[Entomology • 2015] Deuteragenia ossarium | Bone-house Wasp • A Unique Nest-Protection Strategy in a New Species of Spider Wasp

Figure 2. Nest protection in Deuteragenia ossarium.
(A) Overview of a nest. Individual brood cells are separated by thin walls of soil material. (B) The nest is closed by a vestibular cell filled with dead ants. (C) Contents of a vestibular cell. Pachycondyla astuta was the ant species most commonly found, but other ant species, such as Polyrhachis illaudata Walker, 1859 (lowest ant specimen), occurred as well. (D) Freshly eclosed adult female of D. ossarium.

Scale bar: (A) 15 mm, (B) 5 mm, (C, D) 10 mm. Photographs: Merten Ehmig (A, B), Michael Staab (C, D).

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101592.g001

Abstract

Hymenoptera show a great variation in reproductive potential and nesting behavior, from thousands of eggs in sawflies to just a dozen in nest-provisioning wasps. Reduction in reproductive potential in evolutionary derived Hymenoptera is often facilitated by advanced behavioral mechanisms and nesting strategies. Here we describe a surprising nesting behavior that was previously unknown in the entire animal kingdom: the use of a vestibular cell filled with dead ants in a new spider wasp (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) species collected with trap nests in South-East China. We scientifically describe the ‘Bone-house Wasp’ as Deuteragenia ossarium sp. nov., named after graveyard bone-houses or ossuaries. We show that D. ossarium nests are less vulnerable to natural enemies than nests of other sympatric trap-nesting wasps, suggesting an effective nest protection strategy, most likely by utilizing chemical cues emanating from the dead ants.

Figure 1. Trap nests to collect solitary cavity-nesting Hymenoptera.
(A) Exposed trap nest in the Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, the type locality of Deuteragenia ossarium. (B) Occupied reed internodes containing nests are identifiable by the characteristic nest seal that, in most species, consists of soil material. (C) Opened nests reared in test tubes closed with cotton wool.

Photographs: Michael Staab. || doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101592.g001

Etymology: The new species is named after the Latin ‘ossarium’, which means bone-house or ossuary. An ‘ossarium’ is a covered site, where human remains are deposited. The species name is an allusion to the unusual nesting strategy of the new species, which closes the nest with a vestibular cell filled with dead ants. This reminds us of historical bone-houses in monasteries and graveyards, which over time were filled with piles of human bones. The new name is a noun in apposition.

Suggested common name: As a common name for D. ossarium we suggest in reference to its biology the use of ‘Bone-house Wasp’.

Distribution: Known only from South-East China.

Figure 2. Nest protection in Deuteragenia ossarium.
(A) Overview of a nest. Individual brood cells are separated by thin walls of soil material. (B) The nest is closed by a vestibular cell filled with dead ants. (C) Contents of a vestibular cell. Pachycondyla astuta was the ant species most commonly found, but other ant species, such as Polyrhachis illaudata Walker, 1859 (lowest ant specimen), occurred as well. (D) Freshly eclosed adult female of D. ossarium.

Scale bar: (A) 15 mm, (B) 5 mm, (C, D) 10 mm. Photographs: Merten Ehmig (A, B), Michael Staab (C, D).

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101592.g001

Michael Staab, Michael Ohl, Chao-Dong Zhu and Alexandra-Maria Klein. 2014.
A Unique Nest-Protection Strategy in a New Species of Spider Wasp.
PLoS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0101592

[Herpetology • 2015] Turtles and Tortoises of the World during the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity: First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians

Figure 14. Two species of extinct giant tortoises, Cylindraspis vosmaeri (larger, saddlebacked) and C. peltastes (smaller, domed) in their native habitat on Rodrigues Island in the late 1600s when accounts indicate the herds of tortoises were so large and dense that it was possible to walk for long distances on their backs without touching the ground (Leguat 1707).

Painting by Julian Pender Hume (from Griffiths et al. 2013).

ABSTRACT 

We provide a first checklist and review of all recognized taxa of the world’s extinct Pleistocene and Holocene (Quaternary) turtles and tortoises that existed during the early rise and global expansion of humanity, and most likely went extinct through a combination of earlier hominin (e.g., Homo erectus, H. neanderthalensis) and later human (H. sapiens) exploitation, as well as being affected by concurrent global or regional climatic and habitat changes. This checklist complements the broader listing of all modern and extant turtles and tortoises by the Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (2014). We provide a comprehensive listing of taxonomy, names, synonymies, and stratigraphic distribution of all chelonian taxa that have gone extinct from approximately the boundary between the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene, ca. 2.6 million years ago, up through 1500 AD, at the beginning of modern times. We also provide details on modern turtle and tortoise taxa that have gone extinct since 1500 AD. This checklist currently includes 100 fossil turtle and tortoise taxa, including 84 named and apparently distinct species, and 16 additional taxa that appear to  represent additional valid species, but are only identified to genus or family. Modern extinct turtles and tortoises include 8 species, 3 subspecies, and 1 unnamed taxon, for 12 taxa. Of the extinct fossil taxa, terrestrial tortoises of the family Testudinidae (including many large-bodied island forms) are the most numerous, with 60 taxa. When the numbers for fossil tortoises are combined with the 61 modern (living and extinct) species of tortoises, of the 121 tortoise species that have existed at some point since the beginning of the Pleistocene, 69 (57.0%) have gone extinct. This likely reflects the high vulnerability of these large and slow terrestrial (often insular) species primarily to human exploitation. The other large-bodied terrestrial turtles, the giant horned turtles of the family Meiolaniidae, with 7 taxa (also often insular), all went extinct by the Late Holocene while also exploited by humans. The total global diversity of turtles and tortoises that has existed during the history of hominin utilization of chelonians, and that are currently recognized as distinct and included on our two checklists, consists of 336 modern species and 100 extinct Pleistocene and Holocene taxa, for a total of 436 chelonian species. Of these, 109 species (25.0%) and 112 total taxa are estimated to have gone extinct since the beginning of the Pleistocene. The chelonian diversity and its patterns of extinctions during the Quaternary inform our understanding of the impacts of the history of human exploitation of turtles and the effects of climate change, and their relevance to current and future patterns.

