Abstract The fossil record allows a unique glimpse into the evolutionary history of organisms living on Earth today. We discovered specimen stem group ant †Gerontoformica gracilis (Barden and Grimaldi, 2014) in Kachin amber with near-complete preservation internal head structures, which we document employing µ-computed-tomography-based 3D reconstructions. compare to four outgroup taxa extant sp...

Antennal sensilla of some forensically important fly species in the families Calliphoridae (Chrysomya megacephala, Chrysomya rufifacies, Chrysomya nigripes and Lucilia cuprina), Sarcophagidae (Parasarcophaga dux) and Muscidae (Musca domestica) were studied using scanning electron microscopy. Five types of sensilla were observed: trichoid, basiconic, coeloconic, styloconic and sensory pit. Only ...

Experiments were conducted on developing fruitlet explants of two mango (Mangifera indica L.) cultivars to establish the source and dynamics of ethylene production prior to and during fruitlet abscission. Abscission of all fruits in the samples occurred at approximately 86 and 74 hours postharvest in ;Keitt' and ;Tommy Atkins,' respectively. Increased abscission began 26 hours from harvest and ...

Seed shape and size are among the most important agronomic traits because they affect yield and market price. To obtain accurate seed size data, a large number of measurements are needed because there is little difference in size among seeds from one plant. To promote genetic analysis and selection for seed shape in plant breeding, efficient, reliable, high-throughput seed phenotyping methods a...

Short-tooth sage (Salvia brachyodon Vandas) is an endemic and one of the rarest plant species of the Dinaric karst. Although older literature indicates its presence in more localities, only two have been confi rmed at the present time, Mt. Orjen (border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro) and Pelješac peninsula (Croatia). Due to its very narrow distribution and economically very interesti...

Zyzzyzus rubusidaeus, sp. nov., is described from inshore waters near the northern tip of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Specimens were collected on rocky bottoms amongst barnacles, sponges, and compound ascidians at a depth of 18 m in Weynton Passage, Broughton Strait, during March, July, and October 2012. Polyps tend to grow in dense aggregations, often covering several square ce...

A physical method is described for the rapid isolation of plant trichomes, with emphasis on stalked glandular types. The technique involved breaking frozen trichomes with powdered dry ice and collection of glandular heads by sieving from larger tissue fragments. This method was applied to several plants that bear similar stalked trichomes: geranium (Pelargonium), potato (Solanum tuberosum), tom...

Interest in the colour of fruits eaten by vertebrates has a long history (Ridley 1930, Turcek 1963, van der Pijl 1972). Within a given geographical area, colours of birdconsumed fruits compared with mammal-consumed fruits are fairly consistent (Janson 1983, Wheelwright & Janson 1985, Willson & Whelan 1990), but comparisons among different regions reveal selective pressures of different animal g...

Tag1 is an autonomous transposon of Arabidopsis thaliana. The excision behavior of Tag1 during reproductive and vegetative development was examined using CaMV 35STag1-GUS constructs. Germinal reversion frequencies varied from 0 to 27% and correlated with Tag1 copy number. Southern blot and somatic sector analyses indicated that each revertant was derived from an independent excision event, and ...

Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. (family Scrophulariaceae) is a creeping, glabrous, succulent herb, rooting at nodes whose habitat includes wetlands and muddy shores. Commonly known as Brahmi, the plant is 10-30 cm long with 1-2 mm thick, soft, glabrous stem having ascending branches. The leaves are 0.6-2.5 cm long and 3-8 mm broad. Flowers of brahmi are white or pale-bluish in colour, axillary, so...