jan. 2007
Galápagos bulimulids
04-01-2007 22:03
Yesterday I was at
Naturalis and had a very busy and interesting day.
First of all I dissected the myterious Simpulopsis from Hispaniola. Although I'm not 100% sure yet, it most probably isn't a Simpulopsis at all. To be continued...
I briefly met the new scientific director, Menno Schilthuizen, who was Secretary of the NMV in the 1980s when I was President. He returned from Malaysia last year after having successfully worked in Kota Kinabalu and set up a molecular genetics laboratory. I'm sure we will have a more lengthy discussion soon.
Speaking about molecular genetics... Just before Christmas I got notice from Bernhard Hausdorf that he sequenced a number of bulimulids that I had sent to him. Only specimens of two recently collected species produced good results. Most unfortunate for the specimens that I collected during the 1970s and apparently have been preserved too long in alcohol70 to be of any use in this respect. Aargghh, quite frustrating...
However I quickly scanned the collection for other recently collected material and found some species that I prepared for DNA research. Let's hope that they will produce good results. I also have asked several contacts if they possibly can provide me with some freshly collected specimens. It already turns out that - unlike 30 years ago - there are quite some administrative and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome.
But now about Galápagos bulimulids...
In the library I searched for literature referenced by Yesson & Culham. During my habitual check of the latest journals I found a very recent paper by Christine Parent*) on Galápagos bulimulids. She has a very conservative viewpoint regarding the taxonomy as she speaks of Bulimulus (Naesiotus). But content-wise her paper is most interesting, proving that the Galápagos bulimulids are monophyletic and discussion their diversification as they colonized the islands of the archipelago.
Her research will be of interest during the study of Plekocheilus on the Guayana Highlands, which has an islandlike distribution.
*) Parent, C.E. & B.J. Crespi (2006). Evolution 60: 2311-2328.
First of all I dissected the myterious Simpulopsis from Hispaniola. Although I'm not 100% sure yet, it most probably isn't a Simpulopsis at all. To be continued...
I briefly met the new scientific director, Menno Schilthuizen, who was Secretary of the NMV in the 1980s when I was President. He returned from Malaysia last year after having successfully worked in Kota Kinabalu and set up a molecular genetics laboratory. I'm sure we will have a more lengthy discussion soon.
Speaking about molecular genetics... Just before Christmas I got notice from Bernhard Hausdorf that he sequenced a number of bulimulids that I had sent to him. Only specimens of two recently collected species produced good results. Most unfortunate for the specimens that I collected during the 1970s and apparently have been preserved too long in alcohol70 to be of any use in this respect. Aargghh, quite frustrating...
However I quickly scanned the collection for other recently collected material and found some species that I prepared for DNA research. Let's hope that they will produce good results. I also have asked several contacts if they possibly can provide me with some freshly collected specimens. It already turns out that - unlike 30 years ago - there are quite some administrative and bureaucratic hurdles to overcome.
But now about Galápagos bulimulids...
In the library I searched for literature referenced by Yesson & Culham. During my habitual check of the latest journals I found a very recent paper by Christine Parent*) on Galápagos bulimulids. She has a very conservative viewpoint regarding the taxonomy as she speaks of Bulimulus (Naesiotus). But content-wise her paper is most interesting, proving that the Galápagos bulimulids are monophyletic and discussion their diversification as they colonized the islands of the archipelago.
Her research will be of interest during the study of Plekocheilus on the Guayana Highlands, which has an islandlike distribution.
*) Parent, C.E. & B.J. Crespi (2006). Evolution 60: 2311-2328.