New Zealand Genus Research Articles

A taxonomic revIsion of the families Chordariaceae and Chordariopsidaceae (Phaeophyta) in New Zealand

Abstract A taxonomic revision is presented of the New Zealand genera of the Chordariaceae (Phaeophyta) —Caepidium, Chordaria, Myriogloia, Papenfussiella, Scytothamnus, Tinocladia. Chordariopsis capensis (C. Ag.) Kyhn (Chordanopsidaceae) is reported from the Auckland Islands. This is the first record of this monotypic family in the New Zealand botanical region.

Synopsis of the endemic New Zealand genera of the beetle subfamily Sphaeridiinae (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae)

The type material of the endemic New Zealand Sphaeridiinae (tribes Rygmodini, Tormissini, Coelostomatini) is revised. Keys are given to known species of all genera. Rygmodus pedinoides White, 1846, previously considered a synonym of R. modestus White, 1846, and Adolopus altulus (Broun, 1880), previously considered a synonym of A. badius (Broun, 1880), are reinstated as valid species. The following new synonyms are established (junior synonyms in parentheses): Saphydrus suffusus Sharp, 1884 (= Saphydrus collaris Broun, 1921, Saphydrus consonus Broun, 1921, synn. n.); Rygmodus cyaneus Broun, 1881 (= Rygmodus ovalis Sharp, 1884, Rygmodus puncticeps Broun, 1886, Rygmodus nigripennis Broun, 1903, synn. n.); Rygmodus tibialis Broun, 1893 (= Rygmodus limbatus Broun, 1893, syn. n.); Tormus helmsi Sharp, 1884 (= Stygnohydrus posticalis Broun, 1917, syn. n.); Tormus ["Stygnohydrus"] nitidus (Broun, 1893) (= Tormus nitidus Broun, 1893, Stygnohydrus basalis Orchymont, 1937, synn. n.); Exydrus ["Cyclonotum"] gibbosus (Broun, 1880) (= Cyclonotum flavicorne Broun, 1880, Exydrus thomasbrouni Hansen, 1991, synn. n.); Hydrostygnus ["Cyclonotum"] frontalis (Broun, 1880) (= Hydrostygnus minor Broun, 1893, Hydrostygnus bifoveatus Broun, 1893, synn. n.); Tormissus ["Hydrostygnus"] linsi (Sharp, 1884) (= Tormissus marginatus Broun, 1893, Tormissus magnulus Broun, 1893, synn. n.); Cyloma guttulatus Sharp, 1884 (= Psephoboragus dispar Broun, 1910, syn. n.); Cyloma ["Psephoboragus"] lineatus (Broun, 1893) (= Psephoboragus signatus Broun, 1893, syn. n.); and Adolopus helmsi Sharp, 1884 (= Adolopus vicinus Broun, 1886; Adolopus montanus Broun, 1893, Adolopus australis Broun, 1909, Adolopus tibialis Broun, 1909, synn. n.). The following new combinations are made: Saphydrus antennatus Sharp, 1884 = Rygmodus antennatus (Sharp) comb, n., Saphydrus longulus Sharp, 1884 = Rygmodus longulus (Sharp) comb, n., Stygnohydrus femoralis Broun, 1910 = Tormus femoralis (Broun) comb, n., Hydrostygnus linsi Sharp, 1884 = Tormissus linsi (Sharp) comb, n., and Namostygnus flemingi Ordish, 1974 = Cyloma flemingi (Ordish) comb. n. Lectotypes are designated for Saphydrus longulus Sharp, 1884, Saphydrus obesus Sharp, 1884, Saphydrus suffusus Sharp, 1884, Rygmodus cyaneus Broun, 1881, Rygmodus femoratus Sharp, 1884, Rygmodus modestus White, 1846, Rygmodus ovalis Sharp, 1884, Rygmodus pedinoides White, 1846, Rygmodus puncticeps Broun, 1886, Rygmodus tibialis Broun, 1893, Rygmodus unguicularis Sharp, 1884, Tormus nitidus Broun, 1893, Stygnohydrus posticalis Broun, 1917, Hydrostygnus frontalis Broun, 1880, Hydrostygnus linsi Sharp, 1884, Thomosis guanicola Broun, 1904, Tormissus magnulus Broun, 1893, Cyloma altulum Broun, 1880, Cyloma badium Broun, 1880, Cyloma lawsonus Sharp, 1872, Cyloma steward Broun, 1894, Cyloma thomsonus Sharp, 1884, Psephoboragus lineatus Broun, 1893, Psephoboragus signatus Broun, 1893, Gitocyloma nigratus Broun, 1915, Adolopus helmsi Sharp, 1884, and Adolopus rugipennis Broun, 1886. Lectotype designations of Adolopus vicinus Broun, 1886 and Adolopus australis Broun, 1909, made by D. Miller (but never published), are here confirmed and validated.

Systematics, phylogeny, and zoogeography of the lizard genus Diplodactylus Gray (Gekkonidae)

Each of the 14 genera now referred to the subfamily Diplodactylinae (Naultinus, Hoplodactylus, Heteropholis, Bavayia, Rhacodactylus, Eurydactylodes, Pseudothecadactylus, Carphodactylus, Phyllurus, Nephrurus, Oedura, Diplodactylus, Rhynchoedura, and Crenadactylus) is characterized on the basis of its internal and external morphology. The type species, referred species, and distribution are given for each genus. The Diplodactylinae are divided into two tribes primarily on the basis of differences in the arrangement and number of preanal pores and the size and shape of the nasal process of the premaxilla. The Carphodactylini includes Naultinus, Hoplodactylus, Heteropholis, Bavayia, Rhacodactylus, Eurydactylodes, Carphodactylus, Pseudothecadactylus, Phyllurus, and Nephrurus. The Diplodactylini includes Diplodactylus, Oedura, Rhynchoedura, and Crenadactylus. The Carphodactylini appear to be more primitive than the Diplodactylini. Carphodactylus may be close to the ancestral stock of the subfamily. Phyllurus and Nephrurus seem to be closely related to Carphodactylus. Pseudothecadactylus is considered to be closely related to the New Caledonia-Loyalty Islands radiation, which consists of Eurydactylodes and Rhacodactylus, and probably Bavayia. The New Zealand genera Hoplodactylus, Heteropholis, and Naultinus seem to form a natural group which is related to the New Caledonian genera. Crenadactylus is probably only distantly related to the other genera of the Diplodactylini. Rhynchoedura seems to be related to the stenodactylus group of Diplodactylus, while Oedura shows an affinity to the strophurus group of that genus. Geographically, the Diplodactylinae is restricted to the Australian Region (Australia, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, and New Zealand). The ancestral stock of the subfamily probably originated in south-east Asia and dispersed toward Australia by way of the Indo-Australian Archipelago during the upper Cretaceous. It is postulated that the subfamily reached Australia (and continental New Guinea) by Palaeocene- Eocene time.