British Specimens Research Articles

First occurrence of the genus Pleurobranchaea Leue, 1813 (Pleurobranchida, Nudipleura, Heterobranchia) in British waters, with the description of a new species

In the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, the pleurobranchid genus Pleurobranchaea Leue, 1813 is represented by two species, Pleurobranchaea meckeli (Blainville, 1825) and Pleurobranchaea morosa (Bergh, 1892). The former is a well-known species distributed from northern Spain to Senegal and the Mediterranean Sea, while the second is a poorly-described species. In this contribution, species delimitation analyses (ABGD and COI/16S p-distances) identified a third undescribed Pleurobranchaea species from samples collected in south-western UK waters and the Gulf of Cadiz (SW Spain). This new species, Pleurobranchaea britannicasp. nov., is also supported by several morphological synapomorphies. The British specimens constitute the first occurrence of the genus Pleurobranchaea in UK waters.

Phylogenomic analysis of pseudocryptic diversity reveals the new genus Deltalsia (Rhodomelaceae, Rhodophyta).

Molecular analyses, in combination with morphological studies, provide invaluable tools for delineating red algal taxa. However, molecular datasets are incomplete and taxonomic revisions are often required once additional species or populations are sequenced. The small red alga Conferva parasitica was described from the British Isles in 1762 and then reported from other parts of Europe. Conferva parasitica was traditionally included in the genus Pterosiphonia (type species P. cloiophylla in Schmitz and Falkenberg 1897), based on its morphological characters, and later transferred to Symphyocladia and finally to Symphyocladiella using molecular data from an Iberian specimen. However, although morphological differences have been observed between specimens of Symphyocladiella parasitica from northern and southern Europe they have yet to be investigated in a phylogenetic context. In this study, we collected specimens from both regions, studied their morphology and analyzed rbcL and cox1 DNA sequences. We determined the phylogenetic position of a British specimen using a phylogenomic approach based on mitochondrial and plastid genomes. Northern and southern European populations attributed to S. parasitica represent different species. Symphyocladiella arecina sp. nov. is proposed for specimens from southern Europe, but British specimens were resolved as a distant sister lineage to the morphologically distinctive Amplisiphonia, so we propose the new genus Deltalsia for this species. Our study highlights the relevance of using materials collected close to the type localities for taxonomic reassessments, and showcases the utility of genome-based phylogenies for resolving classification issues in the red algae.

Holarctic canthariphilous biting midge Atrichopogon lucorum (Meigen, 1818) (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Japan

ABSTRACT The biting midges of the genus Atrichopogon Kieffer, 1906 have been recorded worldwide. Some suck haemolymph from blister beetles (Meloidae) and false blister beetles (Oedemeridae). We collected female biting midges attacking the blister beetle Meloe coarctatus Motschulsky, 1858 in Kanagawa, Central Japan. Our morphological analyses compared with historic specimens revealed that the midges were Atrichopogon lucorum (Meigen, 1818), which had marked morphological variation and characters similar to American and British specimens. These records are not only the new distribution records of the species from Japan but also extend the eastern limit of the previous distribution of A. lucorum and its host range. Atrichopogon femoralis Tokunaga, 1940, considered related to A. lucorum, is redescribed and compared with A. lucorum.

Ontogenetic development of the European basal aquatic turtle <i>Pleurosternon bullockii</i> (Paracryptodira, Pleurosternidae)

Abstract. Several British specimens of relatively complete and partial shells of small pleurosternid turtles, found in the Purbeck Limestone Group (Berriasian, Lower Cretaceous), are analysed in detail here. Despite having been found more than a century ago, most of them remained unpublished until now. Due to the scarce knowledge available to date about the small individuals of Pleurosternidae from the British record, their taxonomic status was doubtful. Thus, some authors proposed their attribution to a new but not defined taxon of small size, whereas others suggested that they could represent juvenile individuals of Pleurosternon bullockii, the adults of which were also found in the Purbeck Limestone Group but at different levels. Knowledge about the shell of the adult individuals of Pleurosternon bullockii has notably increased recently, abundant information on its intraspecific variability being currently available. In this context, a detailed study of the small specimens through qualitative and quantitative approaches is performed here. The results are evidence a significant range of shape variability because of ontogenetic development, as well as other types of intraspecific variation such as inter-individual variation. As a consequence, their attribution to juvenile individuals of Pleurosternon bullockii is justified, providing new data on the ontogenetic development of a basal form.

Rearing records of two species of Hymenoptera: Braconidae (Macrocentrinae and Orgilinae) new to Britain

From material now in the National Museums of Scotland, the braconids Macrocentrus flavus Snellen van Vollenhoven, 1878 and Orgilus anurus Thomson, 1895 are recorded from Britain for the first time, based on reared material, and notes for their identification are given. The first of these is also recorded from Spain, again from reared specimens. Details of British specimens in NMS of Orgilus rugosus are also given.

