Original Description Of Species Research Articles

Generic key and catalogue of Mymaridae (Hymenoptera) of Mexico.

The Mexican genera of Mymaridae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) are keyed in English and Spanish, and a catalogue of species occurring in Mexico is presented. Thirty-six genera, including 79 named species in 20 of the genera, are reported. These are mentioned in about 100 publications either as original species descriptions or as publications that specifically mention species and/or specimens from Mexico. In the catalogue, species distributions by state are given based on literature records, and collection data are compiled from about 3630 specimens examined in eight collections in Canada, Mexico and USA. Host are listed for specimens reared mainly in Mexico. A few extralimital host records are also given.

A revision of the genus Geitlerinema and a description of the genus Anagnostidinema gen. nov. (Oscillatoriophycidae, Cyanobacteria)

The simple filamentous cyanobacterial genus Geitlerinema is heterogeneous. At least two distinct phylogenetic clades can be derived from the set of most common freshwater Geitlerinema species. Our revision is based on the original description of the type species G. splendidum aka Oscillatoria spendida and on molecular sequencing of morphologically relevant strains. The revised Geitlerinema contains only one species according to morphological similarity with its original description. Consequently, the majority of other freshwater species inferred from molecular sequencing of 16S rRNA gene and 16S-23S ITS analysis (related both genetically and morphologically to G. pseudacutissimum) must be classified as a special taxon on the generic level. The name Anagnostidinema is proposed for this genus, which was selected in memory of the prominent late cyanobacterial specialist Konstantinos Anagnostidis. The genetic position, short review and characteristics of the newly defined genus Anagnostidinema is presented in this paper. The taxonomy of the rest of species (including the marine taxa), which are currently unable to be classified taxonomically with certainty, remain to be resolved in future studies.

A new species of Linum (Linaceae) from Iran with a focus on description of Linum turcomanicum in view of morphological and molecular analyses

The genus Linum consists of 15 species in Iran. A new species as well as a new record from Iran is described and illustrated here as L. khorassanicum and L. turcomanicum, respectively. The original description of the latter species is incomplete and ambiguous, probably due to incomplete taxon sampling. In this work, after a comprehensive taxon sampling from the entire distribution range of the species in northeast of Iran, the taxonomic description of L. turcomanicum is completed. The present study considers morphological and molecular (the nrITS region) analyses of the both species. In phylogenetic analysis based on the molecular data, we included these species and some related Linum species to examine the phylogenetic relationship of the new species and L. turcomanicum with other members of the genus. Linum turcomanicum is morphologically almost similar to L. austriacum and L. perenne, but it can be distinguished from them on the basis of several traits such as fruiting-pedicel form and length of petal. Likewise, results obtained from the molecular phylogenetic tree are consistent with those obtained from the morphological data. Linum khorassanicum is well characterized morphologically by having erect fruiting pedicels and inflorescence with few flowers. Our results suggest that the morphological data are in agreement with the molecular phylogenetic tree in which the taxonomic status of L. khorassanicum is confirmed as a new species. Based on IUCN Red List categories and criteria, L. khorassanicum and L. turcomanicum are evaluated as Endangered and Near Threatened species, respectively.

Redescription of Dynoides elegans (Boone, 1923) (Crustacea, Isopoda, Sphaeromatidae) from the north-eastern Pacific.

Dynoides elegans (Boone, 1923) from southern California is reviewed, redescribed, and figured. The original species description did not include figures, making it difficult to attribute individuals to the species. Dynoides saldanai Carvacho and Haasmann, 1984 and Dynoides crenulatus Carvacho & Haasman, 1984 from the Pacific Coast of Mexico and Dynoides brevicornis Kussakin & Malyutina, 1987, from Furugelm Island, Peter the Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan, appear morphologically more similar to each other than to western Pacific species. A large pleonal process is present in about half of the Dynoides species, but is absent in this north-eastern Pacific clade and the north-western Pacific Dynoides brevicornis and Dynoides brevispina. Dynoides dentisinus Shen, 1929 possess a large pleonal spine. It is known from China, Japan, and Korea and is introduced in San Francisco Bay; it can be easily distinguished from Dynoides elegans by the presence of a pleonal process in the former. A key to the Pacific West Coast Dynoides is provided.

Redescription of Philometra margolisi Moravec, Vidal-Martínez et Aguirre-Macedo, 1995 (Nematoda: Philometridae), a gonad-infecting parasite of the red grouper Epinephelus morio (Serranidae) in the Gulf of Mexico.

