A new species of Ampelisca (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from NW Iberian Peninsula: Ampelisca troncosoi sp. nov.

A new species of Ampelisca (Crustacea, Amphipoda) is described from samples collected in shallow subtidal fine and very fine sand in the inlet of Baiona (Galicia, NW Iberian Peninsula). Ampelisca troncosoi sp. nov. is closely related to A. brachyceras and A. heterodactyla by having a rostrum between antenna 1 pair and one lateral angle at each side of the head. The new species may be distinguished by the following combination of characters: a distally rounded rostrum between the antenna 1 pair, one laterodorsal pair of corneal lenses, antenna 1 longer than antenna 2 peduncle, antenna 2 never reaching half of the body length, epimeral plates with rounded posterodistal angle, a prominent rounded urosomal carina and two rows of minute spines on the outer rami of the uropod 3.     

A new species of Ingolfiellidae (Peracarida, Amphipoda, Crustacea) from the Azores, Portugal

A new species of Ingolfiellid Amphipod Ingolfiella azorensis n. sp. is described from samples collected in a benthic survey off the Azores archipelago, Portugal. The new species is characterized by the lack of ocular lobes, a four-toothed dactylus on the first and second gnathopods, and having dissimilar claws on the third to seventh pereiopods. Individuals were obtained from shallow subtidal samples of sand. The new findings bring the number of Ingolfiellidae from Macaronesia up to six, equalling almost 20 % of the world’s known species, suggesting this area as a potential evolutionary centre for Ingolfiellidae.     

A new species of Thetispelecaris (Crustacea: Peracarida) from submarine cave on Grand Cayman Island

A new species of the peracaridan order Bochusacea, Thetispelecaris yurikago, is described from a submarine cave on Grand Cayman Island, the Caribbean Sea. The new species is the fourth species of the order and family, and the second of the genus. Recent studies have strongly suggested a close phylogenetic affinity between cave-dwelling and deep-sea taxa in the Bochusacea as recognized in other cavernicolous/deep-sea crustaceans such as amphipods and copepods. The morphology of the gut and female reproductive system is observed for the first time in the Bochusacea: the stomach is complex with structures such as ridges, processes, spinules, and hairs in the lumen; paired gonopores are located near the base of the fifth pereiopods on the sternite.     

Vemakylindrus cantabricus, a new species of Diastylidae (Crustacea, Cumacea) from the northern Iberian coasts

Eleven species of the genusVemakylindrus Bacescu, 1961 are known at present. A hitherto unknown species is described herein asV. cantabricus, sp. nov., and is compared with the more closely related congeneric species:V. hastatus (Hansen, 1920) andV. stebbingi Day, 1980.Vemakylindrus cantabricus may be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: (1) carapace densely covered by hooked denticles and hairs; (2) pseudorostrum shorter than carapace; (3) telson of “Diastylis type” with 5–6 pairs of lateral spines; and (4) external process of basis of third maxilliped with 4 long plumose setae.     

A new species of Haplophyllum A. Juss. (Rutaceae) from the Iberian Peninsula: evidence from morphological, karyological and molecular analyses

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The discovery of a new species, Haplophyllum bastetanum F.B. Navarro, V.N. Suárez-Santiago & Blanca sp. nov., in the south-east of Spain has prompted the comparative study of species of the Iberian Peninsula, and others related, through morphological, cytogenetic, molecular, distributional and ecological characterization. METHODS: The morphological study involved a quantitative analysis of the species present in the Iberian Peninsula and a comparative analysis of the morphological characteristics between H. bastetanum and other related species. Mitotic analyses were made with root meristems taken from germinating seeds. Phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA were performed using neighbour-joining (NJ) and maximum-parsimony methods. KEY RESULTS: Haplophyllum bastetanum is a diploid species (2n = 18) distinguished primarily for its non-trifoliate glabrous leaves, lanceolate sepals, dark-green petals with a dorsal band of hairs, and a highly hairy ovary with round-apex locules. The other two Iberian species (H. linifolium and H. rosmarinifolium) are tetraploid (2n = 36) and have yellow petals. Both phylogenetic methods generated a well-supported clade grouping H. linifolium with H. rosmarinifolium. In the NJ tree, the H. linifolium-H. rosmarinifolium clade is a sister group to H. bastetanum, while in the parsimony analysis this occurred only when the gaps were coded as a fifth base and the characters were reweighted according to the rescaled consistency index. This latter group is supported by the sequence divergence among taxa. CONCLUSIONS: The phylogenies established from DNA sequences together with morphological and cytogenetic analyses support the separation of H. bastetanum as a new species. The results suggest that the change in the number of chromosomes may be the key mechanism of speciation of the genus Haplophyllum in the Iberian Peninsula. An evolutionary scheme for them is propounded.     

