Extensive sampling sheds light on species-level diversity in Palearctic Placobdella (Annelida: Clitellata: Glossiphoniiformes)

The bloodfeeding leech genus Placobdella is dominated by North American diversity, with only a single nominal species known from Central America and one from the Palearctic region. This is likely due to considerable underestimation of Palearctic biodiversity, but investigations into potential hidden diversity are lacking. To shed light on this, the present study introduces new data for specimens initially identified as Placobdella costata from Ukraine (close to the type locality), Italy, Germany, Latvia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Tunisia, and Algeria, and uses both nuclear (Internal Transcribed Spacer [ITS] region) and mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I [COI]) sequence data in phylogenetic and DNA barcoding frameworks, in order to better understand species-level diversity. Seven independent lineages are present in the trees, five of which show adequate separation at the COI locus to suggest their unique species-level status (COI distances between these clades range from 4.86 to 8.10%). However, the ITS data suggest that speciation is recent or incipient in these clades, and that not enough time has passed for clear separation at this locus. We discuss the evolutionary and taxonomic implications of our findings and speculate on dispersal events that may have contributed to shaping this pattern of geographic distribution

Visuospatial Integration: Paleoanthropological and Archaeological Perspectives

The visuospatial system integrates inner and outer functional processes, organizing spatial, temporal, and social interactions between the brain, body, and environment. These processes involve sensorimotor networks like the eye–hand circuit, which is especially important to primates, given their reliance on vision and touch as primary sensory modalities and the use of the hands in social and environmental interactions. At the same time, visuospatial cognition is intimately connected with memory, self-awareness, and simulation capacity. In the present article, we review issues associated with investigating visuospatial integration in extinct human groups through the use of anatomical and behavioral data gleaned from the paleontological and archaeological records. In modern humans, paleoneurological analyses have demonstrated noticeable and unique morphological changes in the parietal cortex, a region crucial to visuospatial management. Archaeological data provides information on hand–tool interaction, the spatial behavior of past populations, and their interaction with the environment. Visuospatial integration may represent a critical bridge between extended cognition, self-awareness, and social perception. As such, visuospatial functions are relevant to the hypothesis that human evolution is characterized by changes in brain–body–environment interactions and relations, which enhance integration between internal and external cognitive components through neural plasticity and the development of a specialized embodiment capacity. We therefore advocate the investigation of visuospatial functions in past populations through the paleoneurological study of anatomical elements and archaeological analysis of visuospatial behaviors

Age and hippocampal volume predict distinct parts of default mode network activity

Group comparison studies have established that activity in the posterior part of the default-mode network (DMN) is down-regulated by both normal ageing and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study linear regression models were used to disentangle distinctive DMN activity patterns that are more profoundly associated with either normal ageing or a structural marker of neurodegeneration. 312 datasets inclusive of healthy adults and patients were analysed. Days of life at scan (DOL) and hippocampal volume were used as predictors. Group comparisons confirmed a significant association between functional connectivity in the posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex and precuneus and both ageing and AD. Fully-corrected regression models revealed that DOL significantly predicted DMN strength in these regions. No such effect, however, was predicted by hippocampal volume. A significant positive association was found between hippocampal volumes and DMN connectivity in the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). These results indicate that postero-medial DMN down-regulation may not be specific to neurodegenerative processes but may be more an indication of brain vulnerability to degeneration. The DMN-TPJ disconnection is instead linked to the volumetric properties of the hippocampus, may reflect early-stage regional accumulation of pathology and might be of aid in the clinical detection of abnormal ageing

TRANSITIONAL MORPHOLOGY IN HYBRIDS OF HIRUDO VERBANA AND H. ORIENTALIS (CLITELLATA, HIRUDINIDA)

The aim of this research was to test the ability of hybridizing Hirudo orientalis S. Utevsky et Trontelj, 2005 and Hirudo verbana Carena, 1820. We obtained offspring from both species. The color pattern of all the hybrids was uniform and quite different from both the parents. The venter was similar to H. verbana. The dorsum was very similar to the color pattern of Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758 that was not involved to the experiment. The coloration pattern of the hybrids, which is very similar to that of H. medicinalis suggests the hybrid origin of this species.Целью данной работы было исследовать способность медицинских пиявок Hirudo orientalis S. Utevsky et Trontelj, 2005 и Hirudo verbana Carena, 1820 к гибридизации. В результате эксперимента мы получили потомство от обоих видов. Окраска всех гибридов была однообразна и отличалась от окраски обоих родительских видов. Окраска вентральной стороны тела сходна с H. verbana. Окраска дорсальной стороны наиболее сходна с таковой у вида Hirudo medicinalis Linnaeus, 1758, который не участвовал в эксперименте. Значительное сходство окраски гибридов и H. medicinalis наводит на мысль о гибридном происхождении этого вида

