Species Of Genus Research Articles

The genus Alurnus Fabricius, 1775 (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Alurnini) in Colombia with four new species records and an updated checklist in the country

In Colombia, the taxonomy of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) shows information gaps in the composition, biology, richness, distribution, among others, although most of them are of agricultural importance. The genus Alurnus is distributed in the Neotropical Region and it is the most specious genus of the tribe Alurnini (Chrysomelidae, Cassidinae). Species of this genus have been reported in association with palms of the family Arecaceae. Previous studies of Alurnus recorded 12 species for Colombia. In this study, 64 specimens were analyzed from 14 Colombian entomological collections, confirming previous records of seven species and reporting four new records for Colombia. This study provides the names of associations and host plants for some species, and the geographic distribution for each one.

On the genera Scolochirus Marshall and Pseudoscolochirus Hoffmann, with the description of two new species (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae, Cneorhinini)

Type material of the described species of Scolochirus Marshall, 1944, and Pseudoscolochirus Hoffmann, 1963, was examined, and is completed with all available material of both genera deposited in museums. Lectotypes of Proictes biovatus Hustache, 1936 [current name Scolochirus biovatus (Hustache, 1936)], Proictes dentipes Hustache, 1920 [current name Scolochirus dentipes (Hustache, 1920)], Scolochirus armipes Marshall, 1944, and Scolochirus horridus Marshall, 1951, are designated. Scolochirus camerunensis n. sp. from Cameroon, and Pseudoscolochirus longirostris n. sp. from Ghana, are described and compared with all other species of the genera. Scolochirus cognatus Marshall, 1951, is proposed as junior synonym of Scolochirus dentipes (Hustache, 1920). Scolochirus armipes Marshall, 1944, is recorded from Central African Republic, Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo for the first time, as well as S. biovatus (Hustache, 1936) from Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo, and S. dentipes (Hustache, 1920) from Liberia. Male and female genitalia of the both genera are described and illustrated for the first time. Keys to species of both genera are presented.

A revision of the spongillafly genus Sisyra Burmeister, 1839 (Neuroptera: Sisyridae) from China

Sisyra Burmeister, 1839 is cosmopolitan and the most specious genus of Sisyridae (spongillaflies). Hitherto, there has been only five species of Sisyra recorded from China. Here we present a taxonomic revision of the Chinese species of Sisyra. In total, six valid Sisyra species are reported from China. A new species, Sisyra bowlesi sp. n., is described from China, Laos and Vietnam. Sisyra indica Needham, 1909, S. nikkoana (Navás, 1910) and S. terminalis Curtis, 1854 are firstly recorded from China. Besides, two species from Hainan Island, S. hainana Yang and Gao, 2002 syn. n. and S. nervata Yang and Gao, 2002 syn. n., are herein synonymised with S. indica Needham, 1909; S. aurorae Navás, 1933 syn. n., recorded from eastern China, is synonymised with S. nikkoana (Navás, 1910) known from Japan, Korea and Russian Far East. New provincial records of S. curvata Yang and Gao, 2002 and S. yunana Yang, 1986 from China are added. A key to Sisyra species from Asia is provided.

Temporal and spatial change of habitat quality and its driving forces: The case of Tacheng region, China

Habitat quality assessment is an important basis for ecological restoration practice. Taking the Tacheng region as an example, the InVEST model was used to evaluate the habitat quality of the Tacheng region in five periods from 2000 to 2020, and analyze the reasons for its changes, to provide theoretical guidance for ecological restoration practice in arid areas. The conclusions were that from 2000 to 2020, the habitat quality in the Tacheng region improved slightly, and the value of the habitat index in the Tacheng region was the highest in 2010, which was 0.577, and then decreased slightly. The habitat quality in the Tacheng region was significantly influenced by land use type conversion and precipitation. The change in land use type directly affected the change in habitat quality. The study region is located in an arid area; the forest land and grassland native to the region have more vegetation communities and genera of species and can be self-sustaining and resilient to disturbance, having high scores for habitat quality. The species of arable land is a monoculture; it cannot be self-sustaining and resilient to disturbance, and though it has high vegetation cover, the value of habitat quality is lower than that of forestland and grassland. The vegetation of unused land is rare, and the ecosystem of unused land is sensitive and vulnerable; the habitat quality scores are very low. The conversion of forest land, grassland, arable land, and unused land would directly affect the value of habitat quality, and conversion was the main factor affecting the change in habitat quality. In addition, precipitation was also an important factor affecting the change in habitat quality in the Tacheng region, which affected the biomass of natural vegetation and then affected the habitat quality. The results provided the temporal and spatial change of habitat quality and its driving forces in the Tacheng region, which helps determine appropriate measures and sites in ecological restoration projects.

