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Full-Text Articles in Evolution

Five New Species Of Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) From Albania, Greece, North Macedonia, And Serbia, František Kovařík, František Šťáhlavský Jul 2020

Five New Species Of Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) From Albania, Greece, North Macedonia, And Serbia, František Kovařík, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

Five new species are described: Euscorpius bonacinai sp. n. (Albania), E. janstai sp. n. (North Macedonia), E. kabateki sp. n. (Greece), E. sadileki sp. n. (Serbia), and E. scheraboni sp. n. (Greece), fully complemented with color photographs. New species are distinguished from all other species of the genus on the basis of five taxonomic characters. Two other new characters, shape of the pedipalp chela fingers and number of chromosomes, are presented and discussed. In addition to the analyses of external morphology, we also describe karyotypes of two species: E. janstai sp. n. (2n=112) and E. sadileki sp. n. (2n=90).


Avoiding Anthropocentrism In Evolutionarily Inclusive Ethics, Simon Fitzpatrick Jul 2020

Avoiding Anthropocentrism In Evolutionarily Inclusive Ethics, Simon Fitzpatrick

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell are to be commended for challenging the “invertebrate dogma” that invertebrates are unworthy of ethical concern. However, developing an evolutionarily inclusive ethics requires facing some of the more radical implications of rejecting hierarchical scala naturae and human-centered conceptions of the biological world. In particular, we need to question the anthropocentric assumptions that still linger in discussions like these.


Zones Of Precaution, Jonathan Birch Jul 2020

Zones Of Precaution, Jonathan Birch

Animal Sentience

My commentary focusses on Mikhalevich & Powell’s criticisms of the Animal Sentience Precautionary Principle. I emphasize the pragmatic nature of my rationale for proposing that, rather than extending the scope of animal welfare protection on a species-by-species basis, we should be willing to protect entire Linnaean orders on the basis of evidence from a single species.


Brain Complexity, Sentience And Welfare, Donald M. Broom Jul 2020

Brain Complexity, Sentience And Welfare, Donald M. Broom

Animal Sentience

Neither sentience nor moral standing is confined to animals with large or human-like brains. Invertebrates deserve moral consideration. Definition of terms clarifies the relationship between sentience and welfare. All animals have welfare but humans give more protection to sentient animals. Humans should be less human-centred.


Invertebrate Cognition, Sentience And Biology, Georges Chapouthier Jul 2020

Invertebrate Cognition, Sentience And Biology, Georges Chapouthier

Animal Sentience

All animal species have adapted for survival and no species is superior overall. For cognitive capacities and sentience, invertebrates such as the octopus, although quite unlike vertebrates, can achieve similar performance levels. So can other invertebrates with small brains; hence they too, as sentient beings, deserve moral consideration from humans. How are we to identify these species? Only though a detailed analysis of their behavior. The decision, which is a moral judgment, depends on biological knowledge that still needs to be acquired.


Convergent Evolution Of Sentience?, Culum Brown Prof. Jul 2020

Convergent Evolution Of Sentience?, Culum Brown Prof.

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell make a compelling case that some invertebrates may be sentient and that our moral obligations in the context of welfare should hence extend to them. Although the case is similar to that made for fishes, there is one obvious difference in that examples of invertebrate sentience probably arose independently from vertebrate sentience. We have unequivocal proof that complex cognition arose multiple times over evolutionary history. Given that cognition is our best tool for indirectly quantifying sentience, it seems highly likely that this multiple polygenesis may also have occurred for sentience. In acknowledging this, we must accept that …


Notes On The Diet And Reproduction Of The Bark Scorpion Centruroides Gracilis (Scorpiones: Buthidae) On Utila Island, Honduras, Anna M. Davison, Tom W. Brown, Cristina Arrivillaga Jul 2020

Notes On The Diet And Reproduction Of The Bark Scorpion Centruroides Gracilis (Scorpiones: Buthidae) On Utila Island, Honduras, Anna M. Davison, Tom W. Brown, Cristina Arrivillaga

Euscorpius

The brown bark scorpion Centruroides gracilis (Latreille, 1804) (Buthidae) is an abundant and widespread species, however, fairly little is known about its ecology and natural history. We include several observations from Utila Island, Honduras, that expand on the known literature regarding the diet and reproductive behavior of C. gracilis. We report several prey items for this opportunistic species, which include invertebrates such as spiders (including tarantulas), centipedes, katydids, and crickets; as well as a case of cannibalism between two adult females C. gracilis. We suggest that such cannibalism may be driven by high population densities and/or strong intraspecific …


Minds, Morality And Midgies, Brian Key, Deborah Brown Jul 2020

Minds, Morality And Midgies, Brian Key, Deborah Brown

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell argue that the exclusion of the vast majority of arthropods from moral standing is unwarranted, particularly given the purported evidence for cognition and sentience in these organisms. The implied association between consciousness and moral standing is questionable and their assumption that rich forms of cognition and flexible behavior are dependent on phenomenal consciousness needs to be reconsidered in light of current neuroscientific evidence. We conclude by proposing a neural algorithmic approach for deciphering whether organisms are capable of subjective experience.


