Notes on a drawing of Indian elephants in red crayon by Petrus Camper (1786) in the archives of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie

A drawing of two Indian elephants, signed "P. Camper f. 10 Sept. 1786", in red chalk or crayon, was found in the archives of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in a manuscript by T.G. van Lidth de Jeude (1788-1863). Van Lidth de Jeude, professor at Utrecht university, obviously intended to use it as an illustration in his projected manual of the mammals in Dutch. The drawing is almost completely identical to an unsigned drawing in the Artis library, one of a series of three. The Leiden drawing is traced back to H. Schlegel, director of the Leiden museum 1858-1884, who most probably obtained the Van Lidth de Jeude papers upon his death. Van Lidth de Jeude is likely to have acquired the Camper drawing from G.J. van Klinkenberg (1768/69-1841), who in turn must have got it from the custodian of the Stadholder's collection, when he (Prince William V) was already in exile in England. The Camper drawings in the Artis library are also traced back to Van Lidth de Jeude and Van Klinkenberg (via the second Vrolik sale in 1868, and the auction of "Dr. P...." in 1887; "Dr . P...." very probably is Dr. F.P.L. Pollen, 1842-1886, who in the years 1862-1866 materially contributed to the zoological exploration of Madagascar). It is argued that because of the presence of the signature, the Leiden drawing is the original and the Amsterdam drawing a copy, either done by Camper himself or somebody else. Some drawings in the Rijksprentenkabinet (Amsterdam), presented in 1940 by the surgeon Dr. J.C.J. Bierens de Haan (1867-1951) may be preliminary sketches for the red crayon pictures here discussed

Clostridioides difficile infection with isolates of cryptic clade C-II: a genomic analysis of polymerase chain reaction ribotype 151

Objectives: We report a patient case of pseudomembranous colitis associated with a monotoxinproducing Clostridioides difficile belonging to the very rarely diagnosed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ribotype (RT) 151. To understand why this isolate was not identified using a routine commercial test, we performed a genomic analysis of RT151. Methods: Illumina short-read sequencing was performed on n = 11 RT151s from various geographical regions to study their genomic characteristics and relatedness. Subsequently, we used PacBio circular consensus sequencing to determine the complete genome sequence of isolates belonging to cryptic clades CeI and C-II, which includes the patient isolate. Results: We found that 1) RT151s are polyphyletic with isolates falling into clades 1 and cryptic clades C eI and C-II; 2) RT151 contains both nontoxigenic and toxigenic isolates and 3) RT151 C-II isolates contained monotoxin pathogenicity loci. The isolate from our patient case report contains a novelpathogenicity loci insertion site, lacked tcdA and had a divergent tcdB sequence that might explain the failure of the diagnostic test. Discussion: This study shows that RT151 encompasses both typical and cryptic clades and provides conclusive evidence for C. difficile infection due to clade C-II isolates that was hitherto lacking. Vigilance towards C. difficile infection as a result of cryptic clade isolates is warranted. Quinten R. Ducarmon, Clin Microbiol Infect 2023;29:538.e1-538.e6 (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Molecular basis of bacterial pathogenesis, virulence factors and antibiotic resistanc

New taxa of Streptaxidae and Enidae (Mollusca, Gastropoda Pulmonata) from South Africa and Malawi

For various reasons a number of discoveries in the field of Southern African malacology has now reached a point where there is no need for further delay in publication. In the course of a long term project, the revision of the Streptaxidae of Southern Africa, three new taxa have come to light which are described below. Mr. C. C. Appleton (Bilharzia Research Unit, Nelspruit, South Africa) during an extended period of research in Tongaland (NE. Zululand, South Africa) has found a remarkable new form of the genus Gulella L. Pfeiffer, 1856. This is seemingly closely related to a recently described extinct species from Aldabra Island in the western Indian Ocean (Van Bruggen, 1975). It is an unfortunate consequence of the rules of zoological nomenclature that the extinct form on Aldabra, G. p. peakei Van Bruggen, 1975, is the nominate subspecies, while the extant, continental form, G. p. continentalis n. subsp., undoubtedly the ancestor of the island subspecies, now has to be described as a subspecies of the island form instead of the other way round. It is convenient to add the description of two new species of Gulella as it is unlikely that further material of these will be forthcoming in the near future. One of the species was already discovered in the Transvaal in 1966 by the present author, but the availability of only two specimens of this otherwise quite distinct species was the reason for delay here. The second species is another discovery in Tongaland by Mr. Appleton and, although founded on a singleton, was deemed sufficiently characteristic to warrant description. This has become necessary in view of the preparation of a forthcoming joint paper with Mr. Appleton on the terrestrial molluscs o

