Stone pen in new genus Lithoptilum and sea pen in Anthoptilum, Calibelemnon removed

NEWS - Researchers report new analysis results that support the establishment of a new genus, Lithoptilum, to accommodate rock pens as a taxon close to Anthoptilum within the Anthoptilidae (Pennatuloidea) and require the deletion of the species Calibelemnon francei and the genus Calibelemnon within the Scleroptilidae.

Upasana Ganguly and Scott France of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette used a phylogenetic tree based on multilocus data and a single mitochondrial marker that showed all rock pens form a monophyletic clade within a larger clade representing the Anthoptilidae, deleting Calibelemnon (Scleroptilidae) and erecting the genus Lithoptilum.

Sea pens (Pennatuloidea) are a specialized group of octocorals that evolved to live anchored to the seafloor on soft sediments using their stalks as anchors, whereas rock-dwelling sea pens or rock pens use sucker-like stalks to attach to hard substrate surfaces, an adaptation previously unknown to sea pens.

Four species have now been identified as rock pens based on stalk morphology, three species within Anthoptilum and one within Calibelemnon. But this study found that the type specimen of Calibelemnon symmetricum (Nutting, 1908) is a colony with an elongated stalk, which is typical of soft-sediment sea pens, making the genus homogeneous.

Ganguly and France explored the geographic distribution and habitat depths using the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and operated ROVs to record high-definition video to investigate the evolutionary origins of rock pens. They found thousands of colonies in the central Pacific Ocean at a depth of 450 meters. No such rock pen fields were observed in deeper waters.

Phylogenomic analyses were based on DNA sequences of ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and compared with trees constructed using mitochondrial genes. The ancestors of sea pens evolved along a single lineage that is sister to the lineage comprising the genus Anthoptilum. All rock pen species should be grouped into a new genus within Anthoptilidae.

Mitochondrial gene sequence analysis shows that the rock pen has the same gene sequence as Anthoptilum grandiflorum and Anthoptilum murrayi in the Octocoral B gene sequence. The arrangement is different from all other sea pens but matches that of bamboo corals (Keratoisididae). Among the 7 species that have been described in Anthoptilidae, 6 species have the same gene sequence.

Original research

Upasana Ganguly & Scott C. France (2024). Expanded distribution and a new genus for rock-inhabiting sea pens (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Octocorallia, Pennatuloidea). Zootaxa, 5507 (1): 123-139, DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.5507.1.5

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Pohpohan (Pilea melastomoides)

Pohpohan clearweed ( Pilea melastomoides ) is a species of plant in the Urticaceae, herbaceous perennial, erect stems, up to 100 cm tall, succulent, square or cylindrical, enlarged in the middle of the internodes, bright green in color and forming colonies in the shade. P. melastomoides has stipules that are immediately deciduous or subpersistent, green or brownish and oblong. The stalk is 2-9 cm long. The leaf blade is ovate or ovate-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate. The surface is wavy, pale green on the underside, dark green on the top. The three main veins are central and linear. Rounded base, tapered ends and serrated edges. The inflorescences are paired, the male is a dense cyme paniculata. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Urticaceae Genus: Pilea Species: Pilea melastomoides

Golden-armed mantis (Hierodula venosa)

Golden-armed mantis ( Hierodula venosa ) is an animal species in the Mantidae, winged praying mantis with females 65-75 mm long and males 45-65 mm, large but not the largest in the genus Hierodula and generally bright yellow with green and chocolate variations. H. venosa has a fully rotating head. The head is dominated by a pair of very large and brownish yellow eyes. The jaw forms a triangle. The back is very wide with thickened margins. A pair of long antennas. Wide wings with rounded tips, striped surface, thick margins, two small white plots on the right and left. The belly is large and jointed, curved downward, the upper part is completely covered by the wings, but partially visible from the side. The pair of forelegs are large and have three segments. The upper segment has rows of spikes on the front and back. The middle segment has a row of many spines on the back and a black tip. The third segment has a row of many spines, long, black and tipped with a long palm. The middle ...

Dlium