Black Stripes Research Articles

Studies on Neotropical Pseudophyllinae: Integrative description of Dentotibium gen. nov., and of a toothed foretibia katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) that sings from burrows in branches

Herein, we describe the genus Dentotibiumgen. nov. and the species D. ramucantorissp. nov, a toothed foretibia katydid within the subfamily Pseudophyllinae from Colombia. This new katydid is a forest dweller inhabiting oak woodlands between 1600 and 2300 m above sea level, only found in the western slopes of the Eastern Andes of Boyacá Department, Colombia. This new species burrows in woody branches and shows big heads in both sexes. The appearance of Dentotibiumgen. nov. is similar to that of Trichotettix Stål, 1873 but differs in having tubercles over the dorsal margin of the foretibiae. It is also close to Nastonotus Bolívar, 1890, but differs from in lacking the three black stripes in the vertex and having a less marked frontal suture and smoother face. Males sing all night long, and their calling song consists of periodic syllables with three differentiable phases. Seasonal calling activity lowers remarkably during the dry season (Jun–Aug). DNA barcoding sequences for the paratypes made available in a previous study are included here.

Exploring the Maintaining Period and the Differentially Expressed Genes between the Yellow and Black Stripes of the Juvenile Stripe in the Offspring of Wild Boar and Duroc.

Coloration is a crucial trait that allows species to adapt and survive in different environments. Wild boars exhibit alternating black (dark) and yellow (light) longitudinal stripes on their back during their infancy (juvenile stripes), and as adults, they transform into uniform wild-type coat color. Aiming to record the procedure of juvenile stripes disappearing, piglets (WD) with juvenile stripes were produced by crossing a wild boar with Duroc sows, and photos of their coat color were taken from 20 d to 220 d. The pigments in the hairs from the black and yellow stripes were determined. Furthermore, the differentially expressed genes between the black and yellow stripes were investigated in 5 WD with the age of 30 d using whole-transcriptome sequencing to explore the genetic mechanism of the juvenile stripes. The juvenile stripes started to disappear at about 70 d, and stripes were not distinguished with the naked eye at about 160 d; that is, the juvenile stripe completely disappeared. A hotspot of a differentially expressing (DE) region was found on chromosome 13, containing/covering 2 of 13 DE genes and 8 of 10 DE lncRNAs in this region. A network among ZIC4, ssc-miR-532-3p, and ENSSSCG00000056225 might regulate the formation of juvenile stripes. Altogether, this study provides new insights into spatiotemporal coat color pattern.

Experimental study on immiscible and miscible dynamic characteristics of CO2 and crude oil in visual slim tube

CO2 flooding for oil recovery is a dynamic process that requires further investigation of oil-gas interface change characteristics, interfacial mass transfer processes, and oil-gas composition variation during both immiscible and miscible displacement. Understanding these factors is crucial for better comprehending their impact on CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR). This research used a jointly developed CO2 miscible visual flooding experimental apparatus to study the horizontal dynamic characteristics of CO2 and crude oil under different pressures and flow rates in visual slim tube. At 10 MPa, the stratification results of CO2 and crude oil indicate that the experiment is immiscible flooding. The contact angle (7.9°) between the two phases of CO2 and crude oil at the flow rate of 15 cm/min is larger than that (5.2°) at 1.5 cm/min, and the grey scale of CO2 increases at 100 cm/min. The quantity, individual content, and shape of the light and medium hydrocarbon components condensed on the inner wall of the tube vary with different flow rates. At 15 MPa, the appearance of the CO2 and crude oil transition interval proves that the experiment is miscible flooding. At different flow rates, the inclination angle and distribution of black stripes vary. The whole transition interval is divided into 6 intervals, and the transition interval lengthens with increasing fluid velocity. The experiments visually demonstrate the occurrence of the miscible phase, and identify experimental pressure and fluid flow rate as key factors influencing the miscibility of CO2 and crude oil.

