Six killed by landslide at Myanmar jade mine.

Six people have been killed and another four injured in a landslide at an unlicensed jade mine near Hpakant in Kachin State in northeast Myanmar (Burma) on Monday 17 March 2014. The victims were reportedly working a rock face when it collapsed upon them.

The approximate location of the 17 March 2014 Kachin State jade mine landslide. Google Maps.

Myanmar is the world's largest producer of jade, though this is largely produced (along with other precious and semi-precious minerals) at unregulated (and illegal) artisanal mines in the north of the country, from where it is smuggled into neighbouring China. Accidents at such mines are extremely common, due to the more-or-less total absence of any safety precautions at the site. At many sites this is made worse by the unregulated use of explosives to break up rocks, often leading to the weakening of rock faces, which can then collapse without warning.

See also A new species of Geophilomorph Centipede from Cretaceous Burmese amber, Four killed by landslide at mine in Yunna Province, China, Four feared dead following Vietnam landslide, Elderly man killed by rockfall in Guwahati, Assam and Two significant Earthquakes in Sagaing Region, northern Myanmar.

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A new species of Geophilomorph Centipede from Cretaceous Burmese amber.

Centipedes (Myripoda) are carnivorous terrestrial Arthropods with elongate, multi-segmented bodies, having one pair of legs per body segment. The number of legs varies highly, from under 20 to over 300, though the number of pairs is always odd. The first pair of limbs is modified to form a pair of venomous forcipules (claws) used to subdue prey. There are around 3000 described species of extant centipedes, and it is though that the current number of species in existence is over 8000, though most of these are very small. Centipedes are thought to have been among the first Animal species to colonise the land, with a fossil record that dates back to the Late Silurian, around 430 million years ago. Ground (or Geophilomorph) Centipedes are small soil dwelling Centipedes, the most abundant group of Centipedes in modern ecosystems. They have a fossil record dating back to at least the Late Jurassic, with some fossils from the Carboniferous possibly belonging to this group.

In a paper published in the journal Palaeontology in January 2014, Lucio Bonato of the Dipartmento bi Biologia at the University of Padova, Gregory Edgecombe of the Department of Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum and Alessandro Minelli, also of the Dipartimento di Biologia at the University of Padova, describe a new species of Centipede from the Late Cretaceous of Kachin State in the northeast of Myanmar (Burma).

The species is named Kachinophilus pereirai, where Kachinophilus means 'Geophilomorph from Kachin' and pereirai honours Luis Pereira, of the Museo de la Plata, an expert on Geophilomorph Centepedes. The species is described from four specimens preserved in amber from the Late Cretaceous of Kachin State, thought to be 98.79 million years old. Only one of the specimens is assigned a sex (male); this specimen being 21 mm in length with 43 leg-bearing segments.

Kachinophilus pereirai (A,B) Male specimen, complete body, in dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views. (C) Second specimen sex unknown, complete body, dorsal view. (D) Third specimen (only anterior part), ventral view. All scale bars 1 mm. Abbreviations: an, antenna; fo, forcipule; le-1, leg of the first pair; le-u, leg of the ultimate pair. Bonato et al. (2014).

See also A new species of Ant from late Eocene Danish Amber, Two new species of Dustywing from Tertiary Amber, Four new species of Wasp from Cretaceous amber, A new species of Ant from Cretaceous Burmese amber and Goblin Spiders from Cretaceous amber.

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Northern Myanmar shaken by series of Earthquakes.

On Sunday 11 November 2012, slightly after 7.40 am local time (slightly after 1.10 am, GMT) the United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake at a depth of 9.8 km in northern Myanmar (Burma), 117 km north of Mandalay. This is a very large Earthquake at a shallow depth in a rapidly industrializing area of an underdeveloped nation, an extremely dangerous combination of factors; the United States Geological Survey estimate that a quake on this scale in this area would have a 97% chance of leading to fatalities. Were this not bad enough, the quake have been followed, at the time of writing (8.00 pm, GMT), by at least 4 further quakes in excess of Magnitude 5, which would normally be considered serious events in themselves.

