The taxonomic relationships within the genus Excoecaria L. (Euphorbiaceae) based on leaf morphology and rDNA sequence data

The tropical Indo-Pacific genus Excoecaria L. (Euphorbiaceae) has several closely related species in Australia whose taxonomic relationships are unclear. The most widely reported species in Australia is the mangrove species Excoecaria agallocha L. (type species), whose taxonomic and geographic limits are difficult to define from its closely related species or sub-species. Two additional taxa have also been described but not clearly differentiated from the type species: Excoecaria dallachyana Baillon and Excoecaria ovalis Endl. This project aimed to determine the taxonomic relationships of the Australian Excoecaria species using both leaf morphological data and DNA sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal genes. The nucleotide differences in the examined ITS1 region show that E. agallocha from eastern Australia and E. ovalis from Western Australia respectively, are genetically uniform within species but differ from each other consistently, thus supporting species status. The leaf morphological data also support this view: single factor analysis of variance consistently separated E. ovalis from E. agallocha on the basis of leaf width, leaf length and length of petiole. In contrast, E. ovalis from the Gulf of Carpentaria differs only slightly from E. ovalis in Western Australia, but no evidence was found to suggest any leaf morphological differentiation within this species. The analysis also suggests that E. dallachyana is not closely related to either mangrove species E. agallocha or E. ovalis, despite superficial morphological similarities.     

The hymenopteran parasitoids of light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in Australia

Abstract  Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) is a serious pest of a number of horticultural crops including grapes in Australia and New Zealand. This study brings together information on the parasitoid complex associated with E. postvittana that previously was fragmented and largely inaccessible. We include species reared during a 3-year study of the parasitoids of E. postvittana in the vineyards of the Coonawarra region, South Australia, material from several Australian agricultural insect collections and records from the literature. An illustrated key is presented for 25 species of parasitoids and hyperparasitoids associated with E. postvittana , along with information on the taxonomy, identification, distribution and biology of each species. Taxa newly recorded from this host are Perilampus sp. (Perilampidae), and six species of Ichneumonidae: Euceros sp., Labium sp., Netelia sp., Plectochorus sp., Temalucha minuta (Morley) and Eriborus epiphyas sp. n., the latter species being described in full.     

Sutarostrongylus Johnsoni sp. n. (Nematoda: Trichostrongylina, Heligmosomoidea) from the pademelon, Thylogale stigmatica (Marsupialia) from Queensland, Australia

A new species of heligmosomoid nematode Sutarostrongylus johnsoni sp. n., belonging to the sub-family Herpetostrongylinae Skrjabin & Schultz, is described from the small intestine (duodenum) of the red-legged pademelon, Thylogale stigmatica (Gould, 1860) (Marsupialia: Macropodidae), from north-eastern Queensland, Australia. The only other species of the genus S. kirkpatricki Beveridge & Durelte-Desset, 1986 occurs in the related host, the red-necked pademelon, T. thetis (Lesson, 1827) in south-eastern Queensland. The new species differs in having longer spicules and asymmetrical spicule tips as well as the presence of a comarete which develops on the right ventral aspect of the mid-region of the body. The synlophe of the new species is unusual in that the inclination of the axis of orientation changes from being oblique in the anterior part of the body to being frontal in the posterior part. The same change may occur in some species of Austrostrongylus Chandler, 1924. Current data suggest that species of Sutarostrongylus are limited to a single genus of host, Thylogale Gray, 1837 and support the suggestion that both nematode species exhibit morphological features which are intermediate between those occurring in Herpetotostrongylinae in dasyurid marsupials and those occurring in macropodid marsupials.     

Species of Pseudorhabdosynochus Yamaguti, 1958 (Monogenea: Diplectanidae) from Epinephelus fasciatus and E. merra (Perciformes: Serranidae) off New Caledonia and other parts of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, with a comparison of measurements of specimens prepared using different methods, and a description of P. caledonicus n. sp.

