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Prince Edward Islands to become a Marine Protected Area

The gazetting of the proposal followed a five years process during which a scientific plan and a draft management plan were developed in collaboration with other role players.

The objectives of the MPA are:

X-Ray Mag #30

Octopus and squid can hear you

The question of whether cephalopods can perceive sound has been controversial since the early 20th Century.

All cephalopods are venomous

A broad study of cephalopods - more commonly known as octopuses, cuttlefish and squid - has show that they all possessed toxic proteins that performed functions such as paralysing the nervous system of prey.

Ancient sharks had colour vision

Until now, ancestors of modern sharks from 374 million years ago were the oldest known creatures to have both rods to see in dim light and cones, for bright light.

Recently, the genome of the elephant shark, Callorhinchus milii, a chimaerid holocephalan, has been sequenced and therefore becomes the first cartilaginous fish to be analyzed in this way. The chimaeras have been largely neglected and very little is known about the visual systems of these fishes.

By searching the elephant shark genome, Hunt's team have identified gene fragments encoding a rod visual pigment and three cone visual pigments. It also has two copies of the long-wavelength cone pigment gene, a duplication which may have given them trichromatic vision like primates.

Wreck of HMS Victory may be found

Brass cannons

Australia adds leatherback turtle to national endangered species list

"With warmer temperatures and changing climatic conditions increasing the pressure on water availability, ecological communities such as this must be protected," Mr Garrett said.