Army ant behaviour in the poneromorph hunting ant Onychomyrmex hedleyi Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae; Amblyoponinae)

Onychomyrmex belongs to the phylogenetically basal ant tribe Amblyoponini but shows prototypical army ant behaviours, i.e. group predation and nomadism. In order to investigate these behaviours, Onychomyrmex hedleyi was observed in the field and in laboratory experiments. Workers of O. hedleyi would frequently hunt centipedes but rarely social insects. Workers did not dismember the victims but recruited the colony mates to conduct group retrieval. If the prey were too large or too heavy to retrieve, the entire colony moved from the bivouac site to the prey site. Although foraging on the forest floor, a colony repeated the extension and withdrawal of a raiding column, which was up to 80 cm long (mean ± SD, 41.6 ± 18.5 cm). Colonies were nomadic and the relocation distance was up to 150 cm (mean ± SD, 74.4 ± 45.0 cm). Retinues guarded a queen who moved to a new bivouac site in the early phase of relocation. Colonies were found to stay at a site statistically longer if they had come from a more distant site, and were also observed to move to a more distant site if they had spent a longer time at a particular bivouac site. The consecutive migrations did not show significant directionality.     

Fossil quality and naming dinosaurs

The intense interest in dinosaurs through the past 30 years might have led to an increase in poor practice in naming new species. A review of the data shows that the reverse is the case. For 130 years, from the 1820s to the 1950s, most new species of dinosaurs were based on scrappy and incomplete material. After 1960, the majority of new species have been based on complete skulls or skeletons, and sometimes on materials from several individuals. This switch in the quality of type specimens corresponds to the recent explosive renaissance of interest in dinosaurs, during which the number of new species named per year has risen, from three or four in the 1950s, to thirty or more today. The pattern of specimen quality varies by continent, with the highest proportion of new species based on good material in North America, then Asia, then South America, then Africa and finally Europe. This ranking reflects a complex pattern of perhaps overstudy in Europe, immensely rich reserves of new dinosaur materials in North America and Asia, and a relative paucity in South America and Africa.     

Sabellaria wilsoni sp.n. (Polychaeta, Sabellariidae) from the southeast coast of Brazil

A new species of Sabellaria is described from the southeast coast of Brazil and compared with related species known from South or North America.     

Colonization of and radiation in South America by butterflies in the subtribe Phyciodina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

The historical biogeography of insects in South America is largely unknown, as dated phylogenies have not been available for most groups. We have studied the phylogenetic relationships and historical biogeography of a subtribe of butterflies, Phyciodina in the family Nymphalidae, based on one mitochondrial gene (COI) and two nuclear gene regions (EF-1alpha and wingless). The subtribe comprises 89 species mainly found in tropical South America, with a few species in North America and the Greater Antilles. We find that the enigmatic genus Antillea is sister to the rest of Phyciodina, and suggest that it should be included in the subtribe. Several genera are found to be polyphyletic or nested within another genus, and are proposed to be synonymised. These are Dagon, Castilia, Telenassa and Janatella, which we propose should be synonymised with Eresia. Brazilian "Ortilia" form an independent lineage and require a new genus name. The diversification of Phyciodina has probably taken place over the past about 34 MYA. The ancestral phyciodine colonised South America from North America through a possible landspan that connected the Greater Antilles to South America about 34MYA. A vicariance event left the ancestral Antillea on the Greater Antilles, while the ancestral 0e on South America colonised the Guyanan Shield and soon after the Brazilian Shield. We hypothesise that the Brazilian Shield was an important area for the diversification of Phyciodina. From there, the ancestor of Anthanassa, Eresia and Tegosa colonised NW South America, where especially Eresia diversified in concert with the rising of the Andes beginning about 20 MYA. Central America was colonised from NW South America about 15 MYA by the ancestors of Anthanassa and Phyciodes. Our study is the first to use a dated phylogeny to study the historical biogeography of a group of South American species of butterflies.     

