Indonesian Specimens Research Articles

Catalogue of Indonesian Peiratinae, with description of a new species of Sirthenea (Monogmus) and redescription of Ceratopirates leopoldi (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

Summary A catalogue of Peiratinae from Indonesia including 33 species in eight genera is presented. A key is provided to help distinguish the eight genera distributed in Indonesia. Androclus granulatus Stål, 1863 and Sirthenea (Sirthenea) setosa Chłond, 2018 are reported from Indonesia for the first time and A. granulatus is redescribed mainly based on Indonesian specimens. One new species, Sirthenea (Monogmus) timikaensis Noerfitryani, Liu & Cai n. sp., is described together with a key to the four species of Sirthenea Spinola, 1837 in Indonesia. The monotypic genus Ceratopirates Schouteden, 1933 and its type species, C. leopoldi Schouteden, 1933 are also redescribed in detail with emphasis on the male genitalia. The diversity and habitat of Indonesian Peiratinae are briefly discussed.

ITS1 variation among Stichopathes cf. maldivensis (Hexacorallia: Antipatharia) whip black corals unveils conspecificity and population connectivity at local and global scales across the Indo-Pacific

Due to the dearth of molecular markers variable enough to distinguish species of black corals, species delimitation in Antipatharia is still mainly based on morphological traits. One of the few markers available, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region located in ribosomal DNA, has already been used several times to infer phylogenetic relationships among antipatharians. However, this region was never considered in population-scale studies of shallow-water black corals till now. Here, we sampled two phenotypic variants of 41 specimens of the shallow-water antipatharian Stichopathes cf. maldivensis along the SW of Madagascar. The sampling area represents 200 km of shore and encompasses the runoffs of three rivers. We used direct sequencing to determine the main ITS1 types present in the genomes of the collected specimens and retrieved sequences from GenBank for Indonesian specimens. Then, we constructed a haploweb to visualize possible species boundaries using the criterion of mutual allelic exclusivity. With this method, we confirm that the previously described phenotypic variants belong to a single species that apparently extends from Indonesia to Madagascar. Likewise, the three rivers that pour freshwater in southwestern Madagascar do not appear to act as a barrier for the larval dispersal of this species. This study highlights the usefulness of ITS markers within antipatharians at both species and population levels.

Genetic diversity and patterns of demographic expansion in natural populations of milkfish, Chanos chanos (Forsskål, 1775), in the Philippines

The milkfish, Chanos chanos (Forsskål, 1775) is an important aquaculture species produced in the tropical Pacific region. Milkfish aquaculture is heavily reliant on seedstock; thus, there is a need to assess the genetic diversity of wild populations to identify areas that could be sources of high quality seedstock and broodstock. In this study, 631 milkfish specimens from 11 Philippine and, for comparison, two Indonesian wild populations were analysed for their genetic diversities using mitochondrial control region and cytochrome b. High genetic diversity indices were found for Sarangani, Claveria, and Camarines Sur populations in the Philippines. Philippine samples had either comparable or higher genetic diversity values than Indonesian samples from Medan and Sulawesi. Based on neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analysis, Philippine samples exhibited population expansion. Such pattern was not observed among Indonesian specimens. Genetic structure among populations was weak based on analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). Correlation between genetic distance and geographic distance was not significant. Differentiation among marine biogeographic regions was small based on hierarchical AMOVA. High gene flow due to natural dispersal and influx of haplotypes brought about by importation may have contributed to the patterns observed, but diversification events within the Philippines were still evident.

Southeast Asian Butterfly Project

Butterflies are important ecosystem components. They play a major role in pollination, are preyed upon and parasitized by other species, and because of their specific habitat requirements, populations can change quickly and are widely regarded as sensitive environmental indicators, being used to assess factors ranging from climate change to land management. So in addition to their enormous aesthetic appeal and educational value to the layperson, they are important to the scientific community in investigating pressing climate change and biodiversity issues. While attention to and knowledge of butterflies in western countries is significant, this is not necessarily the case for species-rich tropical areas. Naturalis Biodiversity Center possesses a world-class collection of Southeast Asian butterflies, Indonesian specimens in particular, and would like to bridge this geographic gap in knowledge by embarking on a five-year project to establish an online presence of Southeast Asian butterflies. We hope to establish a consortium of interested international museums and institutes to join us in documenting species-level natural histories, distribution and occurrence data, and photos. The data we will be using will come from literature, digitized collections and observations. Ultimately, we hope to also develop a species identification app, provide links to Red List species protection data, serve as an online field guide for butterfly enthusiasts, and promote and stimulate European Union (EU) and Southeast Asian collection digitization. We will begin this year with a pilot project limited to swallowtails (Papilionidae) in our initial effort to provide an online resource of Southeast Asian butterflies for scientists, educators and laypersons alike.

