A new combination and key to the species of Cuviera subgenus Globulostylis (Rubiaceae: Vanguerieae) from Central Africa

Summary  A new combination, Cuviera cuvieroides (Wernham) Onana is proposed for the Central African taxon currently known as Globulostylis cuvieroides Wernham. A key to distinguish the seven species of the subgenus Globulostylis Verdc. is presented.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Warneckea austro-occidentalis</Emphasis>, a new species from Cameroon and Nigeria,and re-evaluation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">W. fascicularis</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">mangrovensis</Emphasis> (Melastomataceae-Olisbeoideae)

Summary  Described and illustrated is Warneckea austro-occidentalis R. D. Stone, an endemic of tropical forests in Cameroon’s South West Province and adjacent Nigeria. The name W. mangrovensis (Jacq.-Fél.) R. D. Stone is also proposed at species level for the taxon originally described as W. fascicularis var. mangrovensis Jacq.-Fél. An IUCN (2001) status of endangered is assigned for both W. austro-occidentalis and W. mangrovensis.     

Congruent phylogeographical patterns of eight tree species in Atlantic Central Africa provide insights into the past dynamics of forest cover

Cycles of Quaternary climatic change are assumed to be major drivers of African rainforest dynamics and evolution. However, most hypotheses on past vegetation dynamics relied on palaeobotanical records, an approach lacking spatial resolution, and on current patterns of species diversity and endemism, an approach confounding history and environmental determinism. In this context, a comparative phylogeographical study of rainforest species represents a complementary approach because Pleistocene climatic fluctuations may have left interpretable signatures in the patterns of genetic diversity within species. Using 1274 plastid DNA sequences from eight tree species (Afrostyrax kamerunensis, A. lepidophyllus, Erythrophleum suaveolens, Greenwayodendron suaveolens, Milicia excelsa, Santiria trimera, Scorodophloeus zenkeri and Symphonia globulifera) sampled in 50 populations of Atlantic Central Africa (ACA), we averaged divergence across species to produce the first map of the region synthesizing genetic distinctiveness and standardized divergence within and among localities. Significant congruence in divergence was detected mostly among five of the eight species and was stronger in the northern ACA. This pattern is compatible with a scenario of past forest fragmentation and recolonization whereby forests from eastern Cameroon and northeastern Gabon would have been more affected by past climatic change than those of western Cameroon (where one or more refugia would have occurred). By contrast, southern ACA (Gabon) displayed low congruence among species that may reflect less drastic past forest fragmentation or a more complex history of vegetation changes. Finally, we also highlight the potential impact of current environmental barriers on spatial genetic structures.     

Ecology and Distribution of Melastomataceae in African Rain Forest Inselbergs1

The ecology and distribution of thirty‐seven Melastomataceae species found on 29 inselbergs in the rain forest of Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Cameroon are described. The relative contributions of climatic determinism, and stochastic and historical processes to the present distribution of the species amongst the study sites are investigated. Inselbergs are rock outcrops enduring very harsh edaphic and microclimatic conditions, forming “xeric islands” in the rain forest, where natural grasslands develop. For each Melastomataceae species, the habitats where they were collected on the inselbergs and in other biotopes were listed, and their phytogeographical distribution was established. Three species are restricted to rock outcrops. Most species are distributed inside the Guineo‐Congolian Region. Three species have disjunct distributions on rain forest inselbergs and have their main distribution area outside the forested zone. The distribution of the species amongst the inselbergs is correlated to the altitude and the annual rainfall of the sites, and to inselberg geographical location. This correlation of the species distribution with the geographical location of the inselberg is attributed to the spatial autocorrelation of environmental variables and to the combined effects of the history of past vegetation changes due to climatic fluctuations and dispersal limitation.     

