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The article presents a study on multiple cutaneous cavernous haemangioma in a Doberman dog. The researchers observed a dog with two growths, one at the thoracic spinal region and another in between the inter-digital space of the right forelimb. They subjected the tissue samples from the growths to routine histopathological processing and embedded in paraffin, after which they cut the tissue sections and stained them with haematoxylin-eosin for histopathological exam. They found that haemangioma may be caused by prolonged sun exposure.

Spontaneous tumors of mammary gland are infrequent in male rats. A spontaneous adenocarcinoma of the mammary gland was observed in a 37-week-old male WNIN (Wistar/NIN) rat from the breeding colony of IIBAT. The rat had a subcutaneous mass at the left lateral aspect of neck measuring approximately 4cm in diameter. In our literature search, we did not find any reports of spontaneous malignant neoplasms of the male mammary gland in this age group. The histological features of this neoplasm are similar to those described in female rats, with the exception of a lack of functional differentiation. Immunohistochemical staining of the tumor for smooth muscle actin and cytokeratin 14 was positive, which is consistent with a neoplasm of mammary origin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

PURPOSE: With the introduction of prostate-specific antigen testing, the 'Will Rogers phenomenon'--stage migration associated with more sensitive diagnostic and staging procedures--seemed likely to occur. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Yearly values of prostate-specific antigen from 1988 to 1995 were determined for whites (n = 34) and African-Americans (n = 321). Pretreatment levels were used as objective surrogates of tumor cell burden. Changes in clinical stage and pathological grade by calendar year also were determined. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant yearly decline in levels of prostate-specific antigen for African-Americans (12.2% per year). There was no significant decline among whites. Similar trends were seen on multivariate analysis that adjusted for stage and grade. There was clinical stage migration for whites and African-Americans. There was also a shift in tumor grade for both whites and African-Americans. DISCUSSION: Over the past decade, African-Americans have shown a decline in tumor cell burden at the time of diagnosis as reflected by a decline in mean levels of prostate-specific antigen. For whites and African-Americans, there has been a shift to early clinical stages. The Will Rogers phenomenon, as demonstrated in African-Americans by decline in prostate-specific antigen and in whites and African-Americans by clinical stage migration, indicates lead-time and length biases, resulting in a more favorable disease profile at diagnosis for both groups. The decline in prostate-specific antigen among African-Americans indicates that the initial higher tumor cell burden seen in the past was caused by socioeconomic factors rather than inherited differences, and is likely to be ameliorated with widespread prostate-specific-antigen screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In widespread species, the diverse ecological conditions in which the populations occur, and the presence of many potential geographical barriers through their range are expected to have created ample opportunities for the evolution of distinct, often cryptic lineages. In this work, we tested for species boundaries in one such widespread species, the king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836), a largely tropical elapid snake distributed across the Oriental realm. Based on extensive geographical sampling across most of the range of the species, we initially tested for candidate species (CS) using Maximum-Likelihood analysis of mitochondrial genes. We then tested the resulting CS using both morphological data and sequences of three single-copy nuclear genes. We used snapclust to determine the optimal number of clusters in the nuclear dataset, and Bayesian Phylogenetics and Phylogeography (BPP) to test for likely species status. We used non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) analysis for discerning morphological separation. We recovered four independently evolving, geographically separated lineages that we consider Confirmed Candidate Species: (1) Western Ghats lineage; (2) Indo-Chinese lineage (3) Indo-Malayan lineage; (4) Luzon Island lineage, in the Philippine Archipelago. We discuss patterns of lineage divergence, particularly in the context of low morphological divergence, and the conservation implications of recognizing several endemic king cobra lineages., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The frog family Ranixalidae is endemic to the Western Ghats of Peninsular India and contains two genera, Indirana and Walkerana. The three known species of Walkerana are restricted to different hill ranges south of the Palghat Gap, an ancient valley in the Western Ghats. In this study, we report the discovery of a deeply divergent lineage of Walkerana from the high elevations of the Elivalmalai hill range. This finding extends the geographic range of the Walkerana clade to the north of the Palghat Gap. The new species Walkerana muduga sp. nov. is genetically and morphologically divergent, and geographically isolated from its sister lineages. We also recovered a potential new lineage in the adjoining hill ranges suggesting the presence of additional new species in this genus north of the Palghat Gap.

