Morphological Data Sets Research Articles

Green armoured tardigrades (Echiniscidae: Viridiscus), including a new species from the Southern Nearctic, exemplify problems with tardigrade variability research

Ranges of tardigrade intraspecific and interspecific variability are not precisely defined, both in terms of morphology and genetics, rendering descriptions of new taxa a cumbersome task. This contribution enhances the morphological and molecular dataset available for the heterotardigrade genus Viridiscus by supplying new information on Southern Nearctic populations of V.perviridis, V.viridianus, and a new species from Tennessee. We demonstrate that, putting aside already well-documented cases of significant variability in chaetotaxy, the dorsal plate sculpturing and other useful diagnostic characters, such as morphology of clavae and pedal platelets, may also be more phenotypically plastic characters at the species level than previously assumed. As a result of our integrative analyses, V.viridianus is redescribed, V.celatus sp. nov. described, and V.clavispinosus designated as nomeninquirendum, and its junior synonymy with regard to V.viridianus suggested. Morphs of three Viridiscus species (V.perviridis, V.viridianus, and V.viridissimus) are depicted, and the implications for general echiniscid taxonomy are drawn. We emphasise that taxonomic conclusions reached solely through morphological or molecular analyses lead to a distorted view on tardigrade α-diversity.

Automated bone marrow cell classification through dual attention gates dense neural networks.

The morphology of bone marrow cells is essential in identifying malignant hematological disorders. The automatic classification model of bone marrow cell morphology based on convolutional neural networks shows considerable promise in terms of diagnostic efficiency and accuracy. However, due to the lack of acceptable accuracy in bone marrow cell classification algorithms, automatic classification of bone marrow cells is now infrequently used in clinical facilities. To address the issue of precision, in this paper, we propose a Dual Attention Gates DenseNet (DAGDNet) to construct a novel efficient, and high-precision bone marrow cell classification model for enhancing the classification model's performance even further. DAGDNet is constructed by embedding a novel dual attention gates (DAGs) mechanism in the architecture of DenseNet. DAGs are used to filter and highlight the position-related features in DenseNet to improve the precision and recall of neural network-based cell classifiers. We have constructed a dataset of bone marrow cell morphology from the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, which mainly consists of leukemia samples, to train and test our proposed DAGDNet together with the bone marrow cell classification dataset. When evaluated on a multi-center dataset, experimental results show that our proposed DAGDNet outperforms image classification models such as DenseNet and ResNeXt in bone marrow cell classification performance. The mean precision of DAGDNet on the Munich Leukemia Laboratory dataset is 88.1%, achieving state-of-the-art performance while still maintaining high efficiency. Our data demonstrate that the DAGDNet can improve the efficacy of automatic bone marrow cell classification and can be exploited as an assisting diagnosis tool in clinical applications. Moreover, the DAGDNet is also an efficient model that can swiftly inspect a large number of bone marrow cells and offers the benefit of reducing the probability of an incorrect diagnosis.

Fluvial geomorphic evolution and stream fish community trajectories in the Bayou Pierre, Mississippi, U.S.A.

Abstract Human activities have often altered sediment dynamics in rivers, leading to aquatic habitat degradation. The dominant paradigm in fish–sediment interactions focuses on excessive fine sediments as indicators of habitat and water quality degradation. In contrast, geomorphologists have provided frameworks linking altered sediment dynamics to much broader and more complex changes to channel morphology and stream habitats across spatial scales. In this paper we use an interdisciplinary approach with historical and contemporary channel morphology and fish community datasets to examine how altered sediment dynamics have affected stream fish community evolution in the Bayou Pierre, Mississippi, U.S.A. Erosional process regimes have advanced upstream consistent with models of knickpoint propagation and channel evolution, leaving most of the catchment in a state of increased sediment transport and local sediment deficits. Fish communities in modern samples have less α and β diversity and fewer habitat specialist taxa than in historical samples. Whole‐community analysis via non‐metric multidimensional scaling found a strong gradient of homogenisation towards a fauna comprised of small‐bodied taxa adapted to large rivers. Comparisons of community and geomorphic change on this gradient found that reaches that transitioned between process regimes had more community change, and that local habitat factors relating to advanced channel evolution were strongly positively related to total community change. These results demonstrate that a catchment‐scale geomorphic analysis provided a strong tool for understanding fish community change on a decadal scale. Our findings further demonstrate concordant ecological responses to a complex sequence of disturbances and suggest that a broader view of sediment dynamics offers a rich toolkit for ecological analyses.

