Representatives of the family Bochianitidae (Ammonoidea) from the Lower Cretaceous of the Crimean Mountains

The heteromorph ammonites of the family Bochianitidae from the Lower Cretaceous of the Crimean Mountains are revised. The validity of the genus Janenschites, separated from the genus Bochianites is confirmed. The species Bochianites neocomiensis (d’Orbigny), B. goubechensis Mandov, B. levis sp. nov. and B. crymensis sp. nov. are described from the Berriasian and the species Janenschites oosteri (Sarasin et Schöndelmayer) and J. incisus sp. nov. are described from the Lower Barremian. The family Bochianitidae first appeared at the beginning of the Berriasian in the southern regions (Africa and the Crimea), and spread to the northern regions of western Europe in the Valanginian-Hauterivian.     

Loaches of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Barbatula</Emphasis> (Nemacheilinae) of the Zavkhan River basin (Western Mongolia)

Two sympatric species of Siberian loaches are recorded in the Zavkhan River basin (Great Lakes Depression, Western Mongolia) and described as new for science: Barbatula conilobus and B. dsapchynensis spp. n. The former species, most likely, is widely distributed over the entire river basin, and the latter species, apparently, occurs locally, but in sympatry with B. conilobus. Morphological differences of the new species from other representatives of the genus Barbatula and their relationships are analyzed. Ecological distinctions between the species of the genera Barbatula and Triplophysa in the Zavkhan River basin are described. Possible mechanisms of development of the present fauna of loaches in Mongolia and adjacent territories with an appearance of sympatric species pairs in a single water basin are discussed.     

The heteromorph ammonite genus Ammonitoceras Dumas, 1876 (Ancyloceratidae) in the lower Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) of the Les Ferres Aptian Basin (southeastern France)

Ammonitoceras Dumas, 1876 is a genus of heteromorph ammonites characterized by the presence of a peculiar ontogenetic stage in its inner whorls: the Ammonitoceras stage. But in spite of its wide paleogeographic and biostratigraphic extension throughout the Aptian (Lower Cretaceous), this genus remains poorly known. In the present work we study specimens of Ammonitoceras from the lower Aptian Deshayesites multicostatus (Deshayesites deshayesi Zone) to Dufrenoyia furcata (Dufrenoyia furcata Zone) subzones of the Les Ferres Aptian Basin (southeastern France). The results are as follows: (1) representatives of Ammonitoceras from this area are regarded dimorphic with criocone macroconchs and ancylocone microconchs, (2) their ontogenetic sequence is described, (3) their intraspecific variability is significant and concerns the adult size and the duration of the ontogenetic stages, especially the Ammonitoceras stage, (4) two species are recognized: the earlier Ammonitoceras ucetiae Dumas, 1876, characterized by a brief Ammonitoceras stage on average, and the latter Ammonitoceras lahuseni (Sinzow, 1906), characterized by a longer Ammonitoceras stage on average. The sample of the Deshayesites grandis Subzone (Deshayesites deshayesi Zone) is composed of specimens too fragmentary to be identified at species level.     

The brachylaimidae (Trematoda: Digenea) of Australian native mammals and birds,including descriptions of Dasyurotrema n. g. and four new species of Brachylaima

The Brachylaimidae of Australian native animals are revised. Brachylaima dasyuri (Johnston, 1913) is redescribed from Dasyurus viverrinus, Phascogale tapoatafa and Isoodon macrourus. B. simile (Johnston, 1913) is removed from synonymy with B. dasyuri, reinstated as a valid species and redescribed from Perameles nasuta, Isoodon obesulus and Antechinus stuartii. B. antechini Peisley & Howell, 1975 is reduced to synonymy with B. simile. B. brindabellensis n. sp. is described from Rattus fuscipes. B. walterae n. sp. is described from Antechinus swainsonii and A. stuartii. B. delecta n. sp. is described from Antechinus flavipes. B. sandarsae n. sp. is described from Antechinus godmani. B. pulchellum (Johnston, 1917) is redescribed from Leucosarcia melanoleuca. An unnamed Brachylaima species is described from Isoodon macrourus. New host records are Brachylaima dasyuri from Phascogale tapoatafa and B. simile from Perameles nasuta. Dasyurotrema mascomai n. g., n. sp. is described from Antechinus swainsonii. The new genus is placed in the Panopistinae. It differs from the existing genera by having a single loop of the uterus passing anterior to the ventral sucker and the genital pore posterior to the posterior testis but still distinctly ventral. A second species of Dasyurotrema is recorded, but not described, from Antechinus stuartii. Brachylaimid metacercariae are described from Rhytida capillacea, Helicarion virens, H. mastersi and Vercularion strangei. In no case was a host species found to harbour more than one species from any brachylaimid genus at a single geographical site.     

