Ornamental Patterns Research Articles

Pollen morphology of the genus Paralychnophora (Vernonieae–Asteraceae)

Paralychnophora is an exclusively Brazilian genus that has few species and a confusing taxonomy. The current study aims to help us better understand this genus by analysing pollen grains from six Paralychnophora species. The pollen grains were acetolysed, analysed and photomicrographed under light microscopy. They were not acetolysed for the scanning electron microscopy analysis. Features such as shape, size, exine constitution and aperture were investigated. The species were separated in a pollen key, and their features were of great diagnostic value for the genus. The ornamentation pattern allowed separating P. patriciana from P. reflexoauriculata, and it grouped the other taxa. P. atkinsiae distinguished itself by the polar area index (PAI) size. P. bicolor, P. harley and P. glaziouana were easily separated from each other when other features such as size, shape, distance between the spines and aperture dimensions were analysed together.

Semiology of Kazakh Ornaments

The article is dedicated to show the importance of various national Kazakh ornaments in non-verbal communication. Kazakh national ornaments are various and each one has its own names. They have been formed on the basis of ancient art among cattle breeding tribes (saks, usuns, huns, kipchak and kingly). The ornaments of that period reflected people’s artistic vision to the world. Generally all elements of the Kazakh ornament were interpreted differently due to its historic time. Now a major part of ornaments have lost their semantic value. The article considers specific meanings of Kazakh animalistic ornamental patterns.

Intraspecific Variation inAetosauroides scagliaiCasamiquela (Archosauria: Aetosauria) from the Upper Triassic of Argentina and Brazil: An Example of Sexual Dimorphism?

Abstract. Aetosaurs are a group of quadrupedal, armoured pseudosuchian archosaurs from the Upper Triassic. They are characterized by dorsal and ventral carapaces, and appendicular osteoderms, all of them ornamented. Aetosaurs have been proposed as index fossils largely based on the distinctiveness of some osteoderms. Therefore, it is important to understand the intraspecific variation of these elements in the clade. In the present contribution, we describe three types of ornamentation on the medial area of paramedian osteoderms in the dorsal armour of Aetosauroides scagliai Casamiquela: the “radial pattern” the “anastomosing pattern”; and an “intermediate” or “transitional pattern”, that is an intermediate between “radial” and “anastomosing” patterns. The articulated dorsal armour preserved in specimens PVL 2059 and PVL 2073 possesses osteoderms carrying all three patterns of ornamentation, but they differ by the position of each type of osteoderm on the carapace. Recent studies on histological thin-secti...

Computational Support to Design and Fabrication of Traditional Indian Jewelry

ABSTRACTThis manuscript presents an approach to recreate traditional Indian ornamental designs and a schema to innovate the designs due to new interpretations of the traditional styles using Computer Aided Geometric Modeling. The ornamental patterns are ideally suited to computer-controlled manufacturing that can build real world artifacts from synthetic computer descriptions. The primary objective of the work is to develop mathematical models and algorithms to provide computational support to the design of traditional Indian jewelry and in the process simplifying the design methodology of complex traditional ornamental designs. The work also makes an attempt to incorporate artistic sense, traditional touch and imagination in the designs. The work is based on pattern design methods. A profile is used as the basic sketch for pattern design. A cluster is made up of profiles and the cluster type depends on the profile arrangements. For jewelry design, the patterns are implemented on the user-defined surfaces...

Seed micromorphology in Dactylorhiza Necker ex Nevski (Orchidaceae)and allied genera

Seeds of 21 taxa of the genera Dactylorhiza (incl. Coeloglossum), Gymnadenia (incl. Nigritella) and Pseudorchis were examined by light microscope and SEM. Qualitative and quantitative characters were analyzed. In Dactylorhiza, the seeds are fusiform, but some populations of D. viridis show clavate seeds. According to the ornamentation of the periclinal walls, 3 types of seeds are recognized in this genus. The considerable variation in the seed coat ornamentation pattern in the taxa belonging to majalis, maculata, and praetermissa groups of the genus Dactylorhiza is congruent with the genetic processes that occurred during the history of this genus. Gymnadenia shows clavate seeds with stout and straight to slightly curved anticlinal walls, although these are straight to wavy in some taxa considered previously as Nigritella. These taxa also show low values of seed length. Pseudorchis has fusiform seeds without ornamentation in the periclinal walls and fine anticlinal walls. Our study supports the inclusion of the former genus Coeloglossum in Dactylorhiza.