Taxonomy of Foenobethylus Kieffer (Hymenoptera,Bethylidae) with description of two new species

The genus Foenobethylus Kieffer from Southeastern Asia is studied, and seven species are recognized. Four previously described species are analyzed and had their known distribution broadened: F. gracilis Kieffer, F. elongatus Várkonyi and Polaszek, F. emiliacasellae Várkonyi and Polaszek, and F. thomascokeri Várkonyi and Polaszek. Two new species are described and illustrated, F. sharkeyi sp. nov. is characterized by having the metatrochanter without spine and the metafemur with acute proximal spine; and F. pyramidis sp. nov. is characterized by having the metatrochanter with one spine and the metafemur with two spines. The following new combination is established: F. thaianus comb. nov. from Parascleroderma because it has the metafemur with two proximal spines. An update world key to the species of genus is provided.     

Caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Papua New Guinea,with the description of a new species

This is the first study of caprellid amphipods from the coast of Papua New Guinea. Several collections from Madang Lagoon (north) and Bootless Bay (south) have been studied. Seven species in seven genera are recorded, of which Pseudoproto papua sp. nov. is described as new to science. The genus Pseudoproto Mayer, 1903 has consisted, so far, of only one species, Pseudoproto fallax Mayer, 1903. Although only a single male has been found of Pseudoproto papua sp. nov., differences in antennae, mouthparts, gnathopod 2 and pereopods 3 and 4 have revealed that it represents a new species of Pseudoproto. Lateral view figures of all species, together with a key to species level for the Caprellidea from Papua New Guinea are also included. Communicated by H.-D. Franke     

Taxonomy of the genus Metolinus Cameron (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae, Xantholinini) from China with description of three new species

This paper studies the taxonomy of the genus Metolinus Cameron, 1920 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Staphylininae, Xantholinini) from China and describes three new species: Metolinus xizangensissp. n. from Xizang (Tibet), Metolinus emarginatussp. n. fromSichuan, and Metolinus binariussp. n. from Yunnan. The Chinese fauna of the genus is thus increased to 8 species in total. A key to eight Chinese species is provided. Female genital segments and other important morphological characters are illustrated in line drawings for the new species as well as Metolinus shanicus Bordoni, 2002 and Metolinus gardneri (Cameron, 1945). The text also provides color plates with habitus photographs and a map to show the species' geographical distribution pattern. The type specimens of the new species are deposited in Institute of Zoology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZ-CAS).     

Taxonomy and phylogeny of Leptopilina species (Hymenoptera: Cynipoidea: Figitidae) attacking frugivorous drosophilid flies in Japan,with description of three new species

Despite the intensive use of the Leptopilina genus and its drosophilid hosts as model systems in the study of host–parasitoid interactions, the diversity and distribution of the species occurring in the Asian region remain elusive. Here we report the phylogeny of Japanese Leptopilina species attacking frugivorous drosophilid flies, based on COI, ITS1 and ITS2 sequences. Consistent with molecular data, hybridization experiments and morphological examination, five species were recorded in Japan: Leptopilina heterotoma, L. victoriae and three new species, two occurring in the Ryukyu archipelago, L. ryukyuensis and L. pacifica, and another species, L. japonica, distributed in Honshu and Hokkaido. Leptopilina japonica is further divided into two subspecies, L. j. japonica occurring in Japan, and L. j. formosana occurring in Taiwan. According to these results, we discuss the evolution, speciation and colonization history of Japanese Leptopilina species.     

Notes on the soil ciliate biota (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from the Shimba Hills in Kenya (Africa): diversity and description of three new genera and ten new species

