The parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) from the Middle Miocene of Sansan (Gers,Southern France)

The occurrence of Archaeopsittacus sp. (Psittaciformes) in the fossil deposits of Sansan (France) is reported, testifying to a survival of this genus in the Middle Miocene, as Archaeopsittacus verreauxi was described from the Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy (France) and was recorded only from its type locality. The data discussed here indicate the presence of two parrot species from Sansan, as it is the type locality of another parrot species, Pararallus dispar, only known from this locality. The differences between the humeri of these two taxa are described in detail, together with the differences from the other European fossil parrot species. The presence of more than one species of parrot in the same locality is not rare, but in Europe it is recorded in Sansan for the second time. Evidence for parrots also confirms the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Sansan, as parrots are primarily arboreal species. Archaeopsittacus also represents one of the few common elements between the Early and Middle Miocene European bird assemblages.     

Dabbling ducks (Aves: Anatidae) from the Middle Miocene of Mongolia

A new genus and two new species of ducks (Aves: Anatidae) from the Middle Miocene Sharga locality are described. Mioquerquedula minutissima gen. et sp. nov. is a very small duck. Anas velox Milne-Edwards, 1868 from the Middle Miocene of France is transferred to the genus Mioquerquedula. Aix praeclara sp. nov. described here is the oldest record of the modern genus Aix. A revision of the previously described small duck Anas soporata Kurochkin, 1976 shows that only the specimens from the Sharga locality should be referred to this species. The status of other small ducks from the Neogene of Europe and North America is discussed. The diversity of herbivorous and diving ducks in the Sharga locality indicates that Miocene Shargyn Govi Lake was rich in food resources.     

Suoidea du Miocène inférieur de Laugnac (Lot-et-Garonne, France)

The fossil vertebrate locality of Laugnac is the type locality of the Neogene mammalian zone MN2b. It has yielded many remains of Suoidea belonging to two different genera.Xenohyus venitor is characterized by its large size and especially its large central upper incisors, I1/ and I2/. It is quite difficult to know its phyletic relationships because the material is not abundant.Hyotherium cf.meisneri is more abundant with a quite good skull, pieces of skull, jaws and isolated teeth. It belongs to a peculiar lineage different from that ofH. major from Saint Gérand-le-Puy, France. It has some similarities withAureliachoerus aurelianensis from later geological levels (MN3-MN5).     

Neogene phasianids (Aves: Phasianidae) of Central Asia: 3. Genera <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lophogallus</Emphasis> gen. nov. and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Syrmaticus</Emphasis>

Large phasianids from four Miocene and Pliocene localities of Mongolia are reviewed. Lophogallus naranbulakensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Miocene of the Naran Bulak locality is described. It resembles extant Gallus, Lophura, and partially Pavo. The fossil pheasant Syrmaticus kozlovae Kurochkin is compared in detail with other Neogene and living pheasants. The stratigraphic position of phasianids from Neogene localities of Central Asia is discussed.     

CULTURE STUDIES ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHIZYMENIA AND HAEMATOCELIS (GIGARTINALES,RHODOPHYCEAE) FROM THE PACIFIC COAST OF NORTH AMERICA1

Carpospores from Schizymenia pacifica (Kylin) Kylin (Gymnophlaeaceae) from California formed crusts anatomically identical to Haematocelis rubens J. Agardh (Cruoriaceae). Tetraspores of H. rubens from Monterey, California, and Baja California, Mexico, germinated to form basal discs from which arose upright multiaxial blades with a filamentous medulla and cortical gland cells. Pro-carps and spermatangia were present on the same blades; subsequently, cystocarps characteristic of Schizymenia pacifica developed. Re-examination of herbarium specimens suggests that the foliose tetrasporangial phases previously reported as S. pacifica are referable to Halymenia, Dilsea, Cryptonemia, or Turnerella. Schizymenia pacifica (type locality: San Juan Islands, Washington) thus is considered to be the gametophyte in the life history of Haematocelis rubens (type locality: Brest, France), which has also been reported to be the tetrasporophyte of S. dubyi (Chauvin ex Duby) J. Agardh (type locality: Cherbourg, France). Atlantic and Pacific gametophytes and tetrasporophytes are anatomically very similar, suggesting that only one species is involved, but critical studies must be made before a decision on this taxonomic question can be reached. Haematocelis zonalis Dawson et Neushul (type locality: Anacapa Island, California) is considered to be a growth form of the tetrasporangial phase of S. pacifica.     

