Queensland Museum Research Articles

Is spatial uniformity of soft-sediment biodiversity widespread and, if so, over what scales?

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 504:147-158 (2014) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10770 Is spatial uniformity of soft-sediment biodiversity widespread and, if so, over what scales? R. S. K. Barnes1,2,3,* 1School of Biological Sciences and Centre for Marine Science, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia 2Biodiversity Program, Queensland Museum (South Bank), South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia 3Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK *Corresponding author: r.barnes3@uq.edu.au ABSTRACT: Spatial variation in the components of faunal assemblages, but spatial uniformity of their biodiversity metrics, as described in 2013 for a seagrass bed in an estuarine bay in the warm-temperate Indian Ocean, is probably widespread in marine environments, and not restricted to seagrass habitats. Here, it is shown to occur across unvegetated siliceous sandflats as well as seagrass beds on a high-diversity but low-abundance subtropical island (North Stradbroke Island, Australia) in the South Pacific, and on a low-diversity but high-abundance cool-temperate island (Scolt Head Island, UK) in the North Atlantic. At the Australian locality, this uniform biodiversity but non-uniform faunal assemblage composistion were observed to extend over distances of at least 6.5 km in both habitat types. Unit areas as small as 0.0275 m2 in each system supported a statistically invariant percentage of the total species pool of that system (i.e. the system’s overall mean percentage constancy index at the spatial scale concerned). Further, assemblages in all localities showed very similar ranked species-constancy curves, even though the proportions of the total numbers comprised by the various species varied widely. It is therefore suggested that the factors structuring the macrofaunal assemblages in such soft-sediment habitats must be capable of promoting comparable systems of relative frequency of occurrence, regardless of local levels of faunal abundance and biodiversity. KEY WORDS: Biodiversity · Macrobenthos · Patchiness · Sandflat · Seagrass · Spatial constancy · Spatial occurrence · Spatial uniformity Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Barnes RSK (2014) Is spatial uniformity of soft-sediment biodiversity widespread and, if so, over what scales?. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 504:147-158. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10770 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 504. Online publication date: May 14, 2014 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2014 Inter-Research.

Trogidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) in forensic entomology: occurrence of known and new species in Queensland, Australia

During studies of necrophagous insect succession in pig carcases that were used as surrogates for human corpses, Trogidae were found to be fairly common at the carcases at a study site in south-eastern Queensland. During identification of the species, one of the regular visitors to the carcases was found to be undescribed. While comparing this new species, Omorgus (Omorgus) bachorum sp. nov., with material in the Queensland Museum, another new species, Omorgus (Omorgus) undaraensis sp. nov., was discovered, which we also describe. One new synonym, Omorgus incognitus Strümpher & Scholtz, 2011 syn. nov., is also proposed, bringing the total number of Australian species of Omorgus Erichson, 1847 to 57.

Cover

Caulerpa chemnitzia Esper growing on reef top at Day Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. Photo taken by Gary Cranitch, Queensland Museum. [Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 32–54]

Blood Flukes (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) of Elopomorphs: Emendation ofParacardicoloides, Supplemental Observations ofParacardicoloides yamagutii, and a New Genus and Species from Ladyfish,Elops saurus, (Elopiformes: Elopidae) in the Gulf of Mexico

Monotypic Paracardicoloides Martin, 1974 is emended based on supplemental observations of 2 voucher specimens of Paracardicoloides yamagutii Martin, 1974 . Features of the anterior sucker, esophagus, and intestine as well as the male and female genitalia previously attributed to, or omitted from the diagnosis and description of, this fluke are resolved and further detailed herein. The holotype of P. yamagutii, originally deposited in the Allan Hancock Parasitology Collection, apparently has been lost, and Queensland Museum voucher G222650 is designated as the neotype. Elopicola nolancribbi n. gen., n. sp. infects the ladyfish, Elops saurus , (Elopiformes: Elopidae) in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. The new genus resembles Paracardicoloides by having the combination of a bowl-shaped anterior sucker, inverse U-shaped intestine, short posterior ceca, post-cecal ovary, pre-ovarian ootype, compact uterus, and prominent excretory arms and vesicle. It differs from Paracardicoloides by lacking robust tegumental body spines and by having a single testis, post-testicular ovary, and primarily post-testicular uterus. The present study is the first confirmed report of an aporocotylid infecting a member of Elopiformes as well as the first report of an infection in an elopomorph outside of Australia and New Zealand or in marine waters.

