scholarly journals Preparation of Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) for Genetic Characterization and Morphological Examination

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. W. Bahder ◽  
M. L. Bollinger ◽  
M. R. Sudarshana ◽  
F. G. Zalom
Keyword(s):  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Planococcus Citri ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Current Standard ◽  
Physical Damage ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Voucher Specimen ◽  
Pseudococcus Viburni

Abstract Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are economically significant agricultural pests on many different crops. Because of their small size and lack of easily visible characters for identification, determination of their taxonomic status is difficult and requires technical competency to prepare a slide-mounted specimen. The standard mounting technique does not allow for analysis of the genome of the specimen. Conversely, preparatory techniques for genetic analysis of mealybugs cause either loss of the entire individual or physical damage that can make morphology-based identification difficult. This study describes a simple protocol that does not impact physical integrity of the specimen for fixation and microscopic examination yet enables simultaneous DNA extraction for DNA-based identification of four mealybug species. All species prepared yielded high quality slide mounts, identified as Planococcus citri Risso, Pseudococcus viburni Signoret, Rhizoecus kondonis Kuwana, or Rhizoecus californicus Ferris. DNA extracted in this manner had higher purity and yield in the final eluate than in samples extracted using standard methods. DNA extracted was successfully amplified by polymerase chain reaction using primers for the cytochrome oxidase I gene and subsequently sequenced for all specimens. This protocol is likely to be applicable to other Hemiptera taxa that are preserved by slide mounting, allowing for both the preparation of a high-quality voucher specimen for morphological identification and simultaneous analysis of DNA for the same specimen. The methods used are technically less challenging than current standard procedures.

Pseudococcidae (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha) in Uruguay: morphological identification and molecular characterization, with descriptions of two new species

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4894 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-520
Author(s):  
VITOR C. PACHECO DA SILVA ◽  
MEHMET BORA KAYDAN ◽  
CESAR BASSO
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Ornamental Plants ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Fruit Production ◽  
Planococcus Citri ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
Integrated Taxonomy ◽  
Pseudococcus Viburni ◽  
Phenacoccus Madeirensis

Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) are important pests in fruit production in Uruguay; however, very little is known about the species involved. A survey of mealybugs associated especially with fruit crops (apple, citrus, figs, grapes, pears, quince and strawberry), and other crops like vegetables and sugar cane, ornamentals and weeds was performed between 2017 and 2019 in Uruguay, using integrated taxonomy (morphology and DNA analyses) for their identification. A total of 19 mealybug species were identified. The most common species were Planococcus ficus (Signoret), Pseudococcus scatoterrae Granara de Willink and Pseudococcus viburni (Signoret) on fruits, and Phenacoccus madeirensis Green, Phenacoccus peruvianus Granara de Willink and Planococcus citri (Risso) on ornamental plants, all of them causing damage to their hosts. This study presents nine new species records for Uruguay, besides the description of two new species. An identification key to the mealybugs in Uruguay is provided. 

Molecular identification of three of the most important mealybug species (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) on ornamental plants in Guilan province, Iran

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 3009 (1) ◽  
pp. 46 ◽  
Author(s):  
REZA HOSSEINI ◽  
JALIL HAJIZADEH
Keyword(s):  
Ornamental Plants ◽  
Accurate Method ◽  
Planococcus Citri ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Specific Primers ◽  
Pseudococcus Viburni ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Pseudococcus Comstocki ◽  
Guilan Province ◽  
Study Species

Mealybugs (Coccoidea: Pseudococcidae) are serious pests, particularly as invasive species on many agricultural products. Morphological identification of mealybugs is based on adult female characters that, in the absence of adult females or with damaged specimens, can be problematic, especially when identification is required urgently, such as that involving the exportation/importation market. In this study, species-specific primers were designed to identify three of the most abundant mealybug species found on ornamental plants in Guilan province, Iran: Planococcus citri (Risso), Pseudococcus viburni (Signoret) and Pseudococcus comstocki (Kuwana). By generating amplification products of different sizes, the three species-specific primers, along with universal COI primers, were successfully used in multiplex PCR tests to identify all three mealybug species in a single reaction. Analysis of a large array of specimens from different geographic locations on different host plants showed that this was a reliable and accurate method.

