Two new species of calcareous Sponge from the Weddell Sea.

Sponges (Porifera) are considered to be the most primitive form of animals. They lack differentiated cells, and can reform if disassociated by (for example) shoving them through a sieve. On the other hand they cannot be considered colonies of single-celled organisms, as they have definite structures, bodies with more-or-less set shapes consisting of networks of pores and channels through which water is pumped; the individual cells feeding separately by filtering food from the water in these channels. They are the only extant group of animals with a fossil record that extends significantly into the Precambrian.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 25 July 2013, Hans Rapp of the Centre for Geobiology and Department of Biology at the University of Bergen, Christian Göcke of the Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Ole Tendal of the Zoological Museum of the University of Copenhagen and Dorte Janussen, also of the Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Senckenberg, describe two new species of calcareous Sponge (Calcarea, sponges that have skeletons composed of calcium carbonate), from the Eckström Shelf of the Eastern Weddell Sea, Antarctica.

The first new species is placed in the genus Clathrina and given the specific name brandtae in honour of Angelika Brandt of the University of Hamburg, organizer of two expeditions to the Antarctic. Clathrina brandtae is a yellowish Sponge with a body made up of a loose arrangement of tubes, roughly 1 cm long and 1.5 cm wide. It has a skeleton made up of simple three pointed elements. The Spomge was found at depths of between 118 and 595 m.

Clathrina brandtae. (A) Preserved specimen from the Weddell Sea (os = osculum). (B) Spicules, from left: ste = subregular tetractine, rte = regular tetractine, rtri = regular triactine and aa = apical actine of a tetractine. (C) Wall of asconoid tube seen from the interior. Rapp et al. (2013).

The second new species is placed in the genus Leucetta and given the specific name delicata, meaning delicate. Leucetta delicata is a beige sponge with an ovular to cylindrical shape, reaching 2.2 by 1.2 cm. It was found at a single site at a depth of 595 m.

Leucetta delicata. (A) Preserved specimen. os = osculum. (B) Spicules. Bottom left: rte = regular tetractine with very short apical actine. Remaining spicules: rtri = regular triactines of variable size. (C) Cross section of the body wall. cx = cortex. ca = canal. atr = atrium. (D) Cross section of the cortical region. cx = cortex. cch and arrow = choanocyte chamber (scale bar as in E). (E) Cross section of the atrial region. atr = atrium. Rapp et al. (2013).

See also A Chambered Glass Sponge from the Early Devonian of northern Spain, A mysterious Glass Sponge from the Early Cambrian of south-east China, New Glass Sponges from the North Atlantic and The oldest animals - Pre-Ediacaran Sponges from Namibia(?) 

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Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake on Mindanao Island, Philippines.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake at a depth of 10.1 km, 14 km to the southeast of the city of Tandag in Surigao del Sur Province on Mindanao Island in the Philippines, slightly after 10.20 am local time (slightly after 2.10 am GMT) on Sunday 12 January 2014. There are no reports of any damage or injuries relating to this event, though it was felt across much of the east of the province.

The approximate location of the 12 January 2013 Surigao del Sur Earthquake. Google Maps.

The geology of the central Philippines is Complex. The west of Mindanao Island is located on the Banda (or Sunda) Microplate, and the east on the Philippine Plate, which is being subducted beneath the Sunda (or Banda) Microplate along the central part of the island. Immediately to the east of the Island the Pacific Plate is being subducted along the Philippine Trench, and passes beneath eastern Mindanao as it sinks into the Earth. This is not a smooth process, an the plates constantly stick together then break apart again as the pressure builds up, resulting in Earthquakes.

See also Magnitude 7.1 Earthquake on Bohol Island, the Philippines, Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake on Mindanao Island, the Philippines, Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake on Mindanao Island, the Philippines, Five people killed by eruption on Mount Mayon, the Philippines and Earthquake off Mindanao Island in the Philippines.

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Small eruption in the Aso Caldera, Japan.

On 20 December 2013 the Japan Meteorological Agency detected an increase in seismic activity beneath Aso (or Asosan) a volcanic caldera on central Kyūshū Island, Japan. This grew steadily for the next week, prompting the agency to raise the alert level on the mountain from 1 to 2 (on a scale of 1 to 5) on 27 December. The frequency and intensity of the tremors dropped sharply on 2 January 2014, however this drop was accompanied by a sharp rise in the amount of sulphur dioxide being emitted from the caldera, reaching 1200 tonnes per day on 2 January, and rising to 1500 tonnes per day on 10 January. Seismic activity resumed on 12 January, with a series of tremors that grew steadily from 8.00 am to 7.00 pm Japan Standard Time. On 13 January at 12.15 pm a small eruption occurred on Mount Nake, the one of five small volcanos within the central caldera, producing a plume that rose 600 m above the summit and drifted to the south, producing small ashfalls downwind of the summit.

