Anne Jungblut, a botany research scientist at the NHM, has been awarded the US Antarctica Service Medal. The medal was established by US Congress in 1960 to honour service personnel and civilians who contribute to US Antarctic expeditions.

Anne has been taking part in Antarctic expeditions since 2005 with the New Zealand and US Antarctic Program, and has represented The Natural History Museum on these expeditions since 2009.  Her blog gives details of expeditions to look  at cyanobacteria in Antarctica, which form thick mats in meltwater pools.  We are always intrigued by the sampling equipment that appears in some of the photographs!

Palaeontology Seminar

Floral palaeoecology of the Middle Jurassic of Argentina using palynological analysis and its potential application to hydrocarbon exploration

Thursday 26th April
Neil Chalmers Seminar Room, DC2, 16:00

Dr. Stephen Stukins, Department of Palaeontology, NHM

Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions using palynology are often based upon allochthonous sporomorphs but often fail to take into account how transportation and depositional processes alter the assemblages, leading to misinterpretations. To resolve this, a methodology has been developed that aims to eliminate the bias of the sedimentation process and gives a new interpretation on palaeoenvironmental analysis. This talk reviews the approach using a case study from the Middle Jurassic of the Neuquén Basin, Argentina.

The findings show a dynamic ecosystem with broad ecological trends, one opposing the static models of vegetation ecology often presented from palaeo scenarios. In addition, the palaeoenvironmental analysis is combined with sedimentological and geochemical parameters to give an insight into future predictive models for the exploration of complex, marginal marine deposits such as those witnessed in the stunning outcrops of the Lajas Formation.

For additional details on attending this or other seminars see http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/seminars-events/index.html

Publications for the previous 4 -5 weeks (Search done 21st February.)

BOTANY

ELLIS, L.T. 2011. Type specimens of taxa described by C. F. Schwägrichen in the moss genera Calymperes and Syrrhopodon (Musci: Calymperaceae). Candollea, 66(2): 317-329.      

ELLIS, L.T., Darzikolaei, S.A., Shirzadian, S., Bakalin, V.A., Bednarek-Ochyra, H., Ochyra, R., Claro, D., Dulin, M.V., Eckel, P.M., Erzberger, P., Eziz, R., Sulayman, M., Garcia, C., Sergio, C., Stow, S., Hedderson, T., Hedenas, L., Kurschner, H., Li, W., Nebel, M., Nieuwkoop, J., Philippov, D.A., Plasek, V., Sawicki, J., Schafer-Verwimp, A., Stefanut, S. & Vana, J. 2011. New national and regional bryophyte records, 29. Journal of Bryology, 33: 316-323.  

Jüttner, I. & COX, E.J. 2011. Achnanthidium pseudoconspicuum comb. nov.: morphology and ecology of the species and a comparison with related taxa. Diatom Research, 26(1-2): 21-28.  

KENRICK, P., Wellman, C.H., SCHNEIDER, H. & EDGECOMBE, G.D. 2012. A timeline for terrestrialization: consequences for the carbon cycle in the Palaeozoic. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 367(1588): 519-536.  

KNAPP, S., McNeill, J.  & Turland,  N.J. 2011. Changes to publication requirements made at the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne - what does e-publication mean for you? Brittonia, 63(4): 505-509.  

KNAPP, S., McNeill, J.  & Turland,  N.J. 2011. Changes to Publication Requirements Made at the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne-What Does e-Publication Mean for You? Novon, 21(4): 440-443.  

KNAPP, S., McNeill, J.  & Turland,  N.J. 2011. Fungal nomenclature. Changes to publication requirements made at the XVIII International Botanical Congress in Melbourne - what does e-publication mean for you? Mycotaxon, 117: 509-515.  

MARTIN-CERECEDA, M. & COX, E.J. 2011. Morphological variation in a small Thalassiosira species (Bacillariophyta) under different culture regimes. Botanica Marina, 54(6): 563-574.  

Metcalf, J.S., Beattie, K.A., Purdie, E.L., BRYANT, J.A., IRVINE, L.M. & Codd, G.A. 2011. Analysis of microcystins and microcystin genes in 60-170-year-old dried herbarium specimens of cyanobacteria. Harmful Algae: (Article in Press).   

Price, M.J. & ELLIS, L.T. 2011. A lectotype for Breutelia chrysocoma (Hedw.) Lindb., (Bryophyta; Bartramiaceae). Journal of Bryology, 33: 308-315.  

