Early and Middle Holocene Hunter-Gatherer Occupations in Western Amazonia: The Hidden Shell Middens

We report on previously unknown early archaeological sites in the Bolivian lowlands, demonstrating for the first time early and middle Holocene human presence in western Amazonia. Multidisciplinary research in forest islands situated in seasonally-inundated savannahs has revealed stratified shell middens produced by human foragers as early as 10,000 years ago, making them the oldest archaeological sites in the region. The absence of stone resources and partial burial by recent alluvial sediments has meant that these kinds of deposits have, until now, remained unidentified. We conducted core sampling, archaeological excavations and an interdisciplinary study of the stratigraphy and recovered materials from three shell midden mounds. Based on multiple lines of evidence, including radiocarbon dating, sedimentary proxies (elements, steroids and black carbon), micromorphology and faunal analysis, we demonstrate the anthropogenic origin and antiquity of these sites. In a tropical and geomorphologically active landscape often considered challenging both for early human occupation and for the preservation of hunter-gatherer sites, the newly discovered shell middens provide evidence for early to middle Holocene occupation and illustrate the potential for identifying and interpreting early open-air archaeological sites in western Amazonia. The existence of early hunter-gatherer sites in the Bolivian lowlands sheds new light on the region’s past and offers a new context within which the late Holocene “Earthmovers” of the Llanos de Moxos could have emerged.     

Dinosaur Tracks as Paleogeographic Constraints: New Scenarios for the Cretaceous Geography of the Periadriatic Region

A really unexpected finding of sauropod and theropod footprints in southern Latium raises to four the number of the trampled levels recognized in central and southern Italy. After the recent findings in Latest Jurassic and Early, mid and Late Cretaceous carbonate platform deposits of the Periadriatic region, dinosaur footprints seem to provide very important paleogeographic constraints for reconstructing the geodynamic history of the Mediterranean area. The presence of a varied ichnoassociation makes acceptance of the current paleogeographic models concerning the relative and absolute position of the Laziale-Abruzzese-Campano and of Apulian-Dinaric domains during the Late Cretaceous more and more problematic. Dinosaur footprints, combined with other paleontological data, demonstrate that these areas were never completely pulled apart by deep seaways, while frequent or continuous links between them, and to southern and northern mainlands, probably persisted. These data also allowed us to improve our understanding of the timing of the Mesozoic plate motion in this segment of the Western Tethys.     

Sometimes They Come Back: Recovery and Reinterpretation of a Trackway Slab from the Permian Coconino Sandstone of the Southwestern United States

When a fossil vanishes to a private collection, it must be considered lost to science because, frequently, it is no longer available for study. Fortunately some fossils occasionally are regained. We had the opportunity to recoup an interesting footprint-bearing slab that was part of a private collection in Italy. The specimen, found in 1992 near Seligman, Arizona (USA) was described, before disappearing, as one of the best fossil examples of vertebrate (Chelichnus [Laoporus])-on-invertebrate (Octopodichnus) predation. After a careful re-examination of the slab, the primary conclusions of the former describers are demonstrably groundless. The reanalysis of the tracks, as well as peculiar sedimentary structures associated with the tracks, allowed obtaining new information about the depositional environment and the complex interactions between the type of substrate and trackmaker behavior. The re-examination of the specimen also revealed interesting aspects about trackmaker biomechanics.     

An integrative study of Necremnus Thomson (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) associated with invasive pests in Europe and North America: taxonomic and ecological implications

The species of Necremnus attacking two invasive pests of tomato and canola in Europe and North America, respectively, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) and Ceutorhynchus obstrictus (Marsham) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), have been revised using an integrative taxonomy approach. Molecular data from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I and the nuclear D2 expansion region of the 28S ribosomal subunit and internal transcribed spacer 2, the discovery of new morphological features, and study of type material resulted in the delineation of three species groups, the Necremnus artynes, Necremnus cosconius, and Necremnus tidius groups, the discovery of four new species, and the resurrection of three taxa from synonymy. Lectotypes have been designated for 13 species originally described in Eulophus by Walker. Although Necremnus has not been revised, an illustrated key is given to differentiate 23 recognized European species. The key, type images, and treatments of the three species groups will enable more accurate identification of the valid species of Necremnus in the future. They will also benefit biological control practitioners of pest species. The ecological consequences of the new taxonomic concepts are discussed. © 2015 The Authors. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Linnean Society of London     

Isolation, Characterization and Antifungal Activity of Proteinase Inhibitors from Capsicum chinense Jacq. Seeds

Capsicum species belong to the Solanaceae family and have great social, economic and agronomical significance. The present research presents data on the isolation and characterization of Capsicum chinense Jacq. peptides which were scrutinized in relation to their toxicity towards a diverse set of yeast species. The protein extract was separated with C18 reverse-phase chromatography in high performance liquid chromatography, resulting in three different peptide enriched fractions (PEFs) termed PEF1, PEF2 and PEF3. Tricine-SDS-PAGE of the PEF2 revealed peptides with molecular masses of approximately 5.0 and 8.5 kDa. These PEFs also exhibited strong antifungal activity against different yeasts. In the presence of the PEF2, Candida tropicalis exhibited morphological changes, including cellular agglomeration and formation of pseudohyphae. Determined N-terminal sequences of PEF2 and PEF3 were proven to be highly homologous to serine proteinase inhibitors, when analysed by comparative database sequence tools. For this reason were performed protease inhibitory activity assay. The PEFs displayed high inhibitory activity against trypsin and low inhibitory activity against chymotrypsin. PEF2 and PEF3 were considerably unsusceptible to a broad interval of pH and temperatures. Due to the myriad of application of Proteinase inhibitors (PIs) in fields ranging from plant protection against pathogens and pests to medicine such as in cancer and virus replication inhibition, the discovery of new PIs with new properties are of great interest.