Evaluating the Accuracy of Methods for Detecting Correlated Rates of Molecular and Morphological Evolution.

Determining the link between genomic and phenotypic change is a fundamental goal in evolutionary biology. Insights into this link can be gained by using a phylogenetic approach to test for correlations between rates of molecular and morphological evolution. However, there has been persistent uncertainty about the relationship between these rates, partly because conflicting results have been obtained using various methods that have not been examined in detail. We carried out a simulation study to evaluate the performance of 5 statistical methods for detecting correlated rates of evolution. Our simulations explored the evolution of molecular sequences and morphological characters under a range of conditions. Of the methods tested, Bayesian relaxed-clock estimation of branch rates was able to detect correlated rates of evolution correctly in the largest number of cases. This was followed by correlations of root-to-tip distances, Bayesian model selection, independent sister-pairs contrasts, and likelihood-based model selection. As expected, the power to detect correlated rates increased with the amount of data, both in terms of tree size and number of morphological characters. Likewise, greater among-lineage rate variation in the data led to improved performance of all 5 methods, particularly for Bayesian relaxed-clock analysis when the rate model was mismatched. We then applied these methods to a data set from flowering plants and did not find evidence of a correlation in evolutionary rates between genomic data and morphological characters. The results of our study have practical implications for phylogenetic analyses of combined molecular and morphological data sets, and highlight the conditions under which the links between genomic and phenotypic rates of evolution can be evaluated quantitatively.

Revision of the Subgenus Ochthomantis Frogs from Madagascar (Amphibia: Mantellidae) with the Description of Four Species and Resurrection of Mantidactylus catalai and M. poissoni.

The subgenus Ochthomantis is an obligate forest and stream-dwelling group of mantellid frogs, endemic to Madagascar, with six species currently recognized. However, this group suffers from ongoing taxonomic confusion due to low numbers of examined specimens, and failure to consider morphological variation from development and sexual dimorphism. Here, we examined the morphology of 637 sexed adult specimens collected by us in the field and from other museum collections. We also sequenced a DNA fragment of the 16S mtDNA gene for each lineage to determine congruence between morphological and molecular data sets and to help delimit species. Our results demonstrate that the subgenus Ochthomantis includes eleven valid species: five already recognized, M. catalai and M. poissoni that we resurrect from synonymy, and four new species which we describe for the first time here. In some analyses, Mantidactylus majori groups with other Mantidactylus subgenera, so we do not consider it a member of the subgenus Ochthomantis in this study. All species have restricted distributions and elevational ranges in the humid forests of Madagascar. This study demonstrates the utility of assessing cryptic species using both diagnostic morphological characters and molecular data. The discovery of this new cryptic biodiversity, and the taxonomic revision herein, will likely require conservation activities for those species with the most restricted distributions.

A New Species of Pseudopaludicola Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926 (Anura, Leptodactylidae) from Tocantins State, Brazil.

