The identity of Urera longifolia and U. oligoloba – a supplement to Chew's monograph of Laportea (Urticaceae)

The delimitation of the genera Obetia Gaud., Laportea Gaud., Dendrocnide Miq., and Urera Gaud, is outlined on the basis of herbarium studies. It is shown that two species from Madagascar hitherto believed to belong to Urera are more likely to be members of Laportea. The new combinations Laportea humblotii (Baill.) Friis (for Urera longifolia) and Laportea oligoloba (Baker) Friis are made. The two transfers underline the importance of Madagascar as the most prolific centre of endemism for the genus Laportea.     

Decline of photosynthetic capacity with leaf age and position in two tropical pioneer tree species

The effect of leaf age on photosynthetic capacity, a critical parameter in the theory of optimal leaf longevity, was studied for two tropical pioneer tree species, Cecropia longipes and Urera caracasana, in a seasonally dry forest in Panama. These species continuously produce short-lived leaves (74 and 93 d, respectively) during the rainy season (May-December) on orthotropic branches. However, they differ in leaf production rate, maximum number of leaves per branch, light environment experienced by the leaves, leaf mass per unit area, and nitrogen content. Light-saturated photosynthetic rates for marked leaves of known ages (±1 wk) were measured with two contrasting schemes (repeated measurements vs. chronosequence within branch), which overall produced similar results. In both species, photosynthetic rates and nitrogen use efficiency were negatively correlated with leaf age and positively correlated with light availability. Photosynthetic rates declined faster with leaf age in Cecropia than in Urera as predicted by the theory. The rate of decline was faster for leaves on branches with faster leaf turnover rates. Nitrogen per unit leaf area decreased with leaf age only for Urera. Leaf mass per unit area increased with leaf age, either partly (in Cecropia) or entirely (in Urera) due to ash accumulation.     

中国荨麻科植物省级分布新记录

报道荨麻科6种1亚种1变种在我国6个省区分布的新记录,其中山东分布新记录的有海岛苎麻 (Boehmeria formosana),陕西分布新记录的有对叶楼梯草(Elatostema sinense),广东分布新记录的有台湾糯米团(Gonostegia parvifolia),贵州分布新记录的有显脉楼梯草(Elatostema longistipulum)和短毛楼梯草(E. nasutum var. puberulum),云南分布新记录的有高原荨麻(Urtica hyperborea),西藏分布新记录的有单蕊麻 (Droguetia iners subsp. urticoides)和细尾楼梯草(Elatostema tenuicaudatum)。     

The genus Urera (Urticaceae) in eastern tropical Africa

The species of Urera Gaud. occurring in eastern tropical Africa are revised. Three species are recognized: U. cameroonensis Wedd., occurring from Uganda to the South African Republic (Natal), U. sansibarica Engl., restricted to the coastal zone of Kenya and Tanzania, and U. hypselodendron (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Wedd., occurring in montane forest from Ethiopia to Malawi. The original material of U. hypselodendron var. flamigniana Hauman (nom. inval.) and var. platyrrhachis Hauman (nom. inval.) is excluded from U. hypselodendron; the same applies to the other material of U. hypselodendron cited from central Zaire in Flore du Congo belge. Distribution maps of the eastern African species are provided. Also included is a preliminary study and discussion of the generic subdivision of Urera , with special reference to the species of this revision.     

中国鳞刺蛾属订正(鳞翅目,刺蛾科)(英文)

经过系统研究,发现我国的鳞刺蛾并不是一直被称为的眼鳞刺蛾Squamosa ocellata(Moore),共有2种和1亚种.首次报道了姹鳞刺蛾S.chalcites Orhant在我国有分布,描述了1新种,短爪鳞刺蛾S.brevisunca和1新亚种,云南亚种S.brevisunca yunnanensis.本文还描述了云南亚种的茧和老熟幼虫形态,编制了分种和亚种检索表,提供了成虫彩色照片和外生殖器特征图.模式标本保存在中国科学院动物研究所国家动物博物馆.     

