A further contribution to the knowledge of Pectiniunguis minutus (Demange, 1968), a little known dwarf schendylid centipede from western equatorial Africa (Chilopoda: geophilomorpha)

The geophilomorph centipede Pectiniunguis minutus (Demange, 1968), a little known dwarf schendylid from Gabon (Western equatorial Africa), is redescribed and illustrated based on the type material and an additional non-type specimen preserved in the collections of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. P. minutus can be easily differentiated from all the other species currently assigned to the genus Pectiniunguis, by the very low number of leg-bearing segments (35 in the males, 37 or 39 in the females) and very small body size (12-16 mm in length). P. minutus is also distinguished by having ventral pore-fields on the anterior region of the body only, this character being shared by a single species of the genus, i.e., P. ascendens Pereira, Minelli & Barbieri, 1994, from the Neotropics (Brazil: State of Amazonas) with which a morphological comparison is given. Comments about other dwarf centipede species belonging to several families of the order Geophilomorpha, are also added.

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Comparative population genomic analysis uncovers novel genomic footprints and genes associated with small body size in Chinese pony

10.21203/rs.3.rs-21864/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hojjat Asadollahpour Nanaei ◽

Ali Esmailizadeh ◽

Ahmad Ayatollahi Mehrgardi ◽

Han Jianlin ◽

Dong-Dong Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Positive Selection ◽

Nucleotide Diversity ◽

Population Genomics ◽

Small Body ◽

Composite Likelihood ◽

The Body ◽

Fixation Index ◽

Small Body Size ◽

Comparative Population

Abstract Background Body size is considered as one of the most fundamental properties of an organism. Due to intensive breeding and artificial selection throughout the domestication history, horses exhibit striking variations for heights at withers and body sizes. Debao pony (DBP), a famous Chinese horse, is known for its small body size and lives in Guangxi mountains of southern China. In this study, we employed comparative population genomics to study the genetic basis underlying the small body size of DBP breed based on the whole genome sequencing data. To detect genomic signatures of positive selection, we applied three methods based on population comparison, fixation index (FST), cross population composite likelihood ratio (XP-CLR) and nucleotide diversity (Pi), and further analyzed the results to find genomic regions under selection for body size-related traits.Results A number of protein-coding genes with significant (P-value < 0.01) higher FST values (367 genes), XP-CLR scores (681 genes), and a lower value for nucleotide diversity (332 genes) were identified. The most significant signal of positive selection was mapped to the NELL1 gene, probably underlies the body size and development traits, and may also have independently been selected for short stature in the DBP population. In addition, some other loci on different chromosomes were identified to be potentially involved in the development of body size.Conclusions Results of our study identified some positively selected genes across the horse genome, which are possibly involved in body size traits. These novel candidate genes may be useful targets for clarifying our understanding of the molecular basis of body size and as such they should be of great interest for future research into the genetic architecture of relevant traits in horse breeding program.

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Siphonophoridae from Brazilian Amazonia Part 1 – The genus Columbianum Verhoeff, 1941 (Diplopoda, Siphonophorida)

European Journal of Taxonomy ◽

10.5852/ejt.2018.477 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Helen J. Read ◽

Henrik Enghoff

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Body Size ◽

Small Body ◽

Large Body ◽

The Body ◽

Small Body Size ◽

Large Body Size ◽

Small Head ◽

Three New Species ◽

Seasonally Flooded

A large sample of Siphonophoridae from Brazil was studied; two morphological groups could be distinguished. Here species considered to be from the genus Columbianum Verhoeff, 1941 are examined in detail. The genus is known from Central and South America (Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Guiana, Colombia, Peru and Brazil) and is characterised by a clear demarcation between head and rostrum in combination with long antennae, clearly surpassing the tip of the rostrum. A list of previously described species considered to belong to the genus is given; three new species are described: C. major sp. nov. has a large body size and a small head, C. nahvalr sp. nov. has a particularly pronounced domed head and a more castellated appearance to the body, C. adisi sp. nov. has a small body size and a very characteristic hind margin to the pleurites. Variation in the state of preservation of specimens hinders a diagnosis, but the examination of the accessory claw and details of the metazonital limbus and pleurite edges are helpful. Unusually for Diplopoda, the male gonopods are not very useful for identification. Ecological comments are given for each new species, one of which, C. adisi sp. nov., is from the seasonally flooded forest and appears to avoid inundation by climbing trees.

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First records of Parergodrilus heideri (Annelida: "Polychaeta") from North America

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.3498.1.5 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3498 (1) ◽

pp. 81 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

JIŘÍ SCHLAGHAMERSKÝ ◽

LEE E. FRELICH

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

North America ◽

Small Body ◽

The Other ◽

Small Body Size ◽

Free Living ◽

Soil Mesofauna ◽

The Family ◽

Terrestrial Habitats

Parergodrilus heideri Reisinger, 1925 is one of two species of the family Parergodrilidae (together with the marine litoral, interstitial species Stygocapitella subterranea Knöllner, 1934) and one of only two truly soil-dwelling “polychaetes” (the other being Hrabeiella periglandulata Pižl and Chalupský, 1984) that are predominantly known from terrestrial habitats (Reisinger 1925, 1960; Römbke and Jans 1991; Chalupský 1992; Graefe 1993; Rota 1997, 1998; Purschke 1999; Rota et al. 2001; Beylich and Graefe 2007; Martinez-Ansemil and Parapar 2009; Rota et al. 2010). Due to its small body size (adults up to 1 mm) and sensitivity to dessication, the species has usually been found by researchers using some type of wet extraction for soil mesofauna, such as enchytraeids and free-living flatworms (“turbellarians”). However, due to its similar chaetae, Parergodrilus heideri can be easily mistaken for a freshly hatched enchytraeid, even by enchytraeid specialists without experience with this species.

