Taxonomy of the Genus Eusphalerum Kraatz (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae) from South Korea

The eusphalerine single genus, Eusphalerum Kraatz contains about 230 species distributed in the Holearctic and Oriental regions. In East Asia, 74 species of the genus are studied and Zanetti reported six species from North Korea in 1993. They are known to feed pollen on flowers of shrubs and trees. As a result, they have peculiar molar structure. Members of the Eusphalerum are characterized by the combination of following features: body spindle‐shape and parallel‐side; eyes large and protruded, temple short; mandibles subtriangular and edentate, molar and scissorial area fused, medial surface of molar with grinding cones; maxillary palpomere 4 as wide as palpomere 3; antennae gradually wide apically, antennomere 10 almost as wide as long; tarsomeres 1–4 short and broad, ventral surface setose densely, tarsomere 5 as long as or longer than basal four combined. In this paper, we report four South Korean Eusphalerum species and provide illustrations of the diagnostic characters including first line drawings of spermatheca and accessary sclerite. The specimens studied are deposited in the Chungnam National University Insect Collection (CNUIC), Daejeon, Korea.     

Description of a new genus and species of whitefly (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) infesting Rhynchosia minima (Fabaceae) in Karnataka,India

A new whitefly genus and species, Aleurocryptus rhynchosiae Dubey, are described from Donimalai mining area of Karnataka, India. Habitus, line art and scanning electron microscopic images of the puparium and other immature stages are provided. The puparia of the new genus and species are found to be pit‐forming on their host leaf, Rhynchosia minima (Fabaceae). The cone‐shaped, apically pointed dorsal setae with a smooth surface and fixed in prominent setal alveoli are newly reported from whitefly puparia.     

A new species of the Pantepui endemic genus Riolama (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) from the summit of Murisipán‐tepui,with the erection of a new gymnophthalmid subfamily

The gymnophthalmid lizard R iolama inopinata sp. nov. is described from the summit of Murisipán‐tepui, Bolívar State, Venezuela. The new species is characterized by its small size, slender body, short neck, chestnut brown dorsum with two conspicuous orange‐brown dorsolateral stripes, 30 or 31 mid‐dorsal scales, and 18 or 19 ventral scales in transverse rows, 28 scales around midbody, seven supralabials, five or six infralabials, subdigital lamellae divided in small granular scales, ten or 11 small femoral pores in males, dorsal surface of tongue covered with oblique chevron‐shaped plicae interrupted by a small midsection of imbricate scale‐like papillae, and a small weakly bilobed hemipenis having the sulcus spermaticus flanked by an extensive nude area on each side, and the asulcate and lateral faces of the organ with short series of small roughly equidistant, feebly developed flounces, each bearing a single medial hook‐shaped spine. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on one nuclear and two mitochondrial DNA genes confirm the allocation of the new species to the genus Riolama, but do not support the assignation of Riolama to the subfamily Cercosaurinae as previously suggested based on overall morphological similarities, nor to any other known subfamily of the Gymnophthalmidae. Therefore, a new subfamily, the Riolaminae, is proposed to accommodate the genus. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London     

First and oldest Leptochirini rove beetles illuminate diverse cephalic structures in the Cretaceous (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Osoriinae)

Osoriinae is a highly diverse, globally distributed subfamily of rove beetles (Staphylinidae), but only a single Mesozoic species, Mesallotrochus longiantennatus Cai & Huang, in mid‐Cretaceous Burmese amber is known (age c. 99 Ma). Leptochirini, which is primarily found in decaying wood in the tropics, is one of the four tribes of osoriine rove beetles. The diversity of cephalic tooth shapes in adults has attracted special research attention with regard to the evolution and classification of this group. Here, we report two well‐preserved fossils of Leptochirini for the first time from Burmese amber. Together with M. longiantennatus, they represent the oldest osoriines, highlighting the palaeodiversity of the subfamily in Burmese amber. Based on our observations and phylogenetic analyses, a remarkable new genus and species, ?Cretochirus newtoni Yamamoto gen. et sp.n. , is described. Additionally, a new species, ?Priochirus thayerae Yamamoto sp.n. , is also described and placed in the extant genus Priochirus Sharp. ?Cretochirus gen.n. has a typical body plan of Leptochirini, but it retains several primitive features that have rarely, or never, been known from modern leptochirine taxa, including simple cephalic structures with a largely depressed dorsum, undeveloped cephalic teeth, and the absence of a longitudinal median sulcus of the head, together with the only slightly crenulate external margins of the protibiae. These findings demonstrate the antiquity of Leptochirini rove beetles and even suggest a much older origin of the subfamily. Morphologically diverse leptochirines from Burmese amber also illuminate the remarkable cephalic diversity of the tribe during the Mesozoic. They were already diversified during the mid‐Cretaceous in the tropical forests of Myanmar, and possibly living underneath the bark of rotten wood and logs. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CC5E81E8‐5621‐44A6‐A247‐A776B14A9191 .     

