Taxonomic review of Cratocerus Dejean, 1829 (Coleoptera,Carabidae) with the description of six new species

A diagnosis of the South and Central American genus Cratocerus Dejean (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and a key to all species is provided. Eight species are recognized including six species that are newly described: Cratocerus sinesetosus sp. n. from French Guiana and Peru; Cratocerus multisetosus sp. n. from Costa Rica and Panama; Cratocerus tanyae sp. n. from Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico; Cratocerus indupalmensis sp. n. a species widely distributed throughout Central and South America; Cratocerus kavanaughi sp. n. from French Guiana and Peru; and Cratocerus culpepperi sp. n. from Peru. A lectotype for Cratocerus sulcatus Chaudoir is designated. Habitus images are provided along with illustrations and images of male genitalia, female genitalia, and diagnostic morphological characters.     

Two Distinct Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811) Taxa Are Found in Sympatry in Guatemala and Mexico

Approximately 10 million people are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, which remains the most serious parasitic disease in the Americas. Most people are infected via triatomine vectors. Transmission has been largely halted in South America in areas with predominantly domestic vectors. However, one of the main Chagas vectors in Mesoamerica, Triatoma dimidiata, poses special challenges to control due to its diversity across its large geographic range (from Mexico into northern South America), and peridomestic and sylvatic populations that repopulate houses following pesticide treatment. Recent evidence suggests T. dimidiata may be a complex of species, perhaps including cryptic species; taxonomic ambiguity which confounds control. The nuclear sequence of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) of the ribosomal DNA and the mitochondrial cytochrome b (mt cyt b) gene were used to analyze the taxonomy of T. dimidiata from southern Mexico throughout Central America. ITS2 sequence divides T. dimidiata into four taxa. The first three are found mostly localized to specific geographic regions with some overlap: (1) southern Mexico and Guatemala (Group 2); (2) Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica (Group 1A); (3) and Panama (Group 1B). We extend ITS2 Group 1A south into Costa Rica, Group 2 into southern Guatemala and show the first information on isolates in Belize, identifying Groups 2 and 3 in that country. The fourth group (Group 3), a potential cryptic species, is dispersed across parts of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. We show it exists in sympatry with other groups in Peten, Guatemala, and Yucatan, Mexico. Mitochondrial cyt b data supports this putative cryptic species in sympatry with others. However, unlike the clear distinction of the remaining groups by ITS2, the remaining groups are not separated by mt cyt b. This work contributes to an understanding of the taxonomy and population subdivision of T. dimidiata, essential for designing effective control strategies.     

Hydroptilidae (Trichoptera) of Costa Rica: the Genus Hydroptila Dalman

Seven new species of Hydroptila (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae) from Costa Rica are described: H. carara, H. maritza, H. osa, H. paradenza, H. maza, H. rastrilla, H. singri, and one from Panama, H. nusagandia. Ten additional species occurring in Costa Rica are recorded: H. brailovskyi Bueno-Soria, H. constricta Bueno-Soria, H. curvata Bueno-Soria, H. flinti Bueno-Soria, H. icona Mosely, H. meralda Mosely, H. mexicana Mosely, H. misolha Bueno-Soria, H. paschia Mosely, and H. veracruzensis Flint. In addition, illustrations of H. denza Ross and H. grenadensis Flint are included to help clarify the taxonomy of the denza species group. Finally, an illustrated key is provided for males of all species occurring in lower Central America.     

New genera and species of ericaceae (Vaccinieae) from Costa Rica and Panama

Two new monotypic genera,Didonica andUtleya, are described, withD. pendula from Panama andU. costaricensis from Costa Rica.Disterigma trimera (Panama),D. utleyorum (Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador),Lateropora santafeensis (Panama),Lysiclesia panamensis (Panama),Macleania talamancensis (Costa Rica),Themistoclesia costaricensis (Costa Rica) andT. horquetensis (Panama),Vaccinium costaricense andV. orosiense (both from Costa Rica) and V.jefense (Panama) are all described as new. New combinations are provided for the PanamanianVaccinium floccosum (=Symphysia floccosa) and the West IndianVaccinium racemosum (=Symphysia racemosa). Keys are provided for the Central American species ofDisterigma andThemistoclesia, the species ofLateropora andLysiclesia, and the Costa Rican and Panamanian species ofVaccinium. Six new species are illustrated.     