Species of Pseudorhabdosynochus were studied from fresh specimens collected from Epinephelus fasciatus and E. merra off New Caledonia, South Pacific, and specimens deposited in Museums. Experiments on two species demonstrated that the sclerotised hollow organs, such as the quadriloculate male copulatory organ and the vagina, may show differences in measurements of up to 50% when flattened. P. caledonicus n. sp. is described from E. fasciatus in New Caledonia, on which it is relatively rare; it is distinguished on the basis of the quadriloculate organ, which has a very thin anterior wall, the sclerotised parts of the vagina in form of a straight tube with a star-shaped lateral structure, and the squamodiscs composed of 11 open rows of rodlets. P. cupatus (Young, 1969) is redescribed from abundant material from E. fasciatus off New Caledonia (new geographical record) and compared with paratype specimens from Australia (from E. fasciatus and E. merra) and specimens from E. fasciatus in the Red Sea (both herein redescribed and figured); a specimen was also found on a slide from E. merra off Vanuatu. P. melanesiensis (Laird, 1958) is redescribed from material from E. merra off New Caledonia (new geographical record) and compared with type-specimens (herein redescribed and figured) from the same host off Vanuatu. The structure of the sclerotised vagina in P. cupatus and P. melanesiensis is very similar, with a thin-walled tube and a heavily sclerotised structure with three loculi. P. vagampullum (Young, 1969) is redescribed from the paratypes from E. merra from Australia, but was not found in New Caledonia; specimens included among its paratypes (from E. merra in Australia), but different, are herein attributed to Pseudorhabdosynochus sp. 3. P. lantauensis (Beverley-Burton & Suriano, 1981) is redescribed from the paratype specimens from E. longispinis off Hong-Kong. A specimen found among the paratypes of P. cupatus belongs to a different species, herein designated as Pseudorhabdosynochus sp. 1. Specimens from E. longispinis off Hong-Kong, previously attributed to P. cupatus, are attributed to another species, Pseudorhabdosynochus sp. 2. The three species P. cupatus, Pseudorhabdosynochus sp. 1 and Pseudorhabdosynochus sp. 2 have in common a 'lamellosquamodisc' composed of central telescopic lamellae and peripheral rows of rodlets; they can be distinguished by the shape of the sclerotised vagina and measurements of the haptoral hard-parts. Specimens from E. longispinis off Hong-Kong, previously attributed to P. vagampullum, probably belong to a different species. Consequently, after these modified determinations, P. cupatus parasitises only E. fasciatus and E. merra, and P. melanesiensis and P. vagampullum parasitise only E. merra. With their wide geographical distribution and different species of Pseudorhabdosynochus in different localities, E. fasciatus and E. merra appear to represent excellent models for investigating monogenean biogeography in the Indo-Pacific Ocean.     

Gallegostrongylus australis n. sp. (Nematoda: Angiostrongylidae) from Muridae in Australia, with zoogeographical considerations

Gallegostrongylus australis n. sp. (Nematoda: Angiostrongylidae) is described from subpleural nodules in the lungs of Rattus fuscipes, R. lutreolus and Mus domesticus in Australia. It is distinguished from G. andersoni occurring in gerbillids in West Africa by the shorter lengths of spicules and gubernaculum, and from G. ibicensis occurring in microtids and murids in Spain by the greater lengths of spicules and gubernaculum and the shorter distances from vulva and from anus to the caudal extremity of females. The parasite has been found only in 16 of 4,227 (prevalence 0.38%) animals representing at least 28 species of native and three species of introduced murid rodents throughout Australia. The genus Gallegostrongylus may be an old one, possibly originating in rats. By rafting and/or human activities the parasite appears to have been distributed around the world where it has encountered suitable intermediate hosts and available niches for colonisation of new definitive hosts. Consequently, morphologically similar but biologically distinct species have evolved in rodent hosts in West Africa, the western Mediterranean, and Australia.     

Substantial genetic substructuring in southeastern and alpine Australia revealed by molecular phylogeography of the Egernia whitii (Lacertilia: Scincidae) species group

