New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa

Horseshoe crabs are extant marine euchelicerates that have a fossil record extending well into the Palaeozoic. Extreme xiphosurid morphologies arose during this evolutionary history. These forms often reflected the occupation of freshwater or marginal conditions. This is particularly the case for Austrolimulidae—a xiphosurid family that has recently been subject to thorough taxonomic examination. Expanding the austrolimulid record, we present new material from the Olenekian-aged Petropavlovka Formation in European Russia and assign this material to Attenborolimulus superspinosus gen. et sp. nov. A geometric morphometric analysis of 23 horseshoe crab genera illustrates that the new taxon is distinct from limulid and paleolimulid morphologies, supporting the assignment within Austrolimulidae. In considering Triassic austrolimulids, we suggest that the hypertrophy or reduction in exoskeletal sections illustrate how species within the family evolved as opportunistic taxa after the end-Permian extinction.

Phylogenetic Relationships Within Chrysogorgia (Alcyonacea: Octocorallia), a Morphologically Diverse Genus of Octocoral, Revealed Using a Target Enrichment Approach

The octocoral genus Chrysogorgia (Duchassaing and Michelotti, 1864) contains 81 nominal species that are ecologically important components of benthic communities. Taxonomic examination of a large set of samples revealed many provisional new species, exhibiting a wide range of morphological variation. We established nine, distinct morphological groups of Chrysogorgia s.l. that were hypothesized to represent distinct genera. Here, we applied a recently developed universal target enrichment bait method for octocoral exons and ultraconserved elements (UCEs) on 96 specimens varying in morphology, collection ages and DNA quality and quantity to determine whether there was genetic support for these morphologically defined groups. Following Illumina sequencing and SPAdes assembly we recovered 1,682 of 1,700 targeted exon loci and 1,333 of 1,340 targeted UCE loci. Locus recovery per sample was highly variable and significantly correlated with time since specimen collection (2–60 years) and DNA quantity and quality. Phylogenetically informative sites in UCE and exon loci were ∼35% for 50% and 75% taxon-occupancy matrices. Maximum likelihood analyses recovered highly resolved trees with topologies supporting the recognition of 11 candidate genera, corresponding with morphological groups assigned a priori, nine of which are novel. Our results also demonstrate that this target-enrichment approach can be successfully applied to degraded museum specimens of up to 60 years old. This study shows that an integrative approach consisting of molecular and morphological methods will be essential to a proper revision of Chrysogorgia taxonomy and to understand regional diversity of these ecologically important corals.

Novel taxa of Cheilostomata Bryozoa discovered in the historical backlogs of the Iziko South African Museum

Non-studied museum collections are hidden treasures—a source of information for various research fields. The novel taxa presented here were discovered during taxonomic examination of the backlogs of Bryozoa (Cheilostomata) from the Iziko South African Museum. We describe one new genus, Khulisa n. gen., and nine new species of bryozoans from South Africa. The new species are: Biflustra adenticulata n. sp., Aspidostoma sarcophagus n. sp., ?Micropora erecta n. sp., Trypostega richardi n. sp., Khulisa carolinae n. gen. et n. sp., Adeonella assegai n. sp., Hippomonavella lingulata n. sp., Phidolopora chakra n. sp. and Reteporella ilala n. sp. Three genera, Biflustra, Phidolopora and Triphyllozoon, are recorded for the first time from South Africa. This study highlights the importance of examining existing backlogged material lodged in museum collections.

PENGEMBANGAN STANDARISASI PEWARNA ALAMI BATIK DARI KULIT KAYU SECANG (Caesalpinia sappan L.) DENGAN TEKNIK SPEKTROSKOPI

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah diperoleh suatu metode standarisasi warna yaitu penilaian secara konsisten terhadap warna yang dibentuk oleh pewarna alami secang, sehingga dapat dijadikan acuan warna zat pewarna alami batik yang dibuat. Tahapan standarisasi pewarna alami dimulai dengan pemeriksaan taksonomi/determinasi, preparasi pewarna secang dengan cara ekstraksi, proses standarisasi yang meliputi proses standarisasi pewarna alami dan pembuatan standar pewarna sintetis sebagai pembanding, penetapan standar warna, aplikasi zat warna terstandar pada proses pembatikan meliputi pembuatan pola batik dan pembatikan dengan lilin/malam dan proses pewarnaan batik dengan pewarna secang. Analisis data dilakukan secara kualitatif dan kuantitatif terhadap data absorbansi dan panjang gelombang yang diperoleh dari warna merah yang dibentuk oleh pewarna secang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa panjang gelombang serapan maksimum standar warna merah diperoleh pada 450,20 nm. Panjang gelombang inilah yang digunakan sebagai standar pengukuran warna merah secang yang diterapkan.(THE DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDIZATION NATURAL COLOUR FROM BATIK OF STEAM BARK (Caesalpinia sappan L) BY SPECTROSCOPHY METHOD)The purpose of this research is to obtain a method of color standardization which is a consistent assessment of the color formed by secang natural dye, so it can be used as a reference color of natural dyes of batik.Standardization steps of natural dyes included taxonomic examination, preparation of secang dye by extraction, standardization process by spectroscopic measurement, with “rapid” dye as standard, application on batik process including batik pattern making and wax application on batik and batik coloring process with secang dye. Data was analized by absorbance vs wavelength obtained from red color formed by secang dye. The results showed that the maximum absorption wavelength of the standard red color was obtained at 450.20 nm. This value is used as the standard red color measurement

