Dear Members of the Zoological Society of Japan

At the Board of Directors meeting held at the International Forum on Saturday, June 1, candidate papers were recommended to the Board of Directors following rigorous deliberation by the Zoological Science Editorial Committee. As a result of its deliberation, the Zoological Science Board of Directors decided to present the 2019 Zoological Science Award for the following paper.

Public Interest Incorporated Foundation, Zoological Society of Japan

Drosophila Peptide Hormones Allatostatin A and Diuretic Hormone 31 Exhibiting Complementary Gradient Distribution in Posterior Midgut Antagonistically Regulate Midgut Senescence and Adult Lifespan
Koji Takeda, Takashi Okumura, Mayu Terahata, Mio Yamaguchi, Kiichiro Taniguchi, Takashi Adachi-Yamada
Zoological Science 35(1): 75-85.
The animal intestine is called the "second brain," being deeply linked not only to digestion but also to neural control, immunity, and lifespan. In recent years, the mechanisms controlling these multifaceted functions have been attracting attention. In this paper, by making full use of various genetic analysis techniques, the authors demonstrated that two types of endocrine cells—those producing Allatostatin A or Diuretic Hormone 31—exist ectopically in the midgut of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and that they antagonistically control midgut cellular aging and adult lifespan. These findings, which propose a novel lifespan-control mechanism by the intestine, represent an important research outcome from which future developments are expected.

Evaluating Movement Patterns and Microhabitat Selection of the Japanese Common Toad (Japanese toadUsing Fluorescent Powder Tracking
Hisanori Okamiya, Tamotsu Kusano
Zoological Science 35(2): 153-160.
This paper investigated the home range and habitat use of the Japanese toad (Bufo japonicus formosus) during the non-breeding season using a bio-logging method utilizing fluorescent powder, which is still not widely recognized in Japan. It succeeded in revealing interesting ecological characteristics, such as the body size of the Japanese toad significantly influencing movement distance and range, its unexpectedly frequent use of areas covered with grass or moss, and its tendency to avoid paved areas. The findings revealed this time provide useful information for the conservation of amphibians, particularly species inhabiting urbanized areas, and the content is also commendable from a conservation perspective. Furthermore, the authors demonstrated that this tracking method using fluorescent powder is sufficiently effective for understanding amphibian behavior and elucidating habitat selection, and the value of this paper is high in this respect as well.

First Detailed Record of Symbiosis Between a Sea Anemone and Homoscleromorph Sponge, With a Description of Tempuractis rinkai gen. et sp. nov. (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria: Edwardsiidae)
Takato Izumi, Yuji Ise, Kensuke Yanagi, Daisuke Shibata, Rei Ueshima Zoological Science 35(2): 188-198.
Sea anemones of the family Edwardsiidae have a worm-like body and lack the adhesive organ called a pedal disc commonly found in other sea anemones, and
Characterized by features such as a smaller number of septa partitioning the gastric cavity compared to other sea anemones, with approximately 90 species known worldwide and about 15 species from Japan. In this study, based on specimens obtained from Misaki, Sado, and Toba, the authors discovered for the first time in the world that they symbiotically associate with a species of sclerosponge, and described them as a new genus and new species (Japanese name: Tenpura-isoginchaku). The Japanese name is inspired by how the sponge wraps around the body of the sea anemone like the batter of shrimp tempura, and the tentacles look like the tail of the shrimp tempura. In this paper, the authors not only described the morphology of this new genus and species in detail, but also observed the contact area with the sponge using a transmission electron microscope and conducted field and indoor ecological observations, which is highly praised for providing comprehensive zoological knowledge and discussion appropriate for the journal Zoological Science.

Chewing Holes for Camouflage
Jing Ren, Natasha de Gunten, Alexander S. Konstantinov, Fredric V. Vencl, Siqin Ge, David L. Hu
Zoological Science 35(3): 199-207.
While observing leaf beetles in the field, the authors noticed that the feeding scars left by the beetles on leaves serve as their own camouflage, which they verified in this paper. First, through behavioral observation of the beetles, measurement of foregut size, and measurement of the range of motion of the head-foregut joint, they revealed that the beetles have an anatomical structure such that a single feeding session involves chewing the leaf surface to an area of about half their body (silhouette) size. In addition, using human subjects, they conducted an experiment measuring the time it takes to find a leaf beetle among feeding scars in computer-simulation-generated images, demonstrating that the feeding scars actually contribute to delaying the detection of the leaf beetles.
Although birds are the primary predators of leaf beetles in the field, and because birds rely on vision for their predatory behavior, camouflage through feeding marks is considered to be adaptively advantageous. This paper makes a highly original contribution by providing a novel field discovery of the camouflage effect produced when animals alter the patterns of their surrounding environment through their own behavior.

