Lewinskya transcaucasica (Orthotrichaceae,Bryopsida) sp. nov. A contribution to the bryophyte flora of Georgia

A new orthotrichaceous species, Lewinskya transcaucasica Eckstein, Garilleti & F.Lara, is described, based on several samples collected in the Georgian territories of Greater Caucasus and Lesser Caucasus. The species is best differentiated by its sporophytic characteristics. Its capsules are long ovoid to cup-shaped and smooth and show no differentiation of the longitudinal bands of the exothecial cells. The capsules vary from emerging fully from the perichaetial leaves to having a shortly exserted position. The peristome is double, with an exostome of eight pairs of orange to crimson teeth whose tips are variably cancellated and fenestrated and recurved when dry, and an endostome of eight segments that occasionally alternate with reduced intermediate segments. All of these segments are yellowish to pale orange, mainly linear, uniseriate or partially biseriate, and strongly ornamented on the inner side. The new moss is illustrated and compared with similar taxa around the world.     

Acaulonopsis,a new moss genus of the Pottiaceae from Western Cape Province of South Africa,and comments on Vrolijkheidia

Abstract

A new genus, Acaulonopsis (Pottiaceae, Bryophyta), including two new species, A. fynbosensis and A. eureka, is described from the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Together with the similarly much reduced pottiaceous genus Acaulon, Acaulonopsis is unique in the family with a very short seta and spherical capsule, which lacks the apiculus found in other genera. The new genus is also distinguished by short plant stature, and a total of about five ovate leaves that clasp closely the capsules in nearly spherical leaf bases. Continuing bryological study of the fynbos region has recently resulted in a number of startling discoveries of bryophytes new to science and distinct at the genus level. A new combination is made for the South African endemic genus Vrolijkheidia (Pottiaceae) with discussion of its dimorphic habitus.     

Reinstatement of Ocyroe (Compositae: Astereae)

Nardophyllum armatum, a species from the Puna region of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile is here transferred to genus Ocyroe, which in turn is resurrected from the synonymy under Nardophyllum. Ocyroe is characterized by thorny branches, discoid capitula, naked receptacles, glandular corollas with a globose swelling at the base, and a profuse 3- to 5-seriate pappus. The new combination Ocyroe armata and a lectotype for Dolichogyne armata are here presented.     

The species of the genus Micrambe Thomson 1863, from South Africa (Coleoptera: Cryptophagidae)

The 22 species of the genus Micrambe Thomson known from South Africa are analyzed and revised. Micrambe danielssoni sp. nov is described. Following a detailed study of the type material in different entomological collections, the status of two taxa is revised and two new synonymies are proposed: Micrambe kolbei Grouvelle 1908, syn. nov. for Micrambe minuta Grouvelle 1908, and Micrambe similis Bruce 1957, syn. nov. for Micrambe peringueyi Grouvelle 1908. A lectotypus is designated for one taxon: Micrambe capensis (Redtenbacher 1867). A key to all the species occurring in South Africa is presented.     

REDESCRIPTIONS OF PLACOBDELLA STUHLMANNI (BLANCHARD, 1897) AND PLACOBDELLA GAROUI (HARDING, 1932) (HIRUDINEA: GLOSSIPHONIIDAE)

SUMMARY

The two African leeches Placobdella stuhlmanni (Blanchard, 1897) and Placobdella garoui (Harding, 1932) are redescribed and figured because of the confusion that exists in the literature with regard to the specific identities of the two taxa. During a survey of the freshwater leeches of the Republic of South Africa and South West Africa, material was obtained which made possible a thorough study of the two species. Not only did this clear up existing discrepancies but the research also added much new information concerning the two leeches. Certain aspects of their biology are considered for the first time.     

The epiphytic bryoflora of the Jbel Bouhalla (Rif,Morocco), including a new variety of moss,Orthotrichum speciosum var. brevisetum

Abstract

The epiphytic bryoflora of Jbel Bouhalla, a mountain sited in the Rif range (northern Morocco), is catalogued, resulting in a list of 48 taxa (45 mosses and 3 liverworts). One new variety, Orthotrichum speciosum var. brevisetum, is described, and some new records are reported: Orthotrichum shawii and O. pallens are new to northern Africa, while Habrodon perpusillus and O. speciosum var. speciosum are new to Morocco.     

