Mauritanichthys rugosus N. Gen. Et N. Sp., Redfieldiidae(Actinopterygi,chondrostei), du Trias superieur continental marocain

The Morrocan continental upper Trias (Argana valley, Western Atlas) has yielded Mauritanichthys rugosus n. gen. et n. sp. This redfieldiid is very similar to Lasalichthys (upper Trias, Texas). That fact recalls that no deep and broad ocean separated Morroco from North America. This discovery shows, too, that the conditions of deposition were very similar in those two regions.     

Un nouveau felide (Fissipeda,mammalia) du pleistocene moyen du Maroc: Lynx thomasi N. sp.

The site known as Thomas quarry III (Cassablanca, Morocco) yielded, together with a middle Pleistocene (Tensiftian) fauna, the lower jaw of a lynx, Lynx thomase n. sp., whose dentition is characterized by high and complex premolars, and a very long carnassial. This new species might be descended from post-villafranchian European lynxes.     

Tetravaccinites collignoni N. Gen., N. Sp. et les autres rudistes du santonien superieur de l'aude (France)

The three principal levels of rudists of the “Montagne des Cornes” are of upper Santonian stage. Their rudist's associations are characteristic. Tetravaccinites collignoni n. gen., n. sp. found in the upper level is described.     

Partial skeleton of Dracopelta zbyszewskii N. Gen. And N. SP., an ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal

The holotype of the nodosaurid ankylosaur Dracopelta zbyszewskii n. gen. and n. sp. is described from the Kimmeridgian(Upper Jurassic) of Ribomar on the west coast of Portugal. This is the first Upper Jurassic ankylosaur to be described that is represented by articulated bones. The specimen consists of a partial rib cage with thirteen dorsal vertebrae and five different types of dermal armor, two of wich show a partial overlap between adjacent plates.     

The life cycle and host specificity of Psychodiella sergenti n. sp. and Ps. tobbi n. sp. (Protozoa: Apicomplexa) in sand flies Phlebotomus sergenti and Ph. tobbi (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Two new gregarines in the recently erected genus Psychodiella (formerly Ascogregarina), Psychodiella sergenti n. sp. and Psychodiella tobbi n. sp., are described based on morphology and life cycle observations conducted on larvae and adults of their natural hosts, the sand flies Phlebotomus sergenti and Phlebotomus tobbi, respectively. The phylogenetic analyses inferred from small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA) sequences indicate the monophyly of newly described species with Psychodiella chagasi. Ps. sergenti n. sp. and Ps. tobbi n. sp. significantly differ from each other in the life cycle and in the size of life stages. The sexual development of Ps. sergenti n. sp. (syzygy, formation of gametocysts and oocysts) takes place exclusively in blood-fed Ph. sergenti females, while the sexual development of Ps. tobbi n. sp. takes place also in males and unfed females of Ph. tobbi. The susceptibility of Phlebotomus perniciosus, Phlebotomus papatasi, Ph. sergenti, Ph. tobbi, and Phlebotomus arabicus to both gregarines was examined by exposing 1st instar larvae to parasite oocysts. High host specificity was observed, as both gregarines were able to fully develop and complete regularly the life cycle only in their natural hosts. Both gregarines are considered as serious pathogens in laboratory-reared colonies of Old World sand flies.     

Acetobacter oryzifermentans sp. nov., isolated from Korean traditional vinegar and reclassification of the type strains of Acetobacter pasteurianus subsp. ascendens (Henneberg 1898) and Acetobacter pasteurianus subsp. paradoxus (Frateur 1950) as Acetobacter ascendens sp. nov., comb. nov.

