Kansas Wesleyan University

Abstract The genusPelonidesKuwert (Coleoptera: Cleridae) is revised to include six species as follows:P. floripennisOpitz,new species,P. granulatipennis(Schaeffer),P. humeralis(Horn),P. quadrinotata(Haldeman),P. quadripunctata(Say), andP.scabripennis(LeConte).Pelonidesspecies are presumed predators of lignicolous and anthophilous prey species. It is hypothesised that the sister group ofPelonidesisParapelonidesBarr, and that ancestralPelonidesdiversified on ancient terrain known as the Mexican/Mayan block. Lectotypes were designated forP. granulatipennis(Schaeffer) andP. quadripunctata(Say).Pelonides similisKnull is synonymised withP. humeralis(Horn). Fifteen characters were evaluated phylogenetically and analysed with WINCLADA, in combination with NONA, which generated two fully resolved trees. This treatise also includes a key toPelonidesspecies, a summary of natural history, 24 line drawings, four electron micrographs, 24 habitus illustrations, and three distribution maps.

Arawakis poinari, new genus, new species, is described from Dominican Amber. The visible anatomical components of the fossil clearly point to membership in the subfamily Clerinae. Although the elongated condition of the eleventh antennomere present in Arawakis suggests a relationship with the African genus Phloiocopus, the presence of this characteristic across subfamilial lines diminishes that consideration. On the basis of arrangement of elytral punctations and maxillary and tarsal-claw characteristics, the members of A. poinari are thought to be more evolutionarily aligned with a group of Chilean genera exemplified by Natalis, and less likely to the Holarctic genus Thanasimus. The absence of closely related species of A. poinari, in the Greater Antilles and Central America may be due to geographic extinctions caused by widespread cooling during the Plio-Pleistocene, or a consequence of the Cretaceous Bolide impact in Yucatán. The difficult to access historical literature that pertains to Cleridae fossils listed by Spahr are reviewed and the nomenclatural status of taxonomic names noted therein are assessed. A variety of citations are provided that discuss the importance of amber fossils to studies of insect systematics and discuss technologies involved in estimations of the age of Dominican and Baltic amber, and other resinous fossils.

OPITZ, WESTON (2004): Classification, Natural History, And Evolution Of The Epiphloeinae (Coleoptera: Cleridae). Part Ii. The Genera Chaetophloeus Opitz And Plocamocera Spinola. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2004 (280): 1-82, DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090(2004)280<0001:CNHAEO>2.0.CO;2, URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1206/0003-0090%282004%29280%3C0001%3ACNHAEO%3E2.0.CO%3B2

Abstract A solid reagent of Purpald®-acetone aminal on sodium or potassium bicarbonate responds to formaldehyde in the sub-ppm concentration range. A purple color (λ=560 nm) is developed proportional to concentration of formaldehyde and time of exposure after wetting with a 90% acetone-10% water solution. The reagent should be of value as a semi-quantitative warning device for the presence of formaldehyde. A device is described which generates formaldehyde in air in the sub-ppm concentration range at room temperature with desired relative humidity. This generator could be used in the same manner to generate low concentrations of other substances of low volatility.

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This study measured the effects of superior colliculus (SC) lesions on skill at localizing stationary or moving objects, and on ability to discriminate between objects which differed in pattern or brightness in squirrel monkeys. Bilateral electrolytic lesions of the SC were made in 8 monkeys (EXP group); the lesions in 5 (SC group) were restricted essentially to the SC (22-25% damaged), the other 3 had additional unilateral damage to the midbrain reticular formation (10 to 14% damage to SC). The control group (N = 15) consisted of 9 unoperated, 3 sham-operated, and 3 lesioned-control monkeys. General cage behavior of the EXP group was not significantly changed as a result of the lesions. Eye movements were observed in all monkeys with SC lesions. Pupillary constrictions to light were also present except for a temporary unilateral mydriasis (two cases). On tests which measured reaction time, localization ability, and brightness discrimination, performance between the SC and control groups did not differ significantly. The SC group compared with controls, however, required more total trials to learn to criterion the pattern discrimination (p less than .05), and made significantly fewer correct choices (p less than .02) at the middle delay interval of the delayed response test. The two groups did not differ significantly at the shorter or longer delays. With regard to the possible neural mechanism, it is suggested that the SC of primates may influence level of arousal and contribute to ability to discriminate visual detail.