The humerus of Ossinodus pueri, a stem tetrapod from the Carboniferous of Gondwana, and the early evolution of the tetrapod forelimb

Bishop, P.J., 2014. The humerus of Ossinodus pueri, a stem tetrapod from the Carboniferous of Gondwana, and the early evolution of the tetrapod forelimb. Alcheringa 38. ISSN 0311–5518.The humerus of the Carboniferous stem tetrapod Ossinodus pueri is described on the basis of a recently discovered specimen. Its exceptional preservation records abundant, direct evidence of muscle attachment in remarkable detail. The surface of the bone is covered with hundreds of fine, elongate, asymmetrical pits, which are interpreted as the attachment scars of individual muscle fascicles. Re-examination and further preparation of other, previously described pectoral appendicular elements of Ossinodus reveals that they too record direct evidence of muscle attachment. The patterns of scarring and inferred muscle attachment on the humerus and other bones are described and discussed. In turn, the pectoral musculoskeletal system of this animal is able to be reconstructed in detail, based on comparison to extant primitive tetrapods. In addition to providing an anatomical basis for biomechanical analysis of the locomotor capabilities of early tetrapods, this sheds much new light on the early evolution of the tetrapod forelimb. Importantly, most of the pectoral musculature of extant tetrapods appeared prior to the origin of the crown group, and much of this was present in primitive stem tetrapods such as Ossinodus.Peter J. Bishop [peter.bishop@qm.qld.gov.au], Ancient Environments Program, Queensland Museum, 122 Gerler Road, Hendra, Queensland 4011, Australia. Received 4.6.2013; revised 14.8.2013; accepted 22.10.2013.

An ancyloceratid ammonite from the Aptian Maryborough Formation, Queensland, Australia, and synonymy of Australiceras Whitehouse with Tropaeum Sowerby

McKENZIE, E.D., ROZEFELDS, A.C., DEACON, P., 2014. An ancycloceratid ammonite from the Aptian Maryborough Formation, Queensland, Australia, and synonymy of Australiceras Whitehouse with Tropaeum Sowerby. Alcheringa 38. ISSN 0311–5518.This first description and illustration of ammonites from the Maryborough Formation on Woody Island, Hervey Bay in Queensland shows that all known specimens are referable to Tropaeum jackii (Etheridge Jr 1880) comb. nov., for which a neotype is, herein, nominated to replace the missing lectotype. An analysis of comparative material from other eastern Australia Cretaceous basins, including the type specimens of Australiceras, illustrates that the variability of tuberculation can not be used to separate genera, nor species. Australiceras Whitehouse, 1926 is considered a junior synonym of Tropaeum J. de C. Sowerby. Two other Australiceras species are also transferred to Tropaeum; T. lampros (Etheridge Jr) comb. nov. and T. irregulare (Tenison Woods) comb. nov. The changing patterns, throughout ontogeny, of lateral rib densities (herein defined) and whorl shapes are useful for distinguishing these species. As the ammonites from the Maryborough Formation all fit within the present definition of Tropaeum jackii, and as this has been defined as a late Aptian taxon by faunal studies supported by extensive palynological work in adjacent Australian Cretaceous basins, the ammonites provide support for the assignment of a late Aptian age to this part of the formation.E.D. McKenzie [edmck@bigpond.com] and A.C. Rozefelds [andrew.rozefelds@qm.qld.gov.au] Queensland Museum, GPO Box 3300, South Brisbane, 4101, Queensland, Australia; Paula Deacon, [Paula.Deacon@dnrm.qld.gov.au] Geological Survey of Queensland, Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM), PO Box 15216, City East, 4002, Queensland, Australia. Received 24.12.2012, revised 14.10.2013; accepted 28.10.2013.

