The Arthropod Fauna of Oak (Quercus spp., Fagaceae) Canopies in Norway

(1) We document the invertebrate fauna collected from 24 oak canopies in east and west Norway as a contribution to the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre’s ‘The Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative’. (2) A snap-shot inventory of the canopies was recorded by means of emitting a mist of natural pyrethrum into the canopies at night using a petrol-driven fogger and collecting the specimens in butterfly nets spread on the ground under the canopy. (3) Almost the entire catch of more than 6800 specimens was identified to 722 species. Out of 92 species new to the Norwegian fauna, 21 were new to science and, additionally, 15 were new to the Nordic fauna. Diptera alone constituted nearly half of the species represented, with 61 new records (18 new species). Additionally, 24 Hymenoptera (one new species), six oribatid mites (two new species) and one Thysanoptera were new to the Norwegian fauna. (4) Our study emphasizes the importance of the oak tree as a habitat both for a specific fauna and occasional visitors, and it demonstrates that the canopy fogging technique is an efficient way to find the ‘hidden fauna’ of Norwegian forests. The low number of red listed species found reflects how poor the Norwegian insect fauna is still studied. Moreover, the implication of the IUCN red list criteria for newly described or newly observed species is discussed.</jats:p

Taxonomy of the species of Amphigerontia (Psocoptera: Psocidae) of the rocky mountains of the united states and Canada

Volume: 109Start Page: 700End Page: 71

Psocoptera of Canada

At present, 108 species of Psocoptera are known from Canada, an increase of 50% from the known fauna reported in 1979. Of these, 56 have been barcoded, representing 162 Barcode Identification Numbers (BINs). An additional 67 species are expected to occur in Canada but remain undiscovered or undescribed, meaning that only 62% of the fauna is currently documented

Language trees with sampled ancestors support a hybrid model for the origin of Indo-European languages

Languages of the Indo-European family are spoken by almost half of the world’s population, but their origins and patterns of spread are disputed. Heggarty et al. present a database of 109 modern and 52 time-calibrated historical Indo-European languages, which they analyzed with models of Bayesian phylogenetic inference. Their results suggest an emergence of Indo-European languages around 8000 years before present. This is a deeper root date than previously thought, and it fits with an initial origin south of the Caucasus followed by a branch northward into the Steppe region. These findings lead to a “hybrid hypothesis” that reconciles current linguistic and ancient DNA evidence from both the eastern Fertile Crescent (as a primary source) and the steppe (as a secondary homeland)