Unnamed Taxon Research Articles

Review of the North American fauna of Drymeia Meigen (Diptera, Muscidae) and evaluation of DNA barcodes for species-level identification in the genus.

The North American fauna of Drymeia Meigen was studied. Four new species are described (Drymeia huckettisp. nov., Drymeia pontisp. nov., Drymeia vockerothisp. nov., Drymeia woodorumsp. nov.), and three new synonymies are proposed: Drymeia amnicola (Huckett, 1966) (= Drymeia rivalis (Huckett, 1966), syn. nov.); Drymeia glacialis (Rondani, 1866) (= Drymeia alpicola (Rondani, 1871), syn. nov.); and Drymeia spinitarsis (Aldrich, 1918) (= Drymeia longiseta Sorokina & Pont, 2015, syn. nov.). An annotated checklist, DNA barcodes (when available), and keys for each sex of the 24 named species of North American Drymeia are provided. The utility of DNA barcodes for the identification of Drymeia species across a wide geographical range was explored using sequences from five countries. A match between morphology and DNA barcodes was found for 71% (22/31) of species studied (including three unnamed taxa). The remaining nine species clustered into two groups of taxa with very little interspecific variation within clusters (groups of two and seven species). Caution is advised against using DNA barcoding as the only determination tool for Drymeia material without prior knowledge of its limitations for certain species groups.

Uromyces rebeccae, sp. nov., a newly described rust on the federally endangered plant, California sea-blite (Suaeda californica)

ABSTRACT Rust disease was observed on populations of Suaeda californica near Morro Bay, California. The pathogen was identified as a species of Uromyces based on teliospore and urediniospore morphology and nuc 28S rDNA sequence analysis. The isolate was compared with previously described species of Uromyces that infect members of Chenopodiaceae, prompting a taxonomic reevaluation of Uromyces species on Suaeda. Herein, Uromyces rebeccae is described. It can be differentiated from the closely related U. chenopodii (syn.: Aecidium chenopodii-fruticosi; U. giganteus) based on host range, teliospore morphology, and 28S sequence data. The new combination, Uromyces chenopodii-fruticosi, is made for Aecidium chenopodii-fruticosi, the oldest name for Eurasian Suaeda rust. Finally, it was determined that U. giganteus likely does not occur in the United States and that the rust of S. taxifolia in the United States likely comprises a third, yet unnamed taxon, different from both U. rebeccae and U. chenopodii-fruticosi. This is the first record of a rust fungus on S. californica. An identification key for Uromyces species reported on Chenopodiaceae is provided.

A new species of dink frog, genus Diasporus (Anura: Eleutherodactylidae), from the Caribbean foothills of the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica.

A new dink frog (Eleutherodactylidae: Diasporus) is described from the Tropical Wet Forest, in the northeastern foothills of Cordillera de Talamanca in Costa Rica at an elevation of ca. 1000 m. Analysis of DNA sequences of the 16S rRNA (16S) and cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) mitochondrial genes revealed a distinct lineage within the genus Diasporus. Additional morphological, morphometric, and acoustic analyses support the differences of this lineage, which we recognize as a new species. This new taxon is distinguished from other members of the genus Diasporus inhabiting Isthmian Central America by its unique coloration: dorsum brown to brown-grayish and venter gray-bluish with pale blotches. The new species is distinguished from other members of the genus Diasporus by very significant genetic distances (higher than 5.6 % in 16S and 16.7 % in COI). The new taxon is most closely related to D. vocator from the south pacific of Costa Rica and to an unnamed taxon from western Panama.

A new Monodontidae (Cetacea, Delphinoidea) from the lower Pliocene of Italy supports a warm-water origin for narwhals and white whales