Winogradskyella pacifica sp. nov., a marine bacterium of the family Flavobacteriaceae

A novel strain, designated KMM 6019T, was isolated from coastal seawater and subjected to taxonomic examination using a polyphasic approach. A comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain KMM 6019T formed a distinct phyletic line within the genus Winogradskyella, a member of the family Flavobacteriaceae, phylum Bacteroidetes. The 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the novel isolate and the type strains of the recognized species of the genus Winogradskyella was 94.0–97.8 %. Winogradskyella thalassocola KMM 3907T was the closest relative, with 97.8 % sequence similarity. The predominant fatty acids of strain KMM 6019T were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 1, anteiso-C15 : 0, iso-C15 : 0 3-OH, iso-C16 : 0 3-OH, C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH and summed feature 3 comprising iso-C15 : 0 2-OH and/or C16 : 1 ω7c, which are characteristic for members of the genus Winogradskyella. The DNA G+C content was 35.3 mol%. Strain KMM 6019T moved by gliding and grew with 1–5 % NaCl and at 4–30 °C. The novel strain degraded gelatin, casein and starch and produced acid from cellobiose, d-glucose and maltose. Strain KMM 6019T could clearly be differentiated from the other Winogradskyella species by the ability to utilize inositol and sorbitol and to produce hydrogen sulphide. On the basis of phylogenetic and phenotypic findings, strain KMM 6019T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Winogradskyella, for which the name Winogradskyella pacifica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is KMM 6019T (=KCTC 22997T=LMG 22568T).

DNA barcoding Australasian chondrichthyans: results and potential uses in conservation

DNA barcoding – sequencing a region of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene (cox1) – promises a rapid and accurate means of species identification, and of any life history stage. For sharks and rays, it may offer a ready means of identifying legal or illegal shark catches, including shark fins taken for the profitable shark fin market. Here it is shown that an analysis of sequence variability in a 655 bp region of cox1 from 945 specimens of 210 chondrichthyan species from 36 families permits the discrimination of 99.0% of these species. Only the two stingarees Urolophus sufflavus and U. cruciatus could not be separated, although these could be readily distinguished from eight other congeners. The average Kimura 2 parameter distance separating individuals within species was 0.37%, and the average distance separating species within genera was 7.48%. Two specimens that clustered with congeners rather than with their identified species-cluster were noted: these could represent instances of hybridisation (although this has not be documented for chondrichthyans), misidentification or mislabelling. It is concluded that cox1 barcoding can be used to identify shark and ray species with a very high degree of accuracy. The sequence variability characteristics of individuals of five species (Aetomylaeus nichofii, Dasyatis kuhlii, Dasyatis leylandi, Himantura gerrardi and Orectolobus maculatus) were consistent with cryptic speciation, and it is suggested that these five taxa be subjected to detailed taxonomic examination to confirm or refute this suggestion. The present barcoding study holds out great hope for the ready identification of sharks, shark products and shark fins, and also highlights some taxonomic issues that need to be investigated further.

Persicitalea jodogahamensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine bacterium of the family ‘Flexibacteraceae’, isolated from seawater in Japan

An obligately aerobic, Gram-negative, non-motile, pale-pink-pigmented, rod-shaped strain, designated Shu-9-SY12-35CT, was isolated from seawater in Jodogahama, Iwate, Japan, and was subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic examination. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the novel isolate was affiliated with the family ‘Flexibacteraceae’ of the phylum Bacteroidetes and that it showed highest sequence similarity (86.4 %) with Dyadobacter hamtensis HHS 11T. The novel isolate is phenotypically and physiologically different from strains described previously. The G+C content of the DNA was 56.3 mol%, MK-7 was the major menaquinone and iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1 ω7c and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH were the major fatty acids. On the basis of polyphasic taxonomic studies, it was concluded that strain Shu-9-SY12-35CT represents a new genus and species of the family ‘Flexibacteraceae’, for which the name Persicitalea jodogahamensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Persicitalea jodogahamensis is Shu-9-SY12-35CT (=MBIC07417T=IAM 15412T=KCTC 12866T).

Introduction of DNA-based Methods to Agriculture Through Molecular Taxonomic Examination of Poa Species

biological methods, one among them is AFLP that is well applicable for taxonomic research. Bluegrass species, that are important components of meadow associations, thus their thorough knowledge is necessary in maintaining biodiversity, were examined with bringing this method to perfection.Taxonomic relationship of the members of Poa pratensis aggregation is a controversial issue. Present study aimes to identify the members of this group, with a developed AFLP method through molecular taxonomic examination of Poa species in meadows nearby Debrecen, revealing their genetical distances. Species of the aggregation show a great genetic variability, but their genetic proximity approves the use of the term aggregation. Results established wider geographical investigation of three species of the aggregation. The distinctness of the species based on their morphological features was confirmed according to their genetical basis as well. The method overall turned out to be appropriate for the taxonomic research of bluegrass species like Poa pratensis and its aggregation.