The central summits of the Aso Caldera, seen from the caldera rim. Wikipedia.

The Aso Caldera is the largest in Japan, and one of the largest in the world, being approximately 25 km in diameter. The caldera is thought to be the result of a series of four massive eruptions, the first of which took place around 300 000 years ago, and the last around 90 000 years ago. The caldera contains five smaller summits in a complex at its center, the highest of which Mount Taka, rises 1592 m above sea-level. These are also a series of hot springs within the caldera, which is a popular tourist resort and part of the Japanese Geoparks Network. Despite the site's dramatic history modern eruptions tend to be quite small, and there are no records of any historical fatalities connected with the volcano.

Terrain map of the Aso Caldera and surrounding area. Google Maps.

Japan has a complex tectonic environment with four plates underlying parts of the Islands; in addition to the Pacific in the east and the Othorsk in the North, there are the Philipine Plate to the south and the Eurasian Plate to the West. Kyūshū Island lies at the northeast end of the Ryukyu Island Arc, which sits on top of the boundary between the Eurasian and Philippine Plates. The Philippine Plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian Plate, in the Ryukyo Trench, to the Southeast of the Islands. As it is drawn into the interior of the Earth, the tectonic plate is partially melted by the heat of the Earth's interior, and liquid magma rises up through the overlying Eurasian Plate to form the volcanos of the Ryukyu Islands and Kyūshū.

See also Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, Volcano creates new island in the west Pacific, Tokyo shaken by Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake on the Bōsō Peninsula, Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake off the east coast of Japan and Eruption and pyroclastic flow on Sakurajima, Kyushu.

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German man receives third degree burns after trousers set on fire by 'amber' pebble.

A 67-year-old German Man is being treated for third degree burns after a pebble he picked up while collecting amber on a beach on the country's Baltic coast burst into flames in his pocket. The incident happened at Stein in Schleswig Holstein, roughly 15 km to the northeast of Kiel, where Baltic amber is often found on the beach. Unfortunately on this occasion the 'amber' turned out to be a piece of white phosphorous, believed to have leaked from World War Two munitions dumped in the Baltic. White phosphorous is a powerful incendiary agent, which ignites spontaneously on reaching 30℃ (slightly bellow human body temperature), tends to stick to skin, and cannot be extinguished using water.

The approximate location of the beach where the 'amber' pebble was found. Google Maps.

White phosphorous has been used in munitions since World War One. As well as its incendiary properties it can be used to make flares, or smoke bombs, either illuminating or obscuring parts of the battlefield. Under the terms of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons the use of white phosphorous against civilian targets or in civilian area is banned. A number of nations have been accused of using white phosphorous in this way in recent years, notably Israel in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, America in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia in Yemen, and there have been calls from human rights organizations for the substance to be completely banned in munitions.

Baltic amber is the preserved resin of Eocene coniferous trees that formed huge forests covering much of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. Since this floats it is often found on beaches around the Baltic Sea, and sometimes further afield, making the precise dating of individual pieces difficult.

See also A new species of Ant from late Eocene Danish Amber, A new species of Scorpionfly from Baltic Amber and An Eocene False Scorpion from Baltic amber.

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Asteroid 2014 AD16 passes by the Earth.

Asteroid 2014 AD16 passed by the Earth at a distance of approximately 577 100 km (roughly 1.54 time the average distance between the Earth and the Moon) at about 10.25 am GMT on Wednesday 8 January 2014. There was no danger of the asteroid hitting us, and had it done so it would have presented little threat. 2014 AD16 is estimated to be between 6 and 20 m in diameter, and an object of this size would be expected to break up between 37 and 22 km above the Earth's surface, with only fragmentary material reaching the ground.

The calculated orbit of 2014 AD16. JPL Small Body Database Browser.

2014 AD16 was discovered on 3 January 2014 (5 days before its closest pass of the Earth) by the University of Arizona's Mt. Lemmon Survey at the Steward Observatory on Mount Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson. The designation 2014 ADF16 implies that the asteroid was the 404th object discovered in the first half  of January 2014 (period 2014 A).

