New species of Hypolytrum Rich. (Cyperaceae) from the Neotropics

Five new species ofHypolytrum Rich. from South America are described and illustrated.Hypolytrum amorimii andH. jardimii, both of sect.Bullata T. Koyama, are species with pseudopetioles and colored leaves, and endemic to the rain forest of southeastern Brazil.Hypolytrum bahiense (sect.Hypolytrum), a species with a lax synflorescence and two, free and lightly scabridulous floral bracts, is endemic to the rain forest of southeastern Bahia, Brazil.Hypolytrum leptocalamum (sect.Hypolytrum), a species with lax synflorescence and spike ellipsoid to cylindrical, is restricted to area of tepuis in the Guayana Highland (Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela).Hypolytrum paraense (sect.Hypolytrum), a species with three, partly connate and densely scabridulous floral bracts, is restricted to the rain forest of the Amazon Basin, in the state of Pará, Brazil.     

Three new species,four new records and an updated checklist of Habenaria (Orchidaceae) from Rio Grande do Sul,Brazil

Three new species of Habenaria (Orchidaceae) section Nudae from Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, are described and illustrated: Habenaria australis, H. kleinii and H. sobraliana. These are the first records of H. sect. Nudae for the state. Based on the examination of living and dried specimens, a total of 33 species and 400 collections of Habenaria were recorded for Rio Grande do Sul. Based on this survey, an updated checklist of the genus Habenaria for Rio Grande do Sul has been compiled. Four species are known only from this state, while seven other species are restricted to southern Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Habenaria hieronymi, previously known only from Argentina, is recorded for the first time from Brazil, and H. brachyphyton, H. ekmaniana and H. melanopoda are new records for Rio Grande do Sul.     

The phylogeny and geography of Myrceugenia (Myrtaceae)

Myrceugenia is a mainly temperate South American genus with two species on the Juan Fernández Islands, 12 in central and southern Chile and adjacent Argentina, and 25 in the highlands of southeastern Brazil and adjacent regions. The continental populations are separated by about 1000 km. Numerical cladistic procedures based on the criteria of parsimony, compatible characters and a combination of compatible characters and character correlation are used to deduce hypothetical phylogenetic undirected trees. These indicate that 3–8 groups of species bridge the continent of South America. An explanation of how the distribution of the genus could have come about is given based on: 1) the above mentioned numerical analyses, 2) the ecology of the species, 3) the distribution of other plant genera, and 4) theories of the geologic and climatic history of southern South America. Myrceugenia is hypothesized to have grown continuously across South America during the early Tertiary and to have become divided into eastern and western populations probably during the Miocene.     

Novelties in Chamaecrista section Absus (Caesalpiniaceae)

Described, figured and discussed are two new species ofChamaecrista sect.Absus from campo rupestre habitats in southeastern Brazil:Ch. axiliflora Irwin & Barneby, of seriesAdenophyllae, from central Bahia, related toCh. adenophylla (Taubert) Irwin & Barneby; andCh. gumminans Irwin & Barneby, of seriesGlutinosae, from central Minas Gerais, related toCh. stilifera Irwin & Barneby.     

Notes on Couepia and Hirtella (Chrysobalanaceae)

Three new species of Chrysobalanaceae from South America are described:Couepia bernardii, Hirtella barnebyi andH. confertiflora. TheCouepia guianensis complex is discussed, redefined and divided into three subspecies that include material previously recognized as separate species. Observations are also made on recent collections of three poorly known species ofHirtella, H. araguariensis,H. dorvalii andH. leonotis.     

New Glyptodont from the Codore Formation (Pliocene), Falcón State, Venezuela, its relationship with theAsterostemma problem, and the paleobiogeography of the Glyptodontinae

One of the basal Glyptodontidae groups is represented by the Propalaehoplophorinae (late Oligocene — middle Miocene), whose genera (Propalaehoplophorus, Eucinepeltus, Metopotoxus, Cochlops, andAsterostemma) were initially recognized in Argentinian Patagonia. Among these,Asterostemma was characterized by its wide latitudinal distribution, ranging from southernmost (Patagonia) to northernmost (Colombia, Venezuela) South America. However, the generic assignation of the Miocene species from Colombia and Venezuela (A.? acostae, A. gigantea, andA. venezolensis) was contested by some authors, who explicitly accepted the possibility that these species could correspond to a new genus, different from those recognized in southern areas. A new comparative study of taxa from Argentinian Patagonia, Colombia and Venezuela (together with the recognition of a new genus and species for the Pliocene of the latter country) indicates that the species in northern South America are not Propalaehoplophorinae, but represent the first stages in the cladogenesis of the Glyptodontinae glyptodontids, the history of which was heretofore restricted to the late Miocene — early Holocene of southernmost South America. Accordingly, we propose the recognition of the new genusBoreostemma for the species from northern South America and the restriction ofAsterostemma to the Miocene of Patagonia. Thus, the available data indicate that the Glyptodontinae would in fact have arisen in the northernmost regions of this continent. Their arrival to more southerly areas coincides with the acme of the “Age of Southern Plains”. The Propalaehoplophorinae are geographically restricted to Patagonia.     

