INTERNACIONAL
Pope Francis dead at 88, Vatican says
Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church, who worked to instill progressive influences on the global church while maintaining unity with conservatives amid years of turmoil, died Monday morning, Vatican camerlengo Cardinal Kevin Farrell announced.
He was 88 years old.
«Dearest brothers and sisters, with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis. At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church,» Farrell announced.
«He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with fidelity, courage and universal love, especially in favor of the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of the One and Triune God.»
U.S. Vice President JD Vance had just met with the pope on Sunday.
«I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul,» Vance said early Monday morning in a post on X.
Pope Francis meets with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his delegation during an audience at Casa Santa Marta on April 20, 2025, in Vatican City, Vatican. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
The pope preached frequently on the Catholic virtues of mercy, kindness and humility. He did not shy away from controversy, and American presidents, including Donald Trump and Joe Biden, were not immune from his views.
Less than a month into President Donald Trump’s presidency, the pontiff criticized the Republican’s plans for the mass deportations of migrants, stressing that the forceful removal of people simply for their immigration status deprives them of their inherent dignity and «will end badly.»
In a strongly worded letter to U.S. Catholic Bishops, the pope appeared to counter remarks made by Vice President JD Vance — who had recently converted to Catholicism — after he suggested Americans should care for family, communities and the country before caring about others.
«Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups,» the pontiff wrote. «Worrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations.»
POPE FRANCIS EXPOSES CONFIDENTIAL DETAILS ABOUT HIS ELECTION AND RELATIONSHIPS IN LENGTHY INTERVIEW
Pope Francis meets with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and pastoral workers in Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 15, 2022. (Reuters/Pavel Mikheyev)
Pope Francis in 2015 became the first pontiff to ever address a Joint Meeting of Congress where he spoke on a range of topics including immigration, family, the death penalty, climate change, extremism, religious freedom and the refugee crisis.
He joined American bishops and urged American leaders to abolish capital punishment and said Congress has a «role to play» in addressing global warming.
In 2022 he questioned then President Biden’s conscience on abortion in an interview during which he described the commander-in-chief’s religious identity and views on abortion as incoherent. «A month after conception, the DNA of the fetus is already there and the organs are aligned. There is human life,» the pontiff said in the interview with Spanish-language outlet Univision.
He also weighed in on candidates Trump and Harris during the election campaign, where he bashed them both, saying, «Both are against life, be it the one who kicks out migrants, or be it the one who kills babies,″ he said, according to the Associated Press.
Just weeks before President Trump’s second inauguration, he appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy to be the Archbishop of Washington. McElroy had been critical of Trump’s immigration policies during his first term as president.
Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936 to Italian immigrant parents in Argentina, Francis made history as the first pope from the Americas — as well as the first Jesuit to hold the office.
He was elected pope in 2013 after the almost unprecedented retirement of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
Bergolio’s father, Mario, was an accountant for the railway industry, and his mother, Regina, was a homemaker and caregiver for her five children.
POPE FRANCIS FUELS NEW SPECULATION ON FUTURE OF PONTIFICATE
Pope Francis, born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, is shown here with his family. From left to right, standing, brother Alberto Horacio, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Oscar Adrian and sister Marta Regina, sitting, sister Maria Elena, mother Regina and father Mario Jose Francisco. (API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Throughout his early years, the future pope worked a number of menial jobs. He labored briefly in the stocking factory where his father was an accountant before moving on to other opportunities, including jobs as a bar bouncer and janitor.
He eventually sought a career as a chemical technician, receiving a diploma in chemistry from the secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial N° 27 Hipólito Yrigoyen. He also worked briefly in a food laboratory. However, his career in chemistry was short-lived.
He entered the priesthood at the Diocesan Seminary of Villa Devoto in Argentina. Francis was ordained a priest in 1969 and made his final profession with the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, in 1973. The same year, he was appointed as a provincial for the order.