Lizards of the genus Calotes are geographically restricted to South Asia, Indo-China and parts of Southeast Asia. The greatest diversity of the genus is from the biodiversity hotspots in South Asia: Western Ghats (Peninsular India), Sri Lanka and Indo-Burma. Here, we present a systematic revision of members of the genus Calotes from Peninsular India using a combination of molecular phylogeny, geographical distribution and morphological characters. We show that Calotes from the Western Ghats is paraphyletic and consists of three major clades, one of which is widely distributed in South and Southeast (SE) Asia, while the others are restricted to Peninsular India. The Peninsular Indian clade is composed of two sister clades: Psammophilus, with a wider distribution and a second clade, composed of two extant species, Calotes rouxii and Calotes ellioti and two new species, all restricted to the Western Ghats region. Based on morphological differences, we retain the generic status of Psammophilus and assign its sister clade to a new genus Monilesaurus gen. nov. and transfer the following species, C. rouxii and C. ellioti, to this new genus. We also provide diagnoses and descriptions for two new species recognized within Monilesaurus gen. nov. In addition, Calotes aurantolabium from the Western Ghats was observed to be deeply divergent and to share a sister-relationship with the clade composed of Calotes, Monilesaurus gen. nov., and Psammophilus. Based on its phylogenetic position and morphological attributes, we assign this species to a new genus Microauris gen. nov. These new discoveries highlight the evolutionary significance of the Western Ghats in housing novel lizard diversity.

We carried out a large-scale phylogenetic analysis of fejervaryan (dicroglossid frogs with 'Fejervaryan lines' on the ventral side of the body) frogs, distributed in South and SE Asia, using published and newly generated sequences of unidentified individuals from the northern Western Ghats. The results corroborate the presence of a larger fejervaryan clade with a sister relationship to a clade composed of Sphaerotheca. Two sister clades could be discerned within the lager fejervaryan clade. The unidentified individuals formed a monophyletic group and showed a strong support for a sister relationship with Minervarya sahyadris. The species was found to be highly divergent (16S rRNA-4% and tyr-1%) from its sister lineage Minervarya sahyadris, and the clade composed of these two lineages were found to be deeply nested within the larger clade of Fejervarya. Based on this, the genus Minervarya Dubois, Ohler and Biju, 2001 is synonymized under the genus Fejervarya Bolkay, 1915. The unidentified lineage is recognized, based on phylogenetic position, genetic divergence and morphological divergence, as a distinct species and named here as Fejervarya gomantaki sp. nov. The presence of rictal glands was observed to be a synapomorphic character shared by the nested clade members, Fejervarya sahyadris and Fejervarya gomantaki sp. nov. Based on the presence of rictal gland and small size, Minervarya chilapata, a species from a lowland region in the Eastern Himalayas, is synonymized under Fejervarya and evidence for morphological separation from the new species, Fejervarya gomantaki sp. nov. is provided. For fejervaryan frogs, three generic names (Frost, 2015) are currently in use for two phylogenetic subclades; the genus Fejervarya Bolkay, 1915 for species distributed in South East Asia; the genus Zakerana Howlader, 2011 for species distributed in South Asia and the genus Minervarya Dubois, Ohler and Biju, 2001 nested within the 'Zakerana clade'. In the phylogenetic analysis Minervarya sahyadris and the new species described herein as Fejervarya gomantaki sp. nov. are nested within the 'Zakerana clade'. If the 'Zakerana clade' for the fejervaryan frogs distributed in South Asia is assigned a generic status, the nomen 'Minervarya' should be used as per the principle of priority of the ICZN Code. Taking into consideration the overlapping distribution ranges of members of the sister clades within the larger fejervaryan clade and the absence of distinct morphological characteristics, we also synonymize the genus Zakerana Howlader, 2011, a name assigned to one of the sister clades with members predominantly distributed in South Asia, under the genus Fejervarya Bolkay, 1915. We discuss the need for additional sampling to identify additional taxa and determine the geographical ranges of the members of the sister clades within Fejervarya to resolve taxonomy within this group. [Corrected]