Western Nearctic Research Articles

First representatives of the stonefly genus Perlomyia and the beaded lacewing genus Isoscelipteron from the Upper Miocene of France (Plecoptera: Leuctridae and Neuroptera: Berothidae), with biogeographical considerations

The leuctrid stonefly Perlomyia cantalensis sp. nov. and the berothid lacewing Isoscelipteron bertrandi sp. nov. are described from the Upper Miocene (ca. 5.60 ± 0.3 Ma) Konservat-Laggerstätte of Sainte-Reine (Cantal, France). They represent the first fossil representatives of their respective genera. Perlomyia Banks, 1906 is currently distributed in the Eastern Palearctic and the Western Nearctic coasts and islands. All extant Perlomyia spp. are known to live in streams, rivers and creeks, suggesting the presence of rivers connected to the maar paleolake of Sainte-Reine. The genus Perlomyia was much more widely distributed during the Miocene than today and probably disappeared in Europe due to the Quaternary glaciations. The genus Isoscelipteron Costa, 1863 is currently distributed in the Nearctic, Eastern Palaearctic, Indomalaysia, and Australasia regions, together with two relictual Mediterranean species. These two examples show that the study of the entomofauna from the diatomite outcrops of the Miocene of center of France helps to calibrate the history and origin of modern Palearctic insects.

Revision of the western Nearctic spider genus Cybaeina including the description of Neocybaeina gen. nov. and Rothaeina gen. nov. (Araneae: Cybaeidae: Cybaeinae).

This paper is the last in a series revising the Nearctic Cybaeinae spider fauna (Araneae: RTA clade: Cybaeidae) exclusive of Cybaeozyga Chamberlin & Ivie. The forested habitats of the west coast of North America are home to a diverse array of endemic Cybaeinae spider taxa. Many of these have very restricted distributions, especially within an area of the western United States of America from the Olympic Peninsula of northwestern Washington to the northern half of the California Floristic Province of California, a well-known biodiversity hotspot. Here we revise the genus Cybaeina Chamberlin & Ivie recognizing three species: the type species Cybaeus minutus Banks (= Cybaeina minuta (Banks)), C. confusa Chamberlin & Ivie, and a single new species C. dixoni Bennett spec. nov. We describe Neocybaeina Bennett gen. nov. with type species Cybaeina xantha Chamberlin & Ivie (= Neocybaeina xantha (Chamberlin & Ivie) comb. nov.) and a single new species N. burnetti spec. nov. Finally we describe Rothaeina Bennett gen. nov. with type species Cybaeina sequoia Roth (= Rothaeina sequoia (Roth) comb. nov.) and four new species R. beaudini Bennett spec. nov., R. jamesi Bennett spec. nov., R. mackinleyi Bennett spec. nov., and R. petersoni Bennett spec. nov. In addition to descriptions of the genera and both sexes of their included species (except for N. burnetti spec. nov. and R. beaudini Bennett spec. nov. which are known from females only), we provide diagnoses, illustrations, distribution maps, and, for the three species of Cybaeina and the five of Rothaeina gen. nov., identification keys. In closing, we discuss conservation implications for this cryptic and infrequently collected group of western Nearctic Cybaeinae, several of which are short-range endemic species.

First phylogenetic analysis of the Nearctic madicolous midges of the genus Androprosopa Mik (Diptera: Thaumaleidae)

Molecular phylogenetic analyses were conducted to infer relationships between the eastern and western Nearctic Androprosopa Mik and amongst the considerably more diverse western Nearctic species. Fresh, molecular-grade material was obtained for all Nearctic Androprosopa species except two Mexican species, An. sonorensis (Arnaud & Boussy) and An. zempoala Sinclair & Huerta, that eluded capture. Molecular sequences from two nuclear protein-coding genes, big zinc finger (BZF) and molybdenum cofactor sulfurase (MCS), were sampled from representatives of several outgroup and ingroup taxa and analyzed phylogenetically using maximum likelihood criteria to confirm identifications of females and immatures using a barcoding approach, test species boundaries among morphologically similar species, and infer relationships among more morphologically disparate groups. Resulting phylogenies suggest the following with significant node (bootstrap) support: (1) the eastern Nearctic Androprosopa species form the sister group to the lineage comprised of all sampled Palearctic thaumaleids, i.e., An. larvata (Mik), An. striata (Okada), and Thaumalea testacea Ruthe; (2) the aforementioned lineage is the sister group to the clade comprised of western Nearctic Androprosopa species; (3) the western Nearctic Androprosopa species form three multispecies lineages, two of which can be further divided into three or more well founded species groups. Our results suggest that Androprosopa as currently defined is paraphyletic. Additionally, we propose several new species groups within the western Nearctic Androprosopa based on molecular and morphological data.