His appointment as provincial was concurrent with the Dirty War, a period of intense state-led persecution of left-wing leaders and political dissidents. Bergolio experienced constant threats to his own safety as he worked to hide or aid in the escape of government targets, including many Catholic faithful.
Pope Francis’ is a fan of Argentina’s San Lorenzo Futbol Club. (API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
During that time, two Jesuit priests under his supervision were disappeared by the government, drugged and left barely alive in a field five months after their kidnapping. Pope Francis has said he was forced to negotiate with the regime for their release.
Bergolio would spend the next two decades bouncing from position to position at the direction of his superiors. He served as a professor of theology, seminary instructor, rector, doctoral student and parish priest.
In 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed Bergolio as titular Bishop of Auca and as an auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires. This was done at the request of Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, who consecrated him to the episcopacy.
Bergoglio proved vital to the nation’s Catholic community, and he was quickly raised to the dignity of Coadjutor Archbishop of Buenos Aires, serving alongside Quarracino and taking over the archdiocese entirely after his death the following year.
Bergoglio was given the crimson hat of a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
In 2013, after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Bergoglio was elected to the papacy, selecting the pontifical name «Francis» after St. Francis of Assisi — a choice that set the tone for the rest of his papacy.
POPE DERIDES BIDEN’S ABORTION VIEWS, CATHOLIC SELF-IDENTITY AS ‘INCOHERENCE’
Newly elected Pope Francis, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina appears on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica after being elected by the conclave of cardinals, at the Vatican on March 13, 2013. White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel chimney, and the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out, signaling at the time that the Roman Catholic cardinals had elected a pope to succeed Benedict XVI. (Tony Gentile/Reuters)
Pope Francis’s teachings as a priest, bishop, cardinal and pope were deeply influenced by his Jesuit vocation — viewing each person as a unique creation of God, with whom they can have a personal relationship. His ministry and leadership were committed to keeping doors open and making the church approachable to the public.
It was not only American politics that he had strong opinions of.
He faced criticism for specific remarks he made against Israel’s military operation in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave «very serious and shameful.» During that same speech, he condemned the growth of antisemitism throughout the world, Reuters reported. He also called for an end to the war in Ukraine and expressed concerns over climate change.
In 2023, seemingly looking to strike a balance, he formally allowed Catholic priests to give same-sex couples a blessing, which was seen as being a radical shift in church policy, the Associated Press reported at the time.
Pope Francis is also remembered for living a life of intense simplicity, denying himself a lavish papal apartment in the Vatican upon his election, and opting instead for a two-room suite in the Domus Santa Marta, a residence built by Pope John Paul II.
Pope Francis celebrates the traditional rite of the washing of feet at the Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary on April 6, 2023, in Rome, Italy. On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis went to the outskirts of Rome to celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Casal del Marmo juvenile penitentiary, where he carried out the traditional rite of the washing of the feet of twelve of the young people there. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
In contrast to his immediate predecessors, Pope Francis eschewed ornate robes or luxurious clothing. His outfit rarely consisted of more than a plain, white cassock tied with a papal fascia.
Pope Francis even dressed down his Ring of the Fisherman — a piece of gold jewelry worn by popes to signify their office — by having it made with silver and only wearing it for ceremonies.
Francis’s tenure continued the ongoing efforts to investigate decades of sexual abuse claims against priests across the world, including in the United States, with Francis vowing transparency in 2019.
«Transparency is now being implemented at the highest level,» said Archbishop Charles Scicluna, the Archbishop of Malta and Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, after Francis gave legal authorities access to documents about sexual abuse cases and abolished the «pontifical secret» of the cases.
POPE FRANCIS DEFROCKS NOTORIOUS BISHOP WHO CONFESSED TO ABUSING HIS NEPHEW
Pope Francis meets President Donald Trump during his first term in the Private Library of the Apostolic Palace with his wife, Melania, his daughter, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. (Vatican/Pool/Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori via Getty Images)
He continued Benedict’s work to root malicious clerics out of the Church hierarchy «with the wrath of God,» appointing task forces and establishing victim aid groups.
