An annotated checklist of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from the Kamchatka Peninsula and adjacent islands

A checklist of the Geometridae of the Kamchatka Peninsula and the adjacent islands is presented. A total of 80 species are recorded, and 20 species are omitted as doubtful for the fauna of the territory. One new species and five new subspecies are described (Xanthorhoe okhotinaria Beljaev & Vasilenko sp. n., Xanthorhoe okhotinaria sikhotenaria Beljaev & Vasilenko ssp. n., Dysstroma citratum kamtshadalarium Beljaev & Vasilenko ssp. n., Hydriomena impluviata djakonovi Beljaev ssp. n., Epirrita autumnata smetanini Beljaev ssp. n., Eupithecia kurilensis mironovi Beljaev ssp. n.). One species is recorded as new for the Russian Far East (Kamchatka Peninsula included) (Macaria halituaria [Guenée, 1858]). Two species are recorded as new for the Kamchatka Peninsula: Eupithecia antaggregata Inoue, 1977 and Eupithecia gelidata Möschler, 1860, and three species are recorded as new for the North Kuril Islands (Xanthorhoe derzhavini [Djakonov, 1931], Entephria caesiata [Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775] and Psychophora sabini [Kirby, 1824]). In addition, several species are reported for the first time in neighbouring territories: two species for Magadan Province (Xanthorhoe ferrugata [Clerck, 1759] and Xanthorhoe kamtshatica [Djakonov, 1929]); four species for North Koryakiya (Entephria caesiata [Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775], Eulithis populata [Linnaeus, 1758], Eupithecia gelidata Möschler, 1860, Carsia sororiata [Hübner, 1813]) and three species for Chukotka (Xanthorhoe kamtshatica [Djakonov, 1929], Xanthorhoe derzhavini [Djakonov, 1931] and Rheumaptera hastata [Linnaeus, 1758])

Ice thickness distribution and hydrothermal structure of Elfenbeinbreen and Sveigbreen, eastern Spitsbergen, Svalbard

In recent decades, Svalbard glaciers have been widely radioecho sounded. The earliest extensive surveys of ice thickness were the airborne echo soundings carried out in the 1970s and 1980s (Macheret and Zhuravlev, 1982; Dowdeswell and others, 1984). These studies used low-accuracy radar and positioning systems and mostly consisted of a single profile along the centre line of each glacier. Subsequent radar campaigns, mostly ground-based but sometimes also airborne, used increasingly improved radar and positioning systems providing a wider coverage of the glacier surfaces by radar profiles. A complete summary of glaciers on Svalbard with readily available radio-echo sounded ice-thickness data can be found in Martín-Español and others (2015)

Protaphycus shuvalikovi Simutnik gen. et sp. nov. (Chalcidoidea, Encyrtidae, Encyrtinae) from Rovno amber

Protaphycus shuvalikovi Simutnik gen. et sp. nov., the smallest fossil Encyrtidae, is described and illustrated based on female specimen from late Eocene Rovno amber. Like most previously described Eocene Encyrtidae, the new taxon differs from the majority of extant encyrtids by the subapical position of the cerci, the relatively long marginal vein of the forewing, a distinctly swollen but not triangular parastigma, and a seta marking the apex of the postmarginal vein is not any longer than others on this vein. The new genus is characterized by the presence of a filum spinosum and the hypopygium reaching way past the apex of syntergum. This combination of the character states is known only in a few representatives of extant Encyrtinae. The new genus, probably, most closely related to the extant genus Aphycus Mayr, 1876

The first reliable fossil record of the tribe Centistini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Euphorinae): a new subgenus and species of braconid wasp in Danish amber

A new subgenus and species of the braconid parasitoid of the tribe Centistini s. l. (Euphorinae), Centistoides (Palaeoides) magnioculus Belokobylskij, subgen. et sp. nov., from late Eocene Danish amber are described and illustrated from one female. This is the first time the tribe of euphorine parasitoids is reliably documented in the fossil record. A key to all genera and subgenera of this suprageneric taxonomic group is compiled. The discussion about position of the genus Parasyrrhizus Brues, composition of the tribe Centistini s. l., and the composition of the Danish amber hymenopteran fauna are provided