Revision of the Nearctic species of the Lasioglossum (Dialictus) gemmatum species complex (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

The Lasioglossum (Dialictus) gemmatum species complex, also known as the L. tegulare species group and the L. parvum species complex, is a very common, widespread, diverse, and recognisable lineage of sweat bees, containing 22 previously described species and several known undescribed species. The species were recently revised for the eastern Nearctic region and the Greater Antilles, but remain poorly known in the western Nearctic along with most other L. (Dialictus). These characteristics make it a prime candidate for revision in ongoing taxonomic work on the western Nearctic L. (Dialictus). Here we present the results of this revision, including 10 new species descriptions, one new synonymy, a preliminary phylogeny, and keys to known Nearctic species. Species of the eastern Nearctic and a few primarily Neotropical species which can occur in the Nearctic are also included. We report that the L. (D.) gemmatum species complex is likely a monophyletic group arising from the L. (D.) comulum group, but that the enlarged tegula has arisen independently in at least two other L. (Dialictus) lineages, and it contains multiple cases of allopatric speciation. The following species are described as new: Lasioglossum (Dialictus) angelicum sp. nov., L. (D.) deludens sp. nov., L. (D.) diabolicum sp. nov., L. (D.) eremum sp. nov., L. (D.) gloriosum sp. nov., L. (D.) indagator sp. nov., L. (D.) holzenthali sp. nov., L. (D.) magnitegula sp. nov., L. (D.) profundum sp. nov., and L. (D.) rufodeludens sp. nov. Previously undescribed males of L. (D.) perparvum (Ellis, 1914) and L. (D.) pseudotegulare (Cockerell, 1896) and the female of L. (D.) gaudiale (Sandhouse, 1924) are diagnosed and figured for the first time. Lasioglossum (Dialictus) hunteri (Crawford, 1932) is a new subjective junior synonym of L. (D.) ellisiae (Sandhouse, 1924). Pre-2022 specimen records of L. (D.) hunteri and L. (D.) tegulariforme (Crawford, 1907) are attributable to a heterogeneous mix of species, and records of L. (D.) perparvum are likely attributable to L. (D.) deludens.

A world generic revision of Quediini (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae), part 1. Early diverging Nearctic lineages.

Several phylogenetically isolated, early diverging lineages of rove beetle tribe Quediini, all endemic to the western Nearctic, have recently been revealed by phylogenomic systematics. These three lineages, currently treated as either Quedius (Raphirus) or Q. (Paraquedius) warrant recognition at the genus level in the ongoing effort to achieve reciprocal monophyly of genera in Quediini. The three lineages were each morphologically studied in detail, with the following results: Paraquedius Casey, stat. res. is re-elevated to genus rank, Quediellus Casey, stat. res. is resurrected from synonymy and redefined, and Iratiquedius gen. nov. is described for the species of the Amabilis and Prostans groups. A morphological diagnosis is provided for each genus at both the global and regional (Nearctic) level. Species level revisions, with keys, are provided for Iratiquedius, Paraquedius, and Quediellus with the following results: Iratiquediusuncifer sp. nov. and Paraquediusmarginicollis sp. nov. are described, Quediellusnanulus Casey is treated as syn. nov. of Quediellusdebilis (Horn), and I.amabilis (Smetana), I.mutator (Smetana), and P.puncticeps (Horn) are substantially redefined. Where possible, CO1 barcode sequence data are integrated with the morphological species concepts used herein and their clusters were found to be congruent.

