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An overview of the petrography and petrology of particles from aggregate sample from asteroid Bennu
No full textAbstract: The OSIRIS‐REx mission returned a sample of regolith from the carbonaceous asteroid Bennu in September 2023. We present preliminary in situ investigations of the petrology and petrography of selected particles ranging in size from 0.5 to 3 mm. Using a combination of optical and electron beam techniques, we investigate whole specimens and polished sections belonging to morphologically and visually distinct categories of particles. We find that morphological differences in the particles are reflective of petrographic and petrologic differences, leading to the conclusion that we have at least two distinct major lithologies in the bulk sample. Our findings support predictions from remote sensing, suggesting that the morphological differences observed in the boulder population of Bennu correspond to petrologic differences. Our data provide insight into the geologic activity on Bennu's parent body and the petrographic framework needed to contextualize the detailed analyses of this pristine asteroidal material.Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Meteoritics & Planetary Sciencepublished by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Meteoritical Society.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use anddistribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. The linked file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Leveraging OCR and HTR cloud services towards data mobilisation of historical plant names
No full textAbstract - We present our solution to the problem of how to mobilise (that is, extract and enrich) digital data from the analogue, printed book version Sir Hans Sloane’s copy of John Ray’s Historia Plantarum, to create the first searchable facility of its kind to the plants contained in the Sloane Herbarium, housed in the National History Museum UK. The data mobilisation workflow presented here enables the automatic detection of printed and handwritten marginalia text and annotations in Sir Hans Sloane” personal copy of John Ray’s Historia Plantarum. The rationale of adopting AWS Amazon’s Textract service and the development of a specialised information extraction workflow for mobilising printed text and handwritten annotations is discussed. Testing of our workflow demonstrates the need for human-checking of outputs to ensure the accuracy of a large set of structured data comprising 7600 plant names and 4540 handwritten marginalia annotation. The links we have created serve as the first digital index to Sloan’s Herbarium, a unique development in the longer analogue and digital format-history of these resources.Copyright © The Author(s) 2024. The linked file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
A new euarthropod from the Soom Shale (Ordovician) Konservat‐Lagerstätte, South Africa, with exceptional preservation of the connective endoskeleton and myoanatomy
Full text linkA new exceptionally preserved euarthropod, Keurbos susanae gen. et sp. nov. from the Upper Ordovician Soom Shale Konservat‐Lagerstätte of South Africa, is described herein. Two specimens exhibit an unusual preservation style such that the cuticular exoskeleton is preserved in low relief but retains high‐fidelity details, whereas the internal anatomy is preserved in three dimensions and includes myoanatomy and aspects of the connective inter‐ and intrasegmental endoskeleton. The trunk has 46 homonomous segments and tapers towards the posterior. The dorsal surface comprises the posterior margins of tergites that form rounded paratergal folds at their lateral margins. Sternal morphology is seen from an internal view of the fossils and includes axial sternites and associated ovoid plates, both with fringing setae along their posterior margins. Patchy, incomplete preservation of the appendages is consistent with the ‘reversed’ taphonomy of these fossils in which sclerotized elements that project beyond the body margin, such as lamellae with vascular channels and pits, are preserved, whereas those inside the body margins are absent or poorly expressed. Euarthropod characters include an arthrodized tergal and sternal exoskeleton, and a segmental connective endoskeleton. Recent depopulation of the euarthropod stem group has witnessed conspicuously arthrodized fossils formerly placed in the stem group being shifted into the crown, increasing the likelihood that Keurbos is likewise a crown‐group euarthropod. Comparison with a phylogenetically disparate suite of similarly homonomous, multisegmented taxa indicates no convincing synapomorphies. The grouping of relevant middle Palaeozoic exemplars as ‘enantiopod’ pancrustaceans could suggest that Keurbos might be allied.Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Papers in Palaeontology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Palaeontological Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Publisher Correction: Facilitating high throughput collections-based genomics: a comparison of DNA extraction and library building methods
Full text linkCopyright © The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which
permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
High-spatial resolution functional chemistry of nitrogen compounds in the observed UK meteorite fall Winchcombe
Full text linkAbstract - Organic matter in extraterrestrial samples is a complex material that might have played an important role in the delivery of prebiotic molecules to the early Earth. We report here on the identification of nitrogen-containing compounds such as amino acids and N-heterocycles within the recent observed meteorite fall Winchcombe by high-spatial resolution spectroscopy techniques. Although nitrogen contents of Winchcombe organic matter are low (N/C ~ 1–3%), we were able to detect the presence of these compounds using a low-noise direct electron detector. These biologically relevant molecules have therefore been tentatively found within a fresh, minimally processed meteorite sample by high spatial resolution techniques conserving the overall petrographic context. Carbon functional chemistry investigations show that sizes of aromatic domains are small and that abundances of carboxylic functional groups are low. Our observations demonstrate that Winchcombe represents an important addition to the collection of carbonaceous chondrites and still preserves pristine extraterrestrial organic matter.Copyright © The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended
use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Earthworm Watch: Insights into urban earthworm communities in the UK using citizen science
