Epibiontic life on intertidal Setaphyes kielensis and S. dentatus (Kinorhyncha, Pycnophyidae) from Sylt, North Sea, Germany, with a description of a new species of Trematosoma (Ciliophora, Acinetidae) and a redescription of Cothurnia buetschlii (Ciliophora, Vaginicolidae).

Specimens of two species of Kinorhyncha, Setaphyes dentatus and S. kielensis, were collected in 1988, 1998, and 2016 at two intertidal sites on the island of Sylt, North Sea, and investigated as preserved material by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy for their epibionts. One species of Acinetidae (Suctoria), one species of Vaginicolidae (Peritrichia), and two species of bacteria were traced.

Turcinoemacheilus inexpectatus, a new nemacheilid loach from the Tigris drainage (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae).

Turcinoemacheilus inexpectatus, new species, is described from the Greater Zab, Lesser Zab, and Sirvan drainages, all tributaries of the middle Tigris. It belongs to the T. kosswigi species group.

Adaptive shifts in Neotropical planthoppers: new troglobitic species and the first surface species of Ferricixius Hoch & Ferreira, 2012 (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae) from Brazilian caves.

Here we describe three cixiid species new to science which we assign to the hitherto monotypic genus Ferricixius Hoch & Ferreira, 2012 from Brazil. Ferricixius michaeli sp. nov.

Type specimens and type localities of birds (Aves) collected by Gustav Adolf Fischer (18481886) in East Africa.

Gustav Adolf Fischer (18481886) was an important German naturalist and ornithological collector in Africa. The extensive ornithological collections from his several expeditions were sent to at least two different museums (Zoological Museum Berlin and Zoological Museum Hamburg), and to a smaller extent, some private sales are assumed. Together with Anton Reichenow, Fischer described many species new to science, so the many types in the collections make them especially important.

A preliminary checklist of the praying mantids of Como National Park, Ivory Coast (Insecta: Mantodea).

The Como National Park (CNP), located in the north-eastern part of the Ivory Coast, is strongly influenced by the river Como, which is eponymous for the park. Gallery forests along the river, forest islands, open grasslands, bush and tree savannas of various densities offer diverse habitats that harbor both forest and savannah praying mantis species. We present a preliminary checklist of praying mantids (Insecta: Mantodea) of the CNP.

Cabdio occidentalis, a new species from Lake Mashkid basin and the Makran region (Teleostei: Danionidae).

Cabdio occidentalis, new species, is described from the Lake Mashkid basin and the Makran region of Iran. It is distinguished from other species of the genus by a combination of characters: 3842+12 total lateral-line scales, 1923 predorsal scales, 911 pectoral-fin rays, and the absence of a keel between the pelvic-fin base and the genital papilla. The cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence separates C.

Induced responses contribute to rapid adaptation of Spirodela polyrhiza to herbivory by Lymnaea stagnalis.

Herbivory-induced responses in plants are typical examples of phenotypic plasticity, and their evolution is thought to be driven by herbivory. However, direct evidence of the role of induced responses in plant adaptive evolution to herbivores is scarce. Here, we experimentally evolve populations of an aquatic plant (Spirodela polyrhiza, giant duckweed) and its native herbivore (Lymnaea stagnalis, freshwater snail), testing whether herbivory drives rapid adaptive evolution in plant populations using a combination of bioassays, pool-sequencing, metabolite analyses, and amplicon metagenomics.

Species- and sex-specific chemical composition from an internal gland-like tissue of an African frog family.

Intraspecific chemical communication in frogs is understudied and the few published cases are limited to externally visible and male-specific breeding glands. Frogs of the family Odontobatrachidae, a West African endemic complex of five morphologically cryptic species, have large, fatty gland-like strands along their lower mandible. We investigated the general anatomy of this gland-like strand and analysed its chemical composition.

Microbial associates of the elm leaf beetle: uncovering the absence of resident bacteria and the influence of fungi on insect performance.

Microbial symbionts play crucial roles in the biology of many insects. While bacteria have been the primary focus of research on insect-microbe symbiosis, recent studies suggest that fungal symbionts may be just as important. The elm leaf beetle (ELB, ) is a serious pest species of field elm ().

A conspectus of Australian (Diptera, Chloropidae) with the description of two new species.

The genus (Diptera, Chloropidae) has a global distribution with more than 80 valid described species, of which 22 are known to occur in Australia. The Australian fauna is poorly studied, with many species known from single type specimens, more with the morphology of the other sex unknown, and there have been no new species descriptions since 1959. Here, we describe two new species from Australia, Riccardi, and Ang, , and provide an updated illustrated key.

The global importance and interplay of colour-based protective and thermoregulatory functions in frogs.

