Molecular Phylogeny and Biogeography of Petaurista Inferred from the Cytochrome b Gene,with Implications for the Taxonomic Status of P. caniceps,P. marica and P. sybilla

The polymorphic genus Petaurista includes a group of diverse species and subspecies that are adapted for gliding and arboreal life. This morphological diversity has resulted in taxonomic discrepancies, and molecular phylogenetic studies have been limited by taxon sampling. To clarify this controversial taxonomy, we used the cytochrome b gene to reconstruct the phylogeny to obtain a more accurate picture of the evolutionary relationships, species differentiation and divergence pattern of Petaurista. The results revealed a significant inconsistency between taxonomic designations, phylogeny and genetic distances. When 6 recognized species were included, species delimitation revealed 15 putative species, a finding that warrants a comprehensive morphological diagnosis and a re-assessment of the species status. The validity of P. caniceps and P. marica was discussed. An estimation of the molecular divergence time demonstrated that the diversification and speciation of Petaurista began during the later Miocene and may have been affected by the uplifting of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and subsequent climate change.     

A new species of Vasseuromys (Gliridae,Mammalia) from the Upper Oligocene of the Ebro Basin (Spain)

In this paper, a new species of Vasseuromys, V. bergasensis sp. nov., from the locality of Bergasa (Ebro Basin, Spain), is described. Bergasa contains a fauna belonging to the Late Oligocene (zone MP30), composed—among other species—of Issiodoromys pseudanaema and Rhodanomys transiens. The main diagnostic features of V. bergasensis sp. nov. are the presence of a long centrolophid (fused or not to the mesoconid) in the lower molars, a large reduction in the number and length of extra ridges in the upper and lower molars, the absence of extra ridges between metalophid and centrolophid and between centrolophid and mesolophid, and the absence of the metatrope in more than half the specimens of the upper teeth M1 and M2. V. bergasensis sp. nov. is similar in size to V. elegans and smaller than the other members of the genus. The age and simple dental pattern of the new species of Vasseuromys allow us to hypothesize about relationships within the genus.     

Aeretesmelanopterus (Pteromyinae, Rodentia) from Tianyuan Cave near Zhoukoudian (Choukoutien) in China

The materials of Aeretesmelanopterus from the Tianyuan Cave, a Late Pleistocene site with human fossils recovered recently near Zhoukoudian, are the richest of this species ever reported in North China. Aeretesmelanopterus is an endemic species of China, its relationship with Petaurista and Trogopterus is still controversal. Studies based on the dental characters show that Aeretesmelanopterus resembles Petaurista more closely than Trogopterus. The earliest fossil record of Aeretesmelanopterus was found in South China in Middle Pleistocene deposits. The earliest records in the Beijing area are from Upper Cave and Tianyuan Cave at Zhoukoudian are of late-Late Pleistocene age, around 30 kyrs BP. The geographical distributions of this species are very limited. In evolution, Aeretesmelanopterus experienced both the increase and the decrease in tooth size; but its crown height of cheek teeth was continuously increasing.     

Grammatonotus ambiortus sp. nova: A new species of callanthiids (perciformes) from the western tropical pacific

A new species of the genus Grammatonotus from the western part of the Pacific Ocean (the region of the Hawaiian Islands) is described. From all previously known species of this genus, G. ambiortus sp. nova differs in multiserial teeth and the absence of canine teeth on praemaxillaria. The structure of its caudal skeleton is also different from most species (except G. macrophthalmus from the Kyusyu-Palau Ridge); moreover it is differentiated by a large eye.     

A New Genus of Aplodontid Rodent (Mammalia,Rodentia) from the Late Oligocene of Northern Junggar Basin,China

A new genus and species of aplodontid rodent, Proansomys dureensis, from the late Oligocene of the northern Junggar Basin of China is described. The new genus is referred to as Ansomyinae because the ectoloph on the upper cheek teeth, although not fully crested, has attained the same characteristic bucket-handle-shaped configuration as other members of the subfamily. It represents the earliest record of the subfamily yet discovered in Asia and is more plesiomorphic than species of the genus Ansomys in having a partly crested ectoloph, a lower degree of lophodonty, and less complex tooth basins (lacking accessory lophules). Proansomys has transitional features between Prosciurus and Ansomys, suggesting that the Ansomyinae derived from a group of aplodontids related to Prosciurus, as did other advanced aplodontid rodents. This provides new light on the paleobiogeography of the Ansomyinae.     

First record of a cave species of Euscorpiops Vachon from Viet Nam (Scorpiones,Euscorpiidae, Scorpiopinae)

Euscorpiops cavernicola sp. n., belonging to the family Euscorpiidae Laurie, is described on the basis of two male and two female specimens collected in the Hua Ma cave located in the Quang Khe commune, Ba Be district of Bac Kan province in Viet Nam. The new species presents most features exhibited by scorpions within the genus Euscorpiops, however it may represent the first discovered Scorpiopinae species exhibiting certain adaptations to cave life.     