Transoceanic dispersal and cryptic diversity in a cosmopolitan rafting nudibranch

The aeolid nudibranch Fiona pinnata (Eschscholtz, 1831) is an obligate rafter that occurs exclusively on macroalgal rafts and other floating substrata, and has a seemingly cosmopolitan marine distribution. Mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA sequence data were generated from specimens collected worldwide to test for global connectivity in this species. Phylogeographic analyses revealed three divergent mtDNA lineages, two of which were abundant and widespread. One of these lineages has an apparent circumequatorial distribution, whereas the other may have an antitropical distribution within the Pacific Ocean. Low genetic divergences within each lineage suggest that rafting can mediate dispersal across transoceanic scales. A third, highly divergent, lineage was detected in a single Indonesian specimen. Broadly concordant phylogeographic relationships were detected for the nuclear ITS1 region, with distinct tropical versus antitropical lineages observed. The substantial genetic divergences and largely allopatric distributions observed among the F. pinnata lineages suggest that they represent a species complex.

Locating Specimens of Extinct Tiger (Panthera tigris) Subspecies: Javan Tiger (P. T. sondaica), Balinese Tiger (P. T. balica), and Caspian Tiger (P. T. virgata), Including Previously Unpublished Specimens

Recent advances in multivariate statistics, and in ancient DNA techniques, have greatly increased understanding of tiger phylogeography. However, regardless of advances in analytical methodology, researchers will continue to need access to specimens for morphological measurements and sampling for genetic analysis. The tiger has become increasingly endangered, and out of the nine putative tiger subspecies, three (Javan, Balinese, and Caspian) have become extinct in the last 100 years, leaving the specimens kept in natural history collections as the only materials available for research. Frustratingly little information is widely available concerning the specimens of these extinct tiger subspecies. We conducted an extensive search for specimens of extinct tiger subspecies, and also developed a simple on-site method to assign unprovenanced and probable Indonesian specimens to either Javan/Balinese or Sumatran subspecies. We located a total of 88 Javan, 11 Balinese, and 46 Caspian tigers, including seven new Javan tigers, and three Balinese tigers that were not widely known previously. These specimens are critical for research in order to understand the intraspecific phylogeny and evolutionary history of the tiger.

Isoswinholide B and swinholide K, potently cytotoxic dimeric macrolides from Theonella swinhoei

Chemical investigation of an Indonesian specimen of Theonella swinhoei afforded the new dimeric macrolides isoswinholide B (5) and swinholide K (6), along with the known swinholides A (1), B (2) and D (3) and isoswinholide A (4). Isoswinholide B showed an unprecedented 21/19′ lactonization pattern, while swinholide K included an sp2 methylene attached at C-4 and an additional oxymethine group at C-5, whose configuration has been determined through application of J-based configuration analysis. The isolated swinholides (1–6), with the exception of isoswinholide B, showed a cytotoxic activity on HepG2 (hepatocarcinoma cell line) in the nanomolar range.

Aurantoside J: a New Tetramic Acid Glycoside from Theonella swinhoei. Insights into the Antifungal Potential of Aurantosides

The chemical investigation of an Indonesian specimen of Theonella swinhoei afforded four aurantosides, one of which, aurantoside J (5), is a new compound. The structure of this metabolite, exhibiting the unprecedented N-α-glycosidic linkage between the pentose and the tetramate units, has been determined through detailed spectroscopic analysis. The four obtained aurantosides have been tested against five fungal strains (four Candida and one Fusarium) responsible of invasive infections in immuno-compromised patients. The non-cytotoxic aurantoside I (4) was the single compound to show an excellent potency against all the tested strains, thus providing valuable insights about the antifungal potential of this class of compounds and the structure-activity relationships.