Twelve Acetobacter pasteurianus-related strains with publicly available genomes in GenBank shared high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (>99.59%), but average nucleotide identity (ANI) and in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (DDH) values and multilocus sequence- and genome-based relatedness analyses suggested that they were divided into four different phylogenetic lineages. Relatedness analyses based on multilocus sequences, 1,194 core genes and whole-cell MALDI-TOF profiles supported that strains LMG 1590^T and LMG 1591 (previously classified as the type strains of A. pasteurianus subsp. ascendens and paradoxus, respectively) and strain SLV-7^T do not belong to A. pasteurianus. Strain SLV-7^T, isolated from Korean traditional vinegar, shared low ANI (<91.0%) and in silico DDH (44.2%) values with all other Acetobacter type strains analyzed in this study, indicating that strain SLV-7^T represents a new Acetobacter species. The phenotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses confirmed these results and therefore a new species named Acetobacter oryzifermentans sp. nov. is proposed with SLV-7^T (= KACC 19301^T = JCM 31096^T) as the type strain. Strains LMG 1590^T and LMG 1591 shared high ANI (99.4%) and in silico DDH (96.0%) values between them, but shared low ANI (<92.3%) and in silico DDH (<49.0%) values with other type strains analyzed in this study, indicating that strains LMG 1590^T and LMG 1591 should be reclassified into a new single species that should be named Acetobacter ascendens sp. nov., comb. nov., with LMD 51.1^T (= LMG 1590^T = NCCB 51001^T) as its type strain.     

Natronobiforma cellulositropha gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel haloalkaliphilic member of the family Natrialbaceae (class Halobacteria) from hypersaline alkaline lakes

Six strains of extremely halophilic and alkaliphilic euryarchaea were enriched and isolated in pure culture from surface brines and sediments of hypersaline alkaline lakes in various geographical locations with various forms of insoluble cellulose as growth substrate. The cells are mostly flat motile rods with a thin monolayer cell wall while growing on cellobiose. In contrast, the cells growing with cellulose are mostly nonmotile cocci covered with a thick external EPS layer. The isolates, designated AArcel, are obligate aerobic heterotrophs with a narrow substrate spectrum. All strains can use insoluble celluloses, cellobiose, a few soluble glucans and xylan as their carbon and energy source. They are extreme halophiles, growing within the range from 2.5 to 4.8 M total Na⁺ (optimum at 4 M) and obligate alkaliphiles, with the pH range for growth from 7.5 to 9.9 (optimum at 8.5–9). The core archaeal lipids of strain AArcel5^T were dominated by C₂₀–C₂₀ dialkyl glycerol ether (DGE) (i.e. archaeol) and C₂₀–C₂₅ DGE in nearly equal proportion. The 16S rRNA gene analysis indicated that all six isolates belong to a single genomic species mostly related to the genera Saliphagus-Natribaculum-Halovarius. Taking together a substantial phenotypic difference of the new isolates from the closest relatives and the phylogenetic distance, it is concluded that the AArcel group represents a novel genus-level branch within the family Natrialbaceae for which the name Natronobiforma cellulositropha gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed with AArcel5^T as the type strain (JCM 31939^T = UNIQEM U972^T).     

Glis vallesiensis n. sp., nouveau gliride (Rodentia,Mammalia) du Neogene de Seu d'Urgell (Catalogne,Espagne)

It is described Glis vallensiensis n. sp., which is characterized by its great size, similar to that of the present species Glis glis. It differs of the G. minor-G. sackdillingensis lineage in size and minor features. Glis vallesiensis belongs to the same lineage that Glis sp., from the Upper Miocene beds of Opole (1).     

Palaeoaplysinella gen. nov. and Likinia Ivanova and Ilkhovskii, 1973 emend., from the type Moscovian (Russia) and the algal affinities of the ancestral palaeoaplysinaceae n. comb