PM 7/31 (2) Citrus tristeza virus

<scp>PM</scp> 7/31 (2) Citrus tristeza virus

Diversity of Pleurotus spp. (Agaricomycetes) and Their Metabolites of Nutraceutical and Therapeutic Importance.

Pleurotus spp. have been gaining popularity as a source for the creation of functional foods, nutraceuticals and novel pharmaceuticals. Despite Pleurotus is a specious genus including 208 legitimate species, only a few of them such as P. ostreatus are commercially accessible. The genetic and metabolic diversity of Pleurotus both at specific and subspecific level is therefore of main concern for many researchers. In addition to the conventional morphological approach, molecular and biochemical markers have been greatly contributing to investigate these issues. In this study, samples from six Pleurotus species (P. eryngii is represented by three varieties) were molecularly identified and the phylogeny was inferred to assess the relationships between the various taxa. Strains in pure culture obtained from 6 out of 7 species were cultivated as mycelium in vitro to investigate the metabolites by untargeted LC-MS/MS-based metabolomics. The results pointed out species-specific metabolite patterns and highlighted a clear difference between the P. eryngii group and P. ostreatus, although the latter appears more versatile depending on the strain. This is the first study pointing out and comparing different metabolite patterns in Italian samples of Pleurotus species, including P. eryngii varieties.

DIVERSITY OF ANT FAUNA IN 30 KM RADIUS OF KUDANKULAM NUCLEAR POWER PLANT AREA, TAMIL NADU, INDIA

A detailed study on the ground dwelling ant diversity was carried around 30 km radius of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant area, Tamil Nadu, India during 2011-2012. Pit-fall trap, bait trap and hand-picking methods were used to collect ants from core Zone, buffer Zone I and Buffer zone II and three habitat (sandy area, garden area and plain area), in a sampling sites. A total of 33 species, 18 genera, and 5 subfamilies of ants were recorded. The Formicinae were the most common, with 7 genera and 15 species, followed by the Myrmicinae (6 genera and 10 species), the Ponerinae (4 genera and 5 species) and the Pseudomyrmecinae was represented by only 1 Genera species and 3 species. The six most species rich genera were Camponotus, Paratrechina, Monomorium, Tetraponera, Pheidole and Leptogenys. Higher species abundance is due to the habitat heterogeneity is an important factor to determine the species distribution in the study area. Conservationists should take consider to conserve the ant fauna diversity for there are many direct and indirect contribution on earth.

Size does not matter: molecular phylogeny reveals one of the largest trematodes from vertebrates, the enigmatic Ithyoclinostomum dimorphum, as a species of Clinostomum (Trematoda: Clinostomidae).

