Vannella primoblina n. sp. – an unusual species of the genus Vannella (Amoebozoa,Discosea, Vannellida) with pronounced dorsal ridges and folds

Amoebae of the order Vannellida (Amoebozoa, Discosea) have a fairly recognizable spatulate, fan-shaped or semi-circular outlines and a wide area of frontal hyaloplasm. They can be easily distinguished from the other groups of lobose amoebae even by light microscopy. The dorsal side of these amoebae is usually smooth and rarely bears ridges or folds, which are never numerous or regular. We have isolated an unusual species of vannellid amoebae, called Vannella primoblina n. sp. from a terrestrial substrate. It has well-developed dorsal relief consisting of regularly appearing folds and ridges. This amoeba superficially resembles members of the genus Thecamoeba. However, molecular analysis showed that this strain belongs to the genus Vannella. This finding indicates that dorsal folds may also be a characteristic of some species of vannellid amoebae and probably are a functional detail of the cell morphology rather than an apomorphy of Thecamoebida lineage. Overall outlines of the cell and the presence of the expanded frontal hyaline area remains the most reliable characters used to differentiate vannellid amoebae from other gymnamoebae lineages.     

Thecamoeba cosmophorea n. sp. (Amoebozoa,Discosea, Thecamoebida) — An example of sibling species within the genus Thecamoeba

A new species Thecamoeba cosmophorea n. sp. (Amoebozoa, Discosea, Thecamoebida) was isolated from leaf litter collected in the surroundings of Saint-Petersburg (Russia). This species resembles T. quadrilineata in light-microscopic morphology, but has certain morphological differences and significantly differs in 18S rRNA gene sequence. We performed a direct comparison of this newly isolated species with the Thecamoeba strain isolated from leaf litter in East Siberia (Russia) and identified as T. quadrilineata both at the morphological and the molecular level. There is no type strain of T. quadrilineata, and the type material on this species is represented with the stained slide by F.C. Page that he designated as neotype in 1977. The sequence of the 18S rRNA gene of this species deposited in the GenBank belongs to the isolate identified as T. quadrilineata by Rolf Michel in 1998 and deposited as CCAP 1583/10 strain. Hence we cannot be entirely sure that morphological and molecular data on T. quadrilineata belong to the same amoebae species. The use of molecular data for reliable species differentiation is getting obligate even within the amoebae genus Thecamoeba, which until recently was believed to be among few genera of naked lobose amoebae allowing morphological identification of species.     

Polychaos centronucleolus n. sp. – a new terrestrial species of the genus Polychaos (Amoebozoa,Tubulinea) with nontypical nuclear structure

A new species of the “proteus-type” naked amoebae (large cells with discrete tubular pseudopodia) was isolated from tree bark sample of a birch tree in the surrounding of Kislovodsk town, Russia and named Polychaos centronucleolus n. sp. (Amoebozoa, Tubulinea). Amoebae of this species have a filamentous cell coat and a nucleus with a central compact nucleolus. This type of nucleolar organization has not been previously known for the genus Polychaos. A sequence of the 18S rRNA gene of this strain was obtained using whole genome amplification of DNA from the single amoeba cell, followed by NGS sequencing. The analysis of molecular data robustly groups this species with Polychaos annulatum within the family Hartmannellidae. Our results, together with the results of our previous studies, show that the taxonomic assignment of “proteus-type” amoebae species is becoming increasingly complex, and the taxonomic characters that can be used to classify these organisms are becoming more shadowed.     

Thecamoeba foliovenanda n. sp. (Amoebozoa,Discosea, Thecamoebida) – One more case of sibling species among amoebae of the genus Thecamoeba

Until recently it seemed that amoebae of the genus Thecamoeba can be reliably identified using light-microscopic characters, like the size and shape of the cell, a characteristic pattern of folds and ridges and structure of the nucleus. However, recent molecular studies show the presence of sibling species that can be reliably distinguished based on the gene sequence data only. Here we describe a new terrestrial species, Thecamoeba foliovenanda n. sp. This species is almost identical with Thecamoeba similis in light-microscopy, which has minor differences in the ultrastructure but considerable differences in the SSU rRNA gene sequence. We investigated the light-microscopic data, as well as transmission electron-microscopic images and videorecords on the type strain of T. similis 1583/8 and performed its comparison with the new species. This study further supports the conclusion that species of the genus Thecamoeba nowadays require gene sequencing for reliable identification and species distinction.     

