A new species of Giant Swallowtail Butterfly from North and Central America.

Swallowtails, Papilionidae, are among the most conspicuous of American Butterflies, due to their large size and conspicuous colouration. The group has been extensively studied by taxonomists and evolutionary biologists, revealing a complex biological history, with widespread mimicry leading to a large number of cryptic species (species which resemble one-another closely, making it hard for even specialists to tell them apart) and many species that have apparently arisen through hybridization. However within the group the Tiger Swallowtails, Pterourus spp., have been the most extensively studied, with the related Giant Swallowtails, Heraclides spp., being relatively less well known.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 23 December 2014, Kojiro Shiraiwa of San Diego in California, Qian Cong of the Departments of Biophysics and Biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Nick Grishin of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Departments of Biophysics and Biochemistry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, describe a new species of Giant Swallowtail Butterfly from the southwest United States, Mexico and Central America.

The new species is named Heraclides rumiko, in honour of the wife of Kojiro Shiraiwa. The species is not described from any newly discovered populations, but rather the realization that the widespread Heraclides cresphontes, which is known from Canada to Panama, is in fact a complex of (at least) two closely related cryptic species.

Heraclide srumiko type specimens: 7–8 holotype ♂ 9–10 paratype ♀. Dorsal/ventral surfaces are in odd/even-numbered figures. Labels areshown between the images of the same specimen, exuvia and head capsules in a gelatin capsule are below,and 3-fold magnified segment of head, neck and thorax is on the left. All images are to scale (includinglabels), except the magnified insets. Shiraiwa et al. (2014).

The discovery came about following an examination of specimens from California and Indiana, which revealed differences in the patterns between the two populations. This was followed by an examination of DNA from specimens from the northeastern United States and Costa Rica, which revealed a 3% difference in genetic structure. This is not in itself enough to justify the erection of a new species, particularly in widespread species where genetic patterns are likely to vary over distance, however it did provoke a wider study in which 200 specimens from across the range of the species were examined, revealing two distinct population groups, separated by a genetic distance of 3%, but with very little difference within populations. Notably in parts of Texas both species were found living alongside one-another, suggesting that these are true species.

Facies differences between Heraclides rumiko (left, r) Heraclides cresphontes (right, c) indicated by red trianglesand lines. These differences are as follows. (1) Dark spot on forewing: (r) almost always large; (c) variable,but often weak and sometimes absent (2) Forewing margin: (r) often straight with smaller or absentmarginal spots; (c) strongly scalloped with yellow marginal spots at dips between veins (3) Forewing submarginalyellow spots: (r) smaller rarely more than three; (c) frequently larger, more than three (4) Thoraxwith: (r) yellow line running from head through patagia to tegulae; (c) spots instead of the line, or just fewyellow scales. (5) Abdomen: (r) usually with a fainter dark band; (c) often with solid dark band (6) Inneredge of black discal band on ventral hindwing: (r) mostly straight; (c) usually curved (7) Tail: (r) mostlynarrow and relatively longer; (c) typically rounder and wide, shorter. Heraclides rumikois usually smaller than Heraclides cresphontes, despite being a southern taxon. Due to significant seasonal and individual variation, noneof these characters is fully reliable and exceptions exist. The head-neck-thorax line vs. spots might be the strongest single character. A combination of characters should be used for reliable identification. Many specimens in central Texas exhibit intermediate characters, a typical character combinations, and possible hybrids can be found. Shiraiwa et al. (2014).

The original species Heraclides cresphontes is now thought to be found in southeast Canada, and the north and west of the United States, while the new species is found in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Colorado, plus across Mexico and in El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama, though it is possible that other cryptic species are hidden within these distributions.