Santos-Guerra, A., JARVIS, C.E., CARINE, M.A., Maunder, M. & Francisco-Ortega, J. 2011. Late 17th century herbarium collections from the Canary Islands: The plants collected by James Cuninghame in La Palma. Taxon, 60(6): 1734-1753.  

SÄRKINEN, T., Iganci, J.R.V., Linares-Palomino, R., Simon, M.F. & Prado, D.E. 2011. Forgotten forests - issues and prospects in biome mapping using Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests as a case study. BMC Ecology, 11(27): doi:10.1186/1472-6785-11-27.  

Varin, T., Lovejoy, C., JUNGBLUT, A.D., Vincent, W.F. & Corbeil, J. 2012. Metagenomic Analysis of Stress Genes in Microbial Mat Communities from Antarctica and the High Arctic. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78(2): 549-559.  

Veillette, J., Lovejoy, C., Potvin, M., Harding, T., JUNGBLUT, A.D., Antoniades, D., Chénard, C., Suttle, C.A. & Vincent, W.F. 2011. Milne fiord epishelf lake: A coastal arctic ecosystem vulnerable to climate change. Ecoscience, 18(3): 304-316.    

WILLIAMS, D.M. 2011. Additions to and comments on the bibliography of Robert Ross. Diatom Research, 26(3-4): 317-318.  

WILLIAMS, D.M. 2011. Synedra, Ulnaria: definitions and descriptions - a partial resolution. Diatom Research, 26(1-2): 149-153.  

WILLIAMS, D.M. & Ebach, M.C. 2012. Confusing homologs as homologies: A reply to "On homology". Cladistics: (Article in Press).  

ENTOMOLOGY

Carolan, J.C., Murray, T.E., Fitzpatrick, U., Crossley, J., Schmidt, H., Cederberg, B., McNally, L., Paxton, R.J., WILLIAMS, P.H. & Brown, M.J.F. 2012. Colour patterns do not diagnose species: Quantitative evaluation of a DNA barcoded cryptic bumblebee complex. PLoS ONE, 7(1).      

COOK, S., Moureau, G., Kitchen, A., Gould, E.A., De Lamballerie, X., Holmes, E.C. & HARBACH, R. 2012. Molecular evolution of the insect-specific flaviviruses. Journal of General Virology, 93(2): 223-234.     

Dai, W., Viraktamath,  C.A., WEBB, M.D. & Zhang, Y. 2012. Revision of the oriental leafhopper genus parallygus Melichar (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) with description of new species. Zootaxa(3157): 41-53.    

Fayle, T.M., Edwards, D.P., Turner, E.C., Dumbrell, A.J., EGGLETON, P. & Foster, W.A. 2012. Public goods, public services and by-product mutualism in an ant-fern symbiosis. Oikos: (Article in Press).      

Finn, D.S., Bonada, N., MURRIA, C. & Hughes, J.M. 2011. Small but mighty: headwaters are vital to stream network biodiversity at two levels of organization. Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 30(4): 963-980.  

Franco, A.O., Davies, C.R., Mylne, A., Dedet, J.P., Gallego, M., Ballart, C., Gramiccia, M., Gradoni, L., Molina, R., Galvez, R., Morillas-Marquez, F., Baron-Lopez, S., Pires, C.A., Afonso, M.O., READY, P.D. & Cox, J. 2011. Predicting the distribution of canine leishmaniasis in western Europe based on environmental variables. Parasitology, 138(14): 1878-1891.  

Frutos, P., Hoste, H., Sotiraki, S., HALL, M. & Jackson, F. 2011. Specificities of parasitism in goats and sheep: Interactions with nutrition and control strategies. Small Ruminant Research: (Article in Press).      

GE, D., Gómez-Zurita, J., CHESTERS, D., Yang, X. & VOGLER, A.P. 2012. Suprageneric systematics of flea beetles (Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) inferred from multilocus sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 62(3): 793-805. (Article in Press)    

KUHLMANN, M., Guo, D., Veldtman, R. & Donaldson, J. 2012. Consequences of warming up a hotspot:species range shifts within a centre of bee diversity. Diversity and Distributions, ??: 1-13 (Article in Press).      

Millet, L., Rius, D., Galop, D., Heiri, O. & BROOKS, S.J. 2012. Chironomid-based reconstruction of Lateglacial summer temperatures from the Ech palaeolake record (French western Pyrenees). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 315-316: 86-99.      

