Description and ontogeny of young Stolephorus baganensis and Thryssa kammalensis, two Engraulididae from Peninsular Malaysia

The morphology of the digestive system was useful to distinguish the larvae of Stolephorus baganensis and Thryssa kammalensis before the full development of their dorsal and anal fins. The relative positions of these fins, the length of the anal fin, and body depth, were good criteria for identifying individuals >10·0 mm L _S. For both species, the relative growth of the ten morphometric characters studied was best explained by linear piecewise regressions indicating inflection in allometry at specific standard lengths. Most of these sudden changes in growth rate occurred between 6·9 and 10·0 mm L S for S. baganensis and between 5·8 and 8·9 mm L S for T. kammalensis . Double-centred principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed important changes in the external morphology of both species during this transition period. Prior to this period, the main parameters characterizing the global morphological changes of both species were the length and position of dorsal and anal fins whereas they were body depth and eye diameter (only in S. baganensis ) for larger specimens. Complete development of scales did not appear as a suitable criterion to define the end of the larval period, which, instead, was set at the size at which larvae presented an adult-like pigmentation (respectively 35·0 mm L S and 55·0 mm L S in S. baganensis and T. kammalensis ).     

Preparation and purification of an immunoregulatory peptide from Stolephorus chinensis of the East Sea of China

Immunomodulatory peptides derived from marine organisms are potential sources of new immunomodulating drugs. This study aimed to investigate the optimal enzymatic hydrolysis conditions of immunoregulatory peptides from Stolephorus chinensis. The relative proliferation rate (RPR) of RAW264.7 macrophages was set as the screening index. The immunoregulatory peptides from S. chinensis was prepared via process optimization, ultrafiltration, ion-exchange chromatography, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HLPC). The amino acid sequence of the immunoregulatory peptide from S. chinensis (IPSC) was identified to be Tyr-Val-Met-Arg-Phe (YVMRF; MW 715.4 Da) using Edman degradation and mass spectrometry. In addition, the macrophages became larger with more pseudopods after IPSC treatment, indictating that IPSC stimulated RAW 264.7 differentiation. IPSC also increased productions of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Our results provide a theoretical basis for preparing immunomodulatory functional food from S. chinensis in future.     

A new anchovy, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stolephorus teguhi</Emphasis> (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae), from North Sulawesi,Indonesia

Stolephorus teguhi sp. nov. is described from the holotype and 14 paratypes, 49–77 mm in standard length, collected from North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The species is characterized by having numerous gill rakers (31–35 + 41–46 = 72–82) and a short upper jaw, its posterior tip reaching to or extending slightly beyond the anterior margin of the preopercle. Stolephorus pacificus and S. multibranchus also have relatively numerous gill rakers for species of this genus (21–27 + 29–36 = 53–61 and 21–28 + 30–35 = 54–60, respectively), but counts for S. teguhi exceed those for the two species. Although S. advenus also has a short upper jaw similar to that of S. teguhi, the former has far fewer gill rakers (19 + 24 = 43) than the latter.     

Development of eggs and larvae of Stolephorus commersonnii and taxonomic key to fish eggs of the Clupeidae and Engraulidae off China

Fish eggs of successive stages of embryonic development, which were identified as belonging to specimens of Commerson's anchovy Stolephorus commersonnii through comparative molecular techniques, were collected from Leqing Bay, Zhejiang, China. Some eggs were reared artificially to obtain samples of successive developmental stages of larvae. The fertilized eggs of S. commersonnii are ellipsoidal and non-adhesive. The surface of the egg membrane is smooth and the perivitelline space is narrow. There is a single oil globule in the irregularly segmented yolk. Newly hatched larvae are transparent and devoid of pigments. Development of the larvae occurs in the following sequence: 8?h after hatching, the anus unfolds; 12?h after hatching, the pectoral fins emerge; 24?h after hatching, the liver and branchial arches emerge, and the alimentary canal differentiates into the oesophagus and intestinal canal; 30?h after hatching, the eyes become pigmented; 36?h after hatching, the upper and lower jaws become distinct; 42?h after hatching, the stellate melanophores emerge; 72?h after hatching, the postlarval developmental stage begins with the emergence of the dorsal fin. Based on the morphology of eggs and larvae of S. commersonnii, a taxonomic key to fish eggs of the Clupeidae and Engraulidae off China is established to provide an efficient and convenient way to identify the egg specimens. The fish eggs of the Clupeidae and Engraulidae off China could be identified to some extent by the buoyancy, shape and diameter of eggs, the number of layers in the egg membrane, the size of the perivitelline space, the number and diameters of oil globules, and the distribution of pigments. Meanwhile, their prelarvae could be identified by the number and diameters of oil globules, the distribution of pigments, the location of the anus and the number of myomeres.     

