Landslides and flash floods kill at least fifty four in Brazil.

A series of landslides and flash floods have killed at least fifty four people in Brazil since Thursday 23 January 2020. As well as the known deaths a further eighteen people are currently missing, and over 30 000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the states of Minas Gerias, Espirito Santo, and Rio Grande do Sul. The rains began on Thursday 23 January, when over 100 mm of rain fell in twenty four hours in parts of Minas Gerias, the most rain recorded in a single day for over a century, and are predicted to continue for at least the rest of this week. 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.

 Rescue workers search the site of a landslide in the Vila Ideal neighborhood in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, on Friday 24 January 2020. Cristiane Mattos/Reuters.

 Southern Brazil has a rainy season that lasts from Ocotober to March, with peak rains from mid-November to mid-January, however, this year's rains have been exceptionally strong. Brazil has suffered a string of flood-related disasters in recent years, most notably in 2011, when over 800 people died. The country has a rapidly growing population, with little effective urban planning, which has led to sprawling urban developments springing up with little thought to natural hazards, and in particular poorer neighborhoods often expanding up unstable hillsides, with the result that when floods occur (which is not unusual) communities are often quickly overwhelmed. This years exceptional rains have led to more widespread flooding, which may also persist for longer, and there is a distinct danger that without determined action the death toll may exceed that of 2011.

Flooding in Belo Horizonte on 24 January 2020. TV Brasil.

This extreme weather may be linked to a developing El Niño wearther system over the Pacific Ocean. The El Niño is the warm phase of a long-term climatic oscillation affecting the southern Pacific, which can influence the climate around the world. The onset of El Niño conditions is marked by a sharp rise in temperature and pressure over the southern Indian Ocean, which then moves eastward over the southern Pacific. This pulls rainfall with it, leading to higher rainfall over the Pacific and lower rainfall over South Asia. This reduced rainfall during the already hot and dry summer leads to soaring temperatures in southern Asia, followed by a rise in rainfall that often causes flooding in the Americas and sometimes Africa. Worryingly climatic predictions for the next century suggest that global warming could lead to more frequent and severe El Niño conditions, extreme weather conditions a common occurrence.

Movements of air masses and changes in precipitation in an El Niño weather system. Fiona Martin/NOAA.

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Inbiomyia azevedoi: A new species of Inbiomyiid Fly from the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil.

Inbiomyiid Flies are a curious group of True Flies, Dipters, first discovered in 2006. They are small in size, with the largest recorded specimens being about 1.6 mm in length, and generally very dark in colour. Inbiomyiid Flies are restricted to the tropical forests of the Americas but little is known about their biology. Large, flattened eggs have been found within the bodies of females, but what they are laid upon is unclear. To date only twelve species have been discovered, all of which have been placed within a single genus, Inbiomyia.

In a paper published in the American Museum Novitates on 12 Auguat 2019, Paula Raile Riccardi of the Departamento de Entomologia at the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, and Dalton de Souza Amorim of the Departamento de Biologia at the Universidade de São Paulo, describe a new species of Inbiomyiid Fly from the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil.

The new species is named Inbiomyia azevedoi, in honour of Leonardo Henrique Gil Azevedo of the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, who collected most of the specimens from which the species is described. These specimens comprise eight males and seventeen males caught in the Parque Nacional de Itatiaia in Rio de Janeiro State, and one female caught in the Parque Nacional do Caparaó in Espírito Santo State, all caught with Malaise (fine net) traps. They are between 1.75 and 1.8 mm in length with wings that are 2.1 to 2.2 mm long.

Inbiomyia azevedoi, female. Riccardi & Amorim (2019).

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Yellow fever outbreak kills 237 in Brazil.

A total of 237 people have been confirmed dead in an outbreak of Yellow Fever in Brazil which began in July 2017. A further 468 people have been infected by the disease, including ten foreign nationals visiting Brazil (three from Argentina, three from Chile and one each from France, the Netherlands, Romania and Switzerland). The majority of the infections, and fatalities, have been reported from densely populated urban areas of Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Espírito Santo states in southern Brazil, where the disease is not usually present and vaccination is not widespread. It is thought that the disease has spread to this area, along with the Aedes Mosquitoes that carry it, due to unusually hot and wet weather in the region, which favours the spread of the disease. In addition to the Human cases, 4161 cases of the disease have been reported in non-Human Primates, although only 554 of these have been confirmed by laboratory tests. Yellow Fever is thought to present a particular threat to the (often endangered) Monkey populations of Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais states, which are not familiar with the disease and which appear to be particularly vulnerable to it.

 A Howler Monkey, Alouatta sp., killed by Yellow Fever in Brazil. Sergio Mendes/Projeto Muriqui.

  

Yellow Fever is a Mosquito-born Flavivirus (the group of RNA Viruses that also includes the West Nile, Zika and Hepatitis C Viruses), that originated in tropical Africa and appears to have been carried to South America and the Caribbean during the transAtlantic slave trade. Outbreaks of the disease have also been recorded in parts of tropical Asia and the Pacific in recent years, and many countries in tropical regions require visitors to carry a certificate proving they have been vaccinated against the Virus.

