The world's domestic cats carry patterns of sequence variation in their genome that reflect a history of domestication and breed development. A genetic assessment of 979 domestic cats and their wild progenitors-Felis silvestris silvestris (European wildcat), F. s. lybica (Near Eastern wildcat), F. s. ornata (central Asian wildcat), F. s. cafra (southern African wildcat), and F. s. bieti (Chines...

Amphitrite ornata dehaloperoxidase (DHP) is a heme enzyme with a globin structure, which is capable of oxidizing para-halogenated phenols to the corresponding quinones. Cloning, high-level expression, and purification of recombinant DHP are described. Recombinant DHP was assayed by stopped-flow experiments for its ability to oxidatively debrominate 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBP). The enzymatic acti...

We analyzed the diet composition, endoparasites and sexual size dimorphism of the microhylid frog Chiasmocleis capixaba (Microhylidae) from a "mussununga" habitat in the municipality of Nova Viçosa, southern Bahia state, Brazil. All the 119 specimens analyzed were collected in a single night of heavy rainfall. Females (mean snout-vent length = 15.7 + 3.0 mm) were significantly larger than males...

Five new species of the feather mite genus Protolichus Trouessart, 1884 (Astigmata, Pterolichidae) are described from parrots of the subfamily Loriinae (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae): Protolichus ornatus sp. n. from Trichoglossus ornatus (Linnaeus, 1758), P. lorinus sp. n. from Lorius lory (Linnaeus, 1758), P. placentis sp. n. from Charmosyna placentis (Temminck, 1835), P. pulchellae sp. n. from...

This paper describes a one-dimensional finite element code for debris flows developed to model the flow within a steep channel and the stopping conditions on the fan. The code allows the systematic comparison of a wide variety of previously proposed one-phase flow resistance laws using the same finite element solution method. The onedimensional depth-averaged equations of motion and the numeric...

The stingless bee genus Austroplebeia Moure occurring in Australia and New Guinea is revised, based on a morphological analysis of samples from 177 colonies. Five species are recognised: A. cincta (Mocsáry), A. essingtoni (Cockerell), A. australis (Friese), A. cassiae (Cockerell) and A. magna, sp. nov. Three different colour morphs of A. australis are described. Five new synonymies are proposed...

Four new species are described: Neohemigaster angustifrons sp.n. from Vietnam, Neohenigaster antropovi sp.n. from the Russian Far East, Neohemigaster tetralineata sp.n. from Taiwan and Pterogenia tenebrica sp.n. from Taiwan. In addition to Neohemigaster ussurica (Korneyev, 2001), six species formerly assigned to Pterogenia are transferred to Neoheinigaster: Neohemigaster eurysterna (Hendel, 191...

– We examined the histology, histochemistry, and ultrastructure of Rathke’s glands in hatchlings of the three-toed box turtle, Terrapene carolina triunguis, and the desert box turtle, Terrapene ornata luteola. Both species possess one pair (axillary) of Rathke’s glands, which are similar anatomically and histochemically to one another. Each gland is composed of a single, highly vascularized sec...

Chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), is driving amphibian declines and extinctions in protected areas globally. The introduction of invasive reservoir species has been implicated in the spread of Bd but does not explain the appearance of the pathogen in remote protected areas. In the high elevation (>1500 m) Sierra Nevada of California, ...