A new melanistic variant of the caterpillar hunter Calosoma wilcoxi LeConte, 1848 from Texas, United States of America and a preliminary phylogeny of the genus Calosoma Weber, 1801 (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

2016 ◽  
Vol 149 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse W. Ray ◽  
Matthias Seidel ◽  
Martin Husemann
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Ground Beetle ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit ◽  
New Variant ◽  
Central Texas ◽  
Coi Sequences ◽  
Dark Blue

AbstractTwo aberrant ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) specimens from the genus Calosoma Weber, 1801 were collected in Waco, Texas, United States of America, in 2012–2013. The specimens, which are morphologically most similar to Calosoma wilcoxi LeConte, 1848, but are dark blue-black instead of the typical metallic green. We employed DNA barcoding and phylogenetic methods to confirm the identities of the aberrant specimens. Preliminary phylogenetic analyses of cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences of central Texas and southwestern species place the aberrant specimens with 100% confidence as C. wilcoxi. The new variant of C. wilcoxi presumably occurs at low densities. Frequent collecting from 2011 to 2014 resulted in the discovery of only two of the aberrant coloured individuals among hundreds of typical green specimens. These specimens (to our knowledge) represent the first published record of melanistic Calosoma from North America. While the majority of North American species in the genus are naturally black, two of the most widely distributed and abundant species, C. scrutator (Fabricius, 1775) and C. wilcoxi, are typically green. We sequenced the aberrant form as well as all species co-occurring with the new colour morph at the collection locality and used records from GenBank and the Barcode of Life Data System to generate a preliminary phylogeny of the genus, which suggested that some of the currently established subgenera are likely not monophyletic.

The Internal Colonial Concept

1984 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 543-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Hind
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Natural Enemies ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
New Variant

The use of internal colonial theories to examine racial developments within the United States of America had become almost fashionable by the late 1960s. A decade later, a study of the political economy of Wales described the internal colonial approach which it criticized as a “new variant of a time-worn model.’ Amongst historians, however, the internal colonial concept does not appear to be as familiar as it is to other social scientists. This article is addressed to historians who do not subscribe unreservedly to Alfred Cobban's belief that sociologists are their natural enemies, and amongst whom some might still be considering the implications of Fernand Braudel's contention that a “general history always requires an overall model, good or bad, against which events can be interpreted. ‘No theory, no history.’” The purpose here is to indicate some uses and characteristics of theories that the internal colonial concept has promoted, to comment briefly about some of the methodological issues which these theories present, and to suggest some benefits that the concept might have for certain types of social and historical enquiry.

Symbiotic Frankia bacteria in Alnus forests in Mexico and the United States of America: is geographic location a good predictor of assemblage structure?

Botany ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 423-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Logan Massie Higgins ◽  
Peter Gault Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Nifh Gene ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
The United States ◽  
Assemblage Structure ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Genotypic Richness

While the biogeography of Alnus species is well characterized, that of their microbial symbionts remains less well understood. Little is known, for example, about how the genotypic richness of Alnus-associated Frankia bacteria varies at the continental scale, and the richness of Alnus-associated Frankia at tropical latitudes has yet to be explored. In this study, we conducted sequence-based analyses of the nifH gene comparing Frankia found in root nodules of two Alnus species in central Mexico with those associated with two Alnus species in the northwestern United States of America (USA). Similar to Frankia assemblages in northwestern USA and other geographic locations, genotypic richness within the Mexican samples was low, with five genotypes total using a ≥97% nifH sequence similarity cutoff. The vast majority of Mexican sequences belonged to genotypes also very common in northwestern USA Alnus forests, although two novel Mexican genotypes were identified. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed that all of the genotypes present in Mexico belong to larger clades of Alnus-associated Frankia. Genotype- and distance-based community analyses indicated that neither geographic location nor the phylogenetic relationships among hosts are strong predictors of Frankia assemblage structure. Our results suggest that factors other than classic biogeography are more influential in determining the continental-scale distribution and diversity of Alnus-associated Frankia.

Thinking About Scots Law

1996 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Rodger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
British Empire ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
Memorial Lecture ◽  
University Of Edinburgh ◽  
The University

This article is the revised text of the first W A Wilson Memorial Lecture, given in the Playfair Library, Old College, in the University of Edinburgh, on 17 May 1995. It considers various visions of Scots law as a whole, arguing that it is now a system based as much upon case law and precedent as upon principle, and that its departure from the Civilian tradition in the nineteenth century was part of a general European trend. An additional factor shaping the attitudes of Scots lawyers from the later nineteenth century on was a tendency to see themselves as part of a larger Englishspeaking family of lawyers within the British Empire and the United States of America.

Off to a bad start: John Adams’s tussle over titles

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C Alexander
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Vice President ◽  
The United States ◽  
John Adams ◽  
The Press ◽  
First Session

From the first days, of the first session, of the first Congress of the United States, the Senate was consumed by an issue that would do immense and lasting political harm to the sitting vice president, John Adams. The issue was a seemingly unimportant one: titles. Adams had strong opinions on what constituted a proper title for important officers of government and, either because he was unconcerned or unaware of the damage it would cause, placed himself in the middle of the brewing dispute. Adams hoped the president would be referred to as, “His highness, the President of the United States of America, and Protector of the Rights of the Same.” The suggestion enraged many, amused some, and was supported by few. He lost the fight over titles and made fast enemies with several of the Senators he was constitutionally obligated to preside over. Adams was savaged in the press, derided in the Senate and denounced by one of his oldest and closest friends. Not simply an isolated incident of political tone-deafness, this event set the stage for the campaign against Adams as a monarchist and provided further proof of his being woefully out of touch.

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