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We document an unrecognised genetic lineage within the European hermit crab Diogenes pugilator species complex. Specifically, we propose the revalidation of the previously synonymised species D. ponticus , for specimens previously identified as D. pugilator from the Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean, and Black Seas. Analyses of the mitochondrial genes COI and 16S rRNA resulted in a clear genetic separation to East Atlantic and Western Mediterranean populations of Diogenes. Morphological analyses confirmed differences in the individuals assigned to D. ponticus compared to the congeners D. curvimanus and D. pugilator and thereby a concordance between molecular and morphological characters. Despite the relatively high morphological resemblance to D. armatus , the molecular differentiation and the remarkable geographic segregation within the species complex suggest at least one speciation or radiation event in the past, underlining the growing importance of molecular methods in the identification of species and evolutionarily significant units. Major oceanographic processes that are known to shape genetic variability and population genetic structure in the marine environment are pointed out as possible structuring factors for the observed intrageneric divergence. The evidence of long evolutionary independence is therefore considered sufficient to re-establish the validity of D. ponticus as a valid species in the northern-central and north-eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea and is redescribed accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite nearly two centuries of intensive research of dicynodont diversity and distribution, the progress of the last two decades makes the early 21st century a dicynodont renaissance. Here we introduce Woznikella triradiata n. gen., n. sp., a Late Triassic European kannemeyeriiform with stahleckeriid affinities that may represent an early diverging lineage of that family, preceding its split into Placeriinae King, 1988 and Stahleckeriinae Lehman, 1961. Woznikella triradiata n. gen., n. sp. is distinguished from other dicynodonts by its autapomorphic, slender scapula with distinctly expanded dorsal and ventral parts, acromion directed anterodorsally, and inconspicuous scapular spine. Furthermore, we review reported global occurrences of Triassic dicynodonts, including fragmentary, indeterminate finds that may capture cryptic diversity, and analyze the biogeography of the Permian and Triassic Dicynodontia. According to our results, the region of southeastern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia) throughout the Permian and Triassic served as a hotspot of dicynodont diversity and origin point for lineages migrating north and west. Multiple taxa independently migrated to the Americas and Eurasia, indicating open passages between the regions of Southern and Northern Hemisphere. Southern migrations from the Northern Hemisphere appear to be very rare, however. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the distribution of the potamidid genus Terebralia Swainson, 1840 in the European fossil record (middle Eocene to Miocene). Extant Terebralia contains species restricted to mangroves and mudflats, rendering it a reliable element for detecting these coastal environments in the fossil record. Our contribution summarizes the European fossil record of this taxon and highlights the presence of this genus within coastal environments in the European realm. Distribution in the Cenozoic is interpreted based on ecological preferences, dispersal modes and climatic restrictions of recent species. Maximum geographical distribution is reached during the Early and Middle Miocene with two species being present from the southernmost parts of Europe and Anatolia to the North Sea Basin and the Paratethys. During the Late Miocene, the distribution of Terebralia lignitarum (Eichwald, 1830) is patchy and limited to the South of Europe. The Messinian Salinity Crisis coupled with a changing climate caused the disappearance of Terebralia in the Mediterranean first, and then marked the end of mangrove environments in this province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of R.A.R.E - Association Roussillonnaise d'Entomologie is the property of Association Roussillonnaise d Entomologie and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Thematic mapping in botany and zoology actually appears in the end of the XVIIIth century and grows in the following century. Numerous biological data allow and need, in the same time, to use mapping devices. Qualitative mapping turns gradually into quantitative mapping. If the first boundaries are ruler-drawn, these lines become more and more complex, even showing growth and extinction of living species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Didáctica Geográfica is the property of Grupo de Didactica de la Geografia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Most genera of the freshwater red algal order Batrachospermales have been systematically revised using molecular and morphological data, but Sirodotia Kylin remains to be thoroughly reviewed. In this investigation, DNA sequence data for the rbcL, COI-5P and LSU markers of specimens collected worldwide were combined with morphological observations to assess their specific diversity, infer their relationships and evaluate the morphological characters relevant for species identification. Phylogenetic analyses showed the genus to