Scipionyx

Scipionyx (pronounced "SHIH-pee-oh-nicks" or "ship-ee-OH-nicks") is a genus of compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Italy, around 113 million years ago.
There is only one fossil known of "Scipionyx", discovered in 1981 by an amateur paleontologist and brought to the attention of science in 1993. In 1998 the type species "Scipionyx samniticus" was named, the generic name meaning "Scipio's claw". The find generated much publicity because of the unique preservation of large areas of petrified soft tissue and internal organs such as muscles and intestines. The fossil shows many details of these, even the internal structure of some muscle and bone cells. It was also the first dinosaur found in Italy. Because of the importance of the specimen, it has been intensely studied.
The fossil is that of a juvenile only half a metre (twenty inches) long and perhaps just three days old. The adult size is estimated to have been about two metres (6.5 feet). "Scipionyx" was a bipedal predator, its horizontal rump balanced by a long tail. Its body was probably covered by primitive feathers but these have not been found in the fossil, that is without any skin remains.
In the guts of the fossil some half-digested meals are still present, indicating "Scipionyx" ate lizards and fish. Perhaps these had been fed to the young animal by its parents. Several scientists have tried to learn from the position of the internal organs how "Scipionyx" breathed, but their conclusions often disagree.
History of discovery and naming.
"Scipionyx" was discovered in the spring of 1981 by Giovanni Todesco, an amateur paleontologist, in the small "Le Cavere" quarry at the edge of the village of Pietraroja, approximately seventy kilometers northeast of Naples. The specimen was preserved in the marine Pietraroja Formation, well known for unusually well-conserved fossils. Todesco thought the remains belonged to an extinct bird. He prepared the strange discovery in the basement of his house in San Giovanni Ilarione near Verona, removing, without the use of any optical instrument, part of the chalk matrix from the top of the bones and covering them with vinyl glue. He strengthened the stone plate by adding pieces to its rim and on one of these he added a fake tail made from polyester resin as that of the fossil was largely lacking because he had failed to recover it completely. In early 1993 Todesco, who had nicknamed the animal "cagnolino", "little doggie", after its toothy jaws, brought the specimen to the attention of paleontologist Giorgio Teruzzi of the "Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano", who identified it as the juvenile of a theropod dinosaur and nicknamed it "Ambrogio" after the patron saint of Milan, Ambrose. Not being an expert in the field of dinosaur studies himself, he called in the help of colleague Father Giuseppe Leonardi. In Italy such finds are by law State property and Todesco was convinced by science reporter Franco Capone to report the discovery to the authorities: on 15 October 1993 Todesco personally delivered the fossil to the Archaeological Directorship at Naples. The specimen was added to the collection of the regional "Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici di Salerno, Avellino, Benevento e Caserta" in Salerno, to which it officially still belongs; on 19 April 2002 it was given its own display at the "Museo Archeologico di Benevento".
In 1993 Teruzzi and Leonardi scientifically reported the find, which generated some publicity as it was the very first dinosaur found in Italy. The popular magazine "Oggi" simultaneously nicknamed the animal "Ciro", a typical Neapolitan boy's name, an idea by chief-editor Pino Aprile. In 1994 Leonardi published a larger article about the discovery. In 1995 Marco Signore of the University of Naples Federico II submitted a thesis containing a lengthy description of the fossil, in which he named it "Dromaeodaimon irene". Because the thesis was unpublished this remained an invalid "nomen ex dissertatione". Meanwhile, in Salerno, Sergio Rampinelli had begun a further preparation of the fossil, during three hundred hours of work removing the fake tail, replacing the vinyl glue with a modern resin preservative and finishing the uncovering of the bones. On this occasion it was discovered that large parts of the soft tissues had been preserved.
In 1998, "Ciro" because of this made the front cover of "Nature", when the type species "Scipionyx samniticus" was named and described by Marco Signore and Cristiano Dal Sasso. The generic name "Scipionyx" comes from the Latin name "Scipio" and the Greek ὄνυξ, "onyx", the combination meaning "Scipio's claw". "Scipio" refers to both Scipione Breislak, the 18th century geologist who wrote the first description of the formation in which the fossil was found and Scipio Africanus, the famous Roman consul fighting Hannibal. The specific name "samniticus" means "From Samnium", the Latin name of the region around Pietraroja. Several other names had been considered but rejected, such as "Italosaurus", "Italoraptor" and "Microraptor". The last name has since been used for a genus of "four-winged" dromaeosaurid discovered in China a few years later.
The holotype, SBA-SA 163760, dates from the early Albian, about 110 million years old, and consists of an almost complete skeleton of a juvenile individual, lacking only the end of the tail, the lower legs and the claw of the right second finger. Extensive soft tissues have been preserved but no parts of the skin or any integument such as scales or feathers.
In view of the exceptional importance of the find, between December 2005 and October 2008 the fossil was intensively studied in Milan resulting in a monograph by dal Sasso and Simone Maganuco published in 2011, containing the most extensive description of a single dinosaur species ever.
Description.
Size.
The holotype of "Scipionyx" represents a very small individual, the preserved length being just 237 millimetres. In 2011 dal Sasso & Maganuco estimated its total length, including the missing tail section, at 461 millimetres. The specimen was not much smaller than known embryos or hatchlings of "Lourinhasaurus" and "Allosaurus", theropods of considerable magnitude. However, given its affinities with the Compsognathidae, it is likely that the adult size of "Scipionyx" did not surpass that of the largest known compsognathid, "Sinocalliopteryx" of 237 centimetres length. As the hatchling would have fitted within an egg about eleven centimetres long and six centimetres wide, this would have implied a rather high egg size compared to the adult body length.
General build.
Because the holotype is a hatchling of perhaps only a few days old, it is hard to determine the build of the adult animal but some general conclusions can be reliably made. "Scipionyx" was a small bipedal predator. Its horizontal rump was balanced by a long tail. The neck was relatively long and slender. The hindlimbs and especially the forelimbs were rather elongated. Dal Sasso & Maganuco considered it likely that a coat of primitive protofeathers was present, as these are also known from some direct relatives.
Diagnostic traits.
The 2011 study established eight unique derived traits or autapomorphies in which "Scipionyx" differed from its closest relatives. The praemaxilla has five teeth. Where the parietal and the frontal bone make contact, the depression in which the supratemporal fenestra, a skull roof opening, was present, shows a sinuous ridge on the postorbital. The lower branch of the squamosal has a rectangular end. The wrist consists of just two, superimposed, bones: a radial and a lower element formed by a fusion of the first and second carpal. This last element has the shape of a lens, not a crescent; is flattened; and is fused seamlessly. The first finger is conspicuously elongated, 23% longer than the third finger. The notch in the front edge of the ilium is directed to the front and only weakly developed. The front edge of the ischium shaft has a long obturator process with a rectangular end.
Skull.
The skull of the holotype is large, compared to the size of the body, and short with very large eye-sockets. This is largely due to its young age. Accordingly, the semi-circular antorbital fenestra, the normally largest skull opening, is short too and smaller than the eye-socket. In front of it two smaller openings are present: the maxillary and promaxillary. The snout is pointed with a low rounded tip. The premaxilla, the bone forming the front of the snout, carries five teeth. The maxilla behind it, is deep with a very short front branch. It carries seven teeth. The depression in its surface for the antorbital opening is bounded by a ridge. The lacrimal is robust and lacks a horn; its side is not pierced by a foramen. The prefrontal is exceptionally large, forming a large part of the front upper edge of the eye-socket. The frontal bones have a transverse ridge at their back. Between the frontals and the parietals the skull roof over a limited distance has not closed yet, resulting in a conspicuous diamond-shaped opening, a fontanelle that was first mistaken for damage inflicted on the fossil during the first preparation. On its inner side the supratemporal fenestra has no depression, being bounded by a high edge of the parietal. The jugal has no front vertical branch towards the lacrimal. The quadrate bone has on its front edge a large wing-like expansion, touching the pterygoid. The bones of the braincase are largely inaccessible but a small inner ear opening, the "recessus tympanicus dorsalis", is visible. The underside of the braincase lacks an inflated part or "bulla".
The lower jaw is straight and elongated. The jaw bone is rather low: the specimen creates the illusion of a strong jaw because the left jaw is visible below the right one. It bears ten teeth. In the 1998 description a part of the splenial was mistaken for a supradentarium and the angular was misidentified as the surangular because in the fossil it had been displaced upwards, creating the false impression an external mandibular fenestra, an opening in the outer side of the jaw, would be present.
"Scipionyx" has five teeth in the premaxilla, seven in the maxilla and ten in the dentary of the lower jaw for a total of twenty-two per side and a grand total for the head of forty-four. The number of five premaxillary teeth is surprising, as a total of four is normal for compsognathids: otherwise, only some Carnosauria have five. Due to the young age of the specimen, the tooth replacement cycle had not started yet, causing a perfect dental symmetry between the left and the right jaws. The teeth lack the typical compsognathid shape with a suddenly recurving apex of the tooth crown. Instead, in general they curve gradually; only the largest teeth show something of a "kink". Exceptionally, the tooth row of the lower jaw extends further to the back than that of the upper jaw. The premaxillary teeth are pointed and lack denticles. The first four have an oval cross-section; the fifth is more flattened near its apex. The second and fifth teeth are the largest. The maxillary teeth are flattened with denticles on their trailing edges. The second and fourth maxillary teeth are the largest; the latter being the largest tooth of all. Of the ten teeth of the lower jaw, the first two are rather straight with an oval cross-section and lack denticles. The third tooth has denticles at its base and a flatter top; the other seven are more recurved and flattened along their entire height; gradually the denticles reach the apex.
Postcrania.
The vertebral column of "Scipionyx" probably includes ten cervical vertebrae and thirteen dorsal vertebrae; due to the fact the specimen is just a hatchling, the differentiation between the two categories has not fully developed, making any distinction rather arbitrary. With certainty five sacral vertebrae are present. The fossil has preserved just nine tail vertebrae; likely fifty or more had been originally present. The neck vertebrae are opisthocoelous. The axis is pneumatised as a pneumatopore, an opening through which a diverticulum of the air sack of the neck base could reach its hollow interior, is visible on its side. The third, fourth and fifth vertebrae also show pneumatopores but the consecutive series lacks them, which is surprising as it had been assumed the pneumatisation process would have started at the back, working itself forward. Contrary to what was stated by the 1998 study, the cervical ribs are very elongated, with a length of up to three vertebral centra.
The vertebrae of the back are not pneumatised. They are amphiplatyan with an oval cross-section and bear low spines with a hexagonal profile. Just below the top of the spine on the front and back edge a small beak-shaped process is present. In 1998 interpreted as a reduced hyposphene-hypantrum complex, a system of secondary vertebral joints shown by many theropods, it was by the 2011 study seen as a pair of attachment points for tendons, as identified in 2006 in "Compsognathus". Exceptionally, with the thirteenth vertebra the two rib joint processes, the parapophysis and the diapophysis, are positioned at the same level. The five sacral vertebrae have not yet fused into a real sacrum. The tail vertebrae are platycoelous with low spines and backward slanting chevrons.