Studies on Middle American Begonia (Begoniaceae) I

Begonia xilitlensis, a new species inBegonia sectionGireoudia from Mexico is described, illustrated, and discussed, and the taxonomic and nomenclatural status of two others,Begonia glandulosa andB. stigmosa, is evaluated with a lectotype chosen for the former.     

The ammonoid genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spiroceras</Emphasis> (Spiroceratidae,Ammonoidea) from the Upper Bajocian of the Northern Caucasus

Ammonites of the genus Spiroceras are described from the Upper Bajocian of the Kyafar River Basin (Karachay-Cherkessia), including macroconchs with preserved apertures and (for the first time in the entire history of the study of Middle Jurassic heteromorphs) microconchs with lateral lappets. The microconchs of S. bispinatum (Baugier et Sauzé), mainly represented by cyrtocones with one ventral row of nodes, correspond to microconchs with a gyroconic shell and a single row of nodes. Macroconchs and microconchs of S. annulatum (Deshayes), the ribs of which lack prominent nodes or spines, are found together. The assemblage also contains small-sized slightly uncoiled shells of Spiroceras aff. S. fourneti Roman et Pétouraud with widely spaced ribs and two prominent rows of large nodes, presumably macro- and microconchs. The ornamentation of this species resembles that of the monomorph Bajocia rarinoda Sturani from the upper part of the Lower Bajocian; perhaps the latter was ancestral to the Middle Jurassic heteromorph. The above species of Spiroceras, as well as S. obliquecostatum (Quenstedt), are figured.     

The heteromorph ammonite genus Ancyloceras (Ancyloceratidae) in the Paris Basin (lower Aptian,Lower Cretaceous,NE France)

In the present work, we examine a sample of 54 specimens of the heteromorph ammonite genus Ancyloceras d’Orbigny, 1842 from the Argiles à Plicatules Formation (lower Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) of the eastern Paris Basin (NE France). The results are as follows: (1) the sample is regarded as monospecific and assigned to the well-named species Ancyloceras varians d’Orbigny, 1842; (2) its variability is continuous and concerns as well as adult size, coiling and shell ornamentation. Adult size varies by a factor of two from one individual to another. The angle between the proversum and the retroversum is variable. The ornamentation on the spiral and the proversum varies between robust morphotype with trituberculate strong ribs separated by few smooth intercalaries ribs and slender morphotype with feebly tuberculate ribs. There are no arguments in favor of sexual dimorphism in Ancyloceras varians.     

Deepsea herrings (Bathyclupeidae) of the northwestern Pacific ocean

Deepsea herrings of the northwestern Pacific (waters of Japan and Taiwan) are revised. Three species are recognized in this area, and two of them described as new: B. gracilis Fowler, 1938, B. japanotaiwana sp. n., and B. nikparini sp. n. B. japanotaiwana was previously mistakenly identified as the western Atlantic species B. argentea; actually it is especially similar to B. malayana, from which it differs in the bicolor oral cavity and in some meristic characters. B. nikparini is especially close to the Caribbean species B. schroederi, from which it differs in a greater number of developed gill rakers and smaller number of rays in the anal fin.     

A new species of Blakea (Melastomataceae) from Panama with foliaceous sepal appendages and zygomorphic flowers

The new species Blakea bocatorena is described from Bocas del Toro province in Panama. It is only the third species to be described in the genus that has foliaceous appendages on the sepals. The other two species with these sepal appendages are B. calycosa and B. tuberculata. Blakea bocatorena differs from the latter two species in that it has white petals and a type of herkogamy in which the style is opposite the stamens and results in a zygomorphic flower. In B. calycosa and B. tuberculata, the larger petals are pink-magenta and tuberculate with the stamens encircling the exserted style resulting in a radially symmetric herkogamous flower.     

High mycorrhizal specificity in the mycoheterotrophic Burmannia nepalensis and B. itoana (Burmanniaceae)

Mycorrhizal fungi of mycoheterotrophic Burmannia nepalensis and B. itoana were identified by molecular identification methods based on fungal SSU nrDNA region. In B. nepalensis, RFLP patterns and sequences from all root samples from 14 individuals were identical. A single fungal sequence was also obtained from B. itoana roots from three individuals. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the fungal sequences from these two species are included in Glomeraceae (former Glomus group A). Our results indicate that the two Burmannia species are associated with narrow phylogenetic ranges of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.     

New and little known crickets of the subfamily phalangopsinae (Orthoptera, Gryllidae): 3. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Seychelles

Two new subgenera and eight new species of the subfamily Phalangopsinae are described from Sulawesi, Supiori, Mindoro, Palawan, Sumatra, and Cousin islands. Two former subgenera, Longizacla and Brevizacla, are considered as genera. The new synonymy for a subgenus of the genus Luzonogryllus is established. Diagnostic characters and systematic position of some taxa are discussed.     

A new species of Adelophthalmus (Eurypterida) from the lower carboniferous of the Krasnoyarsk Region

A new species of Adelophthalmus, a genus recorded infrequently in the former Soviet Union, is described from the Tournaisian of the Krasnoyarsk Region.     