Integration of aerial surveys and resource selection analysis indicates human land use supports boreal deer expansion.

Landscape change is a driver of global biodiversity loss. In the western Nearctic, petroleum exploration and extraction is a major contributor to landscape change, with concomitant effects on large mammal populations. One of those effects is the continued expansion of invasive white-tailed deer populations into the boreal forest, with ramifications for the whole ecosystem. We explored deer resource selection within the oil sands region of the boreal forest using a novel application of aerial ungulate survey (AUS) data. Deer locations from AUS were "used" points and together with randomly allocated "available" points informed deer resource selection in relation to landscape variables in the boreal forest. We created a candidate set of generalized linear models representing competing hypotheses about the role of natural landscape features, forest harvesting, cultivation, roads, and petroleum features. We ranked these in an information-theoretic framework. A combination of natural and anthropogenic landscape features best explained deer resource selection. Deer strongly selected seismic lines and other linear features associated with petroleum exploration and extraction, likely as movement corridors and resource subsidies. Forest harvesting and cultivation, important contributors to expansion in other parts of the white-tailed deer range, were not as important here. Stemming deer expansion to conserve native ungulates and maintain key predator-prey processes will likely require landscape management to restore the widespread linear features crossing the vast oil sands region.

Syntopic species interact with large boreal mammals' response to anthropogenic landscape change

Landscape change alters species' distributions, and understanding these changes is a key ecological and conservation goal. Species-habitat relationships are often modelled in the absence of syntopic species, but niche theory and emerging empirical research suggests heterospecifics should entrain (and statistically explain) variability in distribution, perhaps synergistically by interacting with landscape features.We examined the effects of syntopic species in boreal mammals' relationship to landscape change, using three years of camera-trap data in the western Nearctic boreal forest. Using an information-theoretic framework, we weighed evidence for additive and interactive variables measuring heterospecifics' co-occurrence in species distribution models built on natural and anthropogenic landscape features. We competed multiple hypotheses about the roles of natural features, anthropogenic features, predators, competitors, and species-habitat interaction terms in explaining relative abundance of carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores/scavengers.For most species, models including heterospecifics explained occurrence frequency better than landscape features alone. Dominant predator (wolf) occurrence was best explained by prey, while prey species were explained by apparent competitors and subdominant predators. Evidence for interactions between landscape features and heterospecifics was strong for coyotes and wolves but variable for other species.Boreal mammals' spatial distribution is a function of heterospecific co-occurrence as well as landscape features, with synergistic effects observed for most species. Understanding species' responses to anthropogenic landscape change thus requires a multi-taxa approach that incorporates interspecific relationships, enabling better inference into underlying processes from observed patterns.

Revision of the Nearctic species of Ditomyia Winnertz and a new species from the Neotropical Region (Diptera: Ditomyiidae)

The Nearctic species of Ditomyia Winnertz (Diptera: Ditomyiidae) are revised and four species are recognized: D. euzona Loew and D. potomaca Fisher from the eastern Nearctic and D. sohnsi n. sp. and D. elongata n. sp. from the western Nearctic. All species are figured and a key provided. Additionally, the first known Neotropical Ditomyia is described and the generic limits of Ditomyia discussed.

Molecular phylogeny of the genus Lasiopogon (Diptera: Asilidae) and a taxonomic revision of the bivittatus section.