Ilyocryptus smirnovi n. sp. (Branchiopoda,Anomopoda) – a new member of the species group Ilyocryptus brevidentatus s. lat. from Australia

All representatives of the genus Ilyocryptus with short lateral setae at the postanal margin of the postabdomen may be separated into the compact species group I. brevidentatus s. lat. A new species of Ilyocryptus from this group is described from the Lake Numalla, Queensland, Australia. I. smirnovi n. sp. shows clear morphological differences in the armature of the valve, postabdomen, and several other structures, from all other species of the group. Differences between members of the above-mentioned species group are analogous with those between European species, listed by Štifter (1991). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Parastenocaris andreji n. sp. (Crustacea; Copepoda) – the first record of the genus in Slovenia (SE Europe)

Parastenocaris andreji n. sp. was found in ground water in a northwestern part of Slovenia (southern part of Central Europe). Two adult females of the new species were filtered out of 20 000 l of water during examination of an aquifer for water supply. The bore well was 10 m deep. The aquifer is fed by rainwater and probably only occasionally from a nearby alpine river Sava. The new species differs markedly from other known species of the genus by shape and armature of furcal rami, very long and slim maxillae and some characters on endopodites P2–P5. The closest related species are probably Parastenocaris nolliKiefer, 1938 with subspecies P. nolli alpinaKiefer, 1960, P. gertrudae Kiefer, 1968 and P. austriacaKiefer, 1976.     

Thecamoeba astrologa n. sp. – A new species of the genus Thecamoeba (Amoebozoa,Discosea, Thecamoebida) with an unusually polymorphic nuclear structure

Thecamoeba astrologa n. sp. was isolated from a plant litter sample. This species has a complex locomotive morphology, to a certain extent intermediate between the striate and the rugose morphotype. The shape of the actively moving cell is similar to that of striate thecamoebians, such as T. quadrilineata. However, in a slow movement, they can be easily confused with rugose species, like T. similis. Thecamoeba astrologa normally has peripheral asterisk-like nucleoli, which are unique among known thecamoebids. However, the structure of the nucleus is unusually variable during the growth of the culture and in some cases may become almost a vesicular one. The phylogenetic analysis based on the 18S rRNA gene sequence shows that this species belongs to the clade of thecamoebids, consisting of species possessing vesicular nuclei. This finding indicates that the structure of the nucleus derived from a single or few observations (as it usually happens in faunistic or ecological studies) may not be a reliable character of a thecamoebid amoeba. In some species nuclei may be highly polymorphic and dominating nuclear structure may depend on the age of the culture. Nuclei with constantly or temporarily peripheral nucleoli are now known in both major phylogenetic branches of the genus Thecamoeba.     

Sursumura affinis sp. n.—a New Deep-Sea Species of the Family Munnopsidae (Isopoda: Asellota) from the Region of Australia and New Zealand

We describe here Sursumura affinis sp.n., a new deepwater species of the family Munnopsididae (Isopoda: Asellota) from the South Australian and South Fiji hollows. It is characterized as follows: the dorsum of the body is not granulated, bearing short setae; the pleonite lacks a dorsal spine; the pleotelson bears 5 dorsal spines; the preanal projection of the pleotelson is well-developed; the exopod of pleopod 4 is relatively slender and short. In morphology, the new species is most similar to S. abyssalis (Wolff, 1962) from the Tasmanian Sea. This is the second species of the genus described from the Australian–New Zealand region.     

Jiriella brunnea sp. nov. (Coleoptera: Dermestidae: Megatominae) from Thailand and Burma — the second known species of the genus Jiriella

Jiriella brunnea Háva & Kadej, sp. nov. from Thailand and Burma is described. The habitus, antenna, genitalia are illustrated and compared with related species Jiriella thailandica (Háva, 2012).     

Tabanidae (Diptera) of Amaz?nia XXI. Descriptions of Elephantotus gen. n. and E. tracuateuensis sp. n. (Diachlorini) from the Brazilian coast

Elephantotus, a new genus of Tabanidae from the Amazon coast, Brazil, is described based on a new species E. tracuateuensis. Five females were collected in Pará State, and a male in Maranhão State. Arguments are presented for separating the new genus from Dasybasis, as well as the possibility of its occurrence being related to the nesting sites of coastal birds. The new species is characterized by its large size (x = 2.15 cm, n = 5 females), glabrous eyes, reddish-brown tegument, light brown frontal callus not touching the edges of the eyes, extending up to the vertex that has traces of ocelli, basal plate of the antennal flagellum with obtuse angle, without a tooth or spine, wings hyaline, with brown basal cells, without appendix in the fork of vein R₄₊₅, and genital furca wide with extended flaps.     

Babjevia gen. nov. — a new genus of the Lipomycetaceae

The species described asLipomyces anomalus Babjeva & Gorin shows significant genetic and phenotypic divergence from the type speciesLipomyces starkeyi Lodder & Kreger-van Rij in terms of rRNA base sequence substitution and ascosporal and septal ultrastructure. The species is consequently reclassified in the new, unispecific genusBabjevia, asBabjevia anomala.     

