Stigmatomyces from New Zealand and New Caledonia: new records, new species and two new host families

Seven new records and three new species of Stigmatomyces (S. australis, S. baeopteri and S. clasiopellae), a genus of Laboulbeniales associated only with Diptera, are described from New Zealand and New Caledonia. Two new host families for Laboulbeniales are recorded, and a dichotomous key to Stigmatomyces species in New Zealand and New Caledonia is presented.     

Key to the New Zealand species of Psyllaephagus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) with descriptions of three new species and a new record of the psyllid hyperparasitoid Coccidoctonus psyllae Riek (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae)

Abstract  This paper records seven species of wasps in the genus Psyllaephagus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) from New Zealand. All of these species are primary parasitoids of psylloids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea). Two are species previously described from New Zealand: P. acaciae Noyes and P. pilosus Noyes. Two are described Australian species which have established recently: P. bliteus Riek and P. gemitus Riek. Three new species are described here, from New Zealand: P. breviramus sp. nov., P. cornwallensis sp. nov. and P. richardhenryi sp. nov. All species are probably Australian in origin. A key to all seven Psyllaephagus species known from New Zealand is provided. An earlier first record of the Australian psyllid hyperparasitoid Coccidoctonus psyllae Riek (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), previously first recorded from New Zealand in 2006, is noted.     

A New Australian Species of Ctenarytaina Ferris and Klyver (Hemiptera: Psyllidae: Spondyliaspidinae) established in Three Other Countries

The species described in this paper, Ctenarytaina spatulata sp.n., is widely distributed in Australia. Since 1990 it has also been recorded in New Zealand, the U.S.A. (California) and Uruguay.     

A review of the freshwater ostracods of New Zealand

Summary The freshwater ostracod fauna of New Zealand is reviewed, and a key is given to the 28 known living species, belonging to 18 genera. 10 new species are described, and 8 genera are recorded for the first time from New Zealand. Brief notes on the habitat and life-history of some of the species are given.Present address: Dept. of Zoology, The University, Glasgow     

Deltocephalinae of New Zealand (Homoptera: Cicadellidae)

The subfamily Deltocephalinae is represented in New Zealand by 3 tribes, 9 genera, and 20 species, of which 3 genera and 13 species are new to science. All taxa are described, and keys are given for their separation. Three of the genera are endemic, 3 are Australian, 2 are Holarctic, and 1 is cosmopolitan. Nesoclutha and Macrosteles are recorded in New Zealand for the first time, and the presence of Deltocephalus is authenticated. Fourteen species are endemic, 4 are Australian, 1 is widespread in the Pacific area, and 1 is Holarctic. Nesoclutha pallida, Macrosteles fieberi, and Deltocephalus hospes are recorded in New Zealand for the first time.     

Two unusual species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Physalacria</Emphasis> (Basidiomycetes,Agaricales) collected in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea during mycological expeditions by the National Science Museum,Tokyo

Two unusual species of Physalacria from New Zealand and Papua New Guinea are described and illustrated. Physalacria pseudotropica from South Island in New Zealand and P. tropica from Papua New Guinea are recorded for the first time.     

Studies in the lichen family Collemataceae VI. Collema subundulatum, a new species from New Zealand

Collema subundulatum from New Zealand is described. It is closely related to C. undulatum , a species widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. It is phytogeographically somewhat similar to C. novozelandicum which is here recorded from Australia, its first known locality outside New Zealand.     

Revision of New Zealand Orthotylinae (Insecta: Hemiptera: Miridae)

Abstract

Six genera and 11 species of Orthotylinae are now known from New Zealand. Zanchius Distant is newly recorded. One new genus, Tridiplous, and seven new species of endemic New Zealand Orthotylini are described and illustrated. Four new species are described in Tridiplous: T. burrus, T. parvapiatus, T. penmani, and T. virens, and three new species are described in Zanchius: Z. ater, Z. rubicrux, and Z. totus. Keys are provided to identify New Zealand taxa of the tribes of Orthotylinae, genera and species of Halticini, genera of Orthotylini, and species of Tridiplous and Zanchius. The bugs are illustrated with colour habitus photos, and drawings including male and female genitalia. Economic importance is discussed.     

Are you my mother? Phylogenetic analysis reveals orphan hybrid stick insect genus is part of a monophyletic New Zealand clade

The hybrid stick insect genus Acanthoxyla Uvarov 1944 is unusual for an obligate parthenogen, in the extreme morphological diversity it exhibits that has led to eight species being recognised. The New Zealand sexual species Clitarchus hookeri [White, A. 1846. The zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror. In: 1 Insects of New Zealand. E.W. Janson, London.] is the putative parental species in the hybridization that gave rise to the hybrid lineage Acanthoxyla. In an effort to identify the maternal ancestor of Acanthoxyla we sequenced nuclear 28S rDNA and/or mtDNA COI & COII of all nine endemic New Zealand stick insect genera, representing 17 of the 22 described species. We also sequenced 28S from eight non-New Zealand stick insects to supplement published 28S sequence data that provided a taxonomically and geographically broad sampling of the phasmids. We applied a novel search algorithm (SeqSSi=Sequence Similarity Sieve) to assist in selection of outgroup taxa for phylogenetic analysis prior to alignment. Phylogenetic reconstructions resolved an exclusively New Zealand clade to which the maternal lineage of Acanthoxyla belonged, but did not support existing higher level taxonomy of stick insects. We did not find a sexual maternal species for Acanthoxyla but phylogenetic relationships indicate that this species lived in New Zealand and could be classified among the New Zealand Phasmatinae. Among the available taxa, the nearest evolutionary neighbours to the New Zealand phasmid fauna as a whole were predominantly from the New Zealand region (Fiji, Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia and South America). As it appears to be an orphan, it is interesting to speculate that a combination of parthenogenetic reproduction and/or hybrid vigour in Acanthoxyla may have contributed to the extinction of its mother.     

Siteroptes (Siteroptoides) species with Pediculaster-like phoretomorphs (Acari: Tarsonemida: Pygmephoridae) from New Zealand and Polynesia

Abstract

Six species of Siteroptes subgenus Siteroptoides—kneeboni (Wicht), mesembrinae (Canestrini), microsaniae n.sp., morelliae (Rack), muscarius n.sp., and portatus n.sp.—have been found in New Zealand. S. (S.) mesembrinae occurs on Niue Island also, and a further new species, pacificus, is recorded from Tonga. The phoretomorph females of all 7 species, the normal females of 4, the males of 3, and larvae of 2 are described and compared. The similarities and differences between normal and phoretomorph females are particularly noted. Besides kneeboni, 2 species described by Wicht but not occuring in New Zealand—athiasae and flechtmanni— are redescribed from type material and transferred to Siteroptes (Siteroptoides). Keys are given for normal females and Pediculaster-like phoretomorph females of Siteroptoides. Siteroptes mesembrinae subsimilis and S. ignotus altaicus are raised to species status. Diagnostically important measurements are given to help define the variation within and between species and morphs.     

New species and records of Stigmaeidae (Acari: Prostigmata) from New Zealand - ID. Genus Stigmaeus Koch

Abstract

Stigmaeus arboricola, S. montanus, S. luxtoni, and S. novazealandicus are described as new species, and the larva of S. loadmani is described. Several new records are noted, and a key is given to the New Zealand species of Stigmaeus.     

