Radiolarians of the family neosciadiocapsidae from the Turonian-Santonian of the Perapedhi Formation,southern Cyprus

Paleontological Journal - Abundant radiolarians of the family Neosciadiocapsidae Pessagno (order Nassellaria) are examined, 11 new species, including Coniforma quasiantiochensis sp. nov.,...     

New species of the family Heliodiscidae Haeckel (radiolaria)

The family Heliodiscidae Haeckel, 1881, which includes five genera, is reviewed. New methods of investigation are applied to the inner structure of Cretaceous spherical radiolarian skeletons, which reveal numerous taxa with an eccentric microsphere. Three new species, Astrophacus marinae sp. nov., Excentrosphaerella kovalenkovi sp. nov., and Excentrosphaerella kurilovi sp. nov., are described. The eccentric position of the microsphere suggests that these forms are nontypical Mesozoic radiolarians or new representatives of the family Heliodiscidae Haeckel, 1881, which was previously recorded in the Cenozoic.     

New radiolaria of the family Prunobrachidae from the uppermost Cretaceous of the eastern Polar Urals

New radiolarian genera and species from Upper Cretaceous siliceous clays of borehole 22 (Polar Urals) are described. The family Prunobrachidae Pessagno, 1975 is reviewed. The new genus Pseudobrachium gen. nov. has a dumbbell skeleton without a patagium and Spinibrachium gen. nov. has apophysis-like spines and a patagium in the central part of the skeleton. Five new species, Spinibrachium amoni, Prunobrachium kozlovae, P. boreale, Pseudobrachium gracile, and P. trilobatum, are described; they are of great importance for paleogeography and stratigraphic correlation of Campanian deposits.     

Late Triassic radiolarians of southern Cyprus

Radiolarians from the Upper Triassic of the allochthonous Mamonia Assemblage of southern Cyprus are considered. The Phasoula Formation, composed of basic volcanics, with lenses and interbeds of micritic limestones and cherts, contains (1) a Lower Norian assemblage with Capnodoce crystallina-Trialatus robustus, which also includes Capnodoce anapetes De Wever, Capnuchosphaera deweveri Kozur et Mostler, C. theloides De Wever, Deflandrecyrtium curvatum Kozur et Mostler, Icrioma cruciformis Tekin, Kahlerosphaera norica Kozur et Mock, Kinyrosphaera helicata Bragin, Mostlericyrtium sitepesiformis Tekin, Palaeosaturnalis latiannulatus Kozur et Mostler, Spongostylus tortilis Kozur et Mostler, Xiphotheca rugosa Bragin, and Zhamojdasphaera proceruspinosa Lahm; (2) a Middle Norian assemblage with Capnodoce sarisa accompanied by Loffa mulleri Pessagno, Nabolella trispinosa Bragin, and Praexehasaturnalis tenuispinosus (Donofrio et Mostler); and (3) an Upper Norian assemblage with Livarella densiporata-Lysemelas olbia accompanied by Pentactinocarpus sevaticus Kozur et Mostler, Praemesosaturnalis multidentatus (Kozur et Mostler), and others. This assemblage also occurs in clastic turbidites of the Vlambouros Formation. In the sections of southern Cyprus, radiolarian zones are recognized that correspond to the zones previously established in the Far East of Russia, which include Capnodoce crystallina (Lower and Middle Norian) and Lysemelas olbia (lower part of the Upper Norian). Radiolarians belonging to three orders, 24 families, 59 genera, and 101 species are described; of them 2 genera, 9 species, and 1 subspecies were previously described by the author; 14 new species and 1 new subspecies are established. The diagnoses of many genera and species are emended, the stratigraphic and geographical ranges of the majority of taxa are substantially expanded.     