A new Hyperodapedon (Archosauromorpha,Rhynchosauria) from the Upper Triassic of India: implications for rhynchosaur phylogeny

A new species of the rhynchosaur genus Hyperodapedon, namely H. tikiensis, is described from well‐preserved skeletal elements that were collected from the Upper Triassic Tiki Formation of India. Hyperodapedon tikiensis is diagnosed on the basis of several cranial and postcranial features including longer than wide basipterygoid process, crest‐shaped maxillary cross section lateral to the main longitudinal groove, deeply excavated neural arches of mid‐dorsal vertebrae, long scapular blade, a pronounced deltopectoral crest, proximal humeral end much broader than distal end, iliac length greater than iliac height, equal pre‐ and postacetabular iliac lengths and circular femoral cross section. Two distinct morphotypes of the maxillary tooth plates can be discerned, which are attributed to ontogenetic variations. A maximum‐parsimony analysis was carried out to show that the order Rhynchosauria is characterized by nine cranial and one postcranial character states. The analysis reveals that Otischalkia elderae is invalid and the basal forms, Howesia and Mesosuchus, are closely related. The Mid‐Triassic genus Ammorhynchus is more derived and forms a sister group to the Late Triassic subfamily Hyperodapedontinae. Isalorhynchus and Teyumbaita are basal to the pandemic genus Hyperodapedon. Twenty‐four characters that are not homoplasious document major patterns of skeletal evolution in rhynchosaurs. From laterally oriented scapula and slender propodials, the postcranial skeleton evolved into a more robust form as is evident from nearly vertical scapula and increase in the robustness of the propodials. Shortening of the femur is noted in the derived Late Triassic forms as exemplified in Hyperodapedon gordoni, Hyperodapedon huxleyi and H. tikiensis.     

Ankistrodinium armigerum sp. nov. (Dinophyceae), a new species of heterotrophic marine sand‐dwelling dinoflagellate from Japan and Australia

A new heterotrophic sand‐dwelling dinoflagellate, Ankistrodinium armigerum K. Watanabe, Miyoshi, Kubo, Murray et Horiguchi sp. nov., is described from Ishikari Beach, Hokkaido, Japan and Port Botany, NSW, Australia. The dinoflagellate is laterally compressed, possessing a short triangular epicone and a large sac‐like hypocone. It possesses a right‐handed cingulum and a deeply‐incised sulcus. The sulcus descends towards the posterior of the cell where it becomes much deeper and wider, resulting in a bilobed ventral side to the hypocone, with a greater excavation of the left lobe than the right. In addition, the right lobe of the hypocone is shorter than the left lobe, which allows a partial view of the left sulcal wall when the cell is viewed from its right side. The sulcus ascends in the epicone to form an apical groove. The apical groove is linear but terminates in an ellipsoid fashion and its extremity approaches, but does not form a closed loop with the apical end of the linear portion. The dinoflagellate possesses two distinct size classes of trichocysts. The large trichocysts are located in the posterior part of the cell, while small trichocysts are distributed throughout the cell. The dinoflagellate shares morphological characteristics with the heterotrophic sand‐dwelling dinoflagellate, Ankistrodinium semilunatum, the type species of the genus. These include a laterally compressed cell, a right‐handed cingulum, a deeply‐incised sulcus and the same basic structure to the apical groove. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on small and large subunits of rDNA showed that in both trees, A. semilunatum and A. armigerum formed a robust clade, suggesting that these two species are closely related. Because no organism with the characteristics of this species exists and because this species is closely related to A. semilunatum, we concluded that this species should be described as a second species of the genus Ankistrodinium.     

