Frogs Communicate by Means of Ultrasonic Sounds

People are always fascinated by ways that some members of mammalian species (such as dolphins, bats and some rodents) communicate using sounds that we cannot hear. But think twice if you say the capacity of producing and detecting ultrasounds (frequencies greater than 20kHz) is limited to mammalians. A study implemented by Prof. SHEN Junxian from the CAS Institute of Biophysics (IBP) and colleagues in CAS and abroad showed that a rare frog species in China should also be added to that list. It is the first documented case of a non-mammalian species being able to use ultrasonic communication. Their work was reported in the March 16 issue of the journal Nature.     

西藏豆科植物区系的形成与分化

 Xizang (Tibet) is rich in Leguminosae flora, comprising 41 genera and 254 species so far known, exclusive of the commonly cultivated taxa (including 11 genera and 16 species). There are 4 endemic genera (with 8 species), 10 temperate genera (with 175 species) and 19 tropical genera (with 46 species) as well as the representatives of those genera whose distribution centers are in East Asia-North  America, Mediterranean and Central Asia.       1.  There are altogether 4 endemic genera of Leguminosae in this region. Accord- ing to their morphological characters, systematic position and geographical distribution, it would appear that Salweenia and Piptanthus are Tertiary paleo-endemics, while Straceya and Cochlianths are neo-endemics. Salweenia and Piptanthus may be some of more primitive members in the subfamily Papilionasae and their allies are largely distributed in the southern Hemisphere.  The other two genera might have been derived from the northern temperate genus Hedysarum and the East Asian-North American genus Apios respectively, because of their morphological resemblance. They probably came into existanc during the uplifting of the Himalayas.       2. An analysis of temperate genera       There are twelve temperate genera of Leguminosae in the region, of which the more important elements in composition of flora, is Astragalus, Oxytropis and Cara- gana.       Astragalus  is a  cosmopolitan  genus comprising 2000 species, with its center distribution in Central Asia. 250 species, are from China so far known, in alpine zone of Southwest and Northwest, with 70 species extending farther to the Himalayas and Xizang Plateau.       Among them, there are 7 species (10%) common to Central Asia, 12 species (15.7%) to Southwest China and 40 species (60%) are endemic, it indicates that the differentia- tion of the species of the genus in the region is very active, especially in the subgenus Pogonophace with beards in stigma. 27 species amounting to 78.5% of the total species of the subgenus, are distributed in this region.  The species in the region mainly occur in alpine zone between altitude of 3500—300 m. above sea-level. They have developed into a member of representative of arid and cold alpine regions.      The endemic species of Astragalus in Xizang might be formed by specialization of the alien and native elements. It will be proved by a series of horizontal and vertical vicarism of endemic species.  For example, Astragalus bomiensis and A. englerianus are horizontal and vertical vicarism species, the former being distributed in southeast part of Xizang and the latter in Yunnan; also A. arnoldii and A. chomutovii, the former being an endemic on Xizang Plateau and latter in Central Asia.      The genus Oxytropis comprises 300 species which are mainly distributed in the north temperate zone. About 100 species are from China so far known, with 40 species extending to Himalayas and Xizang Plateau.  The distribution, formation and differ- entiation of the genus in this region are resembled to Astragalus.  These two genera are usually growing together, composing the main accompanying elements of alpine mea- dow and steppe.      Caragana is an endemic genus in Eurasian temperate zone and one of constructive elements of alpine bush-wood. About 100 species are from China, with 16 species in Xi- zang. According to the elements of composition, 4 species are common to Inner Mon- golia and Kausu, 4 species to Southwest of China, the others are endemic. This not only indicates that the species of Caragana in Xizang is closely related to those species of above mentioned regions, but the differentiation of the genus in the region is obviously effected by the uplifting of Himalayas, thus leading to the formations of endemic species reaching up to 50%.      3. An Analysis of Tropical Genera      There are 19 tropical genera in the region. They concentrate in southeast of Xizang and southern flank of the Himalayas. All of them but Indigofera and Desmodium are represented by a few species, especially the endemic species. Thus, it can be seen that they are less differentiated than the temperate genera.      However, the genus Desmodium which extends from tropical southeast and northeast Asia to Mexio is more active in differentiation than the other genera. According to Oha- Shi,s system about the genus in 1973, the species of Desmodium distributed in Sino-Hima- laya region mostly belong to the subgenus Dollinera and subgenus Podocarpium.  The subgenus Dollinera concentrates in both Sino-Himalaya region and Indo-China with 14 species, of which 7 species are endemic in Sino-Himalaya.  They are closely related to species of Indo-China, southern Yunnan and Assam and shows tha tthey have close con- nections in origin and that the former might be derived from the latter.      Another subgenus extending from subtropical to temperate zone is Podocarpium. Five out of the total eight species belonging to the subgenus are distributed in Sino- Himalaya and three of them are endemic.      An investigation on interspecific evolutionary relationship and geographic distribu- tion of the subgenus shows that the primary center of differentiation of Podocarpium is in the Sino-Himalaya region.      Finally, our survey shows that owing to the uplifting of the Himalayas which has brought about complicated geographic and climatic situations, the favorable conditions have been provided not only for the formation of the species but also for the genus in cer-tain degree.     

