Biogeography of Wood-Boring Crustaceans (Isopoda: Limnoriidae) Established in European Coastal Waters

Marine wood-borers of the Limnoriidae cause great destruction to wooden structures exposed in the marine environment. In this study we collated occurrence data obtained from field surveys, spanning over a period of 10 years, and from an extensive literature review. We aimed to determine which wood-boring limnoriid species are established in European coastal waters; to map their past and recent distribution in Europe in order to infer species range extension or contraction; to determine species environmental requirements using climatic envelopes. Of the six species of wood-boring Limnoria previously reported occurring in Europe, only Limnoria lignorum, L. quadripunctata and L. tripunctata are established in European coastal waters. L. carinata and L. tuberculata have uncertain established status, whereas L. borealis is not established in European waters. The species with the widest distribution in Europe is Limnoria lignorum, which is also the most tolerant species to a range of salinities. L. quadripunctata and L. tripunctata appear to be stenohaline. However, the present study shows that both L. quadripunctata and L. tripunctata are more widespread in Europe than previous reports suggested. Both species have been found occurring in Europe since they were described, and their increased distribution is probably the results of a range expansion. On the other hand L. lignorum appears to be retreating poleward with ocean warming. In certain areas (e.g. southern England, and southern Portugal), limnoriids appear to be very abundant and their activity is rivalling that of teredinids. Therefore, it is important to monitor the distribution and destructive activity of these organisms in Europe.     

Morphology of Hydrozetes confervae () and H. parisiensis (Acari: Oribatida: Hydrozetidae), and keys to European species of Hydrozetes Berlese, 1902

Hydrozetes confervae [Schrank, F.P., 1781. Enumeratio insectorum Austriae indigenorum. Augustae Vindeliciorum, 1-552] and Hydrozetes parisiensis [Grandjean, F., 1948. Sur les Hydrozetes (Acariens) de l’Europe occidentale. Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. nat., Paris, ser. 2(20), 328-335] are common European species of the aquatic oribatid mite family Hydrozetidae, but their external morphology is incompletely known. We describe and illustrate their larvae for the first time, and the nymphs of both species are redescribed and illustrated. Juveniles of the two species differ mainly by the position of gastronotal seta lm in relation to the opisthonotal gland opening (gla) and by the number of extremely long posterior hysterosomal setae in nymphs. In H. confervae seta lm inserts anteromedial to gla, but posterior to gla in H. parisiensis; nymphs of H. confervae have three pairs of long hysterosomal setae, while H. parisiensis has a larger, but variable number. Separate identification keys for the larvae, nymphs and adults of all known European species of Hydrozetes Berlese, 1902, are presented.     

The larva of Libellula foliata (Kirby, 1889) (Odonata: Libellulidae)

The larva of Libellula foliata (Kirby) is described based upon mature larvae from the Biosphere Reserve of ??El Triunfo?? in the state of Chiapas. It belongs to the small group of species without dorsal protuberances, L. composita (Hagen), L. comanche Calvert and L. saturata Uhler. The following combination of characters permits the separation of L. foliata larva from the other aforementioned larvae: tergites 6?C10 uniformly colored, no lateral spines on segments 8?C9, 5?C6 palpal setae and 3 long premental setae. After this finding, only the larvae of Libellula gaigei Gloyd and L. nodisticta Hagen remain undiscovered for the Mexican species of Libellula.     

Larval phases and ecology of Chrysolina (Pezocrosita) sahlbergiana (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)

Larvae of four instars are described in the little known leaf-beetle species Chrysolina sahlbergiana Jacobson from the Minusinsk Depression. Artemisia spp. is recorded as its host plant. Short setae on small scleroids distinguish the described larva from those of other species of the subgenus Pezocrosita. According to this character, this larva is closely related to larvae of species of the arcto-alpine subgenera of Chrysolina Motsch. Ch. sahlbergiana is regarded as a trans-Sayan, depression-steppe petrophilous species.     

Morphology of three species of Crotonioidea Thorel, 1876 (Acari: Oribatida), and relations between some genera

The morphology of juveniles of Archegozetes longisetosus Aoki, 1965 (Trhypochthoniidae), and two members of Malaconothridae, Trimalaconothrus angulatus Willmann, 1931, and Malaconothrus monodactylus (Michael, 1888) is described and illustrated, and the tritonymph of A. longisetosus and all juvenile stages of T. angulatus are described and illustrated for the first time. The juveniles of these species differ mainly by the presence of setae f₂ and h₃ in the larva, seta exs and pattern of cuticle in the nymphs, and some setal formulae. Based on the morphology of juvenile stages and adults, the relationship between Malaconothridae and Trhypochthoniidae is discussed, and keys to the larvae and nymphs of some European species of these families are presented.     

