Phylogenetic analysis of anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) inferred from nuclear 18S ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) sequences

The nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (18S rDNA) of 27 anostracans (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) belonging to 14 genera and eight out of nine traditionally recognized families has been sequenced and used for phylogenetic analysis. The 18S rDNA phylogeny shows that the anostracans are monophyletic. The taxa under examination form two clades of subordinal level and eight clades of family level. Two families the Polyartemiidae and Linderiellidae are suppressed and merged with the Chirocephalidae, of which together they form a subfamily. In contrast, the Parartemiinae are removed from the Branchipodidae, raised to family level (Parartemiidae) and cluster as a sister group to the Artemiidae in a clade defined here as the Artemiina (new suborder). A number of morphological traits support this new suborder. The Branchipodidae are separated into two families, the Branchipodidae and Tanymastigidae (new family). The relationship between Dendrocephalus and Thamnocephalus requires further study and needs the addition of Branchinella sequences to decide whether the Thamnocephalidae are monophyletic. Surprisingly, Polyartemiella hazeni and Polyartemia forcipata ("Family" Polyartemiidae), with 17 and 19 thoracic segments and pairs of trunk limb as opposed to all other anostracans with only 11 pairs, do not cluster but are separated by Linderiella santarosae ("Family" Linderiellidae), which has 11 pairs of trunk limbs. All appear to be part of the Chirocephalidae and share one morphological character: double pre-epipodites on at least part of their legs. That Linderiella is part of the Polyartemiinae suggests that multiplication of the number of limbs occurred once, but was lost again in Linderiella. Within Chirocephalidae, we found two further clades, the Eubranchipus-Pristicephalus clade and the Chirocephalus clade. Pristicephalus is reinstated as a genus.     

On the changing ecology of Venice lagoon

The amplexial morphology of representative species from all anostracan families is described. Males of the Polyartemiidae and Artemiidae amplex the female's brood pouch. Males of all other families amplex the female's body between the brood pouch and the last pair of legs: a region referred to herein as the `amplexial groove.' The amplexial groove in females of Streptocephalus, Thamnocephalus, Dendrocephalus, Branchinella, and the Branchipodidae is unornamented and females are not separable among the species. Females in the genus Parartemia and the families Chirocephalidae and Linderiellidae have morphological characters within their amplexial region that complement the ornamentation of the male's second antennae, creating a `lock and key' fit unique to each species.     

Galaziella baikalensis, a new genus and species of chirocephalid (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Anostraca) from Russia and the zoogeography of East Asian Anostraca

Galaziella baikalensis gen. et sp. nov. is described from Olkhon Island, Lake Baikal, Russia. The genus is assigned to the family Chirocephalidae Daday, 1910, on the basis of the following features: the male has two-segmented antenna, its basal segment bearing two leaf-shaped antennal appendages, all thoracopods with two distinctly divided pre-epipodites, and genital segments containing two clearly defined seminal vesicles. Galaziella is well distinguished from other genera of the family by the apical part of the penes, armed with "two spiniform processes" at each apex, instead of a single spine or toothed plate. Such male genital processes have not yet been found in Chirocephalidae, so that the diagnosis of the family is revised and two sub-families are proposed herein. Up to the present, 10 species belonging to 7 genera, including Galaziella baikalensis, and 5 families of Anostraca – Artemiidae, Branchinectidae, Branchipodidae, Chirocephalidae, and Thamnocephalidae – have been found in East Asia and its adjacent areas, including the Russian Far East, Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan. The list includes all synonymic taxa. A distribution map and a key to the East Asian species of the family Chirocephalidae are provided. Received: November 22, 1999 / Accepted: May 2, 2000     

Affinities among anostracan (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) families inferred from phylogenetic analyses of multiple gene sequences

To gain insights into the relationships among anostracan families, molecular phylogenetic analyses were performed on nuclear (28S D1-D3 ribosomal DNA) and mitochondrial (16S rDNA, COI) gene regions for representatives of seven families and an outgroup. Data matrices used in the analyses included 951 base pairs (bp) of aligned sequences for 28S, 465 bp for 16S, and 658 bp (219 amino acids) for COI. Maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood methods were used to construct phylogenetic trees, enabling the evaluation of both previous hypotheses of taxonomic relationships among families based on morphology, and of the relative merits of independent versus simultaneous analyses of multiple data sets for phylogeny construction. Data from various combinations of the gene regions produced relatively congruent patterns of phylogenetic affinity. In most analyses, two monophyletic groups were resolved: one cluster included the families Polyartemiidae, Chirocephalidae, Branchinectidae, Streptocephalidae, and Thamnocephalidae, while the other contained the Artemiidae and Branchipodidae. Comparative analyses showed that combining gene regions in a single matrix generally resulted in increased resolution and support for each cluster relative to those obtained from single-gene analyses. Statistical tests demonstrated that morphology-based hypotheses of relationships among families had poorer support than those determined from molecular data, reflecting the homoplasy in characters used to differentiate families.     

