Examining evolutionary relationships and shifts in depth preferences in batfishes (Lophiiformes: Ogcocephalidae)

© 2014 Elsevier Inc. Batfishes (Ogcocephalidae) are an understudied, group of marine anglerfishes that are dorsoventrally flattened and have an illicium and esca (terminal lure) used to attract prey. The family contains 10 genera and 75 recognized species from nearly all tropical and subtropical seas. Relationships among these taxa, as well as the position of Ogcocephalidae within Lophiiformes, remain poorly understood with previous studies showing conflicting, and poorly resolved results. The timing of divergence and depth of origination in the water column have also not been explored in any detail. In this study a concatenated nuclear (three genes) and mitochondrial (two genes) dataset was constructed across several anglerfish families to elucidate phylogenetic relationships among all ten batfish genera, to clarify the placement of Ogcocephaloidei within Lophiiformes, and to estimate divergence times using fossil calibrations. An ancestral state reconstruction was also conducted to examine the history of shifts in preferred habitat depths within batfishes. Phylogenetic analyses supported monophyly of each sub-order within Lophiiformes and placed Ogcocephaloidei as the sister group to Antennarioidei. Batfish genera were divided into an Eastern Pacific/Western Atlantic clade and an Indo-Pacific clade; Halieutaea was recovered as the sister group to all other batfishes. Based on divergence time estimations and ancestral state reconstructions of preferred depth, Ogcocephalidae is Eocene in age and originated on the lower continental shelf/upper continental slope (disphotic zone)

Adult morphology and redescription of Lestidiops indopacificus (Ege, 1953), with comments on the features of related species (Teleostei, Aulopiformes, Paralepididae)

Two specimens representing the first known adults of Lestidiops indopacificus (Ege, 1953) are reported and described from Taiwan, and the validity and generic assignment of this species are confirmed. The origin of the pelvic fin directly below the dorsal-fin base shows that L. indopacificus belongs to the L. mirabilis species complex. It can be separated from its congeners by the position of the nostrils above the posterior end of the maxilla, the light body color with unevenly distributed melanophores in adults, and a distinct combination of meristic values and other morphological characteristics. New geographic records are reported for the two other current members of this species complex, L. mirabilis (Ege, 1933) and L. extremus (Ege, 1953). The diagnostic features that separate these three very similar species are discussed

New records of two cusk eels of the genus Neobythites from Taiwan, with a northward range extension of N. australiensis Nielsen, 2002 (Actinopterygii: Ophidiiformes: Ophidiidae)

Two species of cusk eels, Neobythites australiensis Nielsen, 2002 and Neobythites japonicus Uiblein et Nielsen, 2023 were collected from southwestern and northeastern Taiwan, respectively. They represent the first record of both species from Taiwan. The former specimen represents the first record from the Northern Hemisphere, and the latter specimen represents the second record of N. japonicus. As a result, eight species of Neobythites are recognized in Taiwan. We provide a detailed description of the two specimens, comparison with other available specimens, discussion of intraspecific variations, and a dichotomous key to species of Neobythites in Taiwan

A new record of congrid eel, Bathycongrus bleekeri (Congridae) from Vietnam

Three specimens of Bathycongrus bleekeri were collected during the survey in 2015 and 2017. The newly recorded species is described herein, a small, moderately elongate species of Bathycongrus with head and body compressed; vertical fins without black mark; tail slender, attenuated, but not filiform; trunk length 1.2 times greater than head length; teeth small, conical, in about three-four rows on jaws, in a small triangular patch on vomer; 28–29 preanal vertebrae, total of 111–113 vertebrae; 26–28 preanal lateral-line pores. Additional data on the morphology and distribution of the species increases the total number of known species in the family Congridae in Vietnamese waters to twelve

Evolutionary history of anglerfishes (Teleostei: Lophiiformes): a mitogenomic perspective

