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Although it is commonly assumed that closely related animals are similar in body size, the degree of similarity has not been examined across the taxonomic hierarchy. Moreover, little is known about the variation or consistency of body size patterns across geographic space or evolutionary time. Here, we draw from a data set of terrestrial, nonvolant mammals to quantify and compare patterns across the body size spectrum, the taxonomic hierarchy, continental space, and evolutionary time. We employ a variety of statistical techniques including “sib-sib” regression, phylogenetic autocorrelation, and nested ANOVA. We find an extremely high resemblance (heritability) of size among congeneric species for mammals over ∼18 g; the result is consistent across the size spectrum. However, there is no significant relationship among the body sizes of congeneric species for mammals under ∼18 g.We suspect that life-history and ecological parameters are so tightly constrained by allometry at diminutive size that animals can only adapt to novel ecological conditions by modifying body size. The overall distributions of size for each continental fauna and for the most diverse orders are quantitatively similar for North America, South America, and Africa, despite virtually no overlap in species composition. Differences in ordinal composition appear to account for quantitative differences between continents. For most mammalian orders, body size is highly conserved, although there is extensive overlap at all levels of the taxonomic hierarchy. The body size distribution for terrestrial mammals apparently was established early in the Tertiary, and it has remained remarkably constant over the past 50 Ma and across the major continents. Lineages have diversified in size to exploit environmental opportunities but only within limits set by allometric, ecological, and evolutionary constraints.

Since flight imposes physical constraints on the attributes of a flying organism, it is expected that the distribution of body sizes within clades of small-bodied flying vertebrates should share a similar pattern that reflects these constraints. We examined patterns in similarities of body mass distributions among five clades of small-bodied endothermic vertebrates (Passeriformes, Apodiformes + Trochiliformes, Chiroptera, Insectivora, Rodentia) to examine the extent to which these distributions are congruent among the clades that fly as opposed to those that do not fly. The body mass distributions of three clades of small-bodied flying vertebrates show significant divergence from the distributions of their sister clades. We examined two alternative hypotheses for similarities among the size frequency distributions of the five clades. The hypothesis of functional symmetry corresponds to patterns of similarity expected if body mass distributions of flying clades are constrained by similar or identical functional limitations. The hypothesis of phylogenetic symmetry corresponds to patterns of similarity expected if body mass distributions reflect phylogenetic relationships among clades. Empirically, the clades with the most similar body mass distributions are the Passeriformes and Chiroptera, a result inconsistent with similarities among distributions being attributable to phylogeny. However, the other clade of flying species (Apodiformes + Trochiliformes) was less similar to either Passeriformes or Chiroptera than was the Insectivora, which is inconsistent with the pattern expected if body size distributions were influenced by constraints of flight. A test for phylogenetic symmetry indicated that the empirical pattern of similarity was statistically inconsistent with this hypothesis, while a test for functional symmetry indicated that the empirical pattern was statistically consistent with this hypothesis, though not perfectly congruent. Hence, we conclude that there is evidence that functional constraints influence similarities in body mass distributions among species of distantly related taxa.

The purpose of this data set was to compile body mass information for all mammals on Earth so that we could investigate the patterns of body mass seen across geographic and taxonomic space and evolutionary time. We were interested in the heritability of body size across taxonomic groups (How conserved is body mass within a genus, family, and order?), in the overall pattern of body mass across continents (Do the moments and other descriptive statistics remain the same across geographic space?), and over evolutionary time (How quickly did body mass patterns iterate on the patterns seen today? Were the Pleistocene extinctions size specific on each continent, and did these events coincide with the arrival of man?). These data are also part of a larger project that seeks to integrate body mass patterns across very diverse taxa (NCEAS Working Group on Body Size in Ecology and Paleoecology: linking pattern and process across space, time, and taxonomic scales). We began with the updated version of D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder’s taxonomic list of all known Recent mammals of the world (N 5 4629 species) to which we added status, distribution, and body mass estimates compiled from the primary and secondary literature. Whenever possible, we used an average of male and female body mass, which was in turn averaged over multiple localities to arrive at our species body mass values. The sources are line referenced in the main data set, with the actual references appearing in a table within the metadata. Mammals have individual records for each continent they occur on. Note that our data set is more than an amalgamation of smaller compilations. Although we relied heavily on a data set for Chiroptera by K. E. Jones (N 5 905), the CRC handbook of Mammalian Body Mass (N 5 688), and a data set compiled for South America by P. Marquet (N 5 505), these represent less than half the records in the current database. The remainder are derived from more than 150 other sources. Furthermore, we include a comprehensive late Pleistocene species assemblage for Africa, North and South America, and Australia (an additional 230 species). ‘‘Late Pleistocene’’ is defined as approximately 11 ka for Africa, North and South America, and as 50 ka for Australia, because these times predate anthropogenic impacts on mammalian fauna. Estimates contained within this data set represent a generalized species value, averaged across sexes and geographic space. Consequently, these data are not appropriate for asking population-level questions where the integration of body mass with specific environmental conditions is important. All extant orders of mammals are included, as well as several archaic groups (N 5 4859 species). Because some species are found on more than one continent (particularly Chiroptera), there are 5731 entries. We have body masses for the following: Artiodactyla (280 records), Bibymalagasia (2 records), Carnivora (393 records), Cetacea (75 records), Chiroptera (1071 records), Dasyuromorphia (67 records), Dermoptera (3 records), Didelphimorphia (68 records), Diprotodontia (127 records), Hydracoidea (5 records), Insectivora (234 records), Lagomorpha (53 records), Litopterna (2 records), Macroscelidea (14 records), Microbiotheria (1 record), Monotremata (7 records), Notoryctemorphia (1 record), Notoungulata (5 records), Paucituberculata (5 records), Peramelemorphia (24 records), Perissodactyla (47 records), Pholidota (8 records), Primates (276 records), Proboscidea (14 records), Rodentia (1425 records), Scandentia (15 records), Sirenia (6 records), Tubulidentata (1 record), and Xenarthra (75 records).