Because of the cellular tissue often described and occasionally confused in the literature with some Archaeolithophyllum, an assignment to the red algae Archaeolithophyllaceae is proposed for Palaeoaplysinaceae nomen translat., herein. Archaeolithophyllaceae, Palaeoaplysinaceae and several “phylloid algae” might compose the order Archaeolithophyllales nom. translat. A new ancestral form of the primitive paleoaplysinaceans is described in the Podolskian (early late Moscovian) of the Moscow Basin, under the name Palaeoaplysinella n. gen. with P. moscovica n. sp., as type species. These forms, proportionally small, do not construct reefal structures, and is reworked in bioclastic grainstone rich in algae and fusulinids. Its structure differs from the following late Moscovian forms previously described as palaeoaplysinaceans: (a) Likinia from the Podolskian-Myachkovian deposits of the Moscow basin and (b) the Desmoinesian palaeoaplysines mentioned in Utah (USA) (a taxon to re-describe). Likinia is revised herein. Its type species does not belong to the palaeoaplysinaceans; nevertheless, its assignment is uncertain. Since their origin, the Palaeoaplysinaceae colonized the shelf seas of the northern subtropical to warm-temperate provinces (from 15 to 45°N) including the Urals, Greenland, Canadian Arctic Archipelago, some parts of the North American Craton and the Klamath Exotic Terrane (California). The adjacent regions of the southern USA, northern Mexico (Sonora), Pericaspian, and Donbass have not been colonized. The history of Palaeoaplysinacea is probably linked to the evolution of the Ural Ocean. Based on these reconstructed paleolatitudes, the Akiyoshi Terrane in Japan, which contains rare Palaeoaplysina, was emplaced between 15 and 45° North latitude during the Asselian (earliest Permian).     

Proposal of Xanthomonas translucens pv. pistaciae pv. nov., pathogenic to pistachio (Pistacia vera)

Strains of Xanthomonas translucens have caused dieback in the Australian pistachio industry for the last 15 years. Such pathogenicity to a dicotyledonous woody host contrasts with that of other pathovars of X. translucens, which are characterized by their pathogenicity to monocotyledonous plant families. Further investigations, using DNA-DNA hybridization, gyrB gene sequencing and integron screening, were conducted to confirm the taxonomic status of the X. translucens pathogenic to pistachio. DNA-DNA hybridization provided a clear classification, at the species level, of the pistachio pathogen as a X. translucens. In the gyrB-based phylogeny, strains of the pistachio pathogen clustered among the X. translucens pathovars as two distinct lineages. Integron screening revealed that the cassette arrays of strains of the pistachio pathogen were different from those of other Xanthomonas species, and again distinguished two groups. Together with previously reported pathogenicity data, these results confirm that the pistachio pathogen is a new pathovar of X. translucens and allow hypotheses about its origin. The proposed name is Xanthomonas translucens pv. pistaciae pv. nov.     

A new microsporidian species, Vairimorpha ocinarae n. sp., isolated from Ocinara lida Moore (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) in Taiwan

A new microsporidium was isolated from Ocinara lida Moore (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), a pest of Ficus microcarpa L. f. in Taiwan. The microsporidium produces systemic infections in O. lida larvae; the midgut epithelium, Malpighian tubules, and midgut muscle tissues were the target tissues for this isolate, and atrophied fat body tissues were found in heavily infected larvae. Two types of spores were observed, diplokaroytic spores with 11-13 coils of polar tube, and monokaryotic spores with 12 coils of the polar tube that developed within a sporophorous vesicle to form octospores. Electron-dense granules were abundant in the episporontal space of the sporophorous vesicles, and were similar to those of Vairimorpha invictae isolated from Solenopsis invicta, but different from granules or inclusions of other Vairimorpha species. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the small subunit ribosomal DNA sequence, this isolate is unique within the Vairimorpha complex. Morphological and genetic characters showed this isolate to be a new species. It is placed in the genus Vairimorpha and is described as Vairimorpha ocinarae n. sp.     