Neosciara Wendalinae, an interesting new Nematoceron from the Netherlands (Diptera, Lycoriidae)

In the course of the year 1954 I received for identification a little Nematoceron belonging to the family Lycoriidae (Sciaridae). After a careful examination of the material and the literature I arrived at the conclusion that my specimens represented a hitherto undescribed species. It belongs to the genus Neosciara Pettey, 1918 (sensu Lengersdorf, 1930 and Frey, 1942). There is some confusion about the naming and delimitation of the genera in the subfamily Lycoriinae. The four most important opinions are : I. Lengersdorf (1930) : Genus Lycoria Meigen, 1800, syn. Saara Meigen, 1803, Gruppe I (no name, veins cu and m with bristles) and Gruppe II Neosciara Pettey, 1918 (cu and m bare). II. Séguy (1940) : Genus Lycoria Meigen, 1800 (cu and m with bristles) and S ciara Meigen, 1803 (veins cu and m bare). III. Frey (1942) : Genus Sciara Meigen, 1803, syn. Lycoria Meigen, 1800 (cu and m with bristles) and genus Neosciara Pettey, 1918 (cu and m without bristles). IV. Frey (1948): Genus Sciara Meigen, 1803 (cu and m with bristles) and genus Bradysia Winnertz, 1867, containing the subgenus Neosciara Pettey, 1918. The character concerning the bristles on the veins cu and m is very important for distinguishing these genera. When summarizing the above opinions we find that the species with bristles on cu and m have been named Lycoria Meigen, 1800 = Sciara Meigen, 1803 (Lengersdorf, 1930) ; Lycoria Meigen, 1800 (Séguy, 1940) ; Sciara Meigen, 1803 = Lycoria Meigen, 1800 (Frey, 1942, 1948). The species lacking setae on the veins cu and m have been named Neosciara Pettey, 1918 (Lengersdorf, 1930, Frey, 1942) ; Sciar

Dr Jacob van der Land, marine biologist extraordinary

This contribution is an attempt to sketch the life and works of Dr Jacob van der Land, curator of worms and chief marine biologist of the National Museum of Natural History, on the occasion of his official retirement. Born in 1935, Jacob van der Land read biology at Leiden University (1958-1964), where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1970 on a treatise on the Priapulida under the supervision of Prof. Dr L.D. Brongersma. In 1964 he was appointed curator of worms in the museum. Later on he took over leadership of the invertebrate section (excluding insects) of the museum and was also placed in charge of all marine research. Initially, Van der Land organized field trips for biology students of Leiden University to Scandinavia, who were able to sample seagoing studies from a research vessel. From the early seventies on he conducted a number of smaller and larger marine expeditions mainly in the tropics (particularly in SE. Asia). His talent for organisation, management and leadership in the field was outstanding and led to the complete success of these undertakings. In an interim period in the museum’s history he also participated in the general management. Subsequently his talents were severely tested when in 1996-1998 he was asked to supervise the almost traumatic move of the museum from the old premises in the Raamsteeg to the purpose- built new complex in the Darwinweg elsewhere in Leiden. Apart from having made a significant impact on the study of various groups of worms and worm-like animals (Turbellaria, Priapulida, Oligochaeta, Tardigrada, Vestimentifera), Van der Land also greatly influenced marine research in the Netherlands by participating in scientific management on a national scale. A list of his publications until early 2000 is attached

Miscellaneous notes on Southern African Gastropoda Euthyneura (Mollusca)