Four new Brazilian species of Lonchocarpus (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Millettieae)

Lonchocarpus castaneifolius, L. grazielae, L. longiunguiculatus, and L. montanus from Brazil are described and illustrated based on field and herbarium studies. The first species belongs to Lonchocarpus sect. Punctati and is restricted to northeastern Brazil (Bahia state). The other three are included in sect. Laxiflori. Lonchocarpus grazielae is restricted to the southern coastal region (Santa Catarina state), L. montanus is found in northeastern Brazil (Bahia and Piauí states), the west-central region (Goiás and Tocantins states) and the southeast (Minas Gerais state), and L. longiunguiculatus occurs in northeastern (Bahia state) and southeastern (Minas Gerais state) Brazil.     

Taxonomy,distribution, and status of gibbons (Hylobates) in Southern China and adjacent areas

Gibbons are small and arboreal apes restricted to southeastern tropical and southern subtropical regions in Asia. They are distributed from Assam in the northwest, eastward to south China and Vietnam, south through the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and the Mentawai Islands. Twenty-two genetically distinct populations of gibbons are generally recognized. Gibbons were once widely distributed in China; however, they are now primarily restricted to southern and southwestern Yunnan and Hainan Island. Their widest distribution and greatest species diversity is in Yunnan Province. Gibbons are rare in China and are now listed as a first class endangered species. Four gibbon species inhabit Yunnan Province in southern China. They areH. hoolock, H. lar, H. leucogenys, andH. concolor. There are three subspecies ofH. leucogenys: H. l. leucogenys, H. l. siki, andH. l. gabriellae. OnlyH. l. leucogenys inhabits China. Four subspecies ofH. concolor inhabit China. These areH. c. concolor, H. c. jingdongensis, H. c. furvogaster, andH. c. hainanus. The first three subspecies inhabit Yunnan andH. c. hainanus is found only on Hainan Island.H. lar yunnanensis is the subspecies ofH. lar in southern China.H. hoolock leucogenys is the subspecies ofH. hoolock in southern China.H. concolor jingdongensis, H. concolor furvogaster, andH. lar yunnanensis are all newly proposed subspecies byMa andWang (1986). The data on southern China gibbons presented here is based on an analysis of the skeletons and skins of 49 specimens held at the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan.     

Five new species of Solanum section Geminata (Solanaceae) from South America

Five new species of South AmericanSolanum are described:S. morii from French Guiana,S. superbum andS. tumescens from Bolivia,S. platycypellon from southern Bolivia and northern Argentina andS. gertii from southeastern Brazil. An illustration and distribution map for each species is provided and relationships to close relatives are discussed.     

Three new species of Fufius Simon, 1888 (Araneae,Cyrtaucheniidae) from Brazil with the redescription of Fufius funebris Vellard, 1924 and description of the female of Fufius lucasae Guadanucci & Indicatti, 2004

The mygalomorph neotropical genus Fufius Simon, 1888 comprises ten species, distributed from Guatemala in Central America to southeastern Brazil, in South America. Most of the species were described from northern South America, in the Amazonian region. Only F. funebris Vellard, 1924 and F. lucasae Guadanucci & Indicatti, 2004 are known from regions more to the south of the continent. Herein we describe three new Brazilian species, Fufius minusculus sp. n. and F. jalapensis sp. n. from the state of Tocantins, and F. candango sp. n. from Distrito Federal. The female of F. lucasae is described for first time and the male and female of F. funebris are redescribed based on specimens collected at the type locality.     

Taxonomy of Gentiana,section Pneumonanthae,in eastern North America

The taxonomy ofGentiana (Gentianaceae), sect.Pneumonanthae, in eastern North America is reviewed. Two species and one variety recognized in recent literature are reduced to synonymy, while one overlooked variety is restored to recognition. Distributional data include several reductions in range resulting from examination of previously misidentified specimens. Thirteen species are native to eastern North America; all are restricted to it. Of these, three are primarily prairie species; three, Appalachian; three, coastal plain; two, southern plateau; one, eastern boreal; and one, Great Lakes region to central boreal. Interfertility and occasional natural hybridization are present even among the most morphologically diverse species.     

