Australasian Species Research Articles

Two new species of ptyctimous mites (Acari: Oribatida) from Australasia with notes on the morphology of other Australasian species

A total of 22 species representing 11 genera of ptyctimous mites (Acari: Oribatida) were found in samples from six localities in the Australasian Region and included two new species, Microtritia paranovazealandiensis sp. nov. from Papua New Guinea and Plonaphacarus difficilis sp. nov. from Western Australia, which are here described. Some morphological remarks on Acrotritia sterigma (Niedbała, 1998), Arphthicarus scuticus Niedbała 2006 and Austrophthiracarus perti (Niedbała, 1987) are given.

Weeding the Nettles II: A delimitation of “Urtica dioica L.” (Urticaceae) based on morphological and molecular data, including a rehabilitation of Urtica gracilis Ait.

The taxonomy of subcosmopolitan Urtica dioica L. s.l. is problematic. Recent floras recognize Urtica dioica as a subcosmopolitan species ranging throughout the entire holarctic region and also South Africa and New Zealand. Numerous infraspecific taxa have been proposed, especially in western Eurasia. There is only weak character differentiation, with floral and fruit morphology largely uniform, details of leaf morphology and indumentum are therefore primarily used for species delimitation, together with some characters of gender distribution and growth habit. The present study addresses the enigmatic relationships of the infraspecific taxa in Urtica dioica with a special emphasis on the monoecious, American representatives of Urtica dioica s.l. The study is based on extensive field and herbarium studies, molecular data and the experimental cultivation of all relevant forms. Infraspecific taxa currently assigned to U. dioica are retrieved mainly on two separate clades, one comprising the predominantly polygamous western Eurasian and African taxa (all subspecies and varieties sampled), the other comprising the monoecious American taxa. Monoecious American representatives of “Urtica dioica” and closely allied taxa (U. aquatica, U. mollis) are retrieved as a monophyletic group sister to a clade with East Asian and Australasian species, this clade is then retrieved as sister to the western and central Eurasian and African taxa of U. dioica. We therefore advocate the removal of the American representatives of this group from Urtica dioica and their placement as infraspecific taxa under Urtica gracilis. The following new names are consequently proposed: Urtica gracilis subsp. gracilis (for Urtica dioica subsp. gracilis), Urtica gracilis subsp. holosericea, comb. nov. (for Urtica dioica subsp. holosericea), Urtica gracilis subsp. aquatica, comb. & stat. nov. (for Urtica aquatica), Urtica gracilis subsp. mollis, comb. & stat. nov. (for Urtica mollis). Additionally, we describe a new subspecies from Peru under the name Urtica gracilis subsp. incaica. The literature report of Urtica gracilis (dioica subsp. gracilis) as an introduced weed in New Zealand is shown to be erroneous – the corresponding specimens belong to Australian Urtica incisa. Based on gross morphology close affinities have been proposed between a range of Australasian, Asian, North American and European infraspecific taxa, all of these can be shown to be erroneous.

Notoparmelia, a new genus ofParmeliaceae(Ascomycota) based on overlooked reproductive anatomical features, phylogeny and distribution pattern

AbstractThe importance of the anatomy and fine morphology of reproductive structures for the systematics of the familyParmeliaceaeis highlighted by the new genusNotoparmelia, described here for Australasian species ofParmelia. These species were known to form a monophyletic lineage but correlated characters for its delimitation were lacking. A major characteristic used here for the circumscription of this genus is the overlooked apothecial anatomy. The proper exciple is reduced to one layer formed exclusively by large hyphae without any clear branching pattern and embedded in an abundant polysaccharide matrix. This feature differs from the rest ofParmeliaceaewhich have a stratified three-layered proper exciple composed of a thin hyaline layer, intermediate layer and basal cortex-like structure. The anatomy of proper exciple, together with the thickness of spore walls and other morphological characters such as lobe morphology, pseudocyphellae and rhizine type, allow a precise diagnosis of the new genus. The area of distribution is also useful for characterizing this genus. Sixteen new combinations are proposed.

