From Africa via Europe to South America: migrational route of a species‐rich genus of Neotropical lowland rain forest trees (Guatteria,Annonaceae)

Aim Several recent studies have suggested that a substantial portion of today’s plant diversity in the Neotropics has resulted from the dispersal of taxa into that region rather than by vicariance. In general, three routes have been documented for the dispersal of taxa onto the South American continent: (1) via the North Atlantic Land Bridge, (2) via the Bering Land Bridge, or (3) from Africa directly onto the continent. Here a species‐rich genus of Neotropical lowland rain forest trees (Guatteria, Annonaceae) is used as a model to investigate these three hypotheses. Location The Neotropics. Methods The phylogenetic relationships within the long‐branch clade of Annonaceae were reconstructed (using maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference) in order to gain insight in the phylogenetic position of Guatteria. Furthermore, Bayesian molecular dating and Bayesian dispersal–vicariance (Bayes‐DIVA) analyses were undertaken. Results Most of the relationships within the long‐branch clade of Annonaceae were reconstructed and had high support. However, the relationship between the Duguetia clade, the Xylopia–Artabotrys clade and Guatteria remained unclear. The stem node age estimate of Guatteria ranged between 49.2 and 51.3 Ma, whereas the crown node age estimate ranged between 11.4 and 17.8 Ma. For the ancestral area of Guatteria and its sister group, the area North America–Africa was reconstructed in 99% of 10,000 DIVA analyses, while South America–North America was found just 1% of the time. Main conclusions The estimated stem to crown node ages of Guatteria in combination with the Bayes‐DIVA analyses imply a scenario congruent with an African origin followed by dispersal across the North Atlantic Land Bridge in the early to middle Eocene and further dispersal into North and Central America (and ultimately South America) in the Miocene. The phylogenetically and morphologically isolated position of the genus is probably due to extinction of the North American and European stem lineages in the Tertiary.     

Patterns of genetic diversity of the cryptogenic red alga Polysiphonia morrowii (Ceramiales,Rhodophyta) suggest multiple origins of the Atlantic populations

The red alga Polysiphonia morrowii, native to the North Pacific (Northeast Asia), has recently been reported worldwide. To determine the origin of the French and Argentine populations of this introduced species, we compared samples from these two areas with samples collected in Korea and at Hakodate, Japan, the type locality of the species. Combined analyses of chloroplastic (rbcL) and mitochondrial (cox1) DNA revealed that the French and Argentine populations are closely related and differ substantially from the Korean and Japanese populations. The genetic structure of P. morrowii populations from South Atlantic and North Atlantic, which showed high haplotype diversity compared with populations from the North Pacific, suggested the occurrence of multiple introduction events from areas outside of the so‐called native regions. Although similar, the French and Argentine populations are not genetically identical. Thus, the genetic structure of these two introduced areas may have been modified by cryptic and recurrent introduction events directly from Asia or from other introduced areas that act as introduction relays. In addition, the large number of private cytoplasmic types identified in the two introduced regions strongly suggests that local populations of P. morrowii existed before the recent detection of these invasions. Our results suggest that the most likely scenario is that the source population(s) of the French and Argentine populations was not located only in the North Pacific and/or that P. morrowii is a cryptogenic species.     

SYSTEMATIC REVISION OF PSEUDOBEACONIA BORDAS, 1944, AND MENDOCINICHTHYS WHITLEY, 1953 (ACTINOPTERYGII: ‘PERLEIDIFORMES’) FROM THE TRIASSIC OF ARGENTINA

