The first karyotype study in palpigrades, a primitive order of arachnids (Arachnida: Palpigradi)

Chromosomes of palpigrades (Arachnida: Palpigradi), a rare arachnid order with numerous primitive characters, were studied for the first time. We analysed two species of the genus Eukoenenia, namely E. spelaea and E. mirabilis. Their karyotypes are uniform, consisting of a low number of tiny chromosomes that decrease gradually in size. Study of the palpigrade karyotype did not reveal morphologically differentiated sex chromosomes. Analysis of E. spelaea showed that constitutive heterochromatin is scarce, GC-rich, and restricted mostly to presumed centromeric regions. Meiosis is remarkable for the presence of a short diffuse stage and prominent nucleolar activity. During prophase I, nuclei contain a large nucleolus. Prominent knob at the end of one bivalent formed by constitutive heterochromatin is associated to the nucleolus by an adjacent NOR. Presence of a nucleolus-like body at male prophase II suggests activity of NOR also during beginning of the second meiotic division. The data suggest acrocentric morphology of palpigrade chromosomes. Palpigrades do not display holocentric chromosomes which appear to be apomorphic features of a number of arachnid groups. These are: acariform mites, buthid scorpions, and spiders of the superfamily Dysderoidea. Therefore, cytogenetic data do not support a close relationship of palpigrades and acariform mites as suggested previously.     

How to define nativeness in vagile organisms: lessons from the cosmopolitan moss Bryum argenteum on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands)

The distinction between native and introduced biotas presents unique challenges that culminate in organisms with high long‐distance dispersal capacities in a rapidly changing world. Bryophytes, in particular, exhibit large distribution ranges, and some species can truly be qualified as cosmopolitan. Cosmopolitan species, however, typically occur in disturbed environments, raising the question of their nativeness throughout their range. Here, we employ genetic data to address the question of the origin of the cosmopolitan, weedy moss Bryum argenteum on the island of Tenerife. The genetic diversity of B. argenteum on Tenerife was comparable to that found in continental areas due to recurrent colonisation events, erasing any signature of a bottleneck that would be expected in the case of a recent colonisation event. The molecular dating analyses indicated that the first colonisation of the island took place more than 100,000 years ago, i.e. well before the first human settlements. Furthermore, the significant signal for isolation‐by‐distance found in B. argenteum within Tenerife points to the substantial role of genetic drift in establishing the observed patterns of genetic variation. Together, the results support the hypothesis that B. argenteum is native on Tenerife; although the existence of haplotypes shared between Tenerife and continental areas suggests that more recent, potentially man‐mediated introduction also took place. While defining nativeness in organisms that are not deliberately introduced, and wherein the fossil record is extremely scarce, is an exceedingly challenging task, our results suggest that population genetic analyses can represent a useful tool to help distinguish native from alien populations.     

Some rare desmids (Zygnematophyceae) from Central Europe

The morphology and taxonomy of eight rare desmids (Zygnematophyceae) from Central Europe are studied, i.e. six taxa from Slovakia [Tortitaenia bahusiensis (Nordstedt et Lütkemüller) Coesel, Closterium limneticum Lemmermann var. fallax R??i?ka, Euastrum sublobatum de Brébisson in Ralfs, morpha, Cosmarium simplicius (W. et G.S. West) Grönblad, Pachyphorium canadense (Irénée-Marie) G. H. Tomaszewicz et Hindák, stat. et comb. nova, Staurastrum bloklandiae Coesel et Joosten], one species from Poland (Spirotaenia bacillaris Lütkemüller) and Austria (Cosmarium geminatum Lundell). All desmids taxa are new records for the country of their origin.     

The genus Cyphophthalmus (Arachnida, Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi) in Europe: a phylogenetic approach to Balkan Peninsula biogeography

In this study, we present phylogenetic data to characterize the relationships among sironids centered in the Balkan region, and use these results to discuss biogeographical aspects of sironid evolution. Analysis of ca. 4.5 kb of sequence data from three nuclear and two mitochondrial genes reveals monophyly of a Balkan clade for which we resurrect the name Cyphophthalmus, considered a junior synonym of Siro for over a century. This clade diversified into several groups, and at least three of them--the duricorius group, the serbicus group, and the minutus group--are well corroborated by the data as monophyletic lineages. The members of the different groups, mostly living in troglobitic environments, have diversified in overlapping geographic regions, with evidence of an eastern origin for the group. Our data also suggest that mitochondrial and nuclear genes are all contributing towards the final resolution of the combined analysis of the data.     

中国蝎目名录(蛛形纲:蝎目)

本文根据我国蝎目种类已有的记述,归纳列出5科9属19种和亚种的学名、引证及其地理分布,以供今后研究参考.     

