Elephant
Bibliographic
Database

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Elephant Bibliographic Database
www.elephantcare.org

References Updated October 2007

     1.    Archie E.A., Hollister-Smith J.A., Poole J.H. et al. 2007. Behavioural inbreeding avoidance in wild African elephants.Molecular Ecology 16: 4138-4148.
Abstract: The costs of inbreeding depression, as well as the opportunity costs of inbreeding avoidance, determine whether and which mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance evolve. In African elephants, sex-biased dispersal does not lead to the complete separation of male and female relatives, and so individuals may experience selection to recognize kin and avoid inbreeding. However, because estrous females are rare and male-male competition for mates is intense, the opportunity costs of inbreeding avoidance may be high, particularly for males. Here we combine 28 years of behavioural and demographic data on wild elephants with genotypes from 545 adult females, adult males, and calves in Amboseli National Park, Kenya, to test the hypothesis that elephants engage in sexual behaviour and reproduction with relatives less often than expected by chance. We found support for this hypothesis: males engaged in proportionally fewer sexual behaviours and sired proportionally fewer offspring with females that were natal family members or close genetic relatives (both maternal and paternal) than they did with nonkin. We discuss the relevance of these results for understanding the evolution of inbreeding avoidance and for elephant conservation.

     2.    Aroch I., King R. and Baneth G. 2007. Hematology and serum biochemistry values of trapped, healthy, free-ranging rock hyraxes (Procavia capensis) and their association with age, sex, and gestational status.Vet Clin Pathol 36: 40-48.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) is an herbivore prevalent from South Africa to Turkey, and a most common zoo animal. Although many studies of hyrax diseases and physiology are available, clinicopathologic data are limited. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to establish comprehensive hematologic and biochemical reference intervals for trapped, apparently healthy, free-ranging rock hyraxes using modern laboratory methods and to assess differences related to sex, gestation, and age. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from 27 healthy, free-ranging hyraxes under anesthesia. Gender, body weight, and gestational status were recorded. Hematologic (n = 25) and serum biochemical (n = 22) analyses were performed using standard automated methodology. Data for male vs female, adult vs juvenile, and pregnant vs nonpregnant female hyraxes were compared using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Associations between variables were assessed using Pearson's or Spearman rank correlation tests. RESULTS: Significant age- and sex-related, but not gestation-related differences were observed in several variables. Serum alkaline phosphatase activity and phosphorus concentration were significantly higher in juveniles compared with adults. A unique type of monocyte comprised 1-3% of leukocytes in 4 hyraxes. Markedly high serum creatine kinase (CK) activity was observed in most hyraxes. CONCLUSIONS: The large number of animals and the availability of sex, age, and gestational data in this study will be useful to zoo and wildlife veterinarians working with rock hyraxes. High serum concentrations of betahydroxybutyric acid in the rock hyrax, compared with dogs, cats, and ruminants, may be related to its unique digestive system. High CK activity may have been the result of a capture myopathy-like syndrome. The unique monocytes in hyraxes resemble those of elephants and are a novel finding in this species.

     3.    Asara J.M., Schweitzer M.H., Freimark L.M., Phillips M. and Cantley L.C. 2007. Protein sequences from mastodon and Tyrannosaurus rex revealed by mass spectrometry.Science 316: 280-285.
Abstract: Fossilized bones from extinct taxa harbor the potential for obtaining protein or DNA sequences that could reveal evolutionary links to extant species. We used mass spectrometry to obtain protein sequences from bones of a 160,000- to 600,000-year-old extinct mastodon (Mammut americanum) and a 68-million-year-old dinosaur (Tyrannosaurus rex). The presence of T. rex sequences indicates that their peptide bonds were remarkably stable. Mass spectrometry can thus be used to determine unique sequences from ancient organisms from peptide fragmentation patterns, a valuable tool to study the evolution and adaptation of ancient taxa from which genomic sequences are unlikely to be obtained. Division of Signal Transduction, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02115, USA. jasara@bidmc.harvard.edu

     4.    Bates L.A. and Byrne R.W. 2007. Creative or created: using anecdotes to investigate animal cognition.Methods 42: 12-21.
Abstract: In non-human animals, creative behaviour occurs spontaneously only at low frequencies, so is typically missed by standardised observational methods. Experimental approaches have tended to rely overly on paradigms from child development or adult human cognition, which may be inappropriate for species that inhabit very different perceptual worlds and possess quite different motor capacities than humans. The analysis of anecdotes offers a solution to this impasse, provided certain conditions are met. To be reliable, anecdotes must be recorded immediately after observation, and only the records of scientists experienced with the species and the individuals concerned should be used. Even then, interpretation of a single record is always ambiguous, and analysis is feasible only when collation of multiple records shows that a behaviour pattern occurs repeatedly under similar circumstances. This approach has been used successfully to study a number of creative capacities of animals: the distribution, nature and neural correlates of deception across the primate order; the occurrence of teaching in animals; and the neural correlates of several aptitudes--in birds, foraging innovation, and in primates, innovation, sociallearning and tool-use. Drawing on these approaches, we describe the use of this method to investigate a new problem, the cognition of the African elephant, a species whose sheer size and evolutionary distance from humans renders the conventional methods of comparative psychology of little use. The aim is both to chart the creative cognitive capacities of this species, and to devise appropriate experimental methods to confirm and extend previous findings.

     5.    Bicer S. and Reiser P.J. 2007. Variations in apparent mass of mammalian fast-type myosin light chains correlate with species body size, from shrew to elephant.Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 292: R527-R534.
Abstract: A recent study (Bicer S and Reiser PJ. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 25: 623-633, 2004) suggested considerable variation in the apparent molecular mass (M(a)), deduced from electrophoretic mobility, in fast-type myosin light chains (MLCF), especially MLC1F, among mammalian species. Furthermore, there was an indication that MLC1F M(a) generally correlates with species body mass, over an approximately 4,000-fold range in body mass. The results also suggested that M(a) of other low-molecular-weight myofibrillar proteins is less variable and not as strongly correlated with body mass among the same species. The objective of this study was to test the hypotheses that the M(a) of MLCs does, in fact, vary and correlate with species body mass. The electrophoretic mobilities of MLCF isoforms from 19 species, varying in size approximately 500,000-fold, were quantitated. The results confirm that the M(a) of MLC1F and MLC2F vary significantly among mammals, spanning a very broad range in body mass; the MLC1F M(a) varies more than that of other low-molecular-weight myofibrillar proteins; and there is a significant correlation between species body mass and MLC1F M(a). Differences in MLC1F M(a) among five species can be accounted for by differences in the reported amino acid sequence, especially the length of a common polyalanine region near the NH(2)-terminal actin-binding site. The possibility that the differences in MLC1F sequence among mammalian species, in and adjacent to the actin-binding region, are related to differences in modulation of cross-bridge kinetics in species with diverse locomotion kinetics is discussed. Department of Oral Biology, The Ohio State University, 305 West 12th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210-1247, USA.

     6.    Binladen J., Gilbert M.T.P. and Willerslev E. 2007. 800,000 year old mammoth DNA, modern elephant DNA or PCR artefact?Biology Letters 3: 55-56.
Abstract: Poulakakis and colleagues (Poulakakis et al. 2006: Biol. Lett. 2, 451 - 454), report the recovery of 'authentic' mammoth DNA from an 800 000 year-old fragment of bone excavated on the island of Crete. In light of results from other ancient DNA studies that indicate how DNA survival is unlikely in samples, which are recovered from warm environments and are relatively old (e. g. more than 100 000 years), these findings come as a great surprise. Here, we show that problems exist with the methodological approaches used in the study. First, the nested PCR technique as reported is nonsensical - one of the second round 'nested' primers falls outside the amplicon of the first round PCR. More worryingly, the binding region of one of the first round primers (Elcytb320R) falls within the short 43 base pair reported mammoth sequence, specifically covering two of the three reportedly diagnostic Elephas polymorphisms. Finally, we demonstrate using a simple BLAST search in GenBank that the claimed 'uniquely derived character state' for mammoths is in fact also found within modern elephants.

     7.    Binladen J., Gilbert M.T. and Willerslev E. 2007. 800,000 year old mammoth DNA, modern elephant DNA or PCR artefact?Biol Lett 3: 55-56.
Abstract: Comment on:  Biol Lett. 2006 Sep 22;2(3):451-4. Poulakakis and colleagues (Poulakakis et al. 2006: Biol. Lett. 2, 451-454), report the recovery of 'authentic' mammoth DNA from an 800,000-year-old fragment of bone excavated on the island of Crete. In light of results from other ancient DNA studies that indicate how DNA survival is unlikely in samples, which are
recovered from warm environments and are relatively old (e.g. more than 100,000 years), these findings come as a great surprise. Here, we show that problems exist with the methodological approaches used in the study. First, the nested PCR technique as reported is nonsensical--one of the second round 'nested' primers falls outside the amplicon of the first round PCR. More worryingly, the binding region of one of the first round primers (Elcytb320R) falls within the short 43 base pair reported mammoth sequence, specifically covering two of the three
reportedly diagnostic Elephas polymorphisms. Finally, we demonstrate using a simple BLAST search in GenBank that the claimed 'uniquely derived character state' for mammoths is in fact also found within modern elephants.

