Pseudophysaloptera enigmatica sp. nov. (Nematoda: Physalopteridae) from Dactylopsila trivirgata Gray, 1858 (Marsupialia: Petauridae) in Australia, with a review of the genus

The nematode Pseudophysaloptera enigmatica sp. nov. is described from the stomach of Dactylopsila trivirgata Gray, 1858, in Queensland, Australia. The new species is distinguished from congeners by its size and features present on the tail of the male. P. enigmatica sp. nov. is considerably larger than virtually all congeners, and can be differentiated by the presence of spicules and the shape and distribution of caudal papillae in the male tail. This is the first record of the genus in Australia and in marsupials. A review of the genus is provided.     

TRACING BACK THE ORIGIN OF THE INDO-PACIFIC MOLLUSC FAUNA: BASAL TRIDACNINAE FROM THE OLIGOCENE AND MIOCENE OF THE SULTANATE OF OMAN

Abstract:  Two new tridacnine species are described from the Chattian and Aquitanian of the Arabian Peninsula. For these, the new names Omanidacna eos gen. et sp. nov. and Tridacna evae sp. nov. are erected. Omanidacna is interpreted as an Oligocene ancestor of Hippopus , being the oldest record of this tridacnine lineage. The Aquitanian Tridacna evae is the first occurrence of the genus Tridacna . These Arabian taxa imply that the modern tridacnine lineages are rooted in the Palaeogene and early Neogene of the East African-Arabian Province, although their Eocene ancestors, such as Byssocardium , are Western Tethyan taxa. During the Neogene they successfully settled the Indo-Polynesian Province and became typical elements of the entire Indo-West Pacific Region. The tridacnines are thus an example of a successive transformation and gradual eastward dispersal of an originally Tethyan element contributing to late Neogene diversity in the Indo-West Pacific.     

Mallomonadaceae (Chrysophyceae) from Malaysia and Australia

The Mallomonadaceae (Chrysophyceae) of Malaysia and Australia are described by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Thirty taxa are reported from Malaysia, twenty eight for the first time. Eighteen taxa are reported from Australia, twelve for the first time. Twelve taxa are reported for the first time from the tropics. Four new taxa, Mallomonas ocellata sp. nov., M. tropica sp. nov., M. favosa f. gemina f. nov. and Chrysosphaerella astrea sp. nov. are described and the diagnosis of Mallomonas adamas Harris et Bradley is emended.     

Taxonomic note on some paleozoic marine algae (Uzbekistan, Central Asia)

The paleozoic marine algae of Central Asia were recently investigated and attributed to warm-water and Tethyan microflora. If the majority of the taxa (114 out of 117) were already described from other basins, a few elements merit attention. Two chlorophyte species are new (Atractyliopsis nuratauensis nov. sp., Amarellina moscoviensis nov. sp.) and a new Hoeegonites sp. is left in open nomenclature. The flora also contains representatives of the puzzling Moniliporelleae, a rhodophyte family only reported from Kazakhstan with the genus Furcatoporella. An unusual in situ cluster of calcispheres is also illustrated.     

Three new marine ascomycetes from driftwood in Australia sand dunes

Caryospora australiensis sp. nov.,Platystomum scabridisporum sp. nov. andSavoryella melanospora sp. nov. are described from driftwood collected from a sand dune at Rye, on the Mornington Peninsula Nature Park, Victoria, Australia. These species are compared with other taxa in these and related genera.     

Tasmanian rotifera: Affinities with the Australian fauna

Plankton was collected from more than 100 lentic and lotic habitats in Tasmania. Of the 131 rotifer taxa identified, 126 are first records for the island, and 9 are first records for Australia. Three new species, Aspelta tilba, sp. nov., Lepadella tyleri sp. nov., and Testudinella unicornuta sp. nov. are described and figured. Horaëlla brehmi, which has a disjunct distribution (equatorial regions and southeastern Australia), also occurs in Tasmanian waters. The morphology and development of this rare species are discussed. Geographical affinities of the Tasmanian assemblage are considered. There appears to be a significant tropical component in the Tasmanian Rotifera.     