Pope Francis proved frustrating for a wide variety of conservatives, liberals, traditionalists and progressives.
His gentle — at times vague and confusing — language on key social issues, such as sexuality and divorce, frustrated conservatives hoping for a more aggressive champion of Catholic moral teaching.
In July 2017, a group of Catholic clergy and academics sent Pope Francis a «Filial Correction» document alleging seven serious theological mistakes made by the pontiff in public statements. The document’s assertions proved controversial within the Catholic Church and the document was never explicitly addressed.
Conversely, his refusal to back down from traditional church teachings on abortion, gay marriage, women’s ordination and priestly celibacy frustrated progressives hoping for a more modern church.
Echoing his time as a prelate in Argentina, Pope Francis was at times criticized from both sides of the aisle for his heavy hand enforcing Catholic unity on national and international levels.
Traditionalists voiced intense opposition to his apostolic letter «Traditionis custodes,» which restricted the celebration of the traditional Latin mass in an attempt to squash increasingly separatist conservative movements within the Church.
Pope Francis meets with then-President Joe Biden during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 29, 2021 in Vatican City. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool)
He similarly shut down discussion of many social issues that progressives have sought to reform.
In 2019, Pope Francis told a nun asking him to approve the ordination of women that «if the Lord didn’t want a sacramental ministry for women, it can’t go forward,» adding, «We are Catholics, but if anyone wants to found another church they are free [to do so].»
The hyper-progressive leadership of the Catholic Church in Germany was a target of his ire after the country’s clerical leaders attempted an upheaval of traditional teachings regarding gender and sexuality. The Vatican issued a series of letters, approved by Pope Francis, accusing the German church of risking separation from the Catholic Communion.
The conflict with German bishops encapsulated his papacy’s recurring themes of authority and unity, best exemplified in a passage from his «Letter to the Pilgrim People of God in Germany.»
POPE FRANCIS URGES CATHOLIC VOTERS TO ‘CHOOSE THE LESSER EVIL’ BETWEEN TRUMP AND HARRIS
Pope Francis delivers a speech during the Holy Mass with newly appointed Cardinals. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
In the letter, Pope Francis wrote, «The universal Church lives in and of the particular Churches, just as the particular Churches live and flourish in and from the universal Church. If they find themselves separated from the entire ecclesial body, they weaken, rot and die. Hence, the need always to ensure that communion with the whole body of the Church is alive and effective.»
Pope Francis visited dozens of countries, including the United States and Cuba in 2015, and went as far afield as Papua New Guinea, as well as visits to predominantly Muslim countries including Egypt, Morocco and Jordan.
Pope Francis struggled with health complications throughout his reign.
The pontiff dealt for many years with sciatica, a nerve condition that caused immense pain in his leg and at times hindered his ability to walk.
In 2021, Pope Francis was hospitalized for an intestinal surgery that removed 13 inches of his colon.
In March 2023, Francis was again taken to the hospital after experiencing intense chest pain and difficulty breathing. He was treated for a respiratory infection and released after antibiotic treatment.
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Pope Francis is welcomed as he arrives at the Apostolic Prefecture on Sept. 1, 2023 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. According to the Vatican, the trip was Pope Francis’s 43rd Apostolic Journey abroad and the 61st country he visited as Pope. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
In June of the same year, the pope was brought back for another abdominal surgery to repair an incisional hernia. He was released after making a full recovery.
He took a fall at his residence and suffered a contusion on his right arm in January 2025.
In February, he was once again hospitalized after a bout of bronchitis.
Following Pope Francis’ death, the Vatican has entered a time of sede vacante — in English, «empty seat.»
The Associated Press, Reuters and Fox News’ Annie Butterworth contributed to this report.