Map showing the distribution of quakes in Myanmar on 11 November 2012. The largest square represents the initial, and biggest, quake, the red square the most recent. The red line is the margin between the Indian Plate (to the west) and the Eurasian Plate (to the East). USGS.

The extent of damage on the ground is not yet clear, but there appear to have been a considerable number of casualties. Several ancient monuments, including at least one monastery, are said to have collapsed, as is a bridge being constructed over the River Irrawaddy, and several mines (the area produces gold and precious minerals). It is unclear if the extent of the damage will be revealed by the government of Myanmar once it is known; the country has a history of extreme secretiveness, and while it claims to be in a process of reforming after years of military dictatorship, many journalists trying to contact the country after todays events report government officials would only talk to them on condition of anonymity.

The remains of a bridge being constructed over the Irrawaddy near Shwebo, which collapsed as a result of the 11 November 2012 Earthquakes. It is thought that at least two workers on the bridge were killed by the collapse. Associated Press.

Badly damaged pagoda at Ma La. Reuters.

Northern Myanmar is an area fairly prone to Earthquakes. It lies close to the margin between the Indian and Eurasian Plates, and suffers tectonic stresses due to the northward movement of the Indian Plate, which is driving into the Eurasian Plate at a rate of about 30 mm per year, causing uplift in the Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateaux, the mountains of Central Asia, and the bordering hills that separate Myanmar from India and China.

See also Earthquakes in northeast Yunnan Province, China, Earthquake in southwest China, Earthquake rattles Assam, northeast India, Himilayan Earthquake. 18 September 2011 and Earthquakes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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Burmese Snub-nosed Monkey found in China.

The discovery of the Burmese Snub-nosed Monkey, Rhinopithecus strykeri, was announced in January 2011 in a paper in the American Journal of Primatology, by a team of scientists led by Thomas Geissmann of the Anthropological Institute at the University Zürich-Irchel and the Asia Pacific Programme at Fauna & Flora International. The species was described on the basis of a dead male monkey and two skulls (one male, one female), and the skin of a juvenile, obtained from hunters in Kachin State in the northeast of Myanmar (Burma), plus descriptions of the Monkey's behavior also from hunters; no Monkey was observed by the scientists.

The intact Snub-nosed Monkey from the original description. Giessmann et al. (2012).

The Burmese Snub-nosed monkey has subsequently been discovered in China, as described in a second paper in the American Journal of Primatology in October 2012, by a team of scientists led by Yongcheng Long of The Nature Conservancy China Program.

In October 2011 forest guards in the Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve spotted a group of unknown Monkeys, identified by local people as 'Meyah', but unknown to reserve staff. Two photographs were taken and sent to Yongcheng Long for identification, from which he concluded that these were most likely Burmese Snub-nosed Monkeys. At his request they gathered hair and feces left by the monkeys for DNA analysis, but this proved inconclusive.

A Chinese scientist inspecting a picture of a Snub-nosed Monkey.

Then in March 2012 two further sightings of the Monkeys were reported, this time material was obtained from which a positive DNA match was made, combined with further photographs, and film of the Monkeys in life. The film of the Monkeys can be seen here.

The Chinese State Forestry Administration is currently organizing a survey of the distribution of the Monkeys within China, and is reportedly interested in forming a cross-border conservation program with the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry in Myanmar.

Map showing the five known Rhinopithecus strykeri sites. Site numbers 1, 2, and 3 are in China and site numbers 4 and 5 are in Myanmar: (1) photo site, taken on October 16, 2011; (2) trace site on March 13, 2012; (3) video site on March 14, 2012; (4) the holotype site; and (5) the site the monkey group was seen on May 1, 2010. Long et al. (2012).

See also An Omomyid Primate from the Eocene of South London, New Mouse Lemur discovered in Madagascar, A re-evaluation of the Iwo Eleru skull, Ancient Ape Skull found in Uganda and Mammals on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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