A new species of Labidocera (Copepoda,Calanoida, Pontellidae) collected from Okinawa,southwestern Japan,with establishment of five Indo-West Pacific species groups in the L. detruncata species complex

Labidocera churaumi sp. n. is described from Okinawa, southwestern Japan. The female of the new species differs from other congeners in genital compound somite with right postero-lateral and left antero-lateral processes. The male is distinguished from other congeners by the structure of the fifth leg. This new species is assigned to a newly proposed species group, the Labidocera madurae species group, within the Labidocera detruncata species complex. In this species complex five Indo-West Pacific species groups are recognized (cervi, detruncata, gangetica, madurae, and pavo) and defined on the basis of difference in sexual dimorphism.     

PCR-Based Identification of MAT-1 and MAT-2 in the Gibberella fujikuroi Species Complex

All sexually fertile strains in the Gibberella fujikuroi species complex are heterothallic, with individual mating types conferred by the broadly conserved ascomycete idiomorphs MAT-1 and MAT-2. We sequenced both alleles from all eight mating populations, developed a multiplex PCR technique to distinguish these idiomorphs, and tested it with representative strains from all eight biological species and 22 additional species or phylogenetic lineages from this species complex. In most cases, either an ~800-bp fragment from MAT-2 or an ~200-bp fragment from MAT-1 is amplified. The amplified fragments cosegregate with mating type, as defined by sexual cross-fertility, in a cross of Fusarium moniliforme (Fusarium verticillioides). Neither of the primer pairs amplify fragments from Fusarium species such as Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium pseudograminearum, and Fusarium culmorum, which have, or are expected to have, Gibberella sexual stages but are thought to be relatively distant from the species in the G. fujikuroi species complex. Our results suggest that MAT allele sequences are useful indicators of phylogenetic relatedness in these and other Fusarium species.     

A new genus and species from Borneo and a new species from Java and Sumatra of Cicadini (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

A new cicada genus and species, Minilomia triquetra, gen. and sp. nov., is described from Borneo. The new genus Minilomia is closely allied to Platylomia Stål and is placed in the subtribe Dundubiina of the tribe Cicadini. Another new cicada species, Pomponia brevicaudata, sp. nov. (subtribe Psithyristriina), is described from Java and Sumatra. The new species belongs to the Pomponia linearis species group and the P. linearis species complex but is distinguished from its congeners by the unusually short male abdomen.     

A new presumably widespread species of Albugo parasitic to Strigosella spp. (Brassicaceae)

White blister rust is one of the most common diseases in Brassicaceae. Recently, molecular approaches revealed that apart from Albugo candida, several other more specialized species of the genus are causing this disease on Brassicaceae and the diversity of this group still remains largely unexplored. All newly described species have so far been sampled only from a limited geographic range, except for Albugo species which followed their invasive host from Europe to other continents. In this study we show that a previously unknown species of Albugo is causing white blister rust disease on two species of Strigosella. This species can be distinguished from other species of the genus Albugo both by its phylogenetic position and its unique oospore ornamentation that might be an adaptation to the harsh environment of the host plants. As a consequence, Albugo arenosa is described and illustrated as a new species, so far known from Strigosella africana in Iran and Spain, and Strigosella brevipes in Iran. Apart from Albugo candida and Albugo lepidii, this is the third hitherto known species of Albugo s. str. with a confirmed native distribution range of several thousand kilometres.     

Sesquiterpene lactones and systematics of the genus Artemisia

The sesquiterpene lactones isolated from species in the genus Artemisia have been reviewed in an attempt to better understand the phylogeny and systematics of the four sections (subgenera), Abrotanum, Absinthium, Dracunculus and Seriphidium, proposed by Besser in 1829. The absence of hair on the receptacle is the only morphological characteristic separating species of Abrotanum from the species of Absinthium. There are no chemical characteristics segregating the species in these two subgenera since both produce eudesmanolides and guaianolides that are identical or biosynthetically similar. This suggests that the two subgenera could be combined into one (Artemisia) as proposed by Poljakov. The subgenus Seriphidium is composed of two geographical groups, one in the Old World and the other in the New World. The Old World species almost exclusively produce sesquiterpene lactones in the eudesmanolide class whereas the New World species (section Tridentatae) produce eudesmanolides and guaianolides, many of the latter being identical or structurally related to the sesquiterpene lactones in New World Abrotanum species. The chemical data in conjunction with geographic distributions suggest that the subgenus Seriphidium is polyphyletic and that the section Tridentatae originated from Abrotanum. Consequently, the Tridentate should be recognized as a subgenus separate and distinct from the Old World Seriphidium. There was insufficient information from the subgenus Dracunculus for interpretation.     