Key Words: Reptilia, Testudines, turtle, tortoise, chelonian, taxonomy, distribution, extinction, fossils, paleontology, archaeology, humanity, hominin, exploitation, chelonophagy, megafauna, island refugia, climate change, Pliocene, Pleistocene, Holocene, Anthropocene, Quaternary

Anders G.J. Rhodin, Scott Thomson, Georgios L. Georgalis, Hans-Volker Karl, Igor G. Danilov, Akio Takahashi, Marcelo S. de la Fuente, Jason R. Bourque, Massimo Delfino, Roger Bour, John B. Iverson, H. Bradley Shaffer and Peter Paul van Dijk. 2015. Turtles and Tortoises of the World during the Rise and Global Spread of Humanity: First Checklist and Review of Extinct Pleistocene and Holocene Chelonians. In: Rhodin, A.G.J., Pritchard, P.C.H., van Dijk, P.P., Saumure, R.A., Buhlmann, K.A., Iverson, J.B., and Mittermeier, R.A. (Eds.). Conservation Biology of Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises: A Compilation Project of the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. Chelonian Research Monographs. 5(8):1-66. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.3854/crm.5.000e.fossil.checklist.v1.2015

 iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Accounts/crm_5_000e_fossil_checklist_v1_2015.pdf

Researchgate.net/publication/275040990_Turtles_and_tortoises_of_the_world_during_the_rise_and_global_spread_of_humanity_first_checklist_and_review_of_extinct_Pleistocene_and_Holocene_chelonians

http://www.iucn-tftsg.org/recently-extinct-turtles-of-the-world/

Griffiths, O., Andre, A., and Meunier, A. 2013. Tortoise Breeding and ‘Re-Wilding’ on Rodrigues Island. In: Castellano, C.M., Rhodin, A.G.J., Ogle, M., Mittermeier, R.A., Randriamahazo, H., Hudson, R., and Lewis, R.E. (Eds.). Turtles on the Brink in Madagascar: Proceedings of Two Workshops on the Status, Conservation, and Biology of Malagasy Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles. Chelonian Research Monographs. 6:171–177.
http://www.chelonian.org/wp-content/uploads/file/CRM%206/28-Griffiths&al.pdf

[Mollusca • 2014] Additions to the Genus Phyllodesmium; Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum & P. undulatum, with A Phylogenetic Analysis and its implications to the Evolution of Symbiosis

Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum 

Abstract

The facelinid genus Phyllodesmium (Ehrenberg, 1831) consists of approximately 24 described species that prey upon soft-bodied corals. At least five additional species have yet to be described, making it an interesting genus for testing phylogenetic hypotheses. The genus is extremely morphologically diverse, with many species adapting specifically to a specific host coral. One of the most interesting adaptations found in this genus is the widespread participation in a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium. Two new species, Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum n. sp. and Phyllodesmium undulatum n. sp., from the Philippine Islands and Japan are described, and a morphological phylogeny is created to include the two new species, as well as three undescribed species. An examination of the Phyllodesmium phylogeny suggests that species with digestive gland branching and zooxanthellae are more derived. Confidence and robustness in this analysis are lacking, however, and further studies using molecular data could add confidence to this conclusion.

Figure 1. A, Phyllodesmium acanthorhinum n. sp., photo: Robert Bolland;
B, Phyllodesmium undulatum n. sp., photo: T. Gostmer.

Elizabeth Moore and Terrence M. Gosliner. 2014. Additions to the Genus Phyllodesmium, with A Phylogenetic Analysis and its implications to the Evolution of Symbiosis. The Veliger. 51(4):237-251.

ResearchGate.net/publication/269036817_Additions_to_the_genus_Phyllodesmium_with_a_phylogenetic_analysis_and_its_implications_to_the_evolution_of_symbiosis

http://rfbolland.com/okislugs/phylac1b.html

[Botany • 2014] Tillandsia religiosa • A New Species (Bromeliaceae) from the state of Morelos, México

Tillandsia religiosa Hern.-Cárdenas, González-Rocha, Espejo, López-Ferr., Cerros & Ehlers

DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.184.1.7

Abstract 

Tillandsia religiosa Hern.-Cárdenas, González-Rocha, Espejo, López-Ferr., Cerros & Ehlers, a new species from Morelos, Mexico is described and illustrated. The new species is compared to taxa with similar characteristics, T. taxcoensis Ehlers, T. thyrsigera E. Morren ex Baker and T. superinsignis Matuda. Images and a distribution map of the new taxon are included. 

Keywords: Bromeliaceae

Tillandsia religiosa

Hern.-Cárdenas, González-Rocha, Espejo, López-Ferr., Cerros & Ehlers, sp. nov. Fig. 1 A–F.