scholarly journals A recent record of Romanogobio antipai (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae, Gobioninae) from the Danube River in Bulgaria

ZooKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 825 ◽  
pp. 105-122
Author(s):  
Nina G. Bogutskaya ◽  
Tihomir Stefanov ◽  
Alexander M. Naseka ◽  
Oleg A. Diripasko
Keyword(s):  
Danube River ◽  
Head Width ◽  
Main Stream ◽  
Type Specimens ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Species Determination ◽  
Voucher Specimen ◽  
Caudal Region ◽  
Caudal Vertebrae ◽  
Horizontal Diameter

The Danube delta gudgeon, Romanogobioantipai, has been considered to be extinct because there were no reliable recent observations. The latest record confirmed by a voucher specimen dating from 1992. We report here on a specimen of R.antipai collected in 2016 in the Bulgarian sector of the Danube main stream using a bottom drift net at a depth of 8 m. The species determination is supported by morphological examination including discriminant and cluster analyses in comparison with three syntypes and five non-type specimens of R.antipai, samples of the R.kesslerii species complex and R.vladykovi. Romanogobioantipai most clearly differs from both R.kesslerii and R.vladykovi by proportional measurements (caudal peduncle depth, head width, eye horizontal diameter, and interorbital width), from R.kesslerii also by the number of scales above and below the lateral line (6 and 4, respectively, (vs. commonly 5 and 3), and from R.vladykovi, also by 8½ branched dorsal-fin rays (vs. 7½) and the vertebral caudal region longer than the abdominal vertebral region (abdominal+caudal vertebrae 19+21 or 20+21, vs. commonly 20+20 or variants with a caudal region shorter than the abdominal one). The possibility that R.antipai represents a deep-water cophenotype of either R.kesslerii or R.vladykovi, cannot be excluded. The new record demonstrates that R.antipai is still extant in the lower Danube but may be restricted to greater depths in the main channel and the deltaic branches.

scholarly journals Astrometric Tests of Galactic Evolution

1995 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 251-258
Author(s):  
Gerard Gilmore
Keyword(s):  
Phase Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Galactic Evolution ◽  
Critical Test ◽  
Current Standard ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Stellar Velocity ◽  
Formation And Evolution ◽  
Standard Models

There are many fundamental aspects of Galactic structure and evolution which can be studied best or exclusively with high quality three dimensional kinematics. Amongst these we note as examples determination of the orientation of the stellar velocity ellipsoid, and the detection of structure in velocity-position phase space. The first of these is the primary limitation at present to reliable and accurate measurement of the Galactic gravitational potential. The second is a critical test of current standard models of Galactic formation and evolution.

A molecular phylogeny of the “Madascincus polleni species complex”, with description of a new species of scincid lizard from the coastal dune area of northern Madagascar

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2876 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
AURÉLIEN MIRALLES ◽  
JÖRN KÖHLER ◽  
FRANK GLAW ◽  
MIGUEL VENCES
Keyword(s):  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Nuclear Dna ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Nominal Species ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Evolutionary Lineages ◽  
Dune Area

The present paper constitutes a study on a taxonomically confusing group of closely related species belonging to the Malagasy skink genus Madascincus, currently encompassing the nominal species M. polleni, M. intermedius and M. stumpffi. Based on combined analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences (ND1 and RAG2 genes, respectively), and morphological examination, we provide evidence for the existence of at least four distinct evolutionary lineages within this complex: Madascincus stumpffi; Madascincus arenicola sp. nov. from northern Madagascar; and two cryptic species morphologically similar to the name-bearing types of M. polleni and M. intermedius. The two latter species, although genetically distinct, appear to be morphologically indistinguishable and their taxonomic status cannot be resolved until a better sampling will be available.

scholarly journals Host–parasite relationships between seabirds and the haemadipsid leech Chtonobdella palmyrae (Annelida: Clitellata) inhabiting oceanic islands in the Pacific Ocean

