Video: The oceans of old
In the distant past giant cod (1.5 meters long) ruled the North Sea. Southern oceans boiled with massive pods of right whales. Gangs of 4-meter-long porpoises cavorted off the British Isles. These are but a few of the surprises turned up by an international team of marine researchers who scoured old ship logs, fishbone-littered middens, Latin and Greek verse, tax accounts, dusty legal documents, and even mounted trophies to paint a picture of oceans past. Marine scientists compiled the data as

May 23, 2009
In the distant past giant cod (1.5 meters long) ruled the North Sea. Southern oceans boiled with massive pods of right whales. Gangs of 4-meter-long porpoises cavorted off the British Isles. These are but a few of the surprises turned up by an international team of marine researchers who scoured old ship logs, fishbone-littered middens, Latin and Greek verse, tax accounts, dusty legal documents, and even mounted trophies to paint a picture of oceans past. Marine scientists compiled the data as part of the Census of Marine Life project, a 10-year initiative that seeks to describe the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans (both past and present) by 2010. They will present their findings at linkurl:The Census of Marine Life Oceans Past II Conference,;http://www.hmapcoml.org/oceanspast/ from May 26-28, in Vancouver. Check out a video describing the research.
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[13th May 2009]*linkurl:Earliest fossil seal found;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55653/...
**__Related stories:__***linkurl:Big ocean, small RNAs;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55689/
[13th May 2009]*linkurl:Earliest fossil seal found;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/55653/...
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