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Rubyspira, a new genus of deep-sea snails (Gastropoda: Abyssochrysoidea) with two living species, derives its nutrition from decomposing whalebones. Molecular phylogenetic and morphological evidence places the new genus in an exclusively deep-sea assemblage that includes several close relatives previously known as fossils associated with Cretaceous cold seeps, plesiosaur bones, and Eocene whalebones. The ability to exploit a variety of marine reducing environments may have contributed to the evolutionary longevity of this gastropod lineage.

Measurements have been made of the distribution of natural ultraviolet radiation (UVR) at 41 sites on the face of a large fibreglass model of a head. The dosemeter used was the polymer film polysulphone. The results have been correlated with published values of the distribution of basal cell carcinomas on the face. Although the comparison has highlighted the problems of trying to relate frequency of skin tumour occurrence to sunlight exposure, the present results are compatible with the hypotheses that human skin cancer incidence increases with environmental UVR exposure, and that sunlight is not the only factor in the aetiology of basal cell carcinomas of the face.

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