     8.    Kellogg M.E., Burkett S., Dennis T.R. et al. 2007. Chromosome painting in the manatee supports Afrotheria and Paenungulata.BMC Evolutionary Biology 7.
Abstract: Sirenia (manatees, dugongs and Stellar's sea cow) have no evolutionary relationship with other marine mammals, despite similarities in adaptations and body shape. Recent phylogenomic results place Sirenia in Afrotheria and with elephants and rock hyraxes in Paenungulata. Sirenia and Hyracoidea are the two afrotherian orders as yet unstudied by comparative molecular cytogenetics. Here we report on the chromosome painting of the Florida manatee. Results: The human autosomal and X chromosome paints delimited a total of 44 homologous segments in the manatee genome. The synteny of nine of the 22 human autosomal chromosomes (4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 14, 17, 18 and 20) and the X chromosome were found intact in the manatee. The syntenies of other human chromosomes were disrupted in the manatee genome into two to five segments. The hybridization pattern revealed that 20 (15 unique) associations of human chromosome segments are found in the manatee genome: 1/15, 1/19, 2/3 (twice), 3/7 (twice), 3/13, 3/21, 5/21, 7/16, 8/22, 10/12 (twice), 11/20, 12/22 (three times), 14/15, 16/19 and 18/19. Conclusion: There are five derived chromosome traits that strongly link elephants with manatees in Tethytheria and give implicit support to Paenungulata: the associations 2/3, 3/13, 8/22, 18/19 and the loss of the ancestral eutherian 4/8 association. It would be useful to test these conclusions with chromosome painting in hyraxes. The manatee chromosome painting data confirm that the associations 1/19 and 5/21 phylogenetically link afrotherian species and show that Afrotheria is a natural clade. The association 10/12/22 is also ubiquitous in Afrotheria (clade I), present in Laurasiatheria (clade IV), only partially present in Xenarthra (10/12, clade II) and absent in Euarchontoglires (clade III). If Afrotheria is basal to eutherians, this association could be part of the ancestral eutherian karyotype. If afrotherians are not at the root of the eutherian tree, then the 10/12/22 association could be one of a suite of derived associations linking afrotherian taxa.

     9.    Kullberg M., Hallström B., Arnason U. and Janke A. 2007. Expressed sequence tags as a tool for phylogenetic analysis of placental mammal evolution.PLoS ONE E publication Aug 22;2(1):e775.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: We investigate the usefulness of expressed sequence tags, ESTs, for establishing divergences within the tree of placental mammals. This is done on the example of the established relationships among primates (human), lagomorphs (rabbit), rodents (rat and mouse), artiodactyls (cow), carnivorans (dog) and proboscideans (elephant). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have produced 2000 ESTs (1.2 mega bases) from a marsupial mouse and characterized the data for their use in phylogenetic analysis. The sequences were used to identify putative orthologous sequences from whole genome projects. Although most ESTs stem from single sequence reads, the frequency of potential sequencing errors was found to be lower than allelic variation. Most of the sequences represented slowly evolving housekeeping-type genes, with an average amino acid distance of 6.6% between human and mouse. Positive Darwinian selection was identified at only a few single sites. Phylogenetic analyses of the EST data yielded trees that were consistent with those established from whole genome projects. CONCLUSIONS: The general quality of EST sequences and the general absence of positive selection in these sequences make ESTs an attractive tool for phylogenetic analysis. The EST approach allows, at reasonable costs, a fast extension of data sampling from species outside the genome projects.

   10.    Murphy W.J., Pringle T.H., Crider T.A., Springer M.S. and Miller W. 2007. Using genomic data to unravel the root of the placental mammal phylogeny.Genome Research 17: 413-421.
Abstract: The phylogeny of placental mammals is a critical framework for choosing future genome sequencing targets and for resolving the ancestral mammalian genome at the nucleotide level. Despite considerable recent progress defining superordinal relationships, several branches remain poorly resolved, including the root of the placental tree. Here we analyzed the genome sequence assemblies of human, armadillo, elephant, and opossum to identify informative coding indels that would serve as rare genomic changes to infer early events in placental mammal phylogeny. We also expanded our species sampling by including sequence data from >30 ongoing genome projects, followed by PCR and sequencing validation of each indel in additional taxa. Our data provide support for a sister-group relationship between Afrotheria and Xenarthra (the Atlantogenata hypothesis), which is in turn the sister-taxon to Boreoeutheria. We failed to recover any indels in support of a basal position for Xenarthra (Epitheria), which is suggested by morphology and a recent retroposon analysis, or a hypothesis with Afrotheria basal (Exafricoplacentalia), which is favored by phylogenetic analysis of large nuclear gene data sets. In addition, we identified two retroposon insertions that also support Atlantogenata and none for the alternative hypotheses. A revised molecular timescale based on these phylogenetic inferences suggests Afrotheria and Xenarthra diverged from other placental mammals approximately 103 (95-114) million years ago. We discuss the impacts of this topology on earlier phylogenetic reconstructions and repeat-based inferences of phylogeny.

   11.    Orlando L., Pages M., Calvignac S., Hughes S. and Hanni C. 2007. Does the 43 bp sequence from an 800,000 year old Cretan dwarf elephantid really rewrite the textbook on mammoths?Biology Letters 3: 57-59.
Abstract: Pigmy elephants inhabited the islands from the Mediterranean region during the Pleistocene period but became extinct in the course of the Holocene. Despite striking distinctive anatomical characteristics related to insularity, some similarities with the lineage of extant Asian elephants have suggested that pigmy elephants could be most probably seen as members of the genus Elephas. Poulakakis et al. (2006) have recently challenged this view by recovering a short mtDNA sequence from an 800 000 year old fossil of the Cretan pigmy elephant (Elephas creticus). According to the authors of this study, a deep taxonomic revision of Cretan dwarf elephants would be needed, as the sequence exhibits clear affinities with woolly mammoth haplotypes. However, we point here many aspects that seriously weaken the strength of the ancient DNA evidence reported.

   12.    Orlando L., Pagés M., Calvignac S., Hughes S. and Hänni C. 2007. Does the 43 bp sequence from an 800,000 year old cretan dwarf elephantid really rewrite the textbook on mammoths?Biol Lett 3: 57-59.
Abstract: Comment on:Biol Lett. 2006 Sep 22;2(3):451-4. Pigmy elephants inhabited the islands from the Mediterranean region during the Pleistocene period but became extinct in the course of the Holocene. Despite striking distinctive anatomical characteristics related to insularity, some similarities with the lineage of extant Asian elephants have suggested that pigmy
elephants could be most probably seen as members of the genus Elephas. Poulakakis et al (2006) have recently challenged this view by recovering a short mtDNA sequence from an 800 000 year old fossil of the Cretan pigmy elephant (Elephas creticus). According to the authors of this study, a deep taxonomic revision of Cretan dwarf elephants would be needed, as the sequence exhibits clear affinities with woolly mammoth haplotypes. However, we point here many aspects that seriously weaken the strength of the ancient DNA evidence reported.

   13.    Pan D. 2007. Hippo signaling in organ size control.Genes Dev 21: 886-897.
Abstract: The control of organ (or organism) size is a fundamental aspect of life that has long captured human imagination. What makes an elephant grow a million times larger than a mouse? How do our two hands develop independently of each other yet reach very similar size? How does a liver precisely regenerate its original mass when two-thirds of it is removed? The recent discovery of a novel signaling network in Drosophila, known as the Hippo (Hpo) pathway, might provide an important entry point to these fascinating questions. The Hpo pathway consists of several negative growth regulators acting in a kinase cascade that ultimately phosphorylates and inactivates Yorkie (Yki), a transcriptional coactivator that positively regulates cell growth, survival, and proliferation. Components of the Hpo pathway are highly conserved throughout evolution, suggesting that this pathway may function as a global regulator of tissue homeostasis in all metazoan animals. Here, I provide a historical review of this potent growth-regulatory pathway and highlight outstanding questions that will likely be the focus of future investigation. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA. djpan@jhmi.edu

   14.    Pardini A.T., O'Brien P.C., Fu B. et al. 2007. Chromosome painting among Proboscidea, Hyracoidea and Sirenia: support for Paenungulata (Afrotheria, Mammalia) but not Tethytheria.Proc Biol Sci 274: 1333-1340.
Abstract: Despite marked improvements in the interpretation of systematic relationships within Eutheria, particular nodes, including Paenungulata (Hyracoidea, Sirenia and Proboscidea), remain ambiguous. The combination of a rapid radiation, a deep divergence and an extensive morphological diversification has resulted in a limited phylogenetic signal confounding resolution within this clade both at the
morphological and nucleotide levels. Cross-species chromosome painting was used to delineate regions of homology between Loxodonta africana (2n=56), Procavia capensis (2n=54), Trichechus manatus latirostris (2n=48) and an outgroup taxon, the aardvark (Orycteropus afer, 2n=20). Changes specific to each lineage were identified and although the presence of a minimum of 11 synapomorphies confirmed
the monophyly of Paenungulata, no change characterizing intrapaenungulate relationships was evident. The reconstruction of an ancestral paenungulate karyotype and the estimation of rates of chromosomal evolution indicate a reduced rate of genomic repatterning following the paenungulate radiation. In comparison to data available for other mammalian taxa, the paenungulate rate of chromosomal evolution is slow to moderate. As a consequence, the absence of a chromosomal character uniting two paenungulates (at the level of resolution characterized in this study) may be due to a reduced rate of chromosomal change relative to the length of time separating successive divergence events.

