Topotypic Material Research Articles

Taxonomic Re-Investigation and Geochemical Characterization of Reid’s (1974) Species of Spiniferites from Holotype and Topotype Material

The genus Spiniferites currently encompasses 142 dinoflagellate cyst species. Some Spiniferites species are difficult to identify because of an incomplete or doubtful description, and/or substandard iconography. This study re-describes and re-illustrates the Spiniferites holotypes first described by Reid in 1974. It also discusses topotype material from surface sediments recovered from British estuaries, and attempts to provide further constraints on the classification of species in this genus using the geochemical characterization of their cyst walls. Reid described four new Spiniferites species: Spiniferites belerius, Spiniferites delicatus, Spiniferites elongatus and Spiniferites lazus. New photomicrographs are presented here for the holotypes of Spiniferites delicatus and Spiniferites elongatus, and additional morphological observations based on newly processed topotype material are given. The geochemical characterization of the Spiniferites cyst walls showed overall consistency with a carbohydrate-based dinosporin. However, variability in the dinosporins suggests that, in this genus, the cyst wall composition may be species-specific. Analysis of the characteristic spectral regions for unclassified Spiniferites species showed that, in some cases, it may be possible to constrain the likely species affinity using the cyst wall chemistry. However, in most cases, the morphologically unspeciated cysts did not show sufficient similarity to an identified species’ cyst wall chemistry to be more conclusive. This could either reflect an intermediate species that cannot be clearly characterized using morphology or dinosporin composition, or it represents a completely different species. In either case, both the morphological and geochemical evaluations highlight the difficulties in classifying species of this genus unequivocally.

Additional observations of Spiniferites alaskensis from topotype material

Here we present new observations of Spiniferites alaskensis, a relatively rare species described from the Eemian of the Gulf of Alaska. We show that the species shows a gonyaulacacean tabulation: Po, 4´, 6´´, 6c,? s, 6´´´, 1p, 1´´´´. The surface is finely granulate to scabrate. The species bears characteristic processes: these are exclusively gonal, membranous, perforated and end distally in platforms with stumpy ends. We provide more detail as how this species compares to closely related species belonging to the genus Spiniferites.

Molecular phylogeography and reproductive biology of the freshwater snail Tarebia granifera in Thailand and Timor (Cerithioidea, Thiaridae): morphological disparity versus genetic diversity

The freshwater thiarid gastropod Tarebiagranifera (Lamarck, 1816), including taxa considered either congeneric or conspecific by earlier authors, is widespread and abundant in various lentic and lotic water bodies in mainland and insular Southeast Asia, with its range extending onto islands in the Indo-West-Pacific. This snail is, as one of the most frequent and major first intermediate host, an important vector for digenic trematodes causing several human diseases. As a typical thiarid T.granifera is viviparous and parthenogenetic, with various embryonic stages up to larger shelled juveniles developing within the female’s subhemocoelic (i.e non-uterine) brood pouch. Despite the known conchological disparity in other thiarids as well as this taxon, in Thailand Tarebia has been reported with the occurrence of one species only. In light of the polytypic variations found in shell morphology of freshwater snails in general and this taxon in particular, the lack of a modern taxonomic-systematic revision, using molecular genetics, has hampered more detailed insights to date, for example, into the locally varying trematode infection rates found in populations of Tarebia from across its range in Thailand as well as neighboring countries and areas. Here, we integrate evidence from phylogeographical analyses based on phenotypic variation (shell morphology, using biometry and geometric morphometrics) with highly informative and heterogeneous mtDNA sequence data (from the gene fragments cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 and 16 S rRNA). We evaluate both the morphological and molecular genetic variation (using several phylogenetic analyses, including haplotype networks and a dated molecular tree), in correlation with differences in the reproductive biology among populations of Tarebia from various water bodies in the north, northwest, central, and south of Thailand, supplementing our respective analyses of parasite infections of this thiarid by cercaria of 15 trematode species, reported in a parallel study. Based on the comparison of topotypical material from the island of Timor, with specimens from 12 locations as reference, we found significant, albeit not congruent variation of both phenotype and genotype in Tarebiagranifera, based on 1,154 specimens from 95 Thai samples, representing a geographically wide-ranging, river-based cross-section of this country. Our analyses indicate the existence of two genetically distinct clades and hint at possible species differentiation within what has been traditionally considered as T.granifera. These two lineages started to split about 5 mya, possibly related to marine transgressions forming what became known as biogeographical barrier north of the Isthmus of Kra. Grounded on the site-by-site analysis of individual Tarebia populations, our country-wide chorological approach focussing on the conchologically distinct and genetically diverse lineages of Tarebia allows to discuss questions of this either reflecting subspecific forms versus being distinct species within a narrowly delimited species complex. Our results, therefore, provide the ground for new perspectives on the phylogeography, evolution and parasitology of Thai freshwater gastropods, exemplified here by these highly important thiarids.

