Nuclear apparatus and binary fission inSpirostomum dharwarensis n. sp.

Résumé Dans cet article on a décrit l'appareil nucléaire et la fission binaire dans le cilié d'eau douceSpirostomum dharwarensis. La division micronucléaire est de type synchrone. En ce qui concerne le mode de division micronucléaire, on a étudié également le déplacement graduel du type sélectif au type synchrone dans le genreSpirostomum.     

Structure and stereochemistry of brianolide,a new antiinflammatory diterpenoid from the Okinawan gorgonianBriareum sp.

Summary Brianolide (1), a new antiinflammatory diterpenoid of the briarein class, possessing a substituent at C-12 (R), has been isolated from the Okinawan gorgonianBriareum sp. Its structure has been established from spectral data in conjunction with a single crystal X-ray analysis.     

Hymenaea protera sp.n. (Leguminosae,Caesalpinioideae) from Dominican amber has African affinities

Hymenaea protera is described from amber originating from La Toca mine in the Dominican Republic. The fossil species is characterized by the presence of reduced petals as well as distinctly clawed showy petals with cordate to reniform bases and a glabrous, verrucose ovary with long hirsute hairs at its base and along one margin. The fossil species most closely resembles the extantH. verrucosa Gaertner which occurs in East Africa and adjacent islands. These findings are interpreted as supporting a hypothesis that the genusHymenaea arose in the late Cretaceous on the combined South American-African continents and that Cretaceous and early Tertiary landmass movements were significant in determining the present amphi-Atlantic distribution of the genus. It is proposed that at least the majority, if not all, of the amber recovered from La Toca mine and other mines in the vicinity with similar-aged deposits originated fromH. protera.     

Structure and stereochemistry of brianolide, a new antiinflammatory diterpenoid from the Okinawan gorgonian Briareum sp.

Brianolide (1), a new antiinflammatory diterpenoid of the briarein class, possessing a beta substituent at C-12 (R), has been isolated from the Okinawan gorgonian Briareum sp. Its structure has been established from spectral data in conjunction with a single crystal X-ray analysis.     

Epidemiology of leishmaniasis in French Guiana in relation to the existence of a new species of echimyid rodent, Proechimys cuvieri sp. n.]

The rediscovery and reexamination of the skull of the type of Proechimys guyannensis (E. Geoffroy; 1803) allows us to give more details about this species. It appears that a new sympatric species, P. cuvieri, has to be distinguished, which could have great implications for the leishmaniosis epidemiology in French Guiana.     

Alloglossidium anomophagis sp. n. (Trematoda: Plagiorchiidae) exhibiting progenesis in water fleas (Anomopoda: Daphniidae)

The trematode,Alloglossidium anomophagis sp. n. (Digenea: Plagiorchiidae) exhibits progenesis in water fleas of the genusDaphnia (Anomopoda: Daphniidae) occurring in temporary rainwater-filled ditches near Houston, Texas, USA. We assume thatA. anomophagis has achieved its truncated life cycle by eliminating the vertebrate which originally served as the definitive host. The adults ofA. anomophagis represent the smallest trematodes in the family Plagiorchiidae, measuring less than 0.5 mm in length.