Oreoglanis infulatus, a new species of glyptosternine catfish (Siluriformes: Sisoridae) from central Vietnam

A new species of glyptosternine catfish, Oreoglanis infulatus , is described from the Lam River drainage in central Vietnam. The new species is distinguished from all its congeners by possessing the following combination of characters: a dark band running across the anal fin, a lunate and uniformly dark caudal fin, the lower lip lacking a medial notch and with a lobulate posterior margin, maxillary barbel with a rounded tip, length of caudal peduncle 19·0–22·6 % L _S, depth of caudal peduncle 2·6–3·2 % L _S, post-adipose distance 6·8–8·0 % L _S, eye diameter 10·5–12·1 % L _H, 12 principal caudal-fin rays.     

Nectar, nectaries, flower visitors, and breeding system in five terrestrial Orchidaceae from central Argentina

Floral nectar sugar composition, nectary anatomy, and visitors are studied in five Argentine Orchidaceae, from 18 populations. Hand-pollinations were performed to evaluate their breeding system. We found two different types of perigonal nectaries located either in the spur (Habenaria gouriieana, H. hieronymi, Habenariinae), or in the basal lateral parts of the labellum (Beadlea dutraei, Pelexia bonariensis, Stenorrhynchos orchioides, Spiranthinae). The spur ofHabenaria is a nonvascularised and nonstructural nectary. The inner epidermis bears one-celled long papillae. In bud stage, the papillae are filled with starch grains, but when the flower opens and nectar secretion starts, they show no starch grains. This fact may indicate that starch is a source for some of the secreted nectar. In the remainder genera, the lateral basal parts of the labellum are secretory. The two glands are located in the adaxial basal lateral faces of the labellum. These nectaries are structural and nonvascularised.Stenorrhynchos produces abundant, concentrated nectar (40–50%).Habenaria gourlieana accumulates copious nectar in a lower concentration (<20%), whereas the other species produce small quantities of concentrated nectar (ca. 50%). Three of the studied species have sucrose predominant nectar (Beadlea dutrael, Habenaria gourlieana, andPelexia bonariensis) whileH. hieronymi, Stenorrhynchos orchioides have hexose predominant ones. Nectar removal and/or pollination induce flower senescence.H. gouriieana is visited by sphingids,S. orchioides by hummingbirds, andB. dutrael by bees. For the two other species we did not record flower visitors.Pelexia bonariensis, B. dutrael, andS. orchiodes are self-compatible species but a pollinator is needed.     

Deep-sea nematodes (Nemata, Prochaetosomatinae): new taxa from hydrothermal vents and a polymetallic nodule formation of the Pacific (East Rise; North Fiji and Lau Basins; Clarion-Clipperton fracture zone)

Dinetia nycterobia gen. et sp. n. (Draconematidae, Prochaetosomatinae) is described from a hydrothermal site of the East Pacific Rise. The new genus is characterized by body annulation reaching lip region and including spiral amphids, cuticle not thickened in head region, cephalic adhesion tubes without expanded base located in cervical region, pharynx with terminal bulb provided with a thick cuticularized lumen wall, and posterior adhesion tubes with bell-shaped end. Dinetia nycterobia , the type species, is characterized by the number of cephalic adhesion tubes (19 in male, 15 in female) and of the 4 rows of posterior adhesion tubes (5 tubes lateral, 14–19 subventral in male, 10–15 lateral, 13–20 subventral in female) and the shape and size of the spicules. Cephalochaetosoma pacificum notium subsp. n. from the Fiji deep-sea closely resemble C. pacificum pacificum from Philippines deep-sea but differs in male by the number of sublateral posterior adhesion tubes, the shape and size of the spicules, the number of cloacal setae, the structure of the testis and in both sexes by the spiny cuticular ornamentation, the shorter labial setae and morphometric data. A new genus and new species of Draconematidae is provisionally described, based on the observation of juvenile specimens from the polymetallic nodule formation.     