Tillandsia religiosa is similar to T. taxcoensis Ehlers from which it differs by having oblong-elliptic vs. ovate leaf-sheaths, its shorter spike stipes, flowers 9–16 vs. 5–6 per spike, and its glabrous and pruinose vs. densely cinereous-lepidote flower bracts.

Type:— MEXICO, Morelos, municipio de Tlayacapan: 920 m al SW de San José de los Laureles (en línea recta), rumbo a la barranca Tepecapa, taludes en bosque tropical caducifolio y bosque de Quercus, 1800 m, 18°58’29’’ N, 99°00’25’’ W, 23 January 2011, A. Espejo, R. A. Hernández-Cárdenas, R. Cerros T., J. Espejo, A. Flores-Morales, L. J. Hernández Barón y J. Mora 7419 (holotype UAMIZ(x4)!, isotypes IEB(x3)!).

Etymology:—Specific epithet refers to the religious-ornamental use of these plants by the people of the villages of the Sierra de Tepoztlán, like Tlayacapan, Tepoztlán and San José de los Laureles. The entire plants or the inflorescences are used in altar scenes (“nacimientos”) during Christmas celebrations (Figure 2B). 

FIGURE 2. Tillandsia religiosa
A. Habit (type collection). B. Plants used as ornaments in “nacimiento” at Tlayacapan. 

Comments:—Because of its saxicolous habit, rossette and inflorescence morphology, Tillandsia religiosa could be confused, particularly in herbarium material, with T. superinsignis Matuda (1973: 189), and with T. thyrsigera E Morren ex Baker (1889: 185). However, these two last species have violet corollas, while the new taxon has green petals. Tillandsia religiosa is also similar to T. taxcoensis Ehlers (1996: 26) (Figure 2C, D), as both species have similar type of inflorescences and green petals, but there are clear differences between the two taxa that are shown in table 1 and figure 2C, D.

Rodrigo Hernández-Cárdenas, Edith González-Rocha, Adolfo Espejo-Serna, Ana Rosa López-Ferrari, Rosa Cerros-Tlatilpa, and Renate Ehlers. 2014. Tillandsia religiosa, A New Species from the state of Morelos, México. Phytotaxa. 184(1): 053–057. 

DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.184.1.7

Resumen 

Se describe e ilustra Tillandsia religiosa Hern.-Cárdenas, González-Rocha, Espejo, López-Ferr., Cerros & Ehlers con material procedente del estado de Morelos, México. La nueva especie se compara con T. taxconesis Ehlers, T. thyrsigera E. Morren ex Baker y T. superinsignis Matuda, las cuales presentan características similares. Se incluyen imágenes y un mapa de distribución del nuevo taxon propuesto.

[Invertebrate • 2014] Dendrogramma, New Genus, with Two New Non-Bilaterian Species from the Marine Bathyal of Southeastern Australia (Animalia, Metazoa incertae sedis) – with Similarities to Some Medusoids from the Precambrian Ediacara

Figure 1. Dendrogramma gen. nov.,
paratypes of D. enigmatica and (with *) D. discoides.

Figure 3. Dendrogramma enigmatica sp. nov., holotype.

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102976.g003

Abstract

A new genus, Dendrogramma, with two new species of multicellular, non-bilaterian, mesogleal animals with some bilateral aspects, D. enigmatica and D. discoides, are described from the south-east Australian bathyal (400 and 1000 metres depth). A new family, Dendrogrammatidae, is established for Dendrogramma. These mushroom-shaped organisms cannot be referred to either of the two phyla Ctenophora or Cnidaria at present, because they lack any specialised characters of these taxa. Resolving the phylogenetic position of Dendrogramma depends much on how the basal metazoan lineages (Ctenophora, Porifera, Placozoa, Cnidaria, and Bilateria) are related to each other, a question still under debate. At least Dendrogramma must have branched off before Bilateria and is possibly related to Ctenophora and/or Cnidaria. Dendrogramma, therefore, is referred to Metazoa incertae sedis. The specimens were fixed in neutral formaldehyde and stored in 80% ethanol and are not suitable for molecular analysis. We recommend, therefore, that attempts be made to secure new material for further study. Finally similarities between Dendrogramma and a group of Ediacaran (Vendian) medusoids are discussed.

Figure 8. Possible positions of Dendrogramma in a simplified phylogeny showing the deepest splits in the metazoan Tree of Life.
The position of Ctenophora is controversial so two possibilities have been shown with dashed lines, one as sister group to the remaining metazoans (the ‘Ctenophora-first’ hypothesis), and one as sister group to Cnidaria (Coelenterata hypothesis). We suggest that Dendrogramma most likely is related to Ctenophora and/Cnidaria (red arrows) due to general similarities in body organisation (see Discussion). However, depending on the position of Ctenophora and on whether certain aspects of Dendrogramma (e.g., mesoglea and gastrovascular system) are ancestral for Metazoa or modified, Dendrogramma can be positioned in a variety of ways below Bilateria (yellow oval).

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102976.g008

Figure 1. Dendrogramma gen. nov., all 15 paratypes of D. enigmatica and (with *) D. discoides.
Photographs taken after shrinkage (see Material and Methods).

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102976.g001

Metazoa

It has been suggested during review that Dendrogramma could represent a new non-bilaterian phylum. While we may agree, we refrain from erecting such a high-level taxon for the time being, because new material is needed to resolve many pertinent outstanding questions.

