New bryozoans from the Devonian of Afghanistan and the Carboniferous of Iran

A new family, Vidronovellidae, with a new genus, Vidronovella, and its type species V. fastigata sp. nov., and a new species, Europora gerirudensis, are described from the Famennian of Afghanistan, and the new species Primorella iranica, Heloclema magnificum, and Worthenopora elbursensis are described from the Viséan of Iran.     

Produits neutres et alcaloides de Myrtopsis macrocarpa,M. myrtoidea,M. novae-caledoniae et M. sellingii

Stems and leaves of Myrtopsis macrocarpa, M. myrtoidea, M. novae-caledoniae and M. sellingii yielded terpenes, sterols, coumarins, alkaloids (furoquinolines and quinolones) and amides. A new quinolone (8-methoxy flindersine) occurs in Myrtopsis macrocarpa, a new amide (N-benzoyltryptamine) in M. myrtoidea, two new coumarins (myrsellin and myrsellinol) and a new dihydrofuroquinoline (myrtopsine) in M. sellingii. Structures of the new compounds are proposed from chemical and spectroscopic evidence.     

New Early Jurassic brachiopods from the Western Tethys (Eastern Subbetic, Spain) and their systematic and paleobiogeographic affinities

Two new brachiopod genera (Alebusirhynchia and Praesphaeroidothyris), five new species (Alebusirhynchia jorali, Salgirella? goicoecheai, Praesphaeroidothyris cisnerosi, Lychnothyris lancisi, and Cincta peiroi) and a new combination (Securina plicata) have been recorded and established after the internal and external morphological study of populations attributed to Lower Jurassic carbonate successions of the South-Iberian Paleomargin (SE Spain). The analysis made enables us to detail the diagnostic characters of little-known genera such as Lychnothyris or Securina and to clarify the systematics of the group from new supraspecific definitions, establishing a new, strongly multicostate rhynchonellid genus (Alebusirhynchia) and a new smooth terebratulid genus (Praesphaeroidothyris). The palaeobiogeographic signature of these taxa has been analysed, revealing remarkable Mediterranean affinities. Thus, the previously restricted geographical distribution of these faunas can be extended to the westernmost Tethys areas, where the maximum degree of endemism is established for the brachiopod groups in the Subbetic domain around the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian transition.     

Découverte de nouveaux rongeurs dans la formation Miocène de Bou Hanifia (Algérie occidentale)

A new rodent level has been discovered in the Bou Hanifia formation, well known for its Hipparion and Progonomys levels. The importance of this new locality lies in the presence of a new rodent, Senoussimys hanifiae nov. gen., nov. sp., Dendromuridae, the oldest representative of this group in North West Africa and of a new species of Zramys, Zramys gueltae probable descent of Zramys dubiusJaeger, from the oldest BH.II level.     

Festucion carpaticae alliancia nova—a new alliance of tall grasslands in the high Carpathian Mountains

For tall grasslands of Carpathian avalanche troughs with dominantFestuca carpatica (orPoa nemoralis subsp.montana) a new alliance ofFestucion carpaticae has been established. AssociationFestucetum carpaticae Domin 1925 has been introduced into the alliance, with some new localities supported by phytocenological relevés. A new subass.senecietosum nemorensis was described from a forest zone. The plant community with dominantFestuca carpatica of the Roumanian Carpathian Mts. has been separated into a new associationSeslerio rigidae-Festucetum carpaticae and further, a new association of the same areaSaxifrago heucherifolii-Poetum montanae is described. Synmorfological, synecological, syntaxonomical and synchorological characteristics of the associations are mentioned.     

Malvaceous miscellany,including new species from Mexico and Brazil

Preliminary studies toward a treatment of the Malvaceae of Mexico have led to the discovery of four new taxa ofAbutilon and two new combinations inAllowissadula. In addition, a new Brazilian species ofPavonia is described.     