Gelasia attariana E. Hatami, Mirtadz. & Ebrahimi, sp. nov. (Figs. 1A, B, C, D, E & 2). Type:— IRAN. Azerbaijan, southeast of Jolfa, Qeshlaq village, near the waterfall, 38°46.924′ N, 45°47.486′ E, 1940 m a.s.l., 8 Jul 2013, Mirtadzadini 2294 (holotype MIR!; isotypes MIR!, TUH!). Diagnosis:— Gelasia attariana is similar to G. cinerea and G. wendelboi in its caulescent perennial life form, lanceolate entire leaves with 3–7 parallel veins, tomentose indumentum of phyllaries and glabrous achenes without carpopodium. However, it differs from G. cinerea in its sparse (vs. tomentose) indumentum of stems and leaves, green (vs. greengrey) color of leaves, acuminate (vs. acute) leaf apex, narrowly (vs. broadly) campanulate shape of capitula and longer plant height and higher length/width ratio of leaves as compared to G. cinerea. Please see Table 1 for diagnostic morphological characters between G. attariana, G. cinerea and G. wendelboi. . Description:—Caulescent perennial herb. Rootstock thick, cylindrical, vertical. Root collar without or with few remnants of leaf sheaths. Stems 45–55(–60) cm, numerous, branched from the base, erect or ascending, sparsely pubescent, sulcate, leafy up to inflorescence. Leaves entire, sparsely pubescent, linear to lanceolate, reduced toward stem apex, 10–14 times as long as broad, green or yellow-green, five-nerved, upper stem leaves (6–) 8–10 cm long, lower stem leaves (12–)14–18(–22) cm long. Capitula narrowly campanulate. Phyllaries lanceolate, acute, tomentose, with membranous margin, 14–16 mm long at flowering (Fig. 1C), 21–24 mm long at fruiting (Fig. 1D). Ligules yellow. Achenes 10–12 mm long, glabrous, non-stipitate, conspicuously ribbed, smooth along ribs, cream or pale brown. Pappus 14–15 mm long, pale yellow, bristles plumose below, scabrid above (Fig. 1E). Phenology:—Flowering late June–early July, fruiting July. Etymology:—The new species name is dedicated to the eminent Iranian botanist, Dr. Farideh Attar, who conducted valuable researches on Asteraceae in Iran. Distribution and habitat:—Based on our findings, G. attariana was found only in its type locality, NW Iran (Fig. 3). This new species is an Irano-Turanian element, growing on rocky slopes in the subalpine zone, at elevations of 1900–1980 m a.s.l. (Figs. 1A, B). Phylogenetic and taxonomic remarks:—In this study, molecular phylogenetic analysis included representatives of all major lineages of subtribe Scorzonerinae as recognized in recent molecular phylogenetic studies (Zaika et al. 2020, Hatami et al. 2022). In total, nrITS sequences of 32 species of Scorzonerinae were included in our analysis as ingroup, of which eight sequences were newly generated, one was from the new species and the others belonged to seven Gelasia species (G. cinerea, G. latifolia, G. persica, G. ramosissima, G. subaphylla, G. wendelboi and G. xylobasis) which are morphologically similar to the new species (Appendix 1, Fig. 4). The aligned DNA matrix comprised of 32 sequences and 749 characters including 55 coded indels, 274 parsimony informative sites and 142 parsimony uninformative sites. Maximum parsimony analysis resulted in 20 most parsimonious trees with a length of 1171, a consistency index of 0.548 and a retention index of 0.690. The majority-rule consensus tree from the Bayesian analysis along with the posterior probabilities (PP) as well as jack-knife support (JK) from MP analysis and bootstrap values (BS) from ML analysis are represented in Fig. 4. The results obtained from our molecular analysis (Fig. 4) demonstrated that the new species (Gelasia attariana SC 37) falls into the strongly supported clade containing members of Gelasia (1 PP, 100 JK, 100 BS). The tree topology is in agreement with our morphological investigations that confirmed the treatment of the new species as a member of Gelasia. Within the Gelasia clade, the new species, G. attariana, was highly supported as sister to the subclade comprising a polytomy of G. cinerea, G. wendelboi, G. persica (Boissier & Buhse 1860: 139) Hatami et al. (2022: 20) and G. xylobasis (Rechinger 1977: 66) Hatami et al. (2022: 20) (1 PP, 97 JK, 99 BS). Therefore, our molecular analysis demonstrated the close relationship of G. attariana with the latter four species and confirmed that G. attariana can be recognized as a species distinct from its close relatives. Consistently, our morphological investigations revealed that G. attariana shares some morphological characters, such as lanceolate entire leaves with 3–7 parallel veins, tomentose indumentum of phyllaries and glabrous achenes without carpopodium, with G. cinerea, G. persica, G. wendelboi and G. xylobasis, members of the subclade that was resolved as sister to G. attariana in our molecular analysis. However, G. attariana is distinguishable from G. cinerea and G. wendelboi by plant height, stem and leaves indumentum type, leaves color, apex of leaves, length/width ratio of leaves, capitula shape and achene and pappus length (Table 1). In comparisons between G. attariana, G. persica and G. xylobasis, it was revealed that the differences in plant height, stem and leaves indumentum type, length/width ratio of leaves and length of achene and pappus are more obvious, since G. persica and G. xylobasis are characterized by a shorter plant height (8–15 cm), tomentose indumentum of stems and leaves, lower length/width ratio of leaves (2–5(–7) times as long as broad), and shorter length of achenes (6–9 cm) and pappus (8–12 cm). Through our morphological examinations of herbarium specimens, we noticed that a population of G. latifolia (Fischer & Meyer 1835: 