Two new species of Melanoleuca (Agaricales,Basidiomycota) from northeastern China,supported by morphological and molecular data

Two new species, Melanoleuca leucopoda and M. porphyropoda, are described based on collections made from Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China. Melanoleuca leucopoda is mainly characterized by its whitish stipe with fibrils and oblong spores with elongated warts. Melanoleuca porphyropoda differs from all other Melanoleuca species in lacking cystidia and in having decurrent gills and a purplish stipe. The sequences of internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) of Melanoleuca species were analyzed and the results indicated that two new species clustered into two clades and differed from the other species of the genus. The combination of morphological and molecular data confirmed that the two fungi are new species. The morphological similarity of the new species to other species of Melanoleuca and the systematic position of the two species based on molecular data are also discussed.     

Three new species of Oreophryne (Anura,Microhylidae) from Papua New Guinea

I describe three new species of the diverse microhylid frog genus Oreophryne from Papua New Guinea. Two of these occur in two isolated mountain ranges along the northern coast of Papua New Guinea; the third is from Rossel Island in the very southeasternmost part of the country. All three are the first Oreophryne known from these areas to have a cartilaginous connection between the procoracoid and scapula, a feature usually seen in species far to the west or from the central cordillera of New Guinea. Each of the new species also differs from the many other Papuan Oreophryne in a variety of other morphological, color-pattern, and call features. Advertisement-call data for Oreophryne species from the north-coast region suggest that they represent only two of the several call types seen in regions further south, consistent with the relatively recent derivation of these northern regions as accreted island-arc systems. The distinctively different, whinnying, call type of the new species from Rossel Island occurs among other Oreophryne from southeastern Papua New Guinea but has been unreported elsewhere, raising the possibility that it may characterize a clade endemic to that region.     

A tropical Atlantic species of Melibe Rang, 1829 (Mollusca,Nudibranchia, Tethyiidae)

A new species of Melibe is described based on two specimens collected in Florida. This new species is well differentiated morphologically and genetically from other species of Melibe studied to date. The four residue deletions in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 protein found in all previously sequenced tropical species of Melibe sequenced (and Melibe rosea) are also present in this new species. These deletions do not appear to affect important structural components of this protein but might have fitness implications. This paper provides the first confirmed record of Melibe in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean.     

Fomitiporia pentaphylacis and F. tenuitubus spp. nov. (Hymenochaetales, Basidiomycota) from Guangxi, southern China

Two specimens of Hymenochaetaceae were collected from Guangxi, southern China, during a recent field trip in August 2011. They are described and illustrated here as two new species, Fomitiporia pentaphylacis and F. tenuitubus, based on a combination of morphological and phylogenetic (ITS and nLSU sequences) data. The two species share subglobose to globose, hyaline and thick-walled basidiospores with strongly cyanophilous in cotton blue and dextrinoid reaction in Melzer??s reagent. These characters are typical for Fomitiporia, differing from other genera in Hymenochaetaceae. F. pentaphylacis resembles F. pusilla in field by its minute basidiocarps, but F. pusilla has distinctly multiple tube layers and smaller basidiospores. F. tenuitubus is similar to F. erecta in both macro- and micro-morphological features, except its larger basidiocarps, smaller pores, and slightly shorter basidiospores. In the phylogenetic perspective, the two species nested within the Fomitiporia clade, but were separated from other sampled species as well as from each other.     

Systematic revision of the Taiwanese genus Kurixalus members with a description of two new endemic species (Anura,Rhacophoridae)

Two new species of rhacophorid tree frog were identified in Taiwan. In both new taxa, derived reproductive characteristics of laying eggs in tree holes and oophagous tadpoles are shared with Kurixalus eiffingeri, but they are divergent from each other in molecular genetics, mating calls, and tadpole and adult morphology. The morphological characteristics and the molecular phylogenetic evidence support the hypothesis that the two new species, Kurixalus berylliniris sp. n. and Kurixalus wangi sp. n., are both monophyletic lineages.     