Parasitology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (14) ◽  
pp. 1765-1773
Author(s):  
Takafumi Nakano ◽  
Hajime Suzuki ◽  
Naoko Suzuki ◽  
Yuichi Kimura ◽  
Tatsuo Sato ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Oceanic Islands ◽  
28S Rrna ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Bonin Islands ◽  
Okinawa Island ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Host Parasite

AbstractThe duognathous haemadipsid leeches of the genus Chtonobdella show a trans-oceanic distribution throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Although passive long-distance dispersal (LDD) of Chtonobdella leeches by birds has been suggested, little is known about the host–parasite relationships between avian hosts and Chtonobdella leeches. In the current study, we investigated Chtonobdella leech infestations of the eyes and other mucus membranes of migratory procellariiform seabirds, Pterodroma hypoleuca and Oceanodroma tristrami, captured at six locations in the Bonin Islands, Honshu and Okinawa Island, Japan. Analyses of the partial sequences of 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and morphological examination of the specimens demonstrated that the Chtonobdella leeches belonged to Chtonobdella palmyrae, which is indigenous to Palmyra Atoll in the Northern Line Islands. A dominant COI sequence type was observed in samples from all six sites; therefore, C. palmyrae almost surely dispersed approximately 1000 km by infesting the eyes and mucus membranes of procellariiform seabirds. The host–parasite relationships between procellariiform seabirds and C. palmyrae provide explicit evidence of the LDD of duognathous haemadipsid leeches. The taxonomic status of Haemadipsa zeylanica ivosimae from the Volcano Islands is also briefly discussed.

scholarly journals First record of Neoxysomatium brevicaudatum through the non-invasive sampling of Anguis fragilis: complementary morphological and molecular detection

2011 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Jones ◽  
D.S. Brown ◽  
E. Harris ◽  
J. Jones ◽  
W.O.C. Symondson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitochondrial Gene ◽  
Nematode Species ◽  
First Record ◽  
Parasite Fauna ◽  
Ribosomal Gene ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Mean Intensity ◽  
Anguis Fragilis ◽  
The Uk

AbstractRelatively few studies have examined the parasite fauna of British reptiles, partly due to the cryptic nature and low population density of these hosts. Here we examined 12 populations of the slow worm Anguis fragilis which, unlike other UK lizards, occurs at locally high population densities. Morphological examination of non-invasively collected faecal samples revealed the presence of Neoxysomatium brevicaudatum and a second unidentified nematode species. Although previously unrecorded from slow worms in the UK, N. brevicaudatum was present in 38% of animals (mean intensity 70.9, range 1–686). Morphological identification was confirmed by sequencing the 18S ribosomal gene. The use of the species-specific, cytochrome oxidase I mitochondrial gene primers proved an efficient alternative to conventional, microscope screening for parasites, although the original identification of N. brevicaudatum was dependent upon morphological characters. Sequencing also identified the second, smaller nematode as belonging to the Rhabdiasidae family: this species was even more common at a prevalence of 83% (mean intensity 102.8, range 1–2000). While increasing our knowledge of the UK macroparasite fauna, this work demonstrates the benefits of a combined morphological–molecular approach.

Systematics of Eutropis rugifera (Stoliczka, 1870) (Squamata: Scincidae) including the redescription of the holotype

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4272 (1) ◽  
pp. 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.A. THASUN AMARASINGHE ◽  
NIKOLAY A. POYARKOV JR. ◽  
PATRICK D. CAMPBELL ◽  
SANDY LEO ◽  
JATNA SUPRIATNA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Complex ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Nicobar Island ◽  
Single Specimen ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Voucher Specimens ◽  
Biogeographic Regions