“A Centre of Scientific Work”: Ronald Hamlyn-Harris and ethnography at the Queensland Museum 1910–17

Ronald Hamlyn-Harris served as director of the Queensland Museum in the early twentieth century. Under his directorship, the museum underwent many institutional changes – the most notable being in the areas of anthropology and ethnography. Driven by Hamlyn-Harris's personal interest, the study of Queensland's Aboriginal populations became central to the museum practices, as he oversaw the highpoint in collecting, researching and displaying cultural materials. His influence is particularly evident in the changing displays, public engagement strategies and scientific publications.

Morphological comparisons of metacarpal I for Australovenator wintonensis and Rapator ornitholestoides: implications for their taxonomic relationships

WHITE, M.A., FALKINGHAM, P.L., COOK, A.G., HOCKNULL, S.A. & ELLIOTT, D.A., 2013. Morphological comparisons of metacarpal I for Australovenator wintonensis and Rapator ornitholestoides: implications for their taxonomic relationships. Alcheringa 37, 1 - 7. ISSN 0311-5518.Various comparisons of left metacarpal I of the Australovenator wintonensis holotype have been made with Rapator ornitholestoides. These specimens were identified as being morphologically more similar than either was to that of the neovenatorid Megaraptor namunhuaiquii. Owing to the poor preservation of A. wintonensis and R. ornitholestoides, distinct morphological separation between the two appeared minimal. The recent discovery of a near perfectly preserved right metacarpal I of A. wintonensis enables a direct and accurate comparison with R. ornitholestoides. Distinct morphological differences exist between the metacarpals of the two species. A re-evaluation of the age of the A. wintonensis holotype site (AODL 85 ‘Matilda Site’) with zircon dating reveals a maximum age of 95 Ma, 10 Ma younger than the Griman Creek Formation at Lightning Ridge, from which R. ornitholestoides was recovered. This age difference detracts from the probability that the specimens belong to the same genus.Matt A. White∗ [fossilised@hotmail.com], School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales 2308, Australia; Peter L. Falkingham† [pfalkingham@rvc.ac.uk], Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Structure and Motion Laboratory, Royal Veterinary College, London, UK; Alex G. Cook [alex.cook@y7mail.com] and Scott A. Hocknull [scott.hocknull@qm.qld.gov.au], Ancient environments, Queensland Museum, Hendra, Queensland, 4011, Australia; David A. Elliott [david.elliott@aaod.com.au], Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, The Jump Up, Winton, Queensland, 4735, Australia. ∗Also affiliated with Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, The Jump Up, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia. †Also affiliated with Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, USA. Received 22.9.2012; revised 13.1.2013; accepted 17.1.2013.

New species of <i>Anabarhynchus</i> Macquart (Diptera: Therevidae) from arid and monsoon tropical Australia

Anabarhynchus Macquart (1848) is a species-rich gen of therevine Therevidae, with over 90 species described from Aus-tralia alone. Over the past two decades, extensive and intensive malaise trap surveys have revealed that the continent con-tains many additional species to the previous 94 species known; making that genus one of the most species-rich therevid genera in the world. Specimens of these new species are deposited in Australian collections, notably the Australian Mu-seum (AM), Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC), and the Queensland Museum (QM). Here we describe, diag-nose and illustrate ten new species in the genus Anabarhynchus as follows: Anabarhynchus doncollessi sp. n., Anabarhynchus ewamin sp. n., Anabarhynchus lyneborgi sp. n., Anabarhynchus parilus sp. n., Anabarhynchus parkeri sp. n., Anabarhynchus pilbara sp. n., Anabarhynchus ravenshoensis sp. n., Anabarhynchus shiptonsflatensis sp. n., Ana-barhynchus tribulationensis sp. n., Anabarhynchus weipaensis sp. n. These new species add to the faunas known from arid and monsoon tropical Australia.