Nearctic species of Lasiopogon Loew comprising the bivittatus section (the bivittatus group sensu Cannings 2002) are revised, with the description of 13 new species, elevation of one subspecies to species, and redescriptions of 13 previously described taxa. An updated key to western Nearctic Lasiopogon adults is provided, as are notes on taxonomy, distribution, phylogeny, and ecology. A Bayesian species tree for 67 species of Lasiopogon is estimated from one mitochondrial (COI) and three nuclear protein-coding loci (AATS, PEPCK, Wg), and compared to a previously published morphology-based phylogeny. The following new species of Lasiopogon are described (assigned to the bivittatus section except as noted): L. anaphlecter sp. nov., L. apoecus sp. nov., L. asilomar sp. nov., L. bitumineus sp. nov., L. canningsi sp. nov., L. condylophorus sp. nov., L. esau sp. nov., L. karli sp. nov. (assigned to cinereus group of opaculus section), L. nelsoni sp. nov., L. odontotus sp. nov., L. sierra sp. nov., L. tumulicola sp. nov., L. wilcoxi sp. nov.; L. puyallupi Cole Wilcox 1938 stat. nov. is elevated from subspecies; and the following previously described species are considered valid: L. actius Melander 1923, L. albidus Cole Wilcox 1938, L. arenicola (Osten Sacken 1877), L. bivittatus Loew 1866, L. californicus Cole Wilcox 1938, L. dimicki Cole Wilcox 1938, L. drabicolum Cole 1916, L. gabrieli Cole Wilcox 1938, L. littoris Cole 1924, L. ripicola Melander 1923, L. willametti Cole Wilcox 1938, L. zonatus Cole Wilcox 1938. The species L. martinensis Cole Wilcox 1938 is considered valid but transferred to the tetragrammus group of the opaculus section.

Can patterns of habitat use by western Nearctic–Neotropical migratory landbirds in winter inform conservation priorities?

I use point-count survey data collected from 171 locations across 11 vegetation conditions in western Mexico to illustrate common patterns of winter habitat use by 97 Nearctic–Neotropical migratory landbird species. A number of bird species are relatively restricted in their habitat use, with some (e.g., Northern Waterthrush [Parkesia noveboracensis], American Redstart [Setophaga ruticilla]) occurring only in relatively undisturbed habitats, and others (e.g., Say's Phoebe [Sayornis saya], Horned Lark [Eremophila alpestris]) occurring only in relatively disturbed lands associated with agriculture. A large number of bird species (e.g., Cassin's Vireo [Vireo cassinii], MacGillivray's Warbler [Geothlypis tolmiei]) use every one of the vegetation types considered, from low-elevation tropical deciduous forests to high-elevation conifer forests. Bird species showing patterns of restricted habitat use deserve conservation attention, but even the more broadly distributed species might become significantly less abundant in human-altered portions of habitats. Identifying the latter will require the inclusion of a wider spectrum of altered vegetation types/conditions than what I included here, or than what is typically considered in wildlife–habitat relationship programs.

Oropuella, a new genus of Orthocladiinae from the western Nearctic

A new genus and two species of the subfamily Orthocladiinae are described from western North America. Oropuella gen. n. shows affinities to Parametriocnemus Goetghebuer and Paraphaenocladius Thienemann, but can be distinguished by morphology for all life stages. Two novel species are placed in the new genus, Oropuella eidolon sp. n and Oropuella pallida sp. n. Amendments to current genus keys are given to incorporate the new genus, and the current state of Orthocladiinae species taxonomy in the western Nearctic is discussed.

The Intercontinental phylogeography of neustonic daphniids

Organisms that live at the freshwater surface layer (the neuston) occupy a high energy habitat that is threatened by human activities. Daphniids of the genera Scapholeberis and Megafenestra are adapted to the neuston but are poorly studied for biogeography and diversity. Here we assess the global phylogeography of neustonic daphniids. We obtained 402 new multigene sequences from the 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and tRNA (val) regions of the mitochondrial genomes of daphniids from 186 global sites. We assessed the intercontinental origins and boundaries of mitochondrial lineages and the relative rates of evolution in neustonic and planktonic daphniids. We identified 17 divergent lineages in the neustonic daphniids that were associated with biogeographic regions. Six of these lineages had intercontinental ranges – four of these were Transberingian. Patagonian populations of Scapholeberis rammneri were monophyletic and nested within a closely related clade of western North American haplotypes, suggesting an introduction from the Western Nearctic to South America. The Eastern Palearctic was more diverse than other regions, containing eight of the major lineages detected in the Scapholeberinae. The Genus Scapholeberis had high levels of divergence compared to non-neustonic daphniids. Neustonic daphniids have more divergent biogeographic lineages than previously appreciated.