Palaeoclimatic events and biogeographical processes since the mid-Tertiary are believed to have strongly influenced the evolution and distribution of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna of southeastern Australia. We examined the phylogeography of the temperate-adapted members of the Egernia whitii species group, a group of skinks that comprise both widespread low- to mid-elevation (E. whitii) and montane-restricted species (Egernia guthega, Egernia montana), in order to obtain important insights into the influence of past biogeographical processes on the herpetofauna of southeastern Australia. Sequence data were obtained from all six temperate-adapted species within the E. whitii species group, and specifically from across the distributional ranges of E. whitii, E. guthega and E. montana. We targeted a fragment of the ND4 mitochondrial gene (696 bp) and analysed the data using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. Our data reveal a deep phylogeographical break in the east Gippsland region of Victoria between 'northern' (Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory) and 'southern' (Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia) populations of E. whitii. This divergence appears to have occurred during the late Miocene-Pliocene, with the Gippsland basin possibly forming a geographical barrier to dispersal. Substantial structuring within both the 'northern' and the 'southern' clades is consistent with the effects of Plio-Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles. Pleistocene glacial cycles also appear to have shaped the phylogeographical patterns observed in the alpine species, E. guthega and E. montana. We used our results to examine the biogeographical process that led to the origin and subsequent diversification of the lowland and alpine herpetofauna of southeastern Australia.     

Reappearance of Eumarcia fumigata (G.B. Sowerby II, 1853) (Bivalvia: Veneridae) into the Swan River,Western Australia

ABSTRACT

The venerid bivalve Eumarcia fumigata was a common species in Western Australia (WA) during the Pleistocene, where it was distributed as far north as Shark Bay. It became extinct in WA as the climate changed several thousand years ago but remains common in eastern Australia from southern Queensland to South Australia and Tasmania. The species has recently reappeared in the Swan River, probably due to shipping movements. Of the > 60 marine and estuarine species introduced into WA it is only the third confirmed introduction from eastern Australia, and the first that is a reappearance in the Swan River of a species present in the geological past. The present reappearance of E. fumigata, and the introduction of other species, has been made possible by the removal of a rocky bar at the mouth of the estuary and the creation of more marine conditions in the lower Swan estuary.     

A new species of Bentleya. Bennett (Pittosporaceae) from southern Western Australia

CRISP, M. D. & TAYLOR, J. M., 1990. A new species of Bentleya E. Bennett (Pittosporaceae) from southern Western Australia. Hitherto Bentleya has been a monotypic genus known from a restricted area in south-west Western Australia. This paper describes a second species which was discovered recently in the same region. The new species differs from B. spinescens in its remarkable habit but shares with it several floral characters which are unique within the family.     

Chloroplast DNA evidence for reticulate evolution in Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae)

Four highly differentiated chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) lineages were identified in the forest tree species Eucalyptus globulus Labill. (Myrtaceae) in Australia using restriction site polymorphisms from Southern analysis. The cpDNA variation did not conform with ssp. boundaries, yet there was a strong geographical pattern to the distribution of the lineages. One lineage (C) was geographically central and widespread, whereas the other three lineages were found in peripheral populations: Western (W), Northern (N) and Southern (S). Thirteen haplotypes were detected in E. globulus , seven of which belonged to clade C. At least three of the cpDNA lineages (C, N and S) were shared extensively with other species. On the east coast of the island of Tasmania, there was a major north–south difference in cpDNA in the virtually continuous distribution of E. globulus . Northern populations harboured haplotypes from clade C while southeastern populations harboured a single haplotype from clade S. This difference was also reflected in several co-occurring endemic species. It is argued that the extensive cpDNA differentiation within E. globulus is likely to originate from interspecific hybridization and 'chloroplast capture' from different species in different parts of its range. Superficially, this hybridization is not evident in taxonomic traits; however, large-scale common garden experiments have revealed a steep cline in quantitative genetic variation that coincides with the haplotype transition in Tasmania. Our cpDNA results provide the strongest evidence to date that hybridization has had a widespread impact on a eucalypt species and indicate that reticulate evolution may be occurring on an unappreciated scale in Eucalyptus .     

Review of Australian Asperoseius Chant, Euseius Wainstein, Okiseius Ehara and Phytoscutus Muma (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae) with a key to the genera of Australian Amblyseiinae and descriptions of two new species

Previous workers have used a conservative generic classification of the subfamily Amblyseiinae that treated most Australian Phytoseiidae as species in the genus Amblyseius Berlese. However, this lumping masks the occurrence of a number of genera recognised overseas, including some that contain important biological control agents. In this review, a key to the genera of Australian Amblyseiinae is provided and the Australian species in four amblyseiine genera are reviewed and keyed. Asperoseius Chant is represented by a single known Australian species, A. australiensis Fain and Krantz collected from a Culicoides midge in South Australia. Six species of Euseius Wainstein are recognised in Australia, including four endemics: E. dowdi (Schicha), E. elinae (Schicha), E. neovictoriensis (Schicha), and E. victoriensis (Schicha), and two Asia–Pacific species: E. noumeae (Schicha) and E. ovalis (Evans). Okiseius Ehara is represented in Australia by the previously described O. morenoi Schicha and O. domatorum (Schicha); the Asian species O. subtropicus Ehara (new record); and two new species, O. tribulation and O. cowbay described from tropical rainforest in Far North Queensland. Phytoscutus acaridophagus Collyer, a mite described from New Zealand, is reported in association with acarid mites ( Neotropacarus sp.) in Victoria and in Queensland.     

