Megalodon... also, name change!

Yeah, things got a bit confusing and I decided to rename the blog. Well, technically its not renaming it, its just reshuffling the url of my old blog 'Halcyon Days Jewellery' and this one. 'Compendium of dreams' was really a rushed, last minute name choice and I couldnt think of anything else at the time. When I found out you could, in fact, change it, I decided it would be good in the long run if I did so.

Sorry for any confusion! This makes it a lot easier for business cards/in-progress-etsy-account if the name of my 'website' matches the name of my business!

To confirm, the old blog (which was really just an extension of my dA account) is now called Compendium of Dreams and this blog is now Halcyon Days. Again, I'm sorry...

On to the main reason for this post...

As you are no doubt aware, I went swimming with sharks recently as a birthday present. So this blog is about one of my favourite prehistoric creatures: Megalodon, the biggest shark to have ever lived.

Perhaps the most interesting (and scary) fact about Megalodon is its sheer size. To put it in perspective, this is a Megalodon tooth and two Great White Shark teeth(the largest predatory fish currently alive):

An early jaw reconstruction:

Aaaaaaannd heres the scale vs a Great White and a human:

This was one BIG fish. Not the biggest fish ever (Leedsichthys, I think, is the current title holder), but definitely the biggest predatory fish. This shark was so large it ate whales, which we can figure out from serration marks on the teeth and in fossilised whale bones.

Don't worry, it is EXTINCT. No one really knows why it went extinct, but current theories suggest the changing water temperature is to blame. Like many other creatures like it (Loch Ness Monster plesiosaur anyone?), there are cryptozoological theories that these sharks have survived in deep sea trenches. It is true that we have not explored all of the ocean depths, but all the Megalodon teeth that are found are ancient, not recently shed as they would be if it was still alive (and sharks shed a lot of teeth). Despite the claims, no proof has yet been found.

And I really should point out, there are no sharks alive today anywhere near its size, and Jaws is all unrealistic scaremongering. You dont get Great Whites that size, and as I've just said, Megalodon is extinct. Sharks are beautiful creatures and deserve our respect. Even Great Whites, which admittedly are very scary creatures, command such power and agility in their hunting style that we should certainly admire them for it. All ecosystems need an apex predator, after all, and lightning strikes kill more people than sharks do. All that rubbish about them being bloodthirsty killers is not true at all.

Like all sharks, Megalodon was cartilaginous, which means instead of bones it had cartilage (the same stuff in your ear lobes). This also means that the only bits to be found fossilised are the teeth, and theres a lot of them about. A sort of average size is 7 inches, although they have been found bigger. Sharks go through several sets of teeth during their life, and are constantly growing new ones in rows to replace those lost.

Whilst in Edinburgh I decided to treat myself to a tooth, because its something I've always wanted.

My tooth is polished, which gives it a lovely, beautiful shine. It's almost complete, with only a small bit of the root missing, and the edge is still sharp and serrated. Its not especially large, as Megalodon teeth go (still as big as my hand!), but the larger ones were verging on £200 which was too expensive for me.

But I like the one I've got! It looks nice in the cabinet next to my Yellow River fishie, ostrich egg and trilobite. I'm building up a nice little collection here!

What do you guys collect? Anything special/expensive?

Oh and expect a jewellery update pretty soon :D

Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return...

Becky xx

Shark dive

Got back from my shark dive!! It was amazing!

Just to remind you from my blog a while ago, I went swimming with Sand Tiger sharks at Edinburgh for my 18th birthday. They had 7 of them, the biggest of which was 12ft long.

Here's a few pictures from the tunnel:

The tunnel was really long, and they had several other types of shark in there as well as the sand tigers (tope and angel).

Heres some pictures of the dive itself!

The sharks werent bothered at all that we were there. They obviously get a lot of divers in with them, so they just cruised around and mostly ignored us.

There was one moment when a shark dived a little too close to the diver next to me and the instructors had to push it a little out of the way, but it wasnt aggressive at all, just curious.

Sand tiger sharks look very ferocious due to their protuding teeth, but they actually arent a threat to humans, even in the wild. They are found mostly all over the world, and have several different names depending on where you are.

They are possibly unique among sharks as they come to the surface to swallow air to aid with buoyancy, and they also have an unusual method of reproduction where the most developed embryo eats the less developed ones. This sounds a bit cruel, but it increases the chances of the young surviving after birth.

I feel very privileged to have been able to share their world for a short amount of time and would love to do it again!

Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return...

Becky xx

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