scholarly journals The genus <i>Allodia</i> (Diptera: Mycetophilidae) in Miocene Ethiopian amber

Fossil Record ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-346
Author(s):  
Valentine Bouju ◽  
Simon Rosse-Guillevic ◽  
Marion Griffon ◽  
Błażej Bojarski ◽  
Jacek Szwedo ◽  
...  

Abstract. A new, extinct species of Allodia Winnertz is described from early Miocene amber of Ethiopia. Allodia paleoafricana sp. nov. is mostly characterized by the scutum with strong anteromarginal, dorsocentral, and lateral setae and the wing with the stem of the M-fork slightly shorter than the vein r–m and the base of the M4–CuA fork aligned with the base of r–m. The assignment to any of the two subgenera Allodia stricto sensu or Brachycampta Winnertz remains equivocal as the fossil intermingles traits found in both taxa. Allodia is known mostly from the Palearctic region, while only a few species have been described from Africa. In this regard, the new fossil species from Ethiopia brings significant new information regarding the Afrotropical distribution and natural history of the genus.

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2021
Author(s):  
Zachary J. Loughman

Herpetocultural practices are based on norms driven by economy of space and time for keepers, with little scientific inference backing their practice. In recent years, a subset of herpetoculturalists have promoted evidence-based husbandry that relies on science and experimental design to generate husbandry practice. A theoretical framework and protocol are proposed herein that enables any individual who has access to the internet the ability to use various outlets of natural history information (scientific literature databases, social media sources, and weather websites) and previously published husbandry reports as evidence to drive the creation of novel herpetocultural practice. A case study is provided which compares readily available information on the care of Hydrodynastes gigas (false water cobra), such as online care sheets for the species, with the proposed evidence based herpetocultural protocol founded on natural history information and published care and captive breeding reports. Results were assessed for protocol efficacy and determined that the natural history informed evidence-based approach increased animal welfare and generated new information specific to the natural history of H. gigas.


1972 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 165-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen M. Young

This paper summarizes the life cycle and some aspects of natural history of the tropical pierid, Dismorphia virgo (Dismorphiinae) in Costa Rica. The precise taxonomic status of the butterfly in Central America has not been established, and it may represent a variable northern isolate of the common South American D. critomedia. Therefore, independent of whether the Central American form discussed in this paper has achieved full species status as the more northern virgo or is a subspecies or variety of critomedia evolving towards species status, this paper provides new information on the biology of the butterfly in Costa Rica. The establishment of precise taxonomic position awaits further study, and for the present purpose, I refer to the butterfly as D. virgo.


Author(s):  
M.S. Rafii ◽  
S. Zaman ◽  
B.L. Handen

The NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) and the European Horizon 21 Consortium are collecting critical new information on the natural history of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) biomarkers in adults with Down syndrome (DS), a population genetically predisposed to developing AD. These studies are also providing key insights into which biomarkers best represent clinically meaningful outcomes that are most feasible in clinical trials. This paper considers how these data can be integrated in clinical trials for individuals with DS. The Alzheimer’s Clinical Trial Consortium - Down syndrome (ACTC-DS) is a platform that brings expert researchers from both networks together to conduct clinical trials for AD in DS across international sites while building on their expertise and experience.


1857 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 312-314

The extinct species of large terrestrial Sloth, indicated by the above name, was first made known by portions of its fossil skeleton having been discovered by Charles Darwin, Esq., F. R. S., at Punta Alta, Northern Patagonia. These portions were described by the author in the Appendix to the 'Natural History of the Voyage of H. M. S. Beagle'. The subsequent acquisition by the British Museum of the collection of Fossil Mammalia brought from Buenos Ayres by M. Bravard, has given further evidence of the generic distinction of the Scelidothere, and has supplied important characters of the osseous system, and especially of the skull, which the fragments from the hard consolidated gravel of Punta Alta did not afford.


1857 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
pp. 101-110 ◽  

The extinct species of large terrestrial Sloth, indicated by the above name, was first made known by portions of its fossil skeleton discovered by Charles Darwin, Esq., F. R. S., at Punta Alta, Northern Patagonia, which were described by me in the chapters of the Appendix to the ‘Natural History of the Voyage of H. M. S. Beagle,’ treating of the “Fossil Mammalia” collected during that voyage. The subsequent acquisition by the British Museum of the collection of Fossil Mammalia brought from the pleistocene beds, Buenos Ayres, by M. Bravard, has given further evidence of the generic distinction of the Scelidothere from the other Gravigrades of the Bruta phylophaga , and has supplied important characters of the osseous system, and especially of the skull, which the fragments from the hard consolidated gravel of Punta Alta did not afford. The best portion of the cranium from the latter locality wanted the facial part anterior to the orbit, and the greater part of the upper walls; sufficient, however, remained to indicate the peculiar character of its slender proportions, and hence the name leptocephalum proposed for the species.


