Juvenile ornithopod (Dinosauria: Rhabdodontidae) remains from the Upper Cretaceous (Lower Campanian, Gosau Group) of Muthmannsdorf (Lower Austria)

The fragmentary remains of a juvenile rhabdodontid ornithopod from the Coal-bearing Complex of the Gosau Group (Lower Campanian, Grünbach syncline) at Muthmannsdorf near Wiener Neustadt, Lower Austria are revised. The material, probably belonging to a single individual, includes a right dentary (lectotype of Iguanodon suessi Bunzel, 1871, designated herein), teeth, a fragmentary parietal, fragments of scapula, ?radius, femur, tibia, two vertebrae (lost) and a manual ungual.The lectotype dentary does not provide clear autapomorphies or sufficient diagnostic features to determine its position within the Rhabdodontidae at generic level. By this “Iguanodon suessi” Bunzel, 1871 and the genus “Mochlodon” Seeley, 1881, to which it was latter referred as type species, cannot be characterized sufficiently by differential diagnosis and these are best considered nomina dubia. Based upon combined character comparisons (mainly postcranial features) the Muthmannsdorf ornithopod is referred herein to Zalmoxes Weishampel, Jianu, Csiki and Norman, 2003, a genus so far known from the late Maastrichtian of Romania. It probably but not evidently represents a yet unnamed species, most closely related to Zalmoxes shqiperorum Weishampel, Jianu, Csiki and Norman, 2003. At the present state of knowledge the Austrian material is not further diagnostic at the species level and kept in open nomenclature as Zalmoxes sp.     

The genus Cryptopora (Brachiopoda) from the Miocene of France and its history and biogeography

The rhynchonellid brachiopod species Cryptopora lovisati(Dreger, 1911) has been identified in the Middle Miocene sandy deposits of France, and its ontogeny and variability are described. This is the first record of the genus Cryptopora Jeffreys from France, although several species of Cryptopora have been already reported from other regions of Europe. Being known since the Lower Palaeocene, Cryptopora is widely distributed in modern seas, ranging from about 60 m down to over 4000 m, and is represented by six extant and about 12 fossil species. C. lovisati has been interpreted as relatively shallow water species living attached to the sediment by a long pedicle. The affinity between C. lovisati and Recent C. curiosa Cooper is discussed.     

Albertona balkanica from Early Miocene of Snegotin (Serbia) – implications for the distribution and evolution of Miocene Ochotonidae

Remains of Albertona balkanica from the Early Miocene clays of eastern Serbia have shifted the range boundary of this species in direction of Central Europe. The peculiarities in tooth morphology were used for comparison and defining of the possible evolutionary connection with other representatives of fossil Ochotonidae. Due to the similarity with fauna of Aliveri in Greece, the association of small mammals of Snegotin (which includes Albertona) was included in the MN4 zone.     

The Genera Haplocytheridea Stephenson, 1936 and Cytheridea Bosquet, 1852 (Subphylum Crustacea, Class Ostracoda) from the Early Miocene Pirabas Formation, Brazil

The genera Haplocytheridea and Cytheridea have Tethyan origins and a wide paleobiogeographic and stratigraphic distribution, ranging from the Cretaceous to Recent. Both of them have been recorded in northern South America, but only Cytheridea has been found in the northern Cretaceous basins of Brazil. The genus Haplocytheridea is recorded, for the first time, in the Early Miocene deposits of the Pirabas Formation of northern Brazil, from a 20 m-thick succession of carbonate and argillaceous rocks deposited in lagoonal and restricted platform environments. Among the ten Haplocytheridea species identified, four are new: H. variopunctata n. sp., H. sandbergi n. sp., H. pirabasensis n. sp. and H. sinuosa n. sp. In addition, three new species of Cytheridea are also described: C. coimbrai n. sp., C. pirabasensis n. sp. and C. purperae n. sp. The highest frequencies and abundances of both genera, in the studied section, are thought to be associated with nearshore to brackish water settings.     

Chameleons communicate with complex colour changes during contests: different body regions convey different information

Many animals display static coloration (e.g. of feathers or fur) that can serve as a reliable sexual or social signal, but the communication function of rapidly changing colours (as in chameleons and cephalopods) is poorly understood. We used recently developed photographic and mathematical modelling tools to examine how rapid colour changes of veiled chameleons Chamaeleo calyptratus predict aggressive behaviour during male–male competitions. Males that achieved brighter stripe coloration were more likely to approach their opponent, and those that attained brighter head coloration were more likely to win fights; speed of head colour change was also an important predictor of contest outcome. This correlative study represents the first quantification of rapid colour change using organism-specific visual models and provides evidence that the rate of colour change, in addition to maximum display coloration, can be an important component of communication. Interestingly, the body and head locations of the relevant colour signals map onto the behavioural displays given during specific contest stages, with lateral displays from a distance followed by directed, head-on approaches prior to combat, suggesting that different colour change signals may evolve to communicate different information (motivation and fighting ability, respectively).     

