Cyanoneuron (Rubiaceae) in Sulawesi? Reaffirmation of a Bornean endemic genus as a cautionary example on the use and interpretation of natural history specimen data

Cyanoneuron, a genus of five species in the Rubiaceae, was described from Borneo and Sulawesi. We show that the occurrence of the genus in Sulawesi was probably derived from careless specimen labeling, and that Cyanoneuron should be considered endemic only to Borneo according to present knowledge. Erroneous collection localities in natural history specimen data can lead to the wrong interpretation of species distribution patterns, so care should be taken to verify specimen records before they are used.     

On the first record of the genus Octopoteuthis (Cephalopoda: Octopoteuthidae) in the Sardinian Channel (central western Mediterranean Sea)

A specimen of the rare squid genus Octopoteuthis (Cephalopoda: Octopoteuthidae) from 1600 m in the Sardinian Channel (central western Mediterranean) is described. Meristic and morphological data are provided. The specimen was a spent female and details of the reproductive system and implanted spermatangia are reported. Genetic analysis of this specimen and comparison with those available for species in this genus were carried out. Due to issues associated with the taxonomy of the genus Octopoteuthis, it was not possible to identify the specimen to the species level. The taxonomy of the genus is discussed.     

Monognathus berteli sp. nov. from the Indian Ocean (Pisces,Monognathidae)

A new deepsea monognathid species,Monognathus berteli, is described based on one specimen collected pelagically in the northwestern Indian Ocean at 1440–1018 meters of depth. LikeM. taningi andM. bertini, it belongs to the short-skulled species-group and has very long pectoral fins, but differs from these species by several meristic characters. The described specimen has a very long caudal filament (53% SL) which is not known from otherMonognathus. However, the fragile filament is not used as a diagnostic character since it could easily be broken.     

A new specimen ofWeinbergina opitzi (Chelicerata: Xiphosura) from the Lower Devonian Hunsriick Slate, Germany

A new specimen of the synziphosurine arthropodWeinbergina opitzi is described from the Lower Devonian (Lower Emsian) Hunsrück Slate of Germany (Rhenish Slate Mountains). It is the smallest and only the fifth specimen of this taxon to be described and is preserved in ventral aspect with exceptional preservation of prosomal and opisthosomal appendages. This specimen confirms the presence of a seventh appendage, similar in morphology to the preceding prosomal appendages, associated with opisthosomal segment one. In addition, at least three opisthosomal plates fringed with teeth are confirmed. Correlation of prosomal appendage podomeres betweenWeinbergina and selected chelicerate taxa shows that appendage structure is most similar to eurypterid appendages III–IV and Araneae appendages III–VI. This is in contrast to modern horseshoe crabs which have fewer podomeres in appendages II–V due to an undifferentiated tibiotarsus.      

AN ALMOST COMPLETE JUVENILE SPECIMEN OF THE CHELONIID TURTLE CTENOCHELYS STENOPORUS (HAY, 1905) FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS NIOBRARA FORMATION OF KANSAS,USA

Abstract: A new, unusually well‐preserved juvenile specimen of Ctenochelys stenoporus from the Niobrara Formation is described. The skull has come apart at its sutures and all bones of the braincase and ear region are preserved three‐dimensionally. This allows a detailed reconstruction of the important brain structures of a basal juvenile cheloniid turtle. It is compared with adult Ctenochelys specimens, and the major ontogenetic changes in the skull and postcranial skeleton are described. Furthermore, the specimen is compared with other fossil and extant cheloniids with well‐known braincases and the differences between basal and advanced cheloniids turtles are specified.     

A new species of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Triodontus</Emphasis> (Coleoptera,Scarabaeidae, Orphninae) from Southern Madagascar

A new scarab beetle species of the endemic Madagascan genus Triodontus Westwood, T. hanskii sp. n., is described from a specimen collected in Southern Madagascar. The new species differs from similar Triodontus species with two medial pronotal tubercles and simple last abdominal sternite in a distinctive shape of the parameres. The type specimen of the new species originates from the southernmost remnant of indigenous rain forest of the island.     

Two new British species of Halticoptera (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea,Pteromalidae)

The female of a new species of Halticoptera is described from a single specimen from Britain, and the male and female of a second new species are described from material from Britain and Czechoslovakia. Halticop-terina triannulata is recorded from Britain for the first time.     

中国粘菌XIII:钙皮菌属一新种

本文描述了钙皮菌属一新种—假轴钙皮菌,附有其形态特征的扫描电镜照片,模式标本保存在中国科学院微生物研究所真菌标本室。     

TAXODIACEOUS BARK FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS OF ALBERTA

The structure of a piece of silicified bark of Taxodioxylon gypsaceum from near Medicine Hat in Southern Alberta is described. The fossil specimen probably came from Upper Cretaceous beds. The fossil shows affinities with the bark of modern Sequoia. Vectia luccombensis Stopes (1915) from the Lower Greensand (Aptian) of England probably constitutes an isolated piece of taxodiaceous bark, similar to the inner bark of the Alberta specimen.     

