Out of Indochina: confirmed specimen record and first molecular identification of Psammophis indochinensis Smith, 1943 (Squamata, Psammophiidae) from Bali, Indonesia

Psammophis indochinensis Smith, 1943 was reported in the eastern Java and Bali of Indonesia despite its primary geographic range being in the Indochina region. We confirm its presence in Bali based on a newly collected specimen and provide morphological and genetic data. The specimen was found in a lowland, urban areas near open grassland habitat, which confirms the distribution of P. indochinensis along the northern coast of Bali. We note some character aberrations in the supralabials compared to Thailand specimens, suggesting an extended character. The basal clade position of P. indochinensis raises the possibility of an intercontinental dispersal scenario of this African-origin snake.

Cryptomonas indica sp. nov. (Cryptophyceae: Cryptomonadales), a new species described from the Western Ghats, India

A new species, Cryptomonas indica sp. nov., is described from Western Ghats, India, based on morphological and molecular data. Phylogenetic relationships inferred from nuclear small and large subunit ribosomal DNA, internal transcribed spacer 2, and plastid psbA sequences show that the new species forms a separate lineage on the phylogenetic tree of the genus Cryptomonas. This new species is included in the basal clade of Cryptomonas tree, which consists of undescribed taxa from Europe and South Korea. Cells of this species are up to 19 µm in length, elliptical to slightly asymmetrical in broad view, and have a plastid with four pyrenoids. Cryptomonas indica has been observed in one locality, the Northern region of the Western Ghats. Notably, this is the first Cryptomonas taxon described from the Indian subcontinent with both morphology and molecular information.

Vocal imitations and production learning by Australian musk ducks ( Biziura lobata )

Acquiring vocalizations by learning them from other individuals is only known from a limited number of animal groups. For birds, oscine and some suboscine songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds demonstrate this ability. Here, we provide evidence for vocal learning in a member of a basal clade of the avian phylogeny: the Australian musk duck ( Biziura lobata ). A hand-reared individual imitated a slamming door and a human voice, and a female-reared individual imitated Pacific black duck quacks. These sounds have been described before, but were never analysed in any detail and went so far unnoticed by researchers of vocal learning. The imitations were produced during the males' advertising display. The hand-reared male used at least three different vocalizations in the display context, with each one produced in the same stereotyped and repetitive structure as the normal display sounds. Sounds of different origins could be combined in one vocalization and at least some of the imitations were memorized at an early age, well before they were produced later in life. Together with earlier observations of vocal differences between populations and deviant vocalizations in captive-reared individuals, these observations demonstrate the presence of advanced vocal learning at a level comparable to that of songbirds and parrots. We discuss the rearing conditions that may have given rise to the imitations and suggest that the structure of the duck vocalizations indicates a quite sophisticated and flexible control over the vocal production mechanism. The observations support the hypothesis that vocal learning in birds evolved in several groups independently rather than evolving once with several losses. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

Chaetopsina aquatica sp. nov. (Hypocreales, Nectriaceae) from the River Nile, Egypt

A new species, Chaetopsina aquatica, collected from the River Nile, Sohag, Egypt, is described and illustrated. Phylogenetic analyses of the combined ITS and LSU rDNA placed the new species within Chaetopsina as a phylogenetically distinct species. Chaetopsina aquatica formed a basal clade to a node containing C. aurantisalinicola and C. penicillata. The new species is characterized by its longer conidia (20–35.2 × 5–8.5 μm on natural substrate, 27.5–41.5 × 5–7 μm in culture) than those reported in Chaetopsina species.

Evolutionary loss of thermal acclimation accompanied by periodic monocarpic mass flowering in Strobilanthes flexicaulis

While life history, physiology and molecular phylogeny in plants have been widely studied, understanding how physiology changes with the evolution of life history change remains largely unknown. In two closely related understory Strobilanthes plants, the molecular phylogeny has previously shown that the monocarpic 6-year masting S. flexicaulis have evolved from a polycarpic perennial, represented by the basal clade S. tashiroi. The polycarpic S. tashiroi exhibited seasonal thermal acclimation with increased leaf respiratory and photosynthetic metabolism in winter, whereas the monocarpic S. flexicaulis showed no thermal acclimation. The monocarpic S. flexicaulis required rapid height growth after germination under high intraspecific competition, and the respiration and N allocation were biased toward nonphotosynthetic tissues. By contrast, in the long-lived polycarpic S. tashiroi, these allocations were biased toward photosynthetic tissues. The life-history differences between the monocarpic S. flexicaulis and the polycarpic S. tashiroi are represented by the “height growth” and “assimilation” paradigms, respectively, which are controlled by different patterns of respiration and nitrogen regulation in leaves. The obtained data indicate that the monocarpic S. flexicaulis with the evolutionary loss of thermal acclimation may exhibit increased vulnerability to global warming.

Non-Peptidic Small Molecule Components from Cone Snail Venoms

Venomous molluscs (Superfamily Conoidea) comprise a substantial fraction of tropical marine biodiversity (>15,000 species). Prior characterization of cone snail venoms established that bioactive venom components used to capture prey, defend against predators and for competitive interactions were relatively small, structured peptides (10–35 amino acids), most with multiple disulfide crosslinks. These venom components (“conotoxins, conopeptides”) have been widely studied in many laboratories, leading to pharmaceutical agents and probes. In this review, we describe how it has recently become clear that to varying degrees, cone snail venoms also contain bioactive non-peptidic small molecule components. Since the initial discovery of genuanine as the first bioactive venom small molecule with an unprecedented structure, a broad set of cone snail venoms have been examined for non-peptidic bioactive components. In particular, a basal clade of cone snails (Stephanoconus) that prey on polychaetes produce genuanine and many other small molecules in their venoms, suggesting that this lineage may be a rich source of non-peptidic cone snail venom natural products. In contrast to standing dogma in the field that peptide and proteins are predominantly used for prey capture in cone snails, these small molecules also contribute to prey capture and push the molecular diversity of cone snails beyond peptides. The compounds so far characterized are active on neurons and thus may potentially serve as leads for neuronal diseases. Thus, in analogy to the incredible pharmacopeia resulting from studying venom peptides, these small molecules may provide a new resource of pharmacological agents.

