A new Middle Devonian gasterocomid crinoid from central Turkey and revision of the Gasterocomidae

A juvenile cup, disarticulated arm plates, and columnals of the crinoid Arachnocrinus sarizensis n. sp. are described from the Eastern Taurus Mountains of central Turkey. This is the first Paleozoic crinoid based on a cup and arm plates reported from Turkey. Suggested revision of the Gasterocomidae includes transfer of Arachnocrinus and Ancyrocrinus to the family and rejection of Kopficrinus from the family. The stratigraphic range of Arachnocrinus is extended upward into the Middle Devonian from the Early Devonian. The Devonian of Turkey is of special interest because it includes Laurasian and Gondwanan components on different tectonic blocks. The paleogeographic range of Arachnocrinus is extended from the North American plate onto the Anatolian block, which would have been located on the southern edge of the Paleotethys Sea in the Middle Devonian in a shelf basin off the northern coast of Gondwana at approximately 42° south latitude.     

Middle eastern origin model forHomo sapiens (Moderns & Neanderthals), language and modern behaviour

A new model may resolve the problem of when and where did appear anatomically modern humans. According to this model, Neanderthals were probably neither our ancestor nor different species.Homo sapiens appeared probably in the Middle East, approximately 150 ka ago and differentiated to anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals because of the genetic programme. The fossils older than 150 ka are probably not Neanderthal such as Zuttiyeh and Biache-Saint-Vaast specimens. Cultural capacities of Neanderthals were probably equivalent to Moderns. Most of pre-Homo sapiens populations may be extinct without replacement byHomo sapiens. Language and modern behaviour should have arisen with our own species.     

Wall Pellitory as a Glass Cleaning Material in the Land of Israel in the Middle Ages

Wall Pellitory as a Glass Cleaning Material in the Land of Israel in the Middle Ages  This article describes the unique uses of the plant wall pellitory (Parietaria judaica L.), as based on Arabic sources from the Middle Ages. These sources reveal that this plant was used in Israel for producing alkaline substances, in general, and material to clean glass, in particular. Examination of the plant’s composition demonstrates that it contains sodium and potassium in high concentrations, even in comparison with salt flat vegetation (desert and coastal), such as prickly saltworts (Salsola kali L.), which were known in the ancient world as a source of cleaning materials. Thus, corroboration was found for the information obtained from the historical sources.     

The subterranean genus Niphargus (Crustacea, Amphipoda) in the Middle East: A faunistic overview with descriptions of two new species

The Middle East is at the southeastern borderline of the range of the subterranean amphipod Niphargus. The review of new and published data identified two new species and set the guidelines for the future research in the area. The genus in this part of the world seems to be insufficiently studied. The taxonomic status of Niphargus valachicus, population identified as N. spoeckeri and some populations, identified as N. nadarini, need to be reviewed. According to present data, we expect the highest diversity in Western Turkey. The eventual new records of the genus in the Middle East can be expected from those areas where even the longest periods of drought in the recent geological history did not affect the water supply.     

Occurrence of the Brown-necked Raven,Corvus ruficollis,at Cizre in Eastern Turkey

An adult male of Maynard's Longnose Sand Snake (Lytorhynchus maynardi) was collected on 24 July 2009 from the east of Sistan and Baluchistan Province in south-eastern Iran. The new locality is the westernmost record of this species in western Asia, and the first record for 42 years from Iran. Information on the geographic distribution of the genus Lytorhynchus Peters, 1863 in Iran, comparative morphology and some ecological data are presented here.     

A canthobrama centisquama Heckel and the validity of the genus Mirogrex Goren,Fishelson and Trewavas (Osteichthyes: Cyprinidae)

The poorly known cyprinid fish Acanthobrama centisquama is re-described and its distribution is clarified. It is found in the Orontes basin and not waters around Damascus. The genus Mirogrex is synonymised with Acanthobrama.     

The Middle Devonian lycopsid Haskinsia Grierson et Banks from the Ruppert Coast, Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica

New observations on leaves of herbaceous lycopsid specimens previously attributed to Drepanophycus schopfii Mildenhall from Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica, indicate that they belong to Haskinsia colophylla Grierson et Banks. Haskinsia was a wide spread lycopsid during the Middle Devonian.     

Ornamental Chrysanthemums: Improvement by Biotechnology

The in vitro tissue culture and micropropagation of chrysanthemums, important floricultural (cut-flower) and ornamental (pot and garden) plants, have been well studied. An increase in genetic transformation studies aimed at improving aesthetic and growth characteristics of the plants has been hampered by low transformation efficiencies and genotype dependence of protocols. As a result chrysanthemum regeneration studies have once again emerged as an essential complement of transformation studies. This review highlights the impact that biotechnology has had on the improvement of chrysanthemum in vitro cell, tissue and organ culture, micropropagation and transformation.     

