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Noideattella and Tolegnaro from Madagascar.
No full text76 p. : ill. (some col.), col. maps ; 26 cm.Two new genera of goblin spiders from Madagascar, Noideattella, new genus, and Tolegnaro, new genus, are described with 11 and two species respectively. Noideattella includes N. assumptia, new combination (transferred from Silhouettella), and 10 new species: N. amboa, N. famafa, N. fantara, N. farihy, N. gamela, N. lakana, N. mamba, N. saka, N. tany, and N. tsiba. Tolegnaro includes two new species: T. sagani and T. kepleri. A phylogenetic data matrix of 436 terminals and 341 morphological characters was extracted from the Goblin Spider Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (PBI) descriptive database. The monophyly of Noideattella and Tolegnaro was tested in a phylogenetic analysis of this matrix. In this analysis other oonopid genera recently revised were also recovered as monophyletic and with high support values. A key for all species described here is provided. Noideattella species can be differentiated by having the pars cephalica strongly elevated in lateral view, forming a posterior cone, tibia and metatarsi with spines, and abdomen completely covered by scuta. Tolegnaro species in addition present plumose seta around the pedicel area
Costarina.
No full text64 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm. Part of the oonopid PBI project. Cf. acknowledgments.The type species of Costarina, C. plena (O. P.-Cambridge), is redescribed, has an unusually broad distribution (extending from southern Mexico to northern Costa Rica), and is sometimes sympatric with a relatively widespread new sibling species, C. subplena. The same region also houses 26 additional new species with much smaller distribution ranges: C. iviei, C. llama, C. oaxaca, C. mixtepec, C. naja, C. sepultura, and C. bochil from southern Mexico, C. belmopan, C. peten, C. macha, C. cahui, C. morales, and C. izabal from Belize and Guatemala, C. cortes, C. cofradia, C. cusuco, C. tela, C. ceiba, C. branstetteri, C. olancho, C. muralla, C. coma, and C. gracias from Honduras, and C. waspuk, C. musun, and C. blanco from Nicaragua. At least 11 of these highly localized, microdistributed species have been taken in sympatry with C. plena. Because C. plena and C. subplena are the only members of the genus that have been collected in western and southern Guatemala, we suspect that this area represents the original range of one or both of the widespread species. However, five pairs of the microdistributed species have also been taken in sympatry with each other (and in one case together with C. plena as well
Osteology of tyrannosaurid Alioramus.
Get PDF197 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.The late Cretaceous tyrannosaurid theropod Alioramus has long been one of the most puzzling large carnivorous dinosaur taxa, largely because for several decades it has been represented only by a single, fragmentary specimen that seems to represent a long-snouted and gracile individual but is difficult to interpret. The discovery of a substantially complete skeleton of Alioramus at the Tsaagan Khuushu locality in the Maastrichtian Nemegt Formation of Mongolia, recovered during the 2001 American Museum-Mongolian Academy of Sciences expedition and described as a new species (Alioramus altai) in 2009, definitively shows that this mysterious taxon is a distinct form of longirostrine tyrannosaurid that lived alongside the larger and more robust Tarbosaurus. Here we describe and figure this remarkably preserved skeleton in detail. We provide exhaustive descriptions and photographs of individual bones, and make extensive comparisons with other tyrannosauroids. This monographic description provides further evidence that Alioramus is an unusual long-snouted, gracile, and slender-limbed taxon with an unprecedented degree of cranial ornamentation among tyrannosaurids and an extremely pneumatized skeleton. Anatomical comparisons indicate that the long skull of Alioramus is an autapomorphic feature that is proportionally longer (relative to femur length) than in any other known tyrannosaurid specimen, including juveniles, and that Alioramus is morphologically distinctive relative to similarly sized individuals of the contemporary and sympatric Tarbosaurus. The holotype specimen of A. altai belongs to a young individual, and many differences between it and the other known specimen of Alioramus (the holotype of A. remotus) may represent ontogenetic variation. The unusual longirostrine skull of Alioramus was largely produced by lengthening of the snout bones (maxilla, nasal, dentary, lacrimal, jugal), rather than the orbiotemporal bones (frontal, postorbital, squamosal, quadratojugal). The long snout, gracile skull bones, comparatively small attachment sites for jaw muscles, and lack of interlocking sutures and a robust orbital brow would have precluded the holotype individual from employing the characteristic "puncture-pull" feeding style of large-bodied adult tyrannosaurids, in which the muscular jaws, thick teeth, and interlocking sutures enabled individuals to bite with enough force to fracture bone. Whether adult Alioramus could utilize "puncture-pull" feeding awaits discovery of mature individuals of the genus. The coexistence of the long-snouted Alioramus and robust and deep-snouted Tarbosaurus, which are found together at the Tsaagan Khuushu locality, demonstrate that multiple large tyrannosaurids were able to live in sympatry, likely because of niche partitioning due to differences in craniofacial morphology and functional behavior
Social wasp genus Brachygastra.
