Three new species and a new combination in the genusTorulomyces from soil

Seven isolates ofTorulomyces from Asian and Australian soil samples were studied in comparison with known taxa of the genus and withMonocillium indicum, the type species ofMonocillium. Three new species,Torulomyces parviverrucosus, T. laevis, andT. ovatus, are described, andT. brunneus is described as a new combination. Conidial characteristics, especially their shape and surface structure, are useful taxonomic criteria for distinguishing species ofTorulomyces. Monocillium is considered to be a distinct genus.     

Tachyoryctes makooka (Tachyoryctini,Spalacidae, Rodentia) and its bearing on the phylogeny of the Tachyoryctini

Abstract: The Rhizomyinae is a subfamily of myomorph rodents within the family Spalacidae. It is subdivided into two tribes: the Asian Rhizomyini and the Tachyoryctini. Even though the origin of the Tachyoryctini is to be found in Asia, they are nowadays restricted to Africa. African Tachyoryctini are known from the Late Miocene and include a single genus with five species: the recently discovered Tachyoryctes makooka, which is described in detail in this work, T. pliocaenicus, T. konjiti and the two extant T. splendens and T. macrocephalus. Their closest Asian counterparts are the Late Miocene Protachyoryctes and Eicooryctes. A cladistic analysis involving all the above‐mentioned taxa was carried out. Protachyoryctes tatroti turned out to be the most basal species of the ingroup followed by the Ethiopian T. makooka. Both taxa show some primitive traits like the protosinus on the first upper molars, short but distinct mesolophids on the lower molars and the presence of the mure on the cheek teeth. T. pliocaenicus and the most derived Tachyoryctini share the synapomorphic reduction or loss of these characters. The increase in hypsodonty evidenced in this lineage is correlated with the transition from a humid to a drier climate that started at the beginning of the Pliocene.     

New clade of silicified bolidophytes that belong to Triparma (Bolidophyceae,Stramenopiles)

The small phytoplankton genus Triparma belongs to the class Bolidophyceae and contains two distinct forms: silicified species and naked flagellated species (formerly Bolidomonas). Recent studies showed that four silicified species/strains (Triparma laevis f. inornata, T. laevis f. longispina, T. strigata, and T. aff. verrucosa) belong to a single clade that is paraphyletic, because it also contains an unclassified flagellated strain, and is sister to a flagellated species, T. eleuthera. In this study, we isolated and characterized two new strains of silicified species to test the phylogenetic unity of silicified bolidophytes. The isolates were identified as T. retinervis strains because they possessed fine areolation on the cell wall. 18S rDNA and rbcL phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that T. retinervis formed a new silicified clade that is sister to the flagellated species T. pacifica. This reveals that there are at least two distinct clades including both silicified and flagellated Triparma species.     

Genetic architecture of the Tetragonula carbonaria species complex of Australian stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

A species complex is a group of closely related species whose ecological or morphological boundaries are sufficiently vague that delimiting one species from another is difficult. In Australia, a group of four stingless bee species – Tetragonula carbonaria Smith, Tetragonula hockingsi Cockerell, Tetragonula mellipes Friese, and Tetragonula davenporti Franck – form a species complex in which gross morphology is clinal and overlapping. The species are most readily distinguished by the morphology of their brood combs. Here we genetically characterize bees sampled in areas where the species do and do not have contact. Our data corroborate previous evidence that T. hockingsi and T. carbonaria are genetically distinct and that there are two genetically distinct groups of T. hockingsi – one in the north and the other in the south of Queensland. Curiously, northern populations of T. hockingsi, which are allopatric to T. carbonaria, are genetically closer to T. carbonaria than are southern populations of T. hockingsi, which are in sympatry with T. carbonaria. We detected three hybrid colonies that appear to have arisen because of anthropogenic movement of T. hockingsi colonies from north to south of Queensland where males mated with local T. carbonaria queens. We discuss the status of T. davenporti, a recently described species cryptically similar to T. hockingsi from south‐east Queensland. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113 , 149–161.     