There are at least twelve pairs of dorsal ribs; some displaced elements might represent a thirteenth pair. The third and fourth rib have expanded lower ends that in life probably were attached to cartilaginous sternal ribs, themselves connected to sterna that in the holotype specimen have not (yet) ossified. The lower rump is covered by a basket of eighteen pairs of gastralia or belly ribs. Mysterious shaft parts present near the forelimbs are by Dal Sasso & Maganuco interpreted as the remains of a nineteenth frontmost element consisting of two completely fused shafts homologous to the normal medial elements of a pair of gastralia; such a chevron-like bone has also been reported with "Juravenator". The gastralia form a herringbone pattern, the left and right medial elements overlapping each other at their forked ends in order that the basket can expand and contract to accommodate the breathing movements of the abdomen.
The scapula is relatively straight and about six to seven times longer than wide; its upper end is missing. Its lower end is connected to a semicircular coracoid. The furcula is broad and more or less U-shaped with its two branches angled at 125°. The forelimb is rather long; its length is equal to 48% of the body length in front of the pelvis. Especially the hand is elongated as is typical for compsognathids; for a member of that group "Scipionyx" has a relatively short hand, however. The humerus is straight with a moderately developed deltopectoral crest. The ulna is slender and cylinder-shaped with a length of 70% of that of the humerus. The wrist consists of two elements only: a radial bone capping the lower end of the radius and a disc-shaped bone below it; this is either the enlarged first lower carpal or a perfect seamless fusion of the first and second lower carpal. The metacarpus is compact and moderately elongated. Its three elements mirror the shape of the fingers they bear: the first is the shortest en thickest; the second the longest; and the third is intermediate in length and thickness. The third finger is exceptionally long for a comspognathid, with 123% of thumb length. As the lower joint of the first metacarpal is bevelled, the thumb diverges medially. Its claw is no larger than that of the second finger. The hand claws are moderately curved.
In the pelvis the ilium is short and flat with a slightly convex upper profile. The back end is rectangular, the front edge has an appending hook-shaped point and near its top a circular notch, a trait that is usually considered a synapomorphy of the Tyrannosauroidea. The pubic bone points almost vertically downwards and is thus "mesopubic" or "orthopubic". It is relatively short with about two thirds of the length of the femur. It has a short "foot" shaped like a golf club. The ischium has three quarters the length of the pubis, set at an angle of 54° to it. It ends in a small expansion. On the front of its shaft a large hatchet-shaped obturator process is present, the attachment for the "Musculus puboischiofemoralis externus", that lacks a small circular notch between its lower edge and the shaft, though this lack is normally associated with the possession of a lower triangular "processus obturatorius".
Of the hindlimb, the lower leg is missing. The femur or thigh bone is straight and robust. The lesser trochanter is markedly lower than the greater trochanter and separated from it by a narrow cleft. It has the shape of a wing-like expansion to the front. An accessory or posterior trochanter is lacking; likewise a fourth trochanter on the back shaft is absent. The tibia has only a weak cnemial crest, separated from its outer condyle by a deep narrow groove, the "incisura tibialis". The fibula is broad on top but has a slender shaft.
Soft tissues.
The holotype preserves an exceptionally large set of soft tissues for a fossil dinosaur. Although some muscle tissue ("Santanaraptor", "Pelecanimimus"), cartilage ("Juravenator", "Aucasaurus") or an intestine ("Mirischia") have been reported from other dinosaurs, "Scipionyx" is unique in preserving in some form examples from most major internal organ groups: blood, blood vessels, cartilage, connective tissues, bone tissue, muscle tissue, horn sheaths, the respiratory system and the digestive system. Nervous tissue and the external skin, including possible scales or feathers, are absent.
The soft tissues are not present in the form of imprints but as three-dimensional petrifications, having been replaced by calcium phosphate in amazing detail, even to the subcellular level; or as transformed remains of the original biomolecular components.
Bone tissue.
The original bone tissue is no longer present but the calcium phosphate mineralisation has preserved the structure of original bone cells, showing individual osteocytes including their inner hollow spaces and the "canaliculi". Also the internal blood vessels of the bone have been preserved, in some cases still empty inside. On some bones, including some of the skull and lower jaws, the periosteum is still visible.
Ligaments and cartilage.
From the ninth cervical vertebra to the back, the vertebral joints show the remains of articular capsules. Between the spines at places very thin interspinal and supraspinal ligaments are visible. Six vertebrae are visibly capped by cartilaginous synchondroses, a typical juvenile feature. Cartilaginous caps are also present on all limb joints, even the smallest, and are especially thick in the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints. Also the pubic foot is capped and the ilium and pubic bone are separated by cartilage.
Respiratory system.
Of the respiratory system little has been preserved. No traces of the lungs have survived, nor of any air sacks. The sole element still present consists of a seven millimetre long piece of the trachea of which about ten tracheal rings are visible, the most anterior of which are open at the top, giving them a C-shape. They have an average length of 0.33 millimetres and are separated by 0.17 millimetre thick interspaces. The trachea is quite thin, with a preserved width of one millimetre about half as wide as would be expected for an animal the size of the holotype, and positioned rather low in the neck base, embedded in connective tissue.
Liver, heart, spleen and thymus.
In the front part of the thorax a conspicuous red halo is visible, forming a roughly circular stain with a diameter of seventeen millimetres. In 1998 it was suggested this might represent the remains of the decayed liver, a blood-rich organ. That the red pigment was indeed derived from blood, confirmed in 2011: a scanning electron microscope analysis indicated that the substance consisted of limonite, hydrated iron oxide, a likely transformation product of the original haemoglobin. Also biliverdine was present, a bile component expected in the liver. The blood might also partly have originated from the heart and the spleen, two similarly blood-rich organs, with reptiles positioned between the two lobes of the liver.
Another organ in the thorax, traces of which might be present, is the thymus, which might have contributed to a greyish mass of organic origin visible in the neck base; this also contains connective and muscle tissue.
Digestive system.
The digestive tract can mostly be traced, either because the intestines are still present or by the presence of food items. The position of the oesophagus is indicated by a five millimetre long series of small food particles. Below the ninth dorsal vertebra the location of the stomach is shown by a cluster of bones of prey animals, the organ itself likely having been dissolved by its own stomach acid shortly after death. The rather backward position of the cluster suggests the stomach was dual in structure, with a forward enzyme-secreting proventriculus preceding a muscular gizzard. Gastroliths have not been reported.
Just behind the presumed position of the stomach a very conspicuous large and thick intestine is visible, that has been identified as the duodenum. It is preserved partly in the form of a natural endocast, partly as a petrification still showing the cellular structure, including the mucosa and connective tissue. Some mesenteric blood vessels cover the intestine in the form of up to a centimetre long and 0.02 to 0.1 millimetre wide hollow tubes. The duodenum forms a large loop, the descending part of which first is directed downwards towards the gastralia and then runs to the back. There in a sharp bend, the folds of which are clearly visible, it turns to the front, proceeding as an ascending tract, its visible part ending near the stomach. At this point the tract is directed to the left of the body, perpendicular to the fossil slab, and its course can thus no longer be followed. Nearby and slightly above, a subsequent intestine part surfaces that has been interpreted as the jejunum. This thinner intestine turns to the back, running parallel to the ascending tract of the duodenum and ultimately disappearing under it, at the level of the twelfth dorsal vertebra. Apparently a loop to the front is made because it resurfaces below the tenth dorsal vertebra, first running upwards and then turning to the back below the hind vertebral column — or at places even over it: probably after death its position partly shifted upwards. The jejunum seems to blend with an exceptionally short ileum. A contraction below the thirteenth dorsal vertebra might indicate the transition to the rectum. A caecum seems absent. The rectum runs to the back between the upper shafts of the pubes and ischia. Then it bends downwards parallel to the ischium shaft, at the end of it turning upwards again. In this final part faeces are still present. The cloaca is lacking. Dal Sasso & Maganuco suggested the cloaca exit was rather low, at the level of the ischial feet and that a rectocoprodaeal valve separated faeces and urine.
Between the front edge of the pubic shafts and the back of the intestines a large empty space is present. Also, the rectum seems to run in a very high position as if it were forced upwards by something. According to Dal Sasso & Maganuco, in life this space would have been filled by the yolk sac of the hatchling; on hatching the juveniles of reptiles typically have not absorbed all the yolk and use the residual nutrients to supplement the food intake during their first weeks.
Muscle tissue.
At several places on the fossil muscle tissue is present. The degree of preservation is often exceptional, with not only the individual fibres still discernible but also the individual cells and even the subcellular sarcomeres. Among dinosaur fossils such sarcomeres are only known from "Santanaraptor", whose muscle fibres are four times as thick. The original organic material has been replaced by small hollow globes, the walls of which consist of euhedric crystals of apatite.
In the grey organic mass at the neck base, muscle fibres are present that have been identified as belonging to the "Musculus sternohyoideus" and the "Musculus sternotrachealis". Between the sixth and seventh dorsal vertebra a patch of muscle fibres is visible belonging to either the "Musculus transversospinalis" or the "Musculus longissimus dorsi". In front of the right ischium muscle fibres are present running from the ischial foot in the direction of the femur. Their identity is uncertain: they could belong to the "Musculus puboischiofemoralis pars medialis" (the "Musculus adductor femoris I" of crocodiles) but in that case this muscle with (some) non-avian theropods would not be anchored on the obturator process. The fibres could also represent an unknown muscle. In any case they refute a conjecture by Gregory S. Paul that there would be no muscle connection between the ischium and the femur at all. Above the rectum tract a large area of horizontal unsegmented muscle fibres is present, probably representing the unsegmented "Musculus caudofemoralis longus" of the tail base, the main retractor muscle operating on the thighbone. These fibres are polygonal in cross-section and show the intercellular spaces also. Below some tail base vertebrae the connective ligaments between the chevrons are present, forming the "ligmamentum interhaemale", but also some small muscle fibres and some mysterious hollow tubes arranged in a herringbone pattern; the latter perhaps represent the myosepta of the myotomes, the segments of the "Musculus iliocaudalis" or the "Musculus ischiocaudalis".
Horn sheaths.