Biological Flora of the British Isles: Crassula helmsii

Abstract This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Crassula helmsii (Kirk) Cockayne (New Zealand Pygmyweed, Australian Swamp Stonecrop) that are relevant to understanding its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the Biological Flora of the British Isles: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to environment, structure and physiology, phenology, floral and seed characters, herbivores and disease, history, and conservation. Crassula helmsii is an invasive aquatic macrophyte originating from Australia and New Zealand. The first naturalized population was recorded in Britain in 1956. All British specimens appear to represent a single lineage. DNA analysis indicates that British specimens originate from Australia. Crassula helmsii is capable of growing in a wide range of lentic freshwater and riparian habitats. It may grow as free floating, submerged, emergent or terrestrial forms. Morphology can differ markedly on the same stem. Flowers are produced, but with no known pollinators outside of its native range. Reproduction is thought to be predominantly by asexual methods outside Australia and New Zealand, through stem fragmentation and dispersal. Seed germination outside the native range appears to be very rare and poorly understood. Crassula helmsii has been and still is controlled by active management because of fears that its capacity to produce monocultures will lead to loss of biodiversity in the plant communities it invades. Evidence for species losses due to colonization by C. helmsii is rather anecdotal, although suppression of native biomass through competition has been reported. No consistently effective control procedures have been identified.

Systematics and description of the lungfish genusSagenodusfrom the Carboniferous of the UK

ABSTRACTThe Carboniferous lungfish genusSagenodusis reviewed from all available British specimens and described in detail for the first time. We identify two species exclusive to the UK:Sagenodusinaequalis, the type species, deriving from the late Carboniferous (=Pennsylvanian); andSagenodus quinquecostatusderived from the early Carboniferous (=Mississippian). The genus is probably the most widespread of the known Carboniferous lungfish genera, but the British species have not been formally described since their discovery in the mid–late 19th Century. This work will provide data to help resolve existing questions about the position ofSagenodusin the phylogeny of Palaeozoic lungfishes, and provide a template for the recognition of isolated elements in museum collections and the finds from recent and future field work. The early Carboniferous species,S. quinquecostatus, shows a so far unique functional mechanism in which the lower tooth plates appear to rotate relative to the upper plates during jaw closure, implying a kinetic function at the symphysis or jaw joint.

The foraging behavior of a species of bumble bee (Bombus pomorum) that became extinct in the British Isles in the nineteenth century

Three species of bumble bee (Bombus spp.) are known to have become extinct in the British Isles. The first of these, Bombus pomorum was last collected (presumed extinct) in 1864. Here, I report the first direct evidence of the foraging behavior of Bombus pomorum from the analysis of pollen preserved on the hairs of the three surviving British museum specimens. The pollen removed from the bees belongs to 11 different plant families including Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Araliaceae, Asteraceae, Campanulaceae, Caprifoliaceae, Fabaceae, Geraniaceae, Lamiaceae, Onagraceae and Pinaceae. The diversity of the pollen taxa indicates that when present in the British Isles, Bombus pomorum adopted a generalized rather than narrow foraging strategy.

Two new species of the genus Pseudolaelaps Berlese, 1916 (Acari: Mesostigmata: Pseudolaelapidae) from Europe, with an updated key to known species

ABSTRACTPseudolaelaps calvescens sp. nov. and Pseudolaelaps schweizeri sp. nov. (Acari: Pseudolaelapidae) are described based on female specimens from leaf litter and soil of forest habitats in Italy (surroundings of Bergamo) and Switzerland (surroundings of Basel), respectively. The British specimens referred to Pseudolaelaps doderoi are revised, and considered to be a misidentification of P. schweizeri sp. nov. An identification key to known species of the genus Pseudolaelaps is provided.www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:92F3907A-9C0A-4309-8D1E-BC5F3E7D937B

Clay Tobacco Pipes from a Colonial Refuse Deposit in Fort San Severino, Matanzas Province, Cuba

This article provides a detailed study of clay tobacco pipes excavated from a refuse deposit at Fort San Severino, Matanzas city, Cuba. The pipes date to the late eighteenth through the nineteenth century and are dominated by reed-stem typology. The collection includes Dutch, British, Spanish, and Balkan specimens. The study of these pipes contribute to the archaeology of clay pipes in Cuba and provide insight into the socioeconomics of pipe culture at fort San Severino. Moreover, it brings special attention to the occurrence of western Mediterranean reed-stem tobacco pipes, yet to be studied from other Spanish sites in the Caribbean.

