Mouthparts of the Burgess Shale fossils Odontogriphus and Wiwaxia: implications for the ancestral molluscan radula

The Middle Cambrian lophotrochozoans Odontogriphus omalus and Wiwaxia corrugata have been interpreted as stem-group members of either the Mollusca, the Annelida, or a group containing Mollusca + Annelida. The case for each classification rests on the organisms' unusual mouthparts, whose two to three tooth-rows resemble both the molluscan radula and the jaws of certain annelid worms. Despite their potential significance, these mouthparts have not previously been described in detail. This study examined the feeding apparatuses of over 300 specimens from the 505-million-year-old Burgess Shale, many of which were studied for the first time. Rather than denticulate plates, each tooth row comprises a single axial tooth that is flanked on each side by eight to 16 separate shoehorn-shaped teeth. Tooth rows sat on a grooved basal tongue, and two large lobes flanked the apparatus. New observations-the shape, distribution and articulation of the individual teeth, and the mouthparts' mode of growth-are incompatible with an annelid interpretation, instead supporting a classification in Mollusca. The ancestral molluscan radula is best reconstructed as unipartite with a symmetrical medial tooth, and Odontogriphus and Wiwaxia as grazing deposit-feeders.     

Lapworthellids and other skeletonised microfossils from the Cambrian Stage 3 of the northern Montagne Noire,southern France

The Montagne Noire (southern France) possesses one of the most complete Cambrian successions in the western peri-Gondwana margin and might provide a good stratigraphic reference for both regional charts and international correlations. However, to date, the lower Cambrian succession of the northern Montagne Noire has been supposed to be devoid of biostratigraphically significant fossils. The complex tectonostratigraphic framework of the area (a range divided into Axial Zone, northern and southern Montagne Noire) exacerbated problems related to regional correlations and palaeogeographic reconstructions. As a result, the chronostratigraphic context of the lower Cambrian of northern Montagne Noire is still uncertain and stratigraphic reports have broadly relied on putative lithostratigraphic correlations with the southern Montagne Noire. The purpose of this study is to characterise, for the first time, the fossil record of carbonate beds and lenses of the northern Montagne Noire occurring at the top of the siliciclastic-dominated Marcory Formation, in order to provide regional bio- and chronostratigraphic constraints on lower Cambrian strata. Moreover, this study is aimed at improving international chronostratigraphic correlation. Carbonate beds and lenses cropping out along the Orque Cliff, in the Mélagues thrust slice, were investigated. They yielded a faunal assemblage constituted of molluscs (Igorella cf. ungulata and Igorella moncereti n. sp.), hyoliths (Conotheca brevica), chancelloriids (Archiasterella cf. pentactina and Allonnia sp.) and tommotiids (Lapworthella rete). L. rete is recorded in upper Meishucunian (Cambrian Stage 3) strata of the Yangtze Platform (South China) where it is used as index fossil of the Cambrian Stage 3 Sinosachites flabelliformis–Tannuolina zhangwentangi Assemblage Zone. Therefore, the presence of this tommotiid provides evidence that the studied carbonate beds and lenses are Cambrian Age 3 (Atdabanian according to the Siberian chart). The upper part of the Marcory Formation in the Mélagues slice, dated as Cambrian Stage 3, might represent a lateral equivalent of the mixed (carbonate-siliciclastic) Pardailhan Formation defined in the southern Montagne Noire.     

Epibionts on the lingulate brachiopod Diandongia from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerst?tte,South China

The classic Chengjiang Lagerstätte (Lower Cambrian, Atdabanian stage: Yu''anshan Formation) Yunnan, southwestern China, has yielded, besides the exceptional and often controversial soft-bodied fossils, a fauna of primitive/early lingulid brachiopods. Diandongia pista (Rong 1974) is one of the commonest and most strongly mineralized of the phosphatic brachiopods from the Lagerstätte. The shells of this species have been found to commonly serve as a basibiont host. Epibionts comprise the coeval brachiopod Longtancunella chengjiangensis and the cone-shaped cnidarian-related Archotuba conoidalis, as well as rounded smaller-sized epizoans (lesser than 2 mm). A principle morphological analysis demonstrates that the ovoid and rounded organisms that often occur along the commissure of D. pista resemble small juvenile or immature brachiopods. Epibiont-bearing shells of D. pista with soft-tissue preservation demonstrate that the host brachiopods were overgrown while alive, and provide an argument for D. pista having a semi-infaunal life style with only the slim pedicle embedded in sediment. The epibiotic association sheds direct light on the ecology of Cambrian brachiopods in soft-substrate marine environments. The Chengjiang fossils demonstrate that the Early Cambrian brachiopods, as compared with recent lingulids, occupied different and a wider spectrum of ecological niches and tiers of space.     

