Unusual assemblages of Late Cretaceous silicoflagellates from the Canadian Archipelago

Devon and Ellef Ringnes islands in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago contain well-preserved Santonian through early Campanian silicoflagellates. These occur in three unusual assemblages, which comprise three biostratigraphic zones. The oldest, the Vallacerta tumidula Partial Range Zone of Santonian age, contains an extremely variable microflora that includes species of the poorly-known genus Variramus, two new species of Cornua, and a new genus Umpiocha. The Schulzyocha ruppelii Range Zone of early Campanian age includes several species of the new genus Schulzyocha, reflecting quadrate silicoflagellate skeletal morphologies that lack a basal structure. The youngest assemblage includes the poorly-known species Cornua trifurcata, the nominative taxon of the C. trifurcata Partial Range Zone (proposed by McCartney et al., in press c; emended herein), which allows a correlation with a silicoflagellate-bearing sequence from the Horton River area, Northwest Territories of Canada. This report presents information on 24 silicoflagellate taxa, proposes 2 new genera, Schulzyocha and Umpiocha, and describes 13 new species and 1 new combination. All of these new taxa disappear by the top of the Campanian Cornua trifurcata Partial Range Zone. These assemblages reveal a new history of silicoflagellate evolution prior to the late Campanian, the period from which most of our prior knowledge about Cretaceous silicoflagellates was derived. The assemblages show progressive change from skeletons with highly variable morphologies to more stable silicoflagellate skeletal geometry. Two important Corbisema species, C. apiculata and C. archangelskiana, appear to be derived from separate lines within Cornua in the latest Santonian and early Campanian. The important Cretaceous genus Lyramula makes its first appearance at the beginning of the Campanian.     

Integrated biostratigraphy for the Santonian/Campanian boundary interval,the Kurdistan Region,northeast Iraq

The first high-resolution integrated biostratigraphic study for Santonian/Campanian sediments of the Tabin section in the Kurdistan Region, northeast Iraq is provided. The study, based on 28 closely spaced samples, combines data from planktic foraminifers (25 species), calcareous nannofossils (32 species) and two ammonite genera in the Kometan Formation, marking the Santonian/Campanian boundary (S/C boundary) in the Kurdistan Region. In the absence of the crinoid Marsupites testudinarius, the proposed boundary marker, secondary markers such as calcareous nannofossils, planktic foraminifers and ammonites, have been used to establish a multi-stratigraphic biozonation for the late Santonian–early Campanian duration. Based on the occurrences of calcareous nannofossils, three biozones are identified — Lucianorhabdus cayeuxii (late Santonian), Calculites obscurus (latest Santonian–earliest Campanian), and Broinsonia parca parca (early Campanian). Seven calcareous nannofossil bioevents and three planktic foraminiferal bioevents are also identified. The Santonian/Campanian boundary is marked by: (a) the LO (Last Occurrence) of the planktic foraminifera D. asymetrica, (b) the FOs (First Occurrence) of the calcareous nannofossil species B. parca parca and B. parca constricta, (c) the extinction of several planktic foraminiferal species of Dicarinella and Marginotruncana, (d) the abundance and diversification of the planktic foraminifera genera, Globotruncana and Globotruncanita at the beginning of the Campanian, and (e) the disappearance of the ammonite genus Texanites, 0.5 m below (i.e., at 19 m) the disappearance of all Dicarinella and Marginotruncana species in the study section. Similar to several other Tethyan sections, the FO of B. parca parca is above the LOs of D. concavata and D. asymetrica; the LO of D. asymetrica is used here to mark the S/C boundary     

Gastropod mollusks from the Hauterivian of Ulyanovsk (Volga Region): 2. Genera Khetella Beisel, 1977 and Cretadmete gen. nov.

The diagnosis of the genus Khetella Beisel, 1977 is emended, and a new genus, Cretadmete, is described. Two new species belonging to these genera, K. trautscholdi and C. neglecta, are established from the Upper Hauterivian of Ulyanovsk (Volga Region).     