INTERNACIONAL
En medio de la tensión con Irán, EE.UU. pidió la evacuación del personal no esencial de su embajada en Israel
Estados Unidos recomendó este viernes al personal no esencial de su embajada en Jerusalén que abandone Israel, en un contexto de creciente tensión regional marcado por amenazas de un posible ataque estadounidense contra Irán y el temor a una escalada militar de amplio alcance.
La advertencia se produjo mientras Washington mantiene conversaciones diplomáticas de alto riesgo con Teherán, consideradas por varios analistas como un último intento para evitar un conflicto abierto.
Leé también: Irán y Estados Unidos lograron “progresos” en una nueva ronda de diálogos en Ginebra para evitar una guerra
La medida fue anunciada un día después de una tercera ronda de negociaciones indirectas entre Irán y Estados Unidos, bajo mediación de Omán. Ambas partes informaron “progresos”, aunque persisten profundas diferencias sobre el programa nuclear iraní y el régimen de sanciones.
Washington insiste en impedir que Teherán desarrolle armas nucleares, una acusación que la república islámica ha negado reiteradamente.
El ministro de Asuntos Exteriores de Omán, Badr Albusaidi, se reunió con el enviado especial de Estados Unidos, Steve Witkoff, y el yerno del presidente estadounidense Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, en Ginebra, Suiza, el 26 de febrero de 2026. (Foto: REUTERS)
Por otra parte, el clima de alerta se extendió más allá de la diplomacia estadounidense. China pidió a sus ciudadanos evacuar Irán “lo antes posible” y el Reino Unido retiró a su personal diplomático del país y anunció además la reubicación parcial de su embajada en Tel Aviv.
Alemania desaconsejó “con carácter de extrema urgencia” cualquier viaje a Israel.
En este contexto, el secretario de Estado estadounidense, Marco Rubio, tiene previsto viajar el lunes a Israel para discutir con las autoridades locales las “prioridades regionales”, con Irán como eje central. El 19 de febrero, el presidente Donald Trump había dado un ultimátum de “10 a 15 días” para definir si un acuerdo era viable o si recurriría a la fuerza.
Washington ya desplegó el mayor contingente militar en décadas en la región, incluidos dos portaviones. Entre ellos se encuentra el USS Gerald Ford, el mayor del mundo, que zarpó desde Creta y se dirige hacia la costa israelí. El antecedente inmediato es la breve guerra de junio, iniciada tras una ofensiva israelí contra Irán y respondida por Teherán con ataques sobre territorio israelí.
Leé también: En medio de la tensión con Irán, EE.UU. sumó 12 cazas F-22 a su imponente despliegue militar en Medio Oriente
Con estos antecedentes, la embajada estadounidense en Jerusalén instó a sus empleados no esenciales a abandonar el país “mientras haya vuelos comerciales disponibles”. El diario The New York Times informó que el embajador estadounidense, Mike Huckabee, envió un correo interno exhortando a quienes desearan partir a hacerlo “hoy mismo”.
La preocupación internacional también llegó a Naciones Unidas. El alto comisionado de la ONU para los Derechos Humanos, Volker Türk, se declaró “sumamente alarmado” por el riesgo de una escalada militar regional y sus consecuencias para la población civil.
El presidente estadounidense Donald Trump expresó públicamente este viernes su frustración con la postura iraní en las negociaciones, aunque aclaró que aún no tomó una decisión definitiva sobre el uso de la fuerza.
“No nos entusiasma la forma en que están negociando”, dijo, insistiendo en que Irán “no puede tener armas nucleares”. Consultado sobre el riesgo de una guerra total en Medio Oriente, Trump admitió que “cuando hay guerra, todo tiene un riesgo”. El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, habló con la prensa en la Casa Blanca este viernes. (Foto: Tom Brenner/REUTERS)
Desde Teherán, el canciller Abbas Araqchi reclamó a Washington abandonar “exigencias excesivas” y advirtió sobre errores de cálculo. Estados Unidos fijó como “línea roja” la prohibición total del enriquecimiento de uranio, algo que Irán considera un derecho soberano con fines civiles. El Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica (OIEA) pidió a Irán cooperación “urgente” para verificar sus instalaciones, según un informe confidencial citado por AFP.