A synopsis of Jacquinia (Theophrastaceae) in the Antilles and South America

Stål, B. 1995. A synopsis of Jacquinia (Theophrastaceae) in the Antilles and South America. — Nord. J. Bot. 15: 493–511. Copenhagen. ISSN 0107–055X.
The genus Jacquinia in the Antilles and South America is revised. Twenty-two native and one introduced species are recognised. In the Greater Antilles, 11 species (six endemic) occur in Cuba, eight in Hispaniola (two endemic), five in Jamaica (two endemic), and four in Puerto Rico (none endemic). Two species (none endemic) occur in the Lesser Antilles and five (four endemic) in South America. Eighteen species are native to the Antilles and of these one, J. arborea , is shared with Central America and one, J. amzillaris , is shared with South America. No species is shared between South and Central America. One new combination, J. frutescens , is made. Several species are illustrated and distribution maps for all species are presented. A key to the species in the Antilles and South America and an index to all combinations published in Jacquinia are provided.     

Additions and corrections to the check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico

A total of 115 additions and corrections are listed and discussed for the check list of the Noctuoidea of North America north of Mexico published in 2010. Thirty-two of these are changes in authorship and/or date of publication or spelling. Taxonomic changes are 33 new or revised synonymies, three new combinations, and six revisions in status from synonymy to valid species.     

14 Phylogeny of chlamydomonads isolated from saline habitats: inferences from 18s and 26s rDNA data

Although the vast majority of chlamydomonadalean organisms are found in freshwater habitats, several prominent lineages (e.g., Dunaliella, Brachiomonas and some species of Chlamydomonas ) are found in brackish, marine or brine environments. Unknown chlamydomonads from Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge (SPMO; OK USA) and from the Culture Collection of Marine Phytoplankton (CCMP; Bigelow Labs, ME USA) were included in a broad phylogenetic analysis using both 18S and 26S rDNA data. Results indicate that several halotolerant/halophilic lineages can be identified among the Chlamydomonadales. One lineage, which includes Chlamydomonas parkeae, Chl. hedleyi (symbiont of foraminifer) and five CCMP isolates, is allied in the Tetracystis clade with Chl. moewusii and Chl. noctigama . A second group, which includes Chl. reginae , Chl. uva-maris and CCMP 233, is allied with Chl. monadina . Brachiomonas , which is sister to Haematococcus lacustris , has no close halotolerant/halophilic allies. The three SPMO isolates plus CCMP 220 and CCMP 1641 are resolved as close allies of various Dunaliella taxa. Two of the SPMO isolates are distinctive from a typical Dunaliella cell in that they regularly form non-flagellated cellular aggregations in normal saline media. In summary, these observations collectively suggest that the ability to live in a saline habitat has arisen, independently, in at least four chlamydomonadalean lineages. In addition, substantial taxonomic revision is required to accommodate virtually all of the unidentified isolates included in this investigation. Supported by NSF DEB 9726588, DEB 0129030, MCB 0132083 and MCB 0132097.     

Some American Austrolimnius (Coleoptera: Elmidae)

A key is given to the North American species of Austrolimnius, one of which is described as new. A new species from Venezuela is described, and new locality records in North and South America are listed for previously described species.     

New Glyptodont from the Codore Formation (Pliocene), Falcón State, Venezuela, its relationship with theAsterostemma problem, and the paleobiogeography of the Glyptodontinae

One of the basal Glyptodontidae groups is represented by the Propalaehoplophorinae (late Oligocene — middle Miocene), whose genera (Propalaehoplophorus, Eucinepeltus, Metopotoxus, Cochlops, andAsterostemma) were initially recognized in Argentinian Patagonia. Among these,Asterostemma was characterized by its wide latitudinal distribution, ranging from southernmost (Patagonia) to northernmost (Colombia, Venezuela) South America. However, the generic assignation of the Miocene species from Colombia and Venezuela (A.? acostae, A. gigantea, andA. venezolensis) was contested by some authors, who explicitly accepted the possibility that these species could correspond to a new genus, different from those recognized in southern areas. A new comparative study of taxa from Argentinian Patagonia, Colombia and Venezuela (together with the recognition of a new genus and species for the Pliocene of the latter country) indicates that the species in northern South America are not Propalaehoplophorinae, but represent the first stages in the cladogenesis of the Glyptodontinae glyptodontids, the history of which was heretofore restricted to the late Miocene — early Holocene of southernmost South America. Accordingly, we propose the recognition of the new genusBoreostemma for the species from northern South America and the restriction ofAsterostemma to the Miocene of Patagonia. Thus, the available data indicate that the Glyptodontinae would in fact have arisen in the northernmost regions of this continent. Their arrival to more southerly areas coincides with the acme of the “Age of Southern Plains”. The Propalaehoplophorinae are geographically restricted to Patagonia.     

