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First evidence of attached juveniles in the solutan echinoderm Pahvanticystis from the middle Cambrian Weeks Formation (Utah, USA)
No full textThe fossil record of the Palaeozoic echinoderm class Soluta suggests they originated in the Miaolingian (middle Cambrian) of Laurentia as permanently attached suspension feeders, demonstrating a stepwise shift towards vagility in successive strata. Here, we report a new specimen of Pahvanticystis cf. utahensis associated with three putative juveniles interpreted as belonging to the same species. We interpret this as evidence of facultative attachment in juveniles of Pahvanticystis, which had not previously been reported in this taxon, but is known in the earlier genus Castericystis. Our findings indicate that attachment as a juvenile was more widespread in solutans than previously thought.Copyright © 2025 H.J. Savage and I.A. Rahman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (for details please see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The linked file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
The northernmost known observation of Myrmecophilus acervorum and the first records of Myrmecophilidae (Orthoptera, Ensifera) from Latvia
Full text linkThe first observations of myrmecophilous ant cricket Myrmecophilus acervorum (Panzer, 1799) and the family Myrmecophilidae from Latvia are presented. The observations were made in two locations subject to flooding in springtime. Adult and juvenile female individuals were observed. The discussed records appear to be the northernmost known distribution limit of this species.Copyright Aleksandrs Balodis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricteduse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Cuticle ultrastructure of the Early Devonian trigonotarbid arachnid Palaeocharinus
Full text linkThe cuticle is a key evolutionary innovation that played a crucial role in arthropod terrestrialization. Extensive research has elucidated the chemical and structural composition of the cuticle in extant arthropods, while fossil studies have further informed our understanding of cuticle evolution. This study examines the three-dimensionally preserved cuticular structure of the Early Devonian trigonotarbid arachnid genus Palaeocharinus, from the Rhynie chert of Scotland (∼408 Ma). Trigonotarbids, an extinct group of tetrapulmonate arachnids, are among the earliest known unequivocally terrestrial arthropods, and thus may shed light on the evolution of terrestriality. Using high-resolution Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), we reveal detailed morphological features at the nanometre level. The external cuticle surface of Palaeocharinus is characterized by polygonal scales, sensilla, and small pores identified as the openings of dermal glands and wax canals. Internally, the cuticle exhibits polygonal clusters of pore canals, through which wax was transported from the epidermis to the cuticular surface. The pore canals twist along their vertical axes, reflecting the "twisted plywood" or Bouligand arrangement of chitin-protein microfibril planes characteristic of modern arthropod cuticles. Overall, the cuticle of Palaeocharinus is characteristically thick relative to those of other extinct and extant chelicerates, such thickening being a possible adaptation to terrestrial life.Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
The Founding Feathers: the true ancestry of the domestic Barbary Dove
Full text linkIn 2008 the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) ruled that the name Streptopelia risoria (Linnaeus, 1758) should have priority for both African Collared Dove and its domestic form, Barbary Dove, as it is senior to S. roseogrisea (Sundevall, 1857). Many ignored the ruling in the belief that the ancestry of Barbary Dove is still unproven. Given the lack of a namebearing specimen and in anticipation of the ICZN decision, in 2008 a neotype was designated for S. risoria. To clarify the taxonomic status of roseogrisea, as its original type series was mixed, in 2018 a neotype was also designated for this junior
synonym of African Collared Dove. As the species was assumed to be polytypic, synonymisation of roseogrisea with risoria at species level was questioned thereafter. The results of a whole genome-resequencing study now show that African Collared
Dove is the principal ancestor of Barbary Dove, and that the species is monotypic.Copyright © 2023 The Authors; This is an open‐access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Remarks on the types of the New Guinea endemic Otidiphaps Gould, 1870
Full text linkWe detail the types and some other early specimens of the four taxa currently usually treated as subspecies of the New Guinea endemic, Pheasant Pigeon Otidiphaps nobilis. This material has been subject to a number of erroneous statements in the previous literature. In chronological order of description, O. n. nobilis Gould, 1870, was based on a single specimen of unknown provenance and collector, now at the Natural History Museum, Tring; O. n. cervicalis E. P. Ramsay, 1880, and its objective junior synonym O. n. regalis Salvin & Godman, 1880, were based on multiple syntypes taken in 1879 (several of them the same specimens), all held in Tring (despite being previously reported as such, two specimens in Sydney appear to have no name-bearing status); O. n. insularis Salvin and Godman, 1883, is known from the two syntypes, collected in 1882 and held in Tring, and just one other specimen, taken in 1896 and held in the American Museum of Natural History, New York; and O. n. aruensis Rothschild, 1928, was based on a specimen collected in June 1914, now in New York, although there is a significantly earlier
specimen of this taxon in the Museum Heineanum Halberstadt.opyright © 2023 The Authors; This is an open‐access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
A revision of the type locality of Black-throated Accentor Prunella atrogularis huttoni (Moore)