Discovery of Arostrilepis tapeworms (Cyclophyllidea: Hymenolepididae) and new insights for parasite species diversity from Eastern North America.

Species of the genus Arostrilepis were discovered and definitively identified for the first time in rodents from geographically disparate localities along the Appalachian Mountain range of eastern North America (West Virginia, Virginia, and Maine). These are the first confirmed records for species of Arostrilepis occurring east of the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River in North America. Arostrilepis gardneri n. sp. is described on the basis of specimens obtained from two phylogenetically divergent rodent hosts: Southern Red-Backed Vole Myodes gapperi (Cricetidae: Arvicolinae) (from West Virginia) and the Woodland Jumping Mouse Napaeozapus insignis (Dipodidae: Zapodinae) (West Virginia, Virginia, and Maine). Additionally, in a mixed infection, specimens of Arostrilepis insperata n. sp. were also found in a Southern Red-Backed Vole from West Virginia. These previously unknown species are primarily distinguished from congeners based on shape, dimensions, and spination (pattern, shape, and size of spines) of the cirrus. Specimens of A. gardneri n. sp. are further characterized by the relative position and length of the cirrus-sac, arrangement of the testes, and relative size of the external seminal vesicle and seminal receptacle. Specimens of A. insperata n. sp. are structurally most similar to A. macrocirrosa from the western Nearctic and Palearctic but with consistently greater dimensions for the cirrus-sac, testes, and seminal receptacle. Phylogenetic analysis of Arostrilepis spp. using partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and the nuclear second ribosomal internal transcribed spacer strongly supported the status of A. gardneri n. sp. and A. insperata n. sp. within an unresolved clade of congeners in Red-Backed Voles (Myodini and species of Myodes). Our observations extend the known geographic distribution for species of Arostrilepis to the Appalachian Mountains in either a disjunct or possibly continuous but patchy range across North America. Prior observations, summarizing field and museum collections, had suggested that geographic ranges for a diverse assemblage of Arostrilepis in North America were largely restricted to the north-western region of the continent, with historical connections to Beringia and Eurasia. Recognition of a more extensive distribution is consistent with a history of episodic biotic expansion and isolation under a dynamic of taxon pulses for arvicoline rodents and an associated parasite fauna in the Nearctic during the Quaternary. Occurrence in a dipodid rodent represents an event of host colonization from an arvicoline source.

Revision of the Beach-Dwelling Species of Cercyon Leach (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) of the West Coast of North America

Littoral species of Cercyon Leach occurring on coastlines of the West Coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico are reviewed based on material freshly collected in Washington State (USA) and British Columbia (Canada) and on museum specimens including primary types. Five species are recognized, including two that are distributed on both American and Eurasian sides of the Pacific Ocean and three that exist only on the American West Coast. The eastern Palearctic Cercyon dux Sharp is recorded in North America for the first time, with all known specimens collected after 2014. The synonymy of the western Nearctic Cercyon tolfino Hatch with the eastern Palearctic Cercyon setulosus Sharp is confirmed. The previous concept of Cercyon fimbriatus Mannerheim, the most common and widespread species, is confirmed. Cercyon spathifer Smetana is placed in junior synonymy with Cercyon luniger Mannerheim, and the species previously treated as C. luniger is an unnamed species, described herein as Cercyon whuljensis Suzumura, new species. Redescriptions of all five species are given along with SEM photographs, illustrations, and maps based on examined material and literature data, and a key to species is provided.

Revision of the Western Nearctic Androprosopa (Diptera: Thaumaleidae) and descriptions of three new species

The western Nearctic fauna of Androprosopa Mik is revised to include twenty-five species, three of which are new to science. Descriptions of the adult males of A. apache Pivar & Moulton sp.n., A. arnaudi Pivar sp.n. and A. rainierensis Pivar & Sinclair sp.n. are presented. Redescriptions of all remaining western Nearctic species are provided, as well as genitalic illustrations and updated distribution maps for each species. A diagnostic key to males of western Nearctic species of Androprosopa is offered. Species groups based on morphology are discussed.

Species trees, temporal divergence and historical biogeography of coastal rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) reveal their early Miocene origin and show that most divergence events occurred in the early Pliocene along the Pacific coasts.

We investigated the species trees, temporal divergence and historical biogeography of Emplenota Casey and Triochara Bernhauer (ET clade hereafter), subgenera of the Aleochara coastal staphylinid beetles, to determine their place of origin. We explored a multilocus dataset to infer gene trees and species trees based on traditional concatenated and multispecies coalescent-based approaches using both model- (maximum likelihood and Bayesian) and parsimony-based methods. The multilocus dataset comprised DNA sequences from five nuclear genes (ArgK, CAD, EF1-α, wg and 28S) and three mitochondrial genes (COI, COII and 16S). *BEAST analysis according to a coalescent-based approach resolved the following phylogenetic relationships: ((A.trisulcata (A.nubis+A.zerchei)) (A.obscurella ((A.pacifica (A.curtidens + A.litoralis)) (A.hayamai (A.yamato (A.fucicola (A.segregata+A.puetzi))))))). Using a relaxed molecular clock, we reconstructed a time-calibrated phylogeny for this group. Furthermore, to account for the historical biogeography of the ET clade at the ages of major divergences, we investigated the ancestral area based on a time-calibrated phylogeny. Biogeographical analyses suggested that the ancestor of the ET clade was widely distributed along the eastern and western Palearctic and the western Nearctic coasts in the early Miocene. According to reconstruction of the ancestral area, one dispersal and three vicariance events were required, and the analyses indicated that vicariance events were important in shaping its current distribution patterns. Most of the divergence events occurred in the late Miocene and early Pliocene along the Pacific coasts, and the East Asian seacoasts harboured the most species-rich fauna, including eight of the 13 species in the ET clade.

Cybaeus (Araneae: Cybaeidae): the Nearctic species of the Holarctic clade

Species of North American Cybaeus L. Koch (Araneae: Dictynoidea: Cybaeidae) are classified in Holarctic and Californian clades. We review the Nearctic species of the Holarctic clade of these common moist-forest spiders. Twenty-one species grouped in informal tetricus (nine species) and angustiarum (twelve species) groups based on female genitalic characters are recognized, including four new species endemic to the western Nearctic: C. rothi Bennett sp. nov. (tetricus group) and C. charlesi Bennett sp. nov., C. harrietae Bennett sp. nov., and C. solanum Bennett sp. nov. (angustiarum group). Other Nearctic species in the tetricus group are C. cascadius Roth 1952, C. conservans Chamberlin & Ivie 1932, C. constrictus Chamberlin & Ivie 1942, C. eutypus Chamberlin & Ivie 1932, C. morosus Simon 1886, C. multnoma Chamberlin & Ivie 1942, C. paralypropriapus Bennett 2009, and C. waynei Bennett 2009. Other Nearctic species in the angustiarum group are C. bulbosus Exline 1935, C. giganteus Banks 1892, C. patritus Bishop & Crosby 1926, C. reticulatus Simon 1886, C. scopulatus Chamberlin & Ivie 1942, C. shoshoneus Chamberlin & Ivie 1932, C. signifer Simon 1886, C. silicis Barrows 1919, and C. sinuosus Fox 1937. Approximately half of the Nearctic Cybaeus species of the Holarctic clade are relatively widely distributed and frequently encountered; the remaining species have restricted ranges. Descriptions, illustrations, and range maps are provided for all species and identification keys are also included.

Areas of endemism in the Nearctic: a case study of 1339 species of Miridae (Insecta: Hemiptera) and their plant hosts.