2014 AD16 has an 598 day orbital period and an eccentric orbit that takes it from 0.88 AU from the Sun (i.e. 88% of the average distance at which the Earth orbits the Sun) to 1.89 AU from the Sun (i.e. 189% of the average distance at which the Earth orbits the Sun, considerably outside orbit of the planet Mars). It is therefore classed as an Apollo Group Asteroid (an asteroid that is on average further from the Sun than the Earth, but which does get closer). This orbital path causes it to cross the orbit of Earth twice on Each circuit of the Sun, so that it sometimes has two close encounters with the Earth in a single year. It is predicted that 2014 AD16 will pass the Earth at a distance of 61 900 000 km on 28 May 2014.

See also Asteroid 2014 AK51 comes closer to the Earth than the Moon is, two days before being discovered, Asteroid 2014 AM51 passes the Earth four days before being discovered, Asteroid 2014 AY32 passes the Earth before being discovered, Asteroid 2013 UB1 passes the Earth and Asteroid 2014 AF16 passes the Earth.

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Deepwater Sharks from the Early Miocene of Slovakia.

Sharks appear in the fossil record between 450 and 420 million years ago (all possible specimens older than 420 million years old are fragmentary and disputed), and have been important marine (and in the Carboniferous and Permian, freshwater) predators ever since. They form an important part of the marine fossil record in many areas, and are occasionally used for stratigraphy (dating rocks), though often they are usually only represented by their teeth, which are mineralized and grown and shed throughout their lives, rather than their skeletons, which are comprised entirely of cartilage, and consequently have poor preservational potential.

In a paper published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica on 12 January 2012, Charles  Underwood of the Department of Earth and Planetary Science at Birkbeck College and Jan Schlogl of the Department of Geology and Paleontology at Comenius University describe a collection of deepwater Shark's teeth from the Cerová−Lieskové locality in the Malé Karpaty Mountains in Slovakia.  This is a claypit noted for a broad range of vertebrate and invertebrate fossils from the Early Miocene of the Central Paratethys Sea. These fossils are thought to be important, as while Shark teeth are well represented in the fossil record, deepwater Sharks are relatively poorly known.

Ten incomplete specimens are referred to the genus Galeus (Sawtooth Catsharks), though not assigned to any species. These are small specimens, the largest being about 0.7 mm. The genus Galeus first appears in the fossil record in the Early Miocene of France, and is widespread in the Atlantic and Pacific today.

Teeth assigned to the genus Galeus from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. (A) Anterolateral tooth in labial (A₁) and lingual (A₂) views. (B) Anterolateral tooth in labial view. (C) Posterior tooth in labial view. (D) Anterior tooth in labial view. (E) Anterolateral tooth in labial view. (F) Anterolateral tooth in labial view. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

A single, 2.2 mm, broken tooth is assigned to the genus Squatina (Angel Sharks). Modern Angel Sharks are found globally in tropical and temperate seas; most species are restricted to shallow waters, though one species, the Sand Devil (Squatina dumeril) is known to migrate seasonally into deep water. Angle Sharks are flattened Sharks resembling Skates and Rays (to which they are not closely related) and living on the sea bottom. Angel Sharks are considered to belong to a separate order (Squaliformes) which first appears in the fossil record in the Late Jurassic, with members of the modern genus (Squatina) known from the Middle Cretaceous.

Partial tooth assigned to the genus Squatina from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

Three oral and one incomplete rostral teeth (rostral teeth are projections on the side of the snout of a Sawshark or Sawfish) are referred to the genus Pristiophorus (Five-gilled Sawsharks), and assigned to a new species, Pristiophorus striatus. Sawsharks resemble Sawfish (which are also Sharks), but are found in deepwater, while the Sawfish are shallow-water dwellers. The two groups are not closely related, Sawfish being related to Skates and Rays (Batoidea).  The oldest Sawsharks appear in the Lart Cretaceous of the Lebanon, about 85 million years ago, modern Sawsharks are found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as the Caribbean, though their fossil record suggests they were more widely distributed for much of the Tertiary. 

