North-south Range Research Articles

Prediction of the impact of climate change on the number of heatstroke patients in Tokyo, Japan with heat-adaptation effects

Background and Aim: Heatstroke has become a serious issue in Japan. To plan future adaptation measures, it is essential to understand to what extent the number of heatstroke patients will increase. Previous studies have predicted the number of heatstroke patients; however, they did not consider the effect of heat-adaptation. In this study, we conducted a future prediction study taking the effect of heat-adaptation into consideration. Methods: Japan, with its long north-south range, has a variety of climates, and it is necessary to explore its heat-adaptation effects. Our previous study showed that there was a positive correlation between the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) value at which heatstroke patients start to increase (WBGT threshold) and regional climate (average daily maximum WBGT between May and September: RCWBGT). Using the relationship, we translated this geographical effect of heat-adaptation to temporal adaptation by shifting the WBGT threshold to a higher side when the RCWBGT increases in the future owing to climate change. We focused on the age groups of 65+ yr, constituting the most vulnerable age group. Five future climate change scenarios and RCP8.5 scenario were adopted. All the data utilized in this study were public domain data and are available from the corresponding website. Results: In Tokyo, the number of heatstroke patients by mid-21st century will be 2.2 times as high as that of heatstroke patients at present and 6.9 times by the end of the century without heat-adaptation; however, the corresponding numbers will be 1.4 times and 2.5 times, respectively, with heat-adaptation. Conclusions: The increase in the number of heatstroke patients was projected to substantially reduce owing to the effect of heat-adaptation. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the Climate Change Adaptation Research Program of the National Institute for Environmental Studies. Keywords: Climate change; Wet bulb globe temperature; Heatstroke; Impact assessment

Basin-range uplift and canyon cutting in 3 million years, Kingston Canyon, Piute County, southwestern Utah

The Sevier Plateau is a gently east-tilted, block-faulted range in the High Plateaus transition zone of southwestern Utah. Part of this range underwent basin-range deformation, including at least 6000 feet (1800 m) of uplift, in a 3-million-year time span. The north-south range, whose southern end is just north of Bryce Canyon National Park, was uplifted and tilted by the Sevier fault zone along the western side. Kingston Canyon is a deep, east-west antecedent canyon that cut through the range and maintained itself during uplift. The deformation took place between 8 and 5 Ma, constrained by isotopic dating of pre-uplift rhyolite flows (8 Ma), now exposed on the crest of the range, and a post-canyon-cutting rhyolite dome (5 Ma), now in the bottom of Kingston Canyon. This episode of uplift and canyon cutting represents the most closely constrained example known in the Great Basin and adjacent transition zone of main-phase uplift by basin-range faults.

Continental-Scale Gene Flow Prevents Allopatric Divergence of Pelagic Freshwater Bacteria.

Allopatric divergence is one of the principal mechanisms for speciation of macro-organisms. Microbes by comparison are assumed to disperse more freely and to be less limited by dispersal barriers. However, thermophilic prokaryotes restricted to geothermal springs have shown clear signals of geographic isolation, but robust studies on this topic for microbes with less strict habitat requirements are scarce. Furthermore, it has only recently been recognized that homologous recombination among conspecific individuals provides species coherence in a wide range of prokaryotes. Recombination barriers thus may define prokaryotic species boundaries, yet, the extent to which geographic distance between populations gives rise to such barriers is an open question. Here, we investigated gene flow and population structure in a widespread species of pelagic freshwater bacteria, Polynucleobacter paneuropaeus. Through comparative genomics of 113 conspecific strains isolated from freshwater lakes and ponds located across a North–South range of more than 3,000 km, we were able to reconstruct past gene flow events. The species turned out to be highly recombinogenic as indicated by significant signs of gene transfer and extensive genome mosaicism. Although genomic differences increased with spatial distance on a regional scale (<170 km), such correlations were mostly absent on larger scales up to 3,400 km. We conclude that allopatric divergence in European P. paneuropaeus is minor, and that effective gene flow across the sampled geographic range in combination with a high recombination efficacy maintains species coherence.

Phylogenetic diversity of 200+ isolates of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Cenococcum geophilum associated with Populus trichocarpa soils in the Pacific Northwest, USA and comparison to globally distributed representatives.

