Are Cristaria herculea (Middendorff, 1847) and Cristaria plicata (Leach, 1815) (Bivalvia,Unionidae) separate species?

The number of species in the freshwater mussel genus Cristaria Schumacher, 1817 recognized from Far East Russia has varied over the last several decades. While some authors consider the occurrence of only one species, Cristaria plicata (Leach, 1815), widespread in East Asia, others, recognize two separate species Cristaria herculea (Middendorff, 1847) and Cristaria tuberculata Schumacher, 1817 from Far East Russia, distinct from C. plicata. For the present study, freshwater mussels, identified as C. herculea, were collected in the Upper Amur basin (Transbaikalia, Russia). The shell morphology and the whole soft body anatomy were analysed in detail and compared with previously published information on other Cristaria spp.. Additionally, a cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene fragment was sequenced from foot tissue samples of selected animals, collected from the same region, and compared with published data. Based upon morphological similarities of glochidia and adult morphology and anatomy as well as the mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis, we consider C. herculea as a synonym of C. plicata. Further analysis of Far East Russia C. herculea and C. tuberculata specimens using both molecular and morphological characters should be carried in the future to enhance our knowledge about the taxonomy within the Cristaria genus. Moreover, a comprehensive revision of the genus Cristaria is needed, restricting the type locality and comparing topotypic specimens for both C. plicata and C. tuberculata, and including all recognized Cristaria species.     

Daddy, where did (PS)I come from?

The reacton centre I (RCI)-type photosystems from plants, cyano-, helio- and green sulphur bacteria are compared and the essential properties of an archetypal RCI are deduced. Species containing RCI-type photosystems most probably cluster together on a common branch of the phylogenetic tree. The predicted branching order is green sulphur, helio- and cyanobacteria. Striking similarities between RCI- and RCII-type photosystems recently became apparent in the three-dimensional structures of photosystem I (PSI), PSII and RCII. The phylogenetic relationship between all presently known photosystems is analysed suggesting (a) RCI as the ancestral photosystem and (b) the descendence of PSII from RCI via gene duplication and gene splitting. An evolutionary model trying to rationalise available data is presented.     

NAD(P)H, a directly operating antioxidant?

Endogenous oxygen- and nitrogen-centered free radicals are considered to play a decisive role in a variety of diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders, atherosclerosis, or cancer. Directly operating antioxidants limit the action of freely diffusing radicals by scavenging the attacking, oxidizing radical and re-reducing the oxidized biomolecule, i.e., the biomolecule-derived radical. From textbooks of biochemistry it is understood that NAD(P)H acts as a hydride (hydrogen anion) donor in a variety of enzymatic processes. One example is the re-reduction of GSSG to GSH, catalyzed by glutathione reductase. Because of this reaction, NADPH has been suggested to also act as an indirectly operating antioxidant, thus maintaining the antioxidative power of glutathione. To the best of our knowledge, however, neither NADPH nor NADH has been considered to be directly operating antioxidants. Based on recently published data, new experiments, and theoretical considerations, we propose that NAD(P)H represents a decisive, directly operating antioxidant that should be considered of major importance in the mitochondrial compartment. NAD(P)H fulfills this task both by scavenging toxic free radicals and repairing biomolecule-derived radicals.     

Is Lutzomyia serrana (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae) present in Ecuador?

We describe a multivariate metric comparison of three sandfly species showing strong differences in size, which questions the geographical distribution of one of them. Two species are represented by a single population (L. robusta and L. guilvardae) and one by two populations (L. serrana). All of them belong to the series serrana (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotominae). The morphometric data confirm that L. guilvardae is a distinct species. However, they suggest that L. robusta and L. serrana in Ecuador are the same taxon, and that it is distinguishable from the population of L. serrana in Bolivia. A multilocus enzyme electrophoresis analysis comparing L. serrana in Bolivia and L. robusta in Ecuador adds further evidence that these two populations are distinct species. Thus, our data seem to indicate that, in Ecuador, the population previously identified as L. serrana is actually the same species as the allopatric population previously identified as L. robusta. Accepting L. serrana in Ecuador as small-sized L. robusta, the resulting geographic distribution of this latter becomes in closer agreement with ecology and epidemiology.     

Treerunners,cryptic lizards of the Plica plica group (Squamata,Sauria, Tropiduridae) of?northern?South?America