金线蛭属一新种（颚蛭目：医蛭科）

新种四条纹金线蛭Whitmania qudarivittata sp.nov.1992年4月、1997年8月采集于海南省海口市郊和儋县的水稻田和莲藕田中,其与光润金线蛭Whitmania laevis Baird相似,但有如下不同之处：1）新种无背中条纹,只有4条纵纹;2）新种副睾不分为两段折叠的长短不一的肢段;3）新种阴茎囊呈C型弯曲。模式标本保存于中山医科大学生物学教研室。     

On the presence of the genus Branchinecta Verrill, 1869 (Crustacea,Anostraca) in Yugoslavia

The genus Branchinecta Verrill, 1869 is represented in Yugoslavia by two species: Branchinecta ferox (Milne-Edwards, 1840) and Branchinecta orientalis G.O. Sars, 1901. The first species was collected in the steppe-like province of Banat, Pannonian Lowland, and in the lowland around the Skadar Lake, Montenegro, the second only in the province of Banat.On the basis of rich material of both species, a detailed study of the most essential morphological characters has been carried out and comparisons have been made with data in the literature. In B. ferox, significant morphological deviations are not found, whereas, in B. orientalis, essential features are clearly ascertained which were previously unknown or were not stated with sufficient precision. B. ferox is known to appear in small, temporary, natronsoda water rainpools, while B. orientalis has been found in a large temporary inundation pool with a high content of natronsoda and salt in the water.     

THE CHROMOSOMES OF PACHYPHYTUM (CRASSULACEAE)

Eleven of the 12 species of Pachyphytum, all that are available, have n = 31–33 standard chromosomes, or a multiple. Accessory chromosomes were found in some or all collections of four species; some cells of one plant have more than 50 of them. Accessory chromosomes often occur in groups at metaphase I, corresponding to their origin from one to several chromocenters of prophase I. Intraspecific polyploidy occurs within five species, with diploids to 12-ploids (n = ca. 186) in P. compactum and diploids to decaploids (n = ca. 160) in P. hookeri. Although the basic chromosome number is high, evidence from meiosis in certain hybrids shows that the basic 31–33 chromosomes are probably all different: they do not pair with each other and they do not duplicate each other. Polyploids, with 62 or more chromosomes, are probably autopolyploids: they form multivalents, and the chromosomes they contribute to hybrids pair with each other. Three different probable hybrids have been found in the wild, and more than 300 hybrids have been produced in cultivation.     

甘肃临夏盆地晚中新世貘类化石(奇蹄目、貘科)一新种

描述在甘肃临夏盆地晚中新世地层中发现的貘属新种和政貘(Tapirus hezhengensis sp. nov.),它是貘属中已知最小的种之一。在基本特征上,临夏盆地的和政貘与现生貘已相当接近,前臼齿完全臼齿化,门齿、犬齿的数目和形态也与现生貘一致。东亚晚中新世缺少貘科化石的材料,和政貘的发现对中国第四纪貘类的来源提供了重要线索,显示中中新世起源于欧洲的真貘在晚中新世时期已扩散至东亚。貘类通常适应于潮湿的热带森林环境,但和政貘在华北三趾马动物群中的发现说明这类动物也能够生活于干旱的温带草原地区。     

CHEMOTAXONOMY IN MARINE ALGAE: CHEMICAL SEPARATION OF SOME LAURENCIA SPECIES (RHODOPHYTA) FROM THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA1

Species separation in the genus Laurencia (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta) is complicated by the high degree of morphological variation within the species. Chemical investigations on a worldwide basis of over 15 species indicate that 1 or more of the halogenated natural products synthesized by Laurencia are unique to each species. Our chemical investigations of Laurencia pacifica, as presently understood from the Gulf of California, indicate that more than 1 species had been included under this name. Thin layer chromatographic (TLC) comparisons of the halogenated components of 3 recognizable forms of “L. pacifica” were completed. The results revealed 3 distinct forms, with halogenated products unique to each form. In each form the observed chemical characters had been previously isolated and identified and could now be positively assigned to their algal source. Comparisons were also conducted with L. pacifica Kylin (1941) from the type locality of the species, La Jolla, California, and revealed that it contained another halogenated product different from those isolated from the Gulf species. We conclude that 3 species of Laurencia have been elucidated in the Gulf of California and these are separate from L. pacifica Kylin. Each species can be distinguished by its characteristic array of halogenated compounds. Comparative thin layer chromatography of the lipid components of morphologically similar Laurencia species should prove to be a useful new taxonomic aid.     

