Three new species of saddled loricariid catfishes, and a review of Hemiancistrus, Peckoltia, and allied genera (Siluriformes)

(Figs 2–4). CORBIDI 14685, an adult male (Figs 2–4) from 13.5806 S, 75.2449 W (WGS84), Chicchobamba, upstream of Represa Negrayccassa, upper drainage of the Huaytará river, 3900 m, Provincia Huaytará, Región Huancavelica, Peru, collected by A. Catenazzi, V. Vargas García, and M. Jaico Huayanay

We describe a new species of Telmatobius from the Pacific slopes of the Andes in central Peru. Specimens were collected at 3900 m elevation near Huaytará, Huancavelica, in the upper drainage of the Pisco river. The new species has a snout–vent length of 52.5 ± 1.1 mm (49.3–55.7 mm, n = 6) in adult females, and 48.5 mm in the single adult male. The new species has bright yellow and orange coloration ventrally and is readily distinguished from all other central Peruvian Andean species of Telmatobius but T. intermedius by having vomerine teeth but lacking premaxillary and maxillary teeth, and by its slender body shape and long legs. The new species differs from T. intermedius by its larger size, flatter head, and the absence of cutaneous keratinized spicules (present even in immature females of T. intermedius), and in males by the presence of minute, densely packed nuptial spines on dorsal and medial surfaces of thumbs (large, sparsely packed nuptial spines in T. intermedius). The hyper-arid coastal valleys of Peru generally support low species richness, particularly for groups such as aquatic breeding amphibians. The discovery of a new species in this environment, and along a major highway crossing the Andes, shows that much remains to be done to document amphibian diversity in Peru.

The Tropical Andes are characterized by a large diversification of the aquatic frogs of the genus Telmatobius Wiegmann, 1834. Sixty-two species are currently recognized in this genus (AmphibiaWeb 2014; Aguilar and Valencia 2009; Frost 2014; including species previously assigned to Batrachophrynus Peters, 1873). The altitudinal distribution of Telmatobius ranges from 1000 m to 5400 m (De la Riva and Harvey 2003; Seimon et al. 2007), and its longitudinal distribution extends from the equator (T. niger Barbour & Noble, 1920, whose populations have been extirpated in Ecuador; Merino-Viteri et al. 2005) to 29°S, on the eastern slopes of the Argentinean Andes (T. contrerasi Cei, 1977). Twenty-eight species of Telmatobius are distributed in Peru (Lehr 2005; AmphibiaWeb 2014), but of these only five [T. arequipensis Vellard, 1955; T. intermedius Vellard, 1955; T. jelskii (Peters, 1873); T. peruvianus Wiegmann, 1834; T. rimac Schmidt, 1954] are known to occur in the hyper-arid coastal valleys that drain directly into the Pacific Ocean.

During October 2012 we made several surveys for the Biodiversity and Monitoring Assessment Program of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability (Catenazzi et al. 2013a; Catenazzi et al. 2013b). During one of these surveys, we found a population of Telmatobius in the upper drainage of the Huaytará river (Region of Huancavelica), a tributary of the Pisco river in the Pacific slopes of the central Peruvian Andes. Individuals of this population possess traits that do not correspond to the morphological characteristics of other species found in the arid coastal valleys of central Peru (Fig. 1), namely T. rimac to the north and T. intermedius to the south (Vellard 1951; Schmidt 1954; Lehr 2005). Therefore, here we describe the new species and provide a diagnosis to differentiate it from congeneric forms.

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Martian meteorite yields more evidence of the possibility of life on Mars

Is there, or was there once, life on Mars? Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS

A tiny fragment of Martian meteorite 1.3 billion years old is helping to make the case for the possibility of life on Mars, say scientists.

The finding of a 'cell-like' structure, which investigators now know once held water, came about as a result of collaboration between scientists in the UK and Greece. Their findings are published in the latest edition of the journal Astrobiology.

While investigating the Martian meteorite, known as Nakhla, Dr Elias Chatzitheodoridis of the National Technical University of Athens found an unusual feature embedded deep within the rock. In a bid to understand what it might be, he teamed up with long-time friend and collaborator Professor Ian Lyon at the University of Manchester.

Professor Lyon, based in Manchester's School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences explains: "In many ways it resembled a fossilized biological cell from Earth but it was intriguing because it was undoubtedly from Mars. Our research found that it probably wasn't a cell but that it did once hold water, water that had been heated, probably as a result of an asteroid impact."

These findings are significant because they add to increasing evidence that beneath the surface, Mars does provide all the conditions for life to have formed and evolved. It also adds to a body of evidence suggesting that large asteroids hit Mars in the past and produce long-lasting hydrothermal fields that could sustain life on Mars, even in later epochs, if life ever emerged there.