Scientists Report A New Species of Small Mammal

<正>Mammalogists from the Kunming Institute of Zoology(KIZ),CAS have discovered a new shrew species,and revalidated the species status of another one in Yunnan,China.The study has been published in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.Shrews in the genus Chodsigoa are among the least known mammals in China,and also in the world.     

西藏菊科植物

 1)  The Compositae in Tibet so far known comprise 508 species and 88 genera, which nearly amounts to one fourth of the total number of genera and one third of the total number of species of Compositae in all China, if the number of 2290 species and 220 genera have respectively been counted in all China. In Tibet there are all tribes of Com- positae known in China, and surprisingly, the large tribes in Tibetan Compositae are also large ones in all China and the small tribes in Tibet are also small ones in all China. Generally speaking, the large genera in Tibet are also large ones in all China and the small genera in Tibet are likewise small ones in all China. In this sense it is reasonable to say that the Compositae flora of Tibet is an epitome of the Compositae flora of all China.      In the Compositae flora of Tibet, there are only 5 large genera each containing 30 species or more. They are Aster, Artemisia, Senecio, Saussurea and Cremanthodium. And 5 genera each containing 10—29 species. They are Erigeron, Anaphalis, Leontopodium, Ajania, Ligularia and Taraxacum. In addition, there are 77 small genera, namely 87% of the total of Compositae genera in Tibet, each comprising 1—9 species, such as Aja-niopsis, Cavea and Vernonia, etc.      2)  The constituents of Compositae flora in Tibet is very closely related to those of Sichuan-Yunnan provinces with 59 genera and 250 species in common. Such a situation is evidently brought about by the geographycal proximity in which the Hengtuang Shan Range links southeastern and eastern Tibet with northern and northwestern Sichuan- Ynnnan.  With India the Tibetan Compositae have 59 genera and 132 species in common, also showing close floristic relationships between the two regions. Apparently the floris- tic exchange of Compositae between Tibet and India is realized by way of the mountain range of the Himalayas.  The mountain range of the Himalayas, including the parallel ranges, plays a important role as a bridge hereby some members of the Compositae of western or northern Central Asia and of the northern Africa or of western Asia have migrated eastwards or southeastwards as far as the southern part of Fibet and northern part of India, or hereby some Compositae plants of eastern and southeastern Asia or Asia Media have migrated northwestwards as the northern part of Central Asia.      Some of the species and genera in common to both Tibet and Sinjiang indicate that this weak floristical relationship between these regions is principally realized through two migration routes: one migration route is by way of the Himalayas including the parallel ranges to Pamir Plataeu and Tien Shan, or vice versa. The other migration route is by way of northern Sinjiang to Mongolia, eastern Inner Mongolia, southwards to Gansu, Qinghai (or western Sichuan), eastern Tibet up to the Himalayas, or vice versa.      However, Tibet is not entirely situated at a migration crossroad of the floral ele- ments. An ample amount of the data shows that Compositae flora have a particular capability of development in Tibet. of the total number of species of Tibetan Com- positae, 102 species and 1 genus (Ajaniopsis Shih) are endemic. Besides, 8 genera are re- gional endemics with their range extending to its neighbourhood. The higher percentage of endemics at specific level than at generic in Tibetan Compositae may be a result of active speciation in response to the new enviromental conditions created by the uplifting of the Himalayas.  The flora in Tibetan Plateau as a whole appears to be of a younger age.       3) The uprising of the Himalayas and of the Tibetan Plateau accompanied by the ultraviolet ray radiation, the microthermal climate and the high wind pressure has, no doubt, played a profound influence upon the speciation of the native elements of Tibetan Compositae. The recent speciation is the main trend in the development of the Com-positae flora native in Tibet in the wake of upheaval of the plateau.     