Despite the recent advances raised in the molecular era to the taxonomic knowledge of species of the family Clinostomidae, especially those belonging to the specious genus Clinostomum, some groups of these vertebrate parasites remain poorly studied. This is the case of species of the enigmatic genus Ithyoclinostomum Witenberg, 1926, until recently monotypic and restricted to South America, but with its occurrence expanded to North America after the description of I. yamagutii Rosser et al., 2020. Nevertheless, molecular data for the type species of the genus, Ithyoclinostomum dimorphum (Diesing, 1850), is lacking so far. In the present study, large clinostomid metacercariae morphologically indistinguishable from I. dimorphum were obtained from two erythrinid fishes from the Rio Doce River, Southeast Brazil. Samples of the parasites were subjected to a multigene (28S rDNA, ITS and cox1) molecular characterization followed by phylogenetic reconstructions. Phylogenies based on single-gene and concatenated datasets revealed unequivocally that I. dimorphum falls in a well-supported clade together with species of the genus Clinostomum. Moreover, the molecular divergences observed in relation to Clinostomum spp. [ranges of 2.4–6%, 2.4–3.8% and 14.7–19.3% for the ITS, 28S and cox1 genes, respectively] are compatible with a congeneric status with these species. Therefore, the genus Ithyoclinostomum is here synonymized with Clinostomum Leidy, 1856 and C. dimorphum (Diesing, 1850) Braun, 1899 re-established. In the phylogenetic analysis, the recently described 'Ithyoclinostomum' yamagutii, presented as an isolated, independent lineage, showing significant molecular divergences to C. dimorphum (12.6%, 7.6%, 18,6% for the ITS, 28S and cox1 genes, respectively). However, given the complex scenario raised in the morphology-based taxonomy of Clinostomidae, we took a conservative approach by not proposing a new genus to 'I.' yamagutii until molecular data of other clinostomid genus from birds, Clinostomatopsis, become available. Data here presented reveals that body size is not a useful criterion for higher-level classification in Clinostomidae. Finally, we highlighted the importance of the availability of molecular data for the type species of trematode genera proposed from South America to support a trans- or intercontinental distribution.

Living in Temporary Ponds Loading Giant Genomes: The Neotropical Annual Killifish Genus Austrolebias as New Outstanding Evolutionary Model.

The term Annual killifish describes a short-lived and amazing group of vertebrates inhabiting temporary ponds exposed to an extremely variable environment during its short lifespan in South America and Africa, leading to the death of the entire adult population during the dry season. Austrolebias is a specious genus of the family Rivulidae, with ∼58 currently recognized species, extensively distributed in the temperate Neotropical region. Herein, we reviewed different aspects of the evolutionary biology with emphasis on the genome dynamic linked to the burst speciation process in this genus. Austrolebias constitutes an excellent model to study the genomic evolutionary processes underlying speciation events, since all the species of this genus analyzed so far share an unusually large genome size, with an average DNA content of 5.95 ± 0.45 picograms per diploid cell (mean C-value of about 2.98 pg). The drastic nuclear DNA–increasing would be associated with a considerable proportion of transposable elements (TEs) found in the Austrolebias genomes. The genomic proportion of the moderately repetitive DNA in the A. charrua genome represents approximately twice (45%) the amount of the repetitive components of the highly related sympatric and syntopic rivulinae taxon Cynopoecilus melanotaenia (25%), as well as from other rivulids and actinopterygian fish. These events could explain the great genome instability, the high genetic diversity, chromosome variability, as well as the morphological diversity in species of Austrolebias. Thus, species of this genus represent new model systems linking different evolutionary processes: drastic genome increase, massive TEs genomic representation, high chromosome instability, occurrence of natural hybridization between sister species, and burst speciation events.

Genetic differences among the species of genus Aulonocara and related genera of Malawian cichlids

In this study, our aim was to understand the genetic relationships between wild or bred individuals of a large fish group from Lake Malawi, genus Aulonocara, and related genera. The mtDNA control region was sequenced in 35 individuals representing 16 species from the genera Aulonocara and Sciaenochromis , and 15 species from the other 12 genera, including mbuna and non-mbuna. In a genetic tree, constructed with the Kimura-2 parameter as a distance, using the neighbor-joining method, many species of the genus Aulonocara formed a clade with mbuna, while only two species formed another clade with non-mbuna species. Similarly, Sciaenochromis fryeri was a member of a clade by mbuna, while S . sp. nyassae was a member of a clade formed by non-mbuna. Among the Aulonocara species, A. steveni and A . sp. ‘Lwanda’ were estimated to be relatively close to their ancestors using network analysis. Some individuals of A. hansbaenschi and S. fryeri bred in Asia were found to be far from purely bred ones. These results suggest the possibility of generating the genera Aulonocara and Sciaenochromis by hybridization between mbuna and non-mbuna, and indicate that there are some genetic disturbances within the species of these genera caused by human activities.

