scholarly journals Description of the male of fossil <i>Calomicrus eocenicus</i> Bukejs et Bezděk (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) from Eocene Baltic amber using X-ray microtomography

Fossil Record ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andris Bukejs ◽  
Jan Bezděk ◽  
Vitalii I. Alekseev ◽  
Kristaps Kairišs ◽  
Ryan C. McKellar

Abstract. A male representative of the extinct species Calomicrus eocenicus Bukejs et Bezděk, 2014 (Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae) is found and described for the first time from Eocene Baltic amber using X-ray microtomography. The aedeagus is well preserved within the body cavity of the specimen, and it is illustrated in detail. This fossil species exhibits distinct sexual dimorphism: the male has a smaller total body size, as well as a copula-adapted modification in abdominal ventrite 5 (apical margin deeply trilobed, with round medial fovea present); meanwhile the female is larger in body size and has a simple abdominal ventrite 5 (without fovea, non-incised and widely rounded apically). Similar sexually dimorphic characters are typical for extant members of the tribe Luperini, and this report is the first time that they are described in an Eocene species. The known sexually dimorphic characters present in Coleoptera within Eocene Baltic amber are briefly discussed.

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4500 (1) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
ZI-WEI YIN ◽  
CHEN-YANG CAI

A new species of the extinct scydmaenine genus Euroleptochromus Jałoszyński (Mastigitae: Leptochromini), E. tuberculatus Yin & Cai, sp. nov., is described from Eocene Baltic amber. It can be separated from the two previously known congeners by the different proportions of the body parts and spination of the profemur, and more importantly, lack of an elongate postgenal process of the head. Our finding demonstrates for the first time a notable variability of the postgenal structures within Euroleptochromus. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4820 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-562
Author(s):  
VITALII IGOREVICH ALEKSEEV ◽  
ANDRIS BUKEJS ◽  
DARREN ANDREW POLLOCK

Europoeurypus inglaeso gen. et sp. nov. is described from Eocene Baltic amber found on the Sambian Peninsula, Kaliningrad Region, Russia. Four additional specimens of mycterid beetles from collections of Baltic amber are reported. The secondary sexual characters and sexual dimorphism in the Eocene representatives of the genus Omineus Lewis, 1895 are documented for the first time and examined using X-ray micro-computed tomography (μCT). The studied Omineus male specimens were attributed to the fossil species Omineus febribilis Alekseev, Pollock & Bukejs, 2019. A key to fossil species of Eurypinae from Eocene ambers is provided and several aspects of the biogeography of the subfamily Eurypinae are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-224
Author(s):  
Joachim Schmidt ◽  
Stephan Scholz ◽  
David R. Maddison

Balticeler kerneggerigen. nov., sp. nov., is described based on six fossil specimens preserved in Eocene Baltic amber and imaged using light microscopy and X-ray micro-computed tomography. Based on certain characters observed in the fossil species it is considered a “middle grade” Carabidae, outside of the large family Harpalinae (as it possesses a scrobal seta, the lack of which is a synapomorphy of that subfamily), but possessing four synapomorphies that indicate Balticeler belongs to a large clade of carabids including Harpalinae (anisochaetous Grade B antennal cleaner, conjunct mesocoxae, closed procoxal cavities, and a well-developed external lobe of the metepimeron). This remarkable beetle has several striking features, including lack of externally-visible sexually dimorphic characters, lack of lateral borders on the pronotum, and very long and thin mandibles and maxillae. In combination, these states are unique within Carabidae. We consider the presence of a dorsally completely open aedeagal median lobe as a synapomorphy of the fossil species with the subfamily Trechinae, a pubescent and relatively long second antennomere and a 4+2+2 pattern of umbilicate setae as synapomorphies of the supertribe Trechitae, and a quadrisetose clypeus as a synapomorphy with the Trechitae clade Bembidarenini + Trechini sensu Maddison et al. (2019). As it lacks a synapomorphy of Bembidarenini + Trechini, we propose that it is a member of the stem group of that clade.