A new cistecephalid (Dicynodontia: Emydopoidea) from the Upper Permian of Malawi

Cistecephalidae is a relatively basal clade of dicynodonts, well-nested within emydopoids, and known to have multiple adaptations to a fossorial lifestyle. In recent years cistecephalid taxonomic diversity has been progressively increasing and important insights into the osteology, soft-tissue anatomy, and paleobiology of the clade have improved considerably. Here we describe a new genus and species of a cistecephalid from the Chiweta Beds (Northern Malawi, Wuchiapingian), a yet inadequately sampled area of Karoo sediments. Due to the minute dimensions and delicate nature of specimen PK-16-1, we have utilized, propagation phase-contrast synchrotron X-ray micro-computed tomography, revealing conspicuous contrast between rock matrix and bone and allowing reconstruction of its cranial osteology in great detail. PK-16-1 is here recognized as a new genus and species based on various autapomorphies, such as the presence of an atrophied preparietal and the presence of convergent crests along the pila antoticae. We performed a phylogenetic analysis in which we recovered PK-16-1 in a clade with Kembawacela and Cistecephalus united, among other characters, by a strongly embayed rostrum notch. Furthermore, the anatomical resolution obtained allowed us to reconstruct the osseous labyrinth, the paths for several nerve branches, arteries and veins for the first time in cistecephalids, and we develop new hypotheses for their paths and nomenclature for dicynodonts. We found remarkable resemblance in the brain endocast of PK-16-1 and another cistecephalid, Kawingasaurus, which is considerably distinct from other dicynodonts.

Evolutionary loss of thermal acclimation accompanied by periodic monocarpic mass flowering in Strobilanthes species

While life history, physiology and molecular phylogeny in plants have been widely studied, understanding how physiology changes with the evolutionally life historical change remains largely unknown. In two closely related understory Strobilanthes plants, the molecular phylogeny has previously shown that the monocarpic 6-year masting S. flexicaulis have evolved from a polycarpic perennial, represented by the basal clade S. tashiroi. The polycarpic S. tashiroi exhibited seasonal thermal acclimation with increased leaf respiratory and photosynthetic metabolism in winter, whereas the monocarpic S. flexicaulis showed no thermal acclimation. The monocarpic S. flexicaulis required rapid height growth after germination under high intraspecific competition, and the respiration and N allocation were biased toward nonphotosynthetic tissues. By contrast, in the long-lived polycarpic S. tashiroi, these allocations were biased toward photosynthetic tissues. The life-history differences between the monocarpic S. flexicaulis and the polycarpic S. tashiroi are represented by the “height growth” and “assimilation” paradigms, respectively, which are controlled by different patterns of respiration and nitrogen regulation in leaves. The obtained data suggest that the monocarpic S. flexicaulis with the evolutionary loss of thermal acclimation will more often exhibit increased vulnerability to global warming.

Rediscovery of Mazus lanceifolius reveals a new genus and a new species in Mazaceae

Mazus lanceifolius (Mazaceae) is a perennial herb with opposite leaves and endemic to central China that has not been collected for 130 years. Rediscovery of this enigmatic species in the wild allows for determination of its phylogenetic position within Mazaceae. Phylogenetic reconstruction of Mazaceae based on DNA sequences from four plastid markers (matK, rbcL, rps16 and trnL-trnF) and nuclear ribosome ITS consistently showed that Mazus was not monophyletic. Mazus lanceifolius is in the most basal clade within Mazaceae, as sister to the remaining species of three recognized genera Dodartia, Lancea and Mazus. These results support the separation of M. lanceifolius from Mazus as a new genus, which was established here as Puchiumazus Bo Li, D.G. Zhang & C.L. Xiang. Meanwhile, a collection from Shennongjia Forestry District of Hubei Province, China, misidentified as “M. lanceifolius” in previous molecular study, is here revealed to represent an undescribed species of Mazus, i.e., M. fruticosus Bo Li, D.G. Zhang & C.L. Xiang, sp. nov. Morphologically, Puchiumazus is clearly distinct from the other three genera by having quadrangular to somewhat ribbed stems, and obviously opposite leaves. In addition, we provide a taxonomic key to the four genera of Mazaceae.

Differentiation in the eastern Asian Periphyllus koelreuteriae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) species complex driven by climate and host plant

Divergent adaptation to different ecological conditions is regarded as important for speciation. For phytophagous insects, there is limited empirical evidence on species differentiation driven by climate and host plant. The recent application of molecular data and integrative taxonomic practice may improve our understanding of population divergence and speciation. Periphyllus koelreuteriae aphids feed exclusively on Koelreuteria (Sapindaceae) in temperate and subtropical regions of eastern Asia, and show morphological and phenological variations in different regions. In this study, phylogenetic and haplotype network analyses based on four genes revealed that P. koelreuteriae populations comprised three distinct genetic clades corresponding to climate and host plants, with the populations from subtropical highland regions and on Koelreuteria bipinnata host plants representing the most basal clade. These genetic lineages also showed distinct characteristics in terms of morphology and life cycle. The results indicate that P. koelreuteriae is a species complex with previously unrevealed lineages, whose differentiation may have been driven by climatic difference and host plant.