Symbiotic association between Solanderia secunda (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Solanderiidae) and Medioantenna variopinta sp. nov. (Annelida, Polychaeta, Polynoidae) from North Sulawesi (Indonesia)

A mimic scale-worm was found associated with the athecate hydroid Solanderia secunda, commonly found on reefs of the NW coast of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The species resembled Medioantenna clavata Imajima 1997, which was originally described without any reference to a symbiotic mode of life and later reported to be living on a solanderiid hydroid both in Japanese waters. A detailed morphological analysis led us to consider the Indonesian specimens as a new species, namely Medioantenna variopinta sp. nov., which is congeneric with the Japanese species. The new species differs from the type material of M. clavata as it has elytra with one prominent finger-like papilla and all neurochaetae with unidentate tip, instead of an elytral lump and both unidentate and bidentate neurochaetae on segment two. In turn, the Japanese worms associated with Solanderia are here referred to our new species. Two morphological features in M. variopinta sp. nov. are rather unusual among scale-worms. One of them is its extremely high level of bilateral asymmetry and antero-posterior variability in elytral distribution and the other one is its elongated, upwardly directed nephridial papillae. The morphology and geographical distribution of the host together with the known characteristics of the symbiotic association have also been highlighted.

Paralogous mitochondrial control region in the giant tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon (F.) affects population genetics inference: A cautionary tale

The mitochondrial control region (mtCR) is a widely used genetic marker for phylogenetic, phylogeographic and population genetic inference. The analysis of mtCR in 115 Indonesian specimens of the giant tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, revealed 26 individuals yielding a second – apparently paralogous – sequence in addition to the putatively authentic mitochondrial haplotype. The paralogous haplotypes fell into two major haplogroups that are highly diverged with respect to the authentic mitochondrial haplotypes (average pairwise sequence divergence of 12.5% and 5.0%, respectively). A comparison with published mtCR sequences of P. monodon showed that the paralogous contaminant sequences were inadvertently included in a series of recent population genetic studies, leading to seriously compromised conclusions about genetic diversity and differentiation. The prevalence of the paralogous haplotypes throughout the sampled Indo-Pacific populations is highly skewed: From African and Indian individuals only paralogs have been sequenced, while they are completely absent from Australian individuals. This suggests that geographically unequally distributed allelic variants at binding sites of the primer pair ordinarily used to amplify mtCR in P. monodon suppressed the amplification of authentic mtCR in a wide range of samples.

SECOND RECORD OF BLUE-NOSED GRUBFISH, Parapercis albogutta (GÜNTHER, 1872) (PERCIFORMES: PENGUIPEDIDAE) FROM BITUNG, NORTH SULAWESI

A specimens of Blue-nosed Grubfish, Parapercis alboguttata (Gunther, 1872) were collected from reef flat of Ron Bolaan, Lembeh Island, North Sulawesi on 21 July 2008. It was caught by hook and line from a depths of about 10 - 20 m. First record of this specimen found in Makassar Strait and deposited at the Bishop Museum (BPBM) in Honolulu, USA. P. alboguttata has been found in many scattered locations in the Indo-West Pacific, from north western Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Oman and Somalia. Morphological features of the Indonesian specimen are reported.

First total synthesis of marine alkaloid hyrtiosulawesine

Hyrtiosulawesine was isolated from Indonesian specimens of the marine sponges Hyrtios erectus and H. reticulatu in 2002. We report here the first total synthesis of hyrtiosulawesine using an efficient and convenient synthetic strategy which could be widely used in the synthesis of other β-caboline compounds. All structures of new compounds were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS.

Cytotoxic Cembranes from Indonesian Specimens of the Soft Coral Nephthea sp.

Methanol extracts of two specimens of the soft coral Nephthea sp. collected from the Seribu Islands, Indonesia, were active in an anticancer bioassay. One new (1) and four known diterpenes (2–5) based on the cembrane carbon skeleton were isolated from these extracts, as was arachidonic acid (8). The structures of all compounds were elucidated using NMR, including 1,1-ADEQUATE and 1D gradient selective NOESY where applicable to determine the relative stereochemistry. Spectroscopic data, including 1H and 13C NMR, UV, IR and optical rotations are reported when enough material was available and where this has not been done previously. Inhibition assays employing three cancer cell lines; SF-268 (CNS), MCF-7 (breast), and H460 (lung) were used to guide the isolation of all compounds.

