Observations on gymnoascaceae. VIII. A new species of arthroderma

Summary A new species ofArthroderma, A. tuberculatum, is described and illustrated. This new species is represented by two strains isolated from feathers of a robin and from an owl pellet. AlthoughA. tuberculatum is similar to the only other known species of the genus,A. curreyi, with regard to the characteristics of the perfect stage, the two species may easily be distinguished by virtue of the accessory spore forms.Arthroderma curreyi forms small aleuriospores whileA. tuberculatum produces large, tuberculate aleuriospores. The morphological development of the ascocarp is presented along with other diagnostic characteristics. Asci are formed through the intervention of croziers.     

Brettanomyces abstinens sp.n.

A new yeast is described,Brettanomyces abstinens, isolated from ginger ale in the U.S.A. This species differs from all the presently acceptedBrettanomyces species by not assimilating trehalose.     

Amomum dampuianum and A. mizoramense spp. nov. (Zingiberaceae) from Mizoram,northeast India

Two new species of Amomum (Zingiberaceae) from Mizoram are described and illustrated: A. dampuianum and A. mizoramense. Photographs, a comparison with the allied species A. corynostachyum and A. hypoleucum, and a key to the species of Amomum known in Mizoram is also provided.     

Fissidens viridulus Wahlenb. and F. minutulus Sull.

Abstract

A new species of Pseudocrossidium R.S.Williams, P. exiguum M.J.Cano &; J.A.Jiménez, is described from South America (Argentina, Brazil and Peru). The species is distinguished morphologically by its lingulate to oblong-ovate leaves, leaf marginal cells not or scarcely differentiated from inner, costa ending below apex or percurrent, and semicircular to elliptical in cross-section with two guide cells, scarcely differentiated perichaetial leaves and peristome of short and straight teeth. Drawings and light microscope photographs of the new species are provided. The principal distinctive characters that separate it from the nearest species of Pseudocrossidium and related genera are discussed.     

Alchemilla schmakovii sp. nov. from eastern Europe

A morphological study of specimens collected by the author and a critical revision of the key herbarium collections revealed a new rather peculiar taxon of Alchemilla occurring in almost every region of the Middle Volga basin, Russia. This novelity is here described as A. schmakovii and images of the principal morphological features of this species are provided. The new species is compared with related species in A. sect. Alchemilla (e.g. A. micans) and sect. Plicatae (e.g. A. breviloba) based on morphological characteristics.     

Anatrichus bimaculatus sp. n. (Diptera: Chloropidae) and differential characters between A. bimaculatus sp. n. and A. erinaceus

A new species, Anatrichus bimaculatus sp. n. (Diptera: Chloropidae), is described from Zambia. Two African Anatrichus species, A. bimaculatus sp. n. and A. erinaceus, are characterized, and the main differential features are illustrated.     

Revision of genus Melamphaes (Melamphaidae): Part 4. Multi-raker species: M. ebelingi, M. occlusus sp. nova, and M. nikolayi sp. nova

In the fourth part of the revision of the genus Melamphaes (Melamphaidae) multi-raker species (20 and more rakers at the first gill arch, rarely 19??in M. ebelingi) with eight soft rays in the ventral fin are considered. In this species, temporal spine is absent, there are 15 rays in the pectoral fin, and there are 11 to 12 abdominal vertebrae. M. ebelingi inhabits tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A new catch of this rare species in the northeastern part of the ocean is reported. The new species M. occlusus is described from one specimen from the subtropical part of the southwestern part of the Indian Ocean. Still another new species, M. nikolayi, is described from one specimen from the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean (subtropical waters). A table for identification of 15 multi-raker species of the genus Melamphaes is provided.     

Eocyzicus spinifer sp. nov. (Conchostraca: Cyzicidae) from Iraq

A new Conchostracan species, Eocyzicus spinifer from Iraq is described. A table is given to distinguish the known species of the genus Eocyzicus.     

AMPHIDINIUM REVISITED. II. RESOLVING SPECIES BOUNDARIES IN THE AMPHIDINIUM OPERCULATUM SPECIES COMPLEX (DINOPHYCEAE), INCLUDING THE DESCRIPTIONS OF AMPHIDINIUM TRULLA SP. NOV. AND AMPHIDINIUM GIBBOSUM. COMB. NOV.1

Amphidinium operculatum Claparède et Lachmann, the type species of the dinoflagellate genus Amphidinium, has long had an uncertain identity. It has been considered to be either difficult to distinguish from other similar species or a morphologically variable species itself. This has led to the hypothesis that A. operculatum represents a “species complex.” Recently, the problem of distinguishing A. operculatum from similar species has become particularly acute, because several morphologically similar species have been found to produce bioactive compounds of potential interest to the pharmaceutical industry. In this study, we cultured and examined existing cultures of several species of Amphidinium, most of which have been previously identified as A. operculatum or as species considered by some to be synonyms or varieties of A. operculatum. Thirty strains were examined using comparative LM, SEM, and partial large subunit (LSU) rDNA sequence data. Through morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses, six distinct species were identified, including Amphidinium trulla sp. nov. and Amphidinium gibbosum comb. nov. Amphidinium operculatum was redescribed based on four cultures. Genetic variability within the examined Amphidinium species varied greatly. There was little difference among strains in partial LSU rDNA for most species, but strains of A. carterae and A. massartii Biencheler differed by as much as 4%. In both A. carterae and A. massartii, three distinct genotypes based on partial LSU rDNA were found, but no morphological differences among strains could be observed using LM or SEM. In the case of A. carterae, no biogeographically related molecular differences were found.     

