Recent Progress in Understanding Early Tetrapods

This paper reviews significant discoveries and interpretationsmade for Paleozoic tetrapods over the past twenty-five years.In that span twelve significant, new localities have been found,including the oldest ever at about 370 million years in age.About 60 new genera have been described; five providing importantinsight into the early evolution of land vertebrates. The numberof exceptionally well known taxa with multiple, excellentlypreserved specimens has doubled to eight from four. The veryearliest tetrapods have been discovered to have been polydactylous,the ear region to have had a complicated early evolution andthe specialized tooth type found in Recent amphibians has beenfound in a group of Lower Permian temnospondyl amphibians, indicatingan evolutionary relationship. Perhaps the most significant advancein understanding the evolution of early tetrapods is that thebasal amniote groups have become better characterized and astart has been made in providing a defensible hypothesis fortheir relationships. The ascendancy of cladistics, functionalmorphology and plate tectonics has changed the way paleontologistsview fossils resulting in more defensible phylogenies and behavioraland biogeographical scenarios. These approaches to understandinghave, perhaps, had a more profound impact than any of the newfossil discoveries.     

Discovery of Miller's Grizzled Langur (Presbytis hosei canicrus) in Wehea Forest Confirms the Continued Existence and Extends Known Geographical Range of an Endangered Primate

Miller's Grizzled Langur (Presbytis hosei canicrus) is one of the least known and rarest primates in Borneo. With a limited geographic range along the central coast of East Kalimantan and the highly degraded Kutai National Park, its former stronghold, this subspecies is now extremely rare and has been listed as one of the world's 25 most endangered primates. From June 6 to August 2, 2011, we carried out both direct observation and camera trap surveys at two mineral springs (sepans) in the Wehea Forest, East Kutai district, East Kalimantan. Presbytis hosei canicrus was observed at the large sepan on 3 of 6 observation days and at the small sepan on 2 of 3 observation days with up to 11 individuals observed in a single day at a single site. Camera traps recorded a per day capture rate of 0.72 at the small sepan and 0.25 at the large sepan and a per photo capture rate of 0.50 and 0.005, respectively. These data suggest relatively frequent occurrence of P. h. canicrus at the sepans, but the langurs are rarely encountered elsewhere in the Wehea Forest. The discovery of P. h. canicrus in the Wehea Forest confirms the continued existence of this endangered primate and is the first solid evidence demonstrating that its geographic range extends further inland than previously thought. It is not known whether the population of P. h. canicrus within Wehea Forest is large and stable enough to be considered viable, but it is likely part of a larger population that may possibly occur across surrounding protected forests and logging concessions. Surveying this potentially large population, and securing its protection, should be a priority measure for ensuring the continued existence of P. h. canicrus.     

Unravelling a tangle of Mexican serpents: a systematic revision of highland pitvipers

As most recently recognized, the name Cerrophidion barbouri Dunn, 1919, refers to a highland species of pitviper endemic to Guerrero, Mexico, of which Agkistrodon browni Shreve, 1938, is considered a junior synonym. This species is rarely collected and prior to recent decades it was known from only a few specimens. A careful re‐examination of nearly all known specimens of C. barbouri and the type series of A. browni reveals that both names represent valid species and we therefore resurrect A. browni. Both species are extremely variable with respect to cephalic scalation and colour pattern, which has previously confounded efforts to identify them. We provide phylogenetic analyses using both Bayesian and maximum parsimony criteria of New World pitvipers to investigate the phylogenetic position of A. browni and C. barbouri. Our phylogenetic tree, based on 2235 bp of mitochondrial data [12S, 16S, cytochrome b (cyt b), NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (ND4)], strongly supports a clade consisting of A. browni, C. barbouri, and Ophryacus melanurus, which has a distant sister relationship to Ophryacus undulatus. Based on the deep phylogenetic divergences amongst these species and distinctive morphology we recommend that a new genus be recognized for A. browni, C. barbouri, and O. melanurus. Finally, we revise the genera Cerrophidion and Ophryacus in accordance with our new classification. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 163 , 943–958.     

After Authenticity at an American Heritage Site

This essay explores what happens to a heritage site "after authenticity." The site is Colonial Williamsburg, one of the most ambitious reconstruction projects ever undertaken and a place intended to be experienced as an objective correlate of an American national "identity." Because it makes such claims, throughout its history the site has been subject to critiques by those wishing to undermine its authority to speak as the voice of an all-encompassing America. Moreover, in the past 20 years, professional historians at Colonial Williamsburg have become articulate on-site critics of the epistemology of authenticity as they promulgate a historiography currently popular in history museums and in the academy.     

Role of the plant–conspecific complex in host location and intra-specific communication of Lygus rugulipennis

Abstract.  Wind tunnel and vertical open Y-shaped olfactometer studies are used to test whether volatile cues from the host plant ( Vicia faba ), from conspecific bugs, and from a plant–conspecifics combination, would elicit behavioural responses in mated males and females of Lygus rugulipennis . In the olfactometer, females move towards volatiles from healthy plants but they do not respond to volatiles released by oviposition- and/or feeding-damaged plants without conspecifics, nor to conspecifics alone. Both in the wind tunnel and olfactometer, females respond to volatiles emitted by the plant–insect complex. By contrast, in the wind tunnel, both sexes move significantly towards damaged host plants, even if the presence of conspecifics on these plants enhances only the female response. However, the presence of eggs from conspecifics on host plants reduces the responses of both sexes in the wind tunnel. Finally, males, as well as females, are less responsive to conspecifics alone compared with damaged plants, especially when conspecifics are present on the host plants (host plant– Lygus complex). The results suggest that volatiles emitted by plants and conspecifics influence L.   rugulipennis behaviour, giving information to both sexes on the presence of suitable host plants that have been colonized by other conspecifics acting as pioneers, or providing information on the presence of an already exploited host plant (presence of eggs), thus preventing competition. Males also can use this information to increase the probability of encountering mature females.     

Morphological structure and optical properties of the wings of Morphidae

The morphological structure and optical properties of the wings of 14 species of Morphidae have been investigated. Most of the scales of the iridescent species of Morphidae （Lepidoptera） present a very particular structure. The ground scales, responsible for the major part of the optical properties, are covered by a very regular set of longitudinal ridges. The ridges themselves are constituted by a superposition of lamellae that act locally as a multilayered structure. This very specific morphology leads to both interferences and diffraction effects. The first one is responsible of the brilliant blue coloration of the males, while the second one diffracts this colored light at a very large angle. These two phenomena give to the butterfly a very effective long-range communication system. The morphological characteristics of the scales of the various species are presented in detail. Two types of optical measurement were performed on the iridescent wings of 14 different species of Morphidae： spectroscopic measurements under various incidences and gonioscopic measurements for a given incidence angle and wavelength. The first allows a determination of the index of refraction of the cuticular material. The second leads to the drawing of spatial diffraction maps. It shows that most of the reflected light is diffracted laterally over a very large angle （90° 〈 0 〈 120°, according to the different species） and that this repartition depends of the polarization of incident light. As predicted by previous calculations, the dissymmetric structure of the ridge is responsible for the separation of the polarization modes in the various diffraction orders.