Eutropis rugifera has long been identified as a widespread species complex distributed in Nicobar, Peninsular Malaysia, Greater Sundaic Islands, Bali, Sulawesi and the Philippines. This skink was described by Stoliczka in 1870 from Nicobar Island based on a single specimen (holotype by monotypy). Later, Peters (1871), Bartlett (1895) and Werner (1896) described three more species which were morphologically similar to Euprepes percarinatus (from Java), Mabuia rubricollis (Borneo) and M. quinquecarinata (Sumatra) respectively, which are currently considered junior objective synonyms of Eutropis rugifera. We examined all the available synonym types and voucher specimens of Eutropis rugifera deposited at several museums. A morphological examination of the types of this species and mtDNA analysis (584 bp of 16S rRNA) of the samples from different biogeographic regions revealed that Eutropis rugifera from Nicobar Island, Bali Island, and Bawean Island are composed of a monophyletic species. However, the taxonomic status of the above population requires further clarification, and the population in Bawean Island may represent a cryptic species. Finally, we provide a complete redescription of E. rugifera based on its holotype.

scholarly journals Morphological Identification of Horse Flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) and Estimation of their Seasonal Abundance in Al-Showak District, Gedaref State, Eastern Sudan

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamid I. M. N. Croof ◽  
Mai M. Nour ◽  
Nahla O. M. Ali
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Features ◽  
The Other ◽  
Seasonal Abundance ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Vector Species ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Trapping Method ◽  
Horse Flies ◽  
First Time ◽  
Eastern Sudan

<em>The aim of this study was to identify the tabanid flies in the Gedaref State, Eastern Sudan and to estimate their seasonal abundance. A number of 374 flies sample were collected by the trapping method in the period October 2014 to October 2015 and were sorted out using certain morphological features that include; size, head, thorax, wings, legs, antennae and abdomen. The observed features of 47 randomly selected samples were recorded and were used to create an identification key that can be used for future characterization and identification of any member of the Tabanidae family. More tabanids flies were collected during the wet (52.29%) than the dry season (47.71%). A number of 5 species of Tabanidae namely; Tabanus autumnalis (Szilády 1914); Tabanus leleani (Austen 1920); Atylotus pulchellus (Loew 1858); Hybomitra mendica (Villeneuve 1912) and Philoliche sp. were reported for the first time in the state of Gedaref. The method described here has advantages over the other methods of identification; that it is simple, costless, and requires no skillful person to perform. The collection procedure is very crucial, for the specimen must be of high-quality. This key will facilitate the recognition of the vector species and its possible role in the transmission of the parasitic and/or viral animals’ diseases in the area. </em>

Integrative taxonomy of some Iranian peregrine earthworm species using morphology and barcoding (Annelida: Megadrili)

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4877 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-173
Author(s):  
ROBABEH LATIF ◽  
MASOUMEH MALEK ◽  
ATABAK ROOHI AMINJAN ◽  
JUAN JOSÉ PASANTES ◽  
MARIA J. I. BRIONES ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Integrative Taxonomy ◽  
Morphological Identification ◽  
Current Field ◽  
Species Occurrence ◽  
Earthworm Species ◽  
Taxonomic Analysis ◽  
Aporrectodea Trapezoides ◽  
Molecular Information

Despite the biological and economic importance of earthworms, the taxonomic status and evolutionary relationships of most lumbricid genera are still under debate. Further complications arise from the recognition that earthworms also show a high cryptic diversity. Past and current field studies of Iranian earthworm fauna have resulted in the identification of a total number of 28 earthworm species. However, many specimens do not fully fit into their original descriptions, making the species assignation very difficult. In this study, we evaluated the genetic diversity using mitochondrial markers as a tool to assess the species occurrence of some problematic species in Iran. Four species with high morphological variation were selected: Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny, 1826), Aporrectodea trapezoides (Dugès, 1828), Dendrobaena byblica (Rosa, 1893) and Dendrobaena veneta (Rosa, 1886). Morphological identification was contrasted with the molecular information generated through COI and 16S barcoding and the COI and 16S sequences stored in the Genbank. The results of this first integrative taxonomic analysis revealed that D. veneta consisted of two separated clades and that a number of species assigned to D. byblica showed very close relationships with those belonging to the genus Philomontanus. The lack of taxonomic expertise and identification characters providing a clear and unambiguous identification of earthworms highlights the urgent need of new tools to identify species unequivocally. Therefore, it is concluded that more taxonomical studies are needed to clarify the diagnostic characters and taxonomic status of the species belonging to two genera, Aporrectodea and Dendrobaena (Lumbricidae), in Iran. 

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