<i>Argiope trifasciata</i> (Forskl, 1775), A New Araneidae Record from Iraq

The banded garden spider Argiope trifasciata, was originally observed and described in Misan, Iraq. The specimens were collected from agricultural fields with date palm trees in Misan. Argiope trifasciata is a member of the Araniedae family, which is widely distributed. These spiders have shiny, silvery hairs on their carapaces, and females are yellow. The described spider typically has a large, oval-shaped abdomen with black and pale yellow stripes. The legs feature black rings and are yellowish brown.

Traumatic thoracic spine fracture: can we predict when MRI would modify the fracture classification or decision-making compared to CT alone?

To determine the impact of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on fracture classification for thoracic spine fractures (TSFs) compared to computed tomography (CT) alone. This study was a retrospective review of 63 consecutive patients with TSFs who underwent CT and MRI within ten days of injury. Three reviewers classified all fractures according to the AOSpine Classification and the ThoracolumbarAOSpineInjury severity score (TLAOSIS). Posterior ligamentous complex (PLC) injury on MRI was defined by "black stripe discontinuity" and on CT by the presence of vertebral body translation, facet joint malalignment, horizontal laminar or spinous process fracture, and interspinous widening. The proportion of patients with AO type A/B/C and with TLAOSIS ≤ 5 and ≥ 6 was compared between CT and MRI. Classification and regression trees were used to create a series of predictive models for the probability of PLC injury in AO type A fractures. AO classification using CT was as follows: type A in 35 patients (55%), type B in 18 patients (29%), and type C in 10 patients (16%). Thirty-threepatients (52%) had a TLAOSIS ≤5, while the remaining 30 (48%) had TLAOSI ≥6. The addition of MRI after CT upgraded type A to type Bfractures in 10 patients (16%) and changed TL AOSIS from ≤5 to ≥6 in8 cases (12.8%). Type A fractures with load sharing score (LSC) ≥6 had a 60% chance of upgrading to type B, while LSC <6 had a 12.5% chance of upgrading to type B. CT yielded (89%) accuracyin diagnosing PLC injury in TSFs. The addition of MRI after CTsubstantially changed the AO classification or TLAOISS, compared to CT alone, thus suggesting an added value of MRI for PLC assessment for TSFs classification.

Seagrass ecosystems of Ritche’s Archipelago in the Andaman Sea harbor ‘Endangered’ Holothuria scabra Jaeger, 1833 and ‘Vulnerable’ Actinopyga mauritiana (Quoy &amp; Gaimard, 1834) sea cucumber species (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)

This study reports the presence of ‘Endangered’ sea cucumber Holothuria scabra for the first time from the mixed seagrasses of Havelock Island, and the ‘Vulnerable’ Actinopyga mauritiana from the monospecific Thalassia hemprichii meadows from Neil Island of Ritche’s Archipelago of Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands (ANI). Both species were found during field survey of intertidal seagrass ecosystems of Ritche’s Archipelago. Morphometric measurements were carried out in the field using a vernier caliper, and identification was confirmed using the identification guide for sea cucumbers of ANI provided by the Zoological Survey of India. The total body length of the H. scabra specimen was 15.7 cm, mouth width of 3.2 cm and body circumference of 5.7 cm. The specimen was a juvenile, grey in color with a total of 17 black and yellow transverse stripes along the body. The average body length of A. mauritiana specimens examined differed between those from seagrass meadows (20.4 cm) non-seagrass areas (15.7 cm) as did mouth width and total circumference. Mono and mixed seagrass meadows of ANI are critical habitats for sea cucumbers and require monitoring and protection for conservation of declining populations.

Characteristics of microplastics in the atmosphere of Anyang City.

