Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake to the northeast of the Dominican Republic.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake at a depth of 46 km roughly 109 km to the northeast of the Dominican Republic, slightly before 1.50 am local time (slightly before 5.50 am GMT) on Tuesday 25 February 2025. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, and nor was a tsunami warning issued but people have reported feeling it across the eastern Dominican Republic as well as on Puerto Rico.

The approximate location of the 25 February 2025 Puerto Rico Earthquake. USGS.

The Dominican Republic forms the eastern part of the island of La Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles.  The island has a complex geological structure, with parts of it lying on three different tectonic plates, and two plate margins running east-to-west across the island. The northernmost part of the island lies on the North American Plate. This is divided from the Gonâve Microplate by the Septentrional Fault Zone, which runs through Rio San Juan, along the north coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, then across the Windward Passage and along the south coast of Cuba. The Gonâve Microplate is moving east relative to the North American Plate, pushed by the Mid-Cayman Spreading centre to the west of Jamaica. To the south the Gonâve Microplate is separated from the Caribbean Plate by the Enriquilo-Plantain Garden Fault Zone, which runs across Southern Haiti and the Dominican Republic. To the west the fault runs through central Jamaica. The Caribbean Plate is rotating clockwise, effectively moving east relative to the Gonâve Microplate.

Plate movements and fault zones around the Gonâve Microplate. Mike Norton/Wikimedia Commons.

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Echinoderes semprucciae: A new species of Kinorhynch from a macerating Neptune Grass environment in the eastern Mediterranean.

Kinorhynchs are tiny (generally less than 1 mm) worm like Animals largely found in marine sediments, for which reason they are sometimes known as 'Mud Dragons'. They appear to be ubiquitous members of the interstitial meiofauna (Animals that live between sediment grains) in shallow marine habitats, but have been studied in relatively few locations. However, not all Kinorhynchs are sediment-dwellers, with members of the group having been found living on a wide range of Algae, marine Plants, and Animals.

In a paper published in The Eutopean Zoological Journal on 3 February 2024, Adele Cocozza di Montanara of the Department of Science and Technology at the Parthenope University of Naples, Alberto González-Casurrubios of the Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution at the Complutense University of Madrid, and Diego Cepeda of the Centre for Research on Biodiversity and Global Change at the Autonomous University of Madrid, and the Department of Life Sciences at Alcalá University, describe a new species of Kinorhynch from a macerating Neptune Grass environment off the coast of Ischia Island in the western Mediterranean Sea.

Neptune Grass, Posidonia oceanica, is a form of Seagrass endemic to the Mediterranean, where it forms vast meadows in the photic parts of the sea (i.e. those areas where sufficient sunlight penetrates to allow photosynthesis). Seagrasses are important habitat-forming organisms, and a wide range of Animals, including Kinorhynchs are adapted to life in these meadows. However, as well as meadows, Seagrasses also form areas called 'macerating Seagrass detrital bottoms', where large volumes of decomposing leaves and rhizomes accumulate, typically below the photic zone, forming an important marine carbon sink. Whilst these environments have been known since the 1950s, very little attention has been paid to them or the fauna which live there, to which end Cocozza di Montanara et al. have begun a project to study the fauna of the macerating Seagrass detrital bottom environment of the Regno di Nettuno Marine Protected Area, along the coast of Ischia Island off the western coast of Italy.

Study area at 65–80 m depth along the northwestern area of Ischia Island (western Mediterranean Sea). Cocozza di Montanara et al. (2025).

The new species is placed in the genus Echinoderes, and given the specific name semprucciae, in honour of Federica Semprucci of the University of Urbino Carlo Bo, for acting as co-supervisor for Adele Cocozza di Montanara's PhD and supporting and guiding her research on meiofauna. The species is described from two specimens, both collected on 19 June 2020 near Ischia Island, an adult female, collected at a depth of 80 m, and an adult male collected at a depth of 70 m.

