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Phototaxis in Two Shallow-Water Zeuxo Species (Crustacea: Tanaidacea)
Zoolog Sci. 2023 Jun;40(3):203-207. doi: 10.2108/zs220118.ABSTRACTDifferent crustacean species can differ in their response to light. In Tanaidacea, a small group of aquatic, benthic crustaceans, previous studies suggested that several species may be positively phototactic based on their attraction to nocturnal light traps, but no experimental investigations of phototaxis had been conducted on this group. Here we show experimentally that two species in the genus Zeuxo are phototactic but exhibit opposite reactions to light; Zeuxo ezoensis, which inhabits the blades and stipes of seaweeds, was positively phototactic, wherea...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Nobuya Okamoto Keiichi Kakui Source Type: research

Host Size Selection in the Ectoparasite Tachaea chinensis (Isopoda: Corallanidae) under Laboratory Conditions
This study investigated the host size selection by T. chinensis across common freshwater shrimps under laboratory conditions. A total of 70 isopods were allowed to select between host shrimps of different size and different species in pairwise selection experiments. In treatments involving different sizes of the same host species, T. chinensis tended to select the medium host option in all of the four treatments. Similarly, T. chinensis demonstrated greater preference towards medium host (90%) when provided with mixed host options (medium Palaemon paucidens vs small Neocaridina spp.). However, despite the increase in the i...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Al-Wahaibi Mohamed Khalfan Shotaro Tani Abdelgayed Younes Hidetoshi Saito Source Type: research

Landscape Genetic Analysis for the Japanese Wild Boar in the Early Expanding Stage in the Hokuriku Region of Japan
Zoolog Sci. 2023 Jun;40(3):189-196. doi: 10.2108/zs220082.ABSTRACTAs a contribution to improving management of the Japanese wild boar (Sus scrofa leucomystax), which has recently expanded its range and is having some negative effects on the ecosystem, we conducted a landscape genetic study using individual-based genetic analysis and multiple landscape elements to elucidate its dispersal patterns in the early stage of its expansion. Microsatellite DNA analysis of Japanese wild boars in the Hokuriku region of Japan revealed the existence of two ancestral genetic clusters, that they had migrated via different pathways, and th...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Yuji Yamazaki Daisuke Shimizu Takumi Watanabe Source Type: research

The Bryozoan Cauloramphus magnus (Cheilostomata: Calloporidae) in Northern Japan Includes Multiple, Co-occurring Cryptic Species
We examined its phylogeography by analyzing 576 bp of the mitochondrial COI (cox1) gene sequenced for 298 colonies from 16 localities in northern Japan. A maximum-likelihood phylogeny detected three main clades (A, B, C). Clades A and B occurred throughout the study area but differed in frequency, haplotype diversity, and haplotype distribution; each resolved into three divergent subclades (AI-III, BI-III). Clade A shared none among 15 haplotypes between the Pacific and Sea of Japan sides of Hokkaido. In contrast, Clade B (29 haplotypes) was thrice as common as Clade A among samples, with haplotype B28 common on both sides...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Takumi Onishi Shimpei Hiruta Hiroshi Kajihara Matthew H Dick Source Type: research

The selfish preen: absence of allopreening in Palaeognathae and its socio-cognitive implications
Anim Cogn. 2023 May 31. doi: 10.1007/s10071-023-01794-x. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTPreening behaviours are widespread in extant birds. While most birds appear to autopreen (self-directed preening), allopreening (preening directed at conspecifics) seems to have emerged only in certain species, but across many families. Allopreening has been hypothesised to reinforce mutual relationships and cooperation between individuals, and to underpin various socio-cognitive abilities. Palaeognathae is a bird group exhibiting neurocognitively plesiomorphic traits compared to other birds. They share many features with non-avian parav...
Source: Animal Cognition - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Thomas Rejsenhus Jensen Claudia Zeitr äg Mathias Osvath Source Type: research

Ferrets as Models for Viral Respiratory Disease
Comp Med. 2023 May 31. doi: 10.30802/AALAS-CM-22-000064. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTDomestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) have been used in biomedical research to study influenza viruses since the early 20th century. Ferrets have continued to gain importance for the study of viral respiratory disease due to their disease susceptibility and anatomic similarities to humans. Here we review features of ferret biology and management that should be considered when planning to work with this species, particularly in models of respiratory disease. We specifically discuss biosafety and husbandry, clinical and pathologic asses...
Source: Comparative Medicine - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Rachel E Smith Shambhunath Choudhary Julita A Ramirez Source Type: research

Severe Anemia in Sprague-Dawley Rats after Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery
Comp Med. 2023 May 31. doi: 10.30802/AALAS-CM-22-000074. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTRoux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery is one of the most commonly performed bariatric procedures for weight loss in humans. However, this procedure is not risk-free, and patients may experience complications that include small bowel obstruction, gastrointestinal bleeding, chronic diarrhea, ulcers, malnutrition, and anemia. In particular, anemia is a recognized long-term complication and can be severe. Rats have been used as a model to study the effects of gastric bypass surgeries. They can experience similar complications as people, bu...
Source: Comparative Medicine - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Rachel L Griffin Ashley N Varley Andras Hajnal Jennifer L Booth Source Type: research

