Invertebrate Zoology

Secara bahasa Mollusca berasal dari Molus bahasa yunani yang artinya lunak. Jadi Mollusca merupakan kelompok hewan invertebrata yang bertubuh lunak dan multiseluler. Anggota dalam Phylum mollusca ini mencapai 100.000 spesies dan ilmu yang mempelajarinya disebut malakologi.

Istilah Arthropoda berasal dari bahasa Yunani yang terdiri dari dua kata yaitu arthro yang berarti ruas dan podos yang berarti kaki. Arthropoda merupakan hewan tripoblastik selomata dan bilateral simetris. Tubuh Arthropoda terdiri dari kepala, dada, dan abdomen yang keseluruhan dibungkus oleh zat kitin dan kerangka luar (eksoskeleton).  Umumnya diantara ruas-ruas terdapat bagian yang tidak memiliki zat kitin sehingga ruas-ruas tersebut mudah untuk digerakkan. Di waktu tertentu kulit dan tubuh Arthropoda mengalami pergantian kulit (eksdisis).

Secara bahasa Annelida adalah hewan yang bentuk tubuhnya seperti susunan cincin. Kata Annelida berasal dari bahasa yunani, yaitu dari kata “annulus” yang berarti cincin, dan “oidos” yang artinya bentuk. Annelida memiliki rongga tubuh sejati dan tubuhnya berbentuk seperti segmen, serta bernapas melalui kulit. Sampai sekarang terdapat sekitar 15.000, dengan panjang tubuh dari 1 mm - 3 m. Phylum Annelida dapat hidup di laut, air tawar, dan juga di tanah.

PROGRAM STUDI PNDIDIKAN BIOLOGI FAKULTAS KEGURUAN ILMU PENDIDIKAN UNIVERSITAS MARITIM RAJA ALI HAJI TANJUNGPINANG 2018 BAB I PENDAHULUAN 1.1 Latar Belakang Regenerasi ialah memperbaiki bagian tubuh yang rusak atau lepas kembali seperti semula. Menurut Adnan et all., (2007), regenerasi merupakan suatu peristiwa yang terjadi atas beberapa tahap, yaitu : Penyembuhan luka, Penyembuhan jaringan, Pembentukan blastoma, Morfologi dan redeferensiasi. Regenerasi bias terjadi pada tumbuhan maupun hewan. Pada hewan terdiri dari regenerasi invertebrate dan vertebrata. Ada tiga tipe regenerasi yaitu regenerasi morfolaksis, intermediet, dan epimorfik. Metamorphosis berasal dari bahasa Yunani (Greek), Meta yang berarti di antara, sekitar, setelah, Morphe yang berarti bentuk, dan Osis yang berati bagian dari. Metamorfosis adalah suatu proses biologi dimana seekor hewan secara fisik mengalami perkembangan biologis setelah dilahirkan atau menetas yang melibatkan perubahan bentuk atau struktur melalui pertumbuhan sel dan differensiasi sel.

This paper introduces some of the invaluable aspects of, and new perspectives arising in, the field of zooarchaeology. Studying archaeological animal remains provides clear evidence of past human diet, but the contributions zooarchaeology can make to archaeological research have a much broader scope. Zooarchaeological research provides an interesting insight into the study of past environments, animal domestication, biostratigraphy, the social side of food, animal remains as clothing or even as building materials and art manifestations, amongst others. Zooarchaeology is subdivided here into environmental or physical zooarchaeology, which mainly deals with climate, seasonality and dating of a site, and social zooarchaeology, which deals with hunting techniques, animal management, social hierarchy and symbolism. This array of possibilities is illustrated through examples drawn from diverse periods and places. Some of the issues concerning zooarchaeology are analysed in more depth through the site of Cueva Negra del Estrecho del Río Quípar (Murcia, Spain). This case study provides a practical application of zooarchaeological perspectives in the study of human evolution.

The field of zooarchaeology is therefore not limited to the study of past dietary habits. Rather the study of animal remains allows a deeper understanding of complex human-animal interactions and a greater comprehension of archaeological societies and cultures.

Penelitian struktur komunitas makrozoobenthos pada mikroekosistem tidepool di pantai Batu Kukumbung dilakukan pada tanggal 10-17 Mei 2015. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui struktur komunitas makrozoobenthos, keanekaragaman makrozoobenthos, dan kondisi lingkungan yang mempengaruhinya. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deksriptif kuantitatif, dengan pengumpulan data menggunakan metode survey. Penelitian dilakukan dengan memasang transek sepanjang 200 meter sejajar dengan garis pantai. Pada tiap tidepool yang mengenai transek garis, dilakukan pengamatan, pengukuran parameter fisika kimia perairan, serta pengambilan sampel benthos. Parameter fisik yang diukur antara lain luas tidepool, kedalaman tidepool, suhu air, suhu udara, intensitas cahaya, salinitas dan konduktivitas, sedangkan parameter kimia yang diukur yaitu pH dan kandungan oksigen terlarut (DO). Dilakukan analisis terhadap kelimpahan jenis, nilai penting, dominansi jenis, indeks kekayaan jenis, indeks keanekaragaman jenis, indeks dominansi makrozoobenthos, dan penutupan makroalga. Hasil pengukuran parameter fisik menunjukkan suhu air, intensitas cahaya, dan konduktivitas pada kategori tinggi yang dapat membahayakan kehidupan makrozoobenthos, sedangkan suhu udara, salinitas dan kedalaman perairan dalam kategori normal, sehingga mampu mendukung kehidupan makrozoobenthos. Nilai pH dan DO juga menunjukkan hasil yang sesuai dengan kehidupan makrozoobenthos. Dari analisis sampel, didapatkan 39 jenis makrozoobenthos dari 21 famili dan 6 kelas, dengan nilai kelimpahan tertinggi pada jenis Ophionereis dubia sebesar 0,51 individu/338 m2, nilai penting pada jenis Ophionereis dubia sebesar 43,97%, indeks kekayaan jenis sebesar 6,09, indeks keanekaragaman jenis sebesar 2,53, dan indeks dominansi sebesar 0,85. Penutupan makroalga didominasi oleh jenis Sargassum polycystum dengan penutupan 7,62%.

Nemathelminthes atau Aschelminthes adalah filum yang pernah dipakai pada Kerajaan Hewan (Animalia). Pengelompokan ini sekarang tidak digunakan lagi karena polifiletik. Meskipun demikian, pengelompokannya kadangkadang masih dipakai untuk kemudahan.Anggota-anggotanya mencakup berbagai cacing yang dikenal sebagai cacing gilig: hewan dengan tubuh berbentuk silinder memanjang, bahkan sangat panjang sehingga muncullah nama 'Nemathelminthes', yang berarti "cacing berkas" (dari bahasa Yunani).Tubuhnya tidak beruasruas.Nemathelminthes (dalam bahasa yunani, nema= benang, helminthes= cacing)disebut sebagai cacing gilig karena tubuhnya berbentuk bulat panjang atau seperti benang. Nemathelminthes sudah memiliki rongga tubuh meskipun bukan ronggatubuh sejati.Cacing dewasa memiliki pseudocoelom (tabung dalam tabung), sebuah ruangtertutup yang berisi cairan berfungsi sebagai rangka hidrostatik, membantu dalam peredaran dan penyebaran sari makanan. Oleh karena memiliki rongga tubuhsemu, Nemathelminthes disebut sebagai hewan Pseudoselomata.Filum Nemathelminthes terdiri dari bebrapa ratus ribu spesies, kebanyakanhidup bebas meskipun beberapa ada yang parasit. Nematoda kurang dalam sistem peredaran darah namun memiliki sistem pencernaan yang berkembang dengan baik.Struktur tubuh Nemathelminthes umumnya berukuran mikroskopis, meskipunada yang panjang nya sampai 1 meter. Individu betina berukuran lebih besar daripada individu jantan. Tubuh berbentuk bulat panjang atau seperti benangdengan ujung-ujung yang meruncing. Permukaan tubuh Nemathelminthes dilapisikutikula untuk melindungi diri. Kutikula ini lebih kuat pada cacing parasit yanghidup di inang daripada yang hidup bebas. Kutikula berfungsi untuk melindungidari dari enzim pencernaan inang.