POLASZEK, A., Rugman-Jones, P.F., Stouthamer, R., Hernandez-Suarez, E., Cabello, T. & Perez, M.D. 2012. Molecular and morphological diagnoses of five species of Trichogramma: biological control agents of Chrysodeixis chalcites (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) in the Canary Islands. Biocontrol, 57(1): 21-35.  

QUICKE, D.L.J. & Butcher, B.A. 2011. Corrigendum to revision of the genus ischnobracon Baltazar (hymenoptera: Braconidae: Braconinae) by Areekul Butcher and Quicke (2010). Journal of Natural History, 45(39-40): 2525-2526.      

Rodriguez-Roche, R., Villegas, E., COOK, S., Poh Kim, P.A.W., Hinojosa, Y., Rosario, D., Villalobos, I., Bendezu, H., Hibberd, M.L. & Guzman, M.G. 2012. Population structure of the dengue viruses, Aragua, Venezuela, 2006-2007. Insights into dengue evolution under hyperendemic transmission. Infection, Genetics and Evolution: (Article in Press).      

ROSSER, N. & EGGLETON, P. 2012. Can higher taxa be used as a surrogate for species-level data in biodiversity surveys of litter/soil insects? Journal of Insect Conservation, 16(1): 87-92.  

Sotiraki, S. & HALL, M.J.R. 2011. A review of comparative aspects of myiasis in goats and sheep in Europe. Small Ruminant Research: (Article in Press).      

Stewart, J.R., Aspinall, S., Beech, M., FENBERG, P., Hellyer, P., Larkin, N., Lokier, S.W., Marx, F.G., Meyer, M., Miller, R., RAINBOW, P.S., TAYLOR, J.D., WHITTAKER, J.E., Al-Mehsin, K. & Strohmenger, C.J. 2011. Biotically constrained palaeoenvironmental conditions of a mid-Holocene intertidal lagoon on the southern shore of the Arabian Gulf: evidence associated with a whale skeleton at Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(25-26): 3675-3690.  

Toth, M., Magyari, E.K., BROOKS, S.J., Braun, M., Buczko, K., Balint, M. & Heiri, O. 2012. A chironomid-based reconstruction of late glacial summer temperatures in the southern Carpathians (Romania). Quaternary Research, 77(1): 122-131.  

Van Asch, N., Lutz, A.F., Duijkers, M.C.H., Heiri, O., BROOKS, S.J. & Hoek, W.Z. 2012. Rapid climate change during the Weichselian Lateglacial in Ireland: Chironomid-inferred summer temperatures from Fiddaun, Co. Galway. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 315-316: 1-11.      

Williams, J.J., Gosling, W.D., BROOKS, S.J., Coe, A.L. & Xu, S. 2011. Vegetation, climate and fire in the eastern Andes (Bolivia) during the last 18,000 years. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 312(1-2): 115-126.  

Yusah, K.M., FAYLE, T.M., Harris, G. & Foster, W.A. 2012. Optimizing Diversity Assessment Protocols for High Canopy Ants in Tropical Rain Forest. Biotropica, 44(1): 73-81.  

Zahiri, R., HOLLOWAY, J., KITCHING, I.J., Lafontaine, J.D., Mutanen, M. & Wahlberg, N. 2012. Molecular phylogenetics of Erebidae (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea). Systematic Entomology, 37(1): 102-124.      

MINERALOGY

Anders, C., Bringa, E.M., Ziegenhain, G., GRAHAM, G.A., Hansen, J.F., Park, N., Teslich, N.E. & Urbassek, H.M. 2012. Why Nanoprojectiles Work Differently than Macroimpactors: The Role of Plastic Flow. Physical Review Letters, 108(2).  

Cong, Y., Banta, G.T., Selck, H., BERHANU, D., VALSAMI-JONES, E. & Forbes, V.E. 2011. Toxic effects and bioaccumulation of nano-, micron- and ionic-Ag in the polychaete, Nereis diversicolor. Aquatic Toxicology, 105(3-4): 403-411.  

Cuif, J.P., Dauphin, Y., HOWARD, L., Nouet, J., Rouziere, S. & Salome, M. 2011. Is the pearl layer a reversed shell? A re-examination of the theory of pearl formation through physical characterizations of pearl and shell developmental stages in Pinctada margaritifera. Aquatic Living Resources, 24(4): 411-424.  

Emmerton, S., Muxworthy, A.R., HEZEL, D.C. & BLAND, P.A. 2011. Magnetic characteristics of CV chondrules with paleointensity implications. Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets, 116(12).  

