Eggs of extinct dwarf island emus retained large size

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 20210012
Author(s):  
Julian P. Hume ◽  
Christian Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
First Record ◽  
Museum Specimens ◽  
Linear Measurements ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Dromaius Novaehollandiae

Islands off southern Australia once harboured three subspecies of the mainland emu ( Dromaius novaehollandiae ), the smaller Tasmanian emu ( D. n. diemenensis ) and two dwarf emus, King Island emu ( D. n. minor ) and Kangaroo Island emu ( D. n. baudinianus ), which all became extinct rapidly after discovery by human settlers. Little was recorded about their life histories and only a few historical museum specimens exist, including a number of complete eggs from Tasmania and a unique egg from Kangaroo Island. Here, we present a detailed analysis of eggs of dwarf emus, including the first record of an almost complete specimen from King Island. Our results show that despite the reduction in size of all island emus, especially the King Island emu that averaged 44% smaller than mainland birds, the egg remained similar sized in linear measurements, but less in volume and mass, and seemingly had a slightly thinner eggshell. We provide possible reasons why these phenomena occurred.

scholarly journals Unique Short-Faced Miocene Seal Discovered in Grytsiv (Ukraine)

Zoodiversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-154
Author(s):  
I. A. Koretsky ◽  
S. J. Rahmat
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Morphological Analysis ◽  
First Record ◽  
Cranial Morphology ◽  
Sea Otter ◽  
Terrestrial Mammal ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Rostral Portion

Numerous Miocene terrestrial mammal fossils have been discovered at the Grytsiv locality of Ukraine, but this is the first record of a fossil marine mammal at this site. Morphological analysis of the rostral portion of this middle-late Miocene (12.3–11.8 Ma) partial skull suggests that it belongs to the subfamily Phocinae. The small size and cranial morphology of this partial skull is compared with recent and fossil representatives of the extant subfamily Phocinae and the extinct subfamily Devinophocinae. Extinct and modern representatives of the extant subfamilies Cystophorinae and Monachinae were not incorporated in this study due to their extremely large size in comparison to this new find. This newly described skull belonged to a small-sized seal (likely similar in size to the modern sea otter based on the width of the rostrum) with an extremely short rostrum and several other diagnostic characters that differ from all other fossil and extant phocines. Due to the lack of preservation and fragility of fossil seal skulls, less than 20 have been described so far. This new skull is yet another example of an ancestral seal, supporting the suggestion that modern seals have become larger over their evolutionary history. Overall, any cranial information on fossil true seals is extremely important since it allows resolving contentious phylogenetic relationships between extinct and extant representatives of this group.

Revised diagnosis of the family Blattisociidae (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseioidea), with a key to its genera and description of a new fungus- inhabiting genus from Costa Rica

Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2479 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVERT E. LINDQUIST ◽  
MARIA L. MORAZA
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Tropical Rainforest ◽  
Lower Surface ◽  
Large Size ◽  
The Family ◽  
Ventral Process

The genus Opilioseius gen. nov. of the phytoseioid family Blattisociidae is described, based on adults and deutonymphs of one newly described species from Costa Rica. These striking long-legged mites undergo their life histories on the lower surface of their fungal hosts in lowland tropical rainforest. Opilioseius grallator sp. nov. coexists with a surprising variety of blattisociine and other mesostigmatic mites on fungi of the genus Coriolus. A diagnosis of the recently-revised familial concept of the Blattisociidae is given, along with a key to its constituent genera. Attention is drawn to the unusually large size of the egg relative to the size of the maternal female, and to an apical ventral process on the tarsus of legs II to IV, found to be present on a variety of other mesostigmatic mites, but not noted previously.

Life-history traits of a small-bodied coastal shark

2013 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian N. Gutteridge ◽  
Charlie Huveneers ◽  
Lindsay J. Marshall ◽  
Ian R. Tibbetts ◽  
Mike B. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Logistic Function ◽  
Early Maturation ◽  
Large Size ◽  
History Of ◽  
Age Model ◽  
Best Fit ◽  
Combined Data

The life histories of small-bodied coastal sharks, particularly carcharhinids, are generally less conservative than those of large-bodied species. The present study investigated the life history of the small-bodied slit-eye shark, Loxodon macrorhinus, from subtropical Hervey Bay, Queensland, and compared this species' biology to that of other coastal carcharhinids. The best-fit age model provided parameters of L∞ = 895 mm total length (TL), k = 0.18 and t0 = –6.3 for females, and L∞ = 832 mm TL, k = 0.44 and t0 = –2.6 for males. For sex-combined data, a logistic function provided the best fit, with L∞ = 842 mm TL, k = 0.41 and α = –2.2. Length and age at which 50% of the population was mature was 680 mm TL and 1.4 years for females, and 733 mm TL and 1.9 years for males. Within Hervey Bay, L. macrorhinus exhibited an annual seasonal reproductive cycle, producing an average litter of 1.9 ± 0.3 s.d. With the exception of the low fecundity and large size at birth relative to maximum maternal TL, the life-history traits of L. macrorhinus are comparable to other small-bodied coastal carcharhinids, and its apparent fast growth and early maturation contrasts that of large-bodied carcharhinids.

