Freshwater triclads (Turbellaria, Tricladida) from the oriental region

Two new freshwater triclad species of the genus Dugesia Girard, 1850 are described from the oriental region. The first is the only species of freshwater triclad described from Ceylon and the second, a cavernicolous form, is the only one known from Malaya. A synopsis, in tabular form, of the oriental Dugesia species is also given and some aspects of their distribution are discussed. It is intended that the tabular synopsis should provide diagnostic characters for the delimitation of the new and previously described species, and act as a basis for a future revision of the oriental representatives of the genus, many of which are poorly described or poorly known. Apreliminary dichotomous key to the valid species is also provided.     

TAXONOMY OF THE LENORMANDIA - LENORMANDIOPSIS COMPLEX (RHODOMELACEAE, RHODOPHYTA)

The genus Lenormandia is composed of nine species from Australia and New Zealand. Some of the these are well known, but others are rare, obscure and ill-defined. We have examined material of all described species and found that they fall into two discrete groups that differ in apex morphology and position of reproductive structures. Plants of the first group, containing the type species L. spectabilis , have a cleft apex and reproductive structures produced directly on the blade surface, whereas those of the second group have a strongly inrolled apex and produce reproductive structures dorsally on small branchlets which arise either from the margins or the midrib. The groups were also found to form discrete clades on analysis of 18S rRNA sequences. All the members of the first group are endemic to Australia, whereas the second group, designated by the new genus name Adamsiella , contains two previously described New Zealand species and a single Australian representative. In addition, two new species are described in this group from New Zealand. Members of the closely related genus Lenormandiopsis were also examined and the type species, L. latifolia , was found to conform in apex morphology and position of reproductive structures to the genus Lenormandia. Accordingly Lenormandiopsis has been subsumed within Lenormandia. The remaining three members of the former genus Lenormandiopsis , however, were found to differ from both the type species and the genus Lenormandia and consequently have been transferred to the separate genus Geraldia , along with a new species from Geraldton, Western Australia which is designated as the type.     

TAXONOMY AND MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY OF THE RED ALGAL GENUS LENORMANDIA (RHODOMELACEAE,CERAMIALES)1

The genus Lenormandia Sonder is currently composed of nine species from Australia and New Zealand. Some of these are well known, but others are rare and ill defined. Material of all nine species has been examined and found to fall into three discrete morphological groups forming highly supported clades on analysis of 18S rDNA sequences. The first group contains four Australian‐endemic species and includes the type species L. spectabilis Sonder. Plants have a cleft apex that is not inrolled, a distinctive rhombic surface areolation pattern caused by a one‐ to two‐layered medulla of interlocking cells, lack pseudopericentral cells, and produce their reproductive structures on the blade surfaces. The type species of the genus Lenormandiopsis, L. latifolia (Harvey et Greville) Papenfuss, was found to belong to this group and is thus returned to Lenormandia where it was originally placed. Species falling into the other two groups are removed to new genera that are being described separately. One extremely rare species of Lenormandia from southwestern Australia is transferred to the delesseriacean genus Phitymophora.     

New species of Metrinura Mendes (Zygentoma: Nicoletiidae) from Queensland, Australia

Abstract  Two new species of silverfish of the genus Metrinura Mendes are described from the Undara lava flow region, Queensland, Australia. Metrinura subtropica sp. nov. was collected in caves and Metrinura tropica sp. nov. from under rocks or logs. A key to all species in the genus is provided.     

