Biosis: Biological Systems (inactive)
type: channel
description: Biosis: Biological Systems (2708-0072) is an international fully peer-reviewed and Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) compliant open access Journal that is published online with a quarterly frequency. The goal of this journal is to promote interdisciplinary approaches in Biology and Medicine, at the interface between organismal and the processes of organic evolution in the broadest sense.
publisher: Eurasia Academic Publishing Group
language: en
publication name: Biosis: Biological Systems (inactive)
issn: 2708-0072
copyright: Authors retain copyright over the materials, which are published under an Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license.
items: A 3-Day Geological Field Trip in Qatar
items: Dinosaur Tracks from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Northern Central Yunnan, China
items: Dinosaur Track from the Jurassic Xiahuayuan Formation of Northern China
items: A Preliminary Review of Dinosaur Track Assemblages from the Tuchengzi Formation in North China
items: https://eaapublishing.org/journals/index.php/biosis/article/view/162
items: Exceptional Preservation of Feather Micro-Structures in Amber from the Middle-Cretaceous of Myanmar
items: The Currently Earliest Angiosperm Fruit from the Jurassic of North America
items: A Curious new Caloneurodea from the Bashkirian of the Pas-de-Calais, France (Insecta Archaeorthoptera)
items: A mid-Cretaceous fungus, Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov. (Ascomycota: Spheciophilaceae), on a thrip (Thysanoptera) in Burmese amber
items: Stratigraphic Lexicon: A revised guide to the Cenozoic Surface Formations of Qatar, Middle East (excluding the islands)
items: Captain Vivian Hewitt and the fate of his collection of birds’ eggs and specimens
items: Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health
items: A Monocot Flower, Mirafloris burmitis gen. et sp. nov. (Monocots: Angiospermae), in Burmese Amber
items: A New Species of the Genus Amberophytum Yu, Slipinski et Pang, 2019 (Coleoptera: Cerophytidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese Amber
items: Insect Herbivores of Ferns along the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America
items: Richard Bradley’s A Short Historical Account of Coffee (1715) and The Virtue and Use of Coffee (1721)
items: The evolution of brain size among the Homininae and selection at ASPM and MCPH1 genes
items: Dinosaur tracks from Tang Dynasty Grottoes area in Sichuan Province, China
items: Theropod tracks from the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary, Tuchengzi Formation, Chengde, China: Review and new observations
items: Taking a crack at the dome: histopathology of a pachycephalosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) frontoparietal dome
items: A Botanical Association Involving Elizabeth Pym, Peter Collinson, Sir Hans Sloane, and Admiral Sir Charles Wager
items: First report of deinonychosaurian trackway from the Cretaceous of Guizhou, China
items: Tips for effective English writing
items: Theropod footprints from the Lower Cretaceous Cangxi Formation in the Northern Margin of the Sichuan Basin, China
items: Stratigraphic Lexicon: The Onshore Cenozoic Sedimentary Formations of The Republic of Panama
items: A Review of two Middle Jurassic Theropod Tracksites Discovered in the 1980s from Sichuan Basin
items: Lower Cretaceous Dinosaur Trackways Exposed by Water Erosion in Sichuan Province, China
items: A new genus of Apsilocephalidae (Diptera) in Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber
items: The Ecological Niche of Pistacia Vera L. (Anacardiaceae) in Central Asia: A Comprehensive Tool for Agromeliorative Planning
items: The Logical Structure of a Research Paper in Clinical Healthcare

A 3-Day Geological Field Trip in Qatar
type: item
description: The author learned first-hand about the surface stratigraphy and geology of Qatar by dedicating most of his weekends at conducting field works and public guided field tours from 2007 to 2020 while employed by Qatar Petroleum (now QatarEnergy). Here, he summarizes his knowledge of the surface geology of Qatar in a 3-Day field trip designed to provide the participants a hands-on overview of the stratigraphy of the country. The field trip is based on his publication (LeBlanc, 2021) which is an integral part of this geological tour (the participants are referred to it on several occasions) and his other geological publications on Qatar referenced herein (LeBlanc, 2008, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019). During this 3-day field trip, outcrops of the Lower Eocene Rus Formation, Middle Eocene Dammam Formation, Lower Miocene Dam Formation, Mio-Pliocene Hofuf Formation, as well as Pleistocene and Holocene deposits will be visited. The fieldtrip’s aim is to help the participants at recognizing the various formations and their members, as well as the most obvious features (faults, folds, dissolution, mineralization, fossils, etc..) that characterize them.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Qatar
  topic: keywords
subject: Middle East
  topic: keywords
subject: Geology
  topic: keywords
subject: Paleontology
  topic: keywords
subject: Stratigraphy
  topic: keywords
subject: Field trip
  topic: keywords
creator: Jacques LeBlanc
rights: Copyright (c) 2022 Jacques LeBlanc https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2022-06-20
publication date: 2022-06-20
starting page: e005
ending page: e005
doi: 10.37819/biosis.003.01.0199