ABSTRACTA new taxon of monodontid cetacean, Casatia thermophila, gen. et sp. nov., is here described on the basis of a partial skull from lower Pliocene (5.1–4.5 Ma) marginal-marine deposits of Tuscany (central Italy). This new taxon belongs to Monodontidae based on the presence of a medial exposure of the maxillae anterior and lateral to the external bony nares; it mainly differs from all other named monodontids by the presence of a median depression of the premaxillae anterior to the premaxillary sac fossae and by a medial margin of the premaxillary-maxillary suture that does not parallel the anterolateral profile of the external bony nares. Our phylogenetic analysis, the first including all taxa of Monodontidae, recovers Casatia as a crown monodontid, more closely related to Delphinapterus than to Monodon and sister group of an unnamed taxon from the North Sea. The holotype of Casatia represents the first and only fossil monodontid from the Mediterranean Basin. Taking its place beside abundant fossils of strongly thermophilic marine vertebrates, such as the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier, and the extinct sirenian Metaxytherium subapenninum, Casatia thermophila represents the strongest evidence supporting the hypothesis that monodontids once thrived in low-latitude, warm-water habitats. On the basis of our phylogenetic reconstruction, early relatives of the extant monodontids might have adapted independently to the high-latitude, cold-water environments they currently master. The definitive disappearance of the Neogene thermophilic monodontids could be attributed to the cooling episode that accompanied the onset of long-term Northern Hemisphere glaciation around 3 Ma.

A revision of the Monodelphis glirina group (Didelphidae: Marmosini), with a description of a new species from Roraima, Brazil

AbstractShort-tailed opossums of the nominotypical subgenus Monodelphis occur throughout most of the cis-Andean lowlands of tropical South America. Among its member species, a monophyletic group that includes M. glirina (Amazonian red-sided opossum), M. sanctaerosae (Santa Rosa short-tailed opossum), and an unnamed taxon, herein referred to as the Monodelphis glirina group, is the focus of this paper. I provide an emended diagnosis for species of the group, information about geographic variation in M. glirina (including M. maraxina [Marajó short-tailed opossum]), and a formal description for the unnamed taxon mentioned above. The new species, known from two savanna localities in northeastern Roraima, is geographically disjunct from its closer relatives, M. glirina and M. sanctaerosae, only known to occur south of the Amazon. The new species differs from other congeneric taxa by a set of morphological characters and by DNA sequences.Cuícas-de-cauda-curta do subgênero nominotípico Monodelphis ocorrem na maior parte das planícies cis-Andinas da América do Sul tropical. Dentre as espécies membro, o grupo monofilético que inclui M. glirina, M. sanctarosae, e um táxon ainda não descrito, referido como grupo Monodelphis glirina, é o foco do presente estudo. Aqui são fornecidas diagnoses emendadas para as espécies do grupo, informações sobre variação geográfica em M. glirina (incluindo M. maraxina), e descrição formal para o novo táxon mencionado acima. A nova espécie, conhecida de duas localidades de savana no nordeste de Roraima, encontra-se geograficamente disjunta das espécies mais proximamente relacionadas, M. glirina e M. sanctaerosae, somente conhecidas para a porção sul da Amazônia. A nova espécie difere das demais espécies congenéricas por um conjunto de características morfológicas e por sequências de DNA.

Ficinia gracilis complex (Cypereae, Cyperaceae) revisited– Species delineations and description of a new species from South Africa

The name Ficinia gracilis has been misapplied to multiple taxa occurring from the Cape Peninsula through the Drakensberg into Afromontane habitats in eastern Africa. This broad circumscription encompasses at least five species (F. filiformis, F.rigida, F.gracilis, F.cinnamomea and an additional unnamed taxon). These taxa have been suggested (e.g. Gordon-Gray 2008) to be inseparable on gross morphology, and recent floras apply the broad concept of F.gracilis. This study re-examines species delineation, using ecology, gross morphology, and studies of nutlet morphology based on scanning electron microscopy, recognizing three groups of species, namely, F.gracilis (including F.undosa; sticky leaf sheaths, rugose nutlets, in grasslands), F.cinnamomea (together with the unnamed taxon; non sticky leaf sheaths, minutely papillose nutlets, in grasslands) and F.filiformis(together with F.rigida; sticky leaf sheaths, rugose nutlets, in fynbos). Ficinia eligulata Gordon-Gray ex Muasya is named and described, diagnosed by filiform culms and leaves, non sticky leaf sheaths and with leaves lacking a ligule, and minutely papillose nutlets.

