A cercopithecid primate from the late miocene of Molayan,Afghanistan, with remarks onMesopithecus

The first fossil primate discovered in Afghanistan comes from the Late Miocene of Molayan, Khurdkabul Basin. The materials consist of an almost-complete juvenile mandible and an isolated P₃. These two specimens do not significantly differ from thePikermi Mesopithecus pentelicus and are assigned to this species. The primate mandible from the Late Miocene of Maragheh, Iran, which has always been referred by all authors toM. pentelicus, differs from the Pikermi and Molayan materials. It must be assigned to another taxon, probably a new one. The geographic range ofM. pentelicus turns out to be considerably wider in view of the discovery of the species in Molayan, eastern Afghanistan.     

An adapid primate,sinoadapis, from lufeng,latest miocene,Yunnan, China

The paper deals with a new form ofSinoadapis from the Lufeng hominoid Locality, assigned toSinoadapis shihuibaensis sp. nov. Holotype PA 882 A fragment of right mandible with C,−M₃. Other materials. PA 903 A fragment of left maxilla with P³−M³. PA 959 Left lower tooth row with I₁−P², P₄. PA 902 Right upper tooth row with C′−P³. PA 964 An isolated left I¹. PA 907 An isolated right I³. PA 972 An isolated right M³.     

Larval development of two species of barracuda,Sphyraena guachancho andS. tome (Teleostei: Sphyraenidae), from southeastern Brazil

Morphological development of barracudas (Sphyraena guachancho andS. tome) is described, based on larval and juvenile specimens collected in the southeast Brazilian Bight. Preflexion larvae of the two species are similar, butS. tome larvae can be distinguished from those ofS. guachancho by having small melanophores on the midbrain and a row of melanophores along the ventral midline of the lower jaw and isthmus. Flexion and postflexion larvae ofS. tome are more slender than those ofS. guachancho. Morphology and pigment patterns ofS. tome are similar to those ofS. borealis from the north Atlantic. whereasS. guachancho larvae are similar toS. barracuda in having a fusiform body, advanced position of the pelvic fins and a heavily pigmented tail region, but differ in having a fleshy tip on the lower jaw in postflexion and juvenile stages.     

Post‐weaning ontogeny of the mandible in fossorial water voles: ecological and evolutionary implications

Ventura, J. and Casado‐Cruz, M. 2011. Post‐weaning ontogeny of the mandible in fossorial water voles: ecological and evolutionary implications. —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 92 : 12–20. Geometric morphometrics was applied to the mandible of fossorial water voles (Arvicola terrestris monticola) to determine size and shape variations in this structure during post‐weaning ontogeny. The sample consisted of collection specimens obtained in the Aran Valley (Spain), which were grouped into six age classes. Mandible size and shape did not differ significantly between sexes, but between age classes. Mandible size accounted significantly for the shape variation. After the size‐related differences were removed, the mandible shape did not show significant sexual dimorphism but differences by age remained significant. The main shape changes occur between the third and tenth weeks of life and are related to the shift from suckling to a herbivorous diet. Although mandible shape was less remodelled after that age, an appreciable variation also occurs during adulthood. Age‐related changes lead to enhancing the digging potential of the mandible, which in adults becomes a robust structure with an increased surface and stronger crests for muscle insertion. As part of the mandible shape variation was not related to the size‐dependent adjustment and diet does not vary significantly between juvenile and adult voles, shape changes that occur during adulthood can be related to the mechanical stress derived from digging activities.     