Socially practical or practically unsociable? A study into social media policy experiences in Queensland cultural heritage institutions

With an online presence now paramount, many libraries, archives and museums have created, or are looking to create, a social media policy; one that will dictate an accepted level of interaction and outline how practitioners within these cultural heritage institutions use social media. But is the use of social media policy in direct defiance of the purpose of social media? And more importantly, is it practical for cultural heritage institutions to have one? This paper aims to answer these questions by reporting on the results of a study into the social media policy experiences of practitioners at the State Library of Queensland, Queensland State Archives and Queensland Museum. Findings from this study indicate that it is practical for cultural heritage institutions to have a social media policy if it inspires confidence, empowers practitioners, and encourages them to use social media.

The Queensland Museum Expedition to Ngiangu (Booby Island): Rock art, archaeology and inter-regional interaction in South-Western Torres Strait

In 1985 and 1990 a Queensland Museum research team visited the island of Ngiangu (Booby Island) to carry out investigations into the island’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous archaeology. Forming the western boundary of Kaurareg traditional country, this small rocky island is an integral part of Kaurareg identity, and is well-known in maritime archaeology circles as a haven for European mariners shipwrecked while transiting the Strait. The research team, led by the late Ron Coleman, undertook rock art recording (including European historical writing), limited archaeological excavations, geological research and collected material culture objects from numerous shoreline caves. This paper reports on the archaeological outcomes of this project and reassesses earlier interpretations of the rock art record in the context of inter-regional interaction. The results indicate that cultural markers associated with the island reflect a local Kaurareg identity, as well as broader regional interaction with neighbouring Torres Strait Islander and Cape York Aboriginal groups.

<i>Neotropacarus bakeri</i> (Collyer, 1967) rediscovered (Sarcoptiformes: Acaridae)

Systematic & Applied Acarology entered a new chapter in its development in 2011 (Zhang 2011), including the introduction of a colour cover which has received positive responses from authors and readers. To continue this, we invite authors to send us good colour images of mites for consideration of publication on the cover. There is no fee for publication of cover images and this presents an excellent opportunity for authors as colour images are normally expensive and difficult to publish elsewhere. From this issue, we initiate a series of short correspondence for the story behind the cover image. We welcome future authors to submit a paragraph or two about the images. The images featured on the cover of this issue show the interesting clustering behaviour of Neotropacarus bakeri (Collyer, 1967) on leaves of karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus; Corynocarpaceae) in Auckland, New Zealand. This mite species was first described by Collyer (1967), but there have been no subsequent reports since. Collyer (1967) reported this mite from 16 species of plants in the north of the South Island and also various parts of the North Island. The record from karaka is a new host record. Collyer (1967) noted that this species “lives in compact colonies comprising a central cluster of eggs surrounded by immatures and adults orientated with their bodies facing inwards” (see cover images). Her observations—that these mites “are usually on the ventral leaf surface, often in slight hollows, and the groups are widely scattered”—are confirmed in this study. It was also observed that wandering immature mites and adults, when placed on a new leaf, formed new clusters on the lower leaf surface. Cunliffe (1964) stated that the type species of this genus, N. mumai, is fungivorous. We also observed N. bakeri breeding on fungi cultured on PDA inoculated with small pieces of karaka leaves. Acknowledgements. I thank Dr Nick Martin (Landcare Research, Auckland) for collecting the karaka leaves on which N. bakeri was rediscovered, Dr Qinghai Fan (Ministry for Primary Industries, Auckland) for identifying the mite species and Dr Owen Seeman (Queensland Museum, Australia) for comments.

Sydney B.J. Skertchly and the Early History of Pleistocene Archaeology at the Queensland Museum

In 2012 the Queensland Museum (QM) will be one hundred and fifty years old, the third oldest museum in Australia. Interestingly, the QM was probably the first museum in the country to begin to support, but not the first to ignore (or even suppress?), what we would consider today as something approaching prehistoric scientific archaeological research.

