Announcements are listed according alphabetic order of author's name
From Joachim Adis & Sergei Golovatch / Request : Wolbachia and millipedes Dear friends, One of the resolutions of the 3rd International Workshop on Neotropical Diplopoda, held at Max-Planck-Institute for Limnology, Ploen / Germany with the main focus put on parthenogenesis in millipedes, was providing a very general picture through screening various diplopod species from various places for the presence of Wolbachia bacteria known to be the sole or main agent causing parthenogenesis in several other arthropod groups as well as filarial nematodes. We do have every reason to suspect that Wolbachia are not only present but actually may prove to be as Widespread in Diplopoda as, e.g., in Insecta. (For instance, nearly 70% of the insects screened in Panama prove Wolbachia-infected, though only a minor proportion of these are parthenogenetic.) For this purpose, we ask you to kindly send freshly preserved specimens, preferably but not necessarily fixed in 100% ethanol and preferably containing at least some females, not only males, to the following gentleman who is to effectuate the respective genetical analyses. Dr. Lutz Bachmann, Associate Professor, University of Oslo, Zoological Museum, Sars Gate 1 0562 Oslo Norway (eMail: bachmann@ulrik.uio.no) The idea behind is, to get as many species from as many localities/countries for this general screening so as to arrive at some possible models for future research. Not too many species (but as many specimens as possible) per locality are required, maybe 3-5, but these should be identified/identifiable and, this being even more important, rather available for recollecting IF they reveal Wolbachia. These bacteria are definitely to be expected to occur first of all in parthenogenetic species like Polyxenus lagurus, Nemasoma varicorne, Archiboreoiulus pallidus, Dilophops bullatus, Poratia digitata, P. obliterata, Detodesmus (=Amphitomeus) attemsi, Cylindrodesmus laniger (four latter tend to be common in European hothouses). Yet there are provisional indications that even among absolutely non-parthenogenetic tropical Rhinocricidae Wolbachia might prove to occur. In other words, be it Africa, Asia, America, Australia or Europe, any fresh sample (fixed not older than 2 years ago) of any definite/identified Diplopoda species which can be recollected if need be would come in most handy for a global screening of Wolbachia in Diplopoda. If there are uncertainties/difficulties in species identification, samples are better to be directed to one of us before they reach Oslo. Ideally, live material is always preferred but even ethanol-fixed samples might prove very useful. Announcing/advertising this request among your friends and colleagues to make it as widely circulating as possible would also be an important help to the project. Thanks in advance for your co-operation, looking forward for getting your diplopod samples for genetical analyses, best regards, Yours very cordially Joachim Adis <adis@mpil-ploen.mpg.de> Max-Planck-Institute for Limnology, August-Thienemann-Str. 2, D-24306 Ploen, Sergei Golovatch <sgol@orc.ru>, Institute for Problems of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 33, Moscow 117071 (V-71), Russia
From Ourida Abrous-Kherbouche / Paper copy request of: Tout documents ou articles concernant les myriapodes d'Afrique du Nord et spécialement ceux du Maghreb.
From Serge Attignon / Help for identification of specimens Dear all, my name is Serge Attignon, I am from Benin (West Africa). I'm a Ph.D. Student at NLU-Biogeographie of the University of Basel. I'm working on the Lama Forest in Benin in a project on biodiversity conservation. I study detritivores in natural primary forest, teak plantations and plantations of Acacia siamea. Last year (2001) we conducted an inventory of arthropods using different types of traps. I've collected some diplopods (20 morpho-species), chilopods (3 morpho-species) and isopods (12 morpho-species), using pitfall traps. Looking for some help for identification of these specimens, I would like to get in touch with experts capable in myriapod identification. I'm also interested in recommendations with respects to identification keys. Thank you very much for your help.