As part of the research, the feature was imaged in unprecedented detail by Dr Sarah Haigh of The University of Manchester whose work usually involves high resolution imaging for next generation electronic devices ,which are made by stacking together single atomic layers of graphene and other materials with the aim of making faster, lighter and bendable mobile phones and tablets. A similar imaging approach was able to reveal the atomic layers of materials inside the meteorite.

Together their combined experimental approach has revealed new insights into the geological origins of this fascinating structure.

Professor Lyon said: "We have been able to show the setting is there to provide life. It's not too cold, it's not too harsh. Life as we know it, in the form of bacteria, for example, could be there, although we haven't found it yet. It's about piecing together the case for life on Mars -- it may have existed and in some form could exist still."

Now, the team is using these and other state-of-the-art techniques to investigate new secondary materials in this meteorite and search for possible bio signatures which provide scientific evidence of life, past or present. Professor Lyon concluded: "Before we return samples from Mars, we must examine them further, but in more delicate ways. We must carefully search for further evidence."

Source: Manchester University

Roman Gladiators ate a mostly vegetarian diet and drank a tonic of ashes after training

Anthropology unlocks clues about Roman gladiators' eating habits. Credit: OEAI, Pietsch

Roman gladiators ate a mostly vegetarian diet and drank ashes after training as a tonic. These are the findings of anthropological investigations carried out on bones of warriors found during excavations in the ancient city of Ephesos.

Historic sources report that gladiators had their own diet. This comprised beans and grains. Contemporary reports referred to them as "hordearii" ("barley eaters").

In a study by the Department of Forensic Medicine at the MedUni Vienna in cooperation with the Department of Anthropology at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the University of Bern, bones were examined from a gladiator cemetery uncovered in 1993 which dates back to the 2nd or 3rd century BC in the then Roman city of Ephesos (now in modern-day Turkey). At the time, Ephesos was the capital of the Roman province of Asia and had over 200,000 inhabitants.

Using spectroscopy, stable isotope ratios (carbon, nitrogen and sulphur) were investigated in the collagen of the bones, along with the ratio of strontium to calcium in the bone mineral.

The result shows that gladiators mostly ate a vegetarian diet. There is virtually no difference in terms of nutrition from the local "normal population." Meals consisted primarily of grain and meat-free meals. The word "barley eater" relates in this case to the fact that gladiators were probably given grain of an inferior quality.

Build-up drink following physical exertion

The difference between gladiators and the normal population is highly significant in terms of the amount of strontium measured in their bones. This leads to the conclusion that the gladiators had a higher intake of minerals from a strontium-rich source of calcium. The ash drink quoted in literature probably really did exist. "Plant ashes were evidently consumed to fortify the body after physical exertion and to promote better bone healing," explains study leader Fabian Kanz from the Department of Forensic Medicine at the MedUni Vienna. "Things were similar then to what we do today -- we take magnesium and calcium (in the form of effervescent tablets, for example) following physical exertion." Calcium is essential for bone building and usually occurs primarily in milk products.

A further research project is looking at the migration of gladiators, who often came from different parts of the Roman Empire to Ephesos. The researchers are hoping that comparison of the bone data from gladiators with that of the local fauna will yield a number of differences.

Source: Medical University of Vienna

Birds Sensed severe storms and fled before tornado outbreak

This golden-winged warbler spends the breeding season in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. Credit: Henry Streby and Gunnar Kramer

Golden-winged warblers apparently knew in advance that a storm that would spawn 84 confirmed tornadoes and kill at least 35 people last spring was coming, according to a report in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on December 18. The birds left the scene well before devastating supercell storms blew in.

The discovery was made quite by accident while researchers were testing whether the warblers, which weigh "less than two nickels," could carry geolocators on their backs. It turns out they can, and much more. With a big storm brewing, the birds took off from their breeding ground in the Cumberland Mountains of eastern Tennessee, where they had only just arrived, for an unplanned migratory event. All told, the warblers travelled 1,500 kilometers in 5 days to avoid the historic tornado-producing storms.

"The most curious finding is that the birds left long before the storm arrived," says Henry Streby of the University of California, Berkeley. "At the same time that meteorologists on The Weather Channel were telling us this storm was headed in our direction, the birds were apparently already packing their bags and evacuating the area."

The birds fled from their breeding territories more than 24 hours before the arrival of the storm, Streby and his colleagues report. The researchers suspect that the birds did it by listening to infrasound associated with the severe weather, at a level well below the range of human hearing.

"Meteorologists and physicists have known for decades that tornadic storms make very strong infrasound that can travel thousands of kilometers from the storm," Streby explains. While the birds might pick up on some other cue, he adds, the infrasound from severe storms travels at exactly the same frequency the birds are most sensitive to hearing.