The pollination mechanism in the 'Pelexia alliance' (Orchidaceae: Spiranthinae)

The biological function of the wedge–like, dorsally adhesive viscidium of the neotropical orchid genera Cyclopogon, Pelexia and Sarcoglottis (grouped in the so-called 'Pelexia alliance') is elucidated by the study of the pollination biology of three species occurring in Sao Paulo State, southeastern Brazil. Cyclopogon congestus is pollinated by the bee, Pseudoaugochloropsis graminea (Halictidae), Pelexia oestrifera by workers of Bombus (Fervidobombus) atratus (Apidae) and Sarcoglottis fasciculata by males and females of Euglossa cordata (Apidae: Euglossini). These three species offer nectar as a reward and are self-compatible, though they need pollinators to set fruits. In spite of the difference in flower sizes and in their pollinators' taxonomic groups, the pollination mechanism is essentially the same for these species. The pollinarium adheres to the ventral surface of the bee labrum. The viscidium needs to be dorsally pressed in order to liberate a glue which fixes the pollinarium to a bee. Pollination is achieved by the interaction of the orchid column and the mouthparts of the bees. Fivation to the ventral surface of the labrum is advantageous for the orchid, since it is a difficult place for the bees to clean. Another advantage is that, since the labrum is articulated, when the bees fold and close their mouthparts, the pollinarium remains protected under the bee's head, thus reducing the risks of pollen loss. Since the wedge-like, dorsally adhesive viscidiurn is a characteristic feature of Cyclopogon, Pelexia and Sarcoglottis , it is suggested that some kind of phylogenetic constraint may exist, impeding the occurrence of pollinators other than bees in these orchid genera. All other flower-visiting animals lack the labrum-like structure needed to fix the pollinarium.     

Fine Structure of the Feeding Stage of A Sorogenic Ciliate, Sorogena Stoianovitchae Gen. N., Sp. N.

SYNOPSIS. A new species of kinetophragminophoran ciliate, collected from dried vegetation and capable of forming an aerial sorocarp, is described and named Sorogena stoianovitchae gen. n., sp. n. This ciliate is a voracious predator that feeds on species of Colpoda , and, when the latter is depleted in numbers, aggregates to forms sorogens. Each sorogen rises into the air from the surface of the water, forming a secreted stalk with a sorus of cysts at its apex. the feeding stage of the ciliate resembles an Enchelys in that it has an apical, slit-like mouth surrounded by a lip, a somewhat dorso-ventrally flattened body, and meridional kineties. Its length ranges from 40–75 μm and width from 23–55 μm. It has a typical rhabdos type of cytopharynx, but no specialized oral ciliature. the somatic kineties are formed of rows of paired kinetosomes with associated microfibrils, the arrangement of which differs a little from that of other ciliates of this subclass. Sorogena has tentatively been placed in the order Haptorida although it lacks toxicysts, recognizable mucocysts, and clavate cilia. Its unique life cycle and some of the details of its fine structure indicate differences between Sorogena and other haptorids so profound that a new family, SOROGENIDAE, is created for it. the type species (PNG76-73) was collected on dry figs at the Wau Ecology Institute, Papua New Guinea.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lockhartia viruensis</Emphasis> (Orchidaceae-Oncidiinae), a new species from Roraima state,Brazilian Amazonia region

A new species, Lockhartia viruensis, is described and illustrated from the state of Roraima, in the Brazilian Amazon, and its affinities are discussed. The new species is similar to L. imbricata, but differs by having an entire lip with an obtuse to rounded apex, a callus on the disk of the lip with a longitudinal row of papillae with a rounded apex, and the margin of the column wings entire.     

Reproductive Ecology of Ocimum americanum L. and O. basilicum L. (Lamiaceae) in India

Abstract Ocimum americanum and O. basilicum bloom once a year. They produce flowers over a long period, a few flowers being produced each day. The flowers of both are short-lived (3-4 hours), bisexual, zygomorphic, and chasmogamic with anthers dehiscing in the bud stage. The open flowers offer nectar and pollen as rewards and are visited and sternotribically pollinated by day-flying animals. The blossoms are flag-shaped, and the reproductive organs are close to the lower corolla lip. The stamens and stigma show movements immediately after anthesis and remain for 20–30 minutes and this may cause self-pollination. Both species reproduce primarily through autogamy. Flowers are open during 5:30–13:30 hr in O. americanum and during 7:00–13:00 hr in O. basilicum . Certain bee species like Apis florea, A. cerana indica, Amegilla sp., and Pseudapis oxybeloies , and the butterfly Surandra queretroum are the most frequent and consistent visitors and can be pollinators for both plant species.     

Some lignicolous marine fungi from Sri Lanka

Koch, J. 1982. Some lignicolous marine fungi from Sri Lanka. – Nord. J. Bot. 2 : 163–169. Copenhagen. ISSN 0107–055X.
Twenty–seven marine fungi are reported from intertidal wood collected in the Indian Ocean at Sri Lanka. One new genus Nimbospora and two new species Nimbospora effusa and Halosarpheia bentotensis are described. A new combination Savoryella paucispora is proposed. Obervations are presented on some poorly known and interesting species.     