30) Zaika et al. (2020: 75) (≡ Scorzonera latifolia Fischer & Meyer) collected from NW of Iran (Iran, Azerbaijan, east of Khoi, Seied Tadzadin mountain, 6 Jul 2013, Mirtadzadini 2293, MIR!) was morphologically similar to G. attariana in some vegetative characters including plant height (50–55 cm), shape and length of leaves (linear-lanceolate, 10–16 cm), length/width ratio of leaves (11–14 times as long as broad), and stem and leaves indumentum type (sparsely pubescent). Nevertheless, these two species can be easily distinguished from each other by the presence of densely lanate hairs on achenes of G. latifolia versus glabrous achenes in G. attariana. Besides the above-mentioned species, G. ketzkhovelii (Sosn. ex Grossheim 1934: 240) Zaika et al. (2020: 75) (≡ Scorzonera ketzkhovelii Sosn. ex Grossheim) from the Caucasus and Turkey was recognized as morphologically similar to G. attariana by its caulescent perennial life form, entire leaves with 3–7 parallel veins and glabrous achenes without carpopodium. However, they are different from each other since G. ketzkhovelii is characterized by the velutinous indumentum of stems and leaves, ovate-lanceolate leaves, and glabrous phyllaries compared to the sparse indumentum of stems and leaves, linear-lanceolate leaves and tomentose indumentum of phyllaries in G. attariana., Published as part of Ebrahimi, Atefeh, Hatami, Elham, Safavi, Seyed Reza & Mirtadzadini, Mansour, 2023, Gelasia attariana (Scorzonerinae, Cichorieae, Asteraceae), a new species from NW of Iran, inferred from morphological and molecular data, pp. 165-174 in Phytotaxa 597 (2) on pages 167-170, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.597.2.6, http://zenodo.org/record/7929359, {"references":["Zaika, M. A., Kilian, N., Jones, K. E., Krinitsina, A. A., Nilova, M. V., Speranskaya, A. S. & Sukhorukov, A. P. (2020) Scorzonera sensu lato (Asteraceae, Cichorieae) - taxonomic reassessment in the light of new molecular phylogenetic and carpological analyses. PhytoKeys 137: 1 - 85. https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / phytokeys. 137.46544","Hatami, E., Jones, K. E. & Kilian, N. (2022) New insights into the relationships within subtribe Scorzonerinae (Cichorieae, Asteraceae) using hybrid capture phylogenomics (Hyb-Seq). Frontiers in Plant Science 13: 851716. https: // doi. org / 10.3389 / fpls. 2022.851716","Boissier, E. & Buhse, F. (1860) Aufzaehlung der auf einer Reise durch Transcaucasien und Persien gesammelten Pflanzen. Nouveaux memoires de la Societe imperiale des naturalistes de Moscou 12: 1 - 246.","Rechinger, K. H. (1977) Scorzonera L. In: Rechinger, K. H. (ed.) Flora Iranica, vol. 122. Akademische Druck- und Verlagsanstalt, Graz, pp. 16 - 79.","Fischer, F. E. L. & Meyer, C. A. (1835) Index secundus seminum, quae hortus botanicus Imperialis Petropolitanus pro mutua commutation offert: accedunt animadversiones botanicae nonnullae 2. Academiae Caesareae Petropolitanae, Petropoli, 41 pp.","Grossheim, A. A. (1934) Flora Kavkaza [Flora of the Caucasus], vol. 4. Izd. Azerbajdzansk. Otd. Zakavkazsk. Fil. Akad. Nauk SSSR, Baku. [In Russian]"]}

Hallensia louisi Hooker, 1994 (Fig. 15) Hallensia louisi Hooker, 1994: 49. Propachynolophus sp. – Teilhard de Chardin 1921: 69, fig. 33C, pl. 3, fig. 30. Hyracotherium [sic] – Teilhard de Chardin 1921: 52, fig. 26B. — Savage et al. 1965: 6-8, 10, 11, 13, figs 2d, f, i, j, 4f-h. HOLOTYPE. — MNHN-MU218-L, left M1/2. PARATYPES. — MNHN-MU12371, right M3; MNHN-MU201-L, left M3; MNHN-MU221-L, left M3; MNHN-MU12303, right mandible with dp4-m2; MNHN-MU6283, right m1/2; MNHN-MU12391, right m1/2, broken. MATERIAL. — Avenay: Fragment of dentary and symphysis (L: MNHN-AV-841-Ph), m3 (L: MNHN-AV65519), M1/2 (R: MNHN-AV4770). Condé-en-Brie: DP4 (R: MNHN-CB1588; L: MNHN-CB1574); M1/2 (L: MNHN-CB216, MCB0132, CB217 [broken]); M3 (R: MNHN-CB1568; L: MNHN-CB1560); m2 (L: MNHN-CB668); m3 (R: MNHN-CB4-CA; L: MNHN-CB224). Gland: DP4 (R: MNHN-GLD216-L); M1/2 (R: MNHN-GLD281- L). Grauves: M3 (R: MNHN-GR7574). Oosterzele: p4 (R: IRSNB.M 1862); m3 (L: IRSNB.M 1861) (Smith et al. 2004). TYPE LOCALITY. — Mutigny (Marne, France), MP8+9. DISTRIBUTION. —Mutigny (Marne, France), Condé-en-Brie (Aisne, France), Avenay (Marne, France), Gland, Oosterzele (Belgium) (MP8+9); Grauves (Marne, France) (MP10). EMENDED DIAGNOSIS. — Small species of Hallensia; small upper molar parastyle; m3 hypoconulid linked to the hypoconid; upper molar centrocrista more or less flexed, sometimes with a mesostyle; large cusps, with a “bloated” appearance. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS. — Smaller than H. parisiensis and H. matthesi; more bunodont than Cymbalophus, Pliolophus, Hyracotherium and Orolophus; differs from Orolophus by a hypoconulid linked to the hypoconid. Mandibular symphysis shorter and larger than in Cymbalophus and Pliolophus. DESCRIPTION Teeth The upper molars are bunodont or sub-lophodont, with (Fig. 15B) or without mesostyle (Fig. 15C, D). The parastyle is reduced, the cingulum is wider posteriorly. The metaloph is continuous or interrupted at the base of the metacone. The conules are developed and close to lingual cusps. The protocone is the largest cusp. The cingulum is crenellated, sometimes forming small cuspids. The mandibular symphysis is short and broad (Fig. 15I, K). It extends posterior to the limit p2-p3. A diastema is present anterior to the p2, up to the large alveoli which probably correspond to canine alveoli. The most anterior cheek tooth still present is presumed to be a p2. Its occlusal outline is elongated oval, and the two roots are widely separated. This