Abstract: The ‘perleidiform’Mendocinichthys and Pseudobeaconia from the Potrerillos and Santa Clara Abajo formations (Upper Triassic; Argentina) are reviewed. Mendocinichthys has been known from a review of this species that is not based on the type material, but on referred specimens in the American Museum of Natural History. However, those specimens are found here to represent a new species of Pseudobeaconia, P. celestae sp. nov. Consequently, Mendocinichthys is restricted here to the type material and, within it, to the only specimen that clearly represents a distinct taxon and is thus designated lectotype. We further performed a cladistic analysis and propose a new family, Pseudobeaconiidae for these two South American Triassic genera, which is mainly characterized by the presence of an incomplete dorsal ridge of spine‐like scales between the skull and the dorsal fin, and scales with straight posterior border, an elevated central region and marginal concentric ridges of ganoine. The cladistic analysis further indicates the existence of some lineages endemic to certain areas of Gondwana and Europe. Pseudobeaconia celestae sp. nov. represents the first record of Pseudobeaconia in the Cacheuta sub‐basin of the Cuyana Basin. The genus was previously known from the Santa Clara sub‐basin of the Cuyana Basin only, and the new record confirms the previous hypothesis of correlation between the sedimentary infilling of these sub‐basins.     

Biogeography of ‘tropical Anagallis’ (Myrsinaceae) inferred from nuclear and plastid DNA sequence data

Aim ‘Tropical Anagallis’ corresponds to one of two evolutionary lineages within the genus Anagallis L. Generally, species within this lineage have a limited distribution in (sub‐)tropical regions in Africa or Madagascar. Two species, however, are endemic to South America, and exhibit a trans‐Atlantic disjunction with the rest of the species within the lineage. To investigate this disjunct distribution, as well as other dispersal events, the distribution of extant taxa was used to hypothesize the ancestral area(s) of distribution. Location Africa, Madagascar, Europe and South America. Methods Dispersal–vicariance analysis (DIVA) was used to optimize distribution areas onto parsimony and Bayesian phylogenies based on sequence data from four chloroplast loci and the nuclear internal transcribed spacers (ITS). Results Parsimony analysis gave one most parsimonious tree while Bayesian analysis resulted in a collapsed node due to alternative placements of Anagallis nummularifolia Baker, endemic to Madagascar. Optimization of the present distribution using DIVA, and the most parsimonious tree and six alternative topologies of the Bayesian analysis, show an origin of the lineage in Europe as most likely, although one topology indicates a broader ancestral distribution area. Dispersal to Africa appears to have been a single event, while two parallel dispersal events seem to have resulted in the American as well as Madagascan distributions. Main conclusions The lineage ‘tropical Anagallis’ evolved in Europe and may have been present in the Eocene boreotropical forests, although scarcity of fossils makes assessment of age difficult. Dispersal to South America is proposed to have been via the North Atlantic land bridge, or, more likely, through transport by the North Equatorial Current. Dispersal from Europe to Africa represents a single event, while dispersal to Madagascar from mainland Africa has occurred twice.     

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     

A new basal tomistomine (Crocodylia,Crocodyloidea) from Issel (Middle Eocene; France): palaeobiogeography of basal tomistomines and palaeogeographic consequences

A skull and mandible of a crocodylian from the late Lutetian of Issel, previously described as ‘Atacisaurus glareae’ is reconsidered. The holotype of ‘A. glareae’, a partial mandible, is lost, and the skull cannot be designated as a lectotype for the species. ‘Atacisaurus glareae’ is thus a nomen dubium. The skull bears a combination of characters, allowing us to assign it to the genus Kentisuchus. It differs from the, until now, only known species Kentisuchus spenceri from the Ypresian of England, in having a more robust snout, with the constriction of the snout at the level of the seventh–eighth teeth being 80% of the largest maxillary width, and not bearing anteroposterior shallow fossae along the lacrimomaxillary sutures. A new species is thus erected, K entisuchus astrei sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis confirms that the genus Kentisuchus is one of the most primitive tomistomine. The phylogenetic and palaeogeographic distribution suggests that Kentisuchus was isolated in the Atlantic Ocean, and Ebro (Spain) and Aquitaine (France) basins, during the Ypresian, and that the south Pyrenean marine corridor between the Atlantic Ocean and the Tethys could have closed during the early Ypresian, earlier than previously supposed. This could be correlated with the first mammal migrations from the Iberian Peninsula to Southern France. The palaeogeographic distribution of early and middle Eocene tomistomines also suggests the possible presence of a marine corridor between the North Sea and the Central Tethys through the Polish Lowlands Basin during the early Lutetian. This marine corridor could be informative for studies on mammal migration, as the presence of a north–south marine corridor necessarily means there is an absence or less efficient east–west terrestrial passage. This could have consequences on the history of Asian–European mammal migrations.     