A Redescription of the Stygobitic Amphipod Crangonyx grandimanus (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) Including Phylogenetically Significant Sequence Data for Mitochondrial and Nuclear Genes

Crangonyx grandimanusBousfield, 1963, a relatively large stygobitic amphipod endemic to the Floridan aquifer, is redescribed from its holotype specimen and topotype material. In addition to the morphological redescription, genetic sequence data for sections of the nuclear 18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, and mitochondrial 16S rDNA are provided from the examined topotypes. The erratum for this article can be found in Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Vol. 60 No. 1.

Re-description of the catfish species Liobagrus kingi Tchang, 1935 (Pisces: Amblycipitidae) from the upper Chang-Jiang basin, China.

The identity and validity of Liobagrus kingi Tchang, 1935 remain contentious to date due to its inaccurate original description. A re-description is provided here for this species based on our examination on its type, hitherto deposited in ASIZB and available topotypic material. It is confirmed that L. kingi is a species with a serrated posterior edge of the pectoral-fin spine and distinct from the sympatrically existing species L. nigricauda. Comments on former recognitions of specimens from the upper Chang-Jiang basin as L. kingi are presented.

Molecular characterization of the red alga Anotrichium tenue (Ceramiales, Rhodophyta) based on topotype material

Anotrichium tenue is a red algal species of the family Wrangeliaceae widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea and reported in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Mediterranean and extra-Mediterranean specimens can have similar vegetative and tetrasporangial characters, but they can also be morphologically distinct. In fact, they can have a different number of pedicels per nodal cell and/or a different disposition of tetrasporangia on pedicels. Specimens showing extra-Mediterranean tetrasporangial features were assigned to separate species, subgenera and/or varieties, but the discrimination between these different taxa is still problematic. To solve this taxonomic issue, in this study, we analysed samples of A. tenue from the type locality in Venice (Italy) using the plastidial rbcL and psbA genes as molecular markers, and we compared our results with sequences of A. tenue from Korea. The Venetian entity was genetically different from the Korean ones and most likely represents the genuine A. tenue species.

Reconsideration of the apterous carventine genus Crassocoris and description of Paracrassocoris gen. nov. from China (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Aradidae).

Based on new topotypical material, the apterous carventine genus Crassocoris Bai, Heiss Cai, 2007 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Aradidae) with the type species C. hsiaoi Bai, Heiss Cai, 2007, is redescribed. A new, closely related apterous genus and species, Paracrassocoris hekouensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is described from Hainan, China. The diagnostic morphological features of both taxa are described and illustrated.

Redescription and geographic distribution of Raorchestes shillongensis (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from Meghalaya, Northeast India

Redescription and geographic distribution of Raorchestes shillongensis (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from Meghalaya, Northeast India. Raorchestes shillongensis is a threatened rhacophorid frog endemic to Northeast India. The species is poorly known and systematic information is lacking. We redescribe here the morphology of the species from topotypic material and compare with other Bush Frogs of the region. The locality records from the state of Meghalaya are new. We describe its advertisement call and discuss its phylogenetic position.

Phonognatha vicitra Sherriffs, 1928-a taxonomic misidentification of the orb-weaving spider Acusilas coccineus Simon, 1895 (Araneae, Araneidae).

The species described as Phonognatha vicitra Sherriffs, 1928 is the only representative of the genus Phonognatha Simon, 1894 in India (World Spider Catalog 2018). The type locality of this species was a coffee estate named Charlotte estate/division, which is located adjacent to the Cauvery River in the Siddapura/ Sidapur village in the Kodagu (Coorg) district of the southwest Indian state of Karnataka (Sherriffs 1928). The species is still known from its original description, which is based on seven female specimens, and its male genitalia remained unveiled. For redescribing this species, we had visited the Charlotte estate/division and collected topotype materials of P. vicitra. However, while examining the materials, we found that the specimens from the Charlotte estate/division indeed belong to the South East Asian orb-weaving spider genus Acusilas Simon, 1895, indicating that Sherriffs misplaced his species in Phonognatha. In the present paper, we propose to transfer P. vicitra to Acusilas and synonymise it with Acusilas coccineus Simon, 1895.