Taxonomy of the genus Ectopioglossa Perkins from China,with two new species and an updated key to the Oriental species (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae)

A total of five species of the genus Ectopioglossa is reviewed from China, of which two new species are described and illustrated. These two new species are Ectopioglossa trimacula sp. nov. and E. convexa sp. nov., collected from Guangxi and Yunnan, China, respectively. Among other three nomial species, E. sublaevis (Smith, 1857) is new to China. An updated key to the Oriental species is also provided.     

A new species of Gudeodiscus Páll-Gergely, 2013 from China,with extraordinary conchological and anatomical features (Gastropoda,Pulmonata, Plectopylidae)

A new species of the Plectopylidae, Gudeodiscus longiplica is described from northern Guangxi Province, southern China. The shell, anatomical and radular characters are figured and described. This new species is characterized by long plicae on its parietal shell wall, which have not been observed in any other Gudeodiscus species. In contrast, the long parietal plicae are characteristic for the genera Plectopylis and Chersaecia, which mainly inhabit Thailand and Myanmar. These two genera are, however, only distantly related to the new species, as other characters (anatomy, protoconch sculpture, parietal plicae) suggest. The male portion of the genital structure of the new species is characterized by two separate penial caeca with different lengths, but similar in outer and inner structure. The relevance of this anatomical character is discussed. Gudeodiscus longiplica sp. n. occurs sympatrically with Gudeodiscus soosi Páll-Gergely, 2013. The anatomy and radula characters of the latter species are also described and figured.     

Japanese species of the Longibrachiatum Clade of Trichoderma

The Longibrachiatum Clade of the genus Trichoderma in Japan was examined, among which two new species and three new records are herewith reported. The new species, T. tsugarense and T. kunigamense were isolated from a bed log (cultivation of Lentinula edodes) and volcanic ash soil, respectively. These species are distinguished from closely related species by growth and morphological characteristics and in phylogenetic analysis. Additional species new to Japan were T. ghanense, T. parareesei and T. sinense. The significance of their distribution is discussed. Most species of the Longibrachiatum Clade are tropical rather than temperate in distribution. Their in vitro optimum growth tends to be >35 °C but the optimum temperature for some Japanese species was lower. Some species are endophytes of temperate plant species, some of which are endemic in Japan.     

Sistotrema subconfluens sp. nov. (Cantharellales,Basidiomycota) from Changbaishan Nature Reserve,northeastern China

Sistotrema, typified by S. confluens, is characterized mainly by its urniform basidia mostly with 6–8 sterigmata as well as by a monomitic hyphal system, oil rich hyphae and smooth basidiospores. The species of this genus have various hymenophore configurations and basidiospore shapes. During a field trip in 2011, two specimens with urniform basidia were collected from Changbaishan Nature Reserve, northeastern China. After careful morphological and molecular studies, they are described and illustrated here as a new species, S. subconfluens. The new species shares a terrestrial habit, stipitate basidiocarps and poroid hymenophores with S. confluens, besides urniform basidia. These characters make the two species different from all other species of Sistotrema with resupinate basidiocarps on wood. Sistotrema subconfluens differs from the type by having larger basidiocarps, shorter basidiospores and consistent poroid hymenophores. In phylogeny inferred from nuclear large subunit rDNA, the two species were sister taxa but clearly separated. The difference of internal transcribed spacer sequences between the two species was 3.6%.     

The species of Chusquea (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) with verticillate buds

A natural alliance of four species ofChusquea is characterized by having verticillate branches and a spikelet in which the transitional glumes one and two are very small or scalelike, and transitional glumes three and four are about equal to each other and about one-half or three-quarters as long as the lemma. Two of the four species,C. circinata andC. coronalis, are described as new and are provided with illustrations. The other two species,C. liebmannii Fourn. andC. pittieri Hack., are included in a key. The types and other collections are cited for the four species and their relationships are discussed.     

The genus Erechthias Meyrick of Ascension Island,including discovery of a new brachypterous species (Lepidoptera,Tineidae)

One previously named and two new species of the tineid genus Erechthias Meyrick are described and illustrated from the small, remote, mid-Atlantic Ascension Island. With these additions the Lepidoptera fauna of Ascension now totals 38 known species. Little is known regarding the biology of the two new species of Erechthias, and none of the species has been reared from larvae from Ascension. Erechthias minuscula (Walsingham) is a widespread, largely pantropical species first described from the West Indies. Larvae of Erechthias minuscula are known to be scavengers on a wide variety of dead plant material. Erechthias ascensionae,new species, is one of two species of Erechthias now known to be endemic to the island. The other endemic species, Erechthias grayi, new species, is further remarkable in having wing reduction occurring in both sexes. It is one of the few species of Lepidoptera known where this extreme of brachyptery involving both sexes has evolved. The larvae of Erechthias grayi are believed to be lichenivorous, and larval cases suspected to represent this species are illustrated.     