Cryptic speciation, habitat differentiation, and geography in Hamatocaulis vernicosus (Calliergonaceae, Bryophyta)

A molecular study of the wetland pleurocarpous moss Hamatocaulis vernicosus (Mitt.) Hedenäs, based on the ITS region, the trnL-trnF region, and rpl16 revealed two cryptic species. One of these is widespread in Europe, and was also sampled from several localities in Minnesota (United States). The other cryptic species occurs only south of the boreal zone in Europe, and was in addition sampled from single localities in Peru and northernmost Asiatic Russian Federation. Although it seems likely that the southern species colonized parts of Europe from southern refugia after the last glaciation, its wide distribution outside Europe indicates that the speciation event is unrelated to the European glacial history. No correlations could be found between variation in habitat preferences (pH and electric conductivity) and molecular variation.     

Biodegradation of wood exposed in the marine environment: Evaluation of the hazard posed by marine wood-borers in fifteen European sites

The activity of marine wood-borers causes great destruction in maritime wooden structures. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the hazard posed by marine wood-borers in fifteen European sites, to assist authorities and researchers concerned with the protection of wood in the sea. In northern Europe, Teredo navalis is the species that poses the highest borer hazard while in the Atlantic coast of southern Europe Lyrodus pedicellatus is the most destructive species, with the exception of two sites in Portugal. In these sites, Limnoria tripunctata was more destructive than L. pedicellatus. In the Mediterranean both T. navalis and L. pedicellatus pose a very high borer hazard to wooden structures.Salinity and temperature emerged as the environmental conditions that best explain the occurrence and abundance of wood boring species in the sites surveyed. Three of the species highlighted in this study are warm water species. Therefore their activity might increase in the future, due to global warming. Considering that wood is still a very valuable material for construction, its use for maritime construction should be favoured. Thus research to improve the durability of wooden materials in the marine environment is of paramount importance.     

The genus Laetiporus (Basidiomycota, Polyporales) in East Asia

Relationships among East Asian, North American and European Laetiporus sulphureus s. lat., a cosmopolitan brown rot species complex, were assessed with phylogenetic analyses and incompatibility tests. Three East Asian taxa, Laetiporus cremeiporus sp. nov., Laetiporus montanus and Laetiporus versisporus, are described and illustrated as well as compared with related taxa from Southeast Asia, North America and Europe. Phylogenetic analyses showed that L. cremeiporus and L. versisporus are clearly distinct species among Laetiporus taxa. The three conifer inhabiting species, Laetiporus conifericola, Laetiporus huroniensis and L. montanus, are closely related to each other. The European population of L. montanus exhibits two sequence variants of the EF1α: one is the same as observed in L. sulphureus in Europe and the other is that observed in East Asian population of L. montanus. A key to the known species of Laetiporus in the northern hemisphere is provided.     

The parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) from the Middle Miocene of Sansan (Gers,Southern France)

The occurrence of Archaeopsittacus sp. (Psittaciformes) in the fossil deposits of Sansan (France) is reported, testifying to a survival of this genus in the Middle Miocene, as Archaeopsittacus verreauxi was described from the Early Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy (France) and was recorded only from its type locality. The data discussed here indicate the presence of two parrot species from Sansan, as it is the type locality of another parrot species, Pararallus dispar, only known from this locality. The differences between the humeri of these two taxa are described in detail, together with the differences from the other European fossil parrot species. The presence of more than one species of parrot in the same locality is not rare, but in Europe it is recorded in Sansan for the second time. Evidence for parrots also confirms the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Sansan, as parrots are primarily arboreal species. Archaeopsittacus also represents one of the few common elements between the Early and Middle Miocene European bird assemblages.     

The Pacific Notocotylus atlanticus (Digenea: Notocotylidae)

Recently two unidentified Notocotylus species have been recovered from a mallard in Hokkaido, Japan. Preliminary data indicated that one of them may belong to N. atlanticus—a species found in Europe and on the Atlantic coast of North America. Now we have sequenced partial cox1 for several European N. atlanticus isolates and performed a barcode gap analysis. It has shown the conspecificity of European and Japanese worms, bringing up discussion on distribution, transmission and host specificity in this species.     