Taxonomic reexamination of the two species of blue-green algae,Calothrix scopulorum andC. crustacea

The taxonomic relationship between the 2 marine blue-green algae,Calothrix scopulorum andC. crustacea, which are considered to be conspecific by some authors, is discussed based on the statistical investigation of morphology with field and culture materials and on the phenological investigation. The presence or absence of intercalary heterocyst in the filament cannot be always used as a clear taxonomic character to distinguish the 2 species, judging from the result of culture experiment. However, it is confirmed that there are morphological differences between the two in the length of filament, the diameters of filament, trichome, hair, heterocyst and hormogon and the seriation of heterocyst in the filament, and that there are also ecological differences between the two in the color of plant, the tidal level of growth, the period of growth and the season of hormogon formation. From these facts it is concluded thatC. scopulorum andC. crustacea should be treated as separate species.     

Molecular data reveal that the tetraploid Tragopogon kashmirianus (Asteraceae: Lactuceae) is distinct from the North American T. mirus

Tragopogon kashmirianus (Asteraceae: Lactuceae) (2n = 24) was described based on collections from Kashmir. The tetraploid is morphologically similar to allotetraploid T. mirus from North America that has formed in western North America from the introduced T. dubius (2n = 12) and T. porrifolius (salsify; 2n = 12). Singh and Kachroo (1976 ) suggested that T. kashmirianus might have formed from the same diploid parental combination as T. mirus. To determine this, we investigated internal and external transcribed spacers (ITS, ETS) and five plastid regions of T. kashmirianus and species reported from Kashmir, northern India and neighbouring countries (T. badachschanicus, T. longirostris, T. porrifolius, T. pratensis, T. orientalis, T. subalpinus, T. trachycarpus, T. gracilis and T. dubius). Molecular data indicate that the parents of T. kashmirianus are not the European T. porrifolius and T. dubius. The exact parentage of T. kashmirianus is still unclear, but if it is an allotetraploid, at least one parent is a species native to Kashmir/India. Alternatively, it may represent an autopolyploid, again with the diploid parent native to Kashmir/India. We also found that ‘T. dubius’ from Kashmir is phylogenetically and morphologically distinct from collections of T. dubius from Europe and probably represents a previously unrecognized species. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158 , 391–398.     

Molecular study of the genus Astraeus

The aim of the present work was to determine phylogenetic relationships among Astraeus species and to support macroscopic and microscopic characters of Astraeus with analysis of the ITS rDNA region. Collections of Astraeus basidiomes were made from different geographical areas in Thailand and compared with existing collections made worldwide. The marriage of observations on morphological features, including basidiospore ornamentation and molecular data demonstrated the presence of several Astraeus species. Sequences for 41 Astraeus collections were compared and the phylogenetic analyses grouped Thai Astraeus collections into two distinct groups. One contained A. odoratus and an Asian species described herein as A. asiaticus. There are at least two additional species: A. pteridis, and one so far un-named from North America. Our results show that molecular data can be used in combination with traditional morphological characteristics to resolve taxonomic uncertainties in the genus Astraeus.     

Some observations on the taxonomy and systematics of the pentastomid genus Armillifer (Sambon, 1922) in south east Asian and Australian snakes

Summary The taxonomic status of three of the previously described Armillifer spp. is unequivocal but there is some confusion regarding A. moniliformis. By using three diagnostic criteria, namely, hook dimensions, annulus number and the form of the terminal segment, we have shown that A. moniliformis australis from Australasian pythons, previously considered as a race of A. moniliformis by Heymons (1932), is, in fact, a distinct species. These criteria also distinguish another species A. arborealis sp. nov. from Australasian tree snakes. The genus Ligamifer, which embraces the single species Ligamifer mazzai, is shown to be invalid. A reinterpretation of the morphology of the terminal segment firmly places the species within the genus Armillifer. The species is renamed Armillifer mazzai to preserve the nomenclatural homogeneity of the taxon. The latter now comprises seven species. There is a distinct possibility that some of the new species could utilize man as an accidental intermediate host. ac]19800813     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ambrosiella</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">beaveri,</Emphasis> sp. nov., Associated with an exotic ambrosia beetle, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xylosandrus mutilatus</Emphasis> (Coleoptera: Curculionidae,Scolytinae), in Mississippi,USA

