Prunus luxurians: A new species of Cherry from southwestern Ecuador.

The genus Prunus has a worldwide distribution and contains several important food crops (including Cherries, Almonds, and Plums), ornametal species (Blossom Cherries), timber souces (e.g. Black Cherry) and medicinal Plants (e.g. African Cherry). There are thought to be about 450 valid species in the genus, but the situation is complicated with about 1230 species described within the genus, and over 2000 more in other genera that have since been synonymised with it (i.e. genera which have had all their putative members moved into Prunus. 

Historically, it has been thought that the majority of Prunus species are found in the northern temperate belt, with a smaller number of species found at high altitudes in tropical and subtropical zones. However, recent research has discovered that the genus is much more widespread in lowland tropical forests than previously realised, particularly in the Americas, raising the possibility that the genus is more diverse in these regions than in the temperate zone.

In a paper published in the journal PhytoKeys on 4 April 2025, Álvaro Pérez of the Herbario QCA at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Jorge Andrés Pérez-Zabala of the Herbario Gabriel Gutiérrez Villegas at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Katya Romoleroux, also of the Herbario QCA at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, David Espinel-Ortiz, again of the Herbario QCA at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, and of the Bonn Institute of Organismic Biodiversity at the University of Bonn, and Chaquira Romoleroux and Natasha Albán-Vallejo, once again of the Herbario QCA at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, describe a new species of Prunus from southwestern Ecuador.

The new species is described from a small population of trees discovered in a cloud forest remnant in the Sambotambo Birón area of the Jocotoco Foundation-managed Reserve Buenaventura in El Oro Province, on the western flank of the Andes, between 1300 and 1400 m above sealevel. The new species is named Prunus luxurians, in reference to its 'profuse blooming and outstanding beauty', which makes it a conspicuous part of the lower and mid-strata of the forest.

Prunus luxurians: (A) Habit, (B branch with leaves and floriferous shoots, (C) flowers. Álvaro Pérez in Pérez et al. (2025).

Prunus luxurians forms trees up to 11 m high, with grooved dark brown bark with lighter lenticles (raised pores). Leaves are oblong-to-lance-shaped, waxy, and grow on alternating sides of leaf stems, they are 10–13.65 cm long and 3.5–4.65 cm wide. Flowers are white with light green centres, and born on floriferous shoots, which can have 14–27 individual flowers, clusetered together in groups of 3-4.

Only five living trees were found, in a fragment of montane evergreen forest, with high levels of bith diversity and endemism. The remaining forest fragments in this region are considered to be threatened by mining and farming activities, for which reason Pérez et al. recomend that Prunus luxurians be classified 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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Oroperipatus tiputini: A new species of Velvet Worm from the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Velvet Worms, Onychophora, are a unique group of elongate, soft bodied, many legged  Animals, given phylum status and considered to be among the closest living relatives to the Arthropods. They are currently the only known phylum of Animals known entirely from terrestrial species, both living and fossil, although they may be related to the Lobopodans, an entirely marine group known only from Early Palaeozoic fossils. 

The 230 living Velvet Worm species are divided into two groups, the Peripatidae, found in the tropics of Central and South America, the Antilles Islands, Gabon, India, and Southeast Asia, and the Peripatopsidae, found in Chile, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand. All South American members of the Peripatidae are placed within a single clade, the Neopatida, which is further divided into two lineages, the 'Andean' genus Oroperipatus, and the 'Caribbean' lineage, comprising all other genera.

In a paper published in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution on  14 June 2024, Jorge Montalvo-Salazar of  the Instituto de Biodiversidad Tropical at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and the Laboratorio de Zoología Terrestre at the Quito Museo de Zoología, Lorena Bejarano and Alfredo Valarezo of the Instituto de Energía y Materiales at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and Diego Cisneros-Heredia, also of the Instituto de Biodiversidad Tropical at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and the Laboratorio de Zoología Terrestre at the Quito Museo de Zoología, and of the Estación de Biodiversidad Tiputini of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and the Ecuadorian Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, describe a new species of Oroperipatus from the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador.