木兰科分类系统的初步研究

A new system of classification of Magnoliaceae proposed.  This paper deals mainly with taxonomy and phytogeography of the family Magnoliaceae on the basis of external morphology, wood anatomy and palynology.  Different  authors have had different ideas about the delimitation of genera of this family, their controversy being carried on through more than one hundred years (Table I).  Since I have been engaged in the work of the Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae, I have accumulated a considerable amount of information and material and have investigated the living plants at their natural localities, which enable me to find out the evolutionary tendencies and primitive morphological characters of various genera of the family.  According to the evolutionary tendencies of the characters and the geographical distribution of this family I propose a new system by dividing it into two subfamilies, Magnolioideae and Liriodendroideae Law (1979), two tribes, Magnolieae and Michelieae Law, four subtribes, Manglietiinae Law, Magnoliinae, Elmerrilliinae Law and Micheliinae, and fifteen genera (Fig. 1 ), a system which is different from those by J. D. Dandy (1964-1974) and the other authors.      The recent distribution and possible survival centre of Magnoliaceae. The members of Magnoliaceae are distributed chiefly in temperate and tropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere, ——Southeast Asia and southeast North America, but a few genera and species also occur in the Malay Archipelago and Brazil of the Southern Hemisphere. Forty species of 4 genera occur in America, among which one genus (Dugendiodendron) is endemic to the continent, while about 200 species of 14 genera occur in Southeast Asia, of which 12 genera are endemic.  In China there are about 110 species of 11 genera which mostly occur in Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan; 58 species and more than 9 genera occur in the mountainous districts of Yunnan.   Moreover,  one  genus (Manglietiastrum Law, 1979) and 19 species are endemic to this region.  The family in discussion is much limited to or interruptedly distributed in the mountainous regions of Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan.  The regions are found to have a great abundance of species, and the members of the relatively primitive taxa are also much more there than in the other regions of the world.      The major genera, Manglietia, Magnolia and Michelia, possess 160 out of a total of 240 species in the whole family.  Talauma has 40 species, while the other eleven genera each contain only 2 to 7 species, even with one monotypic genus.   These three major genera are sufficient for indicating the evolutionary tendency and geographical distribution of Magnoliaceae.  It is worthwhile discussing their morphological  characters  and distributional patterns as follows:      The members of Manglietia are all evergreen trees, with flowers terminal, anthers dehiscing introrsely, filaments very short and flat, ovules 4 or more per carpel.  This is considered as the most primitive genus in subtribe Manglietiinae.  Eighteen out of a total  of 35 species of the genus are distributed in the western, southwest to southeast Yunnan. Very primitive species, such as Manglietia hookeri, M. insignis  and M. mega- phylla, M. grandis, also occur in this region. They are distributed from Yunnan eastwards to Zhejiang and Fujian through central China, south China, with only one species (Manglietia microtricha) of the genus westwards to Xizang.  There are several species distributing southwards from northeast India to the Malay Archipelago (Fig. 7).      The members of Magnolia are evergreen and deciduous trees or shrubs, with flowers terminal, anthers dehiscing introrsely or laterally, ovules 2 per carpel, stipule adnate to the petiole.  The genus Magnolia is the most primitive in the subtribe Magnoliinae and is the largest genus of the family Magnoliaceae. Its deciduous species are distributed from Yunnan north-eastwards to Korea and Japan (Kurile N. 46’) through Central China, North China and westwards to Burma, the eastern Himalayas  and northeast India.  The evergreen species are distributed from northeast  Yunnan  (China)  to  the Malay Archipelago.  In China there are 23 species, of which 15 seem to be very primi- tive, e.g. Magnolia henryi, M. delavayi, M. officinalis and M. rostrata, which occur in Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan.      The members of Michelia are evergreen trees or shrubs, with flowers axillary, an- thers dehiscing laterally or sublaterally, gynoecium stipitate, carpels numerous or few. Michelia is considered to be the most primitive in the subtribe Micheliinae, and is to the second largest genus of the family.  About 23 out of a total of 50 species of this genus are very primitive, e.g. Michelia sphaerantha, M. lacei, M. champaca,  and  M. flavidiflora, which occur in Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan (the distributional center of the family under discussion)  and extend eastwards to Taiwan  of  China, southern Japan through central China, southwards to the Malay Archipelago through Indo-China. westwards to Xizang of China, and south-westwards to India and Sri Lanka (Fig. 7).      The members of Magnoliaceae are concentrated in Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan and radiate from there.  The farther away from the centre, the less members we are able to find, but the more advanced they are in morphology.  In this old geographical centre there are more primitive species, more  endemics  and  more monotypic genera. Thus it is reasonable to assume that the region of Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan, China, is not only the centre of recent distribution, but also the chief survival centreof Magnoliaceae in the world.     

