The oldest illustration of Chinese crinoid calyx: Annotated translation of “Cupressocrinus abbreviatus” reported by Fritz Frech in 1911

The early history on the discovery of the first Chinese crinoid calyx of “Cupressocrinus abbreviatus” (now Halocrinites schlotheimii Steininger, 1831) remains unclear. The first record of “C. abbreviatus” was reported by Fritz Frech in 1911. It was included in the fifth and the last volume of the series titled China by the German traveler and explorer Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen. The cover page, title page, and prologue are informative; thus, they are explained and translated in detail. Richthofen's specimen is still the oldest documented cupressocrinitid calyx known in China today. Discovery of a second cupressocrinitid specimen confirms the existence of this family in China. Current taxonomic positions of the Chinese specimens are discussed.     

Assessment of hidden diversity of crinoids and their symbionts in the Bay of Nhatrang,Vietnam

Crinoid associates represent an abundant and diverse, but poorly explored, component of the hidden biodiversity of coral-reef ecosystems. We studied data from 5 years of collecting in the Bay of Nhatrang (BN), Vietnam, to assess the diversity of crinoids and their symbionts, to compare it with other areas of the Indo-West Pacific, and to elucidate the extent to which the observed diversity of crinoids and their symbionts corresponds to their true diversity. In total, about 2,287 specimens of symbionts belonging to 70 species were found on 203 specimens of crinoids belonging to 33 species. Among the crinoids, the most numerous species were Himerometra robustipinna (36 specimens) and Cenometra bella (29 specimens), among the symbionts the polychaete Paradyte crinoidicola (c. 850 specimens) and the galatheid crustacean Allogalathea elegans (180 specimens). Species accumulation curves suggest that we have sampled most of the crinoid diversity in the BN, whereas the diversity of their symbionts remained undersampled. Estimated species richness of crinoids was higher than previously observed richness, and varied from 39 (estimated by bootstrap) to 46 (jackknife 2). Estimated species richness of symbionts was higher than observed richness, and varied from 71 (bootstrap) to 93 (jackknife 2). We suggest a slight increase in the number of crinoid species to result from more detailed studies of nocturnal species, and an increase in the number of symbiotic species when studies of nocturnal crinoid associates and sibling species among decapods are included. Our study revealed a rather rich crinoid fauna in the bay compared to other areas of the Indo-West Pacific, and the highest species richness of crinoid associates known from anywhere in the World Ocean.     

Les dessins originaux de l’« Histoire des crocodiliens renfermés dans le terrain oolithique » d’Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire

From the end of 1830, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire worked to prepare a book on thalattosuchians (Mesoeucrocodylia, Thalattosuchia) from the Jurassic of Normandy. This work, planned to be entitled “Histoire des crocodiliens renfermés dans le terrain oolithique”, was never completed. Searches in the archives of the central library of the “Muséum national d’histoire naturelle”, Paris, resulted in the rediscovery of the set of original drawings ordered by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire to illustrate his book. These drawings, 21 in total, were executed by several artists working in the Muséum, including Jean-Charles Werner, Henri-Joseph Redouté, and Nicolas Hüet. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire offered this collection of drawings to the French Academy of Sciences in March 1834. These drawings were then donated to the library of the Muséum in November 1924 by Alfred Lacroix. This iconographic collection is of the highest importance for the history of palaeontology in France as it depicts unknown specimens that were destroyed during World War II.     

Strongyloidiasis in Canadian Far East war veterans

A survey was done of Canadians who had been interned by the Japanese during World War II to assess the prevalence of latent infection with Strongyloides stercoralis in this group. Packages containing three mail-in kits and a questionnaire were sent to 992 men, 694 (70%) of whom responded. Larvae were found in the stool specimens of four of the respondents. Examination of stool specimens after formalin-ether concentration was the most successful method of detecting Strongyloides larvae. The Baermann concentration technique yielded negative results in all four men. Three of the four cases of strongyloidiasis were detected after sampling of three fecal specimens. In the fourth case additional specimens were requested on the basis of data derived from the questionnaire. The most frequently cited clinical manifestations were abdominal pain, weight loss, diarrhea and rashes.     