No full text38 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.Phylogenetic relationships among the species of the genus Brachygastra Perty, 1883, are analyzed based on characters of female morphology, male genitalia, and nest architecture. Analysis of the data matrix with equal weights results in one tree, which is also obtained under implied weighting. A new species is described and an identification key is presented. The males of B. borellii and B. scutellaris are described
Triassic Staphylinidae.
No full text27, [1] p. : ill. ; 26 cm.The Staphylinidae contain over 57,000 described species, thus comprising one of the largest families in all Insecta. Leehermania prorova Chatzimanolis, Grimaldi, and Engel, new genus and species, is described, which is the earliest staphylinid and the oldest definitive polyphagan beetle. The new species is based on a series of well-preserved specimens from the early Norian to late Carnian-aged (late Triassic) Cow Branch Formation of southern Virginia. It is considered to be subfamily incertae sedis within Staphylinidae, but its possible affinity with the tachyporine group of staphylinids is noted. A summary of all Mesozoic Staphylinidae is provided and the evolutionary history of the lineage briefly discussed
Supplementary Table S1
No full textSupplementary data for: Blair, M.E., Rose, R.A., Ersts, P., Sanderson, E.W., Redford, K.H., Didier, K., Sterling, E.J., and R.G. Pearson. (2012) Incorporating climate change into conservation planning: Identifying priority areas across a species’ range. Frontiers in Biogeography, v.4(4). Permalink: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/5bx4919
New leontiniid Notoungulata (Mammalia) from Chile and Argentina : comparative anatomy, character analysis, and phylogenetic hypotheses. (American Museum novitates, no. 3737)
No full text64 p. : ill. (1 col.), map ; 26 cm.Herein we describe and name two new species of leontiniid notoungulates, one being the first known from Chile, the other from the Deseadan South American Land Mammal Age (SALMA) of Patagonia, Argentina. The Chilean leontiniid is from the lower horizons of the Cura-Mallín Formation (Tcm1) at Laguna del Laja in the Andean Main Range of central Chile. This new species, Colpodon antucoensis, is distinguishable from Patagonian species of Colpodon by way of its smaller I2; larger I3 and P1; sharper, V-shaped snout; and squarer upper premolars. The holotype came from a horizon that is constrained below and above by 40Ar/39Ar ages of 19.53 ± 0.60 and 19.25 ± 1.22, respectively, suggesting an age of roughly 19.5 Ma, or a little older ( 19.8 Ma) when corrected for a revised age of the Fish Canyon Tuff standard. Either age is slightly younger than ages reported for the Colhuehuapian SALMA fauna at the Gran Barranca. Taxa from the locality of the holotype of C. antucoensis are few, but they (e.g., the mylodontid sloth, Nematherium, and a lagostomine chinchillid) also suggest a post-Colhuehuapian faunal age. The second leontiniid named in this paper has been known in the literature for over 75 years as Leontinia sp. Several specimens referable to this species were discovered at Pico Truncado (Deseadan SALMA) during the Field Museums first Marshall Field Expedition, led by Elmer Riggs in 1924. This “new” taxon, Elmerriggsia fieldia, is a small-bodied leontiniid, possessing grooved premolar protocones that lack intermediate lingual cingulae, but have well-developed labial cingulids on their lower molars. This new taxon is fairly common at Pico Truncado, in Santa Cruz, Argentina, but we have not encountered it at other localities. The character-taxon matrix that we constructed for this analysis differs from those previously developed for notoungulates by the substantially greater number of postcranial characters used (41). Colbertia magellanica was used as the outgroup in all analyses. Our initial phylogenetic analysis was limited to only taxa traditionally assigned to the Toxodontia. These included a dozen taxa traditionally considered to be leontiniids, two toxodontids, four notohippids, a