The Pinus pinea L. woodlands along the coast of South-western Spain: data for a new geobotanical interpretation

The origin and natural range of the Stone pine (Pinus pinea L.) has been questioned for more than a century. In this work, we focus the investigation on one of the most important and controversial regions, viz., the Iberian Peninsula and, specifically, the Huelva and Cadiz populations in Andalusia, one of the most representative population cores. Although some authors maintain that it is an autochthonous Iberian species, most of them consider it to be exotic. From this idea, many works have been done and a sintaxonomic scheme has been created, which is accepted by the majority of the scientific community, not including Pinus pinea, nor its formations, since they are considered as man-induced forest crops. However, Stone has been present for several thousand years in the Iberian Peninsula and in the territory studied, as several paleobotanic and historical data show, proving that Pinus pinea is an autochthonous species of this region. This is a clear consequence to the field of geobotany, since – at least – the Stone pine woodlands from the Iberian Southeast must be considered as communities predominated by an autochthonous species that must be included in the sintaxonomichal schemes. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of genotype, explant source, and plant growth regulators on indirect shoot organogenesis in Dieffenbachia cultivars

The capacity for indirect shoot organogenesis of leaf and root explants of four Dieffenbachia cultivars were examined on a modified Murashige and Skoog (MS; Physiol Plant 15:473–495, 1962) medium supplemented with different plant growth regulators in 112 combinations. Callus formation was only observed from leaf explants on MS supplemented with 1–10 μM thidiazuron (TDZ) and 0.5–1.0 μM 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) regardless of cultivars. The combination of 5 μM TDZ and 1 μM 2,4-D resulted in the greatest callus formation frequency among the four cultivars tested. Significant differences in callus and shoot formation from leaf explants were also observed among cultivars. Cultivars Camouflage, Camille, Octopus, and Star Bright produced green nodular, brown nodular, yellow friable, and green compact calli with corresponding maximum callus formation frequencies of 96%, 62%, 54%, and 52%, respectively. A maximum of 6.7 shoots/callus was observed in cv. Camouflage, followed by cvs. Camille and Star Bright at 3.7 and 3.5, respectively. Calli of cv. Octopus displayed no capacity for shoot organogenesis. Regardless of cultivar, callus formation was not observed on root explants. Regenerated shoots were successfully acclimatized in a shaded greenhouse condition with 100% survival.     

Enzymatic analysis of the genusTrichogramma (Hym.: Trichogrammatidae) in Europe

The genusTrichogramma includes numerous species which parasitize primarily the eggs of Lepidoptera worldwide. Thirteen European species were characterized biochemically to improve the systematic basis of this genus. Three enzyme systems, studied by electrophoresis, provided characters which discriminate among species. Nei distances were calculated to estimate the relationships among these species. Esterase bands proved to be a very reliable technique for discriminating among closely related species when morphological characters are not evident. The within and between population variability of isozyme patterns was greater than previously assumed forTrichogramma. The results allowed the affinity of some species to be reexamined.

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Résumé Le genreTrichogramma comprend de nombreuses espèces qui parasitent les œufs d'insectes, surtout de Lépidoptères, dans le Monde entier. Treize espèces européennes ont été caractérisées biochimiquement pour améliorer les connaissances en systématique chez ce genre. Trois systèmes enzymatiques, étudiés par électrophorèse, ont fourni des caractères qui discriminent les espèces. Afin d'apprécier les relations existant entre ces espèces, des distances de Nei ont été calculées. Les estérases se sont révélées être de bon caractères pour identifier les espèces morphologiquement très proches. La variabilité à l'intérieur des populations est plus importante que ce qui était jusque-là admis. Les résultats ont conduit à réexaminer le contenu de certains groupes d'espèces.

     

Tsuga shimokawaensis,a new species of permineralized conifer leaves from the Middle Miocene Shimokawa Group,Hokkaido, Japan

Silicified pinaceous leaves from the late Middle Miocene bed of Shimokawa Town, central Hokkaido, Japan are described asTsuga shimokawaensis sp. nov. Comparisons with leaves of extant species ofTsuga show that the new species is assigned to sect.Tsuga, resembling the extant speciesT. heterophylla in having usually one-cell-layered hypodermis, andT. sieboldii in having mesophyll cells between the resin canal and the hypodermis. From cladistic analyses we infer thatTsuga shimokawaensis is positioned the basal in sect.Tsuga and that sect.Tsuga comprises four species groups.