European journal of taxonomy : EJT
Paris : Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
ISSN: 2118-9773
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61
A new status (as subgenera of Diostracus Loew, 1861) for Sphyrotarsus Mik, 1874, Lagodechia Negrobov & Tsurikov, 1996 and Ozmena Özdikmen, 2010 stat. nov. is proposed. A new species, Diostracus (Sphyrotarsus) kustovi sp. nov., is described from the Russian Caucasus. The following recombinations (comb. nov.) are also proposed: Diostracus (Sphyrotarsus) argyrostomus (Mik, 1874); D. (S.) caucasicus (Negrobov, 1965); D. (S.) hervebazini (Parent, 1914); D. (S.) hessei (Parent, 1914); D. (S.) hygrophilus (Becker, 1891); D. (S.) leucostomus (Loew, 1861); D. (S.) parenti (Hesse, 1933); D. (Lagodechia) spinulifer Negrobov & Tsurikov, 1988; and D. (Ozmena) stackelbergi (Negrobov, 1965). A key to ten Diostracus species inhabiting the West Palaearctic Region is provided.
59
This paper summarizes current knowledge about West African pholcids. West Africa is here defined as the area south of 17°N and west of 5°E, including mainly the Upper Guinean subregion of the Guineo-Congolian center of endemism. This includes all of Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin. An annotated list of the 14 genera and 38 species recorded from this area is given, together with distribution maps and an identification key to genera. Five species are newly described: Anansus atewa sp. nov., Artema bunkpurugu sp. nov., Leptopholcus kintampo sp. nov., Spermophora akwamu sp. nov., and S. ziama sp. nov. The female of Quamtana kitahurira is newly described. Additional new records are given for 16 previously described species, including 33 new country records. Distribution patterns of West African pholcids are discussed, as well as possible explanations for relatively low West African pholcid species diversity as compared to Central and East Africa.
63
Two new genera and five new species of Selachinematidae are described from the New Zealand upper continental slope (350-1240 m depth). Synonchiella rotundicauda sp. nov. is characterised by cephalic setae 0.25 cbd long, mandibles each with two pairs of hooks and two wing-like projections laterally, eight cup-shaped pre-cloacal supplements and short rounded tail. Pseudocheironchus gen. nov. is similar to Cheironchus, but differs from the latter in having a cuticle without lateral differentiation, cephalic setae only slightly longer than the outer labial sensillae, and a posterior buccal cavity with three equal mandibles. Pseudocheironchus ingluviosus gen. et sp. nov. is characterised by mandibles with eight blunt teeth, multispiral amphideal fovea with five turns, and a short rounded tail. Males of this new species with 17-19 cup-shaped pre-cloacal supplements. Males of the genus Cobbionema are described for the first time; C. trigamma sp. nov. is characterised by four long cephalic setae and six smaller outer labial setae in one circle, six rhabdions surrounding the anterior buccal cavity, each with two pairs of pointed projections at their posterior extremities, posterior buccal cavity widening posteriorly, with three pairs of rhabdions fused posteriorly and widening anteriorly, males with two testes pointing anteriorly and with reflexed posterior testis, and no pre-cloacal supplements. Gammanema agglutinans sp. nov. is characterised by a short, stout body often covered in adhering mucus and detritus, cuticle with minute spines, leaf-shaped somatic setae with ducts, sexual dimorphism in the shape of the amphideal fovea (loop-shaped in males and spiral in females), posterior buccal cavity with three pairs of broad, column-shaped rhabdions fused anteriorly, intestine cells with orange-brown granules, and small tubular pre-cloacal supplements. Bendiella gen. nov. is most similar to Halichoanolaimus, but differs from the latter, and all other genera of the family Selachinematidae, in having a cuticle with lateral differentiation consisting of longitudinal rows of larger dots, and from all other genera of the Choniolaiminae in lacking pre-cloacal supplements. Bendiella thalassa gen. et sp. nov. is characterised by amphideal fovea with 5.25 turns, anterior buccal cavity with twelve rhabdions, each with a pair of pointed projections at posterior extremity, posterior buccal cavity with three Y-shaped pairs of slender rhabdions fused from two thirds of distance from anterior ends, and conico-cylindrical tail.