On all claws preserved in the fossil — those of the feet have all been lost — horn sheaths are visible. These have a darker colouration on top than on the bottom which suggests that the original horn material is still present — but this has not yet been directly tested by a chemical analysis for fear of damaging these delicate structures that were seen as forming an essential part of the integrity of the precious specimen. The horn sheaths of the hand claws extend the bony cores by about 40%, scythe-like continuing the bone curve and ending in sharp points. On some claws the sheaths have partly detached; on others they have been flattened or split.
Integument.
The fossil preserves no traces of any skin, scales or feathers. In 1999 Philip J. Currie hypothesised this might be otherwise, suggesting the tubes found on the tail base would represent the filaments of protofeathers. In 2011, however, Dal Sasso & Maganuco rejected this interpretation because the tubes taper at both ends, while integument filaments are expected to have only a tapered top end. Nevertheless, they considered it likely that "Scipionyx" in life had protofeathers as these are known to be present with the compsognathids "Sinosauropteryx" and "Sinocalliopteryx".
Phylogeny.
"Scipionyx" was by the describers assigned to the Coelurosauria, a group of theropods. Because the only remains recovered belong to that of a juvenile, it has proven difficult to assign this dinosaur to a more specific group. One problem is that in the build of a juvenile animal the original traits of ancestor groups are more likely to be expressed, suggesting a too basal position in the evolutionary tree. Part of the 2011 monograph was a cladistic analysis which indicated that "Scipionyx" was a basal member of the Compsognathidae and the sister species of "Orkoraptor". Dal Sasso & Maganuco emphasised that, due to its limited remains, the position of "Orkoraptor" is tentative.
This cladogram shows the position of "Scipionyx" in the coelurosaurian tree, according to the 2011 study:
Paleobiology.
Habitat.
The location where "Scipionyx" was found, in the Albian was part of the Apulian Plate, at the time largely covered by the shallow Paratethys. Some dry land was present however, but it is uncertain how extensive or connected the several terranes were. The marine sediments of the Pietraroja "Plattenkalk" were probably deposited closely to a piece of the Apennine Platform, which piece possibly formed a small island between the present middle of Italy and Tunisia. From this it has been concluded that the habitat of "Scipionyx" in general consisted of small islands and it represented one of the larger animals of its ecosystem.
However, there are also indications that the terranes regularly interconnected to form far more extensive islands, land bridges allowing a dispersal of much larger animals, such as sauropods and large theropods. If so, they were not present for long when the land surface fragmented again, because there are no signs of insular dwarfism, a size reduction as an adaptation to decreased resources. Likewise, "Scipionyx" itself is no dwarf among its relatives. Due to its small absolute size, "Scipionyx" would have been able to maintain itself when the dry land shrank. Nevertheless, Dal Sasso & Maganuco did not consider "Scipionyx" to have been a permanent resident of small islands throughout tens of millions of years, but more likely a recent immigrant arriving during a dispersal wave, probably from North-Africa. They admitted this was at odds with their own phylogenetic analysis, showing "Scipionyx" to be a basal compsognathid, but they pointed out that the phylogeny found was uncertain due to the juvenile status of the fossil.
Land animals actually found in the Pietraroja deposits are all small. They include the lizards "Chometokadmon" and "Eichstaettisaurus gouldi", a relative of the forty million years older German "Eichstaettisaurus schroederi"; the rhynchocephalian "Derasmosaurus" and the amphibian "Celtedens megacephalus".
Food.
The fossil provides direct information about the diet of "Scipionyx" because remains of a complete series of consecutive meals have been preserved, perhaps everything the animal ate during its short life. These confirm what already could be concluded from its phylogenetic affinities and general build: that "Scipionyx" was a predator.
In the oesophagus tract about eight scales and some bone fragments are present. Dal Sasso & Maganuco considered it likely that these had not been swallowed as loose elements but were the remains of a meal, partly regurgitated from the stomach in the final death throes. In the stomach position itself, a cluster of small bones is visible. These include an ankle with a three millimetre wide metatarsus consisting of five metatarsals attached, a tail vertebra and the upper end of an ulna. If the remains represent a single prey animal, it is likely either a member of the Mesoeucrocodylia or some lepidosaurian lizard-like animal; the size indicates the last possibility. In the descending tract of the duodenum two clusters of lizard scales are present and, more below, a fish vertebra. The jejunum shows a cluster of dozens of fish vertebrae, likely having belonged to a member of the Clupeomorpha. A second cluster of vertebrae was found at the jejunum-ileum boundary. The final tract of the rectum still holds faeces in which a piece of skin is visible showing seventeen scales of a fish of the Osteoglossiformes that was nine seasons old, judging from the growth lines on the scales.
The food items found allow to reconstruct a sequence of food intakes: first a four to five centimetres long fish; secondly a smaller fish of two to three centimetres; next a ten to twelve centimetres long lizard; then a fifteen to forty, depending on the identification, centimetres long lepidosaurian lizard; and finally some indeterminate vertebrate(s). Together they represent a varied diet showing that "Scipionyx" was an opportunistic generalist. That swift lizards had been caught and sea fish washed ashore had been gathered necessitating a prolonged patrolling of the flood line, both indicate a good mobility. If the prey animal in the stomach really was forty centimetres long, it is highly unlikely that the equally-sized hatchling had been able to subdue it, indicating parental care.
Physiology.
"Scipionyx" is considered one of the most important fossil vertebrates ever discovered, after a long and painstaking "autopsy" revealed the unique fossilisation of portions of its internal organs. It is believed "Scipionyx" lived in a region filled with shallow lagoons. These bodies of water were oxygen deficient, leading to the well-preserved "Scipionyx" specimen, much like the fine fossil preservation seen in Germany's "Archaeopteryx". Parts of the windpipe, intestines, liver, blood vessels, cartilage, horn sheaths, tendons and muscles were fossilised in the fine limestone. The specimen's liver was preserved in the form of a red hematite halo retaining the shape it had when the animal was alive. The find has great importance because the relative positions of internal organs of dinosaurs could only be guessed at before this discovery. The holotype specimen thus provides unique direct information about the physiology of non-avian dinosaurs, especially regarding the digestion, the respiration and the ontogenesis.
Digestion.
The digestive tract of "Scipionyx" is generally short but wide. The overall length of the intestines — shorter than what was expected — indicates "Scipionyx" could process food very efficiently. The efficiency would be improved by the visible intestine folds, the "plicae circulares", enlarging the absorption surface. Dal Sasso & Maganuco emphasised that a short tract does not necessarily imply that the processing time was short too; retention could have been prolonged to optimise digestion. Most extant vertebrate predators are capable of extracting about 75% of the energetic value of the prey flesh.
The bones in the stomach region had not been etched by the stomach acid, indicating this meal was less than a day old. It is possible that the stomach exit was too narrow to let these remains pass and that the acid was used to extract calcium from the bones, a much-needed nutrient for a young growing animal. The subsequent digestive tract with most extant vertebrates is incapable of further digesting bones. Afterwards the remains would then have been regurgitated. However, the presence of vertebrae in the intestines suggests that the exit was wide and that non-avian theropods in this respect were more like present Lepidosauromorpha than extant Archosauria who regurgitate. This is also confirmed by a high bone content in the coprolites of large theropods. Fish contains much calcium and it is possible that the hatchling instinctively sought it out; alternatively, it could have been preferentially fed fish by its parents. The presence of skin in the faeces was to be expected as this is not easily digested.
The body parts of the large lepidosaurian in the stomach had been made more digestible by biting them into pieces. According to Dal Sasso & Maganuco the hatchling would certainly have been incapable of achieving this and they considered it a strong indication of parental care as it was improbable the animal had by chance encountered a carcass neatly ripped apart into easily swallowed bits by predators or scavengers.
Respiration.
Although most of the respiratory system has not been preserved, some far-reaching conclusions have been drawn from the indirect evidence available. In 1999 John Ruben e.a. inferred that "Scipionyx" had a respiratory system different from birds, and more similar to crocodiles, based on an analysis of pictures of the fossil which seemed to indicate the presence of a diaphragm. The large liver would have completely divided the body cavity into an anterior section for the heart and lungs and a posterior section for the intestines. This would have indicated the presence of septate lungs, ventilated by a hepatic-piston diaphragm, driven by the liver and a "Musculus diaphragmaticus", which in the fossil was visibly attached to the pubes. Such a system would be an argument against the idea that birds, whose lungs are ventilated by air-sacs, are coelurosaurian theropods, and an indication theropods were cold-blooded.
John Ruben's conclusions have, however, been questioned by some scientists, such as Lawrence Witmer, who claimed the study to be flawed. The 2011 study concluded that due to the fact that the liver had been preserved as a vague halo, representing body fluids that after death might have covered a larger surface than the organs they originated from, its exact dimensions and extent cannot be determined. In any case a diaphragm itself or its position could not be directly observed. Many bird livers are large too, showing that such a trait is compatible with an air-sac system. The small body cavity in front of the halo seemed to indicate the presence of small stiff bird-like lungs. The presumed "M. diaphragmaticus" was shown to be an artifact caused by the polishing and engraving of calcite nodules of non-organic origin during preparation, creating the illusion of muscle fibres.
The empty space between the pubic bones and the intestines has by G.S. Paul and David Martill been hypothesised to have been the location of a large air-sac. Dal Sasso & Maganuco however, rejected this interpretation because with living birds the air-sac of the posterior abdomen does not force the intestines forwards. They considered the space more likely to have been filled by a large yolk-sac. Air-sacs were nevertheless probable given the pneumatisation of the vertebrae. Vertebrae without pneumatopores would have indicated the boundaries between three air-sac systems: those of the neck base, the lungs, and the abdomen. The double rib heads would indicate a rather stiff thorax, ventilated by the gastralia. A system of hook-like uncinate processes on the ribs as with the Maniraptoriformes, allowing the ribcage to move flexibly, in articulation with an ossified sternum, was absent in "Scipionyx".
Growth.
The holotype of "Scipionyx" is a rare example of a non-avian theropod hatchling; the most important other very young specimens are the chicks of "Byronosaurus" that however are much less complete. The young age is reflected by the proportions and the low degree of ossification and fusion of several skeletal elements. The most obvious youthful trait is the relatively large and short head.
Dal Sasso & Maganuco have tried to determine the absolute age of the hatchling. The fact that the fontanelle had not closed yet, poses an upper age limit of about five weeks. An even lower limit is indicated by the lack of any tooth replacement, which with Archosauria begins after a few weeks at the latest. The most exact age is given by the size of the yolk sac, which indicates a probable age of three days, with an upper limit of a week. Despite its very young age, the hatchling was able to walk, as is shown by the complete ossification of the ilium. However, this does not imply "Scipionyx" was precocial as even with altricial birds this pelvis bone fully ossifies within a few days after hatching.


