Zealand Collections Research Articles

Anoectangium stracheyanum and Pseudocrossidium hornschuchianum (Pottiaceae, Bryophyta) in New Zealand

The first author has made six bryological expeditions to New Zealand, in 1959, 1968, 1973–1974, 1982, 1993 and 2000 (van Zanten 2019). In 1993 both authors collected in 106 sites, from both the North and South Island, resulting in a collection of about 1700 numbers. All the material is deposited in the herbarium Leiden (L), except for a smaller part that is at the moment not yet fully accessible. The first author did many preliminary identifications in his large New Zealand collections. Experiments were conducted from these collections utilizing the spores from fruiting material with several resulting publications, including van Zanten (1978) and van Zanten & Pócs (1981). The second author gathered mainly tiny acrocarpous mosses, on the whole pottiaceous material. We found it worthwhile to publish here two mosses that are apparently new records for New Zealand.

Phylogenetic relationships in the genus Podoserpula and description of P. aliweni, a new species from Chile

ABSTRACT Phylogenetic analyses based on a three-locus nuclear data set (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2, the 5′ end of the 28S, and the largest subunit of RNA polymerase I) supported the pagoda fungus (Podoserpula, Amylocorticiales) as a monophyletic group most closely related to species of Anomoporia, which is nonmonophyletic, and Amyloathelia. Phylogenetic relationships inferred from internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of specimens sampled in Australia, Chile, China, Madagascar, and New Zealand divided Podoserpula into two major lineages: Clade A containing Australian and New Zealand collections designated P. pusio and the Chinese species P. ailaoshanensis, which have basidiospores with no reaction to Melzer’s reagent, and Clade B, which includes a species described from Chile, P. aliweni, and specimens originating from Australia, Chile, Madagascar, and New Zealand with dextrinoid basidiospores. Podoserpula aliweni forms a unique branch in the phylogenetic tree and differs from its most closely related taxon by 1.8–2.1% in the ITS region. The new species exhibits a tree-like habit with a white to concolorous stipe-like base with the hymenophore’s main subcylindrical axis bearing up to 18 superimposed pilei, slightly enrolled white margins shading from yellowish white to orange-yellow toward the center, and ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores measuring 4.0–4.5 × 3.5 µm. Ecologically, P. aliweni occurs during the rainy season, often gregariously on dried branches or wet soil under Nothofagus dombeyi or N. obliqua and has a distribution range of more than 600 km in southern Chile. This study extends the known distributional range and increases our knowledge on the phylogenetic diversity and taxonomy in Podoserpula.

Diversity of the insect pathogenic fungi in the genus Metarhizium in New Zealand

ABSTRACT Invertebrate-pathogenic fungi in the genus Metarhizium are commonly found throughout the world on a wide range of different arthropod hosts. Some strains have been developed as biopesticides and many others have shown potential for controlling important insect pests. Given the current interest in using these fungi, precise identification at species level is crucial, both for understanding their diversity and ecology and for regulatory approval and monitoring of new biopesticides. Metarhizium has undergone extensive systematic revision over the last decade, resulting in a large number of name changes and new species. This has created regulatory issues in New Zealand and importation of biocontrol strains has become difficult due to a lack of knowledge of which Metarhizium species are present in the country. This study identified Metarhizium isolates held in culture collections in New Zealand following analysis of sequence data from the ef-1α, β-tubulin, rpb1, and ITS regions. Our results show that M. anisopliae, M. brunneum, M. frigidum, M. novozealandicum, M. pemphigi, M. rileyi and M. robertsii occur naturally in New Zealand on native and introduced insect hosts. Exotic Metarhizium species from several countries, stored in New Zealand collections, include M. acridum, M. lepidiotae, M. majus and M. pingshaense.

Review of the sponge genus Penares (Demospongiae, Tetractinellida, Astrophorina) in the New Zealand EEZ, with descriptions of new species.

The genus Penares Gray 1867 (Tetractinellida Marshall; Astrophorina Sollas; Geodiidae Gray) is reviewed from new and existing New Zealand collections, with 75 specimens examined and registered. The only species known from New Zealand prior to this study, P. tylotaster Dendy 1924, is re-examined and re-described from the holotype, using new scanning electron microscope images. Nine new species are described from New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone: P. mollis sp. nov., P. aureus sp. nov., P. vermiculatus sp. nov., P. kermadecensis sp. nov., P. turmericolor, sp. nov., P. deformis sp. nov., P. okokewae sp. nov., P. orbis sp. nov., and P. astronavis sp. nov. A specimen of P. schulzei (Dendy 1905), first described from Sri Lanka and subsequently recorded from New Caledonia, was also found in New Zealand, extending the range of this species. This study brings the total New Zealand Penares fauna to 11 species, making a significant contribution to the now, global total of 39 species. All previously described Penares species are reviewed based on their published descriptions, and species names have been corrected to their masculine form. Based on the published description of P. obtusus Lendenfeld 1907, it is recommended that this species be reassigned to the genus Stelletta Schmidt 1862.

