Study conducted at the University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot, Karnataka brought to light six species of insects, a spider and couple of birds as natural enemies in drumstick ecosystem during the year 2012-13. Out of the natural enemies recorded, six were predators and one was parasitoid on pests in drumstick. The lady bird beetle, Cheilomenes sexmaculata Fabricius, pentatomid bug, Eocanthecona furcellata (Wolf), green lace wing, Chrysoperla zastrowii sillemi (Esben-Peterson), gitonid, Cacoxenus sp., preying mantid, Anaxarcha limbata Goglio-Toss, an undetermined species of spider and a parasitoid, Agathis sp. were recorded.

This study reports a survey conducted to find the South American palm weevil Rhynchophorus palmarum (L.) and the red palm weevil R. ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), 2 invasive species of palm trees. The study was performed in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas and near the border with Tamaulipas state, Mexico. A total of 40 traps were inspected biweekly from 26 Sep 2011 to 20 Sep 2012 and 4 traps were inspected from 20 Sep 2012 to 4 Sep 2013. To attract R. palmarum and R. ferrugineus, the lures 2-methylhept-5-en- 4-ol and 4-methyl-5-nonanol were used, respectively. We used these lures in combination with sugar and the ethyl acetate aggregation kairomone for both species, plus an ethylene glycol kill solution. Two specimens of R. palmarum were found and identified next to a commercial palm plantation on 11 Mar and 5 May 2012 near the city of Alamo, Texas, but no R. ferrugineus was detected during the entire study. Nematodes found in the 2 R. palmarum specimens were dauer juveniles of the order Rhabditida, and in one of these weevils only 1 nematode of an undetermined species within the family Aphelenchoididae was found. It is of great importance that Bursaphelenchus cocophilus Cobb Baujard (Nematoda: Parasitaphelenchinae), the nematode causal agent of coconut red ring disease, was not found within these insects. This is the first detection of R. palmarum in Texas, and the second in the United States.

Restudy of conodont biostratigraphy of the Permian–Triassic boundary section in Zhongzhai, southwestern Guizhou Province, South China

Abstract Ballooning, a form of dispersal rarely seen in mygalomorph spiders, was observed in 13 individuals of an undetermined species of Actinopus under laboratory conditions. After ascending a stick, each spiderling initiated ballooning from either the horizontal lines between sticks or from the stick's edges. They became airborne by dropping and dangling from a dragline, which then gradually lifted and lengthened to 10–15 cm in the breeze, broke at its attachment point, and served as a ballooning thread. This method of ballooning has also been observed in araneomorphs and other species of mygalomorphs, and this is probably a more primitive and shorter distance form of ballooning than that typically practiced by higher araneomorphs, which produce airborne silk lines that are pulled from the spider by air currents and are used either as spanning lines or as balloon lines that allow the spider itself to become airborne.

Brachiopods, fusulines and palynomorphs of the Mengkarang Formation (Early Permian, Sumatra) and their palaeobiogeographical significance

Warneckea populations from “sand-forest” or “sand-thicket” habitats in Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa, and Licuati Forest Reserve in adjacent southern Mozambique were previously thought to be a small-leaved form of W. sousae, which typically includes larger-leaved plants ranging from central Mozambique northward to Tanzania. We examine this hypothesis using molecular and morphological evidence. Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis of combined nrDNA ETS and ITS sequence data failed to resolve W. sousae and the Maputaland populations as an exclusively monophyletic group. Instead, the Kenyan endemic W. mouririifolia was strongly supported as the sister species of W. sousae, and the Maputaland plants were resolved in a separate, strongly supported clade together with populations of an as-yet undetermined Warneckea species from northern Mozambique. A hypothesis of exclusive monophyly for the plants from Tembe and Licuati had moderate support in separate ETS and ITS1 analyses (bootstrap proportions of 88% and 81%, respectively). Statistically significant differences in leaf dimensions and internode length were found between the Maputaland plants and typical W. sousae. We conclude that the populations from Tembe and Licuati represent a distinct species, which we describe as W. parvifolia. The species differs from W. sousae in having shorter internodes (mostly 5–25mm not 10–60mm long), smaller leaves (mostly 14–32×8–19mm not 40–76×22–52mm), shorter petioles (mostly 1–1.5mm not 1.5–6mm long), smaller flowers (hypanthium 1×1.5–1.75mm not 1.5–2×2mm; calyx lobes 0.5mm not 0.75mm long; staminal filaments 3–4mm not 5mm long; style 4–5mm not 9mm long), and globose fruit (not obovoid). An IUCN conservation status of Endangered (EN) B1a, b(ii, iii) is indicated for W. parvifolia, due to its limited distribution and projected declines in its habitat quality and area of occupancy.

