Members of the clade Trichophora (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomomorpha) have trichobothria on their abdominal sterna. There is no comparative study of the fine structure of abdominal trichobothria in the group and until now the trichobothria of their immatures were virtually unknown. The fine structure of the abdominal trichobothrial complex (= the trichobothrium and its associated structures) of adults of 98 species belonging to 25 families in 5 superfamilies and larvae of 7 species belonging to 7 families in 2 superfamilies of Trichophora were examined using scanning electron microscopy. This study indicates that the fine structure of the abdominal trichobothria is very variable and useful for determining evolutionary lineages within the clade. Six types of bothria, three of trichomes and three of microtrichia are recognized and their evolutionary transformations discussed. Changes in the size of trichomes, and density and size of the microtrichia during the postembryonic development of selected species are discussed.
One of the leaved out fault active systems at Southern Moravian can be considered the so called Diendorf - Čebín tectonic zone (DCTZ), that is seismically active in its southern segment (in Austrian). The Waitzendorf fault is a part of the DCTZ, with intensive morphological signs. The terrain recognizance along the eastern margin of the Dyje Dome confirmed many indi cations showing evidence of geodynamic activity. The facets, old land slides and rock falls indicate recent activity in the environs of Znojmo area. The paper offers interpretation of the geodetic results (GPS) using morphological and geophysical data from all area of the DCTZ ., Lubomil Pospíšil, Pavel Roštínský, Otakar Švábenský, Josef Weigel and Michal Witiska., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Gekkotan lizards are widely distributed in tropical regions and extend into more northern regions in Asia and Europe. Unfortunately, gekkotans lack significant fossil record and many aspects of their evolutionary biology are still poorly understood. Our study provides the first information about occurrence of this group in the Czech Republic. The fossil material comes from the Lower Miocene sediments (MN 3) of the locality Merkur-North. All the gekkonid bones can be assigned to the family Sphaerodactylidae and represent a single taxon, Euleptes gallica. This taxon was previously known only from the French locality Montaigu (zone MN 2), and thus our study extends its stratigraphic and geographic range.
Hybridisation between introduced and native species is an increasingly important issue concerning environmental stakeholders because it decreases genetic integrity of native stocks. However, hybridisation could also happen between non-native species even if these species belong to different genera. Our study illustrates this particular aspect of alien species invasion with the attempt of artificial hybridisation between sunbleak Leucaspius delineatus and topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva, both recent additions to the freshwater fish fauna of England. The crossed fertilisation of L. delineatus ova with P. parva sperm lead to viable eggs with a very high hatching rate of 86% although hybrids failed to develop beyond the 1st larval step. Early morphological development of these hybrids was quantified and compared to the early development of the pure bred species.
Taxonomic analyses of four Sabanejewia balcanica populations from Croatia included morphological (morphometric, meristic, phenotypical) and mitochondrial DNA analyses. Comparative analyses of 24 morphometric characters revealed some differences between populations. The specimens from the Drava River are significantly larger than specimens from other populations, whereas the individuals from the Voćinska River represent the smallest European S. balcanica specimens. Due to similarities in morphometric ratios, in the Tree Diagram of Euclidean distances, the Drava and Petrinjčica Rivers populations formed a separate cluster, while the populations from the Rijeka and Voćinska Rivers formed a second cluster. These morphometrical differences are also corroborated by t-test results. Differences among fishes from different populations also exist in external morphology characters, such as spots on the caudal peduncle and the position of the suborbital spine. Mitochondrial DNA analyses enabled us to infer the phylogenetic placement of four Croatian populations within the genus Sabanejewia. All Croatian samples clustered within the two sublineages of the Danubian-Balkanian complex. Samples from the Voćinska River, as well as one sample from the Drava River were included in the “S. balcanica” (VI) sublineage. The remaining samples, including the two remaining haplotypes from the Drava River, were comprised within “S.montana-S.bulgarica-S.balcanica” (III) sublineage.