Dendrogrammatidae, new family

Diagnosis: Multicellular, mesogleal, apparently diploblastic animal. Body divided into cylindrical stalk and broad, flat disc (Figs 2A, B, 3, 4, 5A, 7). Simple round mouth opening situated in slightly depressed lobed field on rounded apex of stalk. With gastrovascular system comprising a simple tube centrally in stalk (pharynx) running from mouth to base of disc, then branching dichotomously, including first branching node (Fig. 6B), in disc at right angles to stalk. Epidermis composed of single layer of low, uniform cells; gastrodermis composed of single layer of elongate, vacuolated cells tapering towards narrow gastrovascular canal (pharynx) (Fig. 2C); epidermis of mouth-field lobes with thickened, elongate, apparently vacuolated/glandular cells (Fig. 2D). Dense mesoglea milky translucent when formalin fixed except for refractive sheath of spongiose mesoglea surrounding gastrodermis of gastrovascular canal in stalk (pharynx) (Figs 2C, 5C). Mesoglea criss-crossed by fibrils including cylindrical sheet under epidermis (Fig. 2C, D).

Dendrogramma, new genus

Diagnosis: With the characters of the family.

Etymology: The name of the genus alludes to the branching pattern of the gastrovascular system of the disc.

Type-species: Dendrogramma enigmatica new species.

Etymology: This species has been and still is a great enigma.

Additional species: Dendrogramma discoides new species.

Etymology: This species is named for the shape of the disc.

Figure 3. Dendrogramma enigmatica sp. nov., holotype.
A, B, lateral views; C, aboral view, D, adoral view. Photographs taken after shrinkage.

doi: dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102976.g003

Jean Just, Reinhardt Møbjerg Kristensen and Jørgen Olesen. 2014. Dendrogramma, New Genus, with Two New Non-Bilaterian Species from the Marine Bathyal of Southeastern Australia (Animalia, Metazoa incertae sedis) – with Similarities to Some Medusoids from the Precambrian Ediacara.

PLoS ONE 9 (9): e102976. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102976

Skinner, Nicole. 2014. Sea creatures add branch to tree of life. Nature. doi: 10.1038/nature.2014.15833.

[Paleontology • 2015] The Origin of Snakes: revealing the Ecology, Behavior, and Evolutionary History of Early Snakes using Genomics, Phenomics, and the Fossil Record

Reconstruction of the ancestral crown-group snake, based on the new study.

Artwork by Julius Csotonyi.

Abstract

Background

The highly derived morphology and astounding diversity of snakes has long inspired debate regarding the ecological and evolutionary origin of both the snake total-group (Pan-Serpentes) and crown snakes (Serpentes). Although speculation abounds on the ecology, behavior, and provenance of the earliest snakes, a rigorous, clade-wide analysis of snake origins has yet to be attempted, in part due to a dearth of adequate paleontological data on early stem snakes. Here, we present the first comprehensive analytical reconstruction of the ancestor of crown snakes and the ancestor of the snake total-group, as inferred using multiple methods of ancestral state reconstruction. We use a combined-data approach that includes new information from the fossil record on extinct crown snakes, new data on the anatomy of the stem snakes Najash rionegrina, Dinilysia patagonica, and Coniophis precedens, and a deeper understanding of the distribution of phenotypic apomorphies among the major clades of fossil and Recent snakes. Additionally, we infer time-calibrated phylogenies using both new ‘tip-dating’ and traditional node-based approaches, providing new insights on temporal patterns in the early evolutionary history of snakes.

Results

Comprehensive ancestral state reconstructions reveal that both the ancestor of crown snakes and the ancestor of total-group snakes were nocturnal, widely foraging, non-constricting stealth hunters. They likely consumed soft-bodied vertebrate and invertebrate prey that was subequal to head size, and occupied terrestrial settings in warm, well-watered, and well-vegetated environments. The snake total-group – approximated by the Coniophis node – is inferred to have originated on land during the middle Early Cretaceous (~128.5 Ma), with the crown-group following about 20 million years later, during the Albian stage. Our inferred divergence dates provide strong evidence for a major radiation of henophidian snake diversity in the wake of the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction, clarifying the pattern and timing of the extant snake radiation. Although the snake crown-group most likely arose on the supercontinent of Gondwana, our results suggest the possibility that the snake total-group originated on Laurasia.

Conclusions

Our study provides new insights into when, where, and how snakes originated, and presents the most complete picture of the early evolution of snakes to date. More broadly, we demonstrate the striking influence of including fossils and phenotypic data in combined analyses aimed at both phylogenetic topology inference and ancestral state reconstruction.

Keywords: Serpentes, Phylogeny, Ancestral state reconstruction, Divergence time estimation, Combined analysis, Fossil tip-dating

Allison Y Hsiang, Daniel J Field, Timothy H Webster, Adam DB Behlke, Matthew B Davis, Rachel A Racicot and Jacques A Gauthier. 2015. The Origin of Snakes: revealing the Ecology, Behavior, and Evolutionary History of Early Snakes using Genomics, Phenomics, and the Fossil Record. BMC Evolutionary Biology. DOI: 10.1186/s12862-015-0358-5.

Limbless triumph: The origin and diversification of snakes - http://go.shr.lc/1HsbUb8

What did the first snakes look like? http://phy.so/351261014 via @physorg_com

Data Suggests Legs and Toes in Ancestor of Living Snakes http://nyti.ms/1JxQewl

[Fungi • 2015] Auricularia thailandica • A widely distributed Species (Auriculariaceae, Auriculariales) from Southeastern Asia

เห็ดหูหนู |  Auricularia thailandica Bandara & K.D. Hyde
Figure 2. Auricularia thailandica (MFLU 130410, holotype).
a. Basidiocarps. b. Cross-section of the fruitbody. c. Abhymenial hairs. d. Close-up of hymenial layer. e–k. Basidiospores. l. Clamp-connection of a hypha.