Bacterial heart rot of pineapple reported in Hawaii in 2003 and reoccurring in 2006 was caused by an undetermined species of Dickeya. Classification of the bacterial strains isolated from infected pineapple to one of the recognized Dickeya species and their phylogenetic relationships with Dickeya were determined by a multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA), based on the partial gene sequences of dnaA, dnaJ, dnaX, gyrB and recN. Individual and concatenated gene phylogenies revealed that the strains form a clade with reference Dickeya sp. isolated from pineapple in Malaysia and are closely related to D. zeae; however, previous DNA-DNA reassociation values suggest that these strains do not meet the genomic threshold for consideration in D. zeae, and require further taxonomic analysis. An analysis of the markers used in this MLSA determined that recN was the best overall marker for resolution of species within Dickeya. Differential intraspecies resolution was observed with the other markers, suggesting that marker selection is important for defining relationships within a clade. Phylogenies produced with gene sequences from the sequenced genomes of strains D. dadantii Ech586, D. dadantii Ech703 and D. zeae Ech1591 did not place the sequenced strains with members of other well-characterized members of their respective species. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and tetranucleotide frequencies determined for the sequenced strains corroborated the results of the MLSA that D. dadantii Ech586 and D. dadantii Ech703 should be reclassified as Dickeya zeae Ech586 and Dickeya paradisiaca Ech703, respectively, whereas D. zeae Ech1591 should be reclassified as Dickeya chrysanthemi Ech1591.

Patellogastropods are poorly recorded in sedimentary rocks. This hinders our understanding of their evolutionary and migratory history in the geologic past. The Middle Pleistocene Ichijiku Formation in the Boso Peninsula, central Japan, consists of sand wave deposits formed at 50 to 130 m water depth by unidirectional currents on a sea floor and contains an unusually well preserved and highly diverse patellogastropod assemblage. A total of 12 patellogastropod taxa have been collected: seven species of Cellana (Nacellidae), four species referred to as living Lotiidae, and one undetermined species of the family Lottiidae. Of the seven species of Cellana, five are described as new (Cellana yamamotoi sp. nov., C. bosoensis sp. nov., C. igniculus sp. nov., C. kobayashii sp. nov., and C. kamatakiensis sp. nov.), one is related to the modern C. toreuma (Reeve), and one poorly preserved taxon is unnamed but probably extinct. The assemblage represents a window into a Middle Pleistocene patellogastropod community in central Japan, which differs markedly from the modern fauna in the dominance of the genus Cellana. Selective extinction is noted for the genus Cellana. The habitat loss during the glacial lowstands of sea level is a plausible explanation for this selective extinction.

A persistent bloom of Anadyomene J.V. Lamouroux (Anadyomenaceae, Chlorophyta) in Biscayne Bay, Florida

Zhang, Y., He, W.-H., Shi, G.R. & Zhang, K.-X., 2013. A new Changhsingian (Late Permian) Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) fauna from the Zhongzhai section, southwestern Guizhou Province, South China. Alcheringa 37, 221–245. ISSN 0311-5518. This paper describes 20 species (including three undetermined species) of Rugosochonetidae (Brachiopoda) in an upper offshore fauna from the Permian–Triassic Boundary Zhongzhai section, southwestern Guizhou Province, South China. New taxa are Tethyochonetes sheni, Tethyochonetes cheni, Neochonetes (Huangichonetes) archboldi, Neochonetes (Sommeriella) waterhousei, Neochonetes (Sommeriella) rectangularis and Neochonetes semicircularis. Yang Zhang [zyan@deakin.edu.au] and G.R. Shi [guang.shi@deakin.edu.au] (corresponding author), School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia; Weihong He [whzhang@cug.edu.cn] (corresponding author) and Kexin Zhang [kx_zhang@cug.edu.cn], State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, 388 Lumo Road, Hongshan, Wuhan 430074, PR China. Received 8.6.2012; revised 19.9.2012; accepted 7.10.2012.

A taxonomic assessment of four species of octocorals from the northeastern Pacific Ocean (British Columbia to California) is provided. Included here are a new species of clavulariid stolonifieran Cryptophyton, a new species of the nephtheid soft coral Gersemia, an undetermined species of soft coral in the genus Alcyonium that has been referred in the literature by several other names, and a new genus is named for a plexaurid sea fan originally described in the Indo-Pacific genus Euplexaura. Discussions are included that compare the species to related taxa, or provide revisionary assessments.