Herbivory is a fundamental process that controls primary producer abundance and regulates energy and nutrient flows to higher trophic levels. Despite the recent proliferation of small-scale studies on herbivore effects on aquatic plants, there remains limited understanding of the factors that control consumer regulation of vascular plants in aquatic ecosystems. Our current knowledge of the regulation of primary producers has hindered efforts to understand the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems, and to manage such ecosystems effectively. We conducted a global meta-analysis of the outcomes of plant–herbivore interactions using a data set comprised of 326 values from 163 studies, in order to test two mechanistic hypotheses: first, that greater negative changes in plant abundance would be associated with higher herbivore biomass densities; second, that the magnitude of changes in plant abundance would vary with herbivore taxonomic identity. We found evidence that plant abundance declined with increased herbivore density, with plants eliminated at high densities. Significant between-taxa differences in impact were detected, with insects associated with smaller reductions in plant abundance than all other taxa. Similarly, birds caused smaller reductions in plant abundance than echinoderms, fish, or molluscs. Furthermore, larger reductions in plant abundance were detected for fish relative to crustaceans. We found a positive relationship between herbivore species richness and change in plant abundance, with the strongest reductions in plant abundance reported for low herbivore species richness, suggesting that greater herbivore diversity may protect against large reductions in plant abundance. Finally, we found that herbivore–plant nativeness was a key factor affecting the magnitude of herbivore impacts on plant abundance across a wide range of species assemblages. Assemblages comprised of invasive herbivores and native plant assemblages were associated with greater reductions in plant abundance compared with invasive herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and mixed-nativeness plants, and native herbivores and native plants. By contrast, assemblages comprised of native herbivores and invasive plants were associated with lower reductions in plant abundance compared with both mixed-nativeness herbivores and native plants, and native herbivores and native plants. However, the effects of herbivore–plant nativeness on changes in plant abundance were reduced at high herbivore densities. Our mean reductions in aquatic plant abundance are greater than those reported in the literature for terrestrial plants, but lower than aquatic algae. Our findings highlight the need for a substantial shift in how biologists incorporate plant–herbivore interactions into theories of aquatic ecosystem structure and functioning. Currently, the failure to incorporate top-down effects continues to hinder our capacity to understand and manage the ecological dynamics of habitats that contain aquatic plants.

Nemathelminthes merupakan kelompok hewan cacing yang
memiliki tubuh bulat panjang dengan ujung yang runcing. Secara bahasa,
kata Nemathelminthes berasal dari bahasa yunani, yaitu “Nema” yang
artinya benang, dan “helmintes” yang artinya cacing. Nemathelminthes
sudah memiliki rongga pada tubuhnya walaupun rongga tersebut bukan
rongga tubuh sejati. Rongga tubuh pada Nemathelminthes disebut
pseudoceolomata. Cacing ini memiliki tubuh meruncing pada kedua
ujung sehingga disebut cacing gilig. Ukuran tubuh Nemathelminthes
umumnya miksroskopis, namun ada juga yang mencapai ukuran 1 m.
Cacing Nemathelminthes kebanyakan hidup parasit pada tubuh manusia,
hewan, atau tumbuhan, namun ada pula yang hidup bebas. Ukuran dari
cacing betina lebih besar dari cacing jantan.

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Porifera berasal dari dua kata yaitu porus dan faro. Porus berarti lubang dan faro berarti membawa atau mengandung. Sehingga porifera dapat diartikan sebagai hewan yang tubuhnya mengandung lubang-lubang kecil. Lubang-lubang kecil ini ini juga disebut sebagai pori-pori, oleh karena itu porifera lebih dikenal dengan sebutan hewan berpori-pori. Untuk mensirkulasikan air dalam tubuhnya, porifera memiliki sistem kanal atau saluran air.