Notes on the genus Dendroceros in West Africa and South Atlantic Islands

Abstract

Following revision of Dendroceros specimens from West Africa and South Atlantic islands, three species are recognized for this geographical area: Dendroceros adglutinatus, D. africanus and finally D. herasii which is described as new. On the other hand, D. crispatus is excluded from Africa while Folioceros fuciformis (Megaceros lacerus, Anthoceros fuciformis) is excluded from Equatorial Guinea. A preliminary key to the five Dendroceros species known to occur in Africa is included.     

A new combination involving Lithyphantes lepidus Cambridge 1897 and a new name for Teutana lepida Cambridge 1903 (Araneae,Theridiidae)

Abstract

O.P. Cambridge described a New Zealand theridiid as Lithyphantes lepidus (1897, Proceedings of the Zoological Society London: 681–703) and a South African theridiid from CapeTown as Teutana lepida (1903, Annals of the South African Museum 3 (5): 143–166). Since then Levi (1957, Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 117: 367–424) has recognised both Lithyphantes Simon 1881 and Teutana Thorell 1869 as junior synonyms of Steatoda Sundevall 1883. Following this the earlier described L. lepidus becomes Steatoda lepida new combination. As the name S. lepida is thus unavailable T. lepida requires a new name. I hereby provide the name Steatoda capensis nomen novum to replace Teutana lepida Cambridge. This name recognises the origin of the spider, that is Cape Town, South Africa.     

Theoretical perspectives on cinema in Africa: Culture,identity and Diaspora

The study of African cinema is often assumed to be the study of black film. This paper examines this notion with respect to definitions of Africa, questions of identity, and different historical discourses of resistance. Western psychocentric approaches to film criticism are criticized. The issue of authorship is revisited with the question: Can a white director make a film reflecting the “black” experience? This question is explored with reference to debates about Spike Lee's Malcolm X and South African director Oliver Schmitz's Mapantsula. In the process, J examine how meanings are articulated and rearticulated in specific contexts by both those who define them and audiences which interpret them. The articulations of “race wars” in the USA and South Africa respectively are discussed, as is the relationship between race and class in the anti‐apartheid struggle. The disarticulation of Black Consciousness in South Africa from its popularizer, Steve Biko, by film activists in the Mass Democratic Movement during the 1980s, provides a background for the emergence of “non‐racial” cinema. Reception is suggested as a more subtle means of film categorisation. Mapantsula, for example, though made by a mainly white crew, is understood by black audiences to be a film accurately reflecting the experience of the black oppressed in South Africa. Though reception is a dynamic response, shifting and responding to historical trajectories and new discourses, with interpretations fragmenting between different classes and class fractions at different times, such a strategy for area and cultural classification of films avoids the pitfalls of categories based on ideology, myth, race and language.     

Taxonomic notes on Mexican Ruellia (Acanthaceae)

The new nameRuellia comonduensis is provided for the species previously known asR. cordata Brandegee.Ruellia chilpancingana, a new species known only from Guerrero in southwestern Mexico, is described and compared to morphologically similar species. It is unique among Mexican species ofRuellia based on the following combination of characters: caducous bracteoles and secondary bracteoles, multiflowered dichasia from leaf axils, yellowish and cylindric-funnelform corollas, exserted stamens, and few (four or fewer) seeds per capsule. Macromorphological features and pollen ofR. chilpancingana are illustrated.     

A new species of Crossidium (Pottiaceae,Bryophyta) from South Africa

Abstract

A new species of Crossidium (Pottiaceae, Bryophyta), C. karoo, is described for South Africa. It uniquely differs from congeners in tight encapsulation of the photosynthetic filaments by the clasping upper lamina.     

