scholarly journals Ceiba pentandra L. Gaertn. (Malvaceae) and associated species: Spiritual Keystone Species of the Neotropics

Botany ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.-A. Tareau ◽  
A. Greene ◽  
Guillaume Odonne ◽  
D. Davy

Among the 18 species included in the Ceiba genus, in the Malvaceae (Bombacoideae) family, Ceiba pentandra L. Gaertn. is not only the tallest and most widespread, but also occupies the most prominent place in Neotropical cosmovisions. In this ethnobotanical review, we compare perceptions and uses of Ceiba and related species across indigenous and Afro-descendant cultures ranging from the Caribbean to the Argentinian Chaco. Ceiba's widely-shared role as axis mundi, (particularly in Amazonia) psychopomp and shelter of major forest spirits makes it a perfect example of a Spiritual Keystone Species, a new concept inspired from Cultural Keystone Species and defined here for the first time.

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4216 (5) ◽  
pp. 457
Author(s):  
ADALBERTO J. SANTOS

The spider genus Oxyopes Latreille occurs throughout the world, but is insufficiently known in South America and the Caribbean. In this study, three apparently related species of this genus are reported from the region. Oxyopes salticus Hentz, 1845 is redescribed and illustrated, and extreme variation in colour pattern and in female genitalia is reported within this species. Oxyopes m-fasciatus Piza, 1938 and Oxyopes nigrolineatus Mello-Leitão, 1941 are both considered junior synonyms of O. salticus. The material examined in this study, together with information from the literature, show this species is widely distributed throughout the continental Americas and the Caribbean. Oxyopes crewi Bryant, 1948 is redescribed and illustrated, and its geographic distribution is extended to Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Saint Kitts. A new species, Oxyopes incantatus sp. nov., is described and illustrated for the first time based on specimens from the Galápagos Islands. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 2570 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
HORIA R. GALEA

This report supplements an earlier account on the hydroids of the Guadeloupe archipelago, and records 31 additional species of thecates. Among them, Halecium calderi sp. nov., Antennella armata sp. nov., and Antennella incerta sp. nov., are described. Laomedea tottoni Leloup, 1935 is redescribed and reassigned to the genus Clytia Lamouroux, 1812. Its synonymy is broadened upon inclusion of Clytia laxa Fraser, 1937. Hebella venusta (Allman, 1877) is considered valid based on comparison with related species, and its gonotheca is described for the first time. Two sympatric varieties of Sertularella diaphana (Allman, 1885), easily separable morphologically and by their cnidome composition, are discussed. Sertularella ornata Fraser, 1937 is recorded for the second time and is fully redescribed. Its name is actually a junior synonym of S. fusiformis (Hincks, 1861) f. ornata Broch, 1933, and it is here referred to as S. fraseri nom. nov. Sertularia thecocarpa Jarvis, 1922, Sertularella minuscula Billard, 1924, Sertularella parvula Mammen, 1965, and Sertularia stechowi Hirohito, 1995 are placed in the synonymy of Sertularella tongensis Stechow, 1919, the latter being transferred to the genus Sertularia Linnaeus, 1758. Sertularia ephemera nom. nov. is proposed as a replacement name for Sertularia tongensis Stechow, 1919. Aglaophenia postdentata Billard, 1913 is confidently recorded from the Atlantic for the first time. Dentitheca dendritica (Nutting, 1900) is redescribed, and additional notes on Macrorhynchia clarkei (Nutting, 1900) are provided. All the species discussed herein are new records for the study area. Illustrations are given for each species and data on the nematocyst complement and size of capsules are given when necessary. The number of hydroid species reported from the study area is raised to more than eighty. Hydroids of the Caribbean are moderately well known faunistically, though continuous discovery of new species is likely, the species composition being certainly richer than currently reported.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-283
Author(s):  
S.G. Ermilov

The oribatid mite subgenus Scheloribates (Topobates) Grandjean, 1958, is recorded from the Neotropical region for the first time. A new species of this subgenus is described from the leaf litter collected in Cayo Agua Island, Panama. Scheloribates (Topobates) panamaensis sp. nov. differs from its related species by the very large body size and presence of a strong ventrodistal process on the leg femora II–IV.


