A giant Ordovician anomalocaridid

Anomalocaridids, giant lightly sclerotized invertebrate predators, occur in a number of exceptionally preserved early and middle Cambrian (542-501?million years ago) biotas and have come to symbolize the unfamiliar morphologies displayed by stem organisms in faunas of the Burgess Shale type. They are characterized by a pair of anterior, segmented appendages, a circlet of plates around the mouth, and an elongate segmented trunk lacking true tergites with a pair of flexible lateral lobes per segment. Disarticulated body parts, such as the anterior appendages and oral circlet, had been assigned to a range of taxonomic groups--but the discovery of complete specimens from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale showed that these disparate elements all belong to a single kind of animal. Phylogenetic analyses support a position of anomalocaridids in the arthropod stem, as a sister group to the euarthropods. The anomalocaridids were the largest animals in Cambrian communities. The youngest unequivocal examples occur in the middle Cambrian Marjum Formation of Utah but an arthropod retaining some anomalocaridid characteristics is present in the Devonian of Germany. Here we report the post-Cambrian occurrence of anomalocaridids, from the Early Ordovician (488-472?million years ago) Fezouata Biota in southeastern Morocco, including specimens larger than any in Cambrian biotas. These giant animals were an important element of some marine communities for about 30?million years longer than previously realized. The Moroccan specimens confirm the presence of a dorsal array of flexible blades attached to a transverse rachis on the trunk segments; these blades probably functioned as gills.     

A Cambrian micro-lobopodian and the evolution of arthropod locomotion and reproduction

The evolutionary success of arthropods, the most abundant and diverse animal group, is mainly based on their segmented body and jointed appendages, features that had evolved most likely already before the Cambrian. The first arthropod-like animals, the lobopodians from the Early Cambrian, were unsclerotized and worm-like, and they had unjointed tubular legs. Here we describe the first three-dimensionally preserved Cambrian lobopodian. The material presented of Orstenotubulus evamuellerae gen. et sp. nov. is the smallest and youngest of a lobopodian known. O. evamuellerae shows strikingly detailed similarities to Recent tardigrades and/or onychophorans in its cellular-structured cuticle and the telescopic spines. It also shows similarities to other, longer known lobopodians, but which are ten times as large as the new form. These similarities include the finely annulated body and legs, which is characteristic also for Recent onychophorans, and paired humps continuing into spines situated dorsally to the leg insertions, a feature lacking in the extant forms. The morphology of O. evamuellerae not only elucidates our knowledge about lobopodians, but also aids in a clearer picture of the early evolution of arthropods. An example is the single ventral gonopore between a limb pair of O. evamuellerae, which indicates that a single gonopore, as developed in onychophorans, tardigrades, pentastomids, myriapods and insects, might represent the plesiomorphic state for Arthropoda, while the paired state in chelicerates and crustaceans was convergently achieved. Concerning life habits, the lateral orientation of the limbs and their anchoring spines of the new lobopodian imply that early arthropods were crawlers rather than walkers.     

The earliest-known ancestors of Recent Priapulomorpha from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagersttte

It was suggested and eventually has been profferedthat the representatives of all extant phyla, including someminor group, occurred during the Cambrian radia-tions[1—10]. Many priapulid-like fossil worms have beenreported from Cambrian Lagerst?tten, such as the EarlyCambrian Chengjiang Lagerst?tte[11—16], the Middle Cam-brian Burgess Shale[17], and the Middle Cambrian Kailifauna[18]. The palaeoscolecidan worms from these Lager-st?tten have been regarded as either a stem group of thepri…     

The earliest-known ancestors of Recent Priapulomorpha from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstaette

The taxonomy of an early ancestor of Recent Priapulidae, Xiaoheiqingella peculiaris (= Yunnanpriapulus halteroformis Huang et al., 2004) from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fossil Lagerstaette, is revised. Morphological characters comprise a pair of caudal appendages rather than a single appendage flanking the trunk end and a possible urogenital duct found inside the preanal region. An additional extremely rare fossil priapulid worm, Paratubiluchus bicaudatus gen. nov., sp. nov. is also described herein. Its diagnostic characters are: an introvert bearing 25 longitudinal rows of scalids, a distinct neck region, no annulus on the oval trunk, and a pair of caudal appendages. The proportion of body parts is similar in size to that of loricate larvae of Recent priapulids and larva-formed Palaeopriapulitidae. Taking account of the features of Xiaoheiqingella, bicaudal appendages are considered to be a synapomorphy of Priapulidae and Tubiluchidae. Paratubiluchus gen. nov. is most likely a candidate for the ancestor of the Tubiluchidae; it probably originated from a larva-formed priapulid with 25 rows of scalids, thus representing an intermediate link between the priapulids in mature-form and the priapulids with lorica.     