吉林李家窑范家屯组中的二叠纪北温带牙形刺动物群

在吉林省九台市三台乡李家窑附近的二叠系范家屯组中采到一特殊的牙形刺动物群。多数牙形刺都较小,锯齿发育,齿脊细齿不愈合。由一些未见报道的新分子组成。本文描述了４个新种（Ｍｅｓｏｇｏｎｄｏｌｅｌｌａ ｃｈａｎｇｃｕｎｅｎｓｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｍ．ｊｉｌｉｎｅｎｓｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｍ．ｍｕｌｔｉｓｅｒｒａｔａ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｍ．ｐｓｅｕｄｏａｌｔｕｄａｅｎｓｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．）和３个未命名新种     

Les Pachyerymnoceras (Pachyceratidés,Périsphinctacés,Ammonites) du Callovien moyen et supérieur de la région de Saida (Algérie occidentale). Origine phylétique et biogéographie des Pachyceratidés

The genus Pachyerymnoceras, with four new species,is described for the first time in Western Algeria. The genus first appears in the Middle Callovia (Coronatum Zone) as in Saudi Arabia. It is represented in the Saida region by uncommon P. praecox nov. sp. followed during the Upper Callovian (Athleta Zone) by specimens belonging to P. flamandi sp. nov., P. kmerense nov. sp. and P. saidense nov. sp. Every species is represented by a dimorphic pair.Pachyceratidae are put into Perisphinctaceae. If Pachyerymnoceras arises from Erymnoceras, a genus suddenly appearing during the Middle Callovian on northern and southern Tethyan borders, the origin of Erymnoceras is still unknown. Three phylogenetic hypothesis are considered here. Erymnoceras may have evolved during Lower Callovian: 1) from serpenticonic Tethyan Pseudoperisphinctinae like Choffatia (Subgrossouvria); 2) from Tulitids via ellipticoncic Bullatimorphites (Kheraiceras); 3) through a double lineage arisen in Subboreal and Tethyan platyconic Proplanulitids.Pachyceratids have a wide paleobiogeographic distribution in NW Europe and on the Tethyan margins. The genus Pachyerymnoceras evolves in Ethiopian Province of the Tethyan Realm. Some species migrate into Indo-Malagasian Province and others, through the south Tethyan border came to Europe were they are found restricted to Upper Callovian (Athleta and Lamberti Zones). Therefore this migration has a duration of two or even three zones.     

Freshwater ascomycetes: new and noteworthy species from aquatic habitats in Florida

As part of a distributional study of freshwater ascomycetes in Florida, a number of new taxa were encountered. The new taxa include six Sordariomycetes, Aniptodera megaloascocarpa sp. nov., Flammispora pulchra sp. nov., Hanliniomyces hyaloapicalis gen. et sp. nov., Lockerbia striata sp. nov., Phomatospora triseptata sp. nov. and Physalospora limnetica sp. nov., and three Dothideomycetes, Caryospora obclavata sp. nov., Lepidopterella tangerina sp. nov. and Ophiobolus shoemakeri sp. nov. These taxa are described and illustrated. Six additional species are reported from Florida for the first time; among them, two species are new reports from freshwater habitats.     

Tithonian Chitinoidellids of the South-Tethyan Margin of the Maghreb: New data from northern Tunisia

Recent investigations based on bed-by-bed sampling of the Béni Kleb Formation (Fm) of Northern Tunisia (Kimmeridgian-Middle Berriasian) provide new data on Tithonian chitinoidellid associations. Fourteen species from seven genera (Daciella Pop, Borziella Pop, Longicollaria Pop, Dobeniella Pop, Cubanella Pop, Popiella Reháková and Chitinoidella Doben) are first documented in Tunisia. Their stratigraphic range fits the standards proposed for other Tethyan regions. In addition, three new species are described: Chitinoidella carthagensis sp. nov., Ch. hegarati sp. nov. and Ch. popi sp. nov. They are compared to the recently revised taxa from the southern Carpathian ranges where the chitinoidellid populations were observed at various levels and revealed to be well diversified. The established biozonation is discussed and a phyletic pattern is proposed.     