Systematic implications of brain morphology in potamotrygonidae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes)

The gross brain morphology, brain proportions, and position of cranial nerves in all four genera (Potamotrygon, Plesiotrygon, Paratrygon, and Heliotrygon) and 11 of the species of the Neotropical stingray family Potamotrygonidae were studied to provide new characters that may have a bearing on internal potamotrygonid systematics. The brain was also studied in four other stingray (Myliobatiformes) genera (Hexatrygon, Taeniura, Dasyatis, and Gymnura) to provide a more inclusive phylogenetic context for the interpretation of features of the brain in potamotrygonids. Our results indicate, based on neuroanatomical characters, that the genera Paratrygon and Heliotrygon are sister groups, as are the genera Potamotrygon and Plesiotrygon, agreeing with previous morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies. Both groups of genera share distinct conditions of the olfactory tracts, telencephalon and its central nuclei, hypophysis and infundibulum, morphology and orientation of the metencephalic corpus cerebelli, orientation of the glossopharyngeal nerve, and overall encephalic proportions. The corpus cerebelli of Paratrygon and Heliotrygon is interpreted as being more similar to the general batoid condition and, given their phylogenetic position highly nested within stingrays, is considered secondarily derived, not plesiomorphically retained. Our observations of the corpus cerebelli of stingrays, including Hexatrygon, corroborate that the general stingray pattern previously advanced by Northcutt is derived among batoids. The morphology of the brain is shown to be a useful source of phylogenetically informative characters at lower hierarchical levels, such as between genera and species, and thus, has significant potential in phylogenetic studies of elasmobranchs. J. Morphol. 277:252–263, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Nucleolar organiser region (NOR) location in karyotypes of Australian ground frogs (family Myobatrachidae)

Nucleolar organiser regions (NORs) were examined in over 90% of the species of Australian ground frogs (familiy Myobatrachidae), including representatives from all twenty currently recognised genera and the three subfamilies. Throughout the family, location of the NOR within the karyotype showed considerable variation yet karyotype morphology showed uniformity. The precise mechanism(s) whereby variation in NOR location evolved while karyotype morphology was unchanged remains uncertain. Comparison of the two major subfamilies showed that the Limnodynastinae had a greater diversity of NOR location than the Myobatrachinae. The limnodynastine genus,Heleioporus, was the only one to show multiple NOR sites in several species. NOR location was particularly stable within most polytypic genera. Differences in NOR location within the remaining polytypic genera (Heleioporus, Limnodynastes, Neobatrachus, Philoria andRanidella) pointed to taxonomic discriminations that were generally consistent with recent proposals based on other criteria.     

An annotated checklist of the valid avian species of Haemoproteus,Leucocytozoon (Apicomplexa: Haemosporida) and Hepatozoon (Apicomplexa: Haemogregarinidae)

The valid avian species of the apicomplexan blood parasite genera Haemoproteus, Hepatozoon and Leucocytozoon are arranged according to host family, assuming host familial specificity; salient points of the parasite morphology are recorded where appropriate.     

A Pollenmorphological Re‐evaluation of Harpagocarpus and Eskemukerjea (Polygonaceae)

The pollen morphology of the monotypic genera Harpagocarpus (tropical Africa) and Eskemukerjea (Nepal) is shown to agree with that of Fagopyrum. The amalgamation of these two genera with Fagopyrum is proposed and the new combination F. snowdenii (Hutch. & Dandy) S.‐P. Hong is made.     

POLLEN MORPHOLOGY OF THE EUCHARIDEAE (AMARYLLIDACEAE)

Eucharis, Caliphruria, and Urceolina form a monophyletic group of petiolate-leaved, Neotropical Amaryllidaceae ecologically specialized to the understory of primary tropical rain forest below 2,000 m elevation. Pollen morphology of the three genera is surveyed. Pollen grains of all species of Eucharis, Caliphruria, and Urceolina are boat-shaped elliptic, monosulcate, heteropolar, and bilateral in symmetry. Exine sculpturing is semitectate-columellate and reticulate in all species examined. A transformation series in reticulum coarseness and pollen grain size is described. The large pollen grain with coarse reticulum of most Eucharis species is considered ancestral. The fine reticulation of Caliphruria is considered derived and the exine morphology of Urceolina is intermediate. Both of these genera have medium-sized pollen grains. Exine dimorphism common to all Urceolina, but rare in Eucharis and Caliphruria, may be symplesiomorphous among those taxa exhibiting this morphology. The three genera are largely uniform in pollen grain ultrastructure, with completely ektexinous exines. Pollen grain size in Eucharis is not closely correlated with style length. Several wide-ranging species show considerable intraspecific variation in pollen size. Parallelisms in pollen grain evolution among related tribes of Neotropical Amaryllidaceae are discussed.     