Linnaeus' Neptunea (Mollusca: Gastropoda)

Three species of the arcto-boreal, large gastropod Neptunea , described by Linnaeus in 1758 and 1771, occur in large numbers over wide areas of the inshore North Atlantic and adjacent Arctic seas and are conspicuous among Pliocene and Pleistocene molluscs in the Icelandic, North Sea, and western Mediterranean basins. Selections of lectotypes for these species from shells in the collection of the Linnean Society of London, and designations of their type localities, establish the identity of Linnaeus' neptunes and more accurately determine their geographic and geologic distribution. The geographic range of Neptunea (Neptunea) antiqua (L.), the type species, now extends from southern Norway to the northern Biscay coast of France and from the westernmost Baltic Sea to southwestern Ireland; this species also occurs in Pliocene-Holocene marine deposits in West and East Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, England and France. Its type locality is determined to be the North Sea. N. (Neptunea) despecta (L.) lives in the eastern Canadian Arctic, off southern Greenland, the Barents Sea, and North Atlantic as far south as Massachusetts and Portugal; it also occurs in Pliocene-Holocene strata of eastern Canada, east-central Greenland, Norway (including Svalbard), the Soviet Union, Sweden and England. Its type locality is determined to be the postglacial deposits at Uddevalla in southwestern Sweden. N. (Sulcosipho) contraria (L.) now extends from the southern Biscay coast of France to Cape Spartel, Morocco; this species also occurs in Pleistocene and lower Holocene sequences of the western Mediterranean. Its type locality is determined to be Vigo Bay, Spain. A closely related fossil species, N. (S.) angulata (S. V. Wood), occurs in Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits of the North Sea basin.     

棕形额蚤指名亚种幼虫形态及与同属蚤幼虫的比较

我国已描述的蚤幼虫约有50余种或亚种,而额蚤属幼虫已有5种或亚种：似升额蚤介中亚种FrontopsyllaelatoidesintermediaCai,Wu＆Zhang,1987[1,2],似升额蚤指名亚种FrontopsyllaelatoideselatoidesWagner,1928[3],升额蚤指名亚种Frontopsyllaelatae－lata（JordanetRothschild,1915）[4],无棘鬃额蚤FrontopsyllaaspindermisLiu＆Wu,1960[5]和前额蚤灰獭亚种FrontopsyllafrontalisbaibacinaJi,1979[2]。本文首次描述可疑的鼠疫媒介蚤种棕形额蚤指名亚种FrontopsyllaspadixSpadix（Jordan＆Rothschild,1927）的幼虫形态,并与同…     

First report of Temnocephala brevicornis Monticelli 1889 (Temnocephalidae: platyhelminthes) in Argentina

Temnocephala brevicornis Monticelli 1889, ectosymbiont of Hydromedusa tectifera Cope 1869, is reported for the first time for Argentina. Numerous temnocephalans from Arroyo Villoldo in the locality of Magdalena, Buenos Aires, Argentina were stained in toto to be studied. This commensal species in turtles was originally cited in association with Hydromedusa maximiliani (Mikan) and Hydraspis radiolata Mikan in Brazil. Afterwards, it was found on other fresh water turtle species in Brazil and Uruguay.     

THE GEOLOGICALLY YOUNGEST ALBANERPETONTID AMPHIBIAN, FROM THE LOWER PLIOCENE OF HUNGARY

Abstract:  The Albanerpetontidae are salamander-like, Middle Jurassic to Neogene lissamphibians from Laurasia and North Africa. Extensive series of albanerpetontid bones recently identified in collections from the Csarnóta 2 locality, south-central Hungary, extend the temporal range of the clade forward about seven million years from the middle Miocene to the early Pliocene. The Hungarian material is diagnostic for the Euramerican type genus Albanerpeton and pertains to a new species, A. pannonicus sp. nov., which differs from the seven previously reported congeners (Early Cretaceous–Miocene) in a distinctive combination of primitive and derived character states of the jaws and frontals, including a unique ventromedian keel on the azygous frontals. Some of the Hungarian specimens are articulated sets of skull bones, including ones containing the first three-dimensional examples of a nasal and jugals known for albanerpetontids, that help clarify some details of cranial osteology in these amphibians. Cladistic analysis nests A. pannonicus within the robust-snouted clade, as the sister taxon to an unnamed late Palaeocene species from Canada and A. inexpectatum from early–middle Miocene deposits in France, Austria and Germany. This phylogeny and recent reports of diagnostic Albanerpeton material from the Campanian of France and Maastrichtian of Romania suggest the evolutionary history of Albanerpeton was more complex than previously hypothesized, with Europe having played a larger role. The 25 fossiliferous layers at Csarnóta 2 record a shift from forest to grassland palaeoenvironments. Fossils of A. pannonicus are present in all layers, implying that this species was not adversely affected by the change in palaeoenvironments.     