Maesaipsyche mekongensis sp. n. – the Third Species of the Genus from South-East Asia (Trichoptera,Arctopsychidae)

Maesaipsyche mekongensis sp. n. is described from Laos. The type series was collected near the Mekong River, which is suggestive of a potamobiontic habitat of the larvae. The male genitalic apparatus is illustrated.     

Apodopsyllus gabesensis n. sp.: a new species of Paramesochridae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from the Gulf of Gabès (south-eastern Tunisia)

Several specimens belonging to a new species of Apodopsyllus were collected during a study on the diversity of meiobenthic communities in the Gulf of Gabès, a Mediterranean shallow-water bay at the south-eastern coast of Tunisia in July 2005. The new species Apodopsyllus gabesensis n. sp. shares the characteristics of the genus such as the lack of endopods from P2 to P4 and the soft and slightly cuticularized body. Apodopsyllus gabesensis n. sp. belongs to the few known species of Apodopsyllus that are described to have comparably distinct patterns of dorsal and lateral cuticular plates and pores. Besides a typical combination of characters that clearly distinguishes the new species from its congeners, the new species shows the following unique single characters: female P5 with a hitherto unknown combination of shape of the exopodal part and shape and setation of the baseoendopodal lobe with two small stout spines; male P6 with a particular shape, and a distinct armature of the exopodal spines in P2–P4 in the male that are pinnate with very short spinules contrary to the female where spines are smooth. The genus Apodopsyllus contains 26 species with the inclusion of the new species.     

Temnothorax pilagens sp. n. – a new slave-making species of the tribe Formicoxenini from North America (Hymenoptera,Formicidae)

A new species of the ant genus Temnothorax Forel, 1890 – Temnothorax pilagens sp. n. is described from eastern North America. T. pilagenssp. n. is an obligate slave-making ant with two known hosts: T. longispinosus (Roger, 1863) and T. ambiguus (Emery, 1895). A differential diagnosis against Temnothorax duloticus (Wesson, 1937), the other dulotic congener from the Nearctic, is presented and a biological characteristics of the new species is given.     

Tindaria kretensis n. sp., a new deep water protobranch (Bivalvia) from the Early Pliocene of Crete (Southern Greece)

Tindaria kretensis n. sp., a minute deep-water protobranch, is described from Early Pliocene marls cropping out in the Voutes section, northern Crete Island. This is one of the few fossil records of Tindaria from the Mediterranean area, the first well documented for the Neogene. Tindaria is an almost cosmopolitan deep-water genus, absent from the modern Mediterranean. Its occurrence in the Early Pliocene is in agreement with what is known about the past psychrospheric conditions in the Mediterranean.     

Bakkeius moragai n. gen. et n. sp. and Pojmanskia riosae n. gen. et n. sp. (Trematoda: Digenea: Brachylaimoidea) in birds from the Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica

We describe 2 new species of leucochloridiid-like brachylaimoid digeneans parasitizing a variety of birds in the Area de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica, each of which we assign to a new genus. According to Pojmanska's (Pojmanska, T. 2002a. Superfamily Brachylaimoidea Joyeux & Foley, 1930. In Keys to the Trematoda, D. I. Gibson, A. Jones, and R. A. Bray [eds.]. CAB International and The Natural History Museum, London, U.K., p. 31-36.) key for the Brachylaimoidea, we are unable to place either species in any family. One species most closely resembles members of Leucochloridium by having well-developed suckers, lacking an esophagus, and having cecal shoulders, gonads at the posterior end, and the genital pore at posterior end of body but differs by having symmetrical testes, a posttesticular ovary, and a terminal genital pore; thus, we propose the genus Bakkeius for it. The second new genus resembles members of Michajlovia by having ventral genital pores but differs by having extracecal uterine loops in the forebody, a cirrus sac containing the pars prostatica and seminal vesicle, and gland cells surrounding the genital pore; thus, we propose Pojmanskia for it. These new genera must currently be treated as incertae sedis according to Pojmanska (op. cit.); however, we feel that future phylogenetic analyses will require emendation of the family diagnosis for Leucochloridiidae to include those taxa with terminal and ventral genital pores and with preovarian testes.     

Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 — a useful tool in the study of the genetics of cyanobacteria

The cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was the first phototrophic organism to be fully sequenced. The genomic sequence has revealed the structure of the genome and its gene constituents (3167 genes), as well as the relative map positions of each gene. The functions of nearly half of the genes has been deduced using similarity searches. The genome sequence has also allowed for the implementation of systematic strategies to study gene function and the mechanisms of gene regulation on a genome-wide level. Two genome databases, CyanoBase and CyanoMutants, have been established and act as a central repository for information on gene structure and gene function, respectively. As a result of the genome sequencing and the establishment of these databases, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 provides an extremely versatile and easy model to study the genetic systems of photosynthetic organisms. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.