A new Clymenura (Polychaeta: Maldanidae) from the intertidal of Banks Peninsula, New Zealand, with a reassessment of Leiochone Grube, 1868 and Clymenura Verrill, 1900

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2934 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEOFFREY B. READ
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
First Record ◽  
New Combination ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
New Combinations ◽  
Eastern Hemisphere ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Northern Pacific

A maldanid discovered on sand beaches of Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand is newly described. Clymenura snaiko sp. nov. is of large size at over 250 mm length, with 18 chaetigers, two achaetous preanal segments with tori, unmodified dentate uncini in anterior chaetigers, a ventral glandular shield on chaetiger eight, a high cephalic rim notched laterally, and a deep anal funnel rimmed with 16 short subequal cirri and one longer ventral cirrus. The confused taxonomy of ventral-shield-bearing maldanids is reassessed and clarified. Leiochone Grube 1868 and Clymenura Verrill, 1900 are here treated as the valid members of Arwidsson’s (1906) tribe Leiochonini in Euclymeninae, and given emended diagnoses, while Imajima and Shiraki’s (1982) subfamily Clymenurinae and Clymenura subgenus Cly. (Cephalata) are considered invalid. Differentiating character states of the valid Leiochonini species are tabulated. Leiochone is restricted to six species, including the new combinations L. annulata (Mohammad, 1980) and L. japonica (Imajima & Shiraki, 1982). Clymenura is restricted to nine valid taxa, including Cly. snaiko sp. nov. and the new combination Cly. polaris lena (Averincev, 1990). These updated groupings exclude a further eight nominal taxa which mostly may be indeterminable. Leiochone species occur in inshore temperate to tropical Eastern Hemisphere waters, while Clymenura mostly occur in high North European latitudes and the northern Pacific region, usually offshore in deep water. The new species is the first record of a Clymenura from Southern Hemisphere waters, and the second member of the genus to be found in the intertidal.

Discovery of the genus Plethodontohyla (Anura: Microhylidae) in dry western Madagascar: description of a new species and biogeographic implications

Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1577 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANK GLAW ◽  
JÖRN KÖHLER ◽  
PARFAIT BORA ◽  
NIRHY H.C. RABIBISOA ◽  
OLGA RAMILIJAONA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
First Record ◽  
Gallery Forest ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
High Plateau ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Karstic Limestone ◽  
Central High ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Continuous Strip

The cophyline anuran genus Plethodontohyla is considered to be restricted to humid eastern and central Madagascar. Recent surveys of the herpetofauna in the karstic limestone massif "Tsingy de Bemaraha" revealed a distinctive new species which constitutes the first record of this genus in central-western Madagascar. Plethodontohyla fonetana sp. nov. is characterized by large size (snout-vent length up to 65 mm in females), enlarged fingertips, sinuous dorsal folds, and a reticulated dorsal coloration. It is probably closely related to the other Plethodontohyla species with enlarged fingertips. The discovery of the new species suggests the existence of forest corridor between the eastern rainforest stretch and the relatively dry Tsingy de Bemaraha massif during a period of more humid climate. A continuous strip of gallery forest along a river running from the central high plateau to the west might have been sufficient to allow dispersal to the Bemaraha plateau.

THE BISEXUAL AND AGAMIC GENERATIONS OF BESBICUS MIRABILIS (HYMENOPTERA: CYNIPIDAE), AND THEIR ASSOCIATE INSECTS

1967 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Evans
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
First Record ◽  
Alternation Of Generations

AbstractAlternation of generations, or heterogony, wherein progeny resemble their grandparents but not their parents, is a little-known aspect of some cynipid life histories. This study represents the first record of its occurrence within the genus Besbicus, until now recognized solely from agamic females. The bisexual generation described herein has not been described previously. The literature on B. mirabilis (Kinsey) is reviewed briefly and some of the difficulties of cynipid study are assessed. The life history and ecology of both generations is presented and the immediate insect associates are discussed.

