A possible abrograptid graptolite (Abrograptidae,Graptoloidea) from western Newfoundland

Jiangshanites (?)dubius n. sp. is the oldest abrograptid graptolite yet described. It was found in theUndulograptus austrodentatus Biozone of western Newfoundland. The specimens possess an extended rutellum and an isograptid orartus type proximal development with prosicular origin of th 1¹. No indication of a virgellar spine is seen. The proximal development structures of the specimens show the relation to Sigmagraptidae or Dichograptidae.     

EARLY MIDDLE ORDOVICIAN GRAPTOLITE BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE LOVISEFRED AND ALBJÄRA DRILL CORES (SCANIA, SOUTHERN SWEDEN)

Abstract:  Early Middle Ordovician graptolites from the Albjära and Lovisefred drill cores (Scania, southern Sweden) can be differentiated into the Isograptus victoriae , Isograptus sp. nov. 2 and Maeandrograptus schmalenseei , Arienigraptus dumosus type/ Pseudisograptus manubriatus biozones of Castlemainian and Yapeenian age and the Arienigraptus zhejiangensis and Undulograptus sinicus biozones of early Darriwilian age, replacing the old, long-ranging Didymograptus hirundo Biozone. Faunas from the drill cores include a number of species not previously recognized in Scandinavia.     

The Lerhamn drill core and its bearing for the graptolite biostratigraphy of the Ordovician Tøyen Shale in Scania,southern Sweden

Maletz, J. & Ahlberg, P. 2011: The Lerhamn drill core and its bearing for the graptolite biostratigraphy of the Ordovician Tøyen Shale in Scania, southern Sweden. Lethaia, Vol. 44, pp. 350–368. A drill core through the Lower Ordovician Tøyen Shale Formation at Lerhamn, NW Scania, southern Sweden, provides important new information for the precise biostratigraphic resolution of the Floian to lower Darriwilian time interval in southern Scandinavia. The Hunnegraptus copiosus, Tetragraptus phyllograptoides, Cymatograptus protobalticus (new), Baltograptus vacillans (new), Baltograptus sp. cf. Baltograptus deflexus (new), Baltograptus minutus (new), Isograptus victoriae, Undulograptus austrodentatus (Arienigraptus zhejiangensis and Undulograptus sinicus Subzones) and the (?)Corymbograptus retroflexus (new) biozones are differentiated in the core and their correlation in Scania is discussed. The Lerhamn drill core provides the most detailed graptolite record of the Floian Stage in Scandinavia. The interval is dominated by a number of species of the genus Baltograptus, endemic to the Atlantic Faunal realm and highly useful for regional biostratigraphic correlation. The biostratigraphic framework is based on endemic and pandemic faunal elements. The mixture of both elements in the drill core allows a more precise inter‐continental correlation of Lower to Middle Ordovician graptolite faunas and may – in the future – provide information as to the climatic history of regions dominated by Baltograptus faunas in the Floian. The (?)C. retroflexus Biozone is based on species originally described from Bohemia, but the record of the zone in the Lerhamn drill core indicates a wider distribution of its fauna. □Biostratigraphy, graptolites, Ordovician, Scania, Sweden.     

Volkhov graptolites from the lower-middle Ordovician boundary beds of the St. Petersburg region,Russia

The lower and lowermost Middle Ordovician strata of the Volkhov Stage exposed in the vicinity of St. Petersburg, Russia, yield a graptolite fauna at several stratigraphic levels, being more often confined to the mud-mound clays than to the normally stratified, Condensed carbonates. Overall taxonomic diversity of the Volkhov graptolites is relatively low and associations include no more than seven species in ail localities. TheTetragraptus, Didymograptus andXiphograptus species found are pandemic and have quite extensive stratigraphie ranges within the mid-Arenig Series. Based on the graptolite zonation, the Volkhov Stage can be correlated to thePseudophyllograptus angustifolius elongatus andDidymograptus (Expansograptus) hirundo graptolite biozones of Baltoscandia and to the upperDidymograptus simulans toDidymograptus (Expansograptus) hirundo biozones of the British graptolite succession. TheIsograptus victoriae lunatus lower zonal boundary probably falls within the graptolite-bearing interval of the lower Volkhov Stage. As the result of indirect biostratigraphic and interpretative lithological correlations, the first appearance ofUndulograptus austrodentatus at the base of the Darriwilian Stage is deemed to be close to the boundary of theMegistaspis simon andM. limbata trilobite biozones and the lowerBaltionodus norrlandicus conodont Biozone of the upper Volkhov Stage. Seven dichograptid species belonging to four genera are described, one of them,Azygograptus volkhovensis n. sp., new.      

