LATE CAMBRIAN PLECTRONOCERID NAUTILOIDS AND THEIR ROLE IN CEPHALOPOD EVOLUTION

Abstract:  Numerous plectronocerid nautiloids appear in the Upper Cambrian of China. We have restudied their siphuncular structure, first described some 20 years ago. The siphuncle is characterized by: (1) long and holochoanitic septal necks dorsally but short and recurved necks laterally and ventrally; (2) strongly expanded connecting rings laterally; (3) two calcified layers in each connecting ring, outer spherulitic-prismatic and inner compact, the latter perforated by numerous pore canals; and (4) highly oblique siphuncular segments. The strongly expanded lateral sides of the connecting rings, together with the highly oblique course of the siphuncular segments, considerably enlarged the surface area of the connecting rings in each chamber, thereby increasing the transport capacity of cameral liquid. Thus, from their first appearance, plectronocerid nautiloids had developed a siphuncle for the replacement of cameral liquid with gases, and this system had a better and a more sophisticated design than that seen in stratigraphically younger nautiloids. However, their small orthoconic or slightly cyrtoconic shells were not well adapted for jet-powered swimming.     

河北秦皇岛地区奥陶纪奇壁角石科分子的发现及意义

奇壁角石科（Ａｌｌｏｔｒｉｏｃｅｒａｔｉｄａｅ）分子在我华北东部属首次发现。它产于马家沟组下部。界于Ｄｅｆｏｒｍｏｎ－ｃｅｒａｓ－Ｐｅｒｉｐａｔｏｃｅｒａｓ与Ｐｏｌｙｄｅｓｍｉａ－Ｗｕｔｉｎｏｃｅｒａｓ－Ｅｏｓｉｏｔｅｌｕｓ组合带之间偏下。奇壁角石科是Ｆｌｏｗｅｒ,Ｒ．Ｈ．１９９５年创立的,至今科内已建立６属１３种和３个相似种。但以往所描述标本绝大多数仅保存有部分内体管,对其它特征所知甚少。文中描     

The bearing of the new Late Cambrian monoplacophoran genus Knightoconus upon the origin of the Cephalopoda

Yochelson, E. L., Flower, R. H. & Webers, G. F.: The hearing of the new Late Cambrian monoplacophoran genus Knightoconus upon the origin of the Cephalopoda.
Knightoconus , a new genus of the Hypseloconidae (Mollusca: Monoplacophora) from rocks of early Franconian age in Antarctica, is multiseptate. The multiple septa are a criticàl feature to be expected in a form ancestral to cephalopods. Fossil cephalopods, however, invariably have a siphuncle as well as septa; some gastropods, some hyolithids, and some monoplacophorans also have septa but lack a siphuncle. Therefore, only the siphuncle can be considered a unique and particularly significant feature of the cephalopod shell. Hypothetical reconstructions of molluscan anatomy support the notion that cephalopods may have been derived directly from a hypseloconid having a high, slightly curved, multiseptate, bilaterally symmetrical shell, by the subsequent development of a siphuncle.     

Key to the New Zealand species of Psyllaephagus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) with descriptions of three new species and a new record of the psyllid hyperparasitoid Coccidoctonus psyllae Riek (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Abstract  This paper records seven species of wasps in the genus Psyllaephagus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from New Zealand. All of these species are primary parasitoids of psylloids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea). Two are species previously described from New Zealand: P. acaciae Noyes and P. pilosus Noyes. Two are described Australian species which have established recently: P. bliteus Riek and P. gemitus Riek. Three new species are described here, from New Zealand: P. breviramus sp. nov., P. cornwallensis sp. nov. and P. richardhenryi sp. nov. All species are probably Australian in origin. A key to all seven Psyllaephagus species known from New Zealand is provided. An earlier first record of the Australian psyllid hyperparasitoid Coccidoctonus psyllae Riek (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), previously first recorded from New Zealand in 2006, is noted.     