Morphological and molecular diversity patterns of the genus Tropodiaptomus Kiefer, 1932 (Copepoda, Calanoida, Diaptomidae) in Thailand

Tropodiaptomus is one of the most specious genera in the family Diaptomidae, but it is often rare in terms of distribution and abundance. Moreover, Tropodiaptomus species show a noteworthy variability in some of the morphological characters considered of prime importance in diaptomid taxonomy, and the presence of cryptic or pseudocryptic species is likely. Thus, through a geographically-wide sampling in Thailand, we aimed to investigate the local diversity of the genus and to compare the morphological and molecular diversity pattern based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes sequences. DNA taxonomy was also implemented in order to check whether the Tropodiaptomus lineages were independent species according to the “evolutionary genetic species concept”. Six Tropodiaptomus morphospecies were found, three of which are putative species new to Science pending a formal description. The finding of such a high incidence of undescribed species stresses the existence of a significant “Linnean shortfall” affecting Thai diaptomids. The molecular results showed that most of the studied species could be identified consistently with their morphology-based taxonomy. However, Tropodiaptomus vicinus and T. cf. lanaonus showed a high level of genetic diversity, suggesting that traditional morphological techniques might be inadequate for correctly assessing their taxonomical status.

An annotated checklist of the Iranian Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata), with an updated key to the species

A checklist of the Iranian Phytoseiidae, including 103 species belonging to 15 genera and three subfamilies, is presented. Among them, Typhlodromus Scheuten (31 species) and Neoseiulus Hughes (21 species) are the most specious genera. The checklist is annotated with some corrections to specific identities and known geographical and habitat distributions in Iran. An identification key to the reported phytoseiids from Iran is also provided. Finally, a list of invalid species reported from Iran is presented.

Enzymatic Activities, Characteristics of Wood-Decay and Wood Substrate Specificity within Genera of Some Wood-Rotting Basidiomycetes from Cameroon and Tropical Africa

A total of 72 species of wood-rotting Basidiomycetes belonging to 40 genera, 13 families and 5 orders, were investigated in this study of which 46 for the first time as far as type of wood-rot is concerned. 61 of the 72 cause white rot (W) representing 84.72 % of the total and 11 cause brown rot (B) or just 15.27 %, confirming the predominance already known of white rot (W) on brown rot (B) as shown in other studies. Results recorded show that even though most species belonging to same genera display the same type of rot (W or B), species of some few other genera were found to rather display different types of rot (W and B) in species within the same genera. Other results show that when determining the type of wood-rot caused by some species of fungi, in case of negative (-) test using tincture of guaiac which is known as the key test to determine the type of rot, syringaldazine must also be used as a differential test before concluding whether the species is a white (W) or brown rot (B) fungus. The level of activity of tyrosinase and peroxidase shows important variations between species of some genera, whereby some species of a given genus show varying potential level (+, ++, +++, ++++) of activities of these two enzymes, whereas other species of the same genus show no sign (-) of activity of the same enzymes. Therefore, our results led to the conclusion that the presence (+, ++, +++, ++++) or absence (-) of activity of peroxidase and tyrosinase can from now onwards also be used as an enzyme linked taxonomic criteria to distinguish between species of some genera. About detection of laccases activity, if a negative (-) result occurs during detection test in a wood-rotting fungus using syringaldazine, α-naphtol must also be used as a differential test before concluding on whether the species produces laccases or not. Based on the overall results recorded in the detection of enzymes activities, it appears necessary to use, where indicated, several substrates with different chemical sensitivities to detect the existence of an enzyme and its potential activity level in a fungal species. Additionally, preliminary lists of wood-decay fungi with potentially strong (+++, ++++) capacity to produce different types of polyphenol oxidases potentially usable in paper making industries, wastewater treatment and soil remediation, are provided. With regard to the study of substrate specificity which aimed at finding out the existence or not of a specificity between polyporales and tree wood species on which they grow, the first results recorded on a limited number of trees investigated led to the preliminary conclusion that, although some few tree species may serve as hosts for only a single species of polyporales, there is rather a greater tendency of finding several species growing on different species of wood as well as the same species of wood hosting several species of polyporales. These field observations led to the remark that a much larger inventory including a greater number of tree species in various tropical ecosystems is necessary in order to come out with a final conclusion.