Not Out of Java

![Figure][1] Willandra Lakes region. CREDIT: LYNN SALMON Most scientists think modern humans evolved only in Africa. But the theory of “multiregionalism” still has its holdouts who think Homo sapiens evolved all over the Old World. Now the biggest study yet of fossil skulls from Australia, Indonesia, Africa, and the Middle East has delivered another blow to that theory. Paleoanthropologist Michael Westaway of the Queensland Museum in Brisbane, Australia, and primatologist Colin Groves of the Australian National University in Canberra compared 26 15,000- to 40,000-year-old skulls from the Willandra Lakes of New South Wales, Australia, with skulls of 19 early modern humans, dated at up to 195,000 years old, and five H. erectus skulls from Java (dates uncertain). Puzzlingly, the Willandra skulls include both light (gracile) and heavy-set (robust) crania. The out-of-Africa camp thinks they all descend from a single population, but some multiregionalists argue that they could have two sets of roots: in robust Indonesian H. erectus and gracile people from China. The researchers looked for signs that the robust Willandra individuals inherited some traits, such as a distinctive brow ridge, from the Indonesian hominins. They found none, they reported in the journal Archaeology in Oceania . “There were commonalities between the Australian, African, and Middle Eastern people, but the Indonesian specimens stood outside the range,” Westaway says. But paleoanthropologist Fred Smith of Illinois State University in Normal says the jury is still out. He thinks modern humans arose in Africa but later bred with archaic locals around the globe. “I'm still not convinced that it [the study] proves there is no assimilation,” he says. [1]: pending:yes

A review of the red algal genus Leptofauchea (Faucheaceae, Rhodymeniales) including a description of L. chiloensis sp. nov.

J.L. Dalen and G.W. Saunders. 2007. A review of the red algal genus Leptofauchea (Faucheaceae, Rhodymeniales) including a description of L. chiloensis sp. nov. Phycologia 46: 198–213. DOI: 10.2216/06-41.1We present a contemporary monograph of the poorly known red algal genus Leptofauchea and provide a list of diagnostic features to distinguish it from other rhodymenialean genera. Of six species included in this genus at the time of initiating this study, we accept only the type species Leptofauchea nitophylloides (J. Agardh) Kylin, L. rhodymenioides W.R. Taylor, and L. pacifica E.Y. Dawson. To these we add a new species of Leptofauchea, L. chiloensis sp. nov., which we collected on repeated trips to the Golfo de Ancud, Isla Grande de Chiloé, Chile. An additional species from Western Australia (‘L. anastomosans’ sensu Huisman) is acknowledged, but we had insufficient material to describe adequately this entity. Leptofauchea brasiliensis Joly is shown to be a likely species of the Phyllophoraceae, Gigartinales, while the recently described L. earleae Gavio & Fredericq lacks diagnostic features of the genus—both species are here excluded from the genus. Material was not available for L. auricularis E.Y. Dawson, and we thus cannot confirm its taxonomic position. We have also studied South African specimens traditionally assigned to ‘L. anastomosans’ sensu R.E. Norris & Aken (a specific epithet correctly assigned to Australian and Indonesian specimens referable to the genus Asteromenia) and conclude that they are not representative of Leptofauchea. Molecular analyses indicate that the genus Leptofauchea, as recognized here, represents a distinct lineage within the rhodymenialean family Faucheaceae, where it is sister to the genus Webervanbossea.