贵州台江下寒武统Bathynotus(宽背虫)一新种

本文扼要介绍了Bathynotus的分类位置、研究动态及研究意义,并详细描述了该属的一个新种。     

教学局域网的优化设计,规划与管理

就教学局域网的优化设计、规划与管理等方面作了一些有益的探讨，提出了在Ｎｏｖｅｌｌ网的基础上集成ＷＩＮＤＯＷＳ－ＮＴ网的优化方案，讨论了优化管理的方法。     

An armoured Cambrian lobopodian from China with arthropod-like appendages

Cambrian fossil Lagerst?tten preserving soft-bodied organisms have contributed much towards our understanding of metazoan origins. Lobopodians are a particularly interesting group that diversified and flourished in the Cambrian seas. Resembling 'worms with legs', they have long attracted much attention in that they may have given rise to both Onychophora (velvet worms) and Tardigrada (water bears), as well as to arthropods in general. Here we describe Diania cactiformis gen. et sp. nov. as an 'armoured' lobopodian from the Chengjiang fossil Lagerst?tte (Cambrian Stage 3), Yunnan, southwestern China. Although sharing features with other typical lobopodians, it is remarkable for possessing robust and probably sclerotized appendages, with what appear to be articulated elements. In terms of limb morphology it is therefore closer to the arthropod condition, to our knowledge, than any lobopodian recorded until now. Phylogenetic analysis recovers it in a derived position, close to Arthropoda; thus, it seems to belong to a grade of organization close to the point of becoming a true arthropod. Further, D. cactiformis could imply that arthropodization (sclerotization of the limbs) preceded arthrodization (sclerotization of the body). Comparing our fossils with other lobopodian appendage morphologies--see Kerygmachela, Jianshanopodia and Megadictyon--reinforces the hypothesis that the group as a whole is paraphyletic, with different taxa expressing different grades of arthropodization.     

湖北襀翅目新种及新纪录

本文记述了湖北襀翅目昆虫2个新种及4个湖北新纪录种。     

Neuroanatomy of sea spiders implies an appendicular origin of the protocerebral segment

Independent specialization of arthropod body segments has led to more than a century of debate on the homology of morphologically diverse segments, each defined by a lateral appendage and a ganglion of the central nervous system. The plesiomorphic composition of the arthropod head remains enigmatic because variation in segments and corresponding appendages is extreme. Within extant arthropod classes (Chelicerata, Myriapoda, Crustacea and Hexapoda--including the insects), correspondences between the appendage-bearing second (deutocerebral) and third (tritocerebral) cephalic neuromeres have been recently resolved on the basis of immunohistochemistry and Hox gene expression patterns. However, no appendage targets the first ganglion, the protocerebrum, and the corresponding segmental identity of this anterior region remains unclear. Reconstructions of stem-group arthropods indicate that the anteriormost region originally might have borne an ocular apparatus and a frontal appendage innervated by the protocerebrum. However, no study of the central nervous system in extant arthropods has been able to corroborate this idea directly, although recent analyses of cephalic gene expression patterns in insects suggest a segmental status for the protocerebral region. Here we investigate the developmental neuroanatomy of a putative basal arthropod, the pycnogonid sea spider, with immunohistochemical techniques. We show that the first pair of appendages, the chelifores, are innervated at an anterior position on the protocerebrum. This is the first true appendage shown to be innervated by the protocerebrum, and thus pycnogonid chelifores are not positionally homologous to appendages of extant arthropods but might, in fact, be homologous to the 'great appendages' of certain Cambrian stem-group arthropods.     

