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Science...the past of our ocean,Scientists say a fossil of a four-legged fish sheds new light on the process of evolution...

The image below is of a fossilized Ammonite (an ancient relative of today’s Nautilus) from the Jurassic period, the Nautilus can still be found in Palau Micronrsia today, one of the very few places in the world where Divers can encounter this real living fossil. For more information on Palau please visit our site @ http://www.palautours.com/

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A fossilized Ammonite from the Jurassic period
some 160 million years ago.

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This photo of the Nautilus, (a close relative of the Ammonite)
was taken in Palau Micronesia.


Fossil fills out water-land leap

Courtesy By Matt McGrath
BBC science correspondent

Scientists say a fossil of a four-legged fish sheds new light on the process of evolution. The creature had a fish-like body but the head of an animal more suited to land than water.
The researchers' study, published in the journal Nature, says Ventastega curonica would have looked similar to a small alligator. Scientists say the 365-million-year-old species eventually became an evolutionary dead end.

Counting digits
About one hundred million years before dinosaurs began to roam the Earth, Ventastega was to be found in the shallow waters and tidal estuaries of modern day Latvia.

According to lead author, Professor Per Ahlberg, from Uppsala University, Sweden, this creature had the head of a tetrapod, an animal adapted to live on land. The body, though, was fish-like but with four primitive flippers.
"From a distance, it would have looked like an alligator. But closer up, you would have noticed a real tail fin at the back end, a gill flap at the side of the head; also lines of pores snaking across head and body.

"In terms of construction, it had already undergone most of the changes from fish towards land animal, but in terms of lifestyle you are still looking at an animal that is habitually aquatic."
Experts believe that Ventastega was an important staging post in the evolutionary journey that led creatures from the sea to the land. Scientists once believed that these early amphibious animals descended in a linear fashion, but this discovery instead confirms these creatures diversified into different branches along the way.

Professor Ahlberg points to the discovery of a fossil called Tiktaalik in Canada in 2004. It is believed to be the "missing link" in the gap between fish and land mammals. Ventastega is a later species but is a more primitive form of transition animal.
"Ventastega fills the gap between Tiktaalik and the earliest land based mammals. All these changes in these creatures are not going in lockstep; it's a mosaic with different parts of animal evolving at different rates. Ventastega has acquired some of land-animal characteristics, but has not yet got some of the other ones."

For instance, the creature had primitive feet - but with a high number of digits...read more & photos go to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7473470.stm

Welcome to PALAU...by palautours.com, Visit Palau and explore this Nature Paradise below and above the waves...



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To get you excited about Palau we have decided to bring you this little slide show direct on our blog, sit back and enjoy.
For more images please visit our Photo Gallery @http://www.palautours.com/gallery.html

ROCK ISLAND TOURS for more detailed info please go to: http://www.palautours.com/tours.html

Among the most popular tours is the exploration of the awe-inspiring Rock Islands, with its stunning topography and the wide variety of action to be experienced.

Dive shop activities such scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking tours as well as sailing, water skiing and banana boat rides, the latter especially fun for kids, are all available. With two atolls to the north and a fringing reef surrounding the main island, encounters with exotic marine life and kaleidoscopic coral formations are not uncommon.

The white sand beaches, which mostly slope very gently into shallow water, are a joy for all age groups, accommodating everyone from novice swimmers to experts. Another exciting diversion is fishing, with its unique catch-and-release fishing technique an environmentally friendly alternative.

DIVE the WRECKS of Palau Micronesia there is a good choice of Wrecks you can Dive and EXPLORE...including the DEEP USS PERRY, a must for TECH DIVERS.

PALAU offers a wide spectrum of wrecks, with this publication only featuring the more frequently visited ones. To this day discoveries of new wrecks are made yearly, go to palautours.com and discover some of the Wrecks in Palau.

WRECKS PALAU

Bichu Maru: 10m/33ft to starboard rail amidships

The Bichu, a 110m/363ft long army cargo ship, lies on its port side at about a 60-degree angle. Bombs sunk the ship on March 30, 1944 by inflicting gaping holes through the numbertwo hold forward of the superstructure. All of the holds are now empty, while the starboard anchor still lies in its stowed position at the bow with beautiful sea whips growing on it.

