skip to main content


Title: New species of Philopterus Nitzsch, 1818 (Ischnocera: Philopteridae), with notes on Cypseloecus Conci, 1941
We describe and illustrate eight new species of chewing lice in the genus Philopterus Nitzsch, 1818, parasitic on hosts in the bird families Cardinalidae, Chloropseidae, Hirundinidae, Icteridae, Motacillidae, Paridae, and Vangidae from China, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and the USA. They are: Philopterus coriaceus sp. nov. from Molothrus oryzivorus oryzivorus (Gmelin, 1788); P. hebes sp. nov. from Chloropsis aurifrons inornata Kloss, 1918 and C. cochinchinensis kinneari Hall & Deignan, 1956; P. micropunctatus sp. nov. from Anthus hodgsoni Richmond, 1907; P. afropari sp. nov. from Melaniparus cinerascens cinerascens (Vieillot, 1818); P. pseudhirundo sp. nov. from Pseudhirundo griseopyga Sundevall, 1850; P. sinensis sp. nov. from Hemipus picatus capitalis (Horsfield, 1840); P. stansburyensis sp. nov. from Pheucticus melanocephalus melanocephalus (Swainson, 1827); and P. trepostephanus sp. nov. from Tephrodornis virgatus fretensis Robinson & Kloss, 1920 and T. v. mekongensis Meyer de Schauensee, 1946. Philopterus hebes sp. nov. constitutes the first record of the genus Philopterus from the Chloropseidae. We also provide some notes on the morphology and status of Cypseloecus Conci, 1941.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1926738
NSF-PAR ID:
10391558
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
European Journal of Taxonomy
Date Published:
Journal Name:
European Journal of Taxonomy
Volume:
790
ISSN:
2118-9773
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1 to 52
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Cyanobacteria are crucial ecosystem components in dryland soils. Advances in describing α–level taxonomy are needed to understand what drives their abundance and distribution. We describeTrichotorquatusgen. nov. (Oculatellaceae, Synechococcales, Cyanobacteria) based on four new species isolated from dryland soils including the coastal sage scrub near San Diego, California (USA), the Mojave and Colorado Deserts with sites at Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve, California (USA), and the Atacama Desert (Chile). The genus is morphologically characterized by having thin trichomes (<4.5 μm wide), cells both shorter and longer than wide, rarely occurring single and double false branching, necridia appearing singly or in rows, and sheaths with a distinctive collar‐like fraying and widening mid‐filament, the feature for which the genus is named. The genus is morphologically nearly identical withLeptolyngbyasensu stricto but is phylogenetically quite distant from that genus. It is consequently a cryptic genus that will likely be differentiated in future studies based on 16S rRNA sequence data. The type species,T. maritimussp. nov. is morphologically distinct from the other three species,T. coquimbosp. nov.,T. andreisp. nov. andT. ladouxaesp. nov. However, these latter three species are morphologically very close and are considered by the authors to be cryptic species. All species are separated phylogenetically based on sequence of the 16S‐23S ITS region. Three distinct ribosomal operons were recovered from the genus, lending difficulty to recognizing further diversity in this morphologically cryptic genus.

     
    more » « less
  2. We revise the genusConostigmus Dahlbom1858 occurring in Madagascar, based on data from more specimens than were examined for the latest world revision of the genus. Our results yield new information about intraspecific variability and the nature of the atypical latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) observed in Ceraphronoidea. We also investigate cellular processes that underlie body size polyphenism, by utilizing the correspondence between epidermal cells and scutes, polygonal units of leather-like microsculpture. Our results reveal that body size polyphenism in Megaspilidae is most likely related to cell number and not cell size variation, and that cell size differs between epithelial fields of the head and that of the mesosoma. Three species,Conostigmus ballescoracasDessart, 1997,C. babaiaxDessart, 1996 andC. longulusDessart, 1997, are redescribed. Females ofC. longulusare described for the first time, as are nine new species:C. bucephalusMikó and Trietsch sp. nov.,C. clavatusMikó and Trietsch sp. nov.,C. fianarantsoaensisMikó and Trietsch sp. nov.,C. lucidusMikó and Trietsch sp. nov.,C. macrocupula, Mikó and Trietsch sp. nov.,C. madagascariensisMikó and Trietsch sp. nov.,C. missyhazenaeMikó and Trietsch sp. nov.,C. pseudobabaiaxMikó and Trietsch sp. nov., andC. toliaraensisMikó and Trietsch sp. nov. A fully illustrated identification key forMalagasy Conostigmusspecies and a Web Ontology Language (OWL) representation of the taxonomic treatment, including specimen data, nomenclature, and phenotype descriptions, in both natural and formal languages, are provided.

     
    more » « less
  3. Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa (Ed.)