New data and taxa for Orthoptera Tettigoniidae and Acrididae from tropical Africa

The results of a long-term study on the Orthoptera collected in tropical Africa and preserved in different European natural history museums are reported. Horatosphaga bazeletae n. sp. is described from South Africa, Dapanera falxcercata n. sp. from Cameroon, Eurycorypha specularia n. sp. from Zambia (Tettigoniidae Phaneropterinae), and Eucoptacra popovi n. sp. (Acrididae Coptacrinae) from the Gabon. Furthermore, the new genus Pigalua n. gen. is described for Eulioptera insularis Ragge, 1980 from Annobón Is. (Equatorial Guinea). The new tribe Kevaniellini n. trib. is proposed for Kevaniella bipunctata Chopard, 1954. Besides, the hitherto unknown males of Eurycorypha flavescens (Walker, 1869) and Eurycorypha klaptoczi Karny, 1917 from West Africa are described. In addition, new records or unknown taxonomical characters are reported for five species of Horatosphaga, Peronura clavigera Karsch, 1889, Prosphaga splendens Ragge, 1960, Kevaniella bipunctata Chopard, 1954, Eurycorypha prasinata Stål, 1874, Poreuomena lamottei Chopard, 1954, Tylopsis fissa Ragge, 1964, Catoptropteryx extensipes Karsch, 1896 and Mangomaloba latipennis Chopard, 1954 (Tettigoniidae Phaneropterinae).     

DNA bar-coding reveals source and patterns of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Thaumastocoris peregrinus</Emphasis> invasions in South Africa and South America

Thaumastocoris peregrinus is a recently introduced invertebrate pest of non-native Eucalyptus plantations in the Southern Hemisphere. It was first reported from South Africa in 2003 and in Argentina in 2005. Since then, populations have grown explosively and it has attained an almost ubiquitous distribution over several regions in South Africa on 26 Eucalyptus species. Here we address three key questions regarding this invasion, namely whether only one species has been introduced, whether there were single or multiple introductions into South Africa and South America and what the source of the introduction might have been. To answer these questions, bar-coding using mitochondrial DNA (COI) sequence diversity was used to characterise the populations of this insect from Australia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Uruguay. Analyses revealed three cryptic species in Australia, of which only T. peregrinus is represented in South Africa and South America. Thaumastocoris peregrinus populations contained eight haplotypes, with a pairwise nucleotide distance of 0.2–0.9% from seventeen locations in Australia. Three of these haplotypes are shared with populations in South America and South Africa, but the latter regions do not share haplotypes. These data, together with the current distribution of the haplotypes and the known direction of original spread in these regions, suggest that at least three distinct introductions of the insect occurred in South Africa and South America before 2005. The two most common haplotypes in Sydney, one of which was also found in Brisbane, are shared with the non-native regions. Sydney populations of T. peregrinus, which have regularly reached outbreak levels in recent years, might thus have served as source of these three distinct introductions into other regions of the Southern Hemisphere.     

Quantifying the Trade in Cycads (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Encephalartos</Emphasis> Species) in the Traditional Medicine Markets of Johannesburg and Durban,South Africa<Superscript>1</Superscript>

Quantifying the Trade in Cycads ( Encephalartos Species) in the Traditional Medicine Markets of Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa. Cycads have been used for traditional purposes for centuries, mainly as a source of starch during droughts and famines. In South Africa, Encephalartos species are traded for traditional medicine (TM) in local TM markets. The 2009 IUCN Red Data assessment for South African flora lists 78% of the 37 indigenous Encephalartos species as “Threatened”, with three species already “Extinct in the Wild” (EW). South African cycads face an extinction crisis, primarily due to collecting for the horticultural trade. The trade in Encephalartos for TM also has a significant impact on several species, and is largely understudied. In this paper, the trade in Encephalartos for TM was quantified in South Africa’s two largest TM markets, Faraday in Johannesburg and Warwick in Durban. Harvesting of South African Encephalartos for TM involves the removal of bark strips and/or whole stem sections. Encephalartos species were sold at 26% and 13% of the stalls at Faraday and Warwick, respectively, with an estimated 9.0 metric tons traded at Warwick in 2009. Stem samples purchased in the markets were assigned to stem diameter size classes using a size class chart, and regression analysis was used to validate the allocations. Most harvesting was from sub-adult and adult cycads, and it appears that bark strips are removed from large arborescent plants, whereas smaller individuals and subterranean-stemmed species are harvested by removing the entire plant. There is generally a positive relationship between stem diameter and leaf base length as well as stem diameter and pith radius. The former can be used as a predictor of stem diameter size class for market samples that prove difficult to assign to diameter classes using the chart. Overall, this is the first study to quantify the trade in Encephalartos for TM in South Africa with reference to the size classes of the plants traded.     

