Taxonomy of the Threadsnakes of the tribe Epictini (Squamata: Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae) in Colombia

Threadsnakes of the tribe Epictini are endemic to the New World, occurring from the United States to Argentina, mostly in the Neotropical region. Currently, the taxonomic status of most species is unclear and there has been no previous attempt of a comprehensive taxonomic revision of Neotropical taxa. Taxonomy of the group is a difficult task due to the paucity of geographic samples, general homogeneous morphology and brevity of species descriptions. Therefore, the only way to address the taxonomic status of existing names is through detailed characterization of the types and the search for additional material of the poorly known species. In this study, we evaluated the taxonomic status of the Colombian threadsnakes and report on geographical variation of meristic, morphometric, colour pattern, and hemipenis characters. On the basis of available samples we recognize the following species in Colombia: Epictia goudotii, E. magnamaculata, E. signata, Rena nicefori, Tricheilostoma brevissimum, T. dugandi, T. joshuai and T. macrolepis. We discuss the systematic position of Rena nicefori and propose its allocation in the genus Tricheilostoma based on a unique combination of morphological characters. Furthermore, we provide a key to the representatives of the tribe Epictini in Colombia.

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A taxonomic revision of the hover wasp genus Eustenogaster van der Vecht (Insecta: Hymenoptera; Vespidae, Stenogastrinae)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.1556.1.1 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 1556 (1) ◽

pp. 1-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

FUKI SAITO ◽

JUN-ICHI KOJIMA

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Southeast Asia ◽

Southern China ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Taxonomic Revision ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Key To Species ◽

Three New Species ◽

Species Descriptions

A taxonomic revision is given for the stenogastrine genus Eustenogaster van der Vecht, 1969, which is distributed from India to Southeast Asia and southern China. A total of 15 species, including three new species (E. fumipennis Saito, sp. nov., E. latebricola Saito, sp. nov. and E. spinicauda Saito, sp. nov.), are recognized in the genus. A key to species, descriptions of the new species, and notes on taxonomic status, morphological characters and distribution records of the previously described taxa are given.

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Taxonomic revision of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest Atractus (Reptilia: Serpentes: Dipsadidae)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.2364.1.1 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2364 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

PAULO PASSOS ◽

RONALDO FERNANDES ◽

RENATO S. BÉRNILS ◽

JULIO C. DE MOURA-LEITE

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Taxonomic Revision ◽

Neotropical Region ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽

Mountainous Regions ◽

Species Groups ◽

Three New Species ◽

Maxillary Dentition

Dipsadine snakes of the genus Atractus are endemic to the Neotropical region, occurring from Panama to Argentina. Currently, the taxonomic status of most species of the genus is unclear and previous attempts of taxonomic revisions have been local in scale. In this paper we evaluate the taxonomic status of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest species of Atractus based on meristic, morphometric, maxillary dentition, and hemipenis characters. Quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest the recognition of one new species (A. caete sp. nov.) from the state of Alagoas, another (A. francoi sp. nov.) from the mountainous regions of the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and the synonymy of A. kangueryensis with A. thalesdelemai. Specimens previously assigned to A. taeniatus in Argentina and Brazil are here considered A. paraguayensis. A key to the Atlantic Forest Atractus is provided and three new species groups are proposed for some cisAndean Atractus, mainly on the basis of hemipenial morphology: the A. emmeli, A. maculatus, and A. pantostictus species groups.