Early Cambrian origin of modern food webs: evidence from predator arrow worms

Although palaeontological evidence from exceptional biota demonstrates the existence of diverse marine communities in the Early Cambrian (approx. 540-520 Myr ago), little is known concerning the functioning of the marine ecosystem, especially its trophic structure and the full range of ecological niches colonized by the fauna. The presence of a diverse zooplankton in Early Cambrian oceans is still an open issue. Here we provide compelling evidence that chaetognaths, an important element of modern zooplankton, were present in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota with morphologies almost identical to Recent forms. New information obtained from the lowermost Cambrian of China added to previous studies provide convincing evidence that protoconodont-bearing animals also belonged to chaetognaths. Chaetognaths were probably widespread and diverse in the earliest Cambrian. The obvious raptorial function of their circumoral apparatuses (grasping spines) places them among the earliest active predator metazoans. Morphology, body ratios and distribution suggest that the ancestral chaetognaths were planktonic with possible ecological preferences for hyperbenthic niches close to the sea bottom. Our results point to the early introduction of prey-predator relationships into the pelagic realm, and to the increase of trophic complexity (three-level structure) during the Precambrian-Cambrian transition, thus laying the foundations of present-day marine food chains.     

A Silurian myodocope with preserved soft-parts: cautioning the interpretation of the shell-based ostracod record

Ostracod crustaceans are the most abundant fossil arthropods. The Silurian Pauline avibella gen. et sp. nov., from the Herefordshire Lagerstätte, UK, is an extremely rare Palaeozoic example with soft-part preservation. Based on its soft-part morphology, especially the exceptionally preserved limbs and presence of lateral eyes, it is assigned to the myodocopid myodocopes. The ostracod is very large, with an epipod on the fifth limb pair, as well as gills implying the presence of a heart and an integrated respiratory–circulatory system as in living cylindroleberidid myodocopids. Features of its shell morphology, however, recall halocyprid myodocopes and palaeocopes, encouraging caution in classifying ostracods based on the carapace alone and querying the interpretation of their shell-based fossil record, especially for the Palaeozoic, where some 500 genera are presently assigned to the Palaeocopida.     

Ancient population genomics and the study of evolution

Recently, the study of ancient DNA (aDNA) has been greatly enhanced by the development of second-generation DNA sequencing technologies and targeted enrichment strategies. These developments have allowed the recovery of several complete ancient genomes, a result that would have been considered virtually impossible only a decade ago. Prior to these developments, aDNA research was largely focused on the recovery of short DNA sequences and their use in the study of phylogenetic relationships, molecular rates, species identification and population structure. However, it is now possible to sequence a large number of modern and ancient complete genomes from a single species and thereby study the genomic patterns of evolutionary change over time. Such a study would herald the beginnings of ancient population genomics and its use in the study of evolution. Species that are amenable to such large-scale studies warrant increased research effort. We report here progress on a population genomic study of the Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae). This species is ideally suited to ancient population genomic research because both modern and ancient samples are abundant in the permafrost conditions of Antarctica. This species will enable us to directly address many of the fundamental questions in ecology and evolution.     

Unique lowermost Cambrian small shelly fossils (SSFs) from eastern Yunnan,South China: implications for the early diversification history of animals

With a particular focus on the earliest Cambrian diversification of small shelly fossils (SSFs), stratigraphic analysis was conducted on the lower Cambrian Zhongyicun Member at the Hongjiachong section in the Chengjiang area, Yunnan, China. From ca. 3-m-thick bedded phosphorites (Unit A) in the lower part of the member, we recovered unique SSFs. This interval with 4 SSF-bearing horizons is characterized by the dominance in blade-shaped SSFs, including Halkieria spp., Brushenodus prionodes, Sinosachites delicatus, and Pteronus sp., and the absence of typical tube/cap-shape SSFs common in the Fortunian. This interval tentatively named “Halkieria-dominant interval” is stratigraphically positioned ca. 3 m below the previously known level of the oldest mollusks in the continuous bedded phosphorite sequence between the Anabarites trisulcatus-Protohertzina anabarica Assemblage Zone and the overlying Paragloborilus subglobosa-Purella squamulosa Assemblage Zone of the Fortunian (the earliest Cambrian). The “Halkieria-dominant interval” yields some SSFs likely affiliated with ostracods in view of size and morphology, suggesting that arthropod body fossils appeared in the Fortunian, considerably earlier than previously believed.     