Interandean Valles

Dry valleys in the central Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina, known as "valles", are marked by a rain shadow effect of the surrounding mountains, and thus rainfall is limited, and mostly falls in a brief rainy season. The interandean valles comprise most of the mid-elevation areas of the "sierra" of Peru, "los valles" of Bolivia and the "cuyo" region of Argentina
Geography.
The rugged topography of the Central Andes creates the warm, dry valleys that typifies the valles. Generally lying between 1,200 and 3,500 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.) or 4,000 - 13,000 feet above sea level. Much of the area features steep hillsides and deep canyons, including the world's deepest canyon, the Colca Canyon.
Most of the major cities and towns of the valles are found in broader, open valleys with expansive flat land created by ancient lakes or floodplains that is more amenable to agriculture than the highly erodible slopes.
To the south and west, are the harsh, frigid deserts, salt flats and alpine grasslands of the altiplano. To the north and east are the lush, wet, dense cloud forests or "yungas" of the front-range, downslope, and foothills of the Andes. Higher ridges, peaks, and plateaus, dominated by high-elevation alpine puna grasslands, "Polylepis" woodlands, or snow-capped peaks separate the valles from both of these ecoregions.
Climate.
The valles are marked by mild, wet summers, and cool dry winters. Timing of the seasons varies according to latitude. Generally, most rainfall occurs during summer ("el verano") from December through March. These rainy seasons can in fact be cool and damp for extended periods, though it can be quite warm during dry spells. Dry seasons are substantially colder; these dry winters ("el invierno") last from April through August. Any precipitation that does occur often falls as snow at higher elevations, though snow is extremely rare below 10,000 feet above sea level (3400m.a.s.l.). The warmest times of the year are the transitional months of Sep.-Nov.
Ecoregions.
The World Wildlife Fund identifies several distinct tropical dry forest ecoregions in the interandean valles:
Vegetation.
Vegetation is often sparse or deciduous, resulting from the long dry season.
Most of the native vegetation has been replaced by agriculture or invasive exotics that are still widely used, such as "Eucalyptus spp.", "Phragmites spp.", "Pinus radiata" Notable endemic plants include "Schinus molle" and various cactus species, though some of those may be non-native as well.
Human settlement and influence.
The majority of the human population of the central Andes, including most major cities, large towns, and agriculture, are found in these valleys.
Agriculture.
Much of the land is devoted to agriculture, and the valles tend to be the breadbaskets of their departments or countries. A longer frost-free period, and a generally warmer climate makes the valles more amenable than the higher, colder altiplano for many crops. Further, many valles feature broad plains created by river floodplains or ancient lake beds, that serve better than the steeper more formidable terrain of the yungas. And the drier climate supports fewer parasites and diseases than the yungas or tropical regions.
Of particular importance are the production of potatoes and corn. At higher elevations, oca and other tubers as well as quinoa, wheat, barley and other grains. At lower elevations, peanuts, grapes and numerous other varieties of fruits and vegetables are also produced.
Cities and large towns in the interandean valles.
Peru:
Bolivia:
Argentina:


Valle Nacional River

The Valle Nacional River is a river of Oaxaca state in Mexico.
The river originates in the Sierra Juárez, Oaxaca.
The ecology of the region, originally one of pine forests, is threatened by logging, agriculture and grazing.
The Valle Nacional flows past San Juan Bautista Valle Nacional, and joins the Santo Domingo River to the southwest of San Juan Bautista Tuxtepec to form the Papaloapan River.


Corral de Enmedio Formation

The Corral de Enmedio Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation in Mexico. The formation may be from the Kirtlandian land vertebrate age. It has a similar fauna to the Packard Formation.
Paleofauna.
The fragmentary remains of indeterminate lepisosteids, trionychids, eusuchians, hadrosaurids, and ceratopsids are known from the Corral de Enmedio Formation.


Geology of the Raukumara Region

The Raukumara Region of New Zealand corresponds to the East Cape of the North Island, and associated mountain ranges.
To the east of the North Island is the Hikurangi Trough, a collision zone between the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate. The Pacific Plate is being subducted under the Australian Plate, compressing the east of the North Island, and causing the North Island Fault System, and a series of SSW-NNE trending basins and ranges, including the Raukumara Range. Successively newer rocks have been accreted to the east coast.
The Raukumara Region used to be adjacent to Northland, before being shifted to its current position, and many rocks of the two regions match.
To the north of the Raukumara Range lies the Bay of Plenty, formed of Torlesse (Waioeka) Greywacke. The central ranges are covered by in-place and allochthonous (displaced) Cretaceous to Oligocene rocks. To the south are more recent, mainly Miocene and Pliocene, rocks.
Basement rocks.
All basement rocks beneath the Raukumara Region belong to the Torlesse Composite (Waioeka) Terrane, of late Jurassic to early Cretaceous age (150-100 Ma). They are largely composed of Greywacke (hardened sandstone and mudstone), that accumulated in a deep marine environment. These rocks are exposed to the north of the Raukumara Range, from Whakatane to Papatea Bay.
In-place Cretaceous to Oligocene rocks.
Sandstones and mudstones were deposited over the region in Cretaceous to Oligocene times (100-24 Ma). These rocks still cover the Raukumara Range.
The East Coast allochthon.
In Early Miocene times (24-21 Ma), when the Raukumara region was still adjacent to Northland, a series of thrust sheets was emplaced over much of the East Cape area. Large portions of the Cretaceous to Oligocene rocks have been displaced by tens to hundreds of kilometres, forming what is known as the East Cape Allochthon. The rocks came from the Northeast, and were emplaced in reverse order, but the right way up. The original rocks are of Cretaceous to Oligocene age (100-24 Ma), and include mudstones, limestone and basalt lava.
Most of the rocks east of the line from Papatea Bay to Waipiro Bay, and rocks just north of Whatatutu are allochthonous. Allochthonous rocks are assumed to underlie the more recent rocks to the south as well.
In the north, from Cape Runaway to Tokata, are allochthonous basaltic rocks, believed to represent sea floor, that has been obducted onto the land. These rocks correspond to the Tangihua rocks of Northland.
Miocene and Pliocene rocks.
During Miocene and Pliocene times, sandstone, mudstone, and some limestone was deposited over much of the southern area of the Raukumara region.
Marine terraces.
Marine terraces are common between Opotiki and East Cape, and at Mahia Peninsula.
Hot springs.
Sinter deposits occur around the Te Puia Springs.
Geological Resources.
The area to the south of the Raukumara region contains oil seeps (Waimata Valley and Waitangi Station), and is believed to have potential commercial gas and oil reserves. While the region has been explored, and minor reserves found, no major commercial reserves have yet been found.
Geological hazards.
The Raukumara Region, and the Hikurangi Trough are prone to earthquakes, with the consequential risk of tsunami.
For example, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit the Gisborne area on 20 December 2007.
There were also two major tsunamis on 26 March 1947 and 17 May 1947.
Much of the land is composed of soft mudstones, that are easily eroded, particularly in areas without bush cover.
The region is also prone to flooding, when tropical cyclones manage to come sufficiently far south.
The region can also receive minor falls of volcanic ash from the Taupo Volcanic Zone.
Maps.
Geological maps of New Zealand can be obtained from the New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science (GNS Science), a New Zealand Government Research Institute.
The main maps are the 1 : 250 000 QMap series, which was completed as a series of 21 maps in 2010. Low resolution versions of these maps (without the associated booklet) can be downloaded from the GNS site. The map for the Raukumara Area was published in 2001.
Alternatively digital GIS layers are available using the free GNS map viewer.