Molecular Characterization of Eye Pigmentation-Related ABC Transporter Genes in the Ladybird Beetle Harmonia axyridis Reveals Striking Gene Duplication of the white Gene
Tomohiro Tsuji, Hiroki Gotoh, Shinichi Morita, Junya Hirata, Yohei Minakuchi, Toshinobu Yaginuma, Atsushi Toyoda, Teruyuki Niimi
Zoological Science 35(3): 260-267.
ABC transporter proteins play an important role in the formation of major insect pigments such as ommochromes and pteridines. Among them, the white gene, discovered from the white-eye mutant of Drosophila melanogaster, is the best-known pigment precursor transporter, and its involvement in pigmentation has been demonstrated in a wide range of insect species. In this paper, the authors examined the genome sequence of the Asian ladybird beetle (Harmonia axyridis), which exhibits remarkable polymorphism in coloration and spotting patterns, and discovered that the white gene is quadruplicated into six copies. Furthermore, they performed functional validation using RNAi on each of these paralogs and found that only a paralog (Ha-w-2) different from the one considered most ancestral (Ha-w-1)
revealed that it is involved in the pigmentation of compound eyes. In other words, this paper suggests that the duplication and functional shift of the white gene have driven the diversification of pigmentation mechanisms in insects, serving as an important finding that provides insights into the evolutionary process of color diversity.

Mapping of Courtship Behavior-Induced Neural Activity in the Thoracic Ganglia of Silkmoth Bombyx mori by an Immediate Early Gene, Hr38
Koudai Morishita, Masafumi Iwami, Taketoshi Kiya
Zoological Science 35(3): 276-280.
The visualization of specific behaviors and the neural circuits governing them is important in neuroethology. Using the expression of the Hr38 gene—previously identified as an immediate-early gene expressed in association with neural excitation in the silkmoth brain—as a marker, the authors successfully mapped in detail the neural circuits in the brain and thoracic ganglia associated with male mating behavior induced by treatment with bombykol, the silkmoth sex pheromone. This paper is the first to demonstrate that neural networks can also be identified in the thoracic ganglia using Hr38 gene expression as a marker. Because the thoracic ganglia serve as crucial centers governing flight, walking, sound production, and other functions, the success of this research provides a methodology that directly links specific behaviors with the neural circuits responsible for them. It has the potential to advance insect neuroethology into a new stage, making this research well-deserving of a paper award.

Rediscovery after Almost 120 Years: Morphological and Genetic Evidence Supporting the Validity of Daphnia mitsukuri (Crustacea: Cladocera)
Natsumi Maruoka, Hajime Ohtsuki, Wataru Makino, Jotaro Urabe
Zoological Science 35(5): 468-475.
Interesting from its very title, this paper reports the rediscovery and redescription of the water flea *Daphnia mitsukuri*, originally described in Japan by Dr. Chiyomatsu Ishikawa in 1896, for the first time in 120 years. Following Dr. Ishikawa's description, the existence of *D. mitsukuri* had even been doubted, and the species had been forgotten. As a result of mitochondrial DNA analysis and detailed morphological observation of a *Daphnia* strain collected in Lake Imba, Chiba Prefecture in 2014, which had been identified as *D. pulex* and maintained in continuous culture, the authors concluded that it is not *D. pulex*, but *D. mitsukuri*. *Daphnia* individuals with the same genotype as this species have also been reported in China, suggesting that *D. mitsukuri* is distributed in East Asia, though it had been misidentified as *D. pulex* in that report. This study reaffirms Dr. Ishikawa's achievements and contributes to elucidating the biogeography and evolution of water fleas in East Asia. Incidentally, Dr. Ishikawa published three Japanese *Daphnia* species, including *D. mitsukuri*, in the Zoological Magazine, and in consideration of this, the authors published the results of this study in its successor journal, Zoological Science. It is deeply moving that the rediscovery of this species, named after Dr. Kakichi Mitsukuri—who played a significant role in the dawn of zoology in Japan—has been published in this journal, making it worthy of the Society's Paper Award.