New records of benthic marine algae and Cyanobacteria for Costa Rica,and a comparison with other Central American countries

We present the results of an intensive sampling program carried out from 2000 to 2007 along both coasts of Costa Rica, Central America. The presence of 44 species of benthic marine algae is reported for the first time for Costa Rica. Most of the new records are Rhodophyta (27 spp.), followed by Chlorophyta (15 spp.), and Heterokontophyta, Phaeophycea (2 spp.). Overall, the currently known marine flora of Costa Rica is comprised of 446 benthic marine algae and 24 Cyanobacteria. This species number is an under estimation, and will increase when species of benthic marine algae from taxonomic groups where only limited information is available (e.g., microfilamentous benthic marine algae, Cyanobacteria) are included. The Caribbean coast harbors considerably more benthic marine algae (318 spp.) than the Pacific coast (190 spp.); such a trend has been observed in all neighboring countries. Compared to other Central American countries, Costa Rica has the highest number of reported benthic marine algae; however, Panama may have a similarly high diversity after unpublished results from a Rhodophyta survey (Wysor, unpublished) are included. Sixty-two species have been found along both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica; we discuss this result in relation to the emergence of the Central American Isthmus.     

Addendum to the checklist of the helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica

In this work, we present an addendum to the "Checklist of the helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica" with a parasite-host list as well as a host-parasite list. This addendum updates the available information on this group of parasites in Costa Rica, since very recently a new input has been made to describe the helminth fauna of vertebrates, particularly at the Area de Conservación de Guanacaste. In this paper, we add 33 records, representing 23 species. This raises the number of helminth species described in vertebrates from Costa Rica to 325, represented by 89 species of digeneans, 23 of monogeneans. 63 of cestodes, 13 of acanthocephalans, and 137 of nematodes. In total, 133 species of vertebrates have been studied for helminths in Costa Rica (31 species of fishes. 7 amphibians, 18 reptiles, 40 birds, and 37 mammals). Currently, 67 species (20.6 %) have been recorded as new species from Costa Rica and most of them are endemic to particular regions. The Colecci6n de Helmintos de Costa Rica, housed at the Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR), San José, is the depositary of only 23% of the species recorded so far; however this situation is changing and people recognizes.     

Checklist of the helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica

Helminth parasites of vertebrates have been studied in Costa Rica for more than 50 years. Survey work on this group of parasites is far from complete. We assembled a database with all the records of helminth parasites of wild and domestic vertebrates in Costa Rica. Information was obtained from different sources such as literature search (all published accounts) and parasite collections. Here we present a checklist with a parasite-host list as well as a host-parasite list. Up to now, 303 species have been recorded, including 81 species of digeneans, 23 monogeneans, 63 cestodes, 12 acanthocephalans, and 124 nematodes. In total, 108 species of vertebrates have been studied for helminths in Costa Rica (31 species of fishes, 7 amphibians, 14 reptiles, 20 birds, and 36 mammals). This represents only 3.8% of the vertebrate fauna of Costa Rica since about 2,855 species of vertebrates occur in the country. Interestingly, 58 species (19.1 %) were recorded as new species from Costa Rica and most of them are endemic to particular regions. Considering the valuable information that parasites provide because it is synergistic with all the information about the natural history of the hosts, helminth parasites of vertebrates in Costa Rica should be considered within any initiatives to accomplish the national inventory of biological resources. Starting with this compilation work, the Colección de Helmintos de Costa Rica (CHCR), hosted at the Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, has re-emerged and it is our hope that it will have the standards of quality to assure that it will become the national depository of helminths in the country.     

