First Detection of in Namibian Bird Ectoparasites (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) with a Description of New Quill Mite Species.

is a common intracellular bacterial genus that infects numerous arthropods and filarial nematodes. In arthropods, it typically acts as a reproductive parasite, leading to various phenotypic effects such as cytoplasmic incompatibility, parthenogenesis, feminization, or male-killing. Quill mites (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) are a group of bird parasites that have recently attracted increasing interest due to the detection of unique phylogenetic lineages of endosymbiotic bacteria and potentially pathogenic taxa.

 (Rutaceae), a new tree species from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands.

A newly-discovered endemic tree species of from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated with notes on its distribution, ecology, conservation status and phylogenetic placement. A modification to the existing key to Hawaiian is also provided. is a member of Stone's group having carpels connate at base, capsules 4-lobed and leaves usually opposite.

Fundamental constraints and questions from the study of martian meteorites and the need for returned samples.

Physical materials from planetary bodies are crucial for understanding fundamental processes that constrain the evolution of the solar system, as samples can be analyzed at high precision and accuracy in Earth-based laboratories. Mars is the only planet outside of Earth from which we possess samples in the form of meteorites. Martian meteorites (n > 350) have enabled constraints to be placed on various aspects of the red planet's formation and evolution, notably: that Mars accreted and differentiated rapidly; that the planet has a complex volatile element evolution; and that it has always been volcanically active with a rich and diverse magmatic history.

Extensive genome-wide phylogenetic discordance is due to incomplete lineage sorting in the rapidly radiated East Asian genus Nekemias (Vitaceae).

Background And Aims: Nekemias is a small genus of the grape family, with nine species discontinuously distributed in temperate to subtropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere but mostly in East Asia. Previous phylogenetic studies on Nekemias have mainly based on a few chloroplast markers, and the phylogenetic framework and systematic relationships are still highly contested.

Methods: We carried out a systematic framework reconstruction of Nekemias and intra-generic reticulate evolutionary analyses based on extensive single-copy nuclear and chloroplast genomic data obtained by the Hyb-Seq approach, combining genome skimming and target enrichment.

On the Neotropical Brincadorus: redescription, new species, taxonomic key and description of a related new genus (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae).

The Neotropical genus Brincadorus Oman, 1938 is redescribed, and five new species are described and illustrated. Brincadorus cruceno sp. nov.

The species of Pteromalus Swederus in America north of Mexico with a 4:4 mandibular formula, and description of a potential biocontrol agent of the introduced pest Anthonomus rubi (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

The strawberry blossom weevil, Anthonomus rubi (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is native to Europe, Asia, and parts of North Africa, and has recently established in British Columbia, Canada and Washington State, USA. To determine whether any parasitoids in British Columbia parasitize this recently-established pest, A. rubi-infested buds of Rosaceous host plants were collected and reared for parasitoid emergence.

Revision of the Nearctic Species of the Shore-Fly Genus Scatophila Becker (Diptera: Ephydridae).

The Nearctic species of the shore-fly genus Scatophila Becker are revised. We treat 26 species of which three are new (type locality noted in parenthesis): Scatophila angusta sp. nov.

A new species of Diatraea Guilding, 1828, feeding on sugarcane from Nayarit, Mexico, and a lectotype designation for Diatraea magnifactella Dyar, 1911 (Lepidoptera, Crambidae, Crambinae).

Between 2022 and 2023, over a thousand larvae and pupae of sugarcane borers in the genus Diatraea Guilding, 1828, were collected in the state of Nayarit, Mexico, and reared to adults to identify them based on the morphology of genitalia. Although two species, Diatraea considerata Heinrich, 1931, and D. magnifactella Dyar, 1911, had been reported to occur in western Mexico, we discovered a new species of sugarcane borer, Diatraea nayaritella Robles & Solis, sp.

New World Orphanostigma Guenée, 1854, including a new species from Costa Rica (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Spilomelinae).

Orphanostigma haemorrhoidalis Guenée, 1854, was described from Brazil and introduced worldwide for the biological control of Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae). Orphanostigma futilalis (Barnes & McDunnough, 1914), rev.

Assessing the spatial scale of synchrony in forest tree population dynamics.

Populations of forest trees exhibit large temporal fluctuations, but little is known about the synchrony of these fluctuations across space, including their sign, magnitude, causes and characteristic scales. These have important implications for metapopulation persistence and theoretical community ecology. Using data from permanent forest plots spanning local, regional and global spatial scales, we measured spatial synchrony in tree population growth rates over sub-decadal and decadal timescales and explored the relationship of synchrony to geographical distance.

Enhancing biodiversity: historical ecology and biogeography of the Santa Catalina Island ground squirrel, .

People have influenced Earth's biodiversity for millennia, including numerous introductions of domestic and wild species to islands. Here, we explore the origins and ecology of the Santa Catalina Island ground squirrel (SCIGS; ), one of only five endemic terrestrial mammals found on California's Santa Catalina Island. We synthesized all records of archaeological/palaeontological SCIGS, conducted radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis of the potentially earliest SCIGS remains and performed genetic analysis of modern SCIGS.