Two new harvestmen species (Arachnida: Opiliones) from the Caucasus

Two new harvestmen species of the family Phalangiidae, Rilaena caucasica sp. n. and Rilaena silhavyi sp. n. are diagnosed, illustrated, and described from the Caucasus region. Comparative illustration of the related Rilaena anatolica (Roewer, 1956), R. atrolutea (Roewer, 1915) and R. kelbajarica Snegovaya &; Pkhakadze, 2014 Snegovaya, N. Y., &; Pkhakadze, V. D. (2014): New species of the genus Rilaena (Opiliones, Phalangiidae) from the mount Gyamish, Azerbaijan. Vestnik zoologii, 48, 313–318. doi: 10.2478/vzoo-2014-0037[Crossref] , [Google Scholar] are given.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7B29FD94-45A2-4E32-A41E-3276E016410B     

Birds from the Far East in Central Europe: some side-notes to Pfeifer et al. (2007)

The “reverse migration hypothesis” as the explanation for the vagrancy of Far Eastern birds in Europe is commented on. It is concluded that, as the postulated switch of 180° along a great circle line would lead the eastern or even central Siberian birds to North America rather than to Europe, the application of the “reverse migration hypothesis” to them seems untenable (which, however, does not preclude its plausibility in case of transatlantic, southern European, or even southwestern Siberian vagrants). On the other hand, patterns of appearance of the Turdus [naumanni] superspecies (Machalska et al. 1967) suggest the relationship of the phenomenon of vagrancy to post-breeding nomadic movements and/or periodical invasions of non-migrating species.     

中国伪蝎名录（蛛形纲：伪蝎目）

本文根据我国伪蝎目已有种类记述,归纳并列出10科34属73种（包括亚种）伪蝎的中文名、拉丁学名、引证及其地理分布,以供今后研究参考。     

Forest snail faunas from Transylvania (Romania) and their relationship to the faunas of Central and Northern Europe

Forty‐three forest sites in seven sampling areas in mountainous parts of Transylvania were sampled to obtain inventories of their snail faunas, and to make comparisons between these and the faunas of similar sites further north along the Carpathian chain. Sampling areas ran from close to the Ukrainian border in the north to Retezat in the south‐west. Altogether, 83 species were found, as well as between 19 and 40 species at individual sites. Sites within the same sampling area had more species in common than in among‐area comparisons, although differences between areas did not relate to the distance between them. Such differences appear to be related more to ecological factors than to geography. Faunas of all areas were very similar to those recorded from the Polish and Ukrainian Carpathians; distance from these northern faunas had little effect on similarity. More broadly, the fauna of these forests shows a much greater affinity to those of countries to the north than to those of countries to the south. Despite the survival of forests through the last glacial period of the Pleistocene, and the greater proximity to potential Mediterranean refugia, these faunas appear to be mainly a subset of those found further north. They represent a rather small proportion of the known Romanian fauna, in which there are many endemics restricted to other habitats. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 104 , 471–479.     

Central projections of cheliceral mechanoreceptors in the spider Cupiennius salei (Arachnida,Araneae)

Central projections of lyriform organs and tactile hairs on the chelicerae of the wandering spider Cupiennius salei were traced using anterograde cobalt fills. Different fibers arising from both mechanoreceptor types arborize in the cheliceral ganglia, which are part of the tritocerebrum, and in sensory longitudinal tracts in the center of the suboesophageal nerve mass together with afferent fibers arising from mechanoreceptors on the walking legs and the pedipalps. This convergence of sensory projections in the sensory longitudinal tracts might provide the anatomical basis for the coordination of the movements of different extremities during prey capture and feeding. The findings also support the hypothesis that the tritocerebrum originally was a preoral ganglion in spiders. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Feeding activity of a phthiracarid mite (Arachnida: Acari)

The oribatid mite, Phthiracarus sp., feeds by tearing-out material from the spongy mesophyll of decaying spruce needles with a pair of retractile chelicerae. A pair of dentate rutella localize this tearing activity and limit particles to a manageable size. Mastication is achieved by movements of the chelicerae against each other and the rutella, the process being aided by a pair of palps.     

Range expansion of the small spruce bark beetle Ips amitinus: a newcomer in northern Europe

相似文献   

Phylogeny of harvestmen family Gonyleptidae inferred from a multilocus approach (Arachnida: Opiliones)

Gonyleptidae is the second most diverse harvestmen family and the most studied in terms of morphology, behaviour, and ecology. Despite this, few phylogenetic studies have focused on gonyleptids, and those are based on a very limited number of taxa. We addressed this gap by constructing a phylogenetic hypothesis of the family using 101 taxa from all 16 gonyleptid subfamilies and four mitochondrial and nuclear loci (COI, 28S rRNA, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA). These were analysed under parsimony and likelihood optimality criteria (and using direct optimization for the former). Relationships among Gonyleptoidea and within each subfamily of Gonyleptidae were largely congruent between parsimony and maximum‐likelihood approaches. Taxonomic actions from our phylogeny include the following: Tricommatidae, new status, is restored as a family; Metasarcidae, new status, is recognized as a family and considered sister to the Cosmetidae; and Cranainae and Manaosbiinae are suggested as members of Gonyleptidae, restoring Roewer's concept of the family. Within Gonyleptidae, the “K92” group—composed of Sodreaninae, Caelopyginae, Hernandariinae, Progonyleptoidellinae, and Gonyleptinae—forms a clade, although the latter two subfamilies are not monophyletic. The genus Parampheres is here transferred to Caelopyginae, and “Multumbo” dimorphicus to Gonyleptinae. Gonyleptidae is characterized by the presence of a ventral process on the penis glans and a bifid apophysis on the male coxa IV. The long‐legged Mitobatinae can be considered monophyletic only if some short‐legged pachylines are included, or if we assume that elongate legs arose twice independently (in the true mitobatine genera and in Longiperna). Pachylinae, the most diverse gonyleptid subfamily, represents several distinct lineages. We further conclude that the traditional use of a small set of morphological characters in the systematics of Gonyleptidae is unable to explain the complex evolution of the family.     