The insufficiently known nematode species Philometra margolisi Moravec, Vidal-Martínez et Aguirre-Macedo, 1995 (Philometridae) is redescribed based on light and scanning electron microscopical (SEM) examinations of specimens collected from the gonad of the type host, the red grouper Epinephelus morio (Valenciennes) (Serranidae, Perciformes), in the northern Gulf of Mexico off Florida, USA. Also, new prevalence data for females of P. margolisi were derived from 188 fish, and a subset of these (n = 38) were used to determine prevalence and intensity of male nematodes. The male of this species was studied with SEM for the first time, which revealed some new, taxonomically important morphological features. The male posterior end had a V-shaped caudal mound, four pairs of minute adanal papillae, a pair of large papillae located posterior to the cloacal aperture and a pair of very small phasmids. The distal end of the gubernaculum is unique among all gonad-infecting species of Philometra parasitizing serranids in that its ventral surface is flat, smooth, without the usual two longitudinal grooves; the dorsal lamellate structures on the gubernaculum are also different in this species. In contrast to data in the original species description, the body length of gravid females of P. margolisi was 132-280 mm. Overall prevalence for male nematodes (76.3%) was much higher than for females (15.4%), and female nematode prevalence was higher in samples collected during host spawing season than out of season (27.1% and 3.3%, respectively).

Taxonomy of Alangium section Conostigma (Alangiaceae)

Alangium Lam. sect. Conostigma Bloemb. is largely confined to the Malesian area and contains 19 species. By using the characters as found in the original species-descriptions, and with emphasizing the nature of the indument of the leaf bud, the confusingly variable Alangium javanicum s.l.-complex could be dismantled for a great part. Four new species: A. ledermannii, A. pallens, A. plumbeum, and A. subcordatum, and two new varieties: A. meyeri var. macilentum and A. ebenaceum var. insignis are recognised. Two taxa are raised to specific status: A. nobile subsp. denudatum to A. denudatum and A. javanicum var. minahassicum to A. minahassicum. A key to the species is presented, and the concerned taxa are enumerated, referenced, described and some are figured.

The pros and cons of being broad: recent and future progress of Nordic Journal of Botany

The pros and cons of being broad: recent and future progress of Nordic Journal of Botany

Tracking a syntype of the Australian skink Anomalopus leuckartii (Weinland, 1862): 'lost' treasures in the Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden highlight the importance of reassessing and safeguarding natural history collections

We here report the rediscovery of a type specimen of the Australian skink Anomalopus leuckartii (Weinland, 1862) in the Museum of Zoology (Museum für Tierkunde), Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden (accession number MTKD 10205), heretofore presumed lost during World War II. Eidonomic data for the specimen conform to the original species description, and combined with the specimen’s history, we are able to unequivocally identify it as part of the original syntype series. Weinland’s description was based on two specimens, one of which does indeed appear to be lost. Consequently, MTKD 10205 is designated as lectotype of A. leuckartii. This find invalidates the subsequent designation of AM R 44677 (Australian Museum, Sydney) as neotype for the species. The rediscovery highlights the importance of maintaining natural history collections, not merely as static archives but rather as dynamic and lively databases. This in combination with optimal taxonomic expertise as bedrock guarantees an environment, in which new discoveries are not impeded but actively promoted, thereby inevitably advancing modern biodiversity research.

Three rDNA Loci-Based Phylogenies of Tintinnid Ciliates (Ciliophora, Spirotrichea, Choreotrichida).

To improve understanding of diversity, phylogeny and evolution in tintinnid ciliates, it is essential to link multiple molecular markers with properly identified and documented morphospecies. Accordingly, 54 tintinnid morphospecies/isolates mainly from the Yellow and East China Seas were collected and analysed. Using single-cell approaches, sequences were obtained for three rDNA loci (18S, ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, D1-D5 region of 28S). Twenty-six tintinnid morphospecies (29 isolates) are documented by micrographs, measurements, morphologically described, and compared with the original species description. Three rDNA loci-based phylogenetic analyses were then performed for these identified isolates. Sequences from 25 unidentified species/isolates were also included in the comparison of the three rDNA loci. Ribosomal DNA genes of the genus Leprotintinnus were analysed for the first time, showing that Leprotintinnus was closely related to Tintinnopsis radix and branched distinctly apart from the family Tintinnidiidae. Four novel clades (VI to IX) of the Tintinnopsis complex emerged in the 18S genealogies. Analyses of the relative variability in the ITS and 28S regions vs. the 18S rDNA showed that the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and ITS2 regions well co-varied with the 18S rDNA when the variations of the latter were less than 3%, whereas at difference of less than 1%, no correlation was found between the compared loci. These findings highlight the difficulties in using variable locus-based cut-off divergences in circumscribing tintinnid morphospecies.