Teeth assigned to the species Pristiophorus striatus from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. (H) Lateral tooth in labial (H₁), occlusal (H₂), and basal (H₃) views. (I) Partial rostral tooth in lateral view. (J) Anterior tooth in labial (J₁), occlusal (J₂), and basal (J₃) views. (K) Lateral tooth in labial (K₁) and basal (K₂) views. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

A large number (236) of teeth are assigned to the genus Squaliolus (Pygmy Sharks or Deep-sea Dogfish), and tentatively to the species Squaliolus schaubi, a species previously described from the Miocene of France. Modern Pygmy Sharks are small deepwater species with specialized organs that house bioluminescent bacteria. They are a form of Kitefin Shark (Dalatiidae), a group that first appear in the fossil record in the Early Cretaceous of Germany.

Teeth tentatively assigned to the species Squaliolus schaubi from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. (A) Lower tooth in labial (A₁) and lingual (A₂) views. (B) Lower tooth in labial (B₁) and lingual (B₂) views. (C) Lower posterior tooth in labial (C₁) and lingual (C₂) views. (D) Male lower tooth in labial view. (E) Lower symphyseal tooth in labial (E₁) and lingual (E₂) views. (F) Lower tooth in labial (F₁) and lingual (F₂) views. Upper tooth in labial (G₁) and lingual (G₂) views. (H) Upper tooth in labial (H₁) and lingual (H₂) views. (I) Upper tooth in labial (I₁) and lingual (I₂) views. (J) Upper tooth in labial view. (K) Upper tooth in labial (K₁) and lingual (K₂) views. (L) Upper posterior tooth in labial (L₁) and lingual (L₂) views. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

Fourteen partial and complete teeth are referred to the genus Eosqualiolus, a genus of Kitefin Shark which previously contained only a single fossil species from the Eocene of France, and assigned to a new species, Eosqualiolus skrovinai, which is named after Michal Škrovina, described as the first person to encourage Jan Schlogl in to pursue an interest in palaeontology.

Teeth assigned to the species Eosqualiolus skrovinai from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. (A) Lower tooth in labial (A₁) and lingual (A₂) views. (B) Lower tooth in labial (B₁) and lingual (B₂) views. (C) Lower tooth in labial (C₁) and lingual (C₂) views. (D) Lower tooth in labial (D₁) and lingual (D₂) views. (E) Upper tooth in labial (E₁) and lingual (E₂) views. (F) Upper tooth in labial (F₁) and lingual (F₂) views. (G) Upper tooth in labial (G₁) and lingual (G₂) views. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

One, damaged, tooth is assigned to a third Kitefin Shark genus, Squaliodalatias, though not assigned to a species due to its poor condition. Fossils assigned to this genus have previously been found from the Late Cretaceous of Lithuania and the Eocene of France.

Tooth assigned to the genus Squaliodalatias from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. In labial (H₁) and lingual (H₂) views. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

Eight partial and complete teeth are assigned to the genus Etmopterus (Lantern Sharks in the family Etmopteridae), small, deepwater Sharks with light producing organs, found more-or-less globally today. The earliest known Lantern Sharks are from the Eocene of France.

Teeth assigned to the genus Etmopterus from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. (A) Lower tooth in labial (A₁) and lingual (A₂) views. (B) Lower tooth in labial (B₁) and lingual (B₂) views. (C) Lower posterior tooth in labial (C₁) and lingual (C₂) views. (D) Lower tooth in labial (A₁) and lingual (A₂) views. (E) Lower tooth in labial (E₁) and lingual (E₂) views. (F) Lower tooth in labial view. (G) Upper tooth in labial (G₁) and lingual (G₂) views. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

Ten partial and complete teeth are tentatively assigned to the genus Miroscyllium (Rasptooth Dogfish), a second type of Lantern Shark. The genus is previously known from a single modern species from the Pacific and some teeth from the Eocene of France.

Teeth tentatively assigned to the genus Miroscyllium from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. (H) Lower symphyseal tooth in labial (H₁) and lingual (H₂) views. (I) Lower tooth in labial (I₁) and lingual (I₂) views. (J) Lower lateral tooth in labial (J₁) and lingual (J₂) views. (K) Lower tooth in labial (K₁) and lingual (K₂) views. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

Fifty three partial and complete teeth are assigned to the genus Paraetmopterus, an extinct Lantern Shark previously only known from teeth from the Eocene of France, and placed in a new species, Paraetmopterus horvathi, named in honour of Juraj and Tereza Horvath and their children.