corresponds to the morphology generally observed for a p2, the p1 usually has fused roots. The shape of the bone seems to indicate that resorbed alveoli, which could correspond to the alveoli of the p1, are present just ahead of the p2. The large alveoli situated anteriorly are deep and vertical, which is probably the alveoli of canines. The m1-2 have a quite bunodont appearance, the cusps are very rounded (Fig. 15J). The paralophid is very short. The metaconid is twinned. The protolophid is notched. The hypolophid is either absent or very reduced. The hypoconulid is linked to the hypoconid by a postcristid when the hypolophid is absent; it is attached to the hypolophid when the latter is present. The cristid obliqua is poorly developed, it is oriented toward the base of the protolophid, in the middle. The labial cingulum is continuous. The labial sides of the protoconid and the hypoconid are very inclined (around 45°), whereas the lingual side of these cuspids is almost vertical. The m3 is wide and bunodont (Fig. 15E, F). The paralophid is quite elongated. The metaconid is twinned. The protolophid and the hypolophid are moderately developed. The cristid obliqua is oriented toward the protolophid almost in the center of the tooth, slightly labially. The labial cingulum is continuous. The hypoconid is linked to the hypoconulid by a postcristid which is lingually flexed. A small cusp is sometimes present on the lingual side of the hypoconulid. Deciduous teeth The DP4 is molarized and narrower posteriorly (Fig. 15A). The centrocrista is straight. The paraconule and the metaconule are developed. The parastyle is small. The metaloph ends with a metacone fold. The dp4 seems to be molarized, and a wide entoconid is present (Fig. 15J). The labial wall of the cuspids is very steep. A small hypolophid seems to be present. The lingual and labial cusps are obliquely aligned. The cristid obliqua is oriented low, toward the center of the protolophid. COMPARISONS The teeth are more bunodont than in other early Eocene perissodactyls. The species is smaller than H. parisiensis and H. matthesi. The junction of the lower molar hypoconulid is similar to that of Pliolophus quesnoyensis and Pliolophus barnesi. A small mesostyle is sometimes present, as in Orolophus maldani and Hyracotherium. The mandibular symphysis is shorter and more robust than in Pliolophus, Cymbalophus and P. gaudryi. COMMENT Hallensia was first identified as a phenacodontid condylarth (Franzen & Haubold 1986). The discovery of a complete skeleton in Messel (Germany) revealed that Hallensia displays a saddle-shaped navicular facet of the astragalus which led Franzen (1990) to place it within perissodactyls. Bajpai et al. (2006) considered Hallensia as close to the Indian cambaytheres, which they considered as a perissodactyl family. Indeed, the genus Hallensia has many similarities with the cambaytheres, recently described in India (Bajpai et al. 2006; Cooper et al. 2014; Rose et al. 2014). They notably have very bunodont teeth and a quasi-absence of lophs. The parastyles are very small or absent and the cingula are generally well developed. They mainly display the synapomorphy of the perissodactyls on the astragalus. Cambaytherium, however, has features found in phenacodonts but absent in perissodactyls and Hallensia, such as a developed deltopectoral crest and five metapodials per limb (Rose et al. 2014). Hallensia also shows tooth wear that forms horizontal facets, as in Cambaytherium. This wear pattern is sometimes very pronounced (Fig. 15I). The bunodont morphology of the teeth, as well as this important wear pattern indicates a diet based on hard food. This is confirmed by the discovery of fine sand in the stomach contents of H. matthesi, as well as remnants of stems and few leaf remains (Franzen 1990). It probably had to feed on stems close to the ground, which explains the ingestion of clastic material such as sand. The mandible attributed to H. louisi has very worn teeth. Hooker (1994) indicates that the anterior alveoli are those of p1. The shape of the bone, slightly “fenestrated” in front of the p2 seems however to indicate the presence of resorbed alveoli, which would correspond to the p1. In addition, the broad and deep shape of the alveoli is reminiscent to that of the canines of Hallensia matthesi, which are positioned quite vertically compared to European hippomorphs (Cymbalophus cuniculus, Pliolophus quesnoyensis). The size of Hallensia increases through time. Hallensia louisi (MP8-9, 10) is the oldest species and is very small, and H. parisiensis (MP8-9, 10), which first appeared slightly later has an intermediate size between H. matthesi and H. louisi. The largest Hallensia species, H. matthesi (MP11-13), is similar in size to Cambaytherium thewissi and smaller than Cambaytherium bidens., Published as part of Bronnert, Constance & Métais, Grégoire, 2023, Early Eocene hippomorph perissodactyls (Mammalia) from the Paris Basin, pp. 277-326 in Geodiversitas 45 (9) on pages 304-306, DOI: 10.5252/geodiversitas2023v45a9, http://zenodo.org/record/8037926, {"references":["HOOKER J. J. 1994. - The beginning of the equoid radiation. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 112: 29 - 63. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / j. 1096 - 3642.1994. tb 00311. x","TEILHARD DE CHARDIN P. 1921. - Les mammiferes de l'Eocene inferieur francais et leurs gisements. Annales de Paleontologie, Paris 10: 171 - 176. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 156400","SAVAGE D. E., RUSSELL D. E. & LOUIS P. 1965. - European Eocene Equidae (Perissodactyla). University of California Press, Berkeley, 94 p. (University of California Publications in Geological Sciences; 56).","SMITH R. & SMITH T. 2004. - Les Mammiferes de l'Ypresien moyen du Bassin de Paris (Niveau-Repere Mp 8 - 9) sont-ils presents a la limite Paleocene / Eocene de Dormaal (Niveau-Repere Mp 7, Belgique)? Oryctos 5: 75 - 82. https: // www. naturalsciences. be / de / node / 15683","FRANZEN J. L. 1990. - Hallensia (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) aus Messel und dem Pariser Becken sowie Nachtrage aus dem Geiseltal. Bulletin de l'Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Sciences de la Terre 60: 175 - 201. http: // pascal-francis. inist. fr / vibad / index. php? action = getRecordDetail & idt = 19633641","FRANZEN J. L. & HAUBOLD H. 1986. - The middle Eocene of European mammalian stratigraphy. Definition of the Geiseltalian. Modern Geology 10 (2 - 3): 159 - 170.","BAJPAI S., KAPUR V., THEWISSEN J. G. M., DAS D. P. & TIWARI B. N. 2006. - New Early Eocene Cambaythere (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) from the Vastan Lignite Mine (Gujarat, India) and an evaluation of cambaythere relationships. Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India 51: 101 - 110. http: // repository. ias. ac. in / 93951 /","COOPER L. N., SEIFFERT E. R., CLEMENTZ M., MADAR S. I., BAJPAI S., HUSSAIN S. T. & THEWISSEN J. G. M. 2014. - Anthracobunids from the Middle Eocene of India and Pakistan are stem Perissodactyls. PloS One 9 (10): e 109232. https: // doi. org / 10.1371 / journal. pone. 0109232","ROSE K. D., HOLBROOK L. T., RANA R. S., KUMAR K., JONES K. E., AHRENS H. E., MISSIAEN P., SAHNI A. & SMITH T. 2014. - Early Eocene fossils suggest that the mammalian order Perissodactyla originated in India. Nature Communications 5: 1 - 9. https: // doi. org / 10.1038 / ncomms 6570"]}

Objective: In the fall of 2020, Colorado experienced the two largest wildfires in state history. The smoke blanketed the college town of Fort Collins, Colorado, the location of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University (CSU-VTH). The objective for this cross-sectional observational study was to evaluate how these wildfires and the corresponding elevated air quality index (AQI)) was associated with infected corneal ulcerations in dogs when compared to the two previous years. Animals: Seventeen dogs were included in this study. Procedures: Medical records from dogs presented to the CSU-VTH ophthalmology service with infected corneal ulcerations in August, September, and October of 2020, 2019, and 2018 were evaluated. Only corneal ulcerations with growth on their microbial cultures were included in this study. Results: The study revealed a significant increase in prevalence of infected corneal ulcerations in dogs presented to the CSU-VTH during the three wildfire months of 2020 that is, 3.5% (9/255) when compared with the two previous years, 2019: 1.0% (4/383, p = 0.04), and 2018: 0.9% (4/457) (p =.01). The AQI (mean ± standard error) was also significantly elevated for dogs that presented with infected corneal ulcerations in 2020 (70.2 ± 5.8) compared with 2019 (19.7 ± 8.7) and 2018 (45.6 ± 8.7) (p

We address the problem of learning self-supervised representations from unlabeled image collections. Unlike existing approaches that attempt to learn useful features by maximizing similarity between augmented versions of each input image or by speculatively picking negative samples, we instead also make use of the natural variation that occurs in image collections that are captured using static monitoring cameras. To achieve this, we exploit readily available context data that encodes information such as the spatial and temporal relationships between the input images. We are able to learn representations that are surprisingly effective for downstream supervised classification, by first identifying high probability positive pairs at training time, i.e. those images that are likely to depict the same visual concept. For the critical task of global biodiversity monitoring, this results in image features that can be adapted to challenging visual species classification tasks with limited human supervision. We present results on four different camera trap image collections, across three different families of self-supervised learning methods, and show that careful image selection at training time results in superior performance compared to existing baselines such as conventional self-supervised training and transfer learning., Comment: ICCV 2021

1. Background Pt/C catalysts used for cathodes of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) have problems such as high cost and insufficient durability against potential change [1]. Therefore, we have developed a non-platinum catalyst based on group 4 and 5 transition metal oxides because they are inexpensive and stable in acidic solution [2]. We successfully demonstrated that Nb-doped TiOx catalyst showed high onset potential for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and higher electrochemical durability than platinum [3]. However, the ORR current was much smaller than that of platinum catalyst. An increase in the surface area of oxides is effective to increase the ORR current. Nano-sizing of oxide particles is one of the solutions to increase the surface area of oxides. In general, the solubilities of nanoparticles are larger than those of large particles. Therefore, we need to evaluate the stability of nanoparticles in acidic solution. Some investigations regarding the stability of titanium oxide nanoparticle which is one