In vitro rooting of juvenile and mature<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Acacia mangium</Emphasis> microcuttings with reference to leaf morphology as a phase change marker

Rooting capacity of microshoots derived from a mature clone of Acacia mangium Willd. and from its juvenile progeny was compared in different in vitro conditions and in relation to leaf morphology as a phase change marker. Rooting capacity of the mature clone appeared to depend a lot on rooting medium composition, in contrast to the juvenile plant material. On a SH/3 derived medium with 4 µM IAA, the rooting rates varied significantly according to microshoot morphology and light regime starting from day 14. Maintaining the microshoots for 3 weeks in total darkness prior to transfer to the standard 16-h photoperiod increased the rooting rates overall. Mature-like microshoots of juvenile origin rooted in much lower proportions than the juvenile-like ones under the 16-h photoperiod, whereas no difference in rooting rates between the two morphological types was observed after 3 weeks in total darkness. The results were totally opposite for the mature clone for which 3 weeks in darkness, in contrast to the 16-h photoperiod, induced morphology-related differences in rooting rates with higher scores for the juvenile type. This study shows that under certain conditions, A. mangium microshoots from mature origin but with juvenile morphology can root in vitro with similar success rates (70%) to microshoots from juvenile plant material. However, the inconsistencies observed between the two age classes of microshoots in relation to photoperiod refute the use of foliar morphology as a reliable marker of rooting ability in A. mangium, although these two traits are classically referred to as phase change indicators.     

Effect of leaf leachates ofPolyalthia longifolia on the growth and nitrogen fixation ofAzolla pinnata

Summary Leachates of leaves of different age ofPolyalthia longifolia showed different activities on growth ofAzolla.The leachate of juvenile leaves showed the highest promotion as undiluted extract, in contract to the effects of leachates of mature and senescent leaves which had this effect when four times diluted.The growth and nitrogen concent ofAzolla were highest in October at all treatments, particularly at the treatment with four times diluted leachates from senescent leaves.The lowest growth rates ofAzolla due to different treatments were found in winter and in summer.     

Mandibular movements and their control inHomarus gammarus

Summary The skeletal morphology, musculature and innervation of the mandible of the common lobster,Homarus gammarus, are described as a basis for the functional study included in the two subsequent papers.Although the mandible articulation takes the form of a hinge with movement in a single plane, the musculature of the mandible is complex. The main muscles are similar to those ofAstacus (Schmidt, 1915) but some smaller, previously undescribed muscles were found.As forAstacus (Keim, 1915) andCambarus (Chaudonneret, 1956) the mandibular muscles are innervated by two nerve trunks, the inner and outer mandibular nerves. However, differences occur in the branching of these nerves and the muscles which they innervate.A group of sensory cells associated with the posterior stomach nerve (omn 4) are described. It is suggested that these form a proprioceptive organ associated with the hypodermis overlying the lateral mandible articulation.An interesting group of neurones lying at the confluence of nerve branches from omn 2, omn 3, and omn 4 is described.     

Mandibular ontogeny in the miocene great apeDryopithecus

The type mandible of Dryopithecus fontani,Lartet 1856, has been discovered to be not fully adult. Its development corresponds in dental age to that of a 6-to 8-year-old chimpanzee. Because of its immaturity, a number of seemingly distinctive features of this mandible (some of which resemble hominids) would have been lost with full adulthood. Closed tooth rows, a recurved canine, and a vertical ascending mandibular ramus are related to the age of the specimen. They therefore do not foreshadow hominid characteristics. It is stressed that consideration of individual age is an important factor in interpreting the dentitions of fossil and extant hominoids.     

Feinstruktur eines dritten,nicht-ciliären Propriorezeptors an der Mandibel vonOryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) (Insecta,Coleoptera)

Summary A third proprioceptor is described in the head ofOryzaephilus, which—just as the other two—presumably controls the movement of the mandible. It consists of two muscle fibres between the anterior arm of tentorium and the dorsal base of mandible, and a sensory cell, which sends a dendrite to the muscle insertion. The numerous endings of the dendrite lie between the touching surfaces of muscle fibres and epidermis cells. They do not show any ciliary structures and are not surrounded by glia cells or connective tissue.     

The effect of ecdysterone and juvenile hormones on protein synthesis and development of imaginal wing discs ofDrosophila melanogaster

The effect of ecdysterone and juvenile hormone on protein synthesis and development of imaginal wing discs ofDrosophila melanogaster has been studied. It is found that juvenile hormone apparently does not inhibit the synthesis of the ecdysterone-inducible proteins, although wing disc development is inhibited to various extent by different juvenile hormones. It is suggested that the ecdysterone-inducible proteins are not involved directly in the initiation of wing disc evagination, it is possible that some of these proteins are involved in the maintenance of chromatin activities or they are involved in gene activation.     