Cyphastrea kausti sp. n. (Cnidaria,Anthozoa, Scleractinia), a new species of reef coral from the Red Sea

A new scleractinian coral species, Cyphastrea kausti sp. n., is described from 13 specimens from the Red Sea. It is characterised by the presence of eight primary septa, unlike the other species of the genus, which have six, ten or 12 primary septa. The new species has morphological affinities with Cyphastrea microphthalma, from which it can be distinguished by the lower number of septa (on average eight instead of ten), and smaller calices and corallites. This species was observed in the northern and central Red Sea and appears to be absent from the southern Red Sea.     

A new species of Noblella (Amphibia,Anura, Craugastoridae) from the humid montane forests of Cusco,Peru

A new species of Noblella is described from the humid montane forest of the Región Cusco in Peru. Specimens were collected at 2330–2370 m elevation in Madre Selva, near Santa Ana, in the province of La Convención. The new species is readily distinguished from all other species of Noblella by having a broad, irregularly shaped, white mark on black background on chest and belly. The new species further differs from known Peruvian species of Noblella by the combination of the following characters: tympanic membrane absent, small tubercles on the upper eyelid and on dorsum, tarsal tubercles or folds absent, tips of digits not expanded, no circumferential grooves on digits, dark brown facial mask and lateral band extending from the tip of the snout to the inguinal region. The new species has a snout-to-vent length of 15.6 mm in one adult male and 17.6 mm in one adult female. Like other recently described species in the genus, this new Noblella inhabits high-elevation forests in the Andes and likely has a restricted geographic distribution.     

Description of Trilineellus clathrocutis n.g., n.sp. (Tylenchorhynchinae: Tylenchida Thorne, 1949) with a Key to Species and Observations on Tylenchorhynchus sensu stricto

TrilineeIlus clathrocutis n.g., n.sp. is described and illustrated. It was found as an associate of corn (Zea mays) in Stockton, Georgia, USA, and is related to a group of Tylenchorhynchus sensu lato species having three lines in nonareolated lateral fields. This new species is closely related to Tylenehorhynehus divittatus Siddiqi 1961, T. sculptus Seinhorst 1963, and T. triglyphus Seinhorst 1963 (syn. T. chonai Sethi & Swarup 1968) Tarjan 1973. It differs from these species primarily by having longitudinal striae on the body. These four species are differentiated from Tylenchorhynchus sensu stricto by having three lateral lines instead of four. They differ from Uliginotylenchus Siddiqi 1971 by having nonareolated lateral fields, fewer than 25 annules on conoid rounded tails, differently shaped gubernacula, nonattenuated stylets, and other distinctive characters. They differ from Triversus Sher 1973 by having the male tail enclosed by the bursa and by having rounded female tails. SEM observations of T. clathrocutis reveal a cuticle deeply cut by longitudinal and horizontal striae and bearing wide (> 2.0 μm) annules. Trilineellus is proposed to accommodate the new species and the three-incisured species still within Tylenchorhynchus. Tylenchorhynchus is thereby the repository for species within Tylenchorhynchinae having four lines in the lateral field, no conspicuous labial disc, and bursa enclosing the male tail.     

Host Plants Affect the Foraging Success of Two Parasitoids that Attack Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

The light brown apple moth, Epiphyas postvittana is a key pest of wine grapes in Australia. Two parasitoids, Dolichogenidea tasmanica and Therophilus unimaculatus, attack the larval stage of this pest. D. tasmanica is dominant in vineyards, whereas T. unimaculatus is mainly active in native vegetation. We sought to understand why they differ in their use of habitats. Plants are a major component of habitats of parasitoids, and herbivore-infested plants influence parasitoid foraging efficiency by their architecture and emission of volatile chemicals. We investigated how different plant species infested by E. postvittana could affect the foraging success of the two parasitoid species in both laboratory and field experiments. Four common host-plant species were selected for this study. In paired-choice experiments to determine the innate foraging preferences for plants, both parasitoid species showed differences in innate search preferences among plant species. The plant preference of D. tasmanica was altered by oviposition experience with hosts that were feeding on other plant species. In a behavioral assay, the two parasitoid species allocated their times engaged in various types of behavior differently when foraging on different plant species. For both parasitoids, parasitism on Hardenbergia violacea was the highest of the four plant species. Significantly more larvae dropped from Myoporum insulare when attacked than from the other three host-plant species, which indicates that parasitism is also affected by interactions between plants and host insects. In vineyards, parasitism by D. tasmanica was significantly lower on M. insulare than on the other three host-plant species, but the parasitism rates were similar among the other three plant species. Our results indicate that plants play a role in the habitat preferences of these two parasitoid species by influencing their foraging behavior, and are likely to contribute to their distributions among habitats.     

