On the types ofPresbytis barbei Blyth

An attempt was made to clarify the position regarding the types ofPresbytis barbei Blyth present in the Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta. The presence of asymmetrical white patch at the interior base of the thighs in the female specimen, which is in the nature of an individual variation, establishes its identity as one of the syntypes. The change in the colour of lips from white to black is probably due to the use of chemicals on the soft parts of the face or subsequent falling of white hairs of the lips, as these specimens were exhibited in the galleries of the Indian Museum.     

Taraxacum (Spectabilia) nordstedtii Dahlst. in Central Europe (Studies inTaraxacum)

The present study provides a survey of the variability, distribution, ecology and other features ofTaraxacum (sect.Spectabilia) nordstedtii Dahlst. in central Europe. Chromosome counts (hexaploid chromosome number?2n=48?has been confirmed) of the species are also given. A lectotype has been chosen of the syntypes. It is pointed out thatT. nordstedtii is likely to occur in Austria, Bavaria and Poland.     

Bucania (Gastropoda) from the Ordovician of Estonia

Seven species ofBucania Hall 1847 from the Ordovician of Estonia are presented, also taking into consideration Pleistocene drift material from Germany, and their stratigraphical and geographical distributions are revised. The Middle Ordovician speciesBucania latissima Koken 1897 andBucania salpinx Koken 1897 are tentatively assigned toMegalomphala Ulrich inUlrich &Scofield 1897, while the Lower Ordovician speciesBucania macera Koken inKoken &Perner 1925 is placed inSalpingostoma Roemer 1876. The Middle OrdovicianBucania czekanowskii (Schmidt 1858) and the Upper OrdovicianBucania radiata (d’Eichwald 1856) were earlier considered conspecific, but based on study of the type material they are here considered distinct species.Salpingostoma cornu (Koken 1897), commonly referred to this genus because of the trema, is here transferred toBucania. Two Upper Ordovician specimens ofBucania display wide and abruptly flaring apertures morphologically far removed from other species of the genus.     

Redescriptions of Neodiplogaster tropica Cobb and N. pinicola Steiner (Nematoda: Diplogasteridae)

Neodiplogaster tropica is redescribed from syntypes, and N. pinicola from syntypes and newly collected material. Information on the previously undescribed female tail and reproductive system is given for N. tropica, and details of the stoma, female gonad, spicules, gubernaculum, and excretory system are emphasized for N. pinicola. Lectotypes are designated for both species. The predaceous feeding of N. pinicola is described.     

Differentiation of species in Gonioloboceras

The type specimen ofGonioloboceras goniolobum (Meek), rediscovered by Spath in the British Museum, is the foundation for a more accurate comparative study of this and other species ofGonioloboceras.Gonioloboceras described asG. goniolobum byElias in 1938 is differentiated asGonioloboceras schmidti, new species. Suture sets (new term) for several growth stages inG. goniolobum (Meek),G. welleriSmith,G. schmidtiElias, G.eliasiMiller &Owen, andG. asiaticumLibrovitch are assembled and used for differentiation of the species.The Kazakhstan goniatite faunule containingG. asiaticum is considered of very late Pennsylvanian age.     

Checklist of tapeworms (Platyhelminthes,Cestoda) of vertebrates in Finland

A checklist of tapeworms (Cestoda) of vertebrates (fishes, birds and mammals) in Finland is presented, based on published observations, specimens deposited in the collections of the Finnish Museum of Natural History (Helsinki) and the Zoological Museum of the University of Turku, and additional specimens identified by the present author. The checklist includes 170 tapeworm species from 151 host species, comprising 447 parasite species/host species combinations. Thirty of the tapeworm species and 96 of the parasite/host species combinations have not been previously reported from Finland. The total number of tapeworm species in Finland (170 spp.) is significantly lower than the corresponding figure for the Iberian Peninsula (257 spp.), Slovakia (225 spp.) and Poland (279 spp.). The difference between Finland and the other three regions is particularly pronounced for anseriform, podicipediform, charadriiform and passeriform birds, reflecting inadequate and/or biased sampling of these birds in Finland. It is predicted that there are actually ca. 270 species of tapeworms in Finland, assuming that true number of bird tapeworms in Finland corresponds to that in other European countries with more comprehensive knowledge of the local tapeworm fauna. The other main pattern emerging from the present data is the seemingly unexplained absence in (northern) Fennoscandia of several mammalian tapeworms that otherwise have extensive distributions in the Holarctic region or in Eurasia, including the northern regions. Previously unknown type specimens, that is, the holotype of Bothrimonus nylandicus Schneider, 1902 (a junior synonym of Diplocotyle olrikii Krabbe, 1874) (MZH 127096) and the syntypes of Caryophyllaeides fennica (Schneider, 1902) (MZH 127097) were located in the collections of the Finnish Museum of Natural History.     

