Molecular phylogeny of interstitial Polycopidae ostracods (Crustacea) and descriptions of a new genus and four new species

Family Polycopidae is one of the more abundant and diverse taxa occurring in marine interstitial environments. Most of the interstitial polycopids are so far known from Japan and belong to the genus Parapolycope Klie, 1936. In this paper we describe another four new species from Japan. A new genus, K liecope gen. nov. is erected to include one new species K liecope mihoensis sp. nov. and one new combination Kliecope oligohalina (Tanaka & Tsukagoshi, 2010) comb. nov. Although the morphology of K liecope is similar to Parapolycope, the new genus has the following diagnostic characters: absence of an inward bulge on the antennular second podomere, presence of two setae bearing a sucker on the antennular third podomere, and absence of a dorsal seta on the basis of mandibula. Another three Parapolycope, P arapolycope setouchiensis sp. nov. , P arapolycope subtidalis sp. nov. , and P arapolycope miurensis sp. nov. are described as well. To test the phylogenetic relationship between the new genus and Parapolycope, we performed phylogenetic analyses based on the 14 18S rDNA sequences of interstitial Polycopidae species, 12 of which were newly obtained from our material. The 18S gene proved to be suitable for phylogenetic analyses in polycopids with high intraspecific or intrageneric resolution. Here we present trees obtained with maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony, and neighbour‐joining methods, and they support the divergence between Kliecope and Parapolycope with high bootstrap values. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London     

Description and scanning electron microscopic observation of a new species of the genus Polycopetta (Crustacea,Ostracoda, Cladocopina) from an interstitial habitat in Japan

A new species of the genus Polycopetta Chavtur, 1981, Polycopetta quadrispinata sp. n. is described from the interstitial environment of Mihomasaki Beach in Japan. These observations showed some morphological peculiarities of Polycopetta quadrispinata sp. n. compared with its congeners; Polycopetta monneroni Chavtur, 1979, Polycopetta curva Chavtur, 1979, Polycopetta bransfieldensis (Hartmann, 1987), and Polycopetta pax Kornicker and Harrison-Nelson, 2005. Three characteristics are described for the first time: (1) a seta with serrated tip on the male antennula, (2) the endopodite of the fifth limb consisting of two podomeres, (3) the long spermatozoa in the male posterior body. More detailed observations of the type species are needed in order to update the generic diagnosis.     

On the phylogeny of Euryteinae (Crustacea,Copepoda, Cyclopoida), with description of one new species from Korea

Euryte koreana sp. nov. is described from the shallow littoral on the East Coast of South Korea, and represents the first record of the subfamily Euryteinae Monchenko, 1974 in the Pacific Ocean north of the tropics. It belongs to a group of species that have the caudal rami length/width ratio of around four, but differs from all congeners by a number of morphological features. Detailed drawings and extensive scanning electron micrographs of many characters of ornamentation provided for this species should serve as a benchmark for distinguishing closely related species in this subfamily with conservative macro-morphology. A morphologically distinct population from anchialine caves in Mallorca, identified previously as Euryte longicauda Philippi, 1843, is described as another new species: Euryte jaumei sp. nov. To test the phylogenetic relationships of its members and previous hypotheses about generic placement of two species associated with scleractinian corals, several cladistic analyses are performed on all 16 currently recognized species of Euryteinae and two outgroups, Neocyclops australiensis Karanovic, 2008 and Troglocyclops janstocki Rocha and Iliffe, 1994, using 25 morphological characters. All resulting trees suggest a close relationship between the two commensal species and them as a sister clade to all other Euryteinae. They are transferred into a newly erected genus Coraleuryte gen. nov., as C. bellatula (Humes, 1991) comb. nov. and C. verecunda (Humes, 1992) comb. nov., and a revised diagnoses is provided for the genus Euryte Philippi, 1843. Obtained cladograms also show that Ancheuryte Herbst, 1989 is nested deeply within the Euryte clade, so the genus is synonymized and its only species is transferred, as E. notabilis (Herbst, 1989) comb. nov. A key to species of Euryteinae is also provided.     

