Assaying Predatory Feeding Behaviors in Pristionchus and Other Nematodes

This protocol provides multiple methods for the analysis and quantification of predatory feeding behaviors in nematodes. Many nematode species including Pristionchus pacificus display complex behaviors, the most striking of which is the predation of other nematode larvae. However, as these behaviors are absent in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, they have thus far only recently been described in detail along with the development of reliable behavioral assays ¹. These predatory behaviors are dependent upon phenotypically plastic but fixed mouth morphs making the correct identification and categorization of these animals essential. In P. pacificus there are two mouth types, the stenostomatous and eurystomatous morphs ², with only the wide mouthed eurystomatous containing an extra tooth and being capable of killing other nematode larvae. Through the isolation of an abundance of size matched prey larvae and subsequent exposure to predatory nematodes, assays including both "corpse assays" and "bite assays" on correctly identified mouth morph nematodes are possible. These assays provide a means to rapidly quantify predation success rates and provide a detailed behavioral analysis of individual nematodes engaged in predatory feeding activities. In addition, with the use of a high-speed camera, visualization of changes in pharyngeal activity including tooth and pumping dynamics are also possible.     

Morphology and molecular phylogeny of three new oligotrich ciliates (Protozoa,Ciliophora) from the South China Sea

The present paper documents the morphology and systematic positions of three new oligotrich ciliates, P arallelostrombidium obesum sp. nov. , P arallelostrombidium ellipticum sp. nov. , and S trombidium tropicum sp. nov. , which were sampled from habitats with different salinities in southern China. P arallelostrombidium obesum sp. nov. is characterized by a fat body and the posterior portions of the girdle and ventral kineties extending transversely on the dorsal side. P arallelostrombidium ellipticum sp. nov. is recognizable by the anterior ends of the girdle and ventral kineties being close to each other and the posterior ends of the girdle and ventral kineties intersecting on the dorsal side. S trombidium tropicum sp. nov. is distinguished by a ventrally opened girdle kinety that is slightly spiralled with the right end shifted posteriad. Small subunit rRNA gene trees show that P . obesum sp. nov. and P . ellipticum sp. nov. fall into a mixed group composed of Parallelostrombidium and some Novistrombidium species, and that S . tropicum sp. nov. branches at the base of the clade containing non‐Strombidium species. The relationships of Parallelostrombidium species and that of Strombidium species are both not resolved considering their low support values in our phylogenetic analysis. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London     

Repeated evolution of sympatric,palaeoendemic species in closely related,co‐distributed lineages of Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) across a sky‐island archipelago in Peninsular Malaysia

A time‐calibrated phylogenetic tree indicates that the evolution of sympatric, montane, endemic species from closely related, co‐distributed lineages of the Hemiphyllodactylus harterti group were not the result of rapid, forest‐driven, climatic oscillations of the Last Glacial Maximum, but rather the result of infrequent episodes of environmental fluctuation during the Late Miocene. This hypothesis is supported by genetic divergences (based on the mitochondrial gene ND2) between the three major lineages of the H. harterti group (17.5–25.1%), their constituent species (9.4–14.3%), and the evolution of discrete, diagnostic, morphological, and colour pattern characteristics between each species. Sister species pairs from two of the three lineages occur in sympatry on mountain tops from opposite sides of the Thai–Malay Peninsula, but the lineages to which each pair belongs are not sister lineages. A newly discovered species from Gunung Tebu, Terengganu State, H emiphyllodactylus bintik sp. nov. , is described. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London     

Etheliaceae fam. nov. (Gigartinales,Rhodophyta), with a clarification of the generitype of Ethelia and the addition of six novel species from warm waters

Based upon COI‐5P, LSU rDNA, and rbcL sequence data and morphological characteristics, six new members of the noncalcified crustose genus of red algae Ethelia are described in a new family, Etheliaceae (Gigartinales), sister to the recently described Ptilocladiopsidaceae. The novel species are described from subtropical to tropical Atlantic and Indo‐Pacific Ocean basins; E. mucronata sp. nov. and E. denizotii sp. nov. from southern and northern Western Australia respectively, E. wilcei sp. nov. from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands of Australia, E. suluensis sp. nov. from the Philippines, E. umbricola sp. nov. from Bermuda and E. kraftii sp. nov. from Lord Howe Island, Australia. The generitype, Ethelia biradiata, originally reported from the Seychelles, Indian Ocean, is added to the Western Australian flora.     