Anaplasma phagocytophilum specifically induces tyrosine phosphorylation of ROCK1 during infection

Anaplasma phagocytophilum, an obligate intracellular pathogen that persists within polymorphonuclear leucocytes, is the second most common tick-borne agent in North America. We now show that infection of a promyelocytic cell line and neutrophils with A. phagocytophilum results in pathogen-specific tyrosine phosphorylation of ROCK1. Phosphorylation is associated with PSGL-1 and Syk, because PSGL-1 blocking antibodies and siRNA targeting Syk interfere with ROCK1 phosphorylation in A. phagocytophilum-infected cells. Knockdown of either Syk or ROCK1 also markedly impaired A. phagocytophilum infection. These data demonstrate a role for A. phagocytophilum-mediated ROCK1 phosphorylation in infection, and suggests that inhibiting this pathway may lead to new, non-antibiotic strategies to treat human granulocytic anaplasmosis.     

甘肃天祝松山第一地点上新世兔形类和啮齿类动物

<正> 1980年夏,作者去甘肃天祝藏族自治县松山公社处理人民来信时,在公社所在地华尖附近发现三个相互邻近的上新世化石地点,其中两个已有相当数量的哺乳动物化石被发掘出来(将另文记述)。本文记述的化石地点位于华兴西南约1.5公里的上庙儿沟村南山坡海拔高度2640米。地理位置是东经103°16′18″,北纬36°57′34″。中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所野外地点号80006。     

A new species of the zephyrinid nudibranch genus Janolus (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) from North America and Costa Rica

A new species of zephyrinid nudibranch of the genus Janolus Bergh 1884 is described from the Pacific Coast of North America and Costa Rica. J. anulatus sp. nov. differs from other species of Janolus by its external and internal morphology. J. anulatus has a brown or white body with pink, white, and brown spots, smooth papillae epithelium at the base and papillated in the distal part, unbranched digestive gland ducts, smooth jaws, and smooth rachidian and lateral teeth. The species is compared with other species from the Panamic Province and the Western Atlantic. A new extension range of J. barbarensis is documented.     

Nyssa talamancana (Cornaceae), an addition to the remanant Laurasian Tertiary flora of southern Central America

A new species,Nyssa talamancana, with fruits larger than those of any other, either living or fossil, is described from Costa Rica and Panama. In size, number of germination valves, and surface-sculpturing, its endocarps resemble those of the fossil assemblage more than those of the other living species. The occurrence of this distinctive new member of a definitely Laurasian family, in association with other endemic or nearly endemic Laurasian taxa, at wet mid-elevations lends credence to the idea that these forests harbor remnants of the really ancient flora of southern Central America.     

Leioproctus rosellae sp. n., the first record of the genus from northern South America (Hymenoptera, Colletidae)

Leioproctus Smith is a diverse colletine genus found in the Australian region and primarily temperate areas of South America. A new species of Leioproctus subgenus Perditomorpha Ashmead, Leioproctus rosellae Gonzalez, sp. n., from a tropical dry forest of the Caribbean coast of Colombia is described and figured. This is the first record of the genus from northern South America.     