L��essor des sciences du neurone au xx e si��cle

In the late 19th century, the introduction of the neurone concept led to vivid oppositions in many fields of enquiry, especially in the physiology of the nervous system. In Great Britain, novel research programs (Sherrington and Adrian) supplanted the general common hostility to conceive of the neurone as a general and fundamental physiological element. These new paths of research led to a unique neuronal physiology awarded the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine in 1932. This first form of neuro-physiology spread abroad and came under the attack of American physiologists concerning the functional role of the neurone soma vs the more fundamental and hypothetical function of the axon. During the 1930s and the 1940s, a series of polemics progressively died out with the establishment of the fundamental bases of a new and international neuronal physiology, which led to the rise of neuroscience after the Second World War.     

Feeding innovations in a nested phylogeny of Neotropical passerines

Several studies on cognition, molecular phylogenetics and taxonomic diversity independently suggest that Darwin''s finches are part of a larger clade of speciose, flexible birds, the family Thraupidae, a member of the New World nine-primaried oscine superfamily Emberizoidea. Here, we first present a new, previously unpublished, dataset of feeding innovations covering the Neotropical region and compare the stem clades of Darwin''s finches to other neotropical clades at the levels of the subfamily, family and superfamily/order. Both in terms of raw frequency as well as rates corrected for research effort and phylogeny, the family Thraupidae and superfamily Emberizoidea show high levels of innovation, supporting the idea that adaptive radiations are favoured when the ancestral stem species were flexible. Second, we discuss examples of innovation and problem-solving in two opportunistic and tame Emberizoid species, the Barbados bullfinch Loxigilla barbadensis and the Carib grackle Quiscalus lugubris fortirostris in Barbados. We review studies on these two species and argue that a comparison of L. barbadensis with its closest, but very shy and conservative local relative, the black-faced grassquit Tiaris bicolor, might provide key insights into the evolutionary divergence of cognition.     

Koninklijk Zoölogisch-Botanisch Genootschap,the Zoological Garden in The Hague, 1863-1943, a Retrospect after Seventy Years from the Point of View of a Zoologist

The zoological garden in The Hague, the de facto capital of the Netherlands, founded in 1863, was forced to close during the Second World War in 1943 by order of the German occupation forces. An attempt to reconstruct its history from the point of view of a zoologist shows that in eighty years about 180 species of mammals were kept; the garden acquired a certain fame because of its primate collection, e.g., having early success with Sumatran Orang-utan (Pongo abelii), and the discovery of the Black Mangabey (Cercocebus aterrimus) in 1890. Many unusual, nowadays rare, species [e.g., Ursine Tree Kangaroo (Dendrolagus ursinus), Sumatran Bamboo Rat (Rhizomys sumatranus), Marbled Cat (Pardofelis marmorata), Malay Tapir (Tapirus indicus)] were present at times, occasionally also on deposit from animal dealers. The majority of the animals originated from the Netherlands East Indies (now Indonesia) and were donated by colonial residents, such as Sumatran Elephant (Elephas maximus sumatranus) and Orang-utan. The colony of Surinam in South America was another supplier of zoo animals and until the 1880s animals were also derived from a few Dutch trading posts in West Africa. The bird collections were always rich and varied, initially specializing in local species. Later this collection became more comprehensive; attention is drawn to early success with birds of paradise and the presence of now extinct species such as the Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) and the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius). Series of lower vertebrates [among them the Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus)] and invertebrates were always on display in a modest aquarium. At the turn of the century the Netherlands only harboured three zoological gardens (Amsterdam – 1838; Rotterdam – 1857; The Hague – 1863). The one in The Hague, although subject to an almost permanent financial crisis, nevertheless succeeded in playing a modest role in this field of zoological science.     

Lower Middle Devonian,Eifelian, crinoids from central Guangxi,South China

The extensive Devonian marine deposits of South China have yielded few articulated crinoid cups or theca. Two Eifelian specimens, from the Gupa Member, are the first ones reported from the Yingtang Formation, Eifelian, from the Ma’anshan section, Guangxi, South China. The new taxon Guangxicrinus xiangzhouensis n. gen. n. sp. is the first report of a marsupiocrinid in China, extending the paleogeographic range of the family into the Paleotethys and the stratigraphic range of the family upward from the upper Silurian into the lower Middle Devonian, Eifelian. The occurrence of Halocrinites sp. is the third occurrence of a cupressocrinitid in China and extends the paleogeographic range from Yunnan to Guangxi.     