Lizards in the slow lane: Thermal biology of chameleons

1.

Field body temperatures (T_b's) of Chamaeleo chamaeleon in southwestern Spain averaged 28 °C in October and 30 °C in June. Slopes of regressions of T_b on T_a (ambient temperature at perch height) indicated that individuals were able to maintain a preferred body temperature of about 30 °C in June but not in October.     

New dentaries of Chiromyoides (Primatomorpha,Plesiadapidae) and a reassessment of the “mammalian woodpecker” ecological niche

Based on their relatively large, chisel-like incisors and robust dentaries, species of the Paleocene plesiadapid mammal Chiromyoides have been described as potential ecological analogues of either seed-eating rodents or the unusually specialized lemur Daubentonia madagascariensis. Here, we analyze the most complete dentaries of Chiromyoides currently known in order to illuminate jaw form and function in this taxon. Principal Component Analysis shows that Chiromyoides campanicus and Daubentonia are uniquely similar in select dentary proportions when compared with a sample including seven other fossil plesiadapid taxa as well as 22 extant primates, dermopterans and scandentians. Comparative allometric analyses indicate that in both Daubentonia and Chiromyoides, the unique jaw proportions are likely achieved through hypertrophy of masseteric fossa length and dentary depth, rather than simple reduction of tooth row length. Consistent with these dentary features indicative of powerful gnawing, we show that incisor apex morphology became increasingly chisel-like in certain younger species of Chiromyoides. Importantly, slight reduction in molar area relative to jaw length and body mass appears to characterize all species of Chiromyoides in which molar proportions can be estimated. Notably, this pattern occurs in one of the oldest known specimens of Chiromyoides, an edentulous but relatively complete dentary from the middle Tiffanian of Texas, which differs from other Chiromyoides specimens in having a relatively shallower corpus. Taken together, this evidence suggests that Chiromyoides was a Daubentonia-like extractive forager that evolved from taxa whose diets emphasized exudates.     

New Alicornops (Rhinocerotidae) remains from Lower and Middle Siwaliks,Pakistan

Unpublished rhinocerotid remains from the Lower and Middle Siwaliks of Pakistan are described in this paper and recognized as two species of Alicornops. Alicornops complanatum (Heissig) is identified in the Dhok Pathan Formation of the Middle Siwaliks and Alicornops laogouense Deng in the Kamlial Formation of the Lower Siwaliks. The Dhok Pathan Formation levels with A. complanatum are roughly correlated with the late Miocene-Pliocene European mammal zones MN10-15. In turn, levels with A. laogouense of the Kamlial Formation would correlate with the middle–late Aragonian (middle Miocene) European MN5. The recognition of the Chinese species A. laogouense in the Potwar Plateau represents the first discovery of this taxon in Pakistan and increases the geographical and stratigraphic distributions of this species, and adds to the rhinocerotid association from the Siwaliks. In turn, the presence of A. complanatum in the Siwaliks of Potwar Plateau also enlarges its geographic distribution in Pakistan, as it was previously known from the Bugti Hills of Balouchistan. The absence of Alicornops from the Siwaliks in the Chinji and Nagri formations (between late MN5 and MN9 zones) might be due to an inadequate fossil record, as other rhinocerotid species are known from Kamlial to Dhok Pathan formations. However, the two recorded species of Alicornops could also reveal two independent migration waves as supported by the appearance of other taxa in different formations. A summary of fossil Cenozoic rhinocerotids from different areas of Pakistan is also presented.     

Analysis of DNA sequences of six chloroplast and nuclear genes suggests incongruence, introgression, and incomplete lineage sorting in the evolution of Lespedeza (Fabaceae)

