Dicyema shorti n. sp. (phylum Dicyemida) from Octopus burryi (Mollusca: Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) in the Gulf of Mexico

Nematogens and vermiform embryos of a new species of Dicyema are described from an octopus collected off Veracruz, Mexico. Dicyema shorti n. sp. is a small dicyemid species that rarely exceeds 500 microm in length. It is further characterized by the presence of 18 peripheral cells in the vermiform stages, a conical-shape calotte, and an axial cell that extends to the base of the propolar cells. Other stages in the life cycle of the parasite are not known. This is the first dicyemid to be described from Octopus burryi Voss. 1950, and also from both the southern Gulf of Mexico and the country of Mexico.     

A new Planthopper (Insecta: Hemiptera: Nogodinidae) from Chiapas amber, middle Miocene of Mexico

A new species of Planthopper, Nogodina chiapaneca sp. nov. from the Mexican Chiapas amber (southeast Mexico) is described. The new species belongs to Nogodinidae: Nogodinini: Nogodinina. This is the second nogodinid species described from Mexican amber. Both species belong to Nogodinina, a taxon with a Neotropical distribution. The only recent species of Nogodina, N. reticulata, ranges from Honduras to Brazil and is unknown from Mexico yet.     

A New Species of Thraulodes (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae) from Mexico

A new species of Thraulodes from Mexico is described from male and female imagines. The male imagines of this species have very characteristic genitalia that allow its easy separation from the other known species of the genus.     

A new species of Hysterothylacium (Nematoda: Anisakidae) parasite of Ariopsis guatemalensis (Osteichthyes: Ariidae) from Tres Palos lagoon, Mexico

Hysterothylacium perezi n. sp. is described from the intestine of the "cuatete" Ariopsis guatemalensis Günther, 1864 (Osteichthyes: Ariidae), in Tres Palos, a coastal lagoon located in the Mexican Pacific basin. The new species differs from all other species of Hysterothylacium Ward and Magath, 1917, in possessing a spinous postcloacal pad. In addition, H. perezi is readily distinguished from the 21 species described in fishes from America and Hawaii by having the greatest number of caudal papillae (47 to 51 pairs + 1 single, precloacal papillae). This species is the third described from hosts inhabiting estuarine environments in America and the fourth reported in Mexico.     

A new species of Coreopsis (Compositae — Heliantheae) from Mexico

Coreopsis crawfordii is described and illustrated. It is also compared with themorphologically similar species, C. pringlei and C. rudis , also from Mexico, and a key to all the species of Coreopsis known from Mexico is provided.     

Three new species of Spigelia (Strychnaceae) from Mexico

During a revisionary study ofSpigelia, three new species from Mexico were discovered. Two of these new species appear to be narrow endemics, one in the state of Chiapas and one in the state of Guerrero, and the third is more widespread in Mexico and Guatemala. These new species are described, illustrated, and distinguished from other North AmericanSpigelias.     

Townsendia gypsophila (Compositae: Astereae): a new species from northern New Mexico

Townsendia gypsophila, a new species from Sandoval Co., New Mexico, is described and illustrated. It is a narrowly distributed obligate gypsophile closely related toT. fendleri andT. incana. It overlaps the ranges of the two taxa at the edge of their distributional limits in New Mexico.     

Metastevia (Compositae: Eupatorieae): A new genus from Mexico

A new genus and species from Mexico,Metastevia hintonii, is described. The genus, considered to be closely related to and derived fromStevia, differs in seven morphological features from all known species ofStevia. The reasons for recognizing the new genus are discussed in detail.     

A new species of Heteromyoxyuris (Nematoda: Oxyuridae), parasite of Perognathus flavus (Rodentia: Heteromyidae) from Mexico

Heteromyoxyuris otomii n. sp., which inhabits the intestinal caecum of Perognathus flavus (Heteromyidae), in Zaragoza, Hidalgo, Mexico, is described. This new species differs from the 2 other congeneric species in the morphology and length of lateral alae in males. Heteromyoxyuris deserti has simple lateral alae located at both sides of the body, whereas in the new species, these structures are double at both sides; in contrast, lateral alae of Heteromyoxyuris longejector begin at the posterior half of the body, whereas they arise in the first third in the new species. Heteromyoxyuris longejector was found in 2 new host species, i.e., Perognathus amplus and Chaetodipus hispidus. This record represents the first record for the species in Mexico, increasing its geographic distribution.     

The Neotropical species of Drapetis Meigen (Diptera: Empididae)

Abstract The Neotropical species of Drapetis Meigen are reviewed, and eight new species are described: alimacula , from Trinidad; atrinervalis , from Bahamas; naevia , from El Salvador; onconeura , from Costa Rica; steyskali , from Mexico; stictica , from Jamaica; tibialis , from Panama; and tuberculata , from Costa Rica. A lectotype is designated for Drapetis divergens Loew; Drapetis intermedia Smith is newly synonymized with divergens Loew. Two new species groups are described, the divergens group and the naica group. Two keys are provided: one distinguishing the Neotropical species of Drapetis ; the other distinguishing Drapetis Meigen, Crossopalpus Bigot and Elaphropeza Macquart. Drapetis flavicornis Melander, inermis Melander and zonalis Curran are assigned to Elaphropeza Macquart, new combinations, and redescribed. The heretofore unknown male of Elaphropeza flavicornis is described.     

