Organisms Without Nervous Systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Dale Purves
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Present Species ◽  
Nervous Systems ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Eukaryotic Species ◽  
Prokaryotic Species ◽  
Life On Earth

According to current estimates, the kingdoms of life on Earth comprise at least 8.7 million eukaryotic species (protists, fungi, plants, and animals) and many more prokaryotic species (eubacteria and archaebacteria). The fuzziness of these numbers is understandable: new species are being discovered daily, and extant species are going extinct, as they always have. Whatever the number may actually be, the great majority of past and present species don’t have nervous systems. Thus, before asking what function or functions nervous systems add to animal biology, an obvious question is how organisms without them get along so well. This chapter explores the answer.

A new species of Lonchodryinus (Hymenoptera, Dryinidae) from Upper Eocene Baltic amber

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5020 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-336
Author(s):  
MASSIMO OLMI ◽  
DMITRY V. VASILENKO ◽  
LEONARDO CAPRADOSSI ◽  
EVGENY E. PERKOVSKY ◽  
ADALGISA GUGLIELMINO
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Fore Wing ◽  
Baltic Amber ◽  
Upper Eocene ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
A New Species

Lonchodryinus groehni sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Chrysidoidea: Dryinidae) is described from Baltic amber. The new species is close to L. balticus Olmi & Guglielmino, 2012, but it can be distinguished for the different OPL/POL ratio and 2r-rs&Rs vein of the fore wing. A key to the fossil species of Lonchodryinus and a comparison with the extant species L. ruficornis (Dalman, 1818) are presented.  

scholarly journals Idiomysis bumbumiensis sp. nov., a new mysid species (Mysida, Mysidae, Anisomysini) from Southeast Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-354
Author(s):  
Ja’afar Nurshazwan ◽  
Shozo Sawamoto ◽  
Azman bin Abdul Rahim
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Present Species ◽  
The Third ◽  
Dichotomous Key ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Antennal Scale

We provide a detailed description, including illustrations, of a new species of mysid belonging to the genus Idiomysis W. M. Tattersall, 1922 from Pulau Bum Bum, Sabah, Malaysia. The presence of two segments of antennal scale, a shorter endopod of uropod than the exopod and a pair of minute spines at the apex of the telson distinguishes Idiomysis bumbumiensis sp. nov. from all other species in the genus. The present species is the seventh member of the genus Idiomysis and it is the first described in Southeast Asia. It is also the third species of tribe Anisomysini discovered in Malaysian waters. We include an updated dichotomous key of all Idiomysis species.

scholarly journals A remarkable new species of the rove beetle genus Anthobium Leach, 1819 from Eocene Baltic amber (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Omaliinae)

ZooKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 973 ◽  
pp. 89-101
Author(s):  
Alexey V. Shavrin ◽  
Shûhei Yamamoto
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Baltic Amber ◽  
Median Carina ◽  
Rove Beetle ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
A New Species

An unusual new omaliine species, Anthobium alekseevisp. nov., is described and illustrated from Eocene Baltic amber, tentatively placed in the megadiverse genus Anthobium Leach, 1819. A new monotypic species-group is established. The new species can easily be distinguished from other species of the genus by the larger body, shape of the subrectangular pronotum, and the presence of a median carina on the prosternum and large, subtriangular tooth on the inner side of each mesotibia, likely exhibiting a peculiar sexual dimorphism in the male. Based on the study of the specimen with support of microtomographic images, a brief comparative analysis of a new species with described extant species of Anthobium is provided.