Two new species of yellow-shouldered bats,genus Sturnira Gray, 1842 (Chiroptera,Phyllostomidae) from Costa Rica,Panama and western Ecuador

Two new species of yellow-shouldered bats Sturnira Gray, 1842 (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) from Central America and western South America are described using molecular and morphological data. The two new species, which occur in Costa Rica and Panama and in western Ecuador, were previously confused with S. ludovici, and S. lilium and S. luisi, respectively. Sturnira now includes 22 described species, making it the most speciose genus in the Neotropical family Phyllostomidae.     

The distribution of species of the genusThermocyclops (Copepoda,Cyclopoida) in the western hemisphere,with description ofT. parvus,new species

The distribution and ecology of species of cyclopoid copepods of the genusThermocyclops in the western hemisphere are reviewed. These are:Thermocyclops brehmi (Kiefer),T. crassus (Fischer),T. decipiens (Kiefer),T. hastatus antillensis Herbst,T. inversus (Kiefer),T. minutus (Lowndes),T. tenuis (Marsh),T. tenuis longifurcatus Pesce, andT. parvus, new species.T. brehmi is known from microlimnotopes in a restricted region in northern Argentina and Uruguay, whileT. crassus has been reliably recorded only from small ponds in Costa Rica.T. decipiens, with many records from northern Argentina to Costa Rica, Guatemala and the Antilles, is often numerous in mesotrophic and eutrophic lakes and reservoirs. The range ofT. minutus extends over tropical and subtropical lowlands of South America from northern Argentina to Venezuela; this species prefers oligotrophic and mesotrophic conditions in larger lakes.T. inversus may prefer mildly carbonate waters and inhabits large and small reservoirs, natural lakes, ponds, wells and caves from northeastern Brazil to Mexico and the Antilles.T. tenuis ranges from northern Argentina to the Antilles and the southern United States, inhabiting large and small, natural and artificial bodies of water.T. tenuis longifurcatus is known only from two wells on Bonaire,T. hastatus antillensis from a well on the island of Guadeloupe, andT. parvus only from plankton samples from the Florida Everglades. Knowledge of population dynamics, feeding and reproductive biology of several planktonic species is reviewed.     

Polystichum lilianae sp. nov. (Dryopteridaceae) and its relationships to P. fournieri and P. turrialbae

Morphological, isozyme, and cytological analyses of the small, pale-scaled polystichums from oakdominated montane rain forests in Costa Rica and Mexico reveal the presence of a separable undescribed species endemic to the Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica. The new taxon,Polystichum lilianae, is an allotetraploid hypothesized to have the sympatricP. turrialbae as one diploid progenitor based on isozyme characters. The isozyme and morphometric data also support the inclusion ofP. smithii, described from southern Mexico, inP. turrialbae, described from Costa Rica. The namePolystichum fournieri, formerly used for all of these plants, applies to species endemic to Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico. It is not a progenitor ofP. lilianae.     

Monograph of the neotropical species of Callipteris with anastomosing veins (Woodsiaceae)

Callipteris is a pantropical fern genus defined by two synapomorphies of its rhizome scales: 1) dark-castaneous to black borders, and 2) bifid marginal teeth. This monograph treats 15 neotropical species ofCallipteris that are further defined by the synapomorphy of anastomosing veins (free-veined species of the genus occur in the Neotropics and elsewhere). Three species are newly described here; the remaining 12 were previously classified inDiplazium. All the species ofCallipteris grow on wet forest floors at 100–2300 m. In the Neotropics the genus occurs from Guatemala to Bolivia, northern Brazil, and the Lesser Antilles. It has two centers of species richness. The first is the Chocó region on the western side of the Andes in Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. This region contains eight species, five of which are endemic. The second center is the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama, where six species occur, three of which are endemic. Only one species, an endemic, occurs in the Lesser Antilles in Martinique, St. Vincent, and Grenada. Four species occur only on the eastern side of the Andes, and these apparently represent at least two separate dispersal events from the western side of the Andes.     