Phylogeny of Map Tree Frogs, Boana semilineata Species Group, with a New Amazonian Species (Anura: Hylidae)

Gladiator Frogs (Boana) is a Neotropical group comprised of 92 species sorted into seven species groups. Herein, we present a phylogeny of the Boana semilineata species group, including all valid nominal species currently or suspected to be assigned to it— many sequenced for the first time. Parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of two genes (16S and COI) did not support the monophyly of the B. semilineata group as currently defined. To remedy this, B. secedens, currently assigned to the B. puchella species group, is transferred to the B. semilineata group. On the other hand, our analyses corroborate the inclusion of B. hutchinsi, B. pombali and B. wavrini in the B. semilineata group. The reinterpretation of the morphology of the lower palpebral membrane in B. pombali (previously described as absent, but actually present) corroborates that the reticulated membrane is a synapomorphy of this species group (albeit homoplastic—present in a few species not assigned to this group). A recent paper suggested (based on the analyses of 16S alone) that at least six unnamed taxa (candidate species) are hidden behind the names B. geographica and B. semilineata. Our analyses resulted in the discovery of additional unnamed lineages, one of which is described and named herein. This new species is diagnosed, among other characters, by having the flanks, anterior and posterior surfaces of thigh with dark brown or blackish stripes, and by the presence of a prepollex forming a projecting spine.

New probable cnidarian fossils from the lower Cambrian of the Three Gorges area, South China, and their ecological implications

Lower Cambrian assemblages of phosphatic and chitinous tubular fossils of probable cnidarian affinities were recovered from the Yanjiahe, Shuijingtuo and Shipai formations in the Three Gorges area, South China. Terreneuvian Cambrorhytium cf. C. major co-occur with an unnamed taxon in the Yanjiahe Formation. They can be compared with specimens from the Ediacaran Miaohe Fauna in the Three Gorges area. The most abundant and diversified cnidarian assemblages, including Cambrorhytium gracilis n. sp., Cambrorhytium cf. major, Cambrorhytium minor, Sphenothallus songlinensis, Sphenothallus taijiangensis?, Sphenothallus kozaki, ?Sphenothallus sp., ?Byronia sp., and ?Mackenzia sp. are reported from the overlying, Cambrian Stage 3–4, Shuijingtuo and Shipai formations. These new fossils show previously unknown evidence for cnidarian affinities, such as an attachment disk, clonal clusters and probable budding structures. These diversified assemblages of probable cnidarian fossils further fill major gaps in the Cambrian record of stem metazoans and document associated early evolutionary patterns. In addition, our discovery suggests that along with sponges, these tubular fossils represent another important component of benthic ecosystems that colonized often dysoxic, deep-settings during the Cambrian explosion. The observed increases of average body-size and biomineralization among these probable cnidarians are tentatively linked to oxygenation of deep oceanic settings and appearance of predatory pressure during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition, respectively.

OCCURRENCE OF PASTEURELLACEAE BACTERIA IN THE ORAL CAVITY OF SELECTED MARSUPIAL SPECIES.

Eighty-two Pasteurellaceae isolates from marsupials characterized by phylogenetic analysis of rpoB gene sequences formed five distinct groups. Twenty-one strains from long-nosed potoroos ( Potorous tridactylus apicalis), spotted-tailed quolls ( Dasyurus maculatus), and eastern quolls ( Dasyurus viverrinus) made up group 1, which classified with Frederiksenia canicola. Group 2, 15 strains from Tasmanian devils ( Sarcophilus harrisii), common wombats ( Vombatus ursinus), common ring-tailed possums ( Pseudocheirus peregrinus), and eastern quolls, grouped with Pasteurella multocida. Three strains from koalas ( Phascolarctos cinereus) formed group 3 and clustered with Lonepinella koalarum. Group 4, 13 common wombat strains only distantly related to other Pasteurellaceae, probably represent a new genus. Finally, 29 strains from Tasmanian devils, spotted-tailed quolls and eastern quolls formed group 5 and clustered with 15 previously described Tasmanian devil strains, belonging to a yet unnamed Pasteurellaceae taxon. The results strongly indicate that Pasteurellaceae bacteria represent a part of the normal oral microbiota in marsupials.

