Cockroaches will inherit the earth.

From Drudge;

Largest fossil cockroach found

Wed Nov 07 2001 11:23:37 ET

UPI-- Scientists Wednesday said they had discovered the largest fossil cockroach ever found-- a giant bug more than 3 inches long that lived 300 million years ago, some 55 million years before the first dinosaurs roamed the earth.

The extraordinarily well-preserved insect was discovered along with hundreds of fossils of other animals and plants in a coal mine in northeastern Ohio nicknamed "the 7-11 mine" due to its location betweenOhio state routes 7 and 11.

The researchers said they hope this treasure trove will help scientists better understand ancient life and how the Earth's climate has changed throughout history.

"We get a rare glimpse here, a kind of window to the past, of life not usually preserved," said geologist Cary Easterday of Ohio State University in Columbus. "It tells us a lot of information about what survives and what doesn't."

Easterday presented his findings at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America.

According to the fossil findings, the 3.5-inch long cockroach had freshwater sharks for neighbors in the rivers and lakes that dominated Ohio during what scientists call the Carboniferous period.

"Back then, Ohio was more similar to Bangladesh or India, where the Ganges is coming off the Himalayas and carrying all this water and sediment," Easterday said in an interview with UPI. "We had the same situation in Ohio back in the Carboniferous, when the Appalachians were about the size of the Himalayas. It was quite a creepy time, with roaches everywhere. The roaches were definitely dominant."

The cockroach was very delicately preserved. Among the fine features visible in the fossil are veins in the insect's wings and fine bumps covering the wing surface. The roach's legs and antennae, folded around its body, are also evident, as are mouth parts.

"Something unusual about the chemistry of this ancient site preserved organisms without shell or bones with incredible detail," Easterday said. "Normally, we can only hope to find fossils of shells and bones because they have minerals in them that increase their chances for preservation."

The fossil helps demonstrate the incredible success of the cockroach, as its body plan has remained mostly the same for hundreds of millions of years.

"They haven't changed much in 300 million years," Easterday commented. "There are some subtle differences that a scientist might detect between cockroaches then and cockroaches now, but they're more similar than different."

While the roach is more than twice as big as the typical American cockroach, Easterday added modern roaches in the tropics are known to grow 4 inches or bigger.

"The largest roaches live today," he told UPI.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeeD@yahoo.com), November 07, 2001

Answers

"The largest roaches live today," he told UPI.

I can vouch for that, LOL.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeeD@yahoo.com), November 07, 2001.

The meek cockroach shall inherit the earth

-- (aldo-d @ zianet.com), November 07, 2001.

I once bought one of those "roach motel" boxes. If any checked in, they checked right out again. Didn't get a single one.

-- Peter Errington (petere7@starpower.net), November 07, 2001.

-- lol (here's@gift.for Unk), November 07, 2001.

I did a Google search on 300 million year old cockroaches and this kept coming up...

What's Up With That?..LOL! ;)

-- Peg (pegmc@mediaone.net), November 07, 2001.

I had children in the room. Now they criticize my taste in friends.

-- helen (roaches@bleh.nasty), November 07, 2001.

Unk: It's been a well-established fact for decades now that roaches can even survive nuclear annihila...[you know what I mean.] The trick is to keep 'em away NOW. Jeez, I remember well when SO's mom and dad stayed in our apartment when they first moved to Texas. We had BOTH the tree roaches AND the German cockroaches in that apartment, and I've never kept a place as clean as I did at that time. I told his mom that she didn't want to keep a plate of fruit on the counter overnight. She said, "You worry about your friends? I think it will be okay." My friends? Give me a break, woman. We're talking about fucking German roaches here who seem to deposit disease on anything they touch. Okay...those were my THOUGHTS. She left her fruit on the counter and I never said anything to her about it.

We've got spiders in this house, some pretty large. I let them be for the most, unless they land on my nose. No roaches yet, and that's saying a lot for Texas.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), November 07, 2001.

Roaches is how the Marx Brothers got their real start. They had some kind of little vaudville type act, which wasn't doing too well, and they were onstage bombing in Nalagoches (sp?) Texas. They decided to go madcap, nothing to lose, so Groucho shouted "Nalagoches is full of roaches!" and the rest is history.