Griffin, L.D., ELANGOVAN, P., Mundell, A. & HEZEL, D.C. 2012. Improved segmentation of meteorite micro-CT images using local histograms. Computers and Geosciences, 39: 129-134.      

Hopkinson, L., Kristova, P., Rutt, K. & CRESSEY, G. 2012. Phase transitions in the system MgO-CO(2)-H(2)O during CO(2) degassing of Mg-bearing solutions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 76: 1-13.  

Kampf, A.R., Mlls, S.J., Housley, R.M., RUMSEY, M.S. & SPRATT, J. 2012. Lead-tellurium oxysalts from Otto Mountain near Baker, California: VII. Chromschieffelinite, Pb(10)Te(6)O(20)(OH)(14)(CrO(4))(1120)5, the chromate analog of schieffelinite. American Mineralogist, 97(1): 212-219.  

Konopelko, D.L., Biske, Y.S., Kullerud, K., SELTMANN, R. & Divaev, F.K. 2011. The Koshrabad granite massif in Uzbekistan: petrogenesis, metallogeny, and geodynamic setting. Russian Geology and Geophysics, 52(12): 1563-1573.  

Kuznetsova, L.G., Zolotarev, A.A., Frank-Kamenetskaya, O.V., Rozhdestvenskaya, I.V., Bronzova, Y.M., SPRATTE, J. & Ertl, A. 2011. Chemical composition and species attribution of tourmalines from a rare-metal pegmatite vein with scapolite, Sangilen Upland, Tuva. Geology of Ore Deposits, 53(8): 806-817. 

Lambeck, K., Purcell, A., Flemming, N.C., VITA-FINZI, C., Alsharekh, A.M. & Bailey, G.N. 2011. Sea level and shoreline reconstructions for the Red Sea: isostatic and tectonic considerations and implications for hominin migration out of Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(25-26): 3542-3574.  

Lappe, S., Church, N.S., Kasama, T., Fanta, A.B.D., Bromiley, G., Dunin-Borkowski, R.E., Feinberg, J.M., RUSSELL, S. & Harrison, R.J. 2011. Mineral magnetism of dusty olivine: A credible recorder of pre-accretionary remanence. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 12.  

MISRA, S.K., DYBOESKA, A., BERHANU, D., Croteau, M.N., Luoma, S.N., Boccaccini, A.R. & VALSAMI-JONES, E. 2012. Isotopically modified nanoparticles for enhanced detection in bioaccumulation studies. Environmental Science and Technology, 46(2): 1216-1222.      

Nouet, J., Baronnet, A. & HOWARD, L. 2012. Crystallization in organo-mineral micro-domains in the crossed-lamellar layer of Nerita undata (Gastropoda, Neritopsina). Micron, 43(2-3): 456-462.      

Patzer, A., HEZEL, D.C., Bendel, V. & Pack, A. 2012. Chondritic ingredients: I. Usual suspects and some oddballs in the Leoville CV3 meteorite. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 47(1): 142-157.  

Ruenraroengsak, P., Novak, P., BERHANU, D., Thorley, A.J., Valsami-Jones, E., Gorelik, J., Korchev, Y.E. & Tetley, T.D. 2012. Respiratory epithelial cytotoxicity and membrane damage (holes) caused by amine-modified nanoparticles. Nanotoxicology, 6(1): 94-108.  

Safonova, I.Y., Simonov, V.A., Kurganskaya, E.V., Obut, O.T., Romer, R.L. & SELTMANN, R. 2012. Late Paleozoic oceanic basalts hosted by the Char suture-shear zone, East Kazakhstan: Geological position, geochemistry, petrogenesis and tectonic setting. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences: (Article in Press).      

SKARTSILA, K. & Spanos, N. 2012. Adsorption monitoring of phospho-l-serine on hydroxyapatite. Colloid and Polymer Science: 1-9 (Article in Press).      

Spurný, P., BLAND, P.A., Shrbený, L., Borovička, J., Ceplecha, Z., Singelton, A., Bevan, A.W.R., Vaughan, D., Towner, M.C., McClafferty, T.P., Toumi, R. & DEACON, G. 2012. The Bunburra Rockhole Meteorite fall in SW Australia: Fireball trajectory, luminosity, dynamics, orbit, and impact position from photographic and photoelectric records. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 47(2): 163-185. (Article in Press)     

Veksler, I.V., Dorfman, A.M., Dulski, P., Kamenetsky, V.S., Danyushevsky, L.V., JEFFRIES, T. & Dingwell, D.B. 2012. Partitioning of elements between silicate melt and immiscible fluoride, chloride, carbonate, phosphate and sulfate melts, with implications to the origin of natrocarbonatite. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 79: 20-40.  