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TAXONOMIC REVISION OF NIGERIAN SPECIES OF Capsicum L. BASED ON SOME MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS

Acta Scientifica Malaysia ◽

10.26480/asm.02.2021.43.46 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 43-46

Author(s):

Adeyinka O. Adepoju ◽

Tunde J. Ogunkunle ◽

Abiola G. Femi-Adepoju

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Euclidean Distance ◽

Germplasm Collection ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Taxonomic Revision ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Infrageneric Classification ◽

Reproductive Morphology ◽

Operational Taxonomic Units ◽

Squared Euclidean Distance

Species of Capsicum L. are closely related plants whose taxonomic status has remained controversial among different taxonomists. This study was designed to examine the taxonomic status of the species of Capsicum in Nigeria in order to establish the genetic variation between the species for the purpose of identification, as well as review the infrageneric classification (INC) of the members of the genus. Germplasm collection of the seeds of five cultivars of Capsicum were regenerated and nurtured to fruiting. Variations in their vegetative and reproductive morphology were macroscopically evaluated in replicates of 30 individuals per cultivar for each character, which equals 150 samples altogether. The cultivars of each species was hierarchically clustered as operational taxonomic units (OTUs) using Ward’s method with squared Euclidean distance. Artificial key was also constructed for the identification of the species in the genus. The twenty-three (23) morphological characters adopted gave useful insights into the INC of the species and were sufficiently diagnostic of the species as evidenced by the artificial key. Through this study, some light has been shed on the delimitation of species and varieties of the Nigerian Capsicum.

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The taxonomic status of Aphodius insperatus Petrovitz, A. longipennis Rakovič and A. inylchekensis Frolov (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4728.3.9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4728 (3) ◽

pp. 390-394

Author(s):

ANDREY V. FROLOV ◽

LILIA A. AKHMETOVA ◽

DAVID KRÁL

Keyword(s):

Type Species ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Distinct Species ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Junior Synonym ◽

Distribution Map ◽

Type Specimens ◽

Present Contribution ◽

Additional Material ◽

Diagnostic Characters

The subgenus Bodilus Mulsant & Rey, 1870 of the genus Aphodius Helwig, 1798 sensu lato comprises 30 species in the Palearctic fauna (Frolov 2001, 2002, Dellacasa et al. 2016 [treated as genus Bodilus]). Frolov (2001) reviewed the species of this subgenus from Russia and adjacent countries and suggested that the monotypic subgenus Paramelinopterus Rakovič, 1984 shares the main diagnostic characters of Bodilus. Frolov (2001) was unable, however, to examine the type species of Paramelinopterus, A. longipennis Rakovič, 1984, at that time. Král (2016) suggested that A. (Bodilus) inylchekensis Frolov, 2001 is a junior synonym of A. longipennis. Recently we have re-examined all the types as well as the additional material accumulated in the museums and can confirm that A. inylchekensis is a distinct species, but A. insperatus Petrovitz, 1967 and A. longipennis cannot be reliably separated by the morphological characters. In the present contribution we illustrate the major diagnostic characters of the species based on the type specimens and also provide a distribution map of the known localities of the species.

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To be or not to be tchernovi: a taxonomic revision of the snake genus Micrelaps (Squamata: Serpentes), in Israel

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4881.2.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4881 (2) ◽

pp. 290-306

Author(s):

SIMON JAMISON ◽

EREZ MAZA ◽

GUY SINAIKO ◽

KARIN TAMAR ◽

ALEX SLAVENKO ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Morphological Variation ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Taxonomic Revision ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Colour Pattern ◽

Clinal Variation ◽

Jordan Valley ◽

Temperature And Precipitation ◽

Morphological And Molecular Data ◽

Colour Patterns

The enigmatic snake genus Micrelaps has uncertain phylogenetic affinities. The type species of the genus, Micrelaps muelleri, inhabits the Southern Levant. Snakes inhabiting the Jordan River Valley just south of the Sea of Galilee have been described as a new species, Micrelaps tchernovi, based on their distinct colour patterns, despite M. muelleri being well known to be variable in colour-pattern traits. Here we use morphological and molecular data to examine the taxonomic status and phylogenetic affinity of Levantine Micrelaps. We show that all scalation, colour, and pattern-related traits are extremely variable across the range of these snakes. Some morphological features show clinal variation related to temperature and precipitation, and snakes with a ‘tchernovi’ morph are merely at one end of a continuum of morphological variation. Both ‘classical muelleri’ and ‘tchernovi’ morphs occur in syntopy in the Jordan Valley and elsewhere in Israel. Against this background of high morphological variation, neutral genetic markers show almost no differentiation between snakes, no genetic structure is evident across populations, and no differences are to be found between the two putative species. We conclude that Levantine Micrelaps belongs to a single, morphologically variable, and genetically uniform species, Micrelaps muelleri, of which M. tchernovi is a junior synonym.