No full textThe distribution of earthworm ecological groups in urban areas is not well-known, despite their crucial role in delivering soil ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and water drainage. Citizen science engages public audiences in the scientific research process and is an excellent tool for collecting biodiversity data in urban areas, where most of the UK population resides. However, a disadvantage is that differing levels of skill and engagement among participants can create statistical challenges. The Earthworm Watch citizen science project used 668 matched-pair surveys to estimate how the abundance and ecological diversity of earthworms respond to land management practices, and soil properties in UK urban habitats. A total of 5170 earthworms were counted during the project with a mean of 8 earthworms per soil pit - equivalent to a density of 198 earthworms per m2. Soil moisture and texture were the largest drivers of total earthworm abundance, with habitat borderline statistically insignificant. Endogeic earthworms were found in 71 % of soil pits, epigeic in 62 % and anecic in 33 %. Fertiliser use also had a significant effect on total abundance, but only when organic fertiliser was used. Earthworm ecological groups demonstrated varied responses to habitat, with endogeic earthworms consistently the most abundant group, showing slight preferences for grasslands and vegetable beds. Anecic earthworms had
the lowest abundance across all habitats but were more prevalent in grasslands and vegetable beds. Epigeic earthworms were most abundant beneath shrubs and hedges. These findings align with expected patterns of earthworm ecology, underscoring the potential of well-designed citizen science projects to yield valuable insights into urban earthworms and soil health.Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The linked file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
The genome sequence of the false flower beetle, Anaspis frontalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Full text linkWe present a genome assembly from a specimen of Anaspis frontalis (the false flower beetle; Arthropoda; Insecta; Coleoptera; Scraptiidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 808.55 megabases and 802.05 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (95.81%) is scaffolded into 8 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the X chromosome, while haplotype 2 is a scaffold-level assembly. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled and is 16.47 kilobases in length.Copyright: © 2025 Barclay MVL et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Redescription of Mesoschendyla javanica (Attems, 1907) and its first records from Borneo (Chilopoda, Geophilomorpha, Schendylidae)
Full text linkThe geophilomorph Mesoschendyla javanica (Attems, 1907) was originally described from a small number of males collected from bat guano in Tjompea (Ciampea), Java. Subsequently, no additional material was identified. The type series remained the only specimens belonging to this genus known from Asia.
Mesoschendyla javanica is re-discovered 118 years after its original description amongst centipedes collected from soil cores taken during the 1977–1978 Royal Geographical Society Gunung Mulu Expedition to Sarawak (Borneo, East Malaysia) and is deposited in the collection of the Natural History Museum (London). The new material comprising 49 specimens, amongst which are the first known females, is described and illustrated, shedding light on intraspecific morphological variation. The syntypes and sole previously available specimens are redescribed and illustrated, completing the summary original description of the species. Ecological and biogeographical notes are provided for Sarawak specimens.Copyright © Popovici G et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Shape and porosity of refractory inclusions in CV3 chondrites: A micro‐computed tomography (µCT) study
Full text linkAbstract - Refractory calcium‐aluminum‐rich inclusions (CAIs) and amoeboid olivine aggregates (AOAs) in chondritic meteorites are the earliest solids of our solar system, bearing the information of nebular condensation as well as accretion and asteroidal shock and metasomatism processes. While the compositions of refractory inclusions have been intensely studied for ~50 years, their physical properties such as shape and porosity are poorly constrained. Here, we present a microcomputed tomography (µCT) study on 16 refractory inclusions of condensate origin in five CV3 chondrites. We find that they are prolate or triaxial in shape with very rough morphologies. The CAIs have nodular textures and are thought to form by agglomerating individual nodules via collision‐induced bouncing and/or fragmentation, where the nodules were grown by gas–solid reactions during condensation. On the parent body, refractory inclusions from the CVR meteorite Leoville experienced intense shocks that led to the flattening of their shapes and lowering of their porosities. High‐temperature metasomatism in CVOxA meteorites and low‐temperature metasomatism in CVOxB meteorites do not seem to have large effects on the porosities of their refractory inclusions, which have similar ranges and pore‐size distributions. Instead, we infer that their pores are mostly inherited from the gas–solid condensation and subsequent agglomeration processes. The porosities of CAIs are higher than those of AOAs, which is mainly due to the high‐temperature sintering process of AOAs.Copyright © 2021 The Meteoritical Society (MET). The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Extent of alteration, paleomagnetic history, and infrared spectral properties of the Tarda ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite
Full text linkAbstract - Tarda is an ungrouped, hydrated carbonaceous chondrite (C2‐ung) that was seen to fall in Morocco in 2020. Early studies showed that Tarda chemically resembles another ungrouped chondrite, Tagish Lake (C2‐ung), which has previously been linked to the dark D‐type asteroids. Samples of D‐type asteroids provide an important opportunity to investigate primitive conditions in the outer solar system. We show that Tarda contains few intact chondrules and refractory inclusions and that its composition is dominated by secondary Mg‐rich phyllosilicates (>70 vol%), carbonates, oxides, and Fe‐sulfides that formed during extensive water–rock reactions. Quantitative assessment of first‐order reversal curve (FORC) diagrams shows that Tarda's magnetic mineralogy (i.e., framboidal magnetite) is comparable to that of the CI chondrites and differs notably from that of most CM chondrites. These traits support a common formation process for magnetite in Tarda and the CI chondrites. Furthermore, Tarda's pre‐terrestrial paleomagnetic remanence is similar to that of Tagish Lake and samples returned from asteroid Ryugu, with a very weak paleointensity (<0.6 μT) suggesting that Tarda's parent body accreted more distally than that of the CM chondrites, possibly at a distance of >5.4–8.3 AU. An origin in the cold, outer regions of the solar system is further supported by the presence of distinct, porous clasts enriched in aliphatic‐rich organics that potentially retain a pristine interstellar composition. Together, our observations support a genetic relationship between Tarda and Tagish Lake.Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Meteoritics & Planetary Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Meteoritical Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor