Review of the genus Formosatettix Tinkham (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) with description of new taxa, new synonymy and an updated key to species.

The genus Formosatettix Tinkham is reviewed. Seven new species from China, Formosatettix cliva Deng, sp. nov., Formosatettix guangyuanensis Deng, sp. nov., Formosatettix shuimogouensis Deng, sp. nov., Formosatettix strictivertex Deng, sp. nov., Formosatettix tangjiaheensis Deng, sp. nov., Formosatettix yueqingensis Deng, sp. nov., Formosatettix zheminzhengi Deng, sp. nov. are described and illustrated. One new name is proposed: Formosatettix latifemurus Deng, nom. nov. One new combination is established: Formosatettix nyalamensis (Zheng & Lin, 2015), comb. nov. The following new synonyms are established: Bolivaritettix circocephalus Zheng, 1992 = Formosatettix torulosinota Zheng & Mao, 2002, syn. nov., Criotettix bispinosus (Dalman, 1818) = Formosatettix hainanensis Zheng, 2012, syn. nov., Epitettix guangxiensis (Zheng & Jiang, 1994) = Formosatettix guangxiensis Zheng & Jiang, 1998, syn. nov., Formosatettix longwangshanensis Zheng, 1998 = Formosatettix tianmushanensis Zheng & Li, 2001, syn. nov., Formosatettix serrifemora Deng, 2019 = Formosatettix wulongensis Zha & Ding, 2020, syn. nov., Formosatettix huapingensis Zheng & Jiang, 1997 = Formosatettix nanlingensis Zheng & Cao, 2011, syn. nov. = Formosatettix undulatifemura, Zheng, 2012, syn. nov. = Formosatettix guposhanensis Deng, 2019, syn. nov. In addition, Formosatettix leigongshanensis Zha & Ding, 2020 is briefly commented.

Pygmy grasshoppers of the genus Xistra Bolvar, 1887 (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae: Metrodorinae).

The genus Xistra Bolvar is reviewed. Two new species from China, Xistra hainanensis Deng, sp. nov. and Xistra nigriabdominis Deng, sp. nov. are described and illustrated. Three new combinations are established: Xistra emeiensis (Zheng, 1998), comb. nov., Xistra guangxiensis (Zheng, 1998), comb. nov. and Xistra lochengensis (Zheng, 2005), comb. nov. Four new synonyms are established: Bannatettix ruiliensis Zheng, 1993 = Xistra klinnema Zheng Zeng, 2011, syn. nov., Systolederus emeiensis Zheng, 1998 = Xistra yaanensis Zheng, 2009, syn. nov., Systolederus guangxiensis Zheng, 1998 = Xistra longzhouensis Zheng Jiang, 1998, syn. nov., Mazarredia lochengensis Zheng, 2005 = Xistra oculata Li, Deng Zheng, 2014, syn. nov. In addition, an updated key to all species of the genus Xistra is given.

The De Novo Genome Sequencing of Silver Pheasant (Lophura nycthemera).

Silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera) belongs to Phasianidae, Galliformes, which exhibits high subspecific differentiation. In this study, we assembled a novel genome based on 98.42 Gb of Illumina sequencing data and 30.20 Gb of PacBio sequencing data. The size of the final assembled genome was 1.01 Gb, with a contig N50 of 6.96 Mb. Illumina paired-end reads (94.96%) were remapped to the contigs. The assemble genome shows high completeness, with a complete BUSCO score of 92.35% using the avian data set. A total of 16,747 genes were predicted from the generated assembly, and 16,486 (98.44%) of the genes were annotated. The average length of genes, exons, and introns were 19,827.53, 233.69, and 1841.19 bp, respectively. Noncoding RNAs included 208 miRNAs, 40 rRNAs, and 264 tRNAs, and a total of 189 pseudogenes were identified; 116.31 Mb (11.47%) of the genome consisted of repeat sequences, with the greatest proportion of LINEs. This assembled genome provides a valuable reference genome for further studies on the evolutionary history and conversion genetics of L. nycthemera and the phylogenomics of the Galliformes lineage.