Dinosaur Tracks from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Northern Central Yunnan, China
type: item
description: An increasing number of theropod-dominated tracksites have been reported from the Jurassic and Cretaceous of China. These include a significant number from the Lower Jurassic of the Lufeng Basin, famous for its Lufengosaurus fauna and known for a typical Lower Jurassic globally-distributed tetrapod footprint biochron. Here we report another localized theropod track occurrence regular of various scattered tracksites from the Lufeng Formation. The tracks are medium-sized tridactyl tracks from the basal member of the Zhangjia'ao Member, Lufeng Formation which shows an unusually wide divarication between the traces of digits III and IV, which suggest several possible interpretations.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Lufengosaurus fauna
  topic: keywords
subject: theropod tracks
  topic: keywords
subject: tetrapod footprint biochron
  topic: keywords
creator: Lida Xing
creator: Martin Lockley
creator: Anthony Romilio
creator: Tao Wang
creator: Liu Chang
rights: Copyright (c) 2022 Lida Xing, Martin Lockley, Anthony Romilio, Tao Wang, Liu Chang https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2022-04-01
publication date: 2022-04-01
starting page: e004
ending page: e004
doi: 10.37819/biosis.003.01.0169

Dinosaur Track from the Jurassic Xiahuayuan Formation of Northern China
type: item
description: An isolated but moderately well-preserved theropod track from the coal-bearing strata of the Zhangjiakou City region of Hebei Province was reported to have originated from the Xiahuayuan Formation, which is considered Middle Jurassic in age. Although the track has a wide divarication angle and length-width ratio reminiscent of Cretaceous tracks like Magnoavipes, it would be speculative to apply this Identification based on a single track. Therefore, it is considered most likely to be a preservational variant of Kayentapus, in which the heel trace is lacking. Kayentapus is widely known from the Lower Jurassic of China. This is the first report of a track or any vertebrate fossil from the Middle Jurassic of this region of Hebei Province, China.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Kayentapus
  topic: keywords
subject: Magnoavipes
  topic: keywords
subject: Middle Jurassic
  topic: keywords
creator: Lida Xing
creator: Martin Lockley
creator: Zhitao Wang
creator: Jianjun Liu
creator: W. Scott Persons IV
creator: Bolin Tong
creator: Liu Chang
rights: Copyright (c) 2022 Lida Xing, Martin Lockley, Zhitao Wang, Jianjun Liu, W. Scott Persons IV, Bolin Tong, Liu Chang https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2022-04-01
publication date: 2022-04-01
starting page: e003
ending page: e003
doi: 10.37819/biosis.003.01.0168

A Preliminary Review of Dinosaur Track Assemblages from the Tuchengzi Formation in North China
type: item
description: In northern China, mainly within Western Liaoning, Northern Hebei and Beijing, vertebrate skeletons from the Tuchengzi Formation (Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous) are scarce. However, a large number of new dinosaur track discoveries have made in past 10 years. So far, a total of 19 dinosaur track sites have been found in the Tuchengzi Formation, collectively containing 2,637 individual tracks and representing at least 2,091 trackmakers. This track record has become an important sample for understanding the Tuchengzi dinosaur fauna. The abundant Tuchengzi track record includes six non-avian theropod ichnogenera (Asianopodus, Eubrontes, Grallator, Menglongipus, Therangospodus, and Velociraptorichnus), three bird ichnogenera (Aquatilavipes, Pullornipes, and Koreanaornis), two sauropod ichnogenera (Brontopodus and cf. Parabrontopodus isp.), and a possible ornithopod ichnogenus (cf. Dinehichnu). This assemblage is saurischian-dominated, which is consistent with most Jurassic and Cretaceous track sites in China. The presence of deinonychosaurian tracks is consistent with the rich skeletal record from the Yanliao Biota or Jehol Biota, and the bird tracks are consistent with the record of shorebirds in Jehol Biota. The existence of ornithopod tracks is doubtful and needs further discoveries to be confirmed.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Tuchengzi Formation
  topic: keywords
subject: dinosaur tracks
  topic: keywords
subject: ichnofauna
  topic: keywords
subject: Jurassic
  topic: keywords
subject: Cretaceous
  topic: keywords
creator: Lida Xing
creator: Zhang Yu
rights: Copyright (c) 2022 Lida Xing https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es
date: 2022-03-23
publication date: 2022-03-23
starting page: e002
ending page: e002
doi: 10.37819/biosis.003.01.0165

https://eaapublishing.org/journals/index.php/biosis/article/view/162
type: item
title: Phyllotheca douroensis sp. nov., a new equisetalean fossil-species from the Douro Carboniferous Basin (Upper Pennsylvanian; NW Portugal): palaeobiogeographical, systematic and evolutionary implications
description: The first occurrence of the fossil-genus Phyllotheca (Equisetales) from the Carboniferous of Portugal is documented and its palaeobiogeographical, systematic and evolutionary significance is assessed. In this paper, we described this new equisetalean fossil as new species, Phyllotheca douroensis sp. nov., found in the Douro Carboniferous Basin (lower Stephanian C/lower Gzhelian, Upper Pennsylvanian), in northwestern Portugal. P. douroensis sp. nov. represents a convergent form of Phyllothecaceae sensu lato (comprises the Angaran Tchernoviaceae and the Gondwanan Gondwanostachyaceae) with closer affinities to Euramerican floral province.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: phytogeographic provinces (Floral Realms)
  topic: keywords
subject: convergent evolution
  topic: keywords
subject: Phyllotheca
  topic: keywords
subject: Equisetales
  topic: keywords
subject: Douro Carboniferous Basin
  topic: keywords
subject: lower Gzhelian (Upper Pennsylvanian)
  topic: keywords
creator: Catarina Barbosa
creator: Pedro Correia
creator: João Muchagata
creator: Rúben Domingos
creator: Artur A. Sá
rights: Copyright (c) 2022 Catarina Barbosa, Pedro Correia, João Muchagata, Rúben Domingos, Artur A. Sá https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2022-03-23
publication date: 2022-03-23
starting page: e001
ending page: e001
doi: 10.37819/biosis.003.01.0162

