Multivariate morphometric and allozymic analysis of theConospermum taxifolium (Proteaceae) species complex

A morphometric analysis of 18 attributes of 110 plants of theConospermum taxifolium complex suggests that it consists of three polythetically distinct taxa, corresponding to the traditional concepts ofC. taxifolium Smith s. str.,C. ericifolium Smith andC. ellipticum Smith. Discrimination is possible on the basis of leaf but not flower attributes. Analysis of allozymic variation indicates that the taxa are also genotypically differentiated.C. ericifolium andC. ellipticum are geographically isolated from each other but not fromC. taxifolium, andC. taxifolium is usually ecologically segregated from the other two taxa. Where this ecological segregation breaks down, morphological intermediates sometimes occur as the result of hybridization.     

Effect of prior vaccination on experimental Blastomycosis

Immunogens were found associated with particular fractions prepared from spherules ofCoccidioides immitis (Kong, Levine &Smith, 1963) and from yeast cells ofHistoplasma capsulatum (Salvin &Ribi, 1955). However,Blastomyces dermatitidis, another dimorphic systemic fungal pathogen was shown to elicit a minimal immunogenic response in experimental animals (Kong &Levine, 1967). It was therefore deemed pertinent to study factors which might enhance the resistance of mice to infection withB. dermatitidis.     

Ecological study of soil fungi of an agricultural field in Allahabad

Summary The soil fungi from an agricultural field in Allahabad where sugarcane is being grown for many years, have been isolated from various depths during different seasons and were identified. The inter-relations of chemical composition of soil and distribution of fungi is also being shown here.The techniques for the isolation and the study of the fungus flora was that ofGoddard modified bySaksena &Mehrotra. Soil samples were examined from 1–6 depths in three seasons of the year and were mechanically and chemically analysed.For the isolation, soil dilution plate method, a modification ofMenzies' method, direct method ofWaksman, Rossi Cholodny Burried slide technique, and screened immersion plate method, were followed Fifty five different species of microfungi belonging to Phycomycetes, Ascomycetes and Fungi — Imperfecti were isolated and identified. The moisture contents, hydrogen-ion concentrations, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and iron, etc., of the soil samples from 1–6 inches depths, were also studied.Out of these 12 species covering 9 genera belonged to the Phycomycetes, nine genera of Ascomycetes and nine genera of Fungi Imperfecti were recorded.P. multicolor Grigorieva-Monoilova &Poradielova, andP. roqueforti Thom.,Gliocladium vermoesoni (Biourge)Thom. andMasoniella grisea (Smith)Smith were recorded for the first time from Indian Soil. A new varietyChaetominum nigricolor Ames var.simplex was also isolated.     

Pteromalidae etEulophidae nouveaux d'Europe (Hym., Chalcidoidea)

Summary In the present paper the Author has described three new genera ofPteromalidae, two new species of the genusEnaysma Del. and one of the genusEpilampsis Del. (Euloph. Entedontinae). The first Pteromalid genus,Stenoselma, is closely related to the well knownAnisopteromalus Ruschka; the second new genus,Apelioma, has been proposed forDinotiscus (Dinotus) pteromalinus Thomson; the third,Aggelma, has been described for the new speciesabdominalis, collected in Central Europe onPinus montana. The other new species ofEntedontinae has been bred from leaf-miners (Lepidoptera).      

A new scolenaspidid (Osteostraci, Vertebrata) from the Lower Devonian of Podolia, Ukraine

Anew osteostracan genus and species,Victoraspis longicornualis n. gen., n. sp., is described based on material from Rakovets’, present day Ukraine. This new taxon shares characters with the two generaStensiopelta Denison, 1951 andZychaspis Janvier, 1985. A phylogenetic analysis supports the position ofVictoraspis as the sister group to a monophyleticStensiopelta, while the interrelationships of the various species ofZychaspis are poorly resolved. A morphometric analysis is carried out in an attempt to further resolve the taxonomic affinity. This analysis groups all examinedZychaspis species closely together, and further supports the establishment ofVictoraspis as separate genus.      

Muribasidiospora — A new genus of the exobasidiaceae

Summary A new genus under the Exobasidiaceae namelyMuribasidiospora gen. nov.Kamat, M. N. &Rajendren, R. B. has been established to accommodate such species ofExobasidium producing muriform basidiospores in their life cycle. Accordingly the two species viz.Exobasidium hesperidium Maire andE. celtidis Ramakrishnan, T. S. & K. are proposed to be transferred to the new genus under new combinations.     

Revision of Hyolitha from the Ordovician of Estonia

Topotype specimens of the Middle OrdovicianHyolithes acutus Eichwald, 1840, which is the type of the genus that lent its name to a family, order, class, and even phylum according to some, andH. latus Eichwald, 1860 allow that genus and those species to be firmly established on a sound, morphologic basis. In addition, preservation of the types ofHyolithes striatus Eichwald, 1860 is sufficiently good to warrant reassignment toDorsolinevitus Syssoiev, 1958. In contrast, the type ofH. insularis Eichwald, 1860 is incompletely preserved, and this species is not recognizable beyond the type material. The concept of the family Hyolithidae is revised to more closely conform to the morphology ofHyolithes, with authorship herein ascribed toSyssoiev (1958) rather than toNicholson (1872). The stratigraphic distribution of these taxa suggests thatHyolithes as defined herein first appears in the Middle Ordovician, but extends into at least the Lower Devonian, as suggested by two species from the Barrandian region of the Czech Republic. Their geographic distribution further re-enforces the notion of two distinct paleobiogeographic provinces based on hyoliths, a Mediterranean province and Baltic province, with almost no mixing of hyolith faunas during the Ordovician.      

