New mid-Cretaceous cryptic slime mold beetles and the early evolution of Sphindidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea)

The cryptic slime mold beetles, Sphindidae, are a moderately diverse cucujoid beetle family, whose members are obligately tied to slime molds throughout their life. The fossil record of sphindid beetles is sparse; stem-sphindids and crown-group members of uncertain systematic placement have been reported from Cretaceous ambers. Here we review the Mesozoic fossil record of Sphindidae and report a new sphindid genus and species, Trematosphindus newtonigen. et sp. nov., from Albian/Cenomanian amber from northern Myanmar (ca. 99 Ma). Trematosphindus is set apart from all other sphindids by the presence of distinct lateral cavities on the anterior pronotal angles. Our phylogenetic analysis identifies Trematosphindus as an early-diverging genus within Sphindidae, sister to the remainder of the family except Protosphindus, or Protosphindus and Odontosphindus. The new fossils provide evidence that basal crown slime mold beetles begun to diversify by the mid-Cretaceous, providing a valuable calibration point for understanding timescale of sphindid co-evolution with slime molds.

Application of Electromagnetic Sensing and Infiltration Measurements to Evaluate Salinity Reclamation and Turfgrass Management Options for Improved Leaching

Scarce freshwater resources in arid and semiarid regions means that recreational landscapes should use recycled or low quality waters for irrigation, increasing the risk of salinity and infiltration problems. We map salinity distribution within turf fields using electromagnetic sensing, evaluate need for leaching and evaluate post leaching results for subsequent management decisions. Electromagnetic measurements were made with two EM38 instruments positioned vertically and horizontally in order to determine salinity distribution. Sensor readings were coupled to GPS data to create spatial salinity maps. Next, optimal calibration point coordinates were determined via ESAP software. Soil samples were taken from 0-60 cm at 5 depths for each calibration point. Laboratory soil saturation percentage, moisture content, ECe and pHe of saturation extracts were determined for calibration to convert resistivity measurements to ECe. Next, ECe maps were created using ESAP software. Leaching for reclamation was performed by means of sprinkling. Treated municipal wastewater was utilized both for irrigation and for reclamation leaching. Low water content and high spatial variability of soil texture adversely affected the accuracy of the readings. Pre and post leaching surveys indicate that there was only a 30% decrease in salinity, very low relative to expected results considering the amount of water applied. This relatively low reduction in salinity and the lack of runoff during irrigation combined with infiltration measurements suggests that aeration techniques for healthier grasses led to water bypassing small pores thus limiting leaching efficiency. In this instance practices to improve infiltration lead paradoxically to less salinity reclamation than expected.

A Paleozoic stem hagfish Myxinikela siroka — revised anatomy and implications for evolution of the living jawless vertebrate lineages

Hagfishes and lampreys comprise cyclostomes, the earliest branching and sole surviving clade of the once diverse assemblage of jawless crown-group vertebrates. Lacking mineralized skeletons, both of the crown cyclostome lineages have notoriously poor fossil record. Particularly in the hagfish total group, †Myxinikela siroka Bardack, 1991 from the Late Carboniferous estuarine system of Illinois (USA) represents the only definitive stem taxon. Previously known from a single specimen, Myxinikela has been reconstructed as a short-bodied form with pigmented eyes but otherwise difficult to distinguish from the living counterpart. With a new, second specimen of Myxinikela reported here, I reevaluate the soft tissue anatomy and formulate diagnosis for the taxon. Myxinikela has a number of general features of cyclostomes, including cartilaginous branchial baskets, separation between the esophageal and the branchial passages, and a well-differentiated midline finfold. In effect, these features give more lamprey-like appearance to this stem hagfish than previously assumed. Myxinikela still has many traits that set modern hagfishes apart from other vertebrates (e.g., nasohypophyseal aperture, large velar cavity, and cardinal heart) and some intermediate conditions of modern hagfishes (e.g., incipient posterior displacement of branchial region). Thus, Myxinikela provides an important calibration point with which to date origins of these characters.

Simulated Curved Firing Electromagnetic Gun

The device uses a self-made electromagnetic cannon and a control charging and discharging circuit to constitute the launching device of the electromagnetic cannon. The two-degree-of-freedom control PTZ controls the angle and direction of the electromagnetic cannon. It uses dual power supplies to power the main control board and electromagnetic cannon device. The microprocessor STM32F407 is used as the control core of the electromagnetic cannon, and the TCA8418 IIC matrix keyboard is used to adjust the distance and angle. The OpenMV4 automatically searches for the guide mark and captures the image shape and color blocks in real time to control the electromagnetic cannon to hit the round bullseye. . In addition, it also uses Lidar to measure the distance between the calibration point and the ring target, and uses OpenMV4 to realize the automatic search and launch of the electromagnetic cannon.