   15.    Pardini A.T., O'Brien P.C.M., Fu B. et al. 2007. Chromosome painting among Proboscidea, Hyracoidea and Sirenia: Support for Paenungulata (Afrotheria, Mammalia) but not Tethytheria.Proceedings Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 274: 1333-1340.
Abstract: Despite marked improvements in the interpretation of systematic relationships within Eutheria, particular nodes, including Paenungulata (Hyracoidea, Sirenia and Proboscidea), remain ambiguous. The combination of a rapid radiation, a deep divergence and an extensive morphological diversification has resulted in a limited phylogenetic signal confounding resolution within this clade both at the morphological and nucleotide levels. Cross-species chromosome painting was used to delineate regions of homology between Loxodonta africana (2n=56), Procavia capensis (2n=54), Trichechus manatus latirostris (2n=48) and an outgroup taxon, the aardvark ( Orycteropus afer, 2n=20). Changes specific to each lineage were identified and although the presence of a minimum of 11 synapomorphies confirmed the monophyly of Paenungulata, no change characterizing intrapaenungulate relationships was evident. The reconstruction of an ancestral paenungulate karyotype and the estimation of rates of chromosomal evolution indicate a reduced rate of genomic repatterning following the paenungulate radiation. In comparison to data available for other mammalian taxa, the paenungulate rate of chromosomal evolution is slow to moderate. As a consequence, the absence of a chromosomal character uniting two paenungulates ( at the level of resolution characterized in this study) may be due to a reduced rate of chromosomal change relative to the length of time separating successive divergence events.

   16.    Rohland N., Malaspinas A.S., Pollack J.L., Slatkin M. and Matheus P. 2007. Proboscidean mitogenomics: Chronology and mode of elephant evolution using mastodon as outgroup.PLoS Biol 5:  e207. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050207.
Abstract: We have sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome of the extinct American mastodon (Mammut americanum) from an Alaskan fossil that is between 50,000 and 130,000 y old, extending the age range of genomic analyses by almost a complete glacial cycle. The sequence we obtained is substantially different from previously reported partial mastodon mitochondrial DNA sequences. By comparing those partial sequences to other proboscidean sequences, we conclude that we have obtained the first sequence of mastodon DNA ever reported. Using the sequence of the mastodon, which diverged 24-28 million years ago (mya) from the Elephantidae lineage, as an outgroup, we infer that the ancestors of African elephants diverged from the lineage leading to mammoths and Asian elephants approximately 7.6 mya and that mammoths and Asian elephants diverged approximately 6.7 mya. We also conclude
that the nuclear genomes of the African savannah and forest elephants diverged approximately 4.0 mya, supporting the view that these two groups represent different species. Finally, we found the mitochondrial mutation rate of proboscideans to be roughly half of the rate in primates during at least the last 24 million years.

   17.    Sreekumar E., Janki M.B.V., Arathy D.S. et al. 2007. Molecular characterization and expression of Interferon-gamma of Asian elephant (Elephas maximus).Vet Immunol Immunopathol 118: 75-83.
Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterial organisms has emerged as one of the major diseases in captive elephants. In vitro Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) assay is being used as an ancillary test for early detection of TB in domestic and captive wild animals. In the present study, basic sequence information and immunological cross-reactivity of this major cytokine of Asian elephants were explored. At predicted amino acid level, IFN-gamma of Asian elephant showed maximum identity to that of horse (73%). Other IFN-gamma amino acid sequences that showed high level identity were that of giant panda (72%), dog (71%), nine-banded armadillo (69%), cattle (63%) and human (62%). IFN-gamma promoter sequences of Asian elephant, human, cattle and mouse showed high level conservation of the putative transcription factor binding sites, TATA box and transcriptional start site. The functionally important human IFN-gamma promoter elements, such as AP-2IRE-BE, YY1-gammaIFN-BED, ATFCS and AP-1gammaINF binding sites, were absolutely conserved in the corresponding elephant sequence. There was only a single nucleotide variation in the other two important elements, NFAT-gammaINF and IFN-gammaPE, indicating the highly conserved regulation of IFN-gamma expression across different species. Phylogenetic analysis based on IFN-gamma protein sequences revealed a closer relation of Asian elephants and nine-banded armadillo. This shows a closer evolution of these members of Afrotheria and Xenarthra, respectively; and supports the previous reports based on mitochondrial DNA studies. In Western blot analysis, IFN-gamma of Asian elephant expressed in Escherichia coli was detected using an anti-bovine IFN-gamma monoclonal antibody, indicating immunological cross-reactivity.

   18.    Tabuce R., Marivaux L., Adaci M. et al. 2007. Early tertiary mammals from north Africa reinforce the molecular afrotheria clade.Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 274: 1159-1166.
Abstract: The phylogenetic pattern and timing of the radiation of mammals, especially the geographical origins of major crown clades, are areas of controversy among molecular biologists, morphologists and palaeontologists. Molecular phylogeneticists have identified an Afrotheria clade, which includes several taxa as different as tenrecs (Tenrecidae),golden moles (Chrysochloridae), elephant-shrews (Macroscelididae), aardvarks (Tubulidentata) and paenungulates (elephants, sea cows and hyracoids). Molecular data also suggest a Cretaceous African origin for Afrotheria within Placentalia followed by a long period of endemic evolution on the Afro-Arabian continent after the mid-Cretaceous Gondwanan breakup (approx. 105-25 Myr ago). However, there was no morphological support for such a natural grouping so far. Here, we report new dental and postcranial evidence of Eocene stem hyrax and macroscelidid from North Africa that, for the first time, provides a congruent phylogenetic view with the molecular Afrotheria clade. These new fossils imply, however, substantial changes regarding the historical biogeography of afrotheres. Their long period of isolation in Africa, as assumed by molecular inferences, is now to be reconsidered inasmuch as Eocene paenungulates and elephant-shrews are here found to be related to some Early Tertiary Euramerican 'hyopsodontid condylarths' (archaic hoofed mammals). As a result, stem members of afrotherian clades are not strictly African but also include some Early Paleogene Holarctic mammals.

   19.    Tabuce R., Marivaux L., Adaci M. et al. 2007. Early Tertiary mammals from North Africa reinforce the molecular Afrotheria clade.Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 274: 1159-1166.
Abstract: The phylogenetic pattern and timing of the radiation of mammals, especially the geographical origins of major crown clades, are areas of controversy among molecular biologists, morphologists and palaeontologists. Molecular phylogeneticists have identified an Afrotheria clade, which includes several taxa as different as tenrecs (Tenrecidae), golden moles (Chrysochloridae), elephant-shrews (Macroscelididae), aardvarks (Tubulidentata) and paenungulates (elephants, sea cows and hyracoids). Molecular data also suggest a Cretaceous African origin for Afrotheria within Placentalia followed by a long period of endemic evolution on the Afro-Arabian continent after the mid-Cretaceous Gondwanan breakup (approx. 105-25Myr ago). However, there was no morphological support for such a natural grouping so far. Here, we report new dental and postcranial evidence of Eocene stem hyrax and macroscelidid from North Africa that, for the first time, provides a congruent phylogenetic view with the molecular Afrotheria clade. These new fossils imply, however, substantial changes regarding the historical biogeography of afrotheres. Their long period of isolation in Africa, as assumed by molecular inferences, is now to be reconsidered inasmuch as Eocene paenungulates and elephant-shrews are here found to be related to some Early Tertiary Euramerican 'hyopsodontid condylarths' (archaic hoofed mammals). As a result, stem members of afrotherian clades are not strictly African but also include some Early Paleogene Holarctic mammals.

   20.    Wallis M. 2007. Mammalian genome projects reveal new growth hormone (GH) sequences Characterization of the GH-encoding genes of armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus),hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), bat (Myotis lucifugus), hyrax (Procavia capensis), shrew (Sorex araneus), ground squirrel (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus), elephant (Loxodonta africana), cat (Felis catus) and opossum (Monodelphis domestica).Gen Comp Endocrinol Epub ahead of print.
Abstract: Mammalian growth hormone (GH) sequences have been shown previously to display episodic evolution: the sequence is generally strongly conserved but on at least two occasions during mammalian evolution (on lineages leading to higher primates and ruminants) bursts of rapid evolution occurred. However, the number of mammalian orders studied previously has been relatively limited, and the availability of sequence data via mammalian genome projects provides the potential for extending the range of GH gene sequences examined. Complete or
nearly complete GH gene sequences for six mammalian species for which no data were previously available have been extracted from the genome databases-Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillo), Erinaceus europaeus (western European hedgehog), Myotis lucifugus (little brown bat), Procavia capensis (cape rock hyrax), Sorex araneus (European shrew), Spermophilus tridecemlineatus (13-lined ground squirrel). In addition incomplete data for several other species have been extended. Examination of the data in detail and comparison with previously available sequences has allowed assessment of the reliability of deduced sequences. Several of the new sequences differ substantially from the consensus sequence previously determined for eutherian GHs, indicating greater variability than previously recognised, and confirming the episodic pattern of evolution. The episodic pattern is not seen for signal sequences, 5' upstream sequence or synonymous substitutions-it is specific to the mature protein sequence, suggesting that it relates to the hormonal function. The substitutions accumulated during the course of GH evolution have occurred mainly on the side of the hormone facing away from the receptor, in a non-random fashion, and it is suggested that this may reflect interaction of the receptor-bound hormone with other proteins or small ligands.

   21.    Wellehan J.F., Johnson A.J., Childress A.L., Harr K.E. and Isaza R. 2007. Six novel gammaherpesviruses of Afrotheria provide insight into the early divergence of the Gammaherpesvirinae.Vet Microbiol 2007 Aug 19; [Epub ahead of print].
Abstract: The Afrotheria represent an early branching of placental mammals. Only two herpesviruses from Afrotheria have been previously identified, and the genus Proboscivirus in the subfamily Betaherpesvirinae has been proposed for them. Six novel gammaherpesviruses were identified in four species in the superorder Afrotheria by detection and analysis of their DNA polymerase genes. Elephantid herpesvirus 3 (ElHV3) and Elephantid herpesvirus 4 (ElHV4) were identified from conjunctival swabs from Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). ElHV3 was also found
in a vaginal swab from one elephant with vaginitis. Elephantid herpesvirus 5 (ElHV5) was identified from vaginal swabs of two Asian elephants with vaginal plaques. Elephantid herpesvirus 6 was discovered in a conjunctival swab from an African elephant (Loxodonta africana). Procavid herpesvirus 1 (PrHV1) was found in spleen and conjunctival swabs of rock hyrax (Procavia capensis). Trichechid herpesvirus 1 (TrHV1) was identified from skin and buffy coats of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). ElHV3 and ElHV4 form a distinct cluster, and ElHV5, ElHV6, TrHV1, and PrHV1 form a second cluster. These viruses may have codiverged with their host species. Phylogenetic analysis of these novel herpesviruses suggests that two separate groups of gammaherpesviruses may have codiverged with the Afrotheria.

   22.    Cooper A. 2006. The year of the mammoth.PLoS Biology 4: 1-3.
Abstract: Mammoth mitochondrial (mt) genomes are apparently on a similar schedule to London buses-you wait for ages and then suddenly three come along at once. Within the past six weeks, three studies [1-3] have independently determined all, or most, of the mammoth mt genome sequence, some 16,800 base pairs (bp). Encouragingly, the partial sequence was a byproduct of a study that generated some 13 million bp of mammoth genomic DNA using a new, massively parallel sequencing approach. The very divergent methods used in these three studies also neatly represent the past, present, and future of ancient DNA (aDNA) research. aDNA methods provide an opportunity to characterise the genetic composition of species and populations in the past, and to actually observe evolutionary change through real time. Such a record has great potential to reveal the processes that have generated the diversity and distribution of taxa in our modern environment, and to examine phenomena such as speciation, domestication, morphological evolution, and the impacts of major environmental changes. aDNA data also provide an important opportunity to test our ability to accurately reconstruct evolutionary history via the fossil record or via extrapolation from the genetic data of modern species. Unfortunately, the potential of aDNA remains largely untapped because research has been severely limited by the technical diffi culties of retrieving and studying the trace amounts of  highly fragmented DNA that survive in ancient specimens.

   23.    Cooper D.W. and Larsen E. 2006. Immunocontraception of mammalian wildlife: Ecological and immunogenetic issues.Reproduction 132: 821-828.
Abstract: Immunocontraception involves stimulating immune responses against gametes or reproductive hormones thus preventing conception. The method is being developed for the humane control of pest and overabundant populations of mammalian wildlife. This paper examines three fundamental issues associated with its use: (1) the difficulties of obtaining responses to self-antigens, (2) the likely evolution of genetically based non-response to immunocontraceptive agents, and (3) the possible changes in the array of pathogens possessed by the target species after generations of immunocontraception. Our review of the literature demonstrates that the barriers to an effective immunocontraceptive are at present very basic. Should they be overcome, the effects of immunocontraception on the immunogenetic constitution of wildlife populations through the selection for nonresponders must be examined. We suggest that the attempt to use the animal's own immune system to modulate reproduction may be incompatible with the basic biological function of protection against infectious disease. Research programs on mammalian immunocontraception should involve measurement of the heritability of non-response and an assessment of the likely change in the response of the contracepted population to possible pathogens.

   24.    Gelvin-Reymiller C., Reuther J.D., Potter B.A. and Bowers P.M. 2006. Technical aspects of a worked proboscidean tusk from Inmachuk River, Seward Peninsula, Alaska.Journal of Archaeological Science 33: 1088-1094.
Abstract: Prehistoric reduction sequences of proboscidean ivory have been described and discussed within the Russian and European Upper Paleolithic archaeological literature. A culturally modified proboscidean tusk (Mammuthus sp.) in Seward Peninsula, northwestern Alaska, displays longitudinal grooving, providing an insight into a reduction technique rarely described within North American archaeological literature. Similar reduction sequences have been described for the production of bone, antler and walrus ivory artifacts in the North American prehistoric record; however, examples on proboscidean ivory are extremely rare.

   25.    Henderson D.M. 2006. Burly gaits: Centers of mass, stability, and the trackways of sauropod dinosaurs.Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26: 907-921.
Abstract: The narrow- and wide-gauge trackways attributed to sauropod dinosaurs are hypothesized to be a consequence of the relative positions of their centers of mass. This hypothesis was tested using three-dimensional, trackwayproducing computer models of two sauropods and studies of Asian elephants. Centers of mass of sauropod models were computed using density distributions that reflect the high degree of pneumatization of the skeletons and air sacs within the body. A close correspondence was found between the relative areas of hand and foot prints in different trackways and the relative fractions of the body weight borne by the forefeet and hindfeet in the different types of sauropods inferred to have made the trackways. Experimental studies of Asian elephants corroborated the close correspondence between relative areas of the hindfeet and forefeet and body weight distribution. Replicating actual sauropod trackways with the walking models enabled testing of proposed gaits for a sauropod model. Brachiosaurus brancai, with its more centrally positioned center of mass, was stable and possessed a wide safety margin only when replicating a wide trackway. Conversely, Diplodocics carnegii, with a more posteriorly placed center of mass, was most stable when replicating a narrow trackway. A trend for large sauropods (> 12 tons), independent of clade, to have more anteriorly positioned centers of mass was identified, and it is proposed that all large sauropods were restricted to producing wide-gauge trackways for stability reasons. The primitive gait state for Sauropodomorpha was determined to be one that produced narrow-gauge trackways.

   26.    Joubert D. 2006. Hunting behaviour of lions (Panthera leo) on elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the Chobe National Park, Botswana.African Journal of Ecology 44: 279-281.
Abstract: Megaherbivores like elephants and rhinos have been regarded as invulnerable to predation as adults (Owen-Smith, 1988; G. B. Schaller pers. comm.), although Guthrie (1990) suggests that lions hunted such large prey during the Pleistocene. Recently, there have been a number of observations of elephants killed by lions in northern Botswana, going as far back as 1985 (M. Slogrove pers. comm.). The hunting behaviour of lions on elephants, and the age and sex structure of the elephants killed, were observed at a waterhole in the Savute region of Chobe National Park. The first observed elephant kill was recorded in August 1991. Systematic records of elephants killed were made between 1993 and 1996.

   27.    Kalmykov N.P. and Mashchenko E.N. 2006. New data on the migration of the family Elephantidae (Mammalia, Proboscidea) in Eurasia.Dokl Biol Sci 406: 103-105.

   28.    Krause J., Dear P.H., Pollack J.L. et al. 2006. Multiplex amplification of the mammoth mitochondrial genome and the evolution of Elephantidae.Nature 439: 724-727.
Abstract: In studying the genomes of extinct species, two principal limitations are typically the small quantities of endogenous ancient DNA and its degraded
condition, even though products of up to 1,600 base pairs (bp) have been amplified in rare cases. Using small overlapping polymerase chain reaction
products, longer stretches of sequences or even whole mitochondrial genomes can be reconstructed, but this approach is limited by the number of amplifications that can be performed from rare samples. Thus, even from well-studied Pleistocene species such as mammoths, ground sloths and cave bears, no DNA sequences of more than about 1,000 bp have been reconstructed. Here we report the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the Pleistocene woolly mammoth Mammuthus primigenius. We used about 200 mg of bone and a new approach that allows the simultaneous retrieval of multiple sequences from small amounts of degraded DNA. Our phylogenetic analyses show that the mammoth was more closely related to the Asian than to the African elephant. However, the divergence of mammoth, African and Asian elephants occurred over a short time, corresponding to only about 7% of the total length of the phylogenetic tree for the three evolutionary lineages.

   29.    Larke A. and Crews D.E. 2006. Parental investment, late reproduction, and increased reserve capacity are associated with longevity in humans.J Physiol Anthropol 25: 119-131.
Abstract: Throughout the living world trade-offs between reproductive success and longevity have been observed. In general, two extremes of life history patterning are reported, r- and K-selected species. The latter tend toward larger body sizes, few offspring from any one pregnancy, few offspring over the female reproductive span, longer life spans, and greater parental investment (PI: all efforts and expenses associated with the production, gestation, post-natal care, feeding, and protection of young) (e.g., whales, elephants, hominids). r-selected species tend toward smaller body size, multiple births/litters per pregnancy, female production of many gametes and offspring over the life span, and low levels of PI (e.g., most plants, insects, mice). These differences have significant influences on physiological variation among human populations.Across human samples, reproductive success (RS: the number of offspring successfully birthed and reared to reproductive age) has been reported to vary positively, negatively, and not at all with longevity of women. This complexity may be in part due to the fact that both early-life and late-life fecundity are associated with longevity in women, while total parity seems a poor gauge of female longevity in humankind. Large variations in associations of RS with longevity in women suggest that multiple factors may confound this association. One confounding factor is that among women, RS is largely determined not by fecundity, but by the quality of PI available to offspring. Among modern humans, PI is more complex, longer lasting (both relatively and absolutely), and extensive than for any other ammal. This suggests that modern human life history is a reflection of the co-evolution of longevity and extensive PI as part of our species' biocultural evolution. The need for long-term PI has greatly shaped human physiological variation and patterns of longevity.

