Number Of Diagnostic Features Research Articles

The latest ancestor of extant raccoon-dog from Zhoukoudian, Beijing, China, highlights a complex or convoluted transition on the dietary habits

ABSTRACT There has always been a taxonomic controversy over the Middle Pleistocene raccoon-dogs, such as those from ZKD (=Zhoukoudian), which have previously been referred to either as Nyctereutes sinensis or N. procyonoides. Here, the specimens from ZKD Loc.1 and 13 have been re-evaluated and a number of diagnostic features have been identified and summarised. It is strongly recommended that they be classified as a new species, Nyctereutes peii, characterised by the robust dentition. The rationale and necessity for the establishment of N. peii has also been addressed from a number of perspectives. In addition, the evolution of the raccoon-dog’s foraging habits was outlined here for the first time using the molar ratio method. Surprisingly, the evolution of the foraging habits is not linear and gradual, but rather complex or tortuous. N. peii unexpectedly showed a less omnivorous habit than other populations. After that, however, there was a sudden reversal in the evolutionary trajectory, a major turning point in the evolution of the raccoon-dog that heralded the arrival of the extant population. Although the mechanism and dynamics are not fully understood and will need to be studied, the authors suggest that it may be linked to the dramatic fluctuations in global climate. LSID urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:EF024839-3475-4249-902F-6E68D7A901BC

New Materials on the Morphology of the Teeth of the Three-Toed Horse (Hipparion houfenense) from the Pliocene of Western Transbaikalia (Russia).

This article is devoted to the morphological features of the teeth of the three-toed horse (Hipparion houfenense) from the Early Pliocene of Western Transbaikalia (Russia). It contains a number of diagnostic features that are unique to this taxon and distinguish it from other Hipparion species, which allows us to speak about their true diversity at the final stage of their existence in the northeast of Inner Asia.

NEW MATERIALS ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE TEETH OF THE THREE-TOED HORSE (<i>HIPPARION HOUFENENSE</i>) FROM THE PLIOCENE OF WESTERN TRANSBAIKALIA (RUSSIA)

This article is devoted to the morphological features of the teeth of the three-toed horse (Hipparion houfenense) from the Early Pliocene of Western Transbaikalia (Russia). It contains a number of diagnostic features that are unique to this taxon and distinguish it from other hipparion species, which allows us to speak about their true diversity at the final stage of their existence in the northeast of Inner Asia.

Ocnogyna mooseri, a new peculiar species from Libya (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae)

A new species of the genus Ocnogyna Graslin, [1837], O. mooseri sp. n. is described from north-eastern Libya. The female of the new species is fully winged but differs from all known species groups of Ocnogyna in a number of diagnostic features and is also externally reminiscent of Tajigyna gansoni Dubatolov, 1990 endemic to Tajikistan. The diagnostic comparison is made with the North African Ocnogyna advena (Fabricius, 1787) having externally similar males but brachypterous females and to the externally dissimilar Ocnogyna parasita (Hübner, 1790) species group having the most similar female genitalia structures.

Morphological Features of Fruits and Seeds of Some Species of the Genus Crataegus L. of the Flora of Ukraine

Abstract The genus Crataegus L. is one of the largest species in the family Rosaceae Juss. The fruits are used as medicinal raw materials ( Crataegus fructus ), as they contain a set of biologically active compounds. The genus is voluminous and taxonomically problematic due to significant variability, hybridization, apomixis, and polyploidy. As a result, it is difficult to determine the species of the genus. Species of the genus have a number of diagnostic features, one of which is a distinct fruit with seeds. The aim of our study was to identify and compare the diagnostic features of the fruits of seven species of the genus Crataegus flora of Ukraine, which are most often used as medicinal raw materials and are the most common in Ukraine – Crataegus laevigata , C. monogyna , C. pentagyna , C. pseudokyrtostyla , C. sanguinea , C. fallacina , and C. rhipidophylla . The study was performed using scanning and digital microscopy, and descriptions were made by standard methods. As a result, we identified features that clearly distinguished the studied species from each other. We identified mature fruits that contain only one pyrene ( C. monogyna , C. pseudokyrtostyla , C. fallacina , and C. rhipidophylla ), and several pyrenes ( C. laevigata , C. pentagyna , and C. sanguinea ) among the studied species of the genus. The studied species are characterized by spherical and ellipsoidal fruits. The predominant color is fulvous/brown with different shades, but almost-black fruits of the species C. pentagyna are well distinguished. Fruits of all studied species of the genus are fleshy, except C. sanguinea , which is floury. The species is characterized mainly by yellow flesh fruits, except C. pentagyna , which has ribbed fruits. The fruits of C. monogyna plants differ from those of other studied species by the spinous-tuberous surface relief. Pyrenes of triangular shape are observed only in C. pentagyna . We suggest that these features can be used as additional diagnostic tools to determine the species of the genus Crataegus flora in Ukraine.