The ectomycorrhizal fungal symbiont Cenococcum geophilum is of high interest as it is globally distributed, associates with many plant species, and has resistance to multiple environmental stressors. C. geophilum is only known from asexual states but is often considered a cryptic species complex, since extreme phylogenetic divergence is often observed within nearly morphologically identical strains. Alternatively, C. geophilum may represent a highly diverse single species, which would suggest cryptic but frequent recombination. Here we describe a new isolate collection of 229 C. geophilum isolates from soils under Populus trichocarpa at 123 collection sites spanning a ~283 mile north-south transect in Western Washington and Oregon, USA (PNW). To further understanding of the phylogenetic relationships within C. geophilum, we performed maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses to assess divergence within the PNW isolate collection, as well as a global phylogenetic analysis of 789 isolates with publicly available data from the United States, Japan, and European countries. Phylogenetic analyses of the PNW isolates revealed three distinct phylogenetic groups, with 15 clades that strongly resolved at >80% bootstrap support based on a GAPDH phylogeny and one clade segregating strongly in two principle component analyses. The abundance and representation of PNW isolate clades varied greatly across the North-South range, including a monophyletic group of isolates that spanned nearly the entire gradient at ~250 miles. A direct comparison between the GAPDH and ITS rRNA gene region phylogenies, combined with additional analyses revealed stark incongruence between the ITS and GAPDH gene regions, consistent with intra-species recombination between PNW isolates. In the global isolate collection phylogeny, 34 clades were strongly resolved using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian approaches (at >80% MLBS and >0.90 BPP respectively), with some clades having intra- and intercontinental distributions. Together these data are highly suggestive of divergence within multiple cryptic species, however additional analyses such as higher resolution genotype-by-sequencing approaches are needed to distinguish potential species boundaries and the mode and tempo of recombination patterns.

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Aerosol Optical Depth, Total Ozone and NO2 Over East Asia: Strategy for the Validation to the GEMS Scientific Products

In this study, the spatio-temporal variability of aerosol optical depth (AOD), total column ozone (TCO), and total column NO2 (TCN) was identified over East Asia using long-term datasets from ground-based and satellite observations. Based on the statistical results, optimized spatio-temporal ranges for the validation study were determined with respect to the target materials. To determine both spatial and temporal ranges for the validation study, we confirmed that the observed datasets can be statistically considered as the same quantity within the ranges. Based on the thresholds of R2&gt;0.95 (temporal) and R&gt;0.95 (spatial), the basic ranges for spatial and temporal scales for AOD validation was within 30 km and 30 min, respectively. Furthermore, the spatial scales for AOD validation showed seasonal variation, which expanded the range to 40 km in summer and autumn. Because of the seasonal change of latitudinal gradient of the TCO, the seasonal variation of the north-south range is a considerable point. For the TCO validation, the north-south range is varied from 0.87° in spring to 1.05° in summer. The spatio-temporal range for TCN validation was 20 min (temporal) and 20–50 km (spatial). However, the nearest value of satellite data was used in the validation because the spatio-temporal variation of TCN is large in summer and autumn. Estimation of the spatio-temporal variability for respective pollutants may contribute to improving the validation of satellite products.

Investigating bee dietary preferences along a gradient of floral resources: how does resource use align with resource availability?

Bee dietary preferences, or the floral resources that they consistently collect, likely impact where a species can persist. For this reason it is likely that bee dietary preferences are dependent upon the composition of the plant community. In this study, we evaluated floral visits and pollen loads of the mining bee, Andrena angustitarsata Viereck, across a 630 km north-south range to understand dietary preferences along a floral resource gradient. Previous research, in a more geographically limited area, suggested this species was an eclectic oligolege on predominantly Apiaceae and in part Rosaceae. In the present study we found the species predominately visited and collected pollen from Apiaceae and Rosaceae, but visited 12 flower families and collected pollen from 32, distinguishing them as generalist foragers. The frequency of Apiaceae pollen on the bees and the species-level specialization index (a measure of visit specialization) were higher in regions with higher Apiaceae abundance. In addition Apiaceae and Rosaceae were the only plant families significantly preferred for pollen collection, regardless of floral abundance. We conclude that across our study region A. angustitarsata has a generalist dietary breadth, but also has dietary preference for Apiaceae and Rosaceae. Our study indicates that while bees may overall make generalist foraging decisions they may still prefer and likely benefit from selecting fewer flower taxa.