Teeth assigned to the species Paraetmopterus horvathi from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. (A) Lower tooth in labial (A₁) and lingual (A₂) views. (B) Lower tooth in labial (B₁)

and lingual (B₂) views. (C) Lower tooth in labial (C₁) and lingual (C₂) views. (D) Lower tooth in labial (D₁) and lingual (D₂) views. (E) Lower tooth in labial (E₁) and lingual (E₂) views. (F) Lower tooth in labial (F₁) and lingual (F₂) views. (G) Upper anterior tooth in labial (G₁) and lingual (G₂) views. (H) Upper tooth in labial (H₁) and lingual (H₂) views. (I) Upper tooth in labial (I₁) and lingual (I₂) views. (J) Upper tooth in labial (J₁) and lingual (J₂) views. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

A single tooth is assigned to the family Somniosidae (Sleeper Sharks), a widespread group of Sharks that first appear in the fossil record in the Late Cretaceous of Germany.

Tooth assigned to the family Somniosidae from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. In labial (K₁) and lingual (K₂) views. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

A single imperfect tooth is referred to the genus Gymnura (Butterfly Rays). Modern Butterfly Rays are typically shallow water species, often found in brackish estuarine waters. The genus has a sparse fossil record, but is known from the Palaeocene of India, spreading around Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the Eocene and reaching the Americas in the Oligocene.

Tooth assigned to the genus Gymnura from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. In occlusal (I₁) and basal (I₂) views. Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

Twenty eight complete and partial teeth are assigned to a new species, Nanocetorhinus tuberculatus, of uncertain affinities, but considered to probably be a Neoselachian (the group that includes all extant Sharks, Skates and Rays). The genus name Nanocetorhinus refers to the similarity of the teeth to those of the planktivorous Shark Cetorhinus (the Basking Shark), though these teeth are much smaller, and the specific name, tuberculatus refers to the ornamentation on the teeth.

Teeth assigned to the species Nanocetorhinus tuberculatus from the Early Miocene Cerová−Lieskové locality. (A) Tooth in labial (A₁) and lingual (A₂) views. (B) Tooth in labial (B₁) and lingual (B₂) views. (C) Tooth in labial (C₁) and lingual (C₂) views. (D) Tooth in labial (D₁) and lingual (D₂) views. (E) Tooth in labial (E₁) and lingual (E₂) views. (F) Tooth in labial (F₁) and lateral (F₂) views. (G) Tooth in labial (G₁) and lingual (G₂) views. (H) Tooth in labial (H₁) and lingual (H₂) views, detail (H₃). Underwood & Schlogl (2012).

While the majority of these Sharks belong either to extant genera or extant families, the assemblage is on the whole closer to the deepwater Sharks of the Eocene than to modern Shark assemblages, suggesting that there has been more turnover in deepwater Shark populations since the Miocene than between the Eocene and the Miocene. One remarkable feature of this assemblage is the small size of all the Sharks present; based upon the available material Underwood & Shlogl estimate that none of the Sharks were more than 40 cm in length, though they do not offer any hypothesis as to why this was the case.

See also A new species of Eagle Ray from the Northwest Pacific, A Hybodont Shark from the Middle Permian of Northern Arizona, Fossil Tapeworm eggs from the Permian, Satellite tracking Manta Rays off the coast of Mexico and New species of Catshark from the Galapaagos.

Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake beneath the Ionian Sea.

The United States Geological Survey reported a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake at a depth of 9.2 km beneath the Ionian Sea between the island of Zakynthos and the Peloponnesian (Greek) mainland, slightly after 6.10 am local time (sightly after 4.10 am GMT) on Saturday 11 January 2013. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event. 

The approximate location of the 11 January 2014 Zakynthos Earthquake. Google Maps.

Southern Greece is located on the Aegean Sea Plate, a small tectonic plate caught between the African Plate to the south, the Anatolian Plate to the east and the Eurasian Plate to the northwest. The Anatolian Plate is being pushed to the west by the northward movement of the Arabian Plate to the east, pushing the Aegean Plate south and west into collision with the northward moving African Plate. Part of the African Plate is being subducted beneath the Aegean Plate along the Hellenic Trench, Which runs to the south of the Greek Islands from Cyprus to Crete then northwest under the Ionian sea parallel to the  Peloponnesian Coast is not a smooth process, as the plates frequently stick together then break apart once the pressure has built up sufficiently, leading to (fairly frequent) Earthquakes.

See also Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake off the west coast of Crete, Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake in northern Greece, Two Earthquakes shake Central Greece, Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake under the Ionian Sea and Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake of the south coast of Crete.

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