Penicillium daejeonium sp. nov., a new species isolated from a grape and schisandra fruit in Korea

Two isolates of monoverticillate Penicillium species were collected from a grape and schisandra fruit in Korea. Multigene phylogenetic analyses with the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and genes encoding β-tubulin (benA) and calmodulin (cmd), as well as morphological analyses revealed that the two isolates are members of the P. sclerotiorum complex in Penicillium subgenus Aspergilloides, but different from species of the P. sclerotiorum complex. The isolates are closely related to P. cainii, P. jacksonii, and P. viticola in terms of their multigene phylogeny, but their colony and conidiophore morphologies differ from those of closely related species. The name P. daejeonium is proposed for this unclassified new species belonging to the P. sclerotiorum complex in subgenus Aspergilloides.     

Prolagus italicus n. sp. (Ochotonidae, Lagomorpha), a new Pliocene species of peninsular Italy

Prolagus italicus n. sp., a new endemic Pliocene species of peninsular Italy, is described here, adding new details to the knowledge of this widespread and long-lasting ochotonid genus. Several dental morphodimensional characters suggest a close relationship between P. italicus and P. sorbinii (evaporitic and postevaporitic Messinian, central Italy). On the other hand, P. italicus shares with other Plio-Pleistocene Prolagus species of continental Europe a large size and some peculiar characters of dental occlusal surface. Actually, an evolutionary trend can be detected in Plio-Pleistocene species of the genus Prolagus. The value of P. italicus in biochronology is quite consistent, as this species seems to mark MN17 in central Italy. Moreover, some morphodimensional differences between P. italicus populations have been identified: this can help to infer relative chronological positions to the fossil sites in which P. italicus is present. Some morphological characters present in one of the two available P. italicus populations are apparently related to ecological more than to evolutionary factors: this may be a starting point for in-depth palaeoecological studies related to the genus Prolagus. The presence of P. italicus in the Italian peninsula may have prevented the entrance of other species of western European affinity.     

A review of the Nearctic genus Prostoia (Ricker) (Plecoptera,Nemouridae), with the description of a new species and a surprising range extension for P. hallasi Kondratieff & Kirchner

The Nearctic genus Prostoia (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) is reviewed. Prostoia ozarkensis sp. n. is described from the male and female adult stages mainly from the Interior Highland region encompassing portions of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Prostoia ozarkensis sp. n. appears most closely related to two species, one distributed broadly across the western Nearctic region, P. besametsa (Ricker), and one found widely throughout the central and eastern Nearctic regions, P. completa (Walker). A surprising range extension is noted for P. hallasi Kondratieff & Kirchner, a species once known only from the Great Dismal Swamp, from small upland streams in southern Illinois. Additional new state records are documented for P. besametsa, P. completa, P. hallasi and P. similis (Hagen). Taxonomic keys to Prostoia males and females are provided, and scanning electron micrographs of adult genitalia of all species are given.     

The first European stand of Paramecium sonneborni (P. aurelia complex), a species known only from North America (Texas,USA)

P. aurelia is currently defined as a complex of 15 sibling species including 14 species designated by Sonneborn (1975) and one, P. sonneborni, by Aufderheide et al. (1983). The latter was known from only one stand (Texas, USA). The main reason for the present study was a new stand of Paramecium in Cyprus, with strains recognized as P. sonneborni based on the results of strain crosses, cytological slides, and molecular analyses of three loci (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2-5′LSU rDNA, COI, CytB). The new stand of P. sonneborni in Europe shows that the species, previously considered endemic, may have a wider range. This demonstrates the impact of under-sampling on the knowledge of the biogeography of microbial eukaryotes. Phylogenetic trees based on all the studied fragments revealed that P. sonneborni forms a separate cluster that is closer to P. jenningsi and P. schewiakoffi than to the other members of the P. aurelia complex.     

Pythium intermedium,a species complex consisting of three phylogenetic species found in cool-temperate forest ecosystems

Pythium intermedium plays a vital role in the carbon cycle of cool-temperate forests and is widely distributed in Japan's forest soils. In this study, we performed a phylogenetic analysis of the P. intermedium species complex using DNA sequences from multiple loci. The study included 35 isolates from cool-temperate forest soils, seven known P. intermedium isolates, and six known Pythium attrantheridium isolates. We also performed morphological observations and mating tests. Our results showed that all the isolates formed one large clade but were divided into three subclades. Furthermore, we observed many mating reactions between isolates from different subclades, including between P. attrantheridium and P. intermedium. Therefore, we suggest that P. intermedium, P. attrantheridium, and another phylogenetic species belong to one species complex. This is the first report of a species complex within P. intermedium and will be helpful in understanding the evolution of Pythium species in natural ecosystems.     