   30.    Plotnik J.M., de Waal F.B. and Reiss D. 2006. Self-recognition in an Asian elephant.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103: 17053-1770.
Abstract: Considered an indicator of self-awareness, mirror self-recognition (MSR) has long seemed limited to humans and apes. In both phylogeny and human ontogeny, MSR is thought to correlate with higher forms of empathy and altruistic behavior. Apart from humans and apes, dolphins and elephants are also known for such capacities. After the recent discovery of MSR in dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), elephants thus were the next logical candidate species. We exposed three Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) to a large mirror to investigate their responses. Animals that possess MSR typically progress through four stages of behavior when facing a mirror: (i) social responses, (ii) physical inspection (e.g., looking behind the mirror), (iii) repetitive mirror-testing behavior, and (iv) realization of seeing themselves. Visible marks and invisible sham-marks were applied to the elephants' heads to test whether they would pass the litmus "mark test" for MSR in which an individual spontaneously uses a mirror to touch an otherwise imperceptible mark on its own body. Here, we report a successful MSR elephant study and report striking parallels in the progression of responses to mirrors among apes, dolphins, and elephants. These parallels suggest convergent cognitive evolution most likely related to complex sociality and cooperation. Living Links, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and Department of Psychology, Emory University, 532 North Kligo Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.

   31.    Poinar H.N., Schwarz C., Qi J. et al. 2006. Metagenomics to paleogenomics: large-scale sequencing of mammoth DNA.Science 311: 392-394.
Abstract: We sequenced 28 million base pairs of DNA in a metagenomics approach, using a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) sample from Siberia. As a result of exceptional sample preservation and the use of a recently developed emulsion polymerase chain reaction and pyrosequencing technique, 13 million base pairs (45.4%) of the sequencing reads were identified as mammoth DNA. Sequence identity between our data and African elephant (Loxodonta africana) was 98.55%, consistent with a paleontologically based divergence date of 5 to 6 million years. The sample includes a surprisingly small diversity of environmental DNAs. The high percentage of endogenous DNA recoverable from this single mammoth would allow for completion of its genome, unleashing the field of paleogenomics.

   32.    Poulakakis N., Parmakelis A., Lymberakis P. et al. 2006. Ancient DNA forces reconsideration of evolutionary history of Mediterranean pygmy elephantids.Biology Letters 2: 451-454.
Abstract: During the Pleistocene pygmy elephantids, some only a quarter of their ancestors' size, were present on Mediterranean islands until about 10 000 years ago (y.a.). Using a new methodology for ancient DNA (aDNA) studies, the whole genomic multiple displacement amplification method, we were able to retrieve cytochrome b (cytb) DNA fragments from 4200 to 800 000 y.a. specimens from island and mainland samples, including pygmy and normal-sized forms. The short DNA sequence (43 bp) retrieved from the 800 000 y.a. sample is one of the oldest DNA fragment ever retrieved. Duplication of the experiments in two laboratories, the occurrence of three diagnostic sites and the results of the phylogenetic analyses strongly support its authenticity. Our results challenge the prevailing view that pygmy elephantids of the eastern Mediterranean originated exclusively from Elephas, suggesting independent histories of dwarfism and the presence of both pygmy mammoths and elephant-like taxa on these islands. Based on our molecular data, the origin of the Tilos and Cyprus elephantids from a lineage within the genus Elephas is confirmed, while the DNA sequence from the Cretan sample falls clearly within the mammoth clade. Thus, the name Mammuthus creticus rather than Elephas creticus, seems to be justified for this form. Our findings also suggest a need to re-evaluate the evolutionary history of the Sicilian/Maltese species, traditionally included in the genus Elephas.

   33.    Rogaev E.I., Moliaka Y.K., Malyarchuk B.A. et al. 2006. Complete mitochondrial genome and phylogeny of Pleistocene mammoth Mammuthus primigenius.PLoS Biology 4: 1-8.
Abstract: Phylogenetic relationships between the extinct woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), and the Asian (Elephas maximus) and African savanna (Loxodonta africana) elephants remain unresolved. Here, we report the sequence of the complete mitochondrial genome (16,842 base pairs) of a woolly mammoth extracted from permafrost-preserved remains from the Pleistocene epoch-the oldest mitochondrial genome sequence determined to date. We demonstrate that well-preserved mitochondrial genome fragments, as long as ;1,600-1700 base pairs, can be retrieved from pre-Holocene remains of an extinct species. Phylogenetic reconstruction of the Elephantinae clade suggests that M. primigenius and E. maximus are sister species that diverged soon after their common ancestor split from the L. africana lineage. Low nucleotide diversity found between independently determined mitochondrial genomic sequences of woolly mammoths separated geographically and in time suggests that north-eastern Siberia was occupied by a relatively homogeneous population of M. primigenius throughout the late Pleistocene.

   34.    Rothschild B.M. and Martin L.D. 2006. Did ice-age bovids spread tuberculosis?Naturwissenschaften 93: 565-569.
Abstract: Pathognomonic metacarpal undermining is a skeletal pathology that has been associated with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in bovids. Postcranial artiodactyl, perissodactyl, and carnivore skeletons were examined in major university and museum collections of North America and Europe for evidence of this and other pathology potentially attributable to tuberculosis. Among nonproboscidean mammals from pre-Holocene North America, bone lesions indicative of tuberculosis were restricted to immigrant bovids from Eurasia. No bone lesions compatible
with diagnosis of tuberculosis were found in large samples of other pre-Holocene (164 Oligocene, 397 Miocene, and 1,041 Plio-Pleistocene) North American mammals, including
114 antilocaprids. Given the unchanged frequency of bovid tubercular disease during the Pleistocene, it appears that most did not die from the disease but actually reached an
accommodation with it (as did the mastodon) (Rothschild and Laub 2006). Thus, they were sufficiently long-lived to assure greater spread of the disease. The relationships of the
proboscidean examples need further study, but present evidence suggests a Holarctic spread of tuberculosis during the Pleistocene, with bovids acting as vectors. While the role of other animals in the transmission of tuberculosis could be considered, the unique accommodation achieved by bovids and mastodons makes them the likely "culprits" in its spread.

   35.    Rothschild B.M. and Laub R. 2006. Hyperdisease in the late Pleistocene:validation of an early 20th century hypothesis.Naturwissenschaften 93: 557-564.

   36.    Rubenstein D.R., Sherman P.W. and Gavin T.A. 2006. Pleistocene park: Does re-wilding North America represent sound conservation for the 21st century?Biological Conservation 132: 232-238.
Abstract: A group of conservation biologists recently proposed to populate western North America with African and Asian megafauna, including lions, elephants, cheetahs, and camels, to create a facsimile of a species assemblage that disappeared from the continent some 13,000 years ago. The goals of this program, known as "Pleistocene re-wilding", are to restore some of the evolutionary and ecological potential that was lost from North America during the Pleistocene extinctions, and help prevent the extinction of selected African and Asian mammals. Pleistocene re-wilders justify this conservation strategy on ethical and aesthetic grounds, arguing that humans have a moral responsibility to make amends for overexploitation by our ancestors. They believe that the flora of many North American terrestrial ecosystems has gone basically unchanged since the end of the Pleistocene, so re-wilding would help restore evolutionary and ecological potential and improve ecosystem functioning. This paper discusses some of the pros and cons of this proposal, including the ethical, aesthetic, ecological, and evolutionary issues, assesses its potential economic and political impacts on other conservation practices, both in North America and elsewhere, and reviews the realities of large mammal reintroductions. It is concluded that Pleistocene re-wilding with exotic species will not restore the evolutionary or ecological potential of native North American species nor extinct Pleistocene megafauna and their ancient ecosystems, but may instead jeopardize indigenous species and North American ecosystems. Resources would be better spent on preserving threatened organisms in their native habitats and reintroducing them to places in their historical ranges from which they were only recently extirpated.

   37.    Schmitt D., Cartmill M., Griffin T.M., Hanna J.B. and Lemelin P. 2006. Adaptive value of ambling gaits in primates and other mammals.J Exp Biol 209 (Pt 11): 2042-2049.
Abstract: At speeds between the walk and the gallop, most mammals trot. Primates almost never trot, and it has been claimed that they transition directly from a walk to a gallop without any distinctive mid-speed running gait. If true, this would be another characteristic difference between the locomotion of primates and that of most other quadrupedal mammals. Presently, however, few data exist concerning the actual presence or absence of intermediate-speed gaits (i.e. gaits that are used between a walk and a gallop) in primates. Video records of running in twelve primate species reveal that, unlike most other mammals, all the primates studied almost exclusively adopt an 'amble'--an intermediate-speed running gait with no whole-body aerial phase--rather than trot. Ambling is also common in elephants and some horses, raising the question of why ambling is preferred over trotting in these diverse groups of animals. Mathematical analyses presented here show that ambling ensures continuous contact of the body with the substrate while dramatically reducing vertical oscillations of the center of mass. This may explain why ambling appears to be preferable to trotting for extremely large terrestrial mammals such as elephants and for arboreal mammals like primates that move on unstable branches. These findings allow us to better understand the mechanics of these unusual running gaits and shed new light on primate locomotor evolution.Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA. daniel_schmitt@baa.mc.duke.edu

