Cotesia invirae,sp. nov., from South Brazil: a new gregarious microgastrine wasp (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) reared from Opsiphanes invirae (Nymphalidae) feeding on palms

A new species of microgastrine wasp, Cotesia invirae Salgado-Neto & Whitfield, sp. nov., is described from southern Brazil in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. This species is a koinobiont gregarious larval endoparasitoid and spins a common mass of cocoons underneath the host caterpillars of Opsiphanes invirae (Huebner, 1818) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), feeding on the palm trees Syagrus romanzoffianum (Cham.) Becc.; Livistona chinensis (N.J. Jacquim) R. Brown; Roystonea regia (HBK) O.F. Cook; Archontophoenix cunninghamiana Wendland & Drude (Palmaceae). Morphological, molecular, biological, ecological and geographical data are integrated to describe the new species.     

A new sexually dimorphic mantidfly species of Allomantispa Liu et al., 2015 from China (Neuroptera: Mantispidae)

Allomantispa Liu et al., 2015 is the only extant genus of the mantidfly subfamily Drepanicinae from Eurasia, being endemic to the Oriental region. It currently consists of only two species from southeastern Tibet and northern Myanmar, respectively. Here we describe a new species of this rarely observed mantidfly genus, namely Allomantispa coniprocessa sp. nov. from Yunnan, China. Interestingly, the new species displays distinctive sexual dimorphic characters on the pronotum. The molecular identification reveals obvious genetic divergence between the allopatric individuals of the new species. Their morphological variations are illustrated and compared. In addition, some characters with taxonomic or phylogenetic significance present on the pronotum, the abdomen and the genitalia in Allomantispa are also discussed. Our finding updates the morphological and distributional information on Allomantispa and implies a more diverse fauna of this genus in the Oriental region than previously assumed.     

A new species of Serpentirhabdias Tkach,Kuzmin & Snyder, 2014 (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) parasitic in the brown ground snake Atractus major Boulenger (Reptilia: Serpentes: Dipsadidae) in Brazil

Serpentirhabdias atracti n. sp. is described based on specimens discovered in the lung of Atractus major Boulenger from Caxiuanã National Forest, Pará, Brazil. The new species is assigned to Serpentirhabdias Tkach, Kuzmin & Snyder, 2014 based on morphological characters (comparatively thin body cuticle without prominent inflations, arrangement of circumoral papillae in two lateral groups, pre-equatorial position of vulva, eggs in uteri at early cleavage stages), as well as because of its parasitism in snakes. The new species is most similar to S. vellardi (Pereira, 1928) due to the absence of lips and buccal capsule, similar body dimensions, and the specificity to dipsadid snakes in Brazil. The two species differ in the shape of the tail (bulbous dilatation in the posterior part followed by a thread-like tail tip present in S. atracti n. sp.), the width of the oesophagus, and the size of the excretory glands. Serpentirhabdias atracti n. sp. is the sixth species of this genus found in the Neotropical Region.     

The identity and synonymy of Acacia guilandinae,Mimosa obovata,M. pseudo-obovata,and M. laticifera (Mimosaceae)

Acacia guilandinae DC. is recognized asMimosa guilandinae (DC.) Barneby, endemic to French Guiana and adjoining Amapá, Brazil;M. pseudo-obovata is subordinated as a Brazilian var.pseudo-obovata (Taub.) Barneby to CaribbeanM. ceratonia L.; andM. laticifera is found synonymous withM. obovata Benth. Diagnostic morphological characters of each taxon are presented in key form.     

Discovery of an alien species of mayfly in South America (Ephemeroptera)

Despite its wide, almost worldwide distribution, the mayfly genus Cloeon Leach, 1815 (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) is restricted in the Western hemisphere to North America, where a single species is reported. In the Neotropics, except for some species wrongly attributed to the genus in the past, there are no records of Cloeon. Recently, however, specimens of true Cloeon were collected along the coast of Espírito Santo, Southeastern Brazil. In order to verify the hypothesis that this species was recently introduced to Brazil, our aim was to identify the species based on morphological and molecular characters and to confirm the presence of true representatives of the genus in the Neotropics. Our results revealed that the specimens found in Brazil belong to the Afrotropical species C. smaeleni Lestage, 1924. The identity of the species, its distribution, along with its previous absence in regularly sampled sites, is a clear sign that the specimens of C. smaeleni found in Espírito Santo are introduced, well established, and that the colonization took place very recently.     