Effect of Temperature on the Size of Sedimentary Remains of Littoral Chydorids

The body size of aquatic invertebrates is, to a great extent, dependent on ambient temperature, but size distributions are also determined by other factors like food supply and predation. The effect of temperature on organisms is formulated in the temperature–size hypothesis, which predicts a smaller body size with increasing temperature. In this study, the effect of temperature on the subfossil remains of three littoral Cladocera (Alona affnis, A. quadrangularis, and Chydorus cf. sphaericus) was investigated. Exoskeletal remains of these species can be found in large numbers in lacustrine sediments and over a wide north–south range in Europe. The total length of both headshield and postabdomen for A. affinis and A. quadrangularis and carapace length for C. cf. sphaericus were measured to observe their response to changes in latitude and temperature. A different response to ambient temperature in the growth of body parts was observed. The size of the headshields of both Alona species and of the carapace of Chydorus was significantly larger in colder regions as opposed to warm ones. It turned out that the postabdomen was not a good predictor of ambient temperature. While the sizes of all remains increased with latitude, the sizes of the Alona remains was smaller in the mountain lakes of the Southern Carpathians than in other cold lakes, in this case in Finland, a fact indicative of the importance of other factors on size distribution. This study demonstrates that a morphological response to climate is present in littoral cladocerans, and, therefore, changes in the length of headshield and carapace may be used as a proxy for climate changes in paleolimnological records.

Radial growth of Picea glauca and Picea engelmannii across Canada and USA: monthly climate, decadal oscillations, and climate change

ABSTRACTWe employ a dendrochronological approach to examine spatial variation in radial tree growth-climate relationships and responses to global climate oscillations across the geographic ranges of Picea glauca and Picea engelmannii. Tree-ring chronologies were constructed for 77 sites and analyzed using correlation coefficients for monthly climatic variables. In general, for Picea glauca, stands in the western portion of its range had significant negative correlations with temperature during fall, winter, and spring; only summer temperature was positively correlated with tree growth. In eastern North America, Picea glauca growth was negatively correlated with winter and spring temperature. Across the north-south range of Picea engelmannii, growth of northern populations was positively correlated with temperature in most seasons except spring, which had negative correlations, and response to winter precipitation differed between northern and southern populations. However, some monthly values for both species correlations were altered due to decadal oscillation phase, especially for the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.

Climate change impacts on the distribution of venomous snakes and snakebite risk in Mozambique

This paper aims to understand the impacts of global climate change (GCC) on the distribution of dangerous venomous snakes and snakebite risk in Mozambique, as a contribution to the enhancement of public health policies and snake conservation. We modelled current and future distribution of all 13 dangerous snakes occurring in Mozambique using ecological niche models to assess the likely impacts of climate change estimated as the difference between lost and gained climatic suitable area per species. In addition, we developed a normalized index of snakebite risk based on species diversity and species-specific traits for each time slice. We then superimposed our index to data on human population density to identify areas most prone to this burden. Our findings suggest considerable future reduction in climatically suitable area for nine out of 13 species, with species experiencing a north-south range shift and high rates of species turnover in northern Mozambique. We also found that GCC might alter the spatial patterns of snakebite risk in the country, with considerable increase in the future, affecting most areas in central and southern regions. This finding suggests that GCC will be harmful to venomous snakes in Mozambique with potentially adverse effects on public health. As GCC might induce the approximation of snake climatic suitable areas to highly populated areas, efforts are needed to increase human knowledge of snakebite prevention measures and increase awareness of the relative safety and attacking behaviour associated with some of the snakes studied here ensuring reduction in snakebites and improving species conservation.

Roles of environmental and spatial factors in structuring assemblages of forest-floor Mesostigmata in the boreal region of Northern Alberta, Canada

ABSTRACTMesostigmatid mites (Arachnida: Parasitiformes) are a diverse, abundant group of soil predators; however, in comparison to some other groups of soil fauna (e.g. oribatid mites), little is known about environmental and spatial processes that influence local species richness and abundance. The main objective of our study was to identify factors strongly correlated with assemblages of Mesostigmata from boreal forests in northern Alberta, Canada. Soil and litter samples came from 62 sites with up to 4 samples per site (216 samples total), with a north–south range of ~800 km between sites. Environmental variables included ground cover type (e.g. moss, lichen, grass), disturbance intensity, precipitation, and temperature. From 3021 individual adult Mesostigmata, we identified 101 species/morphospecies from 21 families, the most species-rich being Ascidae, Zerconidae, and Digamasellidae. Redundancy analysis determined that the environmental variables that correlated most strongly with mite assemblages were precipitation, moss cover, and disturbance intensity. Spatial distance between sites had almost the same explanatory power, as environmental factors. Assemblages became more dissimilar with increasing spatial distance. This study showed the importance that particular environmental and spatial factors likely have on Mesostigmata composition in Canadian boreal forests; however, manipulative studies are required to be able to attribute causation to these correlations.