be a monophyletic lineage with high support. Inter- and intra-specific divergence values were well-delineated with higher interspecific (2.1-7% and 4.4-10.5%) and lower intraspecific (0-2.4% and 0-3.8%) variations for rbcL and COI-5P sequences, respectively. LSU sequences revealed lower interspecific divergence values than the COI-5P sequences (0.7-3.3%) indicating less resolution as a barcode marker. Nine species are recognized based on DNA sequence data, morphological characters and geographic distribution. Five species were previously described (S. assamica Necchi, Rossignolo, Yasmin, J.A. West & Ganesan, S. delicatula Skuja, S. huillensis (Welwitsch ex West & GSWest) Skuja, S. kennedyi A.L.Szinte, J.C.Taylor & M.L.Vis and S. suecica Kylin) and four new species are proposed (S. amazonica Necchi, N.L.Rossignolo & M.O.Paiano, sp. nov., S. aquiloamericana Necchi, N.L.Rossignolo & M.L.Vis, sp. nov., S. cryptica Necchi, N.L.Rossignolo & M.O.Paiano, sp. nov. and S. delicatuliformis Necchi, N.L.Rossignolo & M.O.Paiano, sp. nov.). Diagnostic characters for the genus are confirmed to be carpogonia asymmetric with a basal protuberance and carposporophytes diffuse with indeterminant prostrate filaments producing determinate erect branches terminating in carposporangia. The following morphological characters were applied to distinguish species: primary fascicle cell number, spermatangial arrangement, origin of gonimoblast filament and size of carposporangia. Based on morphology, S. sinica, S. segawae and S. yutakae are proposed as synonyms of S. suecica and S. ateleia Skuja of S. delicatula. The status of three species (S. cirrhosa Skuja ex M.S.Balakr. & B.B.Chaugule, S. gardneri Skuja ex Flint and S. huangshanensis Z.X.Shi & S.L.Xie) could not be confirmed due to lack of type specimens and published information on informative diagnostic characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pliocene record of genus Vulpes Frisch, 1775 in Eurasia is scarce, coming from few sparse localities. The lack of a comprehensive and integrated revision led to the description of numerous different taxa, often only tentatively related to extant species but not with one another. Çalta-1 is an important Pliocene site located in the Anatolian region of Turkey, dated to 4.0 Ma. In the present review, we reappraise the interesting record of Vulpes galatica Ginsburg, 1998. Morphological and morphometric evidence suggests a strong similarity between this taxon and the early Late Pliocene V. beihaiensis Qiu & Tedford, 1990, recovered from the Chinese Yushe Basin. Such evidence favors the parsimonious interpretation of synonymy between the two species, under the name V. beihaiensis. This hypothesis opens a new interpretation on the biogeography of the Pliocene-Early Pleistocene foxes of Eurasia. Vulpes beihaiensis links the Asian and European records, with its affinity to V. alopecoides (Del Campana, 1913) and, eventually, to the extant red fox (Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758)). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Russian-Siberian journey, carried out with Alexander von Humboldt and Gustav Rose in 1829 coincided with a decisive phase in Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg’s scientific career. His field diary and the drawings he made on the trip document his intensified focus on the study of microorganisms. The numerous observations on plant and animal geography show how Ehrenberg tested a combination of micro- and macro-perspectives that would shape his research on infusoria in the following decades: In addition to the task of classification at the microscope, Ehrenberg carried out worldwide comparative research on the distribution of microorganisms. Resumen El viaje a Rusia y Siberia de Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg en compañía de Alexander von Humboldt y Gustav Rose, realizado en 1829, coincidió con una fase decisiva en su carrera científica. Su diario y los dibujos realizados durante el viaje documentan una especial atención al estudio de los microorganismos. Las numerosas observaciones sobre la geografía de las plantas y los animales muestran cómo Ehrenberg ensayó una combinación de micro y macroperspectivas que daría forma a sus investigaciones sobre los infusorios en las décadas siguientes. Además de su labor de clasificación al microscopio, Ehrenberg llevó a cabo una investigación comparativa a nivel mundial sobre la distribución de los microorganismos. Résumé Le voyage en Russie et en Sibérie entrepris en 1829 avec Alexander von Humboldt et Gustav Rose coïncide avec une phase décisive de la carrière scientifique de Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg. Son carnet de voyage ainsi que les dessins réalisés par lui lors du voyage témoignent de l’intensification de son intérêt pour l’étude des microorganismes. Les nombreuses observations sur la géographie des plantes et des animaux font preuve de la façon dont Ehrenberg a testé d’adopter une combinaison de micro- et de macro-perspectives qui ont façonné ses recherches sur les infusoires dans les décennies suivantes: Outre la tâche de classification au microscope, Ehrenberg a mené des recherches comparatives mondiales sur la distribution et la dispersion des microorganismes.