NEW MARINE MEMBERS OF THE GENUS HEMISELMIS (CRYPTOMONADALES,CRYPTOPHYCEAE)1

Cryptomonads are a ubiquitous and diverse assemblage of aquatic flagellates. The relatively obscure genus Hemiselmis includes some of the smallest of these cells. This genus contained only two species until 1967, when Butcher described seven new marine species mainly on the basis of observations with the light microscope. However, from these seven taxa, only H. amylifera and H. oculata were validly published. Additionally, the features Butcher used to distinguish species have since been questioned, and the taxonomy within Hemiselmis has remained clouded due to the difficulty in unambiguously applying his classification and validating many of his species. As a result, marine strains are often placed into one of three species—H. rufescens Parke, H. virescens Droop, or the invalid H. brunnescens Butcher—based on cell color alone. Here we applied microscopic and molecular tools to 13 publicly available Hemiselmis strains in an effort to clarify species boundaries. SEM failed to provide sufficient morphological variation to distinguish species of Hemiselmis, and results from LM did not correlate with clades found using both molecular phylogenetic and nucleomorph genome karyotype analysis, indicating a high degree of morphological plasticity within species. On the basis of molecular characters and collection geography we recognize four new marine species of Hemiselmis—H. cryptochromatica sp. nov., H. andersenii sp. nov., H. pacifica sp. nov., and H. tepida sp. nov.—from the waters around North America.     

Adaptive value of a predatory mouth-form in a dimorphic nematode

Polyphenisms can be adaptations to environments that are heterogeneous in space and time, but to persist they require conditional-specific advantages. The nematode Pristionchus pacificus is a facultative predator that displays an evolutionarily conserved polyphenism of its mouthparts. During development, P. pacificus irreversibly executes either a eurystomatous (Eu) or stenostomatous (St) mouth-form, which differ in the shape and number of movable teeth. The Eu form, which has an additional tooth, is more complex than the St form and is thus more highly derived relative to species lacking teeth. Here, we investigate a putative fitness trade-off for the alternative feeding-structures of P. pacificus. We show that the complex Eu form confers a greater ability to kill prey. When adults were provided with a prey diet, Eu nematodes exhibited greater fitness than St nematodes by several measures, including longevity, offspring survival and fecundity when followed by bacterial feeding. However, the two mouth-forms had similar fecundity when fed ad libitum on bacteria, a condition that would confer benefit on the more rapidly developing St form. Thus, the two forms show conditional fitness advantages in different environments. This study provides, to our knowledge, the first functional context for dimorphism in a model for the genetics of plasticity.     

Six new species of the genus Dicranosepsis Duda (Diptera, Sepsidae) from Vietnam, with a revised key to the species

The flies of the genus Dicranosepsis from Vietnam were investigated and classified taxonomically. Six new species (D. longa sp. nov., D. kurahashii sp. nov., D. monoseta sp. nov., D. sinuosa sp. nov., D. barbata sp. nov., and D. vietnamensis sp. nov.) are described and illustrated. Dicranosepsis is redefined and a revised key to the species is also provided.     

Two New Species of Pristionchus (Rhabditida: Diplogastridae): P. fissidentatus n. sp. from Nepal and La Réunion Island and P. elegans n. sp. from Japan

Pristionchus fissidentatus n. sp., isolated from soil in Nepal, and P. elegans n. sp., isolated from Phelotrupes auratus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Japan, are described. The two new species are recognized as basal within the genus and thus occupy an important position for macroevolutionary studies that center on the model P. pacificus. Pristionchus fissidentatus n. sp. is distinguished by its unique stegostomatal morphology: in the stenostomatous form, the right subventral ridge has three prominent cusps and the left subventral sector has, in addition to a plate with two cusps, a prominent denticle slightly left of ventral; in the eurystomatous form, the right subventral stegostomatal sector shows both a tooth and a ridge with several cusps. Diagnostic of P. elegans n. sp. is the structure of the stenostomatous cheilostom, which bulges medially and is underlain by a large vacuolated ring. No eurystomatous form has been observed in P. elegans n. sp. Reproductive modes of P. fissidentatus n. sp. and P. elegans n. sp. are hermaphroditic and gonochoristic, respectively. The additional isolation of P. fissidentatus n. sp. from soil and two species of scarab beetle on La Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean suggests a broad geographic range for this species.     