Watersheds and Trees Fall Together: An Analysis of Intact Forested Watersheds in Southern Patagonia (41–56° S)

While intact forests have intrinsic value in terms of conserving biodiversity, they are also important for associated ecosystem services of soil and water conservation, in addition to the biodiversity, function and geomorphology of stream and river ecosystems. In this latter context, the perspective of watershed is more relevant than forest patch, however we are unaware of any landscape assessments of intact forested watersheds (IFWs). We mapped the coverage of forested watersheds with limited intervention for southern Patagonia (Chile, Argentina) using existing forest stand mapping and high resolution stream/watershed delineation (patch size ~ 0.4 km2). Validation and adjusted IFW boundaries was performed using high resolution satellite imagery for three major inland basins representing the north-south range of the study area. For both scales we evaluated size distribution, conservation status, forest type (deciduous vs. evergreen temperate forest) and bio-climatic zones (precipitation range 500 to &gt;6000 mm/year). For the coarse regional analysis potential IFWs covered over 40% of land surface, and included nearly 60% of all forest cover. These figures were significantly reduced following basin scale validation to 6–21% for IFWs and 5–14% of forest contribution to IFW. IFWs identified in the regional analysis were lower elevation (0–100 m) due to abundant coastal drainages, whereas the basin analyses were higher elevation headwaters systems (1000+ m), the largest over 80 km2. Total IFW cover was estimated between 50,000–132,000 km2, the range a reflection of disparate results across these two scales, further highlighting the need for comprehensive revision and field validation. At the same time the difference in areas, defined mostly by minor levels of intervention, indicate the vast potential for management or restoration. Taken together they represent a nationally and globally significant contribution to of intact temperate forests and IFWs. Interactions between forest and stream ecosystems, and their implications for IFW conservation, are discussed in these contexts, based on examples from the region. Finally we used Getis-Ord Gi* statistics to identify hot and cold spots for different attributes, providing an example of a combined index for prioritizing IFW conservation.

Time constraint effects on phenology and life history synchrony in a damselfly along a latitudinal gradient

In organisms with complex life cycles living in seasonal environments, the synchronisation of phenological events is important from the ecological and evolutionary perspectives. Life history transitions should be synchronised to a greater degree at northern latitudes. We quantified hatching and emergence timing and synchrony in the obligate univoltine damselfly Lestes sponsa along a latitudinal gradient covering its entire north–south range in Europe. In our first experiment, populations from different latitudes were grown in separate climate chambers simulating temperature and photoperiod conditions occurring at their sites of origin. Northern populations expressed early and high synchronous hatching and emergence, central populations intermediate, and southern populations late and low synchronous hatching and emergence. This pattern was expressed at both population and full‐sibling family levels, indicating stronger selection for timing and synchronisation in the north compared to the south. In our second experiment, populations from all latitudes were reared in conditions simulating an average temperature and photoperiod over the latitudinal gradient. Interestingly, the pattern of timing and synchronisation was reversed with respect to latitude when compared to the pattern shown in the first experiment, indicating the importance of environmental factors in shaping phenological events. Our results indicate strong selection for timing and synchronisation of life history events at northern latitudes, caused by time constraints. Our results also show that it is important to use as natural conditions as possible in experiments on life history shifts in organisms with complex life cycles in order to achieve a correct understanding of these shifts.

A new chasmosaurine from northern Laramidia expands frill disparity in ceratopsid dinosaurs.

A new taxon of chasmosaurine ceratopsid demonstrates unexpected disparity in parietosquamosal frill shape among ceratopsid dinosaurs early in their evolutionary radiation. The new taxon is described based on two apomorphic squamosals collected from approximately time equivalent (approximately 77 million years old) sections of the upper Judith River Formation, Montana, and the lower Dinosaur Park Formation of Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta. It is referred to Chasmosaurinae based on the inferred elongate morphology. The typical chasmosaurine squamosal forms an obtuse triangle in dorsal view that tapers towards the posterolateral corner of the frill. In the dorsal view of the new taxon, the lateral margin of the squamosal is hatchet-shaped with the posterior portion modified into a constricted narrow bar that would have supported the lateral margin of a robust parietal. The new taxon represents the oldest chasmosaurine from Canada, and the first pre-Maastrichtian ceratopsid to have been collected on both sides of the Canada-US border, with a minimum north-south range of 380 km. This squamosal morphology would have given the frill of the new taxon a unique dorsal profile that represents evolutionary experimentation in frill signalling near the origin of chasmosaurine ceratopsids and reinforces biogeographic differences between northern and southern faunal provinces in the Campanian of North America.

