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Dominican amber Anthophorula.
No full text16 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm.The first fossil exomalopsine bee is described and figured from two females, one very partially preserved in early Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic. Anthophorula (Anthophorula) persephone Engel, new species, is distinguished from its modern counterparts mainly by the broader pterostigma in which its inner breadth is greater than that of its marginal veins. This record expands the Dominican amber melittofauna to 21 species. Brief comments are made on the discovery as well as the Dominican amber bees in general. The new combination Thaumatosoma (Chalicodomopsis) glaesaria (Engel) is established
Guaraguaoonops.
No full text13 p. : ill., map ; 26 cm.A new endemic goblin spider genus Guaraguaoonops is erected to include two new soft-bodied oonopid species from Brazil: the type species, G. hemhem, distributed in the states of Maranhão, Piauí, and Ceará, and G. humbom, known only from Piauí. These spiders are unique among oonopids and easily diagnosed by the flattened carapace with a porrect clypeus, modified lateral setae on the carapace in both sexes, and male with a sinuous, flattened distal cheliceral projection and palp with ventral conical tegular projection. These species probably occupy a soil cryptic habit and are found in dry sand of "cerrado" areas in northeastern Brazil
Pelicinus.
No full text43 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.Although Pelicinus Simon and its type species P. marmoratus Simon were initially described from Saint Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, we hypothesize that Pelicinus is primarily an Old World genus, occurring natively in both southern Asia and Australasia. The type species has attained an anomalously pantropical distribution, and has been described at least eight times, in at least seven different genera; all those synonyms were based on island populations. Myrmopopaea jacobsoni Reimoser from Sumatra, Gamasomorpha minima Berland from the Phoenix Islands, Triaeris pusillus (Bryant) from the Virgin Islands, Scaphiella ula Suman from Hawaii, and P. mahei (Benoit) from the Seychelles are newly synonymized with P. marmoratus, and the species is newly recorded from the Bahama Islands, Brazil, Kenya, and the Marshall Islands. Myrmopopaea Reimoser and Harryoonops Makhan and Ezzatpanah are placed as junior synonyms of Pelicinus. The bulk of the species-level diversity of Pelicinus occurs in Australia. Here we treat only those members of the genus that occur outside that continent; 16 new species are described from Iran (P. sengleti), India (P. lachivala, P. madurai), Thailand (P. deelemanae, P. schwendingeri, P. sayam, P. khao), Laos (P. tham), Vietnam (P. duong), Malaysia (P. penang, P. johor), the Solomon Islands (P. churchillae), Fiji (P. raveni), and New Caledonia (P. monteithi, P. damieu, P. koghis)
New Vaejovis from Hualapai Mountains, Arizona.
No full text19 p. : ill. (some col.), map ; 26 cm.A new species in the vorhiesi group of Vaejovis C.L. Koch, 1836 (Vaejovidae Thorell, 1876), which appears to be endemic to the Hualapai Mountains near Kingman, Arizona, is described and illustrated. Vaejovis tenuipalpus, n. sp., the 11th species in the vorhiesi group, is compared to morphologically similar species, including V. jonesi Stahnke, 1940, V. lapidicola Stahnke, 1940, V. vorhiesi Stahnke, 1940, and V. deboerae Ayrey, 2009. The new species possesses the most slender pedipalp chelae in the vorhiesi group. New distribution records and a comprehensive distribution map are provided for all Arizona members of the group
Goblin spider genus Neoxyphinus.
No full text75 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.The Neotropical spider genus Neoxyphinus Birabén, 1953, is revised, comprising 10 species found from the West Indies to northern Argentina. The genus is characterized by a unique combination of characters, which include the presence of a set of low tubercles or large spikes on the posterior surface of carapace; male endites with an apical, retrolateral excavation bearing a subapical toothlike apophysis; palpal bulb strongly inflated; embolus compact, S-shaped, with large, round ejaculatory opening; epigynal atrium large, with angular lateral corners. The large, round ejaculatory duct may be a synapomorphy of the genus. The genus Hawkeswoodoonops Makhan and Ezzatpanah, 2011, is synonymized with Neoxyphinus and the two species included in that genus are considered as nomina dubia. The monotypic genus Decuana Dumitrescu and Georgescu, 1987, is also synonymized with Neoxyphinus and its type species, D. hispida Dumitrescu and Georgescu, 1987, is transferred to the genus and redescribed. Confirming a hypothesis raised in the literature, Dysderina termitophila Bristowe, 1938, is transferred to Neoxyphinus and recognized as the senior synonym of the type species N. ogloblini Birabén, 1953. Two other species are transferred from Dysderina to Neoxyphinus: D. keyserlingi Simon, 1907, here recognized as the senior synonym of D. rugosa Bristowe, 1938, and D. furtiva Chickering, 1968, of which the male is described for the first time. In addition to the redescription of N. termitophilus, n. comb., N. hispidus, n. comb., N. xyphinoides (Chamberlin and Ivie, 1942), N. keyserlingi, n. comb., and N. furtivus, n. comb., five new species are described: N. petrogoblin Abrahim and Ott, from the Amazon basin in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru; N. gregoblin Abrahim and Santos, from Venezuela; N. axe Abrahim and Brescovit, from Bahia, Brazil; N. boibumba Abrahim and Rheims, from Pará, Brazil; and N. barreirosi Abrahim and Bonaldo, from Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, and Venezuela. With the exception of N. boibumba, known only from males, all new species are described from both sexes
New goblin spider genus Prethopalpus.