Phylogeny of the Archiborborinae (Diptera: Sphaeroceridae) Based on Combined Morphological and Molecular Analysis

The Archiborborinae is a diverse Neotropical subfamily of Sphaeroceridae, with many undescribed species. The existing generic classification includes three genera consisting of brachypterous species, with all other species placed in the genus Archiborborus. We present the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the subfamily based on morphological, molecular, and combined datasets. Morphological data include 53 characters and cover all valid described taxa (33 species in 4 genera) in the subfamily, as well as 83 undescribed species. Molecular data for five genes (mitochondrial 12S rDNA, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, and cytochrome B, and nuclear alanyl-tRNA synthetase and 28S rDNA) were obtained for 21 ingroup taxa. Data support the separation of the Archiborborinae from the Copromyzinae, with which they were formerly combined. Analyses support consistent groups within the subfamily, but relationships between groups are poorly resolved. The validity of the brachypterous genera Penola Richards and Frutillaria Richards is supported. The former genus Archiborborus Duda is paraphyletic, and will be divided into monophyletic genera on the basis of this work. Aptery and brachyptery have evolved multiple times in the subfamily. Antrops Enderlein, previously including a single brachypterous species, is a senior synonym of Archiborborus.     

New Species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Crassatina</Emphasis> (Bivalvia) from the Middle and Upper Eocene of Ukraine

Representatives of the genus Crassatina from the Upper Eocene Mandrikovka Beds in the vicinity of Dnepr (former Dnepropetrovsk) are discussed and figured. From the Mandrikovka assemblage, two new species, C. conquisita and C. insolita, are described. One more new species, C. subcostata, is described from the Middle Eocene deposits of southern suburbs of Krivoi Rog. Two species, C. raricostata (Klushnikov) and C. expolita (Klushnikov), which were originally established as varieties, are redescribed and their species rank is substantiated.     

On the affinities ofZuluscaphites van Hoepen 1955 (Cretaceous Ammonoidea) from the Albian of Zululand,South Africa

Zuluscaphites van Hoepen 1955, an enigmatic ammonite originally described from the Middle or Upper Albian of Zululand, South Africa, is shown to be a member of the acanthoceratacean family Lyelliceratidae, subfamily Stoliczkaiinae; it is not a heteromorph as originally proposed. Huescarites Latil 1991 is a junior synonym of Zuluscaphites as are the type species of the two genera, Z. orycteropusi and H. companyi.     

A new species of Caralluma (Apocynaceae–Asclepiadoideae–Ceropegieae) from the Yemen

In this paper a new species, Caralluma faucicola Bruyns, closely related to C. hexagona Lavranos, is described from near the border between the former North and South Yemen in Arabia.     

Cretaceous and Paleogene Bourgueticrinina (Echinodermata,Crinoidea) of the USSR

The theca and the columnals of twenty-two lateCretaceous species of the genus Bourgueticrinus (including two new species), of one species of the genus Democrinus, of four species of the genus Conocrinus (including one new species) and of one species of the genus Paleobathycrinus known from USSR are figured and shortly described. Biometric reconstructions of stems for B. aequalis, B. bellus, B. danicus, B. fischeri and C. tauricus nov. sp. are given. A new index is used to suggest the relative flexibility of stem. Decrease in dimension and flexibility of the arms in several species take place simultaneously with an increase of stem flexibility. This fact seems to be closely related to environmental changes.     

Addition to the revision of the Pristaulacus comptipennis species-group: Description of two new species from Laos and Thailand (Hymenoptera: Aulacidae)

Two species belonging to the recently revised Pristaulacus comptipennis species-group, P. manuelae Turrisi and Madl, sp. n. from Laos and P. iosephi Turrisi and Madl, sp. n. from Thailand, are described, illustrated and compared with most related species. The former species most resembles P. watanabei Turrisi and Smith, 2011, from Thailand, but is readily recognizable, mainly by the shape of the head, which is elongated, with a well-developed temple. The latter species resembles two other species, P. nobilei Turrisi and Smith, 2011, from south China, and P. emarginaticeps Turner, 1922, from Vietnam, but it is easily recognizable mainly by the shape of the medial occipital groove, which is shallow and V-shaped, as well as the shape of the mesosoma, with anterior lobe of mesoscutum, anterior to notauli, strongly elevated dorsally and anteriorly and distinctly overhanging pronotum.     

Syrticola mediterraneus n. sp., a harpacticoid copepod from the Bay of Calvi,Corsica

Syrticola mediterraneus n. sp. belonging to the family Cylindropsyllidae Sars (sensu Lang, 1948) is described from the Bay of Calvi (Corsica). The species is closely related to (?) Notopontia galapagoensis Mielke, 1982 and Syrticola flandricus Willems & Claeys, 1982. The former species is now transferred to the genus Syrticola as Syrticola galapagoensis n. comb.