2018 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 442-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaya Gnanalingam ◽  
Mark J Butler ◽  
Thomas R Matthews ◽  
Emily Hutchinson ◽  
Raouf Kilada

Abstract In crustaceans, ecdysis was long believed to result in the loss and replacement of all calcified structures, precluding the use of conventional ageing methods. However, the discovery of bands in the gastric ossicles of several crustaceans with some correlation with age suggests that direct age estimation may be possible. We applied this method to a tropical spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, one of the most iconic and economically valuable species in the Caribbean. The presence of growth bands was investigated using wild lobsters of unknown age and was validated with captive reared lobsters of known age (1.5–10 years) from the Florida Keys, Florida (USA). Bands were consistently identified in ptero- and zygo-cardiac ossicles of the gastric mill and did not appear to be associated with moulting. Validation with known age animals confirms that bands form annually. Counts between independent readers were reproducible with coefficients of variation ranging from 11% to 26% depending on reader experience and the structure used. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that direct age determination of P. argus is possible.


Zootaxa ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 5091 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-372
Author(s):  
MENG ZHANG ◽  
MUHAMMAD IRFAN ◽  
LU-YU WANG ◽  
ZHI-SHENG ZHANG

Six new species of the spider genus Tonsilla Wang & Yin, 1992 are described from southern China: T. jinyunensis sp. nov. (♂♀) from Chongqing, T. jiugongensis sp. nov. (♂♀) from Hubei, T. subtruculenta sp. nov. (♂♀), T. rutunda sp. nov. (♂♀) and T. yueliangensis sp. nov. (♂) from Guizhou and T. subrostrum sp. nov. (♂♀) from Hunan. In addition, T. yanlingensis (Zhang, Yin & Kim, 2000) is redescribed and its male is described here for the first time. Tonsilla subyanlingensis Liu & Xu, 2020 is transferred to Draconarius Ovtchinnikov, 1999, hence the new combination Draconarius subyanlingensis (Liu & Xu, 2020) comb. nov. is established. The female of T. subyanlingensis Liu & Xu, 2020 should be treated as T. yanlingensis (Zhang, Yin & Kim, 2000). Detailed descriptions, photographs of copulatory organs and somatic features, a distribution map and comparisons with closely related species are presented.  


2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 582-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iacob CRĂCIUNESC ◽  
Barbara VORNAM ◽  
Ludger LEINEMANN ◽  
Reiner FINKELDEY ◽  
Neculae ȘOFLETEA ◽  
...  

Dehydryn genes are involved in plant response to environmental stress and may be useful to examine functional diversity in relation to adaptive variation. Recently, a dehydrin gene (DHN3) was isolated in Quercus petraea and showed little differentiation between populations of the same species in an altitudinal transect. In the present study, inter- and intraspecific differentiation patterns in closely related and interfertile oaks were investigated for the first time at the DHN3 locus. A four-oak-species stand (Quercus frainetto Ten., Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl., Q. pubescens Willd., Q. robur L.) and two populations for each of five white oak species (Q. frainetto Ten., Q. petraea (Matt.) Liebl., Q. pubescens Willd., Q. robur L. and Q. pedunculiflora K. Koch) were analyzed. Three alleles shared by all five oak species were observed. However, only two alleles were present in each population, but with different frequencies according to the species. At population level, all interspecific pairs of populations showed significant differentiation, except for pure Q. robur and Q. pedunculiflora populations. In contrast, no significant differentiation (p > 0.05) was found among conspecific populations. The DHN3 locus proved to be very useful to differentiate Q. frainetto and Q. pubescens from Q. pedunculiflora (FST = 0.914 and 0.660, respectively) and Q. robur (FST = 0.858 and 0.633, respectively). As expected, the lowest level of differentiation was detected between the most closely related species, Q. robur and Q. pedunculiflora (FST = 0.020). Our results suggest that DHN3 can be an important genetic marker for differentiating among European white oak species.


Check List ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 767-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Polanco F. ◽  
Luisa F. Dueñas ◽  
Jorge Leon ◽  
Vladimir Puentes

Acanthonus armatus Günther, 1878 is reported for the first time in the southwestern Caribbean region, off Colombia. Remote Operate Vehicle videos and towed camera still photographs captured 13 images of A. armatus between 2215 and 2564 m. These are the first records of the species in the Caribbean continental coast of Colombia, representing a range extension to the southwestern Caribbean region, since previous records are from the northeastern Caribbean. Some photos of the specimens and the current distribution of the species in the Caribbean region are provided and reviewed.