Emwadea microcarpa gen. et sp. nov.—anatomically preserved araucarian seed cones from the Winton Formation (late Albian), western Queensland, Australia

Dettmann, M.E., Clifford, H.T., Peters, M., June 2012. Emwadea microcarpa gen. et sp. nov.—anatomically preserved araucarian seed cones from the Winton Formation (late Albian), western Queensland, Australia. Alcheringa, 217–237. ISSN 0311-5518. A new genus and species, Emwadea microcarpa Dettmann, Clifford & Peters, is established for ovulate/seed cones with helically arranged cone scales bearing a centrally positioned, inverted ovule from the basal Winton Formation (late Albian), Eromanga Basin, Queensland. The cones are small, prolate ellipsoidal (9.5–14 mm vertical axis, 6.3–8.7 mm transverse axis) with wedge-shaped cone scales bearing winged seeds attached adaxially to the scale only by tissues surrounding the vasculature entering the ovule. Ovuliferous tissue that is free from the cone scale extends distally from the chalaza; the seeds' lateral wings are derived from the integument. Foliage attached to the cones is spirally arranged, imbricate and with spreading and incurved bifacial blades with acute tips; stomata are arranged in longitudinal files and are confined to the adaxial surface. The cone organization testifies to placement within the Araucariaceae, and is morphologically more similar to Wollemia and Agathis than to Araucaria. Mary Dettmann [mary.dettmann@qm.qld.gov.au] and Trevor Clifford, Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, Q 4101, Australia; Mark Peters, PO Box 366 Gumeracha, SA 5233, Australia. Received 31.3.2011; revised 23.8.2011; accepted 5.9.2011.

Designation of a lectotype for Pseudoceros kylie Newman & Cannon, 1998 (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida, Pseudocerotidae)

Recently, we have been examining the literature relevant to Australian “Turbellaria” (Phylum Platyhelminthes) and have noticed that there was an omission in the paper of Newman & Cannon (1998). In this work, Newman & Cannon proposed several new species of Pseudoceros Lang, 1884. There appears to have been an oversight in the typification of one species, Pseudoceros kylie Newman & Cannon, 1998, in that no types were officially designated. Here we recommend new types, which we propose to designate as lectotype and paralectotypes, based on the material examined by Newman & Cannon in their description. All of this material is deposited currently in the Queensland Museum, Australia.

Three new synonyms among Australian Thripinae (Insecta: Thysanoptera)

The North American entomologist, A.A. Girault, arrived in Australia in late 1911 at the age of 28, to take up an appointment as economic entomologist to the Queensland Bureau of Sugar Experimental Stations near Cairns. He published extensively on the taxonomy of Australian parasitic Hymenoptera, but achieved particular notoriety through issuing a series of 63 privately published papers before his death in 1941. Gordh et al. (1979), in reproducing facsimile editions of each of these papers, provided an extensive overview of Girault’s life and opinions, many of which were expressed outrageously on a wide range of topics. In these papers Girault made available over 900 new species-group names, mostly Hymenoptera but with 139 that applied to Australian Thysanoptera. Unfortunately, the identity of these species has been a continuing problem. The publications include no biological information. Most species were described in three or four lines from single, often damaged specimens, and distinguished from each other on colour rather than structure. The original slide preparations are available in the Queensland Museum, Brisbane, but these are remarkably poor, with cover glasses broken, labels inadequate and scarcely legible, and many bearing multiple species. As a result of extensive studies on the Australian thrips fauna over the past 50 years, 77 of the 139 Girault Thysanoptera names are now placed into synonymy, including two new synonyms discussed below. The purpose of this note is to establish the nomenclatural validity of these synonyms, according to the Code of Zoological Nomenclature, so that they can be included in an expanded web-based account of Australian Terebrantia (Mound et al. 2012).