Areas of endemism are essential first hypotheses in investigating historical biogeography, but there is a surprising paucity of such hypotheses for the Nearctic region. Miridae, the plant bugs, are an excellent taxon to study in this context, because this group combines high species diversity, often small distribution ranges, a history of modern taxonomic revisions, and comprehensive electronic data capture and data cleaning that have resulted in an exceptionally error-free geospatial data set. Many Miridae are phytophagous and feed on only one or a small number of host plant species. The programs ndm/vndm are here used on plant bug and plant data sets to address two main objectives: (i) identify areas of endemism for plant bugs based on parameters used in a recent study that focused on Nearctic mammals; and (ii) discuss hypotheses on areas of endemism based on plant bug distributions in the context of areas identified by their host plant species. Given the narrow distribution ranges of many species of Miridae, the analytical results allow for tests of the prediction that areas of endemism for Miridae are smaller and more numerous, especially in the Western Nearctic, than are those of their host plants. Analyses of the default plant bug data set resulted in 45 areas of endemism, 35 of them north of Mexico and many located in the Western Nearctic; areas in the Nearctic are more numerous and smaller than those identified by mammals. The host plant data set resulted in ten areas of endemism, and even though the size range of areas is similar between the Miridae and plant data sets, the average area size is smaller in the Miridae data set. These results allow for the conclusion that the Miridae indeed present a valuable model system to investigate areas of endemism in the Nearctic.

Redescription of Paraleptophlebia falcula Traver 1934 with notes on status and composition of Paraleptophlebia Lestage 1917 and Neoleptophlebia Kluge 1997 (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae)

The taxon Paraleptophlebia Lestage 1917 is accepted here in generic rank, so rank of Neoleptophlebia Kluge 1997 is also raised from subgenus to genus, and the following new combinations are proposed: Neoleptophlebia adoptiva (McDunnough 1929) comb. n., N. assimilis (Banks 1914) comb. n., N. erratica (Kang & Yang 1994) comb. n., N. heteronea (McDunnough 1924) comb. n., N. japonica (Matsumura 1931) comb. n. (= Paraleptophlebia chocolata Imanishi 1937), N. mollis (Eaton 1871) comb. n., N. memorialis (Eaton 1884) comb. n., N. spina (Kang & Yang 1994) comb. n., N. swannanoa (Traver 1932) comb. n., N. temporalis (McDunnough 1926) comb. n., N. vladivostokica (Kluge 1982) comb. n. Larvae, male and female imagoes and eggs of Paraleptophlebia falcula Traver 1934 are described based on reared specimens from Siberia and Russian Far East; larvae and eggs are described for the first time. Characters of this species agree with diagnosis of Paraleptophlebia in the restricted sense; comparison of larva of P. falcula with other known larvae of Paraleptophlebia is given. Formerly this species was known as imagoes from limited area in Western Nearctic. According to the new data, it is widely distributed in northern part of Amphipacific Sector of Holarctic, and its area includes Polar Urals (Komi Republic), Siberia (Transbaikal Kray, Sakha Yakutia and Amurskaya Oblast' of Russia) and west of North America (Oregon, Idaho and Washington states of USA).

Is it really you,Orthotrichum acuminatum? Ascertaining a new case of intercontinental disjunction in mosses

Intercontinental disjunct distributions are a main issue in current biogeography. Bryophytes usually have broad distribution ranges and therefore constitute an interesting subject of study in this context. During recent fieldwork in western North America and eastern Africa, we found new populations of a moss morphologically similar to Orthotrichum acuminatum. So far this species has been considered to be one of the most typical epiphytic mosses of the Mediterranean Basin. The new findings raise some puzzling questions. Do these new populations belong to cryptic species or do they belong to O. acuminatum, a species which then has a multiple-continent disjunct range? In the latter case, how could such an intercontinental disjunction be explained? To answer these questions, an integrative study involving morphological and molecular approaches was conducted. Morphological results reveal that Californian and Ethiopian samples fall within the variability of those from the Mediterranean Basin. Similarly, phylogenetic analyses confirm the monophyly of these populations, showing that O. acuminatum is one of the few moss species with a distribution comprising the western Nearctic, the western Palaearctic and Palaeotropical eastern Africa. Pending a further genetic and phylogeographical study to support or reject the hypothesis, a process of long-distance dispersal (LDD) is hypothesized to explain this distribution and the origin of the species is suggested to be the Mediterranean Basin, from where diaspores of the species may have migrated to California and Ethiopia. The spore release process in O. acuminatum is revisited to support the LDD hypothesis, 2015, 180, 30–49.