The Geonemertes problem (Nemertea)

A new genus of monostiliferous hoplonemerteans, Pantinonemertes gen. nov., provides evidence for the separate evolution of terrestrial nemerteans. The genus is established for two new species found in Australia, P. enalios sp. nov., an intertidal form, and P. winsori sp. nov., which lives in fallen timber in the supralittoral brackish water regions of mangrove swamps. One only of the known species of land nemerteans, Geonemertes agricola from Bermuda, closely resembles these two species morphologically and is transferred to the new genus as Pantinonemertes agricola .
A re-examination of all the known species of Geonemertes has shown that two major groups can be distinguished on the basis of morphological characters. In one group the rhynchocoel musculature is in two distinct layers, a frontal organ is present, the mid-dorsal blood vessel has a single vascular plug, and the flame cells are binucleate and reinforced with cuticular support bars. It comprises the genus Pantinonemertes gen, nov, and the Pelaensis or Indopacific group of terrestrial nemerteans, for which the generic name Geonemertes is retained. In the second major group the rhynchocoel musculature is composed of interwoven longitudinal and circular fibres, there is no frontal organ, the mid-dorsal blood vessel bears two vascular plugs, and the flame cells are mononucleate and lack support bars. Five genera, three of which are new, are distinguished in this group. Australian species are united in the genus Argonemertes gen. nov., and New Zealand forms comprise the genus Antiponemertes gen. nov., while Acteonemertes bathamae from New Zealand and the Auckland and Ocean Islands remains in a separate genus. Geonemertes nightingaleensis is transferred to a new genus, Katechonemertes gen. nov., and for Geonemertes chalicophora a previously used generic name, Leptonemertes , is adopted.
A key to the terrestrial, brackish-water and marine nemertean species described in the present paper is provided.     

The genus Unixenus Jones, 1944 (Diplopoda, Penicillata, Polyxenida) in Australia

The penicillate genus Unixenus Jones, 1944 is widespread, with species found in Africa, Madagascar, India and Australia. Each of the two Australian species was originally described from single samples from Western Australia. In this study, collections of Penicillata from museums in all states of Australia were examined to provide further details of the two described species, to revise the diagnoses for both the genus and the species, and to better understand the distribution of the two species in Australia. In addition, two new species Unixenus karajinensissp. n. and Unixenus corticolussp. n. are described.     

Novel microsatellite markers used to determine the population genetic structure of the endangered Roseate Tern, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sterna dougallii</Emphasis>, in Northwest Atlanticand Western Australia

The Roseate Tern, Sterna dougallii, is an endangered species in the Northwest Atlantic, where it has undergone transient reductions in population size over the past 120 years. This population has been slow to regain former size and range, perhaps in part due to the female-biased sex ratio, which results in female–female pairs, reducing the average productivity of the colony. The larger populations of the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans are not endangered and there is no evidence of a biased sex ratio at breeding in Western Australia. We developed four novel microsatellite markers and adapted one other and these are the first used in the genus Sterna. We also determined the utility of these markers for 17 related species. Here we report the population genetic structure within and between two regions, the Northwest Atlantic and Western Australia. A significant finding is that the Northwestern Atlantic region has much lower allelic diversity than the Western Australia region, promoting the recommendation for increased protection of sites in this region in order to preserve remaining genetic diversity and new potential breeding habitats.     

Genus Carvaka Distant in Australia (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Selenocephalinae)

Abstract  The leafhopper genus Carvaka Distant (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Selenocephalinae) in Australia is reviewed in light of recent publications on the subfamily Selenocephalinae in the Oriental region. The genus Exitianellus Evans is transferred from the subfamily Deltocephalinae to the Paraboloponini and synonymised with Carvaka . Carvaka elegantula (Evans) comb. nov. is redescribed and three new species, C. mouldsorum , C. maculata and C. flava are added to the genus. A key for the separation of the Australian species of Carvaka is provided. The Australian fauna represents all three recognised species groups of the genus. The significance of this to the biogeographical origins of the Australian fauna is discussed.     