Revision of the Ocinebrina aciculata species complex (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Muricidae) in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea

We used a molecular phylogenetic approach to investigate species delimitation and diversification in the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean musseldrills of the Ocinebrina aciculata complex, based on molecular data from topotypical material of many of the nominal taxa. The complex is shown to consist of at least five species: Ocinebrina aciculata (Lamarck, 1822) from the Atlantic and western Mediterranean; O. cf. corallina (Scacchi, 1836) from the central Mediterranean Sea; O. reinai Bonomolo & Crocetta, 2012 from the Tyrrhenian Sea; O. corallinoides Pallary, 1912 from the Gulf of Gabes; and O. aegeensis n. sp. currently known from the Aegean Sea only. The new species is differentiated from the other taxa by very subtle morphological diagnostic features, although it is clearly identified by genetic distance and apomorphic DNA-sequence characters. The identity of Murex corallinus Scacchi, 1836 (type species of Ocinebrina Jousseaume, 1880) could not be defined with certainty, pending genetic comparison of specimens of the â €? large Tyrrhenian morphotype' (corresponding to the neotype, but not assayed herein) with the assayed â €? small morphotype'.

Taxonomy of the zodiac loaches, Mesonoemacheilus triangularis, M. tambaraparniensis and M. periyarensis, endemic to the Western Ghats of India (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae).

The Nemacheilid loaches, Noemacheilus triangularis tambaraparniensis and Nemacheilus periyarensis have been widely considered to be synonyms of the zodiac loach, Mesonoemacheilus triangularis. An integrative taxonomic investigation based on topotypic material, involving molecular analysis of two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 and cytochrome b), multivariate morphometric analysis based on non-metric multidimensional scaling and non-parametric multivariate analysis of variance suggests that the three species are in fact distinct.

The coralline genera Sporolithon and Heydrichia (Sporolithales, Rhodophyta) clarified by sequencing type material of their generitypes and other species

Interspecific systematics in the red algal order Sporolithales remains problematic. To re-evaluate its species, DNA analyses were performed on historical type material and recently collected specimens assigned to the two genera Sporolithon and Heydrichia. Partial rbcL sequences from the lectotype specimens of Sporolithon ptychoides (the generitype species) and Sporolithon molle, both from El Tor, Egypt, are exact matches to field-collected topotype specimens. Sporolithon crassum and Sporolithon erythraeum also have the same type locality; material of the former appears to no longer exist, and we were unable to PCR amplify DNA from the latter. A new species, Sporolithon eltorensis, is described from the same type locality. We have not found any morpho-anatomical characters that distinguish these three species. No sequenced specimens reported as S.ptychoides from other parts of the world represent this species, and likely reports of S.ptychoides and S.molle based on morpho-anatomy are incorrect. A partial rbcL sequence from the holotype of Sporolithon dimotum indicates it is not a synonym of S.ptychoides, and data from the holotype of S.episporum confirm its specific recognition. DNA sequences from topotype material of Heydrichia woelkerlingii, the generitype species, and isotype material of Heydrichia cerasina confirm that these are distinct species; the taxon reported to be H.woelkerlingii from New Zealand is likely an undescribed species. Type specimens of all other Sporolithon and Heydrichia species need to be sequenced to confirm that they are distinct species; morpho-anatomical studies have proved inadequate for this task.

Neotype designation for Rhinogobius carpenteri Seale 1910, and its placement in Tukugobius Herre 1927 (Teleostei: Gobiidae).

In order to unravel the synonymy of Rhinogobius Gill 1859, a neotype for Rhinogobius carpenteri Seale 1910, type species of its oldest synonym, Tukugobius Herre 1927, is designated and described based on topotypic material. The genus Tukugobius is removed from the synonymy of Rhinogobius from which it is distinct in having a longitudinal cephalic lateralis system, a naked pectoral-fin base, the first dorsal fin supported by 7 pterygiophores, and the first pterygiophore of the second dorsal fin inserted in interneural space 9. Its type species further differs from other species of Philippine Tukugobius by the presence of a median naked strip along the belly.