Conservation of Biodiversity in Lama Forest. Role of Forest Plantations for the Viability of Natural Forests. Lama forest is one of the last remnants of the forest/savannah mosaic - known as the Dahomey gap - between the West African and West-central African lowland rainforests. it is composed of natural foret (2,500 ha), degraded forest/savannah (4,759 ha) and foret plantations (9,000 ha) and has the protectional status of a "classified forest". The forest is home of several endangered wildlife species and rare plants and is, therefore, of primary concern in biodiversity conservation. However, the few biodiversity inventories conducted so far did not include invertebrates and other biota. Moreover, the focus was on the natural forest, whereas the surrounding forest plantations and the degraded forest/savannah landscape have received little attention, despite their larger size. This project is based on the assumption that conservation and functional relationships between these different forest landscape elements. The approach includes an appreciation of human interests in using the resources of Lama forest. Thus the project aims to investigate and elucidate the role of anthropogenic forests as buffer zones, migration corridors and surrogate habitats for the flora and fauna of Lama. Selected biota will be inventoried and monitored in all major habitats, with emphasis on biota wich have not been considered in previous studies: understorey vegetation, invertebrates and bats. Functional aspects such as the role of seed-dispersing frugivorous bats in natural forest regeneration will also be assessed. Based on these findings, the project will draft management recommendations to improve the conservation of Lama forest biodiversity resources. The project will be executed in close cooperation with relevant institutions (development projects, forestry department, conservatiuon agencies) and affected groups (local population). The approach is considered a case-study for the management and conservation of isolated biodiversity resources in Benin and other African countries. The peoject will also provide new evidence on evolutionary trends within the lowland forest-forest/savannah mosaic of the Dahomey gap.
From Lucio Bonato / needed specimens of: Mecistocephalidae from Japan, Taiwan, Siberia, Central Asia, Australia, Pacific Islands.
From Henrik Enghoff / Millipede taxonomy in Fauna Europaea Dear myriapodologist friends, I have told you about the ongoing Fauna Europaea project for which I am the "Group co-ordinator" for myriapods and compiling information for diplopods. Fauna Europaea will provide a list of names and synonyms "that are likely to cause confusion", as well as information on the geographical distribution of each species. The first part of the work, the taxonomic part, has been almost completed and sent to relevant colleagues for comment. I herewith ask you, or even implore you, to provide your criticism, additional information and any other comment. A project like this cannot be completed without everybody's input and have already benefited immensely by the efforts of several contributors.
From Eduardo Florez Daza / material wanted Literature about Colombian myriapods.
From Andrès Garcia Ruiz / material wanted Any literature on the Ecology of myriapods.
From Jean-Jacques Geoffroy / material wanted Millipedes and centipedes from France for identification and faunistic data bases.
From Yasunori Hagino / material wanted Pauropods, especially European and North American.
From Vinod Khanna / Announcement and material wanted While undertaking the revisionary studies on the Indian centipedes of the order Scolope,dromorpha, for preparation of the monograph, I noticed that most of the species described by the earlier authors do not find mention of the type localities and or repositories of the types, written in their papers. As such I am finding it difficult to access to the type material for revaluation or re-examination. I therefore request, through this column, to all the myriapodologists / curators of musuems holding the charge of Myriapoda to: 1. Kindly prepare a list of the types of Scolopendridae, available in their records / museums, with full collection data and references and sent to me, in a soft and a hard copy. I intend to prepare a website listing all the species of the Scolopendromorpha, so as to serve as a ready reference for all valid or synonymised species for the students / scholars. 2. Send collections of Scolopendridae from Asian and Oriental countries for my studies.
From Markus Koch / material wanted Hexamerocerata (Pauropoda) from South America and Madagascar.
From Otto Kraus / A proposal of Proceedings: Some copies of the proceedings of the 3rd International Congress of Myriapodology, Hamburg 1975, are still available. [Abh. Verh. naturwiss. Ver. Hamburg, (NF) 21/22, 371 pp.; 1978]. Those being interested in the volume may ask directly: Prof. Dr. Otto Kraus, Zoologisches Institut und Zoologisches Museum, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany (Fax: 00 49 40 24838 3937).
From Jean-Paul Mauriès / material wanted Diplopoda from Guyanas.
From Christian Mille / Hanseniella or Scutigerella ? Working on a catalogue of main fruit crops devasatators in New-Caledonia, I would like to know which species of symphylids are pineapple devastators. Institut agronomique néocalédonien. Station de recherches Fruitières de Pocquereux. Laboratoire d'Entomologie. BP (PO Box) 32 - 98880 La Foa (New Caledonia)
From Pavel Nefediev / material wanted Any literature on Siberian Myriapoda. Any scientific contact will be appreciated.
