Three new species of Tridentella Richardson, 1905 (Isopoda: Cymothoida: Tridentellidae) from New Caledonia.

Three new species of Tridentella Richardson, 1905 are described from the New Caledonia region. All three species are smooth bodied or largely smooth bodied, and all were collected from the shelf around New Caledonia at depths from 150-760 metres. Tridentella palmata sp.

A new soldier beetle Malthinellus exiguus sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) from the Ryukyus in southwestern Japan, with a key to Japanese species.

Malthinellus exiguus sp. nov., from the central Ryukyus in the southwestern part of Japan is described and illustrated.

Chemical and behavioral integration of army ant-associated rove beetles - a comparison between specialists and generalists.

Host-symbiont interactions are embedded in ecological communities and range from unspecific to highly specific relationships. Army ants and their arthropod guests represent a fascinating example of species-rich host-symbiont associations where host specificity ranges across the entire generalist - specialist continuum. In the present study, we compared the behavioral and chemical integration mechanisms of two extremes of the generalist - specialist continuum: generalist ant-predators in the genus (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Athetini), and specialist ant-mimics in the genera and (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae: Ecitocharini).

Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of the alien hornet (Insecta: Hymenoptera) invading Kyushu Island, Japan.

We analyzed the complete mitochondrial genome of the invasive Asian hornet from Kyushu Island, Japan. The mitochondrial genome of was identified as a circular molecule of 16,388 bp. We predicted that the genome contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes, along with one A + T-rich control region.

Cortical Abnormalities Associated With Pediatric and Adult Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Findings From the ENIGMA Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Working Group.

Objective: Brain imaging studies of structural abnormalities in OCD have yielded inconsistent results, partly because of limited statistical power, clinical heterogeneity, and methodological differences. The authors conducted meta- and mega-analyses comprising the largest study of cortical morphometry in OCD ever undertaken.

Method: T-weighted MRI scans of 1,905 OCD patients and 1,760 healthy controls from 27 sites worldwide were processed locally using FreeSurfer to assess cortical thickness and surface area.

Southern limits of distribution of the intertidal gobies and support the existence of a biogeographic boundary in southern Japan (Teleostei, Perciformes, Gobiidae).

Understanding the distributional patterns of individual animal groups with respect to coastal topology and the local physical environment provides essential foundational frameworks for marine zoogeography. In the northwestern Pacific waters of Japan, the distributional pattern of some cool-temperate species of marine fishes suggests the existence of a biogeographic boundary corresponding to a long sandy shore on the eastern coast of Kyushu, southern Japan. The existence of this hypothetical biogeographic boundary was tested by mapping the southern distributional limit of two species of cool-temperate intertidal gobies, and , which are endemic to East Asia and common in rock pools within their range in the Japanese Archipelago.

Seahorses of the complex: taxonomic revision, and description of , a new species from Korea and Japan (Teleostei, Syngnathidae).

Morphological and molecular analyses were conducted on 182 specimens belonging to the complex ( sensu lato), collected in Korea and Japan 1933-2015, in order to clarify the taxonomic status of the species within this complex. Three species are recognized based on the shape of the coronet, the number of trunk rings (TrR) and tail rings (TaR), and presence or absence of a wing-tip spine (WS) at the dorsal fin base. Temminck & Schlegel, 1850 ( sensu stricto), is diagnosed by 10 TrR, 37-40 TaR, an extremely high coronet (55.

Survey on the Original Plant Species of Crude Drugs Distributed as Cynanchi Wilfordii Radix and Its Related Crude Drugs in the Korean and Chinese Markets.

Cynanchi Wilfordii Radix (CWR) is used in Korea as a substitute for Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR), which is a crude drug traditionally used in East Asian countries. Recently, the use of Cynanchi Auriculati Radix (CAR) in place of PMR and CWR has emerged a major concern in the Korean market. In Japan, PMR is permitted to be distributed as a pharmaceutical regulated by the Japanese Pharmacopoeia 17th edition (JP17).

Evidence from amber for the origins of termitophily.

Fossil morphology is often used to infer the ecology of extinct species. In a recent report in Current Biology, Cai and colleagues [1] described an extinct rove beetle, Cretotrichopsenius burmiticus, from two specimens in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber (∼99 million years old). Based on morphology and the taxonomic group to which the specimens belong, the authors proposed that Cretotrichopsenius was a termitophile - a socially parasitic symbiont of termite colonies.

(Clusiaceae), a new species from Bidoup Nui Ba National Park, southern Vietnam.

A new species, H.Toyama & V.S.

(Loranthaceae), a new species from Bidoup Nui Ba National Park, southern Vietnam.