Autonomous yolk protein synthesis in ovaries ofDrosophila cultured in vivo

Summary Immature ovaries ofDrosophila mercatorum were injected into young larvae and into adult males ofD. mercatorum, D. melanogaster, D. hydei, D. virilis, andZaprionius vittiger. These homo- and heteroplastic transplantations allow normal vitellogenesis to occur in the donor ovary. By SDS gel electrophoresis, we identified the major species-specific yolk proteins of mature eggs (stage 14) which were exclusively of donor-specific origin. Other experiments withD. hydei andZ. vittiger showed that, when females were used as hosts, the host-specific yolk proteins became incorporated into the donor eggs. When two immature ovaries, one ofD. mercatorum and one ofD. hydei, were co-cultured in males, again only the donor-specific yolk proteins were found in the mature eggs implying that these yolk proteins were not released into the host hemolymph.A parthenogenetic strain ofD. mercatorum was used to demonstrate the ability of transplanted immature ovaries to produce viable eggs which can give rise to fertile adults.The role of the species-specific yolk proteins is discussed with respect to the dual origin of these proteins during normal vitellogenesis, i.e., an autonomous synthesis within the ovary itself in addition to the well-known production by the fat body. Further experiments with pupae as hosts indicate that even in the absence of juvenile hormone and in the presence of high doses of ecdysone, vitellogenesis can proceed within the donor ovary.Based on these experiments, a new hyopthesis on the hormonal control of vitellogenesis inDrosophila is presented. We propose that yolk proteins derived from the fat body are controlled by juvenile hormone, whereas the independent and autonomous vitellogenesis within the ovary itself is controlled by endogenously synthesized ecdysone.     

Early life history of mebaru,sebastes inermis (scorpaenidae), in sendai bay, japan

The early life history of the viviparous scorpaenid,Sebastes inermis, in Sendai Bay, Japan, was studied and early development described. Newborn preflexion larvae ofS. inermis were about 5.2 mm BL. Notochord flexion occurred at 5.4–8.0 mm BL and transformation at 14–20 mm BL. Preflexion and flexion larvae ofS. inermis were distinguished from similar larvae by the pigmentation pattern along the dorsal and ventral midlines of the tail. Pigmentation inS. inermis was light throughout the larval and early juvenile periods. Planktonic larvae were particularly abundant in coastal waters of Sendai Bay but not offshore. Vertical and horizontal larval sampling indicated that early larvae occupied near surface waters and horizontal larval sampling indicated that early larvae shift to a benthic habitat occurred at about 12 mm BL, at the end of the postflexion larval period.Sebastes inermis do not have a distinct pelagic juvenile stage, unlike many North Pacific species ofSebastes.     

Revision of the subspecies ofAustralopithecus africanus (primates: Hominidae), including a new subspecies from the late pliocene of Ethiopia

The subspecies ofAustralopithecus africanus Dart, 1925 have been revised in a morphological and statistical analysis. Four subspecific names were previously proposed, but only one was found to be valid. The subspeciesA. africanus transvaalensis (Broom, 1936), from the Plio/Pleistocene of South Africa, cannot be sustained due to an insufficient sample, and is combined with the nominate race,A. a. africanus. The type ofA. africanus afarensis Tobias, 1980 is a mistake in identification and notA. africanus, but a pongid. The population ofA. africanus from the late Pliocene of Ethiopia does indeed represent a relatively small-toothed geographical race for which the nameA. africanus aethiopicus was conditionally proposed; and the lectotype for it, A.L. 288-1, is notA. africanus, but the type ofHomo antiquus Ferguson, 1984. The trinominalaethiopicus is thus unavailable for the Ethiopian race, which is redescribed as a new subspecies,A. africanus miodentatus n. ssp., and the mandible A.L. 266-1 is designated as the holotype.     

禄丰古猿地点中国兔猴一新种

本文记述的是在云南禄丰石灰坝古猿化石产地与古猿共生的一种中国兔猴化石。这类化石以下颌骨和牙齿较纤细,牙齿的颊侧齿带较发育,牙齿狭长,齿尖锐利和臼齿咬合面的三角凹较大,下次小尖向后延伸而使下内尖和下次小尖之间有较大间隔;上臼齿的颊舌径较小等特征区别于中国兔猴厚齿种(Sinoadapis carnosus Wu and Pan.)根据以上的形态特征,作者把它订为中国兔猴一新种:中国兔猴石灰坝种Sinoadapis shihuibaensis sp.nov.。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Codium fragile</Emphasis>: rhizomatous growth in the<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Zostera</Emphasis> thief of eastern Canada

A rhizomatous growth form of Codium fragile is described for the first time. Plants were collected in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in estuaries dominated by Zostera marina. Rhizomatous plants developed from propagules of whole plants that settled horizontally. Horizontal axes of C. fragile were up to 1 m long in plants collected in situ. Plants developed several to dozens of erect axes at right angle to the base. Horizontal growth of up to 0.2 m was found in field experiments where fragments were tied to plastic mesh and left in situ for 4 months. The unconsolidated filaments at the base of C. fragile often wrapped around the rhizomes of Z. marina and up to five separate attachment sites to eelgrass were found in single plants of C. fragile. In four estuaries, 57–100% of Codium plants with identifiable substratum were attached to shoots and rhizomes of Z. marina. The rhizomatous growth form was found in plants identified as C. fragile ssp. tomentosoides (Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island) and C. fragile ssp. atlanticum (Prince Edward Island), suggesting that this is a phenotypic response to growth in soft bottom environments.Communicated by K Lüning     

Spawning ofConger oceanicus andConger triporiceps (Congridae) in the Sargasso Sea and subsequent distribution of leptocephali

Synopsis Distribution of leptocephali ofConger in the Western North Atlantic Ocean was studied using specimens from our collections, specimens from other collections, and various existing collection records. The presence of leptocephali ofConger oceanicus andConger triporiceps < 30 mm long over deep water in the southwestern Sargasso Sea in autumn and winter implies a protracted spawning period there. The subtropical convergence zone, meandering east-west across the Sargasso Sea, is probably the northern limit of spawning of both species. Spawning may also occur close to the Bahamas and Antilles.C. triporiceps may spawn also in the Caribbean Sea judging by the capture of small leptocephali in the western Caribbean and of the more southerly continental distribution of its juveniles. The claim of Johannes Schmidt in 1931 that the EuropeanC. conger spawns across the North Atlantic into the western Sargasso Sea is probably incorrect, because leptocephali ofConger are rare in the eastern Sargasso Sea and becauseC. triporiceps, with myomere numbers overlapping those ofC. conger, was recently described in the western North Atlantic. With increasing size, leptocephali ofC. oceanicus and a portion ofC. triporiceps spread westward and northward in the Florida Current and Gulf Stream, but larger leptocephali especially ofC. triporiceps are found also in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Spawning ofC. oceanicus in the Sargasso Sea indicates that adults cross the Florida Current-Gulf Stream, and successful leptocephali cross the current in the opposite direction to colonize juvenile habitat on the continental shelf, a migratory pattern similar to that of the American eelAnguilla rostrata (Anguillidae).     

