No cortex, no cry

In his target article, Key (2016) argues that since fish don’t have a frontal cortex (part of the brain known to be important for feeling of pain in humans and rodents), they cannot feel pain or other noxious stimuli. I comment on the logic used in this extrapolation and other arguments presented in the paper

Empoleiramento de Myotis martiniquensis (Chiroptera) sob folhas de árvore

Schwartz’s Myotis (Myotis martiniquensis LaVal, 1973) is an endemic bat of Martinique; its roosting behavior is virtually unknown. I report an observation of Schwartz’s Myotis roosting under a tree leaf, which is unusual for New World Myotis. Such roosting habits might have evolved due to the paucity of caves in the small geographic range of this species.Keywords: behavior, Coccoloba punescens, Martinique, Myotis martiniquensis, West Indies.O morcego Myotis martiniquensis LaVal, 1973 é endêmico da Martinica, sendo seu comportamento de empoleiramento completamente desconhecido. Aqui reporta-se um episódio de empoleiramento dessa espécie sob folha de árvore, o que não é usual para espécimes de Myotis do Novo Mundo. Especula-se que esse tipo de empoleiramento pode ter evoluído devido à escassez de cavernas na pequena área de distribuição da espécie.Palavras-chave: comportamento, Coccoloba punescens, Martinique, morcego, Índias Ocidentais

First case of endothermy in semisessile animals

Endothermy is generally believed to have coevolved with highly active lifestyle in animals, and to be permanent (combined with homeothermy) only in some vertebrates, due in part to size restrictions on endothermic animals. All invertebrates are known to possess endothermy and exhibit it only when engaged in physically intensive behaviors. I report the discovery of permanent endothermy during one part of the life cycle in two species of semisessile lanternflies (Fulgoridae), proving the established assumptions about physiological and morphological prerequisites for permanent endothermy to be wrong: apparently, permanent endothermy can evolve even in very small, semisessile animals as long as they have access to sufficient energy supply

The Evolution of Sociality and the Polyvagal Theory

The polyvagal theory (PT), offered by Porges (2021), proposes that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) was repurposed in mammals, via a second vagal nerve, to suppress defensive strategies and support the expression of sociality. Three critical assumptions of this theory are that (1) the transition of the ANS was associated with the evolution of social mammals from asocial reptiles; (2) the transition enabled mammals, unlike their reptilian ancestors, to derive a biological benefit from social interactions; and (3) the transition forces a less parsimonious explanation (convergence) for the evolution of social behavior in birds and mammals, since birds evolved from a reptilian lineage. Two recently published reviews, however, provided compelling evidence that the social asocial dichotomy is overly simplistic, neglects the diversity of vertebrate social systems, impedes our understanding of the evolution of social behavior, and perpetuates the erroneous belief that one group, non-avian reptiles, is incapable of complex social behavior. In the worst case, if PT depends upon a transition from asocial reptiles to social mammals, then the ability of PT to explain the evolution of the mammalian ANS is highly questionable. A great number of social behaviors occur in both reptiles and mammals. In the best case, PT has misused the terms social and asocial. Even here, however, the theory would still need to identify a particular suite of behaviors found in mammals and not reptiles that could be associated with, or explain, the transition of the ANS, and then replace the asocial and social labels with more specific descriptors.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figur

Um pássaro (Aves, Parulidae) desconhecido nas montanhas de Cuba?

In March 2016, a pair of New World warblers (Parulidae) evidently belonging to an undescribed species were observed in the mountains of eastern Cuba. We discuss the observed features of the birds and their possible systematic affinities.Keywords: new species, bird, new species, Oriente, Pico Turquino National Park, West Indies.Em março de 2016, dois pássaros (Parulidae), evidentemente pertencentes a uma espécie desconhecida, foram observados nas montanhas do leste de Cuba. As características desses espécimes e suas possíveis afinidades filogenéticas são apresentadas e discutidas.Palavras chave: espécie nova, Passeriformes, Parque Nacional de Pico Turquino, Índias Ocidentais

Mammalwatching: A new source of support for science and conservation

During the 20th century, birding evolved from a little-known hobby into a global phenomenon important for ornithology and bird conservation. More recently a similar change has begun for mammalwatching, which is rapidly gaining popularity and is already providing financial support, observational data, diagnostic information, and a volunteer base for mammalogy and mammalian conservation. The study data suggest that mammalwatching has the potential to end decades of neglect of small mammals in dire need of conservation, to improve our knowledge of mammalian status and distribution, and to increase public support for conservation measures, especially for species not seen as particularly charismatic by the general public. Professional mammologists and conservation workers can benefit from this new trend, but they can also help it. We offer a number of suggestions as to how professionals mammalogists and the amateur community can better work together to promote conservation and science

Noble savages: human-independent Rattus rats in Japan

Brown (Rattus norvegicus) and black (R. rattus sensu lato) rats are among the world’s most widespread and important invasive animals; however, there are very few studies of their natural history in natural habitats within their native ranges. Both taxa are native to Japan and still occur in natural habitats there, but have been traditionally treated by zoologists working in the country as invasive pests limited to cities and agricultural lands. We used thermal imaging and snow tracking to conduct the first study of status, distribution and behavioural ecology of remnant human-independent populations of these species in Japan. We found both species still living in natural habitats away from human settlements: brown rat is a rare species in wetlands on the main islands and in upland forests on Hokkaido, while the native taxon of R. rattus species complex, the Asian house rat (R. tanezumi sensu stricto) inhabits remnant deciduous old-growth forests, as well as evergreen subtropical forests, in the south of the country. Such knowledge is critically important for understanding the rats’ evolutionary history, invasion biology and behaviour. Future molecular studies should aim to clarify the origin of these populations: possibly they are Pleistocene relicts threatened by hybridisation with rats of related non-native taxa.journal articl

Acoustic Detection of an Unknown Bat Species in Okinawa

Pipistrelles of the genus Hypsugo are among the rarest bats in Japan, known from a handful of records. In June 2018, a sequence of echolocation calls apparently by a bat of this genus was recorded by an automatic ultrasound recorder on the island of Okinawa. The calls closely resemble H. pulveratus, a Chinese species never before recorded in Japan, and H. alaschanicus, a very rare species in Japan. They also resemble calls of Hypsugo sp. bats from a small population recently discovered on nearby Amami-Oshima Island. The extreme rarity in our recordings, combined with lack of detection in Okinawa by other surveys, suggests that the individual was a vagrant. However, given the cryptic nature of the species on Amami, it remains possible that there is a small and likely endangered resident population, underlining the need for further bat surveys on Okinawa and other Nansei Islands

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016