Plagiorhynchus (Prosthorhynchus) cylindraceus (Goeze, 1782) Schmidt and Kuntz, 1966, from the Australian bandicoots, Perameles gunnii Gray 1838, and Isoodon obesulus (Shaw, 1797)

Plagiorhynchus (Prosthorhynchus) cylindraceus (Goeze, 1782) Schmidt and Kuntz, 1966, usually parasitic in passerine birds, is here reported to be found encysted in the peritoneum of the bandicoot Isoodon obesulus from Tasmania. Specimens recovered from the bandicoot Perameles gunnii, also collected from Tasmania, are the first reported from the intestine of a mammal. The origin of P. cylindraceus infection in Australian hosts is discussed.     

Tonnacypris glacialis (Ostracoda, Cyprididae): taxonomic position, (palaeo-) ecology, and zoogeography

Abstract. The freshwater ostracod Tonnacypris glacialis (Sars, 1890) is reported from the European Pleistocene for the first time. The historical allocation of the species is discussed, and the species composition and characteristics of Tonnacypris Diebel & Pietrzeniuk (1975) and its phylozoogeography are considered. The significance of T. glacialis is reviewed, particularly from the viewpoint of the possible implications of parthenogenesis (and occasional-male production) for the Quaternary history of the genus, and for the use of the species in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. It is suggested that the Pleistocene fossil occurrence of T. glacialis in modern temperature latitudes is a robust indicator of mean summer temperatures of 6°C.     

On the taxonomy and biogeography of Potamon atkinsonianum (Wood-Mason, 1871) and Potamon (Potamon) emphysetum (Alcock, 1909)

The Himalayas are known to be a geologically young and dynamic mountain range hosting an endemic flora and fauna. To date, for freshwater crabs, one endemic subgenus within the genus Potamon, Potamon (Himalayapotamon) Pretzmann, 1966, has been described from the Himalayas. This subgenus includes two species, Potamon atkinsonianum (Wood-Mason, 1871) and Potamon emphysetum (Alcock, 1909). The taxonomic position of these two species is reconsidered. The subgenus Himalayapotamon is raised to generic level and its systematic and zoogeographic position is discussed. Based mainly on the morphology of the male copulatory system, Himalayapotamon belongs to the family Potamidae. It is more related to the Eurasian genus Potamon Savigny, and is distinct from the South-East Asian genus Potamiscus as well as from the Indian freshwater crabs of the family Gecarcinucidae. Zoogeographically Himalayapotamon appears to be an endemic genus related to Potamon, both genera presumably being isolated during the Miocene when the Gangetic waters were separated from the western Eurasian river systems. Further speciation occurred during glacial periods.     

Respiration of Orchomene plebs (Hurley, 1965) and Waldeckia obesa (Chevreux, 1905) from Admiralty Bay (South Shetlands Islands,Antarctic)

Metabolism of Orchomene plebs from Admirably Bay is higher than that of Waldeckia obesa, and similar to that of P. plebs from McMurdo Sound. The range of variation in respiration is highest below freezing which means that these are optimum temperatures for the Amphipoda species under study.     

Morphogenesis of the Genital Ducts and Spermathecae in Clitellio arenarius, Heterochaeta costata, Tubificoides benedii (Tubificidae) and Stylaria lacustris (Naididae) (Annelida, Oligochaeta)

The development of the male genital ducts in Clitellio arenarius, Tubificoides benedii, Heterochaeta costata (Tubificidae) and Stylaria lacustris (Naididae) is studied with the purpose of investigating the homologies between different parts of the ducts. In both Tubificidae and Naididae, the male duct comprises a funnel, a vas deferens and an atrium. There may also be a prostate gland (diffuse or compact) in association with the duct. The funnel and vas deferens, in all four species, originate from the peritoneal (mesodermal) cells in the posterior septa in the testes segment, whereas the atrium develops from an epidermal (ectodermal) invagination. The prostate glands have different origins in different taxa; in S. lacustris it differentiates from the peritoneal (mesodermal) cells surrounding the atrium, but in H. costata and T. benedii it develops by a multiplication of the atrial (ectodermal) cells; C. arenarius lacks a prostate gland. The development of the spermathecae and the female duct is also studied. The spermatheca is an epidermal invagination. The female duct is of mesodermal origin. However, the position of the duct differs; in S. lacustris the female duct is lateral and the pore is in the ovarian segment, while in the tubificids studied the duct is ventral with the pore in the segment behind the one containing the ovary.     

