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Bass Strait is an important biogeographic barrier for Australian mammals, often resulting in significant genetic differentiation between populations on the mainland and Tasmania for species with a trans-Bassian distribution. King and Flinders Islands, in Bass Strait, are the largest remnants of the land bridge that once linked Tasmania with mainland Australia. Due to their remote locality and habitat loss on the islands since European settlement, little is known about the evolutionary movements of species across the former land bridge. Here we present genetic data, generated from museum skins, on the King and Flinders Island populations of Long-nosed Potoroo, Potorous tridactylus (Kerr, 1792) to investigate their affinities with other populations of this species. We also assessed the validity of the subspecies Potorous tridactylus benormi Courtney, 1963 described from King Island. Analysis of two partial mitochondrial DNA genes (CO1, ND2) indicate that potoroos on King and Flinders Islands are more closely related to Tasmanian rather than mainland potoroo populations. Molecular and morphological data from the holotype and paratype of Potorous tridactylus benormi does not support separate taxonomic status and places it within the Tasmanian subspecies Potorous tridactylus apicalis (Gould, 1851).

Polistes paper wasps have striking and variable colour patterns. Although these colour patterns are known to function in communication, little is known about how they affect fitness in relation to the abiotic environment. In the present study, we used dried-preserved museum specimens, comprising male and female Polistes from all over the world, aiming to test for a correlation between the body luminance (assessed by digital photography) and environmental temperature (assessed by the available online environmental databases). We found that the female thorax and abdomen are darker (low luminance) in colder compared to warmer environments. In males, however, body luminance is not associated with environmental temperature. Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that darker insects have an advantage in colder environments because they can heat faster than lighter ones (thermal melanism hypothesis). By showing that melanic Polistes inhabit cooler areas more than the brighter species, we presume that selection for effective heating may provide an adaptive explanation for the evolution of Polistes colour diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven species of the subgenus Polistella Ashmead of the genus Polistes Latreille including a new species, P. brunetus Nguyen & Kojima, sp. n. described here, are recognized to occur in northeastern Vietnam, the easternmost part of the eastern slope of the Himalayas. A key to these species is provided. Their distributional records are remarked. Nests of P. delhiensis Das & Gupta, P. mandarinus de Saussure and P. brunetus are also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]