Antofalla

Antofalla is a Miocene-Pliocene volcano in Argentina's Catamarca Province. It is part of the volcanic segment of the Andes in Argentina, and it is considered to be part of the Central Volcanic Zone, one of the volcanic zones of the Andes. Antofalla forms a group of volcanoes that are aligned on and behind the main volcanic arc. Antofalla itself is a remote volcano.
Antofalla and other Andean volcanoes form because the Nazca Plate is subducting beneath the South America Plate. Antofalla volcano is located in a region with a "basins and ranges" topography, where during the Miocene ranges were uplifted and basins formed through tectonic movement. It sits on a basement formed by Eocene-Miocene sedimentary units over a much older crystalline basement.
Antofalla is formed by a principal volcano, the high Antofalla volcano proper, and a surrounding complex of smaller volcanic systems that are formed by lava flows and pyroclastic material. The whole complex was active between 10.89–1.59 million years ago; whether activity occurred in historical time is unclear.
Name.
The mountain is first attested in a map of 1900 as "Antofaya", although an earlier map in 1632 uses the name "Antiofac" for the whole region. The name may be derived from "anta", "anti", "antu", which means "metal" (especially "copper") in the indigenous language Quechua. Another theory is that Antofalla is derived from the Diaguita language.
Geography and structure.
Antofalla lies in the Antofagasta de la Sierra department of the northern Catamarca Province, in northwestern Argentina. The towns of Antofalla, Puesto Cuevas, Botijuela and Potrero Grande are east, southeast, south and southwest of the volcano, respectively. Gravel roads run along the northern, northeastern and east-southeast-southern sides of the volcanic complex, but the volcano is difficult to access.
Antofalla is part of the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, which runs along the border between Argentina and Chile and whose main expression occurs in the Western Cordillera. The volcanoes of the Central Volcanic Zone lie at high altitudes, and the volcanic zone spans the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. Present-day activity in the Central Volcanic Zone occurs at Lascar and Lastarria, and about 44 centres have been active in the Holocene. Aside from stratovolcanoes, calderas with large ignimbrites are also part of the Central Volcanic Zone; the Altiplano-Puna volcanic complex is a complex of such large calderas.
Antofalla is a cluster of stratovolcanoes, with the high Antofalla volcano at its centre. An altar with a stone pyramid lies on its summit, and the mountains Llullaillaco, Pajonales and Pular can be seen from the top of the mountain.
A number of other centres developed around the main Antofalla volcano, forming a wide volcanic area; counterclockwise from the north these are:
These volcanic centres overlap with each other, are all much smaller than the main Antofalla volcano and have experienced little erosion. All these volcanoes are formed by lava domes, lava flows and pyroclastic units. Ignimbrites are also found and one of these forms Cerro Onas, while a more recent one occurs in the Quebrada de las Cuevas area. Between Cerro de la Aguada and Cerro Cajeros lies the Cerro la Botijuela obsidian dome. On the western and southwestern side of the complex, some cinder cones can be found, and fissure vents linked to faults cut through the volcanic complex. Finally, a sector collapse deposit and collapse amphitheatre can be observed at Quebrada de las Minas and Quebrada el Volcán. A large scale topographic anomaly surrounds the entire volcanic complex, and seismic tomography has shown the presence of low-velocity anomalies linked to the volcanic group.
The Salar de Antofalla, one of the largest salt pans in the world, lies southeast of the Antofalla complex. It is one of many salt pans that developed within closed basins of the region and its surface lies at an elevation of ; other such salt pans include Salar Archibarca north-northwest of Antofalla, Salina del Fraile south-southwest and Salar del Rio Grande northwest. There also are several lakes such as Laguna Las Lagunitas on the northeastern foot of Antofalla, Laguna Patos west of Cerro Lila – Cerro Ojo de Antofalla and Laguna Cajeros southwest of Cerro Lila – Cerro Cajeros. Most of the northwestern flank of the main Antofalla volcano drains into the Salar de Archibarca, while the southeastern flank has drainages connecting it to the Salar de Antofalla through the (from northeast to southwest) Quebrada de las Cuevas, Quebrada del Volcan and Quebrada de las Minas; the latter two join before entering the salt pan in a large fan, the Campo del Volcán. Northeast of the Conito de Antofalla, the Rio Antofalla originates and flows southeastward into the Salar de Antofalla in a large alluvial fan, similar to other drainages that enter the Salar de Antofalla. Finally, south of Antofalla lies Vega Botijuela, a hot spring that discharges warm water at a rate of ; a travertine cone is found at Botijuela as well.
Geology.
Off the western coast of South America, the Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South America Plate at a rate of about ; this subduction is responsible for volcanic activity in the Central Volcanic Zone and elsewhere in the Andes. Volcanism does not occur along the entire length of the subduction zone; north of 15° and south of 28° the subducting plate moves downward at a shallower angle and this is associated with the absence of volcanic activity. Other volcanic zones exist in the Andes, including the Northern Volcanic Zone in Colombia and Ecuador and the Southern Volcanic Zone also in Chile. A furtherourth volcanic zone, the Austral Volcanic Zone, is caused by the subduction of the Antarctic Plate beneath the South America Plate and lies south of the Southern Volcanic Zone.
A fault runs in north-south direction in the western part of the Antofalla complex. Many geologic lineaments control tectonics across the whole region, they direct the ascent of magma and the location of basins; some of these lineaments exist since the Precambrian. One of these lineaments in the region trends north-northeast and separates the Arequipa-Antofalla terrane from the Pampia terrane.
Geologic record.
The regional geography developed during the Middle and Late Miocene, when basins and ranges were formed by thrusting and subsidence; the basins were filled with evaporites above older molasse-like material, while the ranges are mainly formed by Paleozoic rocks. Precambrian and Late Cretaceous rocks crop out in the Eastern Cordillera on the eastern margin of the Puna. The tectonic activity decreased about 9 million years ago, with the exception of a brief reactivation less than 4 million years ago. The present-day southern Puna is tectonically quiescent, although fault scarps indicate recent ground movements.
The oldest volcanic activity occurred during the Permian and early Jurassic, and the present-day manifestations consist mainly of lava and pyroclastic material. During the Cenozoic, a number of now inactive volcanoes and ignimbrites, the latter of which typically have volumes of less than , erupted in the region. Only less than thick ignimbrites were deposited during the Eocene-early Miocene, probably from vents in the Coastal Cordillera. During the Eocene, the subduction became shallower, moving volcanism eastward into the main Andes. Volcanic activity dramatically increased during the Miocene, during which large stratovolcanoes and ignimbrites were emplaced; it is often not clear from which centre a given ignimbrite is sourced from. Later volcanic activity was characterized by the emplacement of ignimbrites and of monogenetic volcanoes, which consist of cinder cones and lava flows with small volumes. Some of these cones are partially eroded, other ones have a fresh appearance and these are as little as 200,000 ± 90,000 years old, with even more recent (Holocene) activity possible. While the Miocene phase of high activity was linked to a fast subduction regime, the monogenetic activity may be linked to delamination of the crust beneath the Puna instead as well as with a change in tectonic regime that favoured crustal extension. The transition between the two volcanic phases was characterized by a decrease in volcanic activity.
The Juan Fernandez Ridge was subducted in the region between 11–8 million years ago according to Kraemer "et al." 1999. This may have generated a flat subduction profile and thus allowed volcanic arc-like volcanism to occur in the region behind the actual volcanic arc.
Local.
Antofalla lies in the Salar de Antofalla area of the Argentine Puna, a high plateau located over a thick crust of the Andes. It is a basin and range-like region with volcanoes. Before the Neogene the region was not part of the Andes proper, being located behind the mountain chain, and was integrated into the mountain chain by tectonic movements.
Antofalla together with neighbouring Cerro Archibarca, Cerro Beltran and Tebenquicho is part of a group of long lived volcanic complexes that developed in the Argentine Puna; the first and the last of these lie due north and northeast of Antofalla, respectively. All of them appear to be associated with a lineament known as the Archibarca lineament, which crosses the Andes in northwest-southeast direction, and which additionally includes the Escondida ore occurrence and the volcanoes Llullaillaco, Corrida de Cori and Galán. This lineament may be an area where the crust is unusually weak. Other such lineaments in the Andes are the Calama-Olacapato-El Toro lineament and the Culampajá one.
The terrain beneath the volcano is formed in part by the crystalline basement of Precambrian-Paleozoic ("Antofalla Metamorphites") age mainly north of the volcano and often interpreted as ophiolite, and by sedimentary units of Eocene-Miocene age that crop out on its southern side and by a conglomerate unit known as the Potrero Grande Formation. Parts of the basement crop out where it have been exposed by erosion, such as in the Rio Antofalla and the Quebrada de las Minas, and more generally in two sectors north and south of the volcano.
Composition.
Antofalla has erupted andesite and dacite, with dacite dominant and rhyolite a less common rock type; the entire spectrum from basaltic andesite to rhyolite has been found. Thin lava flows form most of the basalt-like rocks, which are subordinate at Antofalla. The rocks have a porphyric texture and contain phenocrysts including biotite, clinopyroxene, hornblende, ilmenite, magnetite, olivine, orthopyroxene, plagioclase, quartz and sanidine; not all of these occur in every rock.
Magma genesis appears to involve extensive interactions with the lower crust, a process which at first gave rise to rhyolitic material; later the now heavily altered crust interacted less with newer magmas and thus a more basaltic andesite-andesite-dacite unit developed.
Hydrothermal alteration has occurred on the southeastern flanks of the complex at Quebrada de las Minas and on Antofalla's western flank. Volcanic systems like Antofalla and volcano-plutonic complexes often develop mineral deposits through hydrothermal and epithermal processes; such has also happened at Antofalla, yielding occurrences of gold, lead, silver and zinc. These became targets of mining operations:
Significant ore deposits may exist at the volcano, but their deep burial in the poorly eroded volcanic complex hampers their exploitation.
Climate, vegetation and fauna.
Antofalla lies in a region of arid climate, with about precipitation, much of it in the form of snow at high elevations. Temperatures change drastically from day to night and vice versa, ranging from in the wider region; the climate has been characterized as continental. The region lies between two major climatic regimes, a northerly regime dominated by easterly moisture flows which occur during summer, and a southerly regime where westerlies transport moisture from the west mainly in winter.
Vegetation is scarce in the region. Where water is available, marsh vegetation and the so-called "pajonales" and "tolares" form; "Deyeuxia", "Festuca" and "Stipa" grasses make up the former and "Adesmia", "Acantholippia", "Baccharis", "Fabiana", "Senecio" and "Parastrephia" thorn-bearing bushes the latter.
Animals in the region include llamas, various rodents and vicuñas, as well as carnivores such as Darwin's rhea, pumas and South American foxes. Human hunters were also active in the region and have left a number of archeological traces, including projectiles and trenches where hunters hid from prey. The extreme climate and scarcity of water restrict human habitation to small areas, however.
Climatological implications.
During winter snow covers the peaks; meltwater formed during spring has cut gullies into the mountains. There are not many creeks on Antofalla that carry water year round, although deep ravines with evidence of flash flood activity can be discerned.
The main Antofalla volcano may have been glaciated during the Pleistocene, but this is disputed especially for the lower mountains of the complex. It is likely that in the past, more water was available and led to the deposition of alluvial fans at the margins of basins although there is no evidence that a lake ever formed in the Salar de Antofalla, unlike in other salars farther north. Indeed, the early Holocene was colder and wetter than present-day, and precipitation may have reached .
Eruptive history.
The Antofalla complex has been active from the Miocene 11 million years ago into the Quaternary and has generated a large variety of volcanic rocks; it is thus considered to be a very long-lived volcano. The subsidiary peaks around Antofalla were all considered to be extinct by Ferdinand von Wolff.
The first phase of volcanic activity occurred between 10.89–10.1 million years ago. At that time, eruptions covered the terrain beneath the volcano with ignimbrites of rhyolitic composition. Subsequently, lava flows of mafic to trachydacitic composition were emplaced, in part on top of the earlier ignimbrites. Between 9.09–1.59 million years ago activity was continuous and dominated by lava flows of andesitic to dacitic composition, which constructed the main Antofalla volcano and the surrounding vents. Small felsic eruptions generating lava domes and ignimbrites concluded this activity, with the ignimbrite in Quebrada de las Cuevas dated to 1.59 ± 0.08 million years ago. Other volcanic units attributed to this volcanic complex are the Aguas Calientes basalt, the Los Patos ignimbrite of lower Pliocene age and the Tambería Ignimbrite.
Even later, several mafic centres grew southwest and west of the Antofalla complex. Fumarolic activity continues to this day, the existence of geysers was reported in 1962 and traces of an extinct geyser such as sinter structures have been found at Botijuelas. There are reports that the main volcano "smoked" occasionally such as in 1901 and 1911 and Antofalla is sometimes incorrectly considered the highest active volcano in the world, but the Global Volcanism Program considers the complex as Pleistocene in age, and no clear evidence of Holocene activity is found.
Climbing.
Antofalla is a technically simple climb and there are guides in the region. The main Antofalla volcano can be ascended in three days, although the paths are not always easy to reach by vehicle. Low temperatures and high wind are common issues.