Life history and description of larva and pupa of Platyphileurus felscheanus Ohaus, 1910, a scarabaeid feeding on bromeliad tissues in Brazil,to be excluded from Phileurini (Coleoptera,Scarabaeidae, Dynastinae)

The third instar larvae and the pupae of Platyphileurus felscheanus Ohaus, 1910 (Phileurini), recently synonymized with Surutu jelineki Endrődi, 1975 (Cyclocephalini), are described and illustrated, and some life history information is given. The larvae were collected and reared in bromeliads in rain forests of Santa Catarina state in southern Brazil. The systematic position of this monotypic genus is reassessed at the tribe level by considering larval and adult morphological characters. Both character sets, being described and illustrated, suggest the placement of Platyphileurus in the tribe Oryctini.     

New species of grasses in Arberella,Cryptochloa, and Raddia (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Olyreae)

Two new species are described inArberella, one from Panama (Arberella lancifolia) and one from Bahia, Brazil (a. bahiensis), the latter representing a considerable extension of the known range of the genus.Cryptochloa decumbens, described from Panama, brings to ten the species recognized in this genus andRaddia angustifolia, from Bahia, increases to five the number of species in that genus. Each new species is fully illustrated and keyed.     

Phylogeny of the Atlantic and Pacific species of Ligophorus (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae): Morphology vs. molecules

Within ectoparasitic fish monogeneans, the genus Ligophorus contains a high number of species from which several were recently described. The precise determination of their taxonomic status requires robust diagnostic morphologic features that rely predominantly on a restricted set of sclerotized structures. In the present study, these morphological characters were used for the reconstruction of a phylogenetic tree, which was compared with a tree built from molecular data (28S and ITS1 DNA sequences). Thirty-eight morphological characters were used in 29 species of Ligophorus from the Atlantic and Pacific regions and 5 species within close genera of Dactylogyridae. The morphological and molecular phylogenetic trees are congruent and suggest that the genus Ligophorus is monophyletic, and that species parasitizing Liza spp. and Chelon labrosus occupy basal positions. The present study suggests that host switching is a common event in this host–parasite association, because about half of the species infecting the same host species are not close relatives. Following host switching, dispersal with vicariance is probably an important force shaping the present distribution and diversity of Ligophorus. The pattern of occurrence of Ligophorus spp. on Mugil cephalus supports that reproductive isolation and therefore parallel speciation are taking place among these parasitic organisms.     

Four new species of Trembleya (Melastomataceae: Microlicieae) from Serra do Cabral, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Nine species of the Brazilian endemic genus, Trembleya, were collected during a floristic survey of the tribe Microlicieae on Serra do Cabral, an isolated mountain range in north-central Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Four of these are newly described and illustrated here: Trembleya inversa, T. purpurascens, T. rubra, and T. serrulata, represent new taxa for the genus. These new species appear to be endemic to Serra do Cabral where they occur in campo rupestre and cerrado vegetation. Serra do Cabral has the distinction of harboring more species of Trembleya than any other mountain range in Brazil.     

Lopesia indaiensis (Diptera,Cecidomyiidae), a new species of gall midge feeding on Andira fraxinifolia Benth (Fabaceae), an endemic plant in Brazil

Lopesia indaiensis (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae), a new species of gall midge found causing galls on Andira fraxinifolia (Fabaceae), an endemic plant species in Brazil, is described based on larva, pupa, male and female. L. indaiensis galls were collected in Dores do Indaiá, State of Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil. Larvae were removed from the galls and pupae and adults were obtained by rearing. The specimens were mounted on slides and the most important morphological characters were illustrated. The new species was compared to the other species of Lopesia.     

Revision of the dioecious genus chersodoma phil. (Senecioneae,Asteraceae), including a new species and status change

A revision of the dioecious genus Chersodoma (Senecioneae, Asteraceae) recognizes nine species, including a new species, C. deltoidea Sagást. & M. O. Dillon, from northern Peru and a status change for a northwestern Argentine endemic, C. glabriuscula (Cabrera) M. O. Dillon & Sagást. Chersodoma is confined to the Andean Cordillera and is the only dioecious member of the Senecioneae in continental South America. A cladistic analysis of a morphological data set supports the monophyly of the genus and the recognition of two previously established subgenera. Subgenus Chersodoma contains three species (C. argentina, C. candida, C. jodopappa) with greatest diversity in the semi-arid puna of northwestern Argentina and adjacent Bolivia and Chile. Subgenus Diclinanthus B. Nord., contains six species (C. antennaria, C. arequipensis, C. deltoidea, C. juanisernii, C. glabriuscula, and C. ovopedata) with greatest diversity in Peru. A key to Andean genera of Senecioneae is provided. A discussion of species relationships and historical biogeography is presented as suggested by morphological parsimony analysis.     