On the validity of Noah's giant clam Tridacna noae (Röding, 1798) and its synonymy with Ningaloo giant clam Tridacna ningaloo Penny & Willan, 2014

A new giant clam species, Tridacna ningaloo Penny & Willan, 2014 has been described from Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Meanwhile, it has been suggested that Noah's giant clam, Tridacna noae (Roding, 1798), previously resurrected from synonymy with T. maxima (Roding, 1798), is an invalid name. We assessed the validity of resurrecting T. noae and designating a neotype for it against the rules of zoological nomenclature and found no flaw in these acts. We then compared the genetic and morphological characters used in the respective diagnoses of T. noae and the newly-described Tridacna ningaloo. No difference was apparent between T. ningaloo and T. noae except, possibly, in mantle ornamentation patterns. In particular, the holotype of T. ningaloo possesses a mitochondrial DNA haplotype identical to T. noae. Thus, the hypothesis that T. ningaloo is a species distinct from T. noae was not supported by clear morphological evidence and it was contradicted by the available genetic evidence. Tridacna ningaloo should be regarded as a junior synonym of T. noae.

Description of Parvocalanusleei sp. n. (Copepoda, Calanoida, Paracalanidae) in Western Korea, with comments on the taxonomic position of Paracalanusarabiensis Kesarkar & Anil, 2010.

A new species of paracalanid calanoid copepod Parvocalanus leei sp. n., is described from specimens collected in shallow waters of Western Korea. The new species is closely similar to Parvocalanus arabiensis (Kesarkar & Anil, 2010), Parvocalanus crassirostris (F. Dahl, 1894), Parvocalanus latus Andronov, 1972, and Parvocalanus scotti (Früchtl, 1923) in having two short terminal spines on the distal segment of the fifth leg and a similar rostrum in the female, but can be readily distinguished from its congeners by the body size, relative length of antennules, segmentation of endopod of leg 1, and pattern of ornamentation of spinules on legs 1 to 4 in the female. The taxonomic position of Parvocalanus arabiensis and the validity of the genus Parvocalanus Andronov, 1970 are also discussed.

Esporogénesis, esporodermo y ornamentación de esporas maduras en Lycopodiaceae

Studies on reproductive aspects, spore morphology and ultrastructure of Lycopodiaceae are not very common in the scientific literature, and constitute essential information to support taxonomic and systematic relationships among the group. In order to complete existing information, adding new and broader contributions on these topics, a comparative analysis of the sporogenesis ultrastructure, with emphasis on cytological aspects of the sporocyte coat development, tapetum, monoplastidic and polyplastidic meiosis, sporoderm ontogeny and ornamentation of the mature spores, was carried out in 43 taxa of eight genera of the Lycopodiaceae: Austrolycopodium, Diphasium, Diphasiastrum, Huperzia (including Phlegmariurus), Lycopodium, Lycopodiella, Palhinhaea and Pseudolycopodiella growing in the Andes of Colombia and the Neotropics. For this study, the transmission elec- tron microscopy (TEM) samples were collected in Cauca and Valle del Cauca Departments, while most of the spores for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis were obtained from herbarium samples. We followed standard preparation procedures for spore observation by TEM and SEM. Results showed that the sporocyte coat is largely composed by primary wall components; the sporocyte develop much of their metabolic activity in the production of their coat, which is retained until the spores release; protective functions for the diploid cells undergoing meiosis is postulated here for this layer. The abundance of dictyosomes in the sporocyte cytoplasm was related to the formation and development of the sporocyte coat. Besides microtubule activity, the membrane of sporocyte folds, associated with electrodense material, and would early determine the final patterns of spore ornamentation. Monoplastidic condition is common in Lycopodium s.l., whereas polyplastidic condition was observed in species of Huperzia and Lycopodiella s. l. In monoplastidic species, the tapetum presents abun- dant multivesicular bodies, while in polyplastidic species, the secretory activity of the tapetum is less intense. Sporoderm development is centripetal, exospore is the first formed layer, then the endospore and, if present, perispore is the final deposited layer. Adult spores of the Lycopodiaceae showed two patterns of ornamentation: negative or caviform (foveolate spores) and positive or muriform ornamentation, the latter with two subtypes (rugate and reticulate spores). The spores of Huperzia are characteristically foveolate, the rugate spores were found in a few species of Huperzia and in all of the Lycopodiella s. l. taxa studied, while Lycopodium s.l. spores bear reticulate ornamentation. Numerous ornamentation traits are diagnostic at the specific level. The types of ornamentation found do not support the recent extreme fragmentation of the family in several genera, but could match, a priori, with the idea of three subfamilies. The findings of sporogenesis, extremely similar in all taxa studied, point more to consider fewer genera, more comprehensive, than the recent, marked splitting of the family.