The number of described species of Pseudopaludicola has increased at unprecedented rates over the past two decades. This increase was mainly driven by the sampling effort in regions historically neglected and the use of evidence from bioacoustic, genetic, and morphological datasets combined. Here, we describe a new species of Pseudopaludicola from a transitional zone between Amazonia and Cerrado in western Tocantins State as revealed through morphological, molecular, and bioacoustic analysis. Pseudopaludicola javae sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by its small size; knobbed terminal phalanges; smooth upper eyelids and heel; relatively short hind limbs; smooth, whitish, and subgular inflated vocal sac with few melanophores around the jaw; and advertisement call composed of an irregular series of multipulsed notes with 10-17 nonconcatenated pulses separated by intervals of 3-55 ms, emitted at a rate of 27-51 pulses/sec. The new species occurs in four Tocantins municipalities, all in the Araguaia-Tocantins interfluve. We also provide the first records of Pseudopaludicola jazmynmcdonaldae outside the type locality (Caseara Municipality, Tocantins State), extending its distribution nearly 245 km southward from Caseara. Pseudopaludicola javae sp. nov. is the second species of Pseudopaludicola described recently from western Tocantins.

From the morphospace to the soundscape: Exploring the diversity and functional morphology of the fish inner ear, with a focus on elasmobranchsa).

Fishes, including elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, and skates), present an astonishing diversity in inner ear morphologies; however, the functional significance of these variations and how they confer auditory capacity is yet to be resolved. The relationship between inner ear structure and hearing performance is unclear, partly because most of the morphological and biomechanical mechanisms that underlie the hearing functions are complex and poorly known. Here, we present advanced opportunities to document discontinuities in the macroevolutionary trends of a complex biological form, like the inner ear, and test hypotheses regarding what factors may be driving morphological diversity. Three-dimensional (3D) bioimaging, geometric morphometrics, and finite element analysis are methods that can be combined to interrogate the structure-to-function links in elasmobranch fish inner ears. In addition, open-source 3D morphology datasets, advances in phylogenetic comparative methods, and methods for the analysis of highly multidimensional shape data have leveraged these opportunities. Questions that can be explored with this toolkit are identified, the different methods are justified, and remaining challenges are highlighted as avenues for future work.

Phylogenetics and taxonomy of the Indo-Australian genus Ulonemia sensu Drake (Hemiptera: Tingidae), with the recognition of new genera and species collected from Proteaceae in Australia

Abstract Tingid classification has been problematic since the recognition of the family. The exaggerated ornamentation of many tingids has caused confusion in morphology-based phylogenies due to convergence. Also, some genera, like Ulonemia, lack exaggerated structures and their diagnoses rely on reduced morphology, making identification difficult. The relationship between these genera is of great interest, as several species of Ulonemia have recently become pests of Macadamia, and several of these genera are found on other Proteaceae. We used 16S, COI, 18S, and 28S to determine genus-level relationships of Ulonemia and other Australian Tingidae using maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference. We also analysed a morphological dataset using maximum parsimony. The parsimony analysis yielded numerous morphological homoplasies, and most deep clades lacked support. The ML and Bayesian analyses had strong support and returned a paraphyletic Ulonemia with three strongly supported clades. Two new genera, Cercotingis gen. nov. and Proteatingis gen. nov., are erected and Ulonemia redescribed to account for the observed phylogenies. Three new species of Cercotingis (C. croajingolong sp. nov., C. namadgi sp. nov., and C. tasmaniensis sp. nov.) and four new species of Proteatingis (Pr. astibosetes sp. nov., Pr. howardi sp. nov., Pr. minuta sp. nov., and Pr. xouthos sp. nov.) are described, with keys to species of Cercotingis and Proteatingis.

Ecophenotypic variation or genetic differentiation? Ambiguity of morphological and molecular relationships presents uncertainty in host-specific plasticity of Chelonibia barnacles

