Are vipers prototypic fear-evoking snakes? A cross-cultural comparison of Somalis and Czechs

Snakes are known as highly fear-evoking animals, eliciting preferential attention and fast detection in humans. We examined the human fear response to snakes in the context of both current and evolutionary experiences, conducting our research in the cradle of humankind, the Horn of Africa. This region is characterized by the frequent occurrence of various snake species, including deadly venomous viperids (adders) and elapids (cobras and mambas). We conducted experiments in Somaliland and compared the results with data from Czech respondents to address the still unresolved questions: To which extent is human fear of snakes affected by evolutionary or current experience and local culture? Can people of both nationalities recognize venomous snakes as a category, or are they only afraid of certain species that are most dangerous in a given area? Are respondents of both nationalities equally afraid of deadly snakes from both families (Viperidae, Elapidae)? We employed a well-established picture-sorting approach, consisting of 48 snake species belonging to four distinct groups. Our results revealed significant agreement among Somali as well as Czech respondents. We found a highly significant effect of the stimulus on perceived fear in both populations. Vipers appeared to be the most salient stimuli in both populations, as they occupied the highest positions according to the reported level of subjectively perceived fear. The position of vipers strongly contrasts with the fear ranking of deadly venomous elapids, which were in lower positions. Fear scores of vipers were significantly higher in both populations, and their best predictor was the body width of the snake. The evolutionary, cultural, and cognitive aspects of this phenomenon are discussed.

The bigger the threat, the longer the gaze? A cross-cultural study of Somalis and Czechs

High fear reaction, preferential attention, or fast detection are only a few of the specific responses which snakes evoke in humans. Previous research has shown that these responses are shared amongst several distinct cultures suggesting the evolutionary origin of the response. However, populations from sub-Saharan Africa have been largely missing in experimental research focused on this issue. In this paper, we focus on the effect of snake threat display on human spontaneous attention. We performed an eye-tracking experiment with participants from Somaliland and the Czechia and investigated whether human attention is swayed towards snakes in a threatening posture. Seventy-one Somalis and 71 Czechs were tested; the samples were matched for gender and comparable in age structure and education level. We also investigated the effect of snake morphotype as snakes differ in their threat display. We found that snakes in a threatening posture were indeed gazed upon more than snakes in a relaxed (non-threatening) posture. Further, we found a large effect of snake morphotype as this was especially prominent in cobras, less in vipers, and mostly non-significant in other morphotypes. Finally, despite highly different cultural and environmental backgrounds, the overall pattern of reaction towards snakes was similar in Somalis and Czechs supporting the evolutionary origin of the phenomenon. We concluded that human attention is preferentially directed towards snakes, especially cobras and vipers, in threatening postures.

Animals evoking fear in the Cradle of Humankind: snakes, scorpions, and large carnivores

Theories explain the presence of fears and specific phobias elicited by animals in contemporary WEIRD (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic) populations by their evolutionary past in Africa. Nevertheless, empirical data about fears of animals in the Cradle of Humankind are still fragmentary. To fill this gap, we examined which local animals are perceived as the most frightening by Somali people, who inhabit a markedly similar environment and the region where humans have evolved. We asked 236 raters to rank 42 stimuli according to their elicited fear. The stimuli were standardized pictures of species representing the local fauna. The results showed that the most frightening animals were snakes, scorpions, the centipede, and large carnivores (cheetahs and hyenas). These were followed up by lizards and spiders. Unlike in Europe, spiders represent less salient stimuli than scorpions for Somali respondents in this study. This conforms to the hypothesis suggesting that fear of spiders was extended or redirected from other chelicerates.

Resurrection of Oxythyrea abigailoides Mikšić, 1978 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) based on new morphological, morphometrical and molecular data

Oxythyrea abigailoides Mikšić, 1978, resurrected species, is removed from synonymy with Oxythyrea dulcis Reitter, 1899 and regarded as a separate species. The differential diagnosis of both species is presented on the basis of clearly different morphological, morphometric and molecular characters. Complete chresonomy to both species is given and known geographical distribution to date is summarized and mapped.

Entyposisfrici (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae), a new species from Somaliland

Entyposisfrici Bezděk & Sehnal, sp. nov., from Somaliland is described and relevant diagnostic characters are illustrated. The new species is compared with the morphologically closely similar Entyposis Kolbe, 1894 species. An updated checklist and an identification key to northeastern African Entyposis species are provided.

