scholarly journals Venom Function of a New Species of Megalomyrmex Forel, 1885 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Toxins ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 679
Author(s):  
Kyle Sozanski ◽  
Lívia Pires do Prado ◽  
Andrew J. Mularo ◽  
Victoria A. Sadowski ◽  
Tappey H. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Solenopsis Invicta ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Ecological Functions ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Great Insight ◽  
Ant Venom ◽  
And Function ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Insight Into

Alkaloids are important metabolites found across a variety of organisms with diverse ecological functions. Of particular interest are alkaloids found in ants, organisms well known for dominating the ecosystems they dwell in. Within ants, alkaloids are found in venom and function as potent weapons against heterospecific species. However, research is often limited to pest species or species with parasitic lifestyles and thus fails to address the broader ecological function of ant venom alkaloids. Here we describe a new species of free-living Megalomyrmex ant: Megalomyrmex peetersi sp. n. In addition, we identify its singular venom alkaloid (trans-2-butyl-5-heptylpyrrolidine) and elucidate the antibiotic and insecticidal functions of its venom. Our results show that Megalomyrmex peetersi sp. n. venom is an effective antibiotic and insecticide. These results are comparable to venom alkaloids found in other ant species, such as Solenopsis invicta. This research provides great insight into venom alkaloid function, and it is the first study to explore these ideas in the Megalomyrmex system.

A new species of Sclerocephalus with a fully ossified endocranium gives insight into braincase evolution in temnospondyls

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Rainer R. Schoch ◽  
Gabriela Sobral
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Character Evolution ◽  
Late Paleozoic ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Early Permian ◽  
Top Predator ◽  
Central European ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract The late Paleozoic temnospondyl Sclerocephalus formed an aquatic top predator in various central European lakes of the late Carboniferous and early Permian. Despite hundreds of specimens spanning a wide range of sizes, knowledge of the endocranium (braincase and palatoquadrate) remained very insufficient in Sclerocephalus and other stereospondylomorphs because even large skulls had unossified endocrania. A new specimen from a stratigraphically ancient deposit at St. Wendel in southwestern Germany is recognized as representing a new taxon, S. concordiae new species, and reveals a completely ossified endocranium. The sphenethmoid was completely ossified from the basisphenoid to the anterior ethmoid region, co-ossified with the parasphenoid, and the basipterygoid joint was fully established. The pterygoid bears a slender, S-shaped epipterygoid, which formed a robust pillar lateral to the braincase. The massive stapes was firmly sutured to the parasphenoid. In the temnospondyl endocranium, character evolution involved various changes in the epipterygoid region, which evolved distinct morphologies in each of the major clades. UUID: http://zoobank.org/5e6d2078-eacf-4467-84cf-a12efcae7c0b

A new species of free-living marine nematode, Diplolaimella ariakensis n. sp. (Nematoda: Monhysteridae) from the Ariake Sea, Japan

Nematology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Daisuke Shimada ◽  
Toshiki Komiya ◽  
Toyoshi Yoshiga
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Buccal Cavity ◽  
Marine Nematode ◽  
Ariake Sea ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Long Tail ◽  
Dichotomous Key ◽  
Anterior Position ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
A New Species

Summary A new species of free-living marine nematode, Diplolaimella ariakensis n. sp., is described from a muddy tidal flat of the Ariake Sea, southern Japan. Diplolaimella ariakensis n. sp. differs from its congeners by the following: presence of ocelli, absence of denticles in the buccal cavity, a long tail (11-14 cloacal body diam., c = 3.2-4.0 in male, 17-21 anal body diam., c = 2.9-3.4 in female), spicules as long as 1.4-1.8 cloacal body diam., gubernaculum 0.4-0.5 cloacal body diam. long with a dorsocaudal apophysis 0.5-0.7 cloacal body diam. long, presence of a precloacal supplement, absence of postcloacal papillae, presence of seven pairs of body pores in male, and the anterior position of the vulva (V = 43-46). A dichotomous key to Diplolaimella species is provided. Almost full-length 18S rRNA and partial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences were determined for D. ariakensis n. sp. A maximum likelihood tree of 18S sequences supported a close relationship between D. ariakensis n. sp. and D. dievengatensis.

Schoenus inconspicuus (Cyperaceae, tribe Schoeneae): a new species from Southern Africa

Phytotaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 440 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-244
Author(s):  
TAMMY LYNN ELLIOTT ◽  
DOUG I. W. EUSTON-BROWN ◽  
A. MUTHAMA MUASYA
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Identification Key ◽  
Distribution Map ◽  
One New Species ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Insight Into

Schoenus is a predominately austral genus of sedges in which the Southern African taxa have recently received detailed taxonomic attention, starting with a transfer of 24 species into Schoenus from Tetraria and Epischoenus in 2017. The taxonomy of the Southern African Schoenus species is currently being revised, which has brought insight into the existence of several species new to science. Here, we build on this recent taxonomic work by describing one new species that has been previously overlooked (Schoenus inconspicuus), while including a distribution map, an assessment of conservation status and an updated identification key.