A distinctive new subspecies of Scytalopus griseicollis (Aves,Passeriformes, Rhinocryptidae) from the northern Eastern Cordillera of Colombia and Venezuela

We describe a new subspecies of Pale-bellied Tapaculo Scytalopus griseicollis from the northern Eastern Cordillera of Colombia and Venezuela. This form differs diagnosably in plumage from described subspecies Scytalopus griseicollis griseicollis and Scytalopus griseicollis gilesi and from the latter in tail length. It is also differentiated non-diagnosably in voice from both these populations. Ecological niche modelling analysis suggests that the new subspecies is restricted to the Andean montane forest and páramo north of both the arid Chicamocha valley and the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy.     

The sandfly fauna (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) of the Parque Estadual da Serra da Tiririca,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in the state of Rio de Janeiro is sporadic and canbe characterised as a peridomestic transmission that occurs in modified naturalenvironments. The aim of this work was to study the fauna and ecologicalcharacteristics of sandflies in an environmentally protected area (the StatePark of Serra da Tiririca) within the remnants of the Atlantic Forest in themunicipalities of Niterói and Maricá and their possible relationship withleishmaniasis. Captures were performed using light traps during the night once amonth for one year in both sylvatic environments and areas surrounding homesnear the park. A total of 1,037 sandflies were captured, belonging to ninegenera and 12 species: Evandromyia tupynambai (34.1%),Migonemyia migonei (20.6%), Brumptomyiacunhai (13.8%), Micropygomyia schreiberi (9.7%),Psathyromyia lanei (6.5%), Brumptomyianitzulescui (5.7%), Evandromyia edwardsi(5.4%), Nyssomyia intermedia (2.8%), Evandromyiacortelezzii (0.6%), Pintomyia bianchigalatiae(0.5%), Lutzomyia longipalpis (0.2%) and Sciopemyiamicrops (0.1%). Both Mg. migonei and Ny.intermedia may be acting as vectors of CL in this area.     

A new highly specialized cave harvestman from Brazil and the first blind species of the genus: Iandumoema smeagol sp. n. (Arachnida,Opiliones, Gonyleptidae)

A new species of troglobitic harvestman, Iandumoemasmeagolsp. n., is described from Toca do Geraldo, Monjolos municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Iandumoemasmeagolsp. n. is distinguished from the other two species of the genus by four exclusive characteristics – dorsal scutum areas with conspicuous tubercles, enlarged retrolateral spiniform tubercle on the distal third of femur IV, eyes absent and the penial ventral process slender and of approximately the same length of the stylus. The species is the most highly modified in the genus and its distribution is restricted only to caves in that particular area of Minas Gerais state. The type locality is not inside a legally protected area, and there are anthropogenic impacts in its surroundings. Therefore, Iandumoemasmeagolsp. n. is vulnerable and it must be considered in future conservation projects.     

First record of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pojetaia runnegari</Emphasis> Jell, 1980 and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fordilla</Emphasis> Barrande, 1881 from the Middle East (Taurus Mountains,Turkey) and critical review of Cambrian bivalves

Cambrian bivalves from the Middle East are reported here for the first time. They come from early “Middle Cambrian” and latest “Early Cambrian” limestones of the lower Çal Tepe Formation at the type locality (near Seydi?ehir, western Taurides). The majority of the new findings consists of Pojetaia runnegari Jell, 1980, but a few specimens of Fordilla sp. represent the first report of this genus from “Middle Cambrian” strata. Based on a compilation of the hitherto reported, but mostly revised Cambrian bivalves, the today widely accepted taxa are discussed. The genera Pojetaia Jell, 1980 and Fordilla Barrande, 1881 are critically evaluated, and three valid species are included in Pojetaia: P. runnegari Jell, 1980, P. sarhroensis Geyer and Streng, 1998, and—with limitations—P. ostseensis Hinz-Schallreuter, 1995. Fordilla also includes three species: F. troyensis Barrande, 1881, F. sibirica Krasilova, 1977, and F. germanica Elicki, 1994. The Cambrian genera Tuarangia MacKinnon, 1982, Camya Hinz-Schallreuter, 1995, and Arhouriella Geyer and Streng, 1998 most probably belong to the class Bivalvia. Palaeoecologically, the Cambrian bivalves of the Western Perigondwanan shelf seem to occur in a relatively small window of low-energy, subtidal, open-marine, warm-water conditions on a muddy carbonate ramp or platform with reduced sedimentation rate. The frequently interpreted infaunal mode of life of Pojetaia and Fordilla is questioned by observations of similarly organized modern bivalves. The palaeogeographical distribution of Pojetaia and Fordilla is discussed with respect to their early ontogeny and to differences in the recent state of knowledge on shelly fossils from Cambrian carbonate successions of Perigondwana.     

