Descriptions of two new species of flea of the genus Plocopsylla in northwestern Argentina

Two new species of flea of the genus Plocopsylla, subgenus Plocopsylla, (Siphonaptera: Stephanocircidae) collected from sigmodontine rodents in northwestern Argentina are described and a key to identification of species of the genus Plocopsylla, subgenus Plocopsylla, in Argentina is presented. Plocopsylla (P.) inti is cited for the first time in Argentina, extending its distribution ～ 970 km further south than previously documented. New locality data and flea–host associations are recorded. The contributions of this study are relevant because they increase knowledge of the diversity of flea fauna in northwestern Argentina bordering a plague endemic area and will be useful in the implementation of plague control management plans in the future.     

A comparative genetic study of two groups of chukar partridges (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Alectoris chukar</Emphasis>) from Cyprus and Argentina,using microsatellite analysis

The aim of the present work is to estimate the usefulness of microsatellite genetic markers analysis to characterize and analyze the possible differences between a captive reared population and a wild one from the same species. The first sample consists of 27 chukar partridges (Alectoris chukar) bred in one farm in Argentina. The second one is composed of 31 chukar partridges coming from a wild Cyprus population (A. chukar cypriotes). We analyzed seven microsatellite loci: MCW135, MCW225, MCW276, MCW280, MCW295, LEI31, and ADL0142. The Argentina group showed higher genetic variation than the Cyprus did. Significant global F _IS value was found in the Argentina sample. Significant genetic differentiation exists between both groups (F _ST=0.394; p<0.01). The Argentina group did not show any signs of bottleneck. Results from Factorial Correspondence Analysis (FCA) suggest that the 58 partridges could be split into two distinct genetic clusters (Cyprus and Argentina). Nevertheless, in the light of PARTITION results, three Argentina individuals might be related to Cyprus. STRUCTURE is unable to assign these three animals to any of the two groups. This could be due to a single or repeated introduction of external individuals into the original Argentina group, so that these results would point to more than one origin for this population. This admixture of individuals could explain the high genetic variation observed in the Argentina farm. Global F _IS value would probably be higher without these immigrations; on the other hand, these admixtures could have prevented bottlenecks.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Coccocarpia tomentosa</Emphasis>, una nueva especie de Argentina (Ascomycetes liquenizados,Peltigerales, Coccocarpiaceae)

In this paper Coccocarpia tomentosa, from Misiones, Argentina, is described and illustrated. Comments on five related species also known from Paraguay and Brazil are included. The known distribution of C. pellita is extended and it is cited for the first time from Argentina.     

Host range and geographical distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ixodes sigelos</Emphasis> (Acari: Ixodidae)

Larvae, nymphs and females of Ixodes sigelos Keirans, Clifford and Corwin (Ixodidae) were collected in 13 localities of the Patagonian region of Argentina parasitizing eight species of sigmodontine rodents. We report for the first time adults of I. sigelos for Argentina. Besides, we extend the southern limit of its geographical distribution, and six species of sigmodontines are added as new host species of I. sigelos (Phyllotis xanthopygus, Euneomys chinchilloides, Calomys musculinus, Reithrodon auritus, Loxodontomys micropus and Eligmodontia morgani). The presence of larvae, nymphs and females on sigmodontines, as well as more than 50% of the individuals engorged, indicate that I. sigelos can develop the complete parasitic phase of its life cycle on these small mammals. The geographical distribution of I. sigelos is restricted to the biogeographical Andean Region in Argentina and Chile.     

First record of the avian ectoparasite <Emphasis Type="Italic">Philornis downsi</Emphasis> Dodge &; Aitken, 1968 (Diptera: Muscidae) in Argentina

Species of Philornis Meinert, 1890 (Diptera, Muscidae) are Neotropical dipterans that include species with parasitic larvae which feed on nestling birds. To date, all Philornis species that have been recorded from Argentina have parasitic subcutaneous larvae. Here, for the first time for Argentina, we report the finding of Philornis downsi Dodge & Aitken, 1968, a fly with a nest-dwelling, semi-haematophagous larva. This record, from the humid Chaco ecoregion of Argentina in the nest of a saffron finch Sicalis flaveola pelzelni Sclater, substantially extends the known distribution of this species. We also report the consensus sequences of the internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) and ITS2 regions of three of the specimens for future reference and comparison. Further investigation is needed to determine whether Argentina is part of the historical range of P. downsi or, alternatively, represents a recent expansion of its range, perhaps due to climatic changes or other factors of global environmental variation.     