In order to clarify the characteristics of microplastics in the atmosphere of Anyang city, TSP, PM10, and PM2.5 samples are collected when the ambient air quality is good, slightly polluted, and severely polluted. After pretreatment, the physical and chemical characteristics are observed and identified by using stereomicroscope and micro-infrared spectrometer. The results show that the average abundance of microplastics is 0.19 items/m3, 0.26 items/m3, and 0.42 items/m3, respectively, when the ambient air quality is good, light pollution, and heavy pollution in Anyang City. It can be seen that with the decline of ambient air quality, the average abundance of microplastics in TSP, PM2.5, and PM10 gradually increases. The black fiber strip microplastics account for about 80% of the total TSP, PM2.5, and PM10 in the ambient air of Anyang City, followed by yellow flake and black granular microplastics and a small amount of green, red, and blue fiber strip microplastics. AQI has a good correlation with the abundance of microplastics in TSP, PM10, and PM2.5, and the maximum microplastic trapping effect could be obtained according to the sampling method of PM2.5 in the ambient air. The main components of microplastics are cellophane, followed by PET and EVA. The explorations of human respiratory exposure risk assessment show that with the increase of AQI, the daily intake of microplastics in adults also increased. At high levels of pollution, the human body breathes an average of 222 ± 5 microplastics per day.

Triphenyltin induced darker body coloration by disrupting melanocortin system and pteridine metabolic pathway in a reef fish, Amphiprion ocellaris

Triphenyltin (TPT) is a typical persistent organic pollutant whose occurrence in coral reef ecosystems may threaten the survival of reef fishes. In this study, a brightly colored representative reef fish, Amphiprion ocellaris was used to explore the effects of TPT at environmental levels (1, 10, and 100 ng/L) on skin pigment synthesis. After the fish were exposed to TPT for 60 days, the skin became darker, owing to an increase in the relative area of black stripes, a decrease in orange color values while an increase in brown color values, and an increase in the number of melanocytes in the orange part of the skin tissues. To explore the mechanisms by which TPT induces darker body coloration, the enzymatic activity and gene expression levels of the members of melanocortin system that affect melanin synthesis were evaluated. Leptin levels and lepr expression were found to be increased after TPT exposure, which likely contributed to the increase found in pomc expression and α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) levels. Then Tyr activity and mc1r, tyr, tyrp1, mitf, and dct were upregulated, ultimately increasing melanin levels. Importantly, RT-qPCR results were consistent with the transcriptome analysis of trends in lepr and pomc expression. Because the orange color values decreased, pterin levels and the pteridine metabolic pathway were also evaluated. The results showed that TPT induced BH4 levels and spr, xdh, and gch1 expression associated with pteridine synthesis decreased, ultimately decreasing the colored pterin content (sepiapterin). We conclude that TPT exposure interferes with the melanocortin system and pteridine metabolic pathway to increase melanin and decrease colored pterin levels, leading to darker body coloration in A. ocellaris. Given the importance of body coloration for the survival and reproduction of reef fishes, studies on the effects of pollutants (others alongside TPT) on body coloration are of high priority.

The Chinese hamster as an excellent experimental animal model.

Hamsters are valuable rodent models that are distinct from mice and rats. Currently, the main hamster species used for experimental research are the Syrian golden hamster and Chinese hamster, in addition to hamster species from other countries. Chinese hamsters are small, easy to run and feed, and inexpensive. They are prominent species found only in China and are part of the experimental animal resources of Chinese specialty. Chinese hamsters are distinguished by a black stripe on their back, short tail, pair of easily retractable cheek pouches, and pair of large drooping testes in males with 22 chromosomes. Due to their unique anatomical structure and biological features, Chinese hamsters have been used as a model in biomedical research. Moreover, the breeding and use of Chinese hamsters was comprehensively studied in 1958, with significant breakthroughs. We present a thorough review of the current developments and applications of Chinese hamsters and support the use of this species as a suitable and innovative experimental research model. With the success of Chinese hamster transgenic technology, this species will become more commonly employed in biological and medical research in the future.