Phylogeny and biogeography of Muusoctopus (Cephalopoda: Enteroctopodidae)

Deep‐sea octopuses of the genus Muusoctopus are thought to have originated in the Pacific Northern Hemisphere and then diversified throughout the Pacific and into the rest of the World Ocean. However, this hypothesis was inferred only from molecular divergence times. Here, the ancestral distribution and dispersal routes are estimated by Bayesian analysis based on a new phylogeny including 38 specimens from the south‐eastern Pacific Ocean. Morphological data and molecular sequences of three mitochondrial genes (16S rRNA, COI and COIII) are presented. The morphological data confirm that specimens newly acquired from off the coast of Chile comprise two species: Muusoctopus longibrachus and the poorly described species, Muusoctopus eicomar. The latter is here redescribed and is clearly distinguished from M. longibrachus and other closely related species in the region. A gene tree was built using Bayesian analysis to infer the phylogenetic position of these species within the species group, revealing that a large genetic distance separates the two sympatric Chilean species. M. longibrachus is confirmed as the sister species of Muusooctopus eureka from the Falkland Islands; while M. eicomar is a sister species of Muusoctopus yaquinae from the North Pacific, most closely related to the amphi‐Atlantic species Muusoctopus januarii. Molecular divergence times and ancestral distribution analyses suggest that genus Muusoctopus may have originated in the North Atlantic: one lineage dispersed directly southward to the Magellan region and another dispersed southward along the Eastern Pacific to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. The Muusoctopus species in the Southern Hemisphere have different phylogenetic origins and represent independent invasions of this region.     

Contribution to the revision of Oriental Aulacus Jurine, 1807 (Hymenoptera: Aulacidae): description of A. ceciliae sp. nov. from Laos and redescription of A. bituberculatus Cameron, 1899 from India

A remarkable Aulacus Jurine, 1807, A. ceciliae Turrisi, sp. nov., is described from Laos and A. bituberculatus Cameron, 1899 from India is redescribed from the type material, which has been recently rediscovered. For the latter species, a lectotype is formally designated. Both species are very characteristic due to the presence of two tooth‐like processes on the vertex, an autapomorphic feature probably related with the endoxylic bionomy. References to the other two Oriental species of Aulacus, A. philippinensis (Kieffer, 1916) and A. sinensis He & Chen, 2007 and a key to all four species of the genus presently known for the Oriental Region are provided.     

Patterns of diversification in two species of short‐tailed bats (Carollia Gray, 1838): the effects of historical fragmentation of Brazilian rainforests

The small‐sized frugivorous bat Carollia perspicillata is an understory specialist and occurs in a wide range of lowland habitats, tending to be more common in tropical dry or moist forests of South and Central America. Its sister species, Carollia brevicauda, occurs almost exclusively in the Amazon rainforest. A recent phylogeographic study proposed a hypothesis of origin and subsequent diversification for C. perspicillata along the Atlantic coastal forest of Brazil. Additionally, it also found two allopatric clades for C. brevicauda separated by the Amazon Basin. We used cytochrome b gene sequences and a more extensive sampling to test hypotheses related to the origin and diversification of C. perspicillata plus C. brevicauda clade in South America. The results obtained indicate that there are two sympatric evolutionary lineages within each species. In C. perspicillata, one lineage is limited to the Southern Atlantic Forest, whereas the other is widely distributed. Coalescent analysis points to a simultaneous origin for C. perspicillata and C. brevicauda, although no place for the diversification of each species can be firmly suggested. The phylogeographic pattern shown by C. perspicillata is also congruent with the Pleistocene refugia hypothesis as a likely vicariant phenomenon shaping the present distribution of its intraspecific lineages. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102 , 527–539.     

