skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: A synopsis of Meriania (Melastomataceae: Merianieae) in Peru
A synopsis of the genus Meriania in Peru is presented here, where 36 species are recognized, 25 of which are endemic. This synopsis includes a key to the genera in the tribe Merianieae, a key to the recognized Meriania species for Peru, illustrations, comments on affinities, distribution and phenology, and nomenclatural notes. Peru is now the country with the second highest diversity of the genus. The departments in Peru with the highest number of species are Amazonas (18 species), Cajamarca (11 species) and San Martín (9 species), and 24 species are located within Amatope-Huancabamba Zone in northern Peru. Meriania in Peru is characterized by being trees and shrubs, lacking malpighiaceous trichomes, inflorescences panicles or rarely dichasia, or solitary, (4–)5–6-merous flowers, usually large, with lobed, subcalyptrate or calyptrate calyces with regular, irregular or circumscissile dehiscence, spreading to campanulate corollas, stamen connectives with dorsal and dorso-basal appendages, anthers usually with a dorsally inclined pore, and capsular fruits. We propose one new combination, Meriania sessilifolia (Cogn.) Rob.Fern., R.Goldenb. & Michelang. Lectotypes for Axinaea purpurea, Centronia sessilifolia. Graffenrieda acida, Meriania prunifolia, M. raimondii, M. rigida, M. rugosa, M. spruceana and Pachymeria rigida are also designated.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2001357
PAR ID:
10437438
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Phytotaxa
Volume:
602
Issue:
1
ISSN:
1179-3155
Page Range / eLocation ID:
1 to 101
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. We revise the taxonomy of the frog genus Noblella on the basis of a molecular phylogeny. Previous studies recognized that Noblella is non-monophyletic, with one clade distributed from southeastern Peru to northeastern Bolivia and adjacent areas in Brazil and another clade distributed from northern Peru to Ecuador and southeastern Colombia. The lack of sequences from the type species Noblella peruviana prevented the investigation of its phylogenetic position and the status of related taxa. Our rediscovery after more than 115 years allowed for the inclusion of DNA sequences of Noblella peruviana obtained from specimens collected at the type locality in southeastern Peru. We inferred a phylogeny based on a concatenated dataset (three mitochondrial and two nuclear loci) using Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods. Our phylogeny corroborated the non-monophyly of Noblella and helped resolve the status of related taxa, including Psychrophrynella bagrecito, the type species of the genus Psychrophrynella (rediscovered after 42 years). We identified a clade containing N. peruviana, P. bagrecito, and other species of Noblella and Psychrophrynella distributed in southern Peru. Given that the name Noblella predates Psychrophrynella, we propose that Psychrophrynella should be considered a junior synonym of Noblella. The second clade contains species of Noblella distributed in Ecuador and northern Peru, including N. myrmecoides, which used to be the type species of the genus Phyllonastes. Consequently, we propose to reinstate the genus Phyllonastes to accommodate all species of Noblella distributed in Ecuador, northern Peru, southeastern Colombia, and adjacent areas in Brazil. We present an updated taxonomy including new combinations for 12 species and reinstatements for three species. 
    more » « less
  2. The taxonomy of the leafhopper genus Makilingia Baker is reviewed based on comparative morphological study of types and other specimens. Twenty-six species are recognized as valid including ten new species described and illustrated herein: M. davaoensis n. sp. M. lobata n. sp., M. maculamima n. sp., M. nigramima n. sp., M. paranigra n. sp., M. siamensis n. sp., M. tenebrifrons n. sp., M. uncinata n. sp., M. viraktamathi n. sp., and M. xanthopicta n. sp. Makilingia siamensis n. sp. represents the first known occurrence of the genus outside the Philippine Archipelago and the first record for Thailand. Makilingia simillima Baker, n. stat., formerly treated as a variety of M. variabilis Baker, is elevated to full species status based on distinctive differences in the male genitalia. Lectotypes are designated for several species described by Baker. The male genitalia of these species are described and illustrated for the first time and a key to all known species is provided. 
    more » « less
  3. Two new species of the scolebythid wasp genusClystopsenellaKieffer (Scolebythidae: Scolebythinae) are described and figured.Clystopsenella mayasp. n., is reported from Belize, representing the northernmost extant occurrence for the genus.Clystopsenella kampasp. n., is described from the southwestern Amazonian region of Madre de Dios, Peru, and intermingles traits of bothC.pacificaLepeco & Melo andC.longiventrisKieffer. A revised key is presented to the species of the genus. 
    more » « less
  4. The genusDendrophorbiumoccurs in South America with one species known from the Caribbean. Despite recent advances in taxonomy and phylogeny, there is a still lack of molecular studies on the delimitation and identification of the genus.Dendrophorbiumis known to occupy a wide range of ecosystems mostly restricted to subtropical montane forests and montane scrub vegetation of the central Andes. In this study, a review of the species occurring in Peru is presented, in addition to material examined at different herbaria. The new combinationD. ligulatumwhich is separated fromD. yalusay, and the new species,D. arachnoideumis described from the department of Huánuco in central Peru. The species are assessed using the standards of the IUCN and additional notes are given. 
    more » « less
  5. Abstract—The genus Burmeistera consists mostly of cloud forest species occurring from Guatemala to Peru. Molecular work on this group has revealed previously established subgeneric groupings to be non-monophyletic, while also identifying several monophyletic groups with recognizable synapomorphies. One such monophyletic group is a clade of species with recurved corolla lobes which contains three species: B. crispiloba, B. sodiroana, and B. succulenta. As many as nine names have been recognized previously for these species, though the most recent taxonomic treatments recognize only these three. Additional collections of these species made in the last forty years have uncovered phenotypic variation showing that characters traditionally used to differentiate them no longer do so clearly and suggest the possibility of introgression between them. Here, we report morphometric analyses of herbarium specimens of the recurved corolla clade, using both hierarchical and normal mixture model-based clustering methods to test the current species hypotheses. Our results support the recognition of the three known species plus the newly described Burmeistera kitrinaima sp. nov. We provide complete descriptions of all four species, and include photographs, distributions maps, taxonomic discussion, and an identification key. Keywords—Andes, biodiversity, cluster analysis, hybridization, taxonomy. 
    more » « less