The generic classification of Fayum anthropoidea

The early anthropoid species initially described asAegyptopithecus zeuxis Simons, 1965, from the Oligocene of Egypt, although retained by many authors in the monotypic genusAegyptopithecus, has been lumped by others into the genusPropliopithecus. Similarly, the species originally described asParapithecus grangeri Simons, 1974, has been ranked by some authors in a monotypic genusSimonsius, while others retain it inParapithecus. Criteria to be considered in resolving these taxonomic debates are (1) the adequacy and consistency of proposed morphological differences between species; (2) analogy with the degree of morphological variation tolerated within extant genera; and (3) nomenclatural conservatism. A philosophy that would require strict monophyletic classification is of insufficient practical value for assessing the validity of Fayum genera. Characters cited as distinguishing vetweenAegyptopithecus andPropliopithecus, and betweenSimonsius andParapithecus, are reviewed and evaluated. The results indicate thatA. zeuxis is generically distinct from species ofPropliopithecus, based on differences in the crown structure and proportions of the molars.Pa. grangeri cannot be shown to differ at the generic level from the type and only known specimen ofPa. fraasi, thus establishing Simonsius as a junior synonym ofParapithecus.     

A specification of numerical taxonomy: Thermodynamical taxonomy

Thermodynamic taxonomy (ThT) is established from both a theoretical and pragmatical point of view. An application of thermodynamic taxonomy is given.     

Toward genetics-based virus taxonomy: comparative analysis of a genetics-based classification and the taxonomy of picornaviruses

Virus taxonomy has received little attention from the research community despite its broad relevance. In an accompanying paper (C. Lauber and A. E. Gorbalenya, J. Virol. 86:3890-3904, 2012), we have introduced a quantitative approach to hierarchically classify viruses of a family using pairwise evolutionary distances (PEDs) as a measure of genetic divergence. When applied to the six most conserved proteins of the Picornaviridae, it clustered 1,234 genome sequences in groups at three hierarchical levels (to which we refer as the "GENETIC classification"). In this study, we compare the GENETIC classification with the expert-based picornavirus taxonomy and outline differences in the underlying frameworks regarding the relation of virus groups and genetic diversity that represent, respectively, the structure and content of a classification. To facilitate the analysis, we introduce two novel diagrams. The first connects the genetic diversity of taxa to both the PED distribution and the phylogeny of picornaviruses. The second depicts a classification and the accommodated genetic diversity in a standardized manner. Generally, we found striking agreement between the two classifications on species and genus taxa. A few disagreements concern the species Human rhinovirus A and Human rhinovirus C and the genus Aphthovirus, which were split in the GENETIC classification. Furthermore, we propose a new supergenus level and universal, level-specific PED thresholds, not reached yet by many taxa. Since the species threshold is approached mostly by taxa with large sampling sizes and those infecting multiple hosts, it may represent an upper limit on divergence, beyond which homologous recombination in the six most conserved genes between two picornaviruses might not give viable progeny.     

A revised generic classification of the tribe Sileneae (Caryophyllaceae)

A reclassification of the tribe Sileneae compatible with molecular data is presented. The genus Eudianthe ( E. laeta and E. coeli-rosa ) is restored. Viscaria, Ixoca (= Heliosperma ), and Atocion together form a well supported monophyletic group distinct from Silene and Lychnis , and are recognized at generic level. With Agrostemma and Petrocoptis , the number of genera in the tribe sums up to eight. The new combinations Silene samojedora, Silene ajanensis, Lychnis abyssinica, Atocion asterias, Atocion compacta, Atocion lerchenfeldiana , and Atocion rupestris are made.     

A revised generic classification of the tribe Sileneae (Caryophyllaceae)

A reclassification of the tribe Sileneae compatible with molecular data is presented. The genus Eudianthe ( E. laeta and E. coeli-ma) is restored. Viscaria, Heliosperma , and Atocion together form a well supported monophyletic group distinct from Silene and Lychnis , and are recognized at generic level. With Agrostemma and Petrocoptis , the number of genera in the tribe sums up to eight. The new combinations Silene samojedorum, Silene ajanensis, Lychnis abyssinica, Atocion asterias, Atocion compactum, Atocion lerchenfeldiana , and Atocion rupestre are made.     

