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A new microscopic cnidarian is described, infecting five of thirty (16.6%) specimens of Corydoras schwartzi caught in the Purus River, State of Amazonas, Brazil. Histological analysis showed that cyst development occurred in the serosa layer of the intestine. Mature myxospores are ovoid in body shape in frontal view, 22.4 ± 0.3 μm in total length and 16.3 ± 0.1 μm in width. Internally, two aubergine-shaped, elongate symmetrical polar capsules occupy more than half the length of the spore, 14.3 ± 0.2 μm in length and 6.5 ± 0.1 μm in width. Ultrastructural analysis provided evidence of five polar filament coils inside the polar capsule and binucleated sporoplasm containing a moderate number of sporoplasmosomes. The valvogenic cells abutting each other form a sutural ridge and frequently a thin layer of homogeneous material separates the cells. The outer surface of the myxospore valves is smooth, with no evidence of formation of ridges in the valves. Immature myxospores in various stages of development were observed. This study is the first report of a myxosporean parasitizing C. schwartzi and the first report of a myxosporean infection in the intestine of an ornamental fish from South America.
Two Mastogloia Thwaites ex W.Sm. taxa were found during a survey of the diatom flora of Lac de Guiers, Senegal. Based on all currently available literature, one taxon could be identified as M. belaensis M.Voigt, a species formerly described from Pakistan. The second species showed some resemblance to M. braunii Grunow. Analysis of the type of M. braunii revealed, however, important morphologic differences, leading to the description of a new species from the Senegal population: M. senegalensis Van de Vijver, Fofana, Sow & Ector sp. nov. The present paper describes this new species and discusses and illustrates the morphology of M. belaensis and the type of M. braunii. All taxa are discussed with morphologically similar taxa.
We revise the Southeast Asian Pholcus bicornutus group in which males are characterized by a unique pair of horns on their ocular area, each of which carries at its tip a brush of hairs. In two species, the two hair brushes are ‘glued’ or ‘waxed’ together by an unidentified substance into a very consistently curved and pointed single median tip. In the other five species known, the hairs are unglued. We present a first revision of ocular modifications in Pholcidae and identify twenty supposedly independent origins. Most cases are in Pholcinae, and all but one case are limited to the male, suggesting sexual selection as the main driving force in the evolution of ocular modifications in Pholcidae. Previously, the Pholcus bicornutus group consisted of four species limited to the Philippines. We describe four new species, including three species from the Philippines (P. olangapo Huber, sp. nov.; P. kawit Huber, sp. nov.; P. baguio Huber, sp. nov.) and the first representative from outside the Philippines (P. mulu Huber, sp. nov. from Sarawak, NE Borneo) and provide new records and SEM data for three previously described species.
The Southeast Asian Pholcus halabala species group is revised and re-delimited, based mainly on field observations (life color pattern, web design, position of egg-sac when carried by female, microhabitat) and ultrastructure (silk spigots, modifications of male cheliceral apophyses). The core group includes six leafdwelling species that have distinctive color patterns in life specimens (black and white or yellowish abdominal marks, dark pattern on posterior half of carapace) and build round to oval silk platforms on the undersides of leaves. Seven further species are tentatively assigned to the group pending further study. Several species originally assigned to the Pholcus halabala group are transferred to three newly proposed species groups, the Ph. krabi, Ph. buatong, and Ph. andulau groups. Nine species are newly described, four in the Ph. halabala group (Ph. khaolek Huber, sp. nov.; Ph. kuhapimuk Huber, sp. nov.; Ph. lintang Huber, sp. nov.; Ph. ubin Huber, sp. nov.); three in the Ph. krabi group (Ph. kipungit Huber, sp. nov.; Ph. krabi Huber, sp. nov.; Ph. narathiwat Huber, sp. nov.); one in the Ph. buatong group (Ph. buatong Huber, sp. nov.); and one in the Ph. andulau group (Ph. lambir Huber, sp. nov.). The females of Ph. satun Huber, 2011 and Ph. schwendingeri Huber, 2011 (both members of the buatong group) are newly described.
New leaf- and litter-dwelling species of the genus Pholcus from Southeast Asia (Araneae, Pholcidae)
(2016)
We describe eight new species of the genus Pholcus, and document their microhabitats. Four species are assigned to the previously described Pholcus ethagala group: P. tanahrata Huber sp. nov., P. uludong Huber sp. nov., and P. bukittimah Huber sp. nov. from the Malay Peninsula, and P. barisan Huber sp. nov. from Sumatra. These species are all litter-dwellers that build domed sheet webs on the undersides of large dead leaves on the ground. The other four species are assigned to newly created species groups: the P. tambunan group with two species from northern Borneo: P. tambunan Huber sp. nov. and P. bario Huber sp. nov.; and the P. domingo group with two species from the Philippines, Mindanao: P. domingo Huber sp. nov. and P. matutum Huber sp. nov. These latter four species are leafdwellers that build barely visible silk platforms tightly attached to the undersides of live leaves. The main rationale for this paper is to provide part of the taxonomic and natural history background for upcoming phylogenetic and evolutionary (microhabitat shifts) analyses.