Graphical evidence for the solar coronal structure during the Maunder minimum: comparative study of the total eclipse drawings in 1706 and 1715

We discuss the significant implications of three eye-witness drawings of the total solar eclipse on 1706 May 12 in comparison with two on 1715 May 3, for our understanding of space climate change. These events took place just after what has been termed the “deep Maunder Minimum” but fall within the “extended Maunder Minimum” being in an interval when the sunspot numbers start to recover. Maria Clara Eimmert’s image in 1706 is particularly important because she was both a highly accomplished astronomical observer and an excellent artist: it was thought lost and was only re- discovered in 2012. Being the earliest coronal drawings of observational value yet identified, these drawings corroborate verbal accounts a corona without significant streamers, seen at totality of this and another eclipse event in 1652 during the Maunder Minimum. The graphical evidence implies that the coronal solar magnetic field was not lost but significantly weakened and the lack of coronal structure means there was little discernable open flux (either polar or at lower latitudes) even during the recovery phase of the Maunder Minimum. These observations provide evidence for a different state of oscillation of the solar dynamo and hence behaviour of the Sun in comparison with that during normal solar cycle minima (when a streamer belt between two polar coronal holes is visible) or near normal sunspot maxima (when coronal structure is caused by coronal holes at all latitudes) even to observers without a telescope

Major issues in the origins of ray‐finned fish ( A ctinopterygii) biodiversity

Ray‐finned fishes ( A ctinopterygii) dominate modern aquatic ecosystems and are represented by over 32000 extant species. The vast majority of living actinopterygians are teleosts; their success is often attributed to a genome duplication event or morphological novelties. The remainder are ‘living fossils’ belonging to a few depauperate lineages with long‐retained ecomorphologies: P olypteriformes (bichirs), H olostei (bowfin and gar) and C hondrostei (paddlefish and sturgeon). Despite over a century of systematic work, the circumstances surrounding the origins of these clades, as well as their basic interrelationships and diagnoses, have been largely mired in uncertainty. Here, I review the systematics and characteristics of these major ray‐finned fish clades, and the early fossil record of A ctinopterygii, in order to gauge the sources of doubt. Recent relaxed molecular clock studies have pushed the origins of actinopterygian crown clades to the mid‐late P alaeozoic [ S ilurian– C arboniferous; 420 to 298 million years ago ( M a)], despite a diagnostic body fossil record extending only to the later M esozoic (251 to 66 M a). This disjunct, recently termed the ‘ T eleost G ap’ (although it affects all crown lineages), is based partly on calibrations from potential P alaeozoic stem‐taxa and thus has been attributed to poor fossil sampling. Actinopterygian fossils of appropriate ages are usually abundant and well preserved, yet long‐term neglect of this record in both taxonomic and systematic studies has exacerbated the gaps and obscured potential synapomorphies. At the moment, it is possible that later P alaeozoic‐age teleost, holostean, chondrostean and/or polypteriform crown taxa sit unrecognized in museum drawers. However, it is equally likely that the ‘ T eleost G ap’ is an artifact of incorrect attributions to extant lineages, overwriting both a post‐ P alaeozoic crown actinopterygian radiation and the ecomorphological diversity of stem‐taxa.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109271/1/brv12086.pd

Com o diabo no corpo: os terríveis papagaios do Brasil colônia

Desde a Antiguidade, papagaios, periquitos e afins (Psittacidae) fascinaram os europeus por seu vivo colorido e uma notável capacidade de interação com seres humanos. A descoberta do Novo Mundo nada faria além de acrescentar novos elementos ao tráfico de animais exóticos há muito estabelecido pelos europeus com a África e o Oriente. Sem possuir grandes mamíferos, a América tropical participaria desse comércio com o que tinha de mais atrativo, essencialmente felinos, primatas e aves - em particular os papagaios, os quais eram embarcados em bom número. Contudo, a julgar pelos documentos do Brasil colônia, esses voláteis podiam inspirar muito pouca simpatia, pois nenhum outro animal - exceto as formigas - foi tantas vezes mencionado como praga para a agricultura. Além disso, alguns psitácidas mostravam-se tão loquazes que inspiravam a séria desconfiança de serem animais demoníacos ou possessos, pois só três classes de entidades - anjos, homens e demônios - possuíam o dom da palavra. Nos dias de hoje, vários representantes dos Psittacidae ainda constituem uma ameaça para a agricultura, enquanto os indivíduos muito faladores continuam despertando a suspeita de estarem possuídos pelo demônio. Transcendendo a mera curiosidade, essa crença exemplifica o quão intrincadas podem ser as relações do homem com o chamado “mundo natural”, revelando um universo mais amplo e multifacetado do que se poderia supor a princípio. Nesse sentido, a existência de aves capazes de falar torna essa relação ainda mais complexa e evidencia que as dificuldades de estabelecer o limite entre o animal e o humano se estendem além dos primatas e envolvem as mais inusitadas espécies zoológicas.Since ancient times, parrots and their allies (Psittacidae) have fascinated Europeans by their striking colors and notable ability to interact with human beings. The discovery of the New World added new species to the international exotic animal trade, which for many centuries had brought beasts to Europe from Africa and the Orient. Lacking large mammals, tropical America participated in this trade with its most appealing species, essentially felines, primates and birds - especially parrots - which were shipped in large numbers. It should be noted, however, that at times these birds were not well liked. In fact, according to documents from colonial Brazil, only the ants rank higher than parrots as the animals most often mentioned as agricultural pests. On the other hand, some of these birds were so chatty that people suspected them to be demonic or possessed animals, since only three classes of beings - angels, men and demons - have the ability to speak. Nowadays, several Psittacidae still constitute a threat to agriculture, and the suspicion that extremely talkative birds were demon possessed has also survived. More than a joke or a mere curiosity, this belief exemplifies how intricate man’s relationships with the “natural world” may be. In this sense, the existence of birds that are able to speak adds a further twist to these relationships, demonstrating that the problem of establishing a boundary between the animal and the human does not only involve primates, but also includes some unusual zoological species

Francisci Willughbeii de Middleton in agro Warwicensi, armigeri, e Regia societate, Ornithologiae libri tres : in quibus aves omnes hactenus cognitae in methodum naturis suis convenientem redactae accurate describuntur, descriptiones iconibus elegantissimis & vivarum avium simillimis, aeri incisis illustrantur

totum opus recognovit, digessit, supplevit Joannes Raius ; sumptus in chalcographos fecit illustriss. D. Emma Willughby, viduaTitre impr. en rouge et noir dans un encadrement (double filet)Vignette au titre gravée sur cuivre (armes de la Royal Society)Illustration (taille-douce ; 17e siècle) ; pl. num. I-LXXVII, non sign. excepté six planches portant la signature de W. Sherwin, F.H. van Houe et W. FaithorneSignatures : [ ]² a⁴ A-Qq⁴Inde

Francisci Willughbeii De Middleton ... Ornithologiæ Libri Tres : In quibus Aves Omnes hactenus cognitæ In Methodum Naturis Suis convenientem redactæ Accurate Describuntur ; Descriptiones Iconibus elegantissimis et vivarum Avium simillimis, Æri incisis illustrantur : Descriptiones Iconibus Elegantissimus Et Vivarum Avium simillimis, Aeri incisis illustrantur

Totum Opus recognovit, digessit, supplevit Joannes RaiusTitelseite mit EinfassungAus dem Vorbesitz der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Zürich (Exemplar ZB Zürich; NNN 90 | G