浙江常山黄泥塘全球层型剖面的中奥陶世疑源类

浙江常山黄泥塘剖面在1996-1997年被国际奥陶系分会和国际地质科学联合会(IUGS)确立为全球中奥陶统达瑞威尔阶(Dariwillian)层型剖面,从该剖面宁国组Azygograptus suectcus-Exigraptus clavus笔石带至Undulograptus sinicus笔石亚带下部的页岩及灰岩中获得丰富的,保存不很好的疑源类化石,它们包含26个形态属,41个已知种和12个未定名种.该宁国组疑源类组合极少有环冈瓦纳古陆的“冷水“类型,根据疑源类类型在地层柱的首次出现,可划分两个与Azygograptus suecicus和Undulograptus austrodentatus笔石带相吻合的疑源类生物地层单元,结合中国南方在奥陶纪的古地理位置加以讨论,当前疑源类组合表明,中奥陶世环冈瓦纳古陆的“冷水“洋流至下扬子区已很微弱.     

Upper Arenigian to lower Llanvirnian acritarch assemblages from South China: a preliminary evaluation

Acritarchs from the interval corresponding to the late Arenigian and early Llanvirnian in British stratigraphy have rarely been described from China, and they are documented herein for the first time. A biostratigraphic correlation of certain acritarch taxa with the Undulograptus austrodentatus graptolite Biozone, which constitutes the base of the Darriwilian Stage, is still premature for China and elsewhere. According to recent studies on different sections from South China, it appears that at least four distinctive species (Ampullula suetica, Dicrodiacrodium ancoriforme, Hoegklintia rayii nov. comb., Liliosphaeridium intermedium) may characterize an interval that corresponds to levels just below or within the Darriwilian Stage. In this context, the acritarch assemblages of the lower to upper Arenigian and of the lower Llanvirnian sequences from different localities of the Yangtze Platform are described. Four acritarch assemblages are distinguished for this time interval and their possible correlations with other areas are discussed.     

The genus Erechthias Meyrick of Ascension Island,including discovery of a new brachypterous species (Lepidoptera,Tineidae)

One previously named and two new species of the tineid genus Erechthias Meyrick are described and illustrated from the small, remote, mid-Atlantic Ascension Island. With these additions the Lepidoptera fauna of Ascension now totals 38 known species. Little is known regarding the biology of the two new species of Erechthias, and none of the species has been reared from larvae from Ascension. Erechthias minuscula (Walsingham) is a widespread, largely pantropical species first described from the West Indies. Larvae of Erechthias minuscula are known to be scavengers on a wide variety of dead plant material. Erechthias ascensionae,new species, is one of two species of Erechthias now known to be endemic to the island. The other endemic species, Erechthias grayi, new species, is further remarkable in having wing reduction occurring in both sexes. It is one of the few species of Lepidoptera known where this extreme of brachyptery involving both sexes has evolved. The larvae of Erechthias grayi are believed to be lichenivorous, and larval cases suspected to represent this species are illustrated.     

Two new species of Melanoleuca (Agaricales,Basidiomycota) from northeastern China,supported by morphological and molecular data

Two new species, Melanoleuca leucopoda and M. porphyropoda, are described based on collections made from Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China. Melanoleuca leucopoda is mainly characterized by its whitish stipe with fibrils and oblong spores with elongated warts. Melanoleuca porphyropoda differs from all other Melanoleuca species in lacking cystidia and in having decurrent gills and a purplish stipe. The sequences of internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) of Melanoleuca species were analyzed and the results indicated that two new species clustered into two clades and differed from the other species of the genus. The combination of morphological and molecular data confirmed that the two fungi are new species. The morphological similarity of the new species to other species of Melanoleuca and the systematic position of the two species based on molecular data are also discussed.     

