The fossil tabanids (Diptera Tabanidae): when they began to appreciate warm blood and when they began transmit diseases?

A discussion of the known fossil tabanids (Diptera Tabanidae) is presented based on fossil evidence. This includes the origin of the hemathophagy in the Brachycera, more specifically for tabanids. Several tabanid species in the extant fauna are vectors for disease-producing organisms that affect humans and animals. Bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, protozoa, and filarial worms can be transmitted by them, causing such diseases as anthrax, tularemia, anaplasmosis, various forms of trypanosomiasis, Q fever, and filariasis. However, if tabanids are directly responsible for all of these diseases is not consensual and the known fossil evidence is presented here.

Fossil psychodoid flies and their relation to parasitic diseases

Psychodid sand flies are blood-sucking fly vectors of several parasitic diseases. The oldest definitive record of this group is from the Lower Cretaceous amber of Lebanon (circa -135 to -125 My), but the high diversity within this group supports the idea that the psychodoids originated much earlier in history. The palaeontology demonstrates that the Lower Cretaceous representatives of the different subfamilies of Psychodidae had similar morphology and were blood-feeders, which supports Hennig's hypothesis on the ground plan structure of this family. Historical relationship between sand flies and diseases is unclear up to the present time, but this relationship could be as old as the origin of psychodoids because of the blood-feeding life mode.

Relationships of new world Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) based on fossil evidence

The fossil record and systematics of phlebotomid sand flies, vectors of leishmaniasis and arbovirus in several regions of the world, strongly support that living genera existed long before the Oligocene (38 million years, myr). A common Phlebotominae ancestor was present in the Triassic period before the separations of continents (248 myr).

Taxonomic reports of Otobothrioidea (Eucestoda, Trypanorhyncha) from elasmobranch fishes of the southern coast off Brazil

Specimens of elasmobranch fishes, captured in the states of Paraná and Santa Catarina, of the southern coast off Brazil, represented by three families, four genera, and four species, were parasitized with otobothrioid trypanorhynch cestodes: Heptranchias perlo (Bonnaterre, 1788), Squalus sp. and Carcharhinus signatus (Poey, 1868) were parasitized with Progrillotia dollfusi Carvajal & Rego,1987; Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758) with Molicola horridus (Goodsir, 1841) Dollfus, 1942. Details of internal morphology and/or scolex and/or proglottids surface ultrastructure, that expanded the description of M. horridus, through observations with lightfield, and/or scanning eletronic microscopy, are provided. The known geographical distribution for the species M. horridus is enlarged. P. dollfusi is reported for the first time in elasmobranchs.

Palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate of the Middle Miocene lake in the Steinheim basin, SW Germany: A reconstruction from C, O, and Sr isotopes of fossil remains