VITA-FINZI, C. 2012. Misattributed tsunami 2: The Tōhoku Japan (M w 9.0) 2011.3.11 earthquake. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 123(1): 19-21.      

Weider, S.Z., Kellett, B.J., Swinyard, B.M., Crawford, I.A., Joy, K.H., Grande, M., Howe, C.J., Huovelin, J., Narendranath, S., Alha, L., ANAND, M., Athiray, P.S., Bhandari, N., Carter, J.A., Cook, A.C., Duston, L.C., Fernandes, V.A., Gasnault, O., Goswami, J.N., Gow, J.P.D., Holland, A.D., Koschny, D., Lawrence, D.J., Maddison, B.J., Maurice, S., McKay, D.J., Okada, T., Pieters, C., Rothery, D.A., RUSSELL, S.S., Shrivastava, A., Smith, D.R. & Wieczorek, M. 2012. The Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer: First results. Planetary and Space Science, 60(1): 217-228.      

ZAITSEV, A.N., Chakhmouradian, A.R., Siidra, O.I., SPRATT, J., WILLIAMS, C.T., STANLEY, C.J., Petrov, S.V., Britvin, S.N. & Polyakova, E.A. 2011. Fluorine-, yttrium- and lanthanide-rich cerianite-(Ce) from carbonatitic rocks of the Kerimasi volcano and surrounding explosion craters, Gregory Rift, northern Tanzania. Mineralogical Magazine, 75(6): 2813-2822.  

PALAEONTOLOGY

Bastir, M., Rosas, A., Gunz, P., Pena-Melian, A., Manzi, G., Harvati, K., KRUSZYNSKI, R., STRINGER, C. & Hublin, J.J. 2011. Evolution of the base of the brain in highly encephalized human species. Nature Communications, 2(1).  

Bates, K.T., MAIDMENT, S.C.R., Allen, V. & BARRETT, P.M. 2012. Computational modelling of locomotor muscle moment arms in the basal dinosaur Lesothosaurus diagnosticus: Assessing convergence between birds and basal ornithischians. Journal of Anatomy, 220(3): 212-232. (Article in Press)     

BENNETT, S.P., BARRETT, P.M., COLLINSON, M.E., MOORE-FAY, S., Davis, P.G. & PALMER, C.P. 2012. A new specimen of Ichthyosaurus communis from Dorset, UK, and its bearing on the stratigraphical range of the species. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 123(1): 146-154.      

Briant, R.M., Kilfeather, A.A., PARFITT, S., Penkman, K.E.H., Preece, R.C., Roe, H.M., Schwenninger, J.L., Wenban-Smith, F.F. & WHITTAKER, J.E. 2012. Integrated chronological control on an archaeologically significant Pleistocene river terrace sequence: The Thames-Medway, eastern Essex, England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 123(1): 87-108.      

Cooper, M.R. & OWEN, H.G. 2011. Evolutionary relationships among Schloenbachiidae (Cretaceous Ammonoidea: Hoplitoidea), with a revised classification of the family. Neues Jahrbuch Fur Geologie Und Palaontologie-Abhandlungen, 262(3): 289-307.  

DI MARTINO, E. & TAYLOR, P.D. 2012. Morphology and palaeobiogeography of Retelepralia, a distinctive cheilostome bryozoan new to the fossil record. Neues Jahrbuch Fur Geologie Und Palaontologie-Abhandlungen, 263(1): 67-74.  

Donovan, S.K., Jagt, J.W.M. & LEWIS, D.N. 2011. Notes on some trace fossils and other parataxa from the Maastrichtian type area, southeast Netherlands and northeast Belgium. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences-Geologie En Mijnbouw, 90(2-3): 99-109.  

Evans, D.C., BARRETT, P.M. & Seymour, K.L. 2012. Revised identification of a reported Iguanodon-grade ornithopod tooth from the Scollard Formation, Alberta, Canada. Cretaceous Research, 33(1): 11-14.  

Farke, A.A., Ryan, M.J., BARRETT, P.M., Tanke, D.H., Braman, D.R., Loewen, M.A. & GRAHAM, M.R. 2011. A new centrosaurine from the Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada, and the evolution of parietal ornamentation in horned dinosaurs. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 56(4): 691-702.  

FORTEY, R.A. 2011. A critical graptolite correlation into the Lower Ordovician of Gondwana. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 58(4): 223-226.      

