Early human dispersals into the Iberian Peninsula: a comment on Martínez et al.(2010) and Garcia et al. (2011)

Garcia et al. (2011) recently discussed early human dispersals into the Iberian Peninsula, describing several putative lithic artifacts (Martínez et al., 2010) recovered from layer 7 of the Vallpara díssection (Madurell-Malapeira et al., 2010) in Terrassa (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain). According to the authors' opinion, such evidence (1) fills a gap in the chronology of early human occupation in Iberia, (2) indicates that these populations had primary and early access to carcasses, and (3) confirms that early human populations were equipped with advanced cultural traits enabling them to survive in unfavourable climatic conditions. We argue below that the record of human activity at Vallparadís (Martínez et al., 2010;Garcia et al., 2011) is doubtful and even that if confirmed, a chronological gap would remain (contra Garcia et al., 2011). Additional remarks on assertions by these authors on the Vallparadís geology, taphonomy and paleonvironment are also provided.     

Systematic bias and the phylogeny of Coleoptera—A response to Cai et al. (2022) following the responses to Cai et al. (2020)

Systematic bias is one of the major phylogenetic issues arising over the last two decades. Using methods designed to reduce compositional and rate heterogeneity, hence systematic bias, Cai and co-workers (2022) (= CEA22) reanalyzed the DNA sequence dataset for Coleoptera of Zhang et al. (2018) (= ZEA). CEA22 suggest that their phylogenetic results and major evolutionary hypotheses about the Coleoptera should be favoured over other recently published studies. Here, we discuss the methodology of CEA22 with particular attention to how their perfunctory reanalysis of ZEA obfuscates rather than illuminates beetle phylogeny. Similar to published rebuttals of an earlier study of theirs, we specifically find that many of their claims are misleading, unsupported, or false. Critically, CEA22 fail to establish the stated premise for their reanalysis. They fail to demonstrate how composition or rate heterogeneity supposedly impacted the phylogeny estimate of ZEA, let alone the results of other recent studies. Moreover, despite their claim of comprehensive sampling of Coleoptera, their dataset is neither the most diverse with respect to species and higher taxa included, nor anywhere near the largest in terms of sequence data and sampled loci. Although CEA22 does contribute additional fossils for calibration, those seeking the best available estimate for Coleoptera phylogeny and evolution based on molecular data are advised to look elsewhere.     

The shrew pleads ‘not guilty’ to the mole’s murder: comment on Bennàsar et al. (2015)

The damage on the surface of a mole fossil humerus from the early Pleistocene site of Sima del Elefante (Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain) has been recently interpreted as bite marks of the extinct shrew Beremendia fissidens. The present work considers this attribution not evident, and it stresses some doubts on the feasibility of a shrew leaving bite marks on a bone using its incisors, as well as the physical and ethological inconsistencies that it would imply.     

Regiominutus ventralis gen. et sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) infesting Aglaia elaeagnoides (Meliaceae) on the Andaman archipelago,India

Puparia and third instar of a new diminutive whitefly, Regiominutus ventralis gen. et sp. nov. found infesting underside leaves of Aglaia elaeagnoides (A. Juss) (Meliaceae) on the Andaman Islands, India, are diagnosed, described and discussed. Regiominutus gen. nov. differs from allied genera, Aleuroclava Singh, Aericerus Dubey, Aleuroparvus Dubey, Aleuropleurocelus Drews and Sampson and Tetralicia Harrison in having a submarginal ventral groove, from the former two in having a deflexed submargin and smaller ventral surface and from the latter two in having a caudal furrow. Affinities and differences of the new genus shared with related genera are discussed. Puparium characters observed in slide mounts versus scanning electron microscope (SEM) images are presented. Line drawings, habitus images and SEM, microphotographs of the type specimens are given for the new taxa. This is the first whitefly species to be recorded from this host plant.     

A new species of fossorial natricid snakes of the genus Trachischium Günther, 1858 (Serpentes: Natricidae) from the Himalayas of northeastern India

A new species of natricid snakes, Trachischium apteii sp. nov. is described from the northeastern Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh. The new species differs from its congeners in the following suite of characters: dorsal scales in 15:15:15 rows, SVL 293–299 mm, higher ventral count 143–150, very faint dorsal longitudinal lines, absence of yellow patch on the neck and the belly being pale yellow. Preliminary discussion on the phylogenetic position of the members of the genus Trachischium is presented. This discovery of a new snake species advocates the need for dedicated surveys to document biodiversity across Arunachal Pradesh and the neighbouring States of northeastern India.     