A New Lesser Antillean Scorpion Of The Genus Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905 (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae), Rolando Teruel, Karl Questel Jul 2020

A New Lesser Antillean Scorpion Of The Genus Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905 (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae), Rolando Teruel, Karl Questel

Euscorpius

A new species of the diplocentrid scorpion of the genus Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905 is herein described from the Lesser Antillean island of Martinique. It long remained misidentified as Didymocentrus lesueurii (Gervais, 1844), the only species of this genus inhabiting the adjacent island of Saint Lucia. The direct comparison of adults of both sexes from these two islands revealed solid morphological characters, which warrant their recognition as two different taxa. Each one is endemic from a single major island, where it is widespread even in its satellite islets. This addition raises the known composition of the genus to 12 species, 10 …


Six New Species Of Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 From Iran (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Shahrokh Navidpour Jul 2020

Six New Species Of Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 From Iran (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Shahrokh Navidpour

Euscorpius

Six new scorpion species from Iran, Orthochirus hormozganensis sp. n. (Hormozgan Province), O. kermanensis sp. n. (Kerman Province), O. kucerai sp. n. (Kerman Province), O. masihipouri sp. n. (Bushehr Province), O. semnanensis sp. n. (Semnan Province), and O. vignolii sp. n. (Yazd Province) are described, compared with other Iranian Orthochirus species, and fully illustrated with color photographs. A key and a distribution map of Orthochirus of Iran, Turkey, and Iraq (18 species) are included.


Scorpions Of Puerto Rico And Its Satellite Islands (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Diplocentridae): An Аnnotated List, Key For Genera, And Bibliography, Luis De Armas May 2020

Scorpions Of Puerto Rico And Its Satellite Islands (Scorpiones: Buthidae, Diplocentridae): An Аnnotated List, Key For Genera, And Bibliography, Luis De Armas

Euscorpius

An annotated list of the scorpions of Puerto Rico and its satellite islands (mainly Vieques, Culebra, Caja de Muertos, Magueyes, Desecheo, and Mona), a key for the seven genera present in those insular territories, a key for the three species of Microtityus, and the basic bibliography on taxonomy and natural history are provided. Of the 16 confirmed species described from these Greater Antillean islands, four are known only from a single sex and only one or two adult specimens. Seven species (six of them from the genus Tityus), are endemic to the Puerto Rico Island; Vieques has two …


A New Species Of Isometrus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Southern India, Shauri Sulakhe, Nikhil Dandekar, Shomen Mukherjee, Malay Pandey, Makarand Ketkar, Anand Padhye, Deshabhushan Bastawade May 2020

A New Species Of Isometrus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Southern India, Shauri Sulakhe, Nikhil Dandekar, Shomen Mukherjee, Malay Pandey, Makarand Ketkar, Anand Padhye, Deshabhushan Bastawade

Euscorpius

A new species of Isometrus (Buthidae) is described from India using integrated taxonomic approach. Isometrus kovariki sp. n. is closely related to I. thurstoni, and differs in morphological features and raw genetic divergence of more than 9%.


Anchialine Biodiversity In The Turks And Caicos Islands: New Discoveries And Current Faunal Composition, Brett C. Gonzalez, Alejandro Martínez, Jørgen Olesen, Sarit B. Truskey, Lauren Ballou, Marc Allentoft-Larsen, Joost Daniels, Paul Heinerth, Mark Parrish, Naqqi Manco, Jon Ward, Thomas M. Iliffe, Karen J. Osborn, Katrine Worsaae May 2020

Anchialine Biodiversity In The Turks And Caicos Islands: New Discoveries And Current Faunal Composition, Brett C. Gonzalez, Alejandro Martínez, Jørgen Olesen, Sarit B. Truskey, Lauren Ballou, Marc Allentoft-Larsen, Joost Daniels, Paul Heinerth, Mark Parrish, Naqqi Manco, Jon Ward, Thomas M. Iliffe, Karen J. Osborn, Katrine Worsaae