Dinoflagellate cysts,Acritarchs and Tasmanitids from the uppermost Callovian of England and Scotland: With a reconsideration of the “xanthidium pilosum” problem

Four assemblages of fossil organic-walled microphytoplankton from the Upper Callovian (Lamberti Zone), three from England and one from Scotland, are described. They comprise at least 50 species of dinoflagellate cysts, 18 species of acritarchs and 2 species of tasmanitids. After a review of the «Xanthidium pilosum problem, a revised diagnosis is proposed for Sentusidinium pilosum (Ehrenberg) and three new species, Sentusidinium creberbarbatum, S. sparsibarbatum and S. erythrocomum are proposed. The new family name Scriniodiniaceae is substituted for the now invalid family name Endoscriniaceae. The new genus Escharisphaeridia is proposed to contain two existing species, E. pococki (Sarjeant) and E. dictydia (Sarjeant). The present content of the genus Compositosphaeridium is examined; the new combination C. polonicum (Górka) is proposed and a new species, C. bulgaricum, is erected. One further new species of dinoflagellate cyst, Prolixosphaeridium anasillum, is proposed. The new term «peniplate is proposed for paraplates whose boundaries are penitabular in situation.One new species of acritarch, Solisphaeridium?rhachos, is described and the new combination Polygonium aster (Sarjeant) is proposed. Evidence for reworking of some of the species of Micrhystridium present in the Hackness Rock assemblage is noted, though it is considered that the majority of species in that assemblage are indigenous. It is considered that all four assemblages are derived from a single phytoplankton province, the differences between them resulting from environmental factors such as water depth or distance from a shoreline.     

The brachiopod family Linoproductidae stehli from the lower Moscovian of the Middle Carboniferous of the Moscow Region

The phylogeny and taxonomy of the brachiopod family Linoproductidae are revised. The change in the distributional pattern of spines and distinctive structure of the median lobe of the cardinal process are shown to be the main apomorphies in the family evolution. A new subfamily, Linispininae, and the included new genera, Linispinella and Linispinus, are described. In the nominotypical subfamily Linoproductinae, a new genus Linoproductoides and two new species included in this genus are described from the Vereiskian deposits of the Moscow Region. The new species Linispinus riparius (Trautschold), L. longus sp. nov., and L. staricensis (Ivanov) are described from the Kashirskian deposits. Another new species is tentatively described as “Linoproductus” kabanovi.     

A specialized new species of Ashicaulis (Osmundaceae,Filicales) from the Jurassic of Liaoning,NE China

A new species of structurally preserved fern rhizome, Ashicaulis plumites (Osmundaceae, Filicales), is described from the Middle Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation in western Liaoning Province, NE China. The new species is characterized by a peculiar sclerenchyma mass in the petiolar vascular bundle concavity. This sclerenchyma mass varies from a linear-shape to a mushroom-like shape with a remarkable outward protuberance, which distinguishes the present new species from other Ashicaulis species. Such a protuberance is very rare among osmundaceous ferns, and should represent a unique type for sclerenchymatous tissue in the osmundaceous vascular bundle concavity. Recognition of the peculiar structure of this new fossil species enriches anatomical diversity of permineralized osmundaceous ferns, indicating that the family Osmundaceae might have experienced a remarkable diversification during the Middle Jurassic in NE China. The new species show anatomical similarities to Osmunda pluma Miller from the Palaeocene of North America. The occurrence of A. plumites in the Middle Jurassic of China provides a new clue for understanding the evolution of some members of the living subgenus Osmunda.     