We describe here new amphibian and reptile remains from three Oligocene localities of Turkey. Two of the localities (Kavakdere and Kocayarma) are situated in southeastern Europe and the other one (Kargi 2) in Anatolia, both areas where Oligocene herpetofauna is practically almost unknown. The material consists of albanerpetontids, pelobatid anurans, turtles, crocodylians, lacertids, scinciformatans, anguines, and “tropidophiids”. Albanerpetontids are for the first time identified in southeastern Europe, with the material being reminiscent of the younger species Albanerpeton inexpectatum Estes & Hoffstetter, 1976; the material potentially represents the oldest record of that species. Pelobatids, scinciformatans, and “tropidophiids” represent the oldest occurrences of these clades in the northeastern Mediterranean. The anguine genus Ophisaurus Daudin, 1803 is identified for the first time in the Paleogene of Eastern Europe. The “tropidophiids” are referred to two genera, Falseryx Szyndlar & Rage, 2003 and tentatively also to Platyspondylia Rage, 1974, with the latter having been so far exclusively known from western and central Europe. The role of a potential southern dispersal route of taxa among Asia and Europe, involving the area of southern Balkans and Anatolia, similarly to what has been recently demonstrated for mammals, is highlighted also for amphibians and reptiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green alga Prasiola fluviatilis (Sommerfelt) Areschoug ex Lagerstedt occurs in cold lotic environments. The species has a mainly circumarctic distribution, but has also been reported from glacier areas in lower latitude regions in both hemispheres. It was reported from China on a single occasion in the first half of the 20th century, but without description, illustrations or voucher specimens the identity of this record cannot be verified. Here we confirm the presence of P. fluviatilis in the Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang Province, China based on morphological features, habitat characteristics, and plastid rbcL and tufA gene sequences. The biogeographic distribution of P. fluviatilis and its phylogenetic relationship with other terrestrial and freshwater Prasiola species are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Upper Miocene, the Afro-Arabian Plate collided with Eurasia, giving rise to the Gomphotherium land bridge, which connects the Palaearctic, Oriental and Afrotropical realms, allowing for an exchange of faunal elements among these realms via an ever-changing network of freshwater connections. This migration, however, was soon restricted by increasing aridity. In the 1970s, Ragnar Kinzelbach initiated research activities on the freshwater fauna of the Levant, which he and his students later on extended to the entire Middle East. Extensive collections were deposited in museums, serving scientific research and conservation initiatives. Given increasing degradation of freshwater ecosystems and armed conflicts in the region, most of these collecting activities would no longer be possible today. The extant biodiversity of the region's inland waters and its historical biogeography are briefly outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bulletin de la Societe Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles is the property of Societe Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Bulletin de la Societe Zoologique de France is the property of Societe Zoologique de France and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Vallès-Penedès Basin in Catalonia (NE Spain) forms a biogeographically important connection between central Europe and the Iberian Peninsula. Whereas this is well documented for the late middle and early late Miocene, the early Miocene sequence has received far less attention. New excavations yielded micromammal assemblages from the Ramblian and early Aragonian. Among the euliphotyhplans and metatherian studied, we recognize seven non-soricid species (Amphiperatherium frequens von Meyer, 1846, Galerix symeonidisi Doukas, 1986 and Galerix remmerti van den Hoek Ostende, 2003, Desmanodon daamsi van den Hoek Ostende, 1997, Heterosorex neumayrianus Schlosser, 1887, Chainodus sp., Plesiodimylus sp.) and six species of shrews (Paenelimnoecus sp., Miosorex sp., cf. Clapasorex, cf. Oligosorex, cf. Florinia sp. and Soricinae indet.). They confirm the intermediate position of the Vallès-Penedès also at the time of the older faunas, but show that differences with the Iberian inland were less pronounced. These differences can be explained by higher humidity in the coastal region, as indicated by the presence of dimylids. The differences between this coastal area and inland basin confirm the potential of coastal regions as migration corridors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For most of the 20th century, Ophrys with a laterally in-rolled, "scolopaxoid", labellum occurring in the north-western Mediterranean basin, in France and the Iberian Peninsula, were united in a single species, Ophrys scolopax. In the 1990s it was shown that at least two species, described at the end of the 18th century, were widespread in the Iberian Peninsula, one with larger flowers, to which the type of O. scolopax Cavanilles belongs, the other with smaller flowers, to which that of O. picta Link belongs. The question of whether all French plants, or a large part of them, belong to O. scolopax s.s. rather than to one or more other species with even larger flowers remained open. The comparison of Cavanilles' type, collected in April 1791 in the region of Valencia, with plants flowering in April in the plains and low hills of Pyrénées-Orientales and Var, demonstrates the identity of the French meso-Mediterranean populations with the large flowered Iberian plant. A