New Zealand collections of Rhododendron as a resource for ex situ conservation

ABSTRACTThis study uses Rhododendron L. collections in New Zealand to analyse the contribution of introduced species in cultivation to global ex situ conservation. Living botanical collections of Red List taxa are the fundamental resource that enable ex situ conservation, and Target 8 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation requires 75% of Red List taxa to be in ex situ collections by 2020. We compared Rhododendron taxa (species, subspecies, botanical varieties) in New Zealand with the range of taxa in international cultivation, and determined the presence of taxa from Red List categories, geographic origins and taxonomic groups. The 566 taxa in New Zealand, including 224 Red List taxa, encompass 67% of the taxa in cultivation worldwide, ranking second internationally for number of taxa in the collections investigated. New Zealand holds wild-collected material of 230 taxa, including 70 Red List taxa, and 20 taxa for which wild material is not listed in the international collections studied. China is the geographic origin of the greatest number of Rhododendron Red List taxa held in New Zealand. Of the 77 taxonomic subsections of Rhododendron, New Zealand holds 75% or more of the taxa in cultivation for 37 subsections, and 75% or more of the Red List taxa in cultivation for 24 subsections. The greatest numbers of Red List taxa in New Zealand collections are from section Rhododendron subsection Maddenia (20) and section Pontica subsection Neriiflora (17). Our analysis enables us to (1) propose conservation action for Rhododendron in New Zealand, (2) summarise our approach as a model for examining other introduced plant genera in New Zealand, and (3) propose our method as a component of an ex situ conservation strategy for New Zealand.

Reflectance Transformation Imaging and the Cuneiform in Australia and New Zealand Collections Project

The paper assesses the suitability of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) for the Cuneiform in Australia and New Zealand Collections (CANZ) project. This project will produce a series of monographs, develop an interactive web-site for educational purposes and use various media to publicise the collection. While RTI is a well-established technique, its suitability for the CANZ project has not been assessed. The report discusses examples of images of cuneiform tablets captured using RTI fitters and processing tools.

Retinal Development and Ommin Pigment in the Cranchiid Squid Teuthowenia pellucida (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida).

The cranchiid Teuthowenia pellucida, like many deep-sea squid species, possesses large eyes that maximise light sensitivity in a nearly aphotic environment. To assess ontogenetic changes in the visual system, we conducted morphometric and histological analyses of the eyes using specimens from New Zealand collections. While the ratio between eye diameter and mantle length maintained a linear relationship throughout development, histological sections of the retina revealed that the outer photoreceptor layer became proportionally longer as the animal aged, coincident with a habitat shift into deeper, darker ocean strata. Other retinal layers maintained the same absolute thickness as was observed in paralarvae. Granules of the pigment ommin, normally located in the screening layer positioned at the base of the photoreceptors, were also observed at the outer end of the photoreceptor segments throughout the retina in young and mid-sized specimens. Early developmental stages of this species, dwelling in shallow waters, may therefore rely on migratory ommin to help shield photoreceptors from excess light and prevent over-stimulation. The oldest, deeper-dwelling specimens of T. pellucida examined had longer photoreceptors, and little or no migrated ommin was observed; we suggest therefore that short-term adaptive mechanisms for bright light conditions may be used primarily during epipelagic, early life stages in this species.

In Their Hands: Students Editing Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Letters

This article describes an honours-year class conducted in 2013 at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Students transcribed, annotated and wrote essays about a little-known New Zealand collection of unpublished letters written by leading British women writers of the Romantic era. Their research was then collected and published as a book entitled In Her Hand: Letters of Romantic-Era British Women Writers in New Zealand Collections. The success of this course suggests the benefits of allowing students the opportunity to undertake original archival research and serves as a reminder that rich archival collections are found all over the world.

