Four new species of Cavendishia (Ericaceae: Vaccinieae) from Costa Rica

Cavendishia osaënsis Luteyn & J. F. Morales, C. linearifolia Luteyn & J. F. Morales, C. herrerae Luteyn & J. F. Morales, and C. luteynii J. F. Morales are newly described based on recent collections from Costa Rica. Relationships within Cavendishia are discussed, and Cavendishia osaënsis and C. linearifolia are illustrated.     

LICHENICOLOUS SPECIES OFARTHONIAONLOBARIACEAEWITH NOTES ON EXCLUDED TAXA

The species ofArthonias. lat. (Arthoniales,Ascomycotina) lichenicolous on species ofPseudocyphellariaand otherLobariaceaeare revised. Thirteen species are accepted, and eight species are described as new (all from the Southern Hemisphere):Arthonia badiaWedin & Hafellner,A. coriifoliaeWedin & Hafellner,A. flavicantisWedin & Hafellner,A. maculiformisWedin & Hafellner,A. minutaWedin & Hafellner,A. santessonianaWedin & Hafellner,‘A.’ semi-immersaWedin & Hafellner, andA. subaggregataWedin & Hafellner. Comparative notes on additional accepted species previously described fromPseudocyphellariaor otherLobariaceae(A. pelvetii,A. plectocarpoides,A. pseudocyphellariae,A. stictaria, andA. subconveniens) are included, and a key to theArthonia(and similar) species growing onLobariaceaeis presented. The coelomycete genusSubhysteropycnisWedin & Hafellner is described for the speciesS. maculiformansWedin & Hafellner, the macroconidal anamorph ofArthonia badia. The lecanoralean genusCorticiruptorWedin & Hafellner is described as new to accommodate the single lichenicolous speciesC. abeloneae(P. M. Jørg.) Wedin & Hafellner comb. nov., and the additional new combinationPlectocarpon linitae(R. Sant.) Wedin & Hafellner is proposed. The namesCelidium pelvetiiHepp,Sticta auratababortivaSchaer. andArthonia stictariaNyl. are lectotypified, and the typifications are discussed.     

FOLIICOLOUS LICHENS FROM MADEIRA,WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW GENUS AND TWO NEW SPECIES AND A WORLD-WIDE KEY OF FOLIICOLOUSFELLHANERA

A preliminary annotated list of the foliicolous lichens and of their lichenicolous fungi occurring in the laurisilva in Madeira is presented.FellhaneropsisSérus. & Coppins gen. nov. is introduced to accommodateBacidia myrtillicolaErichsen andBacidia vezdaeCoppins & James, both being present in Madeira on living leaves. Two new species are described:Byssoloma kalbiiSérus. sp. nov. andFellhanera seroexspectataSérus. sp. nov. The following combinations are introduced:Fellhanera lambinonii(Sérus.) Lücking & Sérus.,Fellhaneropsis myrtillicola(Erichsen) Sérus. & Coppins,F. vezdae(Coppins & James) Sérus. & Coppins,Woessia apiahica(Müll. Arg.) Sérus.,W. canariensis(Lumbsch & Vězda) Sérus. andW. vasakii(Vězda) Sérus. A key to all foliicolous species ofFellhanerais presented.Bacidia buxiVězda & Vivant andBacidia gorgoneaVězda & Poelt are reduced into synonymy withFellhaneropsis myrtillicola,Tapellaria similisKalb withByssoloma marginatum(Arnold) Sérus., andBacidia michaelianaSérus. withBacidia lambinoniiSérus.     

TANIA,A NEW GENUS WITH BYSSOID THALLUS IN THE ORDER ARTHONIALES AND NEW DATA ONSAGENIDIOPSIS

The new genusTaniaEgea, Torrente & Sipman (Arthoniales) withT. lanosaas type species is described from Malaysia.Sagenidiopsisformerly treated as a genus of incertae sedis is included in the order Arthoniales, and the new combinationSagenidiopsis undulatum(Fée) Egea, Tehler, Torrente & Sipman is made. A key to the genera with byssoid thalli in the order Arthoniales is given.     

A Property of Second Order Differential Equations with Application to Formal Kinetics

It is shown that if x(t) is the solution of a second order differential equation, with real negative characteristic roots (not necessarily distinct), which exhibits an extremum at t = T, then T|x(T)|/|A| [UNK] 1/e where A is the area under the x(t) curve. This result is compared to a special case previously derived by M. Morales and applications of the theorem to formal kinetic problems are discussed.     