The genus Lespedeza (Fabaceae) consists of 40 species disjunctively distributed in East Asia and eastern North America. Phylogenetic relationships of all Lespedeza species and closely related genera were reconstructed using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian analyses of sequence data from five chloroplast (rpl16, rpl32-trnL, rps16-trnQ, trnL-F, and trnK/matK) and one nuclear (ITS) DNA regions. All analyses yielded consistent relationships among major lineages. Our results suggested that Campylotropis, Kummerowia, and Lespedeza are monophyletic, respectively. Lespedeza is resolved as sister to Kummerowia and these two together are further sister to Campylotropis. Neither of the two subgenera, subgen. Lespedeza and subgen. Macrolespedeza, in Lespedeza based on morphological characters, is recovered as monophyletic. Within Lespedeza, the North American clade is retrieved as sister to the Asian clade. The nuclear and chloroplast markers showed incongruent phylogenetic signals at shallow-level phylogeny, which may point to either introgression or incomplete lineage sorting in Lespedeza. The divergence times within Lespedeza and among related genera were estimated using Bayesian approach with BEAST. It is assumed that following the divergence between Kummerowia and Lespedeza in Asia in the late Miocene, the ancestor of Lespedeza diverged into the North American and the Asian lineages. The North American ancestor quickly migrated to North America through the Bering land bridge in the late Miocene. The North American and Asian lineages started to diversify almost simultaneously in the late Miocene but resulted in biased numbers of species in two continents.     

Long-term changes in macrophyte vegetation after reduction of fish stock in a shallow lake

Starting in the middle of the 1970s, submerged macrophytes began to disappear from shallow Lake Warniak due to feeding pressure by grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). In the middle of the 1980s, the lake was stocked with seston-feeding silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis). By 1993, the biomass of silverhead carp and bighead carp had declined. This allowed charophytes to recolonize the bottom of the lake. The main charophyte species at this time were Chara globularis and Chara rudis. Since then, five other stonewort species have been found: Chara contraria, C. filiformis, C. tomentosa, C. aspera and Nitellopsis obtusa. Seventeen species of aquatic angiosperms have also been found. There were distinct changes in the relative abundance and spatial distribution of particular species. C. rudis developed most intensely in the shallow parts of the lake near the southern and western shores. C. globularis gradually took over the deeper central part of the lake. In 2001, C. rudis began to retreat again. The relative abundance and spatial distribution of charophytes was correlated to water clarity (r = 0.87, p < 0.05), total phosphorus level (r = −0.78; p < 0.05), and chlorophyll a content (r = −0.79; p < 0.05).     

A New Basal Hadrosauroid Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation in Nakhon Ratchasima Province,Northeastern Thailand

A new basal hadrosauroid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation of Thailand, Sirindhorna khoratensis gen. et sp. nov is described. The new taxon is based on composite skull and mandible including premaxilla, maxilla, jugal, quadrate, braincases, predentary, dentaries, surangular, and maxillary and dentary teeth. It is diagnostic by such characters as, sagittal crest extending along entire dorsal surface of the parietal and reaching the frontoparietal suture (autapomorphy), transversely straight frontoparietal suture, caudodorsally faced supraoccipital, no participation of the supraoccipital in the foramen magnum, mesiodistally wide leaf-shaped dentary tooth with primary and secondary ridges on the lingual surface of the crown, perpendicularly-erected and large coronoid process of dentary, and nonvisible antorbital fossa of the maxilla in lateral view. Phylogenetic analysis revealed S. khoratensis as among the most basal hadrosauroids. Sirindhorna khoratensis is the best-preserved iguanodontian ornithopod in Southeast Asia and sheds new light to resolve the evolution of basal hadrosauriforms.     

Liang Bua Homo floresiensis mandibles and mandibular teeth: a contribution to the comparative morphology of a new hominin species

In 2004, a new hominin species, Homo floresiensis, was described from Late Pleistocene cave deposits at Liang Bua, Flores. H. floresiensis was remarkable for its small body-size, endocranial volume in the chimpanzee range, limb proportions and skeletal robusticity similar to Pliocene Australopithecus, and a skeletal morphology with a distinctive combination of symplesiomorphic, derived, and unique traits. Critics of H. floresiensis as a novel species have argued that the Pleistocene skeletons from Liang Bua either fall within the range of living Australomelanesians, exhibit the attributes of growth disorders found in modern humans, or a combination of both. Here we describe the morphology of the LB1, LB2, and LB6 mandibles and mandibular teeth from Liang Bua. Morphological and metrical comparisons of the mandibles demonstrate that they share a distinctive suite of traits that place them outside both the H. sapiens and H. erectus ranges of variation. While having the derived molar size of later Homo, the symphyseal, corpus, ramus, and premolar morphologies share similarities with both Australopithecus and early Homo. When the mandibles are considered with the existing evidence for cranial and postcranial anatomy, limb proportions, and the functional anatomy of the wrist and shoulder, they are in many respects closer to African early Homo or Australopithecus than to later Homo. Taken together, this evidence suggests that the ancestors of H. floresiensis left Africa before the evolution of H. erectus, as defined by the Dmanisi and East African evidence.     