Ellipsomyxa tucujuensis n. sp. (Myxozoa: Ceratomyxidae), a parasite of Satanoperca jurupari (Osteichthyes: Cichlidae) from the Brazilian Amazon

The present study describes a new coelozoic, eukaryotic microparasite of the genus Ellipsomyxa Køie, 2003 (Ceratomyxidae: Myxozoa) found parasitizing the gallbladder of Satanoperca jurupari Heckel, 1840 collected in the Curiaú River Environmental Protection Area in Macapá, Amapá state, Brazil. The fish were collected using mesh cast net. The gallbladders were examined, preserved in 80% alcohol for molecular analysis (SSU rDNA gene), and fixed in Davidson for histological slide preparation. The new parasite had a prevalence of 81% in the gallbladder, asymmetric plasmodia, irregular free spores in the bladder fluid, with no cyst formation. The spores are elliptical, with characteristics of the genus Ellipsomyxa, and they had a mean length of 10.11 (8.56–10.5) μm, mean width of 7.81 (5.96–9.56) μm, and thick walls. The polar capsules are sub-spherical in shape, slightly asymmetrical, with a mean length of 3.12 (2.31–3.99) μm and mean width of 2.5 (2.22–2.95) μm, containing polar filament with five or six coils perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the capsule. The Bayesian Inference assigned the new species to a subclade formed by a lineage of Ellipsomyxa species from the Amazon region. Ellipsomyxa tucujuensis n. sp. is the sixth species of this genus described in fish from the Amazon region, and the first for the state of Amapá.     

A new species of rhytachne (Poaceae: Andropogoneae) from northern South America

Rhytachne gonzalezii is described and illustrated. It ranges from Apure, Venezuela to Pará, Brazil. It is the third annual species known in this tropical African-American genus. Previously it had been confounded with the perennialR. rottboellioides from which it differs in its habit, branching culms, smaller sessile spikelets and rachis internodes, and awned upper glume.     

Convergence and Divergence in Direct and Indirect Life-History Traits of Closely Related Parasitoids (Braconidae: Microgastrinae)

Closely related species in nature often show similarities in suites of direct and indirect traits that reveal aspects of their phylogenetic history. Here we tested how common descent affects trait evolution in several closely related parasitoid species in the genera Cotesia and Microplitis (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) by comparing development, resource use and allocation into reproduction and maintenance. Parasitoids in these genera exhibit traits, like haemolymph feeding as larvae and external pupation that are rare in most parasitoid lineages. The growth of parasitized hosts was reduced by 90 % compared with healthy hosts, and maximum host size depended to a large extent on adult parasitoid size. Development time was longer in the more generalist parasitoids than in the specialists. Adult body mass was sexually dimorphic in all Cotesia species, with females being larger, but not in Microplitis spp. In contrast, in one of the Microplitis species males were found to be the larger sex. Egg load dynamics during the first 6 days after emergence were highly variable but egg number was typically higher in Cotesia spp. compared to Microplitis spp. Longevity in the various species was only greater in female than in male wasps in two Microplitis sp. There was a clear inverse relationship between resource use and allocation, e.g. maximum egg load and longevity, in these parasitoids. Our results reveal that adaptation to constraints imposed by host quality and availability has resulted in trait convergence and divergence at the species, genus and subfamily level.     

Two new dimorphic soft-coral species (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) from Antarctica

Sphaeralcyon shackletonisp. nov. and Sphaeralcyon scottisp. nov. are described and illustrated from material collected at the Scotia Sea and Weddell Sea on the Polarstern cruises ANT XIX/3 (ANDEEP-I), ANT XIX/5 (LAMPOS), and ANT XXI/2 (BENDEX). With the discovery of Sphaeralcyon shackletoni and S. scotti, three species are now known in the genus Sphaeralcyon, all them reported from the Southern Ocean. The diagnosis of the genus has been slightly modified to accommodate some of the characters of the new species.