Redescription of the lungfish Straitonia waterstoni from the Viséan of Lothian, Scotland

ABSTRACTThe unique specimen of the Early Carboniferous lungfish Straitonia waterstoni is described in detail. As the only articulated lungfish currently described from the Viséan, it is of particular interest for lungfish evolution. It retains some plesiomorphic features of the skull, and shows some derived features in common with later Carboniferous forms. A thorough description is provided for future phylogenetic analyses. Straitonia has a number of diagnostic features. These include: a relatively narrow B-bone with a broad and curved anterior margin; an unpaired, parallel-sided C-bone whose margin is convex anteriorly; a B-bone approximately the same width as the single C-bone; the I-bones are relatively small compared with the B- and J-bones; the J-bones are tri-lobed; the XY bone is elongate along a posteromedial–anterolateral axis. Elongate fins dorsally and ventrally suggest a condition similar to those of later Carboniferous forms with confluent second dorsal, caudal and anal fins. It may thus be the earliest lungfish to show this condition. The ventral tail fin includes some fused elements, probably haemal and infrahaemal spines. The identity of one of the skull bones is discussed, and concluded to be a C-bone rather than a D-bone as previously described. The D-bone is absent, as in later Carboniferous forms. The history of the D-bone is considered.

Unidentified bright objects associated with features of neurofibromatosis 1

Unidentified bright objects are commonly observed on magnetic resonance imaging in young neurofibromatosis 1 patients, but their clinical and pathologic significance is largely unknown. Diagnostic features of neurofibromatosis 1 include café-au-lait spots, intertriginous freckling, Lisch nodules, neurofibromas, bony lesions, and optic glioma. We investigated the relationship between unidentified bright objects and other features of neurofibromatosis 1. Data from the National Neurofibromatosis Foundation International Database included 523 neurofibromatosis 1 patients between 2 and 20 years of age who had cranial magnetic resonance imaging examinations. The presence or absence of unidentified bright objects, diagnostic features of neurofibromatosis 1, and central nervous system neoplasms was known in these patients. Logistic regressive models were used to measure associations between unidentified bright objects and the other features while controlling for age. The occurrence of unidentified bright objects was associated with the number of diagnostic features, but most significantly with central nervous system neoplasms other than optic gliomas [odds ratio (OR) = 9.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.2-70], optic gliomas (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.2-3.6), subcutaneous neurofibromas (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.3-3.1), and Lisch nodules (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.3). These findings suggest a common causal mechanism between unidentified bright objects and these cardinal clinical features in children with neurofibromatosis 1.

Proposal for the reclassification of Thiobacillus novellus as Starkeya novella gen. nov., comb. nov., in the alpha-subclass of the Proteobacteria.

Thiobacillus novellus is a facultatively chemolithoautotrophic and methylotrophic, Gram-negative, rod-shaped sulfur bacterium, shown by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis to be a member of the alpha-2 subclass of the Proteobacteria. As such, it must be excluded from the genus Thiobacillus, whose species are members of the beta-Proteobacteria. It closest phylogenetic neighbour appears to be Ancylobacter, from which it is distinct morphologically and in some physiological characteristics. It is distinct physiologically and biochemically in a number of diagnostic features from Paracoccus versutus, in the alpha-3 subclass of the Proteobacteria and does not appear to be sufficiently closely related to any other genus of the alpha-Proteobacteria to be reassigned to a known genus. The new genus and species name Starkeya novella is proposed for T. novellus. The type strain is ATCC 8093T (= NCIMB 10456T = NCIMB 9113T = DSM 506T = IAM 12100T = IFO 12443T = CCM 1077T).

A Note on Some Morphological Terms of the Leaf in the Gleicheniaceae

A Note on Some Morphological Terms of the Leaf in the Gleicheniaceae