The geography of diversification in the mormoopids (Chiroptera: Mormoopidae)

The traditional explanation of the distribution of the Mormoopidae is that this family originated in southern Central America or northern South America, later expanding its range north to Mexico and the West Indies, and differentiating into eight species. An alternative fossil-based hypothesis argues that the family originated in the northern Neotropics, reached the Caribbean early in its history, and dispersed to South America after the completion of the Isthmus of Panama. The present study analyses new and previously published sequence data from the mitochondrial 12S, tRNA^val, 16S, and cytochrome b , and the nuclear Rag 2, to evaluate species boundaries and infer relationships among extant taxa. Fixed differences in cytochrome b often coincide with published morphological characters and show that the family contains at least 13 species. Two additional, morphologically indistinct, lineages are restricted to Suriname and French Guiana. Phylogeny-based inferences of ancestral area are equivocal on the geographical origin of mormoopids, in part because several internal nodes are not resolved with the available data. Divergences between Middle American and Antillean populations are greater than those between Mexico/Central America and South America. This suggests that mormoopids diversified in northern Neotropics before entering South America. A northern neotropical origin for mormoopids is congruent with both the Tertiary fossil record and recent phylogenetic hypotheses for the sister family to the Mormoopidae, the Phyllostomidae.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 88 , 101–118.     

Oligochaetes (Naididae,Tubificidae, Enchytraeidae and Alluroididae) of Guyana,Peru and Ecuador

More than 41 species in 23 genera of the microdrile oligochaete families Tubificidae, Naididae, Opistocystidae, and Enchytraeidae and the freshwater megadrile family Alluroididae have been identified in recent collections made in Peru, Guyana and Ecuador. Just less than 70% of our species records are new for one or more of these countries and one is a new, albeit tentative, generic record for the South American continent. About 16 species new to science remain to be described. One of these is only the second reported species of Brinkhurstia (Alluroididae) and possesses unusual, single, very elongate penial setae. All of our species records are pertinent to tests of different hypotheses about historical and phylogenetic relationships among organisms of northern and southern South America and North America. The species, including new ones, with limited distributions are of particular significance to such hypotheses.     

A new Hesperodiaptomus Light (Copepoda, Calanoida, Diaptomidae) from Mexico with comments on the distribution of the genus

A new species of the freshwater planktonic copepod genus Hesperodiaptomusis described from material collected in several water bodiesin the state of Morelos, central Mexico. Hesperodiaptomus morelensisn. sp. differs from its congeners in having a very reduced endopodon the male fifth right leg, and a hook-shaped cuticular processon the inner margin of the first exopodal segment of the sameleg. Besides other characters of the female fifth legs, thenew species has a distinctive genital somite, with asymmetricallateral wing-like processes. This species seems to be closelyrelated to H. kiseri mainly because of similarities betweenthe male fifth legs and the structure of the female genitalsomite. This predominantly nearctic genus is known to be distributedmainly in north-western and central North America, althougha few species have been recorded in north-eastern Asia (Siberia).Hesperodiaptomus has not been recorded previously south of California.Apparently, this genus radiated in North America and spreadin different directions. The apparent disjunct distributionof at least two species (including the new one) could be explainedas resulting from a previous extensive radiation related toglaciation and consequent post-glacial repopulation that mighthave left these forms as stranded remnants, or by dispersalprocesses: central Mexico is connected with North America bytwo high-altitude potential passages. The new species seemsto be restricted to a high altitude area in Mexico. It seemsunlikely that species of Hesperodiaptomus will be recorded furthersouth on the American continent.     

A new fossil genus of South American cricetid rodents allied to Wiedomys, with an assessment of the Sigmodontinae

A new genus and species of sigmodontine cricetids, Cholomys pearsonl , from the Lower Pleistocene Vorohué Formation of south-eastern Buenos Aires Province. Argentina, is described. Its closest relative among the extant and extinct cricetids proved to be the living Wiedomys pyrrhorhinus of Brazil. Wiedomys and Cholomys are included in a new tribe of the Sigmodontinae, Wiedomyini. The distinction between the North American and the South American cricetids is stressed, the two groups being postulated to pertain to different subfamilies. The names Neotominae and Sigmodontinae are chosen for these two taxa, respectively. A tribal classification of the Sigmodontinae is advanced. Oryzomyini, Akodontini, Scapteromyini, Phyllotini, Sigmodontini, lehthyomyini and Wiedomyini are recognized as natural tribes of the Sigmodontinae. This broad array of suprageneric groupings reflecting different adaptive types strongly supports the hypothesis that the differentiation of the Sigmodontinae took place in South America from a primitive cricetid immigrant stock which entered South America, probably from North America, not later than during Miocene times.