Diversity and phylogeny of the brown alga Lobophora (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae) in Singapore

Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 496 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-227
Author(s):  
VALERIE KWAN ◽  
ZHI TING YIP ◽  
JENNY FONG ◽  
DANWEI HUANG

The brown macroalgal genus Lobophora (Phaeophyceae: Dictyotaceae) plays an ecologically significant role in many marine ecosystems, but their diversity and taxonomy remain poorly studied. Until 2012, six Lobophora species had been recognised globally based on morphological features. Yet, with more than 100 evolutionary taxonomic units characterised to date, it is now acknowledged that Lobophora comprises many cryptic species and its diversity was vastly underestimated. In light of a growing body of research integrating molecular and morphological data to delimit cryptic species, this study assessed the diversity and phylogeny of Lobophora in Singapore. A combination of molecular data and morphological observations were used to delimit and identify species from 33 specimens collected at eight sites in the southern islands of Singapore. The mitochondrial cox3 and chloroplast psbA genes were amplified and sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. Three formally described species, L. challengeriae, L. lamourouxii, L. pachyventera (comprising two morphotypes), as well as one undescribed putative species, Lobophora sp61, were recovered. These findings replace the record of the Atlantic species L. variegata in Singapore and suggest that there are more species to be discovered in the biodiverse region of Southeast Asia. Precise understanding of Lobophora diversity is critical for ongoing and future work on coral–macroalgal ecological relationships.

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4242 (2) ◽  
pp. 313
Author(s):  
MAURICIO RIVERA-CORREA ◽  
CARLOS JIMÉNEZ-RIVILLAS ◽  
JUAN M. DAZA

Pristimantis, distributed throughout the New World tropics, is the most speciose vertebrate genus. Pristimantis presents an enormous morphological diversity and is currently divided into several demonstrably non-monophyletic phenetic species groups. With the purpose of increasing our understanding of Pristimantis systematics, we present the first phylogenetic analysis using molecular evidence to test the monophyly and infer evolutionary relationships within the Pristimantis leptolophus group, an endemic group of frogs from the highlands of the Colombian Andes. Our phylogenetic reconstruction recovers the group as monophyletic with high support, indicating general concordance between molecular data and morphological data. In addition, we describe a new polymorphic species lacking conspicuous tubercles, a regular attribute among species of the P. leptolophus species group and endemic from the Páramo de Sonsón complex (Antioquia, Colombia). The phylogenetic position of the new species is inferred and other systematic implications in the light of our results are discussed. 


PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauricio C. Forlani ◽  
João F.R. Tonini ◽  
Carlos A.G. Cruz ◽  
Hussam Zaher ◽  
Rafael O. de Sá

Three new cryptic species ofChiasmocleisfrom the Atlantic Forest of Brazil are described. Two of these species occur in the northeastern states of Sergipe and Bahia, whereas the third species is found in the southeastern state of São Paulo. The new species can be distinguished from other congeneric species by the molecular data, as evidenced in the phylogeny, and by a combination of morphological characters including: size, foot webbing, dermal spines, and coloration patterns.Chiasmocleisspecies differ in osteological traits, therefore we also provide an osteological description of each new species and comparsions with data reported for other species in the genus.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin M. D. Beck ◽  
Robert Voss ◽  
Sharon Jansa

The current literature on marsupial phylogenetics includes numerous studies based on analyses of morphological data with relatively limited sampling of Recent and fossil taxa, and many studies based on analyses of molecular data that include a dense sampling of Recent taxa, but relatively few that combine both data types. Another dichotomy in the marsupial phylogenetic literature is between studies that focus on New World taxa, others that focus on Sahulian taxa. To date, there has been no attempt to assess the phylogenetic relationships of the global marsupial fauna, based on combined analyses of morphology and molecular sequences, for a dense sampling of Recent and fossil taxa. For this report, we compiled morphological and molecular data from an unprecedented number of Recent and fossil marsupials. Our morphological data consist of 180 craniodental characters that we scored for 97 species representing every currently recognized Recent genus, 42 additional ingroup (crown-clade marsupial) taxa represented by well-preserved fossils, and 5 outgroups (non-marsupial metatherians). Our molecular data comprise 24.5 kb of DNA sequences from whole-mitochondrial genomes and six nuclear loci (APOB, BRCA1, GHR, RAG1, RBP3 and VWF) for 97 marsupial terminals (the same Recent taxa scored for craniodental morphology) and several placental and monotreme outgroups. The results of separate and combined analyses of these data using a wide range of phylogenetic methods support many currently accepted hypotheses of ingroup (marsupial) relationships, but they also underscore the difficulty of placing fossils with key missing data (e.g., †Evolestes), and the unique difficulty of placing others that exhibit mosaics of plesiomorphic and autapomorphic traits (e.g., †Yalkaparidon). Unique contributions of our study are (1) critical discussions and illustrations of marsupial craniodental morphology, including descriptions and illustrations of some features never previously coded for phylogenetic analysis; (2) critical assessments of relative support for many suprageneric clades; (3) estimates of divergence times derived from tip-and-node dating based on uniquely taxon-dense analyses; and (4) a revised, higher-order classification of marsupials accompanied by lists of supporting craniodental synapomorphies. Far from the last word on these topics, this report lays the foundation for future research that may be enabled by the discovery of new fossil taxa, better-preserved material of previously described taxa, novel morphological characters, and improved methods of phylogenetic analysis.