Diversity of the free-living marine and freshwater Copepoda (Crustacea) in Costa Rica: a review

The studies on marine copepods of Costa Rica started in the 1990’s and focused on the largest coastal-estuarine systems in the country, particularly along the Pacific coast. Diversity is widely variable among these systems: 40 species have been recorded in the Culebra Bay influenced by upwelling, northern Pacific coast, only 12 in the Gulf of Nicoya estuarine system, and 38 in Golfo Dulce, an anoxic basin in the southern Pacific coast of the country. Freshwater environments of Costa Rica are known to harbor a moderate diversity of continental copepods (25 species), which includes 6 calanoids, 17 cyclopoids and only two harpacticoids. Of the +100 freshwater species recorded in Central America, six are known only from Costa Rica, and one appears to be endemic to this country. The freshwater copepod fauna of Costa Rica is clearly the best known in Central America. Overall, six of the 10 orders of Copepoda are reported from Costa Rica. A previous summary by 2001 of the free-living copepod diversity in the country included 80 marine species (67 pelagic, 13 benthic). By 2009, the number of marine species increased to 209: 164 from the Pacific (49% of the copepod fauna from the Eastern Tropical Pacific) and 45 from the Caribbean coast (8% of species known from the Caribbean Basin). Both the Caribbean and Pacific species lists are growing. Additional collections of copepods at Cocos Island, an oceanic island 530 km away of the Pacific coast, have revealed many new records, including five new marine species from Costa Rica. Currently, the known diversity of marine copepods of Costa Rica is still in development and represents up to 52.6% of the total marine microcrustaceans recorded in the country. Future sampling and taxonomic efforts in the marine habitats should emphasize oceanic environments including deep waters but also littoral communities. Several Costa Rican records of freshwater copepods are likely to represent undescribed species. Also, the biogeographic relevance of the inland copepod fauna of Costa Rica requires more detailed surveys.     

Parhadjelia cairinae n. sp. (Nematoda: Habronematoidea: Habronematidae) in the Muscovy duck, Cairina moschata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Aves: Anseriformes: Anatidae), from the area de conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica

A new species of Parahadjelia occurs in the muscovy duck, Cairina moschata (Linnaeus, 1758), from the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The new species differs from Parhadjelia neglecta Lent and Freitas, 1939, in the body size, in the spicules shape and ratio of spicules, and in having 2 pairs of sessile papillae near the tail tip of the male. The characters exhibited by P. neglecta and the new species validate its generic status distinct from Hadjelia.     

A new genus of oak gallwasp, Coffeikokkos Pujade-Villar & Melika, gen. n., with a description of a new species from Costa Rica (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae)

A new genus of oak gallwasp, Coffeikokkos Pujade-Villar & Melika, gen. n., is described from Costa Rica. Diagnostic characters and generic limits of the new genus are discussed in detail. The new genus includes Coffeikokkos copeyensis Pujade-Villar & Melika, sp. n., which induces galls on stems of Quercus bumelioides, an endemic oak to Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama. The new species and galls are described and illustrated.     

A new pronocephalid, Pleurogonius tortugueroi n. sp. (Digenea), from the intestine of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Costa Rica

A new species of trematode, Pleurogonius tortugueroi n. sp. (Digenea: Pronocephalidae) is described from the lower intestine of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) from Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica. The new species differs from all other species of Pleurogonius by having a short oesophagus and oval testes close to lateral posterior limit of the body. It differs from all other species, except P. malaclemys Hunter 1961, by having an ovary between the testes; moreover the latter species is a parasite of freshwater turtles. All others members of the genus have a long oesophagus, testes placed to some distance from the posterior end, and the ovary is pretesticular. The new species appears most closely related to P. linearis Looss, 1901 but differs from it by having a different body shape, lappets of the head collar close at the cecal bifurcation level, a longer vitellarian field, different testis shape and position, ovary intertesticular, and different egg size.     