我国悬钩子属植物的研究

 The genus Rubus is one of the largest genera in the Rosaceae, consisting of more than 750 species in many parts of the world, of which 194 species have been recorded in China.      In the present paper the Rubus is understood in its broad sense, including all the blackberries, dewberries and raspberries, comprising the woody and herbaceous kinds. So it is botanically a polymorphic, variable and very complicated group of plants. The detailed analysis and investigation of the evolutionary trends of the main organs in this genus have indicated the passage from shrubs to herbs in an evolutionary line, although there is no obvious discontinuity of morphological characters in various taxa. From a phylogenetic point of view, the Sect. Idaeobatus Focke is the most primitive group, characterized by its shrub habit armed with sharp prickles, aciculae or setae, stipules attached to the petioles, flowers hermaphrodite and often in terminal or axill- ary inflorescences, very rarely solitary, druplets separated from receptacles. Whereas the herbaceous Sect.  Chamaemorus L. is the most advanced group, which is usually unarmed, rarely with aciculae or setae, stipules free, flowers dieocious, solitary, dru- plets adhering to the receptacles and with high  chromosome numbers  (2n = 56). Basing upon the evolutionary tendency of morphological  features,  chromosome nu- mbers of certain species recorded in literature and the distribution patterns of species, a new systematic arrangement of Chinese Rubus has been suggested by the present authors. Focke in his well-known monograph divided the species of Rubus into  12 subgenera, while in the Flora of China 8 sections of Focke were adapted, but some im- portant revisions have been made in some taxa and Sect. Dalibarda Focke has been reduced to Sect.  Cylactis Focke.  In addition, the arrangement of sections is presented in a reverse order to those of Focke’s system.  The species of Rubus in  China are classified into 8 sections with 24 subsections (tab. 3) as follows: 1. Sect. Idaeobatus, emend. Yü et Lu(11 subsect. 83 sp.); 2. Sect. Lampobatus Focke (1 sp.); 3. Sect. Rubus (1 sp.); 4. Sect. Malachobatus Focke, emend. Yü et Lu (13 subsect. 85 sp.); 5. Sect. Dalibardastrus (Focke)Yü et Lu (10 sp.); 6. Sect. Chaemaebatus Focke (5 sp.); 7. Sect. Cylactis Focke, emend. Yü et Lu (8 sp.); 8. Sect. Chamaemorus Focke (1 sp.).      In respect to the geographical distribution the genus Rubus occurs throughout the world as shown in tab. 2, particularly abundant in the Northern Hemisphere, while the greatest concentration of species appears in North America and E. Asia.  Of the more than 750 species in the world, 470 or more species (64%) distributed in North America.  It is clearly showm that the center of distribution lies in North America at present time.  There are about 200 species recorded in E. Asia, of which the species in China (194) amount to 97% of the total number. By analysis of the distribution of species in China the great majority of them inhabit the southern parts of the Yangtze River where exist the greatest number of species and endemics,  especially in south- western parts of China, namely Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou (tab. 3. 4.).  It is in- teresting to note that the centre of distribution of Rubus in China ranges From north- western Yunnan to south-western Sichuan (tab. 5), where the genus also reaches its highest morphological diversity.       In this region the characteristics of floristic elements of Rubus can be summarized as follows: it is very rich in composition, contaning 6 sections and 94 species, about 66% of the total number of Chinese species; there are also various complex groups, including primitive, intermediate and advanced taxa of phylogenetic importance; the proportion of endemic plants is rather high, reaching 61 species, up to 44% of the total endemics in China.  It is noteworthy to note that the most primitive Subsect. Thyrsidaei (Focke) Yü et Lu, consisting of 9 endemic species, distributed in southern slopes of the Mts. Qin Ling and Taihang Shan (Fig. 4). From the above facts we may concluded that the south-western part of China is now not only the center of distribu- tion and differentiation of Rubus in China, but it may also be the center of origin ofthis genus.     