A new species of Neocaeculus (Acari: Prostigmata: Caeculidae) from Barrow Island,Western Australia, with a checklist of world Caeculidae

Neocaeculus imperfectus new species is described from material collected on Barrow Island, Western Australia. Keys to genera and Australasian species of Caeculidae are provided, and the relationship between the genera Neocaeculus and Microcaeculus is discussed. A checklist of species for Caeculidae is provided.

A new species of Neocaeculus (Acari: Prostigmata: Caeculidae) from Barrow Island,Western Australia, with a checklist of world Caeculidae

Neocaeculus imperfectus new species is described from material collected on Barrow Island, Western Australia. Keys to genera and Australasian species of Caeculidae are provided, and the relationship between the genera Neocaeculus and Microcaeculus is discussed. A checklist of species for Caeculidae is provided.

The influence of tectonics, sea-level changes and dispersal on migration and diversification of Isonandreae (Sapotaceae)

Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA sequence data were generated for 80 of the c. 200 species of Isonandreae and were added to data from African and Neotropical representatives in subfamily Sapotoideae and outgroups in Sapotaceae. Bayesian dating and ancestral area reconstruction indicated that Isonandreae are derived from within an African grade. Multiple Australasian species or lineages are derived from Sundanian lineages in South-East Asia with stem ages originating from the late Oligocene. Sri Lankan and Indian lineages are also derived from Sundanian lineages. Our results are consistent with migration from Africa into Sundania followed by numerous over-water dispersal events across Wallace's Line into Australasia and migration from Sundania to the Indian subcontinent. Pleistocene speciation indicates that sea-level changes during that epoch could have been responsible for some species diversification in Sundania.

A study of branching patterns in Bazzania (Jungermanniales, Lepidoziaceae)

Abstract Branching patterns in the leafy liverwort genus Bazzania Gray were investigated in twenty-five Australasian species. Terminal branching was found to be neither consistently sinistrorse nor consistently dextrorse, and neither consistently homodromous nor consistently antidromous. Microphyllous ventral-intercalary branches arising from stems usually have ‘siblings’ arising from main branches. The production of leafy ventral-intercalary branches is not necessarily associated with the termination of stems or main branches. These results are contrary to previous ideas about branching in Bazzania.

Taxonomic and Ecological Notes on the <I>Alsophila hornei</I> Complex (Cyatheaceae-Polypodiopsida), with the Description of the New Species <I>A. phlebodes</I> from New Guinea

The morphologically variable tree fern Alsophila hornei of the Gymnosphaera clade is taxonomically and ecologically evaluated. While there is only one morphospecies present at the type locality on Fiji, three species can be characterized along an elevational transect on New Guinea. Alsophila hornei is also present at low elevations throughout New Guinea. Alsophila phlebodes is newly described and so far only found at high elevations on the Vogelkop Peninsula of New Guinea. Among its sympatric congeners, it stands out by having relatively pale brown petiole scales and well-developed, highly dissected remote basal pinnae on the petioles that form a wig-like structure around the trunk apex. Alsophila olivacea is reinstated and separated from A. hornei and A. phlebodes mainly by lacking adventitious pinnae and having an intermediate elevational distribution in the mountains of New Guinea. A key to the Australasian species of the Gymnophaera clade is provided in order to facilitate taxonomic studies of this biogeographically and phylogenetically interesting group.

A new species of Atrichopleura Bezzi (Diptera, Empididae, Empidinae) from Ceará, Brazil.

Atrichopleura Bezzi, 1909 occurs in different regions of the Southern Hemisphere (24 Neotropical species, 2 Afrotropical species and 2 Australasian species). A new species collected in the Brazilian state of Ceará, A. acuminata sp. nov. is described and illustrated. This is the first record of the genus from northeastern Brazil. A modified key to the five Brazilian species is presented.

