Background Europe has undergone dynamic land use changes in recent decades that have affected the extent, quality, and connectivity of large carnivore habitats. However, the current distribution of la...

Frugivorous mammals play a key role in forest regeneration by dispersing seeds yet their effectiveness can vary with landscape disturbance and the native or exotic status of the plant species. In the ...

The characterization of soil mite (Acari) communities traditionally follows morphological identifications of specimens extracted from soil, which is a highly laborious and time-consuming process. Meta...

Background As science becomes more open and accessible, researchers are increasingly encouraged—and sometimes required—to share their digital data on public repositories. While this promotes transpare...

Non-invasive samples, such as feces, remain an important source of DNA for genetic analyses in molecular ecology and conservation genetics, especially when working with elusive or endangered species. ...

Following decades of mining impacts, South America’s hypersaline wetlands (salars) face increasing threats from lithium extraction to support global decarbonisation. Although globally important, salar...

The evolution of marine mammals in South America includes unique and extinct lineages found nowhere else in the world, such as the walrus-convergent whale Odobenocetops and multiple aquatic sloth spec...

Clitellata is a major annelid clade comprising oligochaetes (e.g., earthworms) and hirudineans (e.g., leeches). Due to their scant fossil record, the origins of clitellates, particularly Hirudinea, are poorly known. Here, we describe the first leech body fossil, Macromyzon siluricus, gen. et sp. nov., from the Brandon Bridge Formation (Waukesha Lagerstätte). This fossil, which is preserved in exceptional detail, possesses several hirudinean soft-tissue synapomorphies–including a large sucker at the posterior end and sub-divided segments–and phylogenetic analyses resolve Macromyzon siluricus as a stem leech. Its age, 437.5–436.5 Ma, is consistent with early age estimates for the origin of clitellates, and predates molecular-clock-based estimates of hirudinidan origins by at least 200 million years. These findings suggest that the earliest true leeches were marine and that, contrary to prevailing hypotheses, were unlikely to have fed on vertebrate blood.

Background Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops because of a profoundly traumatic experience such as combat situations, interpersonal violence, accidents, and natural disasters. Symptom mani...