Exceptional Preservation of Feather Micro-Structures in Amber from the Middle-Cretaceous of Myanmar
type: item
description: Feathers are under-represented in the fossil record because soft tissues do not usually preserve well in sedimentary sequences. Fossil feathers are nevertheless extremely important in resolving pattern and process related to the origin of dinosaur flight. In recent years, a number of feathers have been discovered which have been mummified in amber; these feathers are preserved in three dimensions with remarkable sub-microscopic details and are especially important for our understanding of the early development of feathers. In this paper, we describe a diverse assemblage of mid-Cretaceous feathers contained within seven pieces of amber that have been recovered from northern Myanmar (Burma). These pieces include pennaceous primary feathers, contour feathers, and rachis-dominated feathers, and also a plumulaceous (downy) feather. Subcomponents of these feathers, such as barbs, barbules, and nodes are immediately recognizable. One extraordinary piece contains the distal remains of the first four primary flight feathers and a small number of possible hooklets. These pieces are discussed in terms of evolutionary development and comments are made on flight ability where appropriate. These feather-types are classiﬁed and compared with similar structures seen in Mesozoic and extant birds. We consider that integumentary feathers and ‘feather-like’ structures fall within two major structural categories (‘shafted’ and ‘non-shafted’).
subject: Original research
  topic: section
creator: Christian Laurent
creator: Xia Wang
creator: Bo Wang
creator: Zhiheng Li
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2022-01-18
publication date: 2022-01-18
starting page: 423
ending page: 439
doi: 10.37819/biosis.001.04.0161

The Currently Earliest Angiosperm Fruit from the Jurassic of North America
type: item
description: Angiosperms are the single most important plant group in the current ecosystem. However, little is known about the origin and early evolution of angiosperms. Jurassic and earlier traces of angiosperms have been claimed multiple times from Europe and Asia, but reluctance to accept these records remains. To test the truthfulness of these claims, palaeobotanical records from continents other than Europe and Asia constitute a crucial test. Here I document a new angiosperm fruit, Dilcherifructus mexicana gen. et sp. nov, from the Middle Jurassic of Mexico. Its Jurassic age suggests that origin of angiosperms is much earlier than widely accepted, while its occurrence in the North America indicates that angiosperms were already widespread in the Jurassic, although they were still far away from their ecological radiation, which started in the Early Cretaceous.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Earliest
  topic: keywords
subject: Fruit
  topic: keywords
subject: Origin
  topic: keywords
subject: Angiosperm
  topic: keywords
subject: North America
  topic: keywords
subject: Mexico
  topic: keywords
creator: Xin Wang
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2021-12-27
publication date: 2021-12-27
starting page: 416
ending page: 422
doi: 10.37819/biosis.001.04.0160

A Curious new Caloneurodea from the Bashkirian of the Pas-de-Calais, France (Insecta Archaeorthoptera)
type: item
description: We describe Oudardgramma bruayensis gen. et sp. nov., first representative of the small order Caloneurodea from the Bashkirian of Bruay-en-Artois. It is characterized by the very small size of the wing, and a unique pattern of the vein M+CuA+CuPa. As the previous oldest Caloneurodea were Moscovian, the new taxon corresponds to the oldest record of the order.
subject: Short communication
  topic: section
subject: Insecta
  topic: keywords
subject: Archaeorthoptera
  topic: keywords
subject: gen. et sp. nov.
  topic: keywords
subject: oldest record
  topic: keywords
subject: Bruay-en-Artois
  topic: keywords
creator: André Nel
creator: Patrick Roques
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2021-12-27
publication date: 2021-12-27
starting page: 358
ending page: 360
doi: 10.37819/biosis.001.04.0159

A mid-Cretaceous fungus, Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov. (Ascomycota: Spheciophilaceae), on a thrip (Thysanoptera) in Burmese amber
type: item
description: Male and female thalli of a mid-Cretaceous fungus attached to a thrip (Thysanoptera) in Burmese amber are described as Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov. in the family Spheciophilaceae (Ascomycota). Both spermatia and ascospores are present. Currently, Philothysanus burmanicus gen. et sp. nov., together with the previously described Spheciophilia adercia Poinar, represent the oldest known ectoparasitic fungi of insects and their age can be used as a reference point in future phylogenetic studies on the origin of fungi with this life style.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: fossil fungus
  topic: keywords
subject: Thysanoptera
  topic: keywords
subject: Early Cretaceous
  topic: keywords
subject: Burmese amber
  topic: keywords
creator: George Poinar
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2021-12-27
publication date: 2021-12-27
starting page: 408
ending page: 415
doi: 10.37819/biosis.001.04.0158

