An immature Temnospondyl Amphibian from the Late Triassic of Brazil.

The Temnospondyls were an ancient group of Amphibians, thought to have been the first group of Vertebrates fully adapted to life on land. They flourished in the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic, with a small number surviving as late as the Cretaceous. They were much larger than modern Amphibians, and were quite different in appearance, with boney armoured plates, scales and well developed claws. Nevertheless some experts have suggested that the Lisamphibians (modern Amphibians) are descended from the Temnospondyls.

In a paper published in the January 2012 edition of the journal Palaeontology, Sérgio Dias-da-Silva of the Laboratório de Paleobiologia at Campus de São Gabriel at the Universidade Federal do Pampa, Dhurjati Sengupta of the Geological Studies Unit at the Physics and Earth Science Division at the Indian Statistical Institute, and Sérgio Cabreira and Lúcio da Silva of the Laboratório de Paleontologia at the Universidade Luterana do Brasil, describe an immature Temnospondyl Amphibian from the upper levels of the Santa Maria Formation in the Municipality of São João do Polêsine in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

The new specimen closely resembles Compsocerops cosgriffi, a Late Triassic Temnospondyl from India, and assigned to the genus Compsocerops, though due to the fragmentary nature of the specimen, and the fact that it appears to be a juvenile, it is not given a specific name. The specimen comprises a partial skull, part of a jawbone, a fragment of the clavicle (collarbone), and part os a humerus (upper arm bone). The specimen is considered to be a juvenile because the bones appear thin with widely separated sutures, and the simple ornamentation of the bones; the ornamentation of a mature Temnospondyl being rather more elaborate.

Compsocerops sp., cranial fragment; (A) photograph in dorsal view, (B) photograph in lateral view, (C) interpretive drawing of (A), (D) interpretive drawing of (B). Abbreviations: aj, alar process of the jugal; f, frontal; is, infraorbital sulcus; j, jugal; po, postorbital; pof, postfrontal. Scale bars represent 10 mm. Dias-da-Silva et al. (2012).

Compsocerops sp., second cranial fragment; (A) photograph in dorsal view, (B) photograph in lateral view, (C) interpretive drawing of (A), (D) interpretive drawing of (B). Abbreviations: pp,

postparietal; ppp, postparietal process; ptf, posttemporal fenestra; st, supratemporal; t, tabular. Scale bars represent 10 mm. Dias-da-Silva et al. (2012).

Compsocerops sp., reconstruction of the skull, based on available material. Scale bar represents 10 mm. Dias-da-Silva et al. (2012).

Compsocerops sp.: (Top) part of the mandible in (A) dorsal view, (B) labial view, and (C) lingual view. (Bottom) partial clavicle in  (D)ventral view and (E) dorsal view. (F) Partial humerus in ventral view. Abbreviation: dg, deep groove. Scale bars represent 10 mm. Dias-da-Silva et al. (2012).

See also Two new species of Moss from the Permian of Brazil,  Three new species of Frog from the Peruvian Andes, New species of Robber Frog from Panama, A cryptic species of Ground Frog from southern Chile and A Salamander from the Late Jurassic of China.

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Three new species of Dragon Lizard from the western arid zone of Australia.

Dragon Lizards of the genus Diporiphora are perching Agamid Lizards found across much of Australia. They tend to live in low shrubby trees, Spinifex and cane grasses where they give birth to live young.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 16 October 2012, Paul Doughty and Luke Kealley of the Department of Terrestrial Zoology at the Western Australian Museum and Jane Melville of the Department of Sciences at Museum Victoria describe three new species in the genus, discovered during a survey of species from the western deserts if Australia carried out in the collections of the Western Australian Museum, the South Australian Museum and Museum Victoria.

The first new species is named Diporiphora vescus (vescus = weak, poor, thin, or little), or the Northern Pilbara Tree Dragon. The species is named on the basis of five male specimens, all collected from the Pilbara region of Western Australia (the females are apparently known but were not used in the formal description for some reason). They are robust medium sized Lizards (but smaller than the previously described Diporiphora valens which lives in the same area) 192-236.5 mm in length, with tails substantially longer than the rest of the body. They are brown or yellowish brown in colour, and live on sandy or clayey soils and coastal sand-dunes.

Diporiphora vescus. (Top) Gravid female. (Bottom) Male. Doughty et al. (2012).

The second new species described is named Diporiphora adductus (adductus = elongated), or the Carnarvon Dragon. The species is described using five specimens (two male, three female) all from the Carnarvon Basin in western Australia. These are slender, elongated Lizards, 200.5-230.5 mm in length.  The Lizards are light brown with silver stripes, and a white underside with darker stripes. They were found living on Spinifex and Acacia on sandy or loamy soils.