Localities of Heraclides cresphontes and Heraclides rumiko specimens with available DNA barcode information. Colour of circles corresponds to species: Heraclides cresphontes - blue (based on 112 DNA COI barcode sequences, 103 obtained in this work); Heraclides rumiko - red (based on 183 barcodes, 146 obtained in this work), split red/blue circles mark localities where both Heraclides cresphontes and Heraclides rumiko were recorded. Type localities for taxa with available names are indicated with a corresponding name followed by “TL”. Papilio cresphontes var. maxwelli & Papilio cresphontes pennsylvanicus are treated as junior subjective synonyms of Heraclides cresphontes. Countries and states (for USA andMexico) with records are labeled. Shiraiwa et al. (2014).

The eggs of Heraclides rumiko were laid singularly on young leaves of trees and shrubs from the family Rutaceae in California and Texas, the only places where the life-cycle has been observed to date. Host plants included Zanthoxylum fagara, Ptelea trifoliata, Amyris texana, Ruta graveolens, Citrus spp. and Geijera parviflora, and the species probably utilizes other plants that have not been observed. The species is particularly numerous in urban areas where widespread ornamental citruses are planted. The eggs are 1.1–1.6 mm in diameter, round and have a granular surface. They are yellowish when laid, but turn orange as they mature.

Eggs of Heraclides rumiko. Shiraiwa et al. (2014).

The eggs hatch 7-10 days after being laid, the larva eating the egg after hatching. The first instar (an instar is a stage in the life of an Insect, separated from other instars by moults) is 3-5 mm long, hairy, glossy and mottled brown, generally resembling a Bird dropping. The second instar is 5-11 mm long, the third 11-16 mm, the fourth 16-30 mm, the fifth instar 30-50 mm. The fifth instar is matt rather than glossy in appearance, and is followed by pupation. Under ideal conditions the caterpillar can progress from hatching to pupation in about nine days.

Fifth instar caterpillars of Heraclides rumiko. Shiraiwa et al. (2014).

While the caterpillars of Heraclides rumiko are primarily protected by camouflage, resembling a Bird dropping, they also have a pair of eyespots on their meta-thoraxes, which can be revealed suddenly by raising the head and inflating the thorax, a defensive strategy employed when the caterpillar is startled.

Defensive posture of a caterpillar of Heraclides rumiko. Shiraiwa et al. (2014).

 

Towards the end of its fifth instar the caterpillar changes colour, becoming paler and more uniform. This apparently improves the camoflage as it leaves the leafy parts of the plant and travels on woody branches, looking for a suitable place to pupate. The pupae are 26-36 mm in length, and mottled greyish or dark brown, mimicking the colour of the branch on which they rest to some extent (i.e. pupae on greenish branches are greener, on dark-coloured branches are darker, etc.). Adults can emerge in one to two weeks, but the pupae can also act as the overwintering stage, going into diapause (hybernation) for several months.

Pupae of Heraclides rumiko on different coloured stems. Shiraiwa et al. (2014).

Adults of Heraclides rumiko are present throughout most of the year, being absent only in the coldest months. In southern Texas they are seen on the wing from April till September, going through emergence peaks every 1.5 months, though this can be affected by the severity of the winter or variations in rainfall. In southern California the adults are present from February till mid November, being most abundant in August and September.

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A fossil Porpoise from the Early Pliocene of Antwerp Harbour.

Porpoises, Phocoenidae, are small Dolphins, Delphinida, found today across most of the world’s oceans, but with a fossil record restricted almost entirely to the North Pacific. Only a single fossil species from outside the Pacific Basin has been described, Septemtriocetus bosselaersi from Pliocene sediments at Verrebroek Dock in Antwerp Harbour, Belgium, with a few isolated bones tentatively assigned to the group from the Miocene of Malta and the Pliocene of Italy.

In a forthcoming paper in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica available online from 14 December 2014, Wouter Colpaert of the Research UnitPalaeontology at the Universiteit Gent and Mark Bosselaers and Olivier Lambert of the Department of Terre et Histoire de la Vie at the Institut royal desSciences naturelles de Belgique, describe a second species of fossil Porpoise from Antwerp Harbour, collected from the slightly earlier Kattendijk Formation on the left bank of the River Scheldt at the entrance of the Beveren Tunnel.