New trematode genera from fishes of the southern Atlantic

Two new genera of the lepocreadiid trematodes, Gibsonia gen. n., (type species--G. hastata sp. n.) from Macrourus carinatus Günther, 1878 (Macrouridae), collected in the Falkland Islands area, and Muraenolepitrema gen. n. (type species--M. magnatestis sp. n.) from Muraenolepis microps L?nnberg, 1905 (Muraenolepidae), collected in the South Georgia Island area, are described. Gibsonia gen. n. differs from all known genera of the family Lepocreadiidae by unusual body shape divided into 2 parts, suctorial formations, great number of glandular cells and a muscular bulge of the body sides; it differs from the closely related genus Lepidapedon by separate genital pores. Muraenolepitrema gen. n. differs from Myzoxenus by bursa shape, separate genital pores, lobed shape of genital organs.     

New taxa of Asteraceae from southern Mexico

Fieldwork in connection with the project to document the flora of the Mixteca Alta region, northwestern Oaxaca, Mexico, has resulted in the discovery of the following taxa: Verbesina calzadae and Viguiera grammatoglossa var. huajuapana (Heliantheae); Sinclairia manriquei (Liabeae); and Psacalium schillingii (Senecioneae).     

Partial adenosine deaminase deficiency: another family from southern Africa

Summary Adenosine deaminase (ADA) from a partially ADA-deficient Xhosa man has been characterized. This is only the second such case described in southern Africa, the previous one being a Kalahari San (Bushman). Red blood cell ADA levels were found to be only 6–9% of normal whereas his white cell ADA levels were much higher at 30% of normal. The stability of the enzyme at 57°C was shown to be greatly decreased indicating a mutation resulting in an enzyme with decreased stability in vivo. The Michaelis constant (K_m) for adenosine was found to be normal. Deoxy-ATP levels in the red cells were elevated 2- to 3-times above normal, although this appears to be of no immunological consequence. Starch gel electrophoresis of red cell ADA from family members of the index case, in conjunction with red cell ADA activity levels, suggested that both parents carried a gene for partial ADA deficiency. Isoelectric focusing studies suggested that the two parental partial ADA-deficiency genes were not the same. Electrophoretic studies also revealed that another rare allele of ADA, possibly ADA*5, was segregating within the same family although this event appears to be unconnected with the ADA partial deficiency. A Xhosa population sample was assayed for red cell ADA activity. The results suggested a frequency of 0.015 ± 0.010 for ADA partial-deficiency alleles, although the number of different alleles involved is not known.     

Agglutinated conical foraminifera from the Lower-Middle Eocene of the Trentinara Formation (southern Italy)

Five taxa of agglutinated conical foraminifera were recorded for the first time in the Trentinara Formation, and two of them are new. Barattolites trentinarensis n. gen. n. sp. shows high conical shape, an eccentric proloculus, trochospiral early chambers, two orders of radial subepidermal partitions and columnar pillars. It is recorded in the Ypresian of Panno Bianco Mt. (Calabria) and in the Ypresian-Lower Lutetian of Serra Pastorella (Basilicata). Pseudochrysalidina (?) variospira n. sp. shows a high conical test, a trochospiral juvenile growth stage, a megalosphere in apical position, and low pillars and chambers in the adult stage. It is known in the Ypresian of Serra Pastorella. Agglutinated conical foraminifera fill the late Lower to early Middle Eocene gap in their Paleogene record. Their very intermittent record is due to their extremely narrow ecological range.     

Amphibian swimming traces from the Lower Permian of southern New Mexico

Fossilised traces of swimming amphibians, assigned to Batrachichnus delicatulus and Serpentichnus robledoensis igen. et isp. nov., are described from the Lower Permian of the Robledo Mountains, southern New Mexico. The B. delicatulus specimen is interpreted as a trackway of a small 'amphibian' (temnospondyl, nectridean, microsaur or juvenile embolomere) swimming straight ahead. S. robledoensis consists of repeated pes imprints separated by discontinuous, L-shaped imprints (body traces). It is interpreted as a trackway of an 'amphibian' swimming in a similar manner to the motion of a side-winding snake. The producer of S. robledoensis is more distinctive than in B. delicatulus , and is suggestive of the lysorophian Brachydectes . This is the first locomotory trace to be assigned to this 'amphibian' group.     

