322,818 research outputs found
Stegonotus aplini O'Shea & Richards 2021, sp. nov.
No full text<i>Stegonotus aplini</i> sp. nov. <p>urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: 49BEE762-97B0-4CD8-B942-7241EB220138 (urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: A759EDE944E8-4B99-A2B5-F30DF6865C96)</p> Purari Groundsnake <p>Figs. 1, 2, 3 A–H, 4A–D</p> <p> <b>Holotype.</b> SAMA R71442 (field number SJR 15138), an adult male from ca. 12 km NW of Orloli, Purari River basin, Gulf Province, PNG (7.3126°S, 145.1378°E, elevation ca. 20 m), collected by Ken Aplin on 22 June 2016.</p> <p> <b>Paratypes.</b> PNGNM R25322 (field number SJR 15115), an adult male from ca. 6 km N of Orloli, Purari River basin, Gulf Province, PNG (7.3510°S, 145.1900°E, elevation ca. 30 m), collected by Ken Aplin on 11 February 2016; SAMA R71443 (field number SJR 15330), an adult male from ca. 1.6 km NW Muro Mission, Purari River basin, Gulf Province, PNG (7.7890°S, 145.2660°E, elevation ca. 5 m), collected by S. Richards and E. Nagombi on 12 July 2016; AMS R.13302, an adult male from the Kereru Range on the Abede River, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea (ca. 7.0280°S, 144.4226°E, elevation uncertain) by geologist J. P. de Verteuil, probably in 1947 (collection date unavailable but catalogue entry dated 6 January 1948).</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The species epithet is a patronym to honour Dr. Ken Aplin (1958–2019), in recognition of his immense contributions to New Guinean herpetology, and in gratitude for his friendship and selfless collaboration with the junior author over many years. Ken’s many experiences in Melanesia have added significantly to our knowledge of the region’s vertebrate fauna, both living and fossil, and his recent passing has created a void that will be hard to fill.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> A species of <i>Stegonotus</i> that can be diagnosed from all congeners by the following combination of characters: dorsum of body immaculate snow-white anteriorly, with dark speckling that manifests as occasional brown-tipped scales by midbody and increases in frequency and density posteriorly; tail entirely dark brown with light pigment confined to lowest dorsal scale rows; venter and subcaudal scales off-white; head dorsally dark brown, contrasting with white anterior of the body, brown pigment extending posteriorly for 6–20 scales; dorsal scales rows 17-19-15 (75%) or 19-19-15 (25%), ventral scales 229–239, subcaudal scales 83–95, all divided; SL usually nine (75%), occasionally eight (25%), with SL4–SL5 contacting the orbit; and IL nine (75%), or eight (25%) with IL1–IL4 or IL1–IL5 contacting the anterior genials.</p> <p> <b>Description of holotype.</b> (Figs. 1 A–D, 2A–B). An adult male, SVL = 1087 mm, TL = 290 mm, TTL = 1377 mm; head distinct from neck, snout rounded in dorsal view, body arch-shaped in cross-section, tail moderately long (TL 21% of TTL). Dorsal scales in 17-19-15 rows; 229 ventrals, 89 paired subcaudals, and an entire cloacal plate; SC/(V+SC) ratio = 0.28. Rostral clearly visible when viewed from above, extending back to separate internasals for one-third their depth but not to a point level with the nostrils (shallow V condition; Kaiser <i>et al.</i>, 2019). Internasals paired, in broad contact behind rostral. Prefrontals also in broad contact, twice as long and 1.3 times as wide as internasals, extending laterally onto head to contact preoculars, loreal and nasal. Frontal shield-shaped, as broad as long. Supraoculars much broader posteriorly than anteriorly. Parietals twice as long as wide. Nasal almost split by large naris, almost reaching first supralabial. Loreal rectangular, 1.5 times as long as high. Two preoculars, lower largest, nearly equal in length to loreal. Two postoculars, upper larger. Nine supralabials, SL4–SL 5 in contact with orbit, SL6–SL7 largest, SL5–SL6 contacting lower postocular. Two elongate temporals on left side (Figs. 1 C–C’, 3A), whose length when combined equals length of left parietal; upper anterior temporal contacting both postoculars, broadly bordered below by a pair of lower anterior temporals and the first of two lower posterior temporals; upper posterior temporal bordered below by two lower posterior temporals. Two elongate temporals on right side (Figs. 1 B–B’, 3B), whose length when combined equals length of right parietal; upper anterior temporal contacting both postoculars, broadly bordered below by a pair of lower anterior temporals and the first of three lower posterior temporals; upper posterior temporal bordered below by three lower posterior temporals. Infralabials nine on left side, eight on right side, with IL1–IL5 on left side and IL1–IL4 on right side in contact with the anterior genials, due to division of IL3 on the left side, and IL5–IL6 and IL4–IL5, respectively, contacting posterior genials. Mental relatively small, triangular, followed by enlarged paired IL1, which exhibit broad contact at midline. Anterior genials large and separated by mental groove, posterior genials smaller than anterior genials, also separated by the continuing mental groove. Three to four alternating chin scales separate genials from first gastrostege (ventral).