Morphometrics and molecular analysis of the free-living nematode, Belondira bagongshanensis n. sp. (Dorylaimida, Belondiridae), from China

2016 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
W.J. Wu ◽  
X. Huang ◽  
H. Xie ◽  
K. Wang ◽  
C.L. Xu
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Anterior Part ◽  
Neck Length ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Forest Park ◽  
Anterior Branch ◽  
Female Genital System ◽  
Free Living Nematode ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Female Genital

AbstractA new species, Belondira bagongshanensis n. sp., extracted from soil under grass in Bagongshan Forest Park, Anhui Province, China, is described and illustrated. The new species is mainly characterized by a body length 1.6–2.1 mm; cephalic framework moderately sclerotized; odontostyle robust with a distinct lumen; anterior part of pharynx with a distinct fusiform swelling, bearing distinct sclerotized valve plates and basal expansion occupying about three-fifths of the total neck length; female genital system mono-opisthodelphic and anterior branch 0.8–1.6 times the corresponding body diameter; tail short and hemispheroid; male spicules 36–49 μm long and two widely spaced ventromedian supplements. The new species is close to B. wajahati, B. golden and B. eugeniae in possessing a short tail, a robust odontostyle with a distinct aperture and a moderately sclerotized cephalic framework. New sequences of 18S rDNA and the D2–D3 region of 28S rDNA of the new species were also identified.

scholarly journals A new species of Monstrilla (Copepoda, Monstrilloida) from the plankton of a large coastal system of the northwestern Caribbean with a key to species

ZooKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 876 ◽  
pp. 111-123
Author(s):  
Eduardo Suárez-Morales ◽  
Iván A. Castellanos-Osorio
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Zooplankton Community ◽  
Key To Species ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Coastal System ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Mexican Caribbean ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
A New Species

The genus Monstrilla Dana, 1849 is the most diverse of the copepod order Monstrilloida. Monstrilloid copepods are endoparasites of benthic polychaetes and molluscs; adult individuals are free-living, non-feeding reproductive forms that briefly become part of the zooplankton community, where they are occasionally captured by plankton nets. Monstrilloid copepods are frequently found during routine plankton samplings of coastal and estuarine habitats, but they are rarely found in large numbers. The western sector of the Caribbean Sea is known to harbor a diverse monstrilloid fauna. The analysis of zooplankton samples obtained during nine years from Chetumal Bay, a large embayment of the Mexican Caribbean coast, yielded a male monstrilloid that was found to represent a new species. It is herein described following upgraded standards and compared with its congeners. A key to males and females of the Monstrilla species known from the northwestern Caribbean is also provided.

scholarly journals Cotesia cassina sp. nov. from southwestern Colombia: a new gregarious microgastrine wasp (Hymenoptera, Braconidae) reared from the pest species Opsiphanes cassina Felder & Felder (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) feeding on Elaeis oil palm trees (Arecaceae)

ZooKeys ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1061 ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
Geraldo Salgado-Neto ◽  
Consuelo Alexandra Narváez Vásquez ◽  
Dillon S. Max ◽  
James Whitfield
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Oil Palm ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Dna Barcodes ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Elaeis Oleifera ◽  
Palm Trees ◽  
A New Species

A new species of microgastrine wasp, Cotesia cassina Salgado-Neto, Vásquez & Whitfield, sp. nov., is described from southwestern Colombia in Tumaco, Nariño. This species is a koinobiont gregarious larval endoparasitoid, and spins a common mass of cocoons underneath the host caterpillars of Opsiphanes cassina (Felder & Felder) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae), feeding on oil palm trees (interspecific hybrid Elaeis oleifera × E. guineensis) (Arecaceae). While superficially similar, both morphologically and biologically, to C. invirae Salgado-Neto & Whitfield from southern Brazil, the two species are distinct based on DNA barcodes, host species, geographical range and morphological characters.

scholarly journals Andronikos I Komnenos: Tyrant of Twelfth-century Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 92-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Savvas Neocleous
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Byzantine Empire ◽  
Historical Events ◽  
Great Insight ◽  
Reign Of Terror ◽  
And Function ◽  
Meaning And Function ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Few, if any, rulers in twelfth-century Christendom received as much attention by contemporary chroniclers as the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos (1183–85). Even though Andronikos ruled for less than three years, his rise to power, reign of terror, downfall and gruesome death at the hands of the lynch mob of Constantinople struck contemporaries. In contrast to medieval chroniclers, modern historians have shown little interest in this emperor. While some scholarly attention has been paid to the Greek sources in order to reconstruct the historical facts of Andronikos’s reign, there has been little focus on the Greek historians’ perceptions and representations of their ruler. As to the relatively large number of Latin accounts of Andronikos’s reign, these have been either completely disregarded by historians or dismissed as ‘full of imagined conversations and romantic fictions’ and therefore as being of limited value for the reconstruction of historical events. All these accounts, however, are important, among others, in giving great insight into how a harsh and oppressive rule was viewed in both Byzantium and the Latin world in the late twelfth and early thirteenth century. This article examines accusations of tyranny against Andronikos expressed uniformly across Byzantine, French, German–Austrian and English accounts, and explores their meaning and function. To gain a greater appreciation of their significance, these accusations against the Byzantine emperor are subsequently cast against the backdrop of charges of tyranny levelled against other Christian rulers in twelfth-century Christendom. Therefore, the significance of this article extends beyond Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire to the evolution of many other strands of political philosophy of rulership in medieval European history.1

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