Scilla merinoi (Liliaceae), a new species from Galicia, northwestern Iberian Peninsula

A new species, Scilla merinoi , from Galicia is described and illustrated. The similarities between the new taxon and two related species, S. odorata and S. verna , are discussed. Together with a morphological comparison of the three species, scanning electron micrographs of seeds and a map of the new species' known distribution are presented.     

A new dugong species (Sirenia,Dugongidae) from the Eocene of Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula)

A new stem dugongid species, Prototherium ausetanum sp. nov. (Dugongidae, Halitheriinae), is described based on a cranium from the middle Eocene of Mas Vilageliu (Tona, NE Iberian Peninsula). The new species displays a combination of features that enables its distinction from other halitheriines, including Prototherium veronense (type species of the genus), Prototherium? intermedium (which likely belongs to a different genus), and Prototherium? montserratense (here considered a nomen dubium), as well as Eotheroides spp. In overall morphology (e.g., dolichocephaly) the new species more closely resembles species previously included in Prototherium. However, a cladistic analysis based on craniodental features recovers the new species as the sister taxon of Eotheroides aegyptiacum (type species of this genus), further constituting a polytomy with P. veronense, Eotheroides lambondrano and the remaining Halitheriinae. Our analysis further indicates that P.? intermedium is more derived than other species of Prototherium, but it does not conclusively resolve the phylogenetic relationships between the included species of Prototherium and Eotheroides. A deeper taxonomic revision of these two genera would be required in order to better resolve the phylogeny of early dugongids.     

Karyology of theScorzonera (Compositae) species from the Iberian Peninsula

A karyological study of 15 taxa ofScorzonera L. from the Iberian Peninsula has been made. The chromosome numbers found inS. hispanica var.pinnatifida, S. baetica, S. reverchonii, S. angustifolia, S. laciniata var.calcitrapifolia and var.subulata (2n = 14) are new. Diploid cytotypes with 2n = 14 and 2n = 12 prevail, andS. hispanica var.crispatula is the only taxon which exhibits autopolyploidy (2n = 14, 28). x = 7 is considered to be the base chromosome number within the genus, with x = 6 being derived from it by translocation. This and detailed karyotype analyses allow to group the Iberian Peninsula species ofScorzonera into three groups.     

The growth, development and reproduction of a deep sea cumacean (Crustacea: Peracarida)

A single sample of over 1000 individuals of Leuconjonesi Bishop, 1982, taken at a depth of about 1500 m on the continental slope off Surinam, was studied. The carapace length of individuals in the first postmarsupial instar was already about half that of brooding females. Growth increments at early moults were of 20–25. Males reached the final morphological form in the sixth postmarsupial instar. A prepuberty moult was recognized between the third and fourth male instars. Females reached the preparatory stage in the fourth postmarsupial instar. Brooding condition occurred for the first time after the next moult. The brooding form could then alternate at successive moults with an inter-brood form, resembling the preparatory female, with small, non-overlapping oostegites. Preparatory and inter-brood females were morphologically separable; vitellogenesis was restricted to these instars. Broods were of 6–12 young. The individuals in each brood probably completed marsupial development, and were released, one by one. The copepod parasite Sphaeronella infested 10, of brooding-form females.     

Use of morphological characters for species separation within the genus Artemia (Crustacea, Branchiopoda)

Doubts have been raised about the use of morphological characters as criteria for species separation within the genus Artemia because of their relative validity. The characters considered to date, i.e. morphology of the frontal knobs of the male and the presence/absence of a spine-like projection on the basal part of the penis, are only partly efficacious, since they allow us to reliably distinguish only the Mediterranean species, Artemia salina, from the other bisexual species. While A. salina is characterized by subconical frontal knobs and the absence of the spine-like projection, the other species present subspherical frontal knobs and the spine-like projections. There is no information about the aspect of the frontal knobs in the Asian bisexual species. The aim of the present study is to clarify the situation by means of SEM observations of characters not considered in detail (ornamentation of the apical part of the spine-like projections) and by examination of the frontal knobs in the Asian species, which were not described at the time of the first studies.     