Population Status, Threats and Conservation of the Yangtze Finless Porpoise

The finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) is a small, toothed whale species living in coastal and riverine areas of Asia, with a range extending from the Persian Gulf in the west, to Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Borneo and China in the south, and up to Japan in the east [1] . The Yangtze finless porpoise (N. p. asiaeorientalis) is the sole freshwater subspecies     

蜘蛛抱蛋属(百合科)的细胞分类学研究(1)——四川七个种的核型

In the work mitotic chromosomes in root-tips of 7 species native to Sichuan Pro- vince were examined and their karyotypes were analysed based on 7-8 cells at mitotic meta- phase, using Levan et al.'s (1964) nomenclature. The list of species and origin of the materials used in this work are provided in the appendix.  The micrographs of mitotic metaphase of all the materials are shown in Plates 1 and 2; the idiograms in Fig. 1, 1-9, and the parameters of chromosomes are provided in Tables 1-9.  All the chromosome countings and karyotypes in this paper are reported for the first time.      Characteristics of the karyotypes may be summarized as follows:      1.  2n=38 are found in all the materials except A. sichuanensis, which has 3 cytotypes, i.e, 2n=38+5B, 2n=38+lB and 2n=38+OB (Plate 2, 1-2, Fig. 1, 5-6).      2.  The karyotypes are of two major types: the karyotype of A. flaviflora falls into 3C in Stebbins's (1958, 197l) classification of karyotypes and those of all the other species into 2C. The two types are also different from each other in the number of large and medium-sized chromosomes pairs and morphology of the first pair of chromosomes (compare Plate 2, 5, Fig. 1, 9 with the other micrographs and idiograms).A. flaviflora with the karyotype 3C also differs from the other species in a series of gross morphological characters: the species is of a yellow and campanulate corolla.      3.  The species with caespitose leaves (A. caespitosa and A. omeiensis) have essentially the same karyotype, which is rather different from those of the species with scattered leaves. There are two pairs of small sm chromosomes (arm ratio ≥1.90) in the former karyotype (Tables 1 and 3), but all the small chromosomes are m or sm with arm ratio <1.80 in the latter karyotypes.