Phylogenetic systematics of Syncephalis (Zoopagales, Zoopagomycotina), a genus of ubiquitous mycoparasites

ABSTRACTWe examined phylogenetic relationships among species of the mycoparasite genus Syncephalis using sequences from three nuclear ribsosomal DNA genes (18S, 5.8S, and 28S nuc rDNA) and a gene encoding the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB1). Our data set included 88 Syncephalis isolates comprising 23 named species and several unnamed taxa. We also revived a culturing technique using beef liver and cellophane to grow several Syncephalis isolates without their host fungi to obtain pure parasite DNA. Most isolates, however, were grown in co-cultures with their host fungi, so we designed Syncephalis-specific primers to obtain sequence data. Individual and combined data sets were analyzed by maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian methods. We recovered 20 well-supported lineages and 38 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Most major clades contained isolates from distant localities on multiple continents. There were taxonomic and nomenclature issues within several clades, probably due to high phenotypic plasticity or species dimorphism. We also conducted an analysis of Syncephalis nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences for 31 phylogenetically diverse isolates, and we determined that most Syncephalis species have long ITS sequences relative to other fungi. Although commonly employed eukaryotic and fungal primers are compatible with diverse Syncephalis species, the ITS sequences of Syncepahlis are nonetheless rarely recovered in environmental molecular diversity surveys.

Prevalence of Taxa of Pasteurellaceae Among Populations of Healthy Captive Psittacine Birds.

Sixty-two strains of Pasteurellaceae-like bacteria were isolated from the tracheas of 87 clinically healthy psittacine birds in two Danish zoos. The isolates were identified by a combination of rpoB and 16S rRNA gene sequencing and by matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time of flight. Twenty-eight strains belonged to the genus Volucribacter or were related to this genus and to the unnamed taxon 34 of Bisgaard, and 28 strains were related to the unnamed taxon 44 of Bisgaard. Four strains were identified as Pasteurella multocida , two isolates were classified with the related taxon 45 of Bisgaard, and a single isolate was classified as Pasteurella sp. The investigation documented an unrecognized reservoir of rarely reported and unclassified or unnamed species of Pasteurellaceae-like bacteria in psittacine birds. The results were in accordance with a recent report on isolation of Pasteurellaceae from diseased psittacine birds, and the investigation documented that the same taxa of Pasteurellaceae-like bacteria can be isolated from apparently healthy birds as well as from diseased birds.

Alestid (Characiformes: Alestidae) fishes from the late Oligocene Nsungwe Formation, Rukwa Rift Basin, of Tanzania

ABSTRACTAlestidae is a clade of African characiform fishes including 19 extant genera and approximately 105 species that are known from Afro-Arabia, with records reported from the Eocene-Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation of Egypt, the Eocene Mahenge crater lake of Tanzania, and early Oligocene to Miocene sites on the Arabian Plate. Here we report the first record of alestid fishes from the late Oligocene Nsungwe Formation in the Rukwa Rift Basin of southwestern Tanzania. The Nsungwe alestid sample is composed of 92 teeth spanning a range of sizes and morphologies. Teeth are examined with regard to cusp number and organization, tooth position and replacement, and in the context of alestid jaw organization using modern, comparative representatives. Results suggest that at least two alestid taxa are represented in Nsungwe Formation localities. Hydrocynus teeth exhibit a single, conical cusp. Several of these specimens preserve a mesiodistally expanded crown and concave surface on the lingual aspect of the tooth. A second, unnamed taxon, with three morphological variants, is distinguished from Hydrocynus based on a multicuspid morphology of fully erupted teeth. The presence of these taxa in the late Oligocene of Africa below the equator provides key insights into the biogeography of the clade.Citation for this article: Stevens, W. N., K. M. Claeson, and N. J. Stevens. 2016. Alestid (Characiformes: Alestidae) fishes from the late Oligocene Nsungwe Formation, Rukwa Rift Basin, of Tanzania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1180299.

The fossil record of lissamphibians from Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Plate

Lissamphibians (frogs, salamanders, caecilians, and the extinct Albanerpetontidae) have a near global distribution. Africa, its associated islands (especially Madagascar and the Seychelles) and the Arabian Plate are home to about 27 families (including 15 endemic) and 1135 species of extant lissamphibians or about 38 and 15 %, respectively, of the global totals. The region also contains an extensive, but patchy and somewhat under-appreciated fossil record. Based on published and unpublished information, we provide here the most comprehensive review to date of the lissamphibian fossil record from the region. We also discuss the insights those occurrences provide into past distributions and diversities of lissamphibians in the region and the establishment of the modern fauna. Our review relies on occurrence data from 93 sets of localities of basal Triassic through Holocene age, distributed across 23 countries. As with the modern lissamphibian fauna of the region, the fossil record is dominated by frogs, but there also are notable occurrences of other lissamphibians, including several genera of enigmatic Cretaceous salamanders, one of two known stem caecilians, and the only Gondwanan records for albanerpetontids. Africa is one of only two continents (the other being North America) to have occurrences for all four lissamphibian clades. Twenty named and currently accepted fossil lissamphibian species are recognised from the region: one stem and 14 crown frogs (11 or possibly 12 of which are pipimorphs, 1 alytid, and 1 neobatrachian possibly referable to the otherwise exclusively South American families Ceratophryidae or Calyptocephalellidae); three salamanders; one stem caecilian; and one albanerpetontid. Additional and as yet unnamed taxa are represented in existing collections, and others undoubtedly remain to be discovered. Of the 27 extant lissamphibian families currently recognised from the region, 12 of 22 frog families (including five endemics: Brevicipitidae, Heleophrynidae, Hyperoliidae, Ptychadenidae, and Pyxicephalidae) and the sole salamander family (Salamandridae) have fossil records; at present, none of the known caecilian fossils can be assigned with confidence to any of the four extant families currently recognised in the region. The biogeographic histories of lissamphibians in Africa, its associated islands and the Arabian Plate are characterised by vicariant and dispersal events related to the complex palaeogeographic history of the region.

Weeding the nettles IV: A redefinition of Urtica incisa and allies in New Zealand and Australia, including the segregation of two new species Urtica sykesii and U. perconfusa

Taxon differentiation in Urtica from Australia and New Zealand initially appears to be uncomplicated, with taxa being easy to distinguish. However, a revision of the type material, more recent collections and a comparison of Australian and New Zealand material shows that three of the names are misapplied. Urtica gracilis (as U. dioica subsp. gracilis, North America) has been reported as introduced to New Zealand, but molecular data retrieve the corresponding specimens with the other NZ-species and we argue that they belong to the polygamous Australian species Urtica incisa. A critical revision of the protologues and type collections reveals that the names Urtica incisa, originally described from mainland Australia, and U. incisa var. linearifolia from Tasmania, have been misapplied to New Zealand taxa. Both New Zealand “Urtica linearifolia” and “U. incisa” represent unnamed taxa and are here formally described as Urtica perconfusa and Urtica sykesii, respectively. Urtica perconfusa corresponds to what is erroneously known as U. linearifolia. Urtica sykesii is an overlooked species, erroneously interpreted as U. incisa in New Zealand. It may be differentiated from U. incisa Poir. by its smaller, deltoid leaf lamina with a truncate to subcordate base (versus truncate to cuneate), fewer leaf teeth (9–12 on each side rather than 14–20 in U. incisa) and smaller plant size (20–60 cm rather than 60–200 cm in U. incisa). We found evidence for the presence of true introduced U. dioica subsp. dioica in New Zealand, but not for U. gracilis. Rather, New Zealand specimens assigned to the putatively introduced northern hemisphere U. gracilis belong to U. incisa as described from Australia. Typifications for the species treated here are provided, including an updated key to the Australian and New Zealand taxa. There are thus six native species of Urtica in New Zealand, four of them endemic, and two also indigenous in Australia.

Ornithischian dinosaur material from the Kuwajima Formation (Tetori Group: Lower Cretaceous) of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

The Kumajima Formation (Lower Cretaceous: ?Hauterivian–Barremian) of Ishikawa Prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, has yielded a diverse vertebrate fauna that includes a variety of dinosaur taxa. Here, we describe teeth and cranial elements that are referable to an indeterminate styracosternan iguanodontian, an additional unnamed small ornithischian (represented by an isolated maxilla) that is distinct from Albalophosaurus, and other indeterminate ornithischian remains that may belong to the unnamed taxon, Albalophosaurus or another ‘basal’ ornithischian taxon. Iguanodontian specimens are numerically dominant in the available sample of dinosaur material. The Kuwajima Formation has yielded the most diverse dinosaur fauna from Japan and provides a useful point of comparison with other better-known East Asian dinosaur faunas, such as that of the Chinese Jehol Biota.