A catalog of bird specimens associated with Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied and potential type material in the natural history collection in Wiesbaden

Bird specimens collected by 19^th century explorer and ornithologist Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied form one of the foundation collections of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. However, parts of his collection remained in Germany and came to the Museum Wiesbaden. Since Wied described numerous new species without designating types, some of these specimens might be type material. Here we present a catalog of the 30 Wiesbaden specimens associated with him and discuss their potential type status. We conclude that 17 individuals in 11 species are potential type specimens that should be considered in future taxonomic work.     

Acute psychiatric care: approaches to increasing the range of services and improving access and quality of care

Acute services for mental health crises are very important to service users and their supporters, and consume a substantial share of mental health resources in many countries. However, acute care is often unpopular and sometimes coercive, and the evidence on which models are best for patient experience and outcomes remains surprisingly limited, in part reflecting challenges in conducting studies with people in crisis. Evidence on best ap­proaches to initial assessment and immediate management is particularly lacking, but some innovative models involving extended assessment, brief interventions, and diversifying settings and strategies for providing support are potentially helpful. Acute wards continue to be central in the intensive treatment phase following a crisis, but new approaches need to be developed, evaluated and implemented to reducing coercion, addressing trauma, diversifying treatments and the inpatient workforce, and making decision‐making and care collaborative. Intensive home treatment services, acute day units, and community crisis services have supporting evidence in diverting some service users from hospital admission: a greater understanding of how best to implement them in a wide range of contexts and what works best for which service users would be valuable. Approaches to crisis management in the voluntary sector are more flexible and informal: such services have potential to complement and provide valuable learning for statutory sector services, especially for groups who tend to be underserved or disengaged. Such approaches often involve staff with personal experience of mental health crises, who have important potential roles in improving quality of acute care across sectors. Large gaps exist in many low‐ and middle‐income countries, fuelled by poor access to quality mental health care. Responses need to build on a foundation of existing community responses and contextually relevant evidence. The necessity of moving outside formal systems in low‐resource settings may lead to wider learning from locally embedded strategies.     

Colonization processes and the maintenance of genetic diversity: insights from a pioneer rainforest tree, Aucoumea klaineana

Despite recurrent episodes of range expansion and contraction, forest trees often harbour high genetic diversity. Studies of temperate forest trees suggest that prolonged juvenile phase and high pollen flow are the main factors limiting founder effects. Here, we studied the local colonization process of a pioneer rainforest tree in central Africa, Aucoumea klaineana. We identified 87% of parents among trees up to 20-25 years old and could thus compare direct parentage structure data with classical population genetics estimators. In this species, genetic diversity was maintained during colonization. The absence of founder effects was explained by (i) local random mating and (ii) local recruitment, as we showed that 75% of the trees in the close neighbourhood participated in the recruitment of new saplings. Long-distance pollen flow contributed little to genetic diversity: pollen and seed dispersal was mainly within stand (128 and 118 m, respectively). Spatial genetic structure was explained by aggregated seed dispersal rather than by mother-offspring proximity as assumed in classical isolation-by-distance models. Hence, A. klaineana presents a genetic diversity pattern typical of forest trees but does not follow the classical rules by which this diversity is generally achieved. We suggest that while high local genetic variability is of general importance to forest tree survival, the proximate mechanisms by which it is achieved may follow very different scenarios.     