Stratigraphic Lexicon: A revised guide to the Cenozoic Surface Formations of Qatar, Middle East (excluding the islands)
type: item
description: The author learned first-hand about the surface stratigraphy and geology of Qatar by dedicating most of his weekends to conducting field works and public-guided field tours from 2007 to 2020 while employed by Qatar Petroleum. Here, he reviews and updates the surface stratigraphic knowledge of Qatar since the last lexicon was published back in 1975. The geology and macro-paleontology of the Lower Eocene Rus, Middle Eocene Dammam, Lower Miocene Dam, and Mio-Pliocene Hofuf formations are described in detail and well-illustrated.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Qatar
  topic: keywords
subject: Middle East
  topic: keywords
subject: Geology
  topic: keywords
subject: Paleontology
  topic: keywords
subject: Stratigraphy
  topic: keywords
subject: Lexicon
  topic: keywords
creator: Jacques LeBlanc
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2021-10-22
publication date: 2021-10-22
starting page: 361
ending page: 407
doi: 10.37819/biosis.001.04.0134

Captain Vivian Hewitt and the fate of his collection of birds’ eggs and specimens
type: item
description: Vivian Hewitt was a little-known collector of natural history specimens (mainly birds and their eggs) during the early and middle years of the twentieth century. Although an obscure figure his influence on the museum world of his time – and later – was considerable and his collection of Great Auk material became almost legendary. Some of his story and that of his collection is a matter of published record but many elements remain obscure. In this study, we present previously unpublished details of Hewitt’s extraordinary life.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Great Auk
  topic: keywords
subject: David Wilson
  topic: keywords
subject: Oology
  topic: keywords
subject: Anglesey
  topic: keywords
creator: David Clugston
creator: Errol Fuller
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-10-06
publication date: 2021-10-06
starting page: 349
ending page: 357
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.03.0128

Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health
type: item
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
creator: Lukoye Atwoli
creator: Abdullah Baqui
creator: Thomas Benfield
creator: Raffaella Bosurgi
creator: Fiona Godlee
creator: Stephen Hancocks
creator: Richard Horton
creator: Laurie Laybourn-Langton
creator: Carlos Augusto Monteiro
creator: Ian Norman
creator: Kirsten Patrick
creator: Nigel Praities
creator: Marcel GM Olde Rikkert
creator: Eric Rubin
creator: Peush Sahni
creator: Richard Smith
creator: Nick Talley
creator: Sue Turale
creator: Damián Vázquez
rights: Copyright (c) 2021
date: 2021-09-06
publication date: 2021-09-06
starting page: 311
ending page: 314
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.03.0127

A Monocot Flower, Mirafloris burmitis gen. et sp. nov. (Monocots: Angiospermae), in Burmese Amber
type: item
description: A six-merous, slightly bisymmetric monocot flower in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber is described as Mirafloris burmitis gen. et sp. nov. The perianth is composed of two whorls of 3+3 distinctly vascularized tepals connected by an irregular network of veinlets. There are two whorls of 3+3 free stamens with latrorse dehiscence positioned opposite the tepals. A single 3-lobed style arises from the center of the flower. Perigonal nectaries are located at the base of the inner tepals. The oval-spherical pollen possess a single, longitudinal suture. The fossil shows affinities to the order Liliales and family Liliaceae. This is the first showy monocot flower described from Burmese amber and based on recent phylogenetic studies, may be one of the earliest records of a fossil member of the Liliales.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: mid-Cretaceous
  topic: keywords
subject: Flower
  topic: keywords
subject: Monocot
  topic: keywords
subject: Liliales
  topic: keywords
subject: Myanmar
  topic: keywords
creator: George O. Poinar, Jr.
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2021-08-25
publication date: 2021-08-25
starting page: 342
ending page: 348
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.03.0126

A New Species of the Genus Amberophytum Yu, Slipinski et Pang, 2019 (Coleoptera: Cerophytidae) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese Amber
type: item
description: In this article, a new species of the genus Amberophytum Yu, Slipinski et Pang, 2019 of the family Cerophytidae from mid- Cretaceous Burmese amber is described and illustrated. The new species, A. maculatum s.n. differs from A. birmanicum Yu, Slipinski et Pang, 2019 in the smaller body size, shorter metatarsomere 1, and more convex body. A key to the species of the genus Amberophytum is presented.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Cerophytidae
  topic: keywords
subject: New taxa
  topic: keywords
subject: Myanmar
  topic: keywords
subject: Cenomanian
  topic: keywords
creator: George O. Poinar, Jr.
creator: Fernando E. Vega
creator: Andrei A. Legalov
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0
date: 2021-08-18
publication date: 2021-08-18
starting page: 337
ending page: 341
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.03.0125

