Amended definitions for Aplysinidae and Aplysina (Porifera, Demospongiae, Verongiida): on three new species from a remarkable population in the Gulf of California

Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4455 (2) ◽  
pp. 322 ◽  
Author(s):  
PATRICIA GÓMEZ ◽  
BÁRBARA GONZÁLEZ-ACOSTA ◽  
CARLOS SÁNCHEZ-ORTÍZ ◽  
ZVI HOFFMAN ◽  
CLAUDIA J. HERNÁNDEZ-GUERRERO

Verongiid sponges inhabiting the La Paz region, Gulf of California are described herein as new species. Although morphological evidence was sufficient to determine the identity between species, we have confirmed their uniqueness and relationships with molecular (CO1 and ITS1 and 2), and ecological studies. An amended definition of family Aplysinidae and genus Aplysina is presented to highlight a novel skeletal trait for the latter, clearly described herein as a complex of dendritic fibers sustained by anastomosed fibers deep in the choanosome. This novel fiber arrangement combination is a constant trait of Aplysina encarnacionae sp. nov. and A. airapii sp. nov., which otherwise conform to our current concept of Aplysina. The former species has a long tubular morphology, reddish purple color, with the longest dendritic fibers; while A. airapii sp. nov. is a short tubular sponge, yellow with reddish tints, and smaller choanosomal dendritic fibers that depart from a uniplanar anastomosed skeleton. A third species, A. sinuscaliforniensis sp. nov., is characterized by a completely anastomosed skeleton, massive habit with short tubes superimposed one over the other, sympatric with the other new species. Comparisons with Suberea azteca verified that the same novel skeletal architecture described here occurs in the latter, while Aiolochroia thiona examined as well, proved to bear an anastomosed skeleton only, besides sharing more features with Aplysina than with any other genera in Verongiida. Moreover, molecular sequencing recovered “S.” azteca nested in the Aplysina clade, prompting us to reallocate it in Aplysina, as originally proposed. The new species described herein are probably endemics within the Gulf of California since they have not been recorded elsewhere along the Mexican Pacific coast.

2021 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Rafael García ◽  
Carmelo Andújar ◽  
Pedro Oromí ◽  
Brent Emerson ◽  
Heriberto López

The genus Baezia Alonso-Zarazaga & García, 1999 is endemic to the Canary Islands, where four species were known to date. Based on morphological evidence, three new species of Baezia are described in this study: Baezia aranfaybo García & López, sp. nov. from El Hierro island, and Baezia madai García & Oromí sp. nov. and Baezia tizziri García & Andújar, sp. nov. from La Palma island. Notes on their biology, habitat, and distribution are presented. The number of taxa in this endemic Canarian genus increases to seven eyeless species. One species has been reported from the soil (endogean environment), with the other six associated with caves and the mesovoid shallow substratum (hypogean or subterranean environment). Frequent association with the presence of roots suggests that species of Baezia may inhabit the continuum represented by the endogean and hypogean environments. Identification key to the seven species are provided.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Núñez-Flores ◽  
Daniel Gomez-Uchida ◽  
Pablo J. López-González

Thouarella Gray, 1870, is one of the most speciose genera among gorgonians of the family Primnoidae (Cnidaria:Octocorallia:Anthozoa), being remarkably diverse in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic seafloor. However, their diversity in the Southern Ocean is likely underestimated. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers were integrated with species delimitation approaches as well as morphological colonial and polyps features and skeletal SEM examinations to describe and illustrate three new species within Thouarella, from the Weddell Sea, Southern Ocean: T. amundseni sp. nov., T. dolichoespinosa sp. nov. and T. pseudoislai sp. nov. Our species delimitation results suggest, for the first time, the potential presence of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic cryptic species of primnoids, based on the likely presence of sibling species within T. undulata and T. crenelata. With the three new species here described, the global diversity of Thouarella has increased to 41 species, 15 of which are endemic to the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters. Consequently, our results provide new steps for uncovering the shelf benthonic macrofauna’s hidden diversity in the Southern Ocean. Finally, we recommend using an integrative taxonomic framework in this group of organisms and species delimitation approaches because the distinctions between some Thouarella species based only on a superficial examination of their macro- and micromorphological features is, in many cases, limited.


Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2318 (1) ◽  
pp. 552-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
PIERFILIPPO CERRETTI ◽  
THOMAS PAPE

A cladistic analysis of the genus Melanophora Meigen, 1803 (type-species: Musca grossificationis Linnaeus, 1758 [= Musca roralis Linnaeus, 1758]) is presented and the generic delimitation is critically redefined. The nominal genus-group taxon Bequaertiana Curran, 1929 (type-species: Bequaertiana argyriventris Curran, 1929) is synonymised with Melanophora Meigen syn. nov. The following new combinations are proposed: Melanophora argyriventris (Curran, 1929) comb. nov. and Melanophora basilewskyi (Peris, 1957) comb. nov. Melanophora chia sp. nov. from SW Sardinia is described, illustrated and compared with the other known species of the genus. The male of Melanophora asetosa Kugler, 1978 is described for the first time. Melanophora basilewskyi (Peris, 1957) is recorded from Kenya for the first time.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 200092
Author(s):  
Valter Weijola ◽  
Varpu Vahtera ◽  
André Koch ◽  
Andreas Schmitz ◽  
Fred Kraus

