Earthquakes not ruled out in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka can no longer be considered isolated from the effects of seismic activities, said chairman of the Sub Committee on Developing Building Guidelines for Earthquake Resistant Designs, of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) K.L.S.Sahabandu.

The chairman said recent geological studies have identified that the Indo - Australian Plate is splitting at a distance of 500- 700 km away from the southwest coast of Sri Lanka, creating a new plate margin. This may lead Sri Lanka to be more vulnerable to earthquakes in the future than today .

The first documented earthquake in Sri Lanka occurred in 1615 AD which killed thousands of people. In the recent past we have experienced many earth tremors, but, no major damage to structures were reported.

But any future earthquake close to a city centre such as Colombo will have disastrous consequences due to its present development and population.

Therefore we have understood the necessity to study the seismic effects on Sri Lanka and take appropriate action to mitigate the same, said the Chairman.

100-million-year-old coelacanth fish discovered in Texas

A new species of coelacanth fish has been discovered in Texas. The species is now the youngest coelacanth from Texas; fish jaw and cranial material indicate a new family -- Dipluridae -- that was evolutionary transition between two previously known families.

Pieces of tiny fossil skull found in Fort Worth have been identified as 100 million-year-old coelacanth bones, according to paleontologist John F. Graf, Southern Methodist University, Dallas.The coelacanth has one of the longest lineages -- 400 million years -- of any animal. It is the fish most closely related to vertebrates, including humans.

The SMU specimen is the first coelacanth in Texas from the Cretaceous, said Graf, who identified the fossil. The Cretaceous geologic period extended from 146 million years ago to 66 million years ago.Graf named the new coelacanth species Reidus hilli.

Reidus hilli is now the youngest coelacanth identified in the Lone Star State.Previously the youngest was a 200 million-year-old coelacanth from the Triassic. Reidus hilli is the first coelacanth ever identified from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.Coelacanth fossils have been found on every continent except Antarctica. Few have been found in Texas, Graf said.

The coelacanth fish has eluded extinction for 400 million years. Scientists estimate the coelacanth reached its maximum diversity during the Triassic.

The coelacanth was thought to have gone extinct about 70 million years ago. That changed, however, when the fish rose to fame in 1938 after live specimens were caught off the coast of Africa. Today coelacanths can be found swimming in the depths of the Indian Ocean.

These animals have one of the longest lineages of any vertebrates that we know,” Graf said.The SMU specimen demonstrates there was greater diversity among coelacanths during the Cretaceous than previously known.

“What makes the coelacanth interesting is that they are literally the closest living fish to all the vertebrates that are living on land,” he said. “They share the most recent common ancestor with all of terrestrial vertebrates.”

Coelacanths have boney support in their fins, which is the predecessor to true limbs.“Boney support in the fins allows a marine vertebrate to lift itself upright off the sea floor,” Graf said, “which would eventually lead to animals being able to come up on land.”

Graf identified Reidus hilli from a partial skull, including gular plates, which are bones that line the underside of the jaw.

“Coelacanths are not the only fish that have gular plates, but they are one of the few that do,” Graf said. “In fact, the lenticular shape of these gular plates is unique to coelacanths. That was the first indicator that we had a fossil coelacanth.”

- ScienceDaily

[News in Brief]

by Rohana JAYALAL

Sigiriya rock damaged by lightning

World famous Sigiriya rock fortress was damaged after it was struck by lightning during heavy thunder showers experienced in the area last week .Local media reported that a wall near the Lion's Paw in the Sigiriya Rock has been damaged by a bolt of lightning.

Around 10 feet wide portion of the wall on the side of the Lion's Paw, which is the entrance to the historic rock, has fallen off due to the lightning.The overseeing authority, Central Cultural Fund said the damage is not severe and repairs will be done shortly. Sigiriya, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the major tourist attractions of Sri Lanka.

Pass rate of the O/Ls to be improved

The Education Ministry aims to improve the pass rate of the O/L examination upto 80 per cent by 2016 by raising the quality of the local education,Ministry source said.

The pass rate of the O/L is about 60 per cent at present.

The Ministry in collaboration with the Examination Department and Educational Publications Department would commence issuing evaluation reports to the market on a yearly basis for subjects on which students have scored comparatively low marks.

The subjects on which the Evaluation Reports have been prepared will be based on the results of the 2010 O/L examination and include Mathematics, Science, English, History, Sinhala and Tamil.

He said these publications will be distributed free among government school teachers. The publications are available at a nominal price.