Christensonella ecallosa sp. nov. (Orchidaceae,Maxillariinae) from Guyana and Brazil

A new species of Christensonella (Orchidaceae, Maxillariinae) is described and illustrated based on herbarium material. The most important characters of Christensonella ecallosa Lipińska & Szlach. are the ovate lip, with transversely elliptic middle lobe, minutely dentate margins and very obscure lip callus, which forms an elevated thick pad near the base. Taking into account the habit, it may be misidentified as C. uncata, but they are clearly distinguished by the lip shape. The taxonomic affiliations of the new species are briefly discussed.     

Two new species of Parapharyngodon parasites of Sceloporus pyrocephalus,with a key to the species found in Mexico (Nematoda,Pharyngodonidae)

Two new species of Parapharyngodon collected from the intestine of the Mexican boulder spiny lizard Sceloporus pyrocephalus are described. This study increases to 49 the number of valid species assigned to Parapharyngodon worldwide, 11 of them distributed in Mexico. Males of the two new species share the presence of four pairs of caudal papillae, an anterior echinate cloacal lip and the presence of lateral alae; however, both differ from each other in lateral alae extension and echinate cloacal anterior lip morphology. Females of both species have a prebulbar uterus and eggs shell punctuate with pores, characteristics shared with few other species of Parapharyngodon. Both new species differ from other congeneric species in the papillar arrangement, the anterior cloacal lip morphology, the lateral alae extension and total length/spicule ratio. A taxonomic key for the species of Parapharyngodon distributed in Mexico is provided.     

Coccidian Parasites (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) of Nerodia spp. (Serpentes: Colubridae), with a Description of a New Species of Eimeria

Eimeria conanli n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) is described from intestinal contents and feces of Nerodia erythrogaster transversa and N harteri harteri from northcentral Texas. Oocysts of the new species are ellipsoid in shape. 17.9 × 13.0(15–21 × 12–15) μm, with a smooth, thin, single-layered wall; shape index 1.4 (1.2–1.5). One to several (usually 2) polar granule(s) and an oocyst residuum are present, but a micropyie is absent. Sporocysts are elongate, 12.9 × 5.2 (13–15 × 5–6) -m, apparently without a true Stieda body structure. Each sporoeyst contains an ellipsoid residuum, 3.9 × 3.2 (3–6 × 2–4) μm, and elongate sporozoites, 11.4 × 2.5 (10–14 × 2–3) μm in situ, each with a spherical or subspherical anterior refractile body and spherical to ellipsoid posterior refractile body. In addition to the new species, oocysts of 4 previously described eimerians from colubrid snakes were found in these hosts.     

A new species of Scuticaria (Maxillariinae) from Colombia

A new species of Scuticaria from the Colombian Amazon region, S. guainiana, is described and illustrated. The new species resembles S. steelei from which it differs in flower size and structure of the lip callus. The taxonomic affinities of the new species are briefly discussed.     

Salvia petrophila sp. nov. (Lamiaceae) from north Guangxi and south Guizhou,China

Salvia petrophila G. X. Hu, E. D. Liu & Yan Liu, a new species from the Chinese provinces of north Guangxi and south Guizhou, is described and illustrated. The new species is similar to S. miltiorrhiza, but can easily be distinguished by its shorter, unbranched stem, subsucculent simple leaf, longer pedicel and corolla tube, oblong‐entire middle lobe of lower corolla lip and larger oblate pollen. It is included in S. sect. Drymosphace on the basis of its falcate‐compressed upper corolla lip and connivent posterior connectives. Trichome and pollen micromorphology of the new species and similar species are described and compared. Additionally, assessment of the conservation status, current geographical distribution and notes on ecology of the new species are given.     

Isospora viridanae N. Sp., an Intranuclear Coccidian Parasite from the Canarian Skink, Chalcides viridanus (Lacertilia: Scincidae)

A caryotropic species of coccidium, Isospora viridanae n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae). has been found as a parasite in the Canarian skink, Chalcides viridanus Gravenhorst, 1851, from Tenerife, Spain, and is described here as a new species. Fully sporulaled oocysts of Isospora viridanae are spherical and measure 21.6 (1 7.6–23.4) nm in diameter. Mtcropyle, oocyst residuum and polar granule are ali absent. Oocysts of this coccidian, with a smooth bilayered wall, contain 2 ovoid sporocysts 13.2 (11.7–14.0) by 9.5 8.2–10 5) μm. A sporocyst residuum is present as well as a Stieda body and a substieda body. Most oocysts are found to be at the beginning of sporulanon when excreted and show 2 spherical sporoblasts. Sporulation is completed within 24 to 48 h at 23 × 2°C Sporozoites are 13–14 μm long and are about 2.5–3 μ m wide. Endogenous stages of schizogony and gamogony develop in the nuclei of epithelial cells from the small intestine of the skink. Comparisons with other species of the genus found in lacertilian hosts indicate that it is a new species.     