Scale bars: b=500 μm, c=50 μm, d=25 μm, e–l =5 μm. (Photos by Asanka R. Bandara).
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.208.2.3

Abstract

Auricularia is an important genus among the jelly fungi due to its popular consumption and medicinal properties. A new species of Auricularia, A. thailandica is described from fresh collections made from the Philippines, Thailand and Southern China based on morphological and molecular characters. Auricularia thailandica differs from other species by having short and loosely arranged abhymenial hairs on the basidiomata and in the different size of the zones in a cross section of the basidiomata. The species is found to be widely distributed in Southeastern Asia. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred based on the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The new species is introduced with full description and illustrations.

Keywords: Jelly fungi, morphology, phylogeny, taxonomy, Thailand, Fungi

Taxonomy

Auricularia thailandica Bandara & K.D. Hyde, sp. nov. (Fig. 2) 

Index Fungorum Number: IF550992, Facesoffungi number: FoF 00467.

Type:— THAILAND. Chiang Mai: Bahn Pa Dheng, Mushroom Research Center, dead wood, 14 August 2013, S.C. Karunarathne K2013117 (MFLU 130410, holotype).

Etymology:— The species epithet “thailandica” refers to the country from where the holotype was collected.

Basidiome:— 2–5 cm diam., short stalks, orbicular to cupulate to auriculiform, semi-transparent, brownish orange, 5C5, ridges and veins seen on abhymenial surface, individual hairs clearly distinguishable, hairs not dense, margins darker brown, 6E8.
......

Note:— A. thailandica can be distinguished from other species of Auricularia that have short and loosely arranged abhymenial hairs of the basidiomata. Among the species which have a medulla, the size of the zona pilosa of A. thailandica is similar to A. fibrillifera, A. fuscosuccinea, A. minor, A. scissa and A. subglabra (Table 2). The abhymenial hairs of A. fuscosuccinea and A. scissa are gregarious and tufted (Looney et al., 2013). Although A. minor is characterized by short abhymenial hairs the basidiomata are smaller (less than 2 cm) (Malysheva & Bulakh, 2014) than A. thailandica. A. fibrillifera is distinct from A. thailandica in having thick-walled, acute, free or partly fasciculate hairs and thinner zones (Kobayashi, 1981). A. subglabra has solitary, infrequent hairs (Looney et al., 2013). A. subglabra is distinguished from A. thailandica by the lack of abhymenial hairs, with only a few short hairs present at irregular intervals throughout the zona pilosa.

Asanka R. Bandara, Jie Chen, Samantha Karunarathna, Kevin D. Hyde and Pattana Kakumya. 2015. Auricularia thailandica sp. nov. (Auriculariaceae, Auriculariales) A widely distributed Species from Southeastern Asia. Phytotaxa. 208(2): 147–156. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.208.2.3

[Herpetology • 2015] Chalarodon steinkampi • A likely microendemic New Species of Terrestrial Iguana, genus Chalarodon, from Madagascar

Chalarodon steinkampi
Miralles, Glaw, Ratsoavina & Vences, 2015

Abstract

A new species of the hitherto monotypic genus Chalarodon is described from southern Madagascar and a lectotype (ZMB 4360) is designated for C. madagascariensis Peters, 1854. The new species of terrestrial iguana, Chalarodon steinkampi sp. nov., is defined by several morphological characters and by concordant differentiation in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA with >5% uncorrected pairwise genetic distance in the 16S rRNA gene. It can be most clearly recognized by the presence of smooth (vs. keeled) gular and ventral scales, a spotted pattern extending from flanks onto belly, and an unpigmented throat. The new species is known from only a small area between the villages of Amboasary Sud and Esomony, located west of the Andohahela Massif, while C. madagascariensis appears to be widespread over much of southern and western Madagascar. We highlight the need for further exploration of this unprotected region which might host several other microendemic species.

Keywords: Taxonomy, Chalarodon steinkampi sp. nov., Iguanidae, Oplurinae

Miralles, Aurélien, Frank Glaw, Fanomezana M. Ratsoavina & Miguel Vences. 2015. A likely microendemic New Species of Terrestrial Iguana, genus Chalarodon, from Madagascar. Zootaxa.  3946(2): 201–220. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3946.2.3

ResearchGate.net/publication/276070421_A_likely_microendemic_new_species_of_terrestrial_iguana_genus_Chalarodon_from_Madagascar

facebook.com/AurelienMiralles

[Herpetology • 2015] The Gerrhonotine Genus Coloptychon (Sauria: Anguidae)

An adult male Isthmian Alligator Lizard, Coloptychon rhombifer, from Cerro San Juan de Rincón, Cantón de Osa, Provincia de Puntarenas, Costa Rica, elev. 500 m. For a century, this enigmatic anguid lizard was known from only three specimens. Although more individuals have been found, the lizard is largely a mystery. Its habits in the wild, diet, reproductive behavior, and osteology remain unknown. When approached closely, Coloptychon is prone to bite defensively.

photo: César L. Barrio-Amorós

Abstract

We discuss the provenance, history, and literature pertaining to the poorly known lizard Coloptychon rhombifer (Anguidae: Gerrhonotinae). We include English translations of both the original description of this species by Peters (1876) and the first extensive re-description by Bocourt (1878) from the German and French, respectively. We report on six recently discovered individuals, increasing the total number known to 13. We also discuss habitat and distribution, ontogenetic variation in color and pattern, and provide pertinent observations of captive behavior.