Multiclavula ichthyiformis (Fungi: Basidiomycota: Cantharellales: Clavulinaceae), a remarkable new basidiolichen from Costa Rica

The new basidiolichen Multiclavula ichthyiformis Nelsen, Lücking, Uma?a, Trest & Will-Wolf is described from Costa Rica. The new species differs from other species of Multiclavula in having a basidiocarp with tomentose stipe and flattened lamina with nonamphigenous hymenium. Molecular sequence data (ITS) confirmed its placement within Multiclavula in the Clavulinaceae (Cantharellales, Agaricomycetes). The new lichen was discovered in a Central American paramo remnant, illustrating the importance of biotic inventories of fungi and lichens to increase our knowledge of the diversity of these groups in endangered tropical ecosystems. The new species was found as part of the TICOLICHEN project in Costa Rica.     

New species of Septobasidium from southern Costa Rica and the southeastern United States

New species are described in Septobasidium, a genus of urediniomycete parasites on scale insects. One new species, S. gomezii, is described from Costa Rica, and another, S. meredithiae, is described from Louisiana. S. gomezii is most similar to S. septobasidioides, but macroscopic and microscopic differences support it being a distinct species. S. meredithiae is similar to S. alni and S. castaneum but differs from these species in several macroscopic and microscopic characters, especially when the species are observed on the same host tree and insect species. Another species collected only once in Costa Rica is listed with observations but it is not formally described here. This Septobasidium species shares some key characteristics with S. ramorum but combines a dense, compact, nearly black thallus and pigmented probasidia-like structures with spindle-shaped haustoria. Implications for taxonomy, morphological evolution and host specificity in Septobasidium are discussed.     

Hoplopleura janzeni n. sp. (Phthiraptera: Anoplura), a new sucking louse from a Central American swimming mouse.

Both sexes of a new species of sucking louse Hoplopleura janzeni (Phthiraptera: Hoplopleuridae) are described and illustrated from the Central American ichthyomyine swimming mouse Rheomys raptor (Rodentia: Muridae) collected in Costa Rica. The morphology of the new species is compared with that of Hoplopleura exima Johnson, the only other species of sucking louse known to parasitize an ichthyomyine rodent. Hoplopleura janzeni is unique in having posteriorly directed spurs on the first antennal segment, the fore- and midcoxae, and the hind femora of both sexes.     

Some Entolomataceae (Agaricales) from Costa Rica

A preliminary account of Entolomataceae from Costa Rica is presented. Three new taxa are described, two inClitopilus, one inRhodocybe, and three new combinations are proposed inInocephalus. Five taxa ofClitopilus are reported for the first time from Costa Rica and a key to species is provided. Four species ofRhodocybe are discussed and a key to the six species known from Costa Rica is also provided.Alboleptonia earlei, Inocephalus murraii, Inocephalus quadratum, Rhodocybe incarnata andRhodocybe pseudonitellina are now known to occur in Costa Rica.     

A new Isospora species of passerines in the family Turdidae from Costa Rica

Seven thrush species (Turdidae) from Costa Rica were examined for intestinal parasites; 21 of the 84 (25%) birds sampled were positive for a new species of Isospora. Oocysts of Isospora zorzali n. sp. have thin, smooth, double, and colorless walls; they measure 19.7 ± 1.5 μm × 18.6 ± 1.4 μm (16-24 μm × 15-21 μm), with an average length-width ratio of 1.1 μm. Sporocysts are ovoid, measure 8.5 ± 1.1 μm × 14.5 ± 1.7 μm (7-11 μm × 11-18 μm) with an average length-width ratio of 1.7 μm. A nipple-like stieda body continuous with the sporocyst wall is present, but no substieda body was observed. A sporocyst residuum consisting of large equal sized granules was observed either clumped together or diffusely. The sporocysts fill the entire oocysts with little to no open space observed. This is the first report of Isospora species from any of the sampled host species and also the first report from any species of thrush in Costa Rica.     

A new species of hognose pitviper, genus Porthidium, from the southwestern Pacific of Costa Rica (Serpentes: Viperidae)

A new species of terrestrial pitviper, Porthidium porrasi, is described from mesophytic forests of the Península de Osa and surrounding area of the Pacific versant of southwestern Costa Rica. It is most similar to P. nasutum and is characterized by a pattern of bands, persistence of the juvenile tail color in adults, and a high number of dorsal scales. Analysis of mtDNA sequences confirms its distinction from P. nasutum. The existence of this species reinforces the notion of elevated herpetofaunal endemism in southwestern Costa Rica.     