Giribet, G. & EDGECOMBE, G.D. 2012. Reevaluating the arthropod tree of life. Annual Review of Entomology, 57: 167-186.      

Huang, B., Rong, J. & COCKS, L.R.M. 2012. Global palaeobiogeographical patterns in brachiopods from survival to recovery after the end-Ordovician mass extinction. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology: (Article in Press).      

HUMPHREY, L., BELLO, S. & Rousham, E. 2012. Sex differences in infant mortality in Spitalfields, London, 1750-1839. Journal of Biosocial Science, 44(1): 95-119.  

KENRICK, P., Wellman, C.H., SCHNEIDER, H. & EDGECOMBE, G.D. 2012. A timeline for terrestrialization: consequences for the carbon cycle in the Palaeozoic. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 367(1588): 519-536.  

LLOYD, G.T. 2012. A refined modelling approach to assess the influence of sampling on palaeobiodiversity curves: new support for declining Cretaceous dinosaur richness. Biology Letters, 8(1): 123-126.  

LLOYD, G.T., YOUNG, J.R. & SMITH, A.B. 2012. Taxonomic Structure of the Fossil Record is Shaped by Sampling Bias. Systematic Biology, 61(1): 80-89.  

Milian, M.I., Weissert, H.J., OWEN, H., Fernandez-Mendiola, P.A. & Garcia-Mondejar, J. 2011. The Madotz Urgonian platform (Aralar, northern Spain): Paleoecological changes in response to Early Aptian global environmental events. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 312(1-2): 167-180.  

Perry, C.T., Smithers, S.G., ROCHE, R.C. & Wassenburg, J. 2011. Recurrent patterns of coral community and sediment facies development through successive phases of Holocene inner-shelf reef growth and decline. Marine Geology, 289(1-4): 60-71.  

Royse, K.R., De Freitas, M., Burgess, W.G., Cosgrove, J., Ghail, R.C., Gibbard, P., King, C., Lawrence, U., Mortimore, R.N., OWEN, H. & Skipper, J. 2012. Geology of London, UK. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 123(1): 22-45.      

SELDEN, P.A., Nam, K.S., Kim, S.H. & Kim, H.J. 2012. A fossil spider from the cretaceous of Korea. Journal of Paleontology, 86(1): 1-6.  

SMITH, A.B. & BARRETT, P.M. 2012. Modelling the past: new generation approaches to understanding biological patterns in the fossil record Introduction. Biology Letters, 8(1): 112-114.  

Stewart, J.R., Aspinall, S., Beech, M., FENBERG, P., Hellyer, P., Larkin, N., Lokier, S.W., Marx, F.G., Meyer, M., Miller, R., RAINBOW, P.S., TAYLOR, J.D., WHITTAKER, J.E., Al-Mehsin, K. & Strohmenger, C.J. 2011. Biotically constrained palaeoenvironmental conditions of a mid-Holocene intertidal lagoon on the southern shore of the Arabian Gulf: evidence associated with a whale skeleton at Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(25-26): 3675-3690.  

Vahtera, V., EDGECOMBE, G.D. & Giribet, G. 2012. Evolution of blindness in scolopendromorph centipedes (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha): insight from an expanded sampling of molecular data. Cladistics, 28(1): 4-20.  

WAESCHENBACH, A., TAYLOR, P.D. & LITTLEWOOD, D.T.J. 2012. A molecular phylogeny of bryozoans. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 62(2): 718-735.  

YOUNG, M.T., Bell, M.A., De Andrade, M.B. & Brusatte, S.L. 2011. Body size estimation and evolution in metriorhynchid crocodylomorphs: implications for species diversification and niche partitioning. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 163(4): 1199-1216.  

ZAMORA, S. & SMITH, A.B. 2012. Cambrian stalked echinoderms show unexpected plasticity of arm construction. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 279(1727): 293-298.  

ZOOLOGY

Betson, M., Nejsum, P., LLEWELLYN-HUGHES, J., GRIFFIN, C., Atuhaire, A., Arinaitwe, M., Adriko, M., Ruggiana, A., Turyakira, G., Kabatereine, N.B. & Stothard, J.R. 2012. Genetic diversity of Ascaris in southwestern Uganda. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 106(2): 75-83.      

El-Rashidy, H.H. & BOXSHALL, G.A. 2012. A new copepod (Siphonostomatoida: Lernanthropidae) parasitic on a Red Sea immigrant dragonet (Actinopterygii: Callionymidae), with a review of records of parasitic copepods from dragonets. Systematic Parasitology, 81(2): 87-96.  