</p> <p> <b>Variation.</b> All three paratypes (Figs. 2 C–H) are adult males with the following measurements: PNGNM R25322 with 1090 mm SVL + 285 mm TL = 1375 mm TTL, TL = 20.7% of TTL; SAMA R71443 with 855 mm SVL + 196 mm TL = 1051 mm TTL, TL = 18.7% of TTL; AMS R.13302 with 1180 mm SVL with a truncated tail. PNGNM R25322 and SAMA R71443 exhibit dorsal scales in 17-19-15 rows while AMS R.13302 has a dorsal scale count of 19-19-15. Ventrals and subcaudals are, respectively, 231 and 83 (SCR = 0.26) in PNGNM R25322, 232 and 95 (SCR = 0.29) in SAMA R71443, and AMS R.13302 possesses 239 ventrals but the tail is truncated at 59 subcaudals. All three specimens have nine supralabials on either side, with SL4–SL5 contacting the eye, and nine infralabials on either side, with either IL1–IL4 or IL1–IL5 contacting the anterior genials.</p> <p> There is some variation in the temporal scale arrangements in the four specimens. In the holotype the anterior and posterior upper temporals are distinct and separate, elongate scales, with the posterior scale slightly the larger (Figs. 3 A–B). The same state exists in the three paratypes but with some variation including fusion of these two scales into a single elongate upper temporal scale on the right side in PNGNM R25322 (Fig. 3D), and on the left side in SAMA R71443 (Fig. 3E). In AMS R.13302 the anterior upper temporal on the right side is almost twice the length of the posterior upper temporal (Fig. 3H), the reverse of the holotype condition, while the upper posterior temporal on the left side is divided into two scales (Fig. 3G). The lower temporal row of the holotype contains four scales on the left side, and five scales on the right side (Figs. 3 A-B). All three paratypes also exhibit either four or five scales in the lower temporal row, except PNGNM R25322 which possesses only two lower anterior temporals on the right side, the posterior-most of which comprises two scales fused to form a dumbbell shaped scale (Fig. 3D). The temporal arrangement in <i>S. aplini</i> therefore comprises an elongate upper anterior temporal that may or may not be fused with the upper posterior temporal. When the upper anterior and posterior temporals are separate the anterior temporal is in contact with three lower temporals, when it is fused with the upper posterior temporal it is contacted by three or four lower temporals.</p> <p> <b>Colouration in life.</b> The holotype and two paratypes were dorsally snow-white on the anterior and midbody regions, with infusions of black or very dark brown spots increasing in frequency from the midbody to posterior body. The dark pigment appears first on the posterior margins of the dorsal scales, gradually extending into the centres of each scale until by the tail the dorsum is primarily dark above, albeit still with large areas of white laterally. The venter is also immaculate white, with no dark pigmentation even posteriorly. The head is mid-brown dorsally, fading to light brown on the side of the head and on the neck. Although the colour in life of AMS R.13302 is unknown, its similarity in preservative to the remainder of the type series suggests a similar colouration in life.</p> <p> <b>Colouration in preservative.</b> The holotype (SAMA R71442) is creamy-white anterior-dorsally, contrasting strongly with the dark brown dorsum of the head and neck. A few scattered dark brown spots are present on this pale background by midbody, from where they rapidly increase in frequency until the posterior body is dorsally reticulate, dark brown and white, and the dorsum of the tail is almost entirely brown, although white pigment persists on the lower dorsal scale rows. The venter is near-immaculate off-white to yellow throughout. The patterning of the paratypes is almost identical, although the head of AMS R.13302 is much paler brown possibly reflecting a much longer period in preservative.</p> <p> <b>Comparison with other species.</b> <i>Stegonotus aplini</i> is a striking snake that can be immediately distinguished from all congeners with the exception of <i>S. iridis</i> by its colouration: at least the anterior third of the dorsal surfaces is snowy-white. All other congeners are unicolour grey, brown, or even black (<i>S. borneensis</i> Inger, 1967), or have white, yellow, pink or orange-red upward-pointing triangles anteriorly with a distinctly pale head laterally (<i>S. batjanensis</i>), or a reticulated pattern across the dorsum (<i>S. reticulatus</i>). Our new taxon most closely resembles <i>S. iridis</i> from the Raja Ampat Archipelago (Fig. 4), but the two species can be distinguished by the following characters (characters of <i>S. aplini</i> in parentheses): 17-19-15, 71%, or 17-17-15, 29%, dorsal scale rows (17-19-15 rows, 75%, or 19-19-15 rows, 25%); ventrals 198–211 (229–239); subcaudals 78–88 (83–95); SCR 0.28–0.31 (0.26–0.29); supralabials usually eight (86%), occasionally nine (14%) (usually nine, 75%, occasionally eight, 25%); infrabials ten, with IL1–IL5 contacting the anterior genials (usually nine, 75%, or eight, 25%, with IL1–IL4 or IL1–IL5 contacting