Full text linkWe examine the type locality of Black-throated Accentor Prunella atrogularis huttoni that is listed as ‘ranges above Simla’ and propose a revision of the same to ‘Afghanistan’COPYRIGHT: © 2025 Praveen & van Grouw. This is an article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Late pleistocene exploitation of Ephedra in a funerary context in Morocco
Full text linkThe active compounds found in many plants have been widely used in traditional medicine and ritual activities. However, archaeological evidence for the use of such plants, especially in the Palaeolithic period, is limited due to the poor preservation and fragility of seed, fruit, and other botanical macro-remains. In this study, we investigate the presence and possible uses of Ephedra during the Late Pleistocene based on the analysis of exceptionally preserved plant macrofossils recovered from c. 15 ka year-old archaeological deposits at Grotte des Pigeons in northeastern Morocco. This cave has yielded the earliest carbonized plant macrofossils of Ephedra, which were found concentrated in a human burial deposit along with other special finds. Ephedra is a plant known to produce high amounts of alkaloids, primarily ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which have been utilized in traditional medicine. Direct radiocarbon dates on both Ephedra and the human remains indicate that they were contemporaneous. To understand the uses of Ephedra by people at the site, we discuss the different pathways through which plant remains could have arrived. We suggest that the charred cone bracts of Ephedra likely represent residues of the processing and consumption of the plant's fleshy cones, which may have been valued for both their nutritional and therapeutic properties. Furthermore, we interpret the presence of Ephedra and its deposition in the burial area as evidence that this plant played a significant role during the funerary activities.Copyright © The Author(s) 2024. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in
any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide
a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have
permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or
other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated
otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and
your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain
permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Magma recharge and mush rejuvenation drive paroxysmal activity at Stromboli volcano
Full text linkAbstract - Open-conduit basaltic volcanoes can be characterised by sudden large explosive events (paroxysms) that interrupt normal effusive and mild explosive activity. In June-August 2019, one major explosion and two paroxysms occurred at Stromboli volcano (Italy) within only 64 days. Here, via a multifaceted approach using clinopyroxene, we show arrival of mafic recharges up to a few days before the onset of these events and their effects on the eruption pattern at Stromboli, as a prime example of a persistently active, open-conduit basaltic volcano. Our data indicate a rejuvenated Stromboli plumbing system where the extant crystal mush is efficiently permeated by recharge magmas with minimum remobilisation promoting a direct linkage between the deeper and the shallow reservoirs that sustains the currently observed larger variability of eruptive behaviour. Our approach provides vital insights into magma dynamics and their effects on monitoring signals demonstrating the power of petrological studies in interpreting patterns of surficial activity.Copyright © The Author(s) 2022. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended
use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Assessing the effectiveness of MARPOL Annex V at reducing marine debris on Australian beaches
Full text linkSource info: MPB-D-22-02521To mitigate marine debris and promote sustainable marine industries, legislation and regulations surrounding the management of marine debris have been adopted worldwide. One of the most well-known and important agreements is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), which focuses on reducing all types of ship-sourced marine pollution. MARPOL Annex V, which deals with the disposal of solid waste, came into force on 31 December 1988. However, was only amended to include a complete ban on waste disposal as of 1 January 2013. Assessing the effectiveness of key regulations is fundamental for supporting evidence-based decisions regarding the management of our oceans. Here, we evaluated whether MARPOL Annex V translated into a decrease in the incidence of shipping- and commercial fishing-sourced debris on remote beaches in Australia using 14 years of standardised, community-driven data. From 2006 to 2020 there was a significant change over time in the density of fishing and shipping debris on Australian beaches; debris density increased up to 2013 followed by a decrease until mid-2017. Although the new regulation started in January 2013, the decrease in density was not recorded until one year later. The decline was only observed for 4 years, reinforcing the existence of lags between the implementation of international agreements and the corresponding potential reduction in debris in the environment. This provides compelling evidence that international agreements and policies by themselves are not enough to solve the debris problem, with improved implementation and enforcement also required. We discuss future perspectives and solutions to reduce ocean-sourced litter inputs into the ocean and highlight the urgent need for action.Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/). The attached file is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor
Publisher Correction: Evolution of sexual size dimorphism in tetrapods is driven by varying patterns of sex-specific selection on size
No full textCorrection to: Nature Ecology & Evolution https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02600-8. Published online 23 December 2024.Copyright © The Author(s) 2025. The linked document is the published version of the article.NHM Repositor