A molecular phylogeny of nephilid spiders: Evolutionary history of a model lineage

The pantropical orb web spider family Nephilidae is known for the most extreme sexual size dimorphism among terrestrial animals. Numerous studies have made Nephilidae, particularly Nephila, a model lineage in evolutionary research. However, a poorly understood phylogeny of this lineage, relying only on morphology, has prevented thorough evolutionary syntheses of nephilid biology. We here use three nuclear and five mitochondrial genes for 28 out of 40 nephilid species to provide a more robust nephilid phylogeny and infer clade ages in a fossil-calibrated Bayesian framework. We complement the molecular analyses with total evidence analysis including morphology. All analyses find strong support for nephilid monophyly and exclusivity and the monophyly of the genera Herennia and Clitaetra. The inferred phylogenetic structure within Nephilidae is novel and conflicts with morphological phylogeny and traditional taxonomy. Nephilengys species fall into two clades, one with Australasian species (true Nephilengys) as sister to Herennia, and another with Afrotropical species (Nephilingis Kuntner new genus) as sister to a clade containing Clitaetra plus most currently described Nephila. Surprisingly, Nephila is also diphyletic, with true Nephila containing N. pilipes+N. constricta, and the second clade with all other species sister to Clitaetra; this “Nephila” clade is further split into an Australasian clade that also contains the South American N. sexpunctata and the Eurasian N. clavata, and an African clade that also contains the Panamerican N. clavipes. An approximately unbiased test constraining the monophyly of Nephilengys, Nephila, and Nephilinae (Nephila, Nephilengys, Herennia), respectively, rejected Nephilengys monophyly, but not that of Nephila and Nephilinae. Further data are therefore necessary to robustly test these two new, but inconclusive findings, and also to further test the precise placement of Nephilidae within the Araneoidea. For divergence date estimation we set the minimum bound for the stems of Nephilidae at 40Ma and of Nephila at 16Ma to accommodate Palaeonephila from Baltic amber and Dominican Nephila species, respectively. We also calibrated and dated the phylogeny under three different interpretations of the enigmatic 165Ma fossil Nephila jurassica, which we suspected based on morphology to be misplaced. We found that by treating N. jurassica as stem Nephila or nephilid the inferred clade ages were vastly older, and the mitochondrial substitution rates much slower than expected from other empirical spider data. This suggests that N. jurassica is not a Nephila nor a nephilid, but possibly a stem orbicularian. The estimated nephilid ancestral age (40–60Ma) rejects a Gondwanan origin of the family as most of the southern continents were already split at that time. The origin of the family is equally likely to be African, Asian, or Australasian, with a global biogeographic history dominated by dispersal events. A reinterpretation of web architecture evolution suggests that a partially arboricolous, asymmetric orb web with a retreat, as exemplified by both groups of “Nephilengys”, is plesiomorphic in Nephilidae, that this architecture was modified into specialized arboricolous webs in Herennia and independently in Clitaetra, and that the web became aerial, gigantic, and golden independently in both “Nephila” groups. The new topology questions previously hypothesized gradual evolution of female size from small to large, and rather suggests a more mosaic evolutionary pattern with independent female size increases from medium to giant in both “Nephila” clades, and two reversals back to medium and small; combined with male size evolution, this pattern will help detect gross evolutionary events leading to extreme sexual size dimorphism, and its morphological and behavioral correlates.

Prumnopitys anglica sp. nov. (Podocarpaceae) from the Eocene of England

AbstractLeaves from the Eocene Bournemouth Freshwater Beds of southern England assigned originally to the genus Podocarpus L'Hér. ex Pers. (Podocarpaceae) as Podocarpus eocenicus Unger—currently treated as Amentotaxus gladifolia (R. Ludwig) D.K. Ferguson, Jähnichen & Alvin—are re‐examined to assess their generic and familial status. Well‐preserved cuticle on one specimen and its gross morphology, together with the morphology of other associated specimens suggests that they should be placed in Prumnopitys Philippi (Podocarpaceae), the long, lanceolate leaves resembling Pr. amara (Blume) de Laub. (= Sundacarpus amarus (Blume) C.N. Page). Because the fossil taxon is consistent with the genus Prumnopitys and not with Amentotaxus gladifolia (Taxaceae), a new species, Prumnopitys anglica D.R. Greenw., C.R. Hill & Conran sp. nov., is proposed. Phylogenetic comparison with other Prumnopitys species suggests that Pr. anglica is close to the extant Australasian species, Pr. amara but is still relatively isolated. The presence of Prumnopitys in the earliest Palaeocene of Asia and the Eocene of southern England supports the view that Podocarpaceae were an uncommon but distinctive component of Northern Hemisphere Late Cretaceous and Palaeogene floras before becoming largely extinct there in the Neogene.

