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Teeth assigned to the extinct shark species Alopias grandis (Lamniformes: Alopiidae) are described herein from two Miocene deposits of southern Italy, namely, the Burdigalian to Messinian Pietra leccese limestone and the Serravallian to Tortonian “Aturia level” of the Salento Peninsula (Apulia). This is the first published record of this rare species of thresher shark in Italy. The newly documented teeth from the “Aturia level” may represent the geologically youngest finds of A. grandis worldwide. Alopias grandis and the allied species Alopias palatasi (another giant thresher provided with coarsely serrated teeth) represent a palaeontological conundrum, as very little is known about their body aspect and palaeobiology, but they have been interpreted as larger-bodied, higher-trophic level sharks compared to their extant congeners. Here, we contend that these giant Alopias species contribute significantly to making the dental disparity of the Miocene macrophagous mackerel sharks higher than that shown by the extant lamniform stock, which in turn evokes peculiar mechanisms of trophic partitioning that are no longer at play today.

The fossil record of cetaceans documents how terrestrial animals acquired extreme adaptations and transitioned to a fully aquatic lifestyle1,2. In whales, this is associated with a substantial increase in maximum body size. Although an elongate body was acquired early in cetacean evolution3, the maximum body mass of baleen whales reflects a recent diversification that culminated in the blue whale4. More generally, hitherto known gigantism among aquatic tetrapods evolved within pelagic, active swimmers. Here we describe Perucetus colossus—a basilosaurid whale from the middle Eocene epoch of Peru. It displays, to our knowledge, the highest degree of bone mass increase known to date, an adaptation associated with shallow diving5. The estimated skeletal mass of P. colossusexceeds that of any known mammal or aquatic vertebrate. We show that the bone structure specializations of aquatic mammals are reflected in the scaling of skeletal fraction (skeletal mass versus whole-body mass) across the entire disparity of amniotes. We use the skeletal fraction to estimate the body mass of P. colossus, which proves to be a contender for the title of heaviest animal on record. Cetacean peak body mass had already been reached around 30 million years before previously assumed, in a coastal context in which primary productivity was particularly high.

We report on an aturiid (Cephalopoda: Nautiloidea) shell from the Pisco Formation, a Neogene marine sedimentary unit of the East Pisco Basin (southern Peru) that is widely known for its rich and exquisitely preserved marine vertebrate fossil content, including an outstanding cetacean assemblage. The studied specimen was collected from Middle Miocene strata exposed in the vicinity of Cerro Submarino. It consists of an internal mould of a phragmocone and is tentatively identified herein as belonging to the widespread, long-ranging species Aturia cubaensis. This fossil represents the first occurrence of Aturia in the Middle Miocene of the Pacific margin of South America; as such, it fills a gap in the chronostratigraphic distribution of the Southeastern Pacific finds of this genus, helping to bridge the Lower and Upper Miocene segments of its regional fossil record. The rarity of Aturia in the shelfal Cenozoic deposits of the East Pisco Basin may reflect the palaeoenvironmental habits of this extinct cephalopod genus, which may have lived in the upper bathyal zone, at about 250–350 m water depth. Despite recent suggestions that some extinct and extant marine mammal ecomorphotypes (including some odontocetes) were likely predators of nautiloids, there is no indication that any member of the diverse and abundant toothed whale faunas of the Pisco Formation exploited these shelled cephalopods as a relevant food source.

Predation and scavenging by Cenozoic sharks are witnessed by relatively common tooth marks on vertebrate bones and much more infrequent shark teeth or tooth fragments that are found embedded in the skeletal elements of their prey/scavenging items. However rare, finds of the latter type are true “smoking guns” that provide the strongest evidence for the trophic palaeoecology of ancient sharks – one that is remarkably unaffected by the kind of problems that sometimes hinder the unambiguous identification of bite marks while often allowing for a positive taxonomic determination of the biting organism(s). Here, we report on a cetacean rib from the Pliocene of Monterotondo Marittimo (Tuscany, central Italy) that is pierced by a partial requiem shark (Carcharhinus sp.) tooth. Interestingly, in Pliocene times, the Mediterranean Basin was inhabited by a diverse carcharhinid stock, including the mammal-eating species Carcharhinus leucas, Carcharhinus longimanus and Galeocerdo cuvier, none of which inhabits the present-day Mediterranean Sea on a regular basis. Evidence for requiem sharks (mostly broad-toothed members of the genus Carcharhinus and tiger sharks) foraging upon cetaceans is preserved in the Mediterranean Pliocene fossil record in the form of bite marks, teeth associated with bones and, with the present study, teeth embedded in bones. It is thus tempting to speculate that the abundance of mammal-eating requiem sharks in the Pliocene Mediterranean Sea was at least partly supported by a richer-than-today marine mammal fauna. A different primary productivity regime, a currently unparalleled distribution of nutrients along the water column, and/or higher seawater temperatures may in turn explain the high diversity of the Pliocene Mediterranean marine mammal assemblages.

