Ch 16 - An Endangered Species

— Didn't I say that you should wait until

daybreak? — Keene's voice was sour and sore, but with

no accompanying displays of anger. At least that could

be counted in his favor. During the hours that had passed

since our discovery until this conversation in the

morning, we had collected some of the shells and

brought them back. The result and Keene's reaction were

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obvious, but we still had to do it, as he was part of our

research team.

— No, — Lucy answered him resolutely, — You

said that if we wanted to leave in the morning, we would

have your support. Besides, what's the difference? Kevin

found a nest of the creatures, and now we have a bunch

of empty eggs to study.

— The difference is that you lied, saying that you

would love to have my expertise on the case when you

didn't even intend to have me around.

— You have your opportunity to show expertise

now that tangible material has been found. All right,

explain yourself.

Jacob Keene's face flushed with ardor as he

recognized the phrase he so often used to challenge the

knowledge of others. Grabbing one of the shells, which

would surely have broken were it not for its rubbery

texture, he did not take his eyes off Lucy. Finally turning

to the sample, he hissed:

— How can you be so sure that these eggs belong

to plesiosaurs? They could be from a local chelonian.

Hawksbill turtles exist in these waters and spawn on the

coast of South Africa. Furthermore, there is evidence

that plesiosaurs did not lay eggs, but rather, that they

gave birth to well-developed hatchlings. Remember that

a fossil of Polycotylus latippinus contained the bones of

an entire young.

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— That's true, Doctor, — I agreed. — And I was

also surprised to find eggs of the species, but while we

were looking for adults in the river, I remembered the

huge number of nestlings we saw. It would take a

relatively large population of these animals for each

female to give birth to each of these. So we know that

some genera were viviparous, possibly having only one

young at a time, but it is also possible that, as in the

mammalian class, where there are differences even in the

mode of reproduction, the same is true for this family.

Also, the size of these eggs is considerable; much larger

than any turtle I can remember. — Bringing his still

sand-covered hand from the samples to his chin, Keene

tilted his head to think, as he so usually does.

— Maybe you're right, boy. The species would

have survived that way, based on its numbers. The other

genera, being viviparous, would have been outnumbered

and quickly died out. It would be a huge difference that

members of the same taxonomic family would then have

such absurdly distinct reproductive methods, but the idea

is not dismissible. Just remember that platypi and

echidnas, which have a different reproductive method,

since they are oviparous, belong to the family of

monotremes, which is different from that of viviparous

mammals.

— Now, Doctor, — Lucy insisted, — Taxonomy

is based on the physical characteristics of animals. How

is it possible to know all the physical aspects of a

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creature if it is believed to have been extinct for millions

of years?

— Hmm. You have good arguments, young lady.

— So you will help us try to save these animals

without taking anyone's job?

— I ... I think I can try.

— Awesome! First, how do we find the adults?

— That will be problematic. Especially if the

species prefers the open sea. It is too large an expanse to

find anything.

— There will be no need to search the sea. —

The incoming voice now sounded exasperated. From

behind the door frame emerged Baruti Elya, with an

enraged expression. Entering the ballroom, he stopped

under the archway and stared at us with a look that

condemned our actions.

— You don't usually knock, do you? — criticized

Jacob Keene.

— Save the pleasantries, old man; these are my

houses. — I was a little shocked to hear Keene being

called an old man, but it seemed to suit him. Then I

realized that Lucy and I were both half his age and that

Baruti himself must have been around 30 or so.

— And you, girl, — continued the engineer, —

pretended that you were interested in our culture only to

betray us and not tell us what you'd found?

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— First of all, stop calling me "girl". My name is

Lucy Lane. And second, why are you so sure we weren't

going to show you the samples eventually?

— I saw the old fox looking around before he

came in here; I was fixing a tile in the tool shed and he

didn't see me. Besides, you really thought the party room

would be a good place to hide?

In retrospect, the idea was rather ludicrous,

indeed.

— So that's it? — Baruti was now saying,

pointing at the egg samples, still keeping a somber look

on his face. — Is that where these demons that are

ruining my business came from?

— We believe so, Mr. Elya, — I dared to answer.

— Well, then. I'll give you one more chance to

study these monsters and find a way to get them out of

here. I have just received a call that one of the creatures

was found in the Port St. Johns lagoon; these are all the

details I was given. Solve this issue before I do!

Turning his back, Baruti left to go back to work,

while we had to visit a dangerous deep-water lagoon.

Our car kept the same coloring throughout this

expedition in South Africa, just as the engineer had

predicted, and in that cramped vehicle, we followed the

many miles of winding road that led to Port St. Johns.

With us was a load of biltong, the beef jerky prepared in

South Africa, kindly given to us by Baruti, who,

although disgusted by our actions, was concerned that

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we should have something to eat on the journey. The

crate containing kilos of the food was often opened

inside the car, releasing the aromas of garlic and sweet

chili, which were used to season the meat.

— Why do you think the animals would go up

the river? — asked Lucy, chewing a piece of biltong.

— Some species did this to avoid competition

and even predation from larger reptiles, — said Keene.

Since this answer was not enough for me, I dared to

question:

— But why would they come to the lagoon now?

We don't know of any other sighting in Port St. Johns

before this one. Do you believe that there might be

something bigger in the sea?

— Maybe something is missing in the sea, Kevin.

— What do you mean? — But Keene didn't

answer, keeping his eyes fixed on the next turn.