Furculae in the Late Triassic theropod dinosaur<Emphasis Type="Italic">Coelophysis bauri</Emphasis>

Furculae have been identified in many dinosaurs and are synapomorphic in some clades (e.g., dromaeosaurids). All coelophysid dinosaurs exceptCoelophysis bauri have been shown to possess furculae. To date, the oldest well-documented furculae have been those of the Early Jurassic coelophysids,Coelophysis kayentakatae andCoelophysis rhodesiensis. The confirmation of furculae in Apachean-agedC. bauri further documents appearance of these elements in the Late Triassic and shows that furculae are synapomorphic in the Coelophysidae. A total of five furculae have been found in New Mexico Museum of Natural History’s (NMMNH) Ghost Ranch, New Mexico Whitaker Quarry block C-8-82. We describe three furculae in articulated juvenile skeletons; two that are missing fragments but are nearly complete, and one apparently complete, a small fragment of a furcula associated with an adultC. bauri, and one complete but isolated furcula. We access the morphology and allometry of the scapulocoracoid and furcula and show that they grow, at least in juveniles, in isometry with the humerus. The furcula ofC. bauri has a widely opened U shape that subtends an angle of ∼ 120°. All the furculae have groove-like epicleidial facets at the distal ends of the rami and some possess a small centrally located hypocleideal process. We reconstruct the complete Shoulder girdle ofC. bauri with proper spacing and angles between the elements and find that the coracoids are very close together under the center of the furcula.     

Die Calyptopis- und Furcilia-Stadien vonEuphausia hanseni (Crustacea: Euphausiacea)

The larval development is discussed and calyptopis stages I–III as well as furcilia stages I–VII are described. The larval development is similar to that ofE. spinifera, E. longirostris andE. triacantha (group d of genusEuphausia). Antennule, antenna, mandible, maxillule, maxilla and spines on the telson are unsuitable for identifying the larvae of different species of the genusEuphausia. The following characteristics can be used to distinguish the different larvae: form and marginal spines of the carapace, form of the rostrum, spines on the segments of the abdomen, and number and form of the pleopods. The mandible of larval Euphausiacea produces an asymmetric lacinia mobilis and a pair of processus incisivus accessorius (spine row). These two appendages are lacking in adult Eucarida.

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Mitglied der Taxonomischen Arbeitsgruppe an der Biologischen Anstalt Helgoland     

Mandible and Taxonomy of the Earliest European Homo

Although variability of the mandible makes it problematic for taxonomy, the holotypes of three of the oldest European species, Home georgicus, H. antecessor, H. heidelbergensis, are mandibles. Moreover, the distinctive validity of these three species cannot be established from these particular mandibles. The holotype of H. georgicus is pathological and similar to H. erectus in some important features, while others features are so widely spread that they are of little taxonomic value. H. antecessor shows juvenile mandibular features which are chronologically and geographically widespread, and similarities with H. pekinensis do not appear significant. The mandible from Mauer, H. heidelbergensis, is generally plesiomorphic, but similar to Neanderthals in a few important features. Neanderthals are a highly peculiar human group from the anatomical, geographical and chronological points of view. They are genetically different from H. sapiens and they seem to emerge in Europe during Middle Pleistocene. Mauer could be one of their earliest representatives.     

Life history characteristics of the clam<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Mya arenaria</Emphasis> in the White Sea

Dynamics of Mya arenaria beds in two bights of the Chupa Inlet (Kandalaksha Bay, White Sea) were studied on a long-term basis. Observations were carried out at 1– to 3-year intervals from 1979 up to 1999. The studied soft-shell clam beds were characterised by a substantial instability of age structure. Since 1988, only one year-class has dominated in the beds while other generations have been scarce and recruitment was not observed. This pattern of Mya bed dynamics was related neither to interannual environmental changes nor to differential reproduction success or predation effects in the benthic assemblages. Favourable conditions for spat formation in 1988 (low abundance of other M. arenaria generations), as well as for juvenile survival during the following winter, resulted in high abundance of juveniles in both investigated locations in 1989. The mortality rate (μ) in this 1988 generation varied throughout the period of investigation and was related to age. The mortality level decreased for the first 2–4 years of the life cycle, then stabilised for the next 3–4 years, and eventually increased in subsequent years. Overall μ values ranged from 0 to 1.68 year^–1. The oldest specimens observed were 17 years old and had a maximum shell length of 79 mm. Significant differences in average growth rates were observed between molluscs of different locations. Communicated by H.-D. Franke