A differentiated reconstruction of palaeolimnologic, -environmental, and -climatic conditions is presented for the Middle Miocene long-term freshwater lake (14.3 to 13.5 Ma) of the Steinheim basin, on the basis of a combined C, 0, and Sr isotope study of sympatric skeletal fossils of aquatic and terrestrial organisms from the lake sediments. The oxygen isotope composition for lake water of the Steinheim basin (delta O-18(H2O) = +2.0 +/- 0.4 parts per thousand VSMOW, n = 6) was reconstructed from measurements of delta O-18(PO4) of aquatic turtle bones. The drinking water calculated from the enamel of large mammals (proboscideans, rhinocerotids, equids, cervids, suids) has delta O-18(H2O) values (delta(OH2O)-O-18 = -5.9 +/- 1.7 parts per thousand VSMOW, n = 31) typical for Middle Miocene meteoric water of the area. This delta O-18(H2O) value corresponds to a mean annual air temperature (MAT) of 18.8 +/- 3.8 degrees C, calculated using a modem-day delta(OH2O)-O-18-MAT relation. Hence, large mammals did not use the lake water as principal drinking water. In contrast, small mammals, especially the then abundant pika Prolagus oeningensis drank from O-18-enriched water sources (delta O-18(H2O) = +2.7 +/- 2.3 parts per thousand VSMOW, n = 7), such as the lake water. Differences in Sr and 0 isotopic compositions between large and small mammal teeth indicate different home ranges and drinking behaviour and support migration of some large mammals between the Swabian Alb plateau and the nearby Molasse basin, while small mammals ingested their food and water locally. Changes in the lake level, water chemistry, and temperature were inferred using isotopic compositions of ostracod and gastropod shells from a composite lake sediment profile. Calcitic ostracod valves (Ilyocypris binocularis; delta O-18 = +1.7 +/- 1.2 parts per thousand VPDB, delta C-18 = -0.5 +/- 0.9 parts per thousand, VPDB, n = 68) and aragonitic, gastropod shells (Gyraulus spp.; delta O-18 = +2.0 +/- 13 parts per thousand VPDB, delta C-13 = -1.1 +/- 1.3 parts per thousand VPDB, n = 89) have delta O-18 and delta C-13 values similar to or even higher than those of marine, carbonates. delta C-13 values:of the biogenic carbonates parallel lake level fluctuations while delta O-18 values scatter around +2 +/- 2 parts per thousand and reflect the short term variability of meteoric water inflow vs. longer term evaporation. Sr-87/Sr-86 ratios of aragonitic Gyraulus spp. gastropod shells parallel the lake level fluctuations, reflecting variable inputs of groundwater and surface waters. Using a water delta O-18(H2O) value of +2.0 parts per thousand VSMOW, water temperatures calculated from skeletal tissue delta O-18 values of ostracods are 16.7 +/- 5.0 degrees C, gastropods 20.6 +/- 5.6 degrees C, otoliths 21.8 +/- 1.4 degrees C, and fish teeth 17.0 +/- 2.7 degrees C. The calculated MAT (similar to 19 degrees C), lake water temperatures (similar to 17 to 22 degrees C) and the O-18-enriched water compositions are indicative of warm-temperate climatic conditions, possibly with a high humidity during this period. Vegetation in the area surrounding the basin was largely of the C-3-type, as indicated by carbon isotopic compositions of tooth enamel from large mammals (delta C-13 = -11.1 +/- 1.1 parts per thousand VPDB, n = 40). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular trees of trypanosomes incongruent with fossil records of hosts

Molecular trees of trypanosomes have confirmed conventionally accepted genera, but often produce topologies that are incongruent with knowledge of the evolution, systematics, and biogeography of hosts and vectors. These distorted topologies result largely from incorrect assumptions about molecular clocks. A host-based phylogenetic tree could serve as a broad outline against which the reasonability of molecular phylogenies could be evaluated. The host-based tree of trypanosomes presented here supports the " invertebrate first " hypothesis of trypansosome evolution, supports the monophyly of Trypanosomatidae, and indicates the digenetic lifestyle arose three times. An area cladogram of Leishmania supports origination in the Palaearctic during the Palaeocene.

Description of Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) brazilorum sp. nov. a new fossil species from the Dominican Republic (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

A sand fly fossil was found in amber, a vegetal resin, which allows all the external phlebotomine structures to be seen. The piece that contains the new species is 14 mm long ´ 8 mm wide ´ 3 mm high. All the structures from the head, thorax, and abdomen were examined under the microscope and measured with a calibrated micrometric eye-piece. The morphological aspects of the new species suggest its inclusion in the Pintomyia genus, Pifanomyia subgenus though it is not possible to include it in any of the series known for this subgenus. The presence of two atrophied spines on the gonostyles and gonocoxites without tufts of setae permit the exclusion of the new species from the other species of the subgenus Pifanomyia. The new species is named Pintomyia (Pifanomyia) brazilorum sp. nov.

Camallanus cotti Fujita, 1927 (Nematoda, Camallanoidea) in ornamental aquarium fishes: pathology and morphology

The pathology induced by the nematode Camallanus cotti in the aquarium fishes Beta splendens (beta fish) and Poecilia reticulata (guppy) consisted of gross and microscopic lesions, the former characterized by abdominal swelling with reddish parasites protruding from the anus in both fish hosts and the latter, similar in the beta fishes and guppies, by hemorrhage, congestion, edema, a few glandular elements, and extensive erosion areas in the rectum mucosa, with a marked thickening of the wall and absence of inflammatory infiltrate. Lesions were associated with the presence of several worms attached to the wall or free in the rectal lumen. This is the second reference of the parasite in Brazil and the first report of pathological findings related to this nematode species that is also briefly redescribed and illustrated for the first time on the basis of Brazilian samples.