Palaeobiogeography of late cretaceous belemnites of Europe

A North Temperate Realm, characterized by Belemnitellidae Pavlov, and a South Temperate Realm, characterized by Dimitobelidae WHITEHOUSE, existed throughout the Late Cretaceous, while Tethyan belemnites belonging to Belemnopseidae Naef existed only in the Cenomanian and disappeared afterwards. The North Temperate Realm may be subdivided into North European and North American Provinces. The latter province includes Greenland, Canada, the Western Interior Region of North America, and the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America. The belemnites from the North American Province, consisting of populations of the generaActinocamax Miller andBelemnitella d’Orbigny, are closely related to the belemnites of the North European Province and appear to have migrated from this province to North America via Greenland and Arctic Canada. The North European Province extends from Ireland to the Ural Mountains. Belemnites from this province belong to the following genera:Neohibolites Stolley,Parahibolites Stolley,Belemnocamax Crick,Actinocamax Miller,Belemnellocamax Naidin,Gonioteuthis Bayle,Belemnitella d’Orbigny,Belemnella Nowak, andFusiteuthis Kongiel. Two subprovinces within the North European Province have been recognized: the Central European and Central Russian Subprovinces. These subprovinces are well-defined in the late Coniacian-Early Campanian and are characterized by theGonioteuthis stock andBelemnitella stock, respectively. The two subprovinces are less distinct in other periods of the Late Cretaceous and may disappear completely.     

Historical phytoplankton data of the Marsdiep

Published and unpublished data on phytoplankton of the Marsdiep tidal inlet were studied. Most older data, going back to 1897, are based on net-phytoplankton only, the earliest quantitative (Utermöhl) data being from 1965.Phaeocystis sp. bloomed in the Marsdiep after a spring diatom peak, at least as long ago as 1897. Summer or automn peaks ofPhaeocystis sp., frequent now, were also observed in 1898 and 1899. The duration of thePhaeocystis blooms in 1897 to 1899 was shorter than observed after 1978, but longer than in the early 1970s. The recent (1987 to 1989) duration ofPhaeocystis blooms is 2 to 3 times that of 1897–1899. This increase surpasses normal yearly variation and can be related to anthropogenically caused in crease in nutrient concentrations. A number of diatomspecies, at present numerically dominant in the spring peak, are not mentioned as dominant in the earlier periods of observation. They are small and passed through the nets used.Biddulphia sinensis, at present often abundant, is an immigrant in the North Sea since 1903, and for that reason absent from the earliest Marsdiep observations. No clear trend in duration of diatom blooms is apparent during 1965 to 1989. Anthropogenic eutrophication did not affect diatom blooms. Marsdiep records in the literature ofPhaeocystis globosa, P. pouchetii andP. sp. all refer to the same species.     

An update to the taxonomy of the genus Gastroserica Brenske (Coleoptera,Scarabaeidae, Sericini)

Based on the examination of newly collected material and additional specimens housed in Chinese collections, our knowledge of Gastroserica Brenske, 1897, is expanded. Here, seven new species are described, including habitus photographs and illustrations of the male genitalia: Gastroserica haoyui sp. n. (China: Zhejiang Prov.), G. fengduana sp. n. (China: Sichuan Prov.), G. wenzhui sp. n. (China: Guangxi Prov.), G. damingshanica sp. n. (from China: Guangxi Prov.), G. jinxiuensis sp. n. (China: Guangxi Prov.), G. liboensis sp. n. (China: Yunnan Prov.) and G. carolusi sp. n. (Laos). Additionally, we provide a distribution map of the new taxa and new distribution records of the known taxa.     

The taxonomic status of clematis gattingeri small (Ranunculaceae)

Recognition ofClematis gattingeri Small as an independent species has been based primarily on the smaller flowers and glandular pubescence of specimens collected from 1897 to 1901 by A. Gattinger. Recent studies have indicated that flower size varies among all members of subsect.Viornae to whichC. gattingeri belongs and should not be considered a significant taxonomic character for species delimitation. Studies using both light and scanning electron microscopy confirm the presence of glandular pubescence on Gattinger’s specimens, but other specimens with glandular pubescence have never since been found.Clematis gattingeri is believed to have been a minor variant ofC. viorna L. and is accordingly placed in synonymy.     

