Two new species of Moss from the Permian of Brazil.

Mosses (Bryophytes) are simple plants which lack vascular systems to pump water and nutrients from a root system, instead relying on what they can absorb through their leaves, and generally only reaching a few cm in height. This means that they are at their most diverse in moist habitats, though some species are surprisingly drought-tolerant. Despite their simple nature, Mosses are an important part of ecosystems the world over, creating a water-holding layer which covers soil, rocks, trees and some animals, inside which entire miniature communities of organisms thrive. Mosses also differ from vascular plants in that they are haploid (have one set of chromosomes) rather than diploid (have paired chromosomes); though they have a diploid spore stage used to propagate the species in the same way that the (haploid) pollen of vascular plants is.

In a paper published in the journal Palaeontology in January 2012, Isabel Cortez Christiano de Souza and Fresia Ricardi Branco of the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resources at the Institute of Geosciences at the State University of Campinas and Yelitza León Vargas of the Centro Jardín Botánico at the Facultad de Ciencias at the Universidad de Los Andes describe two new species of Moss from the Middle Permian Teresina Formation, found in the Rio Preto Quarry, in the state of Paraná in Brazil. Mosses from the Permian are not unexpected, since they are thought to be one of the oldest groups of plants to have colonized the land, possibly dating back as far as the Ordovician, but they are not well known from the former Gondwana Supercontinent (of which South America forms a part), despite the flora of the widespread Glossopteris forests of the time being well studied on several continents.

The location and geological setting of the Rio Preto Quarry. Christiano de Souza et al. (2012).

The first new species of Moss is named Capimirinus riopretensis, where Capimirinus is a Latinization of capim mirin, which means small delicate plant in the Tupi-Guarani language, and riopretensis derives from the Rio Preto Quarry. Capimirinus riopretensis grew up to 25 mm in length, with stems that narrow towards the tips, showing dichotomous branching (branching by splitting into two equal parts in a 'Y' shape, as opposed to growing side-branches from existing stems), with erect, spirally arranged leaves and a sporophyte (diploid reproductive structure) produced on a pleurocarp (short side branch).

Capimirinus riopretensis. Scale bar 5 mm in top left image, 1 mm in all other images. Christiano de Souza et al. (2012).

The second new species described is named Yguajemanus yucapirus, meaning the Old Moss of Death in Tupi-Guarani. This has branching stems of a constant thickness and strongly curved leaves aranged in symmetrical pairs. 

Yguajemanus yucapirus. Christiano de Souza et al. (2012).

See also A Permian forest preserved in volcanic ash, Russian scientists germinate Pleistocene seeds, Insect borings in Triasic wood, Did the first land plants cause an Ordovician glaciation? and The end of the Permian.

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Volcanic activity on Heard Island.

Heard Island is a remote volcanic island on the Kerguelen Plateau in the southern Indian Ocean. It is made up of two volcanoes, the larger Big Ben to the southeast and the smaller Mount Dixon to the northeast. The crater of Big Ben forms a 5-6 km wide caldera, breached to the southwest, with a second smaller volcano, Mawson Peak, within. The summit of Mawson Peak forms the highest point on the island, at 2475 m above sea-level (it is also technically Australia's highest mountain). This is considered to be an active volcano, though little is known about its activity due to its remote location and covering of glaciers.

Composite Satellite image showing the position of Heard Island and the Kerguelen Plateau. Google Maps.

Heard Island seen from the sea. Heard Island Solo.

On 21 and 24 September and 10 and 19 October satellites passing over Heard Island detected thermal anomalies, suggesting that a an eruption could be occurring on the island. A visual image captured by NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite on 13 October 2012 may support this, though it is not completely clear. The summit appears to show reduced snow cover and there is a dark area within the crater which may indicate fresh lava. The island is covered by cloud for much of the time, making these observations rare.

(Top) Earth Observing-1's 13 October image of Heard Island. (Bottom) An image taken in February 2009 from the International Space Station for comparison. Not the more defined shape of Mawson's Peak in the upper image, implying melting of snow cover. NASA/Earth Observatory.

The Kerguelen Plateau is an underwater volcanic large igneous province formed by volcanic activity starting about 110 million years ago. It has sedimentary rocks which suggest the bulk of the plateau may have been above the sea for much of this time, sinking about 20 million years ago, causing some to consider it a submerged continent. The volcanic activity is thought to come from a hotspot created during the breakup of the Gondwanan continent in the mid-Cretaceous. The landmass may once have been continuous with Australia and India; it is thought that in the Cretaceous it would have formed a microcontinent largely covered by vast coniferous woodlands. Most of the plateau is now about 600 m below sea-level.