    The marine ribbon worm genusTetranemertesChernyshev, 1992 currently includes three species: the type speciesT. antonina(Quatrefages, 1846) from the Mediterranean Sea,T. rubrolineata(Kirsteuer, 1965) from Madagascar, andT. hermaphroditica(Gibson, 1982) from Australia. Seven new species are described:T. bifrostsp. nov.,T. ocelatasp. nov.,T. majinbuuisp. nov., andT. pastafariensissp. nov.from the Caribbean Sea (Panamá), and three species,T. unistriatasp. nov.,T. paulayisp. nov., andT. arabicasp. nov., from the Indo-West Pacific (Japan and Oman). As a result, an amended morphological diagnosis of the genus is offered. To improve nomenclatural stability, a neotype ofTetranemertes antoninais designated from the Mediterranean. The newly described species, each characterized by features of external appearance and stylet apparatus, as well as by DNA-barcodes, form a well-supported clade withT. antoninaon a molecular phylogeny of monostiliferan hoplonemerteans based on partial sequences of COI, 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and 28S rRNA. Six of the seven newly described species, as well asT. rubrolineata, possess the unusual character of having a central stylet basis slightly bilobed to deeply forked posteriorly in fully grown individuals, a possible morphological synapomorphy of the genus. In addition, an undescribed species ofTetranemertesis reported from the Eastern Tropical Pacific (Panamá), increasing the total number of known species in the genus to eleven.

     
    more » « less
  4. We describe three new species of minute salamanders, genusThorius, from the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca, Mexico. Until now only a single species,T. minutissimus, has been reported from this region, although molecular data have long shown extensive genetic differentiation among geographically disjunct populations. AdultThorius pinicolasp. nov.,T. longicaudussp. nov., andT. tlaxiacussp. nov. are larger thanT. minutissimusand possess elliptical rather than oval nostrils;T. pinicolaandT. longicaudusalso have longer tails. All three new species occur west of the range ofT. minutissimus, which has the easternmost distribution of any member of the genus. The new species are distinguished from each other and from other namedThoriusin Oaxaca by a combination of adult body size, external morphology and osteology, and by protein characters (allozymes) and differences in DNA sequences. In addition, we redescribeT. minutissimusand a related species,T. narisovalis, to further clarify the taxonomic status of Oaxacan populations and to facilitate future studies of the remaining genetically differentiatedThoriusthat cannot be satisfactorily assigned to any named species. Populations of all five species considered here appear to have declined dramatically over the last one or two decades and live specimens are difficult to find in nature.Thoriusmay be the most endangered genus of amphibians in the world. All species may go extinct before the end of this century.

     
    more » « less
  5. Abstract

    We revise the Chilean genus Porteria, including the type species, Porteria albopunctata, and 11 new species: Porteria ajimayo sp. nov., Porteria alopobre sp. nov., Porteria ariasbohartae sp. nov., Porteria bunnyana sp. nov., Porteria contulmo sp. nov., Porteria correcaminos sp. nov., Porteria eddardstarki sp. nov., Porteria faberi sp. nov., Porteria fiura sp. nov., Porteria misbianka sp. nov. and Porteria torobayo sp. nov. A phylogenetic analysis using six genetic markers confirms the monophyly of Porteriinae, including Baiami and the core porteriines, here defined to include the ecribellate genera Cambridgea, Corasoides, Nanocambridgea and Porteria. Core porteriines are diagnosed by a narrowed section of the piriform gland spigot field, the cymbium extended to a narrow tip and lack of a median apophysis. Porteria and Corasoides are sister taxa, united by the behaviour of running atop the sheet of a web and by spinning a regular square mesh in the web platform. According to our results, the diversification of Porteria started about 30 Mya (44–17 Mya). A biogeographic analysis infers that an ancestor of Porteria reached South America via a founder event from Australia or New Zealand, where their close relatives occur.

     
    more » « less