Insect Herbivores of Ferns along the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America
type: item
description: Fifteen species of insect herbivores were discovered on ferns growing along the Pacific northwest coast of North America. These included insects from the orders: Diptera in the families Anthomyiidae, Cecidiomyiidae and Syrphidae: Lepidoptera in the families Erebidae, Tortricidae and Noctuidae: Hymenoptera in the family Tenthredinidae: Hemiptera in the family Aphididae and Coleoptera in the family Curculionidae. The present study illustrates these associations that provides new world and North American host records of fern herbivores. The fossil record of these families is used to determine if the most ancient of these insects (dating from the Mesozoic) are now mostly restricted to ferns and the most recent ones (dating from the Cenozoic) are mostly polyphagous, feeding on ferns as well as various angiosperms. Results indicate that the insect clades belonging to the most ancient families, such as Aneugmenuss and Strongylogaster in the Tenthredinidae and Dasineura and Mycodiplosis in the Cecidiomyiidae, appear to be monophagous on ferns.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Wood fern
  topic: keywords
subject: Sword fern
  topic: keywords
subject: Bracken
  topic: keywords
subject: Hymenoptera
  topic: keywords
subject: Hemiptera
  topic: keywords
subject: Diptera
  topic: keywords
subject: Lepidoptera
  topic: keywords
subject: Coleoptera
  topic: keywords
creator: George Poinar, Jr.
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-08-18
publication date: 2021-08-18
starting page: 329
ending page: 336
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.03.0124

Richard Bradley’s A Short Historical Account of Coffee (1715) and The Virtue and Use of Coffee (1721)
type: item
description: Richard Bradley published A Short Historical Account of Coffee in 1715, an extremely rare book of which only three copies are known. A revised version of the book, entitled The Virtue and Use of Coffee, was published in 1721. Bradley’s 1714 trip to the Physic Garden in Amsterdam, where he examined two coffee trees, led to his two coffee books, whose similarities and differences, including the evolution of the two different coffee engravings, are discussed in detail. This article reveals insights into the milieu in which Bradley lived, his interactions with other members of the Royal Society, and the reasons why his 1715 book is so rare. The various introductions of coffee plants to England in the late 17th and early 18th century are discussed, as well as Bradley’s skirmish with James Douglas, who was critical of Bradley’s coffee work.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Amsterdam
  topic: keywords
subject: Botany
  topic: keywords
subject: Coffea
  topic: keywords
subject: James Douglas
  topic: keywords
subject: James Petiver
  topic: keywords
subject: Royal Society
  topic: keywords
creator: Fernando E. Vega
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-08-23
publication date: 2021-08-23
starting page: 315
ending page: 328
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.02.0123

The evolution of brain size among the Homininae and selection at ASPM and MCPH1 genes
type: item
description: We examined the evolutionary relationship of the ASPM (abnormal spindle-like microcephaly associated) and MCPH1 (microcephalin-1) genes with brain volume among humans and other primates. We obtained sequences of these genes from 14 simiiform species including hominins. Two phylogenetic analyses of ASPM exon 3 and MCPH1 exons 8 and 11 were performed to maximize taxon sampling or sequence extension to compare the nucleotide substitution and encephalization rates, and examine signals of selection. Further assessment of selection among humans was done through the analysis of non-synonymous and synonymous substitutions (dN/dS), and linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns. We found that the accelerated evolution of brain size in hominids, is related to synchronic acceleration in the substitution rates of ASPM and MCPH1, and to signals of positive selection, especially in hominins. The dN/dS and LD analyses in Homo detected sites under positive selection and some regions with haplotype blocks at several candidate sites surrounded by blocks in LD-equilibrium. Accelerations and signals of positive selection in ASPM and MCPH1 occurred in different lineages and periods being ASPM more closely related with the brain evolution of hominins. MCPH1 evolved under positive selection in different lineages of the Catarrhini, suggesting independent evolutionary roles of this gene among primates.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Brain size
  topic: keywords
subject: Homo
  topic: keywords
subject: Microcephaly-associated genes
  topic: keywords
subject: Molecular evolution
  topic: keywords
subject: Natural selection
  topic: keywords
creator: Sandra Leyva-Hernández
creator: Ricardo Fong-Zazueta
creator: Luis Medrano-González
creator: Ana Julia Aguirre-Samudio
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-06-22
publication date: 2021-06-22
starting page: 293
ending page: 310
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.02.0104

Dinosaur tracks from Tang Dynasty Grottoes area in Sichuan Province, China
type: item
description: In recent years the number of track sites discovered and reported from the Lower Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation, Sichuan Basin has increased steadily. Here we report on the 20th and 21st sites which are situated in unusual locations in a cave and on a steep bedding plane surface in association with Tang Dynasty grottoes. The ichnofauna is represented by two small assemblages which are both theropod-dominated. Due to sub-optimal preservation, the tracks are identified only as grallatorid and small and larger eubrontid, with Paracorpulentapus also tentatively recognized.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Theropod tracks
  topic: keywords
subject: Grallatorid
  topic: keywords
subject: Eubrontid
  topic: keywords
subject: Paracorpulentapus
  topic: keywords
creator: Lida Xing
creator: Martin G. Lockley
creator: Zheng Ren
creator: Chang Liu
creator: W. Scott Persons IV
creator: Guangzhao Peng
creator: Yong Ye
creator: Shan Jiang
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-06-22
publication date: 2021-06-22
starting page: 283
ending page: 292
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.02.0103