homalodotheriid, and two isotemnids. The taxa traditionally classified as leontiniids formed a monophyletic group, in which V-shaped muzzle, caniniform i3, femur with medial suprapatellar ridge, and large wedge-shaped fibular facet of the calcaneum were unequivocal synapomorphies. Colpodon spp. nested within a clade that includes the “tropical” leontiniids, Taubatherium and Huilatherium. Toxodontids and notohippids formed a monophyletic group sister to the leontiniids, with these two clades forming a more inclusive clade that previously had been called the “advanced Toxodontia.” However, when five species of typotheres from three “families” were added to the analysis, the “notohippid” Eurygenium was identified as the nearest outgroup of leontiniids and an “advanced notohippid” plus toxodontid clade (nodes C + F). Unequivocal synapomorphies uniting these two nodes were robust calcanonavicular articulation (“reverse alternating tarsus” as evidenced by a distinct navicular facet on the calcaneum) and a distal radius with a styloid process. The presence of an entolophid fossettid in the lower molars and the downturned olecranon process of the ulna were equivocal synapomorphies for this clade. Though lacking the character states that diagnose a more exclusive “notohippid-toxodontid-leontiniid” clade, Eurygenium shared several unequivocal synapomorphies that unite it with these taxa. These include a well-formed fossette of upper molars formed by the posterior cingulum, absence of an entepicondylar foramen of the humerus, lack of a neck on the astragalus, a transversely elongated astragalar head, and absence of the “astragalar buttress” of the navicular. Unconventionally, the interatheriids used in the analysis (Federicoanaya and Protypotherium, both interatheriine interatheriids) formed the sister group to the taxa traditionally considered to be the “advanced Toxodontia.” Unequivocal synapomorphies uniting these interatheriids with the “advanced Toxodontia” are exclusively postcranial: tetradactyl manus, quadrate fibular facet of the calcaneum, calcaneonavicular contact (without well-formed facet on the calcaneum), and union of the groove for the tendon of the flexor hallucis longus with the astragalar trochlea. Steeply inclined ectal facets of the astragalus and calcaneum are equivocal synapomorphies (shared with Eurygenium, the notohippids, and toxodontids, but not leontiniids). Inclusion of postcranial characters in the phylogenetic analysis illustrates an otherwise undetectable conflict—that of homoplasy-homology discordance between dental and postcranial characters of interatheriine interatheriids (the postcranial skeleton of “notopithicine” interatheriids [or “basal interatheriids” of Hitz et al., 2006] remain unknown). This conflict does not simply represent an arcane point, but has relevance regarding reconstructing the interrelation-ships of several major groups of notoungulates. Other findings of this work include a northerly extension of the geographical range of Colpodon and a possible temporal extension beyond the Colhuehuapian SALMA. It appears that the fauna at Laguna del Laja is an important source of information regarding the faunal transition that occurred between Colhuehuapian and Santacrucian SALMA faunas
Seasonality and human mobility along the Georgia Bight : proceedings of the Fifth Caldwell Conference, St. Catherines Island, Georgia, May 14-16, 2010. (Anthropological papers of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 97)