RIMAPS Analysis as a Tool to Elucidate Ascospore Ornamentation Pattern

RIMAPS Analysis as a Tool to Elucidate Ascospore Ornamentation Pattern

The Euro-American genus Eopelobates, and a re-definition of the family Pelobatidae (Amphibia, Anura)

The extinct Eopelobates (Eocene of western North America; Eocene–Pliocene of Europe) and Pelobates (Oligocene–Recent of Europe; Recent of northern Africa and the Middle East) are superficially toad-like anurans that are united within the family Pelobatidae mainly on the basis of a unique, tripartite frontoparietal complex. Both genera have a relatively good fossil record consisting of isolated bones, skeletons, and developmental series of tadpoles through adults, all of which are potentially informative for tracing the evolutionary history of the family. Eopelobates is of interest for several reasons. Of the two pelobatid genera, Eopelobates appears earlier in the fossil record (early Eocene vs. late Oligocene) and it is more primitive in lacking many of the features associated with fossoriality in extant Pelobates. The taxonomic composition of Eopelobates has been contentious and at least one putative new species has long been recognised, but never formally named. Here, we provide updated taxonomic accounts for Pelobatoidea, Pelobatidae, Pelobates, and Eopelobates and document development within a series of tadpoles and juveniles of E. bayeri from Bechlejovice (late Oligocene in age), Czech Republic. We also provide updated accounts for the five previously named and currently accepted species of Eopelobates. For the European congeners, E. anthracinus (late Oligocene) and E. bayeri (early Oligocene–middle Miocene) can confidently be regarded as separate species; although the distinction between E. hinschei and E. wagneri (both middle Eocene) is less certain, we provisionally maintain them as separate species. Micro-CT scans for the holotype skeleton of E. grandis (latest Eocene, USA) help resolve some problematic features, most notably showing that the cranial sculpture is of the pit-and-ridge style that is typical for Eopelobates. A sixth congener is named and described based on two skeletons from the middle Eocene portion of the Green River Formation, in Wyoming, USA. We caution that reports of Eopelobates-like anurans from the pre-Eocene of western North America and the early Eocene of India are based on isolated bones that cannot be assigned with confidence to that genus. The presence of Eopelobates in both North America and Europe may be explained by dispersal via the high latitude land bridge that connected those two continents during the late Paleocene through Eocene. The pelobatid fossil record is informative for documenting the nature and timing of changes in cranial features (e.g. ornament patterns, shape of nasals, pattern of frontoparietal–squamosal contact) from the inferred primitive condition seen in most Eopelobates to the more derived condition seen in extant Pelobates, but it is less informative for tracing the evolution of fossoriality, which is a key attribute of extant Pelobates.

