Neotrygon romeoi: A new species of Blue-spotted Maskray from Fiji.

Maskrays, Neotrygon spp., are a group of Stingrays, Dasyatidae, found in the Indian Ocean and west Pacific. They get their name from a distinctive coloured marking around the eyes, which resembles a mask, but have a number of other distinctive features, including short tails with well developed dorsal fins, small mouths with enlarged cuspid teeth, and large pectoral fins with a single row of thorns along their dorsal midline. All Maskrays were formerly thought to belong to a single widespread and somewhat variable species, Neotrygon kuhlii, but genetic studies have shown that there are in fact a range of species, with sixteen species described to date, nine of them since 2016, and thirteen of these belonging to a species-complex known as the Blue-spotted group.

In a paper published in the Journal of Fish Biology on 9 June 2025, Kerstin Glaus of the Institute of Marine Resources of The University of the South Pacific, William White and Helen O'Neill of the Australian National Fish Collection, Sarah Thurnheer of the Ecosystems and Landscape Evolution at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, and Sharon Appleyard, also of the Australian National Fish Collection, describe a new species of Maskray from Fiji.

Fiji has long been known to be home to a population of Blue-spotted Maskrays, which are the most widely traded Ray in local fish-markets, but which have never been the subject of a taxonomic study. Glaus et al.'s study was carried out using specimens purchased in Suva Fish Market on Viti Levu Island or obtained from local fishermen. No Rays were killed specifically for the study. A genetic analysis found that these specimens all belonged to a single species, and that this species was previously unidentified, and was a sister species to the previously described Neotrygon kuhlii from the Solomon Islands.

Glaus et al. name this new species Neotrygon romeo, in honour of the late Romeo Glaus, father of Kerstin Glaus, in recognition of his lasting inspiration, enduring support and deep respect for nature. Specimens of Neotrygon romeo have quadrangular disks, weakly convex at the front, and broader than they are long. They range from 310 to 397 mm in width and from 80.6 to 84.2 mm in length, or from 176.9 to 213.1 mm in length including the tail. A single row of thorns is present on the midline. There are two tail stings. Living specimens are beige-to-medium brown, with a slight greenish tinge. The disk has a sparse scaterring of spots, these having a white centre and a diffuse-edged dark-grey to blackishouter ring. There is also a scaterring of smaller, all black, spots. A dark 'mask' is present across the eyesm, and a pair of larger circular or irregular dark brown blotches behind the spiracules. The underside is white. The tail has a bluish tinge, and has irregular black and white bands towards the tip.

Dorsal (a) and lateral (b) view of preserved Neotrygon romeoi holotype (CSIRO H 9640–06, female 379 mm disc width) from Tailevu Province, east Viti Levu Island, Fiji. Scale bar is 50 mm. Glaus et al. (2025).

Neotrygon romeo appears to be common around the islands of Fiji, and is found on various substrates, including sandy-bottom areas, seagrass beds, muddy-sandy areas with and without sea-grass, and coral reefs, from the tidal zone to depths of about 23 m. Individuals are generally solitary, but have been spotted in groups of up to five. Glaus et al. recommend that due to the species restricted range, high catch rate, and unknown life-history, it should be considered for legal protection by Fiji's Endangered and Protected Species Act, which con-serves biodiversity by regulating trade, protection and management of species at risk or endemic to Fiji.

Live colouration of Neotrygon romeoi from around Fiji: (a) Lautoka, mixed rocky and sand habitat. (b) Near South Sea Island, rocky reef. Drawaqa Island, Yasawas on sand flat with some seagrass in about 18 m of water. (d) Suva foreshore, on seagrass in about 20 cm of water. (e) Mana Island, over seagrass. Leon Perrie, Jack Crosbie, Robert Macfarlane, Tom Vierus, and Floyd Hayes in Glaus et al. (2025).

See also...

The Northern Solstice.

The Northern) Solstice will fall on Saturday 21 June this year (2025), the day on which the Sun rises highest in the sky and the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (where it is the Summer Solstice) and the day on which the Sun rises lowest in the sky and the shortest day in the Southern Hemisphere (where it is the Winter Solstice). Up until this date the days have been growing shorter in the Northern Hemisphere and longer in the Southern Hemisphere since the Southern Solstice in December last year (which is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere), but after it the situation will be reversed, with days growing steadily longer in the Northern Hemisphere and shorter in the Southern Hemisphere until the next Southern Solstice in December. 