Two specimens of Diporiphora adductus in life. Doughty et al. (2012).

The final new species described is named Diporiphora paraconvergens (paraconvergens = beside convergens; the species is similar to Diporiphora convergens) or the Grey-striped Western Desert Dragon. The species is described from seven individuals (one female and six males) 149.5-228.5 mm in length. Again these are slender, elongate Lizards with tails substantially longer than the bodies. The Lizards are light red to pink with greyish stripes, the underside white with grey-brown stripes. Found in the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia, in north-western South Australia, and probably the south-western arid portion of the Northern Territory. Found on a variety of foliage on sandy dunes.

Diporiphora paraconvergens. (Top) Male. (Bottom) Female. Doughty et al. (2012).

See also Genetic Diversity in Atlas Dwarf Lizards, A giant Monitor Lizard from the Miocene of Samos, Greece, Velvet Geckos and Broad-headed Snakes; understanding the population structure of a favored prey item in order to help protect an endangered predator, News species of Girdled Lizard from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Reptiles on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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Cyclone Evan kills at least two in Samoa.

Cyclone Evan hit the island of Samoa on Thursday 13 December 2012, leading to widespread flooding and causing the Vaisigano River to burst its banks in the capitol, Apia. At least three people are believed to have been killed, and the Tanugamanono Power Plant is said to have been completely destroyed, leaving the island nation without electricity.

Flooding in Apia after Cyclone Evan. AAP.

Cyclones (and other tropical storms) form due to solar heating of the air over the sea in the tropics. As the air warms up it rises, causing more air to rush into the area from outside (wind). If the area over which this is happening is large enough, then the winds closest to the equator will be veering eastward relative to the winds furthest away, due to the Earth's rotation (the Coriolis Effect), causing the system to rotate; clockwise in the northern hemisphere and anticlockwise in the south. Such storms are graded according to their sustained wind speed (the highest speed that winds can maintain for periods of at least a minute); Evan was a category 1 Cyclone when it hit Samoa, with sustained wind speeds of 119-153 km/h, and gusts of up to 175 km/h. This is a long way from being as big as these storms get, but is considerably larger than Samoa is used to, resulting in widespread damage.

However it is not the high winds that cause the majority of the damage with cyclones, but the flooding that accompanies them. The low pressure at the center of a storm system causes the sea to rise roughly 1 cm for every millibar drop in pressure. This creates a storm surge that may be several meters in height and which can overwhelm sea defenses and flood low-lying areas. In addition the heat and low pressure associated with cyclones leads to high levels of water evaporation within the systems, and therefore high levels of rain around the edges (i.e. where the winds are strongest). This adds to the flooding associated with cyclones and can cause additional problems of landslides in upland areas.

After leaving Samoa Cyclone Evan veered to the northwest, and is now drifting towards the Wallis and Futuna Islands; Fiji is also in a state of high alert.

The path of Cyclone Evan to date, and the predicted future path of the storm. Tropical Storm Risk.

See also Typhoon Bopha sweeps across the southern Philippines, Hurricane Sandy heads towards east coast of America, Tropical Storm Son-Tinh kills at least 24 in the Philippines, Hurricane Sandy causes devastation in Jamaica and Operations ceased at Padcal Mine following flooding.

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Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake off the coast of Baja California.

On Friday 14 December 2012, slightly after 2.35 am local time (slightly after 10.35 am, GMT) a Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake occurred at a depth of 11.3 km, off the west coast of Baja California, roughly roughly 250 km west of Tijuana or 300 km southeast of Los Angeles, according to the United States Geological Survey. This is a large Earthquake, and potentially dangerous, but it is quite a long way offshore so it is unlikely anyone has been hurt, though shaking was reportedly felt as far north as Bakersfield. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has not issued a tsunami warning.

Map showing the location of the 14 December 2012 quake and the areas where shaking was felt. USGS.

The Earthquake appears to be associated with the Murray or Molokai Fracture Zones, two of a series of fracture zones crossing the Pacific seafloor on an east-west axis, or with the San Andreas Fault/East Pacific Rise system, which runs overland south from San Francisco then under the Gulf of Mexico.

Faults and fracture zones in the area around the 14 December Earthquake. Plate Tectonics. 

See also Central California shaken by Earthquake, Earthquake in the Gulf of California, Earthquake swarm strikes southern California, Los Angeles shaken by Earthquake and Earthquakes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

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New species of Owlet Moth from Sichuan Province, China.

