British Museum Natural History Research Articles

Alfredo Magalhães Ramalho’s scientific correspondence: historical connections between oceanography and marine biology from Portugal (1919–1949)

This article presents Alfredo Magalhães Ramalho’s scientific correspondence between 1919 and 1949, both nationally and internationally. It consists of 181 unpublished letters, exchanged with 30 relevant figures belonging to 11 countries, including France, the UK, Croatia, Japan, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Morocco, Belgium and Spain. This correspondence shows a network among different research institutions devoted to the marine sciences. This includes biological stations, such as the Istituto Italo-Germanico di Biologia Marina, laboratories and museums, e. g. the British Museum of Natural History. At the national level, the correspondence between Ramalho and Augusto Nobre represents a historical axis between Lisbon and Porto, involving two of the most relevant scientists in the fields of oceanography and marine biology. At the international level, Ramalho corresponded with personalities such as Henry Gascoyne Maurice and other members of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, including for example the oceanographer Vagn Walfrid Ekman. This correspondence represents an archival discovery of the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere in Lisbon, marking a decisive historical scientific moment for both Portuguese and international contexts in the field of marine sciences. This article aims to reconstruct Portugal’s internal and external networks.

Re-description of the genus Heterobiantes and its type species H. geniculatus (Opiliones: Laniatores: Epedanidae) with additional genital and external morphology data.

The genus Heterobiantes Roewer, 1912 and its type species Epedanus geniculatus Pocock, 1903 are redescribed based on the type specimen currently housed within the British Museum of Natural History (BMNH), London, along with new specimens captured in Hong Kong, providing updated morphological data and male genital description. Closer inspections reveal how the species is different from other similar genera within Epedaninae and rationalizes its placement as a monotypic genus within the sub-family. Genetic data are also included.

Alboglossiphonia afroalpina sp. nov. and Alboglossiphonia buniana sp. nov. – two new leech species from Africa and revision of the genus Alboglossiphonia Lukin, 1976 in Africa

Two new leech species from Africa are presented. The position of the eyes, the number of crop caeca and the gonopores separated by two annuli indicate that both belong to the genus Alboglossiphonia. Alboglossiphonia afroalpinasp. nov. differs from the other African species in its elongated body shape, the shape and size of the suckers and above all by the unique spotting on the dorsal side, which is not found in any other species of the genus. Alboglossiphonia afroalpinasp. nov. inhabits the alpine zones of the Mt. Kenya and Mt. Elgon massifs and represents the highest record of a leech in Africa to date, approx 4,500 m above sea level. Alboglossiphonia buniana sp. nov. differs from other species of the genus by its completely fused pairs of eyes, the shape and size of the cranial sucker and the head area and a jagged outer margin. The species is only known from Bunia in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Eleven species of the genus Alboglossiphonia are known from Africa, belonging to different zoogeographical areas. Northwest Africa is home to Alboglossiphonia hyalina (O.F. Müller, 1774) and A. iberica Jueg, 2008 as Palaearctic species. Alboglossiphonia polypompholyx Oosthuizen, Hussein & El-Shimy, 1988, A. disuqi El-Shimy, 1990 and A. levis Gouda, 2010 are restricted to the lower reaches of the Nile in Egypt. Six species exist south of the Sahara: Alboglossiphonia namaquaensis (Augener, 1936), A. disjuncta (Moore, 1939), A. conjugata (Oosthuizen, 1978), A. macrorhyncha (Oosthuizen, 1978) as well as those described here, A. afroalpinasp. nov. and A. bunianasp. nov. The examination of the three syntypes of Alboglossiphonia namaquaensis (Augener, 1936) showed that this species is identical to A. cheili (Oosthuizen 1978) and that the latter must be used as a synonym in future. Historical evidence from the Central Africa Museum in Tervuren (Belgium) from the Sciacchitano Collection and the British Museum of Natural History was examined. The systematic position of Glossiphonia verrucata Sciacchitano, 1939 was also clarified. Almost all species were photographed for the first time, most of them including their holotype. Distribution maps are presented for all species. All African Alboglossiphonia species are compared in terms of their characteristics in tabular form.