A new genus and species from Borneo and a new species from Java and Sumatra of Cicadini (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

A new cicada genus and species, Minilomia triquetra, gen. and sp. nov., is described from Borneo. The new genus Minilomia is closely allied to Platylomia Stål and is placed in the subtribe Dundubiina of the tribe Cicadini. Another new cicada species, Pomponia brevicaudata, sp. nov. (subtribe Psithyristriina), is described from Java and Sumatra. The new species belongs to the Pomponia linearis species group and the P. linearis species complex but is distinguished from its congeners by the unusually short male abdomen.     

Polycephalomyces lianzhouensis sp. nov., a new species,co-occurs with Ophiocordyceps crinalis

A new species from Guangdong Province in south China, Polycephalomyces lianzhouensis, is described and illustrated here; this species was found to co-occur with Ophiocordyceps crinalis. The phylogenetic position of this species was investigated according to morphological features and phylogenetic inferences based on the nrSSU, nrLSU, tef1, rpb1, and ITS gene sequences. Results demonstrated that P. lianzhouensis was highly associated with P. ramosopulvinatus but could be distinguished from the latter using the sequences of rpb1, nrLSU, and ITS gene and the features of much smaller stromata and perithecia and longer part-spores.     

Two new species of Polystachya Hook. (Orchidaceae) from Africa

Two new species of Polystachya Hook. are described and illustrated: Polystachya rydingii Baranow & Mytnik occurring from the Democratic Republic of Congo and P. sosefii Baranow & Mytnik from Cameroon. The species belong to the section Polystachya Kraenzl., which is the only pantropical section in the genus. Maps of the distribution for the new species and their closest relatives and a brief discussion with notes on their habitat, ecology, and altitude are provided.     

A new species of Harpacticella Sars, 1908 (Copepoda,Harpacticoida), from a tidal pool on Jeju Island,Korea

A new species of the genus Harpacticella Sars, 1908 is described from a tidal pool on Jeju Island, Korea. Harpacticella jejuensis sp. n. is closely related to Harpacticella itoi Chang & Kim, 1991, with regard to the structure of P1 exp-1 and enp-1, the length of P1 exp-1 and exp-2, and the setal number of the P5 exopod in males. However, the new species is clearly distinguishable from Harpacticella itoi by the combined following characters: six setae on the P5 exopod in females, one naked seta on the inner margin of P1 exp-2, the short endopod of P1 compared to the exopod, and a naked long seta on the proximal inner margin of the P5 exopod of males. The mtCOI partial sequence is provided as a DNA barcode for the new species.     

New species and new genus of Pseudohaploporinae (Digenea): Pseudohaploporus pusitestis sp. n. and Parahaploporus elegantus n. g., sp. n. (Digenea: Pseudohaploporinae) from Vietnamese mullet fish

Two new species of Pseudohaploporinae, Pseudohaploporus pusitestis sp. n. and Parahaploporus elegantus n. g., sp. n., are described from intestines of the Vietnamese mullet fish Moolgarda seheli and Osteomugil cunnesius, respectively. Pseudohaploporus pusitestis sp. n. differs from two known Pseudohaploporus species, P. vietnamensis and P. planiliza, by the absence of a diverticulate hermaphroditic duct and muscular sphincters at the proximal end of the hermaphroditic sac. Metrically, P. pusitestis sp. n. is close to P. vietnamensis and differs from this species and from P. planilizum by lower maximum sizes of most parameters. Parahaploporus elegantus n. g., sp. differs from representatives of Pseudohaploporus by the presence of a single testis and the armament of hermaphroditic duct and is morphologically close to trematodes of the genus Haploporus. However, P. elegantus n. g differs from all known Haploporus species from mugilids of the Indo-West Pacific by the structure of the armament of the hermaphroditic duct and also by size of body, organs and eggs. The validity of designating two new species and a new genus of trematodes is supported by ITS and 28S rDNA sequence data. Phylogenetic reconstructions showed that the new trematodes belong to the Pseudohaploporinae, which formed a well-supported cluster within the monophyletic Haploporidae.     

