New Remains of the Multituberculate Mammal <Emphasis Type="Italic">Barbatodon</Emphasis> from the Upper Cretaceous of the Hațeg Basin (Romania)

The so-called “Ha?eg Island” (Transylvania, Romania) is well known for its rich and peculiar Late Cretaceous vertebrate assemblages, including dwarf dinosaurs, first reported at the end of the 19th century. Besides dinosaurs, other important members of the “Ha?eg Island” terrestrial ecosystems were the multituberculate mammals. Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) multituberculates are extremely rare in Europe, being known exclusively from the “Ha?eg Island.” Two genera are reported from this area: Kogaionon, with the single species K. ungureanui, and Barbatodon, with two species: B. transylvanicus and B. oardaensis. Both genera belong to the European endemic family Kogaionidae. We report herein new remains of B. transylvanicus from the Maastrichtian locality of Pui (Hunedoara District) in the Ha?eg Basin, including the most complete dentaries found to date with complete cheek teeth rows. Intraspecific variability of this species in dentary shape, tooth morphology, and size difference is highlighted.     

New allele variants of the immunoglobulin switch (Sα) regions

In this report we define ten Sl IGHA1 (*S5–*S14) and nine S2 IGHA2 (*S10–*S18) newly found alleles of the human immunoglobulin switch alpha 1 and switch alpha 2 regions, respectively, in Colombian Indian, Black and Mestizo populations, and a complete list of theSacI andPvuII alleles so far identified is given.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cobitis faridpaki</Emphasis> sp. nova—a New spined loach species (Cobitidae) from the southern Caspian Sea basin (Iran)

Spined loaches from the Siahrud River of the southern coast of the Caspian Sea in the province of Mazandaran, north of Iran, are described as a new species Cobitis faridpaki. This species belongs to Cobitis species group with a single lamina Canestrini at the base of the second pectoral-fin ray in males and subdorsal scales with reduced eccentric focal zone. These characters differentiate C. faridpaki from both southern Iranian species C. linea and C. melanoleuca distributed in the northern Caspian Sea basin. The stout body, small and numerous (25–30) lateral spots and the presence of 14–16 branched caudal-fin rays separate C. faridpaki from Caucasian species C. satunini.     

New Holocene Capra pyrenaica (Mammalia,Artiodactyla, Bovidae) skulls from the southern Pyrénées

Three Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica skulls from the Holocene found in different karstic sinkholes in the mid-western Pyrénées are described. Two of the locations were at the highest elevations known for Capra fossils in the Pyrénées, which provides insights into the timing of the Holocene deglaciation. The skulls of the males were particularly large relative to those of other Capra from the Upper Pleistocene found in southwestern Europe. An increase in the availability of food, rather than a direct influence of global warming, during the Holocene (Bergmann's Rule) was likely responsible for the large size of the skulls. Comparisons between the horn sections of the Pyrenean skulls and those of neighbouring taxa show a morphological similarity between the former and C. i. ibex.     

New water mites of the family Hygrobatidae (Acari,?Hydrachnidia) from Turkey

In this study, the findings of three water mite species of the family Hygrobatidae collected from different streams in Turkey were evaluated. Hygrobates (s. str.) anatolicus Esen & Pešić, sp. n. is described as new for science. Hygrobates (Rivobates) diversiporus Sokolow, 1927 and Atractides (s. str.) nikooae Pešić, 2004, which were illustrated and thoroughly discussed, are new records for the Turkish fauna.     

A New Species of the Genus Cecidomyia from China(Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

Twelve species of the genus Cecidomyia have been reported from North America andEurasia. They are known as pine resin midges inhabiting mainly the pines, also spruce andfir. The larvae fecd on pitch and cause extensive primary damage to the hosts. The new res-in midge species here dealt with is known so far only from Jiangbian Forestry Bureau dis-trict, Yunnan.     

New dates for the Fontéchevade (Charente, France) Homo remains

Homo I from the site of Fontéchevade, France, has long been an anomaly in the European fossil record. The specimen is a fragment of human frontal bone that lacks a supraorbital torus and appears to belong to an anatomically modern Homo sapiens. However, the level from which it was recovered in 1947 was dated on the basis of associated faunal and lithic material to the last interglacial or earlier. As a result, Homo I has been interpreted, among other things, as a representative of a pre-sapiens lineage in Europe. This paper reports on recent ESR and radiocarbon dates that indicate that the specimen almost certainly dates to oxygen isotope stage 3, which brings it in line with other evidence for the entry of modern Homo sapiens into Europe.     

Alkylresorcinols: New Potential Bioregulators in the Superorganism System (Human–Microbiota)

Biology Bulletin - Based on the results of qualitative and quantitative analysis of alkylresorcinol pools in the intestine and in the blood, as well as their correlations with the level of...     

Integral role of the I′-helix in the function of the “inactive” C-terminal domain of catalase–peroxidase (KatG)

Catalase–peroxidases (KatGs) have two peroxidase-like domains. The N-terminal domain contains the heme-dependent, bifunctional active site. Though the C-terminal domain lacks the ability to bind heme or directly catalyze any reaction, it has been proposed to serve as a platform to direct the folding of the N-terminal domain. Toward such a purpose, its I′-helix is highly conserved and appears at the interface between the two domains. Single and multiple substitution variants targeting highly conserved residues of the I′-helix were generated for intact KatG as well as the stand-alone C-terminal domain (KatG^C). Single variants of intact KatG produced only subtle variations in spectroscopic and catalytic properties of the enzyme. However, the double and quadruple variants showed substantial increases in hexa-coordinate low-spin heme and diminished enzyme activity, similar to that observed for the N-terminal domain on its own (KatG^N). The analogous variants of KatG^C showed a much more profound loss of function as evaluated by their ability to return KatG^N to its active conformation. All of the single variants showed a substantial decrease in the rate and extent of KatG^N reactivation, but with two substitutions, KatG^C completely lost its capacity for the reactivation of KatG^N. These results suggest that the I′-helix is central to direct structural adjustments in the adjacent N-terminal domain and supports the hypothesis that the C-terminal domain serves as a platform to direct N-terminal domain conformation and bifunctionality.     