55
Two new species of the family Trefusiidae, viz., Trefusia piperata sp. nov. and Trefusialaimus idrisi sp. nov., are described from the crest of the Chatham Rise, Southwest Pacific Ocean (350 m water depth). The present study provides the first species records for this family in the region. Trefusia and Trefusialaimus comprise twenty and three valid species, respectively. A key to males of Trefusia is provided.
60
Two new colourful species of direct-developing frogs of the genus Pristimantis are described from the summit of two isolated tepuis (sandstone table mountains) in the Eastern Pantepui District of the Guiana Shield highlands. Pristimantis jamescameroni sp. nov. is described from the summit of Aprada-tepui from 2557-2571 m elevation, and P. imthurni sp. nov. is described from the summit of Ptaritepui at 2471 m elevation. Both species share the absence of a differentiated tympanic membrane and external tympanic annulus (but presence of tiny pharyngeal ostia), the presence of nuptial pads in males, and the presence of lateral fringes on fingers and toes, a combination of characters that immediately distinguishes them from all other known Pantepui congeners. The two new species are morphologically similar to each other and are phylogenetically closely related, but they can be distinguished based on colour pattern and morphological characters such as head proportions, dorsal skin texture, and condition of the supratympanic fold. The IUCN conservation status of the new species is considered as Endangered (EN) owing to their apparent very restricted ranges. The number of described Pristimantis species occurring exclusively on tepui (and faunistically related granitic mountains) summits and upper slopes now reaches eleven.
43
Two new species of Thomisidae are described (Mecaphesa reddelli sp. nov. and Tmarus galapagosensis sp. nov.). Of a third species, Mecaphesa inclusa (Banks, 1902), three colour variations are described. Tmarus specimens previously listed from the islands have always erroneously been called T. stolzmanni Keyserling, 1880. The Philodromidae are mentioned for the first time for the archipelago and are represented by two new species: Apollophanes fitzroyi sp. nov. and Apollophanes (?) lonesomegeorgei sp. nov.
41
The late Katian, Late Ordovician Boda Limestone of Dalarna, Sweden contains a rich cephalopod assemblage. The assemblage consists of 61 species, in 31 genera, comprising almost all major Ordovician cephalopod orders. Most common and diverse are the Orthocerida. The Ascocerida are also remarkably common and diverse. The new ascocerid species, Redpathoceras bullatum sp. nov., R. depressum sp. nov., R. magnum sp. nov., and Probillingsites scandinavicum sp. nov., give reason to revise current hypotheses on the origin and evolution of this group. An ascocerid origin from barrandeoceratids or aspidoceratids is hypothesised. The absence of actinocerids in the Boda Limestone is notable, and is interpreted as an indication of relatively cool and/or deep depositional environments. The dominance of orthocerids is provisionally interpreted as evidence for nutrient-rich waters during the time of the deposition of the Boda Limestone. Additionally, the assemblage contains the new barrandeocerids Schuchertoceras fryi sp. nov., Siljanoceras varians gen. et sp. nov., Warburgoceras gen. nov. (for Cyrtoceras longitudinale Angelin in Angelin & Lindström, 1880), the new endocerid Cameroceras turrisoides sp. nov., the new oncocerid Cyrtorizoceras thorslundi sp. nov., and the new orthocerids Dawsonoceras stumburi sp. nov., Isorthoceras angelini sp. nov., I. curvilineatum sp. nov., Nathorstoceras adnatum gen. et sp. nov., N. kallholnense gen. et sp. nov., Palaeodawsonocerina? nicolletoides sp. nov., Pleurorthoceras osmundsbergense sp. nov., and Striatocycloceras isbergi sp. nov.