Two remarkable newCruciferae from Saudi Arabia

A new genus ofCruciferae, Dolichorhynchus Hedge & Kit Tan (D. arabicus Hedge & Kit Tan) and a new speciesArabidopsis erysimoides Hedge & Kit Tan, both from northern Saudi Arabia, are described and illustrated. An addendum lists new Crucifer generic or species records for the Arabian peninsula.     

Tillandsia marconae — eine neue Art aus der peruanischen Küstenwüste

T. marconae is described as a new species from the Peruvian coastal desert. Its systematic position betweenT. paleacea Presl em.L. B. Smith andT. purpurea Ruiz & Pavon is discussed.

     

Un nouveau Ptéromalide (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) parasite oophage deLocusta a Madagascar

Summary The Author describes in this short note a new genus and a new species of Pteromalid (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) reared from eggs ofLocusta migratoria capito saussure in Madagascar.      

Sero-systematics ofCytisus sect.Trianthocytisus (Fabaceae)

The serological reaction of seed proteins provides evidence for a partly new systematic arrangement ofCytisus sect.Trianthocytisus and ofCytisus s.l. Proposed modifications agree with recent advances in morphological taxonomy. Sect.Trianthocytisus includes only two species,C. villosus andC. aeolicus. Its position is central within the genus, and this fact agrees with the proposed retypification ofCytisus (type species:C. villosus).C. emeriflorus, formerly included in the same section, constitutes the monospecific sect.Emeroides, which is intermediate towards the genusLembotropis. This is serologically isolated and includes onlyL. nigricans. It is confirmed thatC. sessilifolius should be removed from the genusCytisus as a monospecific genus:Cytisophyllum Lang which is closely allied toHesperolaburnum and toPodocytisus, the most primitive genera ofGenisteae.     

Studies on generaMallomonas andSynura,and other plankton in freshwater with the electron microscope

A new genusSpiniferomonas of the Synuraceae was established withSpiniferomonas bourrellii as the type species. The cells ofSpiniferomonas are solitary, freeswimming, biflagellated, and covered with siliceous scales and spines. The genus shows a similarity to theChrysosphaerella (Synuraceae) in the structure of scales and spines. In addition to the type species, six species were also described as the new taxa of this genus. They were named asS. abei, S. bilacunosa, S. trioralis, S. crucigera, S. conica, andS. alata, respectively. All the specimens were collected from ponds and lakes in Japan.S. trioralis was also collected from the Republic of South Africa. Dedicated to Professor Dr. NoboruAbe in celebration of his sixty-fifth birthday.     

Taxonomic status of the species of the green algal genusNeochloris

Komárek has recently reviewed the various species assigned to the green algal genusNeochloris Starr (Chlorococcales, Chlorococcaceae) and removed those with uninucleate vegetative cells to a new genus,Ettlia. Watanabe & Floyd, unaware ofKomárek's work, also reviewed the species ofNeochloris and distributed them among three genera—Neochloris, Chlorococcopsis gen. nov., andParietochloris gen. nov.—on the basis of details of the covering of the zoospore and the arrangement of the basal bodies of the flagellar apparatus. This paper reconciles these two treatments and makes additional recommendations at the ranks of genus, family, order, and class.     

Revision of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cheliderpeton vranyi</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">Fritsch</Emphasis>, 1877 (Amphibia,Temnospondyli) from the Lower Permian of Bohemia (Czech Republic)

The temnospondylCheliderpeton vranyi Fritsch, 1877 from the Lower Permian Ruprechtice horizon (Rotliegend) of the Intrasudetic Basin (Bohemia, Czech Republic) is redescribed. Many features of the skeleton permit a new understanding of the type species and consequently of the genus. Diagnostic characters are the narrow and round-tipped snout, straight to convex outline of the skull roof, narrow and long otic notch, posteriorly expanded quadratojugal, and the relatively wide and short rhombic interclavicle. The ilium with a short, expanded dorsal branch and the missing contact of nasal/maxilla are features shared with the related Upper PermianIntasuchus from Russia and the Eryopidae.Actinodon germanicus is a junior synonym ofCheliderpeton vranyi.      

Studies in Indian Phyllachoraceae IV

Summary P. symploci Pat. is a new record to India andP. dalbergiae Niessl. a new addition to the Fungi of Bombay. Association of spermogonia with the developing ascocarps has been noted in three out of the seven species described in this paper, confirming the earlier observations ofTilak (1959) of the occurrence of spermatization as a common process of sexuality in this genus.     