Biomass-burning emissions could significantly enhance the atmospheric oxidizing capacity in continental air pollution.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are important precursors of photochemical pollution. However, a substantial fraction of VOCs, namely, oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs), have not been sufficiently characterized to evaluate their sources in air pollution in China. In this study, a total of 119 VOCs, including 60 OVOCs in particular, were monitored to provide a more comprehensive picture based on different online measurement techniques, proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS) and online gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), at a receptor site in southeastern China during a photochemically active period. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) and photochemical age-based parameterization were combined to identify and quantify different sources of major VOCs during daytime hours, with the advantage of including VOC decay processes. The results revealed the unexpected role of biomass burning (21%) in terms of ozone (O3) formation potential (OFP) when including the contributions of OVOCs and large contributions (30-32%) of biomass burning to aldehydes, as more OVOCs were measured in this study. We argue that biomass burning could significantly enhance the continental atmospheric oxidizing capacity, in addition to the well-recognized contributions of primary pollutants, which should be seriously considered in photochemical models and air pollution control strategies.

The first mitogenome of Lesser Whitethroat, Sylvia curruca blythi Ticehurst & Whistler, 1933 (Passeriformes: Sylviidae) and its phylogenetic implications for the genus Sylvia.

The complete mitogenome of the Lesser Whitethroat, Sylvia curruca blythi Ticehurst & Whistler, 1933 was determined, which belongs to Sylviidae, Passeriformes. The mitogenome had a length of 17,959 bp and consisted of 37 genes including 13 PCGs, 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNA) genes, and 22 transfer RNAs (tRNA) genes. In addition, two control regions (CRs) were also existed in the mitogenome, with Sylvioidea typcial gene arrangement of cytb-trnT-CR1-trnP-nad6-trnE-CR2-trnF-rrnS. Phylogenetic analysis using 37 mitochondrial genes of 17 related species revealed that S. c. blythi had a closer relationship with S. crassirostris, and the monophyly of Sylvia was also recovered. The mitogenome data of S. c. blythi would provide useful resources for further studying the evolution of Sylvia and the subspecies taxonomic revision of S. curruca intraspecific.

Critical Role of Simultaneous Reduction of Atmospheric Odd Oxygen for Winter Haze Mitigation.

The lockdown due to COVID-19 created a rare opportunity to examine the nonlinear responses of secondary aerosols, which are formed through atmospheric oxidation of gaseous precursors, to intensive precursor emission reductions. Based on unique observational data sets from six supersites in eastern China during 2019-2021, we found that the lockdown caused considerable decreases (32-61%) in different secondary aerosol components in the study region because of similar-degree precursor reductions. However, due to insufficient combustion-related volatile organic compound (VOC) reduction, odd oxygen (Ox = O3 + NO2) concentration, an indicator of the extent of photochemical processing, showed little change and did not promote more decreases in secondary aerosols. We also found that the Chinese provinces and international cities that experienced reduced Ox during the lockdown usually gained a greater simultaneous PM2.5 decrease than other provinces and cities with an increased Ox. Therefore, we argue that strict VOC control in winter, which has been largely ignored so far, is critical in future policies to mitigate winter haze more efficiently by reducing Ox simultaneously.

Reverse contralateral proximal tibial plating and cannulated screws fixation for Hoffa fracture: A case report.

Hoffa fracture is a rare type of distal femoral fracture occurs in the coronal plane of either femoral epicondyle. To date, screws in combination with lateral plate fixation is widely accepted to achieve stable fixation and good results. However, up to now there has not been a specially designed anatomical plate for lateral fixation of Hoffa fracture. In this report, we demonstrate a case of Hoffa fracture fixed with reverse application of "L" shaped contralateral proximal tibia plate and cannulated screws, resulting in good one-year results.

Exploration of sources of OVOCs in various atmospheres in southern China.

Oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) are critical atmospheric ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors and radical sources, while understanding of OVOC sources in the atmosphere, especially with large anthropogenic emissions, still has large uncertainties. A high-sensitivity proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) was deployed in vastly different atmospheres in southern China, including an urban site (SZ-U), a regional site (NA-R), and a background site (NL-B). Four critical OVOCs, i.e., methanol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and acetaldehyde, five groups of aromatic hydrocarbons, isoprene and acetonitrile were measured with a high time resolution. The featured relative abundance and diurnal variations of the OVOCs indicated that methanol, acetone and MEK had prominent contributions from urban industrial activities, while acetaldehyde was closely related to the photochemical formation at all three sites. The photochemical age-based parameterization method was improved locally and then applied to quantify different sources of daytime OVOCs: anthropogenic secondary and biogenic sources (together 60-73%) were always the dominant source for acetaldehyde in various atmospheres; in addition to a significant background for methanol, acetone and MEK, anthropogenic primary emissions (mostly industrial) were their dominant source at SZ-U (38-73%), while biogenic sources played the key role for them at NL-B (30-43%); biomass burning contributed a small fraction of 5-17% for the four OVOCs at the three sites.