   38.    Shoshani J., Walter R.C., Abraha M. et al. 2006. A proboscidean from the late Oligocene of Eritrea, a "missing link" between early Elephantiformes and Elephantimorpha, and biogeographic implications.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103: 17296-17301pdf.
Abstract: We report on a late Oligocene proboscidean species from Eritrea, dated to 26.8 +/- 1.5 Mya. This "missing link" between early elephantiformes and Elephantimorpha is the oldest known nongomphothere proboscidean to probably display horizontal tooth displacement, typical of elephants [Elephantimorpha consists of Mammutida (mastodons) and Elephantida, and Elephantida includes gomphotheres, stegodons, and elephants]. Together with the newly discovered late Oligocene gomphotheres from Chilga, Ethiopia, the Eritrean taxon points to the importance of East Africa as a major area for the knowledge of the early evolution of Elephantimorpha before the faunal exchange between Eurasia and Africa.Department of Biology, University of Asmara, PO Box 1220, Asmara, Eritrea. jshosh@sun.science.wayne.edu

   39.    Shoshani J., Kupsky W.J. and Marchant G.H. 2006. Elephant brain. Part I: gross morphology, functions, comparative anatomy, and evolution.Brain Res Bull 70: 124-157.
Abstract: We report morphological data on brains of four African, Loxodonta africana, and three Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, and compare findings to literature. Brains exhibit a gyral pattern more complex and with more numerous gyri than in primates, humans included, and in carnivores, but less complex than in cetaceans. Cerebral frontal, parietal, temporal, limbic, and insular lobes are well developed, whereas the occipital lobe is relatively small. The insula is not as opercularized as in man. The temporal lobe is disproportionately large and expands laterally. Humans and elephants have three parallel temporal gyri: superior, middle, and inferior. Hippocampal sizes in elephants and humans are comparable, but proportionally smaller in elephant. A possible carotid rete was observed at the base of the brain. Brain size appears to be related to body size, ecology, sociality, and longevity. Elephant adult brain averages 4783 g, the largest among living and extinct terrestrial mammals; elephant neonate brain averages 50% of its adult brain weight (25% in humans). Cerebellar weight averages 18.6% of brain (1.8 times larger than in humans). During evolution, encephalization quotient has increased by 10-fold (0.2 for extinct Moeritherium, approximately 2.0 for extant elephants). We present 20 figures of the elephant brain, 16 of which contain new material. Similarities between human and elephant brains could be due to convergent evolution; both display mosaic characters and are highly derived mammals. Humans and elephants use and make tools and show a range of complex learning skills and behaviors. In elephants, the large amount of cerebral cortex, especially in the temporal lobe, and the well-developed olfactory system, structures associated with complex learning and behavioral functions in humans, may provide the substrate for such complex skills and behavior.

   40.    Uni S., Bain O., Agatsuma T. et al. 2006. New filarial nematode from Japanese serows (Naemorhedus crispus: Bovidae) close to parasites from elephants.Parasite 13: 193-200.
Abstract: A new onchocercid species, Loxodontofilaria caprini n. sp. (Filarioidea: Nematoda), found in subcutaneous tissues of 37 (33%) of 112 serows (Noemorhedus crispus) examined in Japan, is described. The female worm had the characteristics of Loxodontofilaria, e.g., the large body size, well-developed esophagus with a shallow buccal cavity, and the long tail with three caudal lappets. The male worm of the new species, which was first described in the genus, had unequal length of spicules, 10 pairs of pre- and post-caudal papillae, and three terminal caudal lappets. Deirids were present in both sexes. Among four species of the genus loxodontofiloria: one from the hippopotamus and three from the Elepantidae, L. caprini n. sp. appears close to L. asiatica Bain, Baker & Chabaud, 1982, a subcutaneous parasite of Elephas indicus in Myanmar (Burma). However, L. caprini n. sp. is distinct from L. asiatica in that the Japanese female worm has an esophagus half as long and the microfilariae also half as long with a coiled posterior. The microfilariae were found in the skin of serows. The new parasite appears to clearly illustrate a major event in the evolution of onchocercids: the host-switching. This might have occurred on the Eurasian continent, where elephantids and the lineage of rupicaprines diversified during the Pliocene-Pleistocene, or in Japan, into which some of these hosts migrated.Department of Medical Zoology, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka 545-8585, Japan. uni@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp

   41.    Agnew D.W., Hagey L. and Shoshani J. 2005. The elephants of Zoba Gash Barka, Eritrea: part 4. Cholelithiasis in a wild African elephant (Loxodonta africana).Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 36: 677-683.
Abstract: A 4.0-kg cholelith was found within the abdominal cavity of a dead wild African elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Eritrea. Analysis of this cholelith by histochemistry, electron microscopy, electrospray mass spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy revealed it was composed of bile alcohols but no calcium, bilirubin, or cholesterol. Bacteria were also found in the cholelith. Similar, but smaller. bile stones have been identified previously in other wild African elephants and all excavated mammoth (Mammuthus columbi). Choleliths have been reported only once in it captive Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Elephants, along with hyraxes (Procavia capensis) and manatees (Trichechus manatus), are unique among mammals in producing only bile alcohols and no bile acids, which may predispose them to cholelithiasis, particularly in association with bacterial infection. Dietary factors may also play an important role in cholelith formation.

   42.    Debruyne R. 2005. A case study of apparent conflict between molecular phylogenies: the interrelationships of African elephants.Cladistics 21: 31-50.
Abstract: Recent molecular phylogenies of the African elephants suggest that there is an evolutionary structure within Loxodonta africana. Some nuclear results (Roca et al., 2001) support the separation of the forest African elephant subspecies L. a. cyclotis as a species distinct from the savannah elephant L. a. africana, on the basis of the recognition of both forming highly divergent (reciprocally monophyletic) clades. Conversely, a mitochondrial survey (Eggert et al., 2002), while admitting a geographic partitioning of the genetic structure within African elephants, suggests retaining the status quo. They recognize three diagnosible entities (western, central and south-eastern Africa) with non-overlapping ranges within L. africana sensu lato. In order to address these con.icting views (historical fragmentation and speciation or isolation by distance, respectively), we have sequenced two datasets of 1961 bp (for 50 elephants) and about 3700 bp, respectively (for 20 elephants) of the mitochondrial DNA for both forms of elephants (cyclotis and africana). They span the cytochrome b gene, the control region and several RNAs. When compared with former mtDNA data, they provide the most comprehensive view of the African elephant phylogeny (78 mtDNA haplotypes, of which 44 are new) and provide the .rst insight into populations from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The genetic diversity of mtDNA was appraised and the stability of alternative phylogenetic trees was investigated. Our results are inconsistent with both those prior studies. They revealed two highly divergent molecular clades referred to as F and S, that do not conform to the morphological delineations of cyclotis and africana. A non-negligible proportion of specimens of L. a. africana display haplotypes prevailing in forest elephant populations (clade F). The geographic distribution of clades and areas of their co-occurrence support the hypothesis of incomplete isolation between forest and savannah African elephant populations, followed by recurrent interbreeding between the two forms. We state that the conclusions of prior studies resulted from insufficient character and / or geographic sampling. We conclude that there is no satisfying argument which can recognize two or more species of African elephants. We briefly comment on the meaning of such an attitude in a conservation viewpoint.

   43.    Delves P.J. and Roitt I.M. 2005. Vaccines for the control of reproduction--status in mammals, and aspects of comparative interest.Dev Biol (Basel) 121: 265-273.
Abstract: The objective of producing vaccines which target elements of the reproductive system to control fertility has been pursued for many years. Of the many targets for such vaccines, several sperm-associated antigens have been proposed for antibody-mediated intervention before fertilization but the very abundance of antigen to be neutralized has been a barrier. Zona pellucida antigens associated with the surface of the oocyte have also been targeted and used successfully for control of 'wild' elephant populations but worries concerning immunopathologically-mediated tissue damage have been mooted. Vaccines using human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) which is required for the implantation and maintenance of the fertilized egg, although of interest for the development of fertility control in human populations, has no relevance in the context of the present conference because external fertilization of fish eggs is independent. The pathways by which gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) secreted by the hypothalamus promote release of luteinizing (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) which govern the physiological maturation and maintenance of the reproductive organs, provide many targets for immunological intervention. Most consistent success has been reported using GnRH-based vaccines which are immunosterilizing in a variety of mammalian species such as pigs, rodents and white-tailed deer. The fact that the structure of the decapeptide, GnRH, has been maintained over so many years of evolution and been conserved across so many animal species, encourages the view that a strategy for control of sexual maturation in fish based upon stimulation of GnRH antibodies may well prove to be a practical proposition, provided the formulation of an appropriate highly immunogenic vaccine can be achieved.

   44.    Edwards H.G., Jorge Villar S.E., Nik Hassan N.F. et al. 2005. Ancient biodeterioration: an FT-Raman spectroscopic study of mammoth and elephant ivory.Anal Bioanal Chem 383: 713-720.
Abstract: Raman spectra of mammoth ivory specimens have been recorded using near-infrared excitation, and comparisons made with modern Asian and African elephant ivories.Whereas the most ancient mammoth ivory (60-65 ky) showed no evidence for an organic collagen component, more recent samples of mammoth ivory indicated that some preservation had occurred, although with biodeterioration of the protein
structure exhibited by the amide I and III bands in the 1200-1700 cm(-1) region of the Raman spectrum. The consequent difficulties encountered when applying chemometrics methods to ancient ivory analysis (which are successful for modern specimens) are noted. In the most ancient mammoth ivory specimens, which are extensively fragmented, evidence of mineralization is seen, with the production of gypsum, calcite and limonite; Raman microscopic analysis of crystalline material inside the fissures of the mammoth ivory shows the presence of gypsum as well as cyanobacterial colonisation. The application of Raman spectroscopy to the nondestructive analysis of archaeological materials in order to gain information of relevance to their preservation or restoration is highlighted.