Larsenia salina gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member of the family Halomonadaceae based on multilocus sequence analysis

Two Gram-staining-negative, moderately halophilic bacteria, strains M1-18^T and L1-16, were isolated from a saltern located in Huelva (Spain). They were motile, strictly aerobic rods, growing in the presence of 3–25% (w/v) NaCl (optimal growth at 7.5–10% [w/v] NaCl), between pH 4.0 and 9.0 (optimal at pH 6.0–7.0) and at temperatures between 15 and 40 °C (optimal at 37 °C). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison showed that both strains showed the higher similarity values with Chromohalobacter israelensis ATCC 43985^T (95.2–94.8%) and Chromohalobacter salexigens DSM 3043^T (95.0–94.9%), and similarity values lower than 94.6% with other species of the genera Chromohalobacter, Kushneria, Cobetia or Halomonas. Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) based on the partial sequences of atpA, rpoD and secA housekeeping genes indicated that the new isolates formed an independent and monophyletic branch that was related to the peripheral genera of the family Halomonadaceae, Halotalea, Carnimonas and Zymobacter, supporting their placement as a new genus of the Halomonadaceae. The DNA–DNA hybridization between both strains was 82%, whereas the values between strain M1-18^T and the most closely related species of Chromohalobacter and Kushneria were equal or lower to 48%. The major cellular fatty acids were C_18:1ω7c/C_18:1ω6c, C_16:0, and C_16:1ω7c/C_16:1ω6c, a profile that differentiate this new taxon from species of the related genera. We propose the placement of both strains as a novel genus and species, within the family Halomonadaceae, with the name Larsenia salina gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain is M1-18^T (= CCM 8464 = CECT 8192^T = IBRC-M 10767^T = LMG 27461^T).     

Rigorous approaches to species delimitation have significant implications for African crocodilian systematics and conservation

Accurate species delimitation is a central assumption of biology that, in groups such as the Crocodylia, is often hindered by highly conserved morphology and frequent introgression. In Africa, crocodilian systematics has been hampered by complex regional biogeography and confounded taxonomic history. We used rigorous molecular and morphological species delimitation methods to test the hypothesis that the slender-snouted crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus) is composed of multiple species corresponding to the Congolian and Guinean biogeographic zones. Speciation probability was assessed by using 11 mitochondrial and nuclear genes, and cranial morphology for over 100 specimens, representing the full geographical extent of the species distribution. Molecular Bayesian and phylogenetic species delimitation showed unanimous support for two Mecistops species isolated to the Upper Guinean and Congo (including Lower Guinean) biomes that were supported by 13 cranial characters capable of unambiguously diagnosing each species. Fossil-calibrated phylogenetic reconstruction estimated that the species split ± 6.5–7.5 Ma, which is congruent with intraspecies divergence within the sympatric crocodile genus Osteolaemus and the formation of the Cameroon Volcanic Line. Our results underscore the necessity of comprehensive phylogeographic analyses within currently recognized taxa to detect cryptic species within the Crocodylia. We recommend that the community of crocodilian researchers reconsider the conceptualization of crocodilian species especially in the light of the conservation ramifications for this economically and ecologically important group.     

The phenetic affinities of Rungwecebus kipunji

The kipunji, a recently discovered primate endemic to Tanzania's Southern Highlands and Udzungwa Mountains, was initially referred to the mangabey genus Lophocebus (Cercopithecinae: Papionini), but subsequent molecular analyses showed it to be more closely related to Papio. Its consequent referral to a new genus, Rungwecebus, has met with skepticism among papionin researchers, who have questioned both the robustness of the phylogenetic results and the kipunji's morphological distinctiveness. This circumstance has been exacerbated by the immaturity of the single available specimen (FMNH 187122), an M1-stage juvenile. Therefore, a geometric morphometric analysis of juvenile papionin cranial shape was used to explore the kipunji's phenetic affinities and evaluate morphological support for its separation from Lophocebus. Three-dimensional craniometric landmarks and semi-landmarks were collected on a sample of 124 subadult (dp4-M2 stage) cercopithecid crania. Traditional interlandmark distances were compared and a variety of multivariate statistical shape analyses were performed for the zygomaxillary region (diagnostic in mangabeys) and the cranium as a whole. Raw and size-adjusted interlandmark distances show the kipunji to have a relatively taller, shorter neurocranium and broader face and cranial base than is seen in M1-stage Lophocebus. Principal components and cluster analyses consistently unite the two Lophocebus species but group the kipunji with Cercocebus and/or Macaca. Morphological distances (Mahalanobis D²) between the kipunji and Lophocebus species are comparable to distances between recognized papionin genera. Discriminant function analyses suggest phenetic affinities between the kipunji and Cercocebus/Macaca and do not support the kipunji's classification to Lophocebus or to any other papionin taxon. In canonical plots, the kipunji occupies a region intermediate between macaques and African papionins or groups with Cercocebus, suggesting that it retains basal papionin shape characteristics. In shape comparisons among M1-stage papionins, the kipunji cranium is distinguished from Lophocebus by its relatively unrestricted suborbital fossa, more parasagittally oriented zygomatic arches, and longer auditory tube and from all papionins by its relatively tall, short neurocranium, broad face and cranial base, short nasals, dished nasal profile, and dorsally oriented rostrum. The kipunji is thus a cranially diagnosable phenon with a unique combination of cranial traits that cannot be accommodated within Lophocebus as currently defined. Based upon these results, Rungwecebus appears to be a valid and useful nomen that accurately reflects the morphological diversity of African papionins.     