Magic Moments: Contextualising Cinema Advertising Slides from the Queensland Museum Collection

The Queensland Museum's eclectic State Collection holds an extensive range of photographic and moving image equipment, as well as a collection of slides and photographs that tells all manner of stories about the history of Queensland. This collection goes back to the earliest technologies, such as daguerreotypes and hand-drawn magic lantern slides, and extends through to a digital image repository. Included in this collection are two captivating series of cinema advertising slides used at the Wintergarden cinemas in Maryborough and Ipswich during the 1940s and 1950s. These slides simultaneously illuminate a history of entertainment and cinema-going, a history of image technologies and the histories of the advertised products and events pertinent to regional Queenslanders at this time.

Anthony Alder (1838–1915), Queensland taxidermist and bird painter

Anthony Alder was born into a family of taxidermists and naturalists and was a talented and dedicated taxidermist and bird painter. He first visited Queensland in the 1860s collecting natural history specimens in remote Cape York Peninsula at the beginning of settlement there. He returned to England to carry on the family taxidermy business, but returned to Queensland in 1875 and established as a taxidermist in Brisbane. Except for a short period as a hotel proprietor, Alder operated continuously as a commercial taxidermist until 1907 when he achieved his long-held wish to be employed as taxidermist in the Queensland Museum. He exhibited his taxidermic work widely at the Queensland stands of major international exhibitions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the exhibits generally characterized by his penchant for the dramatic and the anthropocentric. The style and design of his oil paintings of Queensland birds are reflective of his taxidermic perspective, either as anthropocentric expressions of bird personalities, or as museum displays of bird diversity. Alder was the only significant local painter of Queensland birds in the late nineteenth century and his work is not only of historical significance, but is also aesthetically appealing in the richness of its colour and the taxidermic basis of its design.

Additions to the genus Phycomenes Bruce, 2008 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Pontoniinae)

The genus Phycomenes was recently described by Bruce (2008)) for a small sea-grass inhabiting shrimp, Phycomenes zostericola Bruce, 2008, from south-east Queensland, Australia. The close similarity of this species to Periclimenes indicus (Kemp 1915) was noted. Subsequently specimens of Kemp’s species from the type locality, Chilka Lake, Orissa, India, were examined and the most characteristic features of the genus Phycomenes were found to be present, i.e., a transverse triangular median process on the fourth thoracic sternite and the greatly reduced size of the second pereiopods in comparison with other Periclimenes species, with a very well developed ocular ocellus. Periclimenes indicus is therefore transferred to the genus Phycomenes Bruce. Periclimenes cobourgi Bruce & Coombes, 1995 has also been noted as closely similar to Periclimenes indicus, showing the same major features and should also be considered as congeneric with Phycomenes zostericola. Similarly, examination of specimens of Periclimenes sulcatus Ďuriš, Horká, & Marin, 2008, and P. siankaanensis Martínez-Mayén, & Román-Contreras, 2006, kindly donated by Dr Zdenek Ďuriš and Dr Mario Martinez-Mayén to the Queensland Museum, Brisbane, show the same features and should be similarly placed in the genus Phycomenes. Martínez-Mayén and Román-Contreras (2006) considered P. siankaanensis to be a member of the “iridescens” species complex, including also P. iridescens Lebour, 1949, P. platalea Holthuis, 1951, P. antipathophilus Holthuis & Eibl-Eibesfeldt, 1964, P. patae Heard & Spotte, 1991, and P. mclellandi Heard & Spotte, 1997. Periclimenes platalea has recently been removed from this complex and placed in the genus Rapipontonia Marin by Marin (2007). No examples of these species have been examined but it seems likely that some may possibly be better placed in Phycomenes. Some of these taxa have been reported as associates of coelenterate hosts rather than from sea-grass habitat, but such a coelenterate association has also been reported in the case of the holotype specimen of P. cobourgi found on a gorgonian host. The specimens of P. indicus were kindly donated by the Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta (ZSI). The specimens examined are deposited in the collections of the Northern Territory Museum, Darwin (NTM) and Queensland Museum, Brisbane (QM).

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