Predatory behaviour of the social orb-weaver spider,Geratonephila burmanica n. gen., n. sp. (Araneae: Nephilidae) with its wasp prey,Cascoscelio incassus n. gen., n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) in Early Cretaceous Burmese amber

The present work shows predatory behaviour of the social orb-weaver spider, Geratonephila burmanica n. gen., n. sp. (Araneae: Nephilidae) against a parasitic wasp, Cascoscelio incassus n. gen., n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) in Early Cretaceous Burmese amber. An adult male and juvenile of G. burmanica in the same web provide the first fossil evidence of sociality in spiders. The spider is characterised by a pedipalp with a hemispherical tegulum, a subtegulum curved at 180°and an apical spiralled embolas-conductor bent approximately 45°at midpoint. The male wasp is characterised by an ocellar tubercle, 12-segmented antennae with a feeble five-segmented clava, thick sensilla trichodea curvata with rounded ends on the claval antennomeres, a short uncus, a short post-marginal vein and a nebulose radial sector (Rs) vein extending from the uncus to the costal margin of the forewing. This is the first fossil evidence of spider sociality and a fossil spider attacking prey trapped in its web.     

Entodiniomorph Ciliates from the Stomach of Hippopotamus amphibius, with Descriptions of Two New Genera and Three New Species

Entodiniomorph ciliates, belonging to the family Cycloposthiidae, are described from the stomach contents of Hippopotamus amphibius. Monoposthium acanthum gen. n., sp. n., with typical cycloposthiid structure, differs from other genera in having only 1 caudalium. Parentodinium gen. n., represented by P. africanum sp. n. and P. ostrea sp. n., although superficially resembling Entodinium, is considered to be a relatively unspecialized cycloposthiid.     

Facieplatycauda pratti gen. n., sp. n. and Two New Species of Myxobolus (Myxosporida)*

Synopsis. Facieplatycauda pratti gen. n., sp. n. and Myxobolus kozloffi sp. n., from the Klamath Lake sucker, Catostomus luxatus (Cope), are described. The new genus is placed in the family Myxobolidae between Henneguya and Myxobolus. The spore valves beyond the sporoplasmic space are broad and long but not attenuated as an inverted triangle as in certain species of Myxobolus with tails, or of Henneguya with sometimes bifurcated tails. An organism resembling Myxobolus insidiosus (Wyatt & Pratt) was found in the muscle of the body of Salmo clarki (Richardson). Differences in spore structure and site of infection suggest this is a subspecies of the previous form which should be designated Myxobolus insidiosus clarki. A previously unreported species of Myxobolus from Cottus aleuticus (Gilbert) is also described.     

Thalassomermis megamphis n. gen., n. sp. (Mermithidae: Nemata) from the Bathyal South Atlantic Ocean

Thalassomermis megamphis n. gen., n. sp. (Mermithidae: Nemata) was extracted from sediment collected off the coast of Brazil at a depth of approximately 1,000 m. Although the food of this new nematode is unknown, the reduction of the stoma and esophagus and presence of a trophosome indicate that it is parasitic in its juvenile stages. Thalassomermis megaraphis n. gen., n. sp. is assigned to Mermithidae because of its similarity to that family in the appearance of the cephalic sensory receptors, the long and tubular vagina, and copulatory muscles of the male extending posteriorly throughout most of the length of the tail. Thalassomermis megamphis n. gen., n. sp. differs from all other members of Mermithidae by the large, lenticular, intracuticular amphidial fovea with coiled, emergent terminal filaments as well as the small amphidial aperture situated over the center of the fovea.     

Morphological conservatism in the foreleg structure of cicada hatchlings,Burmacicada protera n. gen., n. sp. in Burmese amber,Dominicicada youngi n. gen., n. sp. in Dominican amber and the extant Magicicada septendecim (L.) (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

Two cicada hatchlings (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in Burmese and Dominican amber are described as Burmacicada protera n. gen., n. sp. and Dominicicada youngi n. gen., n. sp., respectively. Although very similar in appearance, the two species can be separated by body contour, the nature of the process on the terminal antennomere and the shape and size of protrusions, teeth and spines on the forelegs. A comparison of the forelegs of the fossil hatchlings with those of an extant hatchling of the periodical cicada, Magicicada septendecim (L.), reveals a remarkable degree of morphological conservatism over 100 million years. A brief review of fossil cicadas is presented.     