The specimen was collected in several fragments by Robert Marquet, a volunteer palaeontologist at the Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique. It is named Brabocetus gigasei, where ‘Brabocetus’ means ‘Brabo’s Whale’, in reference to SilviusBrabo, the mythical hero who liberated the city of Antwerp from the giant Antigoon, and ‘gigasei’ honours Paul and Pierre Gigase, a father and son fossil collecting team who have for many years collected marine Mammal remains from the Antwerp area, and who donated the specimen to the Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique.

The specimen comprises a partial skull in three parts, lacking the tip of the snout as well as the the nasals, the pterygoids, and some elements of the cerebral cavity and basicranium as well as part of the left supraorbital process. The snout appears to have been more elongate than any extant Porpoise but similar to that seen in Septemtriocetus bosselaersi as well as in some other extinct Porpoises (Lomacetus, Piscolithax and probably Salumiphocaena), however unlike in these species (which are not all closely related) the snout in the two Belgian species is shorter than the cranium. However Colpaert et al. note that this analysis is based upon a reconstruction of the missing parts of the skull, and cannot be considered reliable without additional material being found.

Skull of Brabocetus gigasei,from the Pliocene of northern Belgium, in dorsal view.Photo (A) and corresponding line drawing (B). Dotted lines indicate reconstructed parts and poorly visible structures. Dark grey surfaces indicate fracture surfaces. Light grey surface indicates the original position of the lost right nasal. Scale bar is 50 mm. Colpaert et al. (2014).

A phylogenetic reconstruction of known members of the Phocoenidae suggests that while Brabocetus gigaseiis closely related to Septemtriocetus bosselaersi, both being members of an extinct group of Porpoises which also includes several Pacific species, it is not the closest relative of that species, which is more closely related to five North Pacific species than it is to the new member of the group. It is not closely related to the modern Harbour Porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, the only modern Porpoise found in the North Sea.

Consensus tree of the 27 most parsimonious trees, showing the phylogenetic relationships of Brabocetus gigasei with other extinct and extant Phocoenids. † indicates extinct taxon. IO, Indian Ocean; NA, North Atlantic; NP, North Pacific; NS, North Sea; SA, South Atlantic; SO, southern oceans; SP, South Pacific; 1, 1', and 1'' correspond to a first trans-Arctic migration scenario with three successive dispersals to the North Sea. 2, 2', and 2'' correspond to a second scenario with two dispersals to the North Sea (2, 2'') and a dispersal back to the North Pacific (2'). Colpaert et al. (2014).

This leads to two possible evolutionary scenarios, each of which are considered equally likely. Either Brabocetus gigasei and Septemtriocetus bosselaersi (or close ancestors of these species) migrated from the North Pacific to the North Sea via the Arctic Ocean separately, or the common ancestor of these two species made a similar migration, with the common ancestor of the more derived members of the group subsequently migrating back to the North Pacific.

The modern Phocoena phocoena is thought to have reached the North Sea much later, part of a recent global expansion which saw members of the group migrate from the North Pacific across the world’s oceans, and which coincides with a similar global expansion of other Dolphin groups.

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A fossil Porpoise from the early Pliocene of northern Hokkaido Island, Japan.

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Magnitude 2.9 Earthquake near Winchester in Hampshire, England.

The British Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 2.9 Earthquake at a depth of 3 km, roughly 3 km to the north of Winchester in Hampshire, England, at about 6.30 pm on Tuesday 27 January 2015. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, but people have reported feeling the event from as far away as Bath, roughly 80 km to the northwest of the epicenter. 

 The epicenter of the 27 January 2015 Hampshire Earthquake, and places where people have reported feeling the event. British Geological Survey.

Earthquakes become more common as you travel north and west in Great Britain, with the west coast of Scotland being the most quake-prone part of the island and the northwest of Wales being more prone  to quakes than the rest of Wales or most of England. However, while quakes in southern England are less frequent, they are often larger than events in the north, as tectonic presures tend to build up for longer periods of time between events, so that when they occur more pressure is released.