A NEW CRUSTOSESTEREOCAULONFROM THE MOUNTAINS OF SCOTLAND AND WALES

The new combinationStereocaulon plicatile(Leight.) Fryday & Coppins is made for a previously enigmatic crustose lichen with submuriform ascospores; the basionym,Lecidea plicatilisLeight., was previously misapplied to a norstictic-acid containing species ofRhizocarpon. The systematic position of the crustoseStereocaulon leucophaeopsisgroup is discussed.     

NOTES ON THE GENUSUSNEADILL. EX ADANSON

Usnea quercinaBystrek & Górzyńska, based on heterogeneous type material, is lectotypified and becomes a synonym ofU. wirthiiP. Clerc.Usnea wirthiiis new for South America. A distribution map ofU. madeirensisMotyka (Syn.U. silesiacaMotyka) in Europe is given.Usnea hesperinaMotyka (Syn.U. elongataMotyka,U. schadenbergianaGöpp & Stein,U. subgracilisVain.,U. subplicata(Vain.) Motyka) is new for Africa, Asia and South America.Usnea hirta(L.) F. H. Wigg. (Syn.U. corrugataMotyka,U. foveataVain.,U. leprosaMotyka) is new for Africa.Usnea subscabrosaNyl. ex Motyka (Syn.U. santae-annaeMotyka) is new for South America. The holotype ofU. marocanaMotyka (=U. mutabilisStirt.) was found in LBL.     

LifeMap Discovery?: The Embryonic Development,Stem Cells,and Regenerative Medicine Research Portal

LifeMap Discovery™ provides investigators with an integrated database of embryonic development, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. The hand-curated reconstruction of cell ontology with stem cell biology; including molecular, cellular, anatomical and disease-related information, provides efficient and easy-to-use, searchable research tools. The database collates in vivo and in vitro gene expression and guides translation from in vitro data to the clinical utility, and thus can be utilized as a powerful tool for research and discovery in stem cell biology, developmental biology, disease mechanisms and therapeutic discovery. LifeMap Discovery is freely available to academic nonprofit institutions at http://discovery.lifemapsc.com     

Revision of the Cambrian discoidal animals Stellostomites eumorphus and Pararotadiscus guizhouensis from South China

The discoidal fossils identified as Stellostomites eumorphus Sun & Hou, Rotadiscus grandis Sun & Hou and Rotadiscus guizhouensis Zhao & Zhu are abundant in the Cambrian Chengjiang and Kaili Lagerstätten of southwest China. Reinvestigation of all available specimens of S. eumorphus and R. guizhouensis indicates that S. eumorphus has radiating lobe structures different from those of Eldonia ludwigi Walcott and has one additional set of dorsal radiating canals, and has a distinct central cavity, two characters that are not present in E. ludwigi. R. guizhouensis differs from R. grandis in the morphology of the disc, internal radiating lobes and tentacles. This supports the validity of the genus StellostomitesSun & Hou, 1987, and substantiates the erection of a new genus, Pararotadiscus nov. gen., to receive Rotadiscus guizhouensis Zhao Zhu, 1994. Anatomical and taphonomical analyses indicate that S. eumorphus and P. guizhouensis were gregarious pelagic animals. The new anatomical information emphasize close phylogenetic relations with lophophorates (U-shaped intestine, circumoral tentacles and ectodermal, marginal accreted disc), though some features (e.g. dendritic tentacles, ventral pustules that may relate to reduced podia) do not exclude affinitics with echinoderms.     

A new species of Polemanniopsis (Apiaceae) from Namibia

A new species of woody Apiaceae, Polemanniopsis namibensis B-E. Van Wyk, A. Burke & C. Mannheimer, is described. The species is allied to Polemanniopsis marlothii but differs in the much smaller habit of (up to 0.6 m vs 1.5–4 m in Polemanniopsis marlothii), the white or greyish colour of the twigs (brown in Polemanniopsis marlothii), the 3-foliolate leaves (predominantly 5-foliate in Polemanniopsis marlothii), the smaller inflorescences with persistent involucral bracts (caducous in Polemanniopsis marlothii) and anatomical details of the leaves. The species is endemic to Namibia and is known only from a localised area in the southern Namib desert near Lüderitz, where it is relatively common.     

