Natural History Museum

Type-Based Morphological Reassessment of Nola yoshinensis and N. kanshireiensis (Lepidoptera, Nolidae), with Description of a Previously Misidentified New Species in Asia

The identities of Nola yoshinensis (Wileman & West) and N. kanshireiensis (Wileman & South) have long been confused in East Asia, leading to repeated misidentifications in Korea and Japan. In this study, we re-examined the primary type material of both nominal species to clarify...

Resolving the mystery of Cyanerpes (Thraupidae) ‘black eggs’, with notes on the breeding and exaggerated displays of Hypocnemoides antbirds (Thamnophilidae)

Between the end of the nineteenth and the middle of the twentieth centuries intermittent reports of ‘black eggs’ belonging to one or more species of Passeriformes in South America were usually attributed to small-bodied tanagers of the genera Cyanerpes and Chlorophanes. Doubts co...

The genome sequence of the banded centipede, Lithobius variegatus Leach, 1814

We present a genome assembly from a female specimen of Lithobius variegatus (banded centipede; Arthropoda; Chilopoda; Lithobiomorpha; Lithobiidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 1,766.49 megabases and 1,768.00 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (97.68%) i...

Biomechanical analyses point to dense collagen fibre architecture in an Ediacaran frond

Ediacaran macrofossils record the earliest large and complex organisms on Earth. Despite extensive study, fundamental aspects of their internal anatomy and tissue composition remain poorly known, limiting understanding of how these organisms were constructed and functioned, as we...

Frequency of plastic occurrence varies across phylogeny but not ecology in seabirds

Seabirds are especially vulnerable to ingesting plastic pollution. However, we have a limited understanding of which traits might increase their risk of plastic ingestion. Here, we use a dataset of seabird plastic occurrence records (93 281 birds from 240 species) to investigate...

A new megaraptoran dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation, UK, and its implications for theropod evolution and biogeography

Abstract Theropod dinosaur remains from the Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, UK, are rare and often fragmentary. Here, we present a previously undescribed braincase from this formation that represents a new coelurosaurian, Invictibellatrix amber...

Reassessment of the morphological evidence for hominin hybrids in the Levant

The Levantine hominin fossil and archaeological records have played a central role in long‐standing palaeoanthropological debates over origin models and possible interbreeding between Neanderthals ( Homo neanderthalensis ) and Homo sapiens . Recent research has provided a strong...

The genome sequence of the Lined Click Beetle, Agriotes lineatus (Linnaeus, 1767) (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

Abstract We present a genome assembly from an individual Agriotes lineatus (Lined Click Beetle; Arthropoda; Insecta; Coleoptera; Elateridae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 2,590.71 megabases and 2,557.49 megabases. Most of the haplotype 1 assembly (87...

The genome sequence of the Smooth Newt, Lissotriton vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758) (Caudata: Salamandridae)

We present a genome assembly from an individual female Lissotriton vulgaris (Smooth Newt; Chordata; Amphibia; Caudata; Salamandridae). The genome sequence has a total length of 24,225.52 megabases. Most of the assembly (87.93%) is scaffolded into 16 chromosomal pseudomolecules. T...

Crop-fertilization interdependence in Ethiopian enset-based systems shapes soil fertility and constrains crop expansion

Most agricultural soils are degraded and limiting crop production. Improved management can increase crop yields and soil health, but trade-offs in the use of resources, such as organic amendments, need to be considered. We sampled 427 fields across agri-systems in the southwest o...

Interactions of land use and climate change disproportionately impact Lepidoptera of the five major insect orders

Abstract Land use and climate change are two major environmental pressures that interact to impact insect biodiversity. The wide ecological diversity, including life histories, among insects suggests that some groups will be more sensitive to these pressures than others, and it i...

Raman spectroscopic insights into rare blue and green shell colouration in bivalve molluscs

Abstract Green and blue are rare colours in bivalve shells. Where such colours occur, it is unclear whether they result from shared pigments across taxa, as similar appearances may arise from different compounds. Identifying their biochemical basis is therefore a crucial first st...

Mostly Out of Africa: Chris Stringer and the palaeoanthropology of the last million years

The field of palaeoanthropology is not known for consensus.According to reports in the media, new fossils are repeatedly overturning everything we understand, while researchers in the field will often compete over contrasting views on how all the fossils fit together -both litera...

Diagnostic male secondary sexual structures and wing patterns in the Thereus genena species group (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Theclinae) with the description of nine new species from Colombia, Peru, Brazil and French Guiana

species group is provided using male characters.

A Hotspot of Amoebae Diversity: 8 New Naked Amoebae Associated with the Planktonic Bloom-forming Cyanobacterium Microcystis

International audience

New synonymies and records of the stag-beetle genus Aegus MacLeay from Chinese fauna (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

Cao, Yuyan, Webb, Michael D., Bai, Ming, Wan, Xia (2016): New synonymies and records of the stag-beetle genus Aegus MacLeay from Chinese fauna (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Zoological Systematics 41 (3): 261-272, DOI: 10.11865/zs.201627, URL: http://zoobank.org/3359ade7-d4bc-402e-a689...

The genome sequence of Opomyza germinationis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Diptera: Opomyzidae)

We present a genome assembly from an individual male Opomyza germinationis (Arthropoda; Insecta; Diptera; Opomyzidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 315.94 megabases and 151.40 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (75.22%) is scaffolded into 4 chromosomal p...

Amphipods associate with epibiotic filamentous bacteria at a shallow-water hydrothermal vent

In the deep ocean, hydrothermal vents sustain remarkable animal-microbial symbioses, in which bacteria colonizing animal external or internal tissues use reduced chemicals from venting fluids to perform chemosynthesis and nourish their host. Hydrothermal vents also occasionally o...

The anthropogenic fingerprint on emerging infectious diseases

Abstract Emerging infectious diseases are a hallmark of the Anthropocene 1,2 . Human-driven ecosystem changes and human–wildlife–livestock contact can drive the emergence of zoonotic and vector-borne diseases 3–5 , but how much these processes shape landscapes of outbreak risk is...

Morphology of the Devonian mandibulate arthropod Rhyniognatha and its implications for the timing of insect evolution

Abstract Insects are phenomenally diverse, yet their evolutionary origins remain poorly understood. The fossil Rhyniognatha hirsti from the Early Devonian Rhynie chert (ca. 408 Ma) has been widely accepted as the earliest insect and a crown-group pterygote (flying insect), based...