Xylosandrus mutilatus is an Asian ambrosia beetle that has recently established in Mississippi, Texas, Alabama, and possibly Florida, USA. We investigated the fungi associated with the mycangia (specialized fungus-transporting structures) of X. mutilatus in Mississippi. Mycangia consistently yielded an Ambrosiella sp. which was subsequently found to be closely related to, but distinct from, other Ambrosiella species affiliated with Ceratocystis. This Ambrosiella is described herein as Ambrosiella beaveri sp. nov. Also isolated were Geosmithia lavendula, G. obscura, and a yeast, Candida homelintoma. It is likely Ambrosiella beaveri was introduced along with the beetle into North America.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Altingioxylon hainanensis</Emphasis> sp. nov.: earliest fossil wood record of the family Altingiaceae in Eastern Asia and its implications for historical biogeography

A new species, Altingioxylon hainanensis, is described from the Eocene Changchang Formation of the Changchang Basin on Hainan Island, South China. It is the first record of a fossil wood assigned to Altingiaceae found in China, and the most ancient evidence of wood for this family in eastern Asia. The new species is similar to A. rhodoleioides, known since the Miocene in India and Java Island, and to Altingia hisauchii from the Miocene to Pliocene of Japan. The close resemblance between these species and Liquidambar sp., known from the Middle Miocene of western North America, provides additional evidence for the migration of their ancestors from Asia to North America across the Bering land bridge during the Miocene. Distinctions in ray sizes between the eastern Asian specimens and their contemporaries from Europe to Kazakhstan is suggested as a result of the divergence between the large eastern Asian clade and the North American–west Asian clade within Altingiaceae during the Eocene–Oligocene. The presence of crystals in ray cells may be considered an ancestral condition that persists in the eastern Asian lineages up to the extant Altingia and Semiliquidambar, but which was lost in other Altingiaceae in the course of evolution.     

Tolmiea diplomenziesii: A new species from the Pacific Northwest and the diploid sister taxon of the autotetraploid T. menziesii (Saxifragaceae)

Tolmiea diplomenziesii, the diploid entity traditionally treated within a broadly circumscribed Tolmiea menziesii, is here formally described. Evidence is provided that this new species represents the diploid sister lineage to T., menziesii, which is re-circumscribed to include only autotetraploid plants. The diploid and autotetraploid entities are compared, and serve as an example of the level of taxonomic evidence for specific status that we consider appropriate for recognition of a cytological entity as a distinct species.     

Systematic revision of the yucca moths in the Tegeticula yuccasella complex (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae) north of Mexico

The yucca moths (Tegeticula and Parategeticula) are of great importance in studies of coevolution because of their obligate mutualism with their yucca hosts. Historically, three species of Tegeticula have been recognized. One of them, T. yuccasella, has been regarded as the pollinator of all but two yucca species, but morphological, molecular and biological data show that this is a large complex of monophagous and oligophagous species that differ greatly in their biology. It also includes derived ‘cheater’ species that do not pollinate their hosts and oviposit into fruits rather than flowers. Here the yuccasella complex north of Mexico is revised. The nominotypic pollinator species yuccasella is redescribed, and ten new pollinator species described: altiplanella, baccatella, carnerosanella, cassandra, elatella, maderae, mojavella, rostratella, superficiella and treculeanella. Two non-pollinating cheater species are recognized. One such species originally misidentified as a Prodoxus species, then synonymised with yuccasella, is re-erected as the non-pollinating intermedia. In addition, the new non-pollinator species corruptrix is described.     