Exceptionally preserved fossils provide crucial insights into extinct body plans and organismal evolution. Molluscs, one of the most disparate animal phyla, radiated rapidly during the early Cambrian period (approximately 535–520 million years ago (Ma)). The problematic fossil taxa Halkieria and Orthrozanclus (grouped in Sachitida) have been assigned variously to stem-group annelids, brachiopods , stem-group molluscs or stem-group aculiferans (Polyplacophora and Aplacophora), but their affinities have remained controversial owing to a lack of preserved diagnostic characters. Here we describe a new early sachitid, Calvapilosa kroegeri gen. et sp. nov. from the Fezouata biota of Morocco (Early Ordovician epoch, around 478 Ma). The new taxon is characterized by the presence of a single large anterior shell plate and polystichous radula bearing a median tooth and several lateral and uncinal teeth in more than 125 rows. Its flattened body is covered by hollow spinose sclerites, and a smooth, ventral girdle flanks an extensive mantle cavity. Phylogenetic analyses resolve C. kroegeri as a stem-group aculiferan together with other single-plated forms such as Maikhanella (Siphogonuchites) and Orthrozanclus; Halkieria is recovered closer to the aculiferan crown. These genera document the stepwise evolution of the aculiferan body plan from forms with a single, almost conchiferan-like shell through two-plated taxa such as Halkieria, to the eight-plated crown-group aculiferans. C. kroegeri therefore provides key evidence concerning the long debate about the crown molluscan affinities of sachitids. This new discovery strongly suggests that the possession of only a single calcareous shell plate and the presence of unmineralised sclerites are plesiomorphic (an ancestral trait) for the molluscan crown.

A new aglaspidid euarthropod with a six-segmented trunk from the Lower Ordovician Fezouata Konservat-Lagerstätte, Morocco Abstract – A new euarthropod with an uncommon morphology, Brachyaglaspis singularis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Early Ordovician (middle Floian) Fezouata biota of Morocco. The presence of a pair of postventral plates, widely attached to each other and located under the posterior-most trunk tergite and the base of the tailspine, indicates a phylogenetic relationship with the enigmatic group Aglaspidida. The overall morphology of Brachyaglaspis most closely resembles that of the 'Ordovician-type' aglaspidids, more specifically the late Cambrian – Early Ordovician genus Tremaglaspis. However, the presence of a prominent cephalon and only six trunk tergites in the new genus deviates from the organization of all other known aglaspidid species, notably extending the known range of morphological disparity of the group. A taxonomic revision of this euarthropod group indicates that the most accurate name and authorship combination correspond to Aglaspidida Walcott, 1912.

Anomalocaridids, giant lightly sclerotized invertebrate predators,
occur in a number of exceptionally preserved early and middle
Cambrian (542–501 million years ago) biotas and have come to
symbolize the unfamiliar morphologies displayed by stem organisms in faunas of the Burgess Shale type. They are characterized by a pair ofanterior, segmented appendages, a circlet of plates around the mouth, and an elongate segmented trunk lacking true tergites with a pair of flexible lateral lobes per segment. Disarticulated body parts, such as the anterior appendages and oral circlet, had been assigned to a range of taxonomic groups—but the discovery of complete specimens from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale showed that these disparate elements all belong to a single kind of animal. Phylogenetic analyses support a position of anomalocaridids in the arthropod stem, as a sister group to the euarthropods. The anomalocaridids were the largest animals in Cambrian communities. The youngest unequivocal examples occur in the middle Cambrian Marjum Formation of Utah but an arthropod retaining some anomalocaridid characteristics is present in the Devonian of Germany. Here we report the post-Cambrian occurrence of anomalocaridids, from the Early Ordovician (488–472 million years ago) Fezouata Biota in southeastern Morocco, including specimens larger than any in Cambrian biotas. These giant animals were an important element of some marine communities for about 30 million years longer than previously realized. The Moroccan specimens confirm the presence of a dorsal array of flexible blades attached to a transverse rachis on the trunk segments; these blades probably functioned as gills.

A checklist of spiders from the state of Tamil Nadu based on published records, World Spider Catalogue (2016) and collections of the Records of Zoological Survey of India has been presented. Till date 226 species are recorded from this state, representing 33 families and 120 genera. Spider diversity in Salticids was dominated followed by Araneids, Lycosids, Thomisids and Sparassids.