Ontogeny of the deep-sea cranchiid squid Teuthowenia pellucida (Cephalopoda: Cranchiidae) from New Zealand waters

Teuthowenia pellucida is a cosmopolitan southern sub-tropical species, and is abundantly represented in local New Zealand collections. However, because of the morphological similarities between this and other cranchiid genera at early ontogenetic stages, accurate identification of small specimens can be difficult. Herein, the morphological changes characterizing six pre-adult developmental stages (termed A–F) are reported in detail, as well as adult morphology; new information is provided on fecundity. These findings comprise a small contribution toward eventual resolution of the systematically unstable Cranchiidae.

Cuneiform in Australian and New Zealand Collections: A First Glimpse

Cuneiform in Australian and New Zealand Collections: A First Glimpse

The pygmy right whale Caperea marginata : the last of the cetotheres

The pygmy right whale, Caperea marginata, is the most enigmatic of the living baleen whales (Mysticeti). Its highly disparate morphology and the virtual absence of a described fossil record have made it extremely difficult to place Caperea into a broader evolutionary context, and molecular and morphological studies have frequently contradicted each other as to the origins and phylogenetic relationships of the species. Our study of a wealth of material from New Zealand collections, representing a wide range of ontogenetic stages, has identified several new features previously unreported in Caperea, which suggest that the pygmy right whale may be the last survivor of the supposedly extinct family Cetotheriidae. This hypothesis is corroborated by both morphology-based and total evidence cladistic analyses, including 166 morphological characters and 23 taxa, representing all the living and extinct families of toothless baleen whales. Our results allow us to formally refer Caperea to Cetotheriidae, thus resurrecting the latter from extinction and helping to clarify the origins of a long-problematic living species.

Mysidae (Mysida) of New Zealand; a checklist, identification key to species and an overview of material in New Zealand collections

Mysida are small, mostly marine crustaceans that are an important element of food webs, specifically as prey for several commercially important fish species. Taking their ecological and economical importance into account, relatively little attention is attributed to these organisms, and they are often neglected in biodiversity surveys and studies. To draw attention to these animals and stimulate research in New Zealand, we summarize information available for New Zealand Mysidae. We present a checklist of the 17 species recorded in New Zealand waters as well as a preliminary identification key to species based on the existing literature. We also provide an overview of mysid material available in collections in New Zealand.

TWO SNOW SPECIES OF THE QUADRIFLAGELLATE GREEN ALGA CHLAINOMONAS (CHLOROPHYTA, VOLVOCALES): ULTRASTRUCTURE AND PHYLOGENETIC POSITION WITHIN THE CHLOROMONAS CLADE(1).

The quadriflagellate snow alga Chlainomonas Christen, distributed in New Zealand and North America, has several unusual structural attributes. A process assumed to be cytokinesis involves extrusion of protoplasm from the parent through a narrow canal, C.kolii (J. T. Hardy et Curl) Hoham produces a net-like outer envelope rather than a cell wall, and the flagellar basal apparatus of Chlainomonas consists of two semi-independent pairs of basal bodies. Structural connections between basal body pairs appear minimal, but a connecting system different from that observed in other genera exists within each pair. Phylogenetic analysis using rbcL sequences places Chlainomonas in the Chloromonas clade, other known members of which are all biflagellate. Chlainomonas is split into two robust lineages, with New Zealand collections sharing an origin with northern North American collections. Although the quadriflagellate condition is regarded as ancestral in the Chlorophyceae, we speculate-based on ultrastructural and molecular data presented here-that Chlainomonas represents a derived form that has arisen from fusion of two ancestral biflagellate cells. Other explanations (for example, that Chlainomonas represents a diploid form of a biflagellate species) are remotely possible but are presently at odds with extensive observations of field material. Improvements in techniques for experimental manipulation of these sensitive cryophiles will be required to fully characterize their structure and progress our understanding of their biology.

Characterization and Distribution of Mating Type Genes in the Dothistroma Needle Blight Pathogens

ABSTRACT Dothistroma septosporum and D. pini are the two causal agents of Dothistroma needle blight of Pinus spp. in natural forests and plantations. Degenerate primers amplified portions of mating type genes (MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2) and chromosome walking was applied to obtain the full-length genes in both species. The mating-type-specific primers designed in this study could distinguish between the morphologically similar D. pini and D. septosporum and between the different mating types of these species. Screening of isolates from global collections of D. septosporum showed that only MAT2 isolates are present in Australian and New Zealand collections, where only the asexual form of the fungus has been found. In contrast, both mating types of D. septosporum were present in collections from Canada and Europe, where the sexual state is known. Intriguingly, collections from South Africa and the United Kingdom, where the sexual state of the fungus is unknown, included both mating types. In D. pini, for which no teleomorph is known, both mating types were present in collections from the United States. These results provided new insights into the biology and global distribution of two of the world's most important pine pathogens and should facilitate management of the diseases caused by these fungi.