A new species of Muscari subgenus Leopoldia from the Iberian Peninsula

The biological analysis of several populations confirms the existence in the Iberian Peninsula of two species of Muscari subgenus Leopoldia: M. comosum and M. matritensis (the latter described as new). Karyologically, they differ in at least a translocation rearrangement, in the presence of heterochromatin, which is lacking in M. matritensis, and in some chromosomal characters. At the genic level, the distance between M. comosum and M. matritensis is high (0.378). Morphologically, they show some differences in floral structure which are correlated with different reproductive systems, allogamy in M. comosum and autogamy in M. matritensis. The possible evolutionary relationships between these taxa is discussed.     

Correlations between chromosomal and morphological characters in subspecies of Ulex europaeus L. (Genisteae, Leguminosae) from the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula

The two subspecies of Ulex europaeus L. (subsp. europaeus and subsp. latebracteatus) are easily differentiated by the shape and size of their bracteoles, and by their chromosome number. However, in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula, the areas of both subspecies are not clearly delimited, the shape of the bracteoles is intermediate and the width is close to the diagnostic limit. Thus, allocation of some specimens to either subspecies is diffcult. Recendy, a controversy has arisen concerning the intrapopulational uniformity of the chromosome number in U. europaeus from west France and north Spain, and the usefulness of ploidy level and chromosome number as clear-cut indicators of the two subspecies. Thus, the merits of recognizing the subspecies as independent are re-analysed here. Our results for north-west Spain show that the chromosome number is uniform and stable within populations and is clearly related to the morphological characters. Correlation and discriminant analyses show that bracteoles and stomata sizes are highly correlated and are good predictors of ploidy level. Furthermore, the results support the maintenance of two subspecies in U. europaeus , which can be delimited by a combination of morphological characters, chromosome number and geographical distribution.     

Description of a new species:Dorylaimus parasiticus, a parasite of amphibians in the Iberian Peninsula (Nematoda: Dorylaimida)

Dorylaimus parasiticus sp. nov. (Nematoda: Dorylaimidae) si described from the digestive tract and general body cavity of Salamandra salamandra, Rana perezi , and Bufo bufo , amphibians of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain). This is the first record of a member of the Order Dorylaimida size, a thick transversely striated body cuticle with 20 to 26 longitudinal ridges.     

A new species of Vella L. (Brassicaceae) from the south-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula

CRESPO, MB., 1992. A new species of Vella L. (Brassicaceae) from the south-eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula . Vella lucenlina is described from the coastal, low, dry areas of Alicante Province (south-eastern Spain). This plant is a spineless shrub, woody at the base, with narrowly linear, entire leaves, and an acute tongue-shaped stylar part of the fruit. Affinities and differences with the other taxa in the genus are discussed, and ecological data and conservation proposals are reported.     

A new species of the genus Paracryptops from India, with remarks on the generic and specific characters (Chilopoda: Scolopendromorpha: Cryptopidae)

Paracryptops spinosus , a new centipede species from Delhi, is described. The species is unique in the genus in that its anal legs have their femora and tibiae beset distally with extraordinary spines. It is pointed out that the exceedingly short poison claws supposed to be incapable of meeting in the middle cannot be depended upon to identify the genus Paracryptops . This character is apparent, not real and should be discarded. It is also pointed out that the number of tibial teeth used as a key character at species level, being subject to age variation, can be of limited taxonomic value and should be used with caution.     

An illustrated key to the soft-bottom caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda) of the Iberian Peninsula and remarks to their ecological distribution along the Andalusian coast

The soft-bottom caprellids of the Iberian Peninsula are revised. Nineteen species have been reported so far, 42 % being endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. The lateral view of all of them is provided, together with an illustrated key for all the species. An ecological study was also conducted during 2007–2010 along the Andalusian coast to explore the relationships of caprellids with abiotic data. A total of 90 stations (0–40 m deep) were sampled and 40 contained caprellids. Along the Atlantic, caprellids were present in only 20 % of the stations, while along the Mediterranean coast, caprellids were present in the 75 % of the sampling sites. Furthermore, the abundance of caprellids was also higher in the Mediterranean coast. The dominant species was Pseudolirius kroyeri (present in 24 stations and showing the highest abundances with 1,780 ind/m²), followed by Phtisica marina (22 stations) and Pariambus typicus (11 stations). According to CCA and BIO-ENV, sediment type, P, pH and oxygen were the parameters that better explained the distribution of caprellids. Although the three dominant species were found in all types of sediment, the univariate approach showed that P. kroyeri was significantly more abundant in fine sediments (silt–clay and very fine sands) than in gross sediments (coarse and very coarse sands). The majority of studies dealing with caprellids from the Iberian Peninsula have been focused on shallow waters and further efforts are needed to explore biodiversity of deeper areas.