Foata, J., Quilichini, Y., Justine, J.L., BRAY, R.A. & Marchand, B. 2012. Ultrastructural study of spermiogenesis and the spermatozoon of Cavisoma magnum (Southwell, 1927) (Acanthocephala, Palaeacanthocephala, Cavisomidae), from Siganus lineatus (Pisces, Teleostei, Siganidae) (Valenciennes, 1835) in New Caledonia. Micron, 43(2-3): 141-149.      

Horne, E.C., BRAY, R.A. & Bousfield, B. 2011. The presence of the trematodes Cardiocephaloides physalis and Renicola sloanei in the African Penguin Spheniscus demersus on the east coast of South Africa. Ostrich, 82(2): 157-160.  

HUME, J.P. 2011. Systematics, morphology, and ecology of pigeons and doves (Aves: Columbidae) of the Mascarene Islands, with three new species. Zootaxa(3124): 1-+.  

HUYS, R., Fatih, F., Ohtsuka, S. & LLEWELLYN-HUGHES, J. 2012. Evolution of the bomolochiform superfamily complex (Copepoda: Cyclopoida): New insights from ssrDNA and morphology, and origin of umazuracolids from polychaete-infesting ancestors rejected. International Journal for Parasitology, 42(1): 71-92.      

Li, L., GIBSON, D.I., Liu, Y.Y. & Zhang, L.P. 2012. Morphological and molecular study of the poorly known species Pseudanisakis rajae (Yamaguti, 1941) (Nematoda: Acanthocheilidae) from elasmobranchs in the Yellow Sea and Taiwan Strait off the coast of China. Systematic Parasitology, 81(2): 115-123.  

MARTIN-CERECEDA, M. & COX, E.J. 2011. Morphological variation in a small Thalassiosira species (Bacillariophyta) under different culture regimes. Botanica Marina, 54(6): 563-574.  

MORTON, B. & Lee, C.N.W. 2012. The composition and spatial distribution of scavenging hyperbenthos in the Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve, Hong Kong. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 92(1): 39-47.

Ohtsuka, S., BOXSHALL, G.A. & Srinui, K. 2012. A New Species of Paramacrochiron (Copepoda: Cyclopoida: Macrochironidae) Associated with the Rhizostome Medusa Rhopilema hispidum Collected from the Gulf of Thailand, with a Phylogenetic Analysis of the Family Macrochironidae. Zoological Science, 29(2): 127-133.  

Olempska, E., HORNE, D.J. & Szaniawski, H. 2012. First record of preserved soft parts in a Palaeozoic podocopid (Metacopina) ostracod, Cytherellina submagna: phylogenetic implications. Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 279(1728): 564-570.

RAINBOW, P.S. & LUOMA, S.N. 2011. Metal toxicity, uptake and bioaccumulation in aquatic invertebrates-Modelling zinc in crustaceans. Aquatic Toxicology, 105(3-4): 455-465.  

Rasmussen, A.R., Ineich, I., Elmberg, J. & McCARTHY, C. 2011. Status of the Asiatic Sea Snakes of the Hydrophis nigrocinctus group (H. nigrocinctus, H. hendersoni, and H. walli; Elapidae, Hydrophiinae). Amphibia-Reptilia, 32(4): 459-464

RICHARD, J., De Grave, S. & CLARK, P.F. 2012. A new atyid genus and species from Madagascar (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea). Zootaxa(3162): 31-38.      

Stach, T., GRUHL, A. & Kaul-Strehlow, S. 2012. The central and peripheral nervous system of Cephalodiscus gracilis (Pterobranchia, Deuterostomia). Zoomorphology, 131(1): 11-24. (Article in Press)     

STANDLEY, C.J., Vounatsou, P., Gosoniu, L., Jørgensen, A., Adriko, M., Lwambo, N.J.S., Lange, C.N., Kabatereine, N.B. & STOTHARD, J.R. 2012. The distribution of Biomphalaria (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) in Lake Victoria with ecological and spatial predictions using Bayesian modelling. Hydrobiologia, 683(1): 249-264. (Article in Press)

Stewart, J.R., Aspinall, S., Beech, M., FENBERG, P., Hellyer, P., Larkin, N., Lokier, S.W., Marx, F.G., Meyer, M., Miller, R., RAINBOW, P.S., TAYLOR, J.D., WHITTAKER, J.E., Al-Mehsin, K. & Strohmenger, C.J. 2011. Biotically constrained palaeoenvironmental conditions of a mid-Holocene intertidal lagoon on the southern shore of the Arabian Gulf: evidence associated with a whale skeleton at Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(25-26): 3675-3690.  