International Journal of Speleology

Lying at the southernmost point of the Lucayan Archipelago, the Turks and Caicos Islands are amongst the better studied localities for anchialine cave biodiversity. For nearly five decades, novel invertebrate fauna, comprised primarily of crustaceans, have been collected from these tidally influenced pools – but new findings are always on the horizon. Herein we present new records of crustaceans and annelids from anchialine blue holes and horizontal caves of the Turks and Caicos. These findings include two potentially new species of meiofaunal annelids and a new species of remipede collected from a shallow water cave pool. Our 2019 expedition additionally …


Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xxiv. Leiurus (Buthidae), With Description Of Leiurus Gubanensis Sp. N., František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe May 2020

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xxiv. Leiurus (Buthidae), With Description Of Leiurus Gubanensis Sp. N., František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe

Euscorpius

New data are presented on the distribution of the genus Leiurus Ehrenberg, 1828 in the Horn of Africa, Somaliland, acquired during expeditions in 2011–2019. Leiurus gubanensis sp. n. is described from the Guban area, an extremely warm and dry place. The description is fully complemented with color photographs of live and preserved specimens, as well as of their habitats. This increases the known diversity of the genus to 14 species.


Another New Species Of Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 From The Caves Of Croatia And Bosnia-Herzegovina (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), With Notes On Biogeography And Cave Ecology, Gioele Tropea, Roman Ozimec May 2020

Another New Species Of Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 From The Caves Of Croatia And Bosnia-Herzegovina (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), With Notes On Biogeography And Cave Ecology, Gioele Tropea, Roman Ozimec

Euscorpius

Another new, subtroglophile scorpion species is described from Croatia, Euscorpius biokovensis sp. n. It is morphologically and ecologically similar to E. feti Tropea, 2013 but can be distinguished from the latter by a lower number of trichobothria (Pv = 8–9, with mostly 8, and usually et = 6) and pectinal teeth (usually Dp = 7 in males and 6 in females). The new species also has a more northern distribution although in some areas the two species overlap. E. biokovensis sp. n. has been found in more than 20 caves in Croatia, which makes it the most common Euscorpius species …


Encephalization In Commensal Raccoons: A Unique Test Of The Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis, Peter M. Anderson May 2020

Encephalization In Commensal Raccoons: A Unique Test Of The Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis, Peter M. Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated selective pressures associated with encephalization in mammals and discussed broader implications. Relative brain size as measured by EQ (Encephalization Quotient) was compared between ecological categories. Omnivores had higher average EQ than ecological specialists. Since specialists are disproportionately affected by extinction events, selection for ecological generalism is proposed as encephalization mechanism. This mechanism may reinforce the more widely known Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis (CBH)—the idea that possessing relatively large brains has buffered lineages against environmental change. CBH is tested here by comparing EQs in Procyon lotor (raccoon) in urban and rural environments. CBH predicts that raccoons in the most …


Earliest Known Material Of Amia, Bowfin, From The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), Medora, North Dakota, Abby Grace Moore May 2020

Earliest Known Material Of Amia, Bowfin, From The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), Medora, North Dakota, Abby Grace Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Amia calva is an icon in the field of comparative osteology, yet we have a poor understanding of the evolution of the genus because many fossil amiid bones have gone unidentified. Here we identify new material of the genus, Amia, with evidence of two unidentified species. Previously, the oldest known material identifiable as Amia cf. A. pattersoni, was a specimen from the Paleocene epoch of Alberta, Canada approximately 58 million years in age. Fossils of the two unidentified species of Amia were found in the Sentinel Butte Formation, a geologic formation of Paleocene age (~ 60 million years …


Hers And His: Silk Glands Used In Egg Sac Construction By Female Spiders Potentially Repurposed By A 'Modern' Male Spider, Mark A. Townley, Danilo Harms Apr 2020

Hers And His: Silk Glands Used In Egg Sac Construction By Female Spiders Potentially Repurposed By A 'Modern' Male Spider, Mark A. Townley, Danilo Harms

Biological Sciences

Cylindrical silk gland (CY) spigots distinguish a large clade of modern spiders, the CY spigot clade, which includes all entelegyne spiders and their closest relatives. Following a widespread paradigm, CYs and their spigots are only known to occur in female spiders and they produce silk used in the construction of egg sacs. Here we report the occurrence of a CY spigot or CY nubbin on each posterior median spinneret (PMS) in males (5th stadium and later) of the spider Australomimetus maculosus. Late juvenile males had a CY spigot on each PMS, whereas adult males either had a CY spigot or, …