A new record and a novel morph description of Boigastoliczkae (Squamata, Colubridae) from China.

The Asian Cat Snake genus Boiga Fitzinger, 1826 includes 37 species, with high species diversity. Five species of Boiga have been recorded in China including B.multomaculata (Boie, 1827), B.kraepelini (Stejneger, 1902), B.cyanea (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854), B.guangxiensis (Wen, 1998) and B.siamensis (Nutaphand, 1971). Previously, the validity of the species Boigastoliczkae (Wall, 1909) was controversial. B.stoliczkae was considered in synonymy with B.ochracea. Currently, the taxonomy of B.multomaculata and B.ochracea (Theobald, 1868) was revised so that B.multomaculata and B.ochracea actually represent a single species and B.stoliczkae was recognised as a valid species. B.stoliczkae was previously known to be found in the west from central Nepal through Darjeeling, Sikkim and Bhutan to Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in north-eastern India. One adult female specimen of the Asian Cat Snake was collected from Gyirong County, near the China-Nepal border, Tibet, China during fieldwork on August 2023. We compared morphology and mitochondrial DNA sequence data with all the species of the genus Boiga. Both datasets strongly supported referring the Chinese specimens to B.stoliczkae (Wall, 1909) due to the 21 mid-dorsal scale rows and the uncorrected p-distance (mitochondrial DNA gene cytochrome b) between this specimen and B.stoliczkae which is 1.7%. We further described morphological characters of the Chinese specimen in detail and compared these with the specimens that had been previously described. The dorsal ground colour of the Chinese specimen is dark brown, with a black stripe distributed almost evenly across the tail. This is a novel morph of the species B.stoliczkae. The newly-collected Chinese specimen expands the distribution of the species on the Himalaya range.

Occurrence record and range extension of Pomadasys andamanensis McKay &amp; Satapoomin, 1994 (Heamulidae: Haemulinae) from Great Nicobar Island, India

Present study reports the occurrence of Andaman grunt, Pomadasys andamanensis McKay &amp; Satapoomin, 1994 for the first time from Indian waters based on one specimen (standard length 156.27 mm) collected from Great Nicobar Island, Andaman and Nicobar Island. This finding represents a new addition to the grunt fish fauna of Andaman and Nicobar Island, India. The species is distinguished from its congeners by having four separated longitudinal black stripes on the dorsal half of the body. The detailed morphological features of P. andamanensis are provided and compared with its previous records. Description and figures of the species are provided herewith along the morphometric measurements and meristic counts.

Influence of polarized light, disruptive visual patterns, and chemical cues on oviposition in the aquatic midge, Chironomus riparius (Diptera: Chironomidae).

Chironomid nonbiting midges are common in many waterbodies, occurring at high densities in sediment and also when flying adults emerge. Although important for food webs and ecosystem processes, the mass emergences of chironomid adults make some species nuisance pests. As part of an effort to develop "push-pull" strategies for managing midge populations, we investigated the importance of visual and chemical cues used by gravid females when selecting sites for oviposition. Field and laboratory oviposition choice tests with Chironomus riparius (Meigen) were used to assess the attractiveness of dark container colors and polarized light for females seeking water for egg laying. Females were not sensitive to increased intensity of polarized light, but they laid fewer eggs in containers with white color above the water's edge but black below the surface. A disruptive pattern of vertical black and white stripes at the water's edge reduced egg laying to a similar degree as white. To investigate the importance of olfactory or gustatory cues in oviposition decisions, we tested 3 potential chemical repellents (damaged larvae simulating predator presence, azadiractin, and picaridin) and 5 potential attractants (a tannin-molasses mixture, leaf detritus, live Hydrilla plants, periphyton, and fermented alfalfa infusions used to bait mosquito oviposition traps). Chemical cues appeared to play a weak role, if any, in oviposition choices. Onlyazadiractin (0.02 and 0.11 ppm) reduced the number of egg ropes deposited, but the mechanism may have been from mechanical trapping and drowning, not deterrence.