A new species of Buenoa (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Notonectidae) fromColombia

Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2487 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
DORA N. PADILLA-GIL
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Insects ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
First Record ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
South American ◽  
South American Species ◽  
Large Size ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
A New Species

Key words aquatic insects, high-Andean, south-west ColombiaIntroduction The genus Buenoa Kirkaldy has approximately 63 species and is restricted to the Western Hemisphere. In Colombia there are 14 species of Buenoa, and five species are located on the Pacific coast of Colombia in Tumaco, Nariño (PadillaGil, 2010). Buenoa funensis is described; it is the first record of the genus in high-Andean aquatic ecosystems, in the department of Nariño. In the department of Cundinamarca, Padilla-Gil (2002) found four species of Buenoa up to 1800 m above sea level, and just two species, B. pallipes (Fabricius) and B. cucunubensis Padilla-Gil & Nieser, were found at 3000 m. Buenoa funensis constitutes the first recording in Colombia of a large-size species, whose males measure more 8 mm of length; for this reason it is included within the five South American species and B. distincta from Mexico, which present this characteristic; and a key is presented to differentiate males and females of these species based on Nieser et al. (1997).

scholarly journals A tanged point and two blade technologies from Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay, western Scotland

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inger Marie Berg-Hansen ◽  
Karen Wicks ◽  
Steven Mithen
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Technological Analysis ◽  
North Western

We describe a tanged point and a blade technology from Rubha Port an t-Seilich, Isle of Islay, Scotland that provides further support to a Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene presence in Scotland prior to the establishment of the narrow blade Mesolithic industry. The existing evidence for a Late Pleistocene or early Holocene presence comes from isolated finds of tanged points (Tiree, Shieldig, Brodgar), undated assemblages from disturbed contexts that are most likely Late Pleistocene in date (Howburn, Kilmefort Cave), and undated assemblages containing broad blade microliths (e.g., Glenbatrick, Morton). This article provides a summary of recent excavations and the stratigraphy at Rubha Port an t-Seilich, and a detailed analysis the lithic blade blank production at the site, which is, we believe, the first application of a chaîne opératoire based approach to a Scottish assemblage. The study includes comparisons with contemporary assemblages from north-western Europe. The significance of the Rubha Port an t-Seilich finds is threefold: (1) the relative large size of the assemblage that allows a technological analysis; (2) the finds partially derive from a stratified context below a narrow blade assemblage, associated with radiocarbon dates 9301-7750 cal. BP; and (3) further excavation can increase the sample size and potentially expose an in situ Late Pleistocene or early Holocene cultural horizon.

scholarly journals Description of the supergiant isopod Bathynomus raksasa sp. nov. (Crustacea, Isopoda, Cirolanidae) from southern Java, the first record of the genus from Indonesia

ZooKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 947 ◽  
pp. 39-52
Author(s):  
Conni M. Sidabalok ◽  
Helen P.-S. Wong ◽  
Peter K. L. Ng
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Posterior Margin ◽  
First Record ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Deep Waters ◽  
Medium Length ◽  
Unidentified Species ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Lateral Margins ◽  
First Time

The giant isopod genus Bathynomus A. Milne-Edwards, 1879, is recorded for the first time in Indonesian waters, from deep waters off southern Java in the Indian Ocean. Bathynomus raksasasp. nov. is described and notes on juvenile specimens of an unidentified species found in the same locality are also provided. Bathynomus raksasasp. nov. is characterized by the large size (averaging at 330 mm), narrowly rounded clypeus apex, prominent longitudinal carina on the clypeus, convex lateral margins of the uropodal exopod and endopod, produced distolateral corners of the uropodal exopod and endopod which have acute ends, an uropodal exopod with a setal fringe of medium length (69%), a pleotelson 1.6 times wider than long with the posterior margin medially concave, and the large number (11–13) of spines on the pleotelson.

scholarly journals Mammals of Paso Centurión, an area with relicts of Atlantic Forest in Uruguay

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florencia Grattarola ◽  
Lucía Rodríguez-Tricot
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
First Record ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Local People ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Monitoring Process ◽  
Elusive Species ◽  
Land Use And Management ◽  
Chrysocyon Brachyurus

Paso Centurión is one of the most diverse areas of Uruguay. It is legally protected at local and national level, however, there are different interests competing for its land use and management. With the aim to document the biodiversity of the area together with the local people, the NGO JULANA has been conducting a participatory monitoring process with camera traps since 2013. Here, we present a list of 23 medium and large-size mammal species documented in the area and a standardised dataset of occurrence records. Top observations include the last Chrysocyon brachyurus seen in Uruguay, the first record of Herpailurus yagouaroundi in the country and the second report of Leopardus munoai in the area. We also highlight the frequent observation of numerous rare species such as Tamandua tetradactyla, Leopardus wiedii, Cabassous tatouay, Coendou spinosus and Cuniculus paca. Although the cameras were located within only a few metres of the houses of the local people, some of the rarest and most elusive species in the country were reported. This suggests a possible coexistence between people – their socio-economic practices – and nature in the area. Our work underlines the importance of the recent inclusion of Paso Centurión and Sierra de Ríos to the National System of Protected Areas under the proposed category of ‘Protected Landscape’. Collectively, in a context of global change and lack of biodiversity data on species distribution, we emphasise the value of these records for the knowledge of mammals in Uruguay and the need to extend and continue monitoring this area.

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