Phylogenetic relationships of Scelimeninae genera (Orthoptera: Tetrigoidea) based on COI, 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA gene sequences.

Scelimeninae is an important subfamily of Tetrigoidea; however, the phylogenetic relationships within Scelimeninae are poorly understood, and its generic classification has remained unstable. In this study, the COI, 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA genes from 24 species in 9 genera within Scelimeninae were amplified and sequenced, the base composition and inter-species genetic distance of the combined sequence of COI, 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA genes were analyzed, and the molecular phylogenetic relationships were reconstructed using Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) methods. The results of sequence analysis showed that the total length of the combined COI, 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA gene sequence was 3507 bp, including 2345 conservative sites, 1144 variable sites and 901 parsimony-informative sites. The average A+T content was 63.5% and 78.1% in the COI, 16S rRNA sequences, respectively, indicating A+T bias. The average genetic distance between all species was 0.134, and the average genetic distance in the inner group (Scelimeninae) was 0.126. A phylogenetic tree based on the combined sequences of the COI, 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA genes showed that the phylogenetic relationships among 9 Scelimeninae genera were as follows: Criotettix + (((Zhengitettix + Hebarditettix) + (Falconius + (Scelimena + Paragavialidium))) + ((Eucriotettix + Thoradonta) + Loxilobus)). The molecular phylogenetic results generally support the morphological taxonomy; at the genus level, Criotettix, Scelimena, Paragavialidium, Thoradonta and Eucriotettix are monophyletic groups, Scelimena and Paragavialidium form sister groups, and Thoradonta and Eucriotettix also form sister groups, but the relationship between Hebarditettix and Zhengitettix needs further study. At the species level, synonyms may exist between Thoradonta spiculoba and Thoradonta transpicula and Thoradonta nodulosa and Thoradonta obtusilobata, but more studies are required to confirm this inference.

Mitochondrial genomes of three Tetrigoidea species and phylogeny of Tetrigoidea.

The mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) of Formosatettix qinlingensis, Coptotettix longjiangensis and Thoradonta obtusilobata (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Tetrigoidea) were sequenced in this study, and almost the entire mitogenomes of these species were determined. The mitogenome sequences obtained for the three species were 15,180, 14,495 and 14,538 bp in length, respectively, and each sequence included 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), partial sequences of rRNA genes (rRNAs), tRNA genes (tRNAs) and a A + T-rich region. The order and orientation of the gene arrangement pattern were identical to that of most Tetrigoidea species. Some conserved spacer sequences between trnS(UCN) and nad1 were useful to identify Tetrigoidea and Acridoidea. The Ka/Ks value of atp8 between Trachytettix bufo and other four Tetrigoidea species indicated that some varied sites in this gene might be related with the evolution of T. bufo. The three Tetrigoidea species were compared with other Caelifera. At the superfamily level, conserved sequences were observed in intergenic spacers, which can be used for superfamily level identification between Tetrigoidea and Acridoidea. Furthermore, a phylogenomic analysis was conducted based on the concatenated data sets from mitogenome sequences of 24 species of Orthoptera in the superorders Caelifera and Ensifera. Both maximum likelihood and bayesian inference analyses strongly supported Acridoidea and Tetrigoidea as forming monophyletic groups. The relationships among six Tetrigoidea species were (((((Tetrix japonica, Alulatettix yunnanensis), Formosatettix qinlingensis), Coptotettix longjiangensis), Trachytettix bufo), Thoradonta obtusilobata).

Mitochondrial Genomes of Two Pygmy Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Tetrigoidea) and a Comparative Analysis of Caelifera Mitogenomes.