The northern most Emsian crinoids known, a Devonian fauna from the Chuluun Formation, Shine Jinst area, Southern Mongolia

The most northerly known Emsian crinoids were located at approximately 45° to 50° N latitude. They are the first Devonian crinoid cups discovered in Mongolia. Specimens are reported from excellent exposures of the informally designated crinoidal beds in the upper part of the stratotype section of the Chuluun Formation, between N44° 22.119', E99° 27.130' and N44° 22.201', E99° 26.906', near the Tsakhir Well, in the foothills south of Tsagaan Khaalga Mountain, Shine Jinst area, southern Mongolia. All specimens are crushed, altered by low-grade metamorphism, and ossicles flake as they weather. Five genera are present including a new genus of the Periechocrinidae, two indeterminant camerates, an undesignated new species of Cyathocrinites, and one indeterminant crinoid. These genera agree with a middle Emsian age previously assigned to the upper part of the Chuluun Formation on the basis of brachiopods and conodonts. They show affinity to European and North American Emsian faunas.     

Multilocus genotypes from Charles Darwin's finches: biodiversity lost since the voyage of the Beagle

Genetic analysis of museum specimens offers a direct window into a past that can predate the loss of extinct forms. We genotyped 18 Galápagos finches collected by Charles Darwin and companions during the voyage of the Beagle in 1835, and 22 specimens collected in 1901. Our goals were to determine if significant genetic diversity has been lost since the Beagle voyage and to determine the genetic source of specimens for which the collection locale was not recorded. Using ‘ancient’ DNA techniques, we quantified variation at 14 autosomal microsatellite loci. Assignment tests showed several museum specimens genetically matched recently field-sampled birds from their island of origin. Some were misclassified or were difficult to classify. Darwin''s exceptionally large ground finches (Geospiza magnirostris) from Floreana and San Cristóbal were genetically distinct from several other currently existing populations. Sharp-beaked ground finches (Geospiza difficilis) from Floreana and Isabela were also genetically distinct. These four populations are currently extinct, yet they were more genetically distinct from congeners than many other species of Darwin''s finches are from each other. We conclude that a significant amount of the finch biodiversity observed and collected by Darwin has been lost since the voyage of the Beagle.     

Redescription and Lectotype Designation of Tylenchorhynchus cylindricus Cobb, 1913

Tylenchorhynchus cylindricus is redescribed and illustrated from N. A. Cobb''s original specimens collected in 1910. In 1955 M. W. Allen established a neotype from specimens collected near Cathedral City, California. Recently Cobb''s original sketches, line drawings, and balsam slides were rediscovered and examined. The specimens collected by Cobb were compared with the neotype established by Allen and with other collections of nominal T. cylindricus. Differences in morphology of the Cathedral City (Allen) and Los Patos (Cobb) populations were observed. Collections of males and females from Cathedral City, California; Mosida, Utah; and Kings County, California; were similar to each other except for some variation in female tail shape. Females in Cobb''s collection and in a collection from a beach near Ensenada, Mexico, were similar to each other but differed morphologically from other collections. We consider all collections to represent a range of variation within the species. A lectotype and an allolectotype were selected to establish the taxonomic base for the genus. A ruling has been requested from the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature on the disposition of the neotype.     

CALAMOPHYTON PRIMAEVUM: THE COMPLEX MORPHOLOGY OF ITS FERTILE APPENDAGE

Although holotype material of Calamophyton primaevum Kläusel and Weyland has not been available since the Second World War, two fertile specimens of that species are in the personal collection of Professor H. Weyland. The purpose of this paper is to disclose the complexity of the organization of the fertile appendage. Formerly it was believed to consist of one segment that had dichotomized once and that had borne two pendulous sporangia, one at each branch. Numerous degagements of sporangia have revealed a complex morphology, consisting of one main segment divided into two secondary segments. Each supports three recurved side stalks which in turn bear 2 sporangia, a total of 12 sporangia. Each secondary segment terminates in two elongated projections. The morphology of the fertile organs is compared with that of two other species, C. bicephalum Leclercq and Andrews and C. forbesii Schopf. Great similarity of organization exists between C. primaevum and C. bicephalum. The possible synonymy of these two species is discussed.     