candidate of group 4 oxide cathodes [4, 5, 6] have been already performed. However, the stability in PEFC operating condition has not been evaluated in detail. Therefore, in this study, the chemical stability was evaluated by measuring the dissolution behavior of titanium oxide nanoparticles in an acidic electrolyte simulating the operating environment of PEFC. 2. Experimental A 600 mg of TiO2 nanopowder (US Research Nanomaterials, mean particle size: 6.0 nm, Anatase) was immersed in 1.0 M (pH = 0.25), or 0.32 M (pH = 0.66), or 0.10 M HClO4 (pH = 1.06) and stirred. The temperature was controlled by using a water or an oil bath in the temperature range from 30 to 90 ℃. At the desired time, the stirring was stopped, then a small amount of the solution (2 mL) was sampled and filtered through a 0.22 µm syringe filter. The sample solution was immediately diluted. The remaining solution was stirred again. This procedure was repeated. The concentration of titanium in the sample was measured by ICP-AES (Seiko Instruments). 3. Results and Discussion Figure 1 shows the concentration of titanium of TiO2 nanopowder with diameter of 6.0 nm as a function of immersion time in 0.1 M HClO4 under air at 30, 50, 70, and 90 ℃. The concentration of titanium became constant after 800, 500, 300, and 150 h immersion at 30, 50, 70 and 90 ℃, respectively, meaning that dissolution reached equilibrium. The solubility of TiO2 nanopowder in 0.1 M HClO4 were 16, 6.2, 3.2, and 2.2 µmol dm-3 at 30, 50, 70, and 90 ℃, respectively. The solubility of TiO2 nanopowder decreases with increase in temperature and becomes chemically stable, which indicates that TiO2 nanoparticles are more suitable for PEFC operating condition at high temperature. Figure 2 shows the van't Hoff plots of the solubility of the TiO2 nanopowder in HClO4 and the solubility of platinum black powder in 0.1 M HClO4 [7] is also plotted. The solubility of TiO2 decreases with increase in temperature, while the solubility of platinum black increases with increase in temperature in acidic electrolytes. From the slope of the approximate line of the van't Hoff plot of the solubility of TiO2 nanopowder, the apparent standard enthalpy change of dissolution of TiO2 nanoparticles, ΔHº , in 0.10 M HClO4 is estimated to be -29.1 kJ mol-1, and the dissolution reaction of TiO2 nanoparticles in an acidic electrolytes is exothermal. Furthermore, from the value of the standard Gibbs energy change of the dissolution reaction, ΔGº , calculated from the solubility of TiO2 nanopowder at 30 ℃, the apparent standard dissolution entropy change, ΔSº , in 0.10 M HClO4 was calculated to be -151 J mol-1 K-1. Acknowledgments This research is conducted with the support of the National Research and Development Corporation New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). In addition, the authors wish to thank the support of JSPS grants-in-aid for scientific research, Suzuki Foundation and Tonen General Sekiyu Research / Development Encouragement & Scholarship Foundation. Reference [1] S. Kawahara, S. Mitsushima, K. Ota, N. Kamiya, ECS Trans., 3(1), 625(2006). [2] A. Ishihara, Y. Ohgi, K. Matsuzawa, S. Mitsushima, and K. Ota, Electrochim. Acta, 55, 8005 (2010). [3] M. Hamazaki, A. Ishihara, Y. Kohno, K. Matsuzawa, S. Mitsushima, K. Ota, Electrochemistry, 83(10), 817(2015). [4] J. Schmidt, W. Vogelsberger, J. Solution Chem., 38, 1267 (2009). [5] J. Schmidt, W. Vogelsberger, J. Phys. Chem., 110, 3955(2006). [6] S. E. Ziemniak, M. E. Jones, K. E. S. Combs, J. Solution Chem., 22(7), 601(1993). [7] S. Mitsushima, Y. Koizumi, S. Uzuka, K. Ota, Electrochim. Acta, 54, 455 (2008). Figure 1

Scorzonera L. is represented by 57 species in Iran including three subgenera: S. subg. Scorzonera, S. subg. Podospermum and S. subg. Pseudopodospermum. Species of S. subg. Podospermum and S. subg. Pseudopodospermum in Iran are morphologically similar, which limits species delimitation. In order to clarify intersubgeneric and interspecific delimitation in Iran, we carried out extensive sampling of the two subgenera in Iran. We conducted phylogenetic analyses based on the nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer (nrITS), detailed morphological studies, and we evaluated the systematic value of achene features. Our results showed that Scorzonera s.l. is polyphyletic, and both S. subg. Podospermum and S. subg. Pseudopodospermum are monophyletic. The monophyly of S. subg. Podospermum morphologically corresponds to a combination of characters containing pinnatifid leaves, phyllaries with black corniculate projections, and the presence of a swollen carpopodium on the achenes. A comparison of the topology observed in the nrITS phylogeny with achene features indicates that a sculptured achene wall surface in members of S. subg. Pseudopodospermum provides a synapomorphy for this lineage. This study supports a broader circumscription of S. subg. Pseudopodospermum with the addition of S. calyculata (S. sect. Incisae), S. ovata, S. papposa and S. paradoxa (S. sect. Papposae). Finally, we provide a taxonomic treatment, including an identification key and species diagnoses and distributions, with nomenclature of Iranian species.Citation: Hatami E., Mirtadzadini M., Bordbar F. & Jones K. E. 2020: Delimitation of Iranian species of Scorzonera subg. Podospermum and S. subg. Pseudopodospermum (Asteraceae, Cichorieae) based on morphological and molecular data. – Willdenowia 50: 39–63. doi: https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50105Version of record first published online on 6 March 2020 ahead of inclusion in April 2020 issue.