Morphometrics of the final instar exuviae of five cicada species occurring in urban areas of central Korea

Cicadas produce loud calling songs for mate attraction that can be a nuisance to city dwellers in Korea. Exuviae of final instars can be used to estimate population density. We investigated the morphological characteristics of final instar exuviae for five cicada species that are abundant in central Korea: Cryptotympana atrata, Hyalessa fuscata, Graptopsaltria nigrofuscata, Meimuna opalifera, and Meimuna mongolica. The characters analyzed were pro-mesonotum length, pronotum width, pronotum length, head width, abdominal circumference, body length, wing length, and femoral tooth angle. The results of a general linear model showed that species and sex were significant for morphological characters, and the result of post hoc analyses revealed that the mean values of most of the morphological characters measured were significantly different among the five cicada species. Three groups, Cryptotympana atrata, H. fuscata/G. nigrofuscata, and M. opalifera/M. mongolica, were distinctively identified based on most morphological characters. The distributions of femoral tooth angles did not overlap between H. fuscata and G. nigrofuscata, and the distributions of abdominal circumference did not overlap between M. opalifera and M. mongolica. Thus, the exuviae of all five cicada species could be easily distinguished based on morphological characters. We also provide a morphological key for the exuviae of all five cicada species in Korea.     

Systematics of Cafius corallicola (Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) with a discussion of its phylogenetic relationships

A systematic review of the marine littoral Cafius corallicola (Fairmaire), widely distributed along the coasts from the Indian Ocean to the western Atlantic Ocean through the southern Pacific Ocean, is presented based on morphological and molecular characters (COI and 28S). Specimens of the two species [C. corallicola and C. caribeanus Bierig] are extremely similar to each other including the form of the aedeagus. The molecular analyses support the validity of C. corallicola with one synonymy based on morphological characters. Genetic divergence of COI using uncorrected p-distance among these two species ranged from 0.35% to 4.49%. Cafius caribeanus Bierig syn. nov. is synonymized under C. corallicola. Phylogenetic relationships of C. corallicola with similar congeners are resolved as (C. corallicola (C. rufescens (C. filum + C. sericeus))). Cafius corallicola is redescribed with illustrations of diagnostic characters.     

Generic revision of Cypricercinae McKenzie, 1971 (Crustacea,Ostracoda), with the description of three new genera and one new species and a phylogenetic analysis of the subfamily

The Cypricercinae are one of the most speciose subfamilies of non-marine ostracods, with more than 170 described species, mostly from the tropics. Although the identity of the subfamily as such is clear, because of the presence of unifying characters such as the Triebel’s loop in the attachment of the caudal ramus, the supra-specific taxonomy of this group has long been confused because of lack of good generic and tribal characters. Here, the generic characters of the Cypricercinae are revised. Eleven genera are retained in this subfamily, including three new genera: Bradleytriebella n. gen., Nealecypris n. gen. and Pseudostrandesia n. gen. Tanycypris siamensis n. sp. is described from Thailand. In addition, five species [Bradleystrandesia fuscata (Jurine, 1820), Bradleytriebella tuberculata (Hartmann, 1964), Nealecypris obtusa (Klie, 1933), Pseudostrandesia striatoreticulata (Klie, 1932), Spirocypris horrida (Sars, 1926)] are redescribed. A key to the genera is given. We propose three tribes: the nominal tribe Cypricercini McKenzie, 1971, as well as two new tribes, Bradleystrandesiini n. trib. and Nealecypridini n. trib. To evaluate the systematic relationships within this subfamily, phylogenetic analyses, based on morphological characters of valves and soft parts, were conducted. The Neighbour Joining (NJ) tree strongly supports the classification into three independent tribes, whereas the Maximum Parsimony (MP) tree shows that Bradleystrandesiini n. trib is actually a subgroup of the Cypricercini. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Handling editor: Luigi Naselli-Flores     

Milnesium berladnicorum sp. n. (Eutardigrada,Apochela, Milnesiidae), a new species of water bear from Romania

In a lichen sample collected from a tree in Bârlad town (Vaslui County, Romania), a new tardigrade species belonging to the genus Milnesium (granulatum group) was found. Milnesium berladnicorum sp. n. is most similar (in the type of dorsal sculpture) to Milnesium beasleyi Kaczmarek et al., 2012 but differs from it mainly by having a different claw configuration and some morphometric characters. Additionally, the new species differs from other congeners of the granulatum group by the different type of dorsal sculpture, claw configuration and some morphometric characters.     