   45.    Edwards H.G.M., Hassan N.F.N. and Arya N. 2005. Evaluation of Raman spectroscopy and application of chemometric methods for the differentiation of contemporary ivory specimens I: elephant and mammalian species.Journal of Raman Spectroscopy 37: 353-360.
Abstract: Specimens of mammoth, African and Asian ivory dentine, and other mammalian species were examined using Fourier-Transform (FT), conventional dispersive (confocal) and remote-sensing portable Raman spectroscopy, all with near-infrared laser excitation (1064 and 785 nm). FT-Raman spectroscopy produced the best quality spectra for differentiation purposes and the application of a fibre probe coupled to a portable Raman spectrometer has also been demonstrated and proposed for the in situ characterization of suspected contraband ivories at airports. In addition to the visual comparison of spectral features, chemometric methods are used to discriminate between African and Asian elephant dentine by analyzing normalized integrated band areas in ten selected wavenumber regions. Principal component analysis separates the spectra of both species into two well-defined groups based upon their organic and inorganic composition. By means of stepwise discriminant analysis almost 98% of the spectra are correctly classified to their species group memberships.

   46.    Hambler C., Henderson P.A. and Speight M.R. 2005. Elephants, Ecology and Nonequilibrium?Science 307: 673c-674c.
Abstract: Elephants and thrips may have something in common: It has been proposed that elephants in Africa do not reach carrying capacity because they inhabit "nonequilibrium" ecosystems with highly variable rainfall ("Space-the final frontier for economists and elephants," E. Bulte et al., Perspectives, 15 Oct., p. 420). Similarly, it has been proposed that thrips in Australia do not reach a carrying capacity because of climatic fluctuations. The nonequilibrium (density-independent) ideas of the 1950s are being reworked as "state-of-the-art" ecological theory by Bulte et al. We should remember, however, that a more sophisticated analysis of the same thrip populations revealed strongly density dependent population change and hence a carrying capacity. The suggestion that multispecies systems are unlikely to show density dependence is erroneous. In contrast, evidence is emerging of the very widespread occurrence of density dependence, even in complex marine systems. Detection of such effects typically takes over four generations; well over a hundred years might be needed to detect density dependence in an elephant population. The application of nonequilibrium hypotheses to savannah has been challenged on theoretical and empirical grounds. Models indicate that herbivores in semi-arid areas are in long-term equilibrium with a subset of their resources. Competitive regulation is now very clear in a number of species of large herbivores in Africa, including wildebeest. A review concluded there was no evidence of a paradigm shift to a nonequilibrium perspective among those researching grasslands. Large species are unlikely to exhibit metapopulation dynamics. The harvesting of elephants is, rightly, controversial. We suggest that the nonequilibrium perspective is unlikely to clarify how their populations might respond to management.

   47.    Kalmykov N.P. and Maschenko E.N. 2005. The oldest representative of Elephantidae (Mammalia, Proboscidea) in Asia.Paleontological Journal 39: 652-659.
Abstract: The earliest representative of the family Elephantidae in Asia,  Archidiskodon sp. From the Udunga locality (western Transbaikalia, Early Pliocene, MN 15), is described. The age of the accompanying mammal fauna suggests simultaneous migrations of mammuthoid elephants from Africa to Europe and Asia. The material includes a right dp(3) and isolated tooth  plates from another dp(3). The structure of dp(3) indicates that the  Early  Pliocene members of Elephantidae from western Transbaikalia displayed the basic morphological features of this family, i.e., the successive  formation  of dp(3), plate number, hypsodonty, and enamel thickness.

   48.    Konishi S. 2005. Jaws of herbivorous mammals.Clin Calcium 15: 1414-1417.
Abstract: The jaws of herbivorous mammals are characterized by their large occlusal surface of the molar; high crown of the molar; long snout; etc. However,
elephants, the biggest herbivorous mammal, have other characteristics. In the evolutionary trends of proboscidean skulls, concomitant with the increase in
tusk size comes on the enlargement, antero-posterior shortening, dorso-ventral elongation of the cranium with increasing cheek teeth size. Naturally, the jaw follows the same evolutionary trends as the cranium.

   49.    Loannidis J.P.A. 2005. Why most published research findings are false.PLoS Med 2: e124.

   50.    Nishihara H., Satta Y., Nikaido M. et al. 2005. A retroposon analysis of Afrotherian phylogeny.Mol Biol Evol 22: 1823-1833.
Abstract: Recent comprehensive studies of DNA sequences support the monophyly of Afrotheria, comprising elephants, sirenians (dugongs and manatees), hyraxes,
tenrecs, golden moles, aardvarks, and elephant shrews, as well as that of Paenungulata, comprising elephants, sirenians, and hyraxes. However,
phylogenetic relationships among paenungulates, as well as among nonpaenungulates, have remained ambiguous. Here we applied an extensive
retroposon analysis to these problems to support the monophyly of aardvarks, tenrecs, and golden moles, with elephant shrews as their sister group. Regarding phylogenetic relationships in Paenungulata, we could characterize only one informative locus, although we could isolate many insertions specific to each of three lineages, namely, Proboscidea, Sirenia, and Hyracoidea. These data prompted us to reexamine phylogenetic relationships among Paenungulata using 19 nuclear gene sequences resulting in three different analyses, namely, short interspersed element (SINE) insertions, nuclear sequence analyses, and morphological cladistics, supporting different respective phylogenies. We concluded that these three lineages diverged very rapidly in a very short evolutionary period, with the consequence that ancestral polymorphism present in the last common ancestor of Paenungulata results in such incongruence. Our results suggest the rapid fixation of many large-scale morphological synapomorphies for Tethytheria; implications of this in relation to the morphological evolution in Paenungulata are discussed.

   51.    Palombo M.R. and Ferretti M.P. 2005. Elephant fossil record from Italy: Knowledge, problems, and perspectives.Quaternary International 126-28: 107-136.
Abstract: The earliest occurrence of elephantines in Italy is in the middle Villafranchian (late Middle Pliocene; ca. 2.6 Ma), with a primitive representative of the mammoth lineage. In addition to this still poorly known taxon, four elephant species are clearly recognized in Plio-Pleistocene fossil mammal assemblages from the Italian peninsula: Mammuthus meridionalis, M. trogontherii, M. primigenius, and Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) antiquus. In Sicily, at least three different taxa are present during the Pleistocene: the dwarf E. falconeri, the medium sized E. (P.) "mnaidriensis", and a third poorly known large sized taxon, represented by isolated findings, in some cases apparently associated with E. (P.) "mnaidriensis". A number of specimens from Spinagallo and Luparello, of intermediate size between E. "mnaidriensis" and E falconeri, suggest the occurrence in Sicily of a further elephant species. Sardinia records the only case of an endemic small sized Mammuthus species from the western Mediterranean. The Italian elephant fossil recordclearly shows the influence of climatic, physiographic and paleogeographic conditions on the pattern of occurrence and dispersal of this mammal group in Southern Europe.

   52.    Perez-Barberia F.J. and Gordon I.J. 2005. Gregariousness increases brain size in ungulates.Oecologia 145: 41-52.
Abstract: The brain's main function is to organise the physiological and behavioural responses to environmental and social challenges in order to keep the organism alive. Here, we studied the effects that gregariousness (as a measurement of sociality), dietary habits, gestation length and sex have on brain size of extant ungulates. The analysis controlled for the effects of phylogeny and for random variability implicit in the data set. We tested the following groups of hypotheses: (1) Social brain hypothesis-gregarious species are more likely to have larger brains than non-gregarious species because the former are subjected to demanding and complex social interactions; (2) Ecological hypothesis-dietary habits impose challenging cognitive tasks associated with finding and manipulating food (foraging strategy); (3) Developmental hypotheses (a) energy strategy: selection for larger brains operates, primarily, on maternal metabolic turnover (i.e. gestation length) in relation to food quality because the majority of the brain's growth takes place in utero, and finally (b) sex hypothesis: females are expected to have larger brains than males, relative to body size, because of the differential growth rates of the soma and brain between the sexes. We found that, after adjusting for body mass, gregariousness and gestation length explained most of the variation in brain mass across the ungulate species studied. Larger species had larger brains; gregarious species and those with longer gestation lengths, relative to body mass, had larger brains than non-gregarious species and those with shorter gestation lengths. The effect of diet was negligible and subrogated by gestation length, and sex had no significant effect on brain size. The ultimate cause that could have triggered the co-evolution between gestation length and brain size remains unclear.

   53.    Roca A.L., Georgiadis N. and O'Brien S.J. 2005. Cytonuclear genomic dissociation in African elephant species.Nat Genet 37: 96-100.
Abstract: African forest and savanna elephants are distinct species separated by a hybrid zone. Because hybridization can affect the systematic and conservation status of populations, we examined gene flow between forest and savanna elephants at 21 African locations. We detected cytonuclear dissociation, indicative of different evolutionary histories for nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. Both paternally (n = 205 males) and biparentally (n = 2,123 X-chromosome segments) inherited gene sequences indicated that there was deep genetic separation between forest and savanna elephants. Yet in some savanna locales distant from present-day forest habitats, many individuals with savanna-specific nuclear genotypes carried maternally transmitted forest elephant mitochondrial DNA. This extreme cytonuclear dissociation implies that there were ancient episodes of hybridization between forest females and savanna males, which are larger and reproductively dominant to forest or hybrid males. Recurrent backcrossing of female hybrids to savanna bulls replaced the forest nuclear genome. The persistence of residual forest elephant mitochondria in savanna elephant herds renders evolutionary interpretations based on mitochondrial DNA alone misleading and preserves a genomic record of ancient habitat changes.

