A new genus and species of bothriurid scorpion from the Brandberg Massif, Namibia, with a reanalysis of bothriurid phylogeny and a discussion of the phylogenetic position of Lisposoma Lawrence

Abstract. Brandbergia haringtoni , a new genus and species of bothriurid scorpion, is described from the Brandberg Massif, northwestern Namibia. A cladistic analysis, based on seventy-four morphological characters scored for thirty-one exemplar species representing all genera of Bothriuridae, and one genus from each of the six remaining families of Scorpionoidea, was conducted to test the phylogenetic placement of the new genus and whether it affects the internal relationships of Bothriuridae. The available data demonstrate, under a range of weighting regimes, that the new genus is the most basal bothriurid, and confirm the scheme of relationships among the remaining bothriurid genera that was recovered in a previous analysis: ( Brandbergia ( Lisposoma ( Thestylus ( Phoniocercus ( Tehuankea ( Cercophonius  +  Urophonius ) ( Bothriurus  +  Brachistosternus  + Orobothriurus  +  Centromachetes ( Timogenes  +  Vachonia ))))))). On the basis of this evidence, Lourenço's recent proposal of family Lisposomidae for Lisposoma is rejected and Lisposomidae is synonymized with Bothriuridae. The implications of the phylogeny for understanding the biogeography of Bothriuridae are discussed.     

Benthic foraminifera across the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) boundary: a review

The response of the Earth’s biota to global change is of fundamental interest to paleontologists, but patterns of change in paleontologic data are also of interest to a wider spectrum of Earth scientists in that those patterns are of great significance in constraining hypotheses that attempt to explain physical changes in the Earth’s environment. The Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) boundary is a case in point. Some paleontologists have criticized the bolide impact hypothesis, not because they deny the impact but because the proposed effects of that impact do not always conform to the available paleontological data. Benthic foraminifera are of particular interest in this context because it has been suggested for over 20 years that shallow-water benthic foraminifera were affected more severely than deep-water benthic foraminifera by events at the K–T boundary. This observation adds to the fact of planktonic foraminiferal extinction and indicates that K–T boundary environmental effects were largely restricted to shallow waters. In this paper I review all published works on smaller benthic foraminifera at the K–T boundary and conclude the following. (1) Shallow-water benthic foraminifera were not more severely affected than deeper dwelling species. True extinction, as opposed to local extinction and/or mass mortality, is generally quite low no matter what the water depth. (2) The data are not sufficient in quality, quantity and geographic range to conclude that there is a latitudinal pattern of extinction. (3) In general, biotic changes (such as they are) begin before the boundary in shallow and intermediate depth waters and at the boundary in deep water. Disagreements about the placement of the boundary and the presence, absence and duration of hiatuses hinder more precise conclusions. (4) There appears to be preferential survivorship of epifaunal species into the early Danian with a short interval dominated by infaunal taxa in the earliest Danian. This pattern can best be explained by short-lived input of increased amounts of organic matter at the boundary followed by a sudden collapse of primary productivity and, hence, major reduction or cessation of organic flux to the seafloor. In summary, based on the current dataset, smaller benthic foraminifera, no matter whether they lived in shallow or deep waters, high or low latitudes, or infaunal or epifaunal microhabitats, survived the environmental events across the K–T boundary quite well. Mass extinction does not characterize this group of organisms at this time.     

Cretaceous and Eocene fossils of the rare extant genus Synneuron Lundstrom (Diptera: Canthyloscledidae): evidence of a true Pangean clade

The first two fossil species of the canthyloscelid genus Synneuron are described based on compression wings. Synneuron eomontana sp. nov. is described from the Middle Eocene Coal Creek Member of the Kishenehn Formation, in the USA, and Synneuron jelli sp. nov. is described from the Lower Cretaceous Koonwarra Fossil Bed of the Korumburra Group, in Australia. The wings are illustrated and compared to the extant species of the genus, to species of the three other recent genera of Canthyloscelidae and to an anisopodid. A phylogenetic analysis of the relationships between the species of Synneuron was performed. The Eocene fossil S. eomontana appears as sister of the pair of recent Holarctic species of the genus, while the Australian Cretaceous species S. jelli is sister of the clade with the species of Synneuron of the northern hemisphere. The sister group of Synneuron is the canthyloscelid clade (Hyperoscelis + Canthyloscelis), for which a middle Jurassic fossil is known. At the early Cretaceous, Gondwana was already separated from Laurasia and the disjunction between the species of Synneuron in Australia and the northern hemisphere clade of the genus suggest a true pangeic origin for the genus. The biology of the canthyloscelid larvae is shaped by its trophic specialization—xylosaprophagous. This suggests that the transition from the Pangean Jurassic gymnosperm-dominated forests to the late Cretaceous angiosperm-dominated forests may be related to the low recent diversity of Synneuron or of the canthyloscelids in the world—and maybe to the extinction of the genus in the southern hemisphere. This major turnover of the vegetation type along the Cretaceous may be also somehow related to the complete extinction of other groups of flies strictly associated with gymnosperms, as may be the case of the lower brachyceran family Zhangsolvidae. This speculation needs additional corroboration from other groups, that will become available with the combination of systematics, paleontology and biogeographical information of different early Cretaceous clades.     