Acute vision in the giant Cambrian predator Anomalocaris and the origin of compound eyes

Until recently, intricate details of the optical design of non-biomineralized arthropod eyes remained elusive in Cambrian Burgess-Shale-type deposits, despite exceptional preservation of soft-part anatomy in such Konservat-Lagerst?tten. The structure and development of ommatidia in arthropod compound eyes support a single origin some time before the latest common ancestor of crown-group arthropods, but the appearance of compound eyes in the arthropod stem group has been poorly constrained in the absence of adequate fossils. Here we report 2-3-cm paired eyes from the early Cambrian (approximately 515 million years old) Emu Bay Shale of South Australia, assigned to the Cambrian apex predator Anomalocaris. Their preserved visual surfaces are composed of at least 16,000 hexagonally packed ommatidial lenses (in a single eye), rivalling the most acute compound eyes in modern arthropods. The specimens show two distinct taphonomic modes, preserved as iron oxide (after pyrite) and calcium phosphate, demonstrating that disparate styles of early diagenetic mineralization can replicate the same type of extracellular tissue (that is, cuticle) within a single Burgess-Shale-type deposit. These fossils also provide compelling evidence for the arthropod affinities of anomalocaridids, push the origin of compound eyes deeper down the arthropod stem lineage, and indicate that the compound eye evolved before such features as a hardened exoskeleton. The inferred acuity of the anomalocaridid eye is consistent with other evidence that these animals were highly mobile visual predators in the water column. The existence of large, macrophagous nektonic predators possessing sharp vision--such as Anomalocaris--within the early Cambrian ecosystem probably helped to accelerate the escalatory 'arms race' that began over half a billion years ago.     

四川秀山早寒武世高肌虫新材料

本文记述了早寒武世沧浪铺阶一高肌虫新属Tanguangbiella(gen.nov.),标本产于川东南秀山溶溪剖面下寒武统天河板组中部。新属以壳体巨大,具纺缍形前腹瘤、准生长线及缘膜构造为特征,其主要特征接近于高肌虫类,而部分特征也和介形类相似,加之标本稀少,故暂置于高肌虫目。     

Discription of a New Species of Pseudocrangonyx from AnHui Lava Tubes, China (Amphipoda: Gammaridae )

本文记述了采自安徽含山熔洞的伪克钩虾属一新种,含山伪克钩虾Pseudocrangonyx hanshansis sp, nov.,新种与近缘种亚洲伪克钩虾p, asiaticu。之不同在于。第一尾足内肢短于柄部,内缘具2枚长粗利,第三尾足外肢第1节较柄部长3倍,端节很小,约为第1节的1/6;尾节板左右两叶,每叶具2枚端刺,外侧稍长;第二触角柄部之末节长于次末节,约与鞭节等长,腹部侧板2之下缘具1利,偶2利,侧板3之下缘具2利。     

A palaeontological solution to the arthropod head problem

The composition of the arthropod head has been one of the most controversial topics in zoology, with a large number of theories being proposed to account for it over the last century. Although fossils have been recognized as being of potential importance in resolving the issue, a lack of consensus over their systematics has obscured their contribution. Here, I show that a group of previously problematic Cambrian arthropods from the Burgess Shale and Chengjiang faunas form a clade close to crown-group euarthropods, the group containing myriapods, chelicerates, insects and crustaceans. They are characterized by modified or even absent endopods, and two pre-oral appendages. Comparison with reconstructions of the crown-group euarthropod ground plan and recent investigations into onychophorans demonstrates that these two appendages are the first antenna (of extant crustaceans) and a more anterior appendage associated with an ocular segment. The latter appendage has been reduced in all crown-group euarthropods. Its most likely relic is as a component of the labrum. These fossils thus tie together results from disparate living groups (onychophorans and euarthropods).     

京西早白垩世丸甲（昆虫纲，鞘翅目）化石

根据北京西山下白垩统卢尚坟组的甲虫化石，建立化石丸甲二新属三新种：Ｍｅｓｏｂｙｒｒｈｕｓｔａｎａｅｇｅｎ．ｅｔｓｐ．ｎｏｖ，Ｍｅｓｏｂｙｒｒｈｕｓｐａｒｖｕｓｇｅｎ．ｅｔｎｏｖ．和Ｆａｎｇｓｈａｎｅｌａｓｔｏｌｉｄａｇｅｎ．ｅｔｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．．初步探讨了丸甲科昆虫的演化，认为丸甲科是鞘翅目中很古老的一类，和其它科关系不大，自中生代后期以来演化十分缓慢     

长江下游陆生等足目研究（Ⅲ）

报导宜兴陆生等足目共６种，分别隶属４个科、５个属，其中三刺湖蟑螂Ｌｉｇｉｄｉｕｍｔｒｉｓｐｉｎｏｓｕｓｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．和列齿鼠妇Ｐｏｒｃｅｌｌｉｏｓｅｅｒａｔｕｓｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．两种为新种，并对其形态特征进行详细描述．     

