A NEW GEOGRAPHICAL RACE OF THE GOLDEN-TAILED WOODPECKER FROM SOUTH-EASTERN AFRICA,WITH NOTES ON THE OTHER SOUTH AFRICAN FORMS

Maclean, G. L. 1974. Egg-covering in the Charadrii. Ostrich 45: 167–174.

Deliberate egg-covering in the Charadrii (waders) occurs in at least 13 species in four families (Jacanidae, Glareolidae, Charadriidae and Thinocoridae). The habit is most widely developed in the genus Gharadrius, of which at least four species cover their eggs. Egg-covering is done by kicking material over the eggs with the feet in most species, but in the Glareolidae and probably some other groups, only the bill is used.

The primary function of egg-covering appears to be concealment, but the secondary function of thermoregulation appears to have become almost as important in a few species, especially as a device to insulate the eggs against exposure to the sun. It is not surprising that egg-covering is most highly evolved in tropical and subtropical regions where predator-pressureMaybe higher, and the danger of overheating by direct sun is greater, than elsewhere.     

LAKE RUDOLF AND THE PALAEARCTIC EXODUS FROM EAST AFRICA

The 165 000 km² sub-desert corridor in which Lake Rudolf lies may affect the routes taken by Palaearctic migrants in eastern Africa. A five-week study was made at Lake Rudolf during the spring migration period. The area is important for water birds, especially waders. It is less important for land birds, although on passage several passerines occur abundantly on Central Island, and some commonly in similarly well vegetated area (Turkwel river, littoral reedbeds). Some may fatten there before emigrating. Evidently the sub-desert corridor is not so inhospitable that it is entirely avoided or overflown by migrants.     

A NEW RECORD OF THE NUDIBRANCH GASTROPOD POLYCERA HEDGPETHI MARCUS, FROM THE INDIAN OCEAN OF SOUTH AFRICA

Polycera hedgpethi Marcus, 1964, previously known only fromthe Pacific coasts of California and Mexico, is recorded fromPlettenberg Bay, South Africa. The high degree of morphologicalconsistency betweeen Pacific and Indian Ocean material insuresthat they are conspecific. P. hedgpethi is readily distinguishablefrom P. capensis, the only other Polycera recorded from SouthAfrican waters. (Received 20 July 1980;     

华东地区元荡湖现生介形类新记录

本文首次记述了采自我国东部元荡湖的现生介形类7属9种,分别为:近球形金星介Cypris subglobosa Sowerby,1840、膨大丽神介Cypretta turgida(Sars,1896)、克氏丽星介Cypria kraepelini(G.W.Müller,1903)、无偶斗星介Cypridopsis vidua(O.F.Müller,1776)、塔尔薄丽星介Dolerocypria taalensis Tressler,1937、豆形豆形玻璃介Fabaeformiscandona fabaeformis(Fischer,1851)、弯叶豆形玻璃介F.myllaina Smith et Kamiya,2007、豆形玻璃介(未定种)Fabaeformiscandonasp.和粗糙土星介Ilyocypris salebrosa Stepanaitys,1960。这些属种在太湖流域的淀泖湖群系首次报道,其中F.myllaina和I.salebrosa均首次报道于我国东部湖区。本研究丰富了我国介形类记录,可为介形类地理区系研究提供基础资料。     

A NEW GENUS OF HIODONTIDAE FROM LUOZIGOU BASIN, EAST JILIN

<正> Manchurichthys (Saito, 1936) has been, for a long time, the only representative of fossil vertebrate known from the Oil-bearing member of Dalazi Formation, Luozigou Basin, East Jilin. Since 1978, some new materials have been collected there by the Regional Geological Brigade of Jilin Province and the present author. Two more forms of fossil fishes are not known to occur in the rocks of this section. One is Sinarnia luozigouensis (Li, 1984) which is referred to Amiiformes; the other, Yanbiania (gen. nov.), is described in this paper and included in the osteoglossomorphan family Hiodontidae.     

无眼金线鲃及其性状演化

无眼金线鲃Sinocyclocheilus anophthalmus是继我国个旧盲条鳅、无眼平鳅、裸腹盲鲃之后发现的第四种盲鱼。与近似种小孔金线鲃相比,该新种侧线鳞较少。由于它长期生活在黑暗的石灰岩溶洞之中,引起某些性状的适应性变异:眼睛消失;体无色素;鳞片退化,感觉器官特别发达。形态比较结果表明,无眼金线鲃是类似小孔金线鲃的祖先进入地下伏流后,适应黑暗环境而形成的一个种,为本属鱼类进化过程中的一个特化分支。     

PHYLOGENY OF THE GENUS ROSTANGA (NUDIBRANCHIA), WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF THREE NEW SPECIES FROM SOUTH AFRICA

Rostanga elandsia sp. nov., Rostanga aureamala sp. nov. andRostanga phepha sp. nov. are characterized by having the radulawith slender innermost lateral teeth, which lack denticles onthe inner side of the cusp and have a single denticle on theouter side. The outermost lateral teeth of these three speciesare elongate, but shorter than in other species of the genus.In addition, R. aureamala is the only species of the genus withrachidian teeth and R. phepha is unique within the genus Rostanga byvirtue of its white coloration with dark spots. A phylogenetic analysis shows that the three new species fromSouth Africa and Rostanga setidens (Odhner, 1939) are the sistergroup of the rest of the genus. The species from Japan and MarshallIslands (North Pacific Ocean) are basal in the sister cladecontaining the other species of Rostanga Bergh, 1879. The tropicalIndo-Pacific species of Rostanga are not monophyletic. The Atlanticand Eastern Pacific species form a monophyletic, derived clade,being the sister group of Rostanga australis Rudman & Avern,1989, which has a narrow range restricted to south eastern Australia.The widespread Indo-Pacific species Rostanga bifurcata Rudman& Avern, 1989, is the sister group of Rostanga dentacus Rudman& Avern, 1989, also widesprad in the tropical western Pacific. This phylogeny suggest s a viariant origin of the Sourth African, Atlantic-EasternPacific, and probably North Pacific species, whereas in thetropical Indo-Pacific most sister speceis are sympatric. (Received 16 May 1999; accepted 31 July 2000)     

A NEW SPECIES OF ZOSTEROPHYLLUM FROM THE EARLY DEVONIAN OF NEW BRUNSWICK

A new species of Zosterophyllum, Z. divaricatum Gensel, is described from the late Early Devonian (Emsian) of northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is a Platyzosterophyllum type, consisting of slender sometimes bifurcating axes with laterally borne sporangia oriented to one side of the axis. The species is distinctive in that axes bifurcate within fertile regions and in sporangium shape and attachment. Aspects of the morphology of axis and sporangium cuticle, tracheids, and spores are presented and considered in relation to comparable features in other Zosterophyllum species. Associated vegetative axes exhibiting H- and K-branching patterns and also cuticular features similar to the fertile specimens are described and it is suggested that they may represent parts of the same plant. Zosterophyllum divaricatum is most similar to Z. llanoveranum, Z. fertile, and Z. spectabile, and also resembles Rebuchia ovata to some extent. Z. divaricatum offers considerable information on variation within one species concerning sporangium shape, attachment, and distribution and expands the known diversity of Platyzosterophyllum types.