Map showing the positions of the parts of the former Gondwanan continent in the Late Cretaceous, 85 million years ago. Kerguelen is highlighted in orange. Ali & Aitchison (2009).

See also A new species of Crinoid from the Southern Ocean, Two new hydrothermal vent communities from the southern Central Indian Ridge, Fossil beaked whales from the seafloor of the Southern Indian Ocean, The End of the Cretaceous and Volcanoes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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New Amphibians from Northeast India.

Caecilians are limbless burrowing Amphibians found in tropical regions of Asia, Africa and South America. They resemble Earthworms, with circular folds on their skin which make them look segmented and skin covering their eyes (though they can see). Unlike snakes they have greatly reduced or even absent tails with their anus close to or at the tips of their bodies. Caecilians are predatory with a well developed sense of smell.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B on 22 February 2012, a team of scientists led by Rachunliu Kamei of the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Delhi, describe the discovery of a new family of previously undescribed Caecilians from the Northwest of India, named as the Chikilidae comprising the single genus Chikila (a local name for the animals)

Specimen of Chikila fulleri brooding eggs in captivity. From Kamei et al. (2012).

The Chikilidae were found to be quite widespread across Northeast India, though genetic studies suggested that their closest relatives were in fact African Caecilians, from which they probably diverged about 140 million years ago. This ties up well with predictions based upon the breakup of the ancient continent of Gondwana, during which India separated from Africa between 160 and 120 million years ago. Caecilians like other Amphibians cannot tolerate salt water, so they cannot have made the crossing after the continents separated. In addition they are restricted to wet tropical climates, and therefore cannot have crossed any colder or drier climatic zones during their history.

Elevation map of Northeast India showing locations where the new Caecilians were found. Different coloured circles represent different species of Chikilidaen. From Kamei et al. (2012).

Kamei et al. suggest that the Chikilidae were probably more widespread in India, and became more restricted as a result of the Deccan Traps volcanic eruptions, that covered much of India in volcanic basalt 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous. Other formerly widespread groups have been shown to have become restricted to the better studied Western Ghats biozone in Southeast India and Sri Lanka at this time, and Kamei et al. suggest that further studies of the far Northwest of India may well uncover other unexpected endemic groups of animals. They also note that many of the forests of the area are currently under threat from a rapidly growing human population, and increasing deforestation.

Map of India and South Asia, showing the study area (square) and the main biogeographical zones. From Kamei et al. (2012).

See also New Miniature Chameleons from Madagascar, A living fossil eel discovered in Palau, New Mouse Lemur discovered in Madagascar and The End of the Cretaceous.

Explosions on Mount Cameroon.

An explosion on Mount Cameroon is said to have injured two tourist guides working on the mountain on Friday 3 February 2012. Local people also reported seeing bursts of flame and clouds of ash. Residents close to the mountain have reportedly been voluntarily moving away from the volcano, which has a history of violent eruptions.

Lava flow on Mount Cameroon in 1999. Société Volcanologique Européene.

Mount Cameroon is a 4095 m high stratovolcano (cone shaped volcano made up of successive layers of ash and lava) on the coast of Cameroon, about 80 km northwest of the capital, Douala. The volcano sits slightly to the north of the Central African Shear Zone, which cuts though the country from southwest to northeast. The Central African Shear Zone is an extensional structure that initially opened about 640 million years ago; a continuation of the zone is found in South America, where it is called the Pernambuco Fault. It had the potential to develop into a full ocean with a spreading zone at a mid-ocean ridge, similar to the modern Atlatic, but did not develop at that time. It became active again up during the break-up of Gondwanaland (an ancient super-continent of which Africa formed a part) in the Mesozoic, and has been a source of volcanic activity ever since. It could potentially still open into a full ocean as Africa breaks apart in the east along the Great Rift Valley.

Mount Cameroon last erupted in 2000, when lava flows reached to within 5 km of the town of Buea. Plans to evacuate the town were dropped at the last moment when the lava flow stopped abruptly. A cloud of gas and ash was seen to reach 3300 m above the summit of the volcano. The following year the monsoon rains dislodged ash deposits left by the eruption, causing a landslide that struck the coastal city of Limbe, killing 23 people and making about a thousand more homeless.

See also Earthquake shakes Lake Turkana in Kenya, Eruptions on Mount Nyamuragira in the Virunga National Park, Ongoing volcanic activity on El Hierro in the Canary Islands and Volcanoes on Sciency thoughts YouTube.