Revision and affinities ofGalium (Rubiaceae) in Madagascar

The only representatives ofRubiaceae-Rubieae in Madagascar are five species ofGalium. G. thunbergianum andG. chloroionanthum are essentially afromontane species, ± widely distributed in both the African mainland and Madagascar. The new speciesG. andringitrense andG. ankaratrense are endemic to Madagascar but show close affinities to two afromontane—afroalpine groups from the African mainland, theG. simense—G. ruwenzoriense andG. glaciale complex respectively.G. polyacanthum (new combination) exhibits certain primitive morphological traits and appears to be an old Madagascan endemic without close allies. New chromosome counts for populations from the African mainland demonstrate thatG. chloroionanthum andG. simense are 4x (x=11). Distribution patterns and origins of theGalium species in Madagascar and their relationships with African taxa are discussed.     

Taxonomic study of twoProteocephalus secies (Cestoda: Proteocephalidae) parasitising coregonid fishes: the synonymy ofP. fallax La Rue, 1911 withP. exiguus La Rue, 1911

Type-specimens (syntypes) and comparative material of twoProteocephalus species,P. exiguus La Rue, 1911 andP. fallax La Rue, 1911, parasitic in coregonid fishes from the Holarctic Region, were evaluated taxonomically. Morphological and biometrical study revealed conspecificity of the taxa.P. fallax is therefore, considered to be a synonym ofP. exiguus. Supplementary information is added to the species diagnosis ofP. exiguus and a lectotype is designated herein.     

Population studies in Goodyera (Orchidaceae) with emphasis on the hybrid origin of G. Tesselata

Morphological, cytological, and paper Chromatographic studies of populations from northern Michigan and examination of herbarium specimens from throughout North America were used to clarify the relationships ofGoodyera oblongifolia, G. repens var.ophioides, andG. tesselata. A canonical analysis of morphological data from mixed populations of these three species depictsG. tesselata as intermediate betweenG. oblongifolia andG. repens var.ophioides. The latter two species are diploid (2n = 30) andG. tesselata is tetraploid (2n = 60). Triploids (2n = ca. 45) were found in two mixed-species populations in northern Michigan.Goodyera tesselata produces three phenolic compounds present inG. oblongifolia and five different compounds present inG. repens var.ophioides. The range ofG. tesselata is confined to glaciated territory (except for two stations) in northeastern North America where the postglacially produced ranges ofG. oblongifolia andG. repens var.ophioides overlap. However,G. tesselata is quite abundant in areas outside the region of sympatry of the other two species. Based on this evidence, it is postulated thatG. tesselata is an allotetraploid species which resulted from hybridization betweenG. oblongifolia andG. repens var.ophioides during early post-Pleistocene. The slightly earlier blooming season ofG. tesselata may have been selected for to provide a measure of reproductive isolation between the tetraploid and its parents and to adapt the new species to the rather short growing season of northeastern North America.     

Rediscovery of type material of the bioerosional trace fossil <Emphasis Type="Italic">Talpina</Emphasis> von Hagenow, 1840 and its ichnotaxonomic implications

Friedrich von Hagenow is renowned for his seminal inventory of the diverse invertebrate fauna from the lower Maastrichtian chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of the Isle of Rügen, Germany. Tragically, his immense collection at Stettin (today Szczecin, Poland) was almost completely destroyed during World War II, including the type material of hundreds of species established by him during the first half of the 19th century. Seven belemnite specimens from his collection rediscovered at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, as well as 14 belemnites traced at the Museum für Mineralogie und Geologie at the Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, include syntypes of four Talpina ichnospecies, labelled T. ramosa, T. solitaria, T. foliacea and T. sentiformis. To document this material, a new ‘digital cylinder seal technique’ was applied. The rediscovered material allows lectotype designations for T. ramosa and T. solitaria (now Trypanites solitarius), whereas T. foliacea and T. sentiformis, which where not formally published by von Hagenow, are regarded as nomina nuda. As a consequence, the non-topotypical neotypes of T. ramosa and T. solitaria, as designated by Ehrhard Voigt in 1972, are obsolete.     

A cytological basis for the separation of Geropogon from Tragopogon (Compositae: Lactuceae)

The single species ofGeropogon, G. hybridus (L.) Schultz-Bip., is sometimes submerged in the morphologically similarTragopogon. A comparative study of the karyotypes ofGeropogon andTragopogon sensu stricto clarified their relationship. The karyotype ofG. hydridus (2n=14) was compared with that ofT. dubius Scop. (2n=12). The karyotypes are distinct, offering a compelling reason to recognizeGeropogon as a separate genus.