Does Sleep Improve Your Grammar? Preferential Consolidation of Arbitrary Components of New Linguistic Knowledge

We examined the role of sleep-related memory consolidation processes in learning new form-meaning mappings. Specifically, we examined a Complementary Learning Systems account, which implies that sleep-related consolidation should be more beneficial for new hippocampally dependent arbitrary mappings (e.g. new vocabulary items) relative to new systematic mappings (e.g. grammatical regularities), which can be better encoded neocortically. The hypothesis was tested using a novel language with an artificial grammatical gender system. Stem-referent mappings implemented arbitrary aspects of the new language, and determiner/suffix+natural gender mappings implemented systematic aspects (e.g. tib scoiffesh + ballerina, tib mofeem + bride; ked jorool + cowboy, ked heefaff + priest). Importantly, the determiner-gender and the suffix-gender mappings varied in complexity and salience, thus providing a range of opportunities to detect beneficial effects of sleep for this type of mapping. Participants were trained on the new language using a word-picture matching task, and were tested after a 2-hour delay which included sleep or wakefulness. Participants in the sleep group outperformed participants in the wake group on tests assessing memory for the arbitrary aspects of the new mappings (individual vocabulary items), whereas we saw no evidence of a sleep benefit in any of the tests assessing memory for the systematic aspects of the new mappings: Participants in both groups extracted the salient determiner-natural gender mapping, but not the more complex suffix-natural gender mapping. The data support the predictions of the complementary systems account and highlight the importance of the arbitrariness/systematicity dimension in the consolidation process for declarative memories.     

Novel method for determination of phenol degradation kinetics

In this study, we proposed a new method for estimating biokinetic parameters in phenol degradation kinetics. The new method relies on the new formulation of q–S relation where degradation rate q is calculated from the changes of substrate concentration S for each time segment during the course of entire degradation, while in the conventional method q is obtained from the slope of the straight line that is given as substrate concentration changes with time in a semi-logarithmic scale. Thus, this new method provided more data points than the conventional method. The q–S relations obtained from the new method and the conventional method were fitted with three inhibitory kinetic models of Haldane, Yano and Edwards. Simulation of degradation profile with each kinetic model and comparison with the observed profile revealed that the new method offered a better prediction with Edwards model as the best inhibitory model.     

Arberella (Poaceae: Bambusoideae): A new genus from tropical America

Arberella, a new genus of bambusoid grasses, is established, based on the newly described species,A. dressiert. Also belonging to this new genus are the taxa originally namedOlyra flaccida andRaddia costa-ricensis and several new species from Panama and Brazil which will be described later. The new genus is presented in a key to the genera of the tribe Olyreae, of which it is a member, and a key is given to the three species treated in this paper.     

Early Tithonian entactinarian Radiolaria from the Solnhofen area (southern Germany). Part I

The article describes part of the Entactinaria radiolarians from a very rich and well-preserved radiolarian assemblage extracted from a lower Tithonian sample (Mue 22) collected from the Mühlheim Member of the Mörnsheim Formation of southern Germany. With a single exception (genus Odoghertites nov. gen.), all other Entactinaria described are of primitive type, that is their initial spicules are not differentiated into an apical and a basal group and are not connected by arches to form a heteropolar “microsphere”. They have been assigned to five families, four of which are new (Isometractiniidae, Triumbraculidae, Hollandocachoniidae, Odoghertitidae), 10 new genera (Isometractinia, Triumbraculum, Tardentactinia, Lententactinia, Hollandocachonia, Sphaerentofurca, Stylentofurca, Zuegelifurca, Spongentofurca, Odoghertites), and 19 new species. One of the new species comes from the lower Bajocian of Oregon. A new skeletal structural term, support structure, is introduced as a special type of connection between the primary spines and the macrosphere or cortical shell.     

A dinocyst assemblage from the middle member (lower Kimmeridgian—Tithonian) of the Jhuran formation,Kachchh, India

Twenty seven species of dinocysts belonging to seventeen genera are described and illustrated from the Middle Member of the Jhuran Formation in Kachchh, Western India. Among them, two new genera, nine new species and one new variety are introduced. The genera are Indodinium and Indosphaera and the new species are Escharisphaeridia psilata, Indodinium khariensís, Indosphaera bhujensis, Mendicodinium granulatum, M. microreticulatum, Nannoceratopsis radiatus, Parvocavatus scabratus, Sentusidinium hexagonalis and Scriniocassis downiei. The new variety is Gonyaulacysta jurassica subsp. jurassica var. quadrata. The dinocyst type A is also a new dinocyst, but at present no formal name is given to it, because only one specimen has been observed. Geiselodinium inaffectum is emended to include significantly larger size specimens.     

