Callionymus alisae: A new species of Dragonet from New Ireland.

Dragnets, Callionymidae, are benthic, sublittoral (dwelling between the low tide livel and the edge of the continental shelves), Perciform Fish found throughout the world's temperate, subtroipical and tropical seas (and occasionaly esturine or even freshwater environments), but most abundant and diverse in the western Indo-Pacific region. They have elongate, slightly flattened bodies with two dorsal fins and spines on their gill-coverings, which is venemous in some species.

In a paper published in the journal FishTaxa on 9 April 2016, Ronald Fricke of the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart describes a new species of Dragonet from New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea.

The new species is named Callionymus alisae, in reference to the French research vessel RV Alis, which collected the specimen from which the species is described. The species is describd from a single male specimen, caught to the southeast of Bauddisson Island at a depth of between 90 and 228 m. The specimen, yellowish in colour, darker towards the rear and white on the underside, with dark blue eyes and greyish spots.

Callionymus alisae, holotype, male, 32.1 mm SL, Papua New Guinea, New Ireland Province, Kavieng District. Lateral view, left side (scale indicates 15 mm). Fricke (2016).

See also...

Symphysanodon andersoni: A second specimen of the Bucktoothed Slopefish from the south coast of Oman.                       Slopefish, Symphysanodontidae, are deepwate Perciform...

Philometrid Nematodes from Perciform Fish off the north Australian coast.                   Philometrids are large Nematodes parasitizing Fish . They show a high degree of sexual dimorphism, with males typically only a few mm in length, while...

A new species of Serranine Perchlet from the Philippines.                                                   The Philippines form a major component of the...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

 

Magnitude 7.2 Earthquake off the coast of New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

Geoscience Australia recorded a Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake at a depth of 365 km off the northeast coast of New Ireland Island, Papua New Guinea, at 4.35 am local time on Monday 8 July 2013 (6.35 pm on Sunday 7 July, GMT). This is a very large quake - but unlikely to have caused any damage or casualties as it was so deep, and shock waves from Earthquakes lose energy rapidly as they pass through solid rock. Geoscience Australia estimate that the quake could have been felt across most of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, but witness statements have yet to emerge.

The location of the 8 July New Ireland Earthquake. Google Maps.

New Ireland lies on the North Bismarck Plate, one of a group of microplates caught in the collisional zone between the Pacific and Australian Plates. New Britain lies on the South Bismarck Plate, another of these microplates. There are a number of transform faults (faults where two tectonic blocks are moving past one-another horizontally) between these two microplates that cross eastern New Britain and southern New Ireland. This faulting is caused by an area of rifting (movement apart by two tectonic plates, with new crust being formed between them) to the north of New Britain and west of New Ireland, which is pushing the eastern part of the South Bismarck Plate southward with regard to the North Bismark Plate.

See also Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake under West Papua, Eruption on Mount Langila, Major Earthquake shakes New Ireland & New Britain, Eruption on Manam Motu and Earthquake shakes New Britain.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Major Earthquake shakes New Ireland & New Britain.

On Sunday 29 July 2012, slightly after 6.00 am local time (slightly after 8.00 pm on Saturday 28 July, GMT) the Papuan islands of New Ireland and New Britain were shaken by an Earthquake 20 km east of the southern coast of New Ireland, recorded by the United States Geological Survey as measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale and occurring at a depth of 66.7 km, and by Geoscience Australia as measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale and occurring at a depth of 91 km. 

This is fairly deep, and deeper Earthquakes are less likely to cause problems at the surface, as much of their energy is absorbed by the intervening rocks, but this is also a fairly large quake, so it still has the potential to cause harm. Geoscience Australia calculate that much of southern New Ireland is at risk of damage from this quake, and the United States Geological Survey estimate that there is a 30% risk of the quake causing fatalities, though neither damage nor casualties have been reported at the time of writing. No tsunami warning has been issued for this event.

The location of the 29 July 2012 Earthquake, and the areas likely to have felt the strongest shaking. Damage to buildings is a possibility within the inner circle, and the quake would have been felt within the outer circle. USGS.

New Ireland lies on the North Bismarck Plate, one of a group of microplates caught in the collisional zone between the Pacific and Australian Plates. New Britain lies on the South Bismarck Plate, another of these microplates. The 29 July Earthquake appears to have occurred on one of a number of transform faults (faults where two tectonic blocks are moving past one-another horizontally) between these two microplates that cross eastern New Britain and southern New Ireland. This faulting is caused by an area of rifting (movement apart by two tectonic plates, with new crust being formed between them) to the north of New Britain and west of New Ireland, which is pushing the eastern part of the South Bismarck Plate southward with regard to the North Bismark Plate.

Simplified map of the microplates to the east of Papua New Guinea. Oregon State University.

See also Earthquake in the Loyalty Islands, Eruption on Mount Pago, Earthquake in Vanuatu, Earthquake shakes New Britain and Earthquakes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.