New species and records of the subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Microchelonus</Emphasis> Szépligeti (Braconidae: Cheloninae) from China

The Chinese species of the subgenus Microchelonus Szépligeti of the genus Chelonus Panzer with the female carapace having an incised apex in dorsal view and/or in posterior view are revised. Two new species, Chelonus (Microchelonus) rhagius sp. n. and Chelonus (Microchelonus) tobiasi sp. n. are described. Chelonus (Microchelonus) elegantulus Tobias and Chelonus (Microchelonus) volgensis Tobias are recorded in China for the first time.     

New examples of the exploitation of intermediary ligands in the synthesis of polymeric (μ-Se)Hg-clusters

(PhSe)₂Hg reacts initially with HgX₂ (X = Cl, I) and further with triphenylphosphine/DMF to give [(PhSe)₇Hg₄ClPy]_n (1) and [(PhSe)₇Hg₄I(DMF)]_n (2), polymeric assemblies of (μ-Se)Hg clusters obtained through coordinating intermediary ligands. Each single adamantoid molecule of 1 and 2 presents the Hg^II ions with a distorted tetrahedral configuration linked through asymmetric [μ-(Ph)Se]⁻ bridges. [(PhSe)₇Hg₄ClPy]_n and [(PhSe)₇Hg₄I(DMF)]_n are further examples of extended one-dimensional chains of closed anisotropic ME (E = S, Se, Te) systems. In these reactions the features of the intermediary ligands should determine the template which leads to single adamantane moieties or to fused ones.     

Membrane Protein Chaperones: A New Twist in the Tail?

The integration of tail-anchored membrane proteins at the endoplasmic reticulum occurs via a specialised ATP-dependent pathway, but the cytosolic factors involved have proven elusive. A novel ATPase that mediates this process has now been identified.     

Toward an inordinate fondness for stars,beetles and Lobophora? Species diversity of the genus Lobophora (Dictyotales,Phaeophyceae) in New Caledonia

Until the recent use of molecular markers, species diversity of Lobophora, an ecologically important brown algal genus with a worldwide distribution in temperate and tropical seas, has been critically underestimated. Using a DNA‐based taxonomic approach, we re‐examined diversity of the genus from New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. First, species were delineated using general mixed Yule coalescent‐based and barcoding gap approaches applied to a mitochondrial cox3 data set. Results were subsequently confirmed using chloroplast psbA and rbcL data sets. Species delimitation analyses agreed well across markers and delimitation algorithms, with the barcoding gap approach being slightly more conservative. Analyses of the cox3 data set resulted in 31–39 molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs), four of which are previously described species (L. asiatica, L. crassa, L. nigrescens s.l., L. pachyventera). Of the remaining MOTUs for which we obtained a representative number of sequences and results are corroborated across analyses and genes, we described 10 species de novo: L. abaculusa, L. abscondita, L. densa, L. dimorpha, L. gibbera, L. hederacea, L. monticola, L. petila, L. rosacea, and L. undulata. Our study presents an excellent case of how a traditional morphology‐based taxonomy fails to provide accurate estimates of algal diversity. Furthermore, the level of Lobophora diversity unveiled from a single locality in the Pacific Ocean raises important questions with respect to the global diversity of the genus, the distributions and range sizes of the individual species, as well as the mechanisms facilitating coexistence.     

New grylloblattid insects (Insecta: Grylloblattida) from the Grès à Voltzia of the Vosges (Middle Triassic of France)

New grylloblattid insects (Grylloblattida) are described from the Grès à Voltzia of the Vosges (Anisian of Alsace and Lorraine, France): Chauliodites anisicus, sp. nov. (Chaulioditidae), Palaeomesorthopteron pullus gen. et sp. nov. (Mesorthopteridae), Megakhosarodes vosgesicus sp. nov. (Megakhosaridae), Dorniella elcanoides sp. nov., D. apectinata sp. nov., D. diluta sp. nov., D. ovalis sp. nov., Baharellinus umbrosus sp. nov. Embigryllus shcherbakovi gen. et sp. nov., and Vosgesopterum arzvillerensis gen. et sp. nov. (Blattogryllidae).     

New data on the distribution and intraspecific variation of the Millard’s giant rat <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dacnomys millardi</Emphasis> (Mammalia,Rodentia) from Vietnam

The paper presents an analysis of a genetic and morphological variation of Dacnomys millardi from seven Vietnamese localities, including a new finding from southern Vietnam which lies some 1000 km to the south of the currently known limit of the species range. Samples from northern and southern Vietnam do not differ significantly in their cranial and oversize characteristics. Surprisingly, they are quite similar genetically as well. The genetic distances between the samples are very low and do not exceed 0.0232 for cyt b, 0.0058 for subunit I of the cytochrome oxidase gene, 0.0019 for interphotoreceptor retinoid-binding protein, and 0.0017 for recombination activation factor gene. A low overall genetic diversity in the D. millardi could reflect its ecological specialization, as well as a population bottleneck or the colonization history of eastern Indochina.