THE GUT FLORA OF THE CHICK. II. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FLORA

SUMMARY: Viable counts were made in three media of material from the crop, gizzard, duodenum, ileum and caeca of chicks. Groups of birds 2, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 30 days old were studied. The results showed that a balanced gut flora is established one day after feeding. An indication of the actual development of the flora was obtained in chicks 4 hr after feeding. The relationship between the flora at different ages and that in newly-hatched chicks before feeding is discussed.     

On the metatherian nature of the Deltatheroida, a sister group of the Marsupialia

A lower molar of Sulestes sp., a deltatheridiid from the Coniacian of Uzbekistan, is described. The Deltatheroididae new fam. is erected. The Deltatheroididae and Deltatheridiidae are assigned to the order Deltatheroida Kielan-Jaworowska 1982 and it is argued that the Deltatheroida are metatherians, a sister group of Marsupialia. The Deltatheroida have at least an incipient alisphenoid bulla, three premolars sharply differentiated morphologically from four molars, a very large stylar area and the protoconid higher than the metaconid. They differ from known Cretaceous marsupials in having a tendency to lose the last molar, in having a small protocone, a narrow and short talonid, and a hypoconulid and entoconid not approximated. Known deltatheroidan taxa are compared. Relationships of the Deltatheroida and Aegialodontia are discussed. The place of metatherian origin is still not known with certainty. □ Mammalia, Metatheria, Deltatheroida, Marsupialia, Cretaceous, Asia, Paleobiogeography.     

THE GUT FLORA OF THE CHICK. I. THE FLORA OF NEWLY HATCHED CHICKS

SUMMARY: The presence of a caecal microflora has been demonstrated in newly hatched chicks that had not received food or water. The flora was composed mainly of clostridia, sometimes with Escherichia coli .     

The spiny,thorny and prickly plants in the flora of Israel

To examine whether spininess evolved at random or differently in various life forms and plant organs, we characterized spiny, thorny and prickly organs in the entire wild flora of Israel (294 such species). Of the species, 63.3% defended their reproductive organs (the most‐defended organ) and 67.0% defended various non‐reproductive organs. Ninety‐three species defended both their reproductive organs and at least one other part; 48.3% defended their leaves and 36.4% their stems and branches. Spiny wings defended stems and branches only in herbaceous (annual or perennial) species. There were clear differences between the life forms. Annuals and perennial herbs defended mostly their reproductive organs (95.7 and 83.0%, respectively), dwarf shrubs defended mostly their leaves (54.2%) and shrubs and trees mostly their branches (89.7 and 76.2%, respectively). Trees do not defend their reproductive organs by associated sharp appendages. The differences in defence on various organs among different life forms may influence the results of meta‐analysis studies of the optimal defence allocation if such differences are not taken into account. We noted spine, thorn and prickle colours for 167 species with yellow, red, orange and white being the dominant, supporting hypotheses about spines being visually aposematic. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 168 , 344–352.