Potential distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis</Emphasis> in Argentina: implications in amphibian conservation

Within the last two decades Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (B.d.), the causative agent of chytridiomycosis, seems to have become a pandemic parasite, and is proposed as one of the more important causes of amphibian declines worldwide. In Argentina, the first report was in 2002 in Leptodactylus ocellatus. Since then, the fungus has expanded through different environments and species. In this study, we predict B.d. distribution in Argentina applying niche modelling based on reports of infected amphibians and environmental variables. The distribution hypothesis showed regions with highest suitability for B.d. including habitat types with (1) the most diverse amphibian fauna in Argentina such as the Paraná River Basin, (2) endangered species, such as north Patagonia and northwest Andean highlands, and (3) wide range of optimum precipitation and temperatures allowing development of B.d.     

Aquatic Oligochaeta in some tributaries of the Río de La Plata,Buenos Aires,Argentina

The Oligochaeta of some streams flowing into the Rio de La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina, were investigated. Twenty nine taxa (twenty four naidids, five tubificids) were identified. Most species are cosmopolitan, but Dero evelinae, Pristina leidyi, Slavina isochaeta and Bothrioneurum sp. are neotropical. Bratislavia unidentata, Haemonais waldvogeli and Nais pardalis are reported for the first time in Argentina. Variants occurr in the shape of the distal end of the penial sheaths of Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri. The dominant Naidid genera are Dero and Pristina. In the polluted El Gato stream only L. hoffmeisteri and L. claparedeianus were found.     

Entomopathogenic fungi from Argentina for the control of Schistocerca cancellata (Orthoptera: Acrididae) nymphs: fungal pathogenicity and enzyme activity

The South American locust Schistocerca cancellata (Serville) was the most serious agricultural pest in Argentina during the first half of the last century and remains as a threat when preventive control measures are relaxed in the outbreak area. In this study, we analysed in the laboratory, the effectiveness of 26 fungal strains (isolated from both insects and soil collected in Argentina) for S. cancellata control and determined the relationship between the chitinase, protease and lipase levels in these fungi and their insecticidal activities. We observed that Beauveria bassiana (isolate LPSC 1067) caused the highest mortality (90±1.03%), the highest values of chitinolytic, proteolytic and lipolytic activity were 6.13±0.05, 2.56±0.11 and 2.33±0.47, respectively, and the lowest median lethal time was 5.96 days. This is the first time that a wide variability in chitinase, protease and lipase activity as well as in virulence has been reported in a representative sample of different entomopathogenic fungal strains from Argentina.     

Detection of a novel spotted fever group rickettsia in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amblyomma parvum</Emphasis> ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) from Argentina

The present study evaluated the rickettsial infection in Amblyomma parvum ticks collected in Northwestern Córdoba Province, Argentina. Each tick was subjected to DNA extraction and tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting fragments of the rickettsial genes gltA and ompB. Nine (69.2%) out of 13 adult ticks yielded expected PCR products for the two rickettsial genes. Products from the ompB PCR were sequenced, generating DNA sequences 100% identical for the nine PCR-positive ticks. Three of these ticks were tested in another battery of PCR targeting fragments of the rickettsial genes gltA, htrA, and ompA. Products from the gltA, htrA, and ompA PCRs were sequenced generating DNA sequences 100% identical for the three PCR-positive ticks. The rickettsia detected in the A. parvum ticks was designated as Rickettsia sp. strain Argentina. Phylogenetic analyses performed with partial sequences of the rickettsial genes gltA, htrA, ompB, and ompA showed that Rickettsia sp. strain Argentina belonged to the spotted fever group, being distinct from all known Rickettsia species and genotypes available in GenBank, representing possibly a new Rickettsia species. This was the first evidence of rickettsial infection in the tick A. parvum, and the third report of rickettsial infection among the Argentinean tick fauna. The role of Rickettsia sp. strain Argentina as a human pathogen is unknown. Further studies are needed to obtain tissue-cultured isolates of Rickettsia sp. strain Argentina, in order to better characterize it and to determine its taxonomic status as a new species.     

A predatory land snail invades central-western Argentina

The pulmonate land snail, Rumina decollata, is a highly invasive gastropod adapted to arid conditions, and native from the Mediterranean area. It was recorded for the first time in Argentina in 1988, in the northeastern Pampas of the Buenos Aires Province, a region characterized by a humid mesothermal climate with no water deficit. In the present contribution, we report the finding of populations of this species in the semiarid region of La Pampa and Mendoza provinces in central-western Argentina. The present findings extend the invasive distributional range of R. decollata westwards through more than 1000 km from the site where it was detected in 1988. Although no damages to agricultural areas have been reported to the moment in Argentina, the presence of R. decollata in semiarid areas warns us about its potential as an important plague in the future.     