Optimization of a Single Tube Practical Acoustic Thermometer

When designing a single tube practical acoustic thermometer (PAT), certain considerations should be addressed for optimal performance. This paper is concerned with the main issues involved in building a reliable PAT. It has to be emphasised that a PAT measures the ratio of the time delay between the single temperature calibration point (ice point) and any other temperature. Here, we present different models of the speed of sound in tubes, including the effects of real gases and an error analysis of the most accurate model with a Monte Carlo simulation. Additionally, we introduce the problem of acoustic signal overlap and some possible solutions, one of which is acoustic signal cancellation, which aims to eliminate the unwanted parts of an acoustic signal, and another is to optimize the tube length for the parameters of the gas used and specific temperature range.

New fossil Odonata from the Upper Jurassic of Bavaria with a new fossil calibration point for Zygoptera

Three new taxa of odonates are described from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen limestone from Eichstätt and Painten in Bavaria (Germany), including the first two genuine Zygoptera (Andrephlebia buergeri gen. et sp. nov. in fam. inc. sed. and Jurahemiphlebia haeckeli gen. et sp. nov. in Hemiphlebiidae) and a new taxon of Stenophlebioptera (Reschiostenophlebia koschnyi gen. et sp. nov. in Stenophlebiidae). With an age of about 152 million years, the holotype of Jurahemiphlebia from the Painten locality represents the oldest fossil record and thus a new calibration point for crown group Zygoptera, Lestoidea, and Hemiphlebiidae, and the oldest record for any living odonate family. Furthermore, the first relatively complete specimen of the dragonfly Prohemeroscopus kuehnapfeli (Prohemeroscopidae) is described, which was previously known only from a pair of isolated hind wings. A revised diagnosis is provided for the species and genus.

Geometrid caterpillar in Eocene Baltic amber (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)

Lepidoptera have little fossilization potential due to the presence of delicate structures and hence are exceptional findings, even in ambers that allow their preservation in sufficient detail for interpretation. From Eocene Baltic amber, the volumetrically largest known deposit of amber, there has been no reliable report of any member of the Macrolepidoptera (informal group of higher moths and all butterflies). Any such lepidopteran fossil would provide insight into evolutionary processes during the Eocene, long after flowering plants had completed their initial radiation. Here, we report on a first geometrid caterpillar from Baltic amber which is described as the oldest evidence for the subfamily Ennominae (tribe Boarmiini) and as one of the oldest records of the currently mega-diverse family. The new finding provides an important calibration point for molecular clock analyses within the family Geometridae and predates the basal divergence of Boarmiini from 32–38 to 44 Mya. It also predates the occurrence of this highly specialized form of caterpillar locomotion that allows for rapid movement.

The first Miocene fossils of Lacerta cf.trilineata(Squamata, Lacertidae) with a comparative study of the main cranial osteological differences in green lizards and their relatives

We here describe the first fossil remains of a green lizardof theLacertagroup from the late Miocene (MN 13) of the Solnechnodolsk locality in southern European Russia. This region of Europe is crucial for our understanding of the paleobiogeography and evolution of these middle-sized lizards. Although this clade has a broad geographical distribution across the continent today, its presence in the fossil record has only rarely been reported. In contrast to that, the material described here is abundant, consists of a premaxilla, maxillae, frontals, parietals, jugals, quadrate, pterygoids, dentaries and vertebrae. The comparison of these elements to all extant green lizard species shows that these fossils are indistinguishable fromLacerta trilineata. Thus, they form the first potential evidence of the occurrence of this species in the Miocene. This may be also used as a potential calibration point for further studies. Together with other lizard fossils, Solnechnodolsk shows an interesting combination of survivors and the dawn of modern species. This locality provides important evidence for the transition of an archaic Miocene world to the modern diversity of lizards in Europe. In addition, this article represents a contribution to the knowledge of the comparative osteological anatomy of the selected cranial elements in lacertid. This study gives special emphasis to the green lizards, but new data are also presented for related taxa, e.g.,Timon lepidus, Podarcis muralisorZootoca vivipara. Although the green lizards include several cryptic species for which determination based on isolated osteological material would be expected to be difficult, our comparisons show several important morphological differences.