First record of the introduced freshwater leech Helobdella europaea Kutschera 1987 in Portugal

Primer registre de la sangonera exòtica d'aigua dolça Helobdella europaea Kutschera 1987 a Portugal (Hirudinea, Glossiphoniidae) S'ha comunicat la propagació recent d'espècies de sangoneres exòtiques a tot Europa i encara hi ha una gran llacuna pel que fa a l'impacte que puguin tenir, com també a la seva distribució i ecologia. Aquí documentem la presència d'Helobdella europaea en un hàbitat d'aigua dolça al nord de Portugal, que constitueix el primer registre publicat per a aquesta espècie al país. Se'n van trobar quatre espècimens en un mostreig d'aigua al riu Ferreira que van ser recol·lectats ràpidament per estudiar-los. Se'n va fer la identificació morfològica i es van obtenir mostres de teixit per a la seqüenciació del codi de barres d'ADN. L'anàlisi genètica va donar com a resultat un sol haplotip compartit pels quatre espècimens i amb molt poca divergència d'altres seqüències disponibles en bases de dades públiques, la qual cosa en confirma la identitat

Geochemistry of Plutonic Rocks of the Western Cascades, Washington & Oregon : Relationship to Crustal Segmentation and Ore Genesis

The volcanic (~45-10 Ma) and plutonic rocks (~37-12 Ma) comprising the Western Cascades extend from northernmost California to southern British Columbia and are ancestral to modern arc magmatism. The ancestral arc hosts a series of small plutons that are locally associated with porphyry (Cu-Mo) and epithermal (Au) ore deposits. Three crustal segments identified by Schmidt et al. (2008, 2013) in the modern arc are potentially reflected in the geochemistry of the ancestral Cascades as well: Paleozoic-Mesozoic accreted terranes, metamorphic rocks, and granites to the north; thin Paleocene Siletzia oceanic crust of the Columbia Embayment in the center; and Paleozoic-Mesozoic ultramafic sheets and marine arc-related volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Klamath Terrane to the south. Therefore, the Western Cascades of Washington and Oregon provide a field laboratory to examine the chemical compositions and ages of granitoid intrusions associated with a variety of magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits, and to compare the compositions with the along-arc variation of the age, composition and thickness of the underlying crust. The majority of the 15 new zircon U-Pb ages reported in this study are 27 to 12 Ma with the exception of the ~37 Ma Snoqualmie North Fork intrusions of central WA. A total of 610 zircons were analyzed, of which 118 have ages older than the main population and are considered to be xenocrystic or inherited. The north segment contains the oldest (up to 67 Ma) and most continuous inherited population. The absence of inherited grains older than 67 Ma suggests that neither the North Fork nor White River districts overlie old crystalline crust, but instead overlie Paleocene-Eocene volcanics that are the likely source of inherited zircons. Districts of the Columbia segment have sparse inherited zircon populations (n = 38 of 350 total), ranging from 54 to 20 Ma. The dearth of inherited zircons in the center of the arc suggests limited contamination by a source no older than 55 Ma, likely the dominant Eocene sources of detrital zircon found within the Tyee Formation. Districts overlying the Klamath Terrane have slightly more substantial inherited zircon populations than districts overlying Siletzia but still decidedly few inherited grains (a total of 25 out of 85 grains analyzed, ranging from 44 to 19 Ma); these grains are likely sourced from similar contaminants to those underlying the central segment of the arc, instead of from accreted Mesozoic rocks of the Klamath Terrane. The hypabyssal plutonic rocks represent a small area (~1%) of exposures in the Western Cascades, and range in composition from diorites to granodiorites and minor granite. Fe-Ti oxides, where preserved, include magnetite and ilmenite in proportion of ~2:1, and together with presence of hornblende and biotite are suggestive of modest oxidation states of ~ ΔNNO of 0 to 1 (Carmichael & Nicholls, 1967). Abundant hornblende is observed in 31 of 36 available petrographic sections. Ba/Nb values are not obviously correlated with SiO₂ content from any given district, but tend to increase at any given SiO₂ content from north to south. Th/Ta ratios notably increase with SiO₂, and are lowest in the mid-latitude districts (North Santiam, Detroit Dam, Quartzville, and Blue River). While increased slab fluid could increase Ba relative to Nb, the greater abundance of Ba, Th, and Th/Ta southward at given SiO₂ are more consistent with an increased role of crustal contamination. Dy/Yb ratios decrease with increasing SiO₂ contents with the exception of the North Fork District. V/Sc ratios decrease with increasing SiO₂ with the exception of samples of the Spirit Lake Pluton, and slightly increase from south to north at any given SiO₂ content. Zircons in the Western Cascades plutonic rocks have characteristically large negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* 3 wt. % H₂O). There is no evidence that Western Cascade magmas were strongly oxidized (> NNO +1). Although crustal thickness is poorly constrained in the north and south segments, it is evidently variable along-arc (and may thicken slightly to the south), but is likely relatively thin. I therefore suggest that crustal thickness and lithology substantially control ore potential within the Western Cascade Arc

