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In this study, we report the results of a taxonomic survey of terrestrial isopods from Isla Grande, a ca 2 km2 island located in the north of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. We found a total of 17 species belonging to nine families and 10 genera. Eight of these species have been reported only from the Caribbean region, nine are recorded for the first time in Colombia, and three are new to science and described here: Tylos negroi López-Orozco, Carpio-Díaz & Campos-Filho sp. nov., Stenoniscus nestori López-Orozco, Taiti & Campos-Filho sp. nov. and Armadilloniscus luisi Carpio-Díaz, Taiti & Campos-Filho sp. nov. Our revision also determined that the genus Microphiloscia is a junior synonym of Halophiloscia; and moreover, Halophiloscia trichoniscoides comb. nov. is redescribed. We also provide illustrations for Armadilloniscus caraibicus and Armadilloniscus ninae. Most (16) of the species were found in coastal habitats (i.e., beaches, coastal lagoons and mangroves), whereas the tropical dry forest harbored only two species. Molecular phylogenetic inferences supported the presence of three species of Tylos in Isla Grande (i.e., one new species and a new lineage within each of two known species). Our work on Tylos highlights the importance of combining taxonomic and molecular analyses to support taxonomic decisions and uncover cryptic diversity. Due to the multiple threats to Caribbean coastal habitats, taxonomic and molecular genetic research are urgently needed to understand biodiversity patterns of oniscideans in the Caribbean, which will inform strategies for their protection. Such studies will also contribute to our knowledge of their evolution, ecology, and potential uses, as well as the factors that have shaped the remarkable Caribbean biodiversity.
The tortoise beetle, Cassida sphaerula Boheman, 1854 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Cassidini) is endemic to South Africa. Its endemic host, Arctotheca prostrata (Salisb.) Britten (Asteraceae) has been introduced in other countries where it is becoming invasive. Cassida sphaerula could provide a potential biocontrol of Arctotheca weeds as it spends the entire life cycle on this host. An intensive field study, with rearing, photography, and short films of C. sphaerula was conducted in its native habitat to document the life cycle. A checklist of Cassidinae genera in South Africa, along with 19 new host records for Cassidini species in South Africa are presented. Oothecae are simple, with few laminate membranes enclosing fewer than five eggs. There are five larval instars. Larvae and adults feed by making a series of cuts in the ventral cuticle, forming an arc, and they consume the mesophyll as the cuticle is rolled to one side. This creates many ventral craters, thickened on one margin with the rolled cuticle; these ventral craters correspond to ‘windows’ in the dorsal leaf surface where the dorsal cuticle is left intact. This unusual feeding pattern is known in three Cassida species, all in South Africa. Like many tortoise beetles, instar I initiates a feces-only shield on its paired caudal processes (= urogomophi); this construction is retained, along with exuviae, by subsequent instars. The shield construction was studied by film and dissections. This revealed that the columnar or pyramidal shield in this species has an exterior of dry or moist feces that obscures the central nested stack of exuviae, each exuviae compressed onto the caudal processes. Pupae may retain the entire larval shield of exuviae and feces or only the 5th instar exuviae; this behavioral flexibility in pupal shield retention is novel for tortoise beetles. Behaviors of C. sphaerula are discussed in the context of phylogenetic characters that can give evolutionary insights into the genus, tribe, and subfamily.
ZooBank registration. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4AC56F98-6474-4AAD-A2A9-51AE2F39A1E1