The bee‐killing flies,genus Melaloncha Brues (Diptera: Phoridae): a combined molecular and morphological phylogeny

The phylogeny of the bee‐killing flies, genus Melaloncha Brues (Diptera: Phoridae) is analysed using six genes –cytochrome oxidase I, 16S ribosomal DNA, 12S ribosomal DNA, NADH1 dehydrogenase, 28S ribosomal DNA and CAD– plus 47 morphological characters. A total of 91 specimens, including eight out‐groups and 83 Melaloncha (representing 70 species) were included in the analyses. Parsimony analysis of the combined data set produced a single most parsimonious tree with varied Bremer and bootstrap support of interior nodes. Bayesian analysis of molecules only and of morphology + molecules produced trees largely in agreement with parsimony results, although with a few differences. Supported groups included subfamily Metopininae, genus Melaloncha, and subgenera Melaloncha s.s. and Melaloncha (Udamochiras) Enderlein. Within the subgenera, the previously recognized Melaloncha furcata, Melaloncha cingulata, Melaloncha ungulata and Melaloncha stylata groups were recovered, as well as some new groupings. The M. furcata group was placed as the sister group of other Melaloncha s.s., which is consistent with known host‐attacking behaviour.     

Bezzimyia— a genus of native New World Rhinophoridae (Insecta, Diptera)

The New World genus Bezzimyia Townsend, 1919 is revised and the following 15 new species are described: B. barbarista sp. n., B. bisecta sp. n., B. bulbosa sp. n., B. floridensis sp. n., B. hansoni sp. n., B. jamaica sp. n., B. lapidicina sp. n., B. orestes sp. n., B. pittieri sp. n., B. platina sp. n., B. ramicornis sp. n., B. setifax sp. n., B. sternothrix sp. n., B. thompsonorum sp. n. and B. yepezi sp. n. The oviposition, egg and first instar larva are described for Bezzimyia yepezi from Venezuela. It is argued that Bezzimyia is a member of the family Rhinophoridae, which was previously considered to be represented in the New World only through two immigrant Palaearctic species.     

Hanocladius,a new orthoclad genus from China (Diptera: Chironomidae)

Hanocladius longipes gen. nov., sp. nov. from Oriental China is described from the male imago. The long metatarsus, the very broad, scale-like virga and the conspicuously scalpellate acrostichals distinguish the genus from all of the known genera in Orthocladiinae.     

Qiniella,a new orthoclad genus from China (Diptera: Chironomidae)

Quiniella lii gen. nov., sp. nov. from China is describedas male imago. The genus share bare eyes, wing and squama and extended costa with most members of the Parakiefferiella group sensu S\sgmaelig;ther (1983), and the absence of a scutaltubercle, hump or microtrichial tuft and strongly developedvirga with Krenosmittia Thienemann & Krüger, but isamong other distinguished by a unique trifid gonostylus. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Phylogeny,host association and biogeographical patterns in the diverse millipede‐parasitoid genus Myriophora Brown (Diptera: Phoridae)

Myriophora is the most species‐rich group of parasitoids that attack toxic, chemically defended millipedes in the superorder Juliformia and order Polydesmida—a resource that few insect predators and parasitoids are able to exploit. Worldwide, there are an estimated 200 species of Myriophora, with the majority of the diversity centred in the Neotropical region. The phylogeny of Myriophora is unknown, biogeographical patterns are not documented, and known host associations have not been assessed in a phylogenetic context. We provide the first phylogenetic study of the genus from a data set composed of 52 taxa primarily from the Neotropical region including 10 outgroups, 40 morphological characters, and molecular data from three mitochondrial (16S, COI and ND1) and one nuclear marker (AK). We find that Myriophora dispersed from the New World to the Old World in a single event before subsequently spreading to the Afrotropical region. The ancestral hosts reconstructed for Myriophora are the benzoquinone‐producing Juliformia, and this association has been retained in the Old World clade. In the Neotropical region, Myriophora that are associated with cyanide‐producing polydesmidan millipedes are confined to a single clade that shows remarkably little genetic variation between clearly morphologically diagnosable species.     