The arboreal, Neotropical lizard Plica plica (Linnaeus, 1758) has been long considered a widespread species with a distribution east of the Andes. A preliminary examination of 101 specimens from about 28 locations mostly north of the Amazon suggests that Plica plica is a cryptic species complex with taxa that can be distinguished on the basis of the number of scale rows at mid-body; the arrangement, shape and ornamentation of scales on the snout; the number of lamellae on the fourth toe; the number of subocular plates; as well as other commonly used external morphological traits. The allopatric species discussed here are concordant with northern South American geography. Plica plica (Linnaeus, 1758) is associated with the Guiana Shield (Suriname, Guyana and Venezuela). A second species, P. caribeana sp. n. is associated with the Caribbean Coastal Range of Venezuela including Trinidad and Tobago. A third, distinctive species, P. rayi sp. n. is associated with the middle Orinoco at the eastern edge of the Guiana Shield. Two other species, P. kathleenae sp. n. and P. medemi sp. n., each based upon a single specimen, one from the Sierra Acarai Mountains of Guyana, and the other from southern Meta, Colombia are described. In addition to morphological analyses, we sequenced 12S and 16S rDNA gene fragments from one Plica plica from Trinidad to assess its relationship and taxonomy to other mainland Plica cf. plica. The results suggest Plica caribeana sp. n. likely diverged prior to the separation of Trinidad from northern Venezuela. Isolation in the Caribbean Coastal Range during its rapid uplift in the late Miocene, combined with a marine incursion into northern Venezuela may have contributed to their genetic divergence from other populations.     

New species of Pseudopoda J?ger, 2000 from Southern?China (Araneae,Sparassidae)

Four new species of the huntsman spider genus Pseudopoda Jäger, 2000 are described from Southern China: Pseudopoda acuminata sp. n. from Suiyang County, Guizhou Province, P. emei sp. n. from Emei Mountain, Sichuan Province, P. lacrimosa sp. n. from Fugong County and Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, and P. robusta sp. n. fromJinyun Mountain, Chongqing Municipality.     

A new species of Myrmozercon Berlese (Acari,Mesostigmata, Laelapidae) associated?with?ant?from?Iran

This paper report on a new species of mites of the genus Myrmozercon associated with ant in Iran – Myrmozercon cyrusi Ghafarian and Joharchi sp. n. was collected associated of the Monomorium sp. in Kenevist Rural District in the Central District of Mashhad County, Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. This new species is described and illustrations provided. Myrmozercon ovatum Karawajew, 1909 is suspected to be a junior synonym of Myrmozercon brevipes Berlese, 1902 and host-specificity and host range of Myrmozercon are also reviewed.     

New species of the genus Ortheziola ?ulc (Hemiptera,Coccoidea, Ortheziidae)

This paper describes three new Ortheziola species of the Palaearctic and Oriental regions. The specimens were extracted from forest litter using Berlese funnels, and are from the collections of Muséum d’Histoire naturelle de Genève, Switzerland. Thus the genus Ortheziola sensu stricto now includes 12 species. An identification key, distribution map and new locality records for the Ortheziola species currently known are provided.     

Dis-orienting Paraphilias? Disability, Desire, and the Question of (Bio)Ethics

In 1977 John Money published the first modern case histories of what he called ‘apotemnophilia’, literally meaning ‘amputation love’ [Money et al., The Journal of Sex Research, 13(2):115–12523, 1977], thus from its inception as a clinically authorized phenomenon, the desire for the amputation of a healthy limb or limbs was constituted as a sexual perversion conceptually related to other so-called paraphilias. This paper engages with sex-based accounts of amputation-related desires and practices, not in order to substantiate the paraphilic model, but rather, because the conception of these (no doubt) heterogeneous desires and practices as symptoms of a paraphilic condition (or conditions) highlights some interesting cultural assumptions about ‘disability’ and ‘normalcy’, their seemingly inherent (un)desirability, and their relation to sexuality. In critically interrogating the socio-political conditions that structure particular desires and practices such that they are lived as improper, distressing and/or disabling, the paper constitutes an exercise in what Margrit Shildrick [Beyond the body of bioethics: Challenging the conventions. In M. Shildrick and R. Mykitiuk (Eds.), Ethics of the body: Postconventional challenges (pp. 1–26). New York: MIT Press, 2005] refers to as “postconventional ethics”.     

A new species of Numbakullidae Gu?u & Heard, 2002 (Tanaidacea,Peracarida, Crustacea) from?the?Great?Barrier Reef,Australia

A new species of Numbakulla Guţu & Heard, 2002 (Tanaidacea) is described from Heron Island (southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland) collected during the Census of Coral Reefs Ecosystem (CReefs) program. The new species is the third member of the family and can be recognized by the combination of characters as: length/width ratio of the body, which is 6:7, pereonite 4 longer than the rest, the presence of eyes, a blunt rostrum, antenna article 2 elongated, cheliped carpus with row of inner setae, pereopod 6 carpus with spines, pleopod endopod with denticles.     

The genus Myrmarachne (Araneae,Salticidae) in?Flores,Indonesia

Two new species of the genus Myrmarachne are described (Myrmarachne acutidens sp. n., Myrmarachne epigealis sp. n.), and Myrmarachne macrognatha and Myrmarachne melanocephala are redescribed from Flores specimens. The females of Myrmarachne macrognatha are recorded for the first time.     