anterior genials). The temporal scale arrangement of <i>S. aplini</i> (Figs. 3 A–H) also differs from that of <i>S. iridis</i> (Figs. 3 I–J). Both species exhibit elongate upper anterior and posterior temporals and whilst both species may occasionally exhibit fragmentation of these scales to form three upper temporals, fusion of these scales into a single elongate upper temporal, extending the entire length of the parietals, has only been observed in two of the <i>S. aplini</i> paratypes (PNGNM R25322; SAMA R71443). The lower anterior temporal in <i>S. iridis</i> is elongate, resulting in only two lower temporals contacting the upper anterior temporal, while three, occasionally four, squarish lower temporals contact the upper anterior temporal in <i>S. aplini</i>. <i>Stegonotus iridis</i> also appears to be a smaller species, with males not known to exceed 845 mm SVL (three of the four known males of <i>S. aplini</i> exceed 1000 mm SVL). A list of the major features of scalation that distinguish these two species is presented in Table 1, and a dichotomous key to the fourteen species of <i>Stegonotus</i> currently recognised on New Guinea and two additional species from adjacent areas that may occur in southern New Guinea, is provided below.</p> <p> <b>Habitat and Natural History.</b> Like other members of the genus <i>Stegonotus</i>, <i>S. aplini</i> is a nocturnal species that forages on the forest floor at night. This species was common in both primary lowland forest remote from human habitation (Fig. 5), and in garden regrowth near villages; at least ten individuals were observed during surveys of the Purari basin, where the species’ conspicuous pale colouration was readily visible in torchlight during night surveys. During capture each of the specimens struck repeatedly when handled, and attempted again to strike at researchers whilst being extracted from secure holding bags for examination. Local landowners greatly feared this species which they mistook for the highly venomous elapid <i>Micropechis ikaheca</i> 1 (Lesson, 1830), the only other pale, nocturnal snake in the region. All known locations where this species has been located are in the lowlands of the Purari River basin (Fig. 6).</p>Published as part of <i>O'Shea, Mark & Richards, Stephen J., 2021, A striking new species of Papuan groundsnake (Stegonotus: Colubridae) from southern Papua New Guinea, with a dichotomous key to the genus in New Guinea, pp. 26-42 in Zootaxa 4926 (1)</i> on pages 28-33, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4926.1.2, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/4500564">http://zenodo.org/record/4500564</a>
Diffusive author(s), cohesive author: Analysis of S/N (1994)
No full textThis study indicates the ways in which various aspects of the author(s) are brought forth in Dumb type’s performance art, the S/N production. Previous research has suggested a non-hierarchical organization of Dumb type and the absence of a “privileged author” in Dumb type’s collaborative work, S/N. However, the results that I have investigated from member’s interviews on the creative process of S/N along with my analysis of the recorded images of S/N, indicate a different aspect of the author(s). First, S/N was created through, so to speak, the collective ideas of the members of Dumb type. Further, S/N has at least nine quotations from previous performances, installations, and printed writings, besides the work-in-progress technique. Explicating one of the “author functions” as given by Michel Foucault, each text has plural subjects of the author. However, it has been revealed from members’ interviews that Teiji Furuhashi had a decision-making role in selecting the members’ ideas within the performance. Since then, S/N has had plural subjects of creation; however, Furuhashi is one of the subjects of creation along with the “privileged author.” S/N has plural authors (diffusive authors) yet at the same time, it has a “privileged author,” Teiji Furuhashi (cohesive author)
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
Microperoryctes aplini Helgen & Flannery 2004
No full text16. Arfak Pygmy Bandicoot Microperoryctes aplin French: Bandicoot dAplin / German: Arfak-Mausnasenbeutler / Spanish: Bandicut de las Arfak Taxonomy. Microperoryctes aplini Helgen & Flannery, 2004, Kampong Sururai, Lake Anggi Giji (01°23’S, 133°58’E), 6200 ft (= 1890 m), Arfak Mountains, eastern Vogelkop Peninsula, western New Guinea (Papua Province, Indonesia). Has been considered conspecific with M. murina, primarily on the basis of its similarity in size. Monotypic. Distribution. Arfak Mts, in E Bird’s Head (= Vogelkop) Peninsula, NW New Guinea. This species is monotypic. Descriptive notes. Head—body 14.2-16 cm,tail 11-512 cm; weight unknown, probably less than 100 g. Probably the smallest member of Peramelidae, at least as diminutive as the Mouse Bandicoot (M. murina). Fur is soft brown on dorsal surface, with a pronounced dark stripe that runs from crown to rump, while ventral fur is gray-brown with a creamy-white stripe. Relatively long tail is brown above and creamy white below, with a white tip that extends for about a sixth of tail length. Habitat. Has been collected in forest at altitudes of 1890-2200 m. Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species. Like the Mouse Bandicoot, however,it has been suggested as being “subfossorial;” if correct, this species may obtain its food at or just below ground surface. Breeding. There is no information available for this species. Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species. Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species. Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List. The population trend is unknown. This tiny bandicoot is represented by four specimens collected in 1928, 1963, and 1986 from Arfak Mountains, in eastern Bird’s Head Peninsula. Its status is similar to that of the Mouse Bandicoot in that it has not been seen for many years, is known from a small area, and has been subject to little or no dedicated survey work to discoverits true status. Although it is not beset by any known threats and has been recorded from a formal nature reserve, there is a growing human population in lower Arfak Mountains and the species could be potentially at risk from increased hunting pressure or disturbance to its habitat. Surveys are needed in order to define the size of the species’ population, where it occurs, and what threats it may face, so that more informed decisions can be made about its future conservation and management. Bibliography. Flannery (1995a), Groves (2005c), Helgen & Flannery (2004a), Menzies (2011), Tate (1948b), Ziegler (1977).Published as part of Russell A. Mittermeier & Don E. Wilson, 2015, Peramelidae, pp. 362-398 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 5 Monotremes and Marsupials, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 397-398, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.662174
Author's address:
No full textCan archives of audiovisual TV interviews be used to make authors more visible to students, and thereby reduce the learning gap between native and non-native language speakers in college classes? We examined students in a college course who learned about one scholar's ideas through watching an audiovisual TV interview (i.e., visible author format) and about another scholar's ideas through reading a formal text description (i.e., invisible author format). For the invisible author, native language speakers scored significantly higher than the non-native language speakers on a corresponding exam question (i.e., a cognitive measure), generated more words on the exam question (i.e., a motivational measure), and mentioned the author's name more often in answering the exam question (i.e., an affective measure). For the visible author, the groups did not differ on any of these measures. These findings provide evidence for the idea that making the author visible through audiovisual TV interviews can eliminate the learning gap between native and non-native language speakers. 3 Universities around the world serve students who are non-native speakers of th
The vanishing author in computer-generated works: a critical analysis of recent Australian case law
No full textAbstract
The use of software is ubiquitous in the creation of many copyright works, yet the requirement in copyright law that every work have a human author who engages in independent intellectual effort means that its use may prevent copyright subsistence. Several recent Australian cases have refocused attention on authorship as an essential criterion of copyright subsistence, and these cases suggest that much computer-produced output may be authorless and thus lack copyright protection. This article, the first in a two-part series, analyses how each case deals with the question of authorship of computer-produced works and why the use of software diminishes copyright protection for a significant number of computer-generated works. The article critiques the application of conventional notions of human authorship developed in the pre-computer age to modern productions and suggests alternative approaches to authorship that satisfy both the major objectives of copyright policy and the need to adapt to the computer age. The article argues that, without a broader judicial approach to authorship of computer-generated works, Parliament must remedy the lacuna in protection for these ‘authorless’ works. Possible solutions for reform are suggested. In a forthcoming article, the author comprehensively examines those reform proposals
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
An Author´s Existence
No full textThis bachelor´s thesis represents a sort of personal looking back vhich goes in two parallel lines - looking for oneself in artistic circles and looking for one own creative approach to the life and pedagogy. The work is divided into three parts. First part maps the author´s (not only) family background, in the second part the author leads us through a period of searching and trying to understand oneself through studying artistic and psychosomatic disciplines and the third integrating part concentrates on the present moment as a point of departure for work with the voice and voice pedagogy
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