Phylogenetic analysis of a group of palaeonemerteans (Nemertea) including two new species from Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Sundberg, P., Gibson, R. & Olsson, U. (2003). Phylogenetic analysis of a group of palaeonemerteans (Nemertea) including two new species from Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. — Zoologica Scripta, 32, 279–296.
Based on 18S rDNA nucleotide sequences and morphological characters, we reconstruct the phylogeny for a group of palaeonemerteans estimated to be monophyletic. Two new palaeonemertean species from Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia are included in the phylogenetic analysis. The results confirm that one of the species, Cephalothrix queenslandica sp. n., is part of the Cephalothrix–Cephalotrichella–Procephalothrix group. These genera are redefined phylogenetically under the name Cephalothrix based on the cladistic analysis. The other species, Balionemertes australiensis gen. et sp. n., is placed in a new genus which forms a sister taxon to Cephalothrix . The morphology of both new species is described in detail.     

A new species of Bentleya. Bennett (Pittosporaceae) from southern Western Australia

CRISP, M. D. & TAYLOR, J. M., 1990. A new species of Bentleya E. Bennett (Pittosporaceae) from southern Western Australia. Hitherto Bentleya has been a monotypic genus known from a restricted area in south-west Western Australia. This paper describes a second species which was discovered recently in the same region. The new species differs from B. spinescens in its remarkable habit but shares with it several floral characters which are unique within the family.     

THE INVASIVE GENUS ASPARAGOPSIS (BONNEMAISONIACEAE,RHODOPHYTA): MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS,MORPHOLOGY, AND ECOPHYSIOLOGY OF FALKENBERGIA ISOLATES1

The genus Asparagopsis was studied using 25 Falkenbergia tetrasporophyte strains collected worldwide. Plastid (cp) DNA RFLP revealed three groups of isolates, which differed in their small subunit rRNA gene sequences, temperature responses, and tetrasporophytic morphology (cell sizes). Strains from Australia, Chile, San Diego, and Atlantic and Mediterranean Europe were identifiable as A. armata Harvey, the gametophyte of which has distinctive barbed spines. This species is believed to be endemic to cold‐temperate waters of Australia and New Zealand and was introduced into Europe in the 1920s. All isolates showed identical cpDNA RFLPs, consistent with a recent introduction from Australia. Asparagopsis taxiformis (Delile) Trevisan, the type and only other recognized species, which lacks spines, is cosmopolitan in warm‐temperate to tropical waters. Two clades differed morphologically and ecophysiologically and in the future could be recognized as sibling species or subspecies. A Pacific/Italian clade had 4–8° C lower survival minima and included a genetically distinct apomictic isolate from Western Australia that corresponded to the form of A. taxiformis originally described as A. sanfordiana Harvey. The second clade, from the Caribbean and the Canaries, is stenothermal (subtropical to tropical) with some ecotypic variation. The genus Asparagopsis consists of two or possibly three species, but a definitive taxonomic treatment of the two A. taxiformis clades requires study of field‐collected gametophytes.     

Older than New Caledonia emergence? A molecular phylogenetic study of the eneopterine crickets (Orthoptera: Grylloidea)

Aim A New Caledonian insect group was studied in a world‐wide phylogenetic context to test: (1) whether local or regional island clades are older than 37 Ma, the postulated re‐emergence time of New Caledonia; (2) whether these clades show evidence for local radiations or multiple colonizations; and (3) whether there is evidence for relict taxa with long branches in phylogenetic trees that relate New Caledonian species to geographically distant taxa. Location New Caledonia, south‐west Pacific. Methods We sampled 43 cricket species representing all tribes of the subfamily Eneopterinae and 15 of the 17 described genera, focusing on taxa distributed in the South Pacific and around New Caledonia. One nuclear and three mitochondrial genes were analysed using Bayesian and parsimony methods. Phylogenetic divergence times were estimated using a relaxed clock method and several calibration criteria. Results The analyses indicate that, under the most conservative dating scenario, New Caledonian eneopterines are 5–16 million years old. The largest group in the Pacific region dates to 18–29 Ma. New Caledonia has been colonized in two phases: the first around 10.6 Ma, with the subsequent diversification of the endemic genus Agnotecous, and the second with more recent events around 1–4 Ma. The distribution of the sister group of Agnotecous and the lack of phylogenetic long branches in the genus refute an assumption of major extinction events in this clade and the hypothesis of local relicts. Main conclusions Our phylogenetic studies invalidate a simple scenario of local persistence of this group in New Caledonia since 80 Ma, either by survival on the New Caledonian island since its rift from Australia, or, if one accepts the submergence of New Caledonia, by local island‐hopping among other subaerial islands, now drowned, in the region during periods of New Caledonian submergence.     