Reclassification of Cupes Fabricius (s.lat.), with descriptions of new genera and species (Cupedidae: Coleoptera)

ABSTRACT.
The classification of Cupes Fabricius (s.lat.) is discussed. Details of previously proposed species groupings are expanded and supported by characters of the male genitalia. In addition to Cupes (s.s.) five new genera (Tenomerga, Distocupes, Adinolepis, Ascioplaga and Rhipsideigma) are established and the total number of species is raised to twenty-four of which seven are new: Tenotnerga trabecula, T.kapnodes, T.favella, Adinolepis scalena, Ascioplaga mimeta, A.sciasma and Rhipsideigma adjuncta. The known distribution is extended and now includes the NE of North America, E and S Africa including Madagascar, E Asia, E Australia, Borneo, New Guinea, New Caledonia and the Hawaiian Islands. Types of most species have been examined and figured.     

Karyological and taxonomical considerations on Epipactis cupaniana sp. nov. (Orchidaceae) from Sicily

A new species of Epipactis from the Madonie massif (Sicily), E. cupaniana C. Brullo, D’Emerico and Pulv. sp. nov., is described and illustrated. It is a nemoral species, occurring in Holm oak woods, and is characterized by a diploid chromosome complement of 2n = 2x = 38. In the metaphase I, the mother cells of the embryo sac contain 19 bivalents. With respect to morphology and karyotype structure, the new species shows a close relationships with E. helleborine and other allied species, such as E. meridionalis and E. schubertiorum, both occurring in southern Italy and Sicily. However, several morphological features, chromosome size, and differences in the heterochromatin distribution allow for a clear distinction between E. cupaniana and the above‐mentioned species.     

The geographic distribution and host range of Capillaria hepatica (Bancroft) (Nematoda) in Australia.

The geographic distribution, host range and prevalence of Capillaria hepatica were recorded in 4629 house mice, Mus domesticus, 263 black rats, Rattus rattus, and 58 Norway rats, R. norvegicus. The parasite was found at five localities, all in or near large towns along the coast. The two Rattus species appeared to be the primary hosts of C. hepatica in Australia. Published and unpublished data on helminth infections of Australian native mammals from 1162 murids (26 species), 3018 marsupials (67 species) and 99 monotremes (two species) were compiled. Only seven animals from three murid species were infected with C. hepatica; all were from the same rainforest in northern Queensland. C. hepatica was distributed widely, occurring in the house mouse, black rat and Norway rat on a 10,850 ha farm but there was no infection in cattle, sheep or goats (abattoir records). Also, 52 rabbits, four cats and one fox (shot samples) and 27 marsupial mice, Sminthopsis crassicaudata (museum specimens), had no sign of C. hepatica infection. Overall, the results indicate that transmission of C. hepatica to native, domestic and feral mammals is rare, presumably because of ecological constraints on egg embryonation and survival. In the light of these findings, the potential use of C. hepatica as a biological agent to control mouse plagues in Australia is discussed.     

Taxonomic Review of Creontiades Distant in Australia (Hemiptera: Miridae: Mirinae)

The two species of Creontiades Distant occurring in Australia, C. dilutus (Stål) (Australian endemic) and C. pacificus (Stål) (China, several countries in the Oriental and Australian regions including Tahiti and Micronesian islands) are redescribed, illustrated and their distributions are mapped. Megacoelum modestum (Distant) and C. virescens Reuter are synonymised with C. dilutus , and C. pallidifer (Walker) with C. pacificus. Available host plant information is provided for both species. C. dilutus , commonly known as green mirid, is a pest of cotton, potato, stone fruit, lucerne and other crops in certain parts of Australia. the generic limits of Creontiades and the closely related, world-wide distributed Megaceolum Fieber are reviewed based on examination of Australian species and the type species.     