The precise cause of Earthquakes in the UK can be hard to determine; the country is not close to any obvious single cause of such activity such as a plate margin, but is subject to tectonic pressures from several different sources, with most quakes probably being the result of the interplay between these forces.

Britain is being pushed to the east by the expansion of the Atlantic Ocean and to the north by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south. It is also affected by lesser areas of tectonic spreading beneath the North Sea, Rhine Valley and Bay of Biscay. Finally the country is subject to glacial rebound; until about 10 000 years ago much of the north of the country was covered by a thick layer of glacial ice (this is believed to have been thickest on the west coast of Scotland), pushing the rocks of the British lithosphere down into the underlying mantle. This ice is now gone, and the rocks are springing (slowly) back into their original position, causing the occasional Earthquake in the process.

(Top) Simplified diagram showing principle of glacial rebound. Wikipedia. (Bottom) Map showing the rate of glacial rebound in various parts of the UK. Note that some parts of England and Wales show negative values, these areas are being pushed down slightly by uplift in Scotland, as the entire landmass is quite rigid and acts a bit like a see-saw. Climate North East.

Witness accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events, and the structures that cause them. If you felt this quake, or were in the area but did not (which is also useful information) then you can report it to the British Geological Survey here.

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Fire at natural gas well in Smith County Mississippi.

Fire fighters in Smith County Mississppi are reportedly fighting a fire at a natural gas well in the Boykin Church Oil Field (which produces oil and gas) after a piece of equipment overheated and caused the well head to catch fire. Five workers were at the site at the time of the incident, though all are reported to be unharmed. The well is not thought to be emiting any hazardous chemicals, though it may not be possible to extinguish the fire without shutting off the gas supply. Well owners Pan Southern Petroleum have reportedly requested help with the fire from a specialist fire fighting company from Houston, Texas.

 Fire at the Smith County wellhead. Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

The well is not though to present any pollution hazard at the current time, but the Mississippi Deparment of Environmental Quailty has implemented a number of precautionary procedures to protect a nearby creek, including constructing a berm (raised barrier to prevent the flow of fluids), adding a silt fence (fence designed to stop sediment movements), and placing a boom in the water.

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A new species of Ixodid Tick from southern Brazil.

Ixodid Ticks of the genus Amblyomma are parasites of Mammals found on all continents except Europe and Antarctica, but at their most diverse in South America, with 31 species described from Brazil alone (46% of all known Tick species from Brazil). These Ticks are known to be vectors for a variety of zoonotic diseases (diseases which typically infect animals but which can also spread to humans), particularly members of the genus Rickettsia (Gram Negative Bacteria which cause diseases such as Typhus, African Tick Fever and Rocky Mountain Fever - but not rickets, which is a form of malnutrition).

In a paper published in the Journal of Medical Entomology in January 2015, Felipe Krawczak and Thiago Martins of the Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health at the University of São Paulo, Caroline Oliveira of the Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine at the Federal University of Santa Maria, Linda Binder and Francisco Costa, also of the Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health at the University of São Paulo, Pablo Nunes of the Institute of Biosciences at São Paulo StateUniversity, and Fábio Gregori and Marcelo Labruna, again of the Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health at the University of São Paulo, describe a new species of Amblyomma from the Parque Estadual do Turvo Atlantic Rainforest Reserve in Rio Grande do Sul State in southern Brazil, discovered as part of an investigation into the ecology of Tick-borne Spotted Fever.

The new species is named Amblyomma yucumense, in reference to the Yucumã Falls, on the Uruguay River in the Parque Estadual do Turvo. The species is described from ten adult males and nine adult females collected from vegetation and thirty-three nymphs (juveniles) collected from five species of small Mammals; Didelphis aurita (the Big Eared Opposum), Sooretamys angouya (the Paraguayan Rice Rat), Euryoryzomys russatus (the Russet Rice Rat), Akodon montensis (the Montane Grass Mouse) and Oxymycterus judex (Judge's Burrowing Mouse). Males ranged from 4.13 mm to 5.36 mm in length, and were roughly oval in shape and brown in colour with pale orange markings. Females ranged from 3.18 mm to 4.79 mm in length, and were more elliptical in shape, with a brown colouration with large yellow markings.