48
Hypotheses on the age and possible antiquity of the modern deep-sea fauna put forward to date almost all agree on the assumption that the deep-sea fauna is largely the result of colonisation from shallow-water environments. Here, the fossil record of the Ophiacanthidae, a modern deep-sea brittle star family with extensive fossil occurrences at shelf depths, is systematically traced against a calibrated phylogeny. Several lines of evidence suggest that the Ophiacanthidae originated and greatly diversified in the deep sea, with most extant clades having diverged by the end of the Triassic at the latest. During the Jurassic, the family temporarily invaded shelf environments, attaining relative abundances and diversities comparable to those found in coeval and modern deep-sea settings, and gradually declined in abundance subsequently, to become largely restricted to the deep-sea again. The pattern of temporary expansion to shelf environments suggested here underpins the potential of deep-sea environments to contribute significantly to shallow-water biodiversity; an aspect that has mostly been neglected so far. It is speculated that the large-scale ophiacanthid invasion of shelf environments around the Triassic- Jurassic boundary was initiated by a change from thermohaline to halothermal circulation, attenuating the thermal stratifi cation of the water column and thus providing opportunities for enhanced vertical migration of marine taxa.
51
We revise the species-level taxonomy of the Crematogaster (Crematogaster) degeerispecies-assemblage, a group of related ants occuring in Madagascar and the wider Malagasy region, and further provide an identification key to all species-groups of the genus Crematogaster in this region. Within the C. degeeri-assemblage, we recognize twelve species based upon morphological data from worker, queen and male ants, as well as genetic data from the barcode region of cytochrome oxidase I. Seven new species are described: Crematogaster alafara Blaimer sp. nov., C. bara Blaimer sp. nov., C. mafybe Blaimer sp. nov., C.maina Blaimer sp. nov., C. malahelo Blaimer sp. nov., C. masokely Blaimer sp. nov., C. ramamy Blaimer sp. nov. Crematogaster tricolor Gerstäcker, 1859 (stat. rev.) and C. dentata Dalla Torre, 1893 (stat. nov.) are raised to species level, and the following new synonymies are proposed: Crematogaster degeeri lunaris Santschi, 1928 as a synonym of C. degeeri Forel, 1886; Crematogaster sewelli improba Forel, 1907 and C. sewelli mauritiana Forel, 1907 as synonyms of C. dentata Dalla Torre, 1893, and C. pacifi ca Santschi, 1919 as a synonym of C. lobata Emery, 1895. Species descriptions, images, and distribution maps and identification keys based on worker ants, as well as on queen ants where available, are presented for all twelve species. In addition, we present a molecular gene tree for cytochrome oxidase I and summarize levels of sequence divergence within and between species of the C. degeeri-species-assemblage. Our findings are discussed in the light of previous work on Malagasy Crematogaster ants.
68
The taxonomy of the genus Ophiocoma was last revised by Devaney in 1970. Recent discoveries of new species and re-instatement of previously synonymized names suggest that we still do not fully understand the species limits in this genus. A recent biodiversity survey of the SW Indian Ocean shallow reefs strongly suggested an unrecognised species in the genus, closely related to O. brevipes/O. dentata. This study examined both the molecular phylogenetic relationships and the morphological characteristics of several species in the genus in order to characterise the unrecognised species. The focal species clusters with O. brevipes, O. dentata, O. doederleini within a monophyletic clade supported by molecular data for the first time. The name Breviturma subgen. nov. is proposed for this clade, previously known as brevipes group. Type material of nominal species that have been synonymized with O. dentata was examined and re-assessed. Ophiocoma marmorata proved not conspecific with O. dentata. A rarely used character, dorsal disc granule density, was tested and showed differences between the examined species at similar sizes. In combination with colour pattern, disc granule density, arm spine sequence and maximum disc size, the new species was delimited morphologically and described as Ophiocoma krohi sp. nov.