Haplopacha (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) reviewed: four new species, first descriptions of the genitalia of both sexes, and unique alar scale organs.

The collection of five specimens of Haplopacha at Ndumo Nature Reserve in South Africa highlights unknown species diversity in the monotypic genus. A total of four new species; H. riftensis sp. nov., H. tangani sp. nov., H. lunata sp. nov. and H. ndoumoi sp. nov., were identified in the Natural History Museum of London collection and the study of fresh specimens also revealed the presence of uniquely characteristic alar scale patches absent from the original species description of the genus type species H. cinerea. Based on the new species the descriptions of Haplopacha is amended. The identification of the new species was done using conventional light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy of the general morphology, wing venation and genitalia observations.

Unlocking Index Animalium: From paper slips to bytes and bits.

In 1996 Smithsonian Libraries (SIL) embarked on the digitization of its collections. By 1999, a full-scale digitization center was in place and rare volumes from the natural history collections, often of high illustrative value, were the focus for the first years of the program. The resulting beautiful books made available for online display were successful to a certain extent, but it soon became clear that the data locked within the texts needed to be converted to more usable and re-purposable form via digitization methods that went beyond simple page imaging and included text conversion elements. Library staff met with researchers from the taxonomic community to understand their path to the literature and identified tools (indexes and bibliographies) used to connect to the library holdings. The traditional library metadata describing the titles, which made them easily retrievable from the shelves of libraries, was not meeting the needs of the researcher looking for more detailed and granular data within the texts. The result was to identify proper print tools that could potential assist researchers in digital form. This paper outlines the project undertaken to convert Charles Davies Sherborn’s Index Animalium into a tool to connect researchers to the library holdings: from a print index to a database to eventually a dataset.Sherborn’s microcitation of a species name and his bibliographies help bridge the gap between taxonomist and literature holdings of libraries. In 2004, SIL received funding from the Smithsonian’s Atherton Seidell Endowment to create an online version of Sherborn’s Index Animalium. The initial project was to digitize the page images and re-key the data into a simple data structure. As the project evolved, a more complex database was developed which enabled quality field searching to retrieve species names and to search the bibliography. Problems with inconsistent abbreviations and styling of his bibliographies made the parsing of the data difficult. Coinciding with the development of the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) in 2005, it became obvious there was a need to integrate the database converted Index Animalium, BHL’s scanned taxonomic literature, and taxonomic intelligence (the algorithmic identification of binomial, Latinate name-strings). The challenges of working with legacy taxonomic citation, computer matching algorithms, and making connections have brought us to today’s goal of making Sherborn available and linked to other datasets. Partnering with others to allow machine-to-machine communications the data is being examined for possible transformation into RDF markup and meeting the standards of Linked Open Data. SIL staff have partnered with Thomson Reuters and the Global Names Initiative to further enhance the Index Animalium data set. Thomson Reuters’ staff is now working on integrating the species microcitation and species name in the ION: Index to Organism Names project; Richard Pyle (The Bishop Museum) is also working on further parsing of the text. The Index Animalium collaborative project’s ultimate goal is to successful have researchers go seamlessly from the species name in either ION or the scanned pages of Index Animalium to the digitized original description in BHL - connecting taxonomic researchers to original authored species descriptions with just a click.

First report of, and additional information on, Meloidogyne konaensis (Nematoda: Meloidogyninae) parasitising various crops in Brazil

In a survey for Meloidogyne spp. in different crops from 11 regions in Ceará State, Brazil, using esterase isozyme electrophoresis as a specific identification method, four atypical populations were characterised from cabbage, papaya, noni and canapum plants, all of which showed an esterase profile different from those previously detected in Brazil. Morphological studies showed typical characteristics of Meloidogyne konaensis. Perineal patterns of females were variable, similar to M. arenaria and M. incognita, stylet length 14-20 μm. In females, the knobs gradually merged with the shaft and the dorsal pharyngeal gland orifice (DGO) ranged from 4 to 7 μm. Although males are not frequently found, the stylet morphology provides the most useful source of diagnostic character for the species, having 6-12 large projections protruding from the shaft. The esterase pattern K3 is unique and species-specific with three major bands Rm 1.0, 1.17, 1.27 and a secondary band Rm 1.10. Some confusion about the true identity of this species was clarified in this study, including differentiation from M. paranaensis. A species-specific SCAR marker developed for M. paranaensis was tested and no amplification products were observed. In Neighbour-Joining analyses of ITS and D2-D3 rRNA sequences, M. konaensis from Brazil appeared clearly separated from M. paranaensis. Pathological tests indicated that coffee is not a host of M. konaensis as previously reported in the original description of this species.