Pollen morphological support for the Catesbaeeae-Chiococceae-Exostema-complex (Rubiaceae)

The pollen morphology of the Catesbaeeae-Chiococceae-Exostema complex as recently treated by Delprete (1966) was examined with LM and SEM. The group is remarkably stenopalynous; typical representatives have medium sized, 3-colpate pollen with a perforate tectum covered with microspines. The inner nexine ornamentation is pronounced and offers more variation than the sexine pattern. A typology of the inside structures is presented based on LM observations and SEM observations of sectioned grains. Orbicules are common and numerous in the Catesbaeeae and Exostema-group; for most genera of the Chiococceae confirmation is needed of orbicule presence. All orbicules observed are relatively large (1-4 μm) and spiny. Pollen and orbicule morphology proved to be a powerful tool to delimit the Catesbaeeae-Chiococceae-Exostema complex. The overall delimitation of the complex is corroborated with our pollen data. The genera Mastixiodendron and Placocarpa, however, can be excluded from the complex based on their pollen morphology. Mastixiodendron has 3-colporate, perforate pollen without microspines and the endocolpi are fused into an endocingulum. Pollen of Placocarpa is reticulate and 3-colporate with perpendicular endocolpi.     

A reevaluation of the tribes Hippotideae and Tammsieae (Rubiaceae)

Rova, J. H. E. & Andersson, L. 1995. A reevaluation of the tribes Hippotideae and Tammsieae (Ruhiaceae). — Nord. J. Bot. 15: 269–284. Copenhagen. ISSN 0107–055X. The genera Hippotis, Pentagonia, Sommera, and Tammsia, the hippotides, have recently been removed from their traditional position in the tribe Isertieae and proposed to form two separate tribes, Hippotideae (the three former genera) and Tammsieae (the latter one). In the most recent overview of the classification of the Ruhiaceae, the position of these tribes was considered uncertain. The morphology and micromorpho-logy of representatives of all genera were reexamined and data were analysed cladisti-cally. It is concluded that the original distinction between the Hippotideae and Tammsieae was based on faulty observations, the hippotides being uniform in ovary morphology. The cladistic analysis suggests that the hippotides form a monophyletic group, within which Tammsia is nested. It is therefore proposed that Tammsieae should he reduced to a synonym of Hippotideae. There are no indications that the hippotides should he reunited with the Isertieae. The genus Wiasemsba Klotzsch is shown to he synonymous with Tammsia, and it is argued that the genus Striolaria Ducke is synonymous with Pentagonia.     

Karyomorphology ofCrossostylis (Rhizophoraceae)

We present the first report on somatic chromosome numbers and morphology in eight of 13 recorded species ofCrossostylis, one of inland genera of Rhizophoraceae. The chromosome number ofCrossostylis is 2n=28 in all species examined; therefore, the genus hasx=14, a number which is the smallest and unknown elsewhere in the family. Based onCrossostylis raiateensis, we further present that 24 of 28 chromosomes at metaphase have centromeres at median position, and the remaining four at submedian or subterminal position. The chromosome morphology seems to imply thatCrossostylis might be a tetraploid with the original base numberx=7, but an extensive study in the other inland genera is needed to find such a small chromosome number.     

The morphology and systematic position of Prionotylus Fieber and Centroplax Horvath (Heteroptera: Coreidae)

An account is given of several aspects of the morphology of the genera Prionotylus Fieber and Centroplax Horváth. The systematic position of these genera within the family Coreidae and the generic assignment of Prionotylus meridianus Villiers are considered.     

Ultrastructure of nuclear inclusions and the separation ofVerbenaceae andOleaceae (incl.Nyctanthes)

TEM observations were carried out on 40 taxa of the familyVerbenaceae and 35 taxa of the familyOleaceae, in order to ascertain distribution, ultrastructure and morphology of the intranuclear proteinic inclusions in the mesophyll parenchymatic cells. The investigated genera amount to some 25% and 60% respectively of the genera of the two families. Inside theVerbenaceae, lamellar inclusions (L-type) occur in 6 out of 23 investigated genera: they are mostly present inside the tribesCitharexyleae andVerbeneae (both belonging toVerbenoideae), while they are absent in other subfamilies. All of the investigatedOleaceae genera show intranuclear crystalline inclusions (C 1-type) of three different shapes. Among theAsteridae this is a character peculiar toOleaceae. They appear to be a well defined natural group, including the controversial genusNyctanthes.     