Annotated checklist of the leech species diversity in the Maloe More Strait of Lake Baikal,Russia

In this paper, the very first checklist of the freshwater leeches of Maloe More Strait, a special part of Lake Baikal, is presented. It includes 14 free-living and parasitic species, of which four species belong to endemic Baikal genera – two species from Baicalobdella and one species each from Baicaloclepsis and Codonobdella. The checklist highlights six potentially new morphological species recorded for the first time in the area. The exact systematic position is stated for all leech species. Each species from the list is provided with information on taxonomic synonymy, data on its geographic distribution, and ecological characteristics. New species records are additionally provided with brief morphological characteristics and photos of their external morphology.     

A new species of Labidocera (Copepoda,Calanoida, Pontellidae) collected from Okinawa,southwestern Japan,with establishment of five Indo-West Pacific species groups in the L. detruncata species complex

Labidocera churaumi sp. n. is described from Okinawa, southwestern Japan. The female of the new species differs from other congeners in genital compound somite with right postero-lateral and left antero-lateral processes. The male is distinguished from other congeners by the structure of the fifth leg. This new species is assigned to a newly proposed species group, the Labidocera madurae species group, within the Labidocera detruncata species complex. In this species complex five Indo-West Pacific species groups are recognized (cervi, detruncata, gangetica, madurae, and pavo) and defined on the basis of difference in sexual dimorphism.     

Fungi on grasses: new species of Ascotaiwania,Diaporthe and Oxydothis (Ascomycetes)

Four new species of ascomycetes, Ascotaiwania pennisetarum sp. nov., Diaporthe appendiculata sp. now., Diaporthe minutis sp. nov., and Oxydothis miscanthiecola sp. nov., are described from senescent culms of grasses in Hong Kong. Ascotaiwania pennisetarum is distinctive from other species in the genus as ascospores are narrower. Diaporthe minutis differs from the most similar Diaporthe species in having ascospores with bipolar mucilaginous pads, while Diaporthe appendiculata differs from other species in having ascospores with both a mucilaginous pad and appendages at both ends. Oxydothis miscanthicola differs from other species in the genus in having long fusiform ascospores, which taper to rounded apices or otherwise differ in shape and size. These new species are compared with existing species and illustrated with interference light micrographs. The Diaporthe species known to posses mucilaginous ascospore appendages are listed.     

New species and records of Charisius Champion from Mexico and Central America (Coleoptera,Tenebrionidae, Alleculinae)

The species of the genus Charisius Champion, from Mexico and Central America are reviewed. The flightless genus Narses Champion, with one included species, N. subalatus Champion, is placed in synonymy with the genus Charisius. Four new species are described and illustrated, C. granulatus and C. punctatus (from Guatemala) and C. apterus and C. howdenorum (from Mexico). Charisius subalatus (Champion) is redescribed and illustrated. The species C. interstitialis Champion is placed in synonymy with C. zunilensis Champion. The genus is redescribed to include the four new species and N. subalatus. New distributional records are presented for all other species of the genus and a revised key is presented for identification of all the species of the genus.     

A new genus and species from Borneo and a new species from Java and Sumatra of Cicadini (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

A new cicada genus and species, Minilomia triquetra, gen. and sp. nov., is described from Borneo. The new genus Minilomia is closely allied to Platylomia Stål and is placed in the subtribe Dundubiina of the tribe Cicadini. Another new cicada species, Pomponia brevicaudata, sp. nov. (subtribe Psithyristriina), is described from Java and Sumatra. The new species belongs to the Pomponia linearis species group and the P. linearis species complex but is distinguished from its congeners by the unusually short male abdomen.     