Key Words: Coloptychon rhombifer, Chiriquí, Costa Rica, Gerrhonotinae, Gerrhonotus, Panama

William W. Lamar, César L. Barrio-Amorós, Quetzal Dwyer, Juan G. Abarca and Roel De Plecker. 2015. The Gerrhonotine genus Coloptychon (Sauria: Anguidae). Mesoamerican Herpetology. 2(1); 88-104.

http://mesoamericanherpetology.com/uploads/3/5/0/0/3500871/lamar_et_al_paper.pdf

 academia.edu/12339888/The_Gerrhonotine_genus_Coloptychon_Sauria_Anguidae_

[PaleoIchthyology • 2015] A Specimen of Paralycoptera Chang & Chou 1977 (Teleostei: Osteoglossoidei) from Hong Kong (China) with a potential Late Jurassic age that extends the Temporal and Geographical Range of the Genus

Paralycoptera sp. || Hong Kong’s first dinosaur-era fish - a specimen of the Chinese osteoglossoid osteoglossomorph fish 

Abstract

We describe a Mesozoic fish Paralycoptera sp. (Teleostei: Osteoglossoidei), on the basis of a postcranial skeleton collected from the volcaniclastic mudstones of the Lai Chi Chong Formation of Hong Kong, China. The new finding—representing the city’s first Mesozoic fish—extends the geographical distribution of Paralycoptera from eastern mainland China into Hong Kong, demonstrating a wider distribution than previously appreciated for this genus. A radiometric age for the Lai Chi Chong Formation of 146.6 ± 0.2 Ma implies a temporal range expansion for Paralycoptera of approximately 40 million years back from the Early Cretaceous (∼110 Ma). However, spores found in the Formation suggest an Early Cretaceous age that is consistent with the existing age assignment to Paralycoptera. We argue that the proposed temporal range extension is genuine because it is based on recent high precision radiometric age data, but given the discrepancies with the biostratigraphic ages further investigation is needed to confirm this. This study provides an important step towards revealing Hong Kong’s Mesozoic vertebrate fauna and understanding its relationship to well-studied mainland Chinese ones.

Figure 1: Hong Kong’s first dinosaur-era fish - a specimen of the Chinese osteoglossoid osteoglossomorph fish Paralycoptera sp. 

Image: IVPP

Figure 7: Skeletal reconstruction of Paralycoptera. Reconstructed skeleton of Paralycoptera

(Xu & Chang, 2009; used with the permission of the authors). 

DOI: 10.7717/peerj.865

Figure 4: Life reconstruction of Paralycoptera

Illustration: Wu Feixiang, IVPP

Systematic Palaeontology

SUBDIVISION TELEOSTEI Müller, 1846

SUPERORDER OSTEOGLOSSOMORPHA Greenwood et al., 1966

ORDER OSTEOGLOSSIFORMES Regan, 1909

SUBORDER OSTEOGLOSSOIDEI Regan, 1909

GENUS †PARALYCOPTERA Chang & Chou, 1977

†PARALYCOPTERA sp.

Lai Chi Chong’s rock strata

 photograph: Tse Tze-kei

Tze-Kei Tse, Michael Pittman​ and Mee-mann Chang. 2015. A Specimen of Paralycoptera Chang & Chou 1977 (Teleostei: Osteoglossoidei) from Hong Kong (China) with a potential Late Jurassic age that extends the Temporal and Geographical Range of the Genus. PeerJ. 3:e865. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.865

Hong Kong’s first identified dinosaur-era vertebrate 

HKU’s Department of Earth Sciences: the fish Paralycoptera lived in Lai Chi Chong more than 140 million years ago

http://www.hku.hk/press/news_detail_12547.html

[PaleoMammalogy • 2015] Middle Miocene Bovidae from Mae Moh Basin, Northern Thailand: the First Record of the Genus Eotragus from Southeast Asia; Eotragus lampangensis

Eotragus lampangensis
Kantapon, Chaimanee, Chavasseau & Jaeger, 2015

Illustration: T. Krutchuen [1]

We describe the first bovid fossils from the late Middle Miocene (13.4-13.2 Ma) of the Mae Moh Basin of Northern Thailand, and assign the material to the new species Eotragus lampangensis sp. nov., Eotragus cf. lampangensis, and an indeterminate bovid. Our material represents the first report of Eotragus from Southeast Asia, thus greatly extending the geographic distribution of this genus across the Old World continents. While comparisons of the Southeast Asian specimens with abundant material of E. clavatus from Sansan (France) and E. aff. clavatus from Tarazona de Aragón (Spain) indicate a high degree of intraspecific variation within single species of Eotragus, the existence of two distinct taxa at Mae Moh remains a possibility. Based on previous carbon isotope studies of Mae Moh herbivore tooth enamel, Eotragus lampangensis sp. nov. foraged predominantly in an ecotone between grassland and forest.

Key words: Mammalia, Bovidae, Eotragus, Miocene, Mae Moh Basin, Thailand, Southeast Asia.

Eotragus lampangensis sp. nov. 

Etymology: From the geographic location of the Mae Moh coal mine in the Lampang Province of Northern Thailand.
Holotype: UPP MM-68, a left horn core with preserving part of the frontal bone. Type locality: Mae Moh coal mine, Northern Thailand.