In the light of recent phylogenetic studies, we re-assess the taxonomy and biogeography of the Varanus populations distributed in the Micronesian islands of Palau, the Western Carolines and the Marianas. Whether these populations are of natural origin or human introductions has long been contentious, but no study has fully resolved that question. Here, we present molecular and morphological evidence that monitor lizards of the Varanus indicus Group reached both Palau and the Mariana Islands sometime in the late Pleistocene and subsequently differentiated into two separate species endemic to each geographical region. One species is confined to the Mariana Islands, and for these populations, we revalidate the name V. tsukamotoi Kishida, 1929. The other species has a disjunct distribution in Palau, the Western Carolines and Sarigan Island in the Northern Marianas and is herein described as V. bennetti sp. nov. Both species are most closely allied to each other, V. lirungensis and V. rainerguentheri , suggesting that colonization of Micronesia took place from the Moluccas. We discuss the biogeographic distributions of both species in the light of the likely colonization mechanism and previous arguments for human introduction, and we argue that bounties for Palauan populations are ill-advised and plans for eradication of some other populations must first demonstrate that they are, in fact, introduced and not native.


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4661 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-270
Author(s):  
XIN SUN ◽  
YU. B. SHVEENKOVA ◽  
ZHIJING XIE ◽  
A. B. BABENKO

Three new species of the genus Oligaphorura are described from southwestern China (O. wanglangensis sp. nov.) and Russian Far East (O. ussurica sp. nov. and O. kedroviensis sp. nov.). The first species is most similar to O. inya (Weiner & Kaprus’, 2014) known from the Altai Mountains, and can be distinguished from the latter by larger body size and the number of ventral psx (00/000/121101m in O. wanglangensis sp. nov. vs 1/000/212101m in O. inya). The other two species, together with O. montana Weiner, 1994, O. pseudomontana Sun & Wu, 2012 and O. chankaensis Sun & Wu, 2012, form a distinct species-group characterized by the presence of 4+4 pso on antennal base and full-sized anal spines. Both these new species differ from the known congeners of this group by having only 2+2 posterior pso on the head. O. ussurica sp. nov. and O. kedroviensis sp. nov. can be separated due to different number of abdominal pso, i.e. 5(6)5554 in the former vs 44454 in the latter species.


Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3338 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
SILVANA VARGAS DO AMARAL ◽  
SIMONE MACHADO DE OLIVEIRA ◽  
ANA MARIA LEAL-ZANCHET

Three new species of Geoplana Stimpson, 1857 from south Brazil, Geoplana ficki sp. nov., G. carbayoi sp. nov., and G.baptistae sp. nov., with dark, nearly homogeneous dorsum, reddish or orange venter, and eyes spreading over the dorsum,are described. The three can be included in the Graff group of “large, broad and flat species”, designated the G. applanata-group by C. G. Froehlich (1967). The first described species presenting this pattern was G. rufiventris Schultze & Müller,1857. Later, several other authors described various species exhibiting the “dark dorsal surface and orange or reddish ven-tral side” pattern. These species constitute an assemblage which will be here designated the G. rufiventris-complex. Apartfrom presenting a similar pattern, a further considerable difficulty in differentiating these taxa from the other large, broadand flat species of the genus Geoplana which were included in Froehlich’s original G. applanata-group, resides in theirpossessing a very homogeneous copulatory apparatus. Characteristics of their external and internal morphology are here discussed to simplify the differentiation of sub-groups and comparison of species.


Zootaxa ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 870 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
JOHN S. DUGDALE

The genus Tracholena (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Tortricinae: Schoenotenini) is newly reported from New Caledonia, with three species described as new: T. liparodes, T. nigrilinea, and T.paniense. T. nigrilinea has been reared from male cones of two species of Araucaria at three sites, and the other two are known only from adults caught at light in an Agathis montana forest at 1380m. Apomorphies supporting monophyly of the genus are discussed. An updated checklist is provided and one species, T. indicata Diakonoff, is excluded from Tracholena.


Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3150 (1) ◽  
pp. 36 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEOFF A. BOXSHALL ◽  
DAMIÀ JAUME

Three new species of copepod crustaceans are described from material collected from anchialine and brackish habitats inand around the village of Walengkabola on the coast of Muna Island, to the southeast of Sulawesi. A new species of cy-clopoid, Paracyclopina sacklerae n. sp., was described from material collected from the tidal inflow entering into the bot-tom of sinkholes a few metres inland from the shoreline. Detailed comparisons are made with Paracyclopina orientalis(Lindberg, 1941), n. comb., a closely related congener here transferred from its original genus Cyclopetta Sars, 1913. Theassignment of Paracyclopina Smirnov, 1935 to the family Cyclopettidae is followed here despite uncertainty over the va-lidity of some of the families created by the break up of the former Cyclopinidae. Two new species of Boholina Fosshagen& Iliffe, 1989 are described, based on material from the same sinkholes and from caves located up to