A scanning electron microscope study of tarsal adhesive setae in the Coleoptera

Scanning electron micrographs of the tarsal adhesive setae of 84 species of beetle are described. These show a vast range of setal structure and distribution.     

Morphologie des épines chez les brachiopodes Delthyrididae

Two main types of micro-ornament can be observed in the family Delthyrididae (Brachiopoda, Spiriferidina): capillae (with continuity of the structures from one growth lamella to the next one) and spines (with the appearance of discontinuity). SEM studies of the spines show that, contrary to previous assumption, the cross section is not circular but subquadrangular with a longitudinal groove on top. Each spine is connected in front to the next one so that they give rise to a continuous radial structure. Thus the spine is a local external differentiation of the underlying microfila. Furthermore, the spinose ornament is derived from the capillate ornament. During growth, new fila and spines appear in the grooves and diverge towards the top of adjacent costae, running across several lamellae. When there are few spines, they have a uniform size, but when there are many spines, small spines (issued from newer fila) are juxtaposed with large spines (issued from older fila). The use of micro-ornament in systematics has often been based on misinterpretations; attention is drawn to the fact that the shape of the spine base is not representative of the original shape of the spine but generally resulted from the erosion of the shell. Nevertheless, more detailed studies on spine shape and arrangement offer interesting prospects for classification.     

Intraspecific selective survival within variably uniplicate Late Devonian brachiopods

The central fold of the Late Devonian brachiopods Cyrtospirifer monticola, Cleiothyridina devonica, Rugaltorostrum madisonense, Sinotectirostrum banffense and Trifiodorostellum dunbarense (Three Forks Formation, Central Idaho) varies intraspecifically from nearly rectimarginate or weakly developed to chevron-shaped. Frequency of central fold morphotypes through succesSjve size classes indicates selective survival in favor of variants with a strongly developed central fold, although morphotypes with the most extremely developed central fold never numerically dominate the larger size classes of any species. Differential mortality among the morphotypes can be attributed to: (1) less resistance to shell fracture by morphotypes with weakly developed uniplicae which were preferentially culled out of the population by durophagous predators, (2) less efficiency of weakly uniplicate morphotypes in the generation of nutrient-bearing eddies against the downcurrent inhalant margins. Failure of the morphotypes with the most strongly developed uniplicae to numerically dominate adult (largest) size classes is attributed to the hydrodynamic instability of such shell geometries on current-scoured substrates.     

川东南兴文地区长兴期腕足动物及其群落结构

通过川东南兴文地区长兴期腕足动物地层的研究,总结了腕足动物群的性质,指出了本区长兴期腕足动物群不同于灰岩相类群,也不同于硅质岩相类群,而属于灰岩、砂页岩混合相类群。文章重点研究了本区腕足动物群落结构,并提出了生态类群这一新观点,指出生态类群是以生态学而不是以纯分类学标准进行分类的,这有助于群落生态研究中简化群落内物种间的复杂关系。     

Age and distribution of the Late Devonian brachiopod genus Dzieduszyckia Siemiradzki, 1909 in southern China

Conodont biostratigraphical work was done at four sections recently found with occurrence of the rhynchonellide brachiopod genus, Dzieduszyckia Siemiradzki, in southern Guangxi and in the border area between Dushan County of Guizhou and Nandan County of Guangxi, South China. These sections represent two different types of facies, i.e., carbonate platform and intraplatform basin. The conodont analysis reveals that this genus occurs in the Upper triangularis Zone and the Middle crepida Zone at the Dazhai Section, through the Lower to Upper crepida zones at Dalong, and is restricted within the Upper rhomboidea Zone at the two intraplatform basin sections (Changtang and Duli). This result demonstrates that the occurrence of these peculiar rhynchonellide brachiopods in South China, regardless of the depositional environments, is within the Lower Famennian instead of the previously suggested Upper Famennian. Furthermore, this brachiopod genus in South China began to inhabit on the carbonate platform almost since the beginning of the Famennian and did not extend to the intraplatform basin facies until the late Early Famennian.Available biostratigraphic data indicate that during the Early and Middle Famennian, Dzieduszyckia is widely distributed not only in South China, but also throughout the world, such as Morocco and southern Ural.Observation on the new collections from the four studied sections reveals that the peculiar rhynchonellide brachiopods have a great morphological variation within each section. Significant differences existed among the collections from different sedimentary settings and localities, probably reflecting the environmental and geographic constraint on the morphology of Dzieduszyckia. Samples from different layers in the same section have nearly identical morphological variation, suggesting the temporal inheritance in morphology of the rhynchonellide brachiopod.     

Exocrine glands and the attractiveness of the ergatoid queen in the ponerine antMegaponera foetens

Summary Queens inMegaponera foetens are permanently wingless. In a colony from Kenya we observed that the ergatoid queen was often surrounded by a large number of workers, all conspicuously facing her. To investigate the nature of this attraction, we divided the colony in half. When the queen was transferred from one group to the other, a large court of workers formed immediately. When marked workers were transferred from the queenright group to the other, they attracted much attention and were licked repeatedly. These data suggest that the queen produces a chemical signal which attracts workers, and this signal is transferred onto the workers. In a histological investigation of queen and workers, we found many intersegmental glands in both castes. However, only the queen had a thick glandular epithelium lining her entire body, and this may be the source of her signal. The numerous erect setae covering the queen (but not the workers) may help to dispense the secretions. Our results confirm that ergatoid queens in the Ponerinae are morphologically specialized, despite their external similarity with workers.     

洪泽湖鱼类寄生甲壳动物区系调查及一新种的记述

1979年秋对江苏省洪泽湖鱼类寄生甲壳动物的调查研究结果,共得18种寄生甲壳动物,其中包括一个新种。分析了该湖寄生甲壳动物的区系组成、繁殖季节及种类分布的情况,同时还根据虫体感染率和感染强度,提出了对鱼类危害性较大的中华鳋和多态锚头鳋,在洪泽湖中不可能出现严重感染的见解。     

A preliminary survey of ultraviolet reflectance in beetles

Ultraviolet reflectance is a widely distributed phenomenon among certain families of Coleoptera. It is so far found to occur in Carabidae, Scarabaeidae, Buprestidae, Elateridae, Tenebrionidae, Cerambycidae, Anthribidae and Curculionidae. Of more than 100 species examined, 70 were found to possess UV reflectant structures. Reflection is almost always from pigments contained within microtrichia or other setae. In some Tenebrionidae and Buprestidae, dried secretions forming patches or stripes on the pronota and elytra are reflective and, in a few desert-living Tenebrionidae, reflectance is from subcuticular pigment in the elytra.