The complex genome and adaptive evolution of polyploid Chinese pepper (Zanthoxylum armatum and Zanthoxylum bungeanum)

Zanthoxylum armatum and Zanthoxylum bungeanum, known as ‘Chinese pepper’, are distinguished by their extraordinary complex genomes, phenotypic innovation of adaptive evolution and species-special metabolites. Here, we report reference-grade genomes of Z. armatum and Z. bungeanum. Using high coverage sequence data and comprehensive assembly strategies, we derived 66 pseudochromosomes comprising 33 homologous phased groups of two subgenomes, including autotetraploid Z. armatum. The genomic rearrangements and two whole-genome duplications created large (~4.5 Gb) complex genomes with a high ratio of repetitive sequences (>82%) and high chromosome number (2n = 4x = 132). Further analysis of the high-quality genomes shed lights on the genomic basis of involutional reproduction, allomones biosynthesis and adaptive evolution in Chinese pepper, revealing a high consistent relationship between genomic evolution, environmental factors and phenotypic innovation. Our study provides genomic resources and new insights for investigating diversification and phenotypic innovation in Chinese pepper, with broader implications for the protection of plants under severe environmental changes.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sarcocornia</Emphasis> (Chenopodiaceae) from South Africa

Sarcocornia decussata, S. freitagii and S. tegetaria from South Africa are described as new taxa. Sarcocornia decussata and S. freitagii are narrow endemics of the West Coast of South Africa where they are found in inland saline habitats (quartz patches, salt pans and saline alluvia) while S. tegetaria is an endemic of southern African coasts (spanning Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique) where it is confined to low-lying intertidal habitats of estuaries.     

Bryobartramia schelpei T.A.Hedderson,a new species to accommodate the South African populations of the genus

Abstract

South African populations of Bryobartramia have been treated as B. novae-valesiae, a species otherwise restricted to Australia. However, material from the two regions differs in a number of traits, and the African populations are here described as a new species, B. schelpei. The Cape species differs most obviously from B. novae-valesiae in the markedly prorate-papillose, narrow, thick-walled cells of the calyptra. Nested analysis of variance reveals further morphometric differences, including the relatively narrower, more cylindrical, calyptra with a longer rostrum, and the smaller leaf cells and spores. Bryobartramia schelpii is known only from arid portions of the winter rainfall region in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa.     

Home away from home — objective mapping of high-risk source areas for plant introductions

Prevention is the best way to slow the escalation of problems associated with biological invasions. Screening of potential introductions is widely applied for assessing the risk of species becoming invasive. Despite advances in the understanding of the determinants of invasiveness, screening still relies heavily on assessments of the potential of species to ‘fit in’ to the broad environmental conditions of a target region. Most screening systems ask whether species are native to, or are known to be naturalized or invasive in, regions with ‘similar’ climatic/environmental conditions to the target region. The level of similarity required to make the species a high‐risk introduction is generally not specified. This paper describes a protocol for making such assessments more objective, using South Africa as a test case. Using nonparametric niche‐based modelling (generalized additive model; GAM) calibrated on the current distribution of each South African biome, we mapped regions of the world that are climatically similar to South African biomes. Lists were produced of countries with the largest areas climatically similar to South Africa overall, and to each biome separately. Validation of the usefulness of the approach was sought by evaluating whether the main invasive plant species in South African biomes occur naturally, or have adventive ranges, in regions mapped as analogous to South African biomes. A very large part of the world is climatically similar to South Africa, with eight countries having larger areas of land classified as climatically similar to South African biomes than the total area of South Africa. Almost all the most prominent invasive species in South African biomes occur naturally or are invasive outside their natural range in areas with similar climates to those that occur in parts of South Africa. This confirms the value of objective climate matching in screening protocols. We examined climatic conditions for a representative sample of major invasive plants from other parts of the world. The analysis identified several species that are already invasive in regions that have matched climates in South Africa but that are not yet introduced or, if already present, have not yet invaded large areas. For example, the following known invasive species should be considered high‐risk species in South African grasslands: Alliaria petiolata, Cytisus scoparius, Gleditsia triacanthos, Heracleum mantegazzianum, Hieracium pilosella, Juniperus communis, Pinus contorta, P. monticola, P. ponderosa, P. sylvestris, Prunus laurcerasus, and P. serotina. Objectively matched climatic regions are also useful as a first‐cut assessment when evaluating species with no invasive history.