2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. de Bivort ◽  
Gonzalo Giribet

A new species of sironid from Portugal is described based on a single male specimen collected over half a century ago. The unique combination of character states and phylogenetic comparison with representatives of all sironid genera justifies the erection of a new genus, the fourth one found in the Iberian Peninsula. Phylogenetic analysis is conducted using equal weights and the implied weighting method as a means of testing the stability of clades with respect to parameter variation, in a similar fashion to the sensitivity analysis commonly performed in molecular data analyses. Results suggest that the new genus is sister to Paramiopsalis Juberthie, 1962, although nodal support for this relationship is low. The morphological data matrix is accompanied by scanning electron micrographs of most characters for 24 species to make the morphological coding as explicit as possible. Comparison of these images fostered the discovery and proper interpretation of characters and their states.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinichi Nakahara ◽  
Thamara Zacca ◽  
Blanca Huertas ◽  
Andrew F. E. Neild ◽  
Jason P. W. Hall ◽  
...  

The ‘aegrota species group’ of the Neotropical nymphalid genus Caeruleuptychia Forster, 1964, in addition to three other superficially similar, enigmatic species in the genus, are revised. A lectotype is designated for Euptychia aegrota Butler, 1867, E. aetherialis Butler, 1877 stat. rev., E. helios Weymer, 1911 and E. pilata Butler, 1867, and C. aetherialis is resurrected from its synonymy with C. aegrota. Caeruleuptychia helios caelestissima Brévignon, 2010, syn. nov., and Magneuptychia keltoumae Brévignon & Benmesbah, 2012, syn. nov. are both regarded as junior subjective synonyms of C. helios (Weymer, 1911), as a result of the discovery and first illustration of the female of this taxon. The female of C. aegrota is also described and illustrated for the first time, and three new species, C. trembathi Willmott, Nakahara, Hall & Neild, sp. nov., C. scripta Nakahara, Zacca & Huertas, sp. nov., and C. maryzenderae Lamas & Nakahara, sp. nov. are described and named. We analyze morphological and molecular data separately, in addition to combining morphological data with molecular data, to provide the first phylogenetic hypothesis for the taxa treated in this revision.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 205 (3) ◽  
pp. 168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Lee ◽  
Myung Soo Park ◽  
Paul Eunil Jung ◽  
Jonathan J. Fong ◽  
Seung-Yoon Oh ◽  
...  

A new species belonging to Lactarius subg. Plinthogalus was discovered during a long-term project on the diversity of Korean Lactarius. This species is proposed here as Lactarius cucurbitoides. The status of L. cucurbitoides as a new species is supported by molecular data and morphological features. Phylogenetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences shows that L. cucurbitoides is closely related to L. subplinthogalus, L. friabilis, and L. oomsisiensis, with pairwise distances of 2.8–4.3%. Morphological characters of L. cucurbitoides that distinguish it from these closely related species are a pale yellow to pale orange colored pileus and non-discoloration of white latex. The new species is described and illustrated in the present paper.


ZooKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 925 ◽  
pp. 141-161
Author(s):  
Andrés Martínez-Aquino ◽  
Jhonny Geovanny García-Teh ◽  
Fadia Sara Ceccarelli ◽  
Rogelio Aguilar-Aguilar ◽  
Victor Manuel Vidal-Martinez ◽  
...  

Adults of trematodes in the genus Xystretrum Linton, 1910 (Gorgoderidae, Gorgoderinae) are parasites found exclusively in the urinary bladders of tetraodontiform fishes. However, limited and unclear morphological data were used to describe the type species, X. solidum Linton, 1910. Here, we present the first detailed morphological information for a member of Xystretrum. Morphological characters were described using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of Xystretrum specimens from Sphoeroides testudineus (Linnaeus) (Tetraodontiformes, Tetraodontidae), collected at six localities off the northern Yucatan Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Mexico. We also compared sequence fragments of the 28S (region D1–D3) ribosomal DNA and mitochondrial Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene with those available for other gorgoderine taxa. We assigned these Xystretrum specimens to X. solidum, despite the incompleteness of published descriptions. The data provide a foundation for future work to validate the identities of X. solidum, X. papillosum Linton, 1910 and X. pulchrum (Travassos, 1920) with new collections from the type localities and hosts. Comparisons of 28S and COI regions described here also provide an opportunity to evaluate the monophyletic status of Xystretrum.