Kantapon Suraprasit, Yaowalak Chaimanee, Olivier Chavasseau, and Jean-Jacques Jaeger. 2015. Middle Miocene Bovidae from Mae Moh Basin, Northern Thailand: the First Record of the Genus Eotragus from Southeast Asia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 60(1); 67-78. doi: 10.4202/app.2012.0061 

สัตว์เคี้ยวเอื้องโบราณ (Primitive bovid) ได้ถูกค้นพบที่เหมืองแม่เมาะ จังหวัดลำปาง อายุประมาณ 13.2 -13.4 ล้านปี (สมัยไมโอซีนตอนกลาง) จากการศึกษาและวิจัยพบว่ามันเป็นชนิดใหม่ของโลก จึงตั้งชื่อให้ว่า "Eotragus lampangensis" ชิ้นส่วนที่พบนั้นมีส่วนของเขา 4 ชิ้น ฟันกรามน้อยและฟันกรามจำนวนประมาณ 10 กว่าซี่ โดยกลุ่มสัตว์เคี้ยวเอื้องโบราณนั้นมีลักษณะที่ใกล้เคียงกับแพะ แต่มีขนาดค่อนข้างเล็ก การค้นพบครั้งนี้ถือเป็นการปรากฏของสัตว์เคี้ยวเอื้อง (True bovids) ที่เก่าแก่ที่สุดเท่าที่มีการบันทึกไว้ในเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ และยังเป็นการค้นพบสัตว์สกุลนี้ครั้งแรกในบริเวณแถบบ้านเรา เนื่องจากสัตว์กลุ่มนี้มีการค้นพบส่วนใหญ่ที่ปากีสถาน ทางยุโรปและจีนเท่านั้น และจากการศึกษาองค์ประกอบของไอโซโทปเสถียรของคาร์บอนในฟัน พบว่ามันเป็นสัตว์ที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณระหว่างป่าลึกกับทุ่งหญ้าทางภาคเหนือของไทย

Reconstructed image drawn by Thita Krutchuen

facebook.com/Dom-Paleoworld/photos/405289496307551

[Ichthyology • 2015] Whole-Body Endothermy in A Mesopelagic Fish, the Opah, Lampris guttatus

An opah Lampris guttatus photographed near San Clemente Island off the southern California coast.

photograph: Ralph Pace | natgeo.com

ABSTRACT 

Endothermy (the metabolic production and retention of heat to warm body temperature above ambient) enhances physiological function, and whole-body endothermy generally sets mammals and birds apart from other animals. Here, we describe a whole-body form of endothermy in a fish, the opah (Lampris guttatus), that produces heat through the constant “flapping” of wing-like pectoral fins and minimizes heat loss through a series of counter-current heat exchangers within its gills. Unlike other fish, opah distribute warmed blood throughout the body, including to the heart, enhancing physiological performance and buffering internal organ function while foraging in the cold, nutrient-rich waters below the ocean thermocline.

Nicholas C. Wegner, Owyn E. Snodgrass, Heidi Dewar and John R. Hyde. 2015. Whole-Body Endothermy in A Mesopelagic Fish, the Opah, Lampris guttatus. Science. 348(6236); 786-789 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa8902

Behold The First Fully Warm-Blooded Fish Known To Science http://io9.com/behold-the-first-fully-warm-blooded-fish-known-to-scien-1704472418

Scientists discover first warm-bodied fish http://t.co/J5Qd1a3dxJ

Rarely Seen Moonfish, Size of Manhole Cover, Caught on Camera http://on.natgeo.com/1Hh8I1N via @NatGeo

Scientists discover first warm-bodied fish http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/05/scientists-discover-first-warm-bodied-fish

[PaleoMammalogy • 2015] Thylacinus yorkellus • Thylacinus (Marsupialia: Thylacinidae) from the Mio-Pliocene Boundary and the Diversity of Late Neogene Thylacinids in Australia

Figure 1: Thylacinus yorkellus, holotype SAM P29807, incomplete left dentary. Photographs of the specimen.
(A) Lateral view (B) medial view (C) dorsal view. Scale bar = 50 mm. Photographs by Steven Jackson.

DOI: 10.7717/PeerJ.931

Abstract

Thylacinus yorkellus is described as a new, moderately small-bodied species of thylacinid from the latest Miocene or, more likely, earliest Pliocene of South Australia. The new species can be diagnosed by the autapomorphic presence a strongly developed precingulid that terminates in a cuspidule on the anterobuccal face of the paraconid of the lower molars and a tiny basal anterior cuspidule on P2, P3 and the lower molars. It is found by cladistic analysis to be the sister species of the recently extinct Th. cynocephalus and distinct from the approximately coeval Th. megiriani from the Northern Territory. New dentary material is described and referred to Th. megiriani. These add character data and allow this species to be re-diagnosed based on autapomorphic character traits. Each of the three known late Miocene to early Pliocene Thylacinus species (Th. potens, Th. megiriani and Th. yorkellus) suggest that, instead of declining, there was a modest radiation of Thylacinus in the late Miocene.

Systematic Palaeontology

Dasyuromorphia Gill, 1872

Thylacinidae Bonaparte, 1838

Thylacinus Temminck, 1824

Thylacinus yorkellus sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D176F98E-740B-4E37-A491-3AFDCCC1CD50

Holotype. South Australian Museum (hereafter SAM) P29807, incomplete left dentary with C, P1−3 and M2−3 (Figs. 1–2 and Table 1).