New neutral diterpenes from southern pine tall oil

Five new diterpene natural products isolated from southern pine (Pinus spp.) tall oil were characterized as 8(14),15-pimaradiene-3β,18-diol, 19-hydroxy-15,16-dinorlabd-8(17)-en-13-one, 8,13β-epoxy-14-labden-6α-ol, 8,11, 13-abietatriene-15,18-diol and 9,10-secoabieta-8,11,13-trien-18,10-olide.     

Formation of the Arabidopsis pentatricopeptide repeat family

In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) the 466 pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins are putative RNA-binding proteins with essential roles in organelles. Roughly half of the PPR proteins form the plant combinatorial and modular protein (PCMP) subfamily, which is land-plant specific. PCMPs exhibit a large and variable tandem repeat of a standard pattern of three PPR variant motifs. The association or not of this repeat with three non-PPR motifs at their C terminus defines four distinct classes of PCMPs. The highly structured arrangement of these motifs and the similar repartition of these arrangements in the four classes suggest precise relationships between motif organization and substrate specificity. This study is an attempt to reconstruct an evolutionary scenario of the PCMP family. We developed an innovative approach based on comparisons of the proteins at two levels: namely the succession of motifs along the protein and the amino acid sequence of the motifs. It enabled us to infer evolutionary relationships between proteins as well as between the inter- and intraprotein repeats. First, we observed a polarized elongation of the repeat from the C terminus toward the N-terminal region, suggesting local recombinations of motifs. Second, the most N-terminal PPR triple motif proved to evolve under different constraints than the remaining repeat. Altogether, the evidence indicates different evolution for the PPR region and the C-terminal one in PCMPs, which points to distinct functions for these regions. Moreover, local sequence homogeneity observed across PCMP classes may be due to interclass shuffling of motifs, or to deletions/insertions of non-PPR motifs at the C terminus.     

Eudrilinae from southern Nigeria and a taximetric appraisal of the family Eudrilidae (Oligochaeta)

A small collection of Eudrilid earthworms from Nigeria is reported. Two species proved to be of special interest, the first, lagosensis Beddard, is usually placed in the genus Hyperio-drilus and the second is new to science. Their affinities and the uncertainties about the classification of the Eudrilidae are discussed. These problems led into a taximetric study of the family. It is concluded that on the basis of the accepted generic criteria, the subfamilies (Eudrilinae and Pareudrilinae) are phenetically valid and the Eudrilinae may be subdivided according to whether species have paired or single male and spermathecal pores. Further, the two species whose doubtful status prompted the investigation, may each be placed in a separate genus. The new species is accommodated in a new genus, described herein, while Heliodrilus Beddard is resurrected for lagosensis which is the type-species. Additionally, a new interpretation is provided of the structure and function of the posterior male organs of Hippopera nigeriae Taylor.     

New skull of Lesothosaurus (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Upper Elliot Formation (Lower Jurassic) of southern Africa

A new ornithischian skull from the Elliot Formation of southern Africa is described. The specimen is compared in detail with the fabrosaurid Lesothosaurus diagnosticus. It actually shares many characters with specimens of the syntypes of this species or specimens referred to it. It is nevertheless not identical to any of these specimens and it is, moreover, remarkably larger than them. The possibility of attributing this specimen to a so far undescribed ‘large fabrosaur’ from the same formation is discussed. It is concluded that the specimen in question in this paper, while being ascribable to the genus Lesothosaurus, cannot be determined to a specific level until the existence of two fabrosaurid species in the ‘Stormberg Group’ is demonstrated and their range of morphological and size variation is properly appraised.     