UtevskyElinorS2015.xlsx

The volcanic (~45-10 Ma) and plutonic rocks (~37-12 Ma) comprising the Western Cascades extend from northernmost California to southern British Columbia and are ancestral to modern arc magmatism. The ancestral arc hosts a series of small plutons that are locally associated with porphyry (Cu-Mo) and epithermal (Au) ore deposits. Three crustal segments identified by Schmidt et al. (2008, 2013) in the modern arc are potentially reflected in the geochemistry of the ancestral Cascades as well: Paleozoic-Mesozoic accreted terranes, metamorphic rocks, and granites to the north; thin Paleocene Siletzia oceanic crust of the Columbia Embayment in the center; and Paleozoic-Mesozoic ultramafic sheets and marine arc-related volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Klamath Terrane to the south. Therefore, the Western Cascades of Washington and Oregon provide a field laboratory to examine the chemical compositions and ages of granitoid intrusions associated with a variety of magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits, and to compare the compositions with the along-arc variation of the age, composition and thickness of the underlying crust. The majority of the 15 new zircon U-Pb ages reported in this study are 27 to 12 Ma with the exception of the ~37 Ma Snoqualmie North Fork intrusions of central WA. A total of 610 zircons were analyzed, of which 118 have ages older than the main population and are considered to be xenocrystic or inherited. The north segment contains the oldest (up to 67 Ma) and most continuous inherited population. The absence of inherited grains older than 67 Ma suggests that neither the North Fork nor White River districts overlie old crystalline crust, but instead overlie Paleocene-Eocene volcanics that are the likely source of inherited zircons. Districts of the Columbia segment have sparse inherited zircon populations (n = 38 of 350 total), ranging from 54 to 20 Ma. The dearth of inherited zircons in the center of the arc suggests limited contamination by a source no older than 55 Ma, likely the dominant Eocene sources of detrital zircon found within the Tyee Formation. Districts overlying the Klamath Terrane have slightly more substantial inherited zircon populations than districts overlying Siletzia but still decidedly few inherited grains (a total of 25 out of 85 grains analyzed, ranging from 44 to 19 Ma); these grains are likely sourced from similar contaminants to those underlying the central segment of the arc, instead of from accreted Mesozoic rocks of the Klamath Terrane. The hypabyssal plutonic rocks represent a small area (~1%) of exposures in the Western Cascades, and range in composition from diorites to granodiorites and minor granite. Fe-Ti oxides, where preserved, include magnetite and ilmenite in proportion of ~2:1, and together with presence of hornblende and biotite are suggestive of modest oxidation states of ~ ΔNNO of 0 to 1 (Carmichael & Nicholls, 1967). Abundant hornblende is observed in 31 of 36 available petrographic sections. Ba/Nb values are not obviously correlated with SiO₂ content from any given district, but tend to increase at any given SiO₂ content from north to south. Th/Ta ratios notably increase with SiO₂, and are lowest in the mid-latitude districts (North Santiam, Detroit Dam, Quartzville, and Blue River). While increased slab fluid could increase Ba relative to Nb, the greater abundance of Ba, Th, and Th/Ta southward at given SiO₂ are more consistent with an increased role of crustal contamination. Dy/Yb ratios decrease with increasing SiO₂ contents with the exception of the North Fork District. V/Sc ratios decrease with increasing SiO₂ with the exception of samples of the Spirit Lake Pluton, and slightly increase from south to north at any given SiO₂ content. Zircons in the Western Cascades plutonic rocks have characteristically large negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* 3 wt. % H₂O). There is no evidence that Western Cascade magmas were strongly oxidized (> NNO +1). Although crustal thickness is poorly constrained in the north and south segments, it is evidently variable along-arc (and may thicken slightly to the south), but is likely relatively thin. I therefore suggest that crustal thickness and lithology substantially control ore potential within the Western Cascade Arc