Systematics and evolution of the genus Torrubiella (Hypocreales, Ascomycota)

Torrubiella is a genus of arthropod-pathogenic fungi that primarily attacks spiders and scale insects. Based on the morphology of the perithecia, asci, and ascospores, it is classified in Clavicipitaceae s. lat. (Hypocreales), and is considered a close relative of Cordyceps s. 1., which was recently reclassified into three families (Clavicipitaceae s. str., Cordycipitaceae, Ophiocordycipitaceae) and four genera (Cordyceps s. str, Elaphocordyceps, Metacordyceps, and Ophiocordyceps). Torrubiella is distinguished morphologically from Cordyceps s. lat. mainly by the production of superficial perithecia and the absence of a well-developed stipitate stroma. To test and refine evolutionary hypotheses regarding the placement of Torrubiella and its relationship to Cordyceps s. lat., a multi-gene phylogeny was constructed by conducting ML and Bayesian analyses. The monophyly of Torrubiella was rejected by these analyses with species of the genus present in Clavicipitaceae, Cordycipitaceae, and Ophiocordycipitaceae, and often intermixed among species of Cordyceps s. lat. The morphological characters traditionally used to define the genus are, therefore, not phylogenetically informative, with the stipitate stromata being gained and/or lost several times among clavicipitaceous fungi. Two new genera (Conoideocrella, Orbiocrella) are proposed to accommodate two separate lineages of torrubielloid fungi in the Clavicipitaceae s. str. In addition, one species is reclassified in Cordyceps s. str. and three are reclassified in Ophiocordyceps. The phylogenetic importance of anamorphic genera, host affiliation, and stipitate stromata is discussed.     

Larsenia salina gen. nov., sp. nov., a new member of the family Halomonadaceae based on multilocus sequence analysis

Two Gram-staining-negative, moderately halophilic bacteria, strains M1-18^T and L1-16, were isolated from a saltern located in Huelva (Spain). They were motile, strictly aerobic rods, growing in the presence of 3–25% (w/v) NaCl (optimal growth at 7.5–10% [w/v] NaCl), between pH 4.0 and 9.0 (optimal at pH 6.0–7.0) and at temperatures between 15 and 40 °C (optimal at 37 °C). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison showed that both strains showed the higher similarity values with Chromohalobacter israelensis ATCC 43985^T (95.2–94.8%) and Chromohalobacter salexigens DSM 3043^T (95.0–94.9%), and similarity values lower than 94.6% with other species of the genera Chromohalobacter, Kushneria, Cobetia or Halomonas. Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) based on the partial sequences of atpA, rpoD and secA housekeeping genes indicated that the new isolates formed an independent and monophyletic branch that was related to the peripheral genera of the family Halomonadaceae, Halotalea, Carnimonas and Zymobacter, supporting their placement as a new genus of the Halomonadaceae. The DNA–DNA hybridization between both strains was 82%, whereas the values between strain M1-18^T and the most closely related species of Chromohalobacter and Kushneria were equal or lower to 48%. The major cellular fatty acids were C_18:1ω7c/C_18:1ω6c, C_16:0, and C_16:1ω7c/C_16:1ω6c, a profile that differentiate this new taxon from species of the related genera. We propose the placement of both strains as a novel genus and species, within the family Halomonadaceae, with the name Larsenia salina gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain is M1-18^T (= CCM 8464 = CECT 8192^T = IBRC-M 10767^T = LMG 27461^T).     

New high latitude Capnuchosphaera species (Triassic Radiolaria) from Waipapa Terrane,New Zealand

Two new species and one new subspecies of genus Capnuchosphaera, (Capnuchosphaera tumida nov. sp., C. waihekeensis nov. sp. and C. texensis australis nov. ssp.) are described herein from phosphatic nodules included in mudstone and sandstone beds of the Waipapa Terrane, Waiheke Island, New Zealand. The phosphatic nodules yielded a rich Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian) radiolarian fauna, with a high abundance of spumellarian taxa including numerous species of the genera Capnuchosphaera, Vinassaspongus, Kahlerosphaera, Sarla and Dumitricasphaera. Waiheke Island Capnuchosphaera are characterized by a large cortical shell and a distinctively low ratio of spine length to cortical shell diameter. These features differ significantly from those of Capnuchosphaera in the Tethyan Realm and are considered to be the result of adaptation to an Austral-New Zealand peripheral ocean of Gondwanaland in the Mesozoic Southern Hemisphere.     

