Acariasis on pet Burmese python,Python molurus bivittatus in Malaysia

Objective:To identify the acari present on pet Burmese pythons in Malaysia and to determine whether there is any potential public health risk related to handling of the snakes.Methods: Two sub-adult Burmese pythons kept as pets for a period of about 6 to 7 months by different owners,were brought to an exotic animal practice for treatment.On a complete medical examination,some ticks and mites(acari) were detected beneath the dorsal and ventral scales along body length of the snakes.Ticks were directly identified and mites were mounted prior to identification.Results:A total of 12 ticks represented by 3 males,2 females and 7 nymphal stages of Rhipicephalus sanguineus(R.sanguineus) were extracted from the first python while the other one was with 25 female Ophionyssus natricis(O.natricis) mesostigmatid mites.Only adult female mites were found.These mites are common ectoparasites of Burmese pythons. Conclusions:Both the acarine species found on the Burmese pythons are known vectors of pathogens.This is the first record that R.sanguineus has been reported from a pet Burmese python in Malaysia.

Cretaceous Hitchhikers:a Possible Phoretic Association between a Pseudoscorpion and Bird in Burmese Amber

Objective Phoresy represents a non-parasitic association between animals of different taxa related to transportation. Members of several pseudoscorpion families are phoretic. In pseudoscorpions, phoresy may or may not be associated with their predatory behavior, enabling dispersal over larger distances than they could manage with their own short legs. This provides a wide distribution, and a potential food supply.

Focal mechanism and modern stress field along the Burmese Arc and its vicinity

It is generally accepted that the Burmese Arc represents a transition zone between the Himalayan collision belt and the Indonesian Arc. The detail analysis of focal mechanism in the Burmese Arc and its vicinity now implicates two dominant factors responsible for the prevailing stress field in the region. The first is the Indian Plate motion, which produces a SSW-NNE compressive stressl the second is the overthrusting of the Eurasian Plate above the indian Plate, which results in a NEE-SWW compressive stress and a tensile stress approximately perpendicular to the main tectonic lines. The flow of material from the deep crust of Tibet to Burmese region facilitates the overthrusting. The two share a common dynamic source, namely, the NNE motion of the Indian Plate.

First Eggs of Fossil Bristletails (Meinertellidae： Microcoryphia) from Burmese Amber

Fossil microcoryphids are scarce. Silverstri （1912） described two genera and eight species of Machilidae or Machiloidae incertae sedis from Baltic amber （35-40 Myr）. In Cretaceous Myanmar amber （burmite： -99 Myr） one preserved Machilidae plus five undetermined specimens were reported but with no details by Grimaldi et al. （2002）. In Dominican amber （20-25 Myr） only Neomachilellus （Praeneomachilellus） dominicanus （Sturm ＆ Poinar 1997： Meinertellidae） has been found. Mendes （2013） considered that one undetermined Microcoryphia specimen preserved in burmite belonged to the genus Macropsontus, but did not provide enough argumentation.

Ecological correlates of invasion impact for Burmese pythons in Florida

An invasive population of Burmese pythons(Python molurus bivittatus)is established across several thousand square kilometers of southern Florida and appears to have caused precipitous population declines among several species of native mammals.Why has this giant snake had such great success as an invasive species when many established reptiles have failed to spread?We scored the Burmese python for each of 15 literature-based attributes relative to predefined comparison groups from a diverse range of taxa and provide a review of the natural history and ecology of Burmese pythons relevant to each attribute.We focused on attributes linked to spread and magnitude of impacts rather than establishment success.Our results suggest that attributes related to body size and generalism appeared to be particularly applicable to the Burmese python’s success in Florida.The attributes with the highest scores were:high reproductive potential,low vulnerability to predation,large adult body size,large offspring size and high dietary breadth.However,attributes of ectotherms in general and pythons in particular(including predatory mode,energetic efficiency and social interactions)might have also contributed to invasion success.Although establishment risk assessments are an important initial step in prevention of new establishments,evaluating species in terms of their potential for spreading widely and negatively impacting ecosystems might become part of the means by which resource managers prioritize control efforts in environments with large numbers of introduced species.

A new species of ice crawlers from Burmese amber(Insecta:Grylloblattodea)

Modem grylloblattids are one of the least diverse insect orders. The single extant family is contrasted with 46 families described from the fossil records, which extend to the Late Carboniferous. The most ancient grylloblattid nymphs are known from the Lower Permian. Till now, there is no report on grylloblattid from Burmese amber, which is a very old amber locality. Herein, we describe Sylvalitoralis cheni Zhang, Bai ＆ Yang, sp. nov. from Grylloblattina based on a nymph specimen from the mid-Cretaceous Myanmar （Burmese） amber.