Doubts about the validity of the species name Hipparchia hermione (Linnaeus, 1764) (Lepidoptera: Satyrinae), it being associated with the two species Hipparchia alcyone ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) and H. genava (Fruhstorfer, 1908) following the designation of a lectotype by Kudrna (1977) - Second part –

Doubts about the validity of the species name Hipparchia hermione (Linnaeus, 1764) (Lepidoptera: Satyrinae), it being associated with the two species Hipparchia alcyone ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) and H. genava (Fruhstorfer, 1908) following the designation of a lectotype by Kudrna (1977) - Second part –

Presence and distribution of the African citrus psyllid in São Tomé island

AbstractThe African citrus psyllid, Trioza erytreae (Hemiptera: Triozidae), is a natural vector of Candidatus Liberibacter spp., the causal agents of the citrus greening disease or Huanglongbing (HLB). Despite the global losses of the Citrus industry due to HLB, the vector is rapidly spread to new areas threatening citrus crops and raising concern for stakeholders. Until now, there was a single old register of T. erytreae from the São Tomé island (Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History, Entomology, 49, 1–102). In this work, we provide up‐to‐date occurrence data on the presence of T. erytreae throughout the isle of São Tomé. The identity of the captured adults was assessed and confirmed through molecular identification by sequencing a portion of the mitochondrial COI. The psyllid was found in lemon, orange and tangerine orchards. Further monitoring is advisable to manage potential outbreaks.

The field and its prosthesis: Archiving Arctic ecologies in the 1920s.

This paper examines the topological entanglements between the naturalistic field and natural history archives, arguing that the spatial categories of 'field' and 'archive' should be considered in terms of their indexical relations. Conceptually, it points to the prosthetic qualities of the archive, namely its capacity to simultaneously delimit and expand the field by facilitating novel ways of seeing and knowing it. The field, in turn, is a necessary source of plant and animal matter without which there is no archive. Bringing together geographical literatures on 'field' and 'archive' with literature on cultures and practices of collecting, this intervention is at once conceptual and empirical. The conceptual debate is hinged to, and inspired by, the practices of collecting, classifying, and ordering Arctic ecologies by the three Oxford University Arctic Expeditions to Spitsbergen (now Svalbard) in 1921-24. These expeditions have been hailed as significant episodes in the history of ecology. While ecology as a discipline shared an ordering impulse with the archive, early twentieth-century ecologists were explicitly distancing themselves from practices they associated with 'armchair science'. This paper exemplifies how field-archive dialogue remained central to the practices of ecology. Reading field collecting and subsequent specimen analysis as processes of active archiving, the paper hones in on select moments and practices which connected Spitsbergen-as-field and UK archival institutions, such as the British Museum of Natural History. In doing so, the paper draws out the distributed nature of archive and field alike, pointing to the non-limited locality of both localised field operations and archival practices, as well as the co-constitutional nature of these two sites of knowledge production.

Voyage of Ben Cao, Part II: Development of Chinese Medicinal Specimens in the British Museum

Voyage of Ben Cao, Part II: Development of Chinese Medicinal Specimens in the British Museum