Addiciones y correcciones al conocimiento de la liquenoflora foliícola de Costa Rica. La familia Asterothyriaceae y el género Chroodiscus (Thelotremataceae), con un análisis filogenético

The taxonomy of foliicolous representatives of the lichen families Asterothyriaceae (Asterothyrium, Gyalidea, Psorotheciopsis) and Thelotremataceae (Chroodiscus) in Costa Rica is revised. Seven new species and one new variety are described: Asterothyrium anomalum var. pallidum Henssen & Lücking var.n., A. aulaxinoides Lücking sp.n., A. chroodisciforme Lücking sp.n., A. rondoniense Bat. & H. Maia ex Henssen & Lücking sp.n., A. septemseptatum Lücking sp.n., A. tetrasporum Lücking sp.n., A. uniseptatum Lücking sp.n., and Chroodiscus submuralis Lücking sp.n. Asterothyrium gigantosporum Lücking and A. hedbergii Kalb & Vězda are reported from Costa Rica for the first time. On account of morphological and anatomical features, an attempt is made to trace intrageneric relationships in the genus Asterothyrium, and the ascospore type is demonstrated not to correlate well with supposedly natural groups. Furthermore, the systematics of the Asterothyriaceae is briefly discussed. The result of a phylogenetic analysis based on phenotypic characters is not in contradiction with the hypothesis that the genera Gyalidea, Solorinella, Linhartia, Psorotheciopsis, and Asterothyrium, currently placed in three different families, are easily accomodated within a single family Asterothyriaceae. Consequently, Solorinellaceae is placed into synonymy with Asterothyriaceae. In addition, Linhartia is reunited with Psorotheciopsis, since the different ascospore sizes are considered insufficient for generic separation, and the following new combinations are proposed: Psorotheciopsis gyalideoides (Vězda) Henssen & Lücking comb.n. [Bas.: Linhartia gyalideoides Vězda], Psorotheciopsis philippinensis (Rehm) Lücking comb.n. [Bas.: Linhartia philippinensis Rehm. Syn.: L. vezdana Lücking], and Psorotheciopsis varieseptata (Vězda) Henssen & Lücking comb.n. [Bas.: Linhartia varieseptata Vězda].     

Strobilomyces echinocephalus sp. nov. (Boletales) from south-western China, and a key to the genus Strobilomyces worldwide

Strobilomyces echinocephalus Gelardi & Vizzini sp. nov. is described as a new species, based on collections from Kunming (Yunnan Province, China). Macro-morphological and micro-morphological features, ecological data and analyses of RPB1 and ITS2 sequences support the establishment of this new taxon. Colour pictures of fresh basidiomata in habitat, scanning electron microscope (SEM) micro-photographs of the spores, and a line-drawing displaying the most relevant anatomical characters are provided in this paper. Strobilomyces zangii Gelardi nom. nov. is proposed to replace the name Heimiella nigricans M. Zang. A dichotomous key to the Strobilomyces species at global level is also provided at the end of this work.     

Three new species of Metalasia (Asteraceae–Gnaphalieae) from the Western Cape and an updated key to the genus

Three new species of Metalasia from the Western Cape of South Africa are described; Metalasia tristis A.Bengtson & P.O.Karis, a small shrublet from the Groot Winterhoek Mountains, and Metalasia formosa A.Bengtson & P.O.Karis and Metalasia eburnea A.Bengtson & P.O.Karis both found in the Langeberg Mountains. The morphology and relationships of the three new species are discussed, and an updated key to the genus is provided.     

Taxonomie Review of the family Platygastridae (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea) from the Korean Peninsula

A total of 41 species were investigated, including only one species in the check list of Korean insects, which contains five platygastrids. Eleven species of the family Platygastridae are described as new to science from Korea, viz. Allostemma bicolor Buhl & Choi, Amblyaspis koreana Choi & Buhl, Leptacis koreana Buhl & Choi, L. ocellaris Choi & Buhl, Platygaster ciliata Buhl & Choi, P. flavifemorata Buhl & Choi, P. kui Choi & Buhl, P. tripotini Buhl & Choi, Synopeas collinus Choi & Buhl, S. kimi Choi & Buhl, and S. pumilus Buhl & Choi. Further nineteen species are recorded from The Korean Peninsula for the first time, and some new records are added for eleven species, already known from the Peninsula. Keys are given to the genera and species of Platygastridae hitherto recorded from The Korean Peninsula. As a result, platygastrid fauna of The Korean Peninsula is composed of 68 species up to now.     