TheIlyocyprispuzzle: A multidisciplinary approach to the study of phenotypic variability

Ilyocypris Brady and Norman (1889) is a widespread freshwater ostracod genus including about 30 living and 190 fossil species. The specific identification of the living Ilyocypris relies mainly on the appendages. An identification exclusively based on valves is rather complicated because of a high intraspecific variability of their characters in several species. This study aims to test the taxonomic significance of the valves characters through the examination of specimens unambiguously identified on the basis of their soft part morphology, in order to provide useful taxonomic criteria for the identification of Ilyocypris shells in fossil assemblages. Sixty-five ilyocypridid specimens collected in mainland Italy and surrounding islands were analyzed. The patterns of valve surface ornamentation and of marginal ripplets were examined by electron microscopy. Moreover, the geometric morphometric analysis of the valve outlines was performed. Sixty-two specimens could be easily accommodated in eight Ilyocypris species (I. bradyi, I. decipiens, I. getica, I. gibba, I. hartmanni, I. inermis, I. monstrifica, and I. salebrosa) according to the morphology of their appendages. Three additional specimens, with soft parts typical of Ilyocypris but clearly distinct valve morphology, were left in open nomenclature. Our results show that the outline analysis is often a valid tool to discriminate between different species. Conversely, valve ornamentation displays different degrees of intraspecific variability in some Ilyocypris species. The marginal ripplets are constant within each species population, but they do not always mirror the patterns reported by other authors; therefore, we do not consider them as reliable diagnostic character for specific determination. This study confirms that the identification of Ilyocypris species requires accurate description of appendages as well as external and internal carapace characteristics, and stresses the advantage of a combined neontological and paleontological investigation in solving taxonomic problems related to non-marine ostracods.

Amblyomma hadanii n. sp. (Acari: Ixodidae), a tick from northwestern Argentina previously confused with Amblyomma coelebs Neumann, 1899.

All stages of Amblyomma hadanii n. sp. (Acari: Ixodidae) are described from northwestern Argentina. The diagnostic characters for males are a combination of the pattern of scutal ornamentation, basis capituli dorsally rectangular with cornua, coxa I with two subequal spurs (the internal wider, the external longer), coxae II-III with a single spur, coxa IV with a single spur not reaching level of anus, ventral plates irregular in shape (larger and sometimes with a small incision on festoons 4, 5 and 6) and hypostome spatulate with dental formula 3/3 in 7-8 rows. The diagnostic characters for the females are a combination of scutal ornamentation, postero-lateral margins of scutum slightly convex, coxa I with two subequal spurs (the internal wider, the external longer), basis capituli dorsally rectangular, porose areas rounded, genital aperture U-shaped, and hypostome spatulate with dental formula 3/3 in 7-8 rows. Diagnosis of nymphs can be performed by a combination of basis capituli rectangular, scutum with large punctations in the lateral fields and small punctations in the central field, and cervical groove short and ending as a small shallow depression at the eye level. Larvae are diagnosed by the shape of basis capituli, scutum with with posterior margin slightly convex, and legs with coxa I with 2 triangular spur (the external longer than the internal), and with coxae II and III each with 1 triangular spur. The hosts recorded for this new tick species are Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus), horse, cattle, dog and humans. Analyses of a 410 bp fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene and the complete sequence of the nuclear 18S rRNA gene supported the description of A. hadanii as a new species.

Re-description of a putative Early Cretaceous “teleosaurid” from France, with implications for the survival of metriorhynchids and teleosaurids across the Jurassic-Cretaceous Boundary