Author(s):  
Pierre Moret ◽  
Jérôme Murienne

The genus Dyscolus Dejean, 1831 is a highly speciose taxon of neotropical Carabidae and the major component of high-altitude ground beetle communities in the tropical Andes. The aim of this study is threefold: (i) refine the taxonomic position of the equatorial members of Dyscolus using molecular data, (ii) provide a delimitation of the species found in Ecuador in páramo and montane forest environments based on a robust combination of molecular and morphological data, (iii) describe the new species and take the nomenclatural decisions made necessary by the results of this study. The seclusion of Dyscolus from more basal platynine clades including Platynus, Batenus and Glyptolenus, is supported by a phylogenetic analysis of the COI marker. Twenty-five new species of Dyscolus, most of them microendemic, are described and illustrated: D. aquator Moret sp. nov. (Tandayapa, Pichincha), D. arauzae Moret sp. nov. (Mt Cayambe, Pichincha), D. arborarius Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Yacuri, Loja), D. barragani Moret sp. nov. (Mt Ayapungu, Chimborazo), D. crespoae Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Zamora-Chinchipe), D. danglesi Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Yacuri, Loja), D. donosoi Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Zamora-Chinchipe), D. eleonorae Moret sp. nov. (Cotopaxi and Pichincha provinces), D. famelicus Moret sp. nov. (Papallacta, Napo), D. giselae Moret sp. nov. (Reserva Otonga, Cotopaxi), D. globoculus Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Zamora-Chinchipe), D. gobbii Moret sp. nov. (Guamaní and Mt Antisana, Pichincha), D. incommunis Moret sp. nov. (Tandayapa, Pichincha), D. marini Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Loja), D. piscator Moret sp. nov. (Guamaní, Napo), D. placitus Moret sp. nov. (Guamaní, Napo), D. ravidus Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Loja), D. rivinus Moret sp. nov. (Reserva Otonga, Cotopaxi), D. rugitarsis Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Yacuri, Loja), D. ruizi Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Loja and Zamora), D. salazarae Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Loja), D. silvestris Moret sp. nov. (Papallacta, Napo), D. sulcipedis Moret sp. nov. (Parque Nacional Yacuri, Loja), D. verecundior Moret sp. nov. (Mt Illiniza and Mt Corazón, Pichincha) and D. verecundissimus Moret sp. nov. (Mt Chimborazo, Chimborazo). Dyscolus palatus Moret, 1998 is newly synonymized with D. denigratus (Bates, 1891). We demonstrate the subgenus Hydrodyscolus Moret, 1996 to be polyphyletic and therefore consider it a junior synonym of Dyscolus Dejean, 1831.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeeshan A. Mirza

A new cryptic species of ground-dwelling Hemidactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from southern India. Recently collected specimens of a gecko resembling Hemidactylus reticulatus from northern Karnataka State in southwestern India led me to investigate variation in the species with regards to its morphology and molecular divergence. Results based on existing museum material, combined with molecular data for the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene support the presence of cryptic species within the broadly distributed H. reticulatus complex. Here, I describe a new species of Hemidactylus from northern Karnataka as the frst contribution in resolving the species complex. The integration of molecular and morphological data supports the distinctness of the new species described herein.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara Van Der Wal ◽  
Shane T. Ahyong ◽  
Simon Y. W. Ho ◽  
Luana S. F. Lins ◽  
Nathan Lo

The mantis shrimp superfamily Squilloidea, with over 185 described species, is the largest superfamily in the crustacean order Stomatopoda. To date, phylogenetic relationships within this superfamily have been comprehensively analysed using morphological data, with six major generic groupings being recovered. Here, we infer the phylogeny of Squilloidea using a combined dataset comprising 75 somatic morphological characters and four molecular markers. Nodal support is low when the morphological and molecular datasets are analysed separately but improves substantially when combined in a total-evidence phylogenetic analysis. We obtain a well resolved and strongly supported phylogeny that is largely congruent with previous estimates except that the Anchisquilloides-group, rather than the Meiosquilla-group, is the earliest-branching lineage in Squilloidea. The splits among the Anchisquilloides- and Meiosquilla-groups are followed by those of the Clorida-, Harpiosquilla-, Squilla- and Oratosquilla-groups. Most of the generic groups are recovered as monophyletic, with the exception of the Squilla- and Oratosquilla-groups. However, many genera within the Oratosquilla-group are not recovered as monophyletic. Further exploration with more extensive molecular sampling will be needed to resolve relationships within the Oratosquilla-group and to investigate the adaptive radiation of squilloids. Overall, our results demonstrate the merit of combining morphological and molecular datasets for resolving phylogenetic relationships.


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