Testing reduced evolutionary rates during the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age using the crinoid fossil record

In 2003, Stanley & Powell reported depressed rates of origination and extinction in marine invertebrates during the Late Palaeozoic Ice Age (LPIA). Using a database of crinoid genera, rates of origination, extinction and genus duration were calculated at the stage level from the Early Devonian to the Late Permian. This 165 m.y. time span includes non‐glacial intervals before and after the LPIA, which spanned the Serpukhovian to Sakmarian, providing background rates for comparison. Data generated on crinoid evolutionary rates during the Middle to Late Palaeozoic were analysed and compared to Stanley & Powell's data to determine whether crinoid evolutionary patterns support their findings or suggest an alternative hypothesis. Rates of origination and extinction in all crinoid clades were reduced during the LPIA compared to the combined background intervals before and after the LPIA. However, crinoid diversity was higher during the LPIA than the surrounding time intervals. The difference in diversity trends between crinoids and other marine invertebrates is due to the advanced cladids clade. Unstable, fluctuating environmental conditions during the LPIA may have created habitats suitable for opportunistic crinoid genera that reduced both the probability of origination and extinction. The increased diversity of the advanced cladids is likely due to their unique adaptation of muscular arm articulations, which allowed them to thrive in marine settings with increased siliciclastic influx brought on by the Alleghenian orogeny. Despite the advanced cladids’ departure from the expected diversity count, the results of analyses performed on the updated crinoid database provide independent confirmation of Stanley & Powell's original hypothesis of depressed evolutionary rates in marine invertebrates during the LPIA.     

Better than CD: Eugénie Cotton (1881-1967)

Aimé Cotton is known for his invention of circular dichroism spectroscopy. In 1913, he married Eugénie Feytis, a scientist who studied physics with Marie Curie. Following the Second World War, Eugénie Cotton was determined to advance the rights and standing of women, sure in the belief that doing so was necessary not only because it was just but also because a world with women in the forefront would be more secure and less susceptible to the catastrophe worldwide military conflict. She was a cofounder of the Women's International Democratic Federation and served as its first president. In 1951, she was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize, and in 1961, the gold medal from the World Peace Council. The extraordinary life of Eugénie Cotton is reconstructed in a new biography by Loukia Efthymiou, Eugénie Cotton (1881-1967) (Éditions Universitaires Européennes, 2019) that is reviewed here. Among the contributions of Eugénie Cotton of particular interest to the Chirality readership is the biography she wrote of her husband, Aimé Cotton, l'optique et magneto-optique (Éditions Seghers, 1967), the most complete source of information on the founder of the science of circular dichroism. This biography is also discussed here, thereby building two reviews of books, one new and one old, one about Eugénie Cotton and one by her, into a single essay.     

Revision of two species of ?Ulocrinus and a new pelecocrinid crinoid from West Timor

Two cladid crinoid species, ?Ulocrinus indicus Wanner, 1924, and ?Ulocrinus conoideus Wanner, 1937, are reinterpreted as cladid crinoids that do not belong to the cromyocrinids. This justifies Wanner's questioning of the generic assignment. ?Ulocrinus indicus has bifascial radial facets and is considered an advanced intermediate dendrocrinid assigned to the incertae superfamiliae, Katerocrinidae n. fam., Katerocrinus indicus n. gen., n. comb. This extends the range of the bifascial dendrocrinids upward into the Permian. ?Ulocrinus conoideus has trifascial radial facets and is assigned to the superfamily Scytalocrinoidea, incertae familiae, Dochmocrinus conoideus n. gen., n. comb. It re-emphasizes the need for revision of the family Scytalocrinidae. An unnamed, poorly preserved cup is described and considered to be a pelecocrinid crinoid, thus adding to the diversity of the West Timor Permian crinoids.     

Remarks on the Permian dasycladalean alga Sinoporella leei Yabe, 1949

Sinoporella leei was first described and illustrated by Yabe in 1949 as a new species and was ascribed to a new subgenus of the genus Triploporella (Steinmann). This alga was not illustrated again until Mu published 25-years later a photomicrograph of a longitudinal-tangential section. The recent finding of new specimens in Permian strata of the Guangxi region (South China) allows us to better illustrate this alga, and to improve our understanding of its morphology to the extent that we find it necessary to emend the current diagnosis. The new observations focus mainly on the morphology of the second-order laterals, on their relationship to the first-order laterals, and the connection of the first-order laterals to the main stem. These data suggest that Sinoporella represents a self-standing, discrete genus that differs from Triploporella. We also consider the lack of cystophores (cyst containers sensu De Castro) and the possible occurrence of individual cysts in the first order laterals as characteristics that do not accord with Barttolo's emended diagnosis of Triploporella.