First fossil species of ship-timber beetles (Coleoptera, Lymexylidae) from Eocene Rovno amber (Ukraine)

A new lymexylid fossil species, †Raractocetus sverlilo Nazarenko, Perkovsky & Yamamoto, sp. nov., is described from late Eocene Rovno amber of Ukraine. This new species is similar to species of the recent genera Atractocerus Palisot de Beauvois and Raractocetus Kurosawa in the ship-timber beetle subfamily Atractocerinae, but differs in pronotal and elytral features. Notably, the new species is one of the smallest atractocerines known to date. This is the first member of the family Lymexylidae found in Rovno amber. Our finding sheds further light on the paleodiversity of atractocerine beetles, highlighting a peculiar distribution during the Eocene. Only one extant atractocerine specimen has been reported from Europe (Greece), while three species from Eocene European amber forests with equable climate are known now, including two species from the otherwise tropical genus Raractocetus. Our finding of the Raractocetus beetle from Rovno amber is of significant biogeographically because it indicates the wide distribution of the genus in the Eocene European amber forests

Comparative genome analysis of Pseudogymnoascus spp. reveals primarily clonal evolution with small genome fragments exchanged between lineages

Abstract Background Pseudogymnoascus spp. is a wide group of fungi lineages in the family Pseudorotiaceae including an aggressive pathogen of bats P. destructans. Although several lineages of P. spp. were shown to produce ascospores in culture, the vast majority of P. spp. demonstrates no evidence of sexual reproduction. P. spp. can tolerate a wide range of different temperatures and salinities and can survive even in permafrost layer. Adaptability of P. spp. to different environments is accompanied by extremely variable morphology and physiology. Results We sequenced genotypes of 14 strains of P. spp., 5 of which were extracted from permafrost, 1 from a cryopeg, a layer of unfrozen ground in permafrost, and 8 from temperate surface environments. All sequenced genotypes are haploid. Nucleotide diversity among these genomes is very high, with a typical evolutionary distance at synonymous sites dS ≈ 0.5, suggesting that the last common ancestor of these strains lived >50Mya. The strains extracted from permafrost do not form a separate clade. Instead, each permafrost strain has close relatives from temperate environments. We observed a strictly clonal population structure with no conflicting topologies for ~99% of genome sequences. However, there is a number of short (~100–10,000 nt) genomic segments with the total length of 67.6 Kb which possess phylogenetic patterns strikingly different from the rest of the genome. The most remarkable case is a MAT-locus, which has 2 distinct alleles interspersed along the whole-genome phylogenetic tree. Conclusions Predominantly clonal structure of genome sequences is consistent with the observations that sexual reproduction is rare in P. spp. Small number of regions with noncanonical phylogenies seem to arise due to some recombination events between derived lineages of P. spp., with MAT-locus being transferred on multiple occasions. All sequenced strains have heterothallic configuration of MAT-locus.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111733/1/12864_2015_Article_1570.pd

The ice-free topography of Svalbard

We present a first version of the Svalbard ice-free topography (SVIFT1.0) using a mass-conserving approach for mapping glacier ice thickness. SVIFT1.0 is informed by more than 900’000 point-measurements of glacier thickness, totalling almost 8’300 km of thickness profiles. It is publicly available for download. Our estimate for the total ice volume is 6’253km3, equivalent to 1.6cm sea-level rise. The thickness map suggests that 13% of the glacierised area is grounded below sea-level. Thickness values are provided together with a map of error estimates that comprise uncertainties in the thickness surveys as well as in other input variables. Aggregated error estimates are used to define a likely ice-volume range of 5’200-7’400km3. The ice-front thickness of marine-terminating glaciers is a key quantity for ice-loss attribution because it controls the potential ice discharge by iceberg calving into the ocean. We find a mean ice-front thickness of 133m for the archipelago