Biometric Analysis of Nummulites PachoiSaid, 1951 (topotype, Late Lutetian) from El Arag Oasis, Egypt

AbstractNummulites pachoi Said, 1951 is described and illustrated for the first time from topotypic material from the Late Lutetian Mokattam Formation of El Arag Oasis, Egypt, including the first photographs of both microspheric and megalospheric generations. Nummulites pachoi spans the SBZ 16 of Late Lutetian age. This species is phylogenetically parallel to N. praelyelliBoukhary & Kamal, 2003. Although, N. pachoi and N. praelyelli exhibit the same ontogenetic trend, from tight to lax, the development of granulation in the megalospheric form of N. pachoi is a progressive character through time, unlike that in N. praelyelli. Nummulites pachoi is larger, flatter and with an opposite ontogenetic trend compared with Nummulites gizehensis, although both have similar protoconch diameters. The author who first recognized the name “pachoi” as a species-level designation should be given credit for naming the species. Because Said (1951) raised the rank of de la Harpe's race pachoi to specific level, according to the rules of zoological nomenclature, Said should be recognized as the author of the species.

The pitfalls of molecular species identification: a case study within the genus Pratylenchus (Nematoda: Pratylenchidae)

Comprehensive morphological and molecular analyses revealed that published ITS sequences of the economically important plant-parasitic nematode Pratylenchus goodeyi are actually sequences from distantly free-living bacterivorous ‘cephalobids’. We demonstrated that this incorrect labelling resulted in a cascade of erroneous interpretations, as shown by the reports of ‘P. goodeyi’ on banana in China and on cotton in India. This clearly illustrates the risk of mislabelled sequences in public databases. Other mislabelled Pratylenchus cases are discussed to illustrate that this is not an isolated case. Herein, P. lentis n. syn. is considered a junior synonym of P. pratensis while P. flakkensis was for the first time linked to DNA sequences using topotype material. As taxonomic expertise is decreasing and sequence-based identification is growing rapidly, the highlighted problem may yet increase and a strong link between morphology and DNA sequences will be of crucial importance in order to prevent, or at least minimise, sequence-based misidentifications.

Diagnostic clarification, new morphological data and phylogenetic placement of Amphisbaena arenaria Vanzolini, 1991 (Amphisbaenia, Amphisbaenidae).

Several decades ago, Vanzolini (1991) described Amphisbaena arenaria Vanzolini, 1991 based on a single individual (MZUSP 65817) collected at Raso da Catarina, a large flat sandy deposit at the southern bank of São Francisco River. In the same paper he described A. frontalis Vanzolini, 1991 based on specimens collected at another sandy area, at the northern bank of São Francisco River, both in Bahia state, Brazil. As conflicting values are presented throughout his paper, the diagnosis of A. arenaria still needs clarification. We here comment on these differences and re-diagnose A. arenaria including new topotypic material, providing its phylogenetic placement and a new state record.

A revised classification of the Gelidiellaceae (Rhodophyta) with descriptions of three new genera: Huismaniella, Millerella and Perronella

AbstractThe agarophyte family Gelidiellaceae currently includes 26 species in two genera, Gelidiella and Parviphycus, but the generic status and species boundaries have not been fully explored. In order to resolve taxonomic issues in the family, we analyzed mitochondria‐encoded cox1 and plastid‐encoded rbcL and psaA genes from types and fresh collections including topotype material. The Gelidiellaceae was resolved with five distinct groups, interpreted here as representing five genera: (1) Gelidiella, including the type, (2) Huismaniella gen. nov., (3) Millerella gen. nov., (4) Parviphycus s.str. including the type, and (5) Perronella gen. nov. Gelidiella was recognized as including a new species, G. flabella, that is described for specimens from Madagascar. A new genus, Huismaniella, is described for the species previously known as Gelidiella ramellosa, characterized by lateral tetrasporangial branchlets inserted at right angles on erect axes and irregularly arranged tetrasporangia. Parviphycus includes P. adnatus which is characterized by simple thalli with tetrasporangial branchlets formed directly on prostate axes and holdfasts forming continuous fringes along the entire length of prostrate axes. The new genus Millerella is described to accommodate five species previously known as Gelidiella or Parviphycus, characterized by tetrasporangial sori formed on erect axes or branches and unicellular rhizoids forming irregular clumps along prostrate axes. Perronella gracilis gen. et sp. nov. is described for plants with terete axes, multifarious branching, and monosporangia formed on erect axes and branches. The implications for nomenclature, taxonomic revisions, and biogeography in the Gelidiellaceae are discussed.