The Yellow Fever Virus. Erskine Palmer/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Wikipedia.

The Virus causes a mild fever, accompanied loss of apatite, nausea and muscle pains, which passes within about 15 days. However, in about 15 % of cases a more severe infection attacks the liver and kidneys, which can lead to their failure, and therefore the death of the patient.

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Aristolochia zebrina: A new species of Birthwort from Espírito Santo State, Brazil.

Birthworts, Aristolochiaceae, are perennial rhizomatous herbs, shrubs or lianas (woody climbers), noted for their large ans bizarre flowers. They are considered to be a basal group of Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) in that they split off from other members of the group before the main split between the Monocots and Dicots (i.e. they are close to the base of the phylogenetic tree). This means that the history of the group is of great interest to scientists trying to understand the history of the Angiosperms as a group, though unfortunately their fossil record is patchy and only dates back to the Late Cretaceous. Birthworts are found across Eurasia and the Americas, where they naturally occur in wetlands and at the edges of woodland, particularly in the tropics, though many species have proven adept at colonising man-made environments.

In a paper published in the Nordic Journal of Botany on 14 January 2016, Joelcio Freitas of the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Tropical at the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Elton John de Lirio of the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica at the Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Favio González of the Instituto de Ciencias Naturales at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Anderson Alves-Araújo, also of the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Tropical at the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, describe a new species of Birthwort from Espírito Santo State in southeastern Brazil.

The new species is placed in the genus Aristolochia, the largest genus within the Aristolochiaceae, and given the specific name zebrina, in reference to the colouration of the perianth limb, which has black and white stripes, Aristolochia zebrina is a trailing prostrate herb, or occasionaly a climber, with clylidrical stems and blade-shaped leaves. The plants were observed flowering between February and June and between September and December. Fruit were observed from February to August.

Aristolochia zebrina, anthetic flower showing the strips of the perianth limb. Joelcio Freitas in Freitas et al. (2016).

Aristolochia zebrina was found growing at a number of sites in northern Espírito Santo State, in Restingas (coastal broad-leaf forests) and wet tropical Tabuleiro forests (coastal tropical forests on clay soil). Due to the low number of specimens observed (less than 250) and the small area of covered by the plants, Frietas et al. recomend that the species be classed as Endangered under the terms of the  International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

Habitat of Aristolochia zebrina in Conceição da Barra. Joelcio Freitas in Freitas et al. (2016).

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A fossil Birthwort from the Late Miocene of Austria.                                                                          Birthworts (Aristolochiaceae) are perennial rhizomatous herbs, shrubs or lianas (woody climbers), with large, conspicuous flowers, found across...

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Two new species of Bigonia from Brazil.

Bigonias of the genus Tynanthus are lianas (woody climbers) found across the Neotropics (tropical areas of Central and South America), but reaching their maximum diversity in the wet forests of Amazonas State, and wet Atlantic forests of Brazil.

In a paper published in the journal PhytoKeys on 24 October 2014, Maria Cláudia de Medeiros and Lúcia Lohmann of the Departamento de Botânica at the Universidadede São Paulo describe two new species of Tynanthusfrom Brazil, discovered during a revision of the genus.

The first new species described is named Tynanthus densiflorus, in reference to its densely packed flowers, which are white or yellow and produced in August. The species was found growing only around Manaus in Amazonas State. While the species was found in the Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke, where there was a reasonable population of the plants, no plants have been found at any great distance from the rapidly expanding Manaus urban area, and as such de Medeiros and Lohmann suggest that the species should be considered to be Vulnerable under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species until additional studies have been carried out to fully determine the plant’s conservation status.

Flowering branch of Tynanthus densiflorus. Lilian Procópio in de Madeiros & Lohmann (2014).

The second new species is named Tynanthus espiritosantensis, meaning ‘from Espírito Santo’; the species was found growing in wet forests around Linhares in Espírito Santo State. This species produces white flowers from December to February, and has distinct bromeliad-like prophylls (leaflets) around its axillary buds (points at which smaller stems branch of from main stems).

Flowering branch of Tynanthus espiritosantensis. D.A. Folli in de Madeiros & Lohmann (2014).

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A new species of Hydrangea from Mexico and Central America.

Hydrangeas are perennial woody plants related to Dogwoods and Silkleafs. Most species form small shrubs, but some grow to tree sizes, and there are some lianas (woody vines) in the group. Hydrangeas are most abundant and diverse in eastern Asia, but they are found as far west as the Himalayas, and also throughout the Americas. Most Hydrangeas have white flowers, but some species produce pink or blue flowers in response to changes in soil pH, a trait which has made them popular with gardeners. As such they have been...

New species of Ox-eye Bean from Costa Rica and Panama.

