Four new species of the genus Kolla from China, Kolla emphysematosa, K. prolongata, K. procerula and K. petalina spp. nov. are described and illustrated. A key to the males of Chinese species and a checklist of the known species worldwide are provided.

The distribution of Nosema phyllotretae infection of Phyllotreta atra populations in Turkey is reported for the first time. In total, 48 of the 1668 beetles from 24 samples collected in five localities were infected by the parasite. Nosema infection was found in P. atra adults from only one of the five localities studied. The infection average was 2.8% and it reached 42.5% in some samples. The ...

Settlement and post-settlement processes of the sea cucumber Holothuria scabra Jaeger were studied in the laboratory. Independent and paired choice experiments revealed that several substrates could induce metamorphosis into pentactulae, but that specific substrates favoured settlement. Leaves of seagrass Thalassia hemprichii, with or without their natural bio-film, yielded the highest settleme...

Taxonomic and biological aspects are presented on five species of shallow water holothurians from the Cayos Cochinos Biological Reserve-CCBR located on the northern Honduran shelf, western Caribbean at 16 degrees N, 86 degrees W. This article provides a taxonomic key of the recorded holothurians and morphometric/morphologic descriptions of their corresponding spicules. These five species belong...

Sea cucumbers produce numerous compounds with a wide range of chemical structural diversity. Among these, saponins are the most diverse and include sulfated, non-sulfated, acetylated and methylated congeners with different aglycone and sugar moieties. In this study, MALDI and ESI tandem mass spectrometry, in the positive ion mode, were used to elucidate the structure of new saponins extracted f...

A new genus and three new species of the picobiin quill mites (Cheyletoidea: Syringophilidae) are described from passeriform birds in Guyana, Phipicobia pygiptilae gen. nov. and sp. nov. parasitizing Pygiptila stellaris (Spix) (Thamnophilidae), Rafapicobia thamnophili sp. nov. from Thamnophilus insignis Salvin et Godman (type host), Myrmoborus leucophrys (Tschudi), Myrmeciza ferruginea (St. Mül...

The first instar larva of Berberomeloe insignis (Charpentier, 1818) is described and figured for the first time and compared to that of B. majalis (Linnaeus, 1758). Diagnostic larval characters of the genus and of both species are identified. Morphometric data from different populations are analyzed statistically. Results support species differentiation and characters definition. Additionally, ...

BACKGROUND Holothuria arenicola is the most important and abundant sea cucumber species in the Mediterranean Sea on the Egyptian coast. The present study aims to assess the anti-oxidative and anticholestatic effects of the sea cucumber Holothuria arenicola extract (HaE) in a model of bile duct ligation in male albino rats. METHODS Fifty four male Wistar albino rats were assigned into two main...

To avoid predation, holothuroids produce feeding-deterrent molecules in their body wall and viscera, the so-called saponins. Five tropical sea cucumber species of the family Holothuriidae were investigated in order to study their saponin content in two different organs, the body wall and the Cuvierian tubules. Mass spectrometry techniques (MALDI- and ESI-MS) were used to detect and analyze sapo...