DUBAI // Fossils of a long-extinct breed of cane rat have been found in Abu Dhabi and the creature has been named after a local chickpea dish called dango.
The animal was named proto-hummus dango because of its small, round, yellow teeth. It is the first time evidence of its existence has been found.
“The small teeth look just like chickpeas do when you cook them and they get slightly squished,” said Mark Beech, coastal heritage and palaeontology manager of historic environment at Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.
The teeth of the dango rat were found in the Western Region in an area palaeontologists call the Baynunah Formation.
The species bears a close resemblance to the contemporary African cane rat except for the teeth, suggesting a different diet.
It existed six to eight million years ago in the UAE, along with other animals including horses, hippos, crocodiles, giraffes and elephants.
Back then, the country was quite different, with several huge rivers, said Brian Kraatz, an assistant professor at California’s Western University of Health Sciences.
“Given that cane rats today live in wet, marsh conditions, the presence of this animal in the Baynunah fauna is important as it supports the notion that the Baynunah animals lived in conditions that were more wet and hospitable than what we see in the area today,” Dr Kraatz said.
He believes the proto-hummus dango may have been an evolutionary missing link between a much older species in Africa and Pakistan and the modern cane rat.
Results of a study to identify the fossil, carried out by Faysal Bibi of the American Museum of Natural History and Andrew Hill of Yale University, were published last month in the science journal Naturwissenschaften.
Dr Beech was responsible for the excavation that led to the discovery. He said that, over years of digging at the Baynunah Formation, he had found fossils as large as 2.5-metre-long elephant tusks, and that there was a risk that fragments of the rat’s teeth, measuring no more than 2 millimetres, would go unnoticed.
“They’re very tiny – they are less than half the size of your fingernail,” he said. “We spent hundreds and hundreds of hours sifting sand across the coast to recover these fragments.
“It’s quite rare to find such tiny teeth in the first place and it’s quite rare that they belong to a unique species.”
To ensure efficient excavation, the desert sands of the Baynunah area were divided up in a grid and excavated section by section.
"You had to know where the sand you were excavating was coming from," said Dr Beech.
“People sometimes don’t appreciate that palaeontology is a very painstaking procedure. In order to find that one superb fossil, it may require hundreds of hours behind the scenes.
“Of course you find exciting things but the secret behind science is painstaking methodology, patience and hard work. You get hot, dirty and sweaty.”
So far, two other previously unknown species have been found in fossilised form in the Baynunah area – a gerbil named Abudhabia baununensis and a primitive, three-toed horse known as Hipparion abudhabiense.
Dr Beech said the gerbil was interesting because although it was named after the UAE capital, it was later found in Pakistan and China.
The rat teeth were found in 2011 and it took two years of taxonomy research to identify both the family of the animal and double check similar findings.
“The UAE had a whole range of interesting animals that are now extinct,” he said.
“It shows that the UAE was in a very strategic location, and the fossils found here tell us a great deal about the evolutionary steps in a number of species.”
mcroucher@thenational.ae
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
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- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
THE%20SPECS
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 race, 12:30pm
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Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm
Formula 2 race, 6:40pm
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
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Rating: 4.5/5
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Atletico Madrid 1
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The biog
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Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
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Hobbies: Reading and traveling
The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Price, base: Dh198,300
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Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
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Fuel economy, combined: 7L / 100km
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How to donate
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SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