Middle Miocene Cephalotaxus (Taxaceae) from Yunnan,Southwest China,and its implications to taxonomy and evolution of the genus

The infrageneric taxonomy of the genus Cephalotaxus Siebold et Zuccarini ex Endlicher (Taxaceae) is controversial as morphological characters have been doubted to change coherently among species. Although the epidermal features are considered as important characters in the taxonomy of conifers, they have not been systematically studied in this genus. Neogene foliage shoots with well-preserved epidermal structure not only can provide systematic links to the extant species, but also have implications for the taxonomical definition of the extant species by their epidermal features. In this paper, the morphologies of leafy shoots combining epidermal structure of a Neogene Cephalotaxus, which was collected from the middle Miocene of Southwest China, and ten extant species (variants) were studied. Morphology as well as epidermal structures was compared among species (variants) in Cephalotaxus. Based on the comparisons, the taxonomical definition of extant species in genus Cephalotaxus are discussed. Our results indicate that leaf morphological characters in combination with the features of epidermal structure can distinguish species in genus Cephalotaxus. The fossil foliage shoots from the middle Miocene of Southwest China were assigned to a new species, C. maguanensis n. sp., which shows close affinities to the extant C. hainanensis. On the basis of leaf and epidermal information, we suggest there are seven extant species in Cephalotaxus. With global cooling and the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau since the middle Miocene, the cooling climate induced the differentiation and southward expansions of C. maguanensis, and its extant offspring, C. hainanensis, is distributed to Hainan Island and the Indo-Chinese peninsula.     

Molecular phylogenetics and morphological evolution of St. John’s wort (Hypericum; Hypericaceae)

Phylogenetic hypotheses for the large cosmopolitan genus Hypericum (St. John’s wort) have previously been based on morphology, and molecular studies have thus far included only a few species. In this study, we used 360 sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) for 206 species representing Hypericum (incl. Triadenum and Thornea) and three other genera of Hypericaceae to generate an explicit phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus using parsimony and model-based methods. The results indicate that the small genus Triadenum is nested in a clade within Hypericum containing most of the New World species. Sister to Hypericum is Thornea from Central America. Within Hypericum, three large clades and two smaller grades were found; these are based on their general morphology, especially characters used previously in taxonomy of the genus. Relative to the most recent classification, around 60% of the sections of Hypericum were monophyletic. We used a Bayesian approach to reconstruct ancestral states of selected morphological characters, which resulted in recognition of characters that support major clades within the genus and a revised interpretation of morphological evolution in Hypericum. The shrubby habit represents the plesiomorphic state from which herbs evolved several times. Arborescent species have radiated convergently in high-elevation habitats in tropical Africa and South America.     

Historical biogeography of Iberobathynella (Crustacea, Syncarida, Bathynellacea), an aquatic subterranean genus of Parabathynellids, endemic to the Iberian Peninsula

• 1 The origin and distribution of the species of freshwater interstitial (stygobiont) syncarids of the Iberobathynella genus (Crustacea, Parabathynellidae), endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, are considered in the context of evolutionary biogeography.
• 2 We established the most likely phylogenetic relationships between the 14 known species of the Iberobathynella genus on the basis of morphological characters. We assumed a common marine ancestor and estimated the possible phylogenetic ages of the 14 inland species from the number of cladogram nodes.
• 3 The land ages at the sites where the species are found help to tell us when the landmasses emerged definitively: most species are found in areas that have undergone one or more marine transgressions/regressions since the Triassic and which could therefore have been colonized by the common ancestors.
• 4 We assessed the Boutin–Coineau two‐step model of colonization and evolution in an attempt to elucidate the evolutionary history of Iberobathynella and to offer a plausible palaeogeographical scenario. We looked for concordance between the possible chronology of Iberobathynella taxa colonization and their phylogenetic relationships, but found none of significance. Hence, we cannot reject the possibility that evolutionary clade divergence within the genus was independent of sea‐level changes in the Senonian (88.5–65 mya) and Eocene (56.5–35.4 mya) epochs. We can therefore neither confirm nor rule out a correlation.

     

Molecular Phylogeny Supports Repeated Adaptation to Burrowing within Small-Eared Shrews Genus of Cryptotis (Eulipotyphla,Soricidae)

Small-eared shrews of the New World genus Cryptotis (Eulipotyphla, Soricidae) comprise at least 42 species that traditionally have been partitioned among four or more species groups based on morphological characters. The Cryptotis mexicana species group is of particular interest, because its member species inhibit a subtly graded series of forelimb adaptations that appear to correspond to locomotory behaviors that range from more ambulatory to more fossorial. Unfortunately, the evolutionary relationships both among species in the C. mexicana group and among the species groups remain unclear. To better understand the phylogeny of this group of shrews, we sequenced two mitochondrial and two nuclear genes. To help interpret the pattern and direction of morphological changes, we also generated a matrix of morphological characters focused on the evolutionarily plastic humerus. We found significant discordant between the resulting molecular and morphological trees, suggesting considerable convergence in the evolution of the humerus. Our results indicate that adaptations for increased burrowing ability evolved repeatedly within the genus Cryptotis.