Early Studies of Marine Microalgae in the Philippines

The early documented marine microalgae from the Philippines were done between 1853–1925. A total of 801 taxa were identified and distributed into three phyla, i.e. the Cyanobacteria, the Rhodophyta, and the Bacillariophyta. About 99% of these taxa belong to the Bacillariophyta. Of the 797 total diatom taxa identified by early scientists, there are only 281 species that are accepted as current valid names based on AlgaeBase and DiatomBase. These accepted diatom taxa belong to 63 genera. The three genera with the greatest number of species in decreasing order are Amphora (46), Biddulphia (29), and Campylodiscus (16). Out of the 797 diatom species, 190 species have the Philippines as the type locality and these specimens are deposited in the United States (US) – specifically, at the Farlow Herbarium and in the US National Museum in Washington, DC and in London, England at the Diatom section of the British Museum of Natural History. All these algal materials were part of the collection of four different naval scientific exploring expeditions that visited the Philippines in 1842–1910 – namely, the US Exploring (Wilkes) Expedition (1842), the HMS Challenger (1874–1875), the Italian Cruiser Vettor Pisani (1884), and the USS Albatross (1907–1910). The greatest number of microalgae collected was 743 by USS Albatross, followed in decreasing order by HMS Challenger (57), US Exploring Expedition (17), and Vettor Pisani (1). These early collections of marine microalgae provided invaluable contributions in laying the groundwork for the development of Philippine phycology.

Historical records of the blotched stingray Urotrygon chilensis (Urotrygonidae: Myliobatiformes) yield insight into species distribution: the importance of natural history collections to questions of zoogeography

Urotrygon chilensis (Günther, 1872) was described based on a single specimen acquired by the British Museum of Natural History, London, from the Johan Cesar Godeffroy Museum in Hamburg. This medium-sized, benthic stingray is found along the eastern Pacific shelf (distance ranging almost 7000 km). During the last century, it has been frequently mentioned in the taxonomy and biogeography of Chile's marine fishes. However, since the original description in 1872, no other record of this species has been reported from Chilean waters. In this study, the historical presence of U. chilensis in Chile was confirmed based on three mature male specimens held at the Zoological Museum of the University of Hamburg (ZMH) collected in Taltal Harbour (Chile) in July 1894. According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature guidelines, we propose Taltal Harbour as the type locality of U. chilensis. Additionally, we conduct a historical review to determine how Albert Günther might have obtained the holotype. The discovery of these specimens catalogued in the fish collection at the ZMH is a demonstration of the important role that natural history museums play in documenting biodiversity patterns. The geographical distribution of U. chilensis is extended to the Central Chile marine ecoregion, approximately 1,500 km southward, from records in available databases. However, 126 years after its last recorded capture off Chile's coast, the historical presence of U. chilensis at such southern latitudes seems to reflect vagrancy in response to weather conditions.

Clarifying taxonomic, distributional and genetic information relating to subspecies of the Hildebrandt’s Spurfowl Pternistis hildebrandti and the Yellow-necked Spurfowl P. leucoscepus

We provide suggested errata vis-à-vis Mandiwana-Neudani TG, Little RM, Crowe TM, Bowie RCK. 2019. Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of African spurfowls Galliformes, Phasianidae, Phasianinae, Coturnicini: Pternistis spp. Ostrich 90(2): 145–172. Firstly, the name fischeri was incorrectly applied to the southern subspecies of P. hildebrandti. The correct name is johnstoni. This taxon is 3.2% (not 0.5%) genetically divergent from P. h. hildebrandti. Secondly, contra Hall [Hall BP. 1963. The francolins, a study in speciation. Bulletin of the British Museum of Natural History (Zoology) 10: 105–204], P. leucoscepus is not distributed continuously from Eritrea to Tanzania. The northern, nominate subspecies P. l. leucoscepus appears to be confined to Eritrea and north-eastern Ethiopia.