Background: Oceanic archipelagos typically harbour extensive radiations of flowering plants and a high proportion of endemics, many of which are restricted to a single island (Single Island Endemics; SIEs). The Azores represents an anomaly as overall levels of endemism are low; there are few SIEs and few documented cases of intra-archipelago radiations. The distinctiveness of the flora was first recognized by Darwin and has been referred to as the ‘Azores Diversity Enigma’ (ADE). Diversity patterns in the Macaronesian endemic genus Pericallis (Asteraceae) exemplify the ADE. In this study we used morphometric, Amplified Length Polymorphisms, and bioclimatic data for herbaceous Pericallis lineages endemic to the Azores and the Canaries, to test two key hypotheses proposed to explain the ADE: i) that it is a taxonomic artefact or Linnean shortfall, ie. the under description of taxa in the Azores or the over-splitting of taxa in the Canaries and (ii) that it reflects the greater ecological homogeneity of the Azores, which results in limited opportunity for ecological diversification compared to the Canaries. Results: In both the Azores and the Canaries, morphological patterns were generally consistent with current taxonomic classifications. However, the AFLP data showed no genetic differentiation between the two currently recognized Azorean subspecies that are ecologically differentiated. Instead, genetic diversity in the Azores was structured geographically across the archipelago. In contrast, in the Canaries genetic differentiation was mostly consistent with morphology and current taxonomic treatments. Both Azorean and Canarian lineages exhibited ecological differentiation between currently recognized taxa. Conclusions: Neither a Linnean shortfall nor the perceived ecological homogeneity of the Azores fully explained the ADE-like pattern observed in Pericallis. Whilst variation in genetic data and morphological data in the Canaries were largely congruent, this was not the case in the Azores, where genetic patterns reflected inter-island geographical isolation, and morphology reflected intra-island bioclimatic variation. The combined effects of differences in (i) the extent of geographical isolation, (ii) population sizes and (iii) geographical occupancy of bioclimatic niche space, coupled with the morphological plasticity of Pericallis, may all have contributed to generating the contrasting patterns observed in the archipelagos.

The Lactuca lineage is one of nine lineages in the lettuce subtribe (Cichorieae, Asteraceae) distributed in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. Within the Lactuca lineage two clades show disjunct Eurasian-North American distributions. One disjunct clade consists of diploids (x = 8) and allotetraploids (x = 17), the former restricted to Eurasia and the latter to North America and the Azores. In contrast, members of the other Eurasian-North American disjunct clade are all diploid (x = 9), like the remainder of the Lactuca lineage (diploid, x = 8 or 9). The aims of the present study were to investigate the migration pathways that led to the disjunct distributions of these two Eurasian-North American clades and the potential progenitors of the allopolyploid taxa. We conducted deep taxon sampling and multi-locus phylogenetic analyses using nuclear ribosomal DNA (ETS and ITS), a low-copy nuclear marker (A44) and five non-coding plastid markers. Divergence time estimations with BEAST and ancestral biogeographic estimations with BioGeoBEARS suggested that both lineages reached North America by the late Miocene. Cloning of the A44 region revealed two sequence copies within allopolyploid individuals that were resolved in divergent clades and this helped to identify potential progenitors. We provide competing hypotheses for the progenitor species and biogeographic pathways that gave rise to the allotetraploid lineage, and we propose a North American origin for the Azorean endemic. Taxonomic conclusions include L. graminifolia var. mexicana being raised to specific rank with the name L. brachyrrhyncha and the alleged endemic L. jamaicensis in fact represents the SE Asian L. indica, introduced to Jamaica.Citation: Jones K. E., Schilling E. E., Dias E. F. & Kilian N. 2018: Northern Hemisphere disjunctions in Lactuca (Cichorieae, Asteraceae): independent Eurasia to North America migrations and allopolyploidization. – Willdenowia 48: 259–284. doi: https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.48.48206Version of record first published online on 24 August 2018 ahead of inclusion in August 2018 issue.