New record for Galba neotropica (d'Orbigny, 1835) in Argentina,with a detailed analysis of its morphology and molecular characteristics

We report for the first time the presence of Galba neotropica in Santa Fe province, Pampean Argentina. Until the present work, the identity of the intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica in this region, the most important livestock production area of Argentina, was unknown. This report extends the geographic distribution of G. neotropica and is the first to provide molecular and morphological information on this species in Argentina. During summer 2013, snails were collected on private livestock farms with high prevalence of fasciolosis in cattle. Specimens were identified by using the nuclear sequences of the internal transcribed spacers ITS-1 and ITS-2, the shell and the shape and size of the male reproductive organs. Molecularly, ITS-1 and ITS-2 nuclear sequences exhibit 100% nucleotide identity with G. neotropica from Lima, Peru. Morphologically, G. neotropica from Santa Fe province was indistinguishable from Galba viatrix and Galba cubensis, the other two cryptic species within this South American group of lymnaeids. The combination of molecular and morphological analyses is strongly recommended to identify lymnaeids at species level. The identity of the intermediate host and the subsequent knowledge of its susceptibility, behaviour, distribution, ecology and biology are important components in developing effective measures to control fasciolosis.     

Paleoecological and paleobiogeographic considerations of Ordovician graptolites from the Cordillera Oriental,Jujuy Province,Argentina

We analyse new paleoecological data from South American graptolite records to understand the patterns that influence the space-tempo distribution of the group. A cluster analysis including taxa from the Baltograptus cf. B. deflexus and Didymograptellus bifidus Zones is carried out to evaluate the paleogeographic relationships between north-western Argentina and the other regions in the world. Three different biofacies were recognised in the Acoite Formation. The first biofacies takes place in the lower part of the unit, corresponding to pelitic levels (Tetragraptus phyllograptoides and Tetragraptus akzharensis Zones), and it is represented by pandemic forms. The other two biofacies belong to the endemic or neritic shallow water environments, and develop in deposits corresponding to the middle part of the Acoite Formation (bottom of the Baltograptus cf. B. deflexus Zone) in the Sierra de Aguilar, and in the upper half of the unit exposed in the Los Colorados area (D. bifidus Zone), respectively. The statistical analysis highlight the paleobiogeographic relationship between north-western Argentina and south-western China during the middle-upper Floian (Baltograptus cf. B. deflexus and D. bifidus Zones), and it supports the hypothesis that during the Early Ordovician north-western Argentina was located in the middle to high latitudes, included in the cold water faunal realm.     

Notes on ciliates (Protozoa,ciliophora) from Espeletia trees and Espeletia soils of the Andean Páramo,with descriptions of sikorops espeletiae nov. spec. and Fragmocirrus espeletiae nov. gen., nov. spec.

Melittobia hawaiiensis Perkins (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a common gregarious ectoparasitoid of aculeate Hymenoptera and other orders of insects, is reported for the first time as a parasitoid of Melitoma segmentaria (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.     

Three new species,four new records and an updated checklist of Habenaria (Orchidaceae) from Rio Grande do Sul,Brazil

Three new species of Habenaria (Orchidaceae) section Nudae from Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, are described and illustrated: Habenaria australis, H. kleinii and H. sobraliana. These are the first records of H. sect. Nudae for the state. Based on the examination of living and dried specimens, a total of 33 species and 400 collections of Habenaria were recorded for Rio Grande do Sul. Based on this survey, an updated checklist of the genus Habenaria for Rio Grande do Sul has been compiled. Four species are known only from this state, while seven other species are restricted to southern Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Habenaria hieronymi, previously known only from Argentina, is recorded for the first time from Brazil, and H. brachyphyton, H. ekmaniana and H. melanopoda are new records for Rio Grande do Sul.     

The genus Gymnotus (Gymnotiformes: Gymnotidae) in Argentina. How bad taxonomy results in poor regulations and no conservation

Four species of the genus Gymnotus are present in Argentina: G. inaequilabiatus, G. omarorum, G. pantanal, and G. sylvius, the last three species being recorded for the first time in freshwater courses. Gymnotus omarorum, G. pantanal, and G. sylvius together with others of the genus Brachyhypopomus are the group of fishes that bear the greatest impact in the trade as live bait for sport fishing in the northeastern region of Argentina. Within this large area, only the provinces of Chaco, Corrientes, and Formosa have regulations for the catch, trade, and sale of species as live bait. Unfortunately, the species covered by legal regulations are Gymnotus carapo and Brachyhypopomus brevirostris, neither of which occurs in freshwater habitats of Argentina. Comments are included as to how this bad taxonomy affects the regulations and conservation status of these species.     