The genus Chelonibia, informally referred to as the turtle barnacles, was historically subdivided into four species by both morphological differentiation and host affinity. More recent studies, however, hypothesized that three of these barnacle species – C. testudinaria, C. manati, and C. patula – comprise a single species, C. testudinaria, that exhibits host-specific ecophenotypic plasticity. In this study, we examined both morphological and molecular datasets to assess whether host attachment or genetic differentiation best explains the morphotypes assigned to C. testudinaria and C. manati. For morphology, we compared 11 mensural test and cirral characters from 71 C. testudinaria and 25 C. manati specimens identified by the previously established absence or presence of a ridged external dorsal surface. The two morphotypes overlapped in overall body size, although C. testudinaria averaged significantly larger and C. manati exhibited relatively longer cirri. Discriminant function analyses (DFA) showed strong but incomplete differentiation (92.6% classification success), with one C. manati morphotype collected from a sea turtle classified with high confidence as C. manati. Thus, the morphological data contradict the host-specificity hypothesis. Genetic analyses using three target loci (16s, 28s, COI) from the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes, as well as a single concatenated sequence of >1600 bp, likewise failed to support genetic differentiation between the two morphotypes within the Atlantic sample. With inclusion of a broader sample of Atlantic C. testudinaria and C. manati and Pacific C. testudinaria barnacles, we found strong population distinction between the ocean basins without morphotype separation. Results of the present study suggest that Balanomorph barnacle taxonomy, especially of endosymbiont species, requires further study, as neither phenotypic plasticity nor genetic differentiation accounted for existence of the two distinct morphotypes.

Genomic diversity, evolutionary history, and species limits of the endemic Ethiopian laminate-toothed rats (genus Otomys, Rodentia: Muridae)

Abstract The Ethiopian Highlands represent one of the most important centres of endemism on Earth. Six endemic species of laminate-toothed rats have been reported from Ethiopia in a previous study based mostly on morphological analyses. Largely missing genetic data for some of the species, insufficient sampling across Ethiopia, and presence of a pseudogene on cytochrome b created knowledge gaps in basic taxonomy, distribution, and phylogenetic position of the Ethiopian taxa. Here we perform an integrative taxonomic revision of the group by using the largest available sets of genomic and morphological data. We first reconstructed the mitochondrial phylogeny of the whole genus, delimited major clades, and evidenced two independent colonization events of Otomys to Ethiopia. By using genome-scale SNPs, we delimited putative Ethiopian species and analysed their phylogenetic relationships. In genetically characterized specimens we assessed morphological variation of skulls. We confirmed the presence of six previously reported species and significantly extended the known distributional range for some of them. Furthermore, we discovered a genetically and morphologically distinct lineage in northern Ethiopia, probably representing a new species. The speciation processes are similar to other Afromontane Ethiopian endemic rodent clades, with prevailing allopatric diversification combined with reticulate processes.

Two new species of the genus Laena (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Lagriinae) from northern Sichuan in China based on morphological and molecular data.

In this study, the Laena species from northern Sichuan Province were reviewed using a combination of molecular and morphological datasets. Three molecular methods for species delimitation were firstly used in the genus Laena to explore species boundaries. The results show that the number of morphospecies and putative species using Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) is consistent. Based on the results, two new species are described and illustrated: Laenamounigouicasp. nov. and Laenadentithoraxasp. nov. New materials and distribution of 10 Laena species are also provided in this study. This work also provides valuable molecular data for species identification and phylogenetic analyses of the genus Laena and subfamily Lagriinae.

A new approach to exploratory data analysis in hominin phylogenetic reconstruction

The phylogenetic relationships between fossil hominin taxa have been a contentious topic for decades. Recent discoveries of new taxa, rather than resolving the issue, have only further confused it. Compounding this problem are the limitations of some of the tools frequently used by paleoanthropologists to analyze these relationships. Most commonly, phylogenetic questions are investigated using analytical methods such as maximum parsimony and Bayesian analysis. While these are useful analytical tools, these tree-building methods can have limitations when investigating taxa that may have complex evolutionary histories. Exploratory data analysis can provide information about patterns in a dataset that are obscured by tree-based methods. These patterns include phylogenetic signal conflict, which is not depicted in tree-based methods. Signal conflict can have a number of sources, including methodological issues with character choice, taxonomic issues, homoplasy, and gene flow between taxa. In this study, an exploratory data analysis of fossil hominin morphological data is conducted using the tree-based analytical method neighbor-joining and the network-based analytical method neighbor-net with the goal of visualizing phylogenetic signal conflict within a hominin morphological data set. The data set is divided into cranial regions, and each cranial region is analyzed individually to investigate which regions of the skull contain the highest levels of signal conflict. Results of this analysis show that conflicting phylogenetic signals are present in the hominin fossil record during the relatively speciose period between 3 and 1 Ma, and they also indicate that levels of signal conflict vary by cranial region. Possible sources of these conflicting signals are then explored. Exploratory data analyses such as this can be a useful tool in generating phylogenetic hypotheses and in refining character choice. This study also highlights the value network-based approaches can bring to the hominin phylogenetic analysis toolkit.

