Predator perception of detritus and eggsac decorations spun by orb-web spiders Cyclosa octotuberculata:Do they function to camouflage the spiders?

Camouflage is one of the most widespread and powerful strategies that animals use to make detection/recognitionmore difficult. Many orb-web spiders of the genus Cyclosa add prey remains, plant debris, moults, and/or eggsacs to their webscalled web decorations. Web decorations resembling spider body colour pattern have been considered to camouflage the spiderfrom predators. While this camouflage is obvious from a human's perspective, it has rarely been investigated from a predator'sperspective. In this study, we tested the visibility of web decorations by calculating chromatic and achromatic contrasts of detritusand eggsac decorations built by Cyclosa octotuberculata, against four different backgrounds viewed by both bird (e.g., blue tits)and hymenopteran (e.g. wasps) predators. We showed that both juvenile and adult spiders on webs with detritus or egg-sac decorationswere undetectable by both hymenopteran and bird predators over short and long distances. Our results thus suggest thatdecorating webs with detritus or eggsacs by C. octotuberculata may camouflage the spiders from both hymenopteran and birdpredators in their common habitats [Current Zoology 56 (3): 379-387, 2010].

Two new species of Mesozoic tree ferns(Osmundaceae:Osmundacaulis)in Eurasia as evidence of long-term geographic isolation

The fossil trunks and rhizomes of Osmundaceae provide important information about its evolutionary history.Due to limited records of the Mesozoic trunks and rhizomes in the Eurasia of the Northern Hemisphere,our understanding on the fossil diversity of the Osmundaceae is hindered.Two new species of the Osmundaceae trunks,Osmundacaulis asiatica sp.nov.and Osmundacaulis sinica sp.nov.representing the first discovery of the Mesozoic tree fern genus Osmundacaulis in Eurasia,are described from Wudalianchi and Qiqihar,Heilongjiang Province,Northeast China,which enriches the plant diversity of the Osmundaceae in the Eurasia,and provides vital evidence for studying the distribution,radiation and evolution of the genus during the Cretaceous.The fossil records suggest that Osmundacaulis species may have evolved from a common ancestor,which first appeared in the Australian portion of Pangaea,and then spread to ancient northern North America and ancient East Asia.Since then,they developed into different species through their own evolutionary lines.The Chinese species have a special local feature that the outer cortex is thicker than the inner cortex,in contrast with reported Osmundacaulis species having thinner outer cortex and thicker inner cortex.Long-term geographic isolation may have led to the radiation of diverse Osmundacaulis species and the appearance of region-specific features,such as the thick outer cortex and the thin inner cortex of the Chinese species.Among all reported Osmundacaulis species,the two new species found in China,O.nerii from the Jurassic of Australia and the O.lemonii from the Jurassic of the USA,have special groups of mucilage-sacs inside sclerenchyma ring of petiole base.Mucilage sacs probably originated independently among taxonomic groups,representing convergent adaptations to similar habitats,rather than indicating genetic inheritance from a common ancestor.

Early Jurassic Flora and Stratigraphy from Shansonggang of Southern Jilin,China

More than 35 species belonging to 22 genera of fossil plants are recognized by the authors from the Shan-songgang flora in the Shansonggang Basin of Jilin, China. Among them, the coexistence of Coniopteris and Cycadocarpi-dium demonstrates that the present flora possesses the characters of the early assemblage of Early Jurassic floras in Eura-sia. Therefore, the age of the Shansonggang flora is considered the Early Jurassic.This study would be beneficial for bet-ter understanding the paleoecological and paleoclimatic characteristics of the Shansonggang Basin. Based mainly on the characters of the flora, the authors suggest that the Lower Jurassic coal-bearing strata, the Shansongang Formation, should namely be renewed.

Zwitterionic Matrix with Highly Delocalized Anionic Structure as an Efficient Lithium Ion Conductor

The leakage and volatilization of liquid electrolytes raise potential safety risks in the development of electrochemical energy storage devices with high energy density.Herein,novel solid-state zwitterionic materials containing sulfonyl imide as a highly delocalized anionic structure were synthesized for highly targeted lithium ion conducting matrices.The influences of the molecular structure characteristics on thermal behavior and electrochemical property were investigated comprehensively.Due to the weak Coulomb interaction between the sulfonyl imide moiety and cationic species,the rationally designed zwitterionic electrolytes showed a high conductivity of 0.44 mS cm^(-1).And the obtained high lithium ion transference number of 0.43 is four times higher than that of the widely employed sulfonate analogues.Additionally,excellent cycling stability of the lithium plating/stripping process and super resistance to electrochemical oxidation(up to 5.5 V)were observed.This molecular engineering strategy for lithium ion conductor advances new possibilities for developing solvent-free and non-migrating electrolyte matrix materials for lithium metal batteries.