Among the turtle and whale barnacles, those included in the family Platylepadidae are mostly found partly embedded in the carapace and plastron of sea turtles. As a likely consequence of their fragile shell, the fossil record of these cirripede epizoans of marine chelonians is currently limited to two occurrences of Platylepas in Pleistocene strata. Here, we describe and refer to Karethraichnus cf. lakkos an isolated boring on a fossil cheloniid costal plate from the upper Miocene Arenaria di Ponsano Formation of Tuscany (central Italy). A scrutiny of palaeontological and neontological literature as well as new first-hand observations reveal that this boring was most likely produced by a platylepadid barnacle similar to Stomatolepas, Stephanolepas or Platylepas. Two other probable platylepadid attachment scars, both of which incise cheloniid shell bones, are noted from the Oligocene and Miocene, respectively. On the whole, these scanty data support the hypothesis that platylepadids have ancient evolutionary roots and a long story of symbiosis with sea turtles. Future research efforts in this field should focus on 1) further investigating the potential of bone damage of turtle-dwelling barnacles; 2) initiating a methodical quest for possible platylepadid attachment scars in Cenozoic marine turtle fossils; and 3) replenishing the still fragmentary Palaeogene fossil record of Coronuloidea.

Shark bite marks incising fragmentary ribs from a single specimen of the extinct sirenian Metaxytherium subapenninum are described from lower Pliocene shallow-water, marginal-marine (shoreface) deposits exposed at Arcille (Tuscany, Italy). Two of the bitten ribs display bite marks whose morphology matches that of juvenile teeth of the extant bluntnose sixgill shark Hexanchus griseus, which is known from the same site thanks to several dental remains. Our new finds comprise the second published occurrence of hexanchid bite marks on fossil marine mammal bones; furthermore, they represent the first piece of evidence documenting a trophic interaction between H. griseus and sirenians across both the fossil and the Recent records. In light of the environmental preferences of extant sirenians (which thrive in shallow-marine, nearshore seagrass meadows), and considering that the bitten skeleton takes its place in shoreface sands, our finds are seemingly at odds with the current understanding of hexanchids as deep-water sharks. Juveniles of H. griseus, however, are known for their diel vertical migrations, which result in frequenting relatively shallow waters at nighttime. Frequentation of the marginal-marine, shoreface Arcille palaeo-biotope by bluntnose sixgill sharks might have been facilitated by a steep morphology of the seafloor as well as by the presence of a bathymetrically high thermosphere-psychrosphere interface in the early Pliocene Mediterranean Sea.

Cetotheriids are a once diverse clade of baleen whales with a rich Miocene–Pleistocene fossil record. In the Northern Hemisphere, they are abundant along the coasts of the Atlantic, Pacific and the Paratethys but – surprisingly – not the Mediterranean. Here, we describe a partial mandible from the upper Miocene Arenaria di Ponsano Formation exposed near Pisa (Tuscany, Italy), which unequivocally represents a cetotheriid based on its low, broadly triangular coronoid process, obliquely oriented condyle, deeply excavated subcondylar furrow, and posteriorly elongated angular process. Our new specimen highlights the apparent rarity of this family in the Mediterranean, which may reflect local competition with ecologically similar grey whales (a pattern that, if true, seemingly does not apply to adjacent North Atlantic). The latter, in turn, may explain the geographical isolation and disparate anatomy of the seemingly endemic Paratethyan cetotheriines.