Aft of this superstructure with three levels, divers will find the engine room with lots of valves and piping making it an interesting penetration. The galley is just aft of the engine room and has two doors leading into it. Stoves and a large rice kettle are visible in it. Below the galley, on the bottom of the lagoon amongst the silt, divers have uncovered undamaged pieces of china that slid off the wreck as it went down.

Juvenile harlequin sweetlips make the Bichu their home, along with 6-banded angelfish, 8-banded butterflyfish, 6-banded angelfish, Glossodoris egretta and eye-catching nudibranch.

Iro: bow in 20m/66ft, stern in 25m/83ft, forward mast up to 10m/33ft, bottom at 40m/132ft

The Iro was a Japanese navy fleet oiler, 140m/462ft long, sunk on March 31, 1944 after being damaged by a US submarine on its journey from the Philippines to Palau . This is the most popular wreck in Palau since it lies upright and its massive size and diversity of exploration points keep one from becoming bored. There are two huge guns mounted, one on the bow, one at the stern. Long companionways open into the quarters. Towards the stern divers find the smokestack lying towards the port side of the ship. Just aft of that lies the engine room that divers can look down into because its ceiling had been demolished by fire or explosions. The masts and kingpost have attracted a wide variety of invertebrate life; from sponges, to staghorn coral, sea whips, black coral, giant clams and oysters. Batfish, large pufferfish, 8-banded butterflyfish, orangebanded butterflyfish, and small big-eye trevally are commonly found along the ship.

DIVING IN PALAU... the Operators and Dive Centers plus Liveaboards, Dive the Jewel of the Pacific one of the BEST DIVE destination in the World

Our pages on DIVING and the DIVE SITES are completed... now we like to introduce you to some of the Operators in PALAU MICRONESIA.
Many more to come in next few weeks below is just a small selection of the
Dive Centers and Liveaboards which are available to you in Palau we are also providing you with a link to the Palau Visitors Authority, PVA

National Geographic Society named Palau as the first Underwater Wonder of the World, and it continues to live up to it's reputation as one of the planets finest places to SCUBA dive. The diversity of marine life in combination with the variety of dive sites provides even the most experienced fish-watcher with amazing diving opportunities. The dive sites around Palau include sheer vertical walls, current-swept channels, high intensity dives like the famous Blue Corner, relaxing dives in coral gardens, unique dives like Siaes Tunnel and Blue Holes, and plenty of wreck diving. All of the dive sites contain examples of Palau's incredible diversity with huge schools of tropical fish and walls adorned with colorful soft corals and, of course, some of the big animals that jump start the adrenalin...read more and go to palautours.com for more detailed information @ http://www.palautours.com/dive-sites.html


Palau Visitors Authority
PVA
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http://www.visit-palau.com/

NECO Marine
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http://www.necomarine.com/

Day Dream Palau

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Ocean Hunter I, II &III Liveaboard
& FishnFins Dive Center

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http://oceanhunter.com/

Sam's Tour Palau, Micronesia
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http://www.samstours.com/main.html

Splash Dive Center at PPR

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http://www.splash-palau.com/eg/

Sail and DIVE with the Eclipse, Liveaboard

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http://www.palau-divensail.com/

The Aggressor Fleet - Liveaboard
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http://www.aggressor.com/subpage11.php

Palau's mushroom-shaped rock islands offer a variety of exciting dives: WWII wrecks, shark-infested channels, blue holes, a freshwater lake with stingless jellyfish and even a few caves. There are also sheer walls covered in lush soft corals and huge anemones. Beginner divers may find Palau's strong currents challenging. All dives are made from the 18-passenger dive skiff, which is lowered into the water by a hydraulic cradle. Seven-day charters are Sunday to Sunday with five days and one-half days of diving. Diving begins Monday and ends Saturday morning. Transfers from the Palau airport are provided on the day of arrival and departure.