A large-clawed theropod (Dinosauria: Tetanurae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Australia and the Gondwanan origin of megaraptorid theropods

Megaraptoridae comprises a clade of enigmatic Gondwanan theropods with characteristic hypertrophied claws on the first and second manual digits. The majority of megaraptorids are known from South America, although a single genus (Australovenator) plus additional indeterminate material is also known from Australia. This clade has a controversial placement among theropods, and recently has been interpreted alternatively as a carcharodontosaurian or a tyrannosauroid lineage. We describe new fragmentary but associated postcranial remains from the opal fields of Lightning Ridge (middle-Albian, Griman Creek Formation) in north-central New South Wales. The new unnamed taxon exhibits a number of unusual features that suggest the presence of a hitherto unrecognised Australian megaraptorid. From an Australian perspective, the Lightning Ridge taxon predates Australovenator by ca. 10Ma and is minimally coeval with megaraptoran material reported from the Eumeralla Formation of Victoria (but potentially 6.1–9.5Ma younger). It is also notable as the largest predatory dinosaur yet identified from Australia and is only the second theropod known from more than a single element. A Bayesian phylogenetic approach integrating morphological, stratigraphic and palaeogeographic information tested both the carcharodontosaurian and tyrannosauroid placements for Megaraptora. Regardless of the preferred placement among Tetanurae, rigorous palaeobiogeographic analyses support an Asian origin of Megaraptora in the latest Jurassic (about 150–135Ma), an Early Cretaceous (about 130–121Ma) divergence of the Gondwanan lineage leading to Megaraptoridae, and an Australian root for megaraptorid radiation. These results indicate that Australia's Cretaceous dinosaur fauna did not comprise simply of immigrant taxa but was a source for complex two-way interchange between Australia–Antarctica–South America leading to the evolution of at least one group of apex predatory dinosaurs in Gondwana.

New mud turtles (Kinosternidae,Kinosternon) from the middle–late Miocene of the United States

AbstractKinosternonSpix, 1824, was widespread in xeric to savanna associated paleowetlands across North America during the middle–late Miocene and steadily diversified following its first occurrences in the Hemingfordian. In the middle Miocene,Kinosternon rinconn. sp. occurred in the late Barstovian Cerro Conejo Formation of north central New Mexico, perhaps concurrently withKinosternon pojoaqueBourque 2012a from the Tesuque Formation. Subsequent late Miocene kinosternine fossils indicate that at least three potentially contemporaneous species existed throughout the Clarendonian. These areKinosternon pannekollopsn. sp., from the Ogallala Formation of northern Texas;Kinosternon wakeeniense, n. sp., from the Ogallala Formation of northwestern Kansas and Ash Hollow Formation of south-central Nebraska; andKinosternon notolophusn. sp., from the Alachua and Statenville formations of northern Florida.Kinosternon rinconis phylogenetically nested between theKinosternon flavescens(Agassiz, 1857) group (=PlatythyraAgassiz, 1857) and more derivedKinosternonincluding theKinosternon subrubrum(Lacépède, 1788) group (=ThyrosternumAgassiz, 1857).Kinosternon pannekollopsis recovered on the stem of theK.subrubrumgroup and is the oldest and largest member of that lineage.Kinosternon notolophusis readily differentiated from other MioceneKinosternonin possessing a distinct dorsomedial keel on the nuchal and faint dorsolateral costal carination. TheK.subrubrumgroup probably originated in the late Miocene savannas of the Great Plains and dispersed eastward via the Gulf Coastal Plain. An unnamed kinosternine taxon existed in the coastal plains of the eastern and southeastern United States during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (with fossils from ~18 to 15 Ma), and disappeared from the region coincident with the end of that megathermal event.