Hidalgo Fishes: Dataset on freshwater fishes of Hidalgo state (Mexico) in the MZNA fish collection of the University of Navarra (Spain)

The state of Hidalgo (Mexico) is an important region from the point of view of biodiversity. However, there exists a significant gap in accessible knowledge about species diversity and distribution, especially regarding to freshwater ecosystems. This dataset comprises the sampling records of two projects developed in Hidalgo between 2007 and 2009 about the freshwater fish communities of Tecocomulco lake and rivers belonging to the Metztitlán Canyon Biosphere Reserve. It contains the taxonomic identity (species level) and basic biometric data (total length and weight) as well as date of collection and coordinates of more than 9000 specimens. This dataset is the primary result of the first and unrepeated exhaustive freshwater fish’s survey of Metztitlán Canyon Biosphere Reserve and Tecocomulco lake. It incorporates seven more species to the regional fish fauna, and new exclusive biometric data of ten species. This dataset can be used by studies dealing with, among other interests, North American freshwater fish diversity (species richness, distribution patterns) and biometric analyses, useful for the management and conservation of these areas. The complete dataset is also provided in Darwin Core Archive format.     

Cockroaches of genus Muzoa: morphology of the male genital sclerites and description of one new species (Dictyoptera,Blattodea, Ectobiidae,Nyctiborinae)

The male genital sclerites of cockroaches of genus Muzoa Hebard 1921 are described for first time and the new species Muzoa curtalatasp. n. is described and ilustrated. A dichotomous key to identify the species of genus Muzoa is given.     

Effect of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus on the Assimilation and Translocation of 14 C in Pinus sylvestris

The effect of wound, wound + water, wound + Bursaphelenchus xylophilus culture filtrate, or wound + lethal B. xylophilus doses on the assimilation and translocation of ¹⁴C by 8-month-old Pinus sylvestris seedlings was tested. In two separate experiments, pine seedlings were exposed to 28.35 μCi of ¹⁴CO₂ for 20 minutes below or above (to the pine shoot leader) the point of nematode inoculation. After 2 and 4 hours of dark adaptation, 80% ethanol soluble ¹⁴C tissue extracts were determined by liquid scintillation counting. Nematode infection significantly (P = 0.05) decreased ¹⁴C assimilation. Treatments translocated less than 6% of the total amount of the fixed ¹⁴C and translocation generally decreased with increasing size of nematode inoculum. However, infected pines translocated a greater proportion of the amount of ¹⁴C fixed per gram of exposed nematode-plant tissue than did the control pines. The lower levels of photoassimilate entering the plant system probably resulted in a reduced metabolic capacity in B. xylophilus-infected pine seedlings. The effect on photosynthesis could be one of the key factors leading to death of pines through starvation, and it is possible that it was preceded by an effect on related physiological processes such as water uptake.     

Evolution of unusual morphologies in Lentibulariaceae (bladderworts and allies) and Podostemaceae (river-weeds): a pictorial report at the interface of developmental biology and morphological diversification

Background Various groups of flowering plants reveal profound (‘saltational’) changes of their bauplans (architectural rules) as compared with related taxa. These plants are known as morphological misfits that appear as rather large morphological deviations from the norm. Some of them emerged as morphological key innovations (perhaps ‘hopeful monsters’) that gave rise to new evolutionary lines of organisms, based on (major) genetic changes.Scope This pictorial report places emphasis on released bauplans as typical for bladderworts (Utricularia, approx. 230 secies, Lentibulariaceae) and river-weeds (Podostemaceae, three subfamilies, approx. 54 genera, approx. 310 species). Bladderworts (Utricularia) are carnivorous, possessing sucking traps. They live as submerged aquatics (except for their flowers), as humid terrestrials or as epiphytes. Most Podostemaceae are restricted to rocks in tropical river-rapids and waterfalls. They survive as submerged haptophytes in these extreme habitats during the rainy season, emerging with their flowers afterwards. The recent scientific progress in developmental biology and evolutionary history of both Lentibulariaceae and Podostemaceae is summarized.Conclusions Lentibulariaceae and Podostemaceae follow structural rules that are different from but related to those of more typical flowering plants. The roots, stems and leaves – as still distinguishable in related flowering plants – are blurred (‘fuzzy’). However, both families have stable floral bauplans. The developmental switches to unusual vegetative morphologies facilitated rather than prevented the evolution of species diversity in both families. The lack of one-to-one correspondence between structural categories and gene expression may have arisen from the re-use of existing genetic resources in novel contexts. Understanding what developmental patterns are followed in Lentibulariaceae and Podostemaceae is a necessary prerequisite to discover the genetic alterations that led to the evolution of these atypical plants. Future molecular genetic work on morphological misfits such as bladderworts and river-weeds will provide insight into developmental and evolutionary aspects of more typical vascular plants.