Canis accitanus nov. sp., a new small dog (Canidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Fonelas P-1 Plio-Pleistocene site (Guadix basin, Granada, Spain)

This paper reports a new species of dog (Canis accitanus nov. sp.) from the Fonelas P-1 site (dated close to the Plio-Pleistocene boundary) in Granada, Spain. This new taxon shows cranial features more similar to coyote-like dogs (C. lepophagus, C. priscolatrans, C. arnensis or C. latrans) than to wolf-like dogs (C. etruscus, C. mosbachensis or C. lupus), such as a long and narrow muzzle, a little-developed sagittal crest and frontal bones raised only a little above the rostrum. However, it also shows a series of autapomorphic characteristics in its upper dentition, essentially in the first upper molar, which reflects a trophic adaptation towards a more abrasive diet than that eaten by other species of its genus. This new dog is the smallest representative of the genus Canis ever recorded for the European Pliocene or Pleistocene.     

Towards a new classification of the Arthoniales (Ascomycota) based on a three-gene phylogeny focussing on the genus Opegrapha

A multi-locus phylogenetic study of the order Arthoniales is presented here using the nuclear ribosomal large subunit (nuLSU), the second largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (RPB2) and the mitochondrial ribosomal small subunit (mtSSU). These genes were sequenced from 43 specimens or culture isolates representing 33 species from this order, 16 of which were from the second largest genus, Opegrapha. With the inclusion of sequences from GenBank, ten genera and 35 species are included in this study, representing about 18 % of the genera and ca 3 % of the species of this order. Our study revealed the homoplastic nature of morphological characters traditionally used to circumscribe genera within the Arthoniales, such as exciple carbonization and ascomatal structure. The genus Opegrapha appears polyphyletic, species of that genus being nested in all the major clades identified within Arthoniales. The transfer of O. atra and O. calcarea to the genus Arthonia will allow this genus and family Arthoniaceae to be recognized as monophyletic. The genus Enterographa was also found to be polyphyletic. Therefore, the following new combinations are needed: Arthonia calcarea (basionym: O. calcarea), and O. anguinella (basionym: Stigmatidium anguinellum); and the use of the names A. atra and Enterographa zonata are proposed here. The simultaneous use of a mitochondrial gene and two nuclear genes led to the detection of what seems to be a case of introgression of a mitochondrion from one species to another (mitochondrion capture; cytoplasmic gene flow) resulting from hybridization.     

Los géneros Praectenodonta, Praenucula y Notonucula (Palaeotaxodonta : Bivalvia) en el Siluro-Devónico de Bolivia

Taxonomy of 57 bivalves, internal and external molds is described in this paper, corresponding to three paleotaxodontids genera Praectenodonta, Praenucula and Notonucula. Samples were collected from nine sites, where stratigraphic columns were measured in Silurian to Devonian series from Altiplano, Cordillera Oriental and Interandean of Bolivia. For the first time in Bolivia, Praectenodonta and Notonucula have been identified. Four species have been described, three of them are new: Praectenodonta boliviensis n. sp., Praenucula quichua n. sp. and Notonucula altiplanica n. sp. Paleogeography of new species and genera is proposed.     

Hebeloma species associated with Cistus

The genus Hebeloma has a number of species highly specific to Cistus and others that occur with several host genera. This paper discusses the species of Hebeloma that appear to be ectomycorrhizal with Cistus, judging from their occurrence when Cistus is the only available host. The previously unknown species H. plesiocistum spec. nov. is described. We also provide a key to the known Hebeloma associates of Cistus. Molecular analyses based on ITS sequence data further illustrate the distinctness of the newly described species and difficulties in the species delimitation with view to H. erumpens. Specific associations with Cistus may have evolved more than once within the genus Hebeloma.     