Temporal Calibration and Biochronology of the Centenario Fauna, Early Miocene of Panama

New excavations along the Panama Canal have yielded a growing Early Miocene assemblage of mammals referred to as the Centenario Fauna. Despite the area’s proximity to South America, the mammals of the Centenario Fauna have entirely North American affinities. The Centenario Fauna is distributed throughout a ∼115-m stratigraphic interval encompassing the uppermost Culebra and Cucaracha Formations within the Panama Canal basin. Previously published ages constrain the age of the lower limit of the Centenario Fauna to no younger than ∼19 Ma, but the upper limit has remained problematical. A fresh exposure of the Cucaracha tuff, a prominent marker horizon within our measured sections, has yielded two new radioisotopic determinations: (1) an 40Ar/39Ar age of 18.96 ± 0.90 Ma and (2) a U-Pb zircon age of 18.81 ± 0.30 Ma. In addition, magnetostratigraphic data indicate that the Centenario Fauna occurs within chron C5Er, from 18.78 to 19.05 Ma on the geomagnetic polarity timescale of Gee and Kent. These correlations further confirm the calibration of the latest Arikareean (Ar4) to early Hemingfordian (He1) transition in Nebraska, at the base of chron C5Er, at about 19.05 Ma. The Centenario Fauna occurs at the beginning of the Hemingfordian North American Land Mammal Age, i.e., He1. A broad faunal province existed during the early Hemingfordian that can be recognized across a north-south range of 5000 km throughout North America, with the southernmost limits defined by the Centenario Fauna of Panama.

The Distribution of Carinaria mediterranea Blainville, 1825 (Heteropods) in the Mediterranean Shores of Turkey

Carinaria mediterranea is a species of minute floating sea snail, a pelagic marine gastropod mollusc in the family Carinariidae. It is a cosmopolitan species with a wide north-south range between 60°N and 45°S. In the Mediterranean, it is common everywhere and penetrates deep into the Caribbean (http://species-identification.org/). In this paper, the distribution of C. medi-terranea specimens are given in Mediterranean coasts of Turkey.

Nebria brevicollis (Fabricius, 1792) in North America, benign or malign? (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Nebriini)

Nebria brevicollis (Fabricius) is one of the most frequently encountered and widely distributed carabid beetles in Europe. Until recently, the only North American records were based on two single specimens, both from the 1930’s in southeastern Canada. In 2008, this species was found at thirteen different sites in five counties in northwestern Oregon. As of the end of 2010, it has been found in thirty-four different sites in ten Oregon counties, with a north-south range of ~150 km and an east-west range of ~90 km. It was also detected in 2010 in southwestern Washington (Vancouver), just north of Portland and the Columbia River.The ecological amplitude of Nebria brevicollis in Oregon rivals that of the most eurytopic native carabid species, e.g., Pterostichus algidus LeConte and Scaphinotus marginatus (Fischer von Waldheim). It has been found in highly degraded heavy industrial sites, agricultural fields, city parks, gardens, second growth woodlands, mature conifer forests, montane rock gardens, and otherwise pristine stands of old growth noble fir, with elevations ranging from essentially sea level to 1,249 meters. Climates at these locales vary from that of the Mediterranean Willamette Valley floor, where snow rarely occurs and summers are hot and dry, to the summit of the Oregon Coast Range, where deep snow may be present from November through April and summers are cool. The carabid communities in which Nebria brevicollis has been found range from those predominantly of fellow exotic species, e.g., at heavily perturbed sites, to those where it is the only exotic species, such as at the Coast Range summit.Nebria brevicollis is clearly an invasive species in that it is not restricted to anthropogenic habitats, is rapidly expanding its North American range, and can be abundant in essentially pristine settings. What is not yet clear is whether it is or will become a damaging species. Although it is already the most abundant carabid species in some settings, based upon pitfall catches, it is unknown whether this represents competitive superiority, trap vulnerability, or utilization of previously untapped or non-limiting resources. Deleterious ecological effects could include not only competition with other predators (including other carabid species) in agricultural and natural settings but also predation upon non-adult stages of threatened and endangered species of butterflies.