New Genera and Higher Taxa of Septate Gregarines (Protozoa,Apicomplexa)*

SYNOPSIS The following new taxa of septate gregarines are established: METAMERIDAE fam. nov. includes genera Metamera Duke, Deutomera Bhatia & Setna, and Cognettia gen. n., the last with the type and only species C. legeri (Cognetti de Martiis); family GREGARINIDAE Labbé includes Degiustia gen. n. with the type and only species D. hyallela (Batten & DeGiusti); Cirrigregarina gen. n., with the type species C. spissa (Henry) and another species, C. kamenote (Hoshide); and Molluskocystis gen. n., with the type and only species M. pterotracheae (Stuart). Family HIRMOCYSTIDAE (Grassé) includes Arachnocystis gen. n., with the type species A. arachnoidea (Devdhar & Gourishankar) and 3 other species A. nitida (Geus), A. oribatidae (Geus), A. scutovertexi (Erhardová). Family ACTINOCEPHALIDAE (Léger), subfamily Actinocephalinae (Léger), includes Chilogregarina gen. n., with the type species C. striata (Léger & Duboscq) and 3 other species C. brasiliensis (Pinto), C. dujardini (Schneider), and C. stella (Léger).     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pleuroxus</Emphasis>-like chydorids (Crustacea: Anomopoda) from South Africa,with the description of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dumontiellus africanus</Emphasis> gen. n., sp. n.

Five species of Pleuroxus-like chydorids are found in new material from South Africa or are known from the literature. One species is here described as Dumontiellus africanus gen. n., sp. n., endemic to South Africa. Handling editor: K. Martens     

Two new genera and twelve new species of Anthuridea (Crustacea: Isopoda) from off the West Coast of New Zealand

Abstract

From the shelf and upper slope off the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, the following new taxa of Isopoda Anthuridea (Crustacea) are described: Kupellonura proberti n. sp. (Hyssuridae); Quantanthura pacifica n. sp., Haliophasma platytelson n. sp. and H. novaezelandiae n. sp. (Anthuridae) Albanthura stenodactyla n. gen. et sp., A. rotunduropus n. sp., Bullowanthura crebrui n. sp., Leptanthura tmncatitelson n. sp., L. exilis n. sp., L. profundicola n. sp., Paranthura longa n. sp., and Psittanthura egregia n. gen. et sp. (Paranthuridae). Most of these are blind, unpigmented species, adapted to life in deep water. Albanthura n. gen. is blind, has a single telsonic statocyst, short flagella of the antennae, a maxilliped with 3 palpal articles, and a triangular carpus on pereopods 4 to 7. Psittanthura n. gen. is also blind, with very unusual, enlarged subchelae of pereopods 1 and 2, a large, rectangular telson with a single statocyst; the maxillipedal palp is composed of 1 large and 1 small, distal article; a mandibular palp is absent.     

Microsporidian Parasites of Trematode Larvae from Aquatic Snails in West Malaysia

In a survey of microsporidian parasites of trematode larvae of Malaysian fresh-water snails, species of Nose-matidae were found 7 times in rediae from 425 Lymnaea rubiginosa, 6 times in rediae from 97 Indoplanorbis exustus and not at all in other snails. There were 3 species of Microsporida in all: one, found in Echinoparyphium dunni, Echinostoma hystricosum and Echinostoma malayanum was identified as Nosema eurytremae Canning; another, which was found in E. dunni and Echinostoma audyi, had paired nuclei (diplokaryon form) in sporogony only and was named a new species, Nosema vasicola sp.n.; the 3rd, from E. hystricosum, lacked diplokaryon nuclei throughout development, was considered to belong to a new genus and was named Unikaryon piriformis gen.n., sp.n. Nosema eurytremae was transmitted experimentally to Fasciola hepatica rediae in Lymnaea truncatula.     

A mousebird (Aves: Coliiformes) from the Eocene of England

Summary The first fossil mousebird (Aves, Coliiformes) known from the Eocene of England is described. This taxon,Eocolius walkeri gen. n. sp. n., is assigned to the order Coliiformes (mousebirds) on the basis of a character of the proximal ulna (large cotyla dorsalis). The degree of similarity between the preserved elements ofEocolius and those of the other known fossil and Recent taxa further support this conclusion. At present, this new taxon is considered to occupy an unresolved position near to the base of the coliiform ingroup; the phylogenetic position ofEocolius cannot be resolved further owing to a lack of preservation of diagnostic characters.

