Three new species of Adiantum (Pteridaceae) from Bolivia and Peru

Three new species from Bolivia and Peru (Adiantum solomonii, A. tryonii, andA. tuomistoanum) are described and illustrated.     

Two new species of Galipea (Rutaceae, Galipeae) from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru

Two new species ofGalipea are described and illustrated:Galipea maxima, which is known from the wet forests of Ecuador, and Peru, andGalipea ramiflora, from Bolivia and Peru. Their main diagnostic features are pointed out, and a brief discussion on the relationships of the new taxa to other species ofGalipea is provided.     

A new species of Ficus (Moraceae) from Bolivia and Peru

Ficus boliviana is described from Bolivia and Peru, illustrated, and compared with other species in the genus.     

Agalinis (Scrophulariaceae) in Peru and Bolivia

Chromosome numbers determined for ten species ofAgalinis from Peru and Bolivia are alln=16. Field observations have provided morphological data about habit, leaves, inflorescences, and flowers. A key to species in Peru and Bolivia is provided.     

A new species of Symplocos (Symplocaceae) from Northwestern Peru

A new species,Symplocos incahuasensis Sagást. & Dillon, is described and illustrated, and its relationships are discussed. A key to the small-leaved Peruvian species is provided.     

New Melastomataceae from Peru and Bolivia

The following new species of Melastomataceae from Peru and Bolivia are described:Tibouchina wasshausenii, Miconia rimachii, M. boomii, M. histothrix, M. thysanophylla, and Topobea pascoensis.     

A new species of Andean semiaquatic lizard of the genus Potamites (Sauria, Gymnophtalmidae) from southern Peru

We describe a new lizard species of the genus Potamites from the montane forests of the Cordillera de Vilcabamba (Cusco region) and Apurimac River valley (Ayacucho region), between 1500 and 2000 meters of elevation, in southern Peru. The new species is distinguishable from all other species of the genus mainly by having highly keeled scattered scales on dorsum and females lacking femoral pores.     

The genus Dalea (Fabaceae tribe Amorpheae) in Departamento de Cajamarca,Peru, with description of three new species

Three new species ofDalea (Fabaceae tribe Amorpheae) discovered in the Andes of Cajamarca, Peru by Prof. I. Sánchez Vega are described, illustrated, and discussed. All (Dalea glumacea, D. isidori, D. tridactylites) belong to sect.Parosela ser.Coeruleae, 14 members of which are currently known from the Department, the principal focus of speciation for the series. A key to the 16 taxa ofDalea found hitherto in Departmento de Cajamarca is provided.     

Symplocos pachycarpa (Symplocaceae), a new species from southern Mexico

Symplocos pachycarpa is described as new, and an illustration is provided. This species grows in cloud forests and oak-pine forests of Oaxaca and Guerrero, Mexico, and is most similar toS. citrea. A key is provided to distinguishS. pachycarpa from related Mexican species.     

A new species of Chiliotrichiopsis (Asteraceae: Astereae) from Peru

Chiliotrichiopsis peruviana Nesom, H. Rob. & Granda, a new species from Dept. Ayacucho in southwestern Peru, is described and illustrated. It is the only rayless species of the genus, now expanded to four species, and the only one that occurs outside of Argentina.Chiliotrichiopsis is one of six shrubby South American genera of Astereae (subtribe Hinterhuberinae) with paleate receptacles. Observations on morphology and a key to these genera provide perspective for the generic placement of the new species.     

Genetic Characterization of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru: Identification of a New Subtype ID Lineage

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) has been responsible for hundreds of thousands of human and equine cases of severe disease in the Americas. A passive surveillance study was conducted in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador to determine the arboviral etiology of febrile illness. Patients with suspected viral-associated, acute, undifferentiated febrile illness of <7 days duration were enrolled in the study and blood samples were obtained from each patient and assayed by virus isolation. Demographic and clinical information from each patient was also obtained at the time of voluntary enrollment. In 2005–2007, cases of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) were diagnosed for the first time in residents of Bolivia; the patients did not report traveling, suggesting endemic circulation of VEEV in Bolivia. In 2001 and 2003, VEE cases were also identified in Ecuador. Since 1993, VEEV has been continuously isolated from patients in Loreto, Peru, and more recently (2005), in Madre de Dios, Peru. We performed phylogenetic analyses with VEEV from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru and compared their relationships to strains from other parts of South America. We found that VEEV subtype ID Panama/Peru genotype is the predominant one circulating in Peru. We also demonstrated that VEEV subtype ID strains circulating in Ecuador belong to the Colombia/Venezuela genotype and VEEV from Madre de Dios, Peru and Cochabamba, Bolivia belong to a new ID genotype. In summary, we identified a new major lineage of enzootic VEEV subtype ID, information that could aid in the understanding of the emergence and evolution of VEEV in South America.     