中国平腹蛛科两新属（蛛形纲：蜘蛛目）

本文记述了平腹蛛科两个新属及隶属于其中的３新种：异狂蛛属,新属Ａｌｌｏｚｅｌｏｔｅｓｇｅｎ．ｎｏｖ．,庐山异狂蛛,新种Ａ．ｌｕｓｈａｎｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,滇池异狂蛛,新种Ａ．ＤＩＡＮＣＨＩＳＯ．ＮＯＶ．,     

Genetic data from the extinct giant rat from Tenerife (Canary Islands) points to a recent divergence from mainland relatives

Evolution of vertebrate endemics in oceanic islands follows a predictable pattern, known as the island rule, according to which gigantism arises in originally small-sized species and dwarfism in large ones. Species of extinct insular giant rodents are known from all over the world. In the Canary Islands, two examples of giant rats, †Canariomys bravoi and †Canariomys tamarani, endemic to Tenerife and Gran Canaria, respectively, disappeared soon after human settlement. The highly derived morphological features of these insular endemic rodents hamper the reconstruction of their evolutionary histories. We have retrieved partial nuclear and mitochondrial data from †C. bravoi and used this information to explore its evolutionary affinities. The resulting dated phylogeny confidently places †C. bravoi within the African grass rat clade (Arvicanthis niloticus). The estimated divergence time, 650 000 years ago (95% higher posterior densities: 373 000–944 000), points toward an island colonization during the Günz–Mindel interglacial stage. †Canariomys bravoi ancestors would have reached the island via passive rafting and then underwent a yearly increase of mean body mass calculated between 0.0015 g and 0.0023 g; this corresponds to fast evolutionary rates (in darwins (d), ranging from 7.09 d to 2.78 d) that are well above those observed for non-insular mammals.     

The breeding biology of the endemic Berthelot's Pipit Anthus berthelotii in a harsh oceanic island environment (Tenerife,Canary Islands)

We describe the density, breeding and foraging ecology of the Berthelot's Pipit (Anthus berthelotii), an endemic passerine to the Atlantic islands, in the semi-arid coastal scrub of Tenerife. Furthermore, we analyse the effects of temperature and rainfall in the onset of reproduction and the behaviour (nest site and foraging site selection). The average density of the Pipit (using DISTANCE methodology) in the semi-arid coastal scrub was 7.1 birds 10ha^?1, and the overall density estimate in grassland was 3.3 birds 10ha^?1. The Pipit bred early (mean average first-egg laying date 12 February) and in response to rainfall (but not temperature). By the Mayfield method, the probability of the nests surviving the egg stage was 0.77 and of and the nests surviving the chick stage 0.67 — assuming an incubation period of 13 days and a chick stage of 12.5 days — based on the European average for the similar-sized Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis. Overall nest survival pooling stages were 0.51. The Pipits had a low clutch size (3.3 eggs, range of 2–4). Nest damage by heavy rainstorms was the major cause of nest failures (three out of five failures). The Pipits nested preferentially in grass with relatively low densities of Euphorbia balsamifera bushes. Birds selected grassy areas as their main foraging site but also preferred to forage on large rocks during nesting: caterpillars were the main food items (14 out of 17 prey captures).     

Birds on novel island environments. A case study with the urban avifauna of Tenerife (Canary Islands)

We analyzed the variation in island bird communities of urban environments related to habitat characteristics, using regression/classification tree analyses. Data from field censuses in cities/towns representing the urban heterogeneity of the whole island were obtained in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). Urban bird abundance in Tenerife was negatively affected by altitude and the cover of dry Euphorbia shrubs and positively influenced by the height and cover of the tree layer. Species richness was negatively associated with building cover and positively related to tree height and altitude. Data from field censuses in Tenerife were compared with that of similar urban environments in the mainland (Madrid Province, central Spain). Species diversity was higher in the urban sample of Tenerife than in that of Madrid and the proportion of bird species from the regional pool captured by urban environments was higher in the island than in the mainland. Nine native species and three alien species were more abundant in island urban environments than in the continent (densities, at least, 100% higher), the converse occurring for only five species. At a biogeographic scale, we conclude that the avifauna of Tenerife Island is more prone to occupy a new artificial environment than the mainland bird fauna of central Spain.