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Ein Mausvogel (Aves: Coliiformes) aus dem Eozän von England

Zusammenfassung Der erste fossile Mausvogel (Aves: Coliiformes) aus dem Eozän von England wird beschrieben. Dieses Taxon,Eocolius walkeri gen. n. sp. n., wird aufgrund von Merkmalen der proximalen Ulna (grosse Cotyla dorsalis) in die Ordnung Coliiformes gestellt. Darüber hinaus stützt der Grad der Üebereinstimmung zwischen den erhaltenen Skelettelementen vonEocolius und den anderen bekannten fossilen und rezenten Taxa diese Zuordnung. Zur Zeit nimmt dieses neue Taxon eine nicht näher aufgelöste Stellung an der Basis der Coliiformes ein. Das Fehlen diagnostischer Merkmale lässt keine sichere Zuordnung vonEocolius zu den ausgestorbenen Sandcoleidae oder den rezenten Coliidae zu.

     

A new genus and species of Coenosiini from Costa Rica (Diptera,Muscidae, Coenosiinae)

Palpilongus gen. n. is herein described for one species – Palpilongus bifurcus sp. n., from Costa Rica, based on male and females. The striking morphological characters of the species – palpus very long, about as long as prementum; upper calypter truncate and very short and setae of male sternite 5 bifurcated, confirm that this new species is also a new genus in the tribe Coenosiini. Male and female terminalia were dissected and illustrated.     

A new genus and species of demodecid mites from the tongue of a house mouse Mus musculus: description of adult and immature stages with data on parasitism

The study of the parasitofauna of the house mouse Mus musculus (Rodentia: Muridae) Linnaeus is particularly important owing to its multiple relationships with humans – as a cosmopolitan, synanthropic rodent, bred for pets, food for other animals or laboratory animal. This article proposes and describes a new genus and species of the parasitic mite based on adult and immature stages from the house mouse. Glossicodex musculi gen. n., sp. n. is a medium‐sized demodecid mite (adult stages on average 199 µm in length) found in mouse tissue of the tongue. It is characterized by two large, hooked claws on each tarsus of the legs; the legs are relatively massive, consisting of large, non‐overlapping segments. The palps consist of three slender, clearly separated, relatively narrow segments, wherein their coxal segments are also quite narrow and spaced. Also, segments of the palps of larva and nymphs are clearly isolated, and on the terminal segment, trident claws that resemble legs' claws can be found. On the ventral side, in immature stages, triangular scuta, topped with sclerotized spur, can be also observed. Glossicodex musculi was noted in 10.8% of mice with a mean infection intensity of 2.2 parasites per host.     

Etude Ultrastructurale du CiliéKuklikophrya dragescoi gen. n., sp. n.*

SYNOPSIS The cortical infraciliature of Kuklikophrya dragescoi gen. n., sp. n. is composed of double kinetosomes. Each kinetosome has transverse fibers. The anterior transverse fibers are associated with a sheet of dense material and the posterior transverse fibers are directed toward the posterior part of the body. The posterior kinetosome of a pair has only a short protuberance in the position of the kinetosomal fiber. The cortex has a well developed alveolar layer and a thick ecto-endoplasmic boundary. A distinctive characteristic of the buccal ciliature is the circumoral ciliature whose infraciliature is made up of pairs of cilia-bearing kinetosomes. The antero-posterior polarity of the paroral segment is in inverse relationship to that of the remaining ciliature of the organism. The adoral and preoral ciliary organelles consist of 2 rows of kinetosomes, each of which bears postciliary fibers. A frame of nematodesmata surrounds the cytopharynx which is supported by microtubular bands which impart to it a very specific laminated appearance. The “phagoplasm” is formed by “vermicelli”-like vesicles. The micronucleus is found in the perinuclear area of the macronucleus.     

Orientisargidae fam. n., a new Jurassic family of Archisargoidea (Diptera,Brachycera), with review?of?Archisargidae from China