second group of plants referred to O. scolopax flowers in May and early June throughout the ecological territory of Aquitanian oak forests and seems to be restricted to it. A comparison of the macular pattern of meso-Mediterranean and Aquitanian plants by application of the novel method proposed by Ring (2019) indicates that they are very close but perhaps not identical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current manuscript is the first in a series intended to publish accumulating DNA barcode data to make them accessible to the scientific community. Focused on 135 specimens of red algae from the remote islands of Tristan da Cunha, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, the 47 (possibly 48; see notes with Lophurella sp. 1Tris) genetic groups uncovered during this project are compared to the only detailed floristic work for this region completed by Baardseth in 1941. A number of taxonomic anomalies are reported with indications for eventual solutions that await study of the type material of the associated morphospecies. Species previously assigned by Baardseth to the genus Epymenia Kützing are formally transferred to Rhodymenia Greville as R. elongata (Baardseth), comb. nov., (including E. marginifera Baardseth) and R. flabellata (Baardseth), comb. nov. A number of range extensions are reported including species such as Ceramium secundatum (Lyngbye) C.Agardh, Colaconema caespitosum (J.Agardh) Jackelman, Stegenga & J.J.Bolton, Helminthocladia calvadosii (J.V.Lamour. ex Duby) Setch. and Porphyra mumfordii S.C.Lindstrom & K.M.Cole, which have likely been distributed by human activities. We also note that the sporophyte of the supposedly narrowly distributed Schimmelmannia elegans has been collected from both British Columbia, Canada, and Queensland, Australia, consistent with other observations that sporophytes of red algal species with alternations of heteromorphic generations are commonly more broadly distributed than the gametophytic stage. This species, although originally described by Baardseth from these mid Atlantic islands, may also be introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fossil record provides direct empirical data for understanding macroevolutionary patterns and processes. Inherent biases in the fossil record are well known to confound analyses of this data. Sampling bias proxies have been used as covariates in regression models to test for such biases. Proxies, such as formation count, are associated with paleobiodiversity, but are insufficient for explaining species dispersal owing to a lack of geographic context. Here, we develop a sampling bias proxy that incorporates geographic information and test it with a case study on early tetrapodomorph biogeography. We use recently-developed Bayesian phylogeographic models and a new supertree of early tetrapodomorphs to estimate dispersal rates and ancestral habitat locations. We find strong evidence that geographic sampling bias explains supposed radiations in dispersal rate (potential adaptive radiations). Our study highlights the necessity of accounting for geographic sampling bias in macroevolutionary and phylogenetic analyses and provides an approach to test for its effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the boreal forest of eastern North America, the distribution of eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) is characterized by a latitudinal fragmentation gradient from south to north. Marginal populations could be outposts allowing cedar to expand its presence in the north in response to climate change. This study aimed to characterize the spatio-temporal regeneration dynamics of 20 marginal cedar stands in order to evaluate their expansion capacity into adjacent black spruce stands. Cedar recruitment within marginal cedar stands was mainly by layering, which allowed the species to maintain for a long time in the landscape. However, the rate of expansion of marginal stands into adjacent black spruce stands through seed dispersal was very low (0.28 m.year−1) and it was negatively influenced by distance to seed trees. Substrate had no significant effect. Global warming could lead to increased seed production by cedar, which could favour the species' expansion at its northern distribution limit. However, global warming could also increase the frequency and severity of wildfires, which would have a negative effect on cedar expansion capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endemic and disjunct populations of vascular plants and cryptogams occurring in the Chic-Choc Mountains on the Gaspé Peninsula in eastern Québec, Canada, have been attracting botanists for over a century. Although controversial, these ancient mountains have been hypothesized to have been nunataks during the Wisconsin glaciation in part because they contain vascular plants that are not known to colonize nearby mountains with similar environments that were not thought to be nunataks. To determine whether there are lichen species that have the same pattern as the vascular plants, we examined the North American distribution of all the approximately 600 lichens known from the Chic-Chocs. Fifteen Arctic-alpine species were found to reach the edge of their southeastern North American range in the Chic-Chocs. Six of these species are not known to occur again for over 1000 km to the north. These results provide an additional layer of biogeographic knowledge about the unusual flora of the Chic-Chocs and lend some support to the hypothesis that the Chic-Chocs might have been nunataks during the last glacial period. Any Arctic-alpine species occurring in the Chic-Chocs are good candidates for monitoring the effects of climate change, but the 15 lichen species that reach their southeastern limit in this range might be the most vulnerable.