Line art illustrations of Echinoderes semprucciae. (a) Ventral view of a female based on holotype (NHMD-1177723). (b) Dorsal view of a female based on holotype (NHMD-1177723). (c) Dorsal view of segments 10–11 of a male based on paratype (NHMD-1177722). Abbreviations: ac, acicular spine; gcoI, type 1 glandular cell outlet; LA, lateral accessory; LD, laterodorsal; ltas, lateral terminal accessory spine; lts, lateral terminal spine; LV, lateroventral; MD, middorsal; ML. midlateral; ne, nephridiopore; pa. papilla; PD. paradorsal; ps, penile spines; SD, subdorsal; ss, sensory spot; t, tube; Vl, ventrolateral; VM, ventromedial; number in abbreviations indicates the corresponding segment. Cocozza di Montanara et al. (2025).

The two known specimens of Echinoderes semprucciae are 202 μm (female) and 193 μm (male) in length, with a retractable mouth cone surrounded by oral styles. This retractable mouth is mounted on an organ called the introvert, which has six concentric rings of scalids and 10 longitudinal sectors defined by the arrangement of primary spinoscalids. Behind the head is a neck section, then a trunk comprising eleven segments, with spines on segments four, six, eight, nine, and eleven; the two spines on segment eleven being elongated to form a pair of tail-like structures.

Light micrographs of female holotype (NHMD-1177723) (a)-(d), (g) and male paratype (NHMD-1177722) (e), (f) of Echinoderes semprucciae. (a) Ventral overview. (b) Head, dorsal view. (c) Head, ventral view. (d) Ventral view of segments 5–6. (e) Lateral view of segments 5–8. (f) Detail of penile spines. (g) Ventral view of segment 11. ltas, lateral terminal accessory spine; lts, lateral terminal spine; lvs, lateroventral spine; lvt, lateroventral tube; pa, papillae; ps, penile spines; te, tergal extension, number after abbreviation indicates the corresponding segment, sensory spots are marked with dashed circles and type 1 glandular cell outlets with closed circle. Cocozza di Montanara et al. (2025).

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Fireball meteor over northern Germany.

Witnesses across Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, England, and parts of Belgium, France, Czechia, and Poland, have reported observing a bright fireball meteor around 4.45 am local time (around 3.45 am GMT) on Wednesday 19 February 2025. The fireball is described as having moved from east to west, appearing near the Dutch border and disappearing to the northwst of Berlin. A fireball is defined as a meteor (shooting star) brighter than the planet Venus. These are typically caused by pieces of rock burning up in the atmosphere, but can be the result of man-made space-junk burning up on re-entry.

The 19 February 2025 meteor seen from Lüdenscheid in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. American Meteor Society.

Objects of this size probably enter the Earth's atmosphere several times a year, though unless they do so over populated areas they are unlikely to be noticed. They are officially described as fireballs if they produce a light brighter than the planet Venus. The brightness of a meteor is caused by friction with the Earth's atmosphere, which is typically far greater than that caused by simple falling, due to the initial trajectory of the object. Such objects typically eventually explode in an airburst called by the friction, causing them to vanish as a luminous object. However, this is not the end of the story as such explosions result in the production of a number of smaller objects, which fall to the ground under the influence of gravity (which does not cause the luminescence associated with friction-induced heating).

Heat map showing areas where sightings of the meteor were reported (warmer colours indicate more sightings), and the apparent path of the object (blue arrow). American Meteor Society.

These 'dark objects' do not continue along the path of the original bolide, but neither do they fall directly to the ground, but rather follow a course determined by the atmospheric currents (winds) through which the objects pass. Scientists are able to calculate potential trajectories for hypothetical dark objects derived from meteors using data from weather monitoring services.

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Boswellia hesperia: A new species of Dwarf Frankincense from Socotraa Island.

Frankincenses, Boswellia spp., are trees and small shrubs noted for the aromatic resin they produce, found in East Africa, Arabia, and parts of South Asia. In 1971 Frank Nigel Hepper of Kew Royal Botanic Gardens described a Dwarf Frnakincense, Boswellia nana, from the Yemeni island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean (a noted hotspot for botanical endemism). In 2004, botanists Anthony Miller and Miranda Morris reported a second species of Dwarf Frankincense from Socotra, something which several subsequent studies have also recorded, but which has not, to date, been formally described.

In a paper published in the Nordic Journal of Botany on 20 February 2025, Mats Thulin of the Department of Organismal Biology at Uppsala University, Michael Weber from Bad Berka in Germany, Sami Ali Mohammed Mubarak from Socotra Island, and Alain Rzepecky from São Brás de Alportel in Portugal, formally describe the second species of Socotran Dwarf Frankincense.