Population origin of Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus by‐catch in U.S. Atlantic coast fisheries

Microsatellite DNA and mitochondrial DNA control‐region sequence analyses were used to determine the population and distinct population segment (DPS) origin of 173 Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus encountered from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Observer Program. It was found that the Hudson River was by far the greatest contributor to this coastal by‐catch, with 42·2–46·3% of specimens originating there. Generally, specimens represented the geographic province of the river in which they were spawned, but some specimens, particularly those originating in the South Atlantic DPS, moved to great distances. Genetic mixed‐stock analyses provide an accurate approach to determine the DPS and population origin of A. o. oxyrinchus by‐catch in coastal waters, but most informative management requires that these results be partitioned by locale, season, target fishery and gear type.     

Antibacterial Δ1‐3‐Ketosteroids from the South China Sea Gorgonian Coral Subergorgia rubra

Three new Δ¹‐3‐ketosteroids characterized with a 9‐OH, subergosterones A–C ( 1 – 3 ), together with five known analogs 4 – 8 , were obtained from the gorgonian coral Subergorgia rubra collected from the South China Sea. The structures of 1 – 3 , including their absolute configurations, were determined by comprehensive spectroscopic methods and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) experiments. Compounds 2 and 3 exhibited inhibitory antibacterial activities against Bacillus cereus with MIC values of 1.56 μM .     

The serphitid wasps (Hymenoptera: Proctotrupo‐morpha: Serphitoidea) of Canadian Cretaceous amber

Five new species and one new genus of Serphitidae microhymenoptera are described from Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) amber originating at the Grassy Lake locality in Alberta, Canada. New taxa include Serphites hynemani sp.n. , Serphites bruesi sp.n. , Serphites kuzminae sp.n. , Serphites pygmaeus sp.n. and Jubaserphites ethani gen. et sp.n. Topotype material for the type species of Serphites, Serphites paradoxus Brues is re‐illustrated and redescribed in greater detail, clarifying the characteristics of the species for comparison with the numerous serphitids that have been described subsequent to the work of Brues. We provide the first comprehensive report of known serphitid specimens in Canadian amber, draw comparisons with taxa in other Cretaceous deposits, and comment upon the palaeoecological connotations of the relatively diverse and morphologically disparate Canadian serphitid assemblage.     

The identity of the Ordovician (Darriwilian) graptolite Fucoides dentatus Brongniart, 1828

Abstract: The biostratigraphically important Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian) biserial graptolite Fucoides dentatus Brongniart, 1828 is redescribed and illustrated from its type material and from additional specimens collected at the type locality – Lévis, Quebec, Canada. It is referred to Levisograptus gen. nov., which includes also the austrodentatus group of early axonophoran graptolites. The species has previously been confused with a younger, mid‐Darriwilian species, now referred to as Eoglyptograptus gerhardi sp. nov., and recognized as the type species of the genus Eoglyptograptus Mitchell. Both species can be differentiated easily by their respective proximal development types and show nonoverlapping biostratigraphical ranges. Levisograptus dentatus (Brongniart) is an important biostratigraphical index species in the early Darriwilian. Eoglyptograptus species are found in the higher Darriwilian and are biogeographically restricted to the Atlantic Faunal Realm.     

An early Miocene deep‐water decapod crustacean faunule from the Vienna Basin (Western Carpathians,Slovakia)

Abstract: A decapod crustacean faunule from the lower Miocene (upper Burdigalian, ‘Karpatian’) of the Slovakian part of the Vienna Basin comprise five new species: Callianopsis marianae (Ctenochelidae), Crosniera schweitzerae (Thomassiniidae), Agononida cerovensis and Munidopsis lieskovensis (both Galatheidae) plus Mursia harnicari (Calappidae). The new species of Callianopsis is the first undoubted member of the genus to be recorded from Europe; it is based on sexually dimorphic major and minor chelae as well as on portions of carapace and abdomen. Crosniera schweitzerae sp. nov. and Agononida cerovensis sp. nov. constitute the first fossil members of these genera. Additional material of an enigmatic crab, Styrioplax exiguus, and a re‐examination of the type material, confirms assignment of that genus to the subfamily Rhizopinae (family Pilumnidae). Palaeoecological data suggest that deposition of the levels (Lak?árska Nová Ves Formation) from which these taxa were collected took place under generally low‐energy, deep‐water conditions that were conducive to the preservation of delicate structures. Palaeobiogeographical affinities of the described taxa suggest a trans‐Atlantic migration during the early Miocene.     