Haramonas viridissp. nov. (Raphidophyceae, Heterokontophyta), a new sand-dwelling raphidophyte from cold temperate waters

A new, marine, sand‐dwelling raphidophyte from Sylt, Germany, Haramonas viridis Horiguchi et Hoppenrath sp. nov. is described. This represents a second species in the previously monotypic genus Haramonas, which was originally described from a sand sample from a mangrove river mouth in tropical Australia, based on the type species, H. dimorpha. This new species from a cold temperate region: (i) possesses a tubular invagi‐nation in the posterior part of the cell; (ii) produces copious amounts of mucilage in culture; (iii) possesses both motile and non‐motile stages in its life cycle; and (iv) has overlapping discoidal chloroplasts, all of which are diagnostic features of the genus Haramonas. Therefore, it is indisputable that this species belongs to this genus. However, the species from Sylt differs from the type species of the genus in: (i) having a larger cell size; (ii) possessing a larger number of chloroplasts; and (iii) being greenish in color. The ultrastructural study revealed that the structure of the tubular invagi‐nation was the same as that of the type species.     

New World Heterotermes (Isoptera,Rhinotermitidae): molecular phylogeny,biogeography and description of a new species

Heterotermes Froggatt is a subterranean termite genus consisting of 30 living described species worldwide, with nine occurring in the New World. Herein we provide a molecular phylogeny, using both mitochondrial and nuclear markers, of all New World species of Heterotermes, including biogeographical analysis, and describe a new species from Paraguay and Bolivia, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Our analysis recovered the New World species as paraphyletic to a monophyletic Australian clade. Within this New World + Australian clade, two monophyletic major groups were formed c. 28 Ma: the aureus- and tenuis-groups. The aureus-group has a disjunct and broad distribution consisting of two clades. The first clade extends into the Nearctic region and a second is composed of a branch in the Caatinga and Cerrado biomes (H. sulcatus Mathews) and a branch in the Chacoan biome (a new species, Heterotermes lauralinearum Carrijo sp.n. ). The tenuis-group is composed of four broadly distributed Neotropical species and the Australian clade. A single dispersion event from South America to Australia probably occurred between 13 and 24 Ma. Heterotermes crinitus Emerson was the first to diverge, being sister group of all other species in the tenuis-group, followed by Heterotermes assu Constantino. An analysis of the historical biogeography of Heterotermes suggests that jump dispersal was the most important cladogenetic process for the genus. This study is the most comprehensive phylogeny of Heterotermes and contributes to the understanding of termite evolution and geographic distribution in the New World, complementing recent studies focused on worldwide patterns. This published work has been registered on Zoobank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8951A29B-8B69-4CD5-B9DF-2C70D4628D97 .     

New species of the myrmecophile Polyplocotes Westwood (Coleoptera: Ptinidae) from South Australia

Six new species of the Australian myrmecophilous ptinid genus Polyplocotes are described from South Australia. Three are from the deserts of central Australia, one from the Franklin Islands in the Great Australian Bight, one from Eyre Peninsula and one from the Riverland region. Morphologically, the majority of these new species are conventional Polyplocotes , but two are less typical. The characters uniting the genus are explored in the discussion, and comparisons are made to related genera. Although the six new species described here have not been observed in the field, the species of this genus are known to be myrmecophilous, and ant – beetle interactions similar to those seen in other spider beetles might occur between these new species and their host ants.