Citation for this article: Jones, K. E., and L. T. Holbrook. 2016. The evolution of lateral accessory articulations in the lumbar region of perissodactyls. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1224892.

Zseb��k, S., Est��k, P., G��rf��l, T. (2012): Acoustic Discrimination Of Pipistrellus Kuhlii And Pipistrellus Nathusii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) And Its Application To Assess Changes In Species Distribution. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 58 (2): 199-209, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5735805, {"references":["BARTONICKA, T. & KANUCH, P. (2006) Savi's pipistrelle (Hypsugo savii): bat species breeding in the Czech Republic (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Lynx 37: 19-21.","BARLOW, K. E. & JONES, G. (1996) Pipistrellus nathusii (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Britain in the mating season. Journal of Zoology 240: 767-773.","BOGDANOWICZ, W. (2004) Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl, 1817) - Weissrandfledermaus. Pp. 875-908. In: KRAPP, F. (ed.): Handbuch der Saugetiere Europas. Band 4: Fledertiere. Teil II: Chiroptera II. Vespertilionidae 2, Molossidae, Nycteridae. Aula-Verlag, Wiebelsheim.","DIETZ, C., HELVERSEN, O. VON & NILL, D. 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S., KUNZ, T. H., WILLIG, M. R. & RACEY, P. A. (2009) Carpe noctem: the importance of bats as bioindicators. Endangered Species Research 8: 93-115.","JONES, K. E., RUSS, J. A., BASHTA, A.-T., BILHARI, Z., CATTO, C., CSOSZ, I., GORBACHEV, A., GYORFI, P., HUGHES, A., IVASHKIV, I., KORYAGINA, N., KURALI, A., LANGTON, S., MALTBY, A., MARGIEAN, G., ANDOURSKI, I., PARSONS, S., PROKOFEV, I., SZODORAY- PARADI, A., SZODORAY- PARADI, F., TILOVA, E., WALTERS, C., WEATHERILL, A. & ZAVARZIN, O. (2011) Indicator Bats Program: a system for the global acoustic monitoring of bats. In: COLLEN, B. P., PETTORELLI, N., DURANT, S. M., KRUEGER, L. & BAILLIE, J. (eds): Biodiversity monitoring and conservation: bridging the gaps between global commitment and local action. Blackwell Press, London. http://www.ibats.org.uk","KALKO, E. K. V & SCHNITZLER, H. U. (1993) Plasticity in echolocation signals of European pipistrelle bats in search flight: implications for habitat use and prey detection. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 33: 415-428.","OBRIST, M. K., BOESCH, R. & FLUCKIGER, P. F. (2004) Variability in echolocation call design of 26 Swiss bat species: consequences, limits and options for automated field identification with a synergetic pattern recognition approach. Mammalia 68(4): 307-322.","OBRIST, M. K., RATHEY, E., BONTADINA, F., MARTINOLI, A., CONEDERA, M., CHRISTE, P. & MORETTI, M. (2011) Response of bat species to sylvo-pastoral abandonment. Forest Ecology and Management 261: 789-798.","PAPADATOU, E., BUTLIN, R. K. & ALTRINGHAM, J. D. (2008) Identification of bat species in Greece from their echolocation calls. Acta Chiropterologica 10(1): 127-143.","PARSONS, S. & SZEWCZAK, J. M. (2009) Detecting, recording and analyzing the vocalizations of bats. Pp. 91-111. In: KUNZ, T. H. & PARSONS, S. (eds): Ecological and behavioural methods for the study of bats. 2nd ed., Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.","REBELO, H., TARROSO, P. & JONES, G. (2010) Predicted impact of climate change on European bats in relation to their biogeographic patterns. Global Change Biology 16: 561-576.","REITER, G., WEGLEITNER, S., HUTTMEIR, U. & POLLHEIMER, M. (2010) Die Alpenfledermaus, Hypsugo savii (Bonaparte, 1837), in Mitteleuropa. Nyctalus (N.F.) 15(2-3): 158-170.","RUSSO, D. & JONES, G. (1999) The social calls of Kuhl's pipistrelles Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl, 1819): structure and variation (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae). Journal of Zoology 249: 476-481.","RUSSO, D. & JONES, G. (2002) Identification of twenty-two bat species (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from Italy by analysis of time-expanded recordings of echolocation calls. Journal of Zoology 258: 91-103.","RUSSO, D. & JONES, G. (2003) Use of foraging habitats by bats in a Mediterranean area determined by acoustic surveys: conservation implications. Ecography 26: 197-209.","SACHANOWICZ, K., WOWER, A. & BASHTA, A-T. (2006) Further range extension of Pipistrellus kuhlii (Kuhl, 1817) in central and eastern Europe. Acta Chiropterologica 8(2): 543-548.","SACHANOWICZ, K. & CIECHANOWSKI, M. (2006) First winter record of the migratory bat Pipistrellus nathusii (Keyserling and Blasius, 1839) (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Poland: yet more evidence of global warming? Mammalia 70(1-2): 168-169.","SIEMERS, B. M. & KERTH, G. (2006) Do echolocation calls of wild colony-living Bechstein's bats (Myotis bechsteinii) provide individual-specific signatures? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 59: 443-454.","VAUGHAN, N., JONES, G. & HARRIS, S. (1997) Habitat use by bats (Chiroptera) assessed by means of a broad-band acoustic method. Journal of Applied Ecology 34: 716-730."]}