Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake to the south of Panama.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km, about 62 km off the south coast of Chiriquí Province on the Pacific Coast of Panama, slightly before 7.00 am local time (slightly before midday GMT) on Thursday 20 October 2022. There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, though it was felt across much of Panama and Costa Rica.

The approximate location of the 20 October 2022 Pananma Earthquake. USGS.

Panama lies on a tectonic microplate known as the Panama Plate or Panama Block, which has broken away from the North American Plate within the last 20 million years, and is now caught between the Caribbean, Cocos, Nazca and South American Plates. The southern margin of this is both a convergent and a transform margin, as the Nazca Plate moves past the Panama plate in a westerly direction, but is also being partially subducted beneath Panama. This is not a smooth process; the two plates continually stick together, then break apart once the pressure builds up sufficiently, causing Earthquakes in the process.

The tectonic plates underlying Central America and the surrounding areas. Wikimedia Commons.

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Heliconia berguidoi: A new species of Lobster-claw from Panama.

Lobster-claws, Heliconiaceae, are large Banana-like plants closely related to the Bird-of-Paradise Plants, Strelitziaceae, and sometimes known as 'False Bird-of-Paradise Plants'. The family comprises a single genus, Heliconia, found in the American tropics from Mexico through Central America and into the tropical forests of South America, as well as the islands of the Caribbean and Pacific, and parts of Indonesia, and have become naturalised in some other parts of the world, notably Florida, Thailand, and West Africa.

In a paper published in the journal Phytotaxa on 7 February 2017, Rodolfo Flores of the Programa de Maestría en Biología Vegetal at the Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí, Carla Black of Volcán in Chiriquí Province, Panama. and Alicia Ibáñez of Gamboa in Colón Province, Panama, describe a new species of Lobster-claw from the Chucantí Private Forest Reserve in Chiriquí Province, Panama.

The new species is named Heliconia berguidoi, where 'berguidoi' in honour of the Panamanian biologist and conservationist Guido Cesar Berguido. The Plants reach 4.5-5.0 m in height, with clusters of up to five stems, each bearing a single large leaf. Flowers are born on pendant stems up to 220 cm in length, with clusters of about 25 red flowers up to 12 cm in length.

(A) Habit of Heliconia berguidoi. (B) Inflorescences touching the ground. Flores et al. (2017).

The new species was found only within the reserve, growing in the Serranía de Majé at an altitude of 800 m. It is possible that the Plant is also found in the surrounding area, though the forests outside the reserve are vulnerable to agriculture, Cattle ranching and logging. As the known range of the species is only four square kilometres, Flores et al. recomend that Heliconia berguidoi be listed as Critically Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

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A new species of Peruvian Lily from the Talamanca Mountains of Panama.

Peruvian Lilies, Alstroemeriaceae, are a small group of flowering plants found across Central and South America, the islands of the Caribbean and the Falklands. The are members of the Lily order, Liliales, and have relatives in Australia and New Zealand. Some species are cultivated for their edible tubers or for cut flowers for the floristry industry.

In a paper published in the journal Phytotaxa on 30 May 2013, Daniel Cáceres González of the Herbarium of the Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí and the Herbarium Senckenbergianum describes a new species of Peruvian Lilly based upon material collected from the cloud forests of the Reserva Forestal Fortuna in the Talamanca Mountains in Chiriqui Province, Panama, during a botanical expedition in 2006.

The new species is placed in the genus Bomarea, vine-like Peruvian Lilies producing clusters of flowers, some of which are cultivated for food or cut flowers, and given the specific name rinconii, in honour of Rafael Rincón Gómez of the Escuela de Biología at the Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí, a distinguished Panamanian botanist.  Bomarea rinconii is a twining, vine-like plant reaching 3 m in length. It  has large, broad leaves and produces dark reddish-orange bell shaped flowers in April to May; the end of the local dry season. 

Bomarea rinconii growing. Cáceres González (2013).

The plant is only known from a single site, in cloud forest at about 1800 m, and only a few individuals were observed, though the Reserva Forestal Fortuna is not well explored, so there is a possibility of larger populations existing. It is considered to be Critically Endangered under the guidelines of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The approximate location of the Reserva Forestal Fortuna, the only place where Bomarea rinconii has been found growing in the wild. Google Maps.

See also A new species of Bromeliad from Tamaulipas State, Mexico, New species of Onion from Kyrgyzstan, New species of Pipewort from Brazil, A new species of Orchid from Bahia State, Brazil and New species of Bromiliad from Brazil.

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