First records of the bayberry whitefly, Parabemisia myricae (Kuwana) in Greece

Citrus groves of Corfu had been attacked during the last decade by citrus whitefly Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead). It presumably expanded later, and it was found to cause a serious infestation on lemon trees of Achaia region during summer of 1986, while it disappeared later existing today only in very small pockets on ornamental citrus species in Attica area. Late in August 1988, the leaves of citrus trees, and to a lesser extent of grapevines, in the region of Corinthia, NE Peloponnesos, in South Greece were covered by larvae, pupae and adults of a whitefly that was different from D. citri. In autumn of the same year, it was noticed that the infestation of this new whitefly had expanded to other parts of Peloponnese such as Argos, Patras and Ilia region. Samples of citrus and grapevine leaves with nymphs of the insect were sent for identification to British Museum of Natural History. Dr. J. H. Martin identified the species as Parabemisia myricae (Kuwana) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae), making the first record of the species in Greece. The species is a native of Japan and possibly of other eastern asian countries such as Taiwan and West Malaysia. Today, the insect has been recorded in USA (California), Cyprus, Israel and Turkey, Egypt (Martin personal communication) and it is a pest of woody plants, especially citrus trees and grapevines. The damage caused to the plants by this insect, as a feeder, can be serious in cases of large populations accompanied with problems associated with the development of sooty mould on the excreted honeydew. In the autumn of 1988, infestation was high (more than 20 nymphs/leaf) in Achaia and Corinthia regions of N. Peloponnese, causing great concern to citrus growers. This species of whitefly was not included in the lists of known plant pests of Greece. It is probable that it invaded Greece from Israel. P. myricae is a newly introduced pest in citrus growing countries and there is little information available on its biology and control. Most of the published data comes from Israel and California on the biology and biological control of the insect. Additional data have been published on flight behaviour, oviposition behaviour, and survival of young nymphs on leaves of different age citrus leaves. The adults of P. myricae are smaller than D. citri adults and they have a dusty blue gray or lavender appearance. The females oviposit on very young leaves, often in circles. Preference for oviposition on very young leaves seems to be related to properties of the leaf cuticle. Leaf age is a critical factor for survival of nymphs. This gives a good explanation for the observed high rates of mortality in spring for nymphs growing on rapidly maturing leaves. It has been observed that on orange trees less eggs are layed on the lower surface of the leaves, while on lemon trees they tend to be layed equally on both surfaces. Initially eggs are off-white, while after about one day they gradually turn to brownish and finally black, before they hatch. First instar crawlers settle on the surface of the young leaves with a preference to the lower surface. First flights of adults were noticed in this area in late February of 1989. By end of March early April the emergence of adults of the first 1989 generation had been completed. It seems that it produces a quite large number of generations during the year, as it requires only 21 days at temperatures fluctuating between 210oC and 17.3oC and 65-100 percent relative humidity, to complete its cycle in glasshouse. Being a pest of Citrus and grapevines (Vitis vinifera) it has also been found on hosts like Ficus, Persea, Prunus, Psidium and Thea. As a matter of fact it has also been found in small colonies on Prunus cerasi in Northern Peloponnese in autumn 1988. Work on the control of Parabemisia myricae with the insect growth regulator Buprofezin has started in Greece in 1988 and is expected to be concluded in 1990.

Dactylogyrus barnae sp. n. (Platyhelminthes: Monogenoidea) infecting gills of Barilius barna Hamilton, 1822 (Pisces: Cyprinidae) from a global biodiversity hotspot - Arunachal Pradesh (India).

Aim:This study was a part of an ongoing parasitological survey to investigate the health status of hill stream fish in river systems of Arunachal Pradesh - A global biodiversity hotspot.Materials and Methods:During the 2013/2015, 18 live specimens of Barilius barna (Cyprinidae) were captured from the local rivers of Arunachal Pradesh and examined for parasitic monogenoids. These fish, with their flatworms, were immediately fixed in hot (60°C) 4% formalin for later examination. Identification and morphometric description used in this study followed Gussev (1976). Type specimens were deposited in the British Natural History Museum, UK.Results:Dactylogyrus barnae sp. n. is described and illustrated from specimens of B. barna (Hamilton, 1822) from Arunachal Pradesh, India. The new species is characterized by a combination of the following characters: Copulatory tube coiled in 1½ counterclockwise rings, vagina consisting of a vaginal tube and vaginal pore, a complex sclerotized plate of unknown function in between male copulatory organ and vagina, and an anteromedial knob-like process on the dorsal bar.Conclusion:D. barnae sp. n. is the fourth species of Dactylogyrus described from the Northeast India and brings the total number of species of Dactylogyrus in Indian waters to 56. B. barna represents a new host record for Dactylogyrus spp., and possibly the first report for any parasite.