The near-simultaneous appearance of most modern animal
body plans (phyla) ~530 million years ago during the
Cambrian explosion is strong evidence for a brief interval
of rapid phenotypic and genetic innovation, yet the exact
speed and nature of this grand adaptive radiation remain
debated [1–12]. Crucially, rates of morphological evolution
in the past (i.e., in ancestral lineages) can be inferred from
phenotypic differences among living organisms—just as
molecular evolutionary rates in ancestral lineages can be
inferred from genetic divergences [13]. We here employed
Bayesian [14] and maximum likelihood [15] phylogenetic
clock methods on an extensive anatomical [16] and genomic
[17] data set for arthropods, the most diverse phylum in the
Cambrian and today. Assuming an Ediacaran origin for
arthropods, phenotypic evolution was ~4 times faster, and
molecular evolution ~5.5 times faster, during the Cambrian
explosion compared to all subsequent parts of the Phanerozoic.
These rapid evolutionary rates are robust to assumptions
about the precise age of arthropods. Surprisingly,
these fast early rates do not change substantially even if
the radiation of arthropods is compressed entirely into the
Cambrian (~542 mega-annum [Ma]) or telescoped into the
Cryogenian (~650 Ma). The fastest inferred rates are still
consistent with evolution by natural selection and with
data from living organisms, potentially resolving ‘‘Darwin’s
dilemma.’’ However, evolution during the Cambrian explosion
was unusual (compared to the subsequent Phanerozoic)
in that fast rates were present across many lineages.

The Weeks Formation in Utah is the youngest (c. 499 Ma) and least studied Cambrian Lagerstätte of the western USA. It preserves a diverse, exceptionally preserved fauna that inhabited a relatively deep water environment at the offshore margin of a carbonate platform, resembling the setting of the underlying Wheeler and Marjum formations. However, the Weeks fauna differs significantly in composition from the other remarkable biotas of the Cambrian Series 3 of Utah, suggesting a significant Guzhangian faunal restructuring. This bioevent is regarded as the onset of a transitional episode in the history of life, separating the two primary diversifications of the Early Paleozoic. The Weeks fossils have been strongly affected by late diagenetic processes, but some specimens still preserve exquisite anatomical details. Supplementary material: a supplementary text (material and methods), four supplementary tables (compositions of the lower and upper Weeks faunas, structure of the upper Weeks fauna, and results of the similarity analyses), and a supplementary data file (generic presence/absence matrix) are available at https://doi.

Exceptionally preserved fossils yield crucial information about the evolution of Life on Earth. The Fezouata Biota from the Lower Ordovician of Morocco is a Konservat-Lagerstätte of major importance, and it is today considered as an 'Ordovician Burgess Shale.' This biota was discovered only some 15 years ago, but geological studies of the area date back to the beginning of the 20th century. Pioneering geological investigations lead to the discovery of Ordovician strata in the Anti-Atlas (1929) and ultimately resulted in their formal subdivision into four main strat-igraphic units (1942). In the Agdz area, the presence of fossiliferous Tremadocian (Lower Ordovician) strata was suspected as early as 1939, but only definitively confirmed in 1955. In the 1960s–1990s, Jacques Destombes provided the first detailed biostratigraphic framework for the Lower Ordovician of the Anti-Atlas, and collected thousands of fossils that were subsequently described in a series of monographs. In the early 2000s, exceptionally preserved fossils were discovered in the Fezouata Shale (Tremadocian–late Floian) in the central Anti-Atlas by Mohamed 'Ou Saïd' Ben Moula. This biota, now known as the Fezouata Biota, is of utmost importance, for it demonstrates the extent in the fossil record of non-biomineralising animals typical of the 'Cambrian Explosion' into the Ordovician, during the 'Great Ordovician Biodiversification.' Although most components are still in need of formal descriptions, a fairly good picture of the composition and organisation of this biota, and how it contributes to our understanding of the early evolution of metazoan communities, can now be depicted. Moreover, recent studies have substantially clarified the biostratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental context of the Fezouata Shale, and are now being followed up by detailed investigations of the taphonomy, geochemistry and micropalaeontology of this unique Konservat-Lagerstätte. These efforts will soon greatly benefit from the recovery of fresh, unweathered samples from drill cores.