Multiple refugia and glacial expansions in the Tucumane–Bolivian Yungas: The phylogeography and potential distribution modeling of Calomys fecundus (Thomas, 1926) (Rodentia: Cricetidae)

The Yungas, a subtropical mountain rainforest of South America, has been little studied in relation to the evolutionary history of the large-bodied species of the genus Calomys. Particularly, two species have been synonymized: C. boliviae and C. fecundus; the first is only known from its type locality in the northern Bolivian Yungas, whereas the second is known along the Tucumane–Bolivian Yungas shared by Bolivia and Argentina. In this study, we combined a phylogeographic approach with ecological niche modeling, with samples covering most of the geographic range of C. fecundus. One mitochondrial and two nuclear genes were used for population genetic analyses. Current and paleoclimatic models were obtained. Nuclear genes resulted uninformative by retention of ancestral polymorphism with other species of Calomys. The mitochondrial marker revealed a complex network showing signals of several population expansions. Three genetic clusters in a latitudinal sense were detected, which are coincident with the three stable climatic zones estimated by current and paleoclimatic models. We determined a pattern of expansion during glacial cycles and ancestral refugia during interglacial cycles. None of the potential distribution models predicted the presence of C. fecundus in the type locality of C. boliviae. Therefore, we recommend making integrative taxonomic studies in the Bolivian Yungas, to determine whether or not C. fecundus and C. boliviae correspond to the same species.     

Assessing significance under the RMA ? moving forwards: a reply to Walker et al. (2008)

Walker et al. (2008) are critical of the methods used by ecologists and others with ?vested interests? to identify significant biodiversity values and provide for their protection under the Resource Management Act (1991) (RMA), particularly the use of the draft criteria proposed in Norton & Roper-Lindsay (2004). However, we believe that their criticism is flawed because of their failure to fully understand the context of the Norton?Roper-Lindsay criteria; unjustified presumptions they make about the roles of ecologists in assisting those applying for resource consents and administering the RMA; and a failure to take into account the current realities of native biodiversity conservation for those parts of New Zealand covered by the RMA. In this reply we address these issues and outline a way to move forwards in this debate.     

Drafting human ancestry: what does the Neanderthal genome tell us about hominid evolution? Commentary on Green et al. (2010)

Ten years after the first draft versions of the human genome were announced, technical progress in both DNA sequencing and ancient DNA analyses has allowed a research team around Ed Green and Svante P??bo to complete this task from infinitely more difficult hominid samples: a few pieces of bone originating from our closest, albeit extinct, relatives, the Neanderthals. Pulling the Neanderthal sequences out of a sea of contaminating environmental DNA impregnating the bones and at the same time avoiding the problems of contamination with modern human DNA is in itself a remarkable accomplishment. However, the crucial question in the long run is, what can we learn from such genomic data about hominid evolution?     

Where is the Evidence for Assessing Evidence‐Based Restoration? Comments on Ntshotsho et al. (2010)

In their article “Assessing the evidence base for restoration in South Africa,” Ntshotsho et al. attempt to determine whether restoration in South Africa is evidence based by reporting on 10 projects' baseline data collection, goal setting, and monitoring. However, their contribution suffers from two major constraints. First, they confuse assessing the evidence base with assessing whether restoration is evidence based. Truly, assessing the evidence base would entail a systematic review of the quantity and quality of information available as well as the conclusions supported, perhaps in a meta‐analytical framework. Determining if restoration is evidence based would require a survey of project managers to evaluate if they take decisions based on scientific information. Second, Ntshotsho et al. do not clearly distinguish successfully achieving restoration project goals from successfully restoring ecosystems. They largely focus on projects' socioeconomic goals without emphasizing that these goals are, by definition, secondary to ecological goals in determining restoration success. Thus, Ntshotsho et al. provide neither a sound assessment of the evidence base for restoration nor whether restoration is evidence based. To evaluate and encourage evidence‐based restoration in South Africa, we recommend a simple assessment of the basis on which restoration managers make decisions, identification of factors precluding evidence‐based decision‐making, and development of platforms to evaluate the data collected in restoration programs to generate an evidence base from which to make defendable decisions.     

Henneguya polarislonga n. sp. (Cnidaria: Myxosporea) parasitizing Astyanax lacustris (Lütken, 1875) with an insight on its life cycle

Henneguya polarislonga n. sp. is described from the gills of Astyanax lacustris (Lütken, 1875) (Characiformes, Characidae) from streams of the Middle Paranapanema River, Upper Paraná River basin, in the São Paulo State, Brazil. The proposed new species is supported by a combination of morphological and molecular characterization (partial fragment of the SSU rDNA). Thirty specimens of A. lacustris were analyzed and myxospores were found in the gill lamellae of one specimen (Prevalence = 3.3%). Henneguya polarislonga n. sp. was morphometrically and genetically distinct from other Henneguya spp. previously described in Astyanax spp., mainly differing in the total length and caudal appendages length of the mature myxospores. Comparative analysis of the SSU rDNA sequences revealed that Seisactinomyxon-type actinospores previously reported parasitizing oligochaetes are developmental stages of the life cycle of Henneguya polarislonga n. sp. (similarity of 99.9%). This is the first time that an actinospore and a myxospore are correlated through molecular analysis in Brazil, contributing to the knowledge of the myxozoan ecology and biodiversity.     