Phylogeography of North Atlantic intertidal tardigrades: refugia,cryptic speciation and the history of the Mid‐Atlantic Islands

Aim To analyse the phylogeographical history of intertidal tardigrades in the North Atlantic in order to improve our understanding of geographical differentiation in microscopic organisms, and to understand the potential importance of the Mid‐Atlantic Islands as stepping stones between the American and European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. Location Twenty‐four localities from the Mid‐Atlantic Islands (Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands) and both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. Methods A mitochondrial marker (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) was sequenced from individual tardigrades belonging to the genus Echiniscoides. The existence of cryptic species was detected using generalized mixed Yule coalescence analysis; lineage ages were estimated with relaxed clock methods; and the degree of geographical differentiation was analysed with samova analyses, haplotype networks and Mantel tests. Results Echiniscoides hoepneri, previously known only from Greenland, was recovered throughout the Mid‐Atlantic Islands. The Faroe Islands population was isolated from Greenland and Iceland, but overall genetic variation was low. The morphospecies Echiniscoides sigismundi had high genetic variation and consisted of at least two cryptic species. A northern and a southern species were both recovered on both sides of the Atlantic, but only the northern species was found on the Mid‐Atlantic Islands. The northern species showed signs of long‐term isolation between the Western and Eastern Atlantic, despite the potential of the Mid‐Atlantic islands to act as stepping‐stones. There was no sign of long‐term isolation in the southern species. The Mid‐Atlantic individuals of the northern species were of Eastern Atlantic origin, but Greenland and Iceland showed signs of long‐term isolation. The genetic pattern found in the southern species is not clearly geographical, and can probably be best explained by secondary contact between former isolated populations. Main conclusions North Atlantic intertidal tardigrades from the genus Echiniscoides showed strong geographical differentiation, and the Mid‐Atlantic Islands seemed unimportant as stepping stones across the Atlantic. The geographical variation of the northern species of E. sigismundi suggests post‐glacial recolonization from several refugia.     

Miocene divergence,phenotypically cryptic lineages,and contrasting distribution patterns in common lichen‐forming fungi (Ascomycota: Parmeliaceae)

Despite the recent advancements in recognizing diversity in lichen‐forming fungi, assessing the timing of diversification remains largely unexplored in these important fungal symbionts. To better understand the evolutionary processes driving diversification in common lichen‐forming fungi, we investigated the phylogeny and biogeography of the broadly distributed Melanelixia fuliginosa/M. glabratula group, using molecular data from six nuclear markers. Phylogenetic analyses of individual gene alignments and combined data provide strong evidence for five species‐level lineages within this species complex. Three of these lineages correspond to the previously described species M. fuliginosa, M. glabratula, and M. subaurifera. The remaining two lineages, ‘M. sp. 1’ and ‘M. sp. 2’, merit species recognition based on genealogical concordance. Both M. glabratula and M. subaurifera had broad intercontinental distributions, sharing identical haplotypes among intercontinental populations. Based on the current sampling, M. fuliginosa s.s. was represented exclusively by European material and was not collected in North America. ‘M. sp. 1’ was represented by collections from Scotland and Spain; and ‘M. sp. 2’ was represented by collections in California, USA. Environmental factors driving the contrasting distribution patterns in this group remain unknown. Divergence times estimated using a coalescence‐based multilocus species‐tree approach suggest that diversification within the M. fuliginosa/M. glabratula group occurred exclusively during the Miocene. The results of the present study indicate that phenotypically cryptic lichen‐forming fungal species‐level lineages may be relatively ancient and do not necessarily reflect recent divergence events. Furthermore, diagnosable phenotypic differences may be absent even millions of years after the initial divergence. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, ●●, ●●–●●.