New insights on basivenal sclerites using 3D tools and homology of wing veins in Odonatoptera (Insecta).

Being implied in flight, mimetism, communication, and protection, the insect wings were crucial organs for the mega diversification of this clade. Despite several attempts, the problem of wing evolution remains unresolved because the basal parts of the veins essential for vein identification are hidden in the basivenal sclerites. The homologies between wing characters thus cannot be accurately verified, while they are of primary importance to solve long-standing problems, such as the monophyly of the Palaeoptera, viz.

3-D imaging reveals four extraordinary cases of convergent evolution of acoustic communication in crickets and allies (Insecta).

When the same complex trait is exhibited by closely related species, a single evolutionary origin is frequently invoked. The complex stridulatory apparatus present in the forewings of extant crickets, mole crickets, katydids, and prophalangopsids, is currently interpreted as sharing a single common origin due to their similarity and unique function. An alternative hypothesis of convergent evolution in these ensiferan groups has challenged this common view, but remained controversial because of competing interpretations of wing venation.

On Public Influence on People's Interactions with Ordinary Biodiversity.

Besides direct impacts of urban biodiversity on local ecosystem services, the contact of city dwellers with urban nature in their everyday life could increase their awareness on conservation issues. In this paper, we focused on a particularly common animal urban species, the feral pigeon Columba livia. Through an observational approach, we examined behavioral interactions between city dwellers and this species in the Paris metropolis, France.

Mutations in the latent TGF-beta binding protein 3 (LTBP3) gene cause brachyolmia with amelogenesis imperfecta.

Inherited dental malformations constitute a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of disorders. Here, we report on four families, three of them consanguineous, with an identical phenotype, characterized by significant short stature with brachyolmia and hypoplastic amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) with almost absent enamel. This phenotype was first described in 1996 by Verloes et al.