Background. on a short standardized segment of the genome. The main objective of the barcode of life project is to provide a database of genetic sequences which can be used as a tool for universal species identification.  Indonesia has at least 1300 freshwater fish species, however unfortunately no species has been barcoded as yet.  In the presently reported study, we subjected to barcoding a total of 14 species of freshwater fishes from Lake Laut Tawar, Indonesia. Materials and methods. On average, 10 random samples from each species were processed for DNA analysis. Approximately 655-bp were amplified from the 5′ region of the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COX1) gene. All obtained sequences were edited and aligned using MEGA 4.0 program. Nucleotide divergence among sequences was estimated based on Kimura 2-parameter distances. Unique haplotypes were determined using DnaSP Version 5.10.02 software, and the genetic relations among haplotypes were assessed by constructing a phenogram using the neighbour-joining method Results. A total of 31 haplotypes from 14 freshwater fish species were produced in this study. The read lengths were 626-bp, where 259 sites were polymorphic, 254 sites parsimony informative, and five singletons. No stop codons, deletions, or insertions were observed in any of the sequences.  The nucleotide distance between species ranged from 7.1%—between Puntius brevis (Bleeker, 1850) and Poropuntius tawarensis (Weber et de Beaufort, 1916)—to 30.4%—between Channa gachua (Hamilton, 1822) and Homaloptera sp.—indicating that P. brevis and P. tawarensis are very closely related. Conclusion. >This study confirms the utility of COX1 gene in accurate identification of 14 species of freshwater fishes from Lake Laut Tawar, however, three species could not be identified to species level namely Rasbora sp. (local name: relo), Homaloptera sp. (ilie) and Clarias sp. (mud). It is suggested that future studies should incorporate morphometric methods to resolve the taxonomic status of these undetermined species.

Persian buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus L.) is an ornamental plant cultivated mainly in the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, and has recently become popular in Korea. During March and April 2012, Persian buttercups 'Elegance' showing symptoms of downy mildew were found in plastic greenhouses in Hwaseong City of Korea. Infection resulted in chlorotic leaves with a dark greyish and dense fungal-like growth on the lower surfaces, and finally led to necrosis of the lesions. A sample was deposited in the Korea University herbarium (KUS-F26431). Conidiophores emerging from stomata were hyaline, 250 to 550 × 7 to 15 μm, straight, and dichotomously branched in 6 to 8 orders. Ultimate branchlets were mostly in pairs, slightly curved, 5 to 15 μm long, and had obtuse tips. Conidia were brown, broadly ellipsoidal to subglobose or ellipsoidal, often pedicellated, and measured 24 to 33 × 20 to 27 μm with a length/width ratio of 1.15 to 1.30. Fourteen species of Peronospora have previously been described on the genus Ranunculus (2), of which P. ficariae was mostly considered the causal agent of downy mildew on Persian buttercup (1,3). The present Korean accession is morphologically distinct from P. ficariae on R. ficaria (a synonym of Ficaria verna) by somewhat larger conidia with often pedicel-like ends. The nuclear ribosomal LSU and ITS regions were PCR-amplified and sequenced as described in Göker et al. (4), and the resulting sequences deposited in GenBank (Accession Nos. KC111207 and JX465737, respectively). A comparison with the GenBank sequences revealed that the present Korean pathogen differed from P. ficariae on R. ficaria at 10 of 688 characters (about 1.5%) in LSU (AF119600) and 11 of 802 characters (about 1.4%) in ITS sequences (unpublished sequence). In addition, the ITS sequence exhibits a dissimilarity of 1.5 to 2.0% from three species of Peronospora parasitic on Ranunculus; P. alpicola on R. aconitifolius (AY198271), P. illyrica on R. illyricus (AY198268), and P. ranunculi on R. acris (AY198267) and R. recurvatus (AY198269). Based on morphological and molecular distinction between P. ficariae and the Korean pathogen, we provisionally indicate this pathogen as an undetermined species of Peronospora. Pathogenicity was demonstrated by shaking diseased leaves onto the leaves of healthy Persian buttercup 'Elegance', incubating the plants in a dew chamber at 20°C for 24 h, and then maintaining them in a greenhouse (20 to 24°C and relative humidity 60 to 80%). After 3 to 4 days, inoculated plants developed downy mildew symptoms, from which an identical fungus was observed, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. Control plants treated with sterile water did not develop any symptoms of downy mildew. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a downy mildew on Persian buttercup in Asia, although this disease has been found in other continental countries, such as Italy (1), New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States (3). The presence of a downy mildew on Persian buttercup in Asia can be considered as a potentially new and serious threat to commercial production of this ornamental plant.