河南叶县下寒武统辛集组单板类和腹足类化石的研究

本文描述和讨论了河南叶县杨寺庄下寒武统辛集组单板类１３种,腹足类２种,未定类１种。其中包括２新属６新种：Ｒｅｐｅｎｏｃｏｎｕｓ ｘｉｎｊｉｅｎｓｉｓ ｇｅｎ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｓｃｅｎｅｌｌａ ｐｙｃｎａ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｓｅｃｕｒｉｃｏｎｕｓ ｖｕｌｇａｒｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｏｂｔｕｓｏｃｎｕｓ ｇｒｏｓｓｉｃｏｓｔｕｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｉｇｏｒｅｌｌｉｎａ ｐｒｏｂｏｓｃｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,Ｇａｌ     

Les sciuridés des gisements karstiques du Miocène inférieur à moyen du sud de la France : nouvelles espèces, phylogénie, paléoenvironnement

We describe sciurids from Lower and Middle Miocene karstic sites located in the south of France. Four new taxa are recognized here: Atlantoxerus martini nov. sp., Atlantoxerus sp. 1, Freudenthalia cuencae nov. sp. and Aragoxerus nov. sp. The last two genera are recognized for the first time in the south of France. A comparison with the Iberian peninsula is carried out, it tackles the problems of diversity, phylogeny and settlement. Hypothesis concerning the predation of these terrestrial squirrels and paleoenvironment is proposed.     

A new species of Typhlatya (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) from anchialine caves on the French Mediterranean coast

A new species of the thermophylic Tethyan relict prawn Typhlatya is described from two anchialine caves near Perpignan (southern France). The new species is closely related to a congener known only from a freshwater cave at Castellón (eastern Spain), about 400 km to the south-west, differing apparently only in the size and shape of the rostrum and the armature of the dactylus of the fifth pereiopod. Based on palaeogeographical evidence and assuming a sister-group relationship between both species, we suggest that their common ancestor could not be older than early Pliocene in age, and that it was already a stygobiont taxon adapted to live in shallow-water marine crevicular habitats. This ancestor would have vanished from the western Mediterranean after the cooling associated with the onset of northern Hemisphere glaciation, about 3 Mya, as documented for other Mediterranean marine taxa. Indeed, the genus is completely stygobiont and does not occur in fluvial environments. The Pyrenees represent a watershed boundary that eliminates the possibility of the derivation of one species from the other by active dispersal after establishment in continental waters.  © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 144 , 387–414.     

New ammonoid taxa from the Lower Cretaceous Giumal Formation of the Tethyan Himalaya (Northern India)

Knowledge of the Early Cretaceous ammonoids of the NW‐Himalayas was poor until recent discoveries. Intense sampling from the Giumal Formation exposed near the village of Chikkim (Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India) led to the recognition of a new Early Cretaceous ammonoid fauna. The succession consists of arenitic sandstone interbedded with shale that was deposited by turbidity currents on an unstable shelf in the Early Cretaceous. Ammonoids have been obtained only from sandstone beds in the lower one‐third and close to the top of the c. 350‐m‐thick section. Eight new ammonoid taxa (1 genus and 7 species) are described: Sinzovia franki sp. nov. (rare), Giumaliceras giumaliense gen. et sp. nov. (abundant), Giumaliceras bhargavai gen. et sp. nov. (rare), Neocomites (Eristavites) platycostatiformis sp. nov. (rare), Cleoniceras oberhauseri sp. nov. (abundant), Australiceras himalayense sp. nov. (rare) and Deshayesites fuchsi sp. nov. (rare). Sinzovia and Deshayesites are reported for the first time from the Tethyan Himalaya. According to the biostratigraphic relevance of some ammonoid taxa described here, the age of the Giumal Formation can be constrained from Berriasian (Giumaliceras assemblage) to Aptian (Cleoniceras assemblage). The discovery of the new fauna substantiates the significance of the Giumal Formation around Chikkim and facilitates comparison with faunal assemblages from other regions in the Tethys Ocean and beyond.     