Owlet Moths (Noctuidae) are the largest group within the Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths). They are typically small, drab, brown Moths, though some species have brightly coloured hind-wings, which are covered by the fore-wings when resting. Almost all Owlet Moths are nocturnal, and few show any visible differences between the sexes. The larvae of Owlet Moths are soil-dwelling herbivores; they are referred to as 'Cutworms', and are considered a serious agricultural pests in many parts of the world.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 15 November 2012, Balázs Benedek of Törökbálint in Hungary and Aidas Saldaitis and Jolanta Rimsaite of the Nature Research Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania, describe a new species of Owlet Moth from Sichuan Province, China, as part of a review of Moths of the genus Harutaeographa.

The new Moth is named Harutaeographa shui, after the ancient Shu Kingdom, now Chengdu, capitol of Sichuan Province. Harutaeographa shui is a 17-20 mm brown Moth with coppery-brown patterns and dark scales on its forewings and yellowish wings. The species is described from six specimens collected from the Siping and Kangding areas of Sichuan Province, on the fringe of the Tibetan Plateau. The Moths were collected in small river valleys in mountain virgin mixed forest dominated by

various broad-leaved trees, rhododendrons and bamboos, at altitudes of 1500-1600 m. They were captured using light traps.

Two male specimens of Harutaeographa shui. Benedek et al. (2012).

The habitat where Harutaeographa shui was found living. Benedek et al. (2012).

See also Five new species of Snout Moth from China, New Tiger Moths discovered in east Asia, New species of Leaf-Mining Moth from northern Chile and New species of moth from Yunnan Province.

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A Rove Beetle from the Late Triassic of Virginia.

The Beetles are generally considered to be the most successful group of Insects, with over 360 000 known species and a fossil record that dates back to the Permian (or possibly the Carboniferous, depending on which experts you talk to). They are thought to have been the first Insects to adopt a burrowing and boring lifestyle while retaining the ability to fly, an ability associated with the specialized electra that define the group; hardened fore-wings modified to form a protective covering over the still-functional hind wings. 

In a paper published in the American Museum Novitates on 18 October 2012, Stylianos Chatzimanolis of the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, David Grimaldi and Michael Engel of the Division of Invertebrate Zoology (Entomology) at the American Museum of Natural History, and Nicholas Fraser of the National Museum of Scotland describe a Rove Beetle from the Late Triassic Cow Branch Formation of southern Virginia. This is the earliest known Rove Beetle, a group distinguished by their diminished electra, which only cover half of the hindwings.

The new species is named Leehermania prorova, meaning Lee Herman's First Rove Beetle, after Lee Herman, an entomologist and expert on Rove Beetles at the American Museum of Natural History. It is a 2-3 mm Rove Beetle of unknown colouration, preserved as silvery films of aluminosilicates on fine-grained lacustrine shale.

(Left) Photomicrograph of a specimen of Leehermania prorova. (Right) Interpretive drawing of the same. Chatzimanolis et al. (2012).

Second specimen of Leehermania prorova, showing part and counterpart (two parts of the same fossil on two halves of a piece of rock that has been split in half. Chatzimanolis et al. (2012).

See also A new species of Blister Beetle from southeast Iran, Two new species of Semiaquatic Rove Beetle from China, New species of Flat Bark Beetle (Cucujidae) from the Calabria Region of Italy, New Ommatid Beetles from the Mesozoic of China and Two new species of Rove Beetle from Zhejiang Province, China.

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Possible second meteor shower to coincide with the Geminids.

The Geminid Meteors can be seen from Earth around the middle of December each year, peaking on the 13-14th, and radiating from a point in the constellation of Gemini. Now Russian astronomer Mikhail Maslov has suggested that this year the shower might be joined by a second group of meteors radiating from the constellation of Pisces on the opposite side of the sky, caused by debris from the tale of Comet 46P/Wirtanen.

The point of origin for the potential new meteor shower. EarthSky.

46P/Wirtanen is a Jupiter Family Comet (a comet with a period of less than 20 years with a low inclination to the plane of the Solar System whose orbit is influenced by the gravity of Jupiter), with a period of 5.4 years, that takes it from slightly outside the orbit of the Earth to slightly inside the orbit of Jupiter. The Earth does not usually cross the path of 46P/Wirtanen, but Maslov predicts that this year it will, potentially leading to an additional meteor shower.

The orbit of 46P/Wirtanen. Image created using the JPL Small-Body Database Browser.

See also Asteroid 4179 Toutatis/1989 AC to fly past the Earth, The Geminid Meteors, The Leonid Meteors, Four more asteroids found to be co-orbitals of Neptune and Asteroid 2012 TC4 passes within 95 000 km of the Earth.

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