-- Peter Errington (petere7@starpower.net), November 07, 2001.

Pete,

That would be Nacadoches...

chasin' a bug...

The Dog

-- The Dog (dogdesert@hotmail.com), November 07, 2001.

Dog, you should never forget your G. It's at the end of your name after all. ;)

Two ladies drove into Nacogdoches around lunch time. They were starving and pulled into the local Burger King. The first lady said to the order taker, "We've been arguing for 5 minutes. How do you pronounce the name of this place?" The employee said very slowly, "B-u-r-g-e-r K-i-n-g." :)

-- Pammy (pamela_sue57@hotmail.com), November 07, 2001.

STOP IT PAMMY YER KILLIN ME!

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeeD@yahoo.com), November 07, 2001.

Pammy,

I stand corrected in my correction.

Correct?

Burger King.... Funny as hell...

sniffin' in the fast food bag... (MMMM!)

The Dog

-- The Dog (dogdesert@hotmail.com), November 08, 2001.

Correct! :)

Winkin' at the smart doggie....

-- Pammy (pamela_sue57@hotmail.com), November 08, 2001.

Uncle Deedah, those "palmeto bugs"? Uck!!!, Fortunatly while in the USAF I was married to an experminator, as we drove down Florida (to get to Homestead) we were treated to the "love Bugs" on the way, a situation which put him into histerics. I had a pet gecko who would swing through the house eating whatever he could. Strange but I was forced to live with so many creatures there which I would never accept here. Thank goodness for the wheather here, only have to worry about stepping on slugs.....

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), November 10, 2001.

Cherri,

That is why the desert is such a wonderful place...

Try it, you might like it...

Rollin' in the sand...

The Dog

-- The Dog (dogdesert@hotmail.com), November 10, 2001.

Dog, are you back in NM?

Ahhh... Old Town... sopapillas... balloons... Sandia Peak

Saw a U-Haul truck on the road yesterday. All of them have the name of a state on the side and a picture representative of that state. This one said New Mexico, and of all the things they could have chosen, guess what was there? A green alien.

-- Pammy (sorry@for.thread drift), November 11, 2001.

Sometimes typos make my day. I was married to an experminator

Is that a guy who's had a vasectomy?

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), November 11, 2001.

Pammy,

Nope, still in OR until 12/1. I am going to miss the Leonids, dammit.

Anita,

Experminator: Former hairdresser.

draggin' the thread around...

The Dog

-- The Dog (dogdesert@hotmail.com), November 11, 2001.

BTW Pammy,

I am glad they put aliens on NM U-hauls. That means less people will come to NM, the hidden oasis, IMHO. Hell, a lot of people from the NE don't even realize it is a state...

Now I am getting homesick... I think I will go defrost my last bag of green chile... I need some "comfort food"...

Yeah, green chile chicken stew... MMMMMM!!!

scratchin' at the refrigerator...

The Dog

-- The Dog (dogdesert@hotmail.com), November 11, 2001.

Experminator: The terminator with a perm. :) (Sorry Arnold) I liked the Dog's answer better, though.

You're right about people not knowing New Mexico is a state. They will say "Mexico" and you repeat "NEW Mexico" to which they will ask, "Where is that?" Sad!

Green chile chicken stew? Sounds yummy!

-- Pammy (pamela_sue57@hotmail.com), November 11, 2001.

The green chile chicken stew came out wonderful, although I miss my spice rack back in NM. The garlic powder was tolerable in place of fresh garlic, and I actually found some fresh cilantro... MMMM!

People/companies in Oregon DO NOT KNOW HOW TO MAKE TORTILLAS. The parchment-like flatbreads here are not very palatable.

Salsa is another shortcoming. Folks here do not realize that PEPPERS actually go into the mix.

And the Mexican food restaurants... EEEEW! Just the name of some should give you a clue:

Chevy's - Is this a restaurant or a car dealership?

Macheezmo Mouse - You are kidding right? What the heck does a mouse have to do with a restaur... Nevermind, I DON'T want to know...

Twistin' the thread BIG TIME...

The Dog

-- The Dog (dogdesert@hotmail.com), November 12, 2001.