Birthday plans! And horseshoe crabs :3

I know my birthday isnt till July, but plans are already well underway... I mean, come on, you only turn 18 once, right?

I am super excited about this.

I'm going to swim with sharks!!!!! How awesome is that?? Its at Edinburgh Aquarium, and we're also going to go see the pandas at the zoo while we're up there (and go shopping, of course =P).

Haha I didnt realise just how big these sharks were... They have one thats 12ft long (ironically named Tinkerbell). 12 ft. That is one damn big shark. 

Trying to find the link on youtube to the best video which shows just how big it is... Finding lots of encouraging videos called things like 'When Shark Dives Go Wrong!!', which is nice. Several friends have already said they're convinced I'm going to be eaten and want me to promise to ring them on the train home to tell them I'll alive =D

So excited about this!!! Actually cannot wait!!! (Although I'll be honest, I am slightly scared...)

Anyways...

I figured it was about time I posted a blog about these little critters. Horseshoe crabs.

I saw them for the first time in one of those documentary programmes, and my reaction was 'That's CGI. Creatures like that dont actually exist!!' They looked so prehistoric, like they belonged in Walking With Dinosaurs or something, I was amazed to find that they do exist.

And they are damn awesome. I mean, look at them.

They're so cute (in a weird kind of way), little shuffly things that look like trilobites but arent trilobites. I saw some specimens in uni museums which made me even more interested, they're such fascinating, unique animals. Like bats, I suppose.

(And speaking of unis, I finalised my choices on UCAS the other day, EEEEK D= )

Horseshoe crabs are a great source of interest to scientists because of their blood, which doesnt contain haemoglobin like humans (red) but haemocyanin (blue). They are harvested for their blood, which I think is rather cruel, especially given the mortality rates, but this has lots of potential medical benefits for humans.

They're one of these amazing animals (like sharks) which have been around for millions and millions of years unchanged by evolution.



Now this doesnt really make a lot of sense to me (as an amateur palaeontologist about to enter uni). Reading about dramatic extinction events like the End-Permian (which wiped out 95% of all species) or the more well known KT event (think meteorites and dinosaurs), it seems so unlikely that a creature could survive something like that - not only once, but several times! These animals (and sharks and other living fossils like turtles too), have survived many of these events, and remained virtually unchanged on the other side!

Perhaps living in the sea gives an advantage, as the environment tends to remain more constant than on land. But then again, certainly for the End Permian, the evidence suggests anoxic conditions which would have caused difficulties for aquatic life as well as terrestrial.

And that is why I want to be a paleontologist, my friends. So many mysteries out there, so much more that is not understood!

Sorry for boring you all with my palaeo rants =D Hope you're having a lovely Easter, wherever you are!

Much love, Becky xx

PS: you can now sponsor me online for my 27 mile charity walk!! (see other blog post) Please help us raise lots of money to help the 27 million worldwide who are victimes of slavery!! Thank you!  http://www.justgiving.com/Rebecca-Bennion