The nearly complete mitogenomes of Bolivaritettix sikkinensis and Bolivaritettix yuanbaoshanensis were determined and compared with the mitogenomes of other 29 caeliferans. These two newly determined mitogenomes displayed the typical gene organization and composition, codon usage and AT skew of most Caelifera mitogenomes. A comparison of 31 orthopteran sequences revealed that the main causes of the differences in total length are an A+T-rich region and the length of IGS, even the rRNAs, and an AT content proportional to the value of AT-skew in the third position of PCGs. In Tetrigoidea, several tRNA were found to possess smaller TΨC or DHC loops and a number of special and conserved regions or motifs were found in tRNA genes and IGS, which may be useful as a molecular synapomorphy for this genus. ML and BI methods used in phylogenetic analysis revealed that Acridoidea species may have a close relationship with Tetrigoidea species.

Data on taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationship of tits.

The data in this paper are related to the research article entitled "Taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationship of tits based on mitogenomes and nuclear segments" (X.J. Li et al., 2016) [1]. The mitochondrial genomes and nuclear segments of tits were sequenced to analyze mitochondrial characteristics and phylogeny. In the data, the analyzed results are presented. The data holds the resulting files of mitochondrial characteristics, heterogeneity, best schemes, and trees.

DNA barcoding reveals polymorphism in the pygmy grasshopper Tetrix bolivari (Orthoptera, Tetrigidae).

Many pygmy grasshopper species exhibit colour-marking polymorphism. However, this polymorphism in some species, such as Tetrix bolivari, is almost unknown. The aim of this work is to identify using DNA barcoding the colour-marking polymorphic morphs of this pygmy grasshopper species collected from both grass and sand microhabitats. Analysis by NJ clustering and pairwise distances indicated that all specimens collected showing colour-marking polymorphism are species of Tetrix bolivari. Haplotype network construction showed ten different haplotypes from a total of 57 Tetrix bolivari individuals with H1(82.5%) being the most common type and it also displayed low divergence within Tetrix bolivari population. The haplotype analyses were consistent with the NJ clustering. Our field census showed the frequency of Tetrix bolivari morphs differed significantly, with the rank order of morphs (from high to low) typeA1, type B1, type A2, type A3, type A4, type A5, type A6, type A7, type B2, type B3, and type B4. The most common type A morphs were without contrasting markings, while the rarer type B morphs have contrasting white markings. We suggest that type B morphs have greater camouflage effects against natural backgrounds such as grass or sand than type A morphs. Both our field census and haplotype analysis revealed that type A has higher frequency and more haplotypes than type B.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the groundhopper Erianthus versicolor (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Eumastacoidea).

The complete mitochondrial genome of Erianthus versicolor was determined. It was 15,397 bp in length and contained 73.94% AT. The gene order of tRNA(Asp) (D) and tRNA(Lys) (K) is reversed to K-D order; a trnF-like and a trnS(UCN)-like sequences are present almost in the same positions with trnF and trnS(UCN); the AT content of the A + T-rich region was low, only 59.97%.

Complete mitochondrial genome of Francolinus pintadeanus (Galliformes: Phasianidae).

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Francolinus pintadeanus, consisting of 16,693 bp, was determined and analyzed. It displayed as typical genome organization as other Galliformes mitogenomes: 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and one control region. The phylogenetic relationships of 25 Phasianidae species and three Odontophoridae species as outgroup using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods based on a concatenated dataset from mitogenomes were analyzed. The results reveal that F. pintadeanus had a close relationship with Gallus gallus gallus/Bambusicola thoracica, then this clade formed a sister group with Pavo muticus/Argusianus argus.

The groundhopper fauna (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) of Shiwanshan (Guangxi, China) with description of three new species.

This paper deals with 7 subfamilies, 30 genera and 82 species of Tetrigidae from Shiwanshan, Guangxi in China. Among them three new species of the subfamily Metrodorinae are described, namely Mazarredia convexaoides Deng & Zheng sp. nov., Mazarredia shiwanshanensis Deng & Zheng sp. nov. and Bolivaritettix shiwanshanensis Deng & Zheng sp. nov. Also, new synonyms are presented: Miriatroides quadrivertex Zheng & Jiang, 2002 syn.nov. is synonymized with Spadotettix hainanensis Günther, 1939, thus genus Miriatroides Zheng & Jiang, 2002 with the genus Spadotettix Hancock, 1910. Finally, brief comments on faunistic characters of Tetrigidae from Shiwanshan are given.