Identification of cryptic species in allopatric populations of Hypostomus tietensis (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) through cytogenetics analyses

Abstract Hypostomus is the most specious genus of Hypostominae, composed of several species with high intraspecific morphological and color pattern variation, making their identification a complex issue. One of the species with problematic identification is Hypostomus tietensis that was described from a single specimen, resulting in uncertainties about its color pattern and correct identification. To assist in this context, cytogenetic analyzes were carried out in three putative populations of H. tietensis from the Upper Paraná River basin, one of them from the type locality. The three populations showed considerable cytogenetic differences, with 2n = 72 chromosomes for the population from the type locality and 2n = 76 chromosomes for the others. Terminal NORs were detected (Ag- and 18S rDNA-FISH), being simple for the type locality population (acrocentric pair 23, long arm) and the Pirapó River (subtelocentric pair 11, short arm), and multiple for Do Campo River (subtelocentric pairs 11 and 12, short and long arm, respectively). C-banding was efficient in differentiating the type locality population from the others. Cytogenetic data revealed that populations from Pirapó and Do Campo rivers, although treated until now as Hypostomus aff. tietensis, represent a cryptic species, and those morphological analyses are necessary to differentiate and for describing this new species.

Can Electrochemical Sensors Be Used for Identification and Phylogenetic Studies in Lamiaceae?

Electrochemical sensors have shown potential in recent years for plant species identification and phylogenetic studies. These works have been used to investigate the affinities of different species in many genera. However, the ability of electrochemical sensors to study relationships between different genera within a family has not been investigated. In this work, we selected 31 species in the Labiatae and 5 exotaxa as subjects to investigate the feasibility of electrochemical sensors at the genus level. The results show that electrochemical sensors are still very effective for the identification of these plants. Different pattern recognition techniques can make the identification more efficient. Also, the fingerprint profiles collected by the sensors can be used for phylogenetic studies of Labiatae. The phylogram divides all the species into five clusters, where the exotaxa are in one cluster. Species in the Labiatae are mainly distributed in four other clusters. Importantly, the different genera of species all showed close affinities, representing that electrochemical fingerprinting can well distinguish the affinities between the different genera. The results of this work demonstrate the great potential of electrochemical sensors in the study of plant phylogeny. Its application is not limited to the study at the species level, but can be extended to the genus level.

Community density of grassland effect on soil carbon dynamics: Field survey and analyses from a 45‐year natural recovery time‐sequence on the Loess Plateau, China

AbstractCommunity density of grassland has obvious impacts on the absorption, sequestration, and accumulation of soil carbon (C). However, few studies have examined the effect of community density on soil C dynamics and their internal driving forces after cropland abandonment. Here, we synthesized the responses of soil C to community density of grassland over a 45‐year time‐sequence along a natural restoration time sequence. The results showed that the soil C content during the late‐successional period was greater than that during the early‐successional period, that is, annual C storage rates for the first sequence (1–15 years) for the 0–60 cm depth profiles were −0.34, −0.27, −0.15 to 0.02 Mg‐C ha−1 yr−1, in the ≤10, 11–20, 21–30, and &gt;30 community densities. And the third sequence (31–45 years) presented values that were 79.28% and 44.60% greater than those of the initial stage of vegetation restoration (CK) for the 0–20 and 0–60 cm profiles, respectively. The increased soil C storage rates of the late‐successional sequence were associated with both increased aboveground production and root biomass for this sequence and the presence of multiple species, especially Leguminosae and Gramineae species, with developed roots. Overall, the effects of community density on soil C were regulated by the recovery time, root mass, and species genera. Furthermore, our results suggest that soil may still be a carbon source even after 15 years of the abandonment restoring, and high community density may greatly increase C capture and storage rates in abandoned lands. The findings enhance the understanding of soil C sequestration and accumulation responses to community density following long‐term natural vegetation succession, providing support for estimating and predicting the regional C budget and global C cycle.