The amathiiform Ctenostomata (phylum Bryozoa) of New Zealand--including four new species, two of them of probable alien origin.

The status of the vesiculariid ctenostome genus Amathia in New Zealand has been evaluated on the basis of all known material, including historic specimens in museums and those newly collected during formal surveillance of ports, harbours and vessels for possible alien species. Eight species are recognised, four of them new to science. Amathia gracei n. sp. and Amathia zealandica n. sp. are the only apparently endemic species. Amathia chimonidesi n. sp. appears to be a previously unrecognised alien species and is known only from shipping harbours and/or yacht marinas and some nearby beaches. Amathia similis n. sp. has been known in the Auckland area since the 1960s but was confused with A. distans Busk. Amathia bicornis (Tenison-Woods), A. biseriata Krauss, A. lamourouxi Chimonides and A. wilsoni Kirkpatrick are Australasian species that occur naturally on both sides of the Tasman Sea. Of this latter group, A. bicornis was discovered only at a single locality on the southwest coast of North Island in 1983 on a fucoid seaweed and it may be relatively re-cently self-introduced. A specimen of A. lendigera (Linnaeus) in the Museum of New Zealand, purportedly from Napier, is considered to be based on a misunderstanding or a labelling error and does not represent a failed alien introduction. The Amathia-like vesiculariid Bowerbankia citrina (Hincks) sensu lato is newly recorded for New Zealand. Keys are provided to the amathiiform (i.e. Amathia and Amathia-like) Ctenostomata of New Zealand and to the worldwide species of Amathia and Bowerbankia with zooid clusters spiralled on stoloniform axes.

Ichthyocephaloides sumbatus n. sp. (Nematoda: Rhigonematoidea) from Indonesia and additional data on Xystrognathus phrissus Hunt, Pham Van Luc & Spiridonov, 2002

Ichthyocephaloides sumbatus n. sp., from the gut of Salpidobolus sp. (Spirobolida: Rhinocricidae), collected in the forest covering the mountainous region of Sumba Island, Indonesia, is described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically related to Australasian species of Ichthyocephaloides by the presence of a long, subulate tail in both sexes, distribution and number of genital papillae, presence of genital diverticulum and anterior position of vulva. Ichthyocephaloides sumbatus n. sp. is distinguished from all other nominal species by the highest mean right/left spicule length ratio and the exceptional form of the anterior vulval lip. The original description of Xystrognathus phrissus is supplemented with a description of the juvenile morphology and illustrated with line graphics and SEM images of adult stages. Molecular sequences and phylogenetic trees are provided.

Two new species of Stenophragma Skuse from Western Australia (Diptera, Mycetophilidae, Sciophilinae)

Stenophragma Skuse was originally described for S. meridianum (Skuse), from Australia. Since then seventeen species have been added to the genus—from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, and Canada. We add two new species to the genus Stenophragma—S. bickeli n.sp. and S. collessi n.sp.—from Western Australia. An identification key for the Australian species of Stenophragma is provided. Comments are made about possible relationships among these new species and the remaining Australasian species of the genus.