Acizzia credoensis sp. n. is described from a single population on the native plant, Solanum lasiophyllum, from semi-arid Western Australia. The host range of Acizzia solanicola Kent & Taylor, initially recorded as damaging eggplant, S. melongena, in commercial crops and gardens and on wild tobacco bush, S. mauritianum in eastern Australia, is expanded to include the following Solanaceae: rock nightshade, S. petrophilum, cape gooseberry, Physalis peruviana, and an undetermined species of angel's trumpet Brugmansia and Datura. New Zealand specimens of A. solanicola collected in early 2012 from S. mauritianum are the first record for this species from outside Australia, and possibly represent a very recent incursion. The potential for the solanaceous-inhabiting Psyllidae to vector Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum, an economically important plant pathogen, on native Australian Solanaceae is discussed. The occurrence of A. credoensis and A. solanicola on native Australian Solanum supports the Australian origin for the solanaceous-inhabiting Acizzia psyllids.

Perumytilus purpuratus is an abundant bivalve located in the intertidal rocky zone of South America that has been considered as a key species of the ecosystem. There are few studies of the host-parasite relationship of this bivalve; thus, this research aims to analyse the spatial and temporal variation in the prevalence of trematodes in P. purpuratus. Bivalves were collected from three localities (El Tabo, Las Cruces and Montemar) of central Chile (33°S, 71°W) during different seasons of 2010. The bivalves were also collected every metre, from the lowest to the highest level of the intertidal rocky zone, to determine the parasite distribution within the localities. Three species of trematodes as sporocyst stages were found: Prosorhynchoides carvajali, Proctoeces sp. and an undetermined fellodistomid species. Of the 37,692 bivalve specimens collected, 2.68% were parasitised. The undetermined fellodistomid species was the most prevalent parasite observed (1.69%). There were little detected differences in the prevalence of some trematode species between seasons. The prevalence of P. carvajali varied between localities, being most prevalent at Montemar. The distribution of trematodes along the rocky zone within the localities was variable, with P. carvajali being more prevalent in the mid-lowest level of the intertidal zone and the undetermined fellodistomid species being more prevalent in the mid-highest level. Both the abundance of definitive hosts and the environmental conditions likely result in different levels of infection by trematodes in P. purpuratus between and within the localities.

Anatomical, systematic, and paleobiogeographical data on the Devonian antiarchs from Belgium are reviewed, updated and completed thanks to new data from the field and re-examination of paleontological collections. The material of Bothriolepis lohesti is enhanced and the species redescribed in more detail. An undetermined species of Bothriolepis is recorded from the Famennian of Modave (Liege Province), one species of Asterolepis redescribed from the Givetian of Hingeon and another one described from the Givetian of Mazy (Namur Province). Grossilepis rikiki sp. nov. is recorded from the Famennian tetrapod-bearing locality of Strud (Namur Province) and from the Famennian of Moresnet (Liege Province). It is the first occurrence of Grossilepis after the Frasnian and on the central southern coast of the Euramerican continent. Its occurrence in the Famennian of Belgium may be the result of a late arrival from the Moscow Platform and the Baltic Depression, where the genus is known from Frasnian deposits. Remigol...

Abstract The historical and contemporary species richness, distribution, and ecology of Israel charophytes are described. The first charophyte collection in this region was made in the 19th century. Almost all reported localities were found earlier than 1970; some of them were not described. At the end of the 20th century, only two localities of two species were reported. According to the literature, 13 species, including two undetermined species of Chara, and nearly 23 exact localities are known from Northern and Central Israel. We found seven species and one variety of charophytes in 23 new localities in eight river drainage basins from six ecological regions of Israel during the period extending from 2001-2011. One genus n Tolypella, and two species n Chara intermedia and Tolypella glomerata, were found for the first time in Israel. There are 15 species and four genera of charophytes known from the studied territory based on published and original data. The common habitats of charophytes in Israel are river channels, pools, and, especially, artificial water bodies. The Chara vulgaris var. longibracteata, C. gymnophylla and C. contraria are the most frequently encountered species. The species ecology is briefly characterized by selected environmental variables. It may be that charophytes are rather rare plants in Israel and that their distribution in space and time is strongly variable due to the absence of large water bodies in this region, great variability of natural environmental conditions and severe continuous transformations of the environment by human activity for millennia.