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4878 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-411
Author(s):  
FABRIZIO FANTI ◽  
MAXIMILIAN G. PANKOWSKI

Two new species of soldier beetles (Coleoptera, Cantharidae) from the Priabonian deposits in Yantarny, Russia (Baltic amber) are described. Cantharis crisantha sp. nov. is characterized by its relatively small body size, laterally rounded prothorax, and simple claws with a small basal tooth. Of particular interest, this specimen has its aedeagus extruded—a feature described for the first time in a representative of the genus Cantharis found in amber, and something rarely seen in all known fossil species of the Cantharidae family. The second described species, Cantharis raeorum sp. nov., is characterized by a pronotum with straight sides and a transverse and concave part near the posterior margin. The species are compared with earlier reported fossil Cantharis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. e20216178
Author(s):  
Soumen Roy ◽  
Itika Bardhan

The Eleutheronema tetradactylum is a protandrous, hermaphrodite, marine perciformes fish. The body length of this fish acts as an important diagnostic marker for male and female discrimination. The present study describes for the first time the ultrastructural characteristics on the medial surface of the sagitta otolith in different body size groups of males of E. tetradactylum (Polynemidae: Perciformes) using scanning electron microscopy. The sagitta is a spindle-shaped structure that includes a well-developed rostrum and a poorly developed antirostrum. The sulcus is ostio-pseudocaudal type, almost straight and devoid of the collum. The ostium is a well-developed, vase-shaped structure. The cauda includes the colliculum and a well-developed caudal bulb with several distinct growth stripes. The length of the caudal bulb is significantly correlated to the growth of the body size of the fish. The excisura major is indistinct and the excisura minor is absent. The cristae are distinct on both sides of the sulcus. The one-way ANOVA test revealed that the development of several sagitta features shows significant differences in various body size groups of E. tetradactylum. The growth of the sagitta length is more closely related to the fork length than the sagitta width. Therefore, the sagitta length and the caudal bulb length can be used as important predictors to evaluate the fish size. The cauda region of the sagitta in E. tetradactylum is unique as well as more decorative than those of another Polynemidae fish and other hermaphrodite, marine perciformes fishes. The sagitta characteristics of E. tetradactylum might be advantageous in the identification of the sex and the taxonomy of the hermaphrodite fish species.


Author(s):  
Shûhei YAMAMOTO ◽  
Alexey V. SHAVRIN ◽  
Kristaps KAIRIŠS

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.


1979 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 185-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ahlgren ◽  
T. Grönberg ◽  
S. Mattsson

Occupational exposure to lead is common in many industrial applications and hence it is of considerable medical interest to control the body-burden of lead in living man. More than 90 % of the lead in the body is concentrated in bone and hence in vivo measurements of the lead in the skeleton should give the most satisfactory way for estimating the body-burden. The routine method used today for checking on lead contamination is that of measurements on blood samples. However, since the concentration of lead in the blood is a sensitive function of the actual exposure conditions, this method provides only a poor indication of the total body-burden and the integrated lead exposure.


2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Quiazon ◽  
T. Yoshinaga ◽  
H. Doi ◽  
J. Araki ◽  
K. Ogawa

Abstract Finding male philometrid nematodes is essential for taxonomic identification among congeneric species. In this study, male Philometra thaiensis Moravec, Fiala et Dyková, 2004 were collected and described for the first time, from the body cavity of the freshwater fish (eyespot pufferfish) Tetraodon biocellatus Tirant (Tetraodontiformes, Tetraodontidae), and conspecific females were redescribed based on the additional morphological biometrics examined. Molecular examination was carried out on the small subunit 18S rRNA, revealing the evolutionary relationships of P. thaiensis and reported philometrid species (Philometra and Philometroides) from Japan with other dracunculoids deposited in the GenBank. Based on the molecular data, there are some genera (Philometra, Philometroides, Clavinema, and Margolisianum [genus inquirendum]) requiring further morphological re-evaluation that should be supported with molecular data.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (73) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Jagiello ◽  
Wladislaw Jagiello