A new species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1850 (Tetraphyllidea: Onchobothriidae) from Pastinachus atrus (Macleay) (Batoidea: Dasyatidae) in Australian waters, with a reassessment of the host associations of Acanthobothrium spp. parasitising Pastinachus spp

A new Category 1 species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1850 is described from the cowtail stingray Pastinachus atrus (Macleay) collected from the Gulf of Carpentaria near Weipa, Queensland, Australia. This species is unique among Acanthobothrium Category 1 species in that it retains gravid proglottids on its strobila. It differs further from the 34 other Category 1 species in total length, proglottid number and testis number. The host identities of other Acanthobothrium species reported from Pastinachus are revised based on recent taxonomic work on rays of this genus. Given the revised host taxonomy, according to which P. atrus is the only member of its genus occurring off Australia, this should be considered to be the fifth species of Acanthobothrium reported from this Australian endemic species.     

The genus Thecotheus (Pezizales) in Australia: T. urinamans sp. nov. from urea-treated jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest

The genus Thecotheus is reported in Australia for the first time. A new species, Thecotheus urinamans is described and illustrated and included in a key to all known species of the genus. Critical macro- and micromorphological comparisons are presented to distinguish the new species from several closely related species, particularly the widespread fungus Thecotheus crustaceus. Thecotheus urinamans was growing on rotting, moist, plant litter from an experimental plot treated with urea (ammonia) in the indigenous jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest of Western Australia.     

Australiformis semoni (Linstow, 1898) n. gen., n. comb. (Acanthocephala: Moniliformidae) from marsupials of Australia and New Guinea

Australiformis n. gen. is erected for Echinorhynchus (Gigantorhynchus) semoni Linstow, 1898, from Australian and New Guinea marsupials. The new genus differs from Moniliformis and Promoniliformis in lacking spiral muscles in the outer wall of the proboscis receptacle. Linstow's species, E. semoni, is redescribed from abundant material from Peramelidae and Dasyuridae from Australia and New Guinea.     

A review of the genus Eodiaptomus Kiefer, 1932, with the description of E. sanuamuangae n.sp. from Thailand, and a redescription of E. lumholtzi (Sars, 1889) from Australia (Copepoda, Calanoida)

The genus Eodiaptomus Kiefer contains six species, five of which are distributed in Asia, and one in Australia and New Guinea. A seventh species, E. sanuamuangae n.sp., is now added from Thailand. It has hitherto been misidentified as E. sinensis (Burckhardt), but can be recognized by various morphologic criteria. In the female, both spines on either wing of the fifth pediger are laterally placed. The third endopodite-segment of P2–P4 has seven, instead of six, setae. The sensory seta on the basis of P5 is extraordinarily long. On the male right antennule, the spine on segment 8 is much reduced, whereas that on segment 15 is relatively strong; the spinous process on the antepenultimate segment is slender, straight, with a hooked tip and as long as the next segment. Morphologically and geographically, E. sanuamuangae n.sp. links the Asian to the Australian forms. The Australian E. lumholtzi (Sars) is redescribed. A detailed morphological comparison is made of all Eodiaptomus spp. Their taxonomic characters, interspecies relationship, and biogeography are discussed.     

Danielopolina kornickeri sp. n. (Ostracoda, Thaumatocypridoidea) from a western Australian anchialine cave: morphology and evolution

Danielopolina kornickeri sp. n . is described from an anchialine cave in Western Australia. This is the first Danielopolina species occurring outside of the Western Hemisphere (Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans and Islands). A cladistic analysis indicates that this species is a primitive taxon of the anchialine cavernicolous clade; the deep-sea dwelling species Danielopolina carolynae appears more primitive and does not cluster with the other Danielopolina species. The ecological environment of D. kornickeri is described. Detailed discussions consider: (1) the shell ornamentation and its relevance to the phylogeny of the Thaumatocyprididae; (2) the antero-dorsal node of the Permian Thaumatomma (hypothesized here to be an ocular lens which regressed in the post-Palaeozoic thaumatocypridids); (3) the distal chaetotaxy of the antennae (hypothesized to perform the chemosensorial function known in the aesthetascs of other myodocopids or podocopids); (4) palaeobiogeographical arguments for a shallow marine origin of cavernicolous species Danielopolina .