Abstract The study of an important collection of scorpions, belonging to the genus Chaerilus , recently collected from a cave in the Palawan Island, Philippines, allows the clarification of the identity of this population, often misidentified with Chaerilus chapmani Vachon & Lourenço, 1985 known from caves in the Gunong Mulu National Park in Sarawak (Borneo). Chaerilus agnellivanniorum sp. n. is described from the Puerto Princesa Underground River Cave in Palawan Island based on 14 specimens, males, females, and juveniles. The new species is totally distinct morphologically from Chaerilus chapmani , a true troglobitic species. Chaerilus agnellivanniorum sp. n. may also be a true troglobitic element, but with a less marked degree of regression for several characters. Some comments on the ecology of the new species and on regional biogeography of Borneo and Palawan islands are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avian endemism in the Albertine Rift is among the highest of any region in Africa. Conservation of these forests is a high priority, but informed prioritization has been hampered by limited data for most endemic bird species. We employed ecological niche models, coupled with remote sensing and field data, to present a case study of 2 Albertine Rift bush-shrikes (Laniarius) that until recently had been considered conspecific. The ecological niche models are based on presence-only data from museum specimens and sight records from field surveys from the region. We generated a set of competing models with different subsets of environmental variables. We evaluated competing models with an intuitive and broadly applicable model-selection strategy appropriate for assessing suitable habitat for species of conservation concern. Based on its distribution, habitat requirements, and the boundaries of national parks in the Albertine Rift, our results demonstrate that the recently described and cryptic Willard's Sooty Boubou (Laniarius willardi) has lost most of its available habitat within its realized environmental niche and is highly endangered. The Mountain Sooty Boubou [L. poensis} occurs in areas above 2,000 m, where forests are more intact and better protected than mid-elevation forests where L. willardi occurs. These results highlight the plight not only of a recently described species, but also of additional biodiversity confined to mid-elevation forests in the Albertine Rift region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La flore marine de la zone Antarctique est supposée bien connue car relativement peu d' espèces y sont observées par rapport à d'autres régions du monde. En utilisant la taxonomie traditionnelle combinée aux outils moléculaires, nous avons étudié la diversité et biogéographie des communautés de macroalgues rouges le long de la côte Ouest de la Péninsule Antarctique (WAP) et des îles Shetlands du Sud (SShs) en considérant un gradient bathymétrique. Nous avons également comparé nos deux méthodes d'identification en terme de précision et de nombre de taxa identifiés. Nos résultats ont démontré de faibles et homogènes niveaux de diversité à l'échelle de la zone d'étude comme à échelle locale, avec au total environ 50 taxa identifiés. Nous avons également détecté trois complexes d'espèces cryptiques chez les genres Callophyllis, Curdiea et Georgiella, et amélioré l'identification de nos spécimens puisque 98% ont été identifiés jusqu'à l'espèce grÃce grace aux outils moléculaires. Nos résultats ont aussi permis de révéler des différences significatives entre les assemblages de macroalgues rouges appartenant à trois sub-régions, correspondant à des latitudes différentes: SShs et partie Nord de la WAP (≈63°S), la partie centrale de la WAP (≈64°S) et la partie Centre-Sud de la WAP (≈67°S). Nos sub-régions ne correspondent pas à la séparation classique entre SShs/WAP proposée dans les études antérieures, et suggèrent d'une part, que le détroit de Bransfield n'est pas une barrière biogéographique forte pour les macroalgues rouge et d'autre part, que la dynamique actuelle et passée de la couverture de glace a pu jouer un rôle déterminant dans la distribution actuelle des assemblages de macroalgues rouges. Finalement, notre travail a permis de construire une banque de données génétiques associée à un herbier de collection de spécimens, et va permettre d'appuyer des travaux futurs pour mieux comprendre la diversité et distribution des communautés d'algues rouges dans la zone d'étude. The Antarctic marine flora is well known as a flora composed of relatively few species in comparison with other marine realms. Using molecular taxonomy as complementary tool for traditional taxonomy, we studied red macroalgal diversity and biogeography along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) and South Shetlands Islands (SShs) coasts and across a bathymetric gradient; in addition, we compared both methods of identification in terms of accuracy and number of observed taxa. Our results show low diversity levels at the regional and local scales, with around 50 taxa registered in total. Molecular tools allowed us to detect putative cryptic species within the genera Callophyllis, Curdiea and Georgiella, and to identify 98% of our specimens at species level. Our results also