On the identity of Jacquinia armillaris (Theophrastaceae) and related species

TheJacquinia armillaris group, a natural assemblage of chiefly Caribbean taxa, is revised. The group was found to include three species with different but slightly overlapping distributions:J. keyensis Mez, northern Caribbean,J. arborea Vahl, of central and southern Caribbean, andJ. armillaris Jacq., of southern Caribbean (Lesser Antilles), northern South America, and eastern Brazil. All taxa are described and illustrated. Nomenclature is discussed and most names are typified.     

A revision of the genus Oxytheca Nutt. (Polygonaceae)

The genusOxytheca of western North America and temperate South America consists of seven species which are keyed, described, discussed, illustrated, and mapped. They are divided among sect.Oxytheca, sect.Acanthoscyphus stat. & comb. nov., and sect.Neoxytheca sect. nov.Oxytheca dendroidea subsp.chilensis is given as a new combination, whileO. parishii var.cienegensis andO. parishii var.goodmaniana are described as new. The history and relationships of the genus are discussed. It is retained as distinct fromEriogonum and is thought to have arisen from the larger genus nearE. spergulinum, E. parishii, andE. apiculatum in subgenusGanysma. Cytological data indicatedn= 20.     

Austral Hepaticae,IV. Notes on Lophozia subgenus Protoloplzozia Schust., with diagnosis of a new South American species

Abstract

The distinguishing features of Lophozia subg. Protolophozia are enumerated. A key is provided for the eleven species of this primarily cool antipodal and subantarctic subgenus. Lophozia gymnocoleopsis Schust. & Engel from southern Chile is described as new. This species and L. crispata, also of southern South America, are the only representatives of subg. Protolophozia in South America. Protolophozia sect. Notolophozia and sect. Gymnocoleopsis Schust. are described as new.     

Chusquea sect. Swallenochloa (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) and allies in Brazil

The 13 high altitude/latitude, dwarf species ofChusquea in Brazil are described, illustrated, and mapped, and their morphology, habitats, distributions, and taxonomic affinities are discussed. Two keys to species are provided, one based solely on vegetative characters, and the other on vegetative and flowering characters.Chusquea erecta, C. nutans, C. riosaltensis,C. windischii, C. caparaoensis, andC. nudiramea are described as new, andC. microphylla is elevated to specific status. Two subspecies are recognized within the variableC. mimosa: C. mimosa subsp.australis and subsp.mimosa. Seven species are formally classified withinChusquea sect.Swallenochloa; the remaining six species are classified into two informal categories, theNudiramea andHeterophylla groups. A list of all the species currently included withinChusquea sect.Swallenochloa is provided.     

Records and Stratigraphical Ranges of South American Tayassuidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla)

Tayassuidae represent one of the first mammalian immigrants that entered South America during the “Great American Biotic Interchange.” However, the exact moment of its arrival for the first time in South America is controversial. Three genera are recognized in South America: Platygonus, Catagonus, and Tayassu. This paper aims to: (1) review the paleontological record of the South American Tayassuidae and update it; and (2) discuss its geographical and statigraphical distribution pattern in South America. The genus Platygonus (middle Pliocene to early Pleistocene) is registered in Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, and Bolivia; Catagonus (late Pliocene? to Recent) in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Bolivia; and Tayassu (middle Pleistocene to Recent) in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. Platygonus and Catagonus have adaptations to dry and relatively open environments; in contrast, Tayassu is adapted mainly to humid climates and woodland and forest environments. The faunal changes that took place since the middle-late Pliocene could have been strongly influenced by climate. Open and arid environments developed during the glacial cycles, allowing the latitudinal expansion of Platygonus and Catagonus. Considering ecological and anatomical information, it is possible to infer that Platygonus species were replaced by those of Catagonus since the middle Pleistocene, probably due to a reduction of the open environments to which Platygonus species were better adapted. The alternation of these mainly arid or semiarid, cold conditions with warmer and more humid short pulses would have allowed the posterior expansion of Tayassu species. According to phylogenetic analysis and chronological as well as geographical evidence, Platygonus and Catagonus represent two Tayassuidae lineages that originated in North America and then migrated to South America. This migration would have occurred on more than one occasion and with different taxa. Evidence indicates that Tayassu represents a lineage that differentiated in the Southern Hemisphere and then migrated to North America.