Comparative genomics of widespread and narrow-range white-bellied rats in the Niviventer niviventer species complex sheds light on invasive rodent success

Widespread species that inhabit diverse environments possess large population sizes and exhibit a high capacity for environmental adaptation,thus enabling range expansion.In contrast,narrow-range species are confined to restricted geographical areas and are ecologically adapted to narrow environmental conditions,thus limiting their ability to expand into novel environments.However,the genomic mechanisms underlying the differentiation between closely related species with varying distribution ranges remain poorly understood.The Niviventer niviventer species complex(NNSC),consisting of highly abundant wild rats in Southeast Asia and China,offers an excellent opportunity to investigate these questions due to the presence of both widespread and narrow-range species that are phylogenetically closely related.In the present study,we combined ecological niche modeling with phylogenetic analysis,which suggested that sister species cannot be both widespread and dominant within the same geographical region.Moreover,by assessing heterozygosity,linkage disequilibrium decay,and Tajima's D analysis,we found that widespread species exhibited higher genetic diversity than narrow-range species.In addition,by exploring the“genomic islands of speciation”,we identified 13 genes in highly divergent regions that were shared by the two widespread species,distinguishing them from their narrow-range counterparts.Functional annotation analysis indicated that these genes are involved in nervous system development and regulation.The adaptive evolution of these genes likely played an important role in the speciation of these widespread species.

Findings on three endocommensal scuticociliates(Protista,Ciliophora)from freshwater mollusks,including their morphology and molecular phylogeny with descriptions of two new species

Species of the ciliate genera Myxophyllum and Conchophthirus are found as endocommensals of terrestrial and freshwater mollusks,respectively.So far,there have been few studies of these genera and morphological data for most members are often incomplete.In the present work,two new species,Myxophyllum weishanense sp.nov.and Conchophthirus paracurtus sp.nov.,and a known species,Conchophthirus lamellidens,were isolated from hosts in Lake Weishan Wetland,China.Taxonomic studies indicate that M.weishanense sp.nov.can be recognized mainly by the combination of about 60 somatic kineties on both ventral and dorsal sides and the presence of caudal cilia.Conchophthirus paracurtus sp.nov.differs from congeners in its body shape and size,having a glabrous area on the posterior right side,and having fewer somatic kineties.In addition,differences in their ITS2(Internally Transcribed Spacer 2)secondary structures support the discrimination of the two new species from their highly similar congeners.An improved diagnosis for the poorly known species,C.lamel-lidens is also provided.Phylogenetic analyses reveal that members of the genus Myxophyllum belong to a fully supported clade that is sister to a large,poorly supported clade consisting of Hemispeiridae,Ancistridae,and several lineages of the nonmonophyletic Cyclidiidae.The Myxophyllum clade also includes Protophyra ovicola JQ956552,a possible misidenti-fication.Sequences of the two new Conchophthirus species cluster with other congeners in a fully supported clade that is unrelated to either the‘typical’thigmotrichs or to pleuronematids,thus conflicting with the traditional classification,and may represent an orphan scuticociliate lineage.

Taxonomy of the genus Luprops from China, with description of the larva of Luprops horni(Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

The genus Luprops Hope, 1833 is distributed in Palaearctic, Oriental, Sino-Japanese and Afrotropical regions, including 3 new Chinese record species described in this paper. Eleven species of this genus are known in China. The new Chinese record species are: L. brancuccii Schawaller, 2013, L. kaszabi Schawaller, 1997 and L. rugosissimus Kaszab, 1980. A key to the known Luprops species and its morphological details are provided. In addition, larva of Luprops horni(Gebien, 1914) is reported for the first time.

