Two series of parapophyses in neoscopelid fishes (teleostei: Myctophiformes)

Observations of the vertebrae of three genera and five species of neoscopelid fishes revealed the presence of two series of parapophyses (a ventral series and a lateral foveal series). The ventral parapophyses, situated on the ventral surface of the centra, were present on only the anterior abdominal vertebrae (AV): inScopelengys (AV1, 2),Neoscopelus (AV1–6 or 7),Solivomer (AV1–8). Parapophyses on the first vertebra were ossified, cone-shaped enlargements, the remainder being small, cartilaginous and ovalshaped. The lateral foveal parapophyses were formed from an extension of the lower edges of the foveae on the lateral surfaces of the centra, into which the ribs are set, being developed caudally to form the hemal arches: inScopelengys (AV4 posteriorly),Neoscopelus (AV6 or 7 posteriorly),Solivomer (AV8 posteriorly). The last ventral cartilaginous parapophyses and first lateral foveal parapophyses were present on the same centrum in two genera,Neoscopelus (AV6 or 7) andSolivomer (AV8). Lateral foveal parapophyses series were also found in some acanthomorphs and a ventral parapophyses series in some non-acanthomorphs. Whereas the ventral papapophyses in the non-acanthomorphs developed posteriorly to form the hemal arches, this parapophyses series in neoscopelids is incomplete, being absent on the posterior abdominal vertebrae. This suggests that the ventral parapophyses series in neoscopelids seems to be a remnant of that in the non-acanthomorphs. In myctophids, although cartilaginous ventral parapophyses were absent posteriorly from the second vertebra, enlarged ossified cone-shaped parapophyses on the first vertebra (as in neoscopelids) and lateral foveal parapophyses usually from the third vertebra were present. Accordingly, myctophids appear to be similar to neoscopelids in having two types of parapophyses.     

Expansion of Harmonia axyridis Pallas (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) to European Russia and adjacent regions

An invasive alien species, the harlequin ladybird Harmonia axyridis (Pallas, 1773), has quickly expanded its distribution in Eastern Europe. Records of H. axyridis from 31 localities in Lithuania, Latvia, the Ukraine, European Russia, and the Northern Caucasus are summarized and mapped. Within the last few years this species has established in south Latvia, on the Baltic Sea shore (Kaliningrad oblast and Lithuania), in the western and central Ukraine, Crimea, and in the Northern Caucasus. Besides that, individual specimens have been found in 4 more localities in European Russia. The species is recorded from Lipetsk oblast (European Russia), Crimea, and Nikolaev oblast (the Ukraine) for the first time.     

Length–weight relationships of seven myctophid fishes (Myctophiformes: myctophidae) in the South China Sea

The study included 546 specimens of seven myctophid fish species from the South China Sea (captured during June 2015 by bottom and mid‐water trawls). Length‐weight relationships (LWRs), W = aL^b, were estimated using standard length. The species belong to four genera. The values for the parameter a ranged from 0.006 to 0.022, while the b values ranged from 2.710 to 3.476 (Range of r² values: .938 to .971). According to FishBase, this study presents the first LWRs for these species, including two maximum standard lengths for Diaphus chrysorhynchus and Notoscopelus resplendens.     

Fossil spores and pollen grains of cretaceous (Upper campanian) from Sakhalin, Russia

This paper shows fossil spores and pollen grains from Cretaceous (Upper Campanian) of Sakhalin, Russia, with scanning electron microscopy. A total of 520 palynomorph assemblages consisting of 25% spores of pteridophytes and bryophytes, 4.5% of ephedroid pollen grains, 6.5% of coniferous pollen grains, and 64% of angiospermous pollen grains were recovered in the present study. 5 genera of pteridophytes, 4 genera of gymnosperms, and 18 genera of angiosperms are described in the present study. The frequent and representative genera from the stratum areEphedripites, Liliacidites, Clavatipollenites, Tricolpites, Aquilapollenites, andAzonia. A new genus,Sciadopitipollenites, that is comparable with extantSciadopitys is proposed in the present study. Polycolpate pollen with the same exine sculpture ofClavatipollenites suggests a generic differentiation in the Chloranthaceae during the Cretaceous age. The diverse spores and pollen paleoflora shown in the present study suggests a wide diversification of angiosperms in the Upper Campanian at the eastern side of Laurasia (Aquilapollenites province).     