The genus Aspidimerus Mulsant, 1850 (Coleoptera,Coccinellidae) from China,with descriptions of?two?new species

Chinese members of the genus Aspidimerus Mulsant, 1850 are reviewed. Ten species are recognized, including two new species: A. zhenkangicus Huo & Ren, sp. n. and A. menglensis Huo & Ren, sp. n. A. kabakovi Hoàng is recorded from China for the first time. A. blandus (Mader, 1954) is recognized as synonymous with A. ruficrus Gorham, 1895 (syn. n.). Aspidimerus rectangulatus Kuznetsov & Pang, 1991 and A. serratus Kuznetsov & Pang, 1991 are transferred to the genus Pseudaspidimerus Kapur, 1948 (comb. n.). All species from China are described and illustrated. Distribution maps of the Chinese species, a key and a catalogue of all known Aspidimerus are provided.     

A new species of Austrodecus Hodgson, 1907 (Arthropoda,Pycnogonida, Austrodecidae) from?the?Southwest Indian Ridge

A new species of pycnogonid collected by the Chinese research vessel R/V Dayangyihao during cruises to the Southwest Indian Ridge in 2008 and 2009 is recorded. The new species, Austrodecus bamberi, is placed into the tristanense-section by the characters of 4-articled ovigers and present auxiliary claws and is distinguished from other species in this section by the number and length of tubercles on the first coxae.     

Nebria brevicollis (Fabricius, 1792) in North America,benign or malign? (Coleoptera,Carabidae, Nebriini)

Nebria brevicollis (Fabricius) is one of the most frequently encountered and widely distributed carabid beetles in Europe. Until recently, the only North American records were based on two single specimens, both from the 1930's in southeastern Canada. In 2008, this species was found at thirteen different sites in five counties in northwestern Oregon. As of the end of 2010, it has been found in thirty-four different sites in ten Oregon counties, with a north-south range of ~150 km and an east-west range of ~90 km. It was also detected in 2010 in southwestern Washington (Vancouver), just north of Portland and the Columbia River.The ecological amplitude of Nebria brevicollis in Oregon rivals that of the most eurytopic native carabid species, e.g., Pterostichus algidus LeConte and Scaphinotus marginatus (Fischer von Waldheim). It has been found in highly degraded heavy industrial sites, agricultural fields, city parks, gardens, second growth woodlands, mature conifer forests, montane rock gardens, and otherwise pristine stands of old growth noble fir, with elevations ranging from essentially sea level to 1,249 meters. Climates at these locales vary from that of the Mediterranean Willamette Valley floor, where snow rarely occurs and summers are hot and dry, to the summit of the Oregon Coast Range, where deep snow may be present from November through April and summers are cool. The carabid communities in which Nebria brevicollis has been found range from those predominantly of fellow exotic species, e.g., at heavily perturbed sites, to those where it is the only exotic species, such as at the Coast Range summit.Nebria brevicollis is clearly an invasive species in that it is not restricted to anthropogenic habitats, is rapidly expanding its North American range, and can be abundant in essentially pristine settings. What is not yet clear is whether it is or will become a damaging species. Although it is already the most abundant carabid species in some settings, based upon pitfall catches, it is unknown whether this represents competitive superiority, trap vulnerability, or utilization of previously untapped or non-limiting resources. Deleterious ecological effects could include not only competition with other predators (including other carabid species) in agricultural and natural settings but also predation upon non-adult stages of threatened and endangered species of butterflies.     

The New Caledonian genus Caledonotrichia Sykora (Trichoptera,Insecta) reviewed,with?descriptions?of?6?new species

The New Caledonian endemic hydroptilid genus Caledonotrichia Sykora (Trichoptera) is reviewed and 6 new species are described: Caledonotrichia bifida, Caledonotrichia capensis, Caledonotrichia minuta, Caledonotrichia ouinnica, Caledonotrichia sykorai and Caledonotrichia vexilla. Together with the established species for which revised diagnoses are given, these raise to 11 the number of species known in this genus. The new species, females of 3 species, and several unusual larval cases are examined and described for further insight into relationships of this enigmatic genus. A key to species is provided.     

The functional role of Gammarus(Crustacea, Amphipoda): shredders, predators, or both?

Gammarus spp. are traditionally viewed under the functional feeding group (FFG) concept as herbivorous `shredders'. Although recent studies suggest that Gammarus should also be viewed as predators, this latter role remains contentious. Here, in a laboratory experiment, we objectively examine the balance between shredder and predator roles in a common freshwater species. Gammarus pulex preyed significantly on mayfly nymph, Baetis rhodani, in both the presence and absence of excess leaf material. There was no significant difference in predation where the alternative food, that is, leaf material, was present as compared to absent. Also, G. pulex shredded leaf material in the presence and absence of B. rhodani. However, shredding was significantly reduced where alternative food, that is, B. rhodani prey, was present as compared to absent. Further, G. pulex had a clear leaf species preference. Our results suggest that Gammarus function as both predators and shredders, with the balance of the two roles perhaps depending on food availability and quality. We discuss implications for the use of the FFG concept in assessing freshwater processes, and the role that Gammarus predation may play in structuring macroinvertebrate communities.