Sesquiterpene lactones and systematics of the genus Artemisia

The sesquiterpene lactones isolated from species in the genus Artemisia have been reviewed in an attempt to better understand the phylogeny and systematics of the four sections (subgenera), Abrotanum, Absinthium, Dracunculus and Seriphidium, proposed by Besser in 1829. The absence of hair on the receptacle is the only morphological characteristic separating species of Abrotanum from the species of Absinthium. There are no chemical characteristics segregating the species in these two subgenera since both produce eudesmanolides and guaianolides that are identical or biosynthetically similar. This suggests that the two subgenera could be combined into one (Artemisia) as proposed by Poljakov. The subgenus Seriphidium is composed of two geographical groups, one in the Old World and the other in the New World. The Old World species almost exclusively produce sesquiterpene lactones in the eudesmanolide class whereas the New World species (section Tridentatae) produce eudesmanolides and guaianolides, many of the latter being identical or structurally related to the sesquiterpene lactones in New World Abrotanum species. The chemical data in conjunction with geographic distributions suggest that the subgenus Seriphidium is polyphyletic and that the section Tridentatae originated from Abrotanum. Consequently, the Tridentate should be recognized as a subgenus separate and distinct from the Old World Seriphidium. There was insufficient information from the subgenus Dracunculus for interpretation.     

Flavonoid chemistry of the endemic species of Myrceugenia (Myrtaceae) of the Juan Fernandez Islands and relatives in continental South America

Twenty-one flavonoids were isolated from the leaves of two endemic species ofMyrceugenia on the Juan Fernandez Islands,M. fernandeziana andM. schulzei, from two related species from Brazil,M. campestris andM. rufescens, and from five species from continental Chile,M. colchaguensis, M. exsucca, M. lanceolata, M. pinifolia, andM. rufa. A phenetic analysis was used to evaluate chemical similarities.Myrceugenia campestris andM. rufescens appear most closely related to each other based on flavonoid profiles, and they are also different from the other seven species. The two endemic species in the Juan Fernandez Islands,M. fernandeziana andM. schulzei, group with the continental Chilean species. The former is most closely related toM. lanceolata, and the latter clusters withM. exsucca, although somewhat distantly. The results suggest that the two Juan Fernandez endemics are derived from two introductions from the Chilean continent and not from immigrants from the eastern side of the Andes.     

Species of Rhytismatales on Berberis from China

Three species of Rhytismatales on Berberis were found from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China. Two of them were described as new species to science, namely Hypoderma minteri and Lophodermium johnstonii. The third one was a known species, Hypoderma berberidis. The phylogenetic relationships of these species within the Rhytismatales were analyzed based on internal transcriber spacer ribosomal DNA. The results showed that the species of the Rhytismatales on Berberis, unlike most species on pines, were not closely related. Three ITS sequences from GenBank, named there as Lirula macrospora, were used in this study, but were found to be from misidentified sources. A key to species of Rhytismatales on Berberis worldwide is also given.     

PCR-Based Identification of MAT-1 and MAT-2 in the Gibberella fujikuroi Species Complex

All sexually fertile strains in the Gibberella fujikuroi species complex are heterothallic, with individual mating types conferred by the broadly conserved ascomycete idiomorphs MAT-1 and MAT-2. We sequenced both alleles from all eight mating populations, developed a multiplex PCR technique to distinguish these idiomorphs, and tested it with representative strains from all eight biological species and 22 additional species or phylogenetic lineages from this species complex. In most cases, either an ~800-bp fragment from MAT-2 or an ~200-bp fragment from MAT-1 is amplified. The amplified fragments cosegregate with mating type, as defined by sexual cross-fertility, in a cross of Fusarium moniliforme (Fusarium verticillioides). Neither of the primer pairs amplify fragments from Fusarium species such as Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium pseudograminearum, and Fusarium culmorum, which have, or are expected to have, Gibberella sexual stages but are thought to be relatively distant from the species in the G. fujikuroi species complex. Our results suggest that MAT allele sequences are useful indicators of phylogenetic relatedness in these and other Fusarium species.