Thalattosuchia was a diverse clade of marine crocodylomorphs known from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. Recent studies have hypothesized that their extinction was two-phased: (1) habitat loss near/at the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary heavily reduced their morphofunctional diversity, particularly in Europe, while (2) climate change and a shift in marine fauna during the Early Cretaceous (either at the Valanginian-Hauterivian boundary or during the early Hauterivian) finished off the already stressed clade. Unfortunately, the Cretaceous fossil record of thalattosuchians is poor, with only one putative “teleosaurid” specimen and approximately ten metriorhynchid specimens. Here we re-describe the youngest known teleosaurid from the Cretaceous (Valanginian of south-eastern France). Originally considered to be a teleosaurid (possibly Steneosaurus), we demonstrate that it belongs to Metriorhynchidae, and a newly discovered subclade, Plesiosuchina. It differs from Plesiosuchus in the pattern of tooth enamel ornamentation and the variation in dentary alveoli size. Referring this specimen to Metriorhynchidae means there are no definitive Cretaceous teleosaurid specimens. Furthermore, it suggests that both durophagous and piscivorous teleosaurids became extinct at the end of the Jurassic. Interestingly, this is the fourth metriorhynchid lineage known to cross the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary. As such, it would appear that the two thalattosuchian families responded very differently to the lowering sea levels at the end of the Jurassic: teleosaurids possibly became extinct, while metriorhynchids were seemingly unaffected.

Infantile Imagination and Infant Architectural Schools

Infant architectural education was built at last century on the fantasy and ornamental patterns. These methods produced attractive results, but were at the same time inducing some kind of modernistic art values in scholar training and infantile thinking. Nowadays afterpostmodern art and architecture are more distanced from playfulness and striving for critical and genetic-historical approach and thus are able to widen the scope of infantile imagination toward critical attitudes.

Artisan procedures to generate uniform tilings

This paper try to prove how artisans could discover all uniform tilings and very interesting others using artisanal combinatorial procedures without having to use mathematical procedures out of their reach. Plane Geometry started up his way through History by means of fundamental drawing tools: ruler and compass. Artisans used same tools to carry out their ornamental patterns but at some point they began to work manually using physical representations of figures or tiles previously drawing by means of ruler and compass. That is an important step for craftsman because this way provides tools that let him come in the world of symmetry operations and empirical knowledge of symmetry groups. Artisans started up to produce little wooden, ceramic or clay tiles and began to experiment with them by means of joining pieces whether edge to edge or vertex to vertex in that way so it can cover the plane without gaps. Economy in making floor or ceramic tiles could be most important reason to develop these procedures. This empiric way to develop tilings led not only to discover all uniform tilings but later discovering of aperiodic tilings.

Familiarity adds to attractiveness in matters of siskin mate choice

There is currently considerable controversy in evolutionary ecology revolving around whether social familiarity brings attraction when a female chooses a mate. The topic of familiarity is significant because by avoiding or preferring familiar individuals as mates, the potential for local adaptation may be reduced or favoured. The topic becomes even more interesting if we simultaneously analyse preferences for familiarity and sexual ornaments, because when familiarity influences female mating preferences, this could very significantly affect the strength of sexual selection on male ornamentation. Here, we have used mate-choice experiments in siskins Carduelis spinus to analyse how familiarity and patterns of ornamentation (i.e. the size of wing patches) interact to influence mating success. Our results show that females clearly prefer familiar individuals when choosing between familiar and unfamiliar males with similar-sized wing patches. Furthermore, when females were given the choice between a highly ornamented unfamiliar male and a less ornamented familiar male, half of the females still preferred the socially familiar birds as mates. Our finding suggests that male familiarity may be as important as sexual ornaments in affecting female behaviour in mate choice. Given that the potential for local adaptation may be favoured by preferring familiar individuals as mates, social familiarity as a mate-choice criterion may become a potential area of fruitful research on sympatric speciation processes.

A new form of Elongatoolithidae, Undulatoolithus pengi oogen. et oosp. nov. from Pingxiang, Jiangxi, China.