 Theama japonica sp. nov., an Interstitial Polyclad Flatworm Showing a Wide Distribution along Japanese Coasts
Zoolog Sci. 2023 Jun;40(3):262-272. doi: 10.2108/zs220105.ABSTRACTWe establish a new interstitial polyclad species, Theama japonica sp. nov., based on specimens collected from coarse-sandy habitats in three Japanese main islands (Hokkaido, Honshu, and Shikoku) along the coasts of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan. Theama japonica is characterized by i) two pairs of cerebral eyespots and four to six precerebral eyespots; ii) eosinophilic secretion glands distributed in the distal half of the inner ventral part of the prostatic vesicle; iii) a conical penis papilla, bent up dorsally, with a sclerotized inner wall; iv) t...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Aoi Tsuyuki Yuki Oya Naoto Jimi Natsumi Hookabe Shinta Fujimoto Hiroshi Kajihara Source Type: research

A New Species of Bisexual Milnesium (Eutardigrada: Apochela) Having Aberrant Claws from Innhovde, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica
Zoolog Sci. 2023 Jun;40(3):246-261. doi: 10.2108/zs220085.ABSTRACTThere have been several records in the last 60 years for East Antarctica for Milnesium tardigradum Doyère, 1840 sensu lato, now considered a species complex. During the 56th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition summer operation (2014-2015), a new tardigrade species in the genus Milnesium Doyère, 1840 was found in an ice-free Innhovde area along Lützow-Holm Bay, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The new species has aberrant claws with four to seven points on each secondary claw branch, which distinguishes it from other Milnesium species. A male specim...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Atsushi C Suzuki Kenta Sugiura Megumu Tsujimoto Ryosuke Nakai Sandra J McInnes Hiroshi Kagoshima Satoshi Imura Source Type: research

Establishment of a New Model Sea Anemone for Comparative Studies on Cnidarian-Algal Symbiosis
Zoolog Sci. 2023 Jun;40(3):235-245. doi: 10.2108/zs220099.ABSTRACTFrequent coral bleaching has drawn attention to the mechanisms of coral dinoflagellate endosymbiosis. Owing to the difficulty of rearing corals in the laboratory, model symbiosis systems are desired. The sea anemone Exaiptasia diaphana, hosting clade B1 of the genus Breviolum, has long been studied as a model system; however, a single species is insufficient for comparative studies and thus provides only limited resources for symbiosis research, especially regarding the specificity of host-symbiont associations. We established a clonal strain of the sea anem...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Yukie Mihirogi Michika Kaneda Daisuke Yamagishi Yuu Ishii Shinichiro Maruyama Sumika Nakamura Natsuno Shimoyama Chihiro Oohori Masayuki Hatta Source Type: research

Molecular Phylogeny of Thoracotreme Crabs Including Nine Newly Determined Mitochondrial Genomes
Zoolog Sci. 2023 Jun;40(3):224-234. doi: 10.2108/zs220063.ABSTRACTMitochondrial genomes are used widely for the molecular phylogenetic analysis of animals. Although phylogenetic analyses based on the mitogenomes of brachyurans often yield well-resolved phylogenies, most interfamilial phylogenetic relationships in Thoracotremata remain unclear. We determined nine new mitogenomes of Thoracotremata, including mitogenomes of Camptandriidae (Deiratonotus japonicus), Dotillidae (Ilyoplax integra, Ilyoplax pusilla, and Tmethypocoelis choreutes), Macrophthalmidae (Ilyograpsus nodulosus), Pinnotheridae (Arcotheres sp. and Indopinni...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Genki Kobayashi Hajime Itoh Nobuyoshi Nakajima Source Type: research

Contrasting Size Distributions among the Wing Spots of a Pierid Butterfly Suggest Different Selective Histories
Zoolog Sci. 2023 Jun;40(3):219-223. doi: 10.2108/zs220087.ABSTRACTMales of the small cabbage butterfly Pieris rapae crucivora have two dark or melanic spots in the central white area of each dorsal forewing, an anterior spot (aS) and a posterior spot (pS). We used characteristics of the size distributions of these spots to infer how selection has acted on them during their evolution. Our study reveals that the aS size distribution is normal while that of pS is very right-skewed. Moreover, aS size is larger and less variable than pS size. These results suggest that the aS has been under stabilizing selection while the pS ha...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Yoshiaki Obara Ronald Rutowski Source Type: research

Cloning and Characterization of Cyp7a1 and Cyp27a1 Genes from the Non-Parasitic Japanese Lamprey Lethenteron reissneri 
Zoolog Sci. 2023 Jun;40(3):208-218. doi: 10.2108/zs220072.ABSTRACTTwo cytochrome P450 genes homologous to human CYP7A1 and CYP27A1 were cloned from the non-parasitic Japanese lamprey Lethenteron reissneri. Lamprey cyp7a1 mRNA had varied expression levels among individuals: about four orders of magnitude differences in larval liver and nearly three orders of magnitude differences in male adult liver. Overexpressed Cyp7a1 protein tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) was localized to the endoplasmic reticulum. Lamprey cyp27a1 mRNA had relatively constant expression levels: within two orders of magnitude differences in ...
Source: Zoological Science - May 31, 2023 Category: Zoology Authors: Mayako Morii Taku Hebiguchi Ryo Watanabe Hiroaki Yoshino Yoshihiro Mezaki Source Type: research