A broadly resolved molecular phylogeny of New Zealand cheilostome bryozoans as a framework for hypotheses of morphological evolution.

Larger molecular phylogenies based on ever more genes are becoming commonplace with the advent of cheaper and more streamlined sequencing and bioinformatics pipelines. However, many groups of inconspicuous but no less evolutionarily or ecologically important marine invertebrates are still neglected in the quest for understanding species- and higher-level phylogenetic relationships. Here, we alleviate this issue by presenting the molecular sequences of 165 cheilostome bryozoan species from New Zealand waters. New Zealand is our geographic region of choice as its cheilostome fauna is taxonomically, functionally and ecologically diverse, and better characterized than many other such faunas in the world. Using this most taxonomically broadly-sampled and statistically-supported cheilostome phylogeny comprising 214 species, when including previously published sequences, and 17 genes (2 nuclear and 15 mitochondrial) we tested several existing systematic hypotheses based solely on morphological observations. We find that lower taxonomic level hypotheses (species and genera) are robust while our inferred trees did not reflect current higher-level systematics (family and above), illustrating a general need for the rethinking of current hypotheses. To illustrate the utility of our new phylogeny, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of frontal shields (i.e., a calcified body-wall layer in ascus-bearing cheilostomes) and ask if its presence has any bearing on the diversification rates of cheilostomes.

New seriated Amathia species in Japan, with a redescription of A. acervata Lamouroux, 1824 (Bryozoa: Ctenostomata).

The status of seriated Amathia species (Bryozoa: Ctenostomata) in Japan is reviewed. Several historical specimens and materials recently collected from several localities along the Japanese coast are examined in this study. Amathia acervata Lamouroux, 1824, collected from Japan by Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius in 1804, was examined and is redescribed from a reconstituted fragment of the sole type specimen. Material previously reported from Wakayama Prefecture is very similar to Amathia acervata, but differs in having fewer autozooid pairs per cluster, which spiral in different directions; the species is described as a new species Amathia brevisilva n. sp. Measurements of colony characters vary according to the effects of fixation, but stolon length, the ratio of autozooid clusters on stolons, spirality and pigmentation are useful characters for the identification of Japanese seriated Amathia. In addition, two new species are described, Amathia reptopinnata n. sp. and Amathia fimbria n. sp. Amathia reptopinnata n. sp. is characterized by its robust form, dark colour, dichotomous branching, long stolons, long autozooidal clusters and pinnately arranged prostrate zooids. Amathia fimbria n. sp. was found only in the Showa Emperor collection, and is characterized by its compact colony form, remarkably short internode length and trichotomous branching.

A comparison of the psychological evaluation of adolescents with anorexia nervosa and of adolescents with conduct disorders.

Cognitive and projective psychological tests were administered to ten inpatient adolescents with anorexia nervosa and ten inpatient adolescents with conduct disorders. All subjects were selected on the basis of race, sex and overall intelligence. Results indicate that there are high numbers of neuropsychological deficits in both groups, but that neuropsychological deficits are especially numerous in the anorexia group. The two groups showed striking similarities in terms of some psychological functions, but results indicate that some aspects of personality style in the two groups are significantly different. A significant finding was that there were far more suicidal indicators on the Rorschach records of the anorectic group as compared with those found on the records of the conduct disorder group.