Dorsal view of the adult stages of Amblyomma yucumense (A) male and (B) female. Krawczak et al. (2015).  

The absence of adult Amblyomma yucumense specimens on the small Mammals examined, combined with the presence of adults on vegetation strongly suggests that the adults have a different host preference to the juveniles. The adults collected were all found on vegetation between 50 cm and 80 cm above the ground, and frequently alongside specimens of Amblyomma incisum, which is known to parasitize Tapirs, Tapirus terrestris, large Mammals (i.e. more than 80 cm high), known to inhabit the area and to utilize paths close to the plants upon which the ticks were collected, strongly suggesting that this is the usual host species for adult Amblyomma yucumense also.

Scanning electron microscope image of a female specimen of Amblyomma yucumense in dorsal view. Scale bar is 400 μm. Krawczak et al. (2015).

A genetic analysis of the phylogeny of Amblyomma yucumense suggests that it is most closely related to Amblyomma coelebs, the ecology of which is unclear, and also closely related to Amblyomma dubitatum, a species which it resembles closely, but which is known to target Capybaras, Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris; neither Amblyomma dubitatum nor Capybaras were found in the area where Amblyomma yucumensewas discovered, ruling out this Mammal as a host species for adults of the species, and suggesting that changes in host species preference might be linked to speciation within the group.

Scanning electron microscope image of a female specimen of Amblyomma yucumense, showing the head and mouthparts in ventral view. Scale bar is 200 μm. Krawczak et al. (2015).

Amblyomma yucumenseis currently known only from the Parque Estadual do Turvo Atlantic Rainforest Reserve in Rio Grande do Sul State in southern Brazil, however this park is contiguous with a larger area of rainforest in northern Argentina, making it highly likely that the species is found there also.

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Nine new species of Crab Spiders from Africa.                                                                       Crab Spiders of the genus Mystaria are found in Africa from Guinea in the west to Ethiopia in the east and south to Cape Province in South Africa. They are ambush hunters, lying in wait for prey on plants in a wide variety of environments, from forest canopies to...

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The fate of soil microbes during the End Permian Extinction.

The End Permian Extinction is the most severe extinction event recorded in the fossil record, with the loss of around 96% of all known species, and many dominant Palaeozoic groups of organisms. The event led to the effective resetting of the Earth’s biosphere, enabling the emergence of a radically different Mesozoic Biota. The event is thought to have been caused by massive volcanism in the Siberian Traps, which not only produced huge emissions of lava and volcanic gasses at the surface, but ignited vast areas of buried Palaeozoic coals and hydrocarbons, leading to massive emissions of acidic and halogenic gas, which in turn resulted in bouts of severe acid rain and the breakdown of the ozone layer, allowing harmful ultraviolet light to reach the Earth’s surface.

A widespread increase in the mutation rate seen in Lycopsid microspores at the end of the Permian has long been seen as evidence of the mutagenic influence of ultraviolet radiation on End Permian ecosystems, but widespread soil acidification is harder to detect. Such an event would be expected to wash acid-soluble metallic plant nutrients such as aluminium, calcium and magnesium out of soils, as well as cause a rapid increase in erosion (and marine sedimentation) rates, due to a loss of soil cohesion; however while both of these have been recorded, they could both also be caused by a variety of other phenomena, making them inconclusive evidence.

In a paper published in the journal Geology on 7 January 2015, Mark Sephton and Dan Jiao of the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London, Michael Engel of the School of Geology and Geophysics at The University of Oklahoma, Cindy Looy of the Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Paleontology at the University of California–Berkeley and Henk Visscher of the Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology at the Department of EarthSciences at Utrecht University, describe the results of an investigation into the breakdown of lignin at the Vigo Meano Section in northern Italy.

The Vigo Meano Section is thought to provide the most detailed record of the molecular composition of solvent-extractable organic matter from across the Permian/Triassic boundary. The section comprises organic-rich marls (calcium-rich clays, likely to have been formed in an inshore marine environment with high ground runoff) that are not thought to have been influenced by any subsequent metamorphic heating. This section has been used in several prior studies of geochemistry across the Permian/Triassic boundary, and has extremely well constrained dates.