The larval and juvenile development was compared between Lefua echigonia and Lefua sp., both endemic and endangered species in Japan. L. echigonia larvae collected in sunny wetlands were planktonic and swam in the middle to upper layers in lentic waters, whereas L. sp. larvae swam with their abdomen facing toward the substrate along the river bottom in well shaded waters of mountain streams. Larvae and juveniles of both species have a distinct dark band on the lateral side of snout. L. echigonia larvae have melanophores on the dorsal body, gut region, and around the lateral midline, whereas melanophores distribute broadly on the body in L. sp. larvae. Eyes are located more dorsally in larvae of L. sp.: in the ventral view of the head, the eyes of L. echigonia larvae could be seen, but those of L. sp. larvae could not be seen. L. echigonia larvae and juveniles have relatively large eyes and eye diameters were larger than the snout lengths. Lefua sp. larvae and juveniles have relatively small eyes and eye diameters were smaller than the snout lengths. These characters of melanophore distribution, eye size, and eye location are concluded to show adaptation for each habitat.
The variability of morphological characters was studied in a population of spined loach from Klawój Lake karyologically identified as a pure diploid C. taenia (2n = 48). 24 metric features were used to calculate correlation coefficients and linear regressions to determine the relationships between metric features with total length. As regards 11 meristic features, females had more lateral and predorsal spots than males. Statistically significant differences between males and females were also found in mean values of 15 metric indices. Age variability in the shape of the lamina circularis of males was revealed.
Among populations of the Miniopterus bats of western Palaearctic, intraspecific variation has not been well documented. Herein we investigate sexual and age variation of these populations using two approaches – linear and geometric morphometrics. We analysed Moroccan (M. maghrebesnis), western and eastern European (M. schreibersii), Levantine (M. schreibersii), and east-Afghanistani (M. cf. fuliginosus) specimens; variation was compared between sexes of the particular specimen sets of three above mentioned Miniopterus spp. and between four age cohorts of
M. schreibersii samples. The results showed in all examined population sets males to be generally larger in size than females, the exception being the east-European animals. Significatly the most divergent sexes were those from eastern Afghanistan, the Levant and eastern Europe. The differences found between sexes in as well as between examined population sets can
be attributed to different life histories and/or to food competition. Weak correlations between patterns of sexual dimorphism and the newly proposed western Palaearctic classification of the Miniopterus bats suggest only a limited contribution of sexual variation to morphological variation in general. Certain aspects of age variaton were found in all examined morphological characters except the non-metric traits, which in turn indicates the importance of these traits for identification of the particular taxon across age categories.
Long-eared bats of the genus Plecotus are widespread over most of temperate Eurasia, marginally reaching the African continent and Macaronesia. Previously, all African populations were assigned to one species, P. auritus, and later to P. austriacus. We analysed museum specimens of African long-eared bat populations using both morphologic and genetic techniques. Based on morphological evidence we recognise four well-defined allopatric populations in northern Africa. They differ in fur coloration, skull morphology and bacular traits. The molecular data support a division of the African populations into at least three well-separated evolutionary lineages. With a combination of these data we define three species of Plecotus occurring in Africa (incl. the Canary Islands) and describe a new subspecies. Small, very pale greyish-brown Egyptian long-eared bats (P. christii Gray, 1838) inhabit desert and semi-deserts habitats of eastern Sahara (Libyan Desert, Nile Valley of Egypt and northern Sudan). Smaller to medium-sized, dark brown Ethiopian long-eared bats (P. balensis Kruskop et Lavrenchenko, 2000) inhabit the Ethiopian Highlands above 2000 metres a. s. l. This form represents the only Afro-tropical species of Plecotus. Large, dark greyish Canarian long-eared bats (P. teneriffae teneriffae Barret-Hamilton, 1907) occur on the three western islands of the Canarian Archipelago. A medium-sized greyish-brown Gaisler’s long-eared bat, P. teneriffae gaisleri subsp. n., is described from the Mediterranean region of Cyrenaica, north-eastern Libya. Due to the lack of substantial morphological differences we preliminarily consider the Maghrebian population of long-eared bats to be consubspecific with P. teneriffae gaisleri subsp. n. The systematic position of the population of Cape Verde Islands remains uncertain.
The genus Gobio in Italy was represented by the endemic species G. benacensis. The original distribution of this species was the Padano-Venetian district, but since a long time it was introduced in central Italy. Introductions of alien species to Italy during the last 10 years brought the sudden introduction of the Danubian G. gobio. Genetic and morphological analyses revealed the extensive presence of G. gobio, which rapidly colonised several rivers in Italy causing the progressive decline of G. benacensis, which now should be considered as an endangered species. Among examined populations those found in the Tagliamento River and transplanted in the Ombrone River represent genetic reservoirs of this species which will probably disappear in northern Italy.