Pollen morphology of the Pavetteae (Rubiaceae,Ixoroideae) and its taxonomic significance

Pollen grains of the tribe Pavetteae (Rubiaceae, subfamily Ixoroideae) are examined using LM and SEM. Grains are 3‐ or 4‐colporate and (semi‐) tectate (in one Versteegia species atectate). Sexine patterns vary between perforate, microreticulate, reticulate, rugulate and striato‐reticulate. Supratectal elements are sometimes present. The variation in pollen morphology in the Pavetteae allows to recognize seven pollen types, the distribution of which is useful to evaluate generic delimitations and relationships within the tribe. Pollen characters corroborate the close relationships between the genera Coleactina, Dictyandra and Leptactina and between Homollea, Homolliella and Paracephaelis. All the genera of the tribe proved to be stenopalynous (the species examined possess the same pollen type), except Pavetta, Rutidea, Versteegia and Tarenna which are eurypalynous. In the huge genus Pavetta the existing infrageneric classification is supported pollen morphologically. Pollen morphology further indicates that the genus Tarenna is badly delimited and strongly in need of a revision. The small genus Versteegia is in need of further taxonomic and palynological study to understand the pollen morphological variation encountered here. At a higher rank, pollen morphology also does not contradict the recent division of the Pavetteae in the Ixoreae (a stenopalynous tribe with presumably primitive pollen) and the Pavetteae sensu stricto (eurypalynous).     

Pollen Morphology of Embothrieae (Proteaceae)

This is the first of two papers detailing pollen morphology and evolution with the tribe Embothrieae comprising eight genera and ca. 56 spp. The present paper examines pollen of subtribes Buckinghaminae (Buckinghamia; 2 spp., Opislhiolepis; 1 sp.), Stenocarpinae (Strangea; 3 spp.), Stenocarpus (ca. 27 spp.) and Lomatiinae (Lomatia; ca. 12 spp.) in the light microscope and scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Pollen is medium-sized, oblate, foveolate to microreticulate to reticulate, and predominantly columellate with a complex modified postvestibulate aperture morphology. Pollen data indicate ties between Lomatia and Stenocarpus on the one hand and Stenocarpus and Strangea on the other. Though Buckinghamia and Opislhiolepis have been placed in the same subtribe, the unique combination of pollen features in each suggests only a remote relationship to each other as well as to remaining Embothrieae. Comparisons to the remaining genera of Embothriae (Embothrium, Oreocallis, Telopea) and overall analysis of pollen evolution within the tribe are detailed in the subsequent paper.     

Phylogenetic relationships in the Marcetia alliance (Melastomeae,Melastomataceae) and implications for generic circumscription

The Marcetia alliance of Melastomataceae is an exclusively Neotropical group that includes at least 12 genera of mostly herbs and subshrubs, occurring in the cerrado of central Brazil and savannas of the Amazon region and Guayana highlands. This study aimed to test the monophyly of genera in the Marcetia alliance, evaluate their phylogenetic relationships and generic boundaries, and investigate morphological characters as potential synapomorphies for delimiting clades or genera. We used nuclear (ITS, ETS) and plastid (accD‐psaI, atpH‐atpF, trnS‐trnG) DNA sequences of 107 terminals in 12 genera from the alliance. Aciotis, Fritzschia, Marcetia and Siphanthera were shown to be monophyletic and supported by molecular and morphological characters. Other genera with variable morphology and wider distributions, such as Acisanthera, Comolia, Ernestia and Macairea, were recovered as paraphyletic or polyphyletic. Most morphological characters analysed were found to be homoplastic, but when combined they are potentially useful for the diagnosis of genera and infrageneric groups. This study represents a major step in understanding internal relationships and provides the basis for a revision of the generic classification in the Marcetia alliance.     

POLLEN MORPHOLOGY OF THE CHLORAEINAE (ORCHIDACEAE: DIURIDEAE) AND RELATED SUBTRIBES

Pollen organization and morphology of the South American Chloraeinae (Orchidaceae) was examined by scanning electron microscopy and compared with that of the remainder of the otherwise Australasian Diurideae. All five genera of the Chloraeinae, Bipinnula, Chloraea, Codonorchis, Gavilea, and Geoblasta, and at least one genus from each of the other subtribes were sampled. The Australasian Diurideae are diverse in pollen organization and morphology. The two genera of the Acianthinae, Corybas and Acianthus, have very different pollen and their classification is questioned. Monad pollen organization of Pterostylis (Pterostylidinae) is reinterpreted as primitive and not secondarily derived. Pollen of the Chloraeinae is uniform in exine morphology and organization. Most species sampled have reticulate pollen which tends to be foveolate distally. The basic pollen unit of all Chloraeinae is the tetrad, except Codonorchis which possesses monads. Pollen morphology and organization of the Chloraeinae is most similar to the Caladeniinae, which supports the contention that the Chloraeinae including Codonorchis should be retained in the Diurideae.