Taxonomy of five species of cyrtophorids (Protozoa: Ciliophora) including consideration of the phylogeny of two new genera

Cyrtophorids are a specialized group of ciliated protozoa with multitudinous morphotypes. In the present work, the morphology and infraciliature of two new and three rarely known species, including two new genera of cyrtophorid ciliates, Heterohartmannula fangi gen. et sp. nov. , Aporthotrochilia pulex (Deroux, 1976) gen. et comb. nov. , Trochilia alveolata sp. nov. , Trochochilodon flavus Deroux, 1976, and Hypocoma acinetarum Collin, 1907, are described. Heterohartmannula gen. nov. is mainly characterized by a combination of features: two circumoral kineties obliquely arranged, podite not surrounded by somatic kineties, and no distinct gap between left and right ciliary field. Aporthotrochilia gen. nov. is diagnosed mainly by: podite present, oral ciliature reduced to two fragments, several kinety fragments positioned on the right posterior of frontoventral kineties and several terminal fragments. Phylogenetic analyses based on the small subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA) gene sequences support the establishment of two new genera and indicate that Heterohartmannula is most closely related to Hartmannula, and Aporthotrochilia is basal to the Cyrtophoria‐Chonotrichia clade. Trochilia alveolata sp. nov. differs from its congeners mainly by having a conspicuous alveolar layer. In addition, detailed live and infraciliature data of Hypocoma acinetarum and Trochochilodon flavus are supplied. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 164 , 1–17.     

Systematic revision of the genus Phycodrys (Delesseriaceae,Rhodophyta) from New Zealand,with the descriptions of three new species,P. novae-zelandiae sp. nov., P. franiae sp. nov. and P. adamsiae sp. nov.

Two species of Phycodrys, Phycodrys quercifolia (Bory) Skottsberg and Phycodrys profunda E.Y.Dawson were previously recorded from New Zealand. However, an examination of Phycodrys collections from the New Zealand region showed that all were morphologically different from P. quercifolia (Type locality: the Falkland Islands) and P. profunda (Type locality: CA, USA). RbcL sequence analyses established that the New Zealand Phycodrys species formed a natural assemblage within the genus, consisting of three new species: P. novae-zelandiae sp. nov., P. franiae sp. nov. and P. adamsiae sp. nov. Phycodrys novae-zelandiae is the largest of the three, up to 20 cm in height, with a distinct midrib and multicellular, opposite to subopposite lateral macroscopic veins. It has entirely monostromatic blades except near the midrib and veins, and its procarp contains a three-celled sterile group one (st1) and a one-celled sterile group two (st2). Phycodrys franiae was previously treated as a cryptic species among herbarium collections of P. ‘quercifolia’. It is smaller (4–11 cm high) with weakly developed midribs and veins, the blade is tristromatic throughout, except at the growing margins, and the procarp consists of a four-celled st1 and a two–three-celled st2. Phycodrys adamsiae, previously reported as P. profunda, is a small decumbent or prostrate plant, 1–8 cm long, with a midrib and inconspicuous lateral veins. The blades are tristromatic with serrated margins, two–four-celled surface spines and multicellular marginal holdfasts that differ from those of Californian specimens. The tetrasporangia are borne on marginal bladelets. Phylogenetic analyses place the New Zealand species in a separate group that is distantly removed from most other Phycodrys species.     

Polysiphonia freshwateri sp. nov. and Polysiphonia koreana sp. nov.: two new species of Polysiphonia (Rhodomelaceae,Rhodophyta) from Korea

Polysiphonia sensu lato comprises approximately 200 species, which are currently assigned to several different genera. To date, one of these genera, namely, Polysiphonia, has been reported to have 17 species. Here, we describe for the first time P. freshwateri sp. nov. and P. koreana sp. nov. from Uljin and Ulleung Island, Korea, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Polysiphonia freshwateri sp. nov. and P. koreana sp. nov. are characterized by having the typical Polysiphonia features. Polysiphonia freshwateri sp. nov. is further characterized by having abundant trichoblasts, conspicuous scar cells, and tetrasporangia arranged in spiral series. Polysiphonia koreana sp. nov. is further characterized by having very scarce scar cells placed between two pericentral cells, from which cicatrigenous branches arise. The results of our rbcL sequence analyses support the taxonomic placement of P. freshwateri sp. nov. and P. koreana sp. nov. within Polysiphonia.     