A pair of fly impressions is described as a new species of a new genus, Orientisargus illecebrosus gen. et sp. n., referred to a new family Orientisargidae fam. n. within Archisargoidea of Brachycera, Diptera. The systematic position of Orientisargidae is discussed. Daohugosargus gen. n. is proposed for Sharasargus eximius KY Zhang et al., 2008. Uranorhagionidae is a junior synonym for Archisargidae. Meanwhile, Mostovskisarginae is a junior synonym for Uranorhagionidae. Mostovskisargus JF Zhang, 2010 and Strenorhagio KY Zhang et al., 2010 are synonymized with Uranorhagio KY Zhang et al., 2010. Uranorhagio includes three species: Uranorhagio asymmetricus (KY Zhang et al., 2010), comb. n., Uranorhagio daohugouensis KY Zhang et al., 2010 and Uranorhagio deviatus (KY Zhang et al., 2010), comb. n. Strenorhagio grimaldi KY Zhang et al., 2010 is synonymous with Uranorhagio deviatus. Mostovskisargus portentosus JF Zhang, 2010, Mostovskisargus signatus JF Zhang, 2010 and Strenorhagio conjugovenius KY Zhang et al., 2010 are synonymous with Uranorhagio asymmetricus. Brevisolva KY Zhang et al., 2010 is a junior synonym for Mesosolva Hong, 1983. A new specific name, Mesosolva zhangae nom. n., is proposed for Brevisolva daohugouensis KY Zhang et al., 2010. Mesosolva jurassica KY Zhang et al., 2010 should be synonymized under Mostovskisargus sinensis KY Zhang et al., 2010. Sinallomyia nom. n. is proposed for Allomyia Ren, 1998. The systematic positions for Helempis eucalla Ren, 1998, Helempis yixianensis Ren, 1998, Pauromyia oresbia Ren, 1998 and Sinallomyia ruderalis (Ren, 1998) are reassessed. These taxa belong to Archisargidae rather than to Tabanidae, Rhagionidae and Protempididae, respectively.     

Genetic diversity and phylogenetic position of the subclass Astomatia (Ciliophora) based on a sampling of six genera from West African oligochaetes (Glossoscolecidae, Megascolecidae), including description of the new genus Paraclausilocola n. gen

To more confidently assess phylogenetic relationships among astome ciliates, we obtained small subunit (SSU) rRNA sequences from nine species distributed in six genera and three families: Almophrya bivacuolata, Eudrilophrya complanata, Metaracoelophrya sp. 1, Metaracoelophrya sp. 2, Metaracoelophrya intermedia, Metaradiophrya sp., Njinella prolifera, Paraclausilocola constricta n. gen., n. sp., and Paraclausilocola elongata n. sp. The two new species in the proposed new clausilocolid genus Paraclausilocola n. gen. are astomes with no attachment apparatus, two files of contractile vacuoles, and an arc-like anterior suture that has differentiations of thigmotactic ciliature on the anterior ends of the left kineties of the upper surface. Phylogenetic analyses were undertaken using neighbor-joining, Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood, and maximum parsimony. The nine species of astomes formed a strongly supported clade, showing the subclass Astomatia to be monophyletic and a weakly supported sister clade to the scuticociliates. There were two strongly supported clades within the astomes. However, genera assigned to the same family were found in different clades, and genera assigned to the same order were found in both clades. Thus, astome taxa appear to be paraphyletic when morphology is used to assign species to genera.     

Four New Species of Eimeria and One of Tyzzeria from the Ceylon Jungle Fowl Gallus lafayettei*

One species of Tyzzeria and 4 new species of Eimeria are described from the Ceylon jungle fowl Gallus lafayettei. The sporulated oocysts of Tyzzeria galli sp. n. are 13.8 (12–15) μ m; of Eimeria lafayettei sp. n., 19.5 (19–21) X 14.2 (13.5–15) μ m; of Eimeria indentata sp. n., 30.3 (29.5–32) X 21.4 (20–22) μ m; of Eimeria symmetrica sp. n., 35 × 28.5 μ m, and of Eimeria dissanaikei sp. n., 21 (19–23) X 14 (12–16) μ m. E. indentata, E. symmetrica, and E. dissanaikei produced patent infections in domestic fowl but T. galli and E. lafayettei did not. This is the 1st record of the genus Tyzzeria from the order Galliformes.     

Ciliate Protozoa in the Rumen of Brazilian Water Buffalo,Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus*

SYNOPSIS Total numbers and distribution of genera, subgenera and species were determined for the ciliate protozoa in rumen contents of 4 Brazilian water buffalo Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus. The fauna of one animal, housed in close proximity to European and zebu-type cattle, differed considerably from that of the remaining animals, which were somewhat isolated on a large ranch. Several of the protozoan species observed in the semi-isolated animals were first described in rumen contents from humped Indian cattle, and their subsequent occurrence in other hosts and geographic locations has been limited or absent. In all, 49 different species of protozoa were found, 8 of which have not been previously described. Three of the new species belong to the genus Entodinium: E. ciculum sp. n., E. spinonucleatum sp. n. and E. triangulum sp. n.: 4 to Diplodinium (Ostracodinium): D. (O.) brazili sp. n., D. (O.) esalqum sp. n., D. (O.) nucleolobum sp. n., and D. (O.) tiete sp. n.; and one to Diplodinium (Eudiplodinium): D. (E.) bubalus sp. n.