Ox-eye Beans (or Dear-eye Beans, or Hamburger Seeds) are Legumes in the genus Mucuna, found throughout the tropics. They get their common names from the three-layered structure of their seeds, which resembles the eye of a large Mammal (or a hamburger). These seeds are sea-beans; they are capable of surviving long periods of immersion in sea-water, enabling them to use ocean currents to colonize new areas; several species of Mucuna are found in both the American and African tropics. The  plants themselves form woody shrubs or...

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A new cryptic species of Microhylid Frog from Espírito Santo State, Brazil.

Cryptic species are species which resemble one-another physically, and which cannot generally be separated using traditional taxonomic methodology, but which are nevertheless genetically and reproductively isolated. Genetic studies of many groups of organisms have revealed a large number of cryptic species, sometimes with profound importance for the long-term survival and conservation of the species concerned, as apparently large robust populations are shown to in fact be made up of several smaller, reproductively isolated and more vulnerable species. One group where this has been shown to be a particularly common phenomenon are Anurans (Frogs) in the tropics of Central and South America, where a large number of apparent species have recently been shown to be species clusters, made up of a number of cryptic species.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 24 July 2014, João Tonini of the Department of Biology at the University of Richmond and the Department of Biological Sciences at The George Washington University, and Maurício Forlani and Rafael de Sá, also of the Department of Biology at the University of Richmond, describe a new cryptic species of Microhylid Frog from between the Doce River and the Mucuri River in Espírito Santo State, Brazil.

The new species is one of a number of cryptic species from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest previously assigned to the species Chiasmocleis lacrimae, and now shown to be genetically distinct. It is given the name Chiasmocleis quilombola, in honour of the Quilombola people of northern Espírito Santo State, who are descended from slaves that escaped from captivity during the Portuguese colonial period in Brazil (1580-1815), and who have retained their own distinct cultural identity to this day.

Chiasmocleis quilombola is described from one female and four male specimens from the Municipality of Conceição. The males average 14 mm in length, the female is 17.1 mm long. The Frogs are slender with rounded snouts and lack webbing between their toes; the males can have dermal spines on several parts of their bodies. All are dark brown in colour with small cream spots.

Chiasmocleis quilombola (A) male, and (B) female. Tonini et al. (2014).

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 Four new species of Treefrog from South America.

Many species of Amazonian Amphibians are considered to be highly threatened due to habitat loss, with the potential for the situation to become much worse due to climate change in the near future. This...

 Frogs and Toads from the Early Eocene of Gujarat State, India.

The Cambay Shale formation from the Vastan Lignite Mine to the northeast of Surat in Gujarat State, India, has produced a diverse...

 A new species of Bush Frog from central Vietnam.

Bush Frogs (Rhacophoridae) are found throughout tropical areas of Africa and Asia. They are tree-dwelling frogs that seldom venture down to the ground, their eggs being laid in a foamy construct...

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A new species of Anthazoan Coral from the Abrolhos Archipelago and Royal Charlotte Bank, Brazil.

The Abrolhos Bank is an area of the Brazilian continental shelf to the south of Bahia State, noted for its large and rich coral reef fauna and unique geochemical nature, with high levels of siliclastic material (sand, quartz gravel etc.) being deposited in the area by the Brazil Current, which flows southward from the coast. The area includes the Abrolhos Archipelago, which is Brazil’s oldest marine reserve.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 4 July 2014, Sérgio Stampar of the Departamento de Ciências Biológicas at the Universidade Estadual Paulista and the Departamento de Zoologia at the Universidade de São Paulo, and André Morandini and Fábio Lang da Silveira, also of the Departamento de Zoologia at the Universidade de São Paulo, describe a new species of Anthazoan Coral from Abrolhos Archipelago and Royal Charlotte Bank on the Abrolhos Bank.

The new species is placed in the genus Pachycerianthus, and given the specific name schlenzae, in honour of Erika Schlenz formerly of the Departamento de Zoologia at the Universidade de São Paulo, and a well-known expert on Corals. Pachycerianthus schlenzae is a solitary Coral reaching about 15 cm in height, with 60-85 marginal tentacles reaching about 12 cm in length plus 60-80 labial tentacles, reaching about 4 cm. The tentacles are brown or purple with white spots.

Pachycerianthus schlenzae, live specimens. (A) From Guarapari in Espirito Santos State. (B) From Camamu Bay in Bahia State. Stampar et al. (2014).

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 Two new species of Zoanthid Coral from Australia and Japan.

Zoanthids are unusual Corals with similarities to both the reef-forming calcareous skeleton excreting Scleractinian Corals and the larger, free living Sea Anemones. Most species are colonial, with...

 Five new species of deepwater Corals from the South American continental shelf.

Scleractinian Corals first appeared in the fossil record in the Middle Triassic; they are distinct from, but  believed to be related to the Rugose and Tabulate Corals of the Palaeozoic. All modern Corals...

 The vanishing Corals of Pelorus Island.

Corals on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, as in other parts of the world, are known to be in trouble, with declining Coral coverage, diebacks, bleaching events and replacement of Corals by Macroalgae (Seaweed) on much of the reef. Unfortunately, recording of Coral...

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