North West Shelf

The North West Shelf of Western Australia is an extensive oil and gas region off the North West Australia coast in the Pilbara region.
It has a considerable number of oil and gas wells, pipelines, production areas and support facilities.
Location.
As an area it is located in the Indian Ocean between North West Cape and Dampier. Dampier is usually considered the main administrative locality for the shelf.
Production areas.
The production areas are located offshore and within the jurisdiction of the Western Australian state government.
The two main production areas are the Thevenard Production Area close to Onslow, and the Varanus Production Area west of Dampier.
Oil fields.
The North West Shelf oil extraction is negligible compared to the volume of gas produced.
Gas project.
The North West Shelf Venture is a project to extract resources within the region from various gas fields - however it is considered to be only in part of the whole shelf region. It involves developments on the Burrup Peninsula, Barrow Island and other locations.
Geology of region.
Considerable parts of the region are the highest prospective gas and oil areas of Australia. The main sedimentary basin providing the opportunity is the Northern Carnarvon Basin - however it is only one part of the regional complex.


Bletterbach

The Bletterbach is a stream in South Tyrol, Italy.
The Bletterbach is cutting through deposits of the Lower Permian to the Upper Anis, namely the Bolzano Quartz Porphyry (~272 Ma), the Val Gardena Sandstone, which is famous for its fossil footprints, the Bellerophon Formation, the Werfen Formation and the Serla Dolomite of which the top of the Weißhorn consists.
The rocks in the Bellerophon Formation contain evaporites and show a transgression, the stratigraphically lower sediments have evidence of terrigenous influence, the upper sediments got mainly formed in a marine environment.


Kawingasaurus

Kawingasaurus is an extinct genus of dicynodont therapsid from the Late Permian Usili Formation of Tanzania. It is a member of the family Cistecephalidae, and like other cistecephalids it is thought to have been fossorial.


Notelops

Notelops is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish.


Ehalkivi


Benevides Formation

The Benevides Formation is a geologic formation in Texas and Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Cretaceous period.


Fitz Roy

Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile. It is located in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, near El Chaltén village and Viedma Lake. It was first climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and .
European discovery.
The first Europeans recorded as seeing Mount Fitz Roy were the Spanish explorer Antonio de Viedma and his companions, who reached the shores of Viedma Lake in 1783. Argentine explorer Francisco Moreno saw the mountain on 2 March 1877; he named it Fitz Roy in honour of Robert FitzRoy who, as captain of , had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted large parts of the Patagonian coast.
"Cerro" is a Spanish word meaning ridge, while "Chaltén" comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain", because a cloud usually forms around the mountain's peak. Fitz Roy is one of a number of peaks the Tehuelche called Chaltén.
Setting.
Argentina and Chile have agreed that their international border detours eastwards to pass over the main summit, but a large part of the border to the south of the summit, as far as Cerro Murallón, remains undefined. The mountain is the symbol of the Argentine Santa Cruz Province, which includes its representation on its coat of arms.


Goniatites

Goniatites is a genus of extinct cephalopods belonging to the family Goniatitidae, included in the superfamily Goniatitaceae. "Hibernicoceras" and "Hypergoniatites" are among related genera.
Description.
The shell is generally globose with an open but narrow umbilicus, the surface commonly reticulate resulting from longitudinal lirae crossing transverse striae. The ventral lobe of the suture is rather narrow with a median saddle about or little less than half the height of entire lobe. The first lateral saddle is subangular to angular.
Distribution.
Fossils of species within this genus have been found widespread in North America, Eurasia, and north Africa. In particular they have been found in the Triassic of Italy, United States, in the Permian of United States, in the Carboniferous of the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Morocco, United Kingdom, United States, in the Mississippian of United States, as well in the Devonian of the Czech Republic, Spain, United States.


Maxacapan, Veracruz

Maxacapan is a village and ejido, with a population of 981 in 2010, within the municipality of Catemaco, located on the edge of Laguna Catemaco, south of Catemaco City in south-central Veracruz. Locally, the ejido is well known for its tegogolos harvested from Laguna Catemaco.


Villarrica (volcano)

Villarrica ( ) (, ) is one of Chile's most active volcanoes, rising above the lake and town of the same name, south of Santiago. It is also known as Rucapillán, a Mapuche word meaning "great spirit's house". It is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes that trend northwest to southeast obliquely perpendicular to the Andean chain along the Mocha-Villarrica Fault Zone, along with Quetrupillán and the Chilean portion of Lanín, are protected within Villarrica National Park. Guided ascents are popular during summer months.
Villarrica, with its lava of basaltic-andesitic composition, is one of a small number worldwide known to have an active (but in this case intermittent) lava lake within its crater. The volcano usually generates strombolian eruptions with ejection of incandescent pyroclasts and lava flows. Rainfall plus melted snow and glacier ice can cause massive lahars (mud and debris flows), such as during the eruptions of 1964 and 1971.
Villarrica is one of 9 volcanoes currently monitored by the Deep Earth Carbon Degassing Project. The project is collecting data on the carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide emission rates from subaerial volcanoes.
Geography and geology.
Villarica stands just east of the Chilean Central Valley as the westernmost of an alignment of three large stratovolcanoes. The alignment is attributed to the existence of an old fracture in the crust, the North West-South East trending Mocha-Villarrica Fault Zone, the other volcanoes in the chain, Quetrupillán and Lanín, are far less active. The alignment is unusual as it crosses the N-S running Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault, along which several active volcanoes are aligned.
Villarrica covers an area of 400 km2 and has an estimated volume of 250 km3. It contains volcanic caves and about 26 scoria cones. The constant degassing at the lava lake turns the otherwise quite effusive lava more viscous, heightening its explosive potential. Two large ignimbrite layers are visible; the Licán Ignimbrite and the more recent Pucón Ignimbrite.
Villarrica emerged during the Middle Pleistocene and grew forming a large stratocone of similar dimensions to the current edifice. 100,000 years ago during the Valdivia Interglacial the ancestral Villarrica collapsed following an eruption and formed a large elliptical caldera of 6.5 and 4.2 km in diameter. During the Llanquihue glaciation Villarrica produced pyroclastic flow deposits, subglacial andesite lavas and dacite dykes. It collapsed once again 13,700 years ago forming a new smaller caldera, among other pyroclastic flows the Licán Ignimbrite has been related to this event. Beginning with the Licán Ignimbrite, generated just after the last deglaciation, activity continued in similar fashion. The Pucón Ignimbrite was ejected during a minor collapse of the uppermost stratocone 3,700 years ago.
Glaciers.
The upper part of Villarrica is permanently covered by snow and has some 40 km2 of glaciers, the largest of which is the Pichillancahue-Turbio Glacier situated on its southeastern flank. Ash from the eruptions can increase the ablation of snow and ice by absorption of solar radiation. Some ash coverings are thicker than 5 cm and insulate the glacier, decreasing ablation instead of enhancing it. Between 1961 and 2003, Villarrica lost 25% of its glaciated surface and the glaciers shrank at an average rate of -0.4 km2 each year.
Tourism.
Villarrica is popular for climbing with guided hikes to the crater from the town of Pucón, but these may be suspended due to cloud or volcanic activity. Helicopter over-flights have been available since 2007. In the winter (July–September) a ski resort operates on the northern slopes. The youngest person to reach the summit recognized by the Chilean government was Christopher Heussner of Texas at the age of 9 in 1999.
Eruptive history.
Villarrica is one of Chile's most active volcanoes; eruptions have been recorded since the conquest of Chile and the founding of the city of Villarrica in 1552. This city was originally founded near the site of present-day Pucón. Villarrica volcano had frequent strombolian eruptions in the second half of the 16th century. Peaks of activity occurred in 1558 and 1562. The 1562 eruption in particular deposited thin ash layers as far as 200 km away from the volcano.
During its early years the city of Villarrica was an important gold and silver mining centre. However mining activity declined over time. It is thought that this decline could be a consequence of burial of gold placers beneath lahars associated with mid-16th century eruptions of Villarrica. This burial would have prompted settlers to move the city westward to its modern site, a place less prone to volcanic hazards. There are uncertainties in the eruptive record in the first half of the 17th century due to the Mapuche and Huilliche uprising which led to the surrender or abandonment of Spanish settlements during the destruction of the Seven Cities.
1963 and 1964 eruptions.
The volcano resumed eruptive activity on March 8, 1963. On March 12 a flank vent some 250 metres below the summit begun to pour lava that ended up making a 1000 m long and 150-meter broad lava flow. The lava flow had stopped by March 19. Concurrently with this the summit crater continued its strombolian eruption. Explosive eruptions begun once again on May 2, 1963, and the eruption had definitely turned effusive by May 21. The last consequences of this cycle of eruptions were lahars that flowed down the volcano on May 24.
In the two last weeks of February 1964, Villarrica produced small, violent lava effusions and tremors. On 2 March, at 2:45 am, it began a strombolian eruption, and residents of Coñaripe, a wood-logging town, fled to the surrounding hills. At some point, the inhabitants of Coñaripe decided to return to their houses in search of shelter from the heavy rainfall. At midnight a new lava flow advanced downhill melting snow and ice triggering five lahars. Melting snow and ice from the Pichillancahue-Turbio Glacier combined with heavy rainfall to produce several lahars. This situation caught Coñaripe residents unprepared when one of the lahars overwhelmed the town killing 27 residents. The hamlet of Chaillupén was also destroyed by the lahar meaning 30 houses were destroyed, however, no human lives were lost. Other lahars that flowed north destroyed various bridges between Villarrica and Pucón before entering Villarrica Lake. The sudden inflow of lahars into Villarrica Lake caused the water level to rise, flooding some low-lying pastures.
Some Mapuches blamed settlers for the disaster claiming they had provoked it by cursing the town of Coñaripe. Such view reflect the belief that nature was "allied with the Indians".
1971–1972 eruption.
On 29 October 1971, at 3:00 am, there were several explosions in the crater and a column of white and then black smoke appeared. One month later, at quarter to midnight on 29 November, Villarrica began a new eruptive cycle. Pyroclasts were ejected and the snow surrounding the crater melted. After a brief halt in activity lava poured from a new vent on the north-east side, melting considerable amounts of water and causing lahars. These lahars affected Pichaye, El Turbio, Collentañe, Minetué, Molco, Voipir and Curarrehue, all of them in the Trancura River basin. Toxic sulphurous gases made the air unbreathable in Villarrica and Pucón where at least 15 deaths were reported.
2015 eruption.
On February 7, 2015, Villarrica triggered a yellow alert at both Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería and Onemi. Minor explosions and low emissions of ashes were visible. Ten days later, another eruption occurred. The National Service of Geology and Mining (Sernageomin) declared a yellow alert after volcanic and seismic activity increased again, while the National Emergency Office of the Interior Ministry (ONEMI) kept the yellow alert.
At approximately 03:01 AM on March 3, 2015, it erupted, raising the alert to red up to 10 kilometers around. The eruption exceeded the height of the volcano, causing a loud explosion that woke the neighbors, and forcing the evacuation of 3,385 people in nearby communities.
The Southern Andean Volcano Observatory (OVDAS) indicated that a new imminent eruption would continue until 12:30 of March 19, 2015. As of July 2015, the eruption was continuing. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured by a Multi-Component Gas Analyzer System, which detects pre-eruptive degassing of rising magmas, improving prediction of volcanic activity.
Analysis of seismicity prior to the eruption show that there was no seismicity that could be reliably related to the upcoming eruption. However, a series of small earthquakes with hypocenters about 9 km beneath Villarrica volcano that occurred 45 days after the eruption are thought to have been caused by the cooling of the eruption's feeder dykes.