Factors Influencing Home Ranges of the Qinghai Toad-headed Lizard(Phrynocephalus vlangalii)on the Dangjin Mountain,Gansu

Home range is an important ecological parameter reflecting the suita bility of animal habitats.To study the size and factors influencing the home ranges of the Qinghai toad-headed lizard(Phr ynocephalus vlangalii)in different habitats,from July to September 2020,we radio-tagged and tracked 15 individuals in each of sites distributed at high(3600 m)and low(2600 m)altitudes on the Dangjin Mountain,Gansu Province,northwest China.We calculated home range size using the 100%minimum convex polygon method,and analyzed the influence of inherent lizard characteristics and external environmental factors.Our results revealed that for both high-and lowaltitude lizard populations,the sizes of home ranges were positively correlated with lizard body mass.Moreover,after eliminating the effect of body mass as a covariable,we established that the home ranges of high-altitude lizards(5255.1±1103.8 m^(2))were larger than those of the low-altitude lizards(2208.1±348.7 m^(2)).Lizards in the high-altitude population were also characterized by longer daily suitable activity times and spent significantly more time in full sunlight than those in the low-altitude population.Furthermore,the food resources for lizards in low-altitude habitats were more abundant than those in high-altitude habitats In conclusion,we established that P.vlangalii lizards inhabiting high-altitude sites had larger home ranges than conspecific lizards distributed at a lower altitude,which was associated not only with endogenous factors,such as body mass,but also with habitat-related environmental factors,such as the quality of thermal resources and availability of food.

Two new nocturnal species of the genus Anatolica(Coleoptera:Tenebrionidae:Pimeliinae)from the deserts of northwest China

Two new species of the genus Anatolica Eschscholtz,1831,A.badainica Ba,Ren&Liu sp.nov.and A.gurbantunggutica Ba&Ren sp.nov.,are reported from the deserts of northwest China.Both are described and illustrated.The circadian rhythms of these two new species are briefly discussed.

Notes on jumping spiders from Xizang:three new species and two new records in China(Araneae,Salticidae)

Three new species of jumping spiders from the Xizang region,China are described:Evarcha darthvaderi Yu&Zhang,sp.nov.(♂♀),Orcevia qogyigyacani Yu&Zhang,sp.nov.(♀),Synagelides yadong Ni,Yu&Zhang,sp.nov.(♀).Two species are newly recorded in China:Phlegra prasanna Caleb&Mathai,2015 and Ptocasius urbanii(Żabka,1981),and the female of P.prasanna is described for the first time.

The fecal shield is a double-edged sword for larvae of a leaf beetle

Larvae of some leaf beetles carry masses of feces covering parts or all of the body,which is called a"fecal shield'In general,the shield is thought to be a defense structure against natural enemies.However,some studies have suggested that defense effectiveness varies depending on the natural enemy.In this study,we used a fecal retention leaf beetle Ophrida xanthospilota(Coleoptera:Chrysomelidae),and 2 local generalist predators(an ant,Camponotus japonicus(Hymenoptera:Formicidae)and a stinkbug,Arma custos(Hemiptera:Pentatomidael)as a system to test the hypothesis that the fecal shield of O.xanthospilota plays different roles in predation behavior of different predators and can provide multiple chemical communication signals in predator-prey interactions.Prey bioassays showed that the fecal shield of O.xanthospilota larvae repelled the ant C.japonicus while attracting the stinkbug A.custos.The results also strongly demonstrated that hexane extracts of the fecal shield significantly repelled C.japonicus,while dichloromethane(DCM)extracts did not inhibit ant predation.Interestingly,DCM extracts attracted A.custos,but hexane extracts did not.Therefore,we suggest that the fecal shield is a double-edged sword for the larvae of O.xanthospilota.Our results also indicated that the risk-benefit tradeoff of an insect should be estimated at a community level involving multiple enemies(predators and parasites)and herbivores,rather than in a single prey-predator pair.

Altitudinal variation in life-history features of a Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau lizard