Environmental temperatures,physiology and behavior limit the range expansion of invasive Burmese pythons in southeastern USA

A well-established population of Burmese pythons resides in the Everglades of southern Florida.Prompted in part by a report that identified much of southern USA as suitable habitat for expansion or establishment of the Burmese python,we examined the plausibility of this snake to survive winters at sites north of the Everglades.We integrated daily low and high temperatures recorded from October to February from 2005-2011 at Homestead,Orlando and Gainesville,Florida;and Aiken,South Carolina,with minimum temperatures projected for python digestion(16℃),activity(5℃)and survival(0℃).Mean low and high temperatures decreased northward from Homestead to Aiken and the number of days of freezing temperatures increased northward.Digestion was impaired or inhibited for 2 months in the Everglades and up to at least 5 months in Aiken,and activity was increasingly limited northward during these months.Reports of overwinter survivorship document that a single bout of low and freezing temperatures results in python death.The capacity for Burmese pythons to successfully overwinter in more temperate regions of the USA is seemingly prohibited because they lack the behaviors to seek refuge from,and the physiology to tolerate,cold temperatures.As tropical Southeast Asia is the source of the Everglades Burmese pythons,we predict it is unlikely that they will be able to successfully expand to or colonize more temperate areas of Florida and adjoining states due to their lack of behavioral and physiological traits to seek refuge from cold temperatures.

PASSION FOR MYANMAR LANGUAGE AT THE DIPLOMAT FACTORY

“We are now working to produce more students with a good command of the Myanmar language,”smiled Zhao Jin,an associate professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University(BFSU).

Flat-footed Females and Missing Males:A New Genus and Species of Pleciofungivoridae(Diptera:Bibionomorpha)Represents the First Record of the Family from Mid-Cretaceous Kachin Amber

A new genus and species,Cretopleciofungivora simpsoni gen.et sp.nov.,from the extinct family Pleciofungivoridae(Diptera:Bibionomorpha),is discovered in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber.Previously,this family was known only from imprints in sedimentary rocks of the Jurassic and the Lower Cretaceous.Discovery of a representative of Pleciofungivoridae in Kachin amber confirms the presence of the family in the Upper Cretaceous.The new species has a unique structure of fore tarsus,with lobed and extended tarsal segments Ⅱ to Ⅳ,a feature hitherto known only in a few species of extant Sciaroidea.Although not particularly rare,the new species is currently known only from female specimens.Possible reasons for this phenomenon,very unusual in Sciaroidea,are briefly discussed,including parthenogenesis as a potentially plausible hypothesis.

Halteriomantispa grimaldii gen.et sp.nov.:A new genus and species of the family Dipteromantispidae(Insecta:Neuroptera)from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar

The family Dipteromantispidae, previously with only two genera and three species, is one of the enigmatic groups of the Cretaceous Neuroptera by the mantispid-like appearance combined with strongly reduced hind wings specialized into a haltere-like structure. A new genus and species of Dipteromantispidae, namely Halteriomantispa grimaldii gen. et sp. nov., is herein described based on an exquisitely preserved specimen from the mid-Cretaceous amber of northern Myanmar. It represents the first record of Dipteromantispidae from the amber deposit of mid-Cretaceous （Albian-Cenomanian） of Myanmar. A brief discussion on the homology of forewing venations and female genital sclerites of Dipteromantispidae is given.

A remarkable new genus of Cretaceous dustywings(Neuroptera: Coniopterygidae) in amber from northern Myanmar

A new dustywing genus and species, namely Cretaconiopteryx grandis gen. ＆ sp. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar is herein described in the lacewing family Coniopterygidae. The new genus is distinguished from all other dustywing species by the combination of following morphological features： relatively large body-size, comparatively rich crossvenation, origin of RP＋MA near wing base in both fore-and hindwing, forewing RA and RP terminally fused into a loop, and proximally zig-zagged forewing Cu P. A new subfamily, Cretaconiopteryginae subfam. nov., is erected based on this spectacular new genus. The new subfamily might represent the basalmost lineage of known coniopterygids.

Nomenclatural validation of new genera and species of the superfamily Psychopsoidea(Insecta:Neuroptera) from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar

Two new genus-group names and two new species-group names of the lacewing superfamily Psychopsoidea from the mid-Cretaceous amber of Myanmar are herein validated, namely Fiaponeurapenghiani gen. ＆ sp. nov. and Burmopsychops limoae gen. ＆ sp. nov.

A catalogue of Burmite inclusions

Burmite（Burmese amber） from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar is a remarkable valuable and obviously the most important amber for studying terrestrial diversity in the mid-Cretaceous. The diversity of Burmite inclusions is very high and many new taxa were found, including new order, new family/subfamily, and new genus. Till the end of 2016, 14 phyla, 21 classes, 65 orders, 279 families, 515 genera and 643 species of organisms are recorded, which are summized and complied in this catalogue. Among them, 587 species are arthropods. In addtion, the specimens which can not be identified into species are also listed in the paper. The information on type specimens, other materials, host and deposition of types are provided.

Minute clubbed beetles with cephalic horns in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar(Coleoptera:Monotomidae)

A new fossil species of Monotomidae,Cretakarenni shaoi Li&Cai,sp.nov.,is reported from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber.The new species is attributed to the extinct genus Cretakarenni Peris&Delclòs,2015 primarily based on the paired setose projections on head,apparently 1-segmented antennal club,and transverse procoxal cavities with exposed trochantins.It differs from the previously reported C.birmanicus Peris&Delclòs from the same deposit in the more narrowly separated projections(cephalic horns)on vertex and the absence of elytral absutural lines.Our discovery of a new monotomid species from the mid-Cretaceous amber highlights the palaeodiversity and morphological disparity of the family in the late Mesozoic.