Squatiniformes (Chondrichthyes,Neoselachii) from the Late Cretaceous of southern England and northern France with redescription of the holotype of Squatina cranei Woodward, 1888

Abstract: Bulk sampling of phosphate‐rich horizons within the Late Cretaceous of the Anglo‐Paris Basin yielded numerous teeth of members of the Squatiniformes. Along with isolated tooth remains, two museum specimens comprising partial articulated encoskeletal remains including the holotype of the species Squatina cranei Woodward, 1888a are described, and a new subgenus Cretascyllium is proposed for species of the genus Squatina with high degree of heterodonty and triangular anterior teeth. The species Squatina (Cretascyllium) cranei comb. nov. and Squatina (Cretascyllium) hassei comb. nov. are referred to this subgenus. The genus Parasquatina Herman, 1982 previously erected on a single tooth is valid, and two new species P. justinensis sp. nov. and P. jarvisi sp. nov. are described along with a third taxon Parasquatina sp. An enigmatic tooth referred to ?Neoselachii incertae sedis is also reported. The palaeoecology of these taxa is discussed.     

Toxicological characterization of Fukuyoa paulensis (Dinophyceae) from temperate Australia

Dinoflagellates of the genus Gambierdiscus are known to produce neurotoxins that cause the human illness ciguatera, a tropical and sub‐tropical fish poisoning. Some species from the Gambierdiscus genus were recently re‐classified into a new genus, Fukuyoa based on their phylogenetic and morphological divergence, however, little is known about their distribution, ecology and toxicology. Here we report the first occurrence of F. paulensis in the temperate coastal waters of eastern Australia and characterize its toxicology. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) did not detect the presence of ciguatoxins, however, a putative maitotoxin congener (MTX‐3) was present. Similarly, high maitotoxin‐like activity was detected in High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) fractionated cell extracts using a Ca²⁺ influx bioassay on a Fluorescent Imaging Plate Reader (FLIPR), but no ciguatoxin‐like activity was detected.     

Out of the Neotropics: newly discovered relictual species sheds light on the biogeographical history of spider ants (Leptomyrmex,Dolichoderinae, Formicidae)

Spider ants of the genus Leptomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) are conspicuous species of Australasian rainforests, with putative fossil relatives in the Neotropics and Europe. There is longstanding debate over the biogeographical history of the genus, with the Palaearctic and Neotropical regions proposed as alternate centres of origin. We propose a resolution of this debate with the recent discovery and analysis of an extant species from central Brazil, L. relictus sp.n. , which we describe from workers, males and brood. We sequence ten nuclear genes in the new species and in several Australian Leptomyrmex species, and append these data to a 54‐taxon, 10‐gene data matrix previously generated for the subfamily Dolichoderinae. We conduct phylogenetic and divergence dating analyses, and re‐evaluate the fossil record of the group. We recover Leptomyrmex relictus sp.n. as a member of the Leptomyrmex clade with high support. It is sister to the Australasian species, and the genus Leptomyrmex is, in turn, sister to a pair of Neotropical genera, Forelius and Dorymyrmex. We infer a Neotropical origin for the genus and estimate a mid‐Eocene (46 Ma, 95% CI 56 to 36 Ma) origin for the crown genus and an Oligocene origin for the Australasian clade (29 Ma, 95% CI 40 to 19 Ma). We confirm placement of the Dominican amber species ?L. neotropicus Baroni Urbani in the genus but reject a close relationship with the Palaearctic fossil taxa ?Leptomyrmula Emery and ?Usomyrma Dlussky, Radchenko & Dubovikoff, considering them incertae sedis in the subfamily (Dolichoderinae). In contrast to the mesophilic preferences of the Australasian species of Leptomyrmex, the new Brazilian species inhabits cerrado (dry savannah). Our results support a Neotropical origin for spider ants with dispersal to Australia. Rafting on west‐bound currents and/or a historical diversity imbalance between Australia and South America are proposed as alternate hypotheses to explain a pattern of biased E–W mid‐Tertiary dispersal for ants with austral distributions. This pattern is suggested by our results in conjunction with observations of other ant clades. Overall, our findings highlight the value of integrated taxonomy, critical interpretation of morphology, and a comparative phylogenetic framework when conducting palaeontological and biogeographical studies of insect species. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6E9E6617‐6E53‐40B8‐82C7‐67F89A83C553 .     

