The genus Mixodiaptomus Kiefer, 1932 (Copepoda,Diaptomidae) in Spain

The distribution of the Calanoid genus Mixodiaptomus was studied in a large number of pools and small lakes scattered over Spain. Four species occur: M. incrassatus, M. kupelwieseri, M. ortizi and M. laciniatus, the latter in 2 subspecies (M. laciniatus laciniatus and M. laciniatus atlantis). M. ortizi is described as a new species. M. laciniatus lives in mountains, while all other species occur in the plains. M. incrassatus is found all over the country, M. kupelwieseri only in the eastern part of Catalonia, M. laciniatus atlantis in Andalucia and M. ortizi in the central lands called Mesetas. All live in little mineralized waters and only M. incrassatus and M. laciniatus atlantis occur in clayey waters.     

Cladocera from the Sudan: Red Sea Hills,Jebel Marra and valley of the main Nile

Twenty species of Cladocera are reported from the Nile, where lacustrine species dominate, and from Jebel Marra and the Red Sea Hills, where chydorids dominate. The community found in the Red Sea Hills is more typically desertic than that of Jebel Marra, which appears closely related to the fauna of the West and Central African Sahel.     

Hemibranchiate sphaeromatids (Crustacea: Isopoda) from Queensland, Australia, with a world-wide review of the genera discussed

All known Queensland species of the isopod family Sphaeromatidae, subfamily Sphaeromatinae (= hemibranchs), are discussed. The following new taxa are erected: Calcipila cornuta, gen. nov., sp. nov. ; Cymodoce tribullis, sp. nov. ; Cymodoce bipapilla, sp. nov. ; Paracilicaea aspera, sp. nov. ; Cilicaeopsis glebosa, sp. nov. ; Cilicaeopsis furculata, sp. nov. ; Cilicaea calcarifera, sp. nov. ; Zuzara curtispina, sp. nov. ; Zuzara digitata, sp. nov. ; and Clianella brucei, sp. nov. Exosphaeroma intermedium Baker is transferred to the genus Sphaeroma Latreille. The genus Dynoides Barnard is reviewed and its current synonymy is contested. With several new records, this brings the total number of sphaeromatid species known from Queensland to 49, 24 of which are in the subfamily Sphaeromatinae. A checklist of all sphaeromatid species occurring in Queensland waters is given. From the rest of Australia: Cymodoce tuberculata Haswell is given the replacement name Cymodoce haswelli, nom. nov. ; Cymodoce granulata Miers is made a junior synonym of Cerceis trispinosa (Haswell) (subfamily Dynameninae); Zuzara diadema Leach, Z. dicantha (Milne Edwards) and Z. Integra Haswell are made junior synonyms of Z. semipunctata Leach; Cilicaeopsis dakini Tattersall is tentatively transferred to the genus Paracilicaea Stebbing. The genera discussed are reviewed world-wide and among the non-Australian species: Exosphaeroma papillae Bayliff is transferred to the genus Sphaeroma; Sphaeroma irakiensis Ahmed is made a junior synonym of Sphaeroma annandalei annandalei Stebbing; Cymodoce richardsoniae Nobili is shown to be distinct from Cymodoce truncata Leach; Cymodoce eupyga Nobili is transferred to the genus Paracilicaea; Dynoides amblysinus Pillai, Dynoides castroi Loyola e Silva and Exosphaeroma globicaudum (Dana) are transferred to the genus Clianella Boone; Dynoides brasiliensis (Loyola e Silva; and Sphaeroma savignn Milne Edwards sensu Dana, 1853 are declared to be conspecific with Clianella castroi. The name Sorrentosphaera Verhoeff is made a junior synonym of Dynamene Leach (subfamily Dynameninae.     

Taxonomy and biogeography of the fiddler crabs (Ocypodidae: Genus Uca) of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of eastern North America

