In kyu Lee alga (Aglaothamnion inkyui) from Korea closely related to Aglaothamnion pseudobyssoides

NEWS - Researchers collected red algae from the east coast of Korea and phylogenetic analysis using rbcL sequences and two DNA-based species delimitation analyses revealed the specimens to be a new species, In kyu Lee alga (Aglaothamnion inkyui E.Shim & G.H.Kim sp. nov), which is closely related to A. pseudobyssoides.

Aglaothamnion was assigned by Feldmann-Mazoyer (1941) to species previously placed in the genus Callithamnion, with the type species A. furcellariae (J.Agardh) Feldmann-Mazoyer (1941: 454), which was later synonymized with A. tenuissimum (Bonnemaison) Feldmann-Mazoyer (1941; 469).

Currently 35 Aglaothamnion names are accepted and 3 of them are recorded from Korea: A. callophyllidicola (Yamada) Boo, I.K.Lee, Rueness & Yoshida (1991), A. chejuense (G.H.Kim & I.K.Lee) and A. oosumiense Itono (1971). Now Eunyoung Shim and Gwang Hoon Kim from Kongju National University in Gongju and colleagues examine the new collection as a new species of red alga.

A. inkyui has a thallus is uniseriate, thin, up to 4 cm high, attached at the base by multicellular rhizoids. No reproductive structures were seen. Branching is dichotomously alternate, sometimes branches appear at irregular intervals at the bottom of the axial cells.

Freshly collected thalli are reddish in color with a light brown hue. Near the base of the thallus, the initial regular dichotomous pattern is sometimes less easy to observe. Branching results in a marked zig-zag arrangement of the axial cells in the apical parts of the thallus. Mature axial cells, ca. 10 cells below the apex, are longer than wide (30-60 mm by 300-500 mm; L/W: 2–8:1).

Lateral branching is of 2-3 orders; the apical cell is blunt. All cells are uninucleate. The average nuclear size is 10x15 μm in the main axial cells, while the newly growing cells at the tip had smaller nuclei, averaging 4x6 μm.

The species is distributed in Sungeut Beach, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea. It is mostly found on tidal rocky substrates. The fibrous thallus is attached to hard rocky substrates. This is a new species record of South Korea. The name honors Professor In kyu Lee for his many years of psychological research in South Korea.

Original research

Eunyoung Shim, Soo Yeon Kim, Yong Tae Kim, Giuseppe C. Zuccarello & Gwang Hoon Kim (2024). A new species of Aglaothamnion (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) from Korea, Aglaothamnion inkyui sp. nov. Phytotaxa 671 (1): 001–011, DOI:10.11646/phytotaxa.671.1.1

Dlium theDlium

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 ...

Sweetpotato bug (Physomerus grossipes)

Kutu ketela or sweetpotato bug ( Physomerus grossipes ) is an insect species in Coreidae, brown with black legs, adults growing about 2 cm long, oval shaped, segmented antennas, heavily veined membranes, metathoracic odor glands and enlarged rear tibia. P. grossipes generally live in Leguminosae and Convolvulaceae especially sweet potato ( Physomerus grossipes ), pink morning glory ( Ipomoea carnea ), purple beans ( Vigna unguiculata ), Asian pigeonwings ( Clitoria ternatea ) and common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ). Sweetpotato bugs suck liquid from the stem which causes plants to wither and disrupt fruit production. P. grossipes places eggs at the bottom of the leaves or stems or grass around them. Females are very protective of their children, keeping eggs and nymphs from predators as the most famous example of maternal care in Coreidae. Even so, about 20% of eggs are eaten by predators such as ants and 13% are lost by parasitoid predation by chalcid wasps which lay eggs in egg...

Yellow potter wasp (Delta campaniforme)

Yellow potter wasp ( Delta campaniforme ) is a species of animal in Vespidae, solitary wasp, shiny yellow, shiny black, dull black and brown with a yellow striped belly, a long and narrow waist, a nest built using mud and a circle attached to a cliff. D. campaniforme has a black head with a yellow plot in the center and two transverse plots on the right and left. A pair of black eyes. A pair of antennas, long, yellow with a black base and tip. The back is yellow and black. A large black plot semicircle at the top of the front. The two plots form a circular line at the top of the back. A pair of wings is brownish black and transparent. The stomach has the shape of a water droplet, pointed tip, black with yellow and black segments, alternating to form stripes. Linear folds on the sides. The underside of the front is brown and large. The middle section has alternating yellow and black segments that form stripes. The stomach and back are connected by a long, narrow, downward curved pipe...

Dlium