The new species is described from five male, three female, and three juvenile specimens collected in the vacinity of the Tiputini Biodiversity Station of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Orellana Province, Ecuador, between 2001 and 2023, as  well as one youngling, which one of the female specimens gave birth to in captivity. The new species is named Oroperipatus tiputini, in reference to the location where it was discovered. 

Oroperipatus tiputini, adult female holotype (ZSFQ-i8248) and youngling paratype (ZSFQ-17794) a few days after being born. Pedro Peñaherrera in Montalvo-Salazar et al. (2024).

Adult female specimens of Oroperipatus tiputini very between 46 and 65.3 mm in length, while the adult males are smaller at 22.7 to 39.8 mm. Females have between 37 and 40 pairs of legs, while the males have between 34 and 37, although one male specimen had a different number of legs on each side, with 35 legs on the right and 36 legs on the left. The species shows considable colour variation, with one adult male being a light brown colour with a faint rhomboid pattern, two adult males and one adult female being brown with orange diamonds, and another female (the one which produced a youngling) being a plain dark orange colour. The youngling itself was yellowish with a diamond pattern. All specimens were darked on their heads and antenae,  had orange or brown legs, and a distinctive white band on the head.

Oroperipatus tiputini, adult male paratype, ZSFQ-i8270. Pedro Peñaherrera in Montalvo-Salazar et al. (2024).

Most specimens of Oroperipatus tiputini were found on small herbaceous Plants within old growth, closed canopy upland forests around the Tiputini Biodiversity Station. Other specimens were found in leaf litter, or on the butress roots of trees to a height of about 70 cm above the ground. One specimen was found in a Bromiliad. The Worms were more active at night. 

Oroperipatus tiputini, adult male paratype, ZSFQ-i5151. Diego Cisneros-Heredia in Montalvo-Salazar et al. (2024).

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Eruption on Mount La Cumbre, Fernandina Island.

At about 11.50 pm local time on Saturday 2 March 2024, a circumferential fissure on the upper southeastern flank of Mount La Cumbre, an active shield volcano on Fernandina Island in the Galápagos Islands. The fissure propagated for between three and five kilometres, and produced gaseous emissions with a low ash content which rose to between two and three kilometres above the summit of the volcano. These emissions continued to about 4.00 am before subsiding, with lava also issuing from the fissure between about 0.45 and 1.35 am. Based upon satellite observations of the eruption, about 46 460 tons of sulphur dioxide were released from the fissure on 3 March, with a further 24 000 of sulphur dioxide being released on 4 March, and about 2228 tons on 5 March. Lava continued to flow down the flanks of the mountain over this time, reaching 7.9 km from the fissure by Wednesday 6 March.

Lava issuing from a fissure on the side of Mount La Cumbre, Fernandina Island, on 3 March 2024. Andy Torres/Parque Nacional Galápagos/Getty Images.

The volcanos of the Galapagos are fuelled by a mantle plume, the Galapagos Hotspot, an upwelling of hot magma from deep within the Earth’s mantle which pierces the overlying Nazca Plate, and moves independently of it. This plume transverses the plate at a rate of 0.46 degrees per million years, which has led to the formation of the string of volcanoes which form the Galapagos Islands. However, analysis of the geochemical composition of the lavas of Wolf Volcano, one of the Galapagos volcanoes, has shown that these are distinct from the lavas of the neighbouring Ecuador and Darwin volcanoes, but show strong similarities to lavas produced on the Galapagos Spreading Centre over 200 km to the north, a trait shared with lavas from other Galapagos volcanoes, most notably Santa Cruz and Genovesa, suggesting that there is some interplay between these two sources.

The relative positions of the Galapagos Islands and Galapagos Spreading Center. School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology/University of Hawaii at Manoa.

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Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake on the coast of Guayas Province, Ecuador, kills at least thirteen.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake at a depth of 65.7 km, roughly 6 km off the coast of the town of Baláo in Guayas  Province, Ecuador, slightly after 12.10 pm local time (slightly after 5.10 pm GMT) on Saturday 18 March 2023. The event was felt across much of western Ecuador, and  as well as parts of northern Peru, and caused the collapse of numerous buildings, as well as a pier in the coastal city of Machala, as well as at least twelve fatalities in Ecuador and one in Peru.