New data on the poorly-known European Late Jurassic turtles "Thalassemys" and "Enaliochelys" and description of a new basal eucryptodiran taxon

One of the most abundant clades of turtles in the Late Jurassic record of Europe is Eucryptodira, represented by Plesiochelyidae, Eurysternidae, Hylaeochelys and Thalassemys . The detailed study of a British specimen preliminarily attributed to the plesiochelyid “ Pelobatochelys ” allows this attribution to be refuted. Rather, it is recognized as the only confirmed specimen of the genus Thalassemys outside Central Europe. The diversity of Eucryptodira in the Late Jurassic of Europe is here increased, thanks to the revision of two problematic specimens, not assignable to any of the four above mentioned taxa. Enaliochelys chelonia , is a poorly-known British taxon ignored since the late nineteenth century because of its putative synonymy with Thalassemys hugii . The validity of this taxon is supported here and a diagnosis for it is proposed for the first time. The other specimen, from France (Oleron Island), was previously attributed to “ Thalassemys moseri ”, which is currently considered invalid. It is recognized as a representative of a new taxon, Jurassichelon oleronensis gen. et sp. nov.

Largest known specimen of the genus Dakosaurus (Metriorhynchidae: Geosaurini) from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Late Jurassic) of England, and an overview of Dakosaurus specimens discovered from this formation (including reworked specimens from the Woburn Sands Formation)

We report the largest known British specimen of the metriorhynchid crocodylomorph genus Dakosaurus discovered offshore from Chesil Beach, Dorset, England (Kimmeridge Clay Formation). This specimen is large toothed, which has extreme enamel spalling on the labial surface, enlarged carinae (‘carinal flanges’), carinal wear, macroziphodont denticles, and the crown retains much of its labiolingual width along most of its apicobasal length. This suite of morphologies is unique to Dakosaurus. All known Kimmeridge Clay Formation Dakosaurus specimens are isolated tooth crowns. A skull previously referred to Dakosaurus lacks all the cranial apomorphies of D. maximus and D. andiniensis, and cannot be referred to this genus. Furthermore, the vast majority of putative Dakosaurus tooth crowns from the ‘Potton Sands’ ( = Woburn Sands Formation) do indeed represent Dakosaurus (as well as two Plesiosuchus specimens), and they most likely originate from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation.

Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis (Rhinocerontidae, Mammalia) teeth from the early Middle Pleistocene of Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italy) and comparison with coeval British material

The present work examines the abundant dental remains from the renowned anthropic site of Isernia La Pineta (Molise, Italy), early Middle Pleistocene (Middle Galerian). The rhinoceros, Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis, is the most represented species after Bison, and is represented mainly by skull and dental remains and by strongly fractured long bones (suggesting exploitation of the carcasses by the hominine). The high sample size of the dental remains allowed a detailed analysis of the dental morphology. The frequency analysis of the morphological characters shows a high degree of regional variation within the species with the Isernia population significantly widening the morphological variability of S. hundsheimensis (thus limiting the diagnostic power of several characters). In particular, comparing S. hundsheimensis from Isernia with coeval British populations, some specimens could be safely assigned to S. hundsheimensis that do look strongly anomalous within the British sample but find a match in the wider morphological range of the Isernia specimens. From a biometrical point of view, the Isernia population attains slightly smaller sizes than the coeval British specimens, suggesting a latitudinal size increase gradient.

The discovery of progenetic Allocreadium neotenicum Peters, 1957 (Digenea: Allocreadiidae) in water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) in Great Britain

Progenetic specimens of Allocreadium neotenicum Peters, 1957 are described from water beetles, Hydroporus rufifrons, an endangered species, and Agabus paludosus from northern England and Scotland, and as non-ovigerous metacercariae from Agabus melanarius from southern England. Morphologically, the worms are identical to A. neotenicum described from water beetles in North America. Molecular phylogenetic estimates based on 28S rDNA sequences show these British specimens as more closely related to the North American freshwater fish parasite Allocreadium lobatum Wallin, 1909 than to the European species A. isoporum (Looss, 1894). A. lobatum shows a predilection for progenesis and may be a senior synonym of A. neotenicum. Based on the molecular phylogeny, the genus Pseudallocreadium Yamaguti, 1971 is considered synonymous with Allocreadium and the two species assigned to that genus, P. neotenicum and P. alloneotenicum (Wootton, 1957) are returned to Allocreadium.

