scholarly journals First record of Pachycrocuta brevirostris (Gervais, 1850) from Ukraine on the background of the European occurrence of the species

Author(s):  
Adrian Marciszak ◽  
Yuriy Semenov ◽  
Piotr Portnicki ◽  
Tamara Derkach

AbstractCranial material ofPachycrocuta brevirostrisfrom the late Early Pleistocene site of Nogaisk is the first record of this species in Ukraine. This large hyena was a representative of the Tamanian faunal complex and a single specialised scavenger in these faunas. The revisited European records list ofP.brevirostrisdocumented the presence of this species in 101 sites, dated in the range of 3.5–0.4 Ma. This species first disappeared in Africa, survived in Europe until ca. 0.8–0.7 Ma, and its last, relict occurrence was known from south-eastern Asia. The main reason of extinction ofP.brevirostrisprobably was the competition withCrocuta crocuta. The cave hyena was smaller, but its teeth were proportionally larger to the body size, better adapted to crushing bones and slicing meat, and could also hunt united in larger groups.

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 74-79
Author(s):  
Sergey G. Ermilov

A new species of Lamellarea (Oribatida, Lamellareidae) is described from hick twigs of southern live oak in Florida, U.S.A. (part of the Neotropical region). Lamellarea americana sp. nov. differs from most similar species, Lamellarea digitata and L. forceps by the ventrally inserted lamellar setae, the number of genital setae, the length of interlamellar setae, and the body size. Remarks on generic diagnosis and distribution of Lamellarea are presented.


2011 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas S. Jung ◽  
Angela Milani ◽  
Oliver E. Barker ◽  
Nathan P. Millar

Arctic Grayling, Thymallus arcticus, are rarely reported to consume small mammals. We report an American Pygmy Shrew, Sorex hoyi, consumed by an Arctic Grayling caught in southern Yukon, Canada. This is the first record of an American Pygmy Shrew being consumed by an Arctic Grayling, and it confirms that Arctic Grayling will consume shrews (Sorex spp.) when they are available. We suspect that the body size of prey is a limiting factor in Arctic Grayling consuming small mammals, with some species of shrews being small enough for Arctic Grayling to consume.


Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1764 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
LISA-ANN GERSHWIN ◽  
WOLFGANG ZEIDLER

Two new species of scyphozoan jellyfishes from tropical Australian waters are described. The first, Sanderia pampinosus, n. sp., from waters off northern Western Australia, represents the first record of the genus from Australia. It differs from its only other congener, S. malayensis Goette, 1886, in having: (1) almost double the number of gonadal papillae at about half the body size; (2) horseshoe-shaped gonadal rings; and (3) eradial tentacles that are flattened in the oral-aboral direction and have nematocyst clusters on all sides. The second species, Netrostoma nuda, n. sp., from the Great Barrier Reef region, has been erroneously identified in the past as N. coerulescens. Species distinctions in the genus rely on the number and relative position of warts or papillae on the central dome; in contrast, N. nuda lacks warts and papillae, and instead has a large gelatinous knob at the apex of the bell. A key to the species of Netrostoma is provided, along with a synoptic list of previous reports of scyphozoans in tropical Australian waters.


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4958 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-300
Author(s):  
NIKOLAY N. VINOKUROV ◽  
PETR KMENT

In this paper, we present new data on the genus Macrosaldula Leston & Southwood, 1964 based on material held in the collections of the National Museum (Prague, Czech Republic) and the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia). Macrosaldula graziae sp. nov., from South Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, is described. Among the Central Asian species of the genus, it is close to M. tadzhika (Kiritshenko, 1912) by the presence of long erect setae on the body dorsum, but the latter species differs in the smaller body size, the presence of light spots on the corium, and in the structure of the male genitalia. In extremely dark specimens of M. jakowleffi (Reuter, 1891), the hemelytra are opaque, with short erect setae. Siberian M. rivularia (J. Sahlberg, 1878), M. simulans Cobben, 1985 and the Far Eastern M. koreana (Kiritshenko, 1912) and M. violacea Cobben, 1985 are distinguished from the new species by the short pubescence on the dorsum. We provide new distributional data for M. clavalis Cobben, 1985 (Georgia), M. jakowleffi (Reuter, 1891) (China: Xinjiang: Altai Mts.—first record), M. miyamotoi Cobben, 1985 (Japan: Honshu), M. nivalis (Lindberg, 1935) (Afghanistan—first record, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan), M. scotica (Curtis, 1835) (Georgia: Adzharia; Russia: Murmansk District), and M. tadzhika (Afghanistan—first record, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). The record of M. scotica from Uzbekistan is disconsidered, and the two specimens are referred to M. graziae sp. nov. 


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Sławomir Mitrus ◽  
Bartłomiej Najbar ◽  
Adam Kotowicz ◽  
Anna Najbar
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 853
Author(s):  
Jacek Karamon ◽  
Małgorzata Samorek-Pieróg ◽  
Jacek Sroka ◽  
Ewa Bilska-Zając ◽  
Joanna Dąbrowska ◽  
...  