Miocene Fossils Reveal Ancient Roots for New Zealand’s Endemic Mystacina (Chiroptera) and Its Rainforest Habitat

The New Zealand endemic bat family Mystacinidae comprises just two Recent species referred to a single genus, Mystacina. The family was once more diverse and widespread, with an additional six extinct taxa recorded from Australia and New Zealand. Here, a new mystacinid is described from the early Miocene (19–16 Ma) St Bathans Fauna of Central Otago, South Island, New Zealand. It is the first pre-Pleistocene record of the modern genus and it extends the evolutionary history of Mystacina back at least 16 million years. Extant Mystacina species occupy old-growth rainforest and are semi-terrestrial with an exceptionally broad omnivorous diet. The majority of the plants inhabited, pollinated, dispersed or eaten by modern Mystacina were well-established in southern New Zealand in the early Miocene, based on the fossil record from sites at or near where the bat fossils are found. Similarly, many of the arthropod prey of living Mystacina are recorded as fossils in the same area. Although none of the Miocene plant and arthropod species is extant, most are closely related to modern taxa, demonstrating potentially long-standing ecological associations with Mystacina.     

Five new species of Thripidae (Thysanoptera) endemic to New Zealand

Abstract

Three new species of genus Thrips are described—austellus, coprosmae, and phormiicola—which are closely related to the common New Zealand species T. obscuratus (Crawford). The systematic and zoogeographic significance of this endemic species-group is discussed. Physemothrips hadrus n.sp. is described from the South Island; the only other member of this genus is from Macquarie Island. Anaphothrips zelandicus n.sp. is described from the South Island and the Chatham and Antipodes islands, A. woodi Pitkin is recorded from New Zealand, and the relationships of these two species to the Australian fauna are discussed.     

New species of Halacaridae (Acari) from New Zealand

Abstract

Seven new taxa of marine mites (Halacaridae) are described from the marine littoral zone of northern and southern New Zealand: Agauopsis novaezelandiae, A. luxtoni, Halacarellus lubricus, Copidognathus lubricus, Simognathus glaber, S. glareus, and Rhombognathus novaezelandicus. A list of halacarid species known from New Zealand waters is added.     

First molecular evidence for underestimated biodiversity of Rhachotropis (Crustacea, Amphipoda), with description of a new species

The crustacean genus Rhachotropis has a worldwide distribution and amongst the largest bathymetric range known from any amphipod genus. DNA barcoding of new material from around New Zealand and the Ross Sea indicated depth-related biogeographic patterns. New Zealand Rhachotropis do not form a monophyletic clade. Species from bathyal depths on the Chatham Rise, east of New Zealand, show lower sequence divergence to bathyal species from California and the Arctic than to abyssal New Zealand species. Species sampled in the Kermadec Trench, north of New Zealand below 5000 m, seem to be more closely related to Ross Sea abyssal species than to the New Zealand shelf species. The worldwide geographic and bathymetric distribution for all Rhachotropis species is presented here. Depth may have a greater influence on phylogeny than geographic distance.Molecular and morphological investigations of Rhachotropis specimens from the Chatham Rise, New Zealand revealed a species new to science which is described in detail, including scanning electron microscopy. This increases the number of described species of Rhachotropis to 60 worldwide.     

Causes and consequences of changes to New Zealand?s fungal biota

This paper briefly reviews advances in knowledge of the non-lichenised fungi of New Zealand over the past 25 years. Since 1980, the number of species recorded from New Zealand has doubled, and molecular techniques have revolutionised studies on fungal phylogeny and our understanding of fungal distribution, biology and origins. The origins of New Zealand?s fungi are diverse; a few appear to be ancient, whereas many have arrived in geologically more recent times following trans-oceanic dispersal. Some of these more recent arrivals have evolved subsequently to form local endemic species, while others may be part of larger populations maintained through regular, trans-oceanic gene flow. Although questions remain about which fungi truly are indigenous and which are exotic, about one-third of the fungi recorded from New Zealand are likely to have been introduced since human settlement. While most exotic species are confined to human-modified habitats, there are some exceptions. These include species with potential to have significant impacts at the landscape scale. Examples from saprobic, pathogenic, endophytic and ectomycorrhizal fungi are used to discuss the factors driving the distribution and dispersal of New Zealand?s fungi at both global and local scales, the impact that historical changes to New Zealand?s vascular plant and animal biota have had on indigenous fungi, and the broader ecological impact of some of the exotic fungal species that have become naturalised in native habitats. The kinds of fungi present in New Zealand, and the factors driving the distribution and behaviour of those fungi, are constantly changing. These changes have occurred over a wide scale, in both time and space, which means New Zealand?s indigenous fungi evolved in response to ecological pressures very different from those found in New Zealand today.     