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Ceratophysella species from mushrooms in China (Collembola, Hypogastruridae)

ZooKeys ◽

10.3897/zookeys.822.30880 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 822 ◽

pp. 67-77

Author(s):

Wanda Maria Weiner ◽

Zhijing Xie ◽

Yu Li ◽

Xin Sun

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Body Size ◽

Small Body ◽

Antennal Segment ◽

Maximum Length ◽

The Other ◽

Small Body Size ◽

Type B ◽

A New Species

Four species of the genus Ceratophysella living on mushrooms are reported from China, including a new species, Ceratophysellaskarzynskii Weiner & Sun, sp. n., which is described from alpine mushrooms. The new species belongs to the Ceratophysella group of species with a dorsal chaetotaxy of type B and differs from the other species in a combination of characters. Ceratophysellaskarzynskiisp. n. is distinguished by its small body size (maximum length 1.09 mm), number of peg-like s-chaetae (30–32) in the ventral sensory file, the trilobed apical vesicle of antennal segment IV, five modified chaetae on dens, and serrated dorsal chaetae. A key to the Chinese species of the genus has been provided.

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An Exploration of Perception of Body Boundary, Personal Space, and Body Size in Elderly Persons

Perceptual and Motor Skills ◽

10.2466/pms.1979.48.1.299 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 299-308 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

John R. Phillips

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Small Body ◽

Large Body ◽

Personal Space ◽

The Body ◽

Simulation Technique ◽

Elderly Persons ◽

Small Body Size ◽

Large Body Size ◽

Body Boundary

A study of 108 elderly persons using the Body Distortion Questionnaire and the personal space simulation technique test did not support hypotheses that elderly persons with a large personal space will have a larger distortion of body boundary, a larger perception of large body size, a smaller perception of small body size, a larger distortion of body size, and a larger body distortion than elderly persons with a small personal space. The analyses with one-tail t tests showed elderly persons with a small personal space have a larger perception of large body size and a larger distortion of body size than elderly persons with a large personal space. When the extremes of personal space were used the results were the same. Males have a larger personal space and greater distortion of skin perceptions than females.

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THE EARLIEST-KNOWN MUSTELID IN NORTH AMERICA AND THE CONVERGENT EVOLUTION OF SMALL BODY SIZE IN MUSTELIDAE

10.1130/abs/2017am-306194 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Ryan Paterson ◽

◽

Joshua X. Samuels ◽

Natalia Rybczynski

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

North America ◽

Convergent Evolution ◽

Small Body ◽

Small Body Size

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The Leptobrachium (Anura: Megophryidae) of the Langbian Plateau, southern Vietnam, with description of a new species

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.2804.1.3 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2804 (1) ◽

pp. 25 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

BRYAN L. STUART ◽

JODI J. L. ROWLEY ◽

DAO THI ANH TRAN ◽

DUONG THI THUY LE ◽

HUY DUC HOANG

Keyword(s):

Mitochondrial Dna ◽

New Species ◽

Small Body ◽

Original Description ◽

The Other ◽

Sexually Active ◽

Small Body Size ◽

Upper Lip ◽

Southern Vietnam ◽

A New Species

We sampled two forms of Leptobrachium in syntopy at the type locality of L. pullum at upper elevations on the Langbian Plateau, southern Vietnam. The two forms differed in morphology (primarily in coloration), mitochondrial DNA, and male advertisement calls. One form closely agrees with the type series of L. pullum (but not to its original description due to error), and the other is described as new. Leptobrachium leucops sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by having small body size (males with SVL 38.8–45.2), the upper one-third to one-half of iris white, a blue scleral arc, a dark venter, and sexually active males without spines on the upper lip. Leptobrachium pullum and L. mouhoti, a recently described species from low-elevation slopes of the Langbian Plateau in eastern Cambodia, are morphologically divergent but genetically similar, warranting further investigation into geographic variation in the red-eyed Leptobrachium of southern Indochina.

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Adaptive significance of small body size under poor socio-economic conditions in southern Peru

American Journal of Physical Anthropology ◽

10.1002/ajpa.1330390216 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 255-261 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

A. Roberto Frisancho ◽

Jorge Sanchez ◽

Danilo Pallardel ◽

Lizandro Yanez

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Small Body ◽

Adaptive Significance ◽

Economic Conditions ◽

Small Body Size ◽

Southern Peru

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Decline of Cane Toad, Bufo-Marinus, Populations - Status of Urban Toads

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr9860597 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 597 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

WJ Freeland ◽

BLJ Delvinquier ◽

B Bonnin

Keyword(s):

Body Size ◽

Urban Population ◽

Small Body ◽

Rural Populations ◽

Small Body Size ◽

High Food ◽

Cane Toad ◽

Water Shortages ◽

Toad Bufo ◽

Low Rate

Cane toads from an urban population in Townsville, Qld, exhibit poor body condition and small body size, as do toads in populations around Townsville which have declined in numbers. The small body size and poor condition are associated with a high food intake and a low rate of parasitism. The results suggest that decline of rural populations is not a product of parasitism, or food and or water shortages related to unusually adverse seasonal conditions. Populations of cane toads around Townsville declined more than 3 years before this study.

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