A review of the taxonomy and systematics of aigialosaurs

AbstractAigialosaurs have been recognised as a group of semi-aquatic marine reptiles for over one hundred years. While the taxonomic status of aigialosaurs has changed little in the past century, the interfamilial relationships have been modified considerably making the phylogenetic relationships between aigialosaurs, mosasaurs, dolichosaurs, coniasaurs, varanids and other squamates a topic of much debate. The monophyly of the family Aigialosauridae has been contested by recent studies and remains highly questionable. The higher-level relationships of mosasauroids within Squamata remain problematic with studies placing mosasauroids outside of Varanidae, Varanoidea and even Anguimorpha. These findings conflict with earlier views that aigialosaurs (and by association mosasaurs) were closely related to Varanus. This study concludes that further descriptions of aigialosaur taxa are needed, and several key flaws need to be addressed in the data matrices that have been used in previous studies. This should facilitate the clarification of aigialosaur systematic relationships both within Mosasauroidea and Squamata.

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A review of the Margarodidae sensu Morrison (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) and some related taxa based on the morphology of adult males

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.1263.1.1 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 1263 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

CHRIS HODGSON ◽

IMRE FOLDI

Keyword(s):

Adult Male ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Adult Males ◽

The Past ◽

Male Characters ◽

The Family ◽

History Of ◽

Cladistic Analyses ◽

Family Based ◽

Male Morphology

This paper outlines the history of the family name Margarodidae (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) and of the higher classification within Margarodidae sensu Morrison, and reviews the use of males in diagnosing the higher taxonomy within this group. An overview of the general morphology of adult males is provided as an introduction to the terms and structures used in the descriptive section that follows. The adult males of 31 species of Coccoidea are described, covering all the families in Margarodidae sensu Morrison plus some additional taxa which have either been included in Margarodidae sensu lato in the past or which show close affinities to it. Based on the structure of the adult males described here and also on an earlier cladistic analyses, these 31 taxa are divided into three groups: Ortheziidae (containing just ortheziids), a group here referred to as "margarodoid taxa" (which includes all the taxa in Margarodidae sensu Morrison (1928) except Steingelia; this group includes the following nine families: Matsucoccidae, Margarodidae, Xylococcidae; Stigmacoccidae fam. nov.; Kuwaniidae; Callipappidae; Marchalinidae; Monophlebidae and Coelostomidiidae); and a third group referred to here as "non-margarodoid taxa", which includes the remaining taxa considered in this paper (Steingelia, Stomacoccus, Phenacoleachia, Puto and Pityococcus). The present higher taxonomic status of each taxon is summarised in a Table and a key to identify each family based on adult male morphology is included; this key also diagnoses the above three groups based on adult male characters. Keys are also provided under each family to identify the species described herein.

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Insect evolutionary history from Handlirsch to Hennig, and beyond

Journal of Paleontology ◽

10.1017/s0022336000017200 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 75 (6) ◽

pp. 1152-1160 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

David Grimaldi

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Relationships ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

Past Century ◽

Fossil Insects ◽

Future Directions ◽

The Past ◽

Stratigraphic Record ◽

Systematic Biology

Significant investigators and aspects in the past century of insect paleontology are briefly reviewed. Despite the pervasive influence of the paleoentomologist Willi Hennig in systematic biology, the study of fossil insects remains more descriptive than most other paleontological areas. Hypotheses are reviewed on relationships and chronologies of early divergences in insects (Paleozoic, Lower Mesozoic), particularly living and extinct orders of the lower pterygotes and putative monophyly of the Paleoptera (Odonata + Ephemeroptera). The Dictyoptera (Mantodea, Isoptera, Blattaria) illustrate relationships and discrepencies between stratigraphic record and phylogenetic relationships. Future directions in the field are suggested.

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A New Species of Andean Gymnophthalmid Lizard (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) from the Peruvian Andes, and Resolution of Some Taxonomic Problems

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d12090361 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 361

Author(s):

Luis Mamani ◽

Juan C. Chaparro ◽

Claudio Correa ◽

Consuelo Alarcón ◽

Cinthya Y. Salas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Phylogenetic Relationships ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Neotropical Region ◽

Likelihood Method ◽

Peruvian Andes ◽

Phylogenetic Studies ◽

The Family ◽

A New Species

The family Gymnophthalmidae is one of the most speciose lineages of lizards in the Neotropical region. Despite recent phylogenetic studies, the species diversity of this family is unknown and thus, its phylogenetic relationships remain unclear and its taxonomy unstable. We analyzed four mitochondrial (12S, 16S, Cytb, ND4) and one nuclear (c-mos) DNA sequences of Pholidobolus anomalus, Cercosaura manicata boliviana and Cercosaura sp., using the maximum likelihood method to give insights into the phylogenetic relationships of these taxa within Cercosaurinae. Our results suggest that Pholidolus anomalus is nested within the clade of Cercosaura spp., that material we collected near Oxapampa belongs to a new species of Cercosaura, and that lizards identified as Cercosaura manicata boliviana belong to a separate lineage, possibly a new genus. We assign Pholidobolus anomalus to Cercosaura, redescribe the species, and designate a neotype to replace the lost holotype. In addition, we describe the new species of Cercosaura, and comment about the taxonomic status of “Cercosaura manicata boliviana”incertae sedis.

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Firsthand learning through intent participation

Análise Psicológica ◽

10.14417/ap.126 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 11-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Barbara Rogoff ◽

Ruth Paradise ◽

Rebeca Mejía Arauz ◽

Maricela Correa-Chávez ◽

Cathy Angelillo

Keyword(s):

Language Learning ◽

Full Range ◽

Past Century ◽

Community Activities ◽

The Past ◽

The Family ◽

Specialized Form ◽

How People Learn ◽

Industrial Societies

This article examines how people learn by actively observing and “listening-in” on ongoing activities as they participate in shared endeavors. Keen observationand listening-in are especially valued and used in some cultural communities in which children are part of mature community activities. This intent participation also occurs in some settings (such as early language learning in the family) in communities that routinely segregate children from the full range of adult activities. However, in the past century some industrial societies have relied on a specialized form of instruction that seems to accompany segregation of children from adult settings, in which adults “transmit” information to children. We contrast these two traditions of organizing learning in terms of their participation structure, the roles of more-and less-experienced people, distinctions in motivation and purpose, sources of learning (observation in ongoing activity versus lessons), forms of communication, and the role of assessment.

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A taxonomic revision of Cheilodactylidae and Latridae (Centrarchiformes: Cirrhitoidei) using morphological and genomic characters

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4585.1.7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4585 (1) ◽

pp. 121

Author(s):

WILLIAM B. LUDT ◽

CHRISTOPHER P. BURRIDGE ◽

PROSANTA CHAKRABARTY

Keyword(s):

South African ◽

Type Species ◽

New Genus ◽

Taxonomic Revision ◽

African Species ◽

The Past ◽

The Family ◽

The World ◽

Taxonomic Confusion ◽

Systematic Relationships

Systematic relationships within the Cirrhitoidei, a suborder of five closely related families, have been uncertain for over a century. This is particularly true in reference to the families Cheilodactylidae and Latridae, which have been revised numerous times over the past several decades. Species that have been included in these two families are found in temperate regions around the world, which has led to regionally-focused studies that have only exacerbated taxonomic confusion. Here we examine systematic relationships within the Cheilodactylidae and the Latridae using ultraconserved genomic elements with near complete taxonomic sampling, and place our results in the context of the Cirrhitoidei. Our results agree with previous findings suggesting that Cheilodactylidae is restricted to two South African species, with the type species of the family, Cheilodactylus fasciatus Lacépède, forming a clade with C. pixi Smith that together is more closely related to the Chironemidae than to other species historically associated with the genus. We also strongly resolve the relationships of species within the Latridae. As a result of our analyses we revise the taxonomy of Latridae, name a new genus, and re-elevate Chirodactylus and Morwong.

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7 Conclusion

Topologies of the Classical World in Children's Fiction ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198846031.003.0007 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 239-248

Author(s):

Claudia Nelson ◽

Anne Morey

Keyword(s):

Past Century ◽

Short List ◽

The West ◽

The Past ◽

Classical World ◽

Spatial Metaphors ◽

Classical Mythology ◽

The Family ◽

The Individual ◽

Working Out

As we conclude this examination of texts that use particular topologies of the past in their redeployment of the classical world, one of the more pressing questions might be why the combination of the classical world and this short list of spatial metaphors constitutes such an attractive matrix for the working out of concerns about citizenship, agency, suffering, and the place of the individual within the family. While the power and perdurability of classical mythology is clearly part of the allure of neoclassical settings and characters, it does not by itself completely explain the utility of these frameworks to our various authors’ projects. After all, a number of the authors with whom our work has engaged—including Rick Riordan, Tony Abbott, Alan Garner, Caroline Dale Snedeker, and N. M. Browne, among others—have shown similar interest in other kinds of mythological or historical settings, in some cases emphasizing the position of the classical as merely one segment of a vast interconnected web of myth/history. Nor is it possible to say that that the privileged place of the remnants of the classical world within the canon of the West by itself explains the reliance of authors over the past century upon its familiarity or prestige....

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Simbirskiasaurus and Pervushovisaurus reassessed: implications for the taxonomy and cranial osteology of Cretaceous platypterygiine ichthyosaurs

10.31233/osf.io/wqjpb ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Valentin Fischer ◽

Maxim S. Arkhangelsky ◽

Darren Naish ◽

Ilya Stenshin ◽

Gleb Uspiensky ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Relationships ◽

Fossil Record ◽

The Past ◽

Marine Reptiles ◽

Nomina Dubia ◽

Cranial Osteology

The ichthyosaur fossil record is interspersed by several hiatuses, notably during the Cretaceous. This hampers our understanding of the evolution and extinction of this group of marine reptiles during the last 50 million years of its history. Several Cretaceous ichthyosaur taxa named in the past have subsequently been dismissed and re- ferred to the highly inclusive taxon Platypterygius, a trend that has created the impression of low Cretaceous ichthyosaur diversity. Here, we describe the cranial osteology, reassess the stratigraphic age, and evaluate the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of two Cretaceous ichthyosaurs from western Russia: Simbirskiasaurus birjukovi from the early Barremian and Pervushovisaurus bannovkensis from the middle Cenomanian, both for- merly regarded as nomina dubia, and allocated to Platypterygius sp. and Platypterygius campylodon, respectively. We show that Simbirskiasaurus birjukovi and Pervushovisaurus bannovkensis are valid platypterygiine ophthalmosaurids, notably characterized by a peculiar narial aperture. The cranial anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of these taxa illuminate the evolution of narial aperture anatomy in Cretaceous ichthyosaurs, clarify the phylogenetic re- lationships among platypterygiines, and provide further arguments for a thorough revision of Platypterygius.

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A new species of extinct Late Quaternary giant tortoise from Hispaniola

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4277.1.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4277 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

SAMUEL T. TURVEY ◽

JUAN ALMONTE ◽

JAMES HANSFORD ◽

R. PAUL SCOFIELD ◽

JORGE L. BROCCA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary History ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Past Century ◽

Quaternary Deposits ◽

Widespread Occurrence ◽

The Past ◽

Quaternary Extinctions ◽

A New Species

Insular giant tortoise diversity has been depleted by Late Quaternary extinctions, but the taxonomic status of many extinct populations remains poorly understood due to limited available fossil or subfossil material, hindering our ability to reconstruct Quaternary island biotas and environments. Giant tortoises are absent from current-day insular Caribbean ecosystems, but tortoise remains from Quaternary deposits indicate the former widespread occurrence of these animals across the northern Caribbean. We report new Quaternary giant tortoise material from several cave sites in Pedernales Province, southern Dominican Republic, Hispaniola, representing at least seven individuals, which we describe as Chelonoidis marcanoi sp. nov. Although giant tortoise material was first reported from the Quaternary record of Hispaniola almost 35 years ago, tortoises are absent from most Quaternary deposits on the island, which has been studied extensively over the past century. The surprising abundance of giant tortoise remains in both vertical and horizontal caves in Hispaniola’s semi-arid ecoregion may indicate that this species was adapted to open dry habitats and became restricted to a habitat refugium in southeastern Hispaniola following climatic-driven environmental change at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary. Hispaniola’s dry forest ecosystem may therefore have been shaped by giant tortoises for much of its evolutionary history.

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The zoonotic potential of bat-borne coronaviruses

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20200097 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 365-381

Author(s):

Ny Anjara Fifi Ravelomanantsoa ◽

Sarah Guth ◽

Angelo Andrianiaina ◽

Santino Andry ◽

Anecia Gentles ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Material ◽

Field Research ◽

Sympatric Species ◽

Animal Origin ◽

Mammalian Host ◽

Past Century ◽

The Past ◽

Novel Host ◽

Horseshoe Bat ◽

Human Infections

Seven zoonoses — human infections of animal origin — have emerged from the Coronaviridae family in the past century, including three viruses responsible for significant human mortality (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2) in the past twenty years alone. These three viruses, in addition to two older CoV zoonoses (HCoV-229E and HCoV-NL63) are believed to be originally derived from wild bat reservoir species. We review the molecular biology of the bat-derived Alpha- and Betacoronavirus genera, highlighting features that contribute to their potential for cross-species emergence, including the use of well-conserved mammalian host cell machinery for cell entry and a unique capacity for adaptation to novel host environments after host switching. The adaptive capacity of coronaviruses largely results from their large genomes, which reduce the risk of deleterious mutational errors and facilitate range-expanding recombination events by offering heightened redundancy in essential genetic material. Large CoV genomes are made possible by the unique proofreading capacity encoded for their RNA-dependent polymerase. We find that bat-borne SARS-related coronaviruses in the subgenus Sarbecovirus, the source clade for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, present a particularly poignant pandemic threat, due to the extraordinary viral genetic diversity represented among several sympatric species of their horseshoe bat hosts. To date, Sarbecovirus surveillance has been almost entirely restricted to China. More vigorous field research efforts tracking the circulation of Sarbecoviruses specifically and Betacoronaviruses more generally is needed across a broader global range if we are to avoid future repeats of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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PCSK9 inhibition for LDL lowering and beyond – implications for patients with peripheral artery disease

VASA ◽

10.1024/0301-1526/a000689 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 165-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Katrin Gebauer ◽

Holger Reinecke

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Risk ◽

Risk Reduction ◽

Ldl Receptor ◽

Density Lipoprotein ◽

Past Century ◽

Pcsk9 Inhibitors ◽

Cardiovascular Risk Reduction ◽

Simultaneous Application ◽

The Past ◽

Pcsk9 Inhibition

Abstract. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has been proven to be a causal factor of atherosclerosis and, along with other triggers like inflammation, the most frequent reason for peripheral arterial disease. Moreover, a linear correlation between LDL-C concentration and cardiovascular outcome in high-risk patients could be established during the past century. After the development of statins, numerous randomized trials have shown the superiority for LDL-C reduction and hence the decrease in cardiovascular outcomes including mortality. Over the past decades it became evident that more intense LDL-C lowering, by either the use of highly potent statin supplements or by additional cholesterol absorption inhibitor application, accounted for an even more profound cardiovascular risk reduction. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a serin protease with effect on the LDL receptor cycle leading to its degradation and therefore preventing continuing LDL-C clearance from the blood, is the target of a newly developed monoclonal antibody facilitating astounding LDL-C reduction far below to what has been set as target level by recent ESC/EAS guidelines in management of dyslipidaemias. Large randomized outcome trials including subjects with PAD so far have been able to prove significant and even more intense cardiovascular risk reduction via further LDL-C debasement on top of high-intensity statin medication. Another approach for LDL-C reduction is a silencing interfering RNA muting the translation of PCSK9 intracellularly. Moreover, PCSK9 concentrations are elevated in cells involved in plaque composition, so the potency of intracellular PCSK9 inhibition and therefore prevention or reversal of plaques may provide this mechanism of action on PCSK9 with additional beneficial effects on cells involved in plaque formation. Thus, simultaneous application of statins and PCSK9 inhibitors promise to reduce cardiovascular event burden by both LDL-C reduction and pleiotropic effects of both agents.

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