A las fricciones nucleares se suma el tema de los misiles balísticos iraníes, que Washington e Israel consideran una amenaza estratégica. Teherán se niega a incluirlos en un eventual acuerdo, pese a que Trump afirmó recientemente que Irán desarrolla misiles capaces de amenazar a Europa e incluso a Estados Unidos.
Teherán insiste en que no busca armas nucleares y asegura haber limitado el alcance de sus misiles a 2.000 kilómetros. Una nueva ronda de negociaciones podría celebrarse en los próximos días, posiblemente en Ginebra, en un escenario donde la diplomacia avanza contrarreloj y la amenaza militar sigue latente.
(Con información de AFP)
Estados Unidos, Israel, Irán
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A Bill Clinton-appointed federal judge is among several drawing criticism for continuing to order the release of some of the 650 illegal immigrants arrested by ICE in Operation Country Roads.
In one case that drew public attention, Judge Joseph Goodwin of the Southern District of West Virginia granted the release of Salvadoran national Anderson Jesus Urquilla-Ramos, a decision the man’s attorney told Bloomberg Law «reinforces that immigration enforcement must operate within constitutional limits.»
In his order, Goodwin lashed out at ICE agents’ masks and warrant-free arrests, saying «antiseptic judicial rhetoric cannot do justice to what is happening.»
Goodwin characterized DHS’ behavior as an «assault on the constitutional order [and] what the Fourth Amendment was written to prevent,» according to WVMetroNews, and he permitted habeas corpus, a detained defendant’s ability to challenge his confinement.
ICE and DHS agents make an arrest. (Mostafa Bassim/Getty Images)
In Goodwin’s order releasing Yuri Aroca and Arley Valenzuela, he lambasted their detention after a traffic stop along the West Virginia Turnpike near Pax, West Virginia.
«I am not blind to the practical demands of immigration enforcement, including cooperation between state and federal authorities, but the Constitution presupposed restraint as the default of lawful authority,» he wrote in his ruling.
Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.V., who represents the southern half of the state, did not hold back in her response to the situation.
«If Judge Goodwin experienced even 1% of the threats and harassment that ICE officers receive, he might have had the courage to make a ruling based on the law and not his personal political agenda,» Miller said.
«Thankfully, he, his family and his home are free from the fear of doxxing and danger coming from the radical leftists — our ICE agents are not as fortunate.»
Miller said masking protects ICE agents from those who want to harm them and keeps their families out of the «crosshairs of the mobs that continue to terrorize our cities.»
FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN LARGE PARTS OF TRUMP MASS DETENTION POLICIES FOR MIGRANTS
Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.V. (Bill Clark)
Operation Country Roads netted hundreds of illegal immigrants from Charles Town in the north to Beckley in the south, and many of the cases fall within the Charleston-based Southern District of West Virginia.
Moore Capito, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, defended the state’s partnership with federal law enforcement in comments to Fox News Digital.
«We in the Southern District of West Virginia have the most committed and cooperative law enforcement partners that you will find,» Capito said.
«Day after day, they are on the front lines working to keep our communities safe. Our officers take precautions to protect themselves and their families from retaliation, the same way members of the judiciary rely on institutional protections every day.»
Capito said his office will continue to support law enforcement while responding to several petitions, adding that the cases involving the now-released individuals are ripe for appeal.
In one of his orders, Goodwin wrote that «no specific danger has been identified that required these agents to be masked for this arrest,» a statement the White House took particular exception to.