Genome-Wide Changes In Genetic Diversity In A Population Of Myotis Lucifugus Affected By White-Nose Syndrome, Thomas M. Lilley, Ian W. Wilson, Kenneth A. Field, Deeann Reeder, Megan E. Vodzak, Gregory G. Turner, Allen Kurta, Anna S. Blomberg, Samantha Hoff, Carl J. Herzog, Brent J. Sewall, Steve Paterson Apr 2020

Genome-Wide Changes In Genetic Diversity In A Population Of Myotis Lucifugus Affected By White-Nose Syndrome, Thomas M. Lilley, Ian W. Wilson, Kenneth A. Field, Deeann Reeder, Megan E. Vodzak, Gregory G. Turner, Allen Kurta, Anna S. Blomberg, Samantha Hoff, Carl J. Herzog, Brent J. Sewall, Steve Paterson

Faculty Journal Articles

Novel pathogens can cause massive declines in populations, and even extirpation of hosts. But disease can also act as a selective pressure on survivors, driving the evolution of resistance or tolerance. Bat white-nose syndrome (WNS) is a rapidly spreading wildlife disease in North America. The fungus causing the disease invades skin tissues of hibernating bats, resulting in disruption of hibernation behavior, premature energy depletion, and subsequent death. We used whole-genome sequencing to investigate changes in allele frequencies within a population of Myotis lucifugus in eastern North America to search for genetic resistance to WNS. Our results show low FST values …


Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xxiii. Buthus (Buthidae), With Description Of Two New Species, František Kovařík, František Šťáhlavský, Hassan S. A. Elmi Apr 2020

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Xxiii. Buthus (Buthidae), With Description Of Two New Species, František Kovařík, František Šťáhlavský, Hassan S. A. Elmi

Euscorpius

New data are presented on the distribution of the genus Buthus Leach, 1815 in the Horn of Africa, mainly in Somaliland, acquired during expeditions in 2011–2019. Buthus berberensis Pocock, 1900, for which the exact locality was not known, was collected again. B. zeylensis Pocock, 1900 is restored from synonymy and elevated to species rank, based on a study of 75 recently collected specimens. Two new species, B. pococki sp. n. and B. somalilandus sp. n., are described, fully complemented with color photographs of live and preserved specimens, as well as their habitats. In addition to the analyses of external …


Scorpion Predation In Cuba: New Cases And A Review, Tomás M. Rodríguez-Cabrera,, Rolando Teruel, Ernesto Morell Savall Apr 2020

Scorpion Predation In Cuba: New Cases And A Review, Tomás M. Rodríguez-Cabrera,, Rolando Teruel, Ernesto Morell Savall

Euscorpius

The ecology of Cuban scorpions is very insufficiently studied and the scarce existing information on their natural enemies is dispersed in the literature. However, scorpions in general are well known to play an important role both as predators and prey in natural ecosystems. Herein we present new instances of predation on different species of scorpions in Cuba, and a review on the topic


Two New Cryptic Species Of Isometrus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From The Northern Western Ghats, India, Shauri Sulakhe, Nikhil Dandekar, Anand Padhye, Deshabhushan Bastawade Mar 2020

Two New Cryptic Species Of Isometrus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From The Northern Western Ghats, India, Shauri Sulakhe, Nikhil Dandekar, Anand Padhye, Deshabhushan Bastawade

Euscorpius

Integrated taxonomic approach is used to describe two new cryptic species of the genus Isometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) from the northern Western Ghats of India. Isometrus tamhini sp. n. and I. amboli sp. n. are closely related to each other and differ from two other Indian species of the genus, I. thurstoni and I. maculatus, by the morphological features and a raw genetic divergence of over 10%.


Revision Of The Genus Tityopsis Armas, 1974 (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Part 1. General Updates And Description Of Four New Species, Rolando Teruel, Tomás M. Rodríguez-Cabrera Mar 2020

Revision Of The Genus Tityopsis Armas, 1974 (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Part 1. General Updates And Description Of Four New Species, Rolando Teruel, Tomás M. Rodríguez-Cabrera

Euscorpius

The buthid scorpion genus Tityopsis Armas, 1974, endemic to western Cuba, is herein revised. In total, 428 specimens were examined from 127 localities, including the primary types of the two species currently recognized as valid; this led to realize that several populations actually represent taxa new to science. Four of them are described in the present paper: a presumed troglobite and three others from epigean habitats. A thorough photographic complement and data on natural history are given for each species and for the genus in general, for which known geographical distribution is verified and updated. With this contribution, the scorpion …


A New Species Of Vaejovis From Mingus Mountain, Northern Arizona (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Richard F. Ayrey Mar 2020

A New Species Of Vaejovis From Mingus Mountain, Northern Arizona (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Richard F. Ayrey

Euscorpius

A new scorpion species, Vaejovis elii sp. n., is described. This small, dark brown species is found on Mingus Mountain, Yavapai County, northern Arizona, USA. It is geographically closest to V. crumpi Ayrey & Soleglad. We compare it to that species and two other species found in northern Arizona. The pedipalp fixed finger has 6 ID denticles and the movable finger has 7, like in most, but not all, of the other northern Arizona Vaejovis. Carapace of female is longer than metasomal segment V.