Middle triassic Parapopanoceratidae and Nathorstitidae (ammonoidea) of Boreal region: Internal structure,ontogeny and phylogenetic patterns

Internal structure of Stenopopanoceras mirabilePopow, Parapopanoceras sp., P. mediumMcLearn, P. janaense (Popow), P. paniculatumPopow, P. asseretoiDagys & Ermakova, Indigirites krugiPopow, Nathorstites mcconnelli (Whiteaves), N. gibbosusStolley, N. lenticularis (Whiteaves), N. argatassensis (Popow) is described and also ontogenetic development of species I. krugiPopow and N. mcconnelli (Whiteaves) originating from middle triassic deposits of northern part of Middle Siberia, north-eastern part of the USSR and Svalbard is given. For the species mentioned above data is given on the position of siphuncle, shape and dimensions of protoconch, caecum, ammonitella, the angle of primary varix, structure of septal necks and the nature of their change in the course of ontogeny. Significance of these signs for taxonomy and phylogeny of triassic ammonoidea is analysed. Intergeneric difference of Stenopopanoceras and Parapopanoceras is established according to the position of siphuncle on the first whorl of the shell. On the basis of the analysis of internal structure and ontogenetic development of suture line and morphological signs Indigirites is considered to belong to the family Hungaritidae (subfamily Longobarditinae). Phylogenetic patterns of the ammonoidea species described are discussed.     

Larvae of four species of the Hyphydrus lyratus species-group (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Hydroporinae)

Abstract  The third instars of the Australian species Hyphydrus lyratus Swartz, H. contiguus Wehncke, H. elegans (Montrouzier) and H. decemmaculatus Wehncke (Coleoptera: Adephaga: Dytiscidae) are described, including a chaetotaxic analysis of the cephalic capsule, head appendages, legs, last abdominal segment and urogomphi. Larvae of these species morphologically resemble other species of Hyphydrus Illiger for which the larvae have been described. A key to identify larvae of the Australian species of Hyphydrus is provided. Larvae of H. effeminatus Watts appear identical to those of H. decemmaculatus . A 822 bp fragment of the CO1 gene of larvae and adults of these species showed very slight differences, suggesting the possibility that, in Australia at least, H. decemmaculatus is polymorphic.     

Revision of the genus Menippus Clark in Australia (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae)

Abstract  The genus Menippus is revised for Australia, with six species, three of which are new: M. cynicus Clark, M. darcyi sp. nov. , M. ewani sp. nov. , M. fugitivus (Lea), M. sufi sp. nov. and M. yulensis (Jacoby) comb. nov. (from Diorhabda Weise). Menippus yulensis was described from New Guinea. This species and M. darcyi were formerly confused in Australia with M. fugitivus , which is now considered endemic to Lord Howe Island. The species formerly considered M. fugitivus and protected under the Threatened Species Conservation Act, New South Wales, is now named M. darcyi . A key is provided for the Australian species of Menippus and a lectotype designated for M. yulensis . The composition of Menippus is discussed and three non-Australian species are transferred to this genus: M. inconspicua (Jacoby) comb. nov. (from Diorhabda Weise); M. laterimaculata (Jacoby) comb. nov. ; and M. marginipennis (Jacoby) comb. nov. (from Galerucella Crotch). A revised checklist of Menippus species is given. The recorded foodplants of Menippus are species of Celtis (Ulmaceae).     

Revision of the Trichosirocalus horridus (Panzer) species complex, with description of two new species infesting thistles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Ceutorhynchinae)

Abstract The Trichosirocalus horridus (Panzer) species complex is defined and revised and two new sibling species are described and figured: T. briesei (type locality: San Esteban de Gormaz, Soria, Spain) and T. mortadelo (type locality: Canberra, Australia, introduced). The existence of these siblings could explain the different food preferences observed between the different populations or strains of the supposed single species T. horridus .     

Three new species of Fissarcturus (Isopoda, Antarcturidae) from the Southern Ocean

Fissarcturus bathyweddellensis sp. nov. and Fissarcturus sandwichi sp. nov. are described from the abyssal Southern Ocean near the Antarctic Peninsula and Fissarcturus rossi sp. nov. is described from the shallow Ross Sea. A list of all described species of Fissarcturus is given. The new species differ from recognized species of the genus in the following respects: F. bathyweddellensis can be distinguished based on spination on the dorsum of the body, which is described in detail herein. It is most similar to F. emarginatus Brandt, 1990, but this has, for example, a shorter and less stout second cephalic spine. F. rossi can also be distinguished from F. bathyweddellensis based on spine pattern. Whereas all dorsal spines of F. bathyweddellensis are smooth, those of F. rossi are covered with spinules. F. sandwichi can be distinguished from the other species of the genus by the strong frontally bent supraocular spines (females with second cephalic spines) and dorsal body surface, which is covered with flat, cauliflower-like elevations in submedial, lateral and coxal rows.  © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 149 , 263–290.     