Author(s):  
Nathan A Jud ◽  
Maria A Gandolfo

Abstract Background and Aims Cunoniaceae are woody plants with a distribution that suggests a complex history of Gondwanan vicariance, long-distance dispersal, diversification and extinction. Only four out of ~27 genera in Cunoniaceae are native to South America today, but the discovery of extinct species from Argentine Patagonia is providing new information about the history of this family in South America. Methods We describe fossil flowers collected from early Danian (early Palaeocene, ~64 Mya) deposits of the Salamanca Formation. We compare them with similar flowers from extant and extinct species using published literature and herbarium specimens. We used simultaneous analysis of morphology and available chloroplast DNA sequences (trnL–F, rbcL, matK, trnH–psbA) to determine the probable relationship of these fossils to living Cunoniaceae and the co-occurring fossil species Lacinipetalum spectabilum. Key Results Cunoniantha bicarpellata gen. et sp. nov. is the second species of Cunoniaceae to be recognized among the flowers preserved in the Salamanca Formation. Cunoniantha flowers are pentamerous and complete, the anthers contain in situ pollen, and the gynoecium is bicarpellate and syncarpous with two free styles. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that Cunoniantha belongs to crown-group Cunoniaceae among the core Cunoniaceae clade, although it does not have obvious affinity with any tribe. Lacinipetalum spectabilum, also from the Salamanca Formation, belongs to the Cunoniaceae crown group as well, but close to tribe Schizomerieae. Conclusions Our findings highlight the importance of West Gondwana in the evolution of Cunoniaceae during the early Palaeogene. The co-occurrence of C. bicarpellata and L. spectabilum, belonging to different clades within Cunoniaceae, indicates that the diversification of crown-group Cunoniaceae was under way by 64 Mya.


Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1756 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
SERGIO SOLARI ◽  
RONALD H. PINE

Mouse opossums of the genus Marmosa Gray (Didelphidae) represent a complex of taxa with poorly understood affinities. Species now placed within this genus are mostly the leftovers from previous taxonomic arrangements. Even the most recent and complete revisions have not fully resolved the relationships among Marmosa and the many taxa previously included in Marmosa or listed as synonyms of it. Herein, we review and discuss one of these taxa, Stegomarmosa, based on new specimens that significantly increase our knowledge of the morphological diversification of the group. Until recently, this genus/subgenus has been known only from a single specimen taken more than 50 years ago in southeastern Peru. In 1997-1998, six additional specimens were collected at two little-separated localities almost 200 km NW of the type locality. We include a detailed diagnosis of the genus-group Stegomarmosa and its type species, M. andersoni, and update the distribution for and provide new information on the natural history of the latter. We also discuss published claims, concerning geographic range, that may be inaccurate and misleading. Finally, we scored the morphological characters used in the most recent phylogenetic analyses of the didelphids, in order to explore the affinities of M. andersoni and to determine the distinctiveness of the taxon Stegomarmosa.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ünal Akkemik ◽  
Nevriye Neslihan Acarca Bayam

Taxodioxylon Hartig, (emended by Gothan 1905) was widely described from the late Oligocene of the European part of Turkey (Thrace) and the early Miocene of greater Turkey, Anatolia.,C,. was also described from the early Miocene of central Anatolia. The purpose of this paper is to present a more detailed extended history of these two genera up to the late Miocene (Tortonian) with new descriptions from the Galatean Volcanic Province in central Turkey. The wood identification showed the presence of two fossil species;,D,et B,and,(G,.) G,. In conclusion, the swamp and lowland warm-temperate forest composition including,and,in the Galatean Volcanic Province, continued from the early Miocene (Burdigalian) to the late Miocene (Tortonian).


Author(s):  
Yael Leshno Afriat ◽  
Henk Mienis

Brachiopods (lamp-shells) are a group of macrobenthic invertebrates with a remarkably long fossil record that encompasses deep time to modern-day oceans with over 12,000 species reported in the fossil record. In contrast, today brachiopods form a relatively small independent phylum among the invertebrates that includes only ca. 350 living species. Brachiopods are commonly used to examine faunal response to changes in the depositional environment across space and time. The extinct fossil species are compared to their counterparts from modern settings in order to find associations between ecological and morphological traits and past environmental conditions. Thus, collecting data on living brachiopods and studying their ecological preferences is crucial to the understanding of ancient environments. Until today, only scarce information has been published on extant brachiopods in the Levantine Basin off the coast of Israel. The current curatorial state of collections from the area prevents us from realizing their full scientific potential. We present new information concerning brachiopods collected in the Eastern Mediterranean and stored in the Mollusc Collection of the National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The collection is based on personal contributions and material collected by the Sea Fisheries Research Station during annual surveys carried out along the coast of Israel. As a first step, we estimated the size of the collection to contain ca. 355 samples of brachiopods of an unknown number of species. Notable contributions to the brachiopod collection include the Giorgio S. Coen and the Arthur Blok collections. Giorgio S. Coen, an enthusiastic malacologist, donated his private collection in 1951. The collection includes samples given to Coen by the distinguished Marchese di Monterosato, and contains ca. 230 samples of recent worldwide brachiopods. So far we have recognized type material of at least four taxa in the Coen collection. In addition, the Arthur Blok collection was donated in 1974 and includes ca. 65 samples of recent brachiopods. Due to the limited number of extant species, new records of living brachiopods should prove to be an important contribution to future studies in biogeography, phylogeny and the study of paleoenvironments. Our preliminary results show species occurrences in undocumented depths and habitats of the Eastern Mediterranean, and points to higher estimation of diversity in the Eastern Mediterranean than previously assumed. The order of magnitude difference in species diversity between extant and fossil brachiopods means our new information on life modes and habitats of recent species may have a significant effect on paleoecological reconstruction of their fossil counterparts. Thus, our new record of recent Levantine brachiopods can improve their use as reliable proxies for reconstructing environmental conditions throughout the fossil record.


1993 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Bødtker Rasmussen

AbstractThe recent collection of more than 50 specimens and more than 140 eggs of Tornier's cat-snake, Crotaphopeltis tornieri, together with an examination of material already deposited in various museums provides new records outside the previously known geographical range. Variation in external and internal characters has been examined and the results have been analyzed. In regard to several characters, including the internal ones, the population of the East Usambara Mountains in Tanzania is significantly different from the population of the West Usambara Mountains, probably indicating an early vicariance event between the two areas. Due to the lack of data relating to internal characters, the affinities of the populations further south remain obscure, and no nomenclatural conclusions have so far been reached. The recently acquired specimens provide new information on the natural history of the species.


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