Genome-based taxonomy of genera Halomicrobium and Halosiccatus,and description of Halomicrobium salinisoli sp. nov

The genera Halosiccatus and Halomicrobium are the most closely related genera within the family Haloarculaceae (class Halobacteria). All species of these two genera are closely related to each other in phylogenetic analyses based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences, and also using the sequences of four housekeeping genes. The genus Halosiccatus was proposed based on inferred phylogeny using only one of the three distinct 16S rRNA genes detected in strain DC8^T, while Halomicrobium zhouii, one of three species of Halomicrobium, was omitted from the reference species used in these analyses. The related 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of type strains of Halomicrobium katesii and Halomicrobium mukohataei were as high as 99.5%–99.7%, much higher than the threshold values proposed as species boundaries. These issues could have resulted in taxonomic inaccuracies in the genera Halosiccatus and Halomicrobium, and a thorough study was undertaken to clarify the status of all species in both genera. Based on phylogenetic and phylogenomic analyses, the current four species of the two genera form a single clade with high bootstrap confidence, indicating that the genus Halosiccatus should be merged with Halomicrobium. Halomicrobium katesii Kharroub et al. 2008 is proposed as a later heterotypic synonym of Halomicrobium mukohataei (Ihara et al. 1997) Oren et al. 2002. An additional species is also described (strains LT50^T and TH30), and was isolated from different Gobi saline soil samples of Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China. Phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, genomic and phylogenetic properties indicated that strains LT50^T (=CGMCC 1.15187^T = JCM 30837^T) and TH30 (=CGMCC 1.15189 = JCM 30839) represent a novel species of the genus Halomicrobium, for which the name Halomicrobium salinisoli sp. nov. is proposed.     

A new species of the rare buthid scorpion genus Lissothus Vachon, 1948 from Central Algeria (Scorpiones,Buthidae)

Taxonomic considerations are given for the genus Lissothus Vachon, 1948 (Scorpiones, Buthidae). Two species are currently known, Lissothus bernardi Vachon, 1948 from Libya and Lissothus occidentalis Vachon, 1950 from Mauritania. In this contribution, a new species, Lissothus chaambi sp. n., is described from the desert of Central Algeria. The new species is most closely related to L. bernardi. The geographical distribution of the genus is discussed.     

New and poorly known acrotretid brachiopods (Class Lingulata) from the Cedaria-Crepicephalus zone (late Middle Cambrian) of the Great Basin, USA

Seven new late Middle Cambrian (Cedaria-Crepicephalus zone) acrotretid species are described from the Great Basin, USA. The species belong to five genera of which Lensotreta is new. The following new species are described: Anabolotreta? glabra, Anabolotreta mogota, Canthylotreta crista, Dactylotreta elegantula, Lensotreta perplexa, Opisthotreta transversa, and Opisthotreta indistincta. The shell structure of Canthylotreta is described for the first time based on new material of the type species Canthylotreta marjumensis and of the new species C. crista. The shell of Canthylotreta includes two types of shell fabric, camerate and columnar. Moreover, parts of the shell show transitional textures, supporting the view that the camerate shell structure may has originated from a columnar fabric. Picnotreta lophocracenta Robson and Pratt, 2001, recently described from western Newfoundland, is also described from the new occurrence in the Great Basin.     

Tepidamorphus gemmatus gen. nov., sp. nov., a slightly thermophilic member of the Alphaproteobacteria

Two isolates, with an optimum growth temperature of about 45–50 °C and an optimum pH for growth between 7.5 and 8.5, were recovered from a hot spring in the Furnas area on the Island of São Miguel in the Azores. Strains form irregular rod-shaped cells are motile and stain Gram negative. The cells multiply by budding. These strains are non-pigmented, strictly aerobic, catalase and oxidase positive. These organisms assimilated carbohydrates, organic acids and amino acids. The major fatty acids are 19:0_{cyclo ω8c} and 18:0. Ubiquinone 10 is the major respiratory quinone. The major polar lipids are diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine in addition to one unidentified aminolipid and one unidentified glycolipid. Bacteriochlorophyll a, puf genes and RuBisCo genes were not detected. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene shows the strains to cluster with species of the genera Afifella, Rhodobium, Anderseniella and Amorphus to which they have sequence similarity in the range 93–94%. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, physiological and biochemical characteristics we describe a new species of a novel genus represented by strain CB-27A^T (=DSM 19345^T=LMG 24113^T) for which we propose the name Tepidamorphus gemmatus.     