Chacraraju

Chacraraju or Chakraraju (possibly from Quechua "chakra" little farm ; field, land sown with seed, "rahu" snow, ice, mountain with snow) is a mountain in the Cordillera Blanca in the Andes range of Peru. The mountain has two distinctive peaks Chacraraju Oeste (west summit; ) and Chacraraju Este (east summit; ). Chacraraju is located in the Ancash Region, Huaylas Province, Caraz District, and in the Yungay Province, Yungay District. It lies south and southeast of Pirámide. Lake Parón and the little Lake Chacra lie northwest of the mountain. The peak is accessible from the Pisco base camp at Cebollapampa.
Climbing.
Chakrarahu is considered the steepest and the most difficult-to-climb six-thousander in the Andes. Although by no means worked out, the south face of the mountain has a quite staggering number of steep and difficult lines, enough to bear comparison with areas such as the south face of Mont Blanc du Tacul for maturity. The north side bore the brunt maturity of early development but still retains the greatest potential.
A French expedition led by Lionel Terray first climbed the mountain on 31 July 1956 (Chakrarahu Oeste) and on 5 August 1962 (Chakrarahu Este) on what after have become the normal routes (northeast face and northeast ridge). Greg Mortimer was badly injured during a later attempt to climb the mountain.
Some of the routes are amongst the most desperate of the Cordillera Blanca and probably of the entire Andes. All the routes take several days and involve hanging bivouacs. First ascents to the ridge linking the east and west summits are recorded. Not all the parties are able to reach the true summits of Chakrarahu Este and Oeste, because this requires traversing below the cornices and obviously increases the seriousness of the climbs.


Bunburra Rockhole (meteorite)

Bunburra Rockhole is an anomalous basaltic achondritic meteorite. Originally classified as a eucrite, it was thought to belong to a group of meteorites that originated from the asteroid 4 Vesta, but has since been reclassified based on oxygen and chromium isotopic compositions. It was observed to fall on July 21, 2007, 04:43:56 local time, by the Desert Fireball Network (DFN). Two fragments weighing 150g and 174g were recovered by the DFN at 31°21.0′S, 129°11.4′E in the Nullarbor Desert region, South Australia in November of the same year. This is the first meteorite to be recovered using the Desert Fireball Network observatory.
Petrography & composition.
Bunburra rockhole is described as a basaltic monomict breccia, which is composed of three different lithologies that can be distinguished by their grain sizes. There is no evidence of weathering, and very few shock features are present. The majority of the meteorite is subophitic in texture.
Primary mineralogy:
Petrogenesis & origin.
Oxygen Isotope analyses have contributed to the classification of meteorites and identification of potential origins. Typically, meteorites of a particular classification will exhibit similar oxygen isotope signatures that are often distinct from meteorites that have originated from other planetary bodies. Equilibrated asteroids, planets and moons are predicted to produce meteorites with distinctive oxygen isotope signatures based on the composition and environment of the planetary body. Bunburra Rockhole exhibits a range of oxygen isotope signatures that vary as a function of the three different lithological subtypes present. This indicates that the parent body of the sample may not have been fully equilibrated at the time of crystallization of the meteorite components in this sample.
The oxygen and chromium isotope results from Bunburra Rockhole are quite different to the bulk of the HED meteorite clan. Recently published Cr and O isotope data suggest that Bunburra Rockhole is isotopically similar to Asuka 881394; another outlier of the HED group. Such outliers also exhibit differences in minor element ratios to the HED clan. However, the mineralogy and composition of the Bunburra Rockhole imply it did originate from a differentiated, V-type asteroid, but not from 4-Vesta.
Differentiated asteroid.
This type of brecciated achondrite is similar to terrestrial igneous rocks and has undergone igneous processing on a differentiated parent body. Bunburra Rockhole likely came from a differentiated body smaller than 4-Vesta, as this would have resulted in faster cooling and perhaps incomplete differentiation. The differences in oxygen and chromium isotopes and variable trace element compositions relative to the bulk HED measurements are consistent and supportive of this hypothesis. This rock, along with other meteorites close in composition and texture to HEDs, are evidence that there may have been a large number of differentiated bodies once present in our Solar System, and that the igneous processing and activity on those bodies was rather complex.
Orbital data.
Bunburra Rockhole was observed to fall using the Desert Fireball Network observatory in Australia. It was found to have an Aten-type orbit. Upon examination of the rock's recent orbital history, it was found to have been ~ 0.04AU from Venus in September 2001. Modelling to understand the evolution of the object's orbit revealed a 98% probability that the object came from the inner region of the main asteroid belt.


Caseodus

Caseodus is an extinct genus of eugeneodontid holocephalian from the Carboniferous of the United States (Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, South Dakota) and the Early Triassic of Canada (British Columbia). It was of medium size, measuring in length.
Eugeneodontida are an extinct order of Chondrichthyes. They are characterized by the presence of tooth whorls. They include iconic genera, such as "Helicoprion" ("buzz-saw shark"), "Ornithoprion", "Edestus" or "Fadenia". "Caseodus" is one of the few eugeneodontid genera that survived the end-Permian mass extinction event. It is one of the last surviving genera of this clade