Theropod tracks from the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary, Tuchengzi Formation, Chengde, China: Review and new observations
type: item
description: Previously known theropod dinosaur footprints preserved as natural casts in the Tuchengzi Formation, on a rock wall beside the railway in Nanshuangmiao Village, Shangbancheng Town, Chengde City, were originally assigned to ichnogenus Anchisauripus and tentatively attributed to oviraptosaurs. The assemblage was restudied in more detail by examining the entire assemblage of 55 tracks associated with two horizons. The size range of the 27 measured tracks suggests a more diverse grallatorid–eubrontid assemblage and potentially greater diversity of theropod trackmakers. The label Anchisauripus, which has fallen into disuse in some recent literature, implies trackmakers of medium shape and size in the grallatorid–eubrontid morphological spectrum. However, given the presence of other theropod ichnotaxa in the Jurassic to Early Cretaceous strata of the Tuchengzi Formation and time equivalent units we suggest that explicit reference to the Grallator-Anchisauripus-Eubrontes (GAE) plexus, or simply the term Grallator-Eubrontes plexus be confined to Lower Jurassic assemblages as originally defined and intended. Further study centered on the 16 known Tuchengzi assemblages and older theropod ichnfaunas is necessary to confirm or refute the degree to which grallatorid–eubrontid assemblages from these different epochs are similar or convergent. Even if the tracks are morphologically very similar inferences regarding trackmaker identity are problematic because the same theropodan trackmaker species, genera or even families were not present in both epochs.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Theropod tracks
  topic: keywords
subject: Anchisauripus
  topic: keywords
subject: Grallatorid
  topic: keywords
subject: Eubrontid
  topic: keywords
subject: Oviraptosaurs
  topic: keywords
creator: Lida Xing
creator: Martin G. Lockley
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-06-22
publication date: 2021-06-22
starting page: 271
ending page: 282
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.02.0102

Taking a crack at the dome: histopathology of a pachycephalosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) frontoparietal dome
type: item
description: Recent studies have identified numerous pathologies in the cranial domes of pachycephalosaurid dinosaurs. These studies utilized CT images of domes to identify secondary woven bone and sclerosis associated with the pathologies. These features were critical for diagnosing post-traumatic osteomyelitis, which supported the head-butting behaviour hypothesis. However, conventional CT image resolution may not be sufficient to identify secondary woven bone or sclerotic bone in fossil specimens. UALVP 8504 (cf. Foraminacephale brevis), a dome possessing putative bone lesions, was thin-sectioned and micro-CT scanned. Thin sections revealed the lesions are lytic, without any secondary woven bone or sclerosis, falsifying the diagnosis of osteomyelitis. The morphology and histology of the lesions of UALVP 8504 are not diagnostic and resemble both post-traumatic and non-traumatic lesions. However, UALVP 8504 possesses shifted vascular canals (repositioning via remodeling, which maintains anatomical position throughout ontogeny) that are decoupled from growth (), and drifting osteons (secondary osteons where resorption occurs longitudinally and transversely). These demonstrate that the dome has sustained external mechanical loading, likely resulting from an impact or multiple impacts, consistent with the head-butting hypothesis. These impacts may have damaged overlying soft tissues and formed the lesions along the surface. Therefore, we suspect that the pathologies in UALVP 8504 are post-traumatic.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Drifting osteons
  topic: keywords
subject: Histology
  topic: keywords
subject: Pachycephalosauridae
  topic: keywords
subject: Palaeopathology
  topic: keywords
subject: Palaeobiology
  topic: keywords
subject: Shifting vascular canals
  topic: keywords
creator: Aaron D. Dyer
creator: Aaron R.H. LeBlanc
creator: Michael R. Doschak
creator: Philip J. Currie
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-06-22
publication date: 2021-06-22
starting page: 248
ending page: 270
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.02.0101

A Botanical Association Involving Elizabeth Pym, Peter Collinson, Sir Hans Sloane, and Admiral Sir Charles Wager
type: item
description: Elizabeth Pym wrote a letter in 1742 from the island of Nevis, in the Caribbean Sea, to Peter Collinson in London, describing various botanical samples she was sending him, including two coffee plants. The letter was found inside Volume II of Sir Hans Sloane’s “A Voyage to the Islands Madera …” housed at Oak Spring Garden Library in Virginia. Collinson received both volumes as gifts, with Volume I inscribed to him by Admiral Sir Charles Wager and Volume II inscribed by Sloane. The letter serves as a rare example documenting the collection of botanical specimens by a woman in the New World.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Botany
  topic: keywords
subject: Botanical specimens
  topic: keywords
subject: Mellon
  topic: keywords
subject: Nevis
  topic: keywords
subject: Oak Spring Garden
  topic: keywords
subject: Library
  topic: keywords
creator: Fernando E. Vega
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-06-22
publication date: 2021-06-22
starting page: 242
ending page: 247
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.02.0100