No strict host specificity: Brain metacercariae Diplostomum petromyzifluviatilis Müller (Diesing, 1850) are conspecific with Diplostomum sp. Lineage 4 of Blasco-Costa et al. (2014)

Metacercariae of Diplostomum petromyzifluviatilis (Digenea, Diplostomidae) from the brain of European river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis from the Baltic Sea basin and Arctic lamprey Lethenteron camtschaticum from the White Sea basin were studied with the use of genetic and morphological methods. Phylogenetic analysis based on cox1 marker showed that the parasites of both lamprey species were conspecific with Diplostomum sp. Lineage 4 of Blasco-Costa et al. (2014). The name Diplostomum petromyzifluviatilis Müller (Diesing, 1850) has historical precedence as a species described from the brain of lampreys and should be used in genus nomenclature. There were no morphological qualitative differences between the metacercariae from the two lamprey species but those from L. fluviatilis were larger than those from L. camtschaticum. We expanded the data on the second intermediate hosts and the localization of D. petromyzifluviatilis, showing that its metacercariae occur not only in the brain of lampreys but also in the brain and the retina of three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus and the vitreous humour of the perch Perca fluviatilis across the European part of the Palearctic.     

Global mitochondrial DNA phylogeography and biogeographic history of the antitropically and longitudinally disjunct marine bryozoan Membranipora membranacea L. (Cheilostomata): another cryptic marine sibling species complex?

The origin of disjunct distributions in high dispersal marine taxa remains an important evolutionary question as it relates to the formation of new species in an environment where barriers to gene flow are not always obvious. To reconstruct the relationships and phylogeographic history of the antitropically and longitudinally disjunct bryozoan Membranipora membranacea populations were surveyed with mtDNA cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) sequences across its cosmopolitan range. Maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian genealogies revealed three deep clades in the North Pacific and one monophyletic clade each in the southeast Pacific (Chile), southwest Pacific (Australia/New Zealand), North Atlantic and southeast Atlantic (South Africa). Human-mediated dispersal has not impacted M. membranacea’s large-scale genetic structure. M. membranacea did not participate in the trans-arctic interchange. Episodic long-distance dispersal, combined with climatic vicariance can explain the disjunct distribution. Dispersal led southward across the tropics perhaps 13 mya in the East Pacific and again northwards perhaps 6 mya in the Eastern Atlantic to colonize the North Atlantic from the south, and along the West Wind Drift to colonize Australia. The clades differentiated over evolutionary time in their respective ocean region, potentially forming a sibling species complex. The taxonomic status of the clades is discussed.     

Palaeoecological interpretation of the late Miocene landscapes and vegetation of northern Greece: A comment to Merceron et al., 2016 (Geobios 49, 135–146)

Recent works on feeding habits of ungulates, isotopic composition of equid tooth enamel, and phytoliths from late Miocene localities of northern Greece suggested the presence of savannah and excluded dense forests. Furthermore, Mediterranean-like climates were advocated for the late Miocene of Greece. Here, I compare palaeoenvironments inferred for two mammal localities from Chalkidiki and the Axios Valley (Nikiti, upper Vallesian and lower Turolian; Dytiko, upper Turolian) with evidence from contemporaneous plant assemblages from adjacent areas in Greece and Bulgaria. I use vegetation units inferred from pollen and spore, fruit and seed, and leaf assemblages and compare them with the vegetation inferred from mammal and phytolith data. Open vegetation as inferred from mammal and phytolith data is also part of the range of vegetation units discovered from the pollen and spore, seed and fruit, and leaf record (here called the palaeobotanical record). Poaceae are consistently present in late Vallesian to late Turolian pollen records of northern Greece. Further, a number of vegetation units are indicative of forest vegetation ranging from lowland to upland forests dominated by woody angiosperms and mixed coniferous-angiosperm forests. The presence of such forests is not in conflict with the results from mammal and phytolith studies, but it broadens the view on landscapes present in the late Miocene of northern Greece. In addition to a generalized vegetation type commonly inferred by mammal studies, the palaeobotanical record demonstrates the presence of various complementary vegetation types. A comprehensive view on late Miocene landscapes in northern Greece shows that there is no conflict in inferring open herb dominated landscapes and light to dense forests and provides new opportunities for the ecological interpretation of late Miocene ungulates.