Do Spiders Ride on the Fear of Scorpions? A Cross-Cultural Eye Tracking Study

Deep fear of spiders is common in many countries, yet its origin remains unexplained. In this study, we tested a hypothesis based on recent studies suggesting that fear of spiders might stem from a generalized fear of chelicerates or fear of scorpions. To this end, we conducted an eye tracking experiment using a spontaneous gaze preference paradigm, with spiders and scorpions (previously neglected but crucial stimuli) as threatening stimuli and grasshoppers as control stimuli. In total, 67 participants from Somaliland and 67 participants from the Czech Republic were recruited and presented with a sequence of paired images. Both Somali and Czech people looked longer (total duration of the gaze) and more often (number of fixations) on the threatening stimuli (spiders and scorpions) when presented with a control (grasshopper). When both threatening stimuli were presented together, Somali participants focused significantly more on the scorpion, whereas in Czech participants, the effect was less pronounced, and in Czech women it was not significant. This supports the hypothesis that fear of spiders originated as a generalized fear of scorpions. Moreover, the importance of spiders as fear-eliciting stimuli may be enhanced in the absence of scorpions in the environment.

First country records of Erytus aequalis and Euorodalus tersus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Aphodiinae) from Albania and Montenegro

In this article two aphodiine species, Erytus aequalis (A. Schmidt, 1907) and Euorodalus tersus (Erichson, 1848) are reported for the first time for Albania and Montenegro.

Bolbelasmus (Bolbelasmus) zagrosensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Bolboceratidae), a new species from Iran, along with an updated key to the western Palaearctic species of the subgenus

Bolbelasmus (Bolbelasmus) zagrosensis Sommer, Hillert, Hrůzová Král, new species, from Iran is described, illustrated and compared with its congeners known from the western Palaearctic region. An updated key to the western Palaearctic species of the nominotypical subgenus is provided. New country record of B. (B.) nireus (Reitter, 1895) from Greece (island of Rhodes) is reported. Distribution of B. (B.) makrisi Miessen, 2011, B. (B.) nireus and the new species is summarized and mapped.

Airapus rakovici (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae: Eupariini), a new species from Fujian, China

The genus Airapus Stebnicka Howden, 1996 currently comprises 26 extant species distributed in the Australian and Oriental zoogeographical regions (Stebnicka Howden 1996; Stebnicka 1998, 2009; Rakovič et al. 2019; Král et al. 2019; Minkina 2020) and one fossil species from the Eocene Baltic amber (Tamutis et al. 2017). Of the continental Southeast Asia, only three species have been known so far: Airapus cechovskyi Král, Mencl Rakovič, 2019 (mainland Malaysia: Kelantan), A. tyri Král, Mencl Rakovič, 2019 (Central Thailand: Phetchaburi Province) and A. sicardi ( Paulian, 1945) (Laos: "Cochinchine: Long Xuyen" and South Vietnam: "Annam: Tanh Hoa") (Paulian 1945; Balthasar 1964; Král et al. 2019). Examination of the material housed in the collections of the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, revealed Airapus material belonging to an undescribed species. Its formal description is presented in this paper. This new species is another, fourth species occurring in mainland Southeast Asia. It is also the first country record from China. The geographical distribution of the genus is now known to the north as far as Fujian Province.

Bone invasion by oral squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

With regards to the anatomical relationships in the mouth, oral squamous cell carcinoma can invade the maxilla or the mandible. According to the TNM system, tumours that invade through cortical bone are classified as T4a, stage IVA. Bone invasion by oral squamous cell carcinoma most often occurs in tumours close to the bone or in larger and more advanced tumours. It is considered an adverse prognostic factor and it is often a diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Destruction of the bone tissue is mediated by activated osteoclasts rather than directly by carcinoma. Tumor necrosis factors - receptor activator of NF-kB (RANK), receptor activator of NF-kB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) - play an important role in osteoclastogenesis. According to histological point of view, there are three patterns of bone invasion - erosive, mixed and infiltrative. The most commonly used imaging techniques when evaluating bone invasion by oral squamous cell carcinoma include CT and MRI.

PURPOSE

This review is focused on the cellular and molecular mechanisms, histological patterns and detection methods of bone invasion caused by oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Description of Callistethus hamus sp. nov. (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Rutelinae) from continental Southeast Asia using synchrotron to illustrate the aedeagus

A new species, Callistethushamus Lu & Zorn, sp. nov., is described from China, Laos, and Vietnam. Additionally, we used synchrotron (Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility) to scan the aedeagus. The virtual 3D model of the aedeagus is reconstructed and provided.

Pachnoda iskuulka (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae), a new species from Somaliland, including description of its mature larva

Pachnoda iskuulka Král, Sommer Šípek, new species from the Sanaag region of north-eastern Somaliland is described. The new species is compared with the morphologically similar taxa Pachnoda abyssinica abyssinica Reiche, 1847, P. a. meriteti Di Gennaro, 2017, P. massajae Gestro, 1881, and P. werneri Beinhundner, 1992, all of which occur in the Horn of Africa. Relevant diagnostic characters (e.g., dorsal and ventral surface color pattern, male external genitalia) are illustrated. The third instar larva of the new species is described and biological notes are provided.