New data on Neotropical Scolytus Geoffroy, 1762 with description of five new species from Peru (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Scolytinae)

Five new species of Scolytus Geoffroy, 1762 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are described from Peru, namely Scolytus woodi, Scolytus carveli, Scolytus vagabundus, Scolytus lindemani, Scolytus mozolevskae .The following new synonym is established: Scolytus angustatus Browne, 1970 (= Scolytus facialis Schedl, 1973, syn. n.) New records of the Scolytus species in Loreto, Junin ,Cusco and Madre de Dios Provinces are given and the biology of the genus representatives is discussed.     

A new species of solanum section petota (Solanaceae) from northern Peru

Solanum guzmanguense. is a new species, of the wild potato alliance endemic in northern Peru. Its nearest relationships are with a small cluster of species restricted to southern Bolivia and northern Argentina.     

New species of Ericaceae (Vaccinieae) from the Andes of Bolivia and Peru

Eight new Ericaceae (Vaccinieae) from Bolivia and Peru are described, illustrated, and discussed: Orthaea madidiensis, Themistoclesia geniculata, Themistoclesia idiocalyx, Themistoclesia siranensis, Themistoclesia tunquiniensis, Themistoclesia woytkowskii, Thibaudia acacioides, and Thibaudia yungensis.     

Traditional medicinal plant use in Northern Peru: tracking two thousand years of healing culture

This paper examines the traditional use of medicinal plants in Northern Peru, with special focus on the Departments of Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, Cajamarca, and San Martin. Northern Peru represents the center of the old Central Andean "Health Axis," stretching from Ecuador to Bolivia. The roots of traditional healing practices in this region go at least as far back as the Moche period (AC 100–800). Although about 50% of the plants in use reported in the colonial period have disappeared from the popular pharmacopoeia, the plant knowledge of the population is much more extensive than in other parts of the Andean region. 510 plant species used for medicinal purposes were collected, identified and their vernacular names, traditional uses and applications recorded. The families best represented were Asteraceae with 69 species, Fabaceae (35), Lamiaceae (25), and Solanaceae (21). Euphorbiaceae had twelve species, and Apiaceae and Poaceae 11 species. The highest number of species was used for the treatment of "magical/ritual" ailments (207 species), followed by respiratory disorders (95), problems of the urinary tract (85), infections of female organs (66), liver ailments (61), inflammations (59), stomach problems (51) and rheumatism (45). Most of the plants used (83%) were native to Peru. Fresh plants, often collected wild, were used in two thirds of all cases, and the most common applications included the ingestion of herb decoctions or the application of plant material as poultices.     

Patterns and determinants of monkey densities in Peru and Bolivia,with notes on distributions

A comparative study of species assemblages and population densities was conducted on Amazonian monkey communities in 16 areas, ranging from 3°S latitude in northern Peru to 18°S latitude in southern Bolivia. The habitats ranged from several types of tropical rain forest in the more northern latitudes to dry, deciduous forest in the southernmost study area. The monkey populations of three of the study areas have historically received light hunting pressure; the rest have been moderately to heavily hunted. A transect census technique was used to estimate the relative and absolute densities of all diurnal monkey species except Cebuella pygmaea. The number of coexisting monkey species ranged from 4–6 in the southern areas to 12–14 in the northern areas. The reduction in species richness in central and southern areas of Bolivia is probably attributable to several inimical habitat factors. Predation by humans was found to be the single most important factor affecting monkey densities. Monkey densities, and especially biomasses, were much lower in areas not protected from hunting than in protected areas. Hunting did not affect all species equally. Larger-sized species are hunted more and have severely reduced numbers in unprotected areas, whereas the densities of smaller species are not noticeably diminished in unprotected areas. Large, herbivorous monkey species contributed the major proportion of the total monkey biomass in protected areas. The strong influence of hunting has largely obscured the effects of other factors on population densities.     