Swiderski, Z., Poddubnaya, L.G., GIBSON, D.I., Levron, C. & Mlocicki, D. 2011. Egg formation and the early embryonic development of Aspidogaster limacoides Diesing, 1835 (Aspidogastrea: Aspidogastridae), with comments on their phylogenetic significance. Parasitology International, 60(4): 371-380.  

WAESCHENBACH, A., TAYLOR, P.D. & LITTLEWOOD, D.T.J. 2012. A molecular phylogeny of bryozoans. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 62(2): 718-735.  

Young, N.D., Jex, A.R., Li, B., Liu, S., Yang, L., Xiong, Z., Li, Y., Cantacessi, C., Hall, R.S., Xu, X., Chen, F., Wu, X., Zerlotini, A., Oliveira, G., Hofmann, A., Zhang, G., Fang, X., Kang, Y., Campbell, B.E., Loukas, A., Ranganathan, S., ROLLINSON, D., Rinaldi, G., Brindley, P.J., Yang, H., Wang, J. & Gasser, R.B. 2012. Whole-genome sequence of Schistosoma haematobium. Nature Genetics, 44(2): 221-225. (Article in Press)     

Zuccon, D., PRYS-JONES, R., Rasmussen, P.C. & Ericson, P.G.P. 2012. The phylogenetic relationships and generic limits of finches (Fringillidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 62(2): 581-596.  

Palaeontology Department Seminar

Taking a deep breath: bones, air sacs and the evolution of archosaur respiratory systems

Dr. Paul Barrett, Department of Palaeontology, NHM

Thursday 12th April
Neil Chalmers Seminar Room, DC2,

16:00

Birds have highly specialised respiratory systems that involve unidirectional movement of air through stiff, small lungs and a complex system of associated air sacs. These air sacs invade many postcranial skeletal elements during development, leaving characteristic traces. Similar features are present in many saurischian dinosaurs, and it seems likely that the accompanying soft-tissue features were present in these animals too. More vexed is the question of how ancient these features are and whether they had a wider distribution among archosaurs. A survey of numerous extinct and extant archosaurs shows unambiguous evidence for an ancient origin of these bird-like features, with their presence in many bird-line archosaurs. The possession of air sacs in crocodile-line archosaurs is more difficult to determine, but some features of the bony anatomy, and recently published work on the physiology of living crocodiles, suggests that many features formerly considered to be unique to birds actually had a much wider distribution. This has several interesting implications for the evolution of activity levels and locomotion in both bird- and croc-line archosaurs.

For additional details on attending this or other seminars see http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/seminars-events/index.html

5th Annual Palaeontographical Society Address

Virtual Fossils and the Herefordshire Lagerstatte

Dr Mark Sutton
Imperial College, London

Wednesday, April 18th 4.15 pm
Flett Lecture Theatre, Natural History Museum

Three-dimensional soft-bodied fossils represent some of the richest sources of palaeobiological data available, but are often difficult to work with using conventional techniques. Various technologies, both new and old, now exist to recover 3D morphology from such material. Most of these are tomographic in nature, based around the recovery of parallel 'slice images' through the fossil, either directly through serial grinding or sawing, or indirectly through scanning techniques. Reconstruction of tomographic datasets as three-dimensional interactive ‘virtual fossils’ on a computer screen not only provides a practical way to study difficult material, but brings a host of benefits along with it.

The Herefordshire Lagerstätte is a Silurian-aged deposit preserving a range of marine invertebrates in three-dimensions, complete with soft-tissues. These are essentially impossible to extract or image in their entirety without the use of tomographic techniques. The deposit hence provides a testbed and showcase for the ‘virtual fossil’ paradigm; prior to the advent of these techniques its significance was unclear, while after 12 years of ‘virtual’ study it is arguably the most significant invertebrate fossil locality known from Britain. Studies having yielded a wealth of new and often rather unexpected anatomical information on molluscs, echinoderms, brachiopods, polychaetes, and most especially arthropods. New finds discussed in this lecture include a chiton-like mollusc, a horseshoe-crab-like arthropod, and a potential stem-group Euarthropod, but further spectacular animals continue to emerge.

All welcome. Tea/coffee available in the Flett Foyer from 3.45 pm onwards

For details on attending this or other seminars see http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/seminars-events/index.html