English

Chromosome numbers have been added or confirmed for a number of Australasian species of Dicranoloma based on studies of New Zealand (and several Australian) collections. These are n = 7 for D. dicarpum, D. platycaulon, D. robustum; n = 8 for D. plurisetum; New Zealand populations of D. menziesii had n = 7 and lacked the m-chromosome found in Australian populations where n = 8 (7 + m). D. billarderii has n = 12 chromosomes. The chromosome number of n = 7 is confirmed for D. dicarpum in Papua New Guinea. The chromosome number of n = 9 (7 + 2 m) recorded for D. serratum in Ramsay (1985) is now referred to D. leichhardtii with which D. serratum has been synonymised (Klazenga 2003).

Birds in Australian and New Zealand museums—a major resource for ornithology

The 14 major bird collections in Australia (10) and New Zealand (4) together hold half a million specimens, including 275 000 from Australia and 115 000 from New Zealand. Six large collections in Australia, and two in New Zealand, each hold at least 30 000 birds. The largest single collection (Australian Museum, Sydney) has 78 000 birds. Overall, study‐skins are the most common form of preparation (47%), followed by eggs (20%). However, for New Zealand collections alone, fossil bones are the biggest single category (56%) reflecting that country's remarkable Holocene fossil record of birds. Taxonomically, the best‐represented group in the Australasian collections is the order Passeriformes, followed by Anseriformes, Procellariiformes, Psittaciformes, Charadriiformes, Columbiformes, Falconiformes, and ratites (Rati‐tae). Most birds in Australasian collections (81%) are from Australia or New Zealand, followed by 27 000 specimens (6%) from the south‐west Pacific (islands of Polynesia and Melanesia, including New Guinea). The Australasian collections are managed by a total staffing complement of about 25 FTE (full‐time equivalents), most of whom care for other taxonomic groups besides birds. Nearly all specimen records are now captured electronically, but seven different software systems are used (KE “EMu” and Vernon Systems “Collection” most commonly). The 14 Australasian bird collections together form a nationally and internationally important resource. These collections document the biodiversity of the birds of the Australasian biogeographic region, and allow researchers to study many aspects of avian biology, including speciation, biogeography, moult and plumages, systematics and conservation.

Amphilogia gen. nov. for Cryphonectria‐like fungi from Elaeocarpus spp. in New Zealand and Sri Lanka

AbstractThe ascomycete genera Cryphonectria and Endothia are closely related members of Diaporthales. Recent DNA sequence comparisons have shown that isolates from Elaeocarpus spp. in New Zealand, previously identified as Cryphonectria radicalis and Cryphonectria gyrosa, represent a phylogenetic group distinct from those including other species of Cryphonectria and Endothia. Cryphonectria gyrosa applies to a species that occurs on Elaeocarpus glandulifer in Sri Lanka, the same host genus but a different species from which the New Zealand collections were made. The aim of this study was to provide a name for the fungi residing in the phylogenetic group from New Zealand. Morphological characters that define these fungi include superficial conical conidiomata, conidia of variable size, and ascospores with one to three septa. These characteristics are not found in other species of Cryphonectria. We also recognise a second species in the group from New Zealand that has distinctly larger ascospores. Herbarium specimens of C. gyrosa exhibit the same primary characteristics as the specimens from New Zealand and C. gyrosa is regarded as conspecific with one of the species in the New Zealand collections. A new genus, Amphilogia, is described for the collections of C. gyrosa from Sri Lanka and New Zealand, which also contains the second species from New Zealand, Amphilogia major sp. nov.

Unusual sulfamate indoles and a novel indolo[3,2-a]carbazole from Ancorina sp.

Four new indoles, ancorinolates A-C and bis-ancorinolate B, which contain sulfamate and sulfate groups, were isolated from the aqueous extract of the sponge Ancorina sp. In addition, ancorinazole, an indolo[3,2-a]carbazole also possessing sulfamate and sulfate groups, was isolated from two separate New Zealand collections of Ancorina sp. Ancorinazole is the first indolo[3,2-a]carbazole described as a natural product. Ancorinolates A (1) and C (3) showed weak HIV-inhibitory activity in the XTT-based, anticytopathicity assay.