Author(s):  
Giomar Helena Borrero Pérez ◽  
Milena Benavides Serrato ◽  
Óscar D. Solano ◽  
Gabriel R. Navas

Between 1998 and 1999 the expedition INVEMAR-MACROFAUNA 1 investigated the upper continental slope of the Caribbean off Colombia at depths ranging from 200 to 500 m. The collection of echinoids comprised 714 individuals belonging to 7 orders, 10 families, 14 genera and 15 species. Stylocidaris lineata, Trigonocidaris albida, Echinocyamus grandiporus, Palaeobrissus hilgardi and Archaeopneustes hystrix are recorded for the first time in the Colombian Caribbean. Descriptions and identification keys are provided.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Jean Lopez ◽  
Vincent Hervé ◽  
Josie Lambourdière ◽  
Malika René-Trouillefou ◽  
Damien Devault

Abstract BackgroundOver the last decade, intensity and frequency of Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and central Atlantic Ocean have dramatically increased, causing growing ecological, social and economic concern throughout the entire Caribbean region. These golden-brown tides form an ecosystem that maintains life for a large number of associated species, and their circulation across the Atlantic Ocean support the displacement and maybe the settlement of various species, especially microorganisms. To comprehensively identify the micro- and meiofauna associated to Sargassum, one hundred samples were collected during the 2018 tide events that were the largest ever recorded.ResultsWe investigated the composition and the existence of specific species in three compartments, namely, Sargassum at tide sites, in the surrounding seawater, and in inland seaweed storage sites. Metabarcoding data revealed shifts between compartments in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities, and large differences for eukaryotes especially bryozoans, nematodes and ciliates. Among the most abundant nematodes, we identified various bacterivores in all compartments, suggesting trophic interactions in Sargassum tides. We also found a number of species of interest, including methanogenic archaea, sulfate- and nitrate-reducing bacteria as well as putative pathogens.ConclusionsHere we present novel information on the diversity and trophic interactions of the micro- and meiofauna that are associated with Sargassum at tide and storage sites. Such information may help to better understand the ecological consequences of the Sargassum crises, and to develop proper analyses of the Sargassum associated biodiversity that could be important for application purposes such as biogas or fertilizers production, and to local authority for risks assessment.


Author(s):  
Dagoberto E. Venera Pontón ◽  
Javier Reyes ◽  
Guillermo Diaz Pulido

Porites colonensis is a coral from the Caribbean Sea; colonies are foliaceous, undulated, and plate-like. Polyps are dark brown or red with small bright white or green centers; pali are present in corallites and the septal plan is bisymmetrical, conformed by three fused ventral septa, a dorsal solitary septum, and two pairs of lateral septa at each side of the dorso-ventral axis. P. colonensis is similar and can be confused with the smooth varieties of Porites astreoides and Porites branneri. There are three specimens collected from Colombia and previously identified as P. colonensis: one from Golfo de Urabá (Darién ecoregion), other from Islas del Rosario (Coralline Archipelagos ecoregion), and another from an unspecified locality, in addition to one published observation from the Golfo de Urabá without collected specimens. A recent finding of other specimens in the Tayrona National Natural Park (TNNP, Tayrona ecoregion) and the absence of a rigorous taxonomic revision for all specimens collected from Colombia showed that it was necessary to review the presence and distribution of P. colonensis in the Colombian Caribbean. A taxonomic review was done for all specimens collected from Colombia and previously identified as P. colonensis. Then, the morphologic variability of specimens that were confirmed as P. colonensis was described. Only the specimens from TNNP agreed with the holotype description of P. colonensis, while others agreed with flat varieties of P. astreoides. Thus, the presence of P. colonensis is confirmed for the first time for Colombia, but its presence in other Colombian localities outside Tayrona ecoregion could not be demonstrated. This is the only confirmed record of this species for the South American continental shelf. Furthermore, the skeletal characteristics of Colombian P. colonensis corallites showed large variability, exceeding the ranges previously described for the species.


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