Nine New Species Of Scorpiops Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones: Scorpiopidae) From China, India, Nepal, And Pakistan, František Kovařík Mar 2020

Nine New Species Of Scorpiops Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones: Scorpiopidae) From China, India, Nepal, And Pakistan, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

Nine new species are described: Scorpiops furai sp. n. (India), S. grosseri sp. n. (India), S. harmsi sp. n. (Nepal), S. hofereki sp. n. (Pakistan), S. kejvali sp. n. (India), S. tryznai sp. n. (India), S. wrzecionkoi sp. n. (China), S. yagmuri sp. n. (Pakistan), and S. zubairi sp. n. (Pakistan), fully complemented with color photographs of preserved specimens. New species are distinguished from all other species of the family Scorpiopidae by combinations of eight major characters: position of pedipalp chelal trichobothrium Eb3; number of pedipalp patella ventral trichobothria; shape of pedipalp fingers; number of inner accessory denticles …


First Record Of Didymocentrus Sanfelipensis (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae) From Turiguanó Island, Ciego De Ávila, Cuba, Luis F. De Armas Mar 2020

First Record Of Didymocentrus Sanfelipensis (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae) From Turiguanó Island, Ciego De Ávila, Cuba, Luis F. De Armas

Euscorpius

The diplocentrid scorpion Didymocentrus sanfelipensis Armas, 1976 is recorded for the first time from Turiguanó Island, Morón municipality, northwest of Ciego de Ávila Province, central region of Cuba. This is the northernmost locality for the species and also the easternmost record for the genus, as well as the first time that this species is found in a non-serpentine soil.


New Scorpion Taxa (Arachnida: Scorpiones) Described In The Journal “Euscorpius” In 2002–2020, Victor Fet, František Kovařík Mar 2020

New Scorpion Taxa (Arachnida: Scorpiones) Described In The Journal “Euscorpius” In 2002–2020, Victor Fet, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

No abstract provided.


Vaejovis Lapidicola Stahnke, 1940: Hemispermatophore And Mating Plug From A Topotype Male (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Brandon Myers, Richard F. Ayrey Feb 2020

Vaejovis Lapidicola Stahnke, 1940: Hemispermatophore And Mating Plug From A Topotype Male (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Brandon Myers, Richard F. Ayrey

Euscorpius

While doing research on an undescribed scorpion species, we needed to examine the hemispermatophore and mating plug of Vaejovis lapidicola Stahnke, 1940. Included are photographs and a description of these structures from a topotype specimen collected in the same “red sandstone quarry” (Flagstaff, Arizona, USA), from which Herbert Stahnke collected the original specimens in 1938.


Notes On Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949: Redescription Of C. Arabicus Levy Et Al., 1973 From Arabia, And Description Of Two New Species From North Africa (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Mark Stockmann, František Šťáhlavský Feb 2020

Notes On Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949: Redescription Of C. Arabicus Levy Et Al., 1973 From Arabia, And Description Of Two New Species From North Africa (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Mark Stockmann, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

Two new species of Compsobuthus Vachon, 1949, are described: C. turieli sp. n. from Western Sahara and Morocco, and C. ullrichi sp. n. from Egypt. The species C. arabicus Levy et al., 1973 is redescribed based on analysis of the holotype plus extensive material from Oman and the United Arab Emirates. These species are compared to others from their respective regions: C. kabateki Kovařík, 2003, C. levyi Kovařík, 2012, and C. polisi Lowe, 2001, for which new illustrations and biometrics are provided based on types and topotypic material. The hemispermatophores of C. arabicus, C. turieli sp. n. and C. …


A New Species Of Ananteris (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Panama, Roberto J. Miranda, Luis F. De Armas Feb 2020

A New Species Of Ananteris (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Panama, Roberto J. Miranda, Luis F. De Armas

Euscorpius

A new buthid species belonging to the genus Ananteris Thorell, 1891 is herein described from Panama Oeste Province, Panama. This is the second Ananteris species known from this Central American country and clearly differs from Ananteris platnicki Lourenço, 1993, distributed in Costa Rica and Panama, by its smaller size and male having a different hemispermatophore and telson similar to that of the female.