Glaresis hespericula sp. n. from the Cape Verde Islands (Coleoptera, Scarabaeoidea, Glaresidae)

Glaresishespericulasp. n.from the Cape Verde Islands (Boa Vista Island) is described and its diagnostic characters are illustrated. The new species is compared with similar and probably closely related speciesGlaresiswalzlaeScholtz, 1983. The differential diagnosis is mainly based on the different shape of meso- and metatibiae.

Phylogeography and DNA-based species delimitation provide insight into the taxonomy of the polymorphic rose chafer Protaetia (Potosia) cuprea species complex (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae) in the Western Palearctic

The development of modern methods of species delimitation, unified under the "integrated taxonomy" approach, allows a critical examination and re-evaluation of complex taxonomic groups. The rose chafer Protaetia (Potosia) cuprea is a highly polymorphic species group with a large distribution range. Despite its overall commonness, its taxonomy is unclear and subject to conflicting hypotheses, most of which largely fail to account for its evolutionary history. Based on the sequences of two mitochondrial markers from 65 individuals collected across the species range, and a detailed analysis of morphological characters including a geometric morphometry approach, we infer the evolutionary history and phylogeography of the P. cuprea species complex. Our results demonstrate the existence of three separate lineages in the Western Palearctic region, presumably with a species status. However, these lineages are in conflict with current taxonomic concepts. None of the 29 analyzed morphological characters commonly used in the taxonomy of this group proved to be unambiguously species- or subspecies- specific. The geometric morphometry analysis reveals a large overlap in the shape of the analyzed structures (pronotum, meso-metaventral projection, elytra and aedeagus), failing to identify either the genetically detected clades or the classical species entities. Our results question the monophyly of P. cuprea in regard to P. cuprina, as well as the species status of P. metallica. On the other hand, we found support for the species status of the Sicilian P. hypocrita. Collectively, our findings provide a new and original insight into the taxonomy and phylogeny of the P. cuprea species complex. At the same time, the results represent the first attempt to elucidate the phylogeography of these polymorphic beetles.

A second species of Cheleion from Johor, Malaysia (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Aphodiinae, Stereomerini)

A new species of the genus Cheleion Vårdal & Forshage, 2010, Cheleionjendekisp. n., from Johor, Malaysia is described, illustrated and compared with the type species of the genus, Cheleionmalayanum Vårdal & Forshage, 2010. Photographs of the two species are presented. The adaptation to inquilinous lifestyle of Cheleion is compared with those in other beetle groups and briefly discussed.

Lethrus (Lethrus) schneideri sp. n. (Coleoptera, Geotrupidae) from Greece

Lethrus (Lethrus) schneideri Král & Hillert, sp. n. from Thrace, Greece, is described. The new species is morphologically most similar and probably closely related to Lethrus (Lethrus) apterus (Laxmann, 1770) and Lethrus (Lethrus) ares Král, Rejsek & Schneider, 2001. Diagnostic characters (shape of mandibles, ventral mandible processes, pronotum and parameres) are illustrated. Character matrix for separation of males of the Lethrus species closely related to Lethrus schneideri Král & Hillert, sp. n. and geographic ranges for all species studied are mapped.

Immature stages of Euchirinae (Coleoptera:Scarabaeoidea): genera Cheirotonus and Propomacrus with comments on their phylogeny based on larval and adult characters

We report the discovery of the larvae of Propomacrus bimucronatus (Pallas, 1781) in their natural habitat; providing notes on their biology based on field observations and laboratory-bred specimens. We give a detailed description of Cheirotonus formosanus Ohaus, 1913 and P. cypriacus Alexis & Markis, 2002 larvae as well as a redescription of the immature stages of P. bimucronatus and present the first diagnosis of larval Euchirinae. Based on 105 morphological and ecological characters of adults and larvae in 24 taxa of Scarabaeoidea, we discuss the phylogenetic relationships of Euchirinae within the group. Our results corroborate Euchirinae monophyly, supported by two larval synapomorphic characters; however, no adult autapomorphic characters were detected. The results of 15 separate phylogenetic analyses (differing in the set of terminalia, characters and in the optimality criteria) indicate a possible sister group relationship between Euchirinae and a clade comprising Melolonthinae + Rutelinae + Dynastinae, with Cetoniinae being a sister group to the whole clade. Larval characters represent a valuable source of information for the systematics of Scarabaeoidea; however, special effort should be paid to improve the still unsatisfactory sampling of immature data.