A new genus of soft coral (Cnidaria,Octocorallia) from the Republic of Congo (Pointe-Noire Region)

A new genus of soft coral from the Republic of Congo is described, Complexum gen. n. Nine West African octocoral species previously described in the genus Alcyonium by Tixier-Durivault (1955) are referred to this new genus, and a new species is described and figured, Complexum pusillum sp. n. The new species is characterized by having encrusting growth form and abundant spiny clubs in the surface of the polyparium. It colonizes shallow calcareous rocky banks (5 to 20 m depth) existing in coastal water of the region of Pointe-Noire. Based on molecular phylogeny this new genus is well separated from Alcyonium species.     

New radiolaria of the family Pseudodictyomitridae from the Coniacian-Santonian of the Perapedhi Formation of southern Cyprus

A new genus of Late Cretaceous radiolarians, Cyprodictyomitra gen. nov., comprising two new species, C. longa sp. nov., C. elegantissima sp. nov., and a new species, Pseudodictyomitra crassa sp. nov. are described. These new taxa come from rich Coniacian-Santonian radiolarian associations of the Perapedhi Formation of Southern Cyprus.     

Hispaniolan Hemilophini (Coleoptera,Cerambycidae, Lamiinae)

The Tribe Hemilophini (Lamiinae) is reviewed for Hispaniola and an identification key is provided. Fifteen species are now known from the island, including one new species of Adesmus (Adesmus fortunei from Pedernales and La Vega Provinces, Dominican Republic), one new species of Oedudes (Oedudes anulatus from Peravia and La Vega Provinces, Dominican Republic), and five new species of Calocosmus (Calocosmus contortus from San Cristóbal Province, Calocosmus punctatus from Peravia Province, Calocosmus rawlinsi from Elías Piña Province, Calocosmus robustus from La Vega Province, and Calocosmus thonalmus from La Altagracia Province, all in the Dominican Republic). Oedudes and Adesmus are new island and country records for Hispaniola and Dominican Republic, respectively. Calocosmus holosericeus Gahan is a new synonym of Calocosmus janus Bates. In addition to the new species, five new country records and four new island records are presented for Calocosmus.     

Neue phloroglucin-derivate aus Leontonyx-arten sowie weitere verbindungen aus vertretern der tribus inuleae

The investigation of several South African species of the tribe Inuleae afforded in addition to known compounds 16 new constituents. From Leontonyx a group of 9 new phloroglucinol derivatives, from Stoebe species two new p-hydroxyacetophenone, two thymol and two coumaric acid derivatives and from Relhania a new euparine-derivative were isolated. The structures are elucidated mainly by spectroscopic methods. The chemotaxonomic aspects are discussed briefly. The phloroglucinol derivatives, which in part are derived from geraniol, seem to be especially characteristic.     

New materials of Chalicotherium brevirostris (Perissodactyla,Chalicotheriidae) from the Tunggur Formation,Inner Mongolia

Chalicotherium brevirostris was named by Colbert based on a skull lacking mandibles from the late Middle Miocene Tunggur Formation, Tunggur, Inner Mongolia, China. Here we describe new mandibular materials collected from the same area. In contrast to previous expectations, the new mandibular materials show a long snout, long diastema, a three lower incisors and a canine. C. brevirostris shows some sexual dimorphism and intraspecific variation in morphologic characters. The new materials differ from previously described C. cf. brevirostris from Cixian County (Hebei Province) and the Tsaidam Basin, which may represent a different, new species close to C. brevirostris. The diagnosis of C. brevirostris is revised.