Using ancient DNA analysis and radiocarbon dating to determine the provenance of an unusual whaling artifact

Natural history collections provide a critical temporal view of past biodiversity and are instrumental in the study of extinct populations. However, the value of historical specimens relies on correct species identification, collection date and collection locality. The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) holds an unusual artifact – an electric lamp made from a dried whale penis – with unknown age, species-of-origin and collection locality. We used ancient DNA methods to generate a partial mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome sequence to establish the identity and provenance of the whale, and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating to determine the approximate year of death. Mitochondrial DNA sequences from the 16S rRNA gene and the control region indicate that the specimen belonged to a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) and a modern radiocarbon age suggests it was collected post-1950s. We were unable to determine the collection locality of the whale due to the very broad geographic distribution of its mtDNA haplotype. Our results suggest the specimen was possibly collected as a souvenir during post-war whaling, where nearly 30,000 male sperm whales were killed annually. This study supports and extends previous research that applies ancient DNA and radiocarbon dating techniques to enhance the value of natural history collections, by identifying the species-of-origin and age of historical specimens.Caitlin Mudge, Rebecca Dallwitz, Bastien Llamas and Jeremy J. Austi

The Prometheus Taxonomic Model: a practical approach to representing multiple classification.

A model for representing taxonomic data in a flexible and dynamic system capable of handling and comparing multiple simultaneous classifications is presented. The Prometheus Taxonomic Model takes as its basis the idea that a taxon can be circumscribed by the specimens or taxa of a lower rank which are said to belong to it. In this model alternative taxon concepts are therefore represented in terms of differing circumscriptions. This provides a more objective way of expressing taxonomic concepts than purely descriptive circumscriptions have been published. Using specimens as the fundamental elements of taxon circumscription also allows for the automatic naming of taxa based upon the distribution and priority of types within each circumscription, and by application of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. This approach effectively separates the process of naming taxa (nomenclature) from that of classification, and therefore enables the system to store multiple classifications. The derivation of the model, how it compares with other models, and the implications for the construction of global data sets and taxonomic working practice are discussed

Dancing for Food in the Deep Sea: Bacterial Farming by a New Species of Yeti Crab

Vent and seep animals harness chemosynthetic energy to thrive far from the sun's energy. While symbiont-derived energy fuels many taxa, vent crustaceans have remained an enigma; these shrimps, crabs, and barnacles possess a phylogenetically distinct group of chemosynthetic bacterial epibionts, yet the role of these bacteria has remained unclear. We test whether a new species of Yeti crab, which we describe as Kiwa puravida n. sp, farms the epibiotic bacteria that it grows on its chelipeds (claws), chelipeds that the crab waves in fluid escaping from a deep-sea methane seep. Lipid and isotope analyses provide evidence that epibiotic bacteria are the crab's main food source and K. puravida n. sp. has highly-modified setae (hairs) on its 3rd maxilliped (a mouth appendage) which it uses to harvest these bacteria. The ε- and γ- proteobacteria that this methane-seep species farms are closely related to hydrothermal-vent decapod epibionts. We hypothesize that this species waves its arm in reducing fluid to increase the productivity of its epibionts by removing boundary layers which may otherwise limit carbon fixation. The discovery of this new species, only the second within a family described in 2005, stresses how much remains undiscovered on our continental margins

Un Magazine

This article records an historic event, when senior Pitjantjatjara artist and community leader Rene Kulitja chose to sing and perform inma alongside a recording of her father played from the digital community archive Ara Irititja