microrobert
02-17-2013, 07:35 PM
How the rock hyrax's toilet habits left climate scientists a 55,000-year trail
The dried urine of the African and Asiatic mammal is helping to reveal key markers in the planet's environmental past
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/2/16/1361026749271/Rock-hyrax-010.jpg
Rock hyraxes live in the same crevices for generations, leaving a record in the form of solidified urine.
Scientists have devised an unusual method for investigating past climate changes – by digging into ancient layers of dried urine left by the rock hyrax.
The hyrax (Procavia capensis) is a highly sociable, noisy creature the size of a guinea pig that is common throughout Africa and Asia. It makes homes in rock fissures, which it occupies continuously for long periods. In South Africa, one nest was found to have a urine layer that had been building up for the past 55,000 years.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/feb/16/rock-hyrax-toilet-habits-climate-scientists
The dried urine of the African and Asiatic mammal is helping to reveal key markers in the planet's environmental past
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2013/2/16/1361026749271/Rock-hyrax-010.jpg
Rock hyraxes live in the same crevices for generations, leaving a record in the form of solidified urine.
Scientists have devised an unusual method for investigating past climate changes – by digging into ancient layers of dried urine left by the rock hyrax.
The hyrax (Procavia capensis) is a highly sociable, noisy creature the size of a guinea pig that is common throughout Africa and Asia. It makes homes in rock fissures, which it occupies continuously for long periods. In South Africa, one nest was found to have a urine layer that had been building up for the past 55,000 years.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/feb/16/rock-hyrax-toilet-habits-climate-scientists