Studies on inheritance of achene colour and markings among confectionary germplasm of sunflower

To study the genetic control of achene colour in sunflower, a cross was made between EC-734846 × EC734849-II having white and black kernels respectively and another cross was made between EC-734863-II and EC734846 having black striped and white achene colour. The first cross revealed typical monohybrid segregation of 3:1 for black to white seeds. The backcross with recessive parent exhibited 1:1 ratio suggesting achene colour to be single gene controlled with white seed colour controlled by recessive allele. The second cross revealed the ratios of grey seeds with white stripes, greyish black and white seeds with black stripes colour seeded plants to be 9:3:4 suggesting supplementary gene interaction among two genes controlling the seed colour and distinctive markings.

Morphological and Ontogenetic Skin Color Changes in the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis).

To assess skin color change in alligators, we maintained animals in differently lighted environments and also measured skin colors in an ontogenetic series of wild animals. Juvenile alligators maintained in black enclosures exhibited a gradual lightening of skin color when shifted to white enclosures, and these observed changes were reversible. A histological examination of the skins of alligators maintained in dark tanks showed that the dermis exhibited a dense layer of pigmented cells, while samples from the same animals in light environments exhibited a more diffuse pigmented layer. As alligators grow, they exhibit an ontogenetic loss of stripes that may aid in crypsis and predation. Hatchlings have intense black and yellow vertical stripes that darken with age; adults are a more homogenous black/gray color. Since alligators live in temperate climates and adults have lower surface area/volume ratios, which can be detrimental for the absorption of radiant energy, the darker color of larger animals may also aid in thermoregulation. Alligators at the northern end of their range, with colder climates, exhibited darker skin tones, and the ontogenetic extinction of stripes occurred at a more accelerated rate compared to animals in southern, warmer regions, supporting the idea that latitude-dependent ontogenetic color shift has a role in thermoregulation.

The great tit abdominal stripe contains a sexually dichromatic colour patch hidden from the human eye

Information on the exact nature of sexual dichromatism might be incomplete, often leading to the treatment of dichromatic species as monochromatic. This error is evident when the two sexes of a species look identical to the human eye, as in the great tit (Parus major). We measured reflectance in three sections (throat, breast, belly) of the abdominal black stripe of great tits during the pairing and nestling feeding periods and assessed differences between patch sections, sexes, and seasons using visual models. We found that the stripe, which had previously been considered a single, contiguous patch, consists of multiple patches. In males, the breast section differed markedly from the throat and belly sections in having higher total brightness and ultraviolet chroma, while the female’s breast seemed to be less bright than the two other regions, resulting in strong sexual dichromatism hidden from the human eye. Colouration was more pronounced in winter, but dichromatism was present in both periods. The hidden breast ultraviolet patch we discovered in males may act as a sexual ornament or a signal amplifier.

A new Sarcophaginae (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) from Brazil: the peculiar colour of Petrolina bifasciata gen. nov., sp. nov., from the Caatinga xeric shrubland of northeastern Brazil.

A new genus and species, Petrolina bifasciata gen. nov., sp. nov. (Diptera: Sarcophagidae, Sarcophaginae), with only two black stripes dorsally on thorax, is described from both sexes. The type material was collected in fragments of seasonally dry tropical forest in the state of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil. The new genus and species is morphologically similar to genera Rafaelia Townsend and Malacophagula Bequaert. However, the atypical two thoracic black stripes and phallic morphology give evidence to the proposal of a new genus in Sarcophaginae.

State-dependent, visually guided behaviors in the nudibranch Berghia stephanieae.