Early Cretaceous trypanosomatids associated with fossil sand fly larvae in Burmese amber

Early Cretaceous flagellates with characters typical of trypanosomatids were found in the gut of sand fly larvae, as well as in surrounding debris, in Burmese amber. This discovery supports a hypothesis in which free-living trypanosomatids could have been acquired by sand fly larvae in their feeding environment and then carried transtadially into the adult stage. At some point in time, specific genera were introduced into vertebrates, thus establishing a dixenous life cycle.

Description of Micropygomyia brandaoi sp. n. (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), a fossil phlebotomine from the Dominican Republic

The description of Micropygomyia brandaoi, a new species of fossil phlebotomine sand fly, is based on one male specimen obtained from Dominican amber of the Miocene period (20 million years). In this new species, the fifth palpal segment is long, the coxite lacks a setal tuft and the style shows four well-developed spines. This set of characters allowed us to place the new species in the genus Micropygomyia Barretto.

Comparative genomics of ParaHox clusters of teleost fishes: gene cluster breakup and the retention of gene sets following whole genome duplications.

BACKGROUND: The evolutionary lineage leading to the teleost fish underwent a whole genome duplication termed FSGD or 3R in addition to two prior genome duplications that took place earlier during vertebrate evolution (termed 1R and 2R). Resulting from the FSGD, additional copies of genes are present in fish, compared to tetrapods whose lineage did not experience the 3R genome duplication. Interestingly, we find that ParaHox genes do not differ in number in extant teleost fishes despite their additional genome duplication from the genomic situation in mammals, but they are distributed over twice as many paralogous regions in fish genomes. RESULTS: We determined the DNA sequence of the entire ParaHox C1 paralogon in the East African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni, and compared it to orthologous regions in other vertebrate genomes as well as to the paralogous vertebrate ParaHox D paralogons. Evolutionary relationships among genes from these four chromosomal regions were studied with several phylogenetic algorithms. We provide evidence that the genes of the ParaHox C paralogous cluster are duplicated in teleosts, just as it had been shown previously for the D paralogon genes. Overall, however, synteny and cluster integrity seems to be less conserved in ParaHox gene clusters than in Hox gene clusters. Comparative analyses of non-coding sequences uncovered conserved, possibly co-regulatory elements, which are likely to contain promoter motives of the genes belonging to the ParaHox paralogons. CONCLUSION: There seems to be strong stabilizing selection for gene order as well as gene orientation in the ParaHox C paralogon, since with a few exceptions, only the lengths of the introns and intergenic regions differ between the distantly related species examined. The high degree of evolutionary conservation of this gene cluster's architecture in particular - but possibly clusters of genes more generally - might be linked to the presence of promoter, enhancer or inhibitor motifs that serve to regulate more than just one gene. Therefore, deletions, inversions or relocations of individual genes could destroy the regulation of the clustered genes in this region. The existence of such a regulation network might explain the evolutionary conservation of gene order and orientation over the course of hundreds of millions of years of vertebrate evolution. Another possible explanation for the highly conserved gene order might be the existence of a regulator not located immediately next to its corresponding gene but further away since a relocation or inversion would possibly interrupt this interaction. Different ParaHox clusters were found to have experienced differential gene loss in teleosts. Yet the complete set of these homeobox genes was maintained, albeit distributed over almost twice the number of chromosomes. Selection due to dosage effects and/or stoichiometric disturbance might act more strongly to maintain a modal number of homeobox genes (and possibly transcription factors more generally) per genome, yet permit the accumulation of other (non regulatory) genes associated with these homeobox gene clusters.

Geological explorations in Central Borneo (1893-94) : Borneo expedition. english rev. ed. with an appendix on fossil radiolaria of Central-Borneo ([Reprod.]) / by Dr. G. A. F. Molengraaff,... ; by Dr. G. J. Hinde

Comprend : Description of fossil radiolaria from the rocks of Central Borneo, obtained by prof. Dr. G. A. F. Molengraaff in the dutch exploring expedition of 1893-94