The infraspecific taxa of Pleiotaxis huillensis (Mutisieae, Asteraceae)

The species from Angola Pleiotaxis huillensis (Mutisieae, Asteraceae) is subdivided into three subspecies and one variety. Specifically, P. huillensis subsp axillaris and P. huillensis subsp. huillensis var. macrocephala are described as new taxa, and a new nomenclatural combination is proposed ( P. huillensis subsp. argentea ).     

A revision of the brassoline genus Catoblepia (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera)

The brassoline genus Catoblepia is revised: eight new subspecies are described, nine new synonymies established, the status of four species and subspecies is revised, one species ( singularis ) is returned to the genus Opsiphanes and ten lectotypes are designated. All known holotypes (20) and lectotypes (10) are figured, many for the first time. The refined taxonomy reveals an interesting pairing of the Andean subspecies of xanthicles and berecynthia and it is suggested that diese may be mimetic pairs. There is close agreement in the distribution of the Andean species and subspecies with die endemic centres previously recognized; east of the Andes, however, diere is no close correspondence and each of the subspecies has, in general, a distribution across several endemic centres.     

中国波翅青尺蛾属分类研究(鳞翅目:尺蛾科:尺蛾亚科)

波翅青尺蛾属Thalera世界共记录6种和5亚种。中国已知3种和3亚种,本文记述5种和3亚种,其中包括采自四川巴塘1新种淡波翅青尺蛾Thalera simpliria sp.nov.和1新纪录种。文中给出了中国波翅青尺蛾属分种检索表和新种的成虫及外生殖器图。淡波翅青尺蛾,新种Thalera simpliria sp.nov.(图2,3,6,7）新种与Th.lacerataria Graeser,1889相似,但有以下不同：新种前翅外缘在M1与M3之间的缺刻极浅;前后翅外线较圆滑：♂外生殖器抱器瓣基部的三角形骨化片细尖,囊形突较细,钩形突较短粗;♀外生殖器后阴片有一方形弱骨化区域。     

A taxonomic review of the genus Hypocalymma (Myrtaceae)

The genus Hypocalymma endemic to Western Australia and comprising 22 species species including the widely cultivated Swan River Myrtle and Swamp Myrtle, is revised. Nine new species ( H. connatum, H. hirsutum, H, gardneri, H. jessicae, H. melaleucoides, H. serrulatum, H. sylvestris, H. tenuatum and H. uncinatum ), two new subspecies ( H. cordifolium subsp. minus and H. strictum subsp. elongatum ) and one new combination ( H. angustifolium subsp. longifolium ) are described or made. A key to all species is presented for this horticulturally significant genus.     

中国脊椎动物新(亚)种统计及分析

采用网上检索和手工查阅的办法统计了中国近35年来脊椎动物新(亚)种发现的情况.结果表明:35年来共发现了811个脊椎动物新(亚)种,20世纪80年代发现的新(亚)种数量最多,越低等的类群发现的新(亚)种数量越多,其中鱼纲的动物占了一半以上,在高等脊椎动物中发现的主要是一些亚种,新(亚)种的模式标本产地多在比较偏远的地方.最后,对统计结果进行了分析.     

A revision of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Heterospathe elegans</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Arecaceae</Emphasis>) complex in New Guinea

Summary  Three closely affiliated species of Heterospathe Scheff. (H. elegans (Becc.) Becc., H. humilis Becc. and H. versteegiana Becc.) from New Guinea are revised. They are reduced to a single species which is divided into two subspecies, and the new combination H. elegans subsp. humilis (Becc.) M. S. Trudgen & W. J. Baker is made. The subspecies can be readily distinguished by their growth habit. Epitypes are designated for the three previously published names, as informative material on the habit is not included in the existing type specimens. A new, potentially related species is described as H. pullenii M. S. Trudgen & W. J. Baker.     

Pronophiline butterflies (Satyridae) of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

Abstract. The twenty-four species of Pronophilini known from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a small, isolated and very high north Colombian mountain range, are listed. The ecology of the tribe in northern South America, where these butterflies are exclusively montane, is described. The evolutionary relationships of the thirteen endemic species are analysed. Three new genera, three new species, and four new subspecies are described. Four new synonymies are established, the status of three taxa revised, six new combinations made, lished, the status of three taxa and one original combination re-instated.     