Fifteen species of fiddler crabs are reported for eastern North America between Massachusetts and Quintana Roo, Mexico. Thirteen occur in the United States and 11 in Mexico, with eight in common to the two countries. Of 13 species in the Gulf of Mexico, five are endemic and a sixth is restricted largely to the peninsulas of Florida and Yucatan. The status of U. rapax in the northern Gulf remains to be resolved. Range limits of most species approximate one or the other of two sets of intersecting thermal and geological boundaries that subdivide the Gulf of Mexico along north-south and east-west axes. Species belonging to subgenus Minuca tend to replace one another at the thermally-controlled Carolinian-Caribbean marine biotic boundary across the Florida peninsula and northern Gulf. However, only U. minax of all the North American fiddler crabs exhibits the classical disjunct Carolinian distribution, and this appears basically to reflect the discontinuous distribution of temperate salt marshes that are the habitat of the species. Distributions of species belonging to subgenus Celuca adhere for the most part to the subdivision of the Gulf into western terrigenous and eastern carbonate sedimentary provinces. The northern transition occurs in the vicinity of Apalachee Bay and the southern at Laguna de Terminos. A third distributional pattern is shown by U. subcylindrica , a specialized endemic species of the hypersaline Laguna Madre system of the western Gulf. The level of endemism in the fiddler crabs is relatively high in comparison with that of other marine groups within the Gulf of Mexico. This may be a consequence of the adaptations of fiddler crabs as specialized deposit feeders to regional differences in climatic and edaphic characteristics of a marginally marine upper shore habitat. The distributional patterns of the endemics could prove useful in reconstructing palaeoecological events of evolutionary significance within the Gulf of Mexico.     

Hoplolaimoidea (Nematoda: Tylenchida) from the Aleutian Islands with Descriptions of Four New Species

Four new species of hoplolaimoid nematodes (Merlinius adakensis, Pratylenchoides megalobatus, Pratylenchus pratensisobrinus, and Pratylenchus ventroprojectus) are described from Adak Island in the Aleutian chain. M. adakensis n. sp. is separated from other species by body length (0.96-1.3 mm), stylet length (32-36 μm), number of tail annules (49-68), and c'' (3.1-4.1). P. megalobatus n. sp. differs from all known Pratylenchoides spp. by having a very long esophageal gland lobe (b'' = 2.4-3.3, overlap 3-6 times the body width). P. pratensisobrinus n. sp. closely resembles P. pratensis (de Man) Filipjev, but has a longer stylet (15-17 μm), a longer tail (c = 12-15; c'' = 2.8-3.7), and more tail annules (23-37). P. ventroprojectus n. sp. is distinguished by body length (392-475 μm), three lip annules, low and flattened cephalic capsule, and presence of terminal subventral projection. Pratylenchoides variabilis Sher, Helicotylenchus amplius Anderson &Eveleigh, and H. spitsbergensis Loof are also reported from Adak and Amchitka Islands.     

New and Known Species of Pratylenchus Filipjev, 1936 (Nematoda: Pratylenchidae) from Haryana,India, with Remarks on Intraspecific Variations

Two new monosexual and one bisexual species Pratylenchus Filipjev, 1936 collected from Haryana state of India are described and illustrated. The primary distinguishing features of these species are Pratylenchus microstylus n. sp.: L = 331-458 μm, spear = 11 or 12 μm; Pratylenchus cruciferus n. sp.: L = 648-793 μm, central core of lateral fields with oblique lines, hemizonid 2-8 annules anterior to excretory pore; Pratylenchus ekrami n. sp.: spear = 11-13 μm, spermatheca oblong, post vulval uterine sac with differentiated cells, tail with 26-40 annules, males abundant. Studies on intraspecific variations of P. cruciferus, P. ekrami, and P. coffeae (Zimmermann, 1898) Goodey, 1951 revealed that spear length and value of ''V'' are the least variable characters. Body length and size of post vulval uterine sac varies to varying degrees in different species. Shape of median bulb in P. ekrami, number of incisures in P. coffeae, and tail shape in P. ekrami and P. coffeae exhibit the greatest amount of intraspecific variations. P. zeae Graham, 1936 and P. thornei Sher & Allen, 1953 are the other species collected during the present studies.     

Voiceprint identification and its application to sociological studies of wild Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata yakui)

Japanese monkeys often exchange the particular vocal sound, “coo,” especially when they feed or move as a group. It was considered that the “coo” sound had no positive social meaning, perhaps because the “coo” sound network and its function were hidden behind other behavioral observations. For identification of the vocalizer only from hearing the “coo” sound, three phonetic values, i.e., the “fundamental,” “duration,” and “formants,” plus other characteristics were used as indices of voiceprints. The results indicated that these were effective for identifying the vocalizer in two-thirds of the adults in the study troop which was composed of 12 adults and 16 immature members. The “coo” sound exchange network among the troop members (adults) was drawn on the basis of the voiceprint identification. The network showed three characteristics as follows: (1) matriarchs of the kin-groups frequently exchanged “coo” sounds with each other; (2) the other females exchanged “coo” sounds mostly within their own kin-groups; and (3) males seldom participated in the “coo” sound exchange. This suggests that “coo” sound exchange plays a central role for the matriarch of kin-groups in binding each kin-group and, ultimately, in binding all members together into an organized troop.