First report of deinonychosaurian trackway from the Cretaceous of Guizhou, China
type: item
description: The southern edge of Sichuan Basin has a long-standing folklore about the Tian Ji Stone, which actually tells of the theropod tracks. Here we describe a new Tian Ji track site named Xinglongwan in Chishui, Guizhou Province, China. Two kilometers away from the old site recorded in 2011, the later with cf. Irenesauripus isp. are morphologically different from the Xinglongwan theropod tracks. The tridactyl tracks from Xinglongwan site have been assigned to the cf. Eubrontes. Didactyl tracks in the Xinglongwan site, which are the first discovery of deinonychosaurian tracks in Guizhou Province, are assigned to the Velociraptorichnus. Both tracks were recorded in the report about ichnofauna in Jiaguan Formation, representing the diversity of theropod tracks in Sichuan Basin. The authors also briefly discuss the preservation mode and potential external-morphological changes of cf. Eubrontes and Velociraptorichnus from Xinglongwan site.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Eubrontes
  topic: keywords
subject: Velociraptorichnus
  topic: keywords
subject: Sichuan Basin
  topic: keywords
subject: Jiading Group
  topic: keywords
subject: Jiaguan Formation
  topic: keywords
subject: Wotoushan Formation
  topic: keywords
creator: Yanjiao Qin
creator: Lida Xing
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-06-22
publication date: 2021-06-22
starting page: 238
ending page: 241
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.02.0099

Tips for effective English writing
type: item
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
creator: Gareth Dyke
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-06-22
publication date: 2021-06-22
starting page: 229
ending page: 237
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.02.0098

Theropod footprints from the Lower Cretaceous Cangxi Formation in the Northern Margin of the Sichuan Basin, China
type: item
description: A single well-preserved theropod trackway identified as Eubrontes was discovered in the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian-Valanginian) Cangxi Formation on the northern margin of the Sichuan Basin This is the first report of tracks from this formation. The occurrence is consistent with reports of theropod dominated ichnofaunas from broadly coeval deposits such as the Feitianshan Formation in southern parts of the basin. There is growing evidence that Eubrontes and Eubrontes-like tracks are common in the Lower Cretaceous of Sichuan Province.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Theropod tracks
  topic: keywords
subject: Eubrontes
  topic: keywords
subject: Ichnofaunas
  topic: keywords
creator: Lida Xing
creator: Martin G. Lockley
creator: Bolin Tong
creator: Hendrik Klein
creator: W. Scott Persons IV
creator: Guangzhao Peng
creator: Yong Ye
creator: Miaoyan Wang
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-03-22
publication date: 2021-03-22
starting page: 174
ending page: 182
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.01.0097

Stratigraphic Lexicon: The Onshore Cenozoic Sedimentary Formations of The Republic of Panama
type: item
description: The stratigraphic knowledge of Panama was, until now, spread over hundreds of scientific/geologic publications written during the past 120 years. The construction of the Panama Canal during the early twentieth century helped galvanizing the engineering and geological disciplines to understand the tectonic, sedimentation and biodiversity of the Cenozoic Era in this part of the world. Later, few petroleum companies arrived on the scene and contributed to our knowledge of the sub-surface. The past thirty years saw a surge of studies by many institutions in areas away from the Canal, such as in Darien, Azuero Peninsula, Bocas del Toro, and the Burica Peninsula near the Costa Rica Border. Our most recent knowledge came from the widening of the Panama Canal between 2007 and 2016. It is from all these older and recent studies that the present Lexicon draws its content. It provides the historical background of all described geological units in Panama and summarizes the lithological and paleontological knowledge of each units in an easy-to-search format.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Panama
  topic: keywords
subject: Geology
  topic: keywords
subject: Paleontology
  topic: keywords
subject: Lexicon
  topic: keywords
subject: Cenozoic
  topic: keywords
creator: Jacques LeBlanc
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-03-05
publication date: 2021-03-05
starting page: 1
ending page: 173
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.01.0095

A Review of two Middle Jurassic Theropod Tracksites Discovered in the 1980s from Sichuan Basin
type: item
description: Tracks from two sites in the Middle Jurassic Xintiangou Formation in the Wuma Village area, Wuhuang Township, Zizhong have been known and intermittently studied and excavated since the 1980s. The track-bearing surfaces were exposed by a combination of natural weathering and deliberate excavation by residents in a rural agricultural area. The surfaces were used as “threshing floors” for the processing of agricultural crops in an area subject to weathering under a humid sub-tropical climatic regime. Despite the negative effects of weathering on the quality of track preservation, the sites are historically significant in Chinese ichnology as the type areas for many controversially named theropod ichnotaxa. Subsequent researchers challenged the ichnotaxonomy as provincial and over-split, suggesting that many of the tracks, belong to well-known Lower Jurassic ichnogenera. The present study reviews these two sites, providing new information, and confirming that the tracks belong to the ichnogenera Grallator, Eubrontes and Kayentpus which are typical of the globally widespread Lower Jurassic tetrapod biochron. This suggests the Middle Jurassic ichnofauna in Sichuan is like Lower Jurassic ichnofaunas elsewhere. Previous efforts to transfer the ichnospecies to globally, better-known ichnogenera were important in reducing ichnogenus diversity, but did not reduce ichnosepcies diversity. Herein the ichnotaxa are reviewed and it is shown that the ichnospecies names have no utility for comparative study or in assessing assemblage diversity, or biochron composition. It is therefore proposed that the multiple ichnospecies names proposed based on tracks from these two localities can mostly be accommodated under the labels Grallator isp. indet., and Eubrontes isp. indet.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
creator: Lida Xing
creator: Martin G. Lockley
creator: Guangzhao Peng
creator: Yong Ye
creator: Shan Jiang
creator: Anthony Romilio
creator: W. Scott Persons IV
creator: Miaoyan Wang
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-03-22
publication date: 2021-03-22
starting page: 191
ending page: 208
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.01.0094