A second fossil species of the enigmatic rove beetle genus Charhyphus in Eocene Baltic amber, with implications on the morphology of the female genitalia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Phloeocharinae)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Shûhei YAMAMOTO ◽  
Alexey V. SHAVRIN ◽  
Kristaps KAIRIŠS
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Body Part ◽  
The Body ◽  
Baltic Amber ◽  
Micro Computed Tomography ◽  
Single Male ◽  
Fossil Species ◽  
Rove Beetles ◽  
Rove Beetle ◽  
Extant Species

ABSTRACT Phloeocharinae is a small and likely non-monophyletic subfamily of rove beetles. The enigmatic genus Charhyphus Sharp, 1887 has long been placed in Phloeocharinae, whereas recent studies have found it to be phylogenetically very distant from the core members of this subfamily, suggesting the possibility that it actually deserves its own separate subfamily status. So far, the sole definitive fossil record for Charhyphus is known based on a single male from Eocene Baltic amber as represented by †Charhyphus balticus Shavrin, 2020. Here, we describe and illustrate another new Charhyphus species, †Charhyphus serratus sp. nov. Yamamoto & Shavrin, from Baltic amber based on a well-preserved female fossil. Considering the general proportions of the body and the head, this new species is most similar to †C. balticus. The new species differs from all known species by the development of strong serration of the lateral edges of the pronotum and features of the shape of the apical margin of the mesoventrite. By using X-ray micro-computed tomography, we succeeded in visualising not only the general habitus but also each individual body part, recovering a previously undocumented sclerite on the female internal genital segments in the genus. Morphological features of extinct and extant species of Charhyphus are briefly discussed. Figures of all extant Charhyphus species and a key for the genus are also provided. Our study is important for considering possible higher palaeodiversity, more common occurrence, and palaeobiogeography of Charhyphus.

Organisms With Nervous Systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 23-34
Author(s):  
Dale Purves
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Operating Principle ◽  
The Other ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Animal Kingdom ◽  
Nervous Systems ◽  
Life On Earth

Definitions of the term “animals” in dictionaries and textbooks are surprisingly vague. The characteristics usually mentioned are eukaryotic, multicellular, heterotrophic, sexually reproducing, and capable of rapid and independent movement. But some or all of these properties are characteristic of many organisms in the other kingdoms of life on Earth. In fact, the major distinguishing feature of animals in most cases is the presence of a nervous system. But if nervous systems are indeed one of the main attributes that distinguish organisms in the animal kingdom, what exactly are nervous systems and what advantages do they bring? Without at least some provisional answers, seeking the operating principle of neural systems would be futile.

Akanthomyces neocoleopterorum, a new verticillium-like species

Phytotaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 432 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-124
Author(s):  
WAN-HAO CHEN ◽  
YAN-FENG HAN ◽  
JIAN-DONG LIANG ◽  
ZONG-QI LIANG
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
New Species ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Data Support ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
A New Species

A new species, Akanthomyces neocoleopterorum, which was isolated from an infected ladybug, is introduced. Morphological comparisons with extant species and DNA-based phylogenies from analysis of a multigene dataset support the establishment of the new species. It differs from other species by having mononematous and verticillium-like conidiophores, longer phialides, and mostly cylindrical conidia. Both the morphological identification and phylogenetic analysis of combined ITS, LSU, RPB1, RPB2 and TEF sequence data support A. neocoleopterorum as a new species in the genus Akanthomyces.

New species of Pycnogonum (Pycnogonida: Pycnogonidae) from Green Island, Taiwan, with an additional note on the holotype of P. spatium

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4750 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-130
Author(s):  
DAMIN LEE ◽  
WON KIM
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Dorsal Surface ◽  
Ventral Surface ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Present Species ◽  
Shallow Waters ◽  
University Museum ◽  
Green Island ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Dorsal Tubercle

We report the discovery of a new species of the genus Pycnogonum Brünnich, 1764 found in the shallow waters of Green Island, Taiwan. Pycnogonum (Nulloviger) granulatum sp. nov. is characterized by the presence of the granular integument, a dorsal tubercle on the proboscis, the transverse ridges on the dorsal surface of the trunk, and the spines on the ventral surface of the tibia, tarsus, and propodus having cleft tips. Because the male gonopores are present and ovigers are absent, the present species belongs to the subgenus Nulloviger. The present species has been compared with P. (N.) moolenbeeki Stock, 1992, P. (N.) lobipes Stock, 1991, P. (N.) tuberculatum Clark, 1963, P. nodulosum Döhrn, 1881, and P. spatium Takahashi, Dick & Mawatari, 2007. Among the congeners, P. spatium is geographically the closest congener, of which type locality is Amami Island, Japan. The holotype of P. spatium was loaned from Hokkaido University Museum (ICHUM) and re–examined. To determine the exact gender of the holotype of P. spatium, additional investigations of the coxal pellicula and gonopores are required. 