Locality and stratigraphic age. Corra-Lynn Cave, approximately 3 km south of Curramulka, York Peninsula, South Australia. Late Miocene or, more likely, early Pliocene in age.

Etymology. From York Peninsula and the diminutive suffix–ellus (Latin), referring to its small size relative to Th. cynocephalus.

Yates, AM. 2015. Thylacinus (Marsupialia: Thylacinidae) from the Mio-Pliocene Boundary and the Diversity of Late Neogene Thylacinids in Australia. PeerJ 3:e931. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.931

[PaleoAnthropology • 2015] Perupithecus ucayalensis • Eocene Primates of South America and the African Origins of New World Monkeys

The platyrrhine primates, or New World monkeys, are immigrant mammals whose fossil record comes from Tertiary and Quaternary sediments of South America and the Caribbean Greater Antilles. The time and place of platyrrhine origins are some of the most controversial issues in primate palaeontology, although an African Palaeogene ancestry has been presumed by most primatologist. Until now, the oldest fossil records of New World monkeys have come from Salla, Bolivia, and date to approximately 26 million years ago, or the Late Oligocene epoch. Here we report the discovery of new primates from the ?Late Eocene epoch of Amazonian Peru, which extends the fossil record of primates in South America back approximately 10 million years. The new specimens are important for understanding the origin and early evolution of modern platyrrhine primates because they bear little resemblance to any extinct or living South American primate, but they do bear striking resemblances to Eocene African anthropoids, and our phylogenetic analysis suggests a relationship with African taxa. The discovery of these new primates brings the first appearance datum of caviomorph rodents and primates in South America back into close correspondence, but raises new questions about the timing and means of arrival of these two mammalian groups.

Left upper molars and tentative reconstruction of the Peruvian Late Eocene Perupithecus ucayalensis and the African Talahpithecus parvus from the Eocene of Libya. The areas in which these two taxa were discovered are shown
South America’s oldest known monkey, Perupithecus ucayaliensis; it was about the size of a squirrel, but with a longer tail, and probably weighed less than 250 grams.

Illustration: Jorge González

Mariano Bond, Marcelo F. Tejedor, Kenneth E. Campbell Jr, Laura Chornogubsky, Nelson Novo and Francisco Goin. 2015. Eocene Primates of South America and the African Origins of New World Monkeys.  Nature. doi: 10.1038/nature14120 

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/02/05/when-monkeys-surfed-to-south-america/

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/fossil-peruvian-monkey-may-have-originated-africa

http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/science-fossils-earliest-south-american-monkeys-peru-02486.html

[Botany • 2014] Taxonomic Status, Phylogenetic Affinities and Genetic Diversity of A presumed Extinct Genus, Paraisometrum W.T. Wang (Gesneriaceae) from the Karst Regions of Southwest China

Abstract

Background

The karst regions in South China have an abundance of endemic plants that face high extinction risks. The Chinese Gesneriaceae endemic Paraisometrum mileense ( = Oreocharis mileensis), was presumed extinct for 100 years. After its re-discovery, the species has become one of five key plants selected by the Chinese forestry government to establish a new conservation category for plants with extremely small populations. For conservation purposes, we studied the phylogenetic and population genetic status of P. mileense at the three only known localities in Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We collected 64 samples (52 species) of Oreocharis and 8 samples from three provinces of P. mileense and generated molecular phylogenies, and inferred that P. mileense represents a relatively isolated and derived taxonomic unit within Oreocharis. Phylogeographic results of 104 samples of 12 populations of P. mileense indicated that the populations in Yunnan have derived from those in Guangxi and Guizhou. Based on AFLP data, the populations were found to harbor low levels of genetic diversity (He = 0.118), with no apparent gradient across the species’ range, a restricted gene flow and significant isolation-by-distance with limited genetic differentiation among the populations across the three provinces (FST = 0.207, P<0.001). The 10 populations in Yunnan were found to represent two distinct lineages residing at different altitudes and distances from villages.

Conclusion/Significance

The low levels of genetic diversity found in P. mileense are perhaps a consequence of severe bottlenecks in the recent past. The distribution of the genetic diversity suggests that all populations are significant for conservation. Current in situ and ex situ measures are discussed. Further conservation actions are apparently needed to fully safeguard this conservation flagship species. Our work provides a model of an integrated study for the numerous endemic species in the karst regions with extremely small populations.

Paraisometrum mileense

photograph: Yu-Min Shui.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107967

Chen, W. H., Y. M. Shui, J. B. Yang, H. Wang, K. Nishii, F. Wen, Z. R. Zhang & M. Möller. 2014. Taxonomic Status, Phylogenetic Affinities and Genetic Diversity of A presumed Extinct Genus, Paraisometrum W.T. Wang (Gesneriaceae) from the Karst Regions of Southwest China. PLoS ONE. 9(9): e107967. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107967

ResearchGate.net/publication/266086660_Taxonomic_Status_Phylogenetic_Affinities_and_Genetic_Diversity_of_a_Presumed_Extinct_Genus_Paraisometrum_W.T._Wang_(Gesneriaceae)_from_the_Karst_Regions_of_Southwest_China

Paraisometrum mileense, an "extinct" plant rediscovered 

A wild population of P. mileense, thought to be extinct in the wild for 100 years, has been rediscovered in Yunnan, China by the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership.

http://www.kew.org/discover/news/plant-story-paraisometrum-mileense-extinct-plant-rediscovered