Two new species of the genus Pliciloricus (Loricifera, Pliciloricidae) from the Faroe Bank, North Atlantic

Five cruises to the Faroe Bank in the northeast Atlantic revealed a rich loriciferan fauna inhabiting shell gravel to fine carbonate sand. This paper describes two new species of Pliciloricus found at depths of 120-260 m. Currently, only six species of this genus have been described from various localities around the world, but several new species are currently being described. The diagnosis of the genus Pliciloricus is emended to include the two new taxa. The first of the two new species Pliciloricus leocaudatus sp. n. is characterized by having four new kinds of scalids in the second row and an additional row of alternating plates in the eighth row. The second species Pliciloricus shukeri sp. n. is characterized in having a secondary double organ in the third row. The morphology of the two species, including the new structures, has been investigated using LM and scanning electron microscopy. Conclusively, the scalid pattern of the introvert of Pliciloricus has been re-evaluated, due to the finding of the new structures. Additionally, a discussion of the life cycle of the genus Pliciloricus is given, since the postlarval stage is reduced in both new species.     

Geranium hanaense (Geraniaceae), a new species from Maui,Hawaiian Islands

Geranium hanaense, a new species endemic to two small montane bogs (20 ha total) on northeast Haleakala, Maui, Hawaiian Islands, is described. This new species is postulated to have evolved from the high elevation xeromorphic species,G. cuneatum, in a fashion similar to that of the two other bogGeranium species. The ecology and evolution of HawaiianGeranium species, includingG. hanaense, are discussed.     

Two new species of Erysiphe sect. Uncinula (Erysiphales): Erysiphe fernandoae and E. michikoae

Two new species of Erysiphe section Uncinula are described and illustrated based on the molecular and morphological analyses: (1) Erysiphe fernandoae sp. nov. on Fernandoa adenophylla is distinct from other Erysiphe species on the plant family Bignoniaceae by having smaller asci, ca 12 appendages per chasmothecium and being found only in Asia; (2) Erysiphe michikoae sp. nov. on Celtis jessoensis differs from Erysiphe kusanoi on other Celtis species in having smaller chasmothecial, ascal and ascospore dimensions, and fewer number of chasmothecium appendages. The phylogenetic relationships of the two new species with other closely related species are discussed based on 28S and ITS rDNA sequences.     

A new genus of metalmark moths (Lepidoptera,Choreutidae) with Afrotropical and Australasian?distribution

Niveas Rota, new genus, and its two new species, N. agassizi Rota, new species, and N. kone Rota, new species, are described and illustrated. Niveas is assigned to the subfamily Choreutinae based on morphological and molecular data. Niveas agassizi is currently known only from Kenya and only from female specimens. Niveas kone has been found on the Solomon Islands and in Papua New Guinea (PNG). In PNG, larvae of this species have been reared from several species of Ficus (Moraceae). The two species are superficially quite dissimilar from each other. However, they share features in wing pattern and venation, as well as female genitalia, and the molecular data strongly support the monophyly of Niveas.     

Description and DNA barcoding of Crematogaster fraxatrix Forel, 1911 and two new closely related species from Cambodia and Indonesia (Hymenoptera,Formicidae)

Crematogaster fraxatrix Forel, 1911 and two new species, C. chhangi sp. n. and C. simboloni sp. n., are described from Cambodia and Indonesia, respectively. DNA sequences were generated for C. fraxarix and the two newly described species using 3 amplications of two regions of the mitochondrial gene COI with a total of 1129 bp. The mean interspecific divergences are 9.4% and 23.5% for C. fraxatrix vs. C. chhangi, C. simboloni, respectively. DNA sequences reveal that C. simboloni is found to be genetically distinct from the other two species, but C. chhangi is not distinct from C. fraxatrix.