Genomics of adaptation and wood properties in Populus trichocarpa

Populus trichocarpa (black cottonwood) and P. balsamifera (balsam poplar) are native to North America where large natural populations exist. P. trichocarpa has an extensive north-south range along the west coast, while P. balsamifera has a northerly range across the continent from Alaska to the North American east coast. Both species are well suited for highly productive bioenergy biomass plantations in north-temperate climates. We are investigating the large reservoirs of natural genotypic and phenotypic variation in wild populations of these species, with an initial focus on P. trichocarpa, to identify allelic variation underlying optimal biofuel and biomass traits that could be used for accelerated domestication. We sampled genetic variation in P. trichocarpa by Illumina transcriptome resequencing of 20 individuals from provenances along a latitudinal gradient from 60?N to 44?N. This analysis revealed extensive nucleotide, gene expression and alternative splicing polymorphism in 10,000 xylem-expressed genes. Alignment of transcript sequences to the P. trichocarpa Nisqually-1 reference genome was used to identify over 500,000 SNPs. These SNPs were combined with a larger SNP set generated by whole genome resequencing of multiple P. trichocarpa individuals carried out by the US DOE Bioenergy Sciences Center (BESC) to populate a P. trichocarpa SNP database. Using the Illumina iSelect process, we generated an Illumina Infinium bead array for genotyping of 34,000 SNPs that tag 3,700 candidate genes selected for their potential involvement in biomass, adaptation, and wood traits. Using this bead array in collaboration with BESC, we obtained candidate gene SNP genotypes for over 700 P. trichocarpa individuals grown in common gardens. This analysis of these data revealed extensive genotypic polymorphism in the targeted gene set. In parallel, we carried out phenotyping of the trees from the wild populations grown in common gardens, quantifying variation in over 85 morphological, growth, physiological, wood chemistry, and wood quality traits. Population genetic analysis of the SNP data, its use for genotype-phenotype association studies to identify candidate gene alleles underlying variation in traits of interest, and the prospects of using the results for marker assisted breeding will be discussed.

New species of Asphalidesmus Silvestri, 1910 from Australia (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Dalodesmidea).

Asphalidesmus allynensis sp. n. and Asphalidesmus dorrigensis sp. n. are described from New South Wales, Asphalidesmus otwayensis sp. n. from Victoria, and Asphalidesmus bellendenkerensis sp. n., Asphalidesmus carbinensis sp. n., Asphalidesmus magnus sp. n. and Asphalidesmus minor sp. n. from Queensland. The previously endemic Tasmanian genus Asphalidesmus Silvestri, 1910 is now known from 16°S to 43°S in eastern Australia, a north-south range of ca 3000 km. Asphalidesmus spp. throughout this range are very similar in overall appearance. Three of the new species are able to coil in a tight spiral.

Specimen records for the 10 currently known species of Asphalidesmus Silvestri, 1910. (.xls)

Asphalidesmus allynensis sp. n. and A. dorrigensis sp. n. are described from New South Wales, A. otwayensis sp. n. from Victoria, and A. bellendenkerensis sp. n., A. carbinensis sp. n., A. magnus sp. n. and A. minor sp. n. from Queensland. The previously endemic Tasmanian genus Asphalidesmus Silvestri, 1910 is now known from 16&deg;S to 43&deg;S in eastern Australia, a north-south range of ca 3000 km. Asphalidesmus spp. throughout this range are very similar in overall appearance. Three of the new species are able to coil in a tight spiral.

Specimen records for the 10 currently known species of Asphalidesmus Silvestri, 1910. (.csv)

Asphalidesmus allynensis sp. n. and A. dorrigensis sp. n. are described from New South Wales, A. otwayensis sp. n. from Victoria, and A. bellendenkerensis sp. n., A. carbinensis sp. n., A. magnus sp. n. and A. minor sp. n. from Queensland. The previously endemic Tasmanian genus Asphalidesmus Silvestri, 1910 is now known from 16&deg;S to 43&deg;S in eastern Australia, a north-south range of ca 3000 km. Asphalidesmus spp. throughout this range are very similar in overall appearance. Three of the new species are able to coil in a tight spiral.