Multilocus phylogenetic analysis of the genus Aeromonas

A broad multilocus phylogenetic analysis (MLPA) of the representative diversity of a genus offers the opportunity to incorporate concatenated inter-species phylogenies into bacterial systematics. Recent analyses based on single housekeeping genes have provided coherent phylogenies of Aeromonas. However, to date, a multi-gene phylogenetic analysis has never been tackled. In the present study, the intra- and inter-species phylogenetic relationships of 115 strains representing all Aeromonas species described to date were investigated by MLPA. The study included the independent analysis of seven single gene fragments (gyrB, rpoD, recA, dnaJ, gyrA, dnaX, and atpD), and the tree resulting from the concatenated 4705 bp sequence. The phylogenies obtained were consistent with each other, and clustering agreed with the Aeromonas taxonomy recognized to date. The highest clustering robustness was found for the concatenated tree (i.e. all Aeromonas species split into 100% bootstrap clusters). Both possible chronometric distortions and poor resolution encountered when using single-gene analysis were buffered in the concatenated MLPA tree. However, reliable phylogenetic species delineation required an MLPA including several “bona fide” strains representing all described species.     

A molecular analysis of some Eastern Atlantic grouper from the Epinephelus and Mycteroperca genus

Mitochondrial cytochrome b (397 bp) and 16S rDNA (516 bp) sequences analysis was used to investigate the phylogenetic relationships among some Eastern Atlantic Epinephelinae species. Six species of Epinephelus (E. aeneus, E. caninus, E. costae, E. haifensis, E. marginatus and E. tauvina) and two species of Mycteroperca (M. rubra and M. fusca) were analysed. Neighbour-joining and maximum-parsimony analysis support the paraphyletic grouping of the Epinephelus and Mycteroperca analysed. The maximum pairwise nucleotide divergence value in cyt b among all taxa was 0.196 between E. aeneus and E. marginatus and the minimum value was 0.006 between E. costae and M. rubra. Meanwhile, in 16S sequence analysis, the maximum value is 0.093 between E. aeneus and E. tauvina and the minimum value is 0.011 between E. marginatus and M. rubra. Molecular clock estimates for the species suggest a divergence time of 20-24 mya, which coincides with the Miocene period. A molecular analysis was also conducted, using other Epinephelinae sequences from GenBank in order to improve our understanding of the phyletic status of the Epinephelus and Mycteroperca species analysed.     

Contents of the exocrine glands of the ant subfamily Cerapachyinae

The chemistry of the exocrine glands of three species of the small and little-known ant subfamily Cerapachyinae has been examined for the first time. The mandibular glands of Cerapachys jacobsoni contained acetophenone and skatole, but some individuals contained, in addition, 4-methyl-3-heptanone and 3-octanol. The mandibular glands of the new species, presently known as Cerapachys sp. 15 of FI contained 4-methyl-3-heptanone, as the major substance but also 4-methyl-3-heptanol, methyl 6-ethylsalicylate, and traces of 4,5-dimethyl-4-hexen-3-one and homomanicone. The Dufour glands of C. jacobsoni contained a mixture of higher aldehydes, acetates and other esters, with a small amount of hydrocarbons, all in the range C₁₁–C₂₀. The Dufour glands of Cylindromyrmex whymperi contained a mixture of long-chain epoxides, the second ant species to display them. The sternal glands of C. whymperi contain a recruitment pheromone, but only partial identification of the contents was possible. The venom glands of all three species were devoid of volatile material. The Dufour glands of Cerapachys sp. 15 of FI and the mandibular glands of C. whymperi had no detectable volatile contents.