The “miacids” (Carnivoraformes,Mammalia) from the Early Eocene locality of Le Quesnoy (MP7, France); first occurrence of Vassacyon in Europe

We describe here “miacid” taxa from the Early Eocene Paris Basin locality of Le Quesnoy (Oise, France). We describe the new species Vassacyon taxidiotis, the first European record of this genus. The other “miacids” identified from Le Quesnoy are Miacis latouri and Gracilocyon solei. The P4 of G. solei is described here for the first time. Its morphology (e.g., wide protocone, short postmetacrista) supports a close relationship with Miacis rundlei from Abbey Wood (MP8 + 9, England). The latter species is therefore classified as Gracilocyon rundlei. Three new tooth positions are known for Miacis latouri: P4, p4 and m2. They support its reference to Miacis. These specimens imply that the European species is more basal than the North American species. The fauna from Le Quesnoy shares with Dormaal the presence of Miacis latouri and Gracilocyon solei, but the “miacid” fauna from Le Quesnoy also contains Vassacyon taxidiotis. The presence in Le Quesnoy of the two former taxa supports a reference to MP7 level of the French locality. The presence of three distinct genera in European localities show that the “Miacidae” were diversified in Europe, as previously observed in North America. The genera Gracilocyon, Miacis, and Vassacyon probably dispersed from Europe to North America during the Palaeocene/Eocene boundary.     

Historical patterns of niche dynamics in Neotropical species of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis> subgenus (Drosophilidae,Diptera)

Niche conservatism (NC) presence is a controversial question in evolutionary ecology. In Drosophila, little is known about which is the preponderant evolutionary pattern, since the adaptive radiation hypothesis first proposed by Throckmorton assumed niche divergence (ND) according to a niche occupancy scenario. Nevertheless, this hypothesis has not yet been straightforwardly tested. Our aim here was to test the role of NC patterns across evolution of American drosophilids belonging to the tripunctata and virilis-repleta lineages of the Drosophila subgenus, through measures of geographical, abiotic and biotic niche overlap and evaluations regarding the presence of phylogenetic signal or niche identity. We recovered phylogenetic signal attributable to phylogenetic niche conservatism when all species were analyzed together, but not in more restricted groups. Identity tests showed that niche equivalency was seldom rejected for the tripunctata lineage species. So, in general, neither the results for the Drosophila subgenus nor those for the tripunctata lineage support the hypothesis of an adaptive radiation. Notwithstanding, there were also several isolated cases supporting a scenario of ND, and ecological speciation was evident in some of the evaluated sister species pairs.     

New material of Diacodexis (Mammalia,Artiodactyla) from the early Eocene of Southern Europe

Diacodexeidae are the first representatives of Artiodactyla in the fossil record. Their first occurrence is at the very base of the Ypresian (earliest Eocene, 56.0 Ma) with Diacodexis, a genus well diversified during the early Eocene in Europe, especially during the MP7–MP8 + 9 interval. However, most of European species are documented by scarce material, retrieved from single localities. In this work, we describe new Diacodexis material from ～MP7 and ～MP8 + 9 localities of Southern Europe, including material of D. antunesi from Silveirinha, considered as the most primitive European Diacodexis species, and material from three localities from Southern France (Fordones, Palette, and La Borie). The new material documents Diacodexis premolar morphology and deciduous dentition which bear potentially important phylogenetic information, as well as astragali, including a specimen from Silveirinha that constitutes the earliest occurrence of an astragalus of the genus Diacodexis in the European fossil record. Investigation of the enamel microstructure reveals that early European species had a simple enamel pattern with one-layered Schmelzmuster composed of ‘basic’ radial enamel only, instead of the two-layered Schmelzmuster (thin radial enamel + thick layer of Hunter-Schreger bands) observed on North American species and so far considered to represent the primitive condition within Artiodactyla. In accordance with previous studies, our observations highlight that Diacodexis gigasei from Belgium is morphologically closer to the North American species D. ilicis than to D. antunesi from Portugal. The latter species, together with D. aff. antunesi from Fordones, appears to be morphologically closer to the Asiatic taxa D. indicus and D. pakistanensis. Finally, we found numerous similarities between D. cf. gigasei from Palette and D. gigasei, a result that challenges the intra-European provincialism that characterizes the earliest Ypresian. Diacodexis gigasei could be one of the rare species shared by the northwestern and southwestern European bioprovinces.     

A new species of Neochelys (Chelonii,Podocnemididae) from the Ypresian (Early Eocene) of the South of France

The known European record of the Gondwanan group Podocnemididae begins in the Early Eocene. Neochelys underwent a rapid diversification and was an abundant and diverse representative of this group during the Eocene of Europe from the Early Ypresian to at least the Bartonian. However, several of its species are poorly known, and the phylogenetic relationships among them are poorly understood. A complete shell from the Ypresian of Hérault (southern France) is described here. It is assigned to a new species, Neochelys liriae. The availability of characters of N. liriae is tested by comparison with the other European species, which appear to be well differentiated, and particularly with the neighbouring French taxa N. eocaenica and N. laurenti, of which the latter has been little known to this point.