Molluscan systematics: historical perspectives and the way ahead.

Mollusca, the second-most diverse animal phylum, is estimated to have over 100,000 living species with great genetic and phenotypic diversity, a rich fossil record, and a considerable evolutionary significance. Early work on molluscan systematics was grounded in morphological and anatomical studies. With the transition from oligo gene Sanger sequencing to cutting-edge genomic sequencing technologies, molecular data has been increasingly utilised, providing abundant information for reconstructing the molluscan phylogenetic tree.

 (Caryophyllaceae), an enigmatic new species from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands and the first species discovered by a drone collection system.

During a survey by the National Tropical Botanical Garden drone team, an enigmatic was observed in December 2021on steep, rocky cliff faces of the Waiahulu Valley in the Waimea Canyon of Kaua'i. Subsequently, another survey was conducted in March 2022 and, by use of a remotely controlled cutting device suspended below the drone, the first herbarium specimen was collected, as well as a seed collection of an undescribed cliff-dwelling species of . Detailed study of the collections and plants grown at the University of California, Irvine greenhouse showed that it had enlarged, somewhat whitish sepals similar to those of cliff-dwelling (the sole species in sect.

Molecular Phylogenetics and Historical Biogeography of Subtribe Ecliptinae (Asteraceae, Heliantheae).

We present a molecular phylogeny for the subtribe Ecliptinae (Asteraceae, Heliantheae) based on three plastid (, , and ) and two nuclear (nrITS and nrETS) markers. The results of the phylogenetic reconstruction were utilised as a topological constraint for a subsequent divergence dating analysis and ancestral range reconstructions. We sampled 41 species and 40 genera (72%) of Ecliptinae and two species of (as outgroups) to elucidate the generic relationships between the genera of this subtribe.

Under the Sea: Investigation of Telson Morphology and Cryptic Diversity within Eucopia sculpticauda, a Deep-Sea Lophogastrid from the Gulf of Mexico (Peracarida: Lophogastrida).

The field of phylogenetics employs a variety of methods and techniques to study the evolution of life across the planet. Understanding evolutionary relationships is crucial to enriching our understanding of how genes and organisms have evolved throughout time and how they could possibly evolve in the future. Eucopia sculpticauda Faxon, 1893 is a deep-water peracarid in the order Lophogastrida Boas, 1883, which can often be found in high abundances in pelagic trawls.

Cretaceous crown male ant reveals the rise of modern lineages.

Most described Mesozoic ants belong to stem groups that existed only during the Cretaceous period. Previously, the earliest known crown ants were dated to the Turonian (Late Cretaceous, ca. 94-90 million years ago (Ma)) deposits found in the USA, Kazakhstan, and Botswana.

 (Bombacoideae, Malvaceae), a new endangered species from montane forests in the Atlantic Forest of Bahia, northeastern Brazil.

A new species of (Bombacoideae, Malvaceae) from montane wet forests in the Atlantic Forest of Bahia, northeastern Brazil, is described and illustrated. It is known from only three populations situated between 750 m and 850 m in elevation on mountain summits and categorized as Endangered (EN) based on IUCN criteria. is distinct from all congeners by the combination of coriaceous to strongly coriaceous leaves and remarkable few-seeded, globose to subglobose woody capsules that contain scanty kapok and the largest seeds known in the genus to date.

Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-Surface (REASON).

The Radar for Europa Assessment and Sounding: Ocean to Near-surface (REASON) is a dual-frequency ice-penetrating radar (9 and 60 MHz) onboard the Europa Clipper mission. REASON is designed to probe Europa from exosphere to subsurface ocean, contributing the third dimension to observations of this enigmatic world. The hypotheses REASON will test are that (1) the ice shell of Europa hosts liquid water, (2) the ice shell overlies an ocean and is subject to tidal flexing, and (3) the exosphere, near-surface, ice shell, and ocean participate in material exchange essential to the habitability of this moon.

 (Primulaceae), a distinctive new shrub species from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands.

Lorence & K.R.Wood (Primulaceae), a new single-island endemic shrub species from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated.

Comparative genomics of the primary endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola in aphid hosts and their coevolutionary relationships.

Background: Coevolution between modern aphids and their primary obligate, bacterial endosymbiont, Buchnera aphidicola, has been previously reported at different classification levels based on molecular phylogenetic analyses. However, the Buchnera genome remains poorly understood within the Rhus gall aphids.

Results: We assembled the complete genome of the endosymbiont Buchnera in 16 aphid samples, representing 13 species in all six genera of Rhus gall aphids by shotgun genome skimming method.

The language of light: a review of bioluminescence in deep-sea decapod shrimps.

In the dark, expansive habitat of the deep sea, the production of light through bioluminescence is commonly used among a wide range of taxa. In decapod crustaceans, bioluminescence is only known in shrimps (Dendrobranchiata and Caridea) and may occur in different modes, including luminous secretions that are used to deter predators and/or from specialised light organs called photophores that function by providing camouflage against downwelling light. Photophores exhibit an extensive amount of morphological variation across decapod families: they may be internal (of hepatic origin) or embedded in surface tissues (dermal), and may possess an external lens, suggesting independent origins and multiple functions.