Se presenta un análisis de la composición y estructura trófica de las asociaciones de macroinvertebrados en manantiales y el primer tramo de sus corrientes asociadas de la región "La Huasteca", en México. La Huasteca Mexicana se ubica en el este y noreste mexicano, entre los paralelos 20° y 24° de Latitud Norte y al este del meridiano 100° de longitud oeste, donde la geología es de tipo cárstico y son frecuentes los manantiales. Usando el nivel de familia, se encontró que la estructura trófica de las asociaciones de macroinvertebrados tiene una mayor complejidad de la composición en las fases adultas. En fases juveniles, destacan las familias de hábitos colectores y desgarradores mientras que en las fases adultas, las familias de hábitos raspadores, colectores y recolectores. Las diferencias en la composición trófica entre los manantiales y sus corrientes asociadas se encuentran en los taxa con organismos de hábitos depredadores. Los gremios que reúnen mayor abundancia en los manantiales y sus corrientes asociadas son los colectores y raspadores. En la estructra trófica de las asociaciones de macroinvertebrados de los manantiales con las de los primeros tramos de las corrientes asociadas, se encontaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas que están caudadas por los taxa con hábitos cortadores y depredadores. De manera comparativa la estructura trófica de los manantiales cársticos de la Huasteca mexicana y sus corrientes asociadas, muestra un comportamiento coincidente con el descrito por el modelo conceptual del continuo de los ríos propuesto por Vannote et al. (1980).

My aim in this paper is to explain a meaningful sense in which death is a misfortune for an invertebrate. The account presented is a logical implication of bringing together two distinct pieces of theory: the deprivation account of the harm of death, and the biocentric ethical theory developed by the New Zealand philosopher, Nicholas Agar. Combined, the two theories support the following thesis: death harms an invertebrate because it deprives the individual of future 'biopreference' satisfaction.

This paper reports on results of several collecting trips of the authors in Turkey. In the course of this
research, a long-lasting question was addressed. It could be proven that the nominal species Bulimus
frivaldskyi L. Pfeiffer, 1847 is closely related to Meijeriella canaliculata Bank, 1985, and thus this
species is shifted from the genus Ena Turton, 1831, to the genus Meijeriella Bank, 1985. Meijeriella
canaliculata Bank, 1985, could be recorded from Turkey for the first time. The nomenclatural situation
of the species Euchondrus septemdentatus (Roth, 1839) vs. its replacement name Euchondrus borealis
(Mousson, 1874) is discussed. A new arrangement of the species formely comprised in the genus Zebrina
Held, 1837 is presented, and the genera Rhabdoena Kobelt & Moellendorff, 1902, and Leucomastus A.
Wagner, 1927 are re-established. The following species and subspecies new to science could be described:
Vitrea gostelii sp. n. (Pristilomatidae), Turanena demirsoyi sp. n., Euchondrus paucidentatus sp. n.,
Rhabdoena gostelii sp. n. (all Enidae), Metafruticicola kizildagensis sp. n. (Hygromiidae), and Assyriella
thospitis menkhorsti ssp. n. (Helicidae). For several other species, new distribution records are listed.

Nematoda merupakan cacing bulat yang tidak bersegmen, kebanyakan darinya memiliki siklus hidup yang bebas (Tony dan . Nematoda, berasal dari kata nema = benang dan oidos = bentuk. Besar dan panjang Nematoda beragam, ada yang panjangnya beberapa millimeter dan ada pula yang panjangnya melebihi 1 meter.