Fossil calibrations and molecular divergence time estimates in centrarchid fishes (Teleostei: Centrarchidae)

Molecular clock methods allow biologists to estimate divergence times, which in turn play an important role in comparative studies of many evolutionary processes. It is well known that molecular age estimates can be biased by heterogeneity in rates of molecular evolution, but less attention has been paid to the issue of potentially erroneous fossil calibrations. In this study we estimate the timing of diversification in Centrarchidae, an endemic major lineage of the diverse North American freshwater fish fauna, through a new approach to fossil calibration and molecular evolutionary model selection. Given a completely resolved multi-gene molecular phylogeny and a set of multiple fossil-inferred age estimates, we tested for potentially erroneous fossil calibrations using a recently developed fossil cross-validation. We also used fossil information to guide the selection of the optimal molecular evolutionary model with a new fossil jackknife method in a fossil-based model cross-validation. The centrarchid phylogeny resulted from a mixed-model Bayesian strategy that included 14 separate data partitions sampled from three mtDNA and four nuclear genes. Ten of the 31 interspecific nodes in the centrarchid phylogeny were assigned a minimal age estimate from the centrarchid fossil record. Our analyses identified four fossil dates that were inconsistent with the other fossils, and we removed them from the molecular dating analysis. Using fossil-based model cross-validation to determine the optimal smoothing value in penalized likelihood analysis, and six mutually consistent fossil calibrations, the age of the most recent common ancestor of Centrarchidae was 33.59 million years ago (mya). Penalized likelihood analyses of individual data partitions all converged on a very similar age estimate for this node, indicating that rate heterogeneity among data partitions is not confounding our analyses. These results place the origin of the centrarchid radiation at a time of major faunal turnover as the fossil record indicates that the most diverse lineages of the North American freshwater fish fauna originated at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, approximately 34 mya. This time coincided with major global climate change from warm to cool temperatures and a signature of elevated lineage extinction and origination in the fossil record across the tree of life. Our analyses demonstrate the utility of fossil cross-validation to critically assess individual fossil calibration points, providing the ability to discriminate between consistent and inconsistent fossil age estimates that are used for calibrating molecular phylogenies.     

Paleocene and Eocene floras of Russia and adjacent regions: Climatic conditions of their development

Climatic changes in the western and central regions of Russian Eurasia in the Paleocene and in the first half of the Eocene were caused by the dynamics and rearrangement of the systems of marine seaways: the longitudinal one, which connected the Arctic Basin with marginal seas of the Northern Peri-Tethys, and the latitudinal one, which connected the latter seas with the Atlantic. As these systems were progressively reduced, the climate in the middle latitudes changed from paratropical to a subtropical monsoon climate with a moist summer, and later to a climate with a moist winter, and, in the Late Eocene, to a humid climate without any marked seasonal variation in precipitation. The type of flora changed in agreement with these changes. In the Paleogene, cold currents constantly influenced the climate of the Northwestern Pacific rim and facilitated the development of a warm-temperate mesophilic flora.     

Check-list of the Aphidiid-Wasp subfamily Trioxinae (Hymenoptera,Aphidiidae) from Russia and adjacent countries

A total of 64 species belonging to 10 genera of the subfamily Trioxinae (Hymenoptera, Aphidiidae) are recorded from the former USSR: Betuloxys Mackauer, 1960 (6), Binodoxys Mackauer, 1960 (11), Calaphidius Mackauer, 1961 (1), Falciconus Mackauer, 1959 (2), Harkeria Cameron, 1900 (1), Lipolexis, Förster, 1862 (1), Monoctonia Starý, 1962 (2), Monoctonus Haliday,1833 (6), Sergeyoxys Davidian, 2016 (1), and Trioxys Haliday, 1833 (33). Four species, Harkeria angustivalva (Starý, 1959), Monoctonia japonica Rakhshani et Tomanovic, 2015, Monoctonus mali van Achterberg, 1989, and Trioxys iziphia Mackauer, 1967 are recorded from Russia for the first time. The distribution of 20 species already known from Russia is clarified.     

First Record of Fossil Ghost Pipefish (Solenostomidae,Gasterosteiformes) in Russia

A skeleton of a ghost pipefish (Solenostomidae) from the Pshekha Subformation of the Khadum Formation (Lower Oligocene) in the Republic of Adygea was discovered. This is the first fossil record of Solenostomidae in Russia; moreover, it is the only ghost pipefish found in the Oligocene. To date, only two fossil solenostomid genera and species from the Eocene of Monte Bolca (Italy) have been recorded. The only Recent genus of this family, Solenostomus Lacepède, 1903, contains four species. The new specimen is incompletely preserved; it lacks a fragment of the body and some fins, precluding the establishment of genus and species of this form. However, the unique geographical position and age of the new fossil expand our knowledge of the evolution and geographical range of the family Solenostomidae.     