Environmental changes along an altitudinal gradient can facilitate the differentiation of life-history features in ectothermic species,but little attention has been devoted to the reciprocal influence of altitude and alpine slope directionality on life-history variation.According to life-history theory,increased environmental stress causes a change in reproductive allocation from number to quality of offspring,as well as a stronger trade-off between size and number of offspring.To clarify the influence of environmental pressures on the life-history features of the Qinghai toad-headed lizard Phrynocephalus vlangalii along an altitudinal cline,we surveyed late pregnant females from 3 populations of low(2,600 m),middle(3,400 m),and high(3,600 m)elevations in the Dangjin Mountain of Gansu,China from July to October 2019,and compared their inter-population differences in maternal body size,reproductive characteristics,offspring growth,and locomotor performance.Because of lower temperatures,higher humidity,and lower light intensity caused by slope aspect and altitude,the middle-altitude region experienced stronger environmental stress than the high-and low-altitude regions.Our results showed that females were larger at middle-and high-altitude sites and smaller at the low-altitude site,following Bergmann’s rule.We also found that females from low-altitude population gave birth earlier than those from the middle and high altitudes.Our results showed a shift in the offspring size-number trade-off of P.vlangalii in response to colder and harsher environments,with lizards from the alpine steppe(i.e.the middle-and high-altitude habitats)producing fewer but larger offspring than those from the warm steppe(i.e.the low-altitude habitat).Low-altitude juveniles grew faster than high-altitude ones,but at the same rates as middle-altitude juveniles.This result demonstrates that the growth of P.vlangalii was associated with temperature and light intensity.Our findings contribute to enhancing our understanding of the altitudinal variation in life-history features of plateau ectotherms and their phenotypic plasticity or local adaptation.

Two new species of the subgenus Cardiobioramix Kaszab from China(Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Bioramix)

Two new species, Bioramix （Cardiobioramix） glohipunctata sp. nov. and B. （C.） liupanshana sp. nov., were discovered on Mt. Liupan in Ningxia, China. A checklist and a key to the known Chinese species of the subgenus Cardiobioramix are provided.

Taxonomic revision of the subfamily Meloinae(Coleoptera: Meloidae) from Xizang, China, with description of a new species

The subfamily Meloinae from Xizang of China is revised： totally 8 genera and 34 species are recorded; Meloe（Meloe） scabrus sp. nov. is described and illustrated as new to science; Mylabris（Chalcabris） bistillata Tan, 1981, stat. rev. is transferred from Hycleus; and a key to the species is presented. Three species, Lytta battonii Kaszab, 1962, Lytta kryzhanovskyi Kaszab, 1962 and Hycleus cichorii（Linnaeus, 1758）, were wrongly recorded in Xizang.

A joint call for actions to advance taxonomy in China

Taxonomy plays an important role in understanding the origin, evolution, and ecological functionality of biodiversity. There are large number of unknown species yet to be described by taxonomists, which together with their ecosystem services cannot be effectively protected prior to description. Despite this, taxonomy has been increasingly underrated insufficient funds and permanent positions to retain young talents. Further, the impact factordriven evaluation systems in China exacerbate this downward trend, so alternative evaluation metrics are urgently necessary. When the current generation of outstanding taxonomists retires,there will be too few remaining taxonomists left to train the next generation. In light of these challenges, all co-authors worked together on this paper to analyze the current situation of taxonomy and put out a joint call for immediate actions to advance taxonomy in China.

Electraesalopsis beuteli gen. & sp. nov., the first lucanid beetle from the Cretaceous Burmese amber(Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea)

Absract The first stag beetle found in Cretaceous Myanmar amber, Electraesalopsis beuteli Bai, Zhang ＆ Qiu gen. ＆ sp. nov., is described and illustrated on the basis of one well-preserved specimen. This specimen provides more detailed morphological characters compared with compression fossils, e.g. the highly setose antennae and the punctured elytra. However, the systematic position of the new genus is still questionable and we provisionally place it as Lucanidae incertae sedis. In addition, the discovery of Electraesalopsis Bai, Zhang ＆ Qiu gen. nov. also indicates that there is very high biodiversity in Burmese amber. The new discoveries in future studies on Burmese amber will provide more information and improve our knowledge of biogeography and early evolution of the Lucanidae.

藏蛛属的新名称(蜘蛛目:平腹蛛科)

The gnaphosid genus Xizangia Song,Zhu&Zhang,2004 was described to house Callilepis linzhiensis Hu,2001(the type species)and a new species,Xizangia rigaze Song,Zhu&Zhang,2004.They also synonymized Scotophaeus himalayaensis Hu,2001 with the newly combined taxon Xizangia linzhiensis.The World Spider Catalog(2022)considers these two taxa to comprise the currently known diversity of the genus.However,we recently detected this genus name is a homonym and thereby propose a replacement name for the preoccupied genus in this work,in accordance with Article 60 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature(ICZN,1999).