Kodymirus vagans Chlupáč and Havlíček in Sb Geol Ved Paleontol 6:7–20, 1965 is redescribed as an aglaspidid-like arthropod bearing a single pair of enlarged raptorial appendages, which are shown to be the second cephalic appendage. A number of early Palaeozoic arthropods, recognized from predominantly Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten, are known to have borne single pairs of large raptorial appendages. They are well established for the iconic yet problematic anomalocarids, the common megacheirans, and the ubiquitous bivalved Isoxys. Further taxa, such as fuxianhuiids and Branchiocaris, have been reported to have single pairs of specialized cephalic appendages, i.e., appendages differentiated from a largely homonomous limbs series, members of which act in metachronal motion. The homology of these raptorial appendages across these Cambrian arthropods has often been assumed, despite differences in morphology. Thus, anomalocaridids, for instance, have long multiarticulate “frontal appendages” consisting of many articles bearing an armature of paired serial spines, while megacheirans and Isoxys have short “great appendages” consisting of few articles with well-developed endites or elongate fingers. Homology of these appendages would require them to belong to the same cephalic segment. We argue based on morphological evidence that, to the contrary, the raptorial appendages of some of these taxa can be shown to belong to different cephalic segments and are the result of convergence in life habits. K. vagans is yet another important example for this, representing an instance for this morphology from a marginal marine environment.

Exceptionally preserved fossils from the Palaeozoic era provide crucial insights into arthropod evolution, with recent discoveries bringing phylogeny and character homology into sharp focus. Integral to such studies are anomalocaridids, a clade of stem arthropods whose remarkable morphology illuminates early arthropod relationships and Cambrian ecology. Although recent work has focused on the anomalocaridid head, the nature of their trunk has been debated widely.Here we describe new anomalocaridid specimens from the Early Ordovician Fezouata Biota of Morocco, which not only show well-preserved head appendages providing key ecological data, but also elucidate the nature of anomalocaridid trunk flaps, resolving their homology with arthropod trunk limbs. The new material shows that each trunk segment bears a separate dorsal and ventral pair of flaps, with a series of setal blades attached at the base of the dorsal flaps. Comparisons with other stem lineage arthropods indicate that anomalocaridid ventral flaps are homologous with lobopodous walking limbs and the endopod of the euarthropod biramous limb, whereas the dorsal flaps and associated setal blades are homologous with the flaps of gilled lobopodians (for example, Kerygmachela kierkegaardi,  Pambdelurion whittingtoni) and exites of the ‘Cambrian biramous limb’. This evidence shows that anomalocaridids represent a stage before the fusion of exite and endopod into the ‘Cambrian biramous limb’, confirming their basal placement in the euarthropod stem, rather than in the arthropod crown or with cycloneuralian worms. Unlike other anomalocaridids, the Fezouata taxon combines head appendages convergently adapted for filter-feeding with an unprecedented body length exceeding 2m, indicating a new direction in the feeding ecology of the clade. The evolution of giant filter-feeding anomalocaridids may reflect the establishment of highly developed planktic ecosystems during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.

The land planarian Platydemus manokwari de Beauchamp, 1963 or “New Guinea flatworm” is a highly invasive species, mainly in the Pacific area, and recently in Europe (France). We report specimens from six additional countries and territories: New Caledonia (including mainland and two of the Loyalty Islands, Lifou and Maré), Wallis and Futuna Islands, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Puerto Rico, and Florida, USA. We analysed the COI gene (barcoding) in these specimens with two sets of primers and obtained 909 bp long sequences. In addition, specimens collected in Townsville (Australia) were also sequenced. Two haplotypes of the COI sequence, differing by 3.7%, were detected: the “World haplotype” found in France, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Singapore, Florida and Puerto Rico; and the “Australian haplotype” found in Australia. The only locality with both haplotypes was in the Solomon Islands. The country of origin of Platydemus manokwari is New Guinea, and Australia and the Solomon Islands are the countries closest to New Guinea from which we had specimens. These results suggest that two haplotypes exist in the area of origin of the species, but that only one of the two haplotypes (the “World haplotype”) has, through human agency, been widely dispersed. However, since P. manokwari is now recorded from 22 countries in the world and we have genetic information from only 8 of these, with none from New Guinea, this analysis provides only partial knowledge of the genetic structure of the invasive species. Morphological analysis of specimens from both haplotypes has shown some differences in ratio of the genital structures but did not allow us to interpret the haplotypes as different species. The new reports from Florida and Puerto Rico are firsts for the USA, for the American continent, and the Caribbean. P. manokwari is a known threat for endemic terrestrial molluscs and its presence is a matter of concern. While most of the infected territories reported until now were islands, the newly reported presence of the species in mainland US in Florida should be considered a potential major threat to the whole US and even the Americas.

