First record and redescription of the terrestrial isopod Hemilepistoides messerianus Borutzky, 1945 (Isopoda,Oniscidea) from Iran

In the present study, Hemilepistoides messerianus Borutzky, 1945 is reported from Iran for the first time. This species is redescribed and diagnostic characters of both males and females are illustrated. This species is characterized by the tuberculation of all parts of the dorsal surface of the body and the male pleopod endopodite I with a triangular lobe at apex. A map with the distribution of species is presented.     

Redescription of the poorly known Central Asian Titanoeca lehtineni Fet, 1986 (Araneae, Titanoecidae)

A poorly known spiders species, Titanoeca lehtineni Fet, 1986, from southwestern Central Asia is redescribed and diagnosed.     

基于温度植被干旱指数的土库曼斯坦典型绿洲干旱遥感监测

针对目前中亚地区广泛存在的农业干旱问题,选取土库曼斯坦典型绿洲为研究区,利用2幅MODIS影像和同期过境的Landsat影像,获取归一化植被指数(NDVI)和地表温度(Ts),构建NDVI-Ts特征空间,计算得到2001和2011年2种温度植被干旱指数TVDITM和TVDIMODIS.利用较高分辨率的Landsat TM数据对MODIS数据反演结果进行验证.结果表明:2001年、2011年TVDITM和TVDIMODIS的绝对误差分别为0.0178和0.0228;均方根误差分别为0.0226和0.0279;相关系数分别为0.949和0.922,说明TVDI可有效反映区域土壤干旱情况.研究区内干旱区域占总面积的60％以上,旱情由绿洲中心向外围逐步严重.近10年来,研究区内土壤湿度低值区呈现扩大趋势,湿润和正常所占比例下降了5.32％,干旱和重旱的比例上升了14％,旱情情况总体加剧.因此,利用MODIS影像的温度植被旱情指数可有效地监测中亚地区干旱情况.     

Application of IUCN Red Listing Criteria at the Regional and National Levels: A Case Study from Central Asia

We assessed the threatened status of 163 Central Asian vertebrates using the IUCN Red List Criteria (Version 3.1) at the national and regional levels, and compared these assessments to the global assessments given in the IUCN 2002 Red List. We thus compared threat status at three spatial scales; national for five countries separately (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan), regional for the five countries together, and global. This analysis was undertaken as a test of the applicability of IUCN criteria at the sub-global level. Generally the criteria worked well. In 4% of cases, the threat category was lower at the smaller scale of assessment. This was predominately caused by the use of decline rate criteria at the larger scale when populations at the smaller scale were stable. We also encountered issues with the listing of migratory species at the sub-global level. We used our data to carry out a preliminary assessment of Protected Area coverage in the region, and found evidence suggesting that threatened species and endemics are not well covered by the current protected area system.     

Name typification of Umbelliferae taxa described by Joseph Franz Freyn

Thirty-three new species and 12 new infraspecific taxa of the Umbelliferae have been described by Bohemian botanist Joseph Franz Freyn (1845–1903). The names of these taxa are typified, in most cases by material preserved at the Herbarium of the Moravian Museum (BRNM) in Brno. The names of nine species proposed by Freyn are accepted in the present-day nomenclature of the family; five others are the basionyms of presently accepted names. Type material from BRNM has enabled rehabilitation of the specific status of Angelica brachyradia Freyn from Bosnia and Pastinaca dentata Freyn & Sint. from Turkey. A new nomenclatural combination is proposed (Taeniopetalum urbani (Freyn & Sint. ex H. Wolff) Pimenov). Notes on the distribution of the taxa concerned are added.