal spaces, spaces that are somewhere in between the land and the living and the land of the ancestors," she said. There's a chance they may have disturbed the human remains as well.

Persons: Cueva, los, Rafael, Martínez, Katina Lillios, wasn't, Martínez Sánchez, Lillios, It's, There's Organizations: Service, University of Cordoba, University of Iowa Locations: Spain, Wall, Silicon, Iberia, Western Europe

Spanish farmer Miguel Moreno was an early adopter of so-called cover crops. Spain's drought-hit olive oil production slumped to 663,000 tonnes last year, less than half the average of 1.45 million tons recorded in the previous four harvests, according to the government. In January, it began subsidising farmers who use cover crops as part of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). She said the company was pushed both by customers such as Walmart in the U.S. and by regulation to buy olive oil from producers using sustainable practices. Ecology professor Manzaneda is also coordinator of EU-funded project SOIL O-LIVE and is testing methods for coaxing Albacete's degraded earth back to health.

Persons: Chiclana de Segura, Jon Nazca, Andrea Ronca, Miguel Moreno, Angel, Dcoop, Gonzalo Delacamara, Emilio Gonzalez, Antonio Manzaneda, Manzaneda, Olive, Syngenta, Luis Miranda, Domingo, Marco Trevisan, Dean, Simone Rech, Catalonia's Cava, Sebastiano Conti, Charlie Devereux, Antonella, Corina Pons, Keith Weir, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Southern, VILLANUEVA DEL ARZOBISPO, Farmers, European Union, of Nutrition, Plant Science, IE, Water, University of Cordoba, University of Jaen, European, Walmart, Swiss, Syngenta, EU, TECH, Smart, Milan Polytechnic, University of Brescia, of Agricultural Sciences, Catholic University of Piacenza, Thomson Locations: Olive, Chiclana, Jaen, Spain, ROME, Italy, Madrid, European, France, Germany, Mantua, Andalusia, European Union, U.S, ITALY, Treviso, Venice, Sicily

☆ Nerja Caves: Europe's oldest 'tourist' site
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Cueva de Nerja, or Nerja Caves, are a three-mile series of caves near Nerja in Malaga province, southern Spain. Today, visitors can take a 45-minute tour of the “public gallery” to see fantastical formations of stalactites, stalagmites and other speleothems – shapes and structures caused by mineral deposits. So far, 589 prehistoric paintings have been discovered in the caves (modern visitors cannot visit those areas for conservation reasons). Prehistoric visitors mostly burned one type of pine to light their way, the carbon analysis revealed. “I think the magnitude and geological beauty of the Nerja Cave must have overwhelmed its prehistoric visitors, just as it overwhelms us today,” she said.

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