The aim of this study is to confirm the presence and molecular identification of Echinococcus tapeworms in wolves from south-eastern Poland. An investigation was carried out on the intestines of 13 wolves from south-eastern Poland. The small intestines were divided into three equal segments. Each segment was separately examined using the sedimentation and counting technique (SCT). The detected Echinococcus tapeworms were isolated and identified by PCRs and sequencing (nad1 and cox1 genes). Additionally, DNA isolated from the feces of wolves positive for Echinococcus tapeworms was examined with two diagnostic PCRs. The intestines of one wolf were positive for E. granulosus s.l. when assessed by SCT; the intestine was from a six-year-old male wolf killed in a communication accident. We detected 61 adult tapeworms: 42 in the anterior, 14 in the middle, and 5 in the posterior parts of the small intestine. The PCRs conducted for cox1 and nad1 produced specific products. A sequence comparison with the GenBank database showed similarity to the deposited E. ortleppi (G5) sequences. An analysis of the available phylogenetic sequences showed very little variation within the species of E. ortleppi (G5), and identity ranged from 99.10% to 100.00% in the case of cox1 and from 99.04 to 100.00% in the case of nad1. One of the two diagnostic PCRs used and performed on the feces of Echinococcus-positive animals showed product specific for E. granulosus. This study showed the presence of adult E. ortleppi tapeworms in wolves for the first time.


Hydrobiologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rungtip Wonglersak ◽  
Phillip B. Fenberg ◽  
Peter G. Langdon ◽  
Stephen J. Brooks ◽  
Benjamin W. Price

AbstractChironomids are a useful group for investigating body size responses to warming due to their high local abundance and sensitivity to environmental change. We collected specimens of six species of chironomids every 2 weeks over a 2-year period (2017–2018) from mesocosm experiments using five ponds at ambient temperature and five ponds at 4°C higher than ambient temperature. We investigated (1) wing length responses to temperature within species and between sexes using a regression analysis, (2) interspecific body size responses to test whether the body size of species influences sensitivity to warming, and (3) the correlation between emergence date and wing length. We found a significantly shorter wing length with increasing temperature in both sexes of Procladius crassinervis and Tanytarsus nemorosus, in males of Polypedilum sordens, but no significant relationship in the other three species studied. The average body size of a species affects the magnitude of the temperature-size responses in both sexes, with larger species shrinking disproportionately more with increasing temperature. There was a significant decline in wing length with emergence date across most species studied (excluding Polypedilum nubeculosum and P. sordens), indicating that individuals emerging later in the season tend to be smaller.


Author(s):  
Kent M. Daane ◽  
Xingeng Wang ◽  
Brian N. Hogg ◽  
Antonio Biondi

AbstractAsobara japonica (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Ganaspis brasiliensis and Leptopilina japonica (Hymenoptera: Figitidae) are Asian larval parasitoids of spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae). This study evaluated these parasitoids’ capacity to attack and develop from 24 non-target drosophilid species. Results showed that all three parasitoids were able to parasitize host larvae of multiple non-target species in artificial diet; A. japonica developed from 19 tested host species, regardless of the phylogenetic position of the host species, L. japonica developed from 11 tested species; and G. brasiliensis developed from only four of the exposed species. Success rate of parasitism (i.e., the probability that an adult wasp successfully emerged from a parasitized host) by the two figitid parasitoids was low in hosts other than the three species in the melanogaster group (D. melanogaster, D. simulans, and D. suzukii). The failure of the figitids to develop in most of the tested host species appears to correspond with more frequent encapsulation of the parasitoids by the hosts. The results indicate that G. brasiliensis is the most host specific to D. suzukii, L. japonica attacks mainly species in the melanogaster group and A. japonica is a generalist, at least physiologically. Overall, the developmental time of the parasitoids increased with the host’s developmental time. The body size of female A. japonica (as a model species) was positively related to host size, and mature egg load of female wasps increased with female body size. We discuss the use of these parasitoids for classical biological control of D. suzukii.


2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack M. Broughton ◽  
Michael D. Cannon ◽  
Frank E. Bayham ◽  
David A. Byers

The use of body size as an index of prey rank in zooarchaeology has fostered a widely applied approach to understanding variability in foraging efficiency. This approach has, however, been critiqued—most recently by the suggestion that large prey have high probabilities of failed pursuits. Here, we clarify the logic and history of using body size as a measure of prey rank and summarize empirical data on the body size-return rate relationship. With few exceptions, these data document strong positive relationships between prey size and return rate. We then illustrate, with studies from the Great Basin, the utility of body size-based abundance indices (e.g., the Artiodactyl Index) when used as one component of multidimensional analyses of prehistoric diet breadth. We use foraging theory to derive predictions about Holocene variability in diet breadth and test those predictions using the Artiodactyl Index and over a dozen other archaeological indices. The results indicate close fits between the predictions and the data and thus support the use of body size-based abundance indices as measures of foraging efficiency. These conclusions have implications for reconstructions of Holocene trends in large game hunting in western North America and for zooarchaeological applications of foraging theory in general.


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