Migration and reproductive biology of Mugil liza (Teleostei: Mugilidae) in south Brazil

The mullet Mugil liza occurs along the Atlantic coast of South America from Venezuela to Argentina, but 95% of the commercial catch is collected from south Brazil between São Paulo and Argentina. Mugil liza is a single spawner with oocyte development occurring synchronously in two groups. Spawning happens in marine areas and occurs after migration. The reproductive migration occurs from Argentina (38° S) to the southern Brazilian states (24–26° S) from April to July, with peak spawning in June between northern Santa Catarina and Paraná. The presence of hyaline oocytes was associated with high salinity and sea surface temperatures of 19–21° C, and followed the seasonal northward displacement of these oceanographic conditions. The average size at first maturity (L_m) for both sexes was 408·3 mm total length, L_T. Males (L_m = 400·1) matured earlier than females (L_m = 421·9 mm). Fecundity ranged from 818 992 to 2 869 767 oocytes (mean = 1 624 551) in fish that were between 426 and 660 mm L_T.     

Revision ofDoniophyton (Compositae, Barnadesioideae)

This revision describes, illustrates and documents morphological variation inDoniophyton (Compositae, Barnadesioideae), restricted to Argentina and Chile. Two species are recognized,D. anomalum andD. weddellii (sp. nova), possessing distinct morphological and chromosomal features, elevational tolerances, and nearly allopatric distributions.Doniophyton weddellii occurs primarily in central to northern Andean Chile and Argentina from 1900–4000 m a. s. l.;D. anomalum is found principally in centralwestern Argentina and south into Patagonia at 0–1800 m a. s. l. Close relationship exists withChuquiraga of subfam.Barnadesioideae. It is hypothesized thatDoniophyton evolved out ofChuquiraga in the high central Andes between Chile and Argentina. It is suggested thatD. weddellii differentiated first, correlating with an aneuploid chromosomal decrease from n = 27 (inChuquiraga) to n = 25. Further evolution and chromosomal decrease to n = 24 resulted inD. anomalum, with accompanying migration into southern Andes and Patagonia. Nomenclatural changes result from examination of protologues and type specimens:Doniophyton anomalum replaces the commonly used nameD. patagonicum, and a new species,D. weddellii, is described for the taxon masquerading under the routinely used superfluous nameD. andicola. This paper is dedicated with admiration and respect to emer. Univ.-Prof. DrFriedrich Ehrendorfer, one of the world's outstanding plant systematists, and a leading scientist and administrator of the Institute of Botany of the University of Vienna     

Molecular Mechanisms Endowing Cross-resistance to ALS-Inhibiting Herbicides in Amaranthus hybridus from Argentina

Amaranthus hybridus L. is one of the most problematic weeds in summer crops in Argentina. However, 20 years after the detection of the first case of resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in this country, no extensive reports of the molecular mechanisms endowing resistance were published. In this work, we sequenced the acetolactate synthase gene of resistant plants belonging to five different populations of A. hybridus from Santa Fe and Cordoba provinces. We found that every population presented at least one of the previously documented substitutions W574L and D376E in ALS amino acid sequence. These results explain the cross-resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides and should alert about the usage of herbicides with a different site of action after an ineffective control of this species. This is the first report of these target-site mechanisms endowing resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in A. hybridus populations from Argentina.

     

Natural occurrence of entomophthoroid fungi (Entomophthoromycota) of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on cereal crops in Argentina

The spectrum of entomophthoroid fungal species parasitising aphids on cereal crops and a study of the phenology and prevalence of these pathogens were investigated in Argentina. The studies were conducted at six different sites cultivated with crops of Triticum aestivum (wheat), Avena sativa (oats) and Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) during two consecutive years. Entomopathogenic fungi from the new phylum Entomophthoromycota were recorded from six aphid species on cereals in Argentina: Rhopalosiphum maidis, Rhopalosiphum padi, Rhopalosiphum rufiabdominalis, Schizaphis graminum, Sitobion avenae and Sipha maydis. Three species of entomophthoroid fungi were found infecting these aphid species: Pandora neoaphidis, Zoophthora radicans (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae) and Neozygites fresenii (Neozygitales: Neozygitaceae). Entomophthoroid fungal infections occurred mostly in autumn–winter seasons (March–August), and coincided with periods of high relative humidity and comparatively low temperatures. This study represents the first base‐line characterisation of entomophthoroid fungi infecting aphids on cereal crops in Argentina.