A new species of machaeranthera section psilactis (Asteraceae: Astereae) from coastal Texas

Machaeranthera heterocarpa, a new species from southern Texas, is described and illustrated. It is closely related to M. tenuis of Trans-Pecos Texas, is described Mexico from which it differs most notably in stem pubescence, fruit morphology, and chromosome number. The adaptive significance of the heteromorphic achenes of this new species is discussed.     

Systematic status and first description of male of Dujardinia cenotae Pearse, 1936 [= Hysterothylacium cenotae (Pearse, 1936) Moravec et al., 1995] (Nematoda: Anisakidae)

A new collection of adult anisakid nematodes from the intestine of the catfish Rhamdia guatemalensis from two cenotes (= sinkholes) and a cave in the Yucatan Peninsula, southeastern Mexico, has shown that they are conspecific with those inadequately described as Dujardinia cenotae Pearse, 1936. The female is redescribed and the male is described for the first time. The morphology of this species shows that it belongs to the genus Hysterothylacium. This is the only Hysterothylacium species recorded from freshwater fishes in Mexico and it may well be endemic to cenotes and caves of the Yucatan Peninsula.     

Aphyllon castilloi sp. nov. (Orobanchaceae) from Veracruz,Mexico

Aphyllon castilloi Franc.‐Gut., Cházaro & Espejo (Orobanchaceae), a new species discovered in central Veracruz, Mexico is herein described, illustrated and compared with other Aphyllon species recorded from Mexico. The new species inhabits tropical semideciduous forest, a novel ecosystem for Aphyllon species native to North America, in contrast to most collections from Mexico, which are from warm sandy deserts. In addition, it parasitizes Simsia foetida (Asteraceae: Heliantheae). As far as known, the distribution of the new species is very restricted.     

Rallicola deckeri n. sp. (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) from Ruddy Woodcreepers Dendrocincla homochroa (Passeriformes: Furnariidae) collected in Campeche, Mexico

A new species of Rallicola Johnston and Harrison (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) is described from lice collected from a series of Ruddy Woodcreepers Dendrocincla homochroa (Aves: Dendrocolaptinae) in Campeche, Mexico. Rallicola deckeri is easily recognized by the unique shape of the mesosome in the male and by the pattern of divided sternites on the female.     

Six new and one previously described species of Pseudorhabdosynochus (Monogenoidea, Diplectanidae) infecting the gills of groupers (Perciformes, Serranidae) from the Pacific coasts of Mexico and Panama

Six new and 1 previously described species of Pseudorhabdosynochus (Diplectanidae) are described and/or reported from the gill lamellae of 5 serranid (Perciformes) fish species from the Pacific waters in Guerrero State of Mexico and Panama City, Panama. These species are Pseudorhabdosynochus guerreroensis n. sp. from the Pacific mutton hamlet Alphestes inmaculatus Breder (type host), rivulated mutton hamlet Alphestes multiguttatus (Günther), and spotted grouper Epinephelus analogus Gill from Mexico; Pseudorhabdosynochus urceolus n. sp. from the Pacific graysby Cephalopholis panamensis (Steindachner) from Taboga Island in Panama; Pseudorhabdosynochus spirani n. sp. from the starry grouper Epinephelus labriformis (Jenyns) from Mexico and the Perlas Archipelago and Taboga Island in Panama; Pseudorhabdosynochus fulgidus n. sp. from E. labriformis from Mexico and the Perlas Archipelago and Taboga Island (type locality) in Panama; Pseudorhabdosynochus tabogaensis n. sp. from E. labriformis from Mexico and the Perlas Archipelago and Taboga Island (type locality) in Panama; Pseudorhabdosynochus anulus n. sp. from E. labriformis from Mexico and Taboga Island (type locality) in Panama; and Pseudorhabdosynochus amplidiscatum (Bravo-Hollis, 1954) Kritsky and Beverley-Burton, 1986 from E. analogus and E. labriformis from Mexico and the Perlas Archipelago and Taboga Island in Panama. All new species are mainly distinguished from other species of the genus by the shape and size of the sclerotized vagina and haptoral structures. The present specimens of Alphestes, Cephalopholis, and Epinephelus spp. represent new host records and Panama represents a new geographic record for species of Pseudorhabdosynochus. The apparent common feature supporting a close similarity of these diplectanids is a single, secondary ejaculatory bulb with thickened wall.     

Immature stages of three species of Blissidae from Mexico (Heteroptera: Lygaeoideae)

Chinch bugs are associated with several species of monocots, and species of Gramineae are the principal plants utilized. In Mexico, 24 species of Blissidae have been recorded. The immature stages of Ischnodemus sallei (Signoret), Toonglasa munda (Slater & Wilcox), and T. tumorosis (Slater & Wilcox) are described and illustrated. These species have been recorded from several species of bamboo. Distributional records in Mexico and the host plants of these chinch bugs are also included.