Nimisia fuegiae (Parmeliaceae), a new lichen genus and species from Argentina

Abstract:Nimisia fuegiae Kärnef. & Thell gen. et sp. nov. is described from Argentinian Tierra del Fuego. The new lichen differs from possibly related groups within the Parmeliaceae in unique anatomical characters, i.e. a medullary layer composed of extremely thick and strongly gelatinized periclinally arranged hyphae and a lower cortex composed of only a few layers of strongly pigmented, rather large cells. Ascus characters support its position in the Parmeliaceae. The new genus, which is named in the honour of its first discoverer, is discussed in relation to several other well-investigated members of the family.     

Leaf anatomy of Carex humilis does not correlate with orographic,geological and bioclimatic habitat conditions in C&SE Europe

This paper presents the results of a multivariate morphometric study of leaf anatomical characters in different, geographically very distant populations of taxon Carex humilis from Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania with the aim to reveal the trends of population differentiation. Analyses were performed on the cross-section of 173 leaves collected from 12 populations. In order to establish the overall morphological variation and relationships between individuals from all populations, principal component analyses (PCA) and canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) have been done. The UPGMA clustering analyses based on leaf anatomical characters and habitat climatic characteristics were carried out to explore whether the observed anatomical differences are a result of adaptive responses. Regression analysis (linear regression) was performed to identify the level of correlation between leaf anatomical characters and basic orographic, geological, and bioclimatic habitat characteristics. Quite unexpectedly, most of observed groups are formed of geographically very distant populations which are living in extremely different climatic and geological conditions, indicating that general anatomical differentiation in Carex humilis in C&SE Europe cannot be explained by the environmental impacts, and basically do not represent an adaptive response to different climatic or geological condition.     

Observations of the morphology of some known and new fragilarioid diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) from rivers in the USA

Morphological studies at the light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy levels of selected fragilarioid diatoms occurring in North American streams and lakes are presented herein. The majority of the samples studied were collected by the US Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment Program, which concentrates on stream water quality monitoring throughout the continental USA and Hawaii. Two new species (Staurosirella confusa Morales and Punctastriata mimetica Morales) and a new forma (Pseudostaurosiropsis geocollegarum f. triradiatum Morales) are described and two new combinations (Pseudostaurosira subsalina (Hustedt) Morales and Staurosirella olden‐burgiana (Hustedt) Morales) are provided. Morphological details of an additional taxon, Staurosira construens var. binodis (Ehrenberg) Hamilton in Hamilton et al. are also presented. The taxonomic affinities of all these taxa, as well as some evolutionary aspects and ecologic characteristics, are discussed in the light of published material.     

THE LICHENICOLOUS FUNGI ON SPECIES OF THE GENERABAEOMYCES,DIBAEIS, ANDICMADOPHILAIN NORWAY

Lichenicolous fungi on species of the generaBaeomyces,Dibaeis, andIcmadophilain Norway includeAcarosporium lichenicolaIhlen & Tønsberg sp. nov.,Cercidospora parvaHafellner & Ihlen sp. nov.,Phoma maculiformansIhlen sp. nov.,Micarea inquinans(reported new to Scandinavia),Arthrorhaphis vacillans,Pyrenidium actinellums. lat.,Sphaerellothecium coniodes(all new to Norway),Arthrorhaphis alpina,A. citrinella,A. grisea,A. muddii,Dactylospora athallina,D. attendenda,Epilichen glauconigellus,E. scabrosus,Stigmidium icmadophilae,Thelocarpon epibolum, andT. lichenicola. Their anatomy and morphology are described, and a key to the taxa provided. Host preferences are discussed, and distribution maps are provided for the obligately lichenicolous fungi and those that also occur autonomously.     

SPECIES OF THE GENUSLECIDEA(LECANORALES) ON GYPSUM IN SPAIN

The genusLecideain the lichen flora of the gypsum soils of Spain is represented by two species:L. gypsicolaLlimona andL. circinarioidesCasares & Hafellner sp. nov., which are described in this article. Chemical, anatomical and ecological differences are also described, as is the taxonomic value of the morphological characteristics of the mature ascoma.