Capnobotryella renispora on roof tile

Capnobotryella renispora J. Sugiyama is described from a specimen on roof tile and in culture. Its relationship with the black yeasts is discussed.     

中国粘菌IX:团毛菌属(Trichia)一新种

本文报告了粘菌一新种,分枝团毛菌Trichia ramosa Y. Li et H: z. Li sp nov.文中对该新种作了拉丁文描述,讨论了新种与本属近似种的区别,并附有显微照片和绘图。模式标本保存在中国科学院微生物研究所真菌标本室。     

Cookeolus spinolacrymatus sp. nov., a Late Pliocene priacanthid fish from Okinawa, Japan

A new fossil priacanthid fish,Cookeolus spinolacrymatus, is described on the basis of a single specimen from the Late Pliocene Shinzato Formation, Shimajiri Group, Miyagi-shima, Okinawa, Japan. This species is distinguished from the Recent speciesC. japonicus (Cuvier, 1828) by having a strong spine on the anterior portion of the lacrymal. The specimen was identified as a small benthic adult, or large juvenile, based on comparison with pelvic fin length development in the Recent species.     

The southernmost record of a Neuryurini Hoffstetter, 1958 (Mammalia,Xenarthra, Glyptodontidae)

In this contribution we document the southernmost and probably the oldest record of the tribe Neuryurini (Glyptodontidae). The southernmost record of this tribe outside of Patagonia is Neuryurus sp. from Lujanian sediments (Luján Formation, late Pleistocene–early Holocene) at Quequén Grande River (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina). The first and only previous record of a specimen of the Neuryurini in Patagonia was reported from the upper levels of the Puerto Madryn Formation (Huayquerian SALMA, late Miocene), exposed in Península Valdés (Chubut Province, Argentina). The new specimen described here and assigned to an indeterminate Neuryurini was recovered at Estancia La Peninsular (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina). This locality has been recognized in geological studies as part of the Santa Cruz Formation (Santacrucian SALMA, late early Miocene), but there have been no fossils described from this site until now. Therefore, the new specimen represents, with the two confirmed records of Glyptodon Owen and Panochthus Burmeister (both from the Quaternary), the only non-Propalaehoplophorinae glyptodontids reported for Santa Cruz Province.     

A case of mistaken identification of an amber fossil male strepsipteran (Insecta: Strepsiptera)

A well-preserved specimen of amber Strepsiptera was erroneously described as Stylops neotropicallis Kogan and Poinar, 2010. The taxonomic position of the species was based on a count of six antennomeres (typical of the Stylopidae); however, further observations showed that there are actually seven antennomeres, which places the fossil in the family Myrmecolacidae, and it is herein redescribed in the genus Palaeomyrmecolax Kulicka, 2001. Furthermore, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis of a sample of the amber piece containing the fossil revealed that it was Baltic rather than Dominican amber as originally thought. The fossil was compared with another specimen from Baltic amber in the Poinar collection, which shows close affinity to Palaeomyrmecolax succineus Kulicka, 2001, the type species of the genus. Palaeomyrmecolax neotropicallis (n.comb.) differs from that specimen and seems to differ also from the other four species in the genus Palaeomyrmecolax.     

小双梭孢盘菌属一新种

本文报道发生在蕨类植物芒其上的斑痣盘菌目一新种,即异常小双梭孢盘菌(Bifusella anomala Y. R. Lin)。该种以其略呈三、二纺锤形至近线形的子囊孢子,明显区别于小双梭孢盘菌属的其它成员。模式标本保藏于安徽农业大学森林保护教研室。     

LEPIDODENDRON ACULEATUM WITH ATTACHED FOLIAGE: EVIDENCE OF STEM MORPHOLOGY AND FOSSILIZATION PROCESSES

A 6 m long specimen of Lepidodendron aculeatum Sternberg with attached leaves is described. The preserved portion of this axis gradually tapers from 38 cm wide at the lower end to 33.5 cm at the top. Ligule pit casts are present immediately above the leaf scars; they are similar to those of Lower Carboniferous lycophytes Angarodendron, Eskdalia, Tomiodendron, Ursodendron, and Meyenodendron and the Upper Carboniferous Bothrodendron. No such casts have beeen reported previously from Lepidodendron, although ligule pit cuticles have been prepared from Ulodendron, Lepidodendron, and Lepidophloios. This specimen is also unusual in that leaves are attached to the large stem. The specimen consists of external and internal molds, details of which show that the stem increased in width during burial and compression and prior to fossilization. The width of the specimen does not equal the original diameter of the stem but more closely corresponds to one half the circumference of the axis. This flattened log provides further details of overall Lepidodendron morphology and an insight into fossilization processes.     

Eptatretus eos: A new species of hagfish (Myxinidae) from the Tasman Sea

A new species of hagfish (Myxinidae),Eptatretus eos, is described on the basis of one specimen from the Tasman Sea, west of New Zealand. This five-gilled, deep-sea species differs from previously described hagfish in having the unpaired nostril prolonged into a tube-like snout and in being uniformly pink.