Unresolved questions in genitalia coevolution: bridging taxonomy,speciation, and developmental genetics

Systematists and geneticists study biological diversity, but they use different approaches that rarely intersect. A very common pattern that is of interest for both researchers is the rapid evolution of genitalia, a trait of significant taxonomic utility in several sexually reproducing animal clades. The idea that both male and female genitalia are species-specific and play a role in reproductive isolation has long been controversial but has recently gained a renewed interest by speciation and developmental geneticists. Here, I highlight six unresolved questions in genitalia coevolution and I argue that systematists, with their well training in comparative morphology, usage of large and geographically diverse collections, and ability to apply molecular genetics techniques, can make important contributions. Such an extension of systematics into the speciation and developmental genetics realms is a promising opportunity to expand “integrative taxonomy” comparisons between DNA and morphology into more explanatory relationships between the two sources of taxonomic data.     

Phytopathology in fossil plants: New data,questions of classification

Examples of damages in fossil plants revealed using electron microscopy are considered. The formal classification of these damages is discussed.     

Evolutionary significance and generic classification of the Williamsiellina (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae)

Abstract. Despite the short maxillary stylets of its members, the Williamsiellina is interpreted as a highly derived, rather than as an ancestral, group of Phlaeothripidae. Four genera are placed in synonymy with Sophiothrips Hood (Nanothrips Faure; Zaxenothrips Crawford; Bagnalliola Priesner; Nanimothrips zur Strassen) as a result of studies on three new species. Two of these (aleurodisci and duvali) comprise a new species-group endemic to New Zealand; the third (greensladei) is found in Australia and New Zealand but is closely related to species from the Azores and Southern France,     

A method of deriving subgroups of a population: a study of craniofacial taxonomy

Subgroups within a population are often difficult to discover and describe except by subjective methods. In this study, cluster analysis (numerical taxonomy) methods were used on selected craniofacial measurements obtained from 308 North American White children of both sexes in the age range 6–18 to derive categories of skeletal facial types. Two different cluster analysis approaches were used in conjunction with a separate overall evaluation of facial balance, an independent measure of maxillo-mandibular relationship (AB/FOP), and a traditional classification (Angle). The categories derived rest on corroborative and overlapping evidence from each of those methods. The categories were examined to determine if it is possible to classify a sample by means of cluster analysis, the size and discreteness of each class, how they compare with the Angle classification of the same sample, and the percentage of individuals that may be identified unequivocally by this classification scheme. Five categories were obtained. Labeled Category A — Category E, they show some correspondence to the Angle Classes I, II, and III, but categories A, B, and C appear to be subgroups, heretofore undetected, of Angle Class II. Categories D and E correspond to Angle Classes I and III, respectively. The categories are more realistic and informative than the Angle classes. Each category is reported along with its distinguishing skeletal characteristics.     

Physiological study and taxonomy of Alcaligenes species: A denitrificans, A. odorans and A faecalis

We have studied 43 strains of the species Alcaligenes dentrificans, A. odorans, and A. faecalis. Twenty-five of them were isolated by enrichment culture on minimal medium containing an organic acid (L-malate, succinate, tartrate, adipate, or itaconate) and N2O as a respiratory electron acceptor. These constitute a single phenon with the A. dentrificans strain type and 9 other strains isolated from clinical specimens. However, strain 4 differs from the other 34 strains in 12 nutritional characters, in its ability to effect a meta cleavage of diphenols, and by the absence of tetrathionate reductase. The percentages of G + C are the following: strains isolated from soil, 66.4 +/- 1.1; collection strains, 67.0 +/- 1.3. The 5 strains of A. odorans differ from the 34 strains of A. denitrificans (not including strain 4) in their inability to denitrify nitrate and use D-saccharate, adipate, pimelate, suberate, beta-hydroxy-beta-methylglutarate meso-tartrate, azelate, and itaconate. Their percentage of G + C is much lower: 56.1 +/- 0.4. From the nutritional point of view the 3 strains of A. faecalis resemble A. dentrificans. However, they differ from the latter by their inability to grow anaerobically on NO3-, NO2-, N2O, and by a slightly lower percentage of G+ C: 64.3 +/- 0.0. The 43 strains synthesize poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid. None of them is chemolithotrophic.