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Morphological variation, polymorphism, and Taxonomy of the Atractus torquatus complex (Serpentes: Dipsadidae)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.3407.1.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3407 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

PAULO PASSOS ◽

ANA L. C. PRUDENTE

Keyword(s):

Morphological Variation ◽

Geographical Variation ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Landscape Evolution ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Colour Pattern ◽

Guiana Shield ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative

The taxonomic status of Atractus torquatus is revised on the basis of concordance between quantitative and qualitativeanalyses of morphological characters (meristic, morphometric, colour pattern, and hemipenis) throughout its geographicaldistribution. We propose the synonymy of Atractus davidhardi, A. janethae, and A. lucilae based on wide overlap of mor-phological characters (qualitative and quantitative). Despite some differences in the frequency of the number of suprala-bials, infralabials and maxillary teeth among A. torquatus populations, we find that these characters exhibit a high levelof polymorphism and therefore cannot unambiguously diagnose Guiana Shield and Amazon Basin populations. Addition-ally, we discuss the polymorphism and geographical variation in A. torquatus and its appropriateness for hypotheses of landscape evolution in Amazonia.

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Taxonomic revision of a darkling beetles genus Anaxius (Tenebrionidae: Pedinini: Helopinina)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4455.3.4 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4455 (3) ◽

pp. 471 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

MARCIN J. KAMIŃSKI ◽

COLIN S. SCHOEMAN

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Morphological Study ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Species Distributions ◽

Taxonomic Revision ◽

African Species ◽

Taxonomic Treatment ◽

Darkling Beetles ◽

Species Descriptions

The genus Anaxius Fåhraeus, 1870 (Tenebrionidae: Helopinina) is revised to include seven Southern African species, four of which are new. A taxonomic treatment of the genus is provided including a morphological study, new species descriptions, keys, illustrations, and notes on species distributions. The following species are treated: Anaxius bloubergensis sp. nov., A. campbellae Koch, 1958, A. limpopoensis sp. nov., A. meletsensis sp. nov., A. obesus Fåhraeus, 1870, A. prozeskyi Koch, 1958, and A. pseudoloensus sp. nov. A lectotype is designated for Anaxius obesus Fåhraeus, 1870 to fix the taxonomic status of this species. Anaxius montiscaerulei Koch, 1958 is considered as a synonym of A. campbellae.

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Preservation of three-dimensional anatomy in phosphatized fossil arthropods enriches evolutionary inference

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.12129 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Achim H Schwermann ◽

Tomy dos Santos Rolo ◽

Michael S Caterino ◽

Günter Bechly ◽

Heiko Schmied ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Systematic Position ◽

Anatomical Structure ◽

Anatomical Data ◽

Close Phylogenetic Relationship ◽

Evolutionary Inference ◽

Previous Hypothesis ◽

Species Descriptions

External and internal morphological characters of extant and fossil organisms are crucial to establishing their systematic position, ecological role and evolutionary trends. The lack of internal characters and soft-tissue preservation in many arthropod fossils, however, impedes comprehensive phylogenetic analyses and species descriptions according to taxonomic standards for Recent organisms. We found well-preserved three-dimensional anatomy in mineralized arthropods from Paleogene fissure fillings and demonstrate the value of these fossils by utilizing digitally reconstructed anatomical structure of a hister beetle. The new anatomical data facilitate a refinement of the species diagnosis and allowed us to reject a previous hypothesis of close phylogenetic relationship to an extant congeneric species. Our findings suggest that mineralized fossils, even those of macroscopically poor preservation, constitute a rich but yet largely unexploited source of anatomical data for fossil arthropods.