The Book of Kells and the Art of Illumination (review)

Reviews 191 National Gallery of Australia, The Book of Kells and the Art ofIllumination, Catalogue of the Exhibition, Canberra A C T 2000; paper; pp. 80; 11 illustrations, plus 74 marginal illustrations, all in full colour. T w o line drawings. Distributed in Australia by Thames and Hudson. R R P A U S $29.95. As one would expect for an international treasure such as the Book of Kell inclusion in this exhibition has attracted the comments of a plethora of worthy notables. Included in the forewords are the Hon. John Howard M P and M r Bertie Ahem TQ, Prime Ministers ofAustralia and the Irish Republic respectively, and Dr Thomas N. Mitchell, Provost ofTrinity College, Dublin. The Preface is by Dr Brian Kennedy, Director of the N G A . H e also wrote the contribution 'Celtic Ireland' (pp. 8-12). In the segment 'The Book ofKells and the Art ofIllumination', Dr Bernard Meehan, Keeper of Manuscripts, Trinity College Library, Dublin, wrote on 'The Book of Kells: Word and Image' (pp. 22-35). Professor Emerita Margaret M. Manion penned an Introduction (pp. 1-15), a commentary on the art ofillumination (pp. 16-21) and wrote the catalogue entries for the remainder (pp. 36-77). Staff ofthe National Gallery deserve credit for their editing and layout. The colour separation by Colourbox, Perth, is of a high standard. The Book ofKells (c. A D 800) is presently bound into four volumes. It is the smallest volume, the Gospel of Saint Mark, fols. 129v to 187v (out of 680 surviving folios) which has come to Australia. Displayed along with it are examples ofother manuscripts also on loan for the occasion from Australian and New Zealand collections. Amongst these are 55 examples of Byzantine, English, 'French', 'Italian', and 'Netherlandish' works. Brian Kennedy's potted notes (pp. 8-12) on the history of Celtic Ireland place Kells in the context of its times. Kells, w e are told, originated during a time of factional fighting and struggles within the Celtic Church itself and devastating raids by the Vikings which began in A D 795. It survived the vicissitudes ofthe centuries relatively unharmed, and since the days of Cromwell, i t has been under the care ofTrinity College, Dublin. Dr Bernard Meehan (pp. 22-35) informs us that Kells was probably created at a monastery of the followers of Saint Columba, on Iona (Argyll, Scotland) or in their foundations at Kells itself. Three openings only were selected for display in Canberra and Meehan's commentary is limited to them. His offering is briskly stated but is oddly truncated. To tie in an important subject, such as Kells, with an exhibition of- in some cases, relatively lesser works - in order to popularise the event, is a trap. For 192 Reviews example, one would question the assertion that '...the medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in Australia and N e w Zealand collections ... demonstrate the legacy of Kells through the centuries' (p. 14), or in the heading 'The Legacy of the Book ofKells: Medieval and Renaissance Illumination' (p. 36). Not only are these claims overstatements but when applied to the majority ofthe manuscripts, are incorrect. Catalogue entries are rather uneven. Quite lengthy commentaries cover some and others are rudimentary and merely pictorially descriptive. It would have been pertinent for Manion to have included a short discussion in her introduction on the scholarly works published in monograph or article form antecedent to catalogues published or exhibitions held in Australia prior to the appearance of Manion and Vines' Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts (1984). Indeed, no publications prior to the 1984 date appear under the entries other than a article of 1979 by Meyer Schapiro in relationship to exhibition entry no. 32. Further, in accordance with acceptable scholarly practice, it would be preferable to see the terminus quo work of a scholar listed below the individual manuscript entries rather than, as in Professor Emeritus Keith Val Sinclair's case, in the bibliography only. Many of the codices were seen collectively for the first time at the exhibition of some 85 Western European manuscripts organised by Professor Sinclair at the University of Sydney and held in July-September 1967. Over two-thirds...

Genetic resources of temperate native and low‐input grasses in New Zealand and Australian collections

Abstract Genebank holdings of seed of the temperate native grasses of New Zealand and Australia are very small. For example, seed of only 10 of the 160 grass species native to New Zealand is held in the Margot Forde Forage Germplasm Centre. The Australian situation is only slightly better. Introductions of temperate grasses other than Lolium perenne, Dactylis glomerata, Festuca arundinacea, and Phalaris aquatica into Australia and New Zealand have included over 400 species but, on average, fewer than 10 samples per species. Very few introduced grass species have therefore been adequately sampled for the full range of genetic diversity within the species. This paper lists the accessions of grasses into genebanks in Australia and New Zealand and discusses the strengths and limitations of the collections.