From Stefan Negrea / material wanted Centipedes from the Near East (Scutigeromorpha, Scolopendromorpha and Lithobiomorpha) - Material preserved in alcohol, papers.
From Monique Nguyen Duy - Jacquemin / material wanted Penicillata from Australia and New Zealand for taxonomical study.
From Gaston Pierrard / Paper copy request of: Brandt J-F, 1841. Remarques supplémentaires au mémoire: generis Iuli specerium enumeratio, accompagnée de descriptions de trois espèces nouvelles. Bull. Sci. Acad. Impér. St-Petersbourg, 8 (23): 365-368 (Leipzig & St-Petersbourg). Gerstaeker A, 1873. Gliedertiere (Insekten, Arachniden, Myriopoden und Isopoden). In Decken's Reisen in O-Afrika 3, 2: pp. 513-514 + T. 16-18 (Leipzig und Heidelberg). Peters KWH, 1862. Myriopoda. Tausendfüsser. In: Peters: Reise Mossambique. Zool. 5: 527-552, T;33, 34 (Berlin). COOK, 1893. Notes on Myriapoda from Loanda Africa collected by Mr Heli Chatelaine, including a description of a nex genus and species. Proceedings of the US National Museum 16 (968): 704.
From William A. Shear / material wanted Chordeumatid millipeds from Asia, North America, Australia and New Zealand.
From Sergei Spiridonov / material wanted Nematodes from hindgut of Tropical diplopods for identifications.
From Pavel Stoev / exchange and proposals, material wanted Exchange of centipedes and millipedes from all around the world for enrichment of a comparative collection in the National Museum of Natural History - Sofia. I am looking for a collaborator in accomplishing "A catalogue of Scutigeromorpha (Chilopoda) of the World". Much of the work has been done, some papers missing. Chilopoda from the Balkan Peninsula and especially from Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia for identification. Scutigeromorpha from every part of the Globe for identification. An excel data base of more than 100 synonym names in Chilopoda available through direct mail to me.
From Robyn Stutchbury / wandering and learning through science Interest in myriapod and onychophoran sciences, by Peripatus Productions (Pty Limited) 1, Carisbrook Street, Lane Cove . NSW . 2066 Australia
From Max Telford / looking for samples of Pauropods and Symphylans I wonder if you could help me get hold of samples of Pauropods and Symphylans for molecular study of metazoan relationships. I am cloning nuclear protein coding genes which have introns and for this reason I need freshly killed animals so that their RNA is intact (not ethanol preserved specimens). I realise that asking for fresh specimens makes things more difficult but I hope some members of the CIM are able to help. Yours sincerely. Max Telford. [University Museum of Zoology. Department of Zoology. Downing Street, Cambridge. CB2 3EJ UK]
From Nobuo Tsurusaki / information Dear colleagues, "Acta Arachnologica" is a journal published two times a year by the Arachnological Society of Japan, and is devoted to the study of Arachnida including Acari, Chelicerata, and Myriapoda (Do not accuse the discrepancy between the journal title and materials dealt with; actually the society has been sustained by not only arachnologists but also myriapodologists and taxonomy-oriented acarologists since its establishment in 1936). Editorial guidelines of the journal have recently been changed to stimulate manuscript submission. Guidelines newly changed within past one year are as follows: 1) Up to 30 printed pages, there are no page charges. Extra page charge is 5,000 Japanese yen (= ca. 40 US $) per page for members of Arachnological Society of Japan, and 10,000 yen per page for non-members. 2) Fifty offprints of each paper are supplied free. 3) The submission of papers from non-members of the Society is also welcome. You can find the latest version of "Instructions to Authors" in Vol. 50, No. 2 issue which is now in printing (The instructions are mere slight modification of those in Vol. 50, No. 1) "Instructions to Authors" can also be sent via e-mail on request (Please contact me personally). Best regards, Nobuo Tsurusaki Biology, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Education & Regional Sciences, Tottori University, Tottori, 680-8551 JAPAN E-mail: ntsuru@fed.tottori-u.ac.jp
Sex or Title:DrPrPrDrMrsMissMr
Name/Nom:
First Name/Prénom:
E-mail address: