Description of two new marine shells dredged off Three Hut Point, D'entrecasteaux Channel, Tasmania

Description of two new marine shells - Delphinula johnstoni, n.s.- This shell is closely allied to D. tetragonostoma, Tenison- Woods (fossil sp.), and forms an interesting link with the marine life of the tertiary period and Leda lefroyi, n.s. This interesting shell is very distinct from any known species. It approaches the Patagonian Leda (L. patagonica D'Orb.) in form, but it is much smaller and is sculptured differently

LVII.— New species of Cyclophorus and a Spiraculum from the Khasi and Naga Hills, Assam

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Description of three new Tasmanian Helices

Collected on a trip from Chudleigh to Mount Bischoff, made by R. M. Johnston, Esq., T. R. Atkinson, Esq., and the describer. Helix antialba- Shell umbilicated, concave on both sides, thin, covered with thread-like riblets. Helix Bischoffensis.-C. E. Beddome. Shell imperforate, flatly globose, whitish brown, very finely striated, the striae crossed with very fine hues, giving the shell a granulated appearance and Helix, Gadensis.-C. E. Beddome. Shell with a large perspective umbilicus, equalling one quater of its diameter

Description of some new marine shells of Tasmania

Description of sixteen new shells obtained from various locations around Tasmania. The author dredged a specimen of Crosse Concinna Angus in 17 fms., off Kelso, Tamar River. Until now, he believed this species has only been found at Port Jackson, N.S.W., where it is very rare. He was interested to be able to add this rare species to the fauna of Tasmania

Voulta fusiformis, Swainson, Var. Micro-papillosa

Shell fusiform ovately-elongate, somewhat solid, contracted, and distinctly emarginate at the base ; spire very short, only about one-fourth the length of body whorl ; somewhat accuminate and minutely papillary at the apex ; whorls uniformly gently rounded or swollen, smooth, minutely decussately striated under the lens : columella with three very oblique moderately conspicuous plaits ; aperture rather narrowly elliptical ; lip markedly thickened and sub-reflexed, very much compressed over very narrowly receding posterior canal ; colour brownish white, reticulated with light chestnut triangularly configured lines as in V. fusiformis, columella and interior of the aperture uniformly orange-carnelia. This shell, taken from the Derwent by Mr. Frank Rush, fisherman, forms an interesting link between V. fusiformis, Sw., and V. papillaris, Sw., although it is scarcely separable from the former species, of which it may be regarded as an extremely aberrant variety

Production and proteomic characterisation of purified protein derivative from Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Effective diagnosis of Johne's disease (JD), particularly at the stage of early subclinical infection, remains one of the greatest challenges for the control of JD worldwide. The IFN-γ test of cell mediated immunity is currently one of the most suitable diagnostics for subclinical infections, however a major limitation of this test is the lack of a standardised purified protein derivative (PPD) antigen (also referred to as Johnin PPD or PPDj). While attempting to replace PPDj with more specific individual antigens is an attractive proposition, bacterial culture derived PPDj remains the most effective antigen preparation for the diagnosis of subclinical JD. It may be possible to increase the reproducibility and specificity of PPDj preparations by further characterising and standardising the PPDj production.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using a standardised protocol, five in-house preparations of PPDj were prepared from cultures of <it>Mycobacterium avium </it>subsp. <it>paratuberculosis </it>(MAP). Compared to PPDs obtained from other institutes/laboratories, these preparations appeared to perform similarly well in the IFN-γ test. Although the broad proteomic composition of all PPDj preparations was remarkably similar, the absolute abundance of individual proteins varied markedly between preparations. All PPDj preparations contained common immunogenic proteins which were also observed in PPD preparations from <it>Mycobacterium avium </it>subsp. <it>avium </it>(PPDa) and <it>Mycobacterium bovis </it>(PPDb). Temporal difference in protein secretion of <it>in vitro </it>cultured MAP was observed between 20 and 34 weeks suggesting that the age of MAP culture used for PPDj preparations may markedly influence PPDj composition.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study describes a protocol for the production of PPDj and its subsequent proteomic characterisation. The broad proteomic composition of different preparations of PPDj was, for the most part, highly similar. Compositional differences between PPDj preparations were found to be a direct reflection of genetic differences between the MAP strain types used to produce these preparations and the age of MAP cultures they were derived from. A number of conserved immunogenic proteins, such as members of the cutinase-like protein family, were found to be more abundant in PPDj compared to PPDa and should be considered as possible diagnostic antigens for the future.</p

Comparative Skull Morphology of Uropeltid Snakes (Alethinophidia: Uropeltidae) with Special Reference to Disarticulated Elements and Variation

Uropeltids form a diverse clade of highly derived, fossorial snakes that, because of their phylogenetic position among other alethinophidian lineages, may play a key role in understanding the early evolution of cranial morphology in snakes. We include detailed osteological descriptions of crania and mandibles for eight uropeltid species from three nominal genera (Uropeltis, Rhinophis, and Brachyophidium) and emphasize disarticulated elements and the impact of intraspecific variation on previously proposed morphological characters used for phylogenetic analysis. Preliminary analysis of phylogenetic relationships strongly supports a clade composed exclusively of species of Plectrurus, Uropeltis, and Rhinophis. However, monophyly of each of those genera and Melanophidium is not upheld. There is moderate support that Sri Lankan species (e.g., Rhinophis and Uropeltis melanogaster) are monophyletic with respect to Indian uropeltids. Previously proposed characters that are phylogenetically informative include the shape of the nasals, length of the occipital condyle, level of development of the posteroventral process of the dentary, and participation of the parietal in the optic foramen. Additionally, thirty new features that may be systematically informative are identified and described, but were not verified for their utility. Such verification must await availability of additional disarticulated cranial material from a larger sample of taxa. All characters require further testing through increased focus on sources and patterns of intraspecific variation, inclusion of broader taxonomic samples in comparative studies, and exploration of skeletal development, sexual dimorphism, and biogeographic patterns. Additionally, trends in the relative enlargement of the sensory capsules, reduction in cranial ossification and dentition, fusion of elements, and the appearance of novel morphological conditions, such as the structure and location of the suspensorium, may be related to fossoriality and miniaturization in some uropeltid taxa, and may complicate analysis of relationships within Uropeltidae and among alethinophidian snakes

A Battle Lost? Report on Two Centuries of Invasion and Management of Lantana camara L. in Australia, India and South Africa

Recent discussion on invasive species has invigorated the debate on strategies to manage these species. Lantana camara L., a shrub native to the American tropics, has become one of the worst weeds in recorded history. In Australia, India and South Africa, Lantana has become very widespread occupying millions of hectares of land. Here, we examine historical records to reconstruct invasion and management of Lantana over two centuries and ask: Can we fight the spread of invasive species or do we need to develop strategies for their adaptive management? We carried out extensive research of historical records constituting over 75% of records on invasion and management of this species in the three countries. The records indicate that governments in Australia, India and South Africa have taken aggressive measures to eradicate Lantana over the last two centuries, but these efforts have been largely unsuccessful. We found that despite control measures, the invasion trajectory of Lantana has continued upwards and that post-war land-use change might have been a possible trigger for this spread. A large majority of studies on invasive species address timescales of less than one year; and even fewer address timescales of >10 years. An understanding of species invasions over long time-scales is of paramount importance. While archival records may give only a partial picture of the spread and management of invasive species, in the absence of any other long-term dataset on the ecology of Lantana, our study provides an important insight into its invasion, spread and management over two centuries and across three continents. While the established paradigm is to expend available resources on attempting to eradicate invasive species, our findings suggest that in the future, conservationists will need to develop strategies for their adaptive management rather than fighting a losing battle