A new species of Heth Cobb, 1898 (Nematoda: Rhigonematida: Hethidae) from an Australian millipede (Myriapoda: Diplopoda: Spirostreptida)

A new species of nematode, Heth baudini sp. n. from a diplopod (Spirostreptida: Iulomorphidae Verhoeff, 1924) collected in Queensland, Australia, is described and illustrated. The cephalic and cervical cuticular ornamentation of females of H. baudini sp. n. is similar to those of South-East Asian and Australasian Heth species. Heth baudini sp. n. females are particularly close to Heth taynguyeni from Vietnam but can be distinguished by the shape of the lateral lappets, which in H. taynguyeni limit the trapezium-shaped region of smooth cuticle unlike the elliptical region in H. baudini sp. n., and by the presence of lateral spines only half the size. The cuticle of the H. baudini sp. n. is finely annulated along the entire body, whereas H. taynguyeni has broader rings behind the first pair of lateral spines, each consisting of five or six narrower rings separated from each other by deeper furrows. Males of H. baudini sp. n. are characterised by the presence of a bursa-like fold on the tail and can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the presence of somatic papillae embedded into the bursal fold.

Systematics and Phylogeny of Leptomorphus Curtis (Diptera: Mycetophilidae)

The world fauna of the genus Leptomorphus Curtis, 1831 is revised and a phylogeny of species relationships, based onmorphological characters, is presented. An updated genus diagnosis and description are given. Species descriptions,diagnoses, illustrations of general habitus, wings, male genitalia and distributions are provided for 37 valid species, alongwith a key to adults.Twelve new species are described; L. amorimi Borkent, n. sp., L. brandiae Borkent, n. sp., L. crassipilus Borkent, n.sp., L. eberhardi Borkent, n. sp., and L. waodani Borkent, n. sp., from the Neotropical realm, L. furcatus Borkent, n. sp.,and L. perplexus Borkent, n. sp., from the Nearctic realm, L. mandelai Borkent, n. sp., and L. stigmatus Borkent, n. sp.,from the Afrotropical realm, and L. tabatius Borkent, n. sp., L. tagbanua Borkent, n. sp., and L. titiwangsensis Borkent,n. sp., from the Oriental realm. Type specimens were studied for all but three species (L. ornatus, L. subforcipatus and L.talyshensis). Leptomorphus elegans Matile and L. lepidus Matile are considered junior synonyms of L. gracilis Matile, n.syns., and L. ypsilon Johannsen is a junior synonym of L. hyalinus Coquillett, n. syn. Lectotypes are designated for L.magnificus (Johannsen), L. neivai Edwards, and L. walkeri Curtis and a neotype is selected for L. bifasciatus (Say). Thisstudy brings the total number of extant Leptomorphus species to 45, including eight, unique (based on figures anddescriptions), recently described Oriental and northwestern Australasian species (Papp & Ševčík 2011), for whichmaterial was unavailable for this study. The phylogenetic analysis in this study supports the monophyly ofLeptomorphus. The western Nearctic species, L. perplexus, is the sister group to the remaining species, which fell intofour major monophyletic species groups (L. ornatus Brunetti group, L. grjebinei Matile group, L. walkeri group, L.furcatus group). The monophyletic relationships within each group are also discussed. The clades found in this study do not support the arrangement of species in to the Leptomorphus subgenera recognized by previous classifications.

Molecular phylogeny and timing of radiation in Lessonia (Phaeophyceae, Laminariales)

SummaryThe genus Lessonia Bory de Saint‐Vincent is distributed solely in the Southern Hemisphere, with four species found in South America and five in Australasia. Our goal was to determine the evolutionary relationships between the Lessonia species of the two disjunct areas and hypothesize dispersal patterns and timing of radiation. We combined mitochondria, plastid and nuclear markers in a comprehensive dataset from multiple individuals per known species. Furthermore, for some species we added samples from multiple populations to take account of their widespread distribution over known bioregions. In all analyses the Australasian Lessonia formed a monophyletic group and in most analyses the South American species form a paraphyletic grade. Delimitations of the accepted species are highly supported except for L. variegata J. Agardh and L. nigrescens Bory de Saint‐Vincent. We showed for the first time four lineages for the New Zealand endemic Lessonia variegata with an unexpected high level of genetic differentiation. Our analysis cannot resolve whether the dispersal of the common ancestor of this genus was from the Americas to Australasia or vice versa. Molecular clock analysis suggested that a sudden radiation took place in Australasia c. 3.5 Mya when almost all Australasian species diverged within a time frame of only 35 000 years.