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Redescription of Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae), with three new synonyms from China

Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae ◽

10.37520/aemnp.2020.041 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 599-608

Author(s):

Guan-Yu Chen ◽

Yun-Ling Ke ◽

Wei-Ren Liang ◽

Hou-Feng Li

Keyword(s):

Taxonomic Status ◽

Type Specimen ◽

The United States ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Coptotermes Formosanus ◽

The Body ◽

Subterranean Termite ◽

Morphological Description ◽

Species Differentiation ◽

Formosan Subterranean Termite

The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, 1909, is an important structural pest in Mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, Bahamas, and the United States. Coptotermes formosanus was first described in Japanese, and the morphological description was too simple for congeneric species differentiation, resulting in confusion in species identification. To date, ten junior synonyms of C. formosanus have been reported. To avoid further confusion, we redescribed C. formosanus based on the type specimen and the specimens from the type locality, Taiwan. Most of the Coptotermes Wasmann, 1896 taxonomy has been clarified worldwide and the Chinese case remains an outlier, with many species that need to be revised. We further examined the taxonomic statuses of four Chinese species, C. changtaiensis Xia & He, 1986, C. hekouensis Xia & He, 1986, C. shanghaiensis Xia & He, 1986, and C. suzhouensis Xia & He, 1986. We proposed that C. changtaiensis, C. hekouensis, and C. suzhouensis are the junior synonyms of C. formosanus. Even though the morphological characters of C. shanghaiensis are similar to C. formosanus, the body size of the former is significantly smaller. Additional Coptotermes samples collected from the Shanghai area would be required for the taxonomic status of C. shanghaiensis to be confirmed.

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Taxonomic revision of the genus Oodera Westwood, 1874 (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Pteromalidae, Cleonyminae), with description of ten new species

Journal of Hymenoptera Research ◽

10.3897/jhr.63.12754 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 63 ◽

pp. 73-123 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jennifer Werner ◽

Ralph S. Peters

Keyword(s):

Papua New Guinea ◽

Central African Republic ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Taxonomic Revision ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Valid Species ◽

Key To Species ◽

Type Specimens ◽

The World ◽

Nomina Dubia

The world species ofOoderaWestwood, 1874 (Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae: Cleonyminae: Ooderini) are revised. We examined 115 specimens of this rarely collected genus and based on morphological characters assign 110 specimens to 20 recognised species, of which the following ten are described as new:Ooderacircularicollissp. n.(Morocco),O.felixsp. n.(Central African Republic),O.fidelissp. n.(Vietnam),O.floreasp. n.(Thailand),O.heikewerneraesp. n.(Botswana and South Africa),O.leibnizisp. n.(Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Phillippines),O.mkomaziensissp. n.(Tanzania),O.namibiensissp. n.(Namibia),O.niehuisorumsp. n.(Egypt and Israel), andO.srilankiensissp. n.(Sri Lanka).OoderamonstrumNikol’skaya, 1952, syn. n., is synonymised underO.formosa(Giraud, 1863). Five specimens could not be assigned to species and are treated asOoderasp. Redescriptions are provided for all previously described valid species.OoderaalbopilosaCrosby, 1909 is excluded fromOoderaand transferred toEupelmusDalman, 1820 (Eupelmidae) asE.albopilosa(Crosby, 1909) n. comb.OoderarufimanaWestwood, 1874 andO.obscuraWestwood, 1874 are treated asnomina dubiabecause we were unable to locate type specimens and the original descriptions are not sufficiently informative to clarify the taxonomic status of these names. Several specimens from North America are identified as introduced specimens of the European speciesO.formosa. We provide images and diagnostic characters for all 20 included species and an identification key to species.

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