中国野生牡丹研究 二：芍药属牡丹组新分类群

本文发表一个新亚种和一个新等级。新亚种林氏牡丹和紫斑牡丹同属一个种系,花瓣基部均具紫斑,花丝,花盘及柱头均为白色;但林氏牡丹的小叶多为披针形或窄卵形,全缘,而紫斑牡丹的小叶多为卵形或卵圆形,常１－３深裂。     

Biosystematics of the genus Piperia Rydb. (Orchidaceae)

Piperia is a North American segregate of Habenaria consisting of 5 taxa (4 species and 1 subspecies). The genus is defined and differentiated from other North American genera of the Habenaria alliance by its morphology and pollination mechanism. All taxa have n = 21 chromosomes. Thin-layer chromatography of fresh leaf extracts and a morphological assessment revealed discrete, but variable, taxa. All species are partially interfertile; however, a high degree of sympatry suggests these species are reproductively isolated. One new combination is proposed: P. elongata subsp. michaelii.     

Leaf position,light levels,and nitrogen allocation in five species of rain forest pioneer trees

We used path analysis to ask whether leaf position or leaf light level was a better predictor of within-plant variation in leaf nitrogen concentration in five species of rain forest pioneer trees (Cecropia obtusifolia, Ficus insipida, Heliocarpus appendiculatus, Piper auritum, and Urera caracasana) from the Los Tuxtlas Biological Station, Veracruz, Mexico. Three hundred seventy-five leaves on 28 plants of the five species were analyzed for leaf nitrogen concentration, leaf mass per area, and leaf light interception at different positions (= nodes) along a shoot. Mean values of leaf nitrogen concentration ranged from 0.697 to 0.993 g/m² in the five species, and varied by as much as 2.24 g/m² among leaves on individual plants. Leaf position on the shoot explained significantly more of the within-plant variation in leaf nitrogen concentration than did leaf light level in four of the five species: Cecropia obtusifolia, Heliocarpus appendiculatus, Piper auritum (branch leaves only), and Urera caracasana. However, individual species differed considerably in the patterns of nitrogen allocation and leaf mass per area among leaves on a shoot. These results suggest that leaf nitrogen deployment in these plants is, in part, developmentally constrained and related to the predictability of canopy light distribution associated with plant growth form.     

Tetracha hope 1838 of the Turks and Caicos Islands (coleoptera, carabidae, cicindelinae)

A new species, Tetracha (Neotetracha) naviauxi, and a new subspecies, Tetracha (Tetracha) sobrina caicosensis, are described from the Turks and Caicos Islands. The key to Tetracha species in Naviaux (2007) is adapted to accommodate Tetracha naviauxi. Tetracha sobrina caicosensis is compared to other Caribbean subspecies of Tetracha sobrina.     

Building a DNA Barcode Reference Library for the True Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Peninsula Malaysia: What about the Subspecies?

The objective of this study was to build a DNA barcode reference library for the true butterflies of Peninsula Malaysia and assess the value of attaching subspecies names to DNA barcode records. A new DNA barcode library was constructed with butterflies from the Museum of Zoology, University of Malaya collection. The library was analysed in conjunction with publicly available DNA barcodes from other Asia-Pacific localities to test the ability of the DNA barcodes to discriminate species and subspecies. Analyses confirmed the capacity of the new DNA barcode reference library to distinguish the vast majority of species (92%) and revealed that most subspecies possessed unique DNA barcodes (84%). In some cases conspecific subspecies exhibited genetic distances between their DNA barcodes that are typically seen between species, and these were often taxa that have previously been regarded as full species. Subspecies designations as shorthand for geographically and morphologically differentiated groups provide a useful heuristic for assessing how such groups correlate with clustering patterns of DNA barcodes, especially as the number of DNA barcodes per species in reference libraries increases. Our study demonstrates the value in attaching subspecies names to DNA barcode records as they can reveal a history of taxonomic concepts and expose important units of biodiversity.