Here we report on two fossil teeth attributed to the blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus (Elasmobranchii: Carcharhiniformes: Carcharhinidae) from lower Pliocene (ca. 5.1–4.5 Ma) marine deposits of Tuscany (central Italy). A survey of the palaeoichthyological literature and online resources reveals that fossils of C. limbatus have been reported from Neogene and Quaternary deposits of the Americas and Indo-Pacific Asia. Therefore, the Tuscan specimens described herein represent the first occurrence of C. limbatus as a fossil from both Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. Our finds suggest that the blacktip shark reached a circumglobal distribution in warm waters (including the then warmer-than-today Mediterranean Sea) not later than the Pliocene; at the same time, they demonstrate that the continued study of the relatively well-investigated Neogene elasmobranch faunas of Italy can still result in significant novelties. Further investigations on other shark tooth assemblages from shallow-marine, warm-water, nearshore deposits are likely to reveal new occurrences of C. limbatus in the Pliocene of the Mediterranean Sea and elsewhere (e.g., along the palaeontologically underexplored Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Africa).

A fossil caudal spine of a stingray (Elasmobranchii: Batomorphii: Myliobatoidei) is here reported from upper Pliocene (Piacenzian) shallow-marine deposits exposed at the La Serra locality of Tuscany (central Italy). In spite of being incomplete, this specimen displays an amazing maximum preserved anteroposterior length of 420?mm, which to our knowledge makes it the longest stingray stinger ever reported from both the fossil and the Recent records. Tentatively referred to the family Dasyatidae, the herein described fossil appears to be more than twice as long as the longest caudal spines reported from any living myliobatoid species of the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, it represents a stingray taxon that is no longer featured in the present-day Mediterranean ray assemblage, and as such, it expands our knowledge on the Pliocene biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea. Given that the living species Bathytoshia brevicaudata (the smooth stingray) and Urogymnus polylepis (the giant freshwater stingray), while displaying the greatest values of total stinger length (up to c. 375?mm in the latter) among extant myliobatoids, are also known as the largest living species of stingrays besides Mobulidae, it seems much reasonable to hypothesise that the caudal spine from La Serra belonged to a very large-sized stingray individual which would have been larger than (or at least comparable in dimensions to) the largest members of the titan-sized B. brevicaudata and U. polylepis.

This study aimed to describe the morphology and to characterize the immunohistochemistry of the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) in the spiral intestine of the Blackmouth catshark Galeus melastomus. In the catshark, the lympho-myeloid aggregate of the GALT was mainly confined to the central region of the spiral valve. A panel of eight immune molecular markers was applied to histological sections to show the cell types of the GALT using immunohistochemical and -fluorescence methods. Two main reactive cell types were identified: (i) a mast cell lineage positive to histamine, serotonin, and immunoglobulin E-like receptor antibodies, and (ii) a macrophage lineage positive to CD4, interleukin-6, lysozyme, toll-like receptor-2, and tumor necrosis factor-α antibodies. Confocal microscopy revealed which immune markers were co-localized in the same cell type. The presence of cells positive to the tested antibodies confirmed the defensive role against pathogens of the GALT in the spiral intestine of the catshark. Given the limited knowledge of the elasmobranch immune system, the current study provides new insights into the features of ancient defender cells of the spiral intestine.

Little is known about the incidence of severe critical events in children undergoing general anaesthesia in Europe. We aimed to identify the incidence, nature, and outcome of severe critical events in children undergoing anaesthesia, and the associated potential risk factors.

We propose an approach for improving the digitization of shape and color of 3D artworks in a cluttered environment using 3D laser scanning and flash photography. To separate clutter from acquired material, semiautomated methods are employed to generate masks used to segment the range maps and the color photographs. This approach allows the removal of unwanted 3D and color data prior to the integration of acquired data in a 3D model. Sharp shadows generated by flash acquisition are easily handled by this masking process, and color deviations introduced by the flash light are corrected at the color blending step by taking into account the geometry of the object. The approach has been evaluated in a large-scale acquisition campaign of the Mont’e Prama complex. This site contains an extraordinary collection of stone fragments from the Nuragic era, which depict small models of prehistoric nuraghe (cone-shaped stone towers), as well as larger-than-life archers, warriors, and boxers. The acquisition campaign has covered 37 statues mounted on metallic supports. Color and shape were acquired at a resolution of 0.25mm, which resulted in more than 6,200 range maps (about 1.3G valid samples) and 3,817 photographs.