A new aglaspidid arthropod, Chlupacaris dubia gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Pusgillian (lower Ashgill, Upper Ordovician) Upper Tiouririne Formation near Erfoud, southeastern Morocco. Although disarticulated, careful documenting of the tergites allows a reconstruction of the exoskeleton to be made. Although somewhat trilobite-like in appearance, the lack of facial sutures, a well-defined axis with articulating half-rings and a pygidium clearly prove Chlupacaris gen. nov. is not a trilobite. An interesting feature is the presence of a hypostome in this non-trilobite arthropod. In contrast to other aglaspidids usually considered to be carnivorous, a filter-feeding mode of life is proposed for Chlupacaris gen. nov., based on the strongly vaulted cephalon, subvertical orientation of the hypostome and less strongly vaulted trunk. Chlupacaris gen. nov. is probably most closely related to the atypical aglaspidid Tremaglaspis unite from the Tremadoc (Lower Ordovician) of the U.K., but it can also be tentatively linked to the problematic Lower Cambrian arthropods Kodymirus vagans and Kockurus grandis from the Czech Republic. The relevance and validity of previous definitions and of possibly significant characters used for identifying aglaspidids are evaluated, and as a result, a new combination of characters diagnosing Aglaspidida is proposed. Contrary to previous reports, it is suggested that aglaspidids are probably more closely related to trilobites than they are to chelicerates. This notion may be supported by the shared possession of a mineralised cuticle, a possibly similar number of cephalic appendages, and the presence of a hypostome in some forms, although this last character may alternatively be homoplastic.

El Orden Trichoptera pertenece a los insectos acuáticos holometábolos (con estadios de huevo – larva – pupa – adulto) y se considera un grupo relacionado con el orden Lepidoptera (mariposas y polillas) (Holzenthal et al. 2007). A pesar de su semejanza como adultos, se distinguen porque las alas de Trichoptera son pilosas (cubiertas de pelos) y no escamosas como las de la mayoría de las mariposas y polillas; además sus partes bucales son reducidos (aunque con los palpos bien desarrollados) y nunca en forma de una probosis larga y enrollada, como lo es la lengua de las mariposas (Springer 2006). El nombre Trichoptera deriva del griego y precisamente significa alas peludas (Rincón & Pardo 1995; McCafferty 1998). Otra característica típica del orden son las antenas prominentes, las cuales pueden llegar a tener varias veces la longitud del cuerpo. Se conoce que la mayoría de los adultos son de hábito de vuelo vespertino cerca de los cuerpos de agua donde ocurren las larvas (Korytkowski 1995), aunque existen muchas especies de hábitos diurnos (McCafferty 1998). Se ha determinado a través de recolectas con trampas de luz negra o fluorescente que la mayor actividad de los adultos ocurre entre las 6-10 de la tarde (Rincón & Pardo 1995). En general, los adultos no se alimentan o únicamente absorben líquidos, y son de vida corta (pocos días).
Como es el caso en otros grupos de insectos acuáticos, los machos de algunas especies de tricópteros forman enjambres sobre el cuerpo de agua en horas de la tarde. La cópula se da sobre el sustrato. Los huevos son depositados por las hembras dentro o cerca del agua, ya sea en masas o hileras, a menudo envuelta en una masa gelatinosa. Las hembras de varias familias entran al agua y adhieren sus huevos en objetos sumergidos, mientras que en otras familias las masas de huevos pueden ser depositados sobre objetos fuera del agua y las larvas al nacer caen al agua. Además, las hembras de algunas especies vuelan tocando intermitentemente la superficie del agua para depositar las masas de huevos (McCafferty) 1998). Se conoce al menos una especie de América del Norte en la cual existen hembras ápteras (sin alas) en algún momento (Wiggins & Currie 2008).