Speocarcinus berglundi n. sp. (Decapoda: Brachyura), a new crab from the Imperial Formation (late Miocene-late Pliocene) of southern California

1994 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 800-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annette B. Tucker ◽  
Rodney M. Feldmann ◽  
Charles L. Powell
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Southern California ◽  
Late Pliocene ◽  
Riverside County ◽  
Isthmus Of Panama ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
A New Species

Speocarcinus berglundi n. sp. is described from the Imperial Formation in Riverside County, California. Although the Imperial Formation spans late Miocene through late Pliocene time, the part of the unit that bears crabs has been radiometrically dated as late Miocene. The identification of a new species was based upon comparison with four extant species and represents the first documented fossil occurrence for the genus. The occurrence of this new species suggests that the genus may have originated in the Pacific and, during the Miocene, dispersed through the Isthmus of Panama to the Caribbean. Two of the specimens exhibit parasitism by Bopyridae (Isopoda).

A new species of Fibularia from Japanese waters with a redescription of F. japonica and F. ovulum (Echinodermata: Echinoidea: Clypeasteroida)

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4543 (2) ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
HAYATE TANAKA ◽  
KAORI WAKABAYASHI ◽  
TOSHIHIKO FUJITA
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Mitochondrial Gene ◽  
Type Specimens ◽  
Japanese Species ◽  
Additional Specimen ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Oral Surface ◽  
Japanese Waters ◽  
Partial Fragment ◽  
A New Species

A new species, Fibularia coffea sp. nov., occurs from shallow waters in Japan. This new species is distinguished from the other species of Fibularia by the following characters: test height is low, oral surface is slightly depressed toward the peristome, number of pores of petal III continues to increase with the test growth, reaching over 30 at TL > 7.5 mm, and black pigments form symmetric pentaradial on aboral surface in living animals. Two further Japanese species, Fibularia japonica and F. ovulum, are redescribed based on the type specimens (F. japonica) and additional specimens (F. ovulum), respectively. A tabular key to the extant species of Fibularia is also provided. A partial fragment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) of the type specimens of F. coffea sp. nov. and the additional specimen of F. japonica was sequenced for barcoding in future works. 

A review of extant Tudivasum Rosenberg & Petit, 1987 (Neogastropoda: Turbinellidae) and description of three new species from Western Australia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh M Morrison ◽  
Lisa A Kirkendale ◽  
Nerida G Wilson
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Dna Sequence Data ◽  
The Third ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Low Diversity ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
Morphological Species ◽  
Shell Sculpture

ABSTRACT Tudivasum Rosenberg & Petit, 1987 is a morphologically distinct gastropod genus of low diversity. All but one species are known from Australia and they occur from the intertidal zone down to hundreds of metres on the continental shelf. These carnivorous gastropods are thought to have intracapsular development. The six currently recognized extant species are reviewed here and their geographical ranges clarified. Two new species, Tudivasum chaneyi n. sp. and T. ashmorense n. sp., are described from Ashmore Reef, Western Australia, and are characterized by differences in protoconch colour and shell sculpture. The third new species, T. westrale n. sp., is described from the mid-west coast of Western Australia, where it has long been misidentified as T. spinosum (H. Adams & A. Adams, 1864). We generated a molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data to test morphological species concepts and reconstruct relationships among four of the described species. High levels of divergence within one of the new species could indicate an additional cryptic species.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document