«ICE officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them because of dangerous, untrue smears from elected Democrats,» spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.
«ICE officers wear masks to protect themselves and their families from being doxxed. ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals is simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.»
An Obama-appointed judge, Irene Berger, who also recently blunted a key tenet of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s «MAHA» agenda, ordered the similarly reasoned release of a noncitizen big rig driver detained at the Ghent Toll Plaza on the turnpike.
Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.V., who represents the northern half of the state, including Jefferson County, where local law enforcement collaborated with ICE to quickly remove suspects from the streets, agreed with Miller that judges should understand the dangers faced by agents.
«ICE agents are being doxxed, and their families are being attacked by radical leftists just for doing their jobs,» Moore told Fox News Digital.
«We’ve seen time and again what violent leftists are capable of, and our ICE agents should never be subjected to this terrible treatment.»
FEDERAL JUDGE RELEASES FOUR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF MURDER, SEX CRIMES FROM ICE CUSTODY
Moore called Goodwin’s ruling «shameful» and said it puts ideology above protecting American families.
«I am grateful to the brave ICE agents who are doing their duty to defend America,» he said. Gov. Patrick Morrisey shared the sentiment.
«We stand with President Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and we are confident that as these cases move through the justice system, the court will find that the protection and safety of federal agents is constitutional,» Morrisey told Fox News Digital.
«We also stand firmly with ICE. The safety of law enforcement officers is paramount.»
Morrisey said that threats of doxxing, targeted harassment and violence are «very real.»
«There is a clear need to protect those who serve,» he said, disagreeing with the tact from the bench.
«These men and women put themselves in harm’s way to enforce the law, and we will always stand alongside our fellow officers.»
Some released individuals named President Donald Trump as a defendant, signaling the federal government would be the party to appeal. Others listed West Virginia corrections official Christopher Mason, ICE Director Todd Lyons and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Asked about the cases and what next steps might be, a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that concerns over agents’ tactics and masking have been «reaffirmed» through a recent California court case.
«Laws banning federal agents from wearing protective masks are unconstitutional,» the spokesperson said.
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«This Department of Justice is focused on law and order, public safety, and will not tolerate any violence directed toward law enforcement officials working tirelessly to keep Americans safe, despite the best efforts of activist judges who’d rather see violent illegal criminals walk free.»
Fox News Digital reached out to the rest of West Virginia’s delegation — Sens. Jim Justice II and Shelley Moore Capito — for comment.
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INTERNACIONAL
Tras décadas oculto en el Museo de Historia Natural de Chile, identifican una nueva especie de pulpo
Un equipo de científicos chilenos identificó una nueva especie de pulpo de aguas profundas en el Pacífico suroriental. El anuncio, realizado en Santiago de Chile, involucra a académicos del Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad de la Universidad Andrés Bello. El hallazgo responde a la pregunta sobre qué nuevas formas de vida habitan las profundidades del océano en esa región.
La investigación, publicada en la Revista de Ciencias Marinas e Ingeniería, señala que los ejemplares fueron encontrados entre los años 1980 y 2007 y permanecieron sin identificar en colecciones biológicas internacionales y chilenas. La nueva especie pertenece al género Graneledone y recibió el nombre de Graneledone Sellanesi.
El descubrimiento destaca la riqueza oculta de la fauna marina y sugiere la existencia de especies aún no documentadas en la zona.
Los investigadores María Cecilia Pardo y Christian Ibáñez lideraron el trabajo y eligieron el nombre en homenaje a Javier Sellanes, académico de la Universidad Católica del Norte de Chile y referente en la investigación oceánica nacional. Según los investigadores, este hallazgo representa la primera identificación de una nueva especie de Graneledone en 25 años. El género ahora suma once especies reconocidas a nivel mundial, lo que reafirma la importancia del Pacífico suroriental como un reservorio clave de biodiversidad marina.