Taxonomic studies on Idiocerini Leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Eurymelinae: Idiocerini) of Sri Lanka

Seven species of Leafhoppers belong to the tribe: Idiocerini of Subfamily Eurymelinae in Family Cicadellidae, are reported from Sri Lanka based on the field study. Four species of <em>Idioscopus, </em>and each one<em> </em>species of genera <em>Amritotus, Busoniomimus </em>and <em>Jogocerus</em> were described with their distribution in the country. <em>Busoniomimus manjunathi</em> Viraktamath and Viraktamath and <em>Jogocerus freytagi</em>were described for the first time from Sri Lanka.

New genera, new species and new combinations for some African Coccomorpha (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha).

In the past, various authors have placed many species in genera that are now understood to be restricted to other regions of the world. Thus, in Africa, species of soft scale (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) with this problem are those in Ceronema Maskell, a genus probably restricted to Australia; Ceroplastodes Cockerell, probably restricted to the New World; and Inglisia Maskell, which is restricted to New Zealand. The placement of these species is reviewed here. Four of the known Ceronema species are placed in three new monotypic genera, Neoceronema gen. nov., Illovococcus gen. nov. and Bugandacoccus gen. nov., as Neoceronema africanum (Macfie) comb. nov., N. brachystegiae (Hall) comb. nov., Illovococcus mobilis (Brain) comb. nov. and Bugandacoccus gowdeyi (Newstead) comb. nov.; Ceroplastodes ritchiei Laing and C. zavatarii Bellio are transferred to Drepanococcus Williams Watson, as D. ritchiei (Laing) comb. nov. and D. zavattarii (Bellio), comb. nov., and Inglisia grevilliae Hall, I. pluvialis Hodgson and I. theobromae Newstead are transferred to Cryptinglisia Cockerell as C. grevilliae (Hall) comb. nov., C. pluvialis (Hodgson) comb. nov. and C. theobromae (Newstead) comb. nov. Keys are provided to all Drepanococcus and Cryptinglisia species, and all the African species discussed are illustrated. In addition, another new genus of African Coccidae is described, Testudovestis gen. nov., to take a new species somewhat similar to Eucalymnatus Cockerell: T. africana spec. nov. In addition, a new species of Coccus L.: Coccus moorei, spec. nov., and a new species of mealybug (Heliococcus tinglei spec. nov., Pseudococcidae), are described, both from mainland Africa. The lecanodiaspid Lecanodiaspis zygophylli Hodgson is also recorded from Nigeria for the first time.

A new species of Leptobrachella (Anura, Megophryidae) from Mount Pu Ta Leng, northwest Vietnam.

The Hoang Lien Range in northwest Vietnam is known to harbour five species of Leptobrachella, a specious genus of terrestrial frogs. We collected specimens of Leptobrachella from Mount Pu Ta Leng on the second highest peak in the Hoang Lien Range and use morphological and molecular data to show that this population represents a previously undescribed species which we name Leptobrachella graminicola sp. nov. after the abundance of calling males on sedge-like plants. This new species is closely related to L. bourreti but the new species is distinguished from L. bourreti and other congeneric species by a combination of the following characters: (1) a body size range of 23.124.6 mm in six adult males and 28.632.9 mm in five adult females; (2) skin on dorsum smooth, with many tubercles and lacking dermal ridges; (3) toes with rudimentary webbing and broad lateral fringes; (4) belly white with brown spots; (5) throat dark brown with light grey-brown flecks and spots; (6) a row of large white spots on the outer edge of the tarsus extending from the heel to the inner metatarsal tubercle, sometimes forming a long white stripe; and (7) a bicoloured iris. The new, high-elevation species is likely to be range-restricted and threatened by habitat loss and the activities of tourists.

A New Species of Jinia Wei and Nie (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) from Tibet with a Key to Known Species of the Genus

JiniaWei and Nie, 1999 is endemic to China. Five species are known, J. fulvanaWei and Nie, 1999, J. zhengiWei and Nie, 1999, J. nigromaculaWei and Nie, 2004, J. flavicornisLi and Wei, 2009, and Jinia punctata Niu and Wei, new species.Jinia punctata is most similar to J. fulvana from Guizhou, China. A key for separating the known five species is provided.