Nudibranch mollusks have structurally simple eyes whose behavioral roles have not been established. We tested the effects of visual stimuli on the behavior of the nudibranch Berghia stephanieae under different food and hunger conditions. In an arena that was half-shaded, animals spent most of their time in the dark, where they also decreased their speed and made more changes in heading. These behavioral differences between the light and dark were less evident in uniformly illuminated or darkened arenas, suggesting that they were not caused by the level of illumination. Berghia stephanieae responded to distant visual targets; animals approached a black stripe that was at least 15deg wide on a white background. They did not approach a stripe that was lighter than the background but approached a stripe that was isoluminant with the background, suggesting the detection of spatial information. Animals traveled in convoluted paths in a featureless arena but straightened their paths when a visual target was present even if they did not approach it, suggesting that visual cues were used for navigation. Individuals were less responsive to visual stimuli when food deprived or in the presence of food odor. Thus, B. stephanieae exhibits visually guided behaviors that are influenced by odors and hunger state.

Improved structured light system based on generative adversarial networks for highly-reflective surface measurement

Gray code pattern structured light projection technology is widely used in industrial inspection due to its good robustness and anti-noise performance. Gray code pattern technology projects a sequence of encoded fringe patterns with black and white strips onto the scanned object in order to measure its height distribution. However, if the scanned object has strong specular reflection properties, the acquired encoded fringe images tend to miss significant amounts of local area information. As a result, the measured three-dimensional point clouds contain many missing points, and hence the measurement accuracy is severely degraded. To address this problem, the present study proposes a novel fringe-inpainting system based on a generative adversarial network framework, to repair the fringe features in the regions of the scanned surface in which the local information is lost. The performance of the proposed fringe-inpainting system is compared with that of several other advanced highly-reflective surface measurement technologies reported in the literature. The experimental results show that the proposed method significantly outperforms these techniques and yields an excellent encoded fringe inpainting for all of the considered objects.

The protective value of the colour and shape of the mountain katydid's antipredator defence.

Deimatic behaviour is performed by prey when attacked by predators as part of an antipredator strategy. The behaviour is part of a sequence that consists of several defences, for example they can be preceded by camouflage and followed by a hidden putatively aposematic signal that is only revealed when the deimatic behaviour is performed. When displaying their hidden signal, mountain katydids (Acripeza reticulata) hold their wings vertically, exposing striking red and black stripes with blue spots and oozing an alkaloid-rich chemical defence derived from its Senecio diet. Understanding differences and interactions between deimatism and aposematism has proven problematic, so in this study we isolated the putative aposematic signal of the mountain katydid's antipredator strategy to measure its survival value in the absence of their deimatic behaviour. We manipulated two aspects of the mountain katydid's signal, colour pattern and whole body shape during display. We deployed five kinds of clay models, one negative control and four katydid-like treatments, in 15 grids across part of the mountain katydid's distribution to test the hypothesis that their hidden signal is aposematic. If this hypothesis holds true, we expected that the models, which most closely resembled real katydids would be attacked the least. Instead, we found that models that most closely resembled real katydids were the most likely to be attacked. We suggest several ideas to explain these results, including that the deimatic phase of the katydid's display, the change from a camouflaged state to exposing its hidden signal, may have important protective value.

A new species of the Liolaemus nigroviridis group from the Andes of Central Chile (Iguania: Liolaemidae)

Species of the Liolaemus nigroviridis group are robust lizards with a medium body size, whose males usually exhibit striking coloration patterns in green, yellow, orange or blue colors, accompanied by black stripes. All species of this group are endemic to central Chile, distributed along the Andean and Coastal mountain ranges. Several DNA phylogenetic studies have pointed out that the nominal species of this group, L. nigroviridis, is indeed a species complex, formed by L. nigroviridis and other lineages that could constitute candidate species. Here we review the taxonomic status of one of these lineages, whose previous record was based mainly on juvenile specimens. However, the examination of adult specimens allows us to conclude that this lineage should be described as a new species, in which males have a very remarkable dorsal color pattern. We also propose the revalidation of the taxon formerly known as L. nigroviridis campanae to full species status.