Revision of the genus Poromitra (Melamphaidae): Part 2. New species of the group P. crassiceps

Five new species of the genus Poromitra (family Melamphaidae) belonging to the group of species P. crassiceps are described. An important specific feature of this group is the structure of praeoperculum in which bony crests of the anterior edge are at an acute angle to each other, and the posterior and lower edges are uniformly (without break) spinulated with small spinules. In P. decipiens sp. nova described from the Indian Ocean (from the East Indian Ridge), the insertion of ventral fins is located posteriorly the vertical of the posterior edge of pectoral fin insertion, which makes this species similar to P. crassiceps and P. rugosa. The remaining four species have the insertion of ventral fins anteriorly the vertical (or at its level) of the posterior edge of pectoral fin insertion (as in P. unicornis and P. coronata). P. curilensis sp. nova inhabits the northern part of the Pacific Ocean from the Kuril Islands and the Japanese Islands to the Gulf of Alaska; P. indooceanica sp. nova is described from several individuals from the subtropical part of the Indian Ocean; P. glochidiata sp. nova, from catch in the Great Australian Bight; and P. kukuevi sp. nova, from the individual from the western tropical part of the Atlantic Ocean.     

Revision of genus Melamphaes (Melamphaidae): Part 4. Multi-raker species: M. ebelingi, M. occlusus sp. nova, and M. nikolayi sp. nova

In the fourth part of the revision of the genus Melamphaes (Melamphaidae) multi-raker species (20 and more rakers at the first gill arch, rarely 19??in M. ebelingi) with eight soft rays in the ventral fin are considered. In this species, temporal spine is absent, there are 15 rays in the pectoral fin, and there are 11 to 12 abdominal vertebrae. M. ebelingi inhabits tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A new catch of this rare species in the northeastern part of the ocean is reported. The new species M. occlusus is described from one specimen from the subtropical part of the southwestern part of the Indian Ocean. Still another new species, M. nikolayi, is described from one specimen from the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean (subtropical waters). A table for identification of 15 multi-raker species of the genus Melamphaes is provided.     

Two new species of Potentilla (Rosaceae) from the Intermountain Region of western U.S.A.

Two new species ofPotentilla from the Intermountain West (U.S.A.) are described and illustrated here for the first time.Potentilla cottamii is known only from the higher quartzite slopes of the Pilot Range and the Raft River Mountains of western Box Elder Co., Utah and adjacent Elko Co., Nevada in the Great Basin. It most closely resemblesP. hyparctica, P. robbinsiana, andP. frigida, which may be its closest living relatives.Potentilla angelliae is known only from one collection from a subalpine meadow on Boulder Mountain of the Aquarius Plateau in southern Utah. It most closely resemblesP. crinita, P. subjuga, andP. bicrenata, the first of which is considered to be its closest relative.     

Notes on the genus Harmonicon F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1896 (Araneae, Dipluridae) with description of a new species from French Guyana

Information on the genus Harmonicon F.O.P.-Cambridge, 1896, a key to the species and a new diagnosis differing from the one in Maréchal and Marty (1998) are provided. A new species is described: Harmonicon oiapoqueae differing from other species of the genus by the morphology of the posterior sternal sigilla, the more recurved, inverted U–shaped fovea, the amount and arrangement of maxillary cuspules, a single row of teeth on the claws of the palpal tarsus, longer and more slender legs III and IV in females, longer embolus, thinner bulb, and longer, more slender legs in males. The status of the putative junior synonyms of Harmonicon, Pseudohermachura Mello-Leitão, 1927 and Prosharmonicon Mello-Leitão, as well as the two species formerly assigned to Harmonicon, Harmonicon nigridorsi Mello-Leitão, 1924 and Harmonicon riveti Simon, 1903, is discussed.     

Paranoplocephala aquatica n. sp. (Cestoda, Anoplocephalidae) from Arvicola terrestris and Ondatra zibethica (Rodentia), with redescriptions and comments on related species

Paranoplocephala aquatica n. sp. is described from Arvicola terrestris and Ondatra zibethica (Rodentia, Cricetidae) in Bulgaria. The new species is characterised by a band-like strobila, a uterus forming a fine reticulate structure in the early stages of development, numerous testes (approximately 92) situated mainly aporally to the ovary in both the median and the aporal lateral fields, few testes positioned anterior to the ovary and genital ducts, the prominent asymmetrical situation of the female organs, the length of the vagina c. 0.65–0.68 of the length of the cirrus-sac, and the external seminal vesicle covered by a cellular sleeve. The new species is distinguished from P. ondatrae, P. macrocephala, P. dasymidis and P. sciuri. The specimens from O. zibethica reported as P. ondatrae by Tenora & Murai (1980) and as Aprostatandrya macrocephala by Spasskii et al. (1951) are believed to belong to P. aquatica. The type-series of P. ondatrae and P. macrocephala are redescribed and figured; metric data and an illustration of the holotype of P. sciuri are presented. The genus Paranoplocephala sensu Tenora et al. (1986) is regarded as a heterogeneous group because of the two patterns of uterine development in the species studied. Taxonomic criteria used for distinguishing the genera Andrya and Paranoplocephala, and some criteria applicable at the species level, are discussed.     