Coevolution With Host Fishes Shapes Parasitic Life Histories in a Group of Freshwater Mussels (Unionidae: Quadrulini).

Ecological interactions among species often lead to parasitic lineages coevolving with host resources, which is often suggested as the primary driver of parasite diversification. Freshwater mussels are bivalves that possess a parasitic life cycle requiring larval encystment on freshwater vertebrates to complete metamorphosis. The North American freshwater mussel tribe Quadrulini has a suite of life history adaptations including highly specialized patterns of host use, infection strategies, and variable larval morphologies. However, the evolution of life histories has yet to be explored using phylogenetic comparative methods. In this study, we use a holistic approach incorporating biogeographical, ecological, molecular, and morphological datasets to reconstruct the evolution of Quadrulini. Comparative phylogenetic analyses suggested the diversification of Quadrulini has been driven, at least in part, by codiversification with their primary host fishes in Ictaluridae. Major diversification events in both ictalurids and quadrulines were estimated to have occurred in the Mississippi River basin throughout the Miocene. Life history characteristics associated with parasitism were supported to have coevolved with host repertories, supporting the hypothesis that ecological interactions with host fishes have shaped the evolution of highly specialized traits in this group. Our findings demonstrate the importance of ecological interactions with host resources in shaping the evolutionary history of freshwater mussels.

Isolation, Identification and Molecular Characterization of Indigenous Bacterial Isolates from Textile Effluent and Contaminated Soil using 16s rRNA Sequencing

Textile industry effluent poses a serious environmental threat. Many physical and chemical methods for treating wastewater have been used, but due to high operating costs, a suitable alternative is required. As a result, the study focuses on the use of biological organisms with bioremediation potential which leads to the development of cost-effective and nontoxic methods. The present study focuses on the isolation of possible bacterial isolates from textile effluent contaminated soil and effluent. A total of four bacterial isolates were successfully isolated, three from textile industry effluent contaminated soil and one from textile industry effluent. Based on the results of morphological, biochemical and molecular datasets, the current study identified bacterial isolates belonging to three genera: Brevibacillus, Achromobacter and Pseudomonas. The 16S rRNA sequence technique was used to characterize and identify the bacterial isolates. The isolates were submitted to GenBank like Achromobacter xylosoxidans KUESCCHK-6, Pseudomonas aeruginosa KUESCCHK-5, Achromobacter insuavis KUESCCHK-7 and Brevibacillus panacihumi KUESCCHK-8 with accession numbers OM475749, OM475764, OL797980 and OM475766 respectively. Bacteria can survive in contaminated environments because of their metabolic ability to use available resources and ability to find a suitable niche.

Phylogenetic congruence, conflict and consilience between molecular and morphological data

