The taxonomic status of Architipula fragmentosa (Bode) and the family Eoasilidae (Diptera) from the Lower Jurassic

The fossil species Architipula fragmentosa (Bode) comb. nov. (Diptera: Nematocera: Limoniidae) from the German Upper Lias (Lower Jurassic) is redescribed. This species was originally described by Bode (1953) in a new monotypic genus as Eoasilidea fragmentosa and placed in the Brachycera, with Eoasilidea as the type-genus of a new family Eoasilidae. This family is here synonymized with the Limoniidae (Nematocera), and the genus Eoasilidea is synonymized with Architipula Handlirsch .     

Effects of Anti-inflammatory Drugs on Prostaglandin Biosynthesis

Comparison of the anti-inflammatory activities of several aspirin-like drugs with the inhibition of prostaglandin synthetase which they produce supports this as their mechanism of action.     

Phylogeny and classification of Corylophidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) with descriptions of new genera and larvae

Abstract Phylogenetic relationships within the family Corylophidae were investigated. Twenty ingroup taxa and six outgroups were included in a cladistic analysis, based on 48 characters derived from adult and larval morphology. Phylogenetic analysis confirms that Corylophidae are monophyletic within the superfamily Cucujoidea and may be subdivided into two subfamilies: the Australian Periptycinae and the cosmopolitan Corylophinae containing 10 tribes: Foadiini trib.n. , Cleidostethini, Aenigmaticini, Parmulini, Sericoderini, Peltinodini, Orthoperini, Corylophini, Teplinini and Rypobiini. All currently recognized family‐group taxa are thoroughly diagnosed, and keys to their identification based on adults and larvae are provided. Two new genera and three species are described: Weirus gen.n ., containing only W. tozer sp . n . (Australia: Queensland), and Stanus gen.n. , with the two species S. bowesteadi sp.n . (New Zealand) and S. tasmanicus sp.n. (Tasmania). The larvae of Pakalukodes bimaculatus?lipiński et al. from Queensland and of Stanus bowesteadi sp.n. from New Zealand are described and illustrated for the first time.     

Jurassic artematopodid beetles and their implications for the early evolution of Artematopodidae (Coleoptera)

Fossil Artematopodidae are rarely collected and previously confined to middle Eocene Baltic amber. Here we report the first definitive artematopodid, Sinobrevipogon jurassicus gen. et sp.n. , from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou beds (c. 165 Ma) in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. It exhibits a number of defining features of Artematopodidae, including paired carinae on prosternum and an internal apical interlocking tongue on the ventral side of each elytron. However, it differs from any modern Artematopodidae by having the mesocoxal cavitiy closed by the mesepimeron and the anterolateral edge of metanepisternum. The discovery of this new genus represents the earliest fossil record for Artematopodidae, highlighting the antiquity of the family. The systematic positions of Forticatinius Tan & Ren and Tarsomegamerus Zhang are discussed, and the latter is formally transferred to Artematopodidae. Phylogenetic relationships within Artematopodidae were investigated to elucidate the relationships between the two Jurassic genera and Recent genera. Eleven in‐group taxa and two out‐groups were included in a cladistic analysis based on 30 adult characters; the resulting tree recovered the family Artematopodidae in three clades: (i) Electribius authority, (ii) Ctesibius authority + Brevipogon authority + Sinobrevipogon + Tarsomegamerus and (iii) the remaining Recent genera, including Allopogonia authority.     

Different predation efficiencies of trap‐building larvae of sympatric antlions and wormlions from the rainforest of Borneo

1. This study reports the discovery of sympatric populations of antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) and wormlions (Diptera: Vermileonidae) in a unique system of sandy microhabitats in the lowland rainforest of Borneo. The two species convergently evolved sit‐and‐wait predatory larvae, which construct pitfall traps to hunt insects. Despite similar specialised foraging strategies, the two species coexist in the competitive environment of small, isolated sandy patches in the rainforest, which begs the question: what biological characteristics allow their coexistence? 2. Based on larval morphology alone, it was predicted that antlions would build larger traps, which would allow them to efficiently hunt larger prey. Addressing this hypothesis, this study compared the volumes of traps constructed by the two species under field and laboratory conditions. A laboratory experiment compared their efficiency of capture of three ant species that differed in body size. 3. The results show that antlions constructed larger traps and captured prey more efficiently. The difference between the species could not be explained by trap size alone. The findings demonstrate that the overlap in resource use in these two species was low, and it is suggested that there is a separation in prey utility between them, allowing their coexistence in the space‐limited habitat of the tropical rainforest.