Lignin (the major component of plant fibres) is largely broken down by enzymes excreted into the environment by Fungi and Bacteria. This breakdown process results in lignin breaking down to vanillin (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde), which then breaks down to vanillic acid (4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzoic acid), which is further broken down into protocatechuic acid (3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid), which can be broken down further into a variety of products by a range of soil microbes. Because vanillin is widely used as flavouring in the food industry (vanilla), this breakdown process has been extensively studied in investigations into food spoiling and is very well understood.

Soil bacteria are known to be very sensitive to fluctuations in pH (in chemistry the pH is a reflection of the acidity or alkalinity of a substance, with neutral substances such as pure water having a pH of 7 and more acid substances having lower pHs), with even small changes in acidity leading to major differences in species composition, and much poorer and less diverse bacterial flora found in acid soils. Fungi are far more tolerant, with many common soil species able to survive large fluctuations in soil pH. However the enzymes used to break down vanillin are at their most effective when the soil pH is about 8, and cease activity at about pH 4, with the effect that few soil fungi can survive long at pHs below about 4.5.

Sephtonet al. reasoned that since this is the case, it should be possible to detect any sudden and dramatic increase in soil acidity acid during the end-Permian biotic crisis due to an increase in vanillin and vanillic acid in sediments at this time. Moreover since both compounds are readily biodegradable even under anaerobic conditions, they should not persist for long in the marine environment, making for a close relationship between spikes in soil acidity and sediment composition.

Results mass spectrography analysis for vanillin and vanillic acid across the Permian/Triassic boundary at Vigo Meano show a number of peaks in presence of the two chemicals, including a sustained peak across the major extinction episodes and Permian/Triassic boundary, which suggests the occurrence of pulses of soil acidification so severe that an almost complete cessation of biodegradation must have occurred not just within the soil, but during the transportation and sedimentation process, strongly supporting the idea that the soils were exposed to bouts of rainfall with pHs as low as 4 and possibly lower than 2 (strong enough to cause acid burns to exposed skin) during the end Permian biotic crisis.

Ratios of vanillic acid to vanillin [acid to aldehyde ratio, (Ad/Al)v] in latest Permian and earliest Triassic organic matter assemblagesfrom the VigoMeano section (southern Alps, Italy), providing proxy evidence for pulses of soil acidification (pH < 4 ).VG, Val Gardena Formation; PTB, approximate positionof the Permian-Triassic boundary; extinctions, interval of principal marine extinction and floral turnover in southern Alps; d13C, position ofend-Permian negative carbon-isotope shift in southern Alps. Letters at bottom of stratigraphic column, from left to right, correspond to clay, silt, fine sand, medium sand, and coarse sand, respectively. Sephton et al. (2015).

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The cause of the end-Permian extinction.

The Earth has been dominated by multi-cellular life forms (animals...

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One dead following explosion at North Dakota oil well.

One man has died and another was injured following an explosion at a QEP Resources owned oil well near Mandaree on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota on 13 January 2015. The man who died has been named as Wes Herrman from Conyers, Georgia, the owner of service company Legendary Field Services, and the second man is understood to be an employee of the same company. The men are understood to have been carrying out a routine operation at the time of the incident, removing a tube from the well heater, when fluid in the pipe ignited for some reason, engulfing the men in a fireball. Mr Herrman was air-lifted to the St. Paul Regional Burn Center but died the following day. The incident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

 Wes Herrman of Legendary Field Services. Grand Fork Herald.

This is the first oil industry death in North Dakota this year, the most recent incident having occurred on 18 November 2014. However the industry is becoming a cause of rising concern, and since 2010 has accounted for half of all industrial deaths in the state. An oil boom in North Dakota led to tens of thousands of people migrating in search of work, with many living in trailer parks, prefabricated barracks-style buildings or even sleeping in tents or cars.

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