Flagellation and taxonomy ofAcetobacter andAcetomonas

Summary Leifson's findings, that motile, acetate-oxidizing acetic acid bacteria (Acetobacter) have peritrichous flagella, and that motile, non-acetate oxidizing ones (Acetomonas) have polar flagella, of notably short wavelength, are fully confirmed and photographically illustrated. It is not confirmed, however, that the peritrichous flagella ofAcetobacter are always of “orthodox” type with a wavelength of about 2.9 μ, nor that they always tend to be few in number. In one strain ofA. aceti they were numerous, and the wavelength was as short (1.4 μ) as that considered byLeifson to be uniquely confined to the polar flagella ofAcetomonas. Furthermore the polar flagella of the latter genus seem not always to be multitrichous, strains having been found with only a single polar flagellum.     

The belemnites described by Baron Ernst Friedrich von Schlotheim (1764–1832)

E. F. v. Schlotheim described 46 species of Jurassic and Cretaceous belemnites in 1813,1820, and 1832. Their type specimens are in part housed at the Humboldt University of Berlin. The holotype ofBelemnites irregularis is here refigured. Lectotypes forB. acuarius, B. canaliculatus, B. clavatus, B. giganteus, andB. tripartitus are designated and figured for the first time. The lectotype ofBelemnites giganteus is designated to be the neotype ofBelemnites suevicus Klein 1773. 36 species are nomina nuda and nomina dubia, because none of their type specimens could be detected, among them the invalidB. paxillosus v. Schlotheim 1820, which is, according to its lectotype designated herein, likeBelemnites giganteus, a junior synonym ofMegateuthis suevica (Klein 1773). An original type specimenof Belemnites mucronatusv. Schlotheim 1813, for which a neotype had already been ruled by the ICZN in 1985, was re-discovered in thev. Schlotheim collection in 1996.v. Schlotheim’s belemnites were up to now designated to be type species of 12 genera.     

Revision of fossil hominid jaws from the plio/pleistocene of hadar,in ethiopia including a new species of the genusHomo (hominoidea: homininae)

The assignment of fossil hominoid jaws from the Plio/Pleistocene of Hadar to a single genus,Australopithecus Dart, 1925, is a misnomer. They are morphologically unrestricted to and inconsistent with the diagnosis and evolutionary trend ofAustralopithecus. The morphological pattern of four large jaws is indeed australopithecine and similar toA. africanus Dart, 1925, but six small jaws reveal a pre-habilis stage of dental development early in theHomo lineage. On the basis of their unique hominine dentition, they are reinterpreted as representing a new species,Homo antiquus n.sp.     

Induced sporulation of Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat. isolated from Araucaria cunninghamii Ait. in Malaysia

Summary Botryodiplodia theobromae Pat. isolated fromAraucaria cunninghamii Ait. in Malaysia was grown on a series of standard media and inoculated into both living and dead leaves ofAraucaria. A few pycnidiospores were produced in stromata on aged cultures on 2% malt medium whereas pycnidia were produced rapidly in living and dead leaves. Pycnospores were generally two-celled and either hyaline or dark brown and bore longitudinal striations. The validity of includingBotryodiplodia theobromae as a synonym ofDiplodia natalensis Pole Evans is discussed.     

Studies on the susceptibility ofOryctes rhinoceros to some entomogenous fungi

Cultures ofMetarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sor.,Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill.,B. tenella (Delac.) Siem.,Aspergillus fumigatus Fres. andPaecilomyces farinosus (Dicks, exFr.) Brown & Smith were tested for pathogenicity toOryctes rhinoceros L. All the long spored cultures ofM. anisopliae isolated fromOryctes spp. were equally pathogenic toO. rhinoceros. Most of the 23 short spored cultures from other insects caused lesions onOryctes larvae but only 5 isolates were lethal. SomeBeauveria isolates caused brown lesions on larvae but generally these larvae developed into normal adults. One isolate ofB. bassiana fromCarpocapsa pomonella L. killed larvae at the time of pupation. Cultures ofA. fumigatus andP. farinosus were not pathogenic. A method for growingM. anisopliae on oats for large scale field use is described.

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Résumé Des cultures deMetarhizium anisopliae, deBeauveria bassiana, deB. tenella, d'Aspergillus fumigatus et dePaecilomyces farinosus ont été examinées en fonction de leurs effets pathogènes surOryctes rhinoceros. Toutes les cultures à spores longues deM. anisopliae isolées desOryctes spp. ont été également pathogènes pourO. rhinoceros. La plupart des 23 cultures à spores courtes obtenues à partir d'autres insectes ont causé des lésions sur les larves d'Oryctes mais cinq seulement ont été mortelles. Certaines souches deBeauveria ont causé des lésions brunes sur les larves mais, en général, ces larves ont donné des adultes normaux. Une culture deB. bassiana isolée deCarpocapsa pomonella a tué les larves au moment de leur métamorphose en chrysalides. Les cultures d'A. fumigatus et deP. farinosus n'ont pas eu d'effet pathogène. Une méthode de culture deM. anisopliae sur avoine pour l'utiliser sur de grandes surfaces est décrite.