The systematics and biology of the Costa Rican species of parasitic wasps in the Thyreodon genus-group (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)

This paper presents an eco‐taxonomic study of the Neotropical representatives of the Thyreodon genus‐group (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) present in Costa Rica, i.e. species of the genera Thyreodon and Rhynchophion. These ichneumonids are koinobiont endoparasitoids of the larvae of Sphingidae and Saturniidae. Intensive sampling in Costa Rica, conducted over 15 years, has revealed the presence of 23 species (12 of which are described here as new –Rhynchophion woodi, Thyreodon woodleyi, T. papei, T. whitfieldi, T. deansi, T. walkerae, T. sharkeyi, T. zitaniae, T. delvarei, T. schauffi, T. darlingi and T. carmeani), whereas earlier studies recognized only nine species in the same area. Several of the additional species we found are simply very scarce and thus unlikely to be encountered except by the type of intensive survey that, in the tropics, has only been conducted in Costa Rica. In some other cases, it has become apparent that more than one species has previously been confused under a single name. Thyreodon rufothorax Cameron is shown to be morphologically and biologically distinct from T. atriventris (Cresson), with which it has long been synonymized, and the relatively well‐known, chromatically distinctive species ‘T. laticinctus Cresson’ and ‘T. morosus Smith’ are both shown to be complexes of sibling species. Reared series have been essential in facilitating the separation of the species in these complexes. An illustrated key is provided to separate all taxa using simple morphological characters. Fourteen of the 23 species have been reared, and all have been found to be restricted to one or a few species of hosts, species of Thyreodon primarily on macroglossine Sphingidae (with one species on Saturniidae) and species of Rhynchophion on sphingine sphingids of the genus Manduca. No two species of these ichneumonids attack the same host caterpillar species, and not all species of macroglossines present in the study area are attacked by species in this genus‐group. Most species are apparently rather rare. Many have only been collected by rearing on a few occasions, other species have been collected at light (six in total) or in Malaise traps (ten in total), or by hand‐netting (20 in total), but no one method collected all of the species present in the principal study area, the Area Conservacion de Guanacaste. The two New World genera Rhynchophion and Thyreodon are found to be related to the Old World genera Dictyonotus and Euryophion, the former of which comprises species that are also sphingid parasitoids, whereas species of the latter attack the caterpillars of other large bombycoid moths, Saturniidae and Eupterotidae. A cladistic analysis shows that Thyreodon is the sister‐lineage to Dictyonotus, and Euryophion is the most basal lineage in the genus‐group. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 141 , 297–351.     

Systematics of the scimitar babblers (Pomatorhinus: Timaliidae): phylogeny,biogeography, and species‐limits of four species complexes

Monophyly of the scimitar babblers (Pomatorhinus, Xiphirhynchus: Timaliidae), traditionally defined by the characteristic of having long, curved bills, has been questioned by recent molecular phylogenetic results. We examined representatives of all scimitar babbler species complexes, including all distinct lineages of four complexes as well as several potential relatives, and corroborate that Xiphirhynchus and some species of Stachyris group within Pomatorhinus. Pomatorhinus species comprise three separate clades: larger scimitar babblers (Pomatorhinus hypoleucos, Pomatorhinus erythrogenys complexes); orange‐ and coral‐billed scimitar babblers (Pomatorhinus ochraceiceps, Pomatorhinus ferruginosus complexes); and small scimitar babblers (Pomatorhinus schisticeps, Pomatorhinus ruficollis, Pomatorhinus horsfieldii, Pomatorhinus montanus complexes). Additionally, at least two of the traditional species complexes are not monophyletic. Lineages of the ruficollis and schisticeps groups are intertwined, and P. montanus and P. horsfieldi group within the schisticeps complex. Upon revision of four traditional species complexes, P. hypoluecos, P. ferruginosus, P. schisticeps, and P. ruficollis (with 41 subspecies described in total), 27 distinct, independent lineages or phylogenetic species were distinguished. Two contrasting biogeographical patterns are evident in these groups: Sino‐Himalayan areas are either sister to south‐east Asian areas or are embedded within a clade of other Asian areas. The present study demonstrates the need for unraveling the confusion in traditional taxonomy to allow the study of complex biodiversity patterns in tropical Asia. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 102 , 846–869.     

