The evolutionary relationships of the brachyuran crab superfamily Eriphioidea, commonly known as stone or rubble crabs, are examined. Analysis of three mitochondrial (12S, 16S and COI) and two nuclear loci (18S and Histone 3) was carried out for 51 taxa representing the Carpilioidea, Dairoidea, Eriphioidea, Goneplacoidea, Parthenopoidea, Pilumnoidea, Portunoidea, Pseudozioidea and Xanthoidea. Phylogenetic analyses of molecular data used three methods of inference that recovered similar topologies with minor differences. Maximum parsimony analysis of 20 morphological characters taken from first zoeas of 11 species yielded two equally parsimonious trees and generally supported the molecular analyses. None of the analyses recovered Eriphioidea as monophyletic, and each of the eriphioid families represented by two or more taxa was shown to be polyphyletic in both molecular and larval analyses. This study indicates that the present classification based on adult morphology is incongruent with phylogenetic relationships and that the diagnostic characters the result of convergence (particularly in feeding morphology) rather than shared ancestry.

AURORA 2007, PANGLAO 2004, PANGLAO 2005

Currently, 13 subfamilies are recognised in the brachyuran family Xanthidae: Actaeinae, Antrocarcininae, Chlorodiellinae, Cymoinae, Etisinae, Euxanthinae, Kraussiinae, Liomerinae, Polydectinae, Speocarcininae, Xanthinae, Zalasiinae and Zosiminae. This classification has been based on shared adult features like a transversely ovate carapace, well defined dorsal carapace regions, usually with lateral dentition, stout chelipeds and relatively short ambulatory legs. Such characters are now considered to be convergent. Consequently a number of higher xanthid taxa may be artifical and not monophyletic. A broad sample of 147 xanthid species representing 75 out of 124 genera from all 13 xanthid subfamilies were sampled in a multi-gene analysis. Four markers (three mitochondria] and one nuclear) were used and yielded a tree with ca. 30 xanthid clades. Monophyletic support was demonstrated for the Antrocarcininae (although substantially redefined), Cymoinae, and Polydectinae. Almost every other subfamily was para- or polyphyletic. Furthermore, the two other families of the Xanthoidea, Pseudorhombilidae and Panopeidae, were found nested within the Xanthidae. The molecular results were consistent with phylogenetic relationships implied by a suite of novel and/or neglected "ventral" adult characters including sternal characters, position of genital openings and morphology of the first zoea, instead of "dorsal" characters traditionally used to infer xanthid relationships. (C) 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

AURORA 2007, PANGLAO 2004, PANGLAO 2005, SANTO 2006, SMCB

Metabolites isolated from marine inverte-brates, callipeltin A 1, crambescidin 2, ptilomycalin A 3,celeromycalin 4, gymnochrome B 5, gymnochrome D 6 and isogymnochrome D 7 previously shown bioactive on either herpes simplex virus 1 (2, 3, 4) or human immunodeficiency virus (1, 5, 6, 7), were tested on a new in vitro bioassay using the dengue virus 1. Only gymnochrome D and isogymnochrome D isolated from the living fossil crinoid Gymnocrinus richeri are highly potent dengue antiviral agents.

SMIB 1, SMIB 10, SMIB 2, SMIB 3, SMIB 4, SMIB 5, SMIB 6, SMIB 8, SMIB 9