Craniometric Variation within the Pleistocene of Java: The Ngawi 1 Cranium

The recently described cranium from Ngawi, East Java, is an important addition to the human fossil record. Several workers have placed Ngawi 1 into a grouping with the Ngandong and Sambungmacan specimens due to an overall metric and nonmetric similarity to those fossils. Multivariate comparisons of cranial shape have not been performed utilizing Ngawi, however, so it is unknown whether this specimen will fall within the current range of variation in those samples or if it will extend that range. Likewise, the inclusion of the Ngawi skull will allow a new test of the hypothesis that the African and Indonesian specimens currently allocated to Homo erectus exhibit a craniometric pattern that is significantly different from that seen in the Zhoukoudian crania. Mahalanobis distances will be used to examine the levels of variation present in a large sample representing the most complete African, Indonesian, and Chinese specimens of H. erectus. Statistical significance of the distances generated will be calculated using random expectation statistics. The results indicate that Ngawi shares strong shape similarities with the African and Indonesian specimens studied, and exhibits significant differences with the Zhoukoudian fossils. This supports earlier work by a number of scholars that found evidence of a unique craniometric pattern at that Chinese site. In addition, these tests indicate that cranial shape remained relatively invariant on Java for much of the Pleistocene. These findings, in conjunction with evidence for the appearance of unique nonmetric traits in the late-surviving Ngandong crania, suggest that the hominid populations of Java were relatively isolated for extended periods of time.

A re-evaluation of the metric diversity within Homo erectus

Previous work by several researchers has suggested that the cranial sample from Zhoukoudian possesses a unique metric pattern relative to the African and Asian specimens assigned to Homo erectus. The current study readdresses this issue with an expanded fossil sample and a larger and more comprehensive set of cranial measurements. To test the patterns present in the assemblage, canonical variates analysis was performed using a covariance matrix generated from the Howells data set. From this, interindividual Mahalanobis distances were computed for the fossils. Random expectation statistics were then used to measure statistical significance of the Mahalanobis distances. The results show that the Zhoukoudian hominids exhibit a unique metric pattern not shared by the African and Indonesian crania sampled. In these tests the Hexian calvaria resembled the African and Indonesian specimens and differed significantly from the craniometric pattern seen in the Zhoukoudian fossils. The Zhoukoudian specimens are characterized by a wide midvault and relatively narrow occipital and frontal bones, while the African and Indonesian crania (including Hexian) have relatively broad frontal and occipital dimensions compared to their midvaults. These results do not suggest that a multiple-species scenario is necessary to encompass the variation present in the sample. Based on the current evidence it is more probable that this variation reflects polytypism influenced by environmental adaptation and/or genetic drift.

5-hydroxytryptamine-derived alkaloids from two marine sponges of the genus Hyrtios.

Indonesian specimens of the marine sponges Hyrtios erectus and H. reticulatus were found to contain 5-hydroxytryptamine-derived alkaloids. Their structures were determined on the basis of their spectral properties. H. erectus contained hyrtiosulawesine (4), a new beta-carboline alkaloid, together with the already known alkaloids 5-hydroxyindole-3-carbaldehyde (1), hyrtiosin B (2), and 5-hydroxy-3-(2-hydroxyethyl)indole (3). H. reticulatus contained the novel derivative 1,6-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (11) together with serotonin (5), 6-hydroxy-1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline (7), and 6-hydroxy-3,4-dihydro-1-oxo-beta-carboline (9).

U/Th‐dated sclerosponges from the Indonesian Seaway record subsurface adjustments to west Pacific Winds

Stable isotope records from sclerosponges collected at 10–20 m depth in the Indonesian Seaway and Solomon Islands are particularly well suited for reconstructing century‐scale trends in ambient temperature variability and the oceanic uptake of fossil fuel carbon. Basal U/Th dates demonstrate that the sclerosponges analyzed are 85–100 years old. Isotopic records from the Indonesian specimens suggest a strong subsurface cooling over the past 20 years that is not manifested in either surface instrumental or shallower coral proxy records. However, analysis of observed subsurface temperatures in Indonesia, observed winds in the west Pacific, and simulated subsurface temperatures from a steady state general circulation model hindcast forced by observed winds combine to suggest that thermocline adjustments could account for at least part of the recent cooling inferred from the Indonesian sclerosponges. If so, the sclerosponge data suggests that, on average, the west Pacific thermocline has shoaled significantly over at least the past 2 decades.

An Account of the First Living Coelacanth known to Scientists from Indonesian Waters

A brief narrative is presented of the events surrounding the initial discovery of a coelacanth in an Indonesian fish market in Manado, Sulawesi, on 18 September 1997. Although the specimen was not purchased and preserved, photographs were taken and enough information gathered about the fish to warrant an official entry in the Coelacanth Conservation Council (CCC) inventory of known specimens of the living coelacanth Latimeria chalumnae. All known information about this first Indonesian specimen is summarized in the official CCC inventory format, and the specimen is herein numbered CCC no. 174.