The systematics of Late Jurassic tyrannosauroids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from Europe and North America

Recent discoveries of more than ten new species of tyrannosauroid theropods are helping to understand the origin and evolution of colossal body size and other characteristic features of Tyrannosaurus rex and its terminal Cretaceous relatives. Particularly important has been the discovery and reinterpretation of Late Jurassic tyrannosauroids from Europe and North America, which are intermediate in size and phylogenetic position between small basal tyrannosauroids and the largest Late Cretaceous species. The fragmentary nature of these Jurassic specimens, however, has frustrated attempts to understand their systematics and phylogeny. A new specimen from the Late Jurassic of England was recently named as a new species (Stokesosaurus langhami) of the genus Stokesosaurus, which is known from several fragmentary fossils from North America. We review the systematics and phylogeny of these European and North American specimens and show that there are no unequivocal synapomorphies uniting them. Furthermore, a revised phylogenetic analysis does not recover them as sister taxa. This necessitates a taxonomic revision of this material, and we name a new genus (Juratyrant) for the British specimen.

The genus Sellaphora: an addition and corrections.

Examination of further British specimens of Sellaphora species from Blackford Pond, Edinburgh, revealed that the 'spindle' deme described in a previous paper [D.G. Mann et al. (2008). Fottea 8: 15-78] was incorrectly characterized. Two demes were conflated: true 'spindle' and a further deme referred to here as 'cf. auldreekie'. The cox1 DNA Barcode specified for 'spindle' by Mann et al. (2008) was correct, but was linked to the wrong illustrations and description, which were of 'cf. auldreekie'. These errors and three references to a slide preparation are corrected.

Dialytrichia fragilifolia (Bryopsida: Pottiaceae) in Berkshire and Caernarvonshire, new to Britain

Dialytrichia fragilifolia (Bizot & Cl. Roux) F.Lara has been found at two localities near the River Thames in Berkshire (v.-c. 22), southern England and also identified as a herbarium specimen from Caernarvonshire (v.-c. 49), North Wales. A description is presented based on the British material which is sterile. This moss is similar to D. mucronata but possesses fragile leaves and a bistratose leaf border with markedly crenate margins, particularly in the apical one-third of the leaf. Mature shoots often have a brush-like apex produced by the persistent costas. It appears to require shadier and less-frequently flooded conditions than D. mucronata. An earlier record of Syntrichia (Tortula) fragilis from Mont-St-Michel in north-west France is shown to be erroneous; the specimen (in E) is also D. fragilifolia. A survey of numerous Dialytrichia specimens held at NMW revealed a further British specimen of D. fragilifolia and also drew attention to the widespread occurrence in Britain, previously overlooked, of D. mucronata plants with fragile leaves. The pattern of leaf fragility differs between the two species. Previously, D. fragilifolia was known only from southern France, Portugal and western Spain. The new records together with other recent finds in Europe extend the range of this moss significantly northwards in western Europe.

The Ladybird spider Erews cinnaberinus rearing project

The Ladybird spider Eresus cinnahrrinus was considered to be extinct in the United Kingdom until 1979, when it was rediscovered at one heathland site in Dorset. The species is listed on Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act and is strictly protected. By 1992 the population had reduced to between 15 and 40 breeding individuals and English Nature, the statutory wildlife conservation body in England, proposed a Species Recovery Plan which included the protection and enhancement of the wild population, the establishment of new colonies and an assessment of the taxonomic status and viability of the population. In 1994 the Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland, via the Terrestrial Invertebrate Taxon Advisory Group (TITAG), was contracted to establish a captive‐rearing project for the species. Because it was important that the British population was not further depleted by the collection of specimens until maintenance and breeding protocols had been developed, an experimental captive population was established with 1.10 specimens imported from Denmark, which were considered to be geographically and morphologically most similar to the British specimens. This paper details the maintenance, rearing and breeding protocols developed for the species at the Endangered Species Breeding Unit, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. Martin Mere.

Variability in cuticular hydrocarbons and phenotypic discrimination of Ixodes ricinus populations (Acarina: Ixodidae) from Europe

The cuticular hydrocarbon composition and a stepwise discriminant analysis are used to elucidate the phenotypic relationships of 66 populations of Ixodes ricinus in Europe. The method correctly allocates Ixodes persulcatus (outgroup) populations away from the main cluster of I. ricinus samples and separates the samples into ten relatively defined clusters of specimens. Populations from Poland are inseparable from samples collected in Germany, Switzerland and the Italian Alps, while individuals from Slovakia and the Czech Republic come into separate groups of phenotypic similarity. Irish and British specimens are separated but highly related and Spanish populations show an unexpectedly high distance from the remaining clusters.

First record of the cattle itch mite, Psorobia bos (Prostigmata: Psorergatidae), in the Palaearctic region

Psorobia bos Johnston (Acari: Psorergatidae), the cattle itch mite, is reported for the first time from the Palaearctic region. This is also the first record of the genus Psorobia occurring in the British Isles. The ventral aspect of the female is figured for the first time and the British specimen is described.