A description is provided for Eragrostis episcopulus (Poaceae), a previously undetermined grass species from the South Atlantic island of St Helena, together with notes on its ecology, history and conservation. The taxon appears to belong to subgen. Eragrostis, and shows affinities with southern African species including E. minor. E. episcopulus has an estimated world population of just over 2,000 individuals, 90% of which occur in two sites, with the remainder scattered along 15 km of the island’s south coast. All sites are located on the upper parts of cliffs facing prevailing mist-laden winds, between 250 and 550 m altitude. The communities are rich in other rare endemic vascular plants (e.g. Bulbostylis lichtensteiniana, Ceterach haughtonii, Eragrostis saxatilis) and Ramalina lichens. They represent refugial pockets of native diversity amongst degraded scrub, which is now heavily dominated by non-native invaders and thus many locations merit protection. Threats are posed from grazing by rabbits and competition from invasive plant species. As a first step in the long-term conservation of Eragrostis episcopulus, seeds have been collected and an ex situ collection established on St Helena and at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. E. episcopulus is evaluated as critically endangered CR B1ab(ii,iii,iv,v) + B2ab(ii,iii,iv,v) based on the IUCN Red List categories v3.1.

Chinese species of Gurawa Distant (tribe Chiasmini) are reviewed and a new species, Gurawa truncata sp. nov., is described and illustrated. The related genus Chiasmus Mulsant & Rey is reported from China for the first time and descriptions and illustrations are provided for the genus and one undetermined species. Checklists to species of both genera are provided.

Topographic homology conjectures (= THCs) in fore- and hind wing venation of extant king crickets, raspy crickets and weta are re-evaluated. Based on the premises that topological homology is established so that the amount of transformation that has to be assumed to explain differences between patterns is minimized, a new set of THCs (= STHC), based on morphological data on the species cf. mexicanus de Saussure, 1859: 209, laudatum Johns, 1997, ornata Willemse, 1963, cf. bicornis Karny, 1929a, pinguipes? Rentz in Morton & Rentz, 1983, pinguipes Rentz in Morton & Rentz, 1983, an undetermined species, punctipennis Walker, 1869, and rufovaria Kirby, 1888, is elaborated. Among other transformations, the occurrence of a re-routing of MP along CuA (i.e., the basal M CuA stem splits into MA and MP CuA, instead of into MA MP and CuA) is demonstrated for pinguipes, punctipennis, and rufovaria. Concurrently, intra-specific variability in forewing venation is appreciated for laudatum, ornata, cf. bicornis, pinguipes, punctipennis, and rufovaria. A cladotypic-compliant nomenclatural scheme is elaborated based on the proposed THCs. The taxon Agryllacris nom.-dis.typ. nov. is defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, CuA CuPaα with two distal branches only’; the taxon Tagryllacris nom.-dis.-typ. nov. is defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, M CuA splits into MA and MP CuA’; the taxon Etagryllacris nom.-dis.-typ. nov. is defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, CuA CuPaα keep fused’; the taxon Metagryllacris nom. nov, dis. Zeuner, 1939, typ. nov. is defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, MA fused with R at wing base’. Based on new data, the species †perfecta Sharov, 1968 is identified as a member of the taxon Agryllacris, and the fossil species †megaptera Gorochov, 1987a, isimplicis Gorochov, 1987a, †elongata Gorochov, 1987a, †madygenioides Gorochov, 1987a, †perlonga Gorochov, 1987a, and † devexa Gorochov, 1987a are considered as junior synonyms of †perfecta. The nomenclatural treatment is extended to the unrelated taxon †Bintoniellidae nom. Handlirsch, 1938, dis. Sharov, 1968, typ. nov, defined based on the character state ‘in forewing, no distinct base of CuPaα diverging from CuPa (and fusing with CuA or M CuA)’. Belonging to this taxon, the species †primaria Sharov, 1968 is considered as a junior synonym † triassica Sharov, 1968:168.A consequence of the assignment of †perfecta to Agryllacris is that this group stems in the Triassic, at least, i.e., ca 170 million years earlier than previously assumed. As a result, the loss of the complex ‘tettigonid-gryllid-like’ (i.e., Grylloptera) stridulatory apparatus is no longer needed to account for the morphology of king crickets, raspy crickets and weta forewing. Finally, a refinement of the concept of parallelism is proposed based on transformations observed in the taxa Agryllacris and Bintoniellidae, and on their polarity and frequency of occurrence. The concept of parallelism is narrowed down, those of atavism and reversal discussed, and the concepts of iteronatism, cryptoparallelism, and pronatism proposed.