A study was carried out on the presence of Anisakisand Hysterothylaciumlarvae in fish and cephalopods caught in Sardinian waters. A total of 369 specimens of 24 different species of teleosts and 5 species of cephalopods were collected from different fishing areas of Sardinia. Larvae were detected and isolated by both visual inspection and enzymatic digestion. These methods allowed Anisakistype I and type II third-stage larvae and Hysterothylaciumthird- and fourth-stage larvae to be detected. The prevalence, mean intensity, and mean abundance were calculated. The results obtained showed the highest prevalence of Anisakidae in Zeus faber(100%) and of Anisakisin Micromesistius poutassou(87.5%). The highest prevalence of Anisakistype I larvae was in M. poutassou(81.2%), and that of Anisakistype II larvae was in Todarodes sagittatus(20%). The highest values for prevalence, mean intensity, and mean abundance for Hysterothylaciumwere found in Z. faber.These prevalences and the mean intensity and abundance were higher than those reported by different authors in other Mediterranean areas. This may be because the enzymatic digestive method used in this research resulted in higher recovery levels. The data suggest that Sardinia may be a high-risk area for zoonotic diseases and that measures such as information campaigns, aimed at both sanitary service personnel and consumers, should be employed to limit the spread of such zoonosis.

A recent clinical trial for adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) showed the efficacy and safety of lentiviral vector (LV) gene transfer in hematopoietic stem progenitor cells. However, several common insertion sites (CIS) were found in patients' cells, suggesting that LV integrations conferred a selective advantage. We performed high-throughput LV integration site analysis on human hematopoietic stem progenitor cells engrafted in immunodeficient mice and found the same CISs reported in patients with ALD. Strikingly, most CISs in our experimental model and in patients with ALD cluster in megabase-wide chromosomal regions of high LV integration density. Conversely, cancer-triggering integrations at CISs found in tumor cells from γretroviral vector–based clinical trials and oncogene-tagging screenings in mice always target a single gene and are contained in narrow genomic intervals. These findings imply that LV CISs are produced by an integration bias toward specific genomic regions rather than by oncogenic selection.

A recent clinical trial for adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) showed the efficacy and safety of lentiviral vector (LV) gene transfer in hematopoietic stem progenitor cells. However, several common insertion sites (CIS) were found in patients' cells, suggesting that LV integrations conferred a selective advantage. We performed high-throughput LV integration site analysis on human hematopoietic stem progenitor cells engrafted in immunodeficient mice and found the same CISs reported in patients with ALD. Strikingly, most CISs in our experimental model and in patients with ALD cluster in megabase-wide chromosomal regions of high LV integration density. Conversely, cancer-triggering integrations at CISs found in tumor cells from γretroviral vector–based clinical trials and oncogene-tagging screenings in mice always target a single gene and are contained in narrow genomic intervals. These findings imply that LV CISs are produced by an integration bias toward specific genomic regions rather than by oncogenic selection.

We investigated the patterns of occurrence of FAD-associated fish off the coast of Sardinia, Sicily and Majorca (Western Mediterranean). Two working hypotheses are presented to test whether or not ?differences exist in fish assemblages at i) the spatial and ii) the temporal level?. Quantitative and qualitative experimental data were obtained from a total of 521?censuses at 17 fish aggregation devices (FAD) using underwater visual observations carried out in Sardinia and Sicily in May-October 2001 and 2002 and a purse seine data set on 3?FADs obtained from a previous investigation carried out in Majorca. The results from the multivariate analysis rejected both hypotheses. In all locations, patterns of fish assemblages were dominated by Coryphaena hippurus, Naucrates ductor, Seriola dumerili, Balistes carolinensis and Trachurus spp., a pattern evident from examining data at bi-monthly intervals. When the most dominant species highlighted with similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis were analysed with an analysis of variance (ANOVA), a time effect was clearly apparent and subsequently confirmed for four of these five species (B. carolinensis being the exception); the location factor was also found to be relevant (except for the genus Trachurus). We concluded that differences noted were principally due to the ?time shift? in the occurrence of these species in the three locations, leading to the assumption that a relationship did exist between the gradual but significant shift in seasonal temperature and colonization at the study locations. Defining selected community structure indices was also important because no reference points are actually available for the pelagic environment in the Mediterranean Sea. Modifications de la structure, dans l'espace et le temps, de l'assemblage des poissons associ?s ? des dispositifs de concentration en M?diterran?e occidentale. Nous ?tudions les sch?mas-types de l'occurrence de poissons associ?s aux dispositifs de concentration (DCP) au large de la Sardaigne, de la Sicile et de Majorque (M?diterran?e occidentale). Deux hypoth?ses sont pr?sent?es pour v?rifier si des diff?rences existent dans les assemblages de poissons au niveau spatial?(1) et temporel?(2). Les donn?es exp?rimentales quantitatives et qualitatives ont ?t? obtenues d'apr?s 521?observations visuelles en plong?e, sur 17?DCP effectu?es en Sardaigne et Sicile en mai-octobre 2001 et 2002, ainsi que des donn?es de captures effectu?es au moyen d'une senne, sur 3?DCP obtenues lors de pr?c?dentes investigations men?es ? Majorque. Sur chacun des sites, les assemblages sont domin?s par Coryphaena hippurus, Naucrates ductor, Seriola dumerili, Balistes carolinensis et Trachurus spp., un sch?ma ?vident lorsque l'examen des donn?es est effectu? tous les deux mois. Lorsque les esp?ces dominantes, mises en ?vidence par le pourcentage de similarit? (SIMPER), sont analys?es au moyen d'une ANOVA, un effet-temps est clairement apparent et confirm? pour 4 ou 5?esp?ces (except? B. carolinensis) ; le facteur-site est ?galement pertinent (except? pour le genre Trachurus). Ainsi, les diff?rences not?es sont principalement dues ? un d?calage dans le temps, dans l'occurrence de ces esp?ces sur ces 3?sites, conduisant ? supposer qu'une relation existe bien entre l'?volution saisonni?re, graduelle mais significative, de la temp?rature et la colonisation des sites. D?finir des indices, s?lectionn?s, de la structure des communaut?s de poissons, est important car aucun point de r?f?rence n'est disponible pour l'environnement p?lagique en M?diterran?e.