A new species of genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudogyrinocheilus</Emphasis> (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from Guangxi,China

A new species, Pseudogyrinocheilus longisulcus, was discovered from a tributary of Pearl River in Jingxi Co., Guangxi, China, The new species can be distinguished from other species of Pseudogyrinocheilus by the following combination of characteristics: prolonged post-labial grooves, and extended antero-medially close to anterior end of middle lower lip, but not meeting with its counterpart; posterior margin of lower lip free; scales of abdomen from thorax to pectoral-fin base embedded under skin; lateral-line scales 40–42; dark stripe longitudinal along lateral line on flank. The key to the species of Pseudogyrinocheilus is provided.     

Bulbophyllum huangshanense sp. nov. (Orchidaceae) from Anhui,China

Bulbophyllum huangshanense, a new species of orchid from Anhui, China, is described and illustrated. This new species is close to B. taeniophyllum with pseudo‐bulbs closely spaced along the rhizome, leathery leaf, entire dorsal sepal, toothed petals, the lateral edges of lateral sepals connate and fleshy lip, but differs from the latter in having roots arising from the node with the pseudo‐bulb, inflorescence much shorter than leaf, flowers pure yellow, lip mobile, and stelidia broadly triangular.     

罗氏石斛,中国兰科一新种

描述了自湖南省新宁县发现的兰科石斛属石斛组一新种——罗氏石斛(Dendrobium luoi L.J.ChenW.H.Rao),并给出其与近缘种河口石斛(D.hekouense Z.J.LiuL.J.Chen)的区别特征:本种的花梗与子房长2~2.5cm;花淡黄色,萼片先端红褐色,中萼片狭卵状椭圆形;唇瓣倒卵状匙形,不裂,具紫褐色斑块;唇盘中央具3条褶片并从基部延伸至先端;褶片中间增粗并具乳突状毛。     

Morphological variation in populations of Bletia purpurea (Orchidaceae) and description of the new species B. riparia

Bletia purpurea is the most widespread species in its genus. Morphological variation has been recognized throughout the range of its distribution. In this paper, the morphological variation from 63 populations (583 individuals) ofBletia purpurea is assessed to determine whether more than one species were present. Forty-four quantitative and qualitative characters were examined by univariate analyses and exploratory multivariate analyses. Univariate analyses indicate that quantitative characters such as lateral sepal width, petal. width, lip length, and lip width are significantly different for populations from Acazónica, Mexico. Floral parts in the populations from Acazónica are the smallest among all populations. Qualitative characters such as petals covering the lip midlobe and horizontal lip position are found exclusively in the same populations. We concluded that these populations should be described as a new species,B. riparia. Multivariate analyses indicated that morphological variation among the other populations cannot be ascribed to geographic distribution or ecological factors.     

Systematics of the spider genus Metabus O. P.-Cambridge, 1899 (Araneoidea: Tetragnathidae) with additions to the tetragnathid fauna of Chile and comments on the phylogeny of Tetragnathidae

The spider genus Metabus (Tetragnathidae) previously included nine species: the type M. gravidus O. P.-Cambridge, 1899 – junior synonym of Leucauge ocellata (Keyserling) – from Central America and eight species from Chile. In this paper, the classification of the Metabus species-complex is revised, and two new genera, with three new species and five new combinations, are described. Allende gen. nov. is created for four Chilean species not congeneric with the type of Metabus : the type A. puyehuensis sp. nov. , A. patagiatus (Simon) comb. nov. , A. nigrohumeralis (F. O. P.-Cambridge) comb. nov. and A. longipes (Nicolet) comb. nov. Further additions to the Chilean fauna are under the new genus Mollemeta gen. nov. – created for M. edwardsi (Simon) comb. nov. – and three new species of Chrysometa : C. acinosa sp. nov. , C. levii sp. nov. and C. maitae sp. nov. Metabus now includes four species: M. ocellatus (Keyserling) comb. nov. , M. debilis (O. P.-Cambridge) comb. nov. , M. ebanoverde sp. nov. and M. conacyt sp. nov. All of these species were included in a phylogenetic analysis of 38 tetragnathid and 12 orbicularian outgroup terminals scored for 105 morphological and behavioural characters. The results suggest that Metabus as previously circumscribed is polyphyletic. The phylogenetic relationships within tetragnathids are briefly discussed. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 151 , 285–335.