Biological response to experimental damage of the phragmocone and siphuncle in Nautilus pompilius Linnaeus

Tsujino, Y & Shigeta, Y. 2012: Biological response to experimental damage of the phragmocone and siphuncle in Nautilus pompilius Linnaeus. Lethaia, Vol. 45, pp. 443–449. Three adult specimens of Nautilus pomplilius Linnaeus from the Philippines were experimented on to estimate the biological response to damage of the phragmocone and siphuncle in this cephalopod mollusc. In addition, the data obtained from the experiments were used for discussion of shell damage in ammonoids and in other extinct cephalopods. Specimen’s phragmocone and siphuncle were perforated and severed artificially, followed by observations in the laboratory tank during periods of 75 and 132 days. For at least 2 or 3 months, all individuals survived after damage to the phragmocone and siphuncle despite loss of neutral buoyancy. Based on our observations after completion of the experiments, the severed adoral remaining part of siphuncle healed by the siphunclar epithelium. In addition, perforation of the phragmocone was partly repaired by shell secretion from the dorsally extending mantle due to subsequent volution of shell growth. Our experiments revealed that damage to the phragmocone and siphuncle in Nautilus was not necessarily a lethal injury. It may be possible that such biological response also applies to extinct ammonoids and nautiloids. In a similar case of extinct ammonoids and nautiloids, damage to their phragmocone and siphuncle may also not have been a lethal injury as with Nautilus. However, some factors leading to death are likely to be dependent on the degree of damage to the phragmocone and siphuncle and influence of hydraulic pressure. □Ammonoids, injury, nautiloids, Nautilus, phragmocone, repair, siphuncle.     

A new genus and four new species of felt scales on Eucalyptus (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Eriococcidae) in south-eastern Australia

Abstract  A new Australian eriococcid genus Fragorbis gen. n. (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) is described for ' Sphaerococcus ' pustulans Green and four new species, F. fructus sp. n., F. pseudopustulans sp. n., F. stipites sp. n. and F. superfacies sp. n. Four of the five species are known only from Victoria and the fifth species from the High Country east of Tumut in New South Wales. All species feed on Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae), either in blister galls, or under or on the bark. The adult female of each species and the first-instar nymph of F. pseudopustulans sp. n. are described and illustrated. Keys are provided to the adult females of the eriococcid genera found on Eucalyptus and Corymbia , and to the species of Fragorbis gen. n.     

A taxonomic revision of Paradoris sea slugs (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Nudibranchia, Doridina)

Paradoris , traditionally a generic taxon of discodorid sea slugs, is revised for the first time. One hundred and thirty specimens were examined, including all types and most of the nontype specimens available. New records for Paradoris are provided: South Africa, Tanzania, Seychelles, Western Australia, Thailand, Philippines, shallow waters of New Caledonia, southern Japan, and Hawaii. The individual variation of all taxonomic characters is thoroughly evaluated. Prior to the present study, Paradoris included 15 nominal species: 12 valid names and three synonyms. Three additional names, Discodoris erythraeensis , D. lora , and D. cavernae , are re-allocated to Paradoris , based on phylogenetic analysis. A phylogenetic diagnosis is provided for Paradoris : in particular, two new synapomorphies are described. Eight species names are regarded as valid: P. araneosa , P. dubia , P. erythraeensis , P. indecora , P. liturata , P. lopezi , P. mulciber , and P. tsurugensis . However, most of these species are poorly known, i.e. from very few specimens, and their taxonomic status might change when more individuals are available. P. lora is regarded as a nomen dubium . Six new synonymies are proposed, and explained by the fact that: (1) species names were created for one or a few specimens, without considering individual variation; (2) authors have not worked within a phylogenetic framework and have created new species names without considering all the existing species names already available within Paradoris . Three new morphospecies are described, but not formally named because their taxonomic status is still uncertain for several reasons (e.g. lack of knowledge of individual variation for some critical features).  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 147 , 125–238.     

Systematics and biology of the endemic water scavenger beetles of Hawaii (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae, Hydrophilini)