A very diverse ciliate community was found in nine soil samples from the Shimba Hills Nature Reserve in Kenya, equatorial Africa. The ciliates, respectively, their resting cysts, were re-activated from air-dried samples using the non-flooded Petri dish method. Species were determined from life and by silver impregnation. 34 (27%) of the 125 taxa identified had not yet been described in 1985, when the samples were collected and investigated. The richest samples, each containing 59 species, were those from a deciduous primary forest and a young secondary pine forest. The most remarkable species discovered in the Shimba Hills were Krassniggia auxiliaris, Bresslauides terricola, Gigantothrix herzogi, and Afrothrix darbyshirei. They are flagships with a very distinct morphology and easy to recognise due to their extraordinarily large body size. Krassniggia auxiliaris occurs also in Australia and probably has a restricted Gondwanan distribution, like some other ciliates. Bresslauides terricola was later found in soils from all main biogeographical regions, except for Antarctica. Gigantothrix herzogi and Afrothrix darbyshirei are still unique to the Shimba Hills. The following taxa are described in detail: Sikorops woronowiczae nov. gen., nov. spec., Arcuospathidium multinucleatum nov. spec., Dileptus similis Foissner, 1995, Plagiocampa bitricha nov. spec., Drepanomonas exigua exigua Penard, 1922, D. exigua bidentata nov. sspec., Parafurgasonia protectissima (Penard, 1922) nov. comb., P. terricola nov. spec., Brachyosoma brachypoda mucosa nov. sspec., Gigantothrix herzogi nov. gen., nov. spec., Afrothrix darbyshirei nov. gen., nov. spec., Oxytricha africana nov. spec., and O. elegans nov. spec.     

The “Falcatae”, a new Gondwanan species group of Gieysztoria (Platyhelminthes: Dalyelliidae), with the description of five new species

GieysztoriaRuebush and Hayes, 1939, the most species-rich genus of limnic rhabdocoels (Platyhelminthes: Dalyelliidae), is subdivided into several groups based on stylet morphology. Most taxa are known from the Palearctic and the Neotropics. Very little is known about limnic, free-living flatworms in other tropical and subtropical regions. In this contribution five new species of Gieysztoria are described from India, Australia and South Africa, all former Gondwanan fragments. Gieysztoria garudae n. sp., G. ashokae n. sp. and G. ramayana n. sp. were collected in Goa (India), G. stokesi n. sp. in the Northern Territory (Australia) and G. zuluensis n. sp. in KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). All these new species share a typical, very complex stylet morphology, which deviates strongly from that of the groups into which the bulk of the other species within this genus are classified. Therefore a new subgroup, the “Falcatae”, is erected. In addition, four known species could also be included in this subgroup. Possible homologies, common ancestry and biogeographic distribution patterns are discussed.     

Trichaptum (Basidiomycota, Hymenochaetales) from China with a description of three new species

Trichaptum imbricatum, T. perenne and T. podocarpi are three new species from China. They are described, illustrated and compared in this paper with similar species. Trichaptum imbricatum is unique in its imbricate basidiocarps, white to cream hymenophores, small and regular pores, and scattered and thin-walled cystidia. Trichaptum perenne differs from other species in the genus in its perennial and pileate habit, its large pores and entire dissepiments, and oblong, ellipsoid basidiospores. Trichaptum podocarpi is distinguished in having totally resupinate basidiocarps, distinctly long cystidia, and in its habitat on Podocarpus. A key to species of Trichaptum occurring in China is provided; statistical variations of spore dimensions for each species are included in the key.     

中国沟胸步甲属分类研究及一新种描述(鞘翅目： 步甲科： 壶步甲族)

【目的】沟胸步甲属Holcoderus属于鞘翅目(Coleoptera)步甲科(Carabidae)壶步甲族(Lebiini)。本研究旨在对该属在中国分布的各个种进行分类厘定。【方法】基于中国科学院动物研究所的馆藏标本以及欧洲多家博物馆的模式标本,采用形态比较学方法开展研究。【结果】共发现中国沟胸步甲属5种,其中包括新种1种(双毛沟胸步甲H. bisetus sp. n.,模式产地：云南西双版纳),中国新纪录种3种(雅沟胸步甲H. gracilis、绿沟胸步甲H. smaragdinus和红腿沟胸步甲H. aeripennis)。提供了中国所有种类的形态描述及特征图,并编制了分种检索表。【结论】至此,我国所分布的沟胸步甲属物种从此前记录的1种增加至5种。