Revisiting the type of Cespitularia stolonifera Gohar, 1938 leads to the description of a new genus and a species of the family Xeniidae (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea)
Because of the problematical identity and status of the type of the xeniid soft coral genus Cespitularia Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1850, the species C. stolonifera Gohar, 1938 is revised. Examination of the type colonies has led to the establishment of the new genus Unomia gen. n. which is described and depicted. This genus features a stalk, commonly divided into branches featuring a diffuse polypiferous part consisting of distal clustered polyps and proximal individual ones on the stalk or the basal membranous part of the colonies. The sclerites are ellipsoid platelets composed of dendritic calcite rods whose tips are distinct on the surface of the platelets. Freshly collected material from Venezuelan reefs where the species is invasive was subjected to molecular phylogenetic analysis, the results of which substantiate the taxonomic assignment of the new genus under U. stolonifera comb. n. A new species, U. complanatis, from Japan and Green Island (Taiwan) is described and further illustrates the extent of the interspecific morphological variation within the genus. The results reveal that the biogeographic distribution of Unomia gen. n. includes Pacific Ocean reefs in addition to the previously reported invaded Caribbean reefs.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1929319
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10281515
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Zootaxa
- Volume:
- 4964
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 1175-5326
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 330 to 344
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
null (Ed.)The leafhopper genus Thaia Ghauri, 1962 and two related genera, Parathaia Kuoh, 1982 and Pseudothaia Kuoh, 1982, are revised. Nlunga Dworakowska, 1974, previously treated as a subgenus of Thaia, is elevated to the genus level, and Parathaia Kuoh, 1982, previously treated as a synonym of Thaia, is reinstated to valid status. The Oriental species lacking foveae on the pronotum are excluded from Nlunga and transferred to a new genus, Etmaria gen. n. Two species, Pseudothaia caudata Song & Li, 2013 and Thaia (Nlunga) leishanensis (Song & Li, 2007), are treated as Incertae sedis within Erythroneurini. Moreover, nine additional new species are described and illustrated: Nlunga parareeneni, Etmaria brevis, E. chaiyaphumica, E. dentata, E. indonesica, E. magna, E. triquetra, E. ulterior and Pseudothaia forcipis spp. nov.more » « less
-
The non-marine diatom flora of the Antarctic Continent includes several endemic taxa recorded over the past 100 years. One of these taxa, Navicula adminensis D.Roberts & McMinn, was described from the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. Detailed light and scanning electron microscopy observations have shown that based on its morphological features, the species does not belong to the genus Navicula sensu stricto. To determine the most closely related genera to N. adminensis, the morphological features of Adlafia, Kobayasiella, Envekadea, Stenoneis, Berkeleya, Climaconeis, and Parlibellus were compared with those of N. adminensis. Although each of these genera shows one or more similar features, none of them accommodates the salient morphological characteristics of N. adminensis. Therefore, a new genus, Sabbea gen. nov., is herein described, and Navicula adminensis is formally transferred to the new genus as Sabbea adminensis comb. nov. The genus Sabbea is characterized by uniseriate striae composed of small, rounded areolae occluded externally by individual hymenes, a rather simple raphe structure with straight, short proximal ends and short terminal raphe fissures, open girdle bands with double perforation and a very shallow mantle.more » « less
-
Five new species of the endemic Australian leafhopper genus Mayawa Fletcher, 2000 (M. affinifacialis sp. nov., M. bimaculata sp. nov., M. brevicephala sp. nov., M. kathyae sp. nov. and M. vestigia sp. nov.) are described and illustrated and a revised key to species is provided. One of the new species tested positive for a previously unknown strain of phytoplasma belonging to the 16SrV group. The related paralimnine genus Austroauridius gen. nov. based on A. iwaii sp. nov. from Queensland is also described and illustrated and a key to known genera of Australian Paralimnini is provided.more » « less