Abstract.  Recent field surveys in the Hawaiian Islands have revealed an adaptive radiation of endemic water scavenger beetles (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae). Phylogenetic analysis based on 55 adult morphological characters affirms that this endemic hydrophilid fauna is a monophyletic clade that incorporates the first well-supported transformation from an aquatic to terrestrial way of life within any lineage of the subfamily Hydrophilinae. The clade is prescribed to the genus Limnoxenus Motschulsky, where described members were previously placed. Five new species are described: L. waialeale sp.n. (Kauai), L. kauaiensis sp.n. (Kauai), L. oahuensis sp.n. (Oahu), L. punctatostriatus sp.n. (Kauai) and L. namolokama sp.n. (Kauai). Lectotypes are designated for the two previously described species L. semicylindricus (Eschscholtz) and L. nesiticus (Sharp). The Hawaiian lineage is a component of a larger clade that also includes the remaining four species of Limnoxenus from Europe, South Africa, and Australia, plus the monotypic genera Limnocyclus Balfour-Browne of New Caledonia and Hydramara Knisch of South America. The majority of the Hawaiian species exhibit vestigial wings, an extremely unusual condition in aquatic beetles. No other island-endemic members of the Hydrophilinae are known to be flightless, suggesting insularity per se is not responsible for this condition. L. nesiticus of Oahu has not been collected during the past 106 years, suggesting that it has been lost to anthropogenically mediated extinction.     

Revision of the Australian Coccinellidae (Coleoptera). Part 3. Tribe Sukunahikonini

Abstract  The Australian members of the circumtropical coccinellid tribe Sukunahikonini are revised and placed in three genera: Scymnomorphus Weise (five species), Pharellus Sicard (two species) and Paraphellus Chazeau (two species). Scymnus rostratus Lea, 1929 is transferred to Paraphellus as P. rostratus (Lea) comb. n. The following new species are described from Australia: Pharellus glabratus sp. n., P. popei sp. n.; Paraphellus magnopunctatus sp. n.; Scymnomorphus fulvus sp. n., S. hirtus sp. n., S. ker sp. n., S. luteus sp. n., S. storeyi sp. n. Nomenclatural history, diagnoses and distribution are provided for each species. Keys to the genera and species are included.     

Localization of putative neurotransmitters in the mantle and siphuncle of the mollusc Nautilus pompilius L. (Cephalopoda)

The neurotransmitter supply in the nerve endings of the mantle and the siphuncle, i.e. in organs that are responsible for the shell formation in the ectocholeate Nautilus pompilius, were investigated with electron microscopical, fluorescence-, immuno- and enzyme histochemical methods as well as with high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Using antibodies against serotonin and the tetrapeptide FMRF-amide, positive reactions were demonstrated immunohistochemically within the terminal nerve fibres of the mantle and the vessels of the siphuncle. Enzyme histochemical proof of the presence of specific acetylcholinesterase yielded positive results in the muscle fibres of the mantle and siphuncle. Additionally, in the mantle, glyoxylic acid-induced fluorescence was shown within the nerve endings indicating catecholamines as neurotransmitters, whereas in the siphuncle such fluorescence did not appear. However, the HPLC-analyses showed that in the mantle and also in the siphuncle the content of dopamine is higher than that of noradrenaline whereas only traces of adrenaline occur in both organs suggesting dopamine as a putative neurotransmitter. Transmission electron microscopical examination of the nerve endings of both organs revealed that different types of vesicles were distinguished that could be considered as cholinergic, aminergic and peptidergic structures.     

Revision of the fruit fly genus Capparimyia (Diptera, Tephritidae)

Capparimyia Bezzi is revised and eight species recognized, of which four are new: C. aenigma sp. nov., C. maerua sp. nov., C. mirabilis sp. nov., and C. spatulata sp. nov. A lectotype is designated for C. bipustulata (Bezzi, 1923), C. savastani (Martelli) and C. melanaspis (Bezzi). Capparimyia aristata nom. nov. is proposed as a replacement name for Pardalaspis (now Capparimyia ) bipustulata Bezzi, 1924 (preoccupied Bezzi, 1923). All species are described or re-described, with illustrations of mesonotal and wing patterns and male and female terminalia. A key to species is provided. Phylogenetic relationships within the genus are analysed cladistically and considered vis-à-vis the relationships between the host plants. Distribution patterns are discussed.     

A taxonomic revision of the genus Flagenium Baill. (Rubiaceae–Octotropideae)

A taxonomic revision of the genus Flagenium Baill. is presented. Flagenium is endemic to Madagascar and comprises six species; three new species are described here ( F. farafanganensis , F. petrikensis , and F. pedunculatum ) and one species ( F. arboreum ) is transferred into synonymy. Each species is fully described, and summaries of distribution, habitat and ecology, and phenology are given; conservation assessments are provided for each species. Flagenium is characterized by having ovaries with at least two erect and two pendulous ovules per locule, which, depending on the species, can display an additional two to four horizontal ovules per locule arranged between the uppermost and lowermost ovules. In addition, Flagenium has a longitudinally ten-ribbed fruit. These features are potentially unique within the Octotropideae.  © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 155 , 557–570.