No full text113 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.The new goblin spider genus Prethopalpus is restricted to the Australasian tropics, from the lower Himalayan Mountains in Nepal and India to the Malaysian Peninsula, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. Prethopalpus contains those species with a swollen palpal patella, which is one to two times the size of the femur, together with a cymbium and bulb that is usually separated, although it is largely fused in four species. The type species Opopaea fosuma Burger et al. from Sumatra, and Camptoscaphiella infernalis Harvey and Edward from Western Australia are newly transferred to Prethopalpus. The genus consists of 41 species of which 39 are newly described: P. ilam Baehr ([male, female]) from Nepal; P. khasi Baehr ([male]), P. madurai Baehr ([male]), P. mahanadi Baehr ([male, female]), and P. meghalaya Baehr ([male, female]) from India; P. bali Baehr ([male]), P. bellicosus Baehr and Thoma ([male, female]), P. brunei Baehr ([male, female]), P. deelemanae Baehr and Thoma ([male]), P. java Baehr ([male, female]), P. kranzae Baehr ([male]), P. kropfi Baehr ([male, female]), P. leuser Baehr ([male, female]), P. magnocularis Baehr and Thoma ([male]), P. pahang Baehr ([male]), P. perak Baehr ([male, female]), P. sabah Baehr ([male, female]), P. sarawak Baehr ([male]), P. schwendingeri Baehr ([male, female]), and P. utara Baehr ([male, female]) from Indonesia and Malaysia; and P. alexanderi Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. attenboroughi Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. blosfeldsorum Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. boltoni Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. callani Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. cooperi Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. eberhardi Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. framenaui Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. humphreysi Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. kintyre Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. scanloni Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. pearsoni Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. julianneae Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. maini Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. marionae Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. platnicki Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]), P. oneillae Baehr and Harvey ([male]), P. rawlinsoni Baehr and Harvey ([male]), and P. tropicus Baehr and Harvey ([male, female]) from Australia and Papua New Guinea. Three separate keys to species from different geographical regions are provided. Most species are recorded from single locations and only three species are more widely distributed. A significant radiation of blind troglobites comprising 14 species living in subterranean ecosystems in Western Australia is discussed. These include several species that lack abdominal scuta, a feature previously used to define subfamilies of Oonopidae
Computed Tomography (CT) of five samples of the Sutter's Mill CM2 chondrite.
No full textThese files supplement Jenniskens et al. (2012), a comprehensive description of the April 22, 2012 fall and the petrology of the Sutter‟s Mill CM2 chondrite breccia. Here, we present 3-dimensional scans of individual stones of this meteorite. A “Methods” document in this repository records particulars of CT (see Ebel and Rivers 2007).
In the Science paper, we note that “samples SM3 and SM9 appear to contain a dominant lithology characterized by abundant 200 to 400 μm diameter clasts (chondrules or CAIs), and 0.05 - 0.15 μm metal oxide or sulfide grains. A second lithology, with higher average atomic mass (Z) matrix and more abundant clasts, appears as irregular, angular lithic fragments many mm in size. At least one metal grain ~250 μm across, was observed, surrounded by a halo ~750 μm wide, of oxidized or sulfidized metal. It is unlikely that such a grain would be sampled by random cutting. Several clasts larger than 1 mm include a low-Z spherical object that appears to be concentrically zoned, and a similar object with zoned high-Z (metal) and low-Z (silicate) layers. While the samples are fractured, and metal grains appear to be altered, no high-Z veins (e.g., FeO-rich) are observed.” And, “the meteorites studied so far exhibit a dominant, primary lithology that is the host for multiple types of exotic lithic clasts.” This lithology is evident in most of SM3. In SM3_13A, at ~30/45 sec running time, more lithic clasts appear, and a large metal-cored grain rimmed by metal sulfide or oxide, appears briefly.