First record of the endemic Neotropical genus Hyphydrophilus (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha,Geophilidae) from Argentina,with description of H. minellii sp. nov., a new centipede with small tentorial process,inhabiting the Yungas

A new miniature species of the endemic Neotropical genus Hyphydrophilus (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha, Geophilidae) is described and illustrated, after the holotype female and paratype female, from the Yungas rainforest of Salta province, northwestern Argentina. H. minellii sp. nov. is compared in detail with the other two species currently assigned to the taxon, i.e. H. adisi Pereira, Minelli & Barbieri, 1994 and H. projectus Pereira, Foddai & Minelli, 2000, both from Brazil, from which it differs by the presence of a small slightly sclerotized and inwards directed process of internal limbs of tentorium. Other unique traits of the new taxon are the relatively high number of leg-bearing segments (59), antennal articles I–IV with numerous large setae on the latero-external side, apical medial edge of forcipular trochanteroprefemur with a well-developed slightly pigmented tooth, dorsal and ventral medial edges of the forcipular tarsungulum slightly serrate, sternal pore-fields present on anterior region of the trunk only. This is the first report of the genus Hyphydrophilus from Argentina and the Yungas forests; previously it was only known to occur in Central Brazilian Amazonia, thus the present record represents a remarkable extension of the known range of this taxon.     

Foonchewia guangdongensis gen. et sp. nov. (Rubioideae: Rubiaceae) and its systematic position inferred from chloroplast sequences and morphology

Abstract The new species, Foonchewia guangdongensis R. J. Wang & H. Z. Wen and the new monotypic genus Foonchewia R. J. Wang (Rubioideae, Rubiaceae), are described from eastern Guangdong, China. It is characterized by its subshrub habit, pentamerous and heterostylous flowers, 2‐1ocular ovary with many ovules, and apically dehiscent capsules with numerous angulated seeds. Phylogenetic analysis of four chloroplast DNA regions (rbcL, rps16, ndhF, and atpB‐rbcL) revealed that the new genus is nested in the Spermacoceae alliance and is sister to Dunnia. Morphological comparison between these two genera indicated that they had few synapomorphies; it was therefore inappropriate to classify the new genus in the existing tribe Dunnieae, and a new tribe, Foonchewieae R. J. Wang, is accordingly proposed.     

New insights into the molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of mormyrids (Osteoglossiformes,Actinopterygii) in northern East Africa

Based on morphological data and analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and nuclear (S7 intron 1) DNA sequences, the phylogenetic relationships of all Pollimyrus species known from the Omo‐Turkana enclosed basin and Nile system below the Murchison Falls were solved. A mormyrid “Pollimyrus” petherici is distantly related to all other studied Pollimyrus species and clusters together with Cyphomyrus species forming with the later a monophyletic group. Moreover, the West African (but not the Congo River) populations of Cyphomyrus psittacus, the type species of the genus, seem to be conspecific to C. petherici. That is, the range of the genus Cyphomyrus is extended toward the Nile and Omo‐Turkana basins. This genus belongs to the large clade widely distributed in sub‐Saharian Africa and characterized by the presence of a chin appendage. Significance of this character for mormyrid phylogeny is discussed. Two distinct lineages of Pollimyrus occurring sympatrically in the White Nile tributaries and previously reported as the light and dark forms of Pollimyrus isidori together with five other congeneric species studied form a monophyletic group. The light form apparently represents P. isidori distributed in the Nile system downstream of the Murchison Falls and West Africa; the dark‐colored form (designated as Pollimyrus “D”) represents a distinct phylogenetic lineage inhabiting both the Omo‐Turkana and the White Nile basin. Morphological and ecological data suggest that this form may be conspecific to East African Pollimyrus nigricans or most probably represents a new species.     