福建淡水枝角类新发现

记述了中国福建淡水枝角类一新亚种,球棘盘肠溲Chydorus pubescens glospinsa sub sp.nov.和一个国内新记录种,单岬粗毛溲Microthrix capensis-monodi Gauthier,1930,模式标本保存在福建师范大学生物工程学院,新亚种与盘肠溲盘已知的其他种类的主要区别在于仅壳瓣表面的网纹的边缘呈波纹状或锯齿状,而且密布坚硬的棘刺。     

早寒武世刺石柱盘虫的个体发育

该文详细地研究了古盘虫类三叶虫Shizhudiscus armatus Li(sp.nov.)的个体发育,将其个体发育过程划分为3个时期和8个阶段,总结了该种的形态在个体发育过程中的演变特点以及同生物全息律的关系。此外通过电镜扫描、化学元素能谱分析、切片等手段对磷质三叶虫壳层结构和物质成分也进行了较深入的探讨。     

华南地区湖南省芙蓉统(上寒武统)的古蠕虫骨片:个体生长对表皮骨片形态的影响

报道最近发现的华南地区湖南省芙蓉统(上寒武统)三维保存的古蠕虫骨片碎片。描述两个新的形态属和两个新的形态种: Hunanoscolex campus 新属新种和Ornatoscolex hunanensis新属新种。大部分标本属于幼体阶段。Hunanoscolex campus体节宽度的巨大差异显示其处于生长发育阶段, 因此可以对个体生长对表皮骨片形态的影响进行研究。虫体生长主要依靠增加单个体节中骨片的数量。位于同一排中的大骨板排列变得疏松。新增加的小骨板和微骨板大小和纹饰基本不变, 但大骨板的纹饰可能存在变化。这些观察结果有助于更好地理解古蠕虫骨片的种内差异, 从而可能提高形态种属分类的准确性。     

Mesozoic giant fleas from northeastern China (Siphonaptera): Taxonomy and implications for palaeodiversity

The recently discovered definite giant fleas from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou fauna and the Early Cretaceous Jehol fauna of northeastern China represent significant evidence for understanding ectoparasitism in the Mesozoic as well as the evolution of these giant blood feeders with their putative hosts (i.e. hairy or feathered vertebrates). On the basis of seven well-preserved specimens from Daohugou and Huangbanjigou we analyse the systematic classification of these primitive fleas, establishing two new genera and three new species as Pseudopulex wangi sp. nov., Hadropsylla sinica gen. et sp. nov., and Tyrannopsylla beipiaoensis gen. et sp. nov. All of them are assigned to the extinct siphonapteran family Pseudopulicidae, while the Early Cretaceous genus Tarwinia is transferred to Tarwiniidae fam. nov. The basal morphological disparities of Siphonaptera in the Mesozoic are evidenced by the occurrence of at least three distinct groups (pseudopulicids, tarwiniids, and saurophthirids). These disparate morphologies likely indicate adaptations to different hosts.     

Opposite effects of fear conditioning and extinction on dendritic spine remodelling

It is generally believed that fear extinction is a form of new learning that inhibits rather than erases previously acquired fear memories. Although this view has gained much support from behavioural and electrophysiological studies, the hypothesis that extinction causes the partial erasure of fear memories remains viable. Using transcranial two-photon microscopy, we investigated how neural circuits are modified by fear learning and extinction by examining the formation and elimination of postsynaptic dendritic spines of layer-V pyramidal neurons in the mouse frontal association cortex. Here we show that fear conditioning by pairing an auditory cue with a footshock increases the rate of spine elimination. By contrast, fear extinction by repeated presentation of the same auditory cue without a footshock increases the rate of spine formation. The degrees of spine remodelling induced by fear conditioning and extinction strongly correlate with the expression and extinction of conditioned fear responses, respectively. Notably, spine elimination and formation induced by fear conditioning and extinction occur on the same dendritic branches in a cue- and location-specific manner: cue-specific extinction causes formation of dendritic spines within a distance of two micrometres from spines that were eliminated after fear conditioning. Furthermore, reconditioning preferentially induces elimination of dendritic spines that were formed after extinction. Thus, within vastly complex neuronal networks, fear conditioning, extinction and reconditioning lead to opposing changes at the level of individual synapses. These findings also suggest that fear memory traces are partially erased after extinction.