Paleontologists from the University of Kansas have described for the first time a species of ancient near-marsupial discovered in Texas’ Big Bend National Park. Dubbed Swaindelphys solastella, the new species is much larger than similar species of Swaindelphys known from that period.

The Moon’s surface has two main rock types: white highland anorthosite and dark lowland basalt. While both are common on the nearside, the farside lacks dark lowlands. Researchers found that nearside rocks are unusually rich in chlorine (Cl), unlike farside rocks. Farside crust materials, lacking Cl enrichment, likely formed from magma that preserves remnants of the original lunar magma ocean from 4.5 billion years ago.

For more than a century, a patch of cold water south of Greenland has resisted the Atlantic Ocean’s overall warming, fueling debate amongst scientists. A UC Riverside study identifies the cause as the long-term weakening of the AMOC, a major ocean circulation system.