A new freshwater mite of the marine genus Halacarellus (Acari: Halacaridae) from the Austrian Alps (Styria, Gesäuse National Park): Description and reflections on its origin

A new halacarid species, Halacarellus fontinalis n. sp., from a spring in the Gesäuse National Park, Austria is described. The species is characterized by three pairs of large, equal-sized acetabula and slender claws and is expected to have evolved in the Tertiary from a Tethyan-Paratethyan Halacarellus species. CaspihalacarusViets, 1928, with a single species, C. hyrcanusViets, 1928, has large and external acetabula similar to those in H. fontinalis. Caspihalacarus is synonymized with Halacarellus.     

Afroprinus cavicola gen. et sp. n. from the Afrotropical region with notes on cave-dwelling Saprininae (Coleoptera,Histeridae)

A new genus and species from Kenya, Afroprinus cavicola is herein described and illustrated and its systematic position is discussed. By the prosternal pre-apical foveae connected by marginal prosternal stria it resembles most of the Afrotropical species of the genus Chalcionellus Reichardt, 1932, or some species of the genus Pholioxenus Reichardt, 1932 from South Africa and Namibia. Afroprinus can be distinguished from Chalcionellus chiefly by the lack of pronotal depressions and a coarsely sculptured, non-metallic dorsum; from Afrotropical species of Pholioxenus it can be most easily distinguished by the asetose pronotal hypomeron. The new taxon was discovered in a cave, but lacks obvious troglophilic adaptations. Notes on other Saprininae taxa found in caves are given. An identification key to the genera of Afrotropical Saprininae is provided.     

A new species of Elpidium (Crustacea,Ostracoda) from bromeliads in Cusuco National Park,Honduras

Passively dispersing aquatic invertebrates such as Ostracoda in restricted aquatic habitats such as bromeliads remain an intriguing observation considering the highly specialised dispersal vectors needed for efficient colonisation. Here we describe a new species of Elpidium, Elpidium merendonense sp. n., collected from bromeliads in the cloud forest from Cusuco National Park, Honduras. Elpidium merendonense sp. n. is a small to medium-sized species that can be easily distinguished from its congeners by its unique outgrowth at the posterior end of the left valve, visible especially in females. The species was common all through the park occurring at a wide range of altitudes and in different species of bromeliads. This finding is the first freshwater ostracod species described from Honduras and is in agreement with the prediction that the genus Elpidium contains a large number of species with small geographic distributions. We update the list of described species of Elpidium and present a key to species.     

A new species of Pithoascus and first report of this genus as endophyte associated with Ferula ovina

A newly described species of Pithoascus from roots of Ferula ovina differs from other Pithoascus species by producing larger ascomata than all described species except P. exsertus. The shape of its ascospores is similar to that of P. lunatus, but differs from it by having an asexual state. This new species differs from P. ater by having a sexual state. Phylogenetic analyses based on concatenated ITS rDNA, LSU rDNA and partial translation elongation factor 1 alpha gene datasets also confirmed the generic placement in Pithoascus and showed its close phylogenetic relationships to P. ater and P. lunatus.     

Morphology and molecular characterization of Polystoma goeldii n. sp. (Monogenea,Polystomatidae) parasite from the urinary bladder of Physalaemus ephippifer (Steindachner) (Anura,Leptodactylidae)

Polystomatid flatworms of amphibians are represented in the Neotropical realm by species of Mesopolystoma, Nanopolystoma, Parapseudopolystoma, Polystoma, Riojatrema and Wetapolystoma but only species of Polystoma are known from Brazil, namely Polystoma cuvieri, P. knoffi, P. lopezromani and P. travassosi. During a survey of monogeneans infecting amphibians in the north-eastern region of Pará State, the Cayenne Caecilian Typhlonectes compressicauda was found to be infected with Nanopolystoma tinsleyi and the Veined Tree Frog Trachycephalus typhonius was found to harbor Polystoma lopezromani. A yet unknown species of Polystoma was also encountered in the urinary bladder of the Steindachner's Dwarf Frog, Physalaemus ephippifer. This new species, which is the second species reported from Physalaemus spp., is described herein as Polystoma goeldii n. sp. and its life cycle is also illustrated. The new species can be distinguished from Polystoma spp. from other neotropical realm by a combination of characteristics, including hamuli morphology, outer/inner hamuli length ratio, haptor/total body length ratio, genital bulb/total body length ratio, genital spine number and COI molecular characters.     