Lower Cretaceous Dinosaur Trackways Exposed by Water Erosion in Sichuan Province, China
type: item
description: A newly discovered saurischian dominated tracksite in the Lower Cretaceous Jiaguan Formation in southeastern Sichuan province reveals 13 sauropod trackway segments representing ichnogenus Brontopodus and three theropod trackways. This is a typical Type 1 Jiaguan Formation deposit dominated by tetrapod tracks with no significant tetrapod body fossils. The tracks occur in a river channel exposure of feldspathic quartz sandstone about 20–25 m wide and ~ 60 m long. The trackways are exposed on both banks but eroded away in the central channel area. The sauropod tracks represent relatively small animals with pes print lengths ranging from 24.5 cm to 33.9 cm. The theropod trackways include a large example (footprint length 46.5 cm with metatarsal traces) and two smaller parallel trackways with footprint lengths less than 20 cm. The author also discussed the erosion of tracks and trackways by water erosion, especially their morphological changes.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Jiaguan formation
  topic: keywords
subject: Saurischians
  topic: keywords
subject: Sauropod tracks
  topic: keywords
subject: Theropod tracks
  topic: keywords
subject: Brontopodus
  topic: keywords
creator: Lida Xing
creator: Martin Lockley
creator: Hendrik Klein
creator: Zheng Ren
creator: Bolin Tong
creator: W. Scott Persons IV
creator: Guangzhao Peng
creator: Yong Ye
creator: Miaoyan Wang
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-03-22
publication date: 2021-03-22
starting page: 217
ending page: 228
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.01.0093

A new genus of Apsilocephalidae (Diptera) in Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber
type: item
description: A new genus and species of apsilocephalid flies, Cascomixticus tubuliferous gen. et sp. nov. (Diptera: Asiloidea: Apsilocephalidae) is described from Burmese amber. Assignment to the Apsilocephalidae is based on the wing venation that is very similar to extant members of the family. The present fossil differs from known genera of this family by a long labellum bearing tactochemical papillae, a long tubular hypopharynx and a pointed labrum as well as the structure of the scape and pedicel. The long, tubular hypopharynx may have been used to obtain nectar from angiosperm flowers, however the function of the sharp-tipped labrum is unknown.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Asiloidea
  topic: keywords
subject: Burmese amber
  topic: keywords
subject: fossils
  topic: keywords
subject: Myanmar
  topic: keywords
subject: taxonomy
  topic: keywords
creator: George Poinar Jr.
creator: Fernando E. Vega
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis:Biological Systems
date: 2021-03-05
publication date: 2021-03-05
starting page: 183
ending page: 190
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.01.0091

The Ecological Niche of Pistacia Vera L. (Anacardiaceae) in Central Asia: A Comprehensive Tool for Agromeliorative Planning
type: item
description: A model of the ecological niche of the nut fruit Pistacia vera has been developed based on known locations in Central Asia and an analysis of abiotic environmental variables in order to map out the area of optimal conditions for both the wild and domesticated forms. The model reveals a much larger area of suitability for the species than it presently occupies. The list of key variables and their optimal ranges are compared with the known values of those which have been gathered from experiments on the ground and which are described in the available literature. Most of the optimal values modeled for the key variables appear to resemble the known experimental ranges. The meaning and impact of most of the key variables in relation to the species’ life cycle are found in the physiological and ecological peculiarities of P. vera’s development at different stages as described in the literature. Unexplained variables may imply a gap in our knowledge of the pistachio and its interrelations with the environment; and point the direction of further study of the biology of the pistachio. The value of the model is the potential application of the results along with existing practical recommendations regarding pistachio cultivation in order to establish guidelines regarding the conservation and commercial cultivation of P. vera in Kazakhstan.
subject: Original research
  topic: section
subject: Pistacea vera
  topic: keywords
subject: Ecological Niche Model
  topic: keywords
subject: Species Biology
  topic: keywords
subject: Pistachio Cultivation
  topic: keywords
creator: Dmitry Malakhov
creator: Anastasia Islamgulova
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Biosis: Biological Systems
date: 2021-03-22
publication date: 2021-03-22
starting page: 209
ending page: 216
doi: 10.37819/biosis.002.01.0089

The Logical Structure of a Research Paper in Clinical Healthcare
type: item
subject: Editorial
  topic: section
creator: Gareth Dyke
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 Biosis:Biological Systems
date: 2020-12-15
publication date: 2020-12-15
starting page: 126
ending page: 133
doi: 10.37819/biosis.001.04.0088