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The teleost order Lophiiformes, commonly known as the anglerfishes, contains a diverse array of marine fishes, ranging from benthic shallow-water dwellers to highly modified deep-sea midwater species. They comprise 321 living species placed in 68 genera, 18 families and 5 suborders, but approximately half of the species diversity is occupied by deep-sea ceratioids distributed among 11 families. The evolutionary origins of such remarkable habitat and species diversity, however, remain elusive because of the lack of fresh material for a majority of the deep-sea ceratioids and incompleteness of the fossil record across all of the Lophiiformes. To obtain a comprehensive picture of the phylogeny and evolutionary history of the anglerfishes, we assembled whole mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequences from 39 lophiiforms (33 newly determined during this study) representing all five suborders and 17 of the 18 families. Sequences of 77 higher teleosts including the 39 lophiiform sequences were unambiguously aligned and subjected to phylogenetic analysis and divergence time estimation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Partitioned maximum likelihood analysis confidently recovered monophyly for all of the higher taxa (including the order itself) with the exception of the Thaumatichthyidae (<it>Lasiognathus </it>was deeply nested within the Oneirodidae). The mitogenomic trees strongly support the most basal and an apical position of the Lophioidei and a clade comprising Chaunacoidei + Ceratioidei, respectively, although alternative phylogenetic positions of the remaining two suborders (Antennarioidei and Ogcocephaloidei) with respect to the above two lineages are statistically indistinguishable. While morphology-based intra-subordinal relationships for relatively shallow, benthic dwellers (Lophioidei, Antennarioidei, Ogcocephaloidei, Chaunacoidei) are either congruent with or statistically indistinguishable from the present mitogenomic tree, those of the principally deep-sea midwater dwellers (Ceratioidei) cannot be reconciled with the molecular phylogeny. A relaxed molecular-clock Bayesian analysis of the divergence times suggests that all of the subordinal diversifications have occurred during a relatively short time period between 100 and 130 Myr ago (early to mid Cretaceous).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The mitogenomic analyses revealed previously unappreciated phylogenetic relationships among the lophiiform suborders and ceratioid familes. Although the latter relationships cannot be reconciled with the earlier hypotheses based on morphology, we found that simple exclusion of the reductive or simplified characters can alleviate some of the conflict. The acquisition of novel features, such as male dwarfism, bioluminescent lures, and unique reproductive modes allowed the deep-sea ceratioids to diversify rapidly in a largely unexploited, food-poor bathypelagic zone (200-2000 m depth) relative to the other lophiiforms occurring in shallow coastal areas.</p

Adjuvant chemotherapy and survival outcomes in rectal cancer patients with good response (ypT0-2N0) after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery: A retrospective nationwide analysis

BackgroundFor rectal cancer, it remains unclear how to incorporate tumor response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) when deciding whether to give adjuvant chemotherapy. In this study, we aim to determinate the survival benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy for rectal cancer patients with good response (ypT0-2N0) after nCRT and surgery.MethodsThe study cohort included 720 rectal cancer patients who had good response (ypT0-2N0) after nCRT and surgery, who did or did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy between January 2007 and December 2017, from the Taiwan Cancer Registry and National Health Insurance Research database. The Kaplan–Meier method, log-rank tests, and Cox regression analysis were performed to investigate the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy on 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).ResultsOf 720 patients, 368 (51.1%) received adjuvant chemotherapy and 352 (48.9%) did not. Patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy were more likely to be female, younger (≤ 65), with advanced clinical T (3-4)/N (1-2) classification and ypT2 classification. No significant difference in 5-year OS (p=0.681) or DFS (p=0.942) were observed by receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy or not. Multivariable analysis revealed adjuvant chemotherapy was not associated with better OS (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.03; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.88-1.21) or DFS (aHR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.89-1.24). Stratified analysis for OS and DFS found no significant protective effect in the use of adjuvant chemotherapy, even for those with advanced clinical T or N classification.ConclusionAdjuvant chemotherapy may be omitted in rectal cancer patients with good response (ypT0-2N0) after nCRT and surgery

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities

Conservation status of marine biodiversity of the Western Indian Ocean

The Western Indian Ocean is comprised of productive and highly diverse marine ecosystems that are rich sources of food security, livelihoods, and natural wonder. The ecological services that species provide are vital to the productivity of these ecosystems and healthy biodiversity is essential for the continued support of economies and local users. The stability of these valuable resources, however, is being eroded by growing threats to marine life from overexploitation, habitat degradation and climate change, all of which are causing serious reductions in marine ecosystem services and the ability of these ecosystems to support human communities. Quantifying the impacts of these threats and understanding the conservation status of the region’s marine biodiversity is a critical step in applying informed management and conservation measures to mitigate loss and retain the ecological value of these systems. This report highlights trends in research needs for species in the region, including priorities for fundamental biological and ecological research and quantifying trends in the populations of species. The assessments and analyses submitted in this report should inform conservation decision-making processes and will be valuable to policymakers, natural resource managers, environmental planners and NGOs