Two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gentianella</Emphasis> (Gentianaceae) from Peru

Two new species of Gentianella (Gentianaceae, Gentianeae, Swertiinae), G. grantii and G. wayqecha, are described from Departamento Cusco, Peru. These two species differ from other Peruvian species of Gentianella in a combination of stems 10–100 cm long; no rosette of basal leaves; cauline leaves 10–75 mm long; flowers in thyrses; and corollas 14–26 mm long, campanulate, and adaxially glabrous. The leaves of G. grantii consist of an appressed pseudopetiole and a spreading, narrowly elliptic-oblong to linear blade; the corollas are lavender; and the corolla lobes are 0.6–0.7× as long as the tube. Gentianella grantii is similar to G. lythroides, of Bolivia, but differs in having more closely spaced leaves and less deeply lobed corollas. The leaves of G. wayqecha are sessile, lanceolate to ovate; the corollas are rose-violet; and the corolla lobes are 0.75–1.35× as long as the tube. Gentianella wayqecha is similar to G. rapunculoides, of Colombia and Ecuador, and G. ruizii, of Peru, but differs from both in its adaxially glabrous corollas and from G. rapunculoides in its less deeply lobed corollas. Both G. grantii and G. wayqecha grow in moist habitats near tree line, and are known only from a area northeast of the city of Cusco.     

A new species of Drepanocnemis (Diptera,Muscidae) from Andes in Peru,with an updated phylogenetic analysis of species

Drepanocnemis Stein (Diptera, Muscidae) is a small genus of flies that occur in high altitudes in the Colombian Andes, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Herein we describe Drepanocnemis aurifronssp. nov. from Cuzco, Peru, which is found from high (2904 m) to lower altitudes (707 m). An updated phylogeny, key to species and map of species’ distributions are provided, together with images and illustrations of the male and the female terminalia.     

Viruses detected in Ullucus tuberosus (Basellaceae) from Peru and Bolivia

Ullucus tuberosus (Basellaceae) plants from 12 locations in the Andean highlands of Peru and Bolivia contained complexes of either three or four viruses. Specimens from six sites in Peru contained a potexvirus, a tobamovirus, a potyvirus and a comovirus, but those from another location lacked the potexvirus. All samples from five sites in Bolivia lacked the tobamovirus. The potexvirus (PMV/U) is a strain of papaya mosaic virus differing slightly from the type strain (PMV/T) in inducing milder symptoms in some common hosts and failing to infect a few other species. It symptomlessly infected U. tuberosus, and infected 15 of 29 species from seven of nine other families. PMV/U showed a close serological relationship to PMV/T and to boussingaultia mosaic virus and a distant relationship to commelina virus X, but it is apparently unrelated to any of ten other potexviruses. The tobamovirus (TMV/U) induced symptomless or inconspicuous infection in U. tuberosus, and infected 21 of 30 species from six of eight other families. It showed a very distant serological relationship to some strains of ribgrass mosaic, tobacco mosaic and tomato mosaic viruses, but failed to react with antisera to cucumber green mottle mosaic, frangipani mosaic, odontoglossum ringspot and sunn-hemp mosaic viruses. The potyvirus, tentatively designated ullucus mosaic virus (UMV), alone in U. tuberosus induced leaf symptoms indistinguishable from the chlorotic mottling and distortion found in naturally infected plants. UMV infected 12 of 20 species from four other families, and was transmitted in the non-persistent manner by Myzus persicae. It showed a distant serological relationship to only two (bidens mottle and alstroemeria mosaic) of 25 members or possible members of the potyvirus group tested. Some hosts and properties of the comovirus are described in an accompanying paper. None of the four viruses infected potato (Solanum tuberosum) and, with the possible exception of UMV, they differed from viruses reported previously to infect three other vegetatively propagated Andean crops (Oxalis tuberosa, Arracacia xanthorrhiza and Tropaeolum tuberosum).     

East with the Night: Longitudinal Migration of the Orinoco Goose (Neochen jubata) between Manú National Park,Peru and the Llanos de Moxos,Bolivia

We report on the intra-Amazonian migration of a pair of Orinoco Geese (Neochen jubata) from Manú National Park, Peru. The species is Critically Endangered in Peru, so a major aim of the study was to aid conservation planning by learning the wet season location of the country''s last known breeding population. We captured a breeding pair on October 27, 2010, and fitted the birds with Microwave Telemetry, Inc. GPS/Argos satellite PTT''s. The pair migrated ∼655 km from Manú National Park to the Llanos de Moxos, Bolivia (Dept. of Bení) in a predominantly longitudinal migration, reaching their final destination on December 23, 2010. Major movements (>5 km per time period) were almost exclusively at night and were undertaken with and without moonlight. Foraging areas used at stopovers in the Llanos de Moxos were remarkably limited, suggesting the importance of grazing lawns maintained by the geese and other herbivores, possibly including cattle. Orinoco Geese are resident in the Llanos de Moxos year-round, so the Manú geese represent a partial migration from the Bení region. We hypothesize that cavity nest limitation explains the partial migration of Orinoco Geese from the Llanos de Moxos.