Taxonomy of Allobethylus Kieffer (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) from southeastern Asia

Two new species of Allobethylus Kieffer, 1905 are described and illustrated. Allobethylus korystus sp. nov. from Thailand is characterized as having a mandible with four apical teeth, a clypeus with a trapezoidal frontal profile and a pronotal declivity with a conspicuous crest. The last two traits are new characteristics to the genus. Allobethylus lamprus sp. nov. from Myanmar is characterized as having a mandible with three apical teeth, a clypeus with a triangular frontal profile and a bidentate median lobe. Additionally, A. multicolor Kieffer is recorded for the first time from Thailand. An updated world key to the species of genus is also provided.     

Truyolsodontos estauni n. gen., n. sp., Truyolsodontidae,a new family of lamniform sharks from the Cenomanian of northern Spain

Truyolsodontos estauni n. gen., n. sp. is described based on fossil teeth from the middle and upper Cenomanian of northern Spain. The species Protoscyliorhinus magnusLandemaine, 1991 is withdrawn from the genus Protoscyliorhinus and placed in this new one. For the new genus, the new family Truyolsodontidae is proposed.     

A new weevil genus of the tribe Metrioxenini (Coleoptera: Belidae) in Eocene Baltic amber

A new genus, Succinometrioxena n. gen., and a new species, S. poinari n. sp. (Metrioxenini: Oxycoryninae), are described from Baltic amber. This new genus resembles the recent genus Wallacexena Legalov, 2009 but differs from it by the frons with horn-like tubercles on either side, the absence of a middle pronotal carina, teeth on the side of the pronotum, the anterior margin of the pronotum lacking teeth and two long carinae on the elytra. From the fossil genus Paltorhynchus Scudder, 1893 the present fossil differs by possessing a frons with horn-like tubercles on either side, the absence of a middle pronotal carina, teeth on the sides of the pronotum, two long carinae on the elytra and short temples. From the fossil genus Archimetrioxena Voss, 1953, the new genus differs by the frons with horn-like tubercles on either side, the absence of the two truncated elytral carinae, the sides of the pronotum with teeth, short temples and a larger body size.     

The genus Vietbocap Lourenço & Pham, 2010 in the Thien Duong cave,Vietnam: A possible case of subterranean speciation in scorpions (Scorpiones: Pseudochactidae)

Two new species of scorpion belonging to the family Pseudochactidae and to the genus Vietbocap are described based on specimens collected in the Thien Duong cave, which belongs to the Vom cave system, in the Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam. The previously described species from this cave, Vietbocap thienduongensis Lourenço & Pham, 2012 was collected in the initial section of the cave (1500 to 1800 m from the cave entrance) and proved to be a true troglobitic element. The diagnosis of this species, only known from males, is completed based on females collected at 750 m from the cave entrance. The two new species described here were collected respectively at 3000 and 5000 m from the cave entrance and are also true troglobitic elements, very similar to V. thienduongensis, but showing some clear morphological differences. This observed situation suggests a possible case of speciation within the cave system, the first one ever reported for scorpions. The population found at 5000 m from the entrance of the cave is a total new record of distance from a cave entrance for scorpions.     

Systematic status and first description of male of Dujardinia cenotae Pearse, 1936 [= Hysterothylacium cenotae (Pearse, 1936) Moravec et al., 1995] (Nematoda: Anisakidae)

A new collection of adult anisakid nematodes from the intestine of the catfish Rhamdia guatemalensis from two cenotes (= sinkholes) and a cave in the Yucatan Peninsula, southeastern Mexico, has shown that they are conspecific with those inadequately described as Dujardinia cenotae Pearse, 1936. The female is redescribed and the male is described for the first time. The morphology of this species shows that it belongs to the genus Hysterothylacium. This is the only Hysterothylacium species recorded from freshwater fishes in Mexico and it may well be endemic to cenotes and caves of the Yucatan Peninsula.     

Contrasting Gene Decay in Subterranean Vertebrates: Insights from Cavefishes and Fossorial Mammals

Evolution sometimes proceeds by loss, especially when structures and genes become dispensable after an environmental shift relaxes functional constraints. Subterranean vertebrates are outstanding models to analyze this process, and gene decay can serve as a readout. We sought to understand some general principles on the extent and tempo of the decay of genes involved in vision, circadian clock, and pigmentation in cavefishes. The analysis of the genomes of two Cuban species belonging to the genus Lucifuga provided evidence for the largest loss of eye-specific genes and nonvisual opsin genes reported so far in cavefishes. Comparisons with a recently evolved cave population of Astyanax mexicanus and three species belonging to the Chinese tetraploid genus Sinocyclocheilus revealed the combined effects of the level of eye regression, time, and genome ploidy on eye-specific gene pseudogenization. The limited extent of gene decay in all these cavefishes and the very small number of loss-of-function mutations per pseudogene suggest that their eye degeneration may not be very ancient, ranging from early to late Pleistocene. This is in sharp contrast with the identification of several vision genes carrying many loss-of-function mutations in ancient fossorial mammals, further suggesting that blind fishes cannot thrive more than a few million years in cave ecosystems.     