Novel Myxobolus and Ellipsomyxa species (Cnidaria: Myxozoa) parasiting Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae) in the Amazon basin,Brazil

We describe two novel myxosporean parasites from Brachyplatystoma rousseauxii, an economically important freshwater catfish from the Amazon basin, Brazil. Myxobolus tapajosi n. sp., was found in the gill filaments of 23.5% of 17 fish, with myxospores round to oval in frontal view and biconvex in lateral view: length 15 (13.5–17) μm and width 10.7 (9.6–11.4) μm; polar capsules equal, length 5.8 (4.6–7.1) μm and width 3 (2.3–3.8) μm containing polar tubules with 6–7 turns. Ellipsomyxa amazonensis n. sp. myxospores were found floating freely or inside plasmodia in the gall bladder of 23.5% of fish. The myxospores were ellipsoidal with rounded extremities: length 12.8 (12.3–13.6) μm and width 7.6 (6.7–8.7) μm; with two equal, slightly pyriform polar capsules, length 3.8 (3.8–4.0) μm and width 3.1 (2.5–3.4) μm, containing polar tubules with 2–3 turns. We combined spore morphometry, small-subunit ribosomal DNA data, specific host, and phylogenetic analyses, to identify both of these parasites as new myxozoan species. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses showed that Myxobolus tapajosi n. sp. clustered in a basal branch in a subclade of parasites from exclusively South American pimelodid fishes. Ellipsomyxa amazonensis n. sp. clustered within the marine Ellipsomyxa lineage, but we suspect that although the parasite was collected in freshwater, its hosts perform a large migration throughout the Amazon basin and may have become infected from a brackish/marine polychaete host during the estuary phase of its life.     

Morphology and Infraciliature of Trochiliopsis australis N. Sp., Pelagohalteria viridis (Fromentel, 1876) N. G., N. Comb., and Strobilidium lacustris N. Sp. (Protozoa,Ciliophora)1

Three ciliate species from Australia and Norway were examined by silver impregnation, biometry, and scanning electron microscopy. Trochiliopsis australis n. sp. (order Nassulida, family Microthoracidae) differs from the single other known species of the genus, T. opaca, by its prominent ridges on the left side, the distinctly longer anterior segment of somatic kinety 2, and by the doubled total number of kinetosomes. Pelagohalteria n. g. (order Oligotrichida, family Halteriidae) differs from Halteria by the structure of the bristle complexes, which are composed of a vertically and a horizontally oriented row of kinetosomes. Two Halteria species belong to the new genus: P. viridis (Fromentel, 1876) n. comb., which is redescribed here, and P. cirrifera (Kahl, 1935) n. comb. Strobilidium lacustris n. sp. (order Oligotrichida, family Strobilidiidae) differs from its nearest relative, S. velox, by the smooth pellicle, the absence of symbiotic green algae, and by its larger size.     

Sur une flore a Glossopteropsida et Lycopsida de Namibie (Sud-Ouest Africain)

The study of imprints of fossil plants collected in the Permian from the country of Hammanskraal (Namibia) leads to the following identifications: Glossopteris sp., Gangamopteris sp., Noegerrathiopsis sp., Gondwanidium sp., Asterotheca sp. and Lycopodiopsis derbyiB. Renault, Lycopodiopsis costilatus n. sp., Brasilodendron pedroanum(W. Carruthers) W.G. Chaloner & alii, Brasilodendron africanum n. sp. This flora has affinities with some fossil floras from South Africa and from Brazil, and is, probably, of upper Permian age.     

Hexasaturnalis nakasekoi nov. sp., a Jurassic saturnalid radiolarian species frequently confounded with Hexasaturnalis suboblongus (Yao)

Detailed morphological study of the ring of the Jurassic saturnalid radiolarian species frequently cited in the literature as Hexasaturnalis suboblongus (Yao) has proven that it contains two well-defined species: H. suboblongus (Yao), practically ranging within the boundaries of the Bajocian, and Hexasaturnalis nakasekoi nov. sp., ranging within the Bathonian-Kimmeridgian interval. The two species seem to be important stratigraphically because the transition from the former to the latter took place at or around the Bajocian/Bathonian boundary. The phyletic lineage Hexasaturnalis hexagonus (Yao) → H. inuyamaensis (Yao) → H. suboblongus (Yao) → H. nakasekoi nov. sp. → H. minor (Baumgartner) → Dicerosaturnalis angustus (Baumgartner) → D. dicranacanthos (Squinabol) is proposed.