Reappraisal of the latest Albian (Mortoniceras fallax Zone) cephalopod fauna from the classical Salazac locality (Gard,southeastern France)

The Salazac locality (Gard, southeastern France) is renowned for the richness of its cephalopod fauna (especially ammonites) from the Mortoniceras fallax Zone (uppermost Albian, Lower Cretaceous). However, most ammonite species have paradoxically been scarcely illustrated up to now. Furthermore, the rare assessments of ammonite taxonomic diversity are presumably inaccurate, as they either result from a drastic typological approach or could not benefit from the most recent advances in modern concepts of ammonoid intraspecific and ontogenetic variations. In this work, we document an original cephalopod assemblage from Salazac represented by abundant, well-preserved specimens (564 studied ammonites, including ca. 50% of heteromorphs) constituting a high diversity. The sample size and quality of this new material allowed some extensive morphological and biometric analyses whenever possible (i.e., for subdatasets in which a significant number of measurements is available) and to thoroughly assess intraspecific and ontogenetic variations for a few species. This led to determine the diagnostic value of various shell characters commonly used to characterize both well-documented and poorly-defined species. In particular, we show that a significant part of the variation in the number of ribs per whorl within the heteromorphic genera Mariella and Turrilitoides is directly related to shell size and that the strength of tubercles covaries negatively with the number of ribs in Mariella, therefore challenging the diagnostic value of these characters. We further suggest that rib density covaries with whorl shape in Mariella, following Buckman’s first rule of covariation. In total, one species of nautilid and 38 taxa (25 genera) of ammonites are described, among which five species are documented from Salazac for the first time. In turn, this study provides valuable data for future phylogenetic, biostratigraphical, biogeographical and broad-scale diversity studies.     

Biodiversity eavesdropping: bioacoustics confirms the presence of Cicadetta montana (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in France

Using bioacoustic methods only, we confirm the presence of Cicadetta montana s. str. in France, a cicada belonging to a complex of closely related species. Specimens of C. montana from France have probably been kept in collections for a long time but could not be identified with certainty by morphological characters alone. The species was discovered in a single locality but it is highly probable that it will be found in many other parts of the country in particular in the north and east of France. This simple study illustrates how much bioacoustic studies can help in monotoring biodiversity, in particular biodiversity of closely related species and/or of species living in habitats difficult to reach or where visual contact is highly limited.     

历山自然保护区四种蟋蟀鸣声结构的比较研究(直翅目:蟋蟀总科)

应用计算机技术,分析了山西历山自然保护区的白须双针蟋,短翅灶蟋,银川油葫芦,迷卡斗蟋4种蟋蟀雄性的鸣声结构,白须双针蟋雄性鸣声的每个脉冲组持续时间和每个脉冲组的脉冲数不同,主能峰频率为6．5kHz,短翅灶蟋雄性鸣声的时域波形较规则,每个脉冲组由3个脉冲构成,每个脉冲组的持续时间,脉冲组间隔基本相同,主能峰频率6．6kHz,银川油葫芦雄性的鸣声由两类脉冲组构成,主能峰频率为3．94kHz,迷卡斗蟋雄性鸣声的时域波形较规则,每个脉冲组由6－7个脉冲构成,主能峰频率为3．86kHz。     

中国蹄盖蕨属的研究Ⅰ-属下分类

蹄盖蕨属是蕨类植物中分类最困难的大属之一,中国、喜马拉雅和日本为其分布中心。隶属于本属的种实际上是由蹄盖蕨科或广义蹄盖蕨属中其他属被划分出去以后剩余下来的种类集合而成的"大杂烩",因此,它们被放在一起并非是一个单系起源的自然类群;属下不同类群分化的程度相差也很大,有的类群进化活跃,近缘种很多,有的类群则很孤立,所以属下单位所包括的种数相差悬殊;孢子周壁表面褶皱的有无在本属的属下分类中占有重要的位置。已发表的中国蹄盖蕨属植物名称约有300多个,它们初步被处理为117种和一些变种和杂种,本文建议把这些种分为14个组和15个系。     

NEW RECORD OF THE MARINE RED ALGA CUBICULOSPORUM (GIGARTINALES) FROM THE SOUTHERN GREAT BARRIER REEF1

Cubiculosporum koronicarpis Kraft (Cubiculosporaceae, Gigartinales), known previously only from the type locality (southeastern Luzon, Philippines), has been collected at North West Island on the southern Great Barrier Reef. The habitat, distribution and taxonomic status of the species are discussed, and habit features of the new specimens are illustrated.     

中国鮡属鱼类二新种记述(鲇形目:鮡科)

本文报道在四川西部收集的鮡科鱼类标本中,发现有鮡属(Pareuchiloglanis)的壮体鮡,新种P.robusta sp.nov.和四川鮡,新种P.sichuanensis sp.nov.,对二新种的形态特征作了详细描述,并与相近种的主要性状列表进行比较。