Molecular and Morphological Differentiation of Common Dolphins (Delphinus sp.) in the Southwestern Atlantic: Testing the Two Species Hypothesis in Sympatry.

The taxonomy of common dolphins (Delphinus sp.) has always been controversial, with over twenty described species since the original description of the type species of the genus (Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758). Two species and four subspecies are currently accepted, but recent molecular data have challenged this view. In this study we investigated the molecular taxonomy of common dolphins through analyses of cytochrome b sequences of 297 individuals from most of their distribution. We included 37 novel sequences from the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean, a region where the short- and long-beaked morphotypes occur in sympatry, but which had not been well sampled before. Skulls of individuals from the Southwestern Atlantic were measured to test the validity of the rostral index as a diagnostic character and confirmed the presence of the two morphotypes in our genetic sample. Our genetic results show that all common dolphins in the Atlantic Ocean belong to a single species, Delphinus delphis. According to genetic data, the species Delphinus capensis is invalid. Long-beaked common dolphins from the Northeastern Pacific Ocean may constitute a different species. Our conclusions prompt the need for revision of currently accepted common dolphin species and subspecies and of Delphinus delphis distribution.

First record of Palmellopsis texensis (Groover et Bold) Ettl et Gärtner (Chlorophyta, Tetrasporales, Palmellopsidaceae) from Bulgaria, found in a 20 years dried soil of a herbarium specimen

Three green algae – Palmellopsis texensis, Chlorococcum pinguideum and Chlorella minutissima – were isolated from the soil remnants among the plant roots of a herbarium specimen, kept 20 years in air-dry conditions without any chemical or freezing preservation treatment. The first two species are new for the algal flora of Bulgaria. Cytomorphology and reproduction of the isolate similar to Palmellopsis texensis were investigated in detail and data obtained were compared with the original species description of Groover & Bold (1969). Two differences from the original diagnosis were detected: presence of pulsating vacuoles in the vegetative cells of our isolate and its reproduction only by zoospores. All features of the architecture of zoospores coincide well with the original description. Further studies could verify if our isolate belongs to Palmellopsis texensis, as it is for the moment designated here, or is a distinct species.

A BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECOMPILATION OF THE GENUS Mesalina GRAY, 1838 (SAURIA: LACERTIDAE) WITH A KEY TO THE SPECIES

In this study we review the species of lizards in the genus Mesalina (Lacertidae) and present a new key for their identification. We also obtained five photos of each species from the British Museum of Natural History that illustrate the dorsal, lateral (right and left), and ventral views of the head and the femoral pores of each species. The papers with the original descriptions of each species were reviewed and used in preparation of the key. Some remarks about the habitat, natural history, updated distribution map and previous taxonomic changes are explained.

The first record of a cupped oyster species Crassostrea dianbaiensis in the waters of Japan

With a combination of our mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data, we evidenced the occurrence of a Crassostrea oyster hitherto unrecognized in Japan. This species, C. dianbaiensis (named Sumizome-gaki in Japanese), was very recently described as a new “tropical” oyster, although we located it in a temperate water zone (southwestern coast of Shikoku Island, Japan). Our specimens bore a morphological resemblance to the slipper cupped oyster C. bilineata (syn. C. iredalei), consistent with their close phylogenetic relationship. Some of the shell characteristics represented in the original species description were not applicable to our specimens, especially in terms of the pattern of their inner-shell coloration. Our novel finding of C. dianbaiensis in Japan updated the taxon list of Japanese Crassostrea species.

Advertisement call of Dendropsophus studerae (Carvalho-e-Silva, Carvalho-e-Silva and Izecksohn, 2003) (Anura: Hylidae), with new record and geographic distribution extension.

The treefrog genus Dendropsophus Fitzinger comprises 95 species, with geographic distribution from northern Argentina and Uruguay north through tropical South and Central America to tropical southern Mexico (Frost 2014). Dendropsophus studerae was included in the D. microcephalus clade by Faivovich et al. (2005), which currently consists of 39 species (Frost 2014). The species that most resembles D. studerae is D. bipunctatus (Spix), as already stated in the original description of the former (Carvalho-e-Silva et al. 2003). Thus far, Dendropsophus studerae was only known from its type locality, in the municipality of Quebrangulo (09º19'08"S, 36º28'16"W), State of Alagoas, northeastern Brazil. The original description of the species also included data on its eggs, tadpole (oral disc and external morphology) and some natural history information of adults and larvae, but its advertisement call remains undescribed.

Re-description of a genetically typed, single oocyst line of the turkey coccidium, Eimeria adenoeides Moore and Brown, 1951.

The Guelph strain of Eimeria adenoeides was obtained from a commercial turkey flock in Ontario, Canada, in 1985. Single oocyst derived lines of E. adenoeides were propagated, and one of them used to re-describe biological and morphological features of E. adenoeides in the turkey. Oocysts of this strain are within the lower size ranges in the original species description reported by Moore and Brown (1951); oocysts of the Guelph strain averaged 18.7 ± 1.4μm (16.7-22.5) by 14.3 ± 0.9μm (13-16.2, n = 30) with a shape index (SI) of 1.3 ± 0.1. It is possible that the original species description was based, at least in part, on a mixed culture of two or more Eimeria species. Immature first-generation meronts of E. adenoeides Guelph strain were observed histologically at 32h post-infection in the ileum and cecal neck. Early studies reported only two asexual generations suggested that first asexual cycle observed at 32h post-infection was overlooked. In the present study, three asexual generations were observed before the start of gametogony. The Guelph strain is also characterized by a prepatent period of 112h. The Guelph strain of E. adenoeides is a highly pathogenic coccidium that forms classic cecal lesions, including prominent caseous cecal cores, during moderate to severe infections. The maximum output of oocysts (1.77 × 10(7) per bird) was obtained from birds inoculated with 1 × 10(3) oocysts; maximum fecundity (1.55 × 10(5) oocyst shed per oocyst inoculated) was obtained with an inoculation of 1 × 10(2) oocysts, but fecundity dropped dramatically as the inoculation dose increased. To promote stability of the E. adenoeides species concept, neotype specimens (a parahapantotype slides series and phototype) have been designated and deposited for future reference.

Taxonomy in the electronic age and an e-monograph of the papaya family (Caricaceae) as an example.

The need for taxonomists to take full advantage of biodiversity informatics has been clear for at least 10years. Significant progress has been made in providing access to taxonomic resources online, including images of specimens (especially types), original species descriptions, and georeferenced collection data. However, in spite of persuasive calls for e-monography, there are few, if any, completed project, even though monographic research is the only mechanism for reducing synonymous names, which are estimated to comprise 50% of all published names. Caricaceae is an economically important family of flowering plants from Africa and the Neotropics, best known for the fruit crop papaya. There is a large amount of information on the family, especially on chemistry, crop improvement, genomics, and the sex chromosomes of papaya, but up-to-date information on the 230 names and which species they might belong to was not available. A dynamically updated e-monograph of the Caricaceae now brings together all information on this family, including keys, species descriptions, and specimen data relating the 230 names to 34 species and one hybrid. This may be the first taxonomic monograph of a plant family completely published online. The curated information will be continuously updated to improve the monograph's comprehensiveness and utility.

Mixibius parvus sp. nov. and Diphascon (Diphascon) ziliense sp. nov., two new species of Eutardigrada from Sicily

We describe two new sympatric species of Sarsiellidae from coastal Florida, USA: Eusarsiella bryanjuarezi sp. nov. and Eusarsiella eli sp. nov. We also present a morphological character matrix and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis for Sarsiellinae based on original species descriptions, representing 139 sarsiellins (including E. bryanjuarezi and E. eli). While support values across the phylogeny are low, E. bryanjuarezi and E. eli form a sister group pair with 68 % bootstrap support. Our phylogeny also showed support for six other sympatric sister-species pairs, distributed across Sarsiellinae's range, which may be candidates for the study of speciation and niche differentiation. Similar to other analyses of myodocopids, our Sarsiellinae phylogeny recovered only three monophyletic genera: Anscottiella, Cymbicopia, and Chelicopia, indicating that characters used in taxonomy may often be homoplasious. Because of our finding of multiple polyphyletic genera, including the two most speciose genera in the subfamily (Eusarsiella and Sarsiella, the type genus) Sarsiellinae is a strong candidate for taxonomic revision.