allowed us to identify significant differences between red macroalgal assemblages of three distinct biogeographic sub-regions: SShs and Northern part of the WAP (at ≈63°S), Central part of the WAP (at ≈64°S) and Central-Southern part of the WAP (at ≈67°S). Our sub-regions do not correspond to the classical separation of SShs/WAP reported in previous studies and suggest that the Bransfield Strait is not a strong biogeographic barrier for red macroalgae. Since our three sub-regions correspond to three latitude levels, we propose that past and present-day dynamics of sea-ice disturbance may have shaped the observed differences in red algal communities. We believe that the construction of accessible genetic dataset associated with voucher specimens in the present work will benefit future studies of macroalgal diversity and distribution in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveys conducted at Niau, a slightly raised atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago, revealed a brackish community with only a few extant species of fishes, crustaceans and molluscs in the residual semi-enclosed lagoon. Dredging of superficial sediments near the Niau lagoon resulted in a rich shell mollusc assemblage with 120 species, dating from the Pleistocene Last Interglacial Maximum (120,000 years BP). The assemblage contains 3 previously described new species, collected nowhere else since, and 12 species locally extinct but extant in the Indo-Pacific. Results are compared with previous studies on Pleistocene reefs of the Indo-Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Ecologia Mediterranea is the property of Ecologia Mediterranea and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ecologia Mediterranea is the property of Ecologia Mediterranea and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Ecologia Mediterranea is the property of Ecologia Mediterranea and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The “Migratory Wave Hypothesis” suggests that early Pleistocene Homo dispersed from Africa together with a suite of other large mammals. Support for this hypothesis has been found primarily at the sites of ‘Ubeidiya, (Israel) and Venta Micena (Spain) where a high number of African taxa have been identified. This paper presents a critical evaluation of how we can identify these taxa and suggest criteria for the identification of taxa of African origin present in Eurasia during the early Pleistocene. Biogeography, taxonomy and chronology are used to develop criteria that have an effect on how we defined or identify African taxa. By critically evaluating the number of African taxa in Eurasia through the lens of these criteria, the number of African taxa may be reduced from a maximum of 30 to a minimum of six. The actual number may be either one of these two numbers, or any number in between, depending on how rigorous we are in applying the criteria. Thus, while the criteria presented in this paper have face value, they are not in any way more “correct” than other criteria, but are heuristic in presenting the difficulties in assigning an African origin to fauna found in early Pleistocene sites. This points to the need to be cautious when making inferences about the relationship between the dispersal of Homo with that of other African taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fossil record of amphisbaenians in Europe has recently been augmented through the description of new finds across the continent. It has been suggested that the post-Miocene range of amphisbaenians followed a progressive southward constriction that ultimately lead to their extant disjunct distribution. We herein describe amphisbaenian vertebral material from the Pliocene of northern Greece, which demonstrates that these reptiles were still present in the late Neogene of the southern Balkans. The new find represents the youngest occurrence of amphisbaenians in continental Eastern Europe and further highlights the role of the Greek area as a biogeographic “refugium” for certain reptile groups during the late Neogene and Quaternary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new fossil assemblages are described from Sin Charoen sandpit exploited in Phimai District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Northeastern Thailand. In this province, vertebrate fossils have been yielded from the Miocene to the Pleistocene deposits. The Miocene fauna has been documented in detail by a rich fossil record from several localities in Chaloem Phra Kiat District, while the Pleistocene fauna has been well studied in Khok Sung sandpit in Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima District. The fossil assemblage from the upper section of Sin Charoen sandpit is similar to the Middle Pleistocene fauna of Khok Sung, which is composed of extinct and extant species of mammals and reptiles. Moreover, the finding of Gavialis cf. bengawanicus and Duboisia santeng demonstrates a strong faunal relationship with Early-Middle Pleistocene faunas of Java (e.g., Trinil). The occurrence of large fluviatile turtles and gharials from Sin Charoen sandpit indicates that the past river system was more developed than today and that the Khorat Plateau was at a lower elevation at the time of deposition. The fossil assemblage from the lower section includes two rhinocerotids and an advanced form of the genus Stegolophodon and is similar to the Late Miocene fauna found in situ in the sandpits of Chaloem Phra Kiat District. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]