   54.    Roca A.L. and O'Brien S.J. 2005. Genomic inferences from Afrotheria and the evolution of elephants.Current Opinion in Genetics and Development 15: 652-659.
Abstract: Recent genetic studies have established that African forest and savanna elephants are distinct species with dissociated cytonuclear genomic patterns, and have identified Asian elephants from Borneo and Sumatra as conservation priorities. Representative of Afrotheria, a superordinal clade encompassing six eutherian orders, the African savanna elephant was among the first mammals chosen for whole-genome sequencing to provide a comparative understanding of the human genome. Elephants have large and complex brains and display advanced levels of social structure, communication, learning and intelligence. The elephant genome sequence might prove useful for comparative genomic studies of these advanced traits, which have appeared independently in only three mammalian orders: primates, cetaceans and proboscideans.

   55.    Roth G. and Dicke U. 2005. Evolution of the brain and intelligence.TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences 9: 250-257.
Abstract: Intelligence has evolved many times independently among vertebrates. Primates, elephants and cetaceans are assumed to be more intelligent than 'lower' mammals, the great apes and humans more than monkeys, and humans more than the great apes. Brain properties assumed to be relevant for intelligence are the (absolute or relative) size of the brain, cortex, prefrontal cortex and degree of encephalization. However, factors that correlate better with intelligence are the number of cortical neurons and conduction velocity ,as the basis for information-processing capacity. Humans have more cortical neurons than other mammals, although only marginally more than whales and elephants. The outstanding intelligence of humans appears to result from a combination and enhancement of properties found in non-human primates, such as theory of mind, imitation and language, rather than from 'unique' properties

   56.    Shoshani J. and Tassy P. 2005. Advances in proboscidean taxonomy & classification, anatomy & physiology, and ecology & behavior.Quaternary International 126-128: 5-20.
Abstract: With the addition of 13 new taxa, we recognized 175 species and subspecies of proboscideans, classified in 42 genera and 10 families. The three extant species are: forest African elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), bush African elephant (L. africana), and Asian elephant (Elephas maximus, with three subspecies). Rigorous analysis of characters published or awaiting publication is imperative for better understanding of the cladistic relationships among currently recognized proboscideans. Here we focus on ''aquatic ancestry'' of Proboscidea, interordinal relationships within Placentalia, proboscidean taxonomy in general and South American in particular, anatomy and physiology and some ecological considerations. New taxa above the family level include sister taxa Mammutida and Elephantida, and Plesielephantiformes as a sister taxon to Elephantiformes. Neontological research is currently under way on the hyoid apparatus, lungs, brain, hearing, ecology and behavior. Topics for future research include: phylogenetic positions of anthracobunids, Moeritherium, tetralophodont gomphotheres, Stegolophodon and Stegodon, and intra-familial relationships among Loxodonta, Elephas and Mammuthus, and continuing studies on encephalization quotient. Certain anatomical features and functions (e.g., the hyoid apparatus that helps in food procurement, in production of infrasonic sounds, and in storing water to be used in time of stress) evolved about 25 million years ago, in time for diversification into new niches when grasses appeared in the landscape.

   57.    Sivasundaram S. 2005. Trading knowledge: The East India Company's elephants in India and Britain.Historical Journal 48: 27-63.
Abstract: During the East India Company's rule of India, Britons observed the pervasiveness of elephants in local modes of warfare, hunting, trade, and religious symbolism. The colonizers appropriated this knowledge about elephants: for instance, in the taking-over of Mughal trade routes or Tipu Sultan's stables. What Indians knew about the elephant also fed into a metropolitan culture of anthropomorphism, exemplified in the celebrated shooting of the elephant Chuny in 1826. Anthropomorphic approaches to the elephant held by Britons worked alongside Sanskrit texts and Mughal paintings. These hybrid understandings gave way, by the mid-century to an allegedly objective and Christian science of animals, which could not be tainted by what was called pagan superstition. By using the elephant as a point of focus, this article urges the importance of popular traditions of colonial exchange in the emergence of science, and cautions against the reification of indigenous knowledge. The argument aims to show the strengths of a history of knowledge-making that is not focused on elites, the metropolis, or the periphery. A study of the uses of the elephant in colonialism also suggests the multiple and easily interchangeable meanings that animals could carry.

   58.    Stone J. and Telford M. 2005. Fractal dimensions characterizing mammal teeth: A case study involving Elephantidae.Mammal Rev. 35: 123-128.
Abstract: 1. Dental features frequently have provided data for producing and deducing mammal taxonomies and phylogeny, yet quantitative or statistical analyses for describing intricacies that characterize tooth form are wanting. 2. A method for determining fractal dimensions D that characterize enamel ridges constituting occlusal surfaces for teeth in some mammal species is presented; D quantify complexity (i.e. convolution). The method is exemplified with an analysis that was conducted on teeth from the Family Elephantidae.

   59.    Stuart A.J. 2005. The extinction of woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) in Europe.Quaternary International 126-28: 171-177.
Abstract: Together with several other megafaunal species in Northern Eurasia, Mammuthus primigenius and Palaeoloxodon antiquus became extinct in the Last Glacial-Interglacial cycle, but they had very different ecologies, times of extinction and `last stands' in different regions. The dramatic contraction in mammoth range ca. 12 kyr (uncalibrated C-14 chronology), after which known populations were confined to Northern Siberia (mainly Taymyr and Wrangel Island), correlates well with the extensive spread of trees in the Allerod phase of the Late Glacial Interstadial. The return of open steppe-tundra in the Younger Dryas cold phase, ca. 10.6-10 kyr, saw a limited re-expansion into NE Europe, followed by retraction and apparent extinction of mainland populations, which can be correlated with the marked loss of open habitats in the early Holocene. In contrast, at the end of the Last Interglacial, the retreat of P. antiquus to S. Europe, where it may have survived to ca. 50-34 kyr, can be linked to the loss of woodland habitats elsewhere. Although in both species, climate acting through vegetational changes evidently drove these range shifts, environmental change alone appears insufficient to account for extinctions. However, the possible role of human hunters is also still unclear.

   60.    Agatsuma T., Rajapakse R.P., Kuruwita V.Y., Iwagami M. and Rajapakse R.C. 2004. Molecular taxonomic position of the elephant schistosome, Bivitellobilharzia nairi, newly discovered in Sri Lanka.Parasitology International 53: 69-75.
Abstract: Bivitellobilharzia nairi (Mudaliar and Ramanujachar, 1945) Dutt and Srivastava, 1955 was first recorded in India. A number of adult worm specimens of this schistosome species were recovered from a domestic elephant, which died in 1999 in Sri Lanka. This is the first report of this schistosome from Sri Lanka. In the present study, in order to clarify the phylogenetic relationship with other species of schistosomes, sequences from the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) of the ribosomal gene repeat, part of the 28S ribosomal RNA gene (28S), and part of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene from B. nairi were analyzed. Two intraspecific variations were seen within 13 individuals in the ITS2 region. In the CO1 region of the mitochondrial DNA, there were four haplotypes in the nucleotide sequences and two haplotypes in the amino acid sequences. Phylogenetic analysis using the nuclear DNA showed that B. nairi was basal to all of species of the genus Schistosoma. The 28S tree also showed that the mammalian lineage was monophyletic. However, phylogenetic analysis using the mitochondrial DNA showed that B. nairi was nested within the genus Schistosoma. The taxonomical position for this species as well as the contradiction between the results from the nuclear and mitochondrial genes were discussed.  Department of Environmental Health Science, Faculty of Medicine, Kochi Medical School, Kochi 783-8505, Japan. agatsuma@med.kochi-ms.ac.jp

   61.    Alter S. 2004. Elephas maximus: A portrait of the Indian elephant. Harcourt Press.
Abstract: Review from Amazon: Mixing mythology and natural history, Stephen Alter lets readers share his lifelong love for the Indian elephant, Elephas maximus. While legends threaten to overwhelm facts in the tale, Alter has nonetheless presented an accurate portrait of his subject, true to centuries of Indian tradition. Beyond metaphors and fables, elephants occupy an important place in Sanskrit literature. Gajashastra, or "elephant science," was studied and recorded in several texts that are based on oral traditions.As much travelogue as science book, Elephas inextricably links the Indian elephant with the history of southern Asia itself. In pre-colonial India, elephants were wound up in religion and daily life; in modern times, the animals were first hunted then fetishized by Westerners. Alter reserves judgment on these issues, except to note that none of India's 20th-century history has been good for elephant populations, which are endangered or threatened nearly everywhere. He treks into parks and reserves, seeking out wild elephants and describing their awe-inspiring behaviors. The stories he uncovers along the way--of temple elephants, mysterious Elephanta  Island, seagoing elephants, and the god Ganesha--weave a spellbinding tale. --Therese Littleton

   62.    Buchanan K.L. and Goldsmith A.R. 2004. Noninvasive endocrine data for behavioural studies: The importance of validation.Animal Behaviour 67: 183-185.
Abstract: There has been a substantial growth recently in the use of noninvasive methods to quantify hormone production, through the measurement of excreted hormones or hormone levels from saliva, sweat or hair (e.g.Wasser et al. 2000; Cook 2002; Pfeffer et al. 2002). These