Parasitism of the lucerne pest Sitona discoideus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and non-target weevils by Microctonus aethiopoides Loan (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in south-eastern Australia, with an assessment of the taxonomic affinities of non-target hosts of M. aethiopoides recorded from Australia and New Zealand

Abstract  The braconid parasitoid Microctonus aethiopoides Loan has been released in Australia and New Zealand for biological control of the lucerne pest Sitona discoideus Gyllenhal. In New Zealand, the parasitoid attacks a number of endemic weevil species. A survey of Curculionoidea found in and near lucerne in south-eastern Australia was carried out to investigate whether similar non-target parasitism was occurring, and to relate this to levels of parasitism found in the target host, S. discoideus . Some of the original M. aethiopoides release sites were particularly targeted in the survey of 25 sites in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. Almost 2500 weevils were collected, of which over 90% were S. discoideus , with the remaining 197 other weevils comprising 29 species found at 15 of the 25 sites. Parasitism of S. discoideus by M. aethiopoides occurred at 12 lucerne sites, with levels ranging from 0 to 25%. A single incidence of parasitism of a species of an Australian native weevil Prosayleus sp. by M. aethiopoides was recorded. No parasitism of any other weevil species was observed. The taxonomic affinities between Sitona and native Australian and New Zealand weevils are discussed, concluding that non-target host range in M. aethiopoides may be determined more by ecological factors than by taxonomic affinities among its hosts.     

New records of rotifers from the South Island lakes,New Zealand

Thirty-five lakes in the South Island of New Zealand were surveyed for rotifers during 1988–1991. Of 85 taxa identified, 31 are first records for New Zealand, bringing the rotifers recorded from the country to 331. Four species (Keratella australis, K. slacki, Lecane herzigi and L. tasmaniensis), previously recorded as endemic forms only in Australia, are now added to the New Zealand checklist. Several of the new records are photographed, and scanning electron micrographs of the trophi are shown. Comments are made on the Australasian endemics and rotifer biogeography in New Zealand.     

A comparison of Salmonella serotypes isolated from New Zealand sea lions and feral pigs on the Auckland Islands by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

The Salmonella serotypes S. Cerro and S. Newport were isolated from New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri) and feral pigs on the Auckland Islands in the New Zealand subantarctic region. The isolates were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis using Xba1 as the restriction enzyme. The isolates were indistinguishable, which suggests that Salmonella infection cycles between sea lions and pigs in this environment. Apart from a previous isolation from a single New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri), S. Newport has not been recorded in any animals from New Zealand, but it is associated with gastroenteritis in humans. Contamination of the marine environment by human waste is a possible source of infection for marine mammals and warrants further investigation.     

Distribution of rotifers in North Island,New Zealand,and their potential use as bioindicators of lake trophic state

The distribution and ecology of planktonic rotifers was investigated in 33 lakes in the North Island, New Zealand, between 1997 and 1999. A total of 79 species of monogonont rotifer were identified, with an average of 21 species per lake, a diversity which is high in comparison with many previous New Zealand studies. Most species recorded were cosmopolitan taxa, and were widespread in their distribution over the North Island. Multivariate analyses (Multi-Dimensional Scaling and Canonical Correspondence Analysis) did not distinguish distinct lake groupings based on rotifer communities, but rather gradients in assemblages, which were most highly associated with lake trophic state. Based on these responses, the development of potential rotifer bioindicator schemes for lake trophic state is described and discussed.