A new oogenus and oospecies of the Elongatoolithidae, Undulatoolithus pengi oogen. et oosp. nov., is described on the basis of specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Zhoutian Formation of the Pingxiang Basin, Jiangxi Province, China. The eggs are slightly asymmetrical, paired, and lay radially-oriented in a circular configuration within the clutch, and most suggestive of Macroolithus of the Elongatoolithidae by medium-sized eggs with average polar axis and equatorial diameter of 19.36 and 8.35 cm, and the ornamentation pattern of nodes and ridges on the outer surface. The new oogenus differs from Macroolithus in its prominent ridges 0.67 mm in height, about half of the entire eggshell thickness, gradational boundary between the cone layer and the overlying columnar layer, cone layer-to-columnar layer thickness ratio of 1/8 or 1/4. This discovery adds new data on the morphology and diversification of Late Cretaceous elongatoolithid ootaxa.

Hippeastrum species in areas of restinga in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: pollen characters

The order Asparagales comprises 14 families, five of which occur in Brazil. Amaryllidaceae is a family of economic relevance and includes numerous ornamental genera. The genus Hippeastrum is widely distributed in Brazil and comprises 34 species, 11 of which occur in areas of restinga (coastal woodland) and Atlantic Forest in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The morphology of Hippeastrum has not been extensively studied in Brazil, where only a few systematic floristic surveys have been carried out with native species. In field studies and reviews of herbarium collections, we identified five Hippeastrum species occurring in areas of restinga in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The five species identified could be distinguished according to the following palynological characteristics: pollen grain size, polarity, pollen units, shape, aperture (number and type), exine sculpture, colpus length and pattern of sexine ornamentation. Of the five species identified, Hippeastrum aulicum Herb. and H. glaucescens (Ker Gawl.) Herb. were not identified in the field. Among the three species that were found in the field, H. striatum had the widest distribution in the study area, whereas the distribution of H. reticulatum was restricted to a single area of restinga, in the Jacone district of the municipality of Saquarema. Through palynological examinations of specimens from herbaria in the state of Rio de Janeiro, we were able to confirm the identity of all five species of Hippeastrum studied. Our data represent a relevant contribution to increasing knowledge of this plant group in the region and will aid in future conservation efforts.

Morphology and viability of pollen grains from passion fruit species (Passiflora spp.)

The characterization and viability of pollen grains are useful tools to guide crosses in breeding programs. The objective of this study was to describe the morphological patterns and viability of pollen grains from five accessions of Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa O. Deg. and five accessions of Passiflora setacea DC. Pollen morphology descriptions were made using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, whereas the viability analysis was performed by in vitro germination and histochemical analysis (Lugol's solution and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride). Pollen grains assessed for germination were inoculated in culture medium containing Ca(NO3).4H2O (0.03%), Mg(SO4).7H2O (0.02%), KNO3 (0.01%), H3BO3 (0.01%), sucrose (15%) and agar (0.8%). Although P. edulis and P. setacea showed the same shape and type of pollen aperture, the two differed in terms of their morphology and exine ornamentation pattern. In vitro analysis showed that one of the P. edulis f. flavicarpa accessions (designated BGP 330) presented the highest germination rate (53.98%) and longest pollen tube (2.18 mm). The histochemical analysis overestimated pollen viability when compared with the in vitro results. The results of this study contribute to the breeding of Passiflora species by increasing the understanding of their morphology and pollen grain viability.

The mitonuclear compatibility hypothesis of sexual selection

Why females assess ornaments when choosing mates remains a central question in evolutionary biology. We hypothesize that the imperative for a choosing female to find a mate with nuclear oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) genes that are compatible with her mitochondrial OXPHOS genes drives the evolution of ornaments. Indicator traits are proposed to signal the efficiency of OXPHOS function thus enabling females to select mates with nuclear genes that are compatible with maternal mitochondrial genes in the formation of OXPHOS complexes. Species-typical pattern of ornamentation is proposed to serve as a marker of mitochondrial type ensuring that females assess prospective mates with a shared mitochondrial background. The mitonuclear compatibility hypothesis predicts that the production of ornaments will be closely linked to OXPHOS pathways, and that sexual selection for compatible mates will be strongest when genes for nuclear components of OXPHOS complexes are Z-linked. The implications of this hypothesis are that sexual selection may serve as a driver for the evolution of more efficient cellular respiration.