Australian Barnacles (Cirripedia: Thoracica), Distributions and Biogeographical Affinities

Currently, 279 barnacle species are recognized in Australia waters. The barnacle fauna of tropical Australia exhibits high species diversity (221), with a high incidence of tropical species (87 Indo-west Pacific [IWP], 16 West Pacific and 65 Indo-Malayan), a low species endemicity (8), and 44 cosmopolitan and 1 Australasian species. Conversely, that of temperate Australia shows lower species diversity (129), with a lower incidence of tropical species (26 IWP, 10 West Pacific and 25 Indo-Malayan), higher species endemicity (23), 37 cosmopolitan, 6 Australasian species, and 3 Australasian/Antarctic species. Distributions corroborate the general patterns demonstrated by the shallow-water biota of northern tropical and southern temperate Australian biogeographic provinces. Tropical and temperate provinces grade into each other in a broad overlap zone along both the western and eastern Australian coasts. This overlap zone is essentially a transitional region, with the gradual replacement of a tropical barnacle fauna in the north by a predominantly temperate barnacle fauna in the south. Both western and eastern Australian coasts are bounded by major poleward-flowing warm currents that have considerable influence on the marine flora and fauna, distributing tropical species of many taxa much farther south than could be predicted by latitude. Currently, 16 barnacle species introduced into Australian waters are identified, although this number may increase in the future due to new port developments and increased shipping arrivals.

Variations of huperzine A content in Lycopodiaceae species from tropics

(−) Huperzine A is a bioactive alkaloid from Huperzia serrata (Lycopodiaceae) used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. High yielding (−) huperzine A species is of interest for mass propagation since it grows slowly in temperate countries. The content of (−) huperzine A from temperate countries was reported but none reported from tropical species. The aim of this study was to evaluate the content of (−) huperzine A from tropical club mosses and further identify a high yielding species. Club mosses from Lycopodiaceae family were collected from Peninsular Malaysia. The collected club mosses were dried, pulverized and extracted with methanol. A gradient reverse phase HPLC-photodiode array detector method with increasing amount of methanol in 0.01 % trifluoroacetic acid was developed. The calibration curve was linear from 5 to 100 μgmL−1 with correlation coefficient, r2, of 0.998 1. The precision for both intra- and inter-day peak area were between 0.48% to 1.24 % and 0.95% to 3.85 %, respectively. The recovery of the method was between 99.8% to 103.8 %. Though geographically segregated, (−) huperzine A content in Huperzia phlegmaria and H.carinata found in the tropics was highest and similar to species in Australasia. Both species may provide a good source of (−) huperzine A.

Phylogenetic relationships of the anoplocephaline cestodes of Australasian marsupials and resurrection of the genus Wallabicestus Schmidt, 1975

A phylogenetic analysis was carried out on rDNA of 45 species of anoplocephaline cestodes from marsupial hosts. The exclusively Australasian genera Progamotaenia Nybelin, 1917, Triplotaenia Boas, 1902, Paramoniezia Maplestone & Southwell, 1923 and Phascolotaenia Beveridge, 1976 formed a monophyletic clade, and the previously suggested relationship between the Australasian species of the cosmopolitan genus Bertiella Stiles & Hassall, 1902 and species of Progamotaenia was supported. A low degree of phyletic co-evolution was detected within endemic Australasian clades. Colonisation rather than co-speciation appeared to be the principal means of diversification within the Australasian anoplocephaline radiation. The clade of bile duct-inhabiting Progamotaenia species emphasises the role of microhabitat rather than host species as a driver of speciation. Triplotaenia undosa Beveridge, 1976 described from a wide variety of macropodid hosts was found to be polyphyletic and a proposition was made to resurrect Wallabicestus Schmidt, 1975, with W. ewersi Schmidt, 1975 as the type-species and including W. ualabati (Beveridge, 2009) n. comb. [previously Progamotaenia ualabati Beveridge, 2009].