New aerobic methyltrophic isolates from the Soda lakes of the southern Transbaikal]

Twenty-one bacterial associations isolated from the soda lakes of the southern Transbaikal region were found to be able to actively grow at pH 9-10 on methanol as the source of carbon and energy. Two alkalitolerant facultatively methylotrophic strains, Bur 3 and Bur 5, were obtained in pure cultures. Both strains represent gram-negative, nonmotile, bean-shaped, encapsulated cells that reproduce by binary fission. The strains are able to grow at temperatures ranging from 6 to 42 degrees C, with an optimum growth temperature of 25-29 degrees C (strain Bur 3) and 35-37 degrees C (strain Bur 5) and at pH between 6.5 and 9.5, with an optimum pH value of 8.0-8.5. At pH 9.0, strain Bur 3 exhibits an increased content of phosphatidylglycerol and a decreased content of phosphatidylethanolamine. Strains Bur 3 and Bur 5 are similar in the G + C content of their DNAs (66.2 and 65.5 mol %, respectively) and in the type of the dominant ubiquinone (Q10). Unlike Bur 5, strain Bur 3 is able to grow autotrophically in an atmosphere of CO2 + O2 + H2. The strains oxidize, by the respective dehydrogenases, methanol to CO2, which is assimilated via the ribulose bisphosphate pathway. Ammonium ions are assimilated in the glutamate cycle and by the reductive amination of alpha-ketoglutarate. The strains are highly homologous to each other (92%) and are much less homologous (at a level of 28-35%) to representatives of the genus Ancylobacter, A. aquaticus ATCC 25396T and A. vacuolatum DSM 1277. Based on the results obtained, both strains are assigned to a new species, Ancylobacter natronum sp. nov.     

Hematozoa of raptors from southern New Jersey and adjacent areas

Blood smears from 259 birds of 12 species, representing four families of raptors, from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia were examined for blood parasites. Infected birds constituted 59.1% of the total. Birds were infected with one or more of the following genera of protozoa: Leucocytozoon (43.2%); Haemoproteus (21.6%); Plasmodium (1.2%); and Trypanosoma (1.2%). Blood culture of 142 raptors of 11 species for Trypanosoma revealed a prevalence of 41.5%. Plasmodium circumflexum is reported for the first time in Accipiter striatus, and Trypanosoma sp. in Buteo jamaicensis.     

New species of Eschweilera (Lecythidaceae) from southern Brazil

Eschweilera tetrapetala Mori andE. alvimii Mori are described and compared withE. compressa (Vellozo) Miers, the only other species of this genus known to have four petals. It is concluded that this small group of species probably evolved from a common ancestor whose range was fragmented by climatic and vegetational changes in the Pleistocene. The distributions ofE. compressa andE. alvimii support the hypothesis that moist forest refuges existed around Rio de Janeiro and southern Bahia/northern Espírito Santo throughout the Pleistocene.     

Paleoanthropology of the Kibish Formation, southern Ethiopia: Introduction

Cranial and skeletal remains of modern humans, Homo sapiens, were discovered in the Kibish Formation in 1967 by a team from the Kenya National Museums directed by Richard Leakey. Omo I, from Kamoya's Hominid Site (KHS), consists of much of a skeleton, including most of the cranial vault, parts of the face and mandible, and many postcranial elements. Omo II, from Paul's Hominid Site (PHS), is a virtually complete calvaria. Only a limited fauna and a few stone artifacts attributed to the Middle Stone Age were recovered in conjunction with the fossil hominids. The available dating techniques suggested a very early age, over 100 ka, for Member I, from which the Omo I and Omo II fossils were recovered. However, in subsequent decades, the reliability of the dates and the provenance of the Kibish hominids were repeatedly questioned. The papers in this volume provide a detailed stratigraphic analysis of the Kibish Formation and a series of new radiometric dates that indicate an age of 196 +/- 2 ka for Member I and 104 +/- 1 for Member III, confirming the antiquity of the lower parts of the Kibish Formation and, in turn, the fossils from Member I. Studies of the postcranial remains of Omo I indicate an overall modern human morphology with a number of primitive features. Studies of an extensive lithic record from Members I and III indicate a Middle Stone Age technology comparable to assemblages of similar age elsewhere in Ethiopia. Studies of the mammalian, avian, and fish faunas indicate overall similarities to those found in the region today, with a few distinctive differences.