Worldwide revision of the genus Fraseroscyphus Boero and Bouillon, 1993(Cnidaria: Hydrozoa): an integrative approach to establish new generic diagnoses.

The morphological character of the hydrocladium and gonotheca origin from within the hydrothecal cavity has rarely been applied for generic diagnoses in hydrozoans. Its taxonomic value has been controversial for more than a century. The genus Fraseroscyphus Boero and Bouillon, 1993 (Hydrozoa: Sertulariidae) is a relatively recently debated case and it has been distinguished from Symplectoscyphus Marktanner-Turneretscher, 1890 based on this character. A review of this character in all published nominal species of the family Sertulariidae reveals that its occurrence is inconsistent at the genus level. However, phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial (16S) and nuclear (18S, 28S) genes support the position of Fraseroscyphus as a genus within the family Symplectoscyphidae Maronna et al., 2016. Comparisons of 16 morphological characters of 10 related species support the distinction of Fraseroscyphus from Antarctoscyphus and Symplectoscyphus by other characters in addition to the hydrocladial and gonothecal origin character. These new characters include the rarely-branched hydrocaulus, the absence of an apophysis, and the absence of an axillary hydrotheca. Furthermore, a revision based on the morphological character complex mentioned above using type and topotypic material, demonstrated that Sertularella sinuosa Fraser, 1948 (type species of Fraseroscyphus) and Symplectoscyphus huanghaiensis Tang & Huang, 1986 are junior synonyms of F. hozawai (Stechow, 1931) comb. nov. The assignment of Sertularella irregularis Trebilcock, 1928 and Sertularella macrogona Trebilcock, 1928 to Fraseroscyphus is also supported. In addition, sequence polymorphism of mitochondrial genes even within a single hydroid fragment was detected by the molecular cloning method, and is probably in part attributable to errors introduced by PCR, mitochondrial heteroplasmy and/or nuclear mitochondrial DNA (NUMTs). The adoption of the cloning method may be crucial to improve the sequence accuracy for some colonial hydrozoans.

New taxonomic, stratigraphic, and geographic information on the genus Faksephyllia Floris, 1972 (Scleractinia; Caryophylliidae);first records from the Oligocene of Austria, Germany, and Italy.

The scleractinian genus Faksephyllia Floris, 1972, is revised based on the study of original and topotypic material as well as original descriptions. Representatives of this genus have been reported from only a small number of lower Paleogene localities, including the Danian of Azerbaijan, Denmark (Greenland), Kazakhstan, and Sweden, as well as the Paleocene of Austria and Denmark (Fakse). New material belonging to the type species of Faksephyllia (F. faxoensis) is described from the Lower Oligocene of Austria (Northern Calcareous Alps, Tyrol). In addition, material from the Oligocene of Germany and the Lower Oligocene of Italy, formerly grouped with the genera Calamophyllia and Rhabdophyllia, are here re-assigned and transferred to Faksephyllia. The genus Faksephyllia remains a monospecific taxon, including only the type species, Faksephyllia faxoensis (Beck, in Lyell). In addition, Faksephyllia represents the earliest colonial genus among the caryophylliids.

Transfer of selected Ahnfeltiopsis (Phyllophoraceae, Rhodophyta) species to the genus Besa and description of Schottera koreana sp. nov.

We investigated species in the family Phyllophoraceae from Korea using nuclear large-subunit ribosomal RNA, mitochondrial COI and plastid rbcL sequences and morphological examination. To understand the taxonomic relationships of Korean Ahnfeltiopsis, we also analysed topotype materials of A. leptophylla and Besa papillaeformis from California. Both individual and combined datasets revealed that Korean Ahnfeltiopsis (except A. flabelliformis) consistently formed a clade with Californian A. leptophylla and Besa papillaeformis with strong support, and this Besa clade was distinct from other genera or genetic groups in the Phyllophoraceae. The form and development of reproductive structures in topotype material of B. papillaeformis as well as those of the four Ahnfeltiopsis species supported the molecular phylogeny and underlined the distinctiveness of the Besa clade. We therefore propose to transfer four Ahnfeltiopsis species to the genus Besa as Besa catenata, B. divaricata, B. leptophylla and B. paradoxa. The concept of the genus Besa is extended to species having a heteromorphic life history and conspicuous erect gametophytes. On the basis of our molecular phylogeny, we restore A. flabelliformis to the genus Gymnogongrus. We describe a new member of the Phyllophoraceae, Schottera koreana sp. nov., a deep-water species occurring along western and southern coastlines of Korea.