Two new species of Landouria Godwin-Austen, 1918 from Timor-Leste (Stylommatophora,Camaenidae)

ABSTRACT

By employing comparative morphology and anatomy as well as mitochondrial phylogenetics, we have identified three species of Landouria Godwin-Austen, 1918 in Timor-Leste. One of these species is identified as L. cf winteriana (Pfeiffer, 1842), a species originally described from Java, but considered widespread throughout the Indonesian archipelago. The two other species are newly described as L. timorensis n. sp. and L. montana n. sp., respectively. Landouria timorensis n. sp. is similar to L. winteriana, but differs by a smaller shell and details of its penial morphology. Landouria montana n. sp. is only found at higher altitudes and is readily distinguishable by its distinctive shell. A mitochondrial phylogeny reveals L. omphalostoma from Yunnan as the sister lineage of all Sunda Islands species. Based on this observation, we maintain the systematic placement of the Sunda Islands species in Landouria despite some minor differences in their genital anatomy. Furthermore, our phylogeny demonstrates that the East Asian genus Aegista Albers, 1850 is the probable sister taxon of Landouria. However, we reject the proposal by Hirano et al. ([2014] Substantial incongruence among the morphology, taxonomy, and molecular phylogeny of the land snails Aegista, Landouria, Trishoplita, and Pseudobuliminus (Pulmonata: Bradybaenidae) occurring in East Asia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 70, 171–181) to synonymise both genera based on their markedly distinct reproductive anatomy.     

Phylogenetic and populational study of the Tuber indicum complex

When examined using SEM, Chinese samples of Tuber indicum and T. sinense displayed the same ascospore ornamentation as that of T. pseudohimalayense, T. indicum, collected in India by Duthie in 1899, and samples renamed T. himalayense in 1988. The different authors who named the four taxa (T. indicum, T. himalayense, T. sinense, T. pseudohimalyense) described differences in the surface of the peridium which could be considered as usual variations within a single species. We consider T. indicum, T. himalayense, T. sinense and T. pseudohimalayense as one species, T. indicum. Within this T. indicum complex, according to ITS and β-tubulin sequences, there are two groups in China, which could be considered as geographical ecotypes. This study is the first to identify a genetic and phylogeographical structure within the Chinese Tuber species.     

Three species groups in American trilliums as revealed by compatibility with an Asian species

American trilliums are all diploid and are classified into three groups with regard to compatibility withTrillium kamtschaticum, a single diploid Asian species: (1) Compatible pedicellate-flowered species, i.e.T. erectum, T. gleasoni, andT. vaseyi. (2) Incompatible pedicellate-flowered species, i.e.T. grandiflorum. (3) Incompatible sessile-flowered species, i.e.T. decunbens, T. luteum, T. sessile andT. stamineum. HybridsT. kamtschaticum×T. erectum flowered for the first time 9–10 years after sowing F₁ seeds. The F₁ were completely sterile in pollen and in seed-setting.     

Molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate paraphyly of the genus Hybomys (Rodentia: Muridae): Taxonomic implications

Widely distributed in Guineo‐Congolian forests, the genus Hybomys is represented by two species complexes (univittatus and trivirgatus), each restricted to one distinct forest block. In the last revision, these two species complexes were considered as distinct subgenera (Hybomys and Typomys). Previous morphological and karyological studies identified an important divergence between these two subgenera and raised the question of their taxonomic status (subgenus or genus). The number of species within this genus is also a matter of discussion: nine forms were described but only six (H. badius, H. basilii, H. lunaris, H. planifrons, H. trivirgatus, and H. univitttatus) are currently recognized as distinct species, the three others (H. pearcei, H. eisentrauti, and H. rufocanus) being considered as synonyms. The monophyly of the genus and its species have never been previously investigated with DNA sequence data. In this study, we combined mitochondrial and nuclear data (for a total of 3,264 nucleotide characters) to test the monophyly of Hybomys and to assess the specific status of H. eisentrauti and H. rufocanus. Our results highlight the paraphyly of the genus: members of the H. univittatus species complex appeared closely related to the genera Stochomys and Dephomys; representatives of H. trivirgatus are the sister clade of the node grouping Stochomys, Dephomys and member of the H. univittatus species complex. Combined with previous morphological findings, our results suggest that Typomys and Hybomys should be considered as two distinct genera. Based on tree topology and genetic distances, we propose to consider H. rufocanus as a valid species, distinct from H. univittaus, and to consider H. badius and H. eisentrauti as junior synonyms of H. rufocanus.