Sexual Dimorphism in Pelvic Bone Shape of the North Pacific Common Minke Whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

Little is known about the morphology of the pelvic girdle of modern cetaceans, although many species have a vestigial pelvis (pelvic bone) and part of the hind limb bones inside the body. Previous studies have focused almost exclusively on hard tissues as well, despite the fact that the bones are comprised of cartilaginous tissue, especially in the case of femur. In the present study, we characterized the pelvic bones and searched for vestigial femurs among 43 North Pacific common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), all of which were sexually mature individuals. The shape of the pelvic bones clearly differs depending on sex. Specifically, the pelvic bones of females were flat, but those of adult males consist of two types: one with a twisted caudal portion (Twisted type) and the other with a thickened caudal portion (Hypertrophied type). Those pelvic bone features in male are found only among North Pacific common minke whales. 98% of the individuals in this study had vestigial femur. The presence rate of vestigial femur may differ by subspecies. The shape of the pelvic and hind limb bones of modern cetaceans may vary between species and probably by region, at least at the Ocean basin scale.

鲸鱼骨来源真菌Penicillium sp. S2014503化学成分及其生物活性研究

从一块腐烂的鲸鱼骨头分离鉴定了一株真菌Penicillium sp. S2014503。利用大米固体发酵培养技术从该菌产物中获得10个化合物,通过核磁共振波谱数据比对分析结合质谱数据分析,手性化合物测定旋光值或者进行X-射线单晶衍射分析后将这10个化合物分别鉴定为emodin(1)、citreorosein(2)、tetrahydroaltersolanolB(3)、conioxanthoneA(4)、chrysogine(5)、pyramidamycin B (6)、germicidin O (7)、2-(6-hydroxy-5,7-dimethylbenzefuranone-4-yl) acetaldehyde (8)、astrophenone (9)和chenopodolans A (10)。经生物活性测试发现,化合物1和2对藤黄微球菌具有弱的抑制活性,化合物1、2和4对卤虫幼虫具有显著的致死毒性。此外,化合物1是中药大黄和虎杖的主要致泻成分。文章首次报道了来源于海洋动物样品鲸鱼骨的真菌Penicillium sp.能够生产大黄素类等活性天然产物。

Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis of Chemosymbiotic Solemyidae and Thyasiridae

In order to invade and adapt to deep-sea environments, shallow-water organisms have to acquire tolerance to high hydrostatic pressure, low water temperature, toxic methane and hydrogen sulfide, and feeding strategies not relying on photosynthetic products. Our previous study showed that the “evolutionary stepping stone hypothe-sis”, which assumes that organic falls can act as stepping-stones to connect shallow sea with deep sea, was supported in Mytilidae. However, it is not known whether other bivalves constituting chemosynthetic communities experienced the same evolutionary process or different processes from mytilid mussels. Therefore, here, we performed phylogenetic analyses by sequencing the nuclear 18S rRNA and mitochondrial COI genes of solemyid and thyasirid bivalves. In Solemyidae, the two genera Solemya and Acharax formed each clade, the latter of which was divided into three subgroups. The Solemya clade and one of the Acharax subgroups diverged in the order of shallow-sea residents, whale-bone residents, and deep-sea vent/seep residents, which supported the “evolutionary stepping stone hypothesis”. Furthermore, in Thyasiridae, the two genera Thyasira and Maorithyas formed a paraphyletic group and the other genera, Adontorhina, Axinopsis, Axinulus, Leptaxinus, and Mendicula, formed a clade. The “evolu-tionary stepping stone hypothesis” was not seemingly supported in the other lineages of Solemyidae and Thyasiridae.

Oxygen isotopic variations in modern cetacean teeth and bones： implications for ecological, paleoecological, and paleoclimatic studies

The oxygen isotope ratios(d18O) preserved in marine sediments have been widely used to reconstruct past ocean temperatures. However, there remain significant uncertainties associated with this method, owing to assumptions about the d18 O of ancient seawater which affects the temperature inferred from sediment d18 O records. In this study, oxygen isotope compositions of phosphate in teeth and bones from five different modern cetacean species, including sperm whale, pygmy sperm whale, short-finned pilot whale, killer whale, and Cuvier's beaked whale, and three fossil whales were determined. The data were used to assess whether the oxygen isotope ratios of biogenic phosphate(d18Op) from cetaceans are a reliable proxy for the oxygen isotopic composition of ocean water(d18Ow). The d18 Opvalues of modern cetaceans range from15.5 % to 21.3 %, averaging(19.6 %± 0.8 %)(n = 136).Using a greatly expanded global cetacean d18 Opdataset, the following regression equation is derived for cetaceans:d18Ow= 0.95317(±0.03293) d18Op- 17.971(±0.605),r = 0.97253. The new equation, when applied to fossil teeth and bones, yielded reasonable estimates of ancient seawater d18 Owvalues. Intra-tooth isotopic variations were observed within individual teeth. Among the selected species, the killer whale(O. orca) has the lowest d18 Opvalues and the largest intra-tooth d18 Opvariation, reflecting its habitat preference and migratory behavior. The results show that oxygen isotope analysis of phosphate in cetacean teeth and dense ear bones provides a useful tool for reconstructing the oxygen isotopic composition of seawater and for examining environmental preferences(including migratory behavior)of both modern and ancient whales.