Cytogenetics of the genus Parasarcophaga (Sarcophagidae: Diptera)

Somatic chromosome complements of five sympatric species of the genus Parasarcophaga, viz. P. misera, P. albiceps, P. argyrostoma, P. ruficornis and P. knabi, are described. All the species have five pairs of meta/submetacentric autosomes and an XX/XY sex chromosome pair which is highly variable in size and shape. In P. misera and P. albiceps they are tiny dots while in P. knabi the metacentric X and Y chromosomes constitute almost one third of the genome. In P. ruficornis and P. argyrostoma they are telocentric chromosomes of moderate size. A comparative study of the C-banding patterns of P. ruficornis, P. knabi, P. argyrostoma and P. misera shows that autosomes of the former three species possess characteristic C-bands in pericentric regions while in P. misera they are absent. The heterochromatic sex chromosomes are C-band positive in all the species. However, with the exception of the tiny sex chromosomes of P. misera, the X chromosomes of other species show shorter or longer regions which stain rather lightly. These C-banded areas correspond to the heterochromatic areas revealed in orcein stained preparations. The evolutionary implications of these results are discussed.     

New species of Lonchaeidae (Diptera: Schizophora) from Japan and a re‐evaluation of genus Setisquamalonchaea Morge

Three new species of Lonchaeidae are described from material reared from fig syconia in Japan: Silba inubiwa sp. nov., S. ishigaki sp. nov. and S. japonica sp. nov. Based on the taxonomy of these and similar species the boundaries of the genus Silba are re‐evaluated, and, as a result, it is considered that Setisquamalonchaea Morge is synonymous with Silba Macquart. A revised key and generic notes on the tribe Lonchaeini are provided.     

Giemsa C-banding within the genus Glossina (Diptera,Glossinidae)

The Giemsa C-banding staining pattern of members of both the palpalis and morsitans groups of tsetse flies are described. Similarities in the staining reaction of the heterochromatic Y and supernumerary chromosomes within species have been observed which suggests a common origin. The presence of useful markers in all species/sub-species should assist in the recognition of species/sub-species hybrids.     

Mariambera,a new genus of Orthocladiinae from Brazil (Insecta: Diptera,Chironomidae)

The genus Mariambera is erected based on the males of M. amazonica n. sp. from Amazonas and M. mariae n. sp. from Minas Gerais. The new genus is easily recognized by the distinctive anal point which has a rounded dorsal lobe with microtrichia and a triangular ventral lobe with very strong, marginal setae, in combination with bare eyes and wing membrane, squama with setae, antenna without strong apical seta, and apparently few, short, very weak, hair-like acrostichals in anterior 1/3 of scutum.     

Molecular phylogenetics of the genus Ceratitis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The Afrotropical fruit fly genus Ceratitis MacLeay is an economically important group that comprises over 89 species, subdivided into six subgenera. Cladistic analyses of morphological and host use characters have produced several phylogenetic hypotheses for the genus. Only monophyly of the subgenera Pardalaspis and Ceratitis (sensu stricto) and polyphyly of the subgenus Ceratalaspis are common to all of these phylogenies. In this study, the hypotheses developed from morphological and host use characters are tested using gene trees produced from DNA sequence data of two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome oxidase I and NADH-dehydrogenase subunit 6) and a nuclear gene (period). Comparison of gene trees indicates the following relationships: the subgenus Pardalaspis is monophyletic, subsection A of the subgenus Pterandrus is monophyletic, the subgenus Pterandrus may be either paraphyletic or polyphyletic, the subgenus Ceratalaspis is polyphyletic, and the subgenus Ceratitis s. s. might not be monophyletic. In addition, the genera Ceratitis and Trirhithrum do not form reciprocally monophyletic clades in the gene trees. Although the data statistically reject monophyly for Trirhithrum under the Shimodaira-Hasegawa test, they do not reject monophyly of Ceratitis.     

Revision of the termite-parasitizing genus Dicranopteron (Diptera: Phoridae)

Dicranopteron Schmitz is removed from the Metopininae and three new species are described. All species are represented by females only and come from Odontolermes and Macrotermes nests in the Orient. A key:to species) is provided. One species was observed ovipositing in the abdomens of the young stages of O. takensis.     

Revision of the termite-parasitizing genus Dicranopteron (Diptera: Phoridae)

Dicranopteron Schmitz is removed from the Metopininae and three new species are described. All species are represented by females only and come from Odontolermes and Macrotermes nests in the Orient. A key:to species) is provided. One species was observed ovipositing in the abdomens of the young stages of O. takensis .