Contemporary anthropological research confirms the fact that body composition is one of the basic elements differentiating athletes from persons not practising sport. Among athletes representing various branches of sport there are also significant differences in their body composition. Internal proportions of the body composition of an athlete, or a selected group of athletes, is an especially important yet little researched issue of sports anthropology. This problem is still topical in sports games, especially in tennis. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine internal proportions of the body composition of female tennis players from the Polish national team in comparison to persons who do not practice sport professionally. The study involved female athletes of the Polish national tennis team (n = 10). The study was carried out in a training camp from 28 September to 9 October 2002 in Zakopane — Centre of Sports Preparation. Athletes’ age was 16—20 (18.1 ± 1.4) years, and the training experience 8—12 years (10.5 ± 1.8). The mean body height for the group members was 171.9 ± 6.7 cm and the mean body mass 59.7 ± 6.3 kg. The results of research by Piechaczek et al. (1996) constituted the reference point for the results of measurements of Polish tennis representatives. The authors studied 153 female students of Warsaw Technical University aged 20.2 ± 1.09 years. They were randomly chosen students of the first and the second year of various departments at this university. The mean body height of the students was 166.2 ± 6.2 cm and the mean body mass 57.4 ± 7.72 kg. Anthropometric measurements were taken using standard instruments (Drozdowski, 1998). The analysis involved 11 somatic features which determined three so-called factors of body composition: length (m1), stoutness (m2) and obesity (m3). The assessment of proportions of the body composition was made by means of Perkal’s natural indices (1953) with Milicerowa’s modifications (1956). We determined the following: composition factors (m), index of total body size (M), internal proportions of the body composition, evenness of composition, the code of internal proportions; also the assessment of internal proportions of the body composition within each of the factors.Taking into consideration the mean values of the studied somatic features in the control group and the comparative group we found differences in their body composition. The representatives of the Polish national tennis team showed substantially longer upper and lower limbs, and the body height was greater. They also had much greater forearm perimeter and shorter pelvic width. As to the total body size, the tennis players slightly exceeded the students (M = 0.24). The total body size (M) resulted from high values of length features (m1 = 1.01), low ones of stoutness (m2 = –0.39) and medium ones of obesity (m3 = 0.1). The value of the intragroup variability index (harmony of composition) amounted to 1.4 and the code of internal proportions of tennis players’ body composition — to 6—2—4. The proportions of internal features of the stoutness index (natural indices of features within a factor) showed the advantage of the forearm perimeter (1.62) and elbow width (0.36). The knee width (–1.30) and pelvic width (–0.60) were disproportionate to the total value of this factor. The input of features characterizing the length factor was relatively proportional.Keywords: tennis, training, body composition, internal proportions.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-189
Author(s):  
Junardi Junardi

AbstrakCacing Nipah Pendek Namalycastis abiuma memiliki tubuh yang elastis dan mudah putus sehingga diperlukan pendekatan morfometri tubuh lain untuk menentukan panjang tubuh sesungguhnya. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk menentukan panjang tubuh total cacing nipah pendek dengan menggunakan bobot tubuh, jumlah total segmen berseta, panjang tiga segmen anterior pertama (L3) dan lebar segmen berseta atau setiger ke-10 (S-10). Spesimen yang digunakan dipilih hanya individu yang lengkap dan utuh. Pengukuran dilakukan dibawah mikroskop dengan lensa okular yang dilengkapi dengan mikrometer. Data dianalisis dengan analisis korelasi. Cacing yang digunakan sebanyak 258 individu yang terdiri atas 190 immature, 54 submature dan 14 mature dengan ukuran panjang tubuh rata-rata berturut-turut 108,62±34,80 mm, 172,27±42,78 mm dan 123,14±57,40 mm. Cacing betina ditemukan memiliki ukuran tubuh lebih besar dari jantan. Panjang tubuh N. abiuma dapat diduga dengan bobot tubuh, panjang L3 dan lebar S-10 dengan nilai koefisien korelasi (r) berturut-turut 0,82, 0,73 dan 0,78. Pendekatan morfometri dapat digunakan untuk menentukan ukuran tubuh N. abiuma.Abstract The short nypa palm worm Namalycastis abiuma has an elastic and fragile body. Therefore, an alternative approach of morphometrical techniques is needed to determine the total body length. This research aimed to estimate the total body length of the short nypa palm worm based on body weight, the total number of segments, the length of the first three anterior segment (L3) and the tenth setiger width (S10). Body measurement was done using stereomicroscope fitted with the micrometer. Correlation analysis was done to describe the relationship between the length of L3 and the width of S10. A total of 258 complete and whole specimens consisted of 190 immature, 54 submature, and 14 mature individuals. The average body length of immature individuals was 108.62±34.80 mm, 172.27±42.78 mm for sub mature individuals, and 123.14±57.40 mm for mature individuals. Based on sexual dimorphism, the female body size is larger than male. The body length of N. abiuma can be estimated by body weight, the length of L3, and the  width of S10, with  correlation coefficient (r) of 0.82, 0.73 and 0.78, respectively. Morphometry approach can be used to determine the body size of N. abiuma. 


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