The new species is named Boswellia hesperia, where 'hesperia' means 'west', the species having been found exclusively at the western end of the Island of Socotra; this is in contrast to Boswellia nana, which is found exclusively at the eastern end of the island. Boswellia hesperia is an entirely prostrate dwarf species, found growing within holes and crevasses in limestone rock. This habit is also seen in Boswellia nana, although that species sometimes also produces dwarf shrubs up to 2 m high. Boswellia hesperiai also differs from Boswellia nana in its leaves, which are waxy above, but covered in white fur below, whereas those of Boswellia nana are waxy on both sides.

Boswellia hesperia from mountain ridge above Neet, 5–6 km from the coast, Socotra, 18 May 2021. (A) plant filling out crevice in limestone rock, leafless, showing reddish white flowers and fruits, (B) leafless plant with flowers and fruits. Alain Rzepecky in Thulm et al. (2025).

The total area over which Boswellia hesperia is found is about 63 km², however, the distribution of the species is patchy, and it probably is only found over an area of about 20 km². This limited distribution, along with the apparent risk of the species being overgrazed by Goats, leads Thulm et al. to recommend that Boswellia hesperia be classified as Critically Endangered under the terms of the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

Boswellia hesperia, seedling flowering after about one and a half year in cultivation. Alain Rzepecky in Thulm et al. (2025).

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Toledodiscus valverdi: A new species of Eodiscide Trilobite from the Early Cambrian of Toledo Province, Spain.

The Eodiscides were a group of Agnostid Trilobites, which appeared in the late Early Cambrian and persisted till the end of the Middle Cambrian. They were small in size, with only two or three thoracic segments. Within the Eodiscina, the Weymouthiidae were a group of blind (eyeless) Trilobites lacking free cheeks, known only from the latest Early Cambrian and earliest Middle Cambrian.

In a paper published in the journal Historical Biology on 14 February 2025, Luis Collantes of the Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology and MEC International Joint Laboratory for Palaeobiology and Palaeoenvironment at Yunnan University, and Sofia Pereira of the Centro de Geociências at the Universidade de Coimbra, describe a new species of Weymouthiid Eodiscide Trilobite from the Upper Marian (Cambrian 'Stage 4') of Toledo Province, Spain.

The new species is described from eight isolated cephala, three isolated pygidia and six complete specimens, preserved as internal and external moulds, collected from a site within the 'metasedimentary unit’ of the Schist-Greywacke Complex of the Schist-Greywacke Complex, about 25 km to the southwest of the city of Toledo. It is given the name Toledodiscus valverdi:, where 'Toledodiscus' refers to the location where the specimens were discovered, and 'valverdi' honours the late agronomist and palaeontologist Ildefonso Recio Valverde for his contributions to the study of the palaeontology of Toledo Province and the conservation and dissemination of the palaeontological heritage of the Toledo Mountains.

Toledodiscus valverdi, Soleras Formation, upper Marianian, Totanés, Toledo, Spain, all in dorsal view. (a) MPT–01306, holotype. (b) MPT–01312. (c) MPT–01313. (d) MPT–01309. (e) MPZ 2021/337. (f) MPT–01307. (g) MPT–01319. (h) MPT–01308. (i) MPT–01318. (j) MPT–01310. (k) MPT–01315. Scale bars are 2 mm. Collantes & Periera (2025).

Toledodiscus valverdi resembles members of the genus Serrodiscus, and in particular Serrodiscus bellimarginatus, with some specimens initially being identified as belonging to that species. However, unlike any member of the genus Serrodiscus, Toledodiscus valverdi has ocular ridges a structure usually absent in all Weymouthiids. Weymouthiids, like other Eodiscides, lacked eyes, and therefore have no obvious use for ocular ridges; some other Eodiscides do retain these structures, which are assumed to be a 'primitive' trait within the group, inherrited from a sighted ancestor. This could be interpreted as a sign that Toledodiscus is a more primitive genus than Serrodiscus, and possibly ancestral to it. However, Toledodiscus valverdi also has a well-defined occipital structure, something considered an advanced trait in Weymouthiids, and absent in all known members of the genus Serrodiscus.

Idealized schematic illustration of the representative dorsal characters of Toledodiscus valverdi. Noah Schamuells in Collantes & Periera (2025).

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