A remarkable new species of Alloscorpiops Vachon, 1980 from a cave in Vietnam (Scorpiones,Euscorpiidae, Scorpiopinae)

Among the genera of the subfamily Scorpiopinae Kraepelin, 1905 Alloscorpiops remains rather discrete. Only recently new species were added to this genus, increasing its number from two to five. Therefore, species of Alloscorpiops remain rare. One remarkable new species, Alloscorpiops troglodytes sp. n., is described on the basis of a single male specimen collected inside a cave from Song Thanh Nature Reserve, Cha Vanh Commune, Nam Giang District in Vietnam. The new species presents most features exhibited by scorpions of the genus Alloscorpiops, but it is characterized by reduced size, slender body and elongated pedipalps. This new scorpion taxon represents the third species of Scorpiopinae discovered in a cave system, and may be another endemic element in the fauna of Vietnam.     

The genus Chaerilus Simon, 1877 in Vietnam (Scorpiones; Chaerilidae): A possible case of a vicariant species

A new species of the genus Chaerilus Simon, 1877 is described from a cave in Dien Bien District, West of Dien Bien Phu city in northern Vietnam. The new species is morphologically similar to other Chaerilus species distributed only in the south of Vietnam and Cambodia and suggests a case of a vicariant species between northern and southern populations in the Southeast Asian peninsula.     

Shrimps down under: evolutionary relationships of subterranean crustaceans from Western Australia (Decapoda: Atyidae: Stygiocaris)

Background

We investigated the large and small scale evolutionary relationships of the endemic Western Australian subterranean shrimp genus Stygiocaris (Atyidae) using nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Stygiocaris is part of the unique cave biota of the coastal, anchialine, limestones of the Cape Range and Barrow Island, most of whose nearest evolutionary relations are found in coastal caves of the distant North Atlantic. The dominance of atyids in tropical waters and their food resources suggest they are pivotal in understanding these groundwater ecosystems.

Methodology/Principle Findings

Our nuclear and mitochondrial analyses all recovered the Mexican cave genus Typhlatya as the sister taxon of Stygiocaris, rather than any of the numerous surface and cave atyids from Australia or the Indo-Pacific region. The two described Stygiocaris species were recovered as monophyletic, and a third, cryptic, species was discovered at a single site, which has very different physiochemical properties from the sites hosting the two described species.

Conclusions/Significance

Our findings suggest that Stygiocaris and Typhlatya may descend from a common ancestor that lived in the coastal marine habitat of the ancient Tethys Sea, and were subsequently separated by plate tectonic movements. This vicariant process is commonly thought to explain the many disjunct anchialine faunas, but has rarely been demonstrated using phylogenetic techniques. The Cape Range''s geological dynamism, which is probably responsible for the speciation of the various Stygiocaris species, has also led to geographic population structure within species. In particular, Stygiocaris lancifera is split into northern and southern groups, which correspond to population splits within other sympatric subterranean taxa.     

Primates and Plesiadapiformes from Cos (Eocene; Quercy,France)

A new fauna has been collected from a fissure filling named Cos in the Quercy region, southwestern France. It includes four primate species and a plesiadapiform. The cercamoniine adapiform Protoadapis andrei Godinot and Vidalenc, nov. sp., is represented by material that adds to our knowledge of the genus Protoadapis for the upper canine, upper molars and other morphological details. It appears more primitive than P. brachyrhynchus from the Old Quercy Collections. The other cercamoniine Pronycticebus cosensis Godinot and Vidalenc, nov. sp., offers insight on intraspecific variations and other details of the genus. Both species suggest a bushy evolution within these genera. Two teeth document the presence of a third cercamoniine, Anchomomys sp. indet. The new microchoerid Quercyloris eloisae Godinot and Vidalenc, nov. gen., nov. sp., has very primitive characters and seems to document a primitive member of the Pseudoloris clade. A poorly documented paromomyid plesiadapiform is distinct enough to be named Arcius moniquae Godinot and Vidalenc, nov. sp. It represents the first discovery of a plesiadapiform in the Quercy fossil record and makes a link with paromomyids surviving until the late Lutetian European Mammal Paleogene MP 13 reference level. The primates indicate a broad age interval between MP 10 (late Ypresian) and MP 12 (mid-Lutetian). The identification of the same species of Pronycticebus and of the new genus in the Vielase fauna suggests more precisely the MP 10–MP 11 (late Ypresian–early Lutetian) time interval.