El avance científico fue posible gracias al análisis de ejemplares conservados en museos de Alemania, Estados Unidos, Nueva Zelanda y Chile. Siete de estos ejemplares, recolectados por el Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Santiago, permanecieron décadas sin identificar. Un ejemplar adicional apareció en 2007 durante una captura de bacalao y nunca se clasificó oficialmente. El estudio sistemático de estos especímenes permitió confirmar la existencia de una especie única. El equipo analizó rasgos fenotípicos, como las verrugas que cubren la piel, cuyo número y disposición resultaron determinantes para distinguir al nuevo pulpo de otras especies del género descubierto.
El hallazgo pone en valor el trabajo de los museos y la importancia de revisar ejemplares históricos.
Las colecciones biológicas internacionales y chilenas guardaban ejemplares desde hace décadas. Muchos de estos pulpos permanecieron sin clasificar, esperando una revisión exhaustiva. Los registros más antiguos corresponden a capturas realizadas entre 1980 y 1997 en el sur de Chile. El análisis de los ejemplares observaciones morfológicas detalladas, que permitieron identificar características únicas de la nueva especie.
Además, la colaboración internacional resultó clave para reunir información suficiente y confirmar la singularidad del Graneledone Sellanesi. Según los investigadores, la revisión de especímenes conservados contribuye a esclarecer la diversidad marina del Pacífico suroriental y puede inspirar nuevas investigaciones en la región.
El hallazgo de ejemplares en capturas accidentales, como el caso de 2007 durante una pesca de bacalao, demuestra que la biodiversidad marina aún oculta sorpresas. El trabajo meticuloso de los científicos permitió rescatar información valiosa de especímenes que, de otro modo, habrían permanecido en el anonimato.
La especie presenta rasgos morfológicos únicos, especialmente en la disposición de las verrugas de su piel.
Los investigadores destacan la importancia de los rasgos fenotípicos en la identificación del nuevo pulpo. Las verrugas que cubren la piel varían en número y disposición respecto a otras especies del género. Esta característica se suma a diferencias genéticas que confirman su condición de especie única. Las observaciones morfológicas resultaron determinantes para comprender el valor del hallazgo.
De acuerdo con el estudio de las verrugas y otros rasgos visibles, se pudo concluir que era un ser único en el ecosistema marino. La aparición de una nueva especie de pulpo en el oceáno confirma el potencial inexplorado de la región. El estudio de la especie sienta bases para investigar la evolución y adaptación en ambientes extremos.
La comunidad científica valora el aporte de este descubrimiento para la conservación y el manejo sustentable de los ecosistemas marinos. Los investigadores instan a fortalecer la exploración de aguas profundas y la protección de la biodiversidad en el Pacífico suroriental, una de las regiones más ricas y menos exploradas del planeta.
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Nuevo cambio en el equipo de Caputo: renunció el secretario de Finanzas y lo reemplazará Furiase
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Anularon la destitución de Cecilia Goyeneche y vuelve a ser fiscal anticorrupción de Entre Ríos
El Senado aprobó el Régimen Penal Juvenil y la edad de imputabilidad bajará a 14 años
Jorge Macri prepara su discurso para abrir el año legislativo: el deseo de reelección y el espejo en Bukele
Crisis en la industria: otra multinacional se achica y cierra una planta en la Argentina
Daiana Fernández Molero defendió la reforma laboral: “Va a haber mayor creación de empleo porque va a ser más fácil contratar en blanco”
Uno por uno, todos los famosos que saludaron a Mirtha Legrand por sus 99 años
POLITICA3 días agoJorge Macri prepara su discurso para abrir el año legislativo: el deseo de reelección y el espejo en Bukele
- ECONOMIA2 días ago
Crisis en la industria: otra multinacional se achica y cierra una planta en la Argentina
- CHIMENTOS22 horas ago
Alarma por la salud de Divina Gloria tras salir de Gran Hermano: “La internaron directamente en terapia intensiva”