A car crushed by falling debris following a Magnitude 6.7 Earthquake in Ecuador on 18 March 2023. Xavier Caivinagua/AP.

Ecuador is on the west coast of South America and the western margin of the South American Plate, close to where the Nazca Plate, which underlies part of the east Pacific, is being subducted along the Peru-Chile Trench. The Nazca Plate passes under the South American Plate as it sinks into the Earth, this is not a smooth process and the plates repeatedly stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up, causing Earthquakes. As the Nazca Plate sinks further it is melted by the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of this melted material then rises through the overlying South American Plate, fueling the volcanoes of Ecuador and neighbouring countries. 

The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. SIO SEARCH.

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Centrolene zarza: A new species of Glassfrog from Zamora Chinchipe Province, southern Ecuador.

Glassfrogs, Centrolenidae, are a charismatic group of Neotropical Treefrogs distinguished by the transparent skin on their undersides, generally combined with a leaf-green dorsal surface. These Frogs lay their eggs in out-of-water environments close to streams, and have forward directed eyes. The males often have spines on their humeri. The Family Centrolenidae takes its name from the genus Centrolene, the third most species-rich genus in the group, currently containing 24 confirmed species and six possible ones. The genus has been well studied genetically, with DNA sequences available for 21 of the 24 confirmed species. Sixty three species of Glassfrogs, from ten genera, have been described from Ecuador to date, including 12 species of Centrolene, with DNA sequences available for 11 of these. 

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 22 February 2023, Paul Székely of the Museo de Zoología and the Laboratorio de Ecología Tropical y Servicios Ecosistémicos at the Universidad Técnica Particular deLoja, and the Research Center of the Department of Natural Sciences at Ovidius University Constanţa, María Córdova-Díaz, Daniel Hualpa-Vega, and Santiago Hualpa-Vega, also of the Museo de Zoología at the  Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, and of the Fundación Green Jewel, and Diana Székely, again of the Museo de Zoología and the Laboratorio de Ecología Tropical y Servicios Ecosistémicos at the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, and the Research Center of the Department of Natural Sciences at Ovidius University Constanţa, describe a new species of Centrolene from the Refugio de Vida Silvestre El Zarza in Zamora Chinchipe Province, southern Ecuador.

The new species is named Centrolene zarza, in reference to the Refugio de Vida Silvestre El Zarza, a nature reserve founded in 2006, in order to protect the Cordillera del Cóndor’s biological richness, with a particular emphasis on its Amphibians and the Amazonian Tapir; the reserve is home to more than 50 species of Amphibians, as well as the Amazonian Tapirs, and other distinctive Mammal species, such as Jaguars, Oncilla (Spectacled Bears), and countless species of Plants and Birds. The species is described from two female and five male specimens, all collected within the reserve.

Holotype of Centrolene zarza (MUTPL 932, adult female), Snout-vent length 25.5 mm, in life. (A) Lateral view, (B) dorsolateral view, (C) ventral view. Székely et al. (2023).

Centrolene zarza is a medium-sized Glassfrog, with the holotype female measuring 25.5 mm from snout to vent and weighing 1.05 g. The dorsal surface of the species is light green, being slightly darker above the head and arms, The flanks are white or transparent, the underside transparent. The bones, visible through the skin, are green, other internal organs white or yellowish. The head is slightly narrower than the body, but still wider than it is long. The snout is rounded, with slightly elevated nostrils. The eyes are moderately sized, with a diameter 34% of the head length, the iris is yellow with thick and thin black reticulations. Some warts are present on the dorsal surface, these are elevated, sometimes enameled, and marked by white spots. The limbs are slender.

Morphological variation of Centrolene zarza in live specimens: (A), (B) Female, paratype (MUTPL 1051); (C), (D) male, paratype (MUTPL 933); (E), (F) male, paratype (MUTPL 1022). Székely et al. (2022).

Two clutches of eggs were observed, both laid on the upper side of leaves, about 3 m above a stream. These clutches contain 13 and 33 eggs respectively, and were apparently not tended by adults. Székely et al. were able to hatch the eggs in the laboratory, but not raise them as far as metamorphosis.