Tagane & V.S.Dang, (Loranthaceae) is newly described from Bidoup Nui Ba National Park in Lam Dong Province, southern Vietnam.

First record of from the Oriental region, with a new species from Philippines (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Phylinae).

The unique genus Schuh is recognized from the Oriental region for the first time, with the description of a new species, , from the Philippines. The new species is documented with photographic images of the dorsal habitus and male genital structures. A key to all known species of is provided.

Deep Phylogeographic Breaks in Magpie Pica pica Across the Holarctic: Concordance with Bioacoustics and Phenotypes.

We examined sequences of the mitochondrial control region in magpies (Pica pica) from the entire distribution range and found deep genetic splits into four major lineages: (1) group West (Europe-Siberia), (2) group East (southern Far East), (3) P. p. mauritanica (North Africa), and (4) P.

Phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Stevia (Asteraceae: Eupatorieae): an example of diversification in the Asteraceae in the new world.

The genus Stevia comprises approximately 200 species, which are distributed in North and South America, and are representative of the species diversity of the Asteraceae in the New World. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships using sequences of ITS and cpDNA and estimated the divergence times of the major clade of this genus. Our results suggested that Stevia originated in Mexico 7.

Establishment of a Direct-Injection Electron Ionization-Mass Spectrometry Metabolomics Method and Its Application to Lichen Profiling.

Direct-injection electron ionization-mass spectrometry (DI-EI-MS) is a multivariate analysis method useful for characterizing biological materials. We demonstrated the use of DI-EI-MS for metabolic profiling using several closely related lichen species: Cladonia krempelhuberi, C. gracilis, C.

An assessment of postcranial indices, ratios, and body mass versus eco-geographical variables of prehistoric Jomon, Yayoi agriculturalists, and Kumejima Islanders of Japan.

Objectives: We explore variations in body and limb proportions of the Jomon hunter-gatherers (14,000-2500 BP), the Yayoi agriculturalists (2500-1700 BP) of Japan, and the Kumejima Islanders of the Ryukyus (1600-1800 AD) with 11 geographically diverse skeletal postcranial samples from Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America using brachial-crural indices, femur head-breadth-to-femur length ratio, femur head-breadth-to-lower-limb-length ratio, and body mass as indicators of phenotypic climatic adaptation. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that variation in limb proportions seen in Jomon, Yayoi, and Kumejima is a complex interaction of genetic adaptation; development and allometric constraints; selection, gene flow and genetic drift with changing cultural factors (i.e.

Cretaceous origin of the unique prey-capture apparatus in mega-diverse genus: stem lineage of Steninae rove beetles discovered in Burmese amber.

Stenus is the largest genus of rove beetles and the second largest among animals. Its evolutionary success was associated with the adhesive labial prey-capture apparatus, a unique apomorphy of that genus. Definite Stenus with prey-capture apparatus are known from the Cenozoic fossils, while the age and early evolution of Steninae was hardly ever hypothesized.

Deep-Time Convergence in Rove Beetle Symbionts of Army Ants.

Recent adaptive radiations provide striking examples of convergence [1-4], but the predictability of evolution over much deeper timescales is controversial, with a scarcity of ancient clades exhibiting repetitive patterns of phenotypic evolution [5, 6]. Army ants are ecologically dominant arthropod predators of the world's tropics, with large nomadic colonies housing diverse communities of socially parasitic myrmecophiles [7]. Remarkable among these are many species of rove beetle (Staphylinidae) that exhibit ant-mimicking "myrmecoid" body forms and are behaviorally accepted into their aggressive hosts' societies: emigrating with colonies and inhabiting temporary nest bivouacs, grooming and feeding with workers, but also consuming the brood [8-11].

Rearing and observation of immature stages of the hoverfly (Diptera, Syrphidae).

Background: The hoverfly Microdon (Chymophila) katsurai Maruyama et Hironaga 2004 was speculated to be a myrmecophilous species associated with the ant based on observations of adults near the ant nest. However, there have been no reports regarding the observation of immature stages of this species in association with .

New Information: For the first time, we found three larvae inside a nest and conducted rearing experiments on the larval .

Understanding and monitoring the consequences of human impacts on intraspecific variation.

Intraspecific variation is a major component of biodiversity, yet it has received relatively little attention from governmental and nongovernmental organizations, especially with regard to conservation plans and the management of wild species. This omission is ill-advised because phenotypic and genetic variations within and among populations can have dramatic effects on ecological and evolutionary processes, including responses to environmental change, the maintenance of species diversity, and ecological stability and resilience. At the same time, environmental changes associated with many human activities, such as land use and climate change, have dramatic and often negative impacts on intraspecific variation.