Morphometric and genetic analyses differentiate Mesoamerican populations of the endangered stingless bee Melipona beecheii (Hymenoptera: Meliponidae) and support their conservation as two separate units

Phenotypic and molecular differences were previously found in populations of the endangered stingless bee Melipona beecheii from two extremes of its geographic range. In this study we combine the use of morphometric and molecular tools, with the aim of investigating patterns of phenotypic and molecular variation in populations across Mesoamerica. Morphometric analyses showed that bees from Mexico have significantly smaller body size compared with populations from Central America, forming two separated groups. Bayesian analysis of the ITS1 spacer of the ribosomal gene also showed the existence of two clusters: one composed by the Mexican populations, and another in which the Central American ones assembled (Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica). The combined results confirm the presence of two taxonomic units: one distributed in southern Mexico (ranging from the Yucatan peninsula to the north of Guatemala), and a Central American unit found from the southern part of Guatemala down to Costa Rica. These units should be considered separately under conservation programs and therefore, human assisted colony exchange between them should be avoided.     

Molecular analysis reveals two new dimorphic species of Hesperomyces (Ascomycota,Laboulbeniomycetes) parasitic on the ladybird Coleomegilla maculata (Coleoptera,Coccinellidae)

Four morphotypes of Hesperomyces (Ascomycota, Laboulbeniomycetes) were found on the ladybird Coleomegilla maculata (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) from Costa Rica and Ecuador. Partial SSU and ITS rDNA sequence analysis revealed that these belong to two phylogenetic species, each with a pair of morphotypes displaying position specificity. Confirmation of dimorphism in Laboulbeniales highlights the need for a thorough systematic revision of species concepts within the order. The theory of ‘position specificity’ also needs to be revisited.     

Sequence and RFLP analysis of the ITS2 ribosomal DNA in two Neotropical social bees, <Emphasis>Melipona beecheii</Emphasis> and <Emphasis>Melipona yucatanica</Emphasis> (Apidae,Meliponini)

Two stingless bees species of the genus Melipona, M. beecheii and M. yucatanica, are the only ones reported for the Yucatan Peninsula. The natural distribution of M. beecheii ranges from southern Mexico to Costa Rica, that of M. yucatanica from south Mexico to Guatemala. Colonies of both species occur in a variety of habitats and show adaptations to local conditions denoting the occurrence of ecotypes. The ITS2 of ribosomal DNA has been characterized in both species and its utility to discriminate among colonies has been investigated through RFLP experiments. The ITS2 region is unusually long, 1788 bp in M. beecheii and 1845 bp in M. yucatanica (including the 3′ end of the 5.8S gene and partial 5′ of the 28S gene). Mean nucleotide divergence between both ITS2 sequences is 16% (excluding sites with insertions/deletions) and 20% when the insertions/deletions are taken into account. The G+C content in both sequences is close to 53%. The PCR-RFLP assay was performed with 12 restriction enzymes on colonies of M. beecheii from Mexico (Yucatan, Campeche and Chiapas) Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala, and of M. yucatanica from Mexico (Yucatan) and Guatemala. The restriction patterns obtained allow to discriminating colonies of both species with different origins. Both kinds of data are thus useful for assessing intra and interspecific genetic variability and for developing appropriate conservation strategies for these species. Received 20 June 2007; revised 31 August 2007; accepted 12 September 2007.     

A new species in the genus Amphipteryx Selys, 1853 (Odonata,Amphipterygidae) from Pico Bonito National Park,Honduras

The Mesoamerican damselfly genus Amphipteryx includes four species: Amphipteryx agrioides (Mexico), A. chiapensis (Mexico), A. meridionalis (Honduras) and A. nataliae (Verapaz, Guatemala). We describe a fifth species, Amphipteryx jaroli, from the cloud forest in Pico Bonito National park, Honduras. Additionally we include an up to date key of all species in the genus for both sexes.     