The oriented sample SM51 illustrates the asymmetry of fusion crust, thick on the trailing side, very thin on the leading side (top of movie), and thickest at the „lip‟ between these surfaces (image right). A slightly brighter clast (higher average Z) that intersects the leading side fusion crust at ~60/100 sec illustrates a small effect of its composition on crust thickness and composition. A clast-poor lithology is prevalent through the first half of the stack. A large metal grain is present at ~57/100. Two large chondrules appear in SM51 at ~72/100 sec, and the lithology between there and the end is rich in low Z (forsterite-rich?) spherical clasts.
In SM54S, fusion crust is very prominent, sweeping left to right in the first few seconds. Several lithologies are present, perhaps four at ~11/83 sec. This sample has some low-Z terrestrial contamination, a reddish clay, that thinly fills small depressions in the sample at the bottom of the images.
References
Ebel, D. S. and M. L. Rivers. 2007. Meteorite 3-dimensional synchrotron micro-tomography: Methods and applications. Meteoritics and Planetary Science 42: 1627-1646.
Jenniskens, P. and 69 coauthors. 2012. Radar enabled recovery of the Sutter‟s Mill meteorite, a carbonaceous chondrite regolith breccia. Science 21 December 2012: Vol. 338 no. 6114 pp. 1583-1587.
DOI: 10.1126/science.122716
Meristic variability in whiptail lizards
No full text24 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.Is it correct, as is often assumed, that the clonal form of inheritance in parthenogenetic lizards results in less variability than occurs with genetic recombination in their sexually reproducing (gonochoristic) relatives? We tested this hypothesis by comparing morphological variability in samples of parthenogenetic Aspidoscelis tesselata and several gonochoristic species of whiptail lizards. To control for environmental factors that might differentially affect embryonic development of morphological characters, we compared samples obtained from the same or geographically adjacent localities. In addition, we compared apparently "uniclonal" and multiclonal samples from each of two color-pattern classes (C and E) of A. tesselata. For univariate meristic characters, parthenogenetic A. tesselata matched the variability of a sympatric gonochoristic species in 11 of 20 comparisons, had lower variability in six comparisons, and was more variable in three. For multivariate characters derived from principal components analyses (PCA), the relative meristic variability of samples of A. tesselata could not be predicted by its reproductive mode, color-pattern class, apparent "uniclonal" or multiclonal state, or geographic location. In addition, we compared A. tesselata, A. sexlineata, A. marmorata, and A. gularis septemvittata in a single PCA, with the latter two species representing the two ancestral taxa from which A. tesselata was derived through hybridization. Once again, relative variability of A. tesselata was not always predictable based on its reproductive mode. It had greater variability than A. sexlineata, equivalent variability with A. gularis septemvittata, and less variability than A. marmorata
Revision of Typhleotris.
No full text27, [1] p. : ill. (chiefly col.), map ; 26 cm.Troglobitic cavefishes of the genus Typhleotris, endemic to coastal southwestern Madagascar, are taxonomically reviewed and a new darkly pigmented species, Typhleotris mararybe, is described from an isolated karst sinkhole on the coastal plain below the Mahafaly Plateau. The new species, known only from Grotte de Vitane (Vitany) near the town of Itampolo, is unique among blind cavefishes in being uniformly darkly pigmented, rather than fully depigmented or exceptionally light in coloration. In addition to its dark coloration (vs. depigmented, translucent white body in congeners), the new species can be distinguished from its two congeners, Typhleotris madagascariensis and T. pauliani, by the sculpted, bony (vs. fleshy) appearance of its head with strongly protruding lateral ethmoid, sphenotic, and pterotic bones, and an elevated vertebral count
New Glossophaginae from Atlantic Forest.
No full text30 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 26 cm.The lowland Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil is well known for its biological diversity and numerous endemic taxa. Among bats collected recently at the Reserva Natural Vale and previously in the Floresta Nacional de Goytacazes, in the state of Espírito Santo, are specimens easily recognized as nectar-feeding glossophagines, but that exhibit a suite of morphological traits that preclude assignment to any of the 10 genera currently recognized in the subfamily Glossophaginae. Here we describe a new genus and species based on this material. This new taxon, named Dryadonycteris capixaba, is diagnosed based on both external and craniodental features, including traits not seen in other nectar-feeding phyllostomids, such as similar-sized calcar and foot and inflated maxillary bones. The combination of character states seen in Dryadonycteris suggests that it belongs in the tribe Choeronycterini, subtribe Choeronycterina, but the mosaic nature of primitive and derived states seen in this taxon precludes easy assessment of its relationships to other choeronycterine genera. Future explicit phylogenetic analyses of morphological data and DNA sequencing studies will be necessary to resolve its phylogenetic position within Choeronycterini