Morphology and molecules are important data sources for estimating evolutionary relationships. Modern studies often utilise morphological and molecular partitions alongside each other in combined analyses. However, the effect of combining phenomic and genomic partitions is unclear. This is exacerbated by their size imbalance, and conflict over the efficacy of different inference methods when using morphological characters. To systematically address the effect of topological incongruence, size imbalance, and tree inference methods, we conduct a meta-analysis of 32 combined (molecular + morphology) datasets across metazoa. Our results reveal that morphological-molecular topological incongruence is pervasive: these data partitions yield very different trees, irrespective of which method is used for morphology inference. Analysis of the combined data often yields unique trees that are not sampled by either partition individually, even with the inclusion of relatively small quantities of morphological characters. Differences between morphology inference methods in terms of resolution and congruence largely relate to consensus methods. Furthermore, stepping stone Bayes factor analyses reveal that morphological and molecular partitions are not consistently combinable, i.e. data partitions are not always best explained under a single evolutionary process. In light of these results, we advise that the congruence between morphological and molecular data partitions needs to be considered in combined analyses. Nonetheless, our results reveal that, for most datasets, morphology and molecules can, and should, be combined in order to best estimate evolutionary history and reveal hidden support for novel relationships. Studies that analyse only phenomic or genomic data in isolation are unlikely to provide the full evolutionary picture.

Outside the pattern: Evolution of the genital asymmetry in Saicinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae).

Despite genital structures in insects being consistently important as systematic and taxonomy evidence, within assassin bugs (Heteroptera, Reduviidae) at least, the male and female genitalic structures of several subfamilies are poorly or totally unknown. The genital structure is mostly symmetric within Saicinae genera, but male genital asymmetry has been recorded in Gallobelgicus, Polytoxus, and recently Pseudosaica. The subfamily has been considered as closely related to Emesinae and Visayanocorinae but this hypothesis has never been tested using a comprehensive taxa sampling, being a constraint to test morphological traits changes or exploring characters' evolution hypotheses. Here, we compiled a morphological data set of 170 characters that includes external morphological characters and genitalia of both sexes of Saicinae which was analyzed cladistically including 55 terminals, comprising 16 genera (64% of the generic diversity), 43 species of Saicinae and 12 outgroups. Saicinae was recovered as polyphyletic, Saicireta correntina is recovered as sister-species of Empicoris armatus + Collartida (Emesinae), Oncerotrachelus, Carayonia (Visayanocorinae), and the Clade Saicinae sensu stricto. Carayonia orientalis is recovered as sister-species of Saicinae sensu stricto. Ancestral state reconstruction of symmetry of the male genitalia shows an ancestor with symmetric male genitalia, two independent emergences of asymmetrical male genitalia within Saicinae sensu stricto, and the asymmetrical endosomal sclerites appearing before the other asymmetric traits.

Mitogenomic phylogeny of nymphalid subfamilies confirms the basal clade position of Danainae (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).

The phylogenetic relationships among the nymphalid subfamilies have largely been resolved using both morphological and molecular datasets, with the exception of a conflicting basal clade position for Libytheinae or Danainae that remains contentious between morphological and molecular studies. Several phylogenomic analyses have found that the danaine clade is sister to other nymphalid subfamilies; however, it largely depends on utilizing different molecular datasets, analysis methods, and taxon sampling. This study aimed to resolve the basal clade position and relationships among subfamilies and tribes of Nymphalinae by combining the most comprehensive available mitogenomic datasets with various analyses methods by incorporating a new Symbrenthia lilaea Hewitson sequence data. Phylogenetic relationships among 11 nymphalid subfamilies and the tribes of Nymphalinae were inferred by combining new and available mitogenomic sequence data from 80 ingroup and six outgroup species. The phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using maximum-likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods based on five concatenated datasets: amino acid sequences and nucleotides from different combinations of protein-coding genes (PCGs), ribosomal RNA (rRNAs), and transfer RNA (tRNAs). Danainae is well-supported as the basal clade and sister to the remaining nymphalid subfamilies, except for the paraphyletic Libytheinae. Libytheinae was either recovered as a sister to the danaine clade followed by the satyrine clade or sister to the nymphaline + heliconiine clades, and is consistent with recent phylogenetic studies on Nymphalidae. The monophyletic Nymphalinae has been recovered in all analyses and resolves tribal-level relationships with high support values in both BI and ML analyses. We supported the monophyletic Nymphalini as a sister clade to Victorini, Melitaeini, and Kallimini + Junoniini with high supporting values in BI and ML analyses, which is consistent with previously published morphological and molecular studies.