Calosota Curtis (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eupelmidae) - review of the New World and European fauna including revision of species from the West Indies and Central and North America

Two of three species previously classified in Calosota Curtis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) from the Neotropical region are transferred to Eupelminae. Calosota eneubulus (Walker) from Galapagos Islands is transferred to Eupelmus Dalman as Eupelmus (Eupelmus) eneubulus (Walker), comb. n., and Calosota silvai (Brèthes) from Chile is transferred to Brasema Cameron as Brasema silvai comb. n. Calosota cecidobius (Kieffer) from Argentina is retained in Calosota, with reservation, as an unrecognized species. The species of Calosota from the New World excluding South America are revised. Eleven species are recognized, including the seven newly described species Calosota albipalpus sp. n. (Costa Rica, Mexico, USA, Venezuela), Calosota bicolorata sp. n. (USA), Calosota elongata sp. n. (USA), Calosota longivena sp. n. (USA), Calosota panamaensis sp. n. (Panama), Calosota setosa sp. n. (Bahamas, Dominican Republic, USA), and Calosota speculifrons sp. n. (Costa Rica, USA). The 11 regional species and the Palaearctic species Calosota vernalis Curtis are keyed and illustrated. Calosota vernalis is not known to occur in the New World but is included in the key and diagnosed because it has been intercepted in quarantine in Canada. Calosota pseudotsugae Burks is placed in synonymy under Calosota acron (Walker), syn. n.,and Calosota kentra Burks, Calosota montana Burks and Calosota septentrionalis Hedqvist are placed in synonymy under Calosota aestivalis Curtis syn. n. Calosota modesta Bolívar y Pieltain is removed from synonymy under Calosota viridis Masi, stat. rev., and Calosota viridis, Calosota matritensis Bolívar y Pieltain, and Calosota coerulea Nikol’skaya are placed in synonymy under Calosota metallica (Gahan), syn. n. Calosota grylli Erdös is confirmed as a separate species from Calosota metallica based on features of both sexes. It is suggested that Calosota ariasi Bolívar y Pieltain may be a synonym of Calosota aestivalis, Calosota bolivari Askew may be a synonym of Calosota agrili Nikol’skaya, Calosota dusmeti Bolívar y Pieltain may be a synonym of Calosota violascens Masi, and Calosota lixobia Erdös likely is not a junior synonym of Calosota obscura Ruschka, but formal nomenclatural changes are not proposed prior to a comprehensive Palaearctic revision. Previous interpretation of the mesoscutum in Calosota and Balcha Walker is also modified to include the presence of anteroadmedian lines in addition to notauli and parapsidal lines.     

Three new species in the neotropical genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clidemia</Emphasis> (Melastomataceae: Miconieae)

We here propose and describe three new species of Clidemia: C. aguilarii from Costa Rica and Panama; C. aurantiaca from Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador; and C. subpeltata, a Costa Rican endemic. Phenological notes, distribution maps, line drawings, color images of the live plants in the wild, and discussions comparing the new species to their presumed closest relatives are provided.     

Chromosome numbers of some new world species of Thelypteris

Chromosome numbers of 19 species ofThelypteris from Florida, California, Mexico, and Costa Rica are reported. First counts are given for two species belonging to sect.Goniopteris (x = 36), one species of sect.Leptogramma (x = 36) and seven species of the Opposita group (x = 29). The last named group is remarkable for the relatively low number of diploid taxa so far known. The base numbers 36, 35, 34, 32, 31, 30, 29, and 27 are known in the Thelypteridaceae, with 36 being the most common number throughout the tropics, and perhaps the ancestral base number. The temperate American species ofThelypteris are probably more closely allied toParathelypteris H. Ito, from Asia, than to the Neotropical species of the Opposita group.     

Notes on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Swartzia</Emphasis> (Leguminosae) in Central America preliminary to the Flora Mesoamericana,with descriptions of two new species from Costa Rica

In preparation of a treatment of Swartzia (Leguminosae) for the Flora Mesoamericana, recent updates to the taxonomy of the genus in Central America are discussed, and two new species from the Pacific slope and lowlands of central and southern Costa Rica are described and illustrated. One of them, S. picramnioides, is a member of the section Possira and is closely related to S. standleyi of Guatemala and Belize and to the South American species S. myrtifolia. The other, S. zeledonensis, belongs to the Central American apetalous clade of section Terminales. It is probably most closely related to the Panamanian species, S. nuda. We conclude that Swartzia is represented in Mexico and Central America by 14 species and provide a key for their identification.