Virtual reconstruction of the Canis arnensis type (Canidae, Mammalia) from the Upper Valdarno Basin (Italy, Early Pleistocene).

Taphonomic deformation, whether it be brittle or plastic, is possibly the most influential process hindering the correct understanding of fossil species morphology. This is especially true if the deformation affects type specimens or applies to or obscures taxonomically diagnostic or functionally significant traits. Target Deformation, a recently developed virtual manipulation protocol, was implemented to address this issue by applying landmark-guided restoration of the original, deformed fossils, using undeformed specimens (or parts thereof) of the same species as a reference. The enigmatic Early Pleistocene canid Canis arnensis provides a typical example of a fossil species in dire need of virtual restoration. Its lectotype specimen is heavily deformed and none of the few known skulls are well preserved, obscuring the recognition of its systematic and phylogenetic position. Our results indicate that the algorithm effectively countered the lectotype skull's laterolateral compression and its concomitant rostrocaudal elongation. Morphometrically, comparison of the retrodeformed cranium (IGF 867_W) with other specimens of the same species, and to other fossil and extant canid material, confirms IGF 867_W consistently clusters within C. arnensis variability. Overall, the evidence presented here confirms that Target Deformation provides a powerful tool to better characterize complex taxa like C. arnensis, whose knowledge is severely affected by the state of preservation of its fossil material.

Variation in the strength of allometry drives rates of evolution in primate brain shape.

Large brains are a defining feature of primates, as is a clear allometric trend between body mass and brain size. However, important questions on the macroevolution of brain shape in primates remain unanswered. Here we address two: (i), does the relationship between the brain size and its shape follow allometric trends and (ii), is this relationship consistent over evolutionary time? We employ three-dimensional geometric morphometrics and phylogenetic comparative methods to answer these questions, based on a large sample representing 151 species and most primate families. We found two distinct trends regarding the relationship between brain shape and brain size. Hominoidea and Cercopithecinae showed significant evolutionary allometry, whereas no allometric trends were discernible for Strepsirrhini, Colobinae or Platyrrhini. Furthermore, we found that in the taxa characterized by significant allometry, brain shape evolution accelerated, whereas for taxa in which such allometry was absent, the evolution of brain shape decelerated. We conclude that although primates in general are typically described as large-brained, strong allometric effects on brain shape are largely confined to the order's representatives that display more complex behavioural repertoires.

Unexpectedly rapid evolution of mandibular shape in hominins.

Members of the hominins - namely the so-called 'australopiths' and the species of the genus Homo - are known to possess short and deep mandibles and relatively small incisors and canines. It is commonly assumed that this suite of traits evolved in early members of the clade in response to changing environmental conditions and increased consumption of though food items. With the emergence of Homo, the functional meaning of mandible shape variation is thought to have been weakened by technological advancements and (later) by the control over fire. In contrast to this expectation, we found that mandible shape evolution in hominins is exceptionally rapid as compared to any other primate clade, and that the direction and rate of shape change (from the ape ancestor) are no different between the australopiths and Homo. We deem several factors including the loss of honing complex, canine reduction, and the acquisition of different diets may have concurred in producing such surprisingly high evolutionary rates. This study reveals the evolution of mandibular shape in hominins has strong morpho-functional and ecological significance attached.

A biocatalytic and thermoreversible hydrogel from a histidine-containing tripeptide.

We report the first histidine-containing self-assembling tripeptide devoid of capping groups that forms a thermoreversible hydrogel under physiological conditions and catalyses hydrolysis of an ester, providing a minimalist building block for functional soft materials.

Progress to extinction: increased specialisation causes the demise of animal clades.

Animal clades tend to follow a predictable path of waxing and waning during their existence, regardless of their total species richness or geographic coverage. Clades begin small and undifferentiated, then expand to a peak in diversity and range, only to shift into a rarely broken decline towards extinction. While this trajectory is now well documented and broadly recognised, the reasons underlying it remain obscure. In particular, it is unknown why clade extinction is universal and occurs with such surprising regularity. Current explanations for paleontological extinctions call on the growing costs of biological interactions, geological accidents, evolutionary traps, and mass extinctions. While these are effective causes of extinction, they mainly apply to species, not clades. Although mass extinctions is the undeniable cause for the demise of a sizeable number of major taxa, we show here that clades escaping them go extinct because of the widespread tendency of evolution to produce increasingly specialised, sympatric, and geographically restricted species over time.

Highly efficient hydrogen production through ethanol photoreforming by a carbon nanocone/Pd@TiO2 hybrid catalyst.

Production of molecular hydrogen (H2) is becoming an increasingly prominent process, due to high expectations as a new green energy carrier and key reagent for many industrial processes. Herein we report the high efficiency of H2 production via photoreforming of ethanol using a catalyst based on hierarchical carbon nanocones hybridised with an inorganic layer of nanocrystalline TiO2 containing Pd nanoparticles.

The fine structure of the vegetative cells of Erythrocystis montagnei, a symbiotic red alga.

Erythrocystis montagnei lives as a symbiont on the thallus of another red alga, Laurencia paniculata. This electron microscope study carried out on its vegatative cells shows that the plastids have a fine structure adequate to perform photosynthesis, different from that observed in other parasitic red algae. Starch granules occur frequently in all the cells of the thallus except the large vacuolized basal cell, which joins together the symbionts. These features suggest that Erythrocystis lives on its host plant for reasons other than a lack of photosynthesis.