Baylisascaris potosis n. sp., a new ascarid nematode isolated from captive kinkajou,Potos flavus,from the Cooperative Republic of Guyana

We describe a new nematode species, Baylisascaris potosis n. sp., isolated from captive kinkajou, Potos flavus, from the Cooperative Republic of Guyana. The nematode was found in fecal specimens, identified morphologically, and confirmed genetically. The new species is similar to Baylisascaris procyonis, Baylisascaris columnaris, and other Baylisascaris species, but is distinguished by the position of the male phasmidial pole. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence analyses confirmed that the new species is phylogenetically distinct from all the members of the genus Baylisascaris, and groups with B. procyonis and B. columnaris. This nematode is the 10th species assigned to the genus Baylisascaris.     

Microcotyle omanae n. sp. (Monogenea: Microcotylidae), a parasite of Cheimerius nufar (Valenciennes) (Sparidae) from the Arabian Sea

Microcotyle omanae n. sp. (Monogenea: Microcotylidae) is described from the gills of Cheimerius nufar (Valenciennes) (Sparidae) from the Arabian Sea. The new species closely resembles Microcotyle arripis Sandars, 1945, M. helotes Sandars, 1944, M. caudata Goto, 1984 and M. sebastis Goto, 1984, which have also been found in the Indo-Pacific. Microcotyle omanae n. sp. differs from M. arripis, M. helotes and M. caudata by its greater number of testes, from M. arripis, M. helotes by its greater length of the genital atrium, length/width ratio of the genital atrium and length of the eggs, and from M. helotes also in greater width of the clamps, from M. caudata and M. sebastis in its greater number of clamps and additionally from M. sebastis by its smaller genital atrial spines and clamps and by the ratio between length and width of the genital atrium. Moreover, the mature specimens of the new species have greater average body length than all above mentioned species. Correlations between 15 morphometric characters and body length are analysed in the new species, and their significance for species differentiation is discussed.     

Denopelopia amicitia,a new Tanypodinae from Brazil (Diptera,Chironomidae)

A new species of Denopelopia from Brazil is described based on adult male and pupa. The male of the new species can be distinguished from all other species of the genus by the genitalia and fore-tibial spur morphology. The pupa is very similar to those of Denopelopia atria, but it can be distinguished by the absence of distinct constrictions in the respiratory atrium of the thoracic horn. Generic diagnosis to male and pupa of Denopelopia is emended and keys to male and pupae of known species are provided.     

A New Marine Species of Miracula (Oomycota) Parasitic to Minidiscus sp. in Iceland†

Obligate endoparasitic oomycetes are known to ubiquitously occur in marine and freshwater diatoms, but their diversity is still largely unexplored. Many of these parasitoids are members of the early-diverging oomycete lineages (Miracula, Diatomophthora), others are within the Leptomitales of the Saprolegniomycetes (Ectrogella, Lagenisma) and some have been described in the Peronosporomycetes (Aphanomycopsis, Lagenidium). Even though some species have been recently described and two new genera were introduced (Miracula and Diatomophthora), the phylogeny and taxonomy of most of these organisms remain unresolved. This is contrasted by the high number of sequences from unclassified species, as recently revealed from environmental sequencing, suggesting the presence of several undiscovered species. In this study, a new species of Miracula is reported from a marine centric diatom (Minidiscus sp.) isolated from Skagaströnd harbor in Northwest Iceland. The morphology and life cycle traits of this novel oomycete parasite are described herein, and its taxonomic placement within the genus Miracula is confirmed by molecular phylogeny. As it cannot be assigned to any previously described species, it is introduced as Miracula islandica in this study. The genus Miracula thus contains three described holocarpic species (M. helgolandica, M. islandica, M. moenusica) to which likely additional species will need to be added in the future, considering the presence of several lineages known only from environmental sequencing that clustered within the Miracula clade.