子囊菌二新种

本文报道在我国东北地区发现寄生在落叶松(Larix Mill.)上的二个子囊菌新种——多孢小黑腐皮壳(Valsella multispora sp.nov.)及落叶松隐腐皮壳(Cryptovalsa laricina sp.nov.)。其形态特征有汉文和拉丁文描述以及显微照像图版。     

Delineating the fishes of the Clinus superciliosus species complex in southern African waters (Blennioidei: Clinidae: Clinini), with the validation of Clinus arborescens Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908 and Clinus ornatus Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908, and with descriptions of two new species

The Clinus superciliosus complex comprises six closely related species. Three of the species were originally recognized by Gilchrist and Thompson as two distinct species, Clinus superciliosus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Clinus ornatus Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908, and a variety, Clinus superciliosus var. arborescens Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908. A number of other authors described various similar species, which subsequently were all synonymized with Clinus superciliosus. A further species, Clinus spatulatus Bennett, 1983, an obligate estuarine dweller, is known only from the Bot, Kleinmond, and Klein river estuaries in the Western Cape, South Africa. Two further species, Clinus musaicus sp. nov. (discovered while searching for C. ornatus specimens) and Clinus exasperatus sp. nov. , are herein described: the first is currently known from False Bay and the west coast of the Cape Peninsula, whereas the second species is known from only two specimens just east of False Bay. Clinus ornatus and Clinus arborescens Gilchrist & Thompson, 1908 are recognized as a valid species, and can be distinguished from C. superciliosus and C. spatulatus on the basis of meristic values, form of the orbital cirrus, position of the dorsal‐fin crest, taste bud number and pattern, diet, and coloration. All extant types of C. superciliosus are examined as specimens, or photographs and radiographs, and their validity and identification are assessed. Genetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA supports species differentiation. A key is provided for the species complex. Furthermore, the variable coloration of four of the species, probably related to the substrate the larvae settle upon, and the increase in the number of vertebrae, and fin‐ray and spine number, with decreasing water temperature is discussed. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 2012, 166 , 827–853.     

Rugiloricus bacatus sp. nov. (Loricifera ‐Pliciloricidae) and a ghost‐larva with paedogenetic reproduction

Abstract

A new species of Loricifera, Rugiloricus bacatus sp. nov. is described together with the diagnoses of two other Rugiloricus species, Rugiloricus sp. nov. A and B, from the Faroe Bank (North Atlantic). Characteristic for all three species is the presence of a new type of reduced larva, a ghost‐larva. This type of reduced larva was discovered in 1986 by Jeanne Renaud‐Mornant, but it was with the Faroe Bank material that it was first discovered that the ghost‐larvae belonged to the phylum Loricifera. The ghost‐larvae are eitherfound inside late instar Higgins‐larvae, called penultimate Higgins‐larvae, or in the sediment. The three types of Higgins‐larvae from the Faroe Bank can be distinguished by characters such as anterior setae, posterior setae and toes. The adults of Rugiloricus bacatus sp. nov. are characterised by a prominent ruff resembling a pearl necklace; two of the eight clavoscalids are modified in the 1st row; the 2nd row of leg‐shaped scalids are very large and robust, and the 9th row with 30 beak‐like scalids alternating with 30 alternating plates. The postlarvae are free‐living and their scalids on the introvert are reduced to protoscalids. Postlarvae and adult stages have not been found for Rugiloricus sp. nov. A and B and therefore only diagnoses of these two species are presented here.     

The genus Phyllomyza Fallén (Diptera: Milichiidae) from Japan, with descriptions of four new species

The Japanese species of the genus Phyllomyza Fallén are revised. Four new species, Phyllomyza kanmiyai sp. nov., P. amamiensis sp. nov., P. proceripalpis sp. nov. and P. japonica sp. nov., are described and illustrated. P. securicornis Fallén is recorded from Japan for the first time. A key to the Japanese species of Phyllomyza is presented.