Three new Lasiodiplodia spp. from the tropics, recognized based on DNA sequence comparisons and morphology

Botryosphaeria rhodina (anamorph Lasiodiplodia theobromae) is a common endophyte and opportunistic pathogen on more than 500 tree species in the tropics and subtropics. During routine disease surveys of plantations in Australia and Venezuela several isolates differing from L. theobromae were identified and subsequently characterized based upon morphology and ITS and EF1-alpha nucleotide sequences. These isolates grouped into three strongly supported clades related to but different from the known taxa, B. rhodina and L. gonubiensis, These have been described here as three new species L. venezuelensis sp. nov., L. crassispora sp. nov. and L. rubropurpurea sp. nov. The three could be distinguished easily from each other and the two described species of Lasiodiplodia, thus confirming phylogenetic separations. Furthermore all five Lasiodiplodia spp. now recognized separated from Diplodia spp. and Dothiorella spp. with 100% bootstrap support.     

New Ordovician ostracodes from Himalaya and their palaeobiological and palaeogeographical implications

Silicified representatives of the ostracode orders Binodicopa, Palaeocopa and Podocopa have been recovered from the late Ordovician Pin Formation, Spiti, NW Himalaya area. Benthic binodicopes are distinctly more abundant than the palaeocope and podocope ostracodes. The binodicopes show biogeographical relations to Australia at the generic level, which supports the close palaeogeographic position of these continents. By contrast, the palaeocope and podocope taxa show close relations to Baltica and Bohemia even at the species level, which may suggest a pelagic or epipelagic mode of life since these regions are separated from each other by the broad and deep waters of Palaeotethys. New taxa are Vendona crassiplicata nov. sp., Glossomorphites himalayaensis nov. sp., Pilla pinensis nov. sp. and Pinpilla u-formis nov. gen. nov. sp.     

Microfungi on the Pandanaceae: Linocarpon lammiae sp. nov., L. siamensis sp. nov. and L. suthepensis sp. nov. are described with a key to Linocarpon species from the Pandanaceae

Linocarpon species are reported from Pandanaceae in Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Seychelles, Thailand and Vanuatu. Linocarpon lammiae sp. nov. were collected on decaying leaves of Pandanus tectorius in Hong Kong. Linocarpon siamensis sp. nov. and L. suthepensis sp. nov. were collected from decaying leaves of P. penetrans in Thailand. These taxa are described, illustrated and compared with Linocarpon species with similar ascospore morphology and dimensions. Included are a synoptic table, which compares the new species to similar known species, and a dichotomous key to species of Linocarpon known from members of the Pandanaceae.     

Two new genera of cyclopinid copepods (Crustacea) from anchihaline caves on western Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic islands

Troglocyclopina balearica gen nov. ap. nov. and Muceddina multispinosa gen nov. sp. nov. are described from the flooded coastal karst of the Balearic Islands, and from caves on Sardinia, the Balearics, and Lanzarote (Canaries), respectively. Both taxa seem to prefer anchihaline habitats with water salinities in excess of 18%, although Troglocyclopina has also been found in more reduced salinity cave lakes located some distance from the coast. These new taxa are the first cyclopinids to be reported from caves, all previous citations of cyclopinids from hypogean environments relate only to the marine interstitial. The small clutch-size exhibited by Troglocyclopina balearica (two eggs per sac) and the absence of the exopodal seta on the antenna at Muceddina multispinosa are interpreted as troglomorphic features, in addition to the absence of the nauplius eye and the lack of body pigmentation in both taxa. The derivation of both taxa from shallow-water, hyperbenthic marine ancestors is proposed.     

Oligochaetes in southern European groundwater: new records and an overview

This work deals with an overview of the faunal composition and presents a general ecological approach to the groundwater oligochaetes in southern Europe. The species richness is high and similar to that of the superficial waters in the same area. Among the 150 species that we found, about 29 are stygobiont, so the total number of stygobiont species in the area studied has been increased to 58. Ten of these species are tubificids with marine phyletic affinities. A list of the most frequently found species and the relative abundance of the different families and genera collected in the main environments investigated are presented. Although enchytraeids often dominated the fauna, lumbriculids and tubificids exhibit a high level of diversity and comprised the majority of stygobiont and stygophilous taxa found. The discovery of members of the family Parvidrilidae in southern European caves is the first outside of North America. This indicates that the family is widely distributed in the Palearctic region and typical of underground waters. Here, we update the previous evaluation of the knowledge about oligochaetes inhabiting groundwater: 96 species of stygobiont freshwater oligochaetes (sensu stricto) are now known in the world and 81 of them have been recorded from the Palearctic region.