We investigated the phylogenetic relationships of carrion beetles (Coleoptera, Silphidae) using 2094 bp of their mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I and II and tRNA leucine gene sequences. Shorter fragments of this gene region previously have been used to establish generic relationships in insects. In this study, they provided more than sufficient resolution, although the third positions...

[1] We utilize seismic converted phases on more than 700 receiver functions calculated for 42 stations in the South Island, New Zealand, to infer crustal and uppermost mantle structure. We determine the crustal thickness from direct observations of conversion from the Moho interface and infer zone of the maximum thickness being located along the axis of the Southern Alps, just east from the Alp...

The biogeographical history of the mulberry family (Moraceae) was investigated using phylogenetic inferences from nuclear and chloroplast DNA, molecular dating with multiple fossil calibrations, and independent geological evidence. The Moraceae are centered in the tropics which has invited the hypothesis that the family has Gondwanan origins and extant distribution is the result of vicariance d...

The genus Caltha (Ranunculaceae) consists of 10 species of low-growing, perennial herbs distributed throughout the moist temperate and cold regions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Traditionally, the species have been divided into two sections: section Psychrophila in the Southern Hemisphere with diplophyllous leaves and section Caltha in the Northern Hemisphere with leaves lackin...

Llandovery sporomorphs and graptolites have been recovered from the Manbo Formation, Mojiang area, western Yunnan, China, which belonged to the Indo-China Palaeoplate in the Palaeozoic. The graptolite fauna, including 8 genera and 12 species, is considered Mid Telychian, Llandovery in geological age, confirming the existence of Llandovery rocks in this region. The Silurian stratigraphical seque...

Organic geochemical evaluation of the Madbi Formation as the main source rock of the Al-Jawf Basin, NE Central Yemen was the main objective of this study. The organic geochemical methods used in the study include: rock-eval pyrolysis, total organic carbon, and optical measurements as the vitrinite reflectance and thermal alteration index. In this study, 67 well core and side-well core samples o...

Cooperative breeding is comparatively rare among birds in the mainly temperate and boreal Northern Hemisphere. Here we test if the distribution of breeding systems reflects a response to latitude by means of a phylogenetic analysis using correlates with geographical range among the corvids (crows, jays, magpies and allied groups). The corvids trace their ancestry to the predominantly cooperativ...

A phylogeny of the mosquito subfamily Anophelinae was inferred from fragments of two protein-coding nuclear genes, G6pd (462 bp) and white (801 bp), and from a combined data set (2,136 bp) that included a portion of the mitochondrial gene ND5 and the D2 region of the ribosomal 28S gene. Sixteen species from all three anopheline genera and six Anopheles subgenera were sampled, along with six spe...