Lecithostaphylus retroflexus (Molin, 1859) (Zoogonidae) and Tergestia acanthocephala (Stossich, 1887) (Fellodistomidae) (Digenea) from the epipelagic teleost Belone belone (L.) in the western Mediterranean

Numerous individuals of the poorly known species Lecithostaphylus retroflexus (Zoogonidae) and Tergestia acanthocephala (Fellodistomidae) have been recovered from the teleost fish Belone belone gracilis from off the Scandola Nature Reserve, Western Mediterranean. They are redescribed, incorporating previously undescribed features: for L. retroflexus, a post-oral ring, a bipartite seminal vesicle, the shape of the excretory vesicle, the subterminal excretory pore and the flask-shaped gland-cells associated with the distinctly pedunculate ventral sucker; and for T. acanthocephala, the intestinal bifurcation in the forebody, necessitating its return to the genus Tergestia from Theledera. Additionally, T. acanthocephala is compared with T. laticollis from various species of Trachurus from the same geographical area.     

Redescription and distribution of Boeckella gibbosa (Brehm, 1935) (Copepoda,Calanoida, Centropagidae)

Thirty-five species of the family Lecanidae are examined from Tripura state in North-Eastern India. Of these, Lecane levistyla and L. scutata are interesting cold-water forms; L. batillifer is an Australasian element; L. acanthinula and L. sinuata are Oriental endemics and L. braumi, L. lateralis and L. simonneae are palaeotropical species. The lecanid fauna also includes the pantropical L. thienemanni and L. sola while the remainder are cosmopolitan and tropicopolitan elements. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Molecular-Mechanical studies of the mismatched base analogs of d(CGCGAATTCGCG)2:d(CGTGAATTCGCG)2, d(CGAGAATTCGCG)2, d(CGCGAATTCACG)2, d(CGCGAATTCTCG)2, and d(CGCAGAATTCGCG)·d(CGCGAATTCGCG)

Molecular-mechanical simulations have been carried out on “mismatched base” analogs of the DNA double-helical structure d(CGCGAATTCGCG)₂, in which the base pairs CG at the 3 and 10 positions have been replaced by CA, AG, TC, and TG base pairs, as well as an insertion analog in which an extra adenine has been incorporated into one strand of the above structure between bases 3 and 4. The results of these simulations (calculated relative stabilities, structures, and nmr ring-current shifts) have been compared with calorimetric and nmr data. The calculated relative stabilities of the double-helical parent dodecamer and the various “wobble” base pairs qualitatively correlate with the experimental melting temperatures. The base-pairing structure for the GT wobble pair is in agreement with that previously determined from nmr experiments. For the GA base pair, the structure with both bases anti has a slightly more favorable energy from base pairing and stacking than a structure with non-Watson-Crick H-bonding with adenine syn, in agreement with nmr experiments. The CA wobble base is calculated to favor an adenine 6NH₂ …? cytosine N3 H-bond over cytosine 4NH₂ …? adenine N1, again, in agreement with nmr experiments. There is no definitive experimental data on the TC base pair, but the existence of (somewhat long and weak) H-bonds involving cytosine 4NH₂ …? thymine 4CO and cytosine N3 …? thymine HN3 seems reasonable. We find a structure in which the extra adenine base of the insertion analogs sits “inside” the double helix.     

Tachinid (Diptera, Tachinidae) parasitoids of sawflies (Hymenoptera, Symphyta)

A list of 31 genera of tachinid parasitoids of sawflies is given. Despite the ecological and habitual similarity of sawflies and Lepidoptera, utilization of sawflies by tachinids was not as successful from the evolutionary point of view as utilization of Lepidoptera. Parasitism of tachinids in sawflies is evidently secondary; it appeared repeatedly and originates from parasitism in Lepidoptera. Most genera of tachinids are polyphagous. Endoparasitic Hymenoptera are koinobionts similarly to tachinids. The direct contact of the parasitoid with active mobile host larva not only results in complication of behavior and its specialization, but also promotes formation of different morphological innovations faster than that in idiobionts.     