Asolcus bennisi n. sp. (Hymenoptera,Proctotrupoidea) parasite oophage deGraphosoma lineata L. (Het. Pentatomidae)

Summary The Author describes from Morocco a new species ofAsolcus which is closely related to the sibling speciesA. basalis Wollaston andA. nigribasalis Voegelé. The species is namedA. bennisi and parasitizes in nature the eggs ofGraphosoma lineata L. The separation ofA. bennisi from the species of thebasalis group is based on biological tests and on a characteristic pigmentation of the parasitized host eggs reared under optimal laboratory conditions.      

A Bryophyte flora of Cornwall. II. Sphagna

Abstract

The taxonomy of Anomobryum julaceum and allied species with axillary bulbils in Europe and Asia is reviewed. A. concinnatum is regarded as a distinct species, occurring in W. and C. Europe, SW., N. and C. Asia and N. America. A. bavaricum has often been confused with A. concinnatum, but differs in its more numerous, small, reddish bulbils and in leaf shape; it is known only from the European Alps. The Asian A. nitidum also has numerous small reddish bulbils but it differs from A. bavaricum in leaf shape and bulbil form. A lectotype is designated for A. nitidum, of which A. gemmigerum and other nominal taxa are regarded as synonyms. Information is presented on geographical ranges and habitats of the four valid species.     

Aspidistra albopurpurea,A. khangii,A. lubae and A. stellata spp. nov. (Asparagaceae,Convallariaceae s.s.) from Indochina

Aspidistra albopurpurea, A. khangii, A. lubae and A. stellata discovered recently are described and illustrated as species new to science. All novelties are local endemics of northern Vietnam and southeastern Laos. Aspidistra albopurpurea is unique in the genus with a white/red stigma in striking contrast to the large milk‐white tube base. Aspidistra stellata belongs to a group of species with extraordinary long and narrow lineate perigone lobes. Aspidistra khangii and A. lubae belong to a small group of species having erect, vertical shoots. The first species is easily distinguished by its stout stem, down‐curved peduncle and obpyramidal, container‐shaped perianth. Aspidistra lubae has characteristic horizontal, peduncles and urceolate flowers. Besides the type variety, A. lubae includes var. lancifolia, which differs in its erect, lanceolate, immaculate, shortly petiolate leaves. Both varieties of A. lubae were found growing, often intermixed, in the same locality in very similar ecological conditions.     

Armeria saviana sp. nov. (Plumbaginaceae) from central Italy

The new species Armeria saviana, endemic to an isolated mountain chain of the Tyrrhenian Antiappennine system in south Tuscany, central Italy, is described and illustrated. The plant is diploid with 2n=18. It can be distinguished from the related species A. denticulata (Bertol.) DC and A. canescens (Host) Ebel, mainly by leaf characters, capitula, bracts and flowers. The systematic position of the controversial taxon A. majellensis Boiss. subsp. ausonia F. Bianchini, to which the new species has formerly been assigned by some authors, is discussed. A lectotype for A. denticulata is designated.     

Studies in African Cyperaceae 35. Kyllinga carinalaevis sp. nov. from west tropical Africa

A minute new species of Kyllinga, i.e. K. carinalaevis Lye & Mesterházy, from Benin in west tropical Africa is described. It is one of three or four annual species of the genus, and the characters separating it from two other annual species are given. The species is ephemeral and occurs in a vegetation type which belongs to a Nanocyperion association. The species is probably critically endangered as it was found in a single locality out of the numerous sites that have been investigated in Benin in recent years.     

BREEDING SYSTEMS IN ASCLEPIAS INCARNATA L., A. SYRIACA L., AND A. VERTICILLATA L.

A series of experimental pollinations involving three sympatric species provided strong evidence for physiological and/or genetic barriers to hybridization in Asclepias. Pollen tubes were observed to penetrate the style in some interspecific crosses of all species pairs. Aniline blue fluorescence microscopy also demonstrated pollen tube penetration of foreign ovules following pollinations between A. incarnata and A. verticillata. However, none of the 279 total pollinations attempted between species yielded mature seed, indicating the presence of late pre-fertilization or early post-fertilization incompatibility. Intraspecific pollinations in greenhouse and field populations revealed greater crossability between populations than within populations of a single species. Self-pollinations of A. verticillata were unsuccessful, while 29% and 4% of those of A. incarnata and A. syriaca, respectively, yielded mature follicles. It is suggested that the potential for autogamy, combined with floral mechanisms requiring pollination by insects, insure the advantages of both the genetic variability promoted by outcrossing and the reproductive assurance of uniparental reproduction. Strong reproductive barriers between species reduce the change of intergradation where species occur sympatrically.