Resupinate basidiomycetes from Costa Rica. New or rare species of Atractiellales (Auriculariales s.l.), Exidiaceae, Sirobasidiaceae y Tremellaceae

Species of Atractiellales (Auriculariaceae s.l.), Exidaceae, Sirobasidaceae and Tremellaceae are reported as new for Costa Rica or as new to science, Tremella coalescens L.S. Olive, Sirobasidium minutum Kisim., Oberw. & Gómez sp. nov., Heterochaete vitrea Kisim., Oberw. & Gómez sp. nov., Exidiopsis mucedinea (Pat.) K. Wells, Helicogloea aurea Baker, Saccoblastia sphaerospora M?ller and Occultifur internus (L.S. Olive) Oberw. All the new species are described and illustrated. Since the original material collected in Brazil by M?ller is lost, a neotype for Saccoblastia sphaerospora M?ller is proposed. This Costa Rican collection represents the first record since the discovery of the species in 1891. Hyphoderma argillaceum (Bres.) Donk is reported for the first time from Costa Rica as the fungal host of Occultifur internus.     

Mites of the genus Neharpyrhynchus Fain (Acariformes, Harpirhynchidae) from Neotropical birds

Three new species of parasitic mites of the genus Neharpyrhynchus Fain (Acariformes, Harpirhynchidae) are described from Neotropical birds: Neharpyrhynchus chlorospingussp. n. from Chlorospingus pileatus (Passeriformes, Emberizidae) from Costa Rica, Neharpyrhynchus mironovisp. n. from Dacnys cayana (Passeriformes, Thraupidae) and Neharpyrhynchus tangarasp. n. from Tangara cayana (Thraupidae) both from Brazil. Neharpyrhynchus trochilinus (Fain) is recorded from 3 new host species of the family Trochilidae (Apodiformes), Panterpe insignis and Eugenes fulgens from Costa Rica, and Amazilia lactea from Brazil. Emended diagnosis of the genus and a key to species are provided; all records of Neharpyrhynchus species are summarized.     

Two species of Synhimantus (dispharynx) railliet, Henry and Sisoff, 1912 (Nematoda: Acuarioidea: Acuariidae), in passerine birds from the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Members of 2 species of Synhimantus (Dispharynx) live under the lining of the gizzard in passerine birds from the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Synhimantus (Dispharynx) nasuta (Rudolphi, 1819) occurs in Thraupis episcopus, Turdus grayi, Caryothraustes poliogaster, Platyrinchus cancrominus, Ramphocaenus melanurus, Vermivora peregrina, and Geothlypis poliocephala. A single male, in Turdus grayi, apparently representing a new species, distinguishable from all other species of Synhimantus (Dispharynx) by having similar shaped left and right spicules, is described but not named.     

Rediscovery of Hyalinobatrachium chirripoi (Anura: Centrolenidae) in southeastern Costa Rica

The Suretka glass frog, Hyalinobatrachium chirripoi, has been recently rediscovered in the southeastern region of Costa Rica. This species was last reported in Costa Rica in the 1950's. H. chirripoi is distinguished from H. colymbiphyllum, which appears to be its most closely Costa Rican related taxon, by having extensive webbing between fingers II-III.     

Aristolochia translucida,a new species from Costa Rica

A new species from Costa Rica,Aristolochia translucida, is described and its relationships to other species detailed.     

Halipegus eschi n. sp. (Digenea: Hemiuridae) in Rana vaillanti from Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica

Halipegus eschi n. sp. is described from the esophagus of Rana vaillanti from Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The new species differs from other known species of Halipegus on the basis of relative testis size, lateral extent of the uterus, vitelline follicle arrangement, egg size, and polar filament length.