Cerro Torre

Cerro Torre is one of the mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in a region which is disputed between Argentina and Chile, west of Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén). The peak is the highest of a four mountain chain: the other peaks are Torre Egger (), Punta Herron, and Cerro Standhardt. The top of the mountain often has a mushroom of rime ice, formed by the constant strong winds, increasing the difficulty of reaching the actual summit.
First ascent.
Cesare Maestri claimed in 1959 that he and Toni Egger had reached the summit and that Egger had been swept to his death by an avalanche while they were descending. Maestri declared that Egger had the camera with the pictures of the summit, but this camera was never found. Inconsistencies in Maestri's account, and the lack of bolts, pitons or fixed ropes on the route, have led most mountaineers to doubt Maestri's claim. In 2005, Ermanno Salvaterra, Rolando Garibotti and Alessandro Beltrami, after many attempts by world-class alpinists, put up a confirmed route on the face that Maestri claimed to have climbed. They did not find any evidence of previous climbing on the route described by Maestri and found the route significantly different from Maestri's description. In 2015, Rolando Garibotti published evidence that the information provided by Maestri does not agree with respect to the alleged summit ascent. Instead, he and Egger were on the western flank of Perfil de Indio.
Maestri went back to Cerro Torre in 1970 with Ezio Alimonta, Daniele Angeli, Claudio Baldessarri, Carlo Claus and Pietro Vidi, trying a new route on the southeast face. With the aid of a gas-powered compressor drill, Maestri equipped of rock with bolts and got to the end of the rocky part of the mountain, just below the ice mushroom. Maestri claimed that "the mushroom is not part of the mountain" and did not continue to the summit. The compressor was left, tied to the last bolts, below the top. Maestri was heavily criticized for the "unfair" methods he used to climb the mountain.
The route Maestri followed is now known as the "Compressor route" and was climbed to the summit in 1979 by Jim Bridwell and Steve Brewer. Most parties consider the ascent complete only if they summit the often-difficult ice-rime mushroom.
The first undisputed ascent was made in 1974 by the "Ragni di Lecco" climbers Daniele Chiappa, Mario Conti, Casimiro Ferrari, and Pino Negri. The controversies regarding Maestri's claims are the focus of the 2014 book on Cerro Torre, "The Tower", by Kelly Cordes.
Subsequent ascents.
In 1977, the first Alpine style ascent was completed by Dave Carman, John Bragg and Jay Wilson (USA). They took a week to summit Cerro Torre, which had taken the Italian group two months to summit. In 1980, Bill Denz (New Zealand) attempted the first solo of the Compressor Route. Over a five-month period, he made 13 concerted attempts but was driven back by storms on every occasion. On his last attempt, in November 1980, he got to within of the summit.
In January 2008, Rolando Garibotti and Colin Haley made the first complete traverse of the entire massif, climbing Aguja Standhardt, Punta Herron, Torre Egger and Cerro Torre together. They rate their route at Grade VI 5.11 A1 WI6 Mushroom Ice 6, with total vertical gain. This had been "one of the world's most iconic, unclimbed lines", first attempted by Ermanno Salvaterra.
In 2010, Austrian climber David Lama was held responsible for around 30 new bolts and hundreds of meters of fixed rope added to the Compressor Route on the mountain (due to bad weather conditions, much of the gear was left on the mountain and later removed by local climbers). Although the bolts were drilled by Austrian guide Markus Pucher, and not by Lama himself, it was done as part of his trip sponsored by Red Bull, and many climbers regard Lama and Red Bull as responsible. Many of the bolts were drilled next to cracks, which are usually used by climbers for protection on the route. This has caused a large controversy in certain climbers' circles, as his actions are unethical according to climbing purists. Although Lama was not aware of the sheer number of bolts that were drilled, he took full responsibility for the actions. In the upcoming years, he publicly regretted what happened.
On 16 January 2012, American Hayden Kennedy and Canadian Jason Kruk made the first "fair-means" (a term used to describe a reasonable use of bolts for safety and aesthetics, "a long-accepted practice in [the Patagonian] mountain range") ascent of the Southeast Ridge, near the controversial Compressor Route, using only two of Maestri's original belay anchors on the headwall. After summiting, Kennedy and Kruk removed 125 of the bolt-ladder bolts during their descent. Colin Haley, who watched the ascent from Norwegos, estimated the climb took them thirteen hours from their bivy on the shoulder to the summit. "The speed with which they navigated virgin ground on the upper headwall is certainly testament to Hayden's great skills on rock", Haley reported. There has been much discussion concerning the removal of bolts from the compressor route by Kennedy and Kruk. However, the consensus amongst the climbing community is that of agreement for removing the bolts and it has embraced their actions as having "restored Cerro Torre's southeast ridge to the realm of genuine adventure".
In contrast to David Lama's free ascent (also "fair-means"; January 2012, together with Peter Ortner), Kennedy and Kruk used bolts (although not Maestri's) during their ascent. Lama estimated the difficulties of his free ascent (which followed a new line circumventing the bolt traverse and in the upper headwall) as grade X- (hard 8a but mentally highly demanding; e.g., climbing on loose flakes, long runouts). Lama stated that a free repetition of the original Compressor Route is virtually impossible (in particular as the rock of the last pitches comprise no climbable features).
In popular culture.
Cerro Torre was featured in the 1991 film "Scream of Stone", directed by Werner Herzog and starring Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Hans Kammerlander, and Donald Sutherland.
Jon Krakauer, aside from the detailed recounting of the climb of the mountain in his book "Eiger Dreams", mentions it briefly in "Into Thin Air" as one of his earlier difficult ascents (1992): "I'd scaled a frightening, mile-high spike of vertical and overhanging granite called Cerro Torre; buffeted by hundred-knot winds, plastered with frangible atmospheric rime, it was once (though no longer) thought to be the world's hardest mountain".
In March 2014, an adventure documentary was released following the "first ever free ascent" of Cerro Torre, featuring David Lama. "Cerro Torre - A Snowball's Chance in Hell" premiered at San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2013.


Darekia

Darekia is a genus of stem group Neoptera which is due to be published by Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. It existed in what is now Poland, during the upper Carboniferous period. It was described by Jakub Prokop, Wieslaw Krzemiński, Ewa Krzemińska, and Dariusz Wojciechowski in 2011, and the type species is "Darekia sanguinea".


Cochiquito Volcanic Group

The Cochiquito Volcanic Group is a small volcanic group of volcanoes north of the town of Buta Ranquil in Argentina. The main peak is Volcán Cochiquito, a stratovolcano of estimated Pleistocene–Holocene age. There are eight satellite cones in the volcanic field, including Volcán Sillanegra (a pyroclastic cone complex) and Volcán Ranquil del Sur (a small stratovolcano).


Cerro Toco

Cerro Toco is a stratovolcano located in the eastern part of the Atacama desert in Chile's II Region (Antofagasta), approximately south of the border between Bolivia and Chile and SE of the Juriques and Licancabur volcanoes. It conforms the north eastern extreme of the Purico Complex, a pyroclastic shield made up by several stratovolcanoes, lava domes and a maar.
Cerro Toco is located in the Chajnantor Scientific Reserve, as is most of the Purico Complex. The Atacama Cosmology Telescope and the Huan Tran Telescope are located on the western side of the mountain at approximately .


Diocese of St Helena

The Diocese of Saint Helena is an Anglican diocese within the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It covers the islands of Saint Helena and Ascension in the Atlantic Ocean and was created in 1859. St Paul's Cathedral is on Saint Helena.
History.
In 1502, an uninhabited island was discovered by the Portuguese admiral, João da Nova. The traditional date of this discovery was long thought to be 21 May, but the results of an investigation into the timing of the discovery published in 2015 concluded this date is probably wrong and that 3 May seems historically more valid. By tradition, Da Nova anchored in the lee of the island opposite a deep valley in the lee of the island opposite a deep valley. A timber chapel was built in the valley which later became the site of Jamestown. The island was named Santa Helena, later anglicised as St Helena. Portugal, Spain, the Dutch Republic and England all took an interest in the island as a place to refresh ships and sailors on long voyages.
The English Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell granted a new charter to the East India Company in 1657, which gave the Company the right to fortify and colonise any of its establishments. Because of the strategic importance of St Helena as a fortress and staging post on the way home from India, the Company claimed the Island on 5 May 1659. The building of the fort was commenced immediately. A little town sprang up in the valley with the chapel and was subsequently named Jamestown, after King James II.
In 1671, the East India Company sent the first of a long sequence of Church of England chaplains. The early, modest little church was replaced by a slightly bigger one in 1674, but was only later named St. James church. Another church ("the Country Church") was built shortly afterwards near the present St. Paul's church.
By 1774 the first parish church in Jamestown showed signs of decay, and so finally a new building was erected. St. James' is the oldest surviving Anglican church south of the Equator.
On 7 March 1849 the first bishop of Cape Town, Robert Gray, arrived to conduct the confirmations on the island. Bishop Gray made a further two visits in 1852 and 1857. Ten years later, in 1859, the Diocese of St. Helena was established by Queen's Order in Council, and included the islands of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Furthermore, until 1869 the diocese also included the British residents of Rio de Janeiro and other towns on the eastern seaboard of South America as well as the Falklands. The first bishop, Piers Calverley Claughton, was consecrated in Westminster Abbey and arrived later the same year. St Paul's Cathedral, built 1850–51, became the cathedral in 1859.
Following the Zulu War, Chief Dinizulu, son of Cetshwayo kaMpande, and his family were exiled to the island in 1890 for nine years. Dinizulu became a convert to Christianity and was baptised and confirmed by the bishop.
In the 1960s, Tristan da Cunha was transferred to the Diocese of Cape Town. The diocese now consists solely of Saint Helena and Ascension Island.
The diocese is the fourth oldest diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
Saint Helena.
There are three parishes on Saint Helena with 12 churches:
The Cathedral Parish of St Paul's which consists of St Paul's Cathedral, and four daughter churches:
The Parish of St James. St James' Church in Jamestown is the oldest Anglican church in the southern hemisphere, the present building was put up in 1774. There are three daughter churches:
The Parish of St Matthew: St Matthew in Hutt's Gate with one daughter church,
Ascension Island.
There is one parish on Ascension Island, with one church – St Mary's which is in Georgetown.
The cornerstone of St Mary's church was laid by Mrs. Dwyer, wife of the Commandant, on 6 September 1843. The following year the first Royal Navy Chaplain arrived, the Rev George Bellamy. The main body of the church was completed in 1846, making it the second oldest existing Anglican church in the Diocese, second only to St James church on St. Helena.
Bishop Piers Calverley Claughton arrived on HMS Buffalo in 1861 to consecrate the church and conduct a confirmation service. The old pulpit and reading desk was removed in 1870, during the time of Rev J.T. Westroff and replaced with a lectern. The pews were also replaced with open seats and an altar, with rails was installed. Two years later, the Revd George C Waller added a seat in the chancel. Between 1879–1880 restoration work was undertaken under the auspices of Captain A.G. Roe. A chancel was also added. Over the next two decades, a new organ was installed, the chancel was paved with tessellated pavement, the present brass lectern replaced the old one, a new stained glass East window was installed, and an oak litany desk was donated. On Easter Day in 1900 a stone font was presented by the congregation and placed at the entrance to the church.
Royal Navy chaplains presiding at the church came to an end in 1905 when the garrison was reduced to 120. The bishops paid twice yearly visits and Sunday worship was led by lay people licensed by the bishop. The Royal Naval garrison was finally withdrawn in 1922. Ascension Island became a dependency of the Colony of St Helena a status it would maintain until 2009. From 1966 onwards, with Revd John Crawford appointed as the first vicar of St Mary's, the bishops of St Helena appointed vicars to take care of the parish. In 1968, Crawford raised £3,000 (almost £70,000 as of 2010) for the reconstruction of the church, which still stands at Georgetown. He held his last service on Ascension Day of 1969 before returning to Halifax, West Yorkshire where he died on 28 December 1972, aged 54.
Coat of arms.
The diocesan arms are described as follows: "Azure, in base on water barry wavy proper therein fishes naiant Or, an ancient galley manned, sail furled of the last, in chief a crescent Argent and a sun in splendour also of the second. ". These arms were granted by the College of Arms under Letters Patent dated 24 November 1949.