We investigated the patterns of occurrence of FAD-associated fish off the coast of Sardinia, Sicily and Majorca (Western Mediterranean). Two working hypotheses are presented to test whether or not “differences exist in fish assemblages at i) the spatial and ii) the temporal level”. Quantitative and qualitative experimental data were obtained from a total of 521 censuses at 17 fish aggregation devices (FAD) using underwater visual observations carried out in Sardinia and Sicily in May-October 2001 and 2002 and a purse seine data set on 3 FADs obtained from a previous investigation carried out in Majorca. The results from the multivariate analysis rejected both hypotheses. In all locations, patterns of fish assemblages were dominated by Coryphaena hippurus, Naucrates ductor, Seriola dumerili, Balistes carolinensisand Trachurusspp., a pattern evident from examining data at bi-monthly intervals. When the most dominant species highlighted with similarity percentage (SIMPER) analysis were analysed with an analysis of variance (ANOVA), a time effect was clearly apparent and subsequently confirmed for four of these five species (B. carolinensis being the exception); the location factor was also found to be relevant (except for the genus Trachurus). We concluded that differences noted were principally due to the “time shift” in the occurrence of these species in the three locations, leading to the assumption that a relationship did exist between the gradual but significant shift in seasonal temperature and colonization at the study locations. Defining selected community structure indices was also important because no reference points are actually available for the pelagic environment in the Mediterranean Sea.

Abstract: Morphological examination of a single male philometrid nematode, recovered from the ovary of a dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus caught off the north-east Mallorca (western Mediterranean), revealed morphological differences between this specimen and philometrid males from the gonads of other marine fish hosts. These differences, together with discrepancies between the descriptions of philometrid females found in the gonads of Mediterranean E. marginatus and those described to date in various hosts and/or seas, lead us to propose that Philometra jordanoi (López-Neyra, 1951) should be reinstated as a species parasitic in the gonads of the Mediterranean dusky grouper. The male of P. jordanoi is described for the first time.

The human eye is an indispensable sensor for the execution of many military tasks, and a degraded vision would undoubtedly affect operator task performance. Dazzling the eye with a visible light source is for that reason an obvious countermeasure when trying to affect human vision and possibly degrade human performance. The effects are most often translated into a decrease of the field-of-view of the eye, but the question remains how this translates into human task performance degradation and secondly how accurate this degradation can be predicted. This study will try to quantify the performance degradation of a shooting task in a land environment when being dazzled by a green portable laser system. A measurement campaign has been organized to answer this question; every participant of the test group, composed of 14 persons, was asked to fire 5 shots in the direction of a competition-type target straight ahead, with and without dazzle. The registered time and scoring of the specific tests have been statistically analyzed to determine the significant effects, and the outcome has been compared with a predicted dazzle impact. The results of the shooting test show that the used laser dazzle prediction models quite well the human performance degradation and, at the same time, that there is a need for a specific test protocol to find the correct compromise between environmental validity of a trial and the number of independent variables that can be controlled.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract 2611