No full text236 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 26 cm.Conference sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and the St. Catherines Island Foundation.Some of the most enduring and fundamental questions in archaeology relate to site seasonality. During which seasons did people occupy coastal archaeological sites? Why is "seasonality" important to our understanding of human behavior? What does this knowledge tell us about life in dynamic estuarine systems? What methods and technologies are available to address key issues of seasonality? Archaeological seasonality is uniquely linked to settlement patterns, resource availability, environmental relationships, anthropogenesis, landscapes, and social complexity. Archaeologists working in coastal settings typically recover multiple biological proxies that are well suited to explicating questions of human seasonal behavior. The Fifth Caldwell Conference was convened to discuss and report on practiced methods for reading the seasonality record found in common biological proxies. These researchers spoke of how they are applying various methods grounded in the natural sciences to estimate seasonality with particular reference to the archaeology of St. Catherines Island and the Georgia Bight. These methods include stable isotope analysis, ¹⁴C dating, longitudinal studies of animals (molluscs and fishes), zooarchaeology, and archaeobotany. The research shows that all plant and animal remains found in a midden contain a record of human behavior. The authors of these 13 chapters agree that multiple indicators of site seasonality provide the most robust picture of the annual settlement cycle. These papers were initially presented at the Fifth Caldwell Conference, cosponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and the St. Catherines Island Foundation, held on St. Catherines Island, Georgia, May 14-16, 2010. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Seasonality and mobility on the Georgia Bight : why should we care? / David Hurst Thomas -- A Bayesian chronological framework for determining site seasonality and contemporaneity / Douglas J. Kennett and Brendan J. Culleton -- Interpreting seasonality from modern and archaeological fishes on the Georgia coast / Elizabeth J. Reitz, Bruce M. Saul, J.W. Moak, Gwendolyn D. Carroll, and Charles W. Lambert -- Evaluating [delta]¹⁸O profiles of hardhead catfish and Atlantic croaker otoliths as a method of determining seasonal use of fishes / Carol E. Colaninno -- Late prehistoric settlement patterns : zooarchaeological evidence from Back Creek Village, St. Catherines Island / Sarah G. Bergh -- Molluscs as oxygen-isotope season-of-capture proxies in southeastern United States archaeology / C. Fred T. Andrus -- Annual incremental shell growth patterns in hard clams (Mercenaria spp.) from St. Catherines Island, Georgia : a record of seasonal and anthropogenic impact on zooarchaeological resources / Irvy R. Quitmyer and Douglas S. Jones -- Validation of annual shell increments and shifting population dynamics in modern and zooarchaeological hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) from the Litchfield Beach region, South Carolina / Douglas S. Jones, Irvy R. Quitmyer, and Chester B. DePratter -- Reevaluating the use of impressed odostome (Boonea impressa) as a season of capture indicator for oysters / Deborah Ann Keene -- Estimating the season of harvest of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) from the St. Catherines Shell Ring / Nicole R. Cannarozzi -- What can plants and plant data tell us about seasonality? / C. Margaret Scarry and Kandace D. Hollenbach -- Making a case for coastal subsistence seasonality / Gregory A. Waselkov -- Discussion / Elizabeth S. Wing
Melecta duodecimmaculata.
No full text24 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.This study describes the nesting biology of the cleptoparasitic bee Melecta duodecimmaculata (Rossi), which attacked a nesting site of Anthophora (s. str.) melanognatha Cockerell (Apidae: Anthophorini) in Beijing, China. In addition, we provide an account of its first and last larval instars and information concerning ovarian statistics and mature oocytes. Comparisons are made with previous accounts of the cleptoparasitic behavior and anatomy of immature stages of other Melectini. We also explore the phylogenetic relationship of the Melectini with the Anthophorini and with other cleptoparasitic Apinae (especially the Ericrocidini) in light of this information. Appended are accounts of larval anatomy of the Melectini and Anthophorini at the tribal level based on taxa whose mature larvae were available or had been described