The findings show that birds that follow annual migratory routes can also take off on unplanned trips at other times of the year when conditions require it. That's probably good news for birds, as climate change is expected to produce storms that are both stronger and more frequent. But there surely must be a downside as well, the researchers say.

"Our observation suggests [that] birds aren't just going to sit there and take it with regards to climate change, and maybe they will fare better than some have predicted," Streby says. "On the other hand, this behavior presumably costs the birds some serious energy and time they should be spending on reproducing." The birds' energy-draining journey is just one more pressure human activities are putting on migratory songbirds.

In the coming year, Streby's team will deploy hundreds of geolocators on the golden-winged warblers and related species across their entire breeding range to find out where they spend the winter and how they get there and back.

"I can't say I'm hoping for another severe tornado outbreak," Streby says, "but I am eager to see what unpredictable things happen this time."

Source: Cell Press

March of the penguin genomes

Adélie penguins.
Credit: David Lambert

Two penguin genomes have been sequenced and analyzed for the first time in the open access, open data journal GigaScience. Timely for the holiday season, the study reveals insights into how these birds have been able to adapt to the cold and hostile Antarctic environment.

Antarctic penguins are subject to extremely low temperatures, high winds, and profound changes in daylight. They have developed complicated biological systems to regulate temperature and store energy for long-term fasting. Most studies have focused on the physiological and behavioral aspects of their biology, but an international team of researchers has now analyzed the DNA of two Antarctic penguins (Adélie and emperor) relative to other bird species, revealing the genetic basis of their adaptations and their evolutionary history in response to climate change.

Using the historical genetic record within the DNA across bird species, the researchers estimate that penguins first appeared around 60 million years ago. The study shows that the Adélie penguin population increased rapidly about 150,000 years ago when the climate became warmer, but later declined by 40% about 60,000 years ago during a cold and dry glacial period. In contrast, the emperor penguin population remained stable, suggesting that they were better adapted to glacial conditions, for example, by being able to protect their eggs from freezing temperatures and incubate them on their feet.

Cai Li, Team Lead at BGI-Shenzhen, China, said: "These different patterns in historical population change also suggest that future climate change may have impacts on the two penguin species. For example, the fact that emperor penguins didn't experience the same population boom as Adélie penguins in warm climates means that they could suffer more from global warming, and this needs to be considered in conservation efforts in Antarctica."
Both penguins were found to have expanded genes related to beta-keratins -- the proteins which make up 90% of feathers. They also had at least 13 genes responsible for a single type of beta-keratin, which is the highest number compared to all other known bird genomes. This would explain their importance in ensuring that penguin feathers are short, stiff and densely packed to minimize heat loss, remain waterproof and aid underwater flight. Likely to be responsible for penguins' thick skin, the team also identified a gene called DSG1, which is known to be involved in a human dermatological disease characterized by thick skin on the palms and soles.

Fat storage is critical for penguins to withstand the cold and survive long fasting periods -- up to four months in emperor penguins. The two penguins were found to have exploited different adaptations for lipid metabolism in the course of their evolution, which may also provide insight into their contrasting abilities for coping with climate change. The researchers found eight genes involved in lipid metabolism in the Adélie penguin, and three in the emperor penguin.

During their evolutionary history, the wings (or forelimbs) of penguins changed profoundly for wing-propelled diving in the water. The team identified 17 forelimb-related genes in the penguin genomes that had unique changes. One of the genes in particular, EVC2, showed a larger number of genetic changes compared to other birds. Mutations of EVC2 in humans cause Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, characterized by short-limb dwarfism and short ribs.
Guojie Zhang, Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen and Associate Director at China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen, China, said: "Penguins show distinct evolution relative to other bird species. They can't fly, have specialized skin and feathers, degenerated wings, and live in a cold environment in which most other birds could not survive. 

Comparative genomics is a powerful tool for providing answers on the molecular basis of these evolutionary changes and how organisms deal with the conditions they are exposed to. Our study has revealed several of these secrets for the two penguins."

David Lambert, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Griffith University, Australia, said: "Although Adélie and Emperor penguins both breed on the Antarctic continent, they do so in very different ways. By sequencing the genomes of two penguin species we have been able to compare many of the genes that are responsible for these different abilities to do the same thing -- namely to survive and breed in Antarctica. This study is particularly important because it now provides us with the opportunity to conduct large scale evolutionary studies of both species."

These papers are part of a series of reports from the Avian Phylogenomics Project that are being published in concert in multiple journals. The authors of several Science papers will unveil new genomic results related to the avian tree of life, and a number of papers are also published in BMC Genomics, BMC Evolutionary Biology and Genome Biology.

Avian Genome Collection on BioMed Central: http://www.biomedcentral.com/series/avian