Small-scale studies have shown that colour lightness variation can have important physiological implications in ectotherms, with darker species having greater heating rates, as well as protection against pathogens and photooxidative damage. Using data for 41% (3059) of all known frog and toad species (Anura) from across the world, we reveal ubiquitous and strong clines of decreasing colour lightness towards colder regions and regions with higher pathogen pressure and UVB radiation. The relative importance of pathogen resistance is higher in the tropics and that of thermoregulation is higher in temperate regions.

Two centuries of biodiversity discovery and loss in Singapore.

There is an urgent need for reliable data on the impacts of deforestation on tropical biodiversity. The city-state of Singapore has one of the most detailed biodiversity records in the tropics, dating back to the turn of the 19th century. In 1819, Singapore was almost entirely covered in primary forest, but this has since been largely cleared.

ONTbarcoder 2.0: rapid species discovery and identification with real-time barcoding facilitated by Oxford Nanopore R10.4.

Most arthropod species are undescribed and hidden in specimen-rich samples that are difficult to sort to species using morphological characters. For such samples, sorting to putative species with DNA barcodes is an attractive alternative, but needs cost-effective techniques that are suitable for use in many laboratories around the world. Barcoding using the portable and inexpensive MinION sequencer produced by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) could be useful for presorting specimen-rich samples with DNA barcodes because it requires little space and is inexpensive.

Cellular development and evolution of the mammalian cerebellum.

The expansion of the neocortex, a hallmark of mammalian evolution, was accompanied by an increase in cerebellar neuron numbers. However, little is known about the evolution of the cellular programmes underlying the development of the cerebellum in mammals. In this study we generated single-nucleus RNA-sequencing data for around 400,000 cells to trace the development of the cerebellum from early neurogenesis to adulthood in human, mouse and the marsupial opossum.

Out of the desert: Paleoclimatic changes drove the diversification of arid-adapted Ocymyrmex ants in southern Africa.

A highly endemic ant fauna is found in the arid regions of southern Africa, including species in the genus Ocymyrmex. This genus of ants has higher species richness in the western arid regions of southern Africa compared to tropical and subtropical parts of the continent. The processes that have produced these patterns of diversity and distribution of arid adapted ants in southern Africa have never been investigated.

Quantification and modeling of turnover dynamics of de novo transcripts in Drosophila melanogaster.

Most of the transcribed eukaryotic genomes are composed of non-coding transcripts. Among these transcripts, some are newly transcribed when compared to outgroups and are referred to as de novo transcripts. De novo transcripts have been shown to play a major role in genomic innovations.

Defensive behavior is linked to altered surface chemistry following infection in a termite society.

The care-kill response determines whether a sick individual will be treated or eliminated from an insect society, but little is known about the physiological underpinnings of this process. We exploited the stepwise infection dynamics of an entomopathogenic fungus in a termite to explore how care-kill transitions occur, and identify the chemical cues behind these shifts. We found collective responses towards pathogen-injected individuals to vary according to severity and timing of pathogen challenge, with elimination, via cannibalism, occurring sooner in response to a severe active infection.

Robust evidence for bats as reservoir hosts is lacking in most African virus studies: a review and call to optimize sampling and conserve bats.

Africa experiences frequent emerging disease outbreaks among humans, with bats often proposed as zoonotic pathogen hosts. We comprehensively reviewed virus-bat findings from papers published between 1978 and 2020 to evaluate the evidence that African bats are reservoir and/or bridging hosts for viruses that cause human disease. We present data from 162 papers (of 1322) with original findings on (1) numbers and species of bats sampled across bat families and the continent, (2) how bats were selected for study inclusion, (3) if bats were terminally sampled, (4) what types of ecological data, if any, were recorded and (5) which viruses were detected and with what methodology.

Corticosterone and immune responses to dehydration in squamate reptiles.

Many environments present some degree of seasonal water limitations; organisms that live in such environments must be adapted to survive periods without permanent water access. Often this involves the ability to tolerate dehydration, which can have adverse physiological effects and is typically considered a physiological stressor. While having many functions, the hormone corticosterone (CORT) is often released in response to stressors, yet increasing plasma CORT while dehydrated could be considered maladaptive, especially for species that experience predictable bouts of dehydration and have related coping mechanisms.

A multi-taxon analysis of European Red Lists reveals major threats to biodiversity.

Biodiversity loss is a major global challenge and minimizing extinction rates is the goal of several multilateral environmental agreements. Policy decisions require comprehensive, spatially explicit information on species' distributions and threats. We present an analysis of the conservation status of 14,669 European terrestrial, freshwater and marine species (ca.

Genomic signatures of eusocial evolution in insects.

The genomes of eusocial insects allow the production and regulation of highly distinct phenotypes, largely independent of genotype. Although rare, eusociality has evolved convergently in at least three insect orders (Hymenoptera, Blattodea and Coleoptera). Despite such disparate origins, eusocial phenotypes show remarkable similarity, exhibiting long-lived reproductives and short-lived sterile workers and soldiers.