Dental ontogeny of a white shark embryo

Unlike most viviparous vertebrates, lamniform sharks develop functional teeth during early gestation. This feature is considered to be related to their unique reproductive mode where the embryo grows to a large size via feeding on nutritive eggs in utero. However, the developmental process of embryonic teeth is largely uninvestigated. We conducted X‐ray microcomputed tomography to observe the dentitions of early‐, mid‐, and full‐term embryos of the white shark Carcharodon carcharias (Lamniformes, Lamnidae). These data reveal the ontogenetic change of embryonic dentition of the species for the first time. Dentition of the early‐term embryos (∼45 cm precaudal length, PCL) is distinguished from adult dentition by 1) the presence of microscopic teeth in the distalmost region of the paratoquadrate, 2) a fang‐like crown morphology, and 3) a lack of basal concavity of the tooth root. The “intermediate tooth” of early‐term embryos is almost the same size as the adjacent teeth, suggesting that lamnoid‐type heterodonty (lamnoid tooth pattern) has not yet been established. We also discovered that mid‐term embryos (∼80 cm PCL) lack functional dentition. Previous studies have shown that the maternal supply of nutritive eggs in lamnoid sharks ceases during mid‐ to late‐gestation. Thus, discontinuation of functional tooth development is likely associated with the completion of the oophagous (egg‐eating) phase. Replacement teeth in mid‐term embryos include both embryonic and adult‐type teeth, suggesting that the embryo to adult transition in dental morphology occurs during this period. J. Morphol. 278:215–227, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals,Inc.     

A new species of Tricula (Pomatiopsidae: Triculinae) from Sichuan Province,PR China: Intermediate host of Schistosoma sinensium

A new species of pomatiopsid gastropod, Tricula hortensis, is described from Sichuan Province, PR China. This new species is characterized by a large columellar peg or tooth situated mid body‐whorl. The reproductive anatomy of the female shows a number of character states that are plesiomorphic for the Triculinae. Tricula hortensis may be distinguished from the two other species of Tricula which bear a columellar tooth by differences in the shell and in pallial and/or reproductive structures. Tricula hortensis is found in spring‐fed irrigation canals serving market gardens in Mianzhu County, Chengdu, Sichuan. This species acts as intermediate host for the parasitic blood fluke Schistosoma sinensium Bao 1958.     

The Impact of Water Chemistry on Zooplankton Occurrence in Two Types (Field versus Forest) of Small Water Bodies

We examined the influence of water chemistry on zooplankton community structure in the unvegetated zone (open water) and among different types of macrophytes (helophytes and elodeids) in 12 ponds located in two types of catchment area (mid‐forest and mid‐field). An equal occurrence of rotifers and crustaceans was found in mid‐field ponds, while rotifers prevailed over crustaceans in mid‐forest ponds which may have been due to phytoflagellate prevalence, contributing to diminishing the diversity index. We found variation in physical‐chemical features between both types of ponds with higher trophic status, confirmed by eutrophy indicators (K. quadrata or B. longirwostris) frequent occurrence, in the case of mid‐field ponds. The type of water body (forest vs. field) was the best predictor of zooplankton species distribution using DCA analysis. Two groups of zooplankton species were distinguished: (1) related to the mid‐forest ponds (representatives of genera: Cephalodella, Lepadella, Lecane, Trichocerca), where zooplankton densities positively correlated with chlorophyll a and CDOC and (2) related to the mid‐field ponds (representatives of genera: Keratella, Bosmina or Ceriodaphnia). Spatial differentiation of zooplankton community structure was also recorded with lower species diversity attributed to the open water zone compared to vegetated areas. Crustacean densities rose along the heterogeneity gradient of a habitat (from the open water to the zone of elodeids), which indicates the best refuge conditions in the most complex habitat during the daylight‐hours in the ponds with fish presence. Rotifers (especially those equipped with morphological adaptations againt predators) remained in the open water despite the presence of fish. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)