New species of Haplometroides (Digenea: Plagiorchiidae) from Phalotris nasutus (Gomes, 1915) (Serpentes, Colubridae)

A new species of Haplometroides (Digenea, Plagiorchiidae) is described from a specimen of Phalotris nasutus (Gomes, 1915) (Serpentes, Colubridae). The host snake was obtained in the municipality of Corumbd, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. Trematodes were recovered from esophagus, stomach, and small intestine of the host. The main characteristic of the new species is the vitellaria, which is intercecal, cecal, and extracecal in the preacetabular region. A key for identification of the species in Haplometroides is proposed.     

The Medusa of Velella velella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hydrozoa, Chondrophorae)

A mature medusa of Velella velella (Linnaeus, 1758) is reportedfor the first time from the North Atlantic; previously adultmedusae were known only from the Mediterranean. This specimen,collected by SCUBA divers, is the largest specimen recordedto date. Distinctive features are: two opposite adaxial-axialpairs of perradial capitate tentacles; two marginal bulbs lackingtentacles; conical manubrium with 4 perradial longitudinal gonads;perradial exumbrellar cnidae tracts; cnidome of stenoteles andmacrobasic euryteles; and zooxanthellae within the subumbrella.Since this specimen was collected near the surface and has zooxanthellae,it is likely that V. velella medusae are epipelagic.     

Laccaria (Agaricomycetes,Basidiomycota) from Tibet (Xizang Autonomous Region,China)

Species of Laccaria are described from the eastern Himalayas, in the Xizang Autonomous Region of China, more commonly known as Tibet. Specimens were collected during several expeditions over a 12-year time span. Nuclear ribosomal internally transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2 including and 5.8S (ITS) as well as the 5' end of the large subunit (28S) sequence data were generated for 22 specimens from Tibet and analyzed in a dataset of 115 Laccaria samples. The results documented seven species from this region, five of which represent currently undescribed species. The taxonomy of Tibetan Laccaria is discussed, five new species are proposed, and an artificial key that includes extralimital species from Asia is provided.     

Light and electron microscopic investigation of Pelomyxa prima (Gruber, 1884) (Peloflagellatea, Pelobiontida)

Cell organization of a multinuclear pelobiont Pelomyxa prima has been studied at the light and electron microscopic levels. Motile individuals demonstrate a characteristic drop-like or pyriform shape and reach 550 microkm in length. The cell cover is represented by a well-developed, morphologically differentiated glycocalyx 80-100 nm thick. The cytoplasm contains many structural vacuoles. The nuclei are of vertical type, numbering up to several nuclei in large individuals. Numerous cytoplasmic microtubules are associated with the external membrane of the nuclear envelope. Separate non-motile flagella are distributed throughout the cell surface, being more numerous in the posterior body end and uroidal zone of the protist. Basal bodies of the flagella are extremely long, being deeply immersed into the cytoplasm. These bodies are surrounded by a muff of electron-dense material, with numerous microtubules radiating from it. A compact bundle of microtubules starts from the base of a basal body axially into the cytoplasm. Besides, a band-like lateral microtubular rootlet is present. The number of microtubules in the axoneme of undulipodia is unstable. Neither mitochondria, nor Golgi complex were found. Two species of bacterial endocytobionts are present in the cytoplasm in considerable numbers.     

(Dien)M(II) (M=Pd, Pt) and (NH3)3Pt(II) complexes of 1-methylcytosine: Linkage and rotational isomerism, metal-promoted deamination, and pathways to dinuclear species

Despite their structural similarity, [Pt(dien)(1-MeC-N3)](2+) (1), [Pd(dien)(1-MeC-N3)](2+) (2), and [Pt(NH(3))(3)(1-MeC-N3)](2+) (3) (with dien=diethylenetriamine and 1-MeC=neutral 1-methylcytosine) behave in part markedly different at strongly alkaline pH (12-13) and at room temperature. While 1 and 2, yet not 3 show linkage isomerization from N3 to N4, deamination of the cytosine nucleobase to 1-methyluracilate occurs with 1 and 3, yet not with 2. Pathways leading to N3,N4-diplatinated 1-MeC(-) complexes (1-MeC(-)=1-methylcytosine, deprotonated at exocyclic amino group N4) have been studied at high pH by starting from 1 and 3, respectively, and adding (dien)Pt(II). It appears that initial migration of the metal entity from N3 to N4, followed by binding of the second metal to the available N3 site, is favored over sequential coordination to N3 and then N4. X-ray crystal data of 1-3 density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and NMR ((1)H, (195)Pt) data are presented.