First redescription and molecular phylogeny of Trimyema claviforme Kahl, 1933 with the description of a Chinese population of Plagiopyla nasuta Stein, 1860 (Ciliophora, Plagiopylea)

Ciliates belonging to the class Plagiopylea are obligate anaerobes that are often neglected due to their cryptic lifestyles, difficulty of observation, and overall under-sampling. Here, we investigate two species, namely Trimyema claviforme Kahl, 1933 and Plagiopyla nasuta Stein, 1860, collected in China from marine and freshwater anaerobic sediments, respectively. A complete morphological dataset, together with SSU rRNA gene sequence data were obtained and used to diagnose the species. No molecular sequencing had ever been performed on Trimyema claviforme, with its ciliature also previously unknown. Based on these novel data presented here, the ciliate is characterized by a claviform cell shape, with a size of 35–45 × 10–20 μm in vivo, 28–39 longitudinal somatic ciliary rows forming five ciliary girdles (four complete girdles and a shorter one), two dikinetids left to anterior end of oral kinety 1, and an epaulet. A Chinese population of the well-known ciliate P. nasuta was investigated, and morphological comparisons revealed phenotypic stability of the species. The phylogenetic analyses supported previous findings about the monophyly of the families Trimyemidae and Plagiopylidae, with Trimyema claviforme branching off early in the genus Trimyema. The Chinese population of P. nasuta clusters together with two other populations with full support corroborating their conspecificity.

CAJAL enables analysis and integration of single-cell morphological data using metric geometry

High-resolution imaging has revolutionized the study of single cells in their spatial context. However, summarizing the great diversity of complex cell shapes found in tissues and inferring associations with other single-cell data remains a challenge. Here, we present CAJAL, a general computational framework for the analysis and integration of single-cell morphological data. By building upon metric geometry, CAJAL infers cell morphology latent spaces where distances between points indicate the amount of physical deformation required to change the morphology of one cell into that of another. We show that cell morphology spaces facilitate the integration of single-cell morphological data across technologies and the inference of relations with other data, such as single-cell transcriptomic data. We demonstrate the utility of CAJAL with several morphological datasets of neurons and glia and identify genes associated with neuronal plasticity in C. elegans. Our approach provides an effective strategy for integrating cell morphology data into single-cell omics analyses.

Taxonomy and Melanism Patterns of Freshwater Leeches in the Genus Glossiphonia (Hirudinea: Glossiphoniidae) from Northeast Asia

Freshwater leeches belonging to the genus Glossiphonia Johnson, 1816 are fairly common benthic annelids in freshwater ecosystems throughout Eurasia, but the taxonomy of this group remains poorly resolved, and the species content of some local faunas is unsatisfactorily known. For example, it was thought that the only widespread species, Glossiphonia complanata (Linnaeus, 1758), dwells in Northeast Asia. Here, we revise the Northeast Asian Glossiphonia leeches with an integrative taxonomic approach. This revision is based on the largest DNA-sequence and morphological datasets collected to date. Two Glossiphonia species are recorded from the region. First, Glossiphonia koreaensissp. nov., a putative regional endemic species, was discovered in South Korea. Second, a valid name and complete description are provided for Glossiphonia mollissima Moore, 1898 (non-Grube, 1871). The latter name was wrongly applied through misidentification and, according to ICZN (Article 49), is unavailable. Hence, we propose a new name, Glossiphonia mooreisp. nov., in memory of Dr. J. Percy Moore, who discovered this leech. It is a prospective trans-Beringian species, ranging through Eastern Siberia, the Russian Far East, and Alaska (although Alaskan records are based on nonsequenced samples), showing a significant proportion of melanic individuals in samples north of the Arctic Circle. The latter pattern may reflect substrate-induced cryptic coloration (camouflage), but this hypothesis needs to be statistically checked in the future. Finally, a complete checklist of Glossiphonia species is presented.