The genus Erechthias Meyrick of Ascension Island,including discovery of a new brachypterous species (Lepidoptera,Tineidae)

One previously named and two new species of the tineid genus Erechthias Meyrick are described and illustrated from the small, remote, mid-Atlantic Ascension Island. With these additions the Lepidoptera fauna of Ascension now totals 38 known species. Little is known regarding the biology of the two new species of Erechthias, and none of the species has been reared from larvae from Ascension. Erechthias minuscula (Walsingham) is a widespread, largely pantropical species first described from the West Indies. Larvae of Erechthias minuscula are known to be scavengers on a wide variety of dead plant material. Erechthias ascensionae,new species, is one of two species of Erechthias now known to be endemic to the island. The other endemic species, Erechthias grayi, new species, is further remarkable in having wing reduction occurring in both sexes. It is one of the few species of Lepidoptera known where this extreme of brachyptery involving both sexes has evolved. The larvae of Erechthias grayi are believed to be lichenivorous, and larval cases suspected to represent this species are illustrated.     

A new species of Psathyrella (Agaricales,Coprinaceae) from Mexico with discussions on the known species

Psathyrella hypertropicalis, a new species, is described from a high mountain (Cofre de Perote) in the State of Veracruz, Mexico above the subtropical zone. This species is intermediate betweenP. velutina of the temperate regions andP. sepulchralis from the subtropical regions of Mexico. A list of the 26 species ofPsathyrella of Mexico is presented, of which 21 are from the tropics and subtropics, three from the temperate regions (P. velutina, P. spadicea, andP. hypertropicalis), and two with a broad distribution (P. candolleana andP. disseminata). Eleven are only known from Mexico.     

Caespitenone,a new cyclopropanoid pseudoguaiane and ent-sesquiterpenes from Porella species

Six Porella species and one Macvicaria species have been investigated and a new cyclopropane pseudoguaiane was isolated and its structure elucidated by chemical and spectral evidence. Macvicaria ulophylla and the Porella species, except P. caespitans ssp. setigera, contain the diterpene dialdehyde, perrottetianal A. (+)-Aristolone, (?)-α-eudesmol, and related sesquiterpene hydrocarbons and alcohols, enantiomeric to those found in higher plant, have been isolated from the Porella species.     

Three new species and a revised key to species of Oxalis section Polymorphae (Oxalidaceae)

Three new species of Oxalis sect. Polymorphae are here described and illustrated: Oxalis artemioides, O. calcicola, and O. monochasiata. These species have narrow geographic distributions, each being known from just one location. Oxalis artemioides differs from other species of the section by the glabrous stem, narrow terminal leaflets (8–10.5 × 2 mm), and inflorescences with elongated dichasial branches bearing flowers only in the distal portion. Oxalis calcicola differs from other species by having the young stem with adpressed-retrorse trichomes, inflorescences shorter than adjacent leaves, short dichasial branches (0.5–3 mm long) with flowers densely grouped along the entire length, and glabrous pedicels. Oxalis monochasiata is remarkable because of its monochasial inflorescence and the two-ovulate carpels, both features unique within Oxalis sect. Polymorphae. The new species are compared to similar species of the section, and information on distribution and habitat, phenology, and conservation status according with IUCN criteria are provided. Geographic distribution maps, lists of examined materials and an identification key for species of this section are also presented.     

Pachyseris inattesa sp. n. (Cnidaria,Anthozoa, Scleractinia): a new reef coral species from the Red Sea and its phylogenetic relationships

A new scleractinian coral species, Pachyseris inattesa sp. n., is described from the Red Sea. Despite a superficial resemblance with some species in the agariciid genus Leptoseris with which it has been previously confused, P. inattesa sp. n. has micro-morphological characters typical of the genus Pachyseris. This genus, once part of the Agariciidae, is comprised of five extant species and is widely distributed throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific. It is currently incertae sedis as a result of recent molecular analysis and appears to be closely related to the Euphylliidae. A molecular phylogenetic reconstruction including P. inattesa sp. n., the genus type species P. rugosa, and P. speciosa, all present in the Red Sea, was performed using the mitochondrial intergenic spacer between COI and 16S-rRNA. The results confirm that P. inattesa sp. n. is a monophyletic lineage closely related to the other Pachyseris species examined.