Tribosphenic mammals from the Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Formation of Montana and Wyoming

ABSTRACTWe report a diverse assemblage of tribosphenidan mammals from several localities in the Cloverly Formation (Lower Cretaceous, Albian) of Montana and Wyoming. This unit is of historical significance for yielding well-known dinosaurs (e.g., Deinonychus antirrhopus, Tenontosaurus tilletti) and early mammals (e.g., Gobiconodon ostromi, Montanalestes keeblerorum). We provisionally identify 13 taxa (five of which are formally recognized), including Pappotherium pattersoni, a new species of the deltatheroidan Oklatheridium (O. wiblei, sp. nov.), a eutherian (Montanalestes, previously named), and two new basal tribosphenidans (Argaliatherium robustum, gen. et sp. nov., and Carinalestes murensis, gen. et sp. nov.). An unnamed taxon, represented by associated but almost edentulous dentaries, is interpreted to have had four incisors, a single-rooted canine, three premolars, and four molars, indicating that the metatherian tooth formula was established by the Albian. In addition, an indeterminate lower molar fragment preserving twinned talonid cusps and a buccal postcingulid provides the earliest evidence for Marsupialiformes. We also provide a more detailed description of the associated dentaries (holotype) of Montanalestes keeblerorum. The mammalian fauna from the Cloverly Formation shares several taxa with the roughly contemporaneous Trinity Group of Oklahoma and Texas, an observation that also applies to the dinosaur fauna, suggesting some degree of latitudinal homogeneity among described terrestrial vertebrates in this part of the North American Early Cretaceous.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F62E498B-9E95-475B-B2E3-0CA6FC31FB2A

Molecular phylogeny and morphological revision of Myotis bats (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) from Taiwan and adjacent China.

In taxonomic accounts, three species of Myotis have been traditionally reported to occur on the island of Taiwan: Watase's bat (M. formosus watasei Kishida), the Formosan broad-muzzled bat (M. muricola latirostris Kishida) and the Formosan mouse-eared bat (M. adversus taiwanensis Linde). The discovery in 1997 of an unknown taxon not fitting to the description of any of these species encouraged us to re-examine more thoroughly the systematics and phylogeny of Myotis bats inhabiting Taiwan. We used a combination of morphologic and molecular methods to aid the identification of the different taxa from this island and reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships. Multivariate analyses based on 17 craniodental characters of 105 specimens caught across Taiwan and further external characters allowed us to discriminate eight taxa of Myotinae co-occurring on this island. A subset of 80 specimens were further sequenced for the cytochrome b gene (1140 bp) and subjected to phylogenetic reconstructions including representative species from adjacent China and from all main lineages of the worldwide Myotis radiation. These molecular reconstructions showed that the Myotinae from Taiwan are phylogenetically diverse and are issued from several independent clades. The genetic results were completely congruent with the phenetic groupings based on craniodental and external morphology, as each of the eight Taiwanese taxa proved to be reciprocally monophyletic. Two unnamed taxa that did not fit into any of the known species were described as species new to science. Furthermore the taxon latirostris usually associated to the Asian M. muricola, was phylogenetically and morphologically distant from any other known Myotis and was assigned here to the fossil (Miocene) genus Submyotodon. Submyotodon latirostris, M. secundus sp. n. and M. soror sp. n. are endemic species from Taiwan, whereas the other five Myotis are more widespread and also found in the mainland. An identification key is provided to ease the discrimination of these Myotinae species in Taiwan and adjacent China.

New aristonectine elasmosaurid plesiosaur specimens from the Early Maastrichtian of Angola and comments on paedomorphism in plesiosaurs

AbstractNew elasmosaurid plesiosaur specimens are described from the Early Maastrichtian of Angola. Phylogenetic analyses reconstruct the Angolan taxon as an aristonectine elasmosaurid and the sister taxon of an unnamed form of similar age from New Zealand. Comparisons also indicate a close relationship with an unnamed form previously described from Patagonia. All of these specimens exhibit an ostensibly osteologically immature external morphology, but histological analysis of the Angolan material suggests an adult with paedomorphic traits. By extension, the similarity of the Angolan, New Zealand and Patagonian material indicates that these specimens represent a widespread paedomorphic yet unnamed taxon.