Rediscovery of the Frilled Tail Gecko Hemidactylus platyurus (Schneider, 1792) in Sri Lanka after more than 160 years

Eight species of Hemidactylus are currently recognized in Sri Lanka—frenatus, leschenaultii, scabriceps, parvimaculatus, depressus, hunae, lankae, and pieresii—with the latter four endemic to the island. A ninth species, Hemidactylus platyurus, was until now only confirmed from Sri Lanka by two specimens sent to the British Museum of Natural History by E.F. Kelaart in 1855. There was no exact collection locality recorded for these specimens, which are associated simply with the provenance “Ceylon” (now Sri Lanka). The present communication reports the rediscovery of the gecko H. platyurus and confirms its occurrence in Sri Lanka.

Richard Peter Vari 1949–2016

Richard Peter Vari 1949–2016

Revised status of Oridryas Meyrick, 1938: new synonyms of Ypsolopha Latreille, 1796, and Ypsolopha parenthesella (Linnaeus, 1761(Yponomeutoidea: Ypsolophidae).

The eminent entomologist Aristide Caradja (1861-1955) published between 1925 and 1939, on his own or jointly with Edward Meyrick, a series of taxonomic papers on Chinese microlepidoptera including the descriptions of 18 new species in Yponomeutidae (Hyponomeutidae of authors). Their type specimens are currently deposited in two institutions, the Natural History Museum in London (BMNH: formerly British Museum of Natural History), as previously incorporated in the Meyrick collection, and the "Grigore Antipa" National Museum of Natural History in Bucharest, Romania (MGAB), as incorporated in the Caradja collection. The BMNH specimens were examined and illustrated by Clarke (1965). The type specimens of Oridryas kept in MGAB have never been studied since the original descriptions.

Review of mammalogical research in the Guianas of northern South America.

Research on mammals in the Guianas of northern South America has had a checkered history. In this review, I summarize the notable contributions to mammalogical study in Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. These studies began in the mid-18th century with the binomial nomenclature system of scientific classification created by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, who described 23 species new to science based on holotype specimens from the Guianas. Notwithstanding popular accounts by amateur naturalists visiting this region, over the next 7 decades there was only sporadic taxonomic work done on Guianan mammals primarily by researchers at European museums. The first comprehensive biological exploration took place in the 1840s during a geographic survey of the boundaries of British Guiana. However, it was not until almost half a century later that scientific publications began to regularly document the increasing species diversity in the region, including the prodigious work of Oldfield Thomas at the British Museum of Natural History in London. Another lull in the study of mammals occurred in the mid-1910s to the early 1960s after which foreign researchers began to rediscover the Guianas and their pristine habitats. This biological renaissance is still ongoing and I give a prospectus on the direction of future research in one of the last frontiers of tropical rainforest. An initiative that would be greatly beneficial is the establishment of a university network in the Guianas with graduate-based research to develop a cadre of professional experts on biodiversity and evolution as seen in other countries of South America.

Морфологическая изменчивость двух видов морских диатомовых водорослей Nitzschia ventricosa и Ardissonea crystallina (Bacillariophyta)