The solstices are entirely a product of variation in the Earth's rotation on its axis, which is at an angle of 23.5° to the plain of the Earth's orbit about the Sun. This means that in December the Earth's Southern Pole is tilted towards the Sun, while the Northern Pole is tilted away from it. This means that around the Southern Solstice the Southern Hemisphere is receiving radiation from the Sun over a longer part of the than the Northern, and at a steeper angle (so that it to pass through less atmosphere to reach the planet), creating the southern summer and northern winter.

The tilt of the Earth at the Northern Solstice. Wikimedia Commons.

The solstices are fairly noticeable astronomical events, and tied to the seasons which govern the life cycles of life on Earth, and they have been celebrated under different names by cultures across the globe, but most notably by those at higher latitudes, who are more profoundly affected by the changes of the seasons.

See also...

Elephant seen in Niokolo-Koba National Park, Senegal, for the first time since 2020

An Elephant has been observed in the Niokolo-Koba National Park in the east of Senegal for the first time since January 2020. The Elephant, identified as a 35-40-year-old bull called Ousmane, was observed at night by a camera trap earlier this month. Five years ago, Ousmane was one of five-to-ten Elephants living in the park, but no sightings have been made, and it was assumed that Elephants had become locally extinct in Senegal.

A bull Elephant called Ousmane in the Niokolo-Koba National Park in June 2025. Niokolo-Koba National Park/Panthera.

Senegal was once home to hundreds of Elephants, bur they were hunted heavily during the colonial period, and a combination of the value of their tusks and competition for land with Humans has led to their population continuing to fall. Even before their apparent disappearance in 2020, Elephants were thought to be in almost irreversible decline in Senegal, with the population being both very small and very inbred. Ousmane, the last known surviving Elephant in Senegal is known to be a hybrid between two Elephant species, African Forest Elephant, Loxodonta cyclotis, and African Savanna Elephant, Loxodonta africana (both of which are considered to be Critically Endangered), and it is unclear if he would be able to breed if the opportunity arose.

Founded in 1981 the Niokolo-Koba National Park covers 9130 km² of gallery forests, savannah grass floodplains, ponds, and dry forests, cut through by the Gambia, Sereko, Niokolo, Koulountou rivers. As well as Elephants the park is home to one of two (known) remaining populations of Lions in West Africa, and populations of Giant Eland, Taurotragus derbianus, the largest extant Antelope species, Gianr Pangolin, Smutsia gigantea, African Wild Dogs, Lycaon pictus, and West African Chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes versus.

See also...

Two killed by landslid in Uttarakhand State, India.

Two people have been killed and three others injured in a landslide which hit a trekking route to the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand State, India, on Wednesday 18 June 2025. The incident happened at about 11.20 am local time, when rocks fell onto the path, knocking two palanquin operators, their female passenger and two porters into a gorge. The two deceased have been identified as Nitin Kumar, 18, and Chandrashekhar, palanquin operators from the town of Doda in Jammu and Kashmir. The two porters have been taken to a health centre in Gaurikund with serious injuries, while the woman escaped with minor injuries.

Rescue workers descending into a gorge near the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand to search for survivors, following a landslide on Wednesday 18 June 2025. Press Trust of India.

The palanquin bearers were reportedly hit while attempting to cross a debris field left by another landslide earlier in the week, in which another person was killed. Local press reports have suggested that they may have been inexperienced in the role. palanquins were formerly a common way for wealthier pilgrims to reach the Kedarnath Temple, but this has become less popular following the introduction of a helicopter service. However, this helicopter service has been suspended following a crash earlier this pilgrimage season, leading local entrepreneurs to resume palanquin services, often using inexperienced labourers as bearers.

Labourers removing debris from a path leading to the Kedarnath Temple in Uttarakhand following a landslide on Monday 16 June 2025.Press Trust of India.

The landslides appear to have been triggered by heavy rain associated with the annual monsoon. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall.

Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry season the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate. This situation is particularly intense in South Asia, due to the presence of the Himalayas. High mountain ranges tend to force winds hitting them upwards, which amplifies the South Asian Summer Monsoon, with higher winds leading to more upward air movement, thus drawing in further air from the sea.

Diagrammatic representation of wind and rainfall patterns in a tropical monsoon climate. Geosciences/University of Arizona.

See also...

Africaterphis stefanfoordi: A new species of Small-headed fly from Botswana and South Africa.

The Acroceridae are a small group of unusual-looking Flies with a hump-backed appearance and very small heads, known as Small-headed Flies, or sometimes Humpbacked Flies, or, because they are parasitoids whose larvae develop inside the bodies of Spiders, Spider Flies. There are over 430 known species of Small-headed Flies, divided into eight subfamilies. Sixty five species of Small-headed Flies have been recorded from Africa to date, representing all eight subfamilies.

In a paper published in the journal African Invertebrates on 28 February 2025, John Midgley of the Department of Natural Sciences at the KwaZulu-Natal Museum, and the Department of Zoology and Entomology at Rhodes University, and Genevieve Theron of Biosystematics: Entomology, Plant Health and Protection at the South African Agricultural Research Council, present a review of the African Small-headed Fly genus Africaterphis, with the description of a new species.

Two species of Africaterphis have been described to date, Africaterphis acroceroides, which is found in woodland and forests in areas of Southern Africa with a summer rainy season, from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in the north, to Eswatini in the south, and Africaterphis gertschi, which is found in the cooler temperate regions of Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces, where it is found in Fynbos and Thicket vegetation.

The new species was identified in a survey of museum specimens, with two female specimens assigned to the species, one from Serowe in Central District, Botswana, and one from Kaapmuiden in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. This new species is named Africaterphis stefanfoordi, in honour of the late Stefan Foord, for his 'contribution to Entomology, Arachnology and Zoology in South Africa, Africa and the World'

Africaterphis stefanfoordi, female specimen. Scale bar is1 mm. Midgley & Theron (2025).

The two known specimens of Africaterphis stefanfoordi are 7.6 and 8.8 mm long, with forewing lengths of 6.1 and 6.8 mm. The head is black, and largely covered by the eyes, which meet above the antennae, which are small and brown. The thorax is rough and covered by short brown fur, The abdomen and legs are largely yellow with brown markings, the wings are almost totally white, with some brown pigmentation at the base.

See also...

Direct imaging of 14 Herculis c by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The planet 14 Herculis c was discovered by the ELODIE Planet Search Survey in 2005, using the radial velocity method, which it was detected by the gravitational effect it has on its host star, 14 Herculis A, as these cause the star to wobble slightly on its axis. 14 Herculis is the outermost of two known planets in the 14 Herculis system, the other being 14 Herculis b. The star 14 Herculis A is a K-type orange dwarf star, slightly smaller than the Sun, 58.4 light years from our Solar System in the constellation of Hercules. The planet 14 Herculis c orbits this star at about 20 AU (i.e. about 20 times the average distance between the Earth and the Sun), with a orbital period of 152.8 years. It is estimated to be about the same size as Jupiter, but much more massive. This is due to the distance at which it orbits its star, which makes it much cooler than Jupiter, making the gasses from which it is made more dense.

Although several subsequent studies have confirmed the existence of 14 Herculis c, the planet had never been directly imaged. This changed in 2025, when the James Webb Space Telescope's Near Infrared Camera was trained upon the 14 Herculis system. The Webb study also enabled the direct measurement of the planet's temperature for the first time, showing that it's average surface temperature may be around -3°C.

14 Herculis c. The view is mostly black, with very faint red splotches in the central region of the image. At the center of the image, there is a black circle, and in the center of that, there is a star symbol representing a real star. This black circle blocks the light from the host star. To the lower right of the circle is a fuzzy bright orange circle, which is the exoplanet. NASA/ESA/CSA/STScl/William Balmer/Daniella Bardalez Gagliuffi.

14 Herculis c was imaged at 4.44 microns, an infrared wavelength equivalent to a temperature of -3°C. Although this was the predicted temperature for the exoplanet, it was found to be much dimmer than expected. This is theorized to indicate a much more active atmosphere than predicted, with warmer gas molecules from the planet's interior being brought to the surface rapidly due to internal churning.

See also...