PALAU is one of the WORLD'S 10 BEST SCUBA SPOTS according to Forbes TRAVELER in 2007

Forbes TRAVELER names PALAU Micronesia as one of the WORLD'S 10 BEST SCUBA SPOTS IN 2007

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© Photo of Blue Corner by Gunther Deichmann

Blue Corner, Palau, Micronesia

Blue Corner, Palau, teems with all manner of sea life—from turtles to barracudas and sharks. There are WWII wrecks, too. The current is fairly strong here, and most divers use a reef hook so you can "just kinda hang out and watch the action in front of you," says Tom Morrisey. "If you're lucky you'll see lots of sharks feeding naturally right in front of you… a lot people call it the best dive in the world." The best time to dive Palau is from October to early June.
http://www.palautours.com/

Latest NEWS from PALAUTOURS.COM updated DIVE SITES, Wreck Diving, Hotel accommodation…Conservation & other Business establishments

We are happy to announce that the following updates have been completed on the PalauTours.com website:

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© Gunther Deichmann - Blue Hole
Palau Micronesia

http://www.palautours.com/

More than 60 dive sites with descriptions (click on the image above) have been placed now, we are still working on some of the images in the right order but all the information is now there.

Completed the Wreck Diving pages

Updated also the Research & Conservation page have added detailed info (see below or click on the image)

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Under Hotel accommodation PPR is now available.
Under Other Business establishments
Palau Helicopters is now offering their service we also added the Palau Shop
A few pages still being worked on but will be available very shortly, in the meantime enjoy the site.
Your Palau Tours Team
http://www.palautours.com/

Did you know? Palau Pacific Resort was named ASIA'S leading Diving Resort in 2007...the World Travel Awards.

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© Gunther Deichmann - The place to be at sunset...
Click on the image above or the link below &
visit Palau Tours.com
http://www.palautours.com/

P
alau Pacific Resort...
Asia's leading Diving Resort 2007
, Micronesia,
The Pearls of the Pacific!

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http://www.palauppr.com/ja/
Click the link above and visit PPR's Japanese website

One more reason why YOU should stay at the Palau Pacific Resort during your next vacation, surrounded by a beautiful Garden and your very own Beach.
Dive Palau in the morning and relax at Sunset at the beach or visit the Mandara Spa, it doesn't get any better.

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© Gunther Deichmann - relax at the
tranquil Spa...

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© Gunther Deichmann - different Orchids are everywhere...

PalauTours.com is offering all you need for Your Journey to PALAU... Your ultimate Tour Guide...information on Resorts, Restaurants, Hotels...Diving plus a lot more...

PALAUTOURS.COM
Your Tour Guide to Palau and Micronesia

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© Gunther Deichmann - Kayaks in the Rock Islands, Palau
click the image and go to our Gallery @

http://www.palautours.com/gallery.html

PALAUTOURS.COM
is a unique and very informative site for
all Your requirements before traveling to Palau in Micronesia.

The site is fully up and running but we have to fix some minor glitches
and add some more exciting pages for you.
By this coming weekend we should have everything just about in place.

The interesting part is, not only Palau will be represented but we include
islands like Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae in due time.
Just stay tuned or subscribe to our RSS feed for the latest developments.

With these addition we bring you a lot closer to this amazing part of the world, You dont get any closer to Nature...above and below the waves.

To some extend these islands are still unexplored in parts hence the recent discovery of some unusual inhabitants (see our last blog) the scientist are still debating who and where these small people came from. PalauTours.com is trying to keep you well informed from this part of the World, not only on leisure activities, but news on Marine life, Science projects, discoveries and of course environmental related issues.
If you have any interesting stories please dont hold back, send it to us, we love to publish it.

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© Gunther Deichmann - Hotel, Resorts, Restaurant and Bar
Guide/Information
on Palau...click the image and go to
Palautours.com
http://www.palautours.com/gallery.html

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© Gunther Deichmann - Duty Free & Retail stores, Tour Operators
Government offices, Conservation & Medical services
plus a lot more...click the image and go to Palautours.com

http://www.palautours.com/gallery.html

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© Gunther Deichmann - the World famous Blue Hole and
Blue Corner, Palau, plus many more different dive sites in our
Dive section including Dive Centers & Dive Resorts...
click the image and go to Palautours.com
http://www.palautours.com/gallery.html

We like YOU to use Palau Tours as your Resort, Hotel, Restaurant, Dive & Tour guide... YOU be amazed how beautiful this part of the world really is.
The Editor