Fossil wood of Eristophyton sp. from the Carboniferous deposits of northern Russia (Arkhangelsk region)

Permineralised wood of Eristophyton sp. is first described from the Carboniferous deposits of the Arkhangelsk region, northern Russia. The specimens used in the study show scalariform thickening of the metaxylem tracheids both on radial and tangential walls. Eristophyton sp. indicates well preserved elements of secondary xylem: uni-, rarely biseriate xylem rays up to 15–16 cells high; uni-, multiseriate tracheid pitting only on radial walls; 1–8 contiguous cross-field pits and their inclined narrow apertures. A brief review and comparison with known anatomically preserved plants from the Lower Carboniferous of different localities of Scotland, France, USA and Poland is discussed.     

Character variation in separate body regions of Gerreidae (Osteichthyes: Teleostei) fishes inferred from geometric morphometrics

Body morphology is a valuable feature for distinguishing teleostean fishes. However, the utility of character variation in separate body regions has yet to be tested. The taxonomy of the Gerreidae family is controversial due to character overlapping among its fish species. This work aims to analyze and compare the body shape variation in three regions, cephalic, trunk, and caudal peduncle, using landmark data and geometric morphometric methods in 17 species and five genera of the family Gerreidae. The pattern of shape variation for the cephalic region consisted of well-defined character states exclusive of each species analyzed. Shape variation in the trunk and caudal peduncle regions does not distinguish all species in this study. This study showed that the dorsal cephalic profile is highly variable among the species, therefore, shape variation in this region is useful for distinguishing Gerreidae species. In contrast, some species within the same genus share similar shape states in the trunk and caudal peduncle regions, with the most shape variation in the dorsal profile and anal fin for the trunk and in the middle of the caudal peduncle.     

First record of the firebrow lanternfish Diaphus adenomus (Myctophiformes: Myctophidae) from the South Atlantic

The myctophid Diaphus adenomus is recorded for the first time in the South Atlantic Ocean based on 139 specimens (83–203 mm standard length) collected from eight trawl stations off eastern Brazil, between 13 and 16° S at 38 and 39° W, at depths from 233 to 1275 m.     

Climate and history explain the species richness peak at mid-elevation for Schizothorax fishes (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) distributed in the Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions

Aim  We studied elevational species richness patterns of Schizothorax fishes and identified the roles of ecological and evolutionary factors in shaping the patterns of elevational diversity.
Location  The Tibetan Plateau and its adjacent regions.
Methods  We assembled distribution and altitude data for all Schizothorax species using the literature. We merged ecological and evolutionary approaches to test the relationships between species richness and ecological factors (climate, area, the mid-domain effect) or evolutionary factors (diversification rates and time of colonization).
Results  We found that species richness of Schizothorax fishes peaked at mid-elevations. Rainfall, area, the mid-domain effect and diversification rate were weak predictors of the richness pattern. Temperature showed a nonlinear relationship with species richness. Temperature and time of colonization were the most important variables in explaining the elevational diversity pattern.
Main conclusion  Our findings indicate that the time-for-speciation effect and niche conservatism play important roles in variation of species richness.     

Zoogeographical characteristics of the Systellognatha (Plecoptera) fauna of Russia and adjacent countries

The stonefly fauna of the Systellognatha group of Russia and adjacent countries comprises 120 species belonging to 43 genera of 5 families. According to the geographical distribution, 12 groups of genera and 16 species-groups are distinguished. Most of the genera belong to the Holarctic (5), Nearctic-Eastern Palaearctic (7), Amphipacific (9), and Western Palaearctic (8) groups; among the species, the Eastern Palaearctic (29), Palaearchearctic (25), and Western Palaearctic (19) ones are prevalent. There are endemic species, especially in the Caucasus and Middle Asia.     

A Fossil Melamphaid Fish of the Genus Scopelogadus (Teleostei: Melamphaidae) from the Neogene Deposits of Sakhalin Island,Russia

Paleontological Journal - The skeleton of a berycomorph fish of the Melamphaidae family was found in sediments of the Middle-Upper Miocene of the Kurasi Formation of Sakhalin Island, Russia....