The subfamily Crotalinae (pitvipers) contains over 190 species of venomous snakes distributed in both the Old and New World. We incorporated an extensive sampling of taxa (including 28 of 29 genera), and sequences of four mitochondrial gene fragments (2.3kb) per individual, to estimate the phylogeny of pitvipers based on maximum parsimony and Bayesian phylogenetic methods. Our Bayesian analyses...

With bioenergetic modeling, we tested the hypothesis that reptiles maximize net energy gain by postprandial thermal selection. Previous studies have shown that Chinese green tree vipers (Trimeresurus s. stejnegeri) have postprandial thermophily (mean preferred temperature T(p) for males =27.8 degrees C) in a linear thigmothermal gradient when seclusion sites and water existed. With some publish...

In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: Pitvipers of the former Trimeresurus group occur throughout southern and South East Asia. Extraordinary morphological conser...

The species Ecdyonurus sumatranus Ulmer, 1939 was described from Sumatra based on a female imago and a single nymph. It was designated as the type-species of the genus Ecdyonuroides Dang, 1967, erected because of the peculiar morphology of the nymph. This genus was put into synonymy later and the species is currently known as Thalerosphyrus sumatranus (Ulmer, 1939). The female imago holotype of...

A mixed toxoid consisting of HR1 and HR2 toxoids derived from Habu (Trimeresurus flavoviridis) venom was examined for immunogenicity in guinea pigs, rabbits, monkeys and human beings. The toxoid produced both anti-HR1 and anti-HR2 in various animals. The immunogenicity of the toxoid was superior to a crude toxoid in both guinea pigs and monkeys. Immunized monkeys showing circulating antitoxin p...

Disjunctitermes insularisgen. n. & sp. n. is described from workers collected on Guadeloupe and in Peru and is the first soldierless termite found on a deep-water island. As with many soldierless and soil-feeding termite species, the enteric valve morphology is an essential diagnostic character of D. insularis. The D. insularis sequence cluster, derived from a barcode analysis with twelve other...

Using multiple markers and multiple analytical approaches is critical for establishing species boundaries reliably, especially so in the case of cryptic species. Despite development of new and powerful analytical methods, most studies continue to adopt a few, with the choice often being subjective. One such example is routine analysis of Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) data using ...

Ochlerotatus japonicus japonicus is reported for the 1st time south of the Mason-Dixon Line, in Frederick County, Maryland. Fifty-seven oviposition trap samples were collected throughout the county between June 30 and August 24, 2000. From 971 larvae reared from the oviposition traps, 5 species were identified: Ochlerotatus triseriatus (45%), Oc. j. japonicus (43%), Aedes albopictus (7%), Culex...

Coagulation factor IX-binding protein isolated from Trimeresurus flavoviridis (IX-bp) is a C-type lectin-like protein. It is an anticoagulant protein consisting of homologous subunits A and B. The subunits both contain a Ca2+-binding site with differing affinity (Kd values of 14 and 130 microM at pH 7.5). These binding characteristics are pH-dependent; under acidic conditions, the affinity of t...

For the past 40 years, the Toxoplasma Serology Laboratory at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute (TSL-PAMFRI) has been dedicated to the laboratory diagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii infection and toxoplasmosis. TSL-PAMFRI is the "brain child" of Jack S. Remington. Jack's ceaseless devotion to objectivity and uncompromising excellence has made TSL-PAMFRI the Toxoplasma reference labo...