Актуальность работы обусловлена недостаточной изученностью проблемы понимания объёма видов диатомовых водорослей, особенно в условиях in vitro. Цель исследования – изучить морфологическую изменчивость в культурах двух видов морских пеннатных диатомовых водорослей Nitzschia ventricosa Kitton и Ardissonea crystallina (C. Agardh) Grunow при помощи методов световой и сканирующей электронной микроскопии, а также оценить в эксперименте воздействие солёности на морфологические показатели панциря A. crystallina, использующиеся при диагностике вида; сделать сопутствующие таксономические замечания. Материалом послужили изоляты (клоны и альгологически чистые культуры), полученные в условиях in vitro: изоляты N. ventricosa – из природных популяций прибрежных районов Канарских островов, о-ва Мартиника и штата Техас (Мексиканский залив), изоляты A. crystallinа – из бентосных проб в бухте Казачья (Севастополь, Чёрное море). Морфологическая изменчивость в культурах N. ventricosa и A. crystallinа оказалась сопоставимой с данными, полученными на материале из природных популяций. Обнаруженная вариабельность изученных изолятов позволила уточнить морфологические особенности N. ventricosa. Варьирование в одном клоне N. ventricosa по числу штрихов и фибул оказалось выше, чем обнаруженное в альгологически чистых культурах этого вида. Широкая фенотипическая вариация створок в культурах N. ventricosa и A. crystallinа сопоставима с данными, полученными in situ. Выявлена тенденция возрастания плотности расположения штрихов и ареол и уменьшения ширины клеток A. crystallinа с увеличением солёности в эксперименте. При солёности 8 ‰ вегетативное деление замедлялось, культура погибала. С повышением уровня солёности увеличивались диапазоны варьирования числа штрихов A. crystallinа.

Rosemary Lowe‐McConnell 1921–2014 (Freshwater Biological Association and British Museum of Natural History)

Rosemary Lowe‐McConnell 1921–2014 (Freshwater Biological Association and British Museum of Natural History)

Historical versus contemporary medicinal plant uses in Ghana

Ethnopharmacological relevanceThree extraordinary, historical documents stemming from observations made in 1697, 1803 and 1817 quote medicinal plant uses among the Fante, Ga and Ashanti people of present-day Ghana, and can be linked to original botanical specimens in European herbaria. This provides a unique opportunity to gain insight to the historical materia medica of Ghana and compare this to contemporary medicinal plant uses. By critical literary and taxonomic review, the present study (re-)establishes the earliest known history of many important Ghanaian medicinal plants, and assesses the scale of change and loss of medicinal plant knowledge in Ghana over time. The study provides the foundation to reconstruct lost or discontinued Ghanaian plant uses in local or ethnopharmacological contexts. Materials and methodsHistorical botanical specimens were located in the herbaria of University of Copenhagen Herbarium (C) and British Museum of Natural History (BM). The classification and synonymy of the specimens were updated for the study, and the historical vernacular names and medicinal uses of the plants compared with 20th/21st century literature. The plants of the historical Ga materia medica were (re-)collected to aid in semi-structured interviews. The interviews aimed to document the contemporary uses and names of the plants among the Ga, and to determine to what extent the historical medicinal uses and names are extant. Results and discussionThe study identified 100 species in historical medicinal use in Ghana, which could be linked to 134 unique uses and 105 vernacular names in Twi (Ashanti/Fante) and Ga. Most of the plants are common in Ghana. At least 52% of the historical vernacular names appear to still be in use today. Of the specific historical uses, 41 (31%) were traced among contemporary medicinal plant uses in Ghana and represent some of the most important Ghanaian medicinal plant species. However, 93 (69%) of the historical uses could not be traced and appears to be discontinued or forgotten. Among the Ga, two medicinal plants species have become rare or locally extinct, and thus the vast majority of the loss of knowledge appears to be due to cultural extinction. ConclusionsThe scientifically strong voucher material allowed for identification of a high number of historical medicinal plants and their roots in traditional Ghanaian medicine systems 2–300 years ago. The materia medica of the Fante, Ga and Ashanti of Ghana has changed considerably over time. The “forgotten” historical uses warrant further studies to determine the pharmacological activity of these plants. This could provide the foundation for reconstruction of historical medicinal plant uses in evidence-based modern contexts.

Apriona cinerea

<i>Apriona cinerea</i>