Egg-clutches of Centrolene zarza collected from the type locality (MUTPL-T22). (A) The egg-clutches attached to a leaf (10 June 2021). (B) Hatchlings in stage Gosner 20 (10 June 2021). (C) Hatchlings in stage Gosner 22 (13 June 2021). Székely et al. (2023).

Centrolene zarza was found only in the vegetation bordering two small streams within the Refugio de Vida Silvestre El Zarza, although within this limited range it was apparently quite abundant, being seen or heard on 50% of occasions when the site was visited, typically on the upper side of leaves. Males were heard calling in January, March, June, October, and November, although they were distinctly more active in March and October. No direct interactions between Frogs were observed. 

Given this very limited distribution, less than 7 km ², Székely et al. recommend that Centrolene zarza be treated as being Critically Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. They further note, that while the species entire known distribution is within a protected area, that area is now surrounded by mining concessions, with mining reaching the northern boundaries of the reserve and signs of illegal mining within the reserve, particularly along the banks of streams. 

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Eruption on Wolf Volcano in the Galápagos Islands.

The Instituto Geofísico-Escuela Politécnica Nacional has reported an eruption on Wolf Volcano, on Isabela Island in the Galápagos Archipelago, late on Thursday 6 January 2022. The eruption produced an ash column about 3800 m high as well as a number of lava flows on the flanks of the volcano. The volcano lies at the northern end of the island, 100 km from the nearest settlement, and is not considered a threat to Human life, although eight people working close to the volcano at the time of the eruption, including park rangers and a group of scientists studying the Critically Endangered Pink Land Iguana, Conolophus marthae, were evacuated as a precaution.

 

A lave flow originating from Wolf Volcano on Friday 7 January 2022. Wilson Cabrera/National Galapagos Park/AP.

Wolf Volcano is the highest volcano in the Galapagos, reaching 1707 m above sea level, with an oval crater measuring 6 km by 7 km orientated in a northwest-southeast direction. Like all the volcanos of the Galapagos it is a shield volcano, i.e. a volcano made up largely of overlapping lava deposits that resembles an upturned bowl rather than a cone. The placement of this volcano on the northern tip of Isabella Island creates a unique microhabitat on the northwestern flanks of the volcano, cut off from the rest of the island by the steep, smooth lava flows of the main peak. This has served to protect the wildlife of the volcano from invasive species such as feral Cats and Goats, which threaten much of the unique fauna of the Galapagos (though Goats have recently been sighted here). As well as the Pink Land Iguana and its own unique Tortoise, the Wolf Volcano ecosystem is also home to several populations of introduced tortoises from other islands.

 

A Critically Endangered Pink Land Iguana, Conolophus marthae. Gabriele Gentile/IUCN/Red List of Threatened Species.

The volcanos of the Galapagos are fuelled by a mantle plume, the Galapagos Hotspot, an upwelling of hot magma from deep within the Earth’s mantle which pierces the overlying Nazca Plate, and moves independently of it. This plume transverses the plate at a rate of 0.46 degrees per million years, which has led to the formation of the string of volcanoes which form the Galapagos Islands. However, analysis of the geochemical composition of the lavas of Wolf Volcano has shown that these are distinct from the lavas of the neighbouring Ecuador and Darwin volcanoes, but show strong similarities to lavas produced on the Galapagos Spreading Centre over 200 km to the north, a trait shared with lavas from other Galapagos volcanoes, most notably Santa Cruz and Genovesa, suggesting that there is some interplay between these two sources.

 

The relative positions of the Galapagos Islands and Galapagos Spreading Center. School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology/University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Wolf Volcano is the most active volcano in the Galapagos, it was first observed erupting in 1797 and most recently in 2015; the 2022 eruption is the twelfth recorded eruption on the volcano, which is believed to be slightly less than 500 000 years old, compared to an age of about 10 million years for the surrounding seafloor. It takes its name from Theodor Wolf, a German geologist who made the first organized study of the volcanoes of the Galapagos in the nineteenth century, and after whom Wolf Island is also named.

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