Prolagus italicus n. sp. (Ochotonidae, Lagomorpha), a new Pliocene species of peninsular Italy

Prolagus italicus n. sp., a new endemic Pliocene species of peninsular Italy, is described here, adding new details to the knowledge of this widespread and long-lasting ochotonid genus. Several dental morphodimensional characters suggest a close relationship between P. italicus and P. sorbinii (evaporitic and postevaporitic Messinian, central Italy). On the other hand, P. italicus shares with other Plio-Pleistocene Prolagus species of continental Europe a large size and some peculiar characters of dental occlusal surface. Actually, an evolutionary trend can be detected in Plio-Pleistocene species of the genus Prolagus. The value of P. italicus in biochronology is quite consistent, as this species seems to mark MN17 in central Italy. Moreover, some morphodimensional differences between P. italicus populations have been identified: this can help to infer relative chronological positions to the fossil sites in which P. italicus is present. Some morphological characters present in one of the two available P. italicus populations are apparently related to ecological more than to evolutionary factors: this may be a starting point for in-depth palaeoecological studies related to the genus Prolagus. The presence of P. italicus in the Italian peninsula may have prevented the entrance of other species of western European affinity.     

Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the narrow endemic Coelonema and affinitive Draba (Brassicaceae) based on two DNA regions

To clarify the relationship between two genera, Draba and the narrow genus Coelonema, endemic to the QilianMountains of the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, phylogenetic analyses were conducted using nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS, and the chloroplast DNA trnL, from Coelonema draboides and 30 species of Draba representing eight sections, including 25 species of Chinese Draba, seven of which were endemic to the study region. The results unambiguously support several previously published proposals to unite Coelonema with Draba and accommodate C. draboides in the latter genus on the basis of morphological re-examination. Our molecular data presented here also provide evidence that these two genera should be combined as a monophyletic group with high support. In addition, it is estimated that Draba may have originated about 1.36–2.71 Mya, with C. draboides diverging from Draba about 0.15–0.31 Mya, based on the molecular calibration of ITS datasets. The assumed speciation and rapid expansion of these two genera is likely to have occurred in the eastern edge of the QilianMountains area according to molecular phylogeny and estimated divergence times, which correspond well with the known geological and paleobotanical histories of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.     

Koralionastetales, a new order of marine Ascomycota in the Sordariomycetes

Based on molecular studies using 1760 bp of the nuSSU and 604 bp of the nuLSU rRNA genes and using morphological characters, the genera Koralionastes and Pontogeneia are assigned to the new order Koralionastetales, family Koralionastetaceae, class Sordariomycetes. Koralionastetales is a sister group to Lulworthiales; differences in morphological characters are expressed in the ascospores and the presence/absence of periphyses and paraphyses. A new species of Pontogeneia, P. microdictyi from Microdictyon sp. in the Bahamas, is described.     

Pancreatonema torriensis gen. nov., sp. nov. (Nematoda: Rhabdochonidae) from the pancreatic duct of Raja naevus

A new genus and species of nematode, Pancreatonema torriensis, from the pancreatic duct of Raja naevus caught off Aberdeen and north-west Scotland is described and aspects of its biology are discussed. According to the classification of Skrjabin, Sobolev & Ivashkin (1967) [Spirurata of animals and man and the diseases caused by them (4). Essentials of Nematodology, Vol. 16 (I.P.S.T. Translation No. 5904, Jerusalem, 1971)]it belongs to the family Rhabdochonidae, sub-family Prosungulonematinae, and is closely related to the genus Johnstonmawsonia. The taxonomy of the Prosungulonematinae is confused but it is suggested that Johnstonmawsonia should at present be restricted to those species of the genus described from marine teleosts, and that the species from freshwater teleosts should be included in the genus Prosungulonema.     

A new genus and species of pennatulacean octocoral from equatorial West Africa (Cnidaria,Anthozoa, Virgulariidae)

A new genus and species of sea pen or virgulariid pennatulacean from the Gulf of Guinea in the tropical eastern Atlantic is described, and a key to the genera of the Virgulariidae is included. The new genus and species described here adds to the previously described five other genera of the family. It is distinguished by unique sclerite and polyp leaf characters from the superficially-similar genus Virgularia, which lacks conspicuous sclerites in the polyp leaves and coenenchyme (other than minute oval bodies that are generally <0.01 mm in length).