SUMMARY The following new distribution records of southern African terrestrial molluscs seem to be of particular interest: Pupilla fontana (Krss.), Rachis jejuna (M. & P.), Guppya rumrutiensis (Prest.), Xerocerastus burchelli (Gray) (all four new for Rhodesia), Euonyma damarica Jaeck. (new for Cape Province) and Streptostele herma Conn, (common at Lundi, Rhodesia). Xerocerastus schultzei (Bttg.) has to be expunged from the Rhodesian list; existing records are based on misidentifications. The following synonymies have been established: Achatina subcylindrica Preston, 1909, and A. s. deisenbecki Blume, 1952, nov. syn. of Archachatina (Tholachatina) transvaalensis (Smith, 1878) ; Helix (Nata) liparoxantha Melvill & Ponsonby, 1892, nov. syn. of Nata vernicosa (Krauss, 1848) ; Streptostele (Raffraya) meridionalis Van Bruggen, 1066, nov. syn. of S. (R.) herma Connolly, 1912. The genital anatomy of Achatina connollyi Prest, and Archachatina ustulata (Lam.) is here described and figured for the first time; also the radula and jaw of Pupilla fontana (Krss.). N. Transvaal populations of Fauxulus ponsonbyanus (Mor.) are characterized by the comparatively frequent absence of a short fold at the base of the columella. The clausiliid Macroptychia africana (M. & P.) is a montane palaeogenic element in the South African fauna as witnessed by its derivation from an ancient group mainly centred outside the Ethiopian Region and by its distribution along the Eastern Escarpment from the eastern Cape Province to the N. Transvaal. Continued research on the terrestrial molluscs of Africa south of the Zambezi has now led to the accumulation of a vast amount of data. While many of the results have formed the basis for a number of papers it was found that a number of stray notes could not be incorporated in these and forthcoming publications. For various reasons it has become necessary tha

A new record of ‘Achatina’ vassei Germain, 1918 (Gastropoda, Pulmonata, Achatinidae) from Mozambique – an unsolved problem

'Achatina vassei Germain', 1918, of which so far only the holotype is known (figured), is now recorded from Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique (Sofala Province) north of the road Beira-Mtare (Zimbabwe). The systematic position is still unclear because of the lack of anatomical data; this taxon is probably a restricted-range species centred on the plateau of Central Mozambique. A list of the terrestrial molluscs of the ‘Greater Gorongosa Ecosystem’ from the literature and specimens in the Leiden Museum is added; Curvella whytei E.A. Smith, 1899, is recorded as new for Mozambique

Revision of the Sapotaceae of the Malaysian area in a wider sense. XV. Payena A. De Candolle

Payena as a genus was created by Alphonse De Candolle in his Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis in 1844. He commemorated in it the French chemist A. Payen (1795—1871) in Paris. De Candolle placed in it the species Mimusops lucida, first described by G. Don; the latter employed this nomen nudum used by Wallich in his List of specimens in the East India Company’s Museum (1858). The famous Swiss botanist characterized the new genus by the following diagnosis on page 196: “Calyx 4-partitus (nec 8-partitus, ut dixit cl. G. Don), lobis ovatis, obtusis extus et margine puberulis, 2 exterioribus latioribus. Corolla 8-fida, basi tubulosa, superne campanulata, calyce vix longior; lobis 2 ante lobum quemque calycis, ovato-acutis, glabris. Stamina 8, tubo corollae prope faucem inserta, lobis opposita, denticulis interjectis. Filamenta brevissima. Antherae lanceolatae, angulosae, inclusae, filamento multo longiores, connectivo in acumen obtusiusculum carnosum producto, loculis subextrorsis, longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Ovarium hirsutum, 8-loculare. Stylus rectus, glaber, calyee duplo longior, apice obscure dentatus. Ovula 8, ovoideo-angulosa, acuta, deinde ovoidea, ex angula superiore cujusve loculi pendentia. Fructus ign. — Frutex? aut arbuscula? foliis ellipticis, basi subacutis, apice obtuse acuminatis, glaberrimis, superne nitidis, subtus pallidioribus; pedicellis 1—3 ex axillis foliorum superiorum, petiolo duplo longioribus, erectis, pilis minimis adpressis subpubescentibus. —” He placed it between Isonandra and Bassia and “perhaps near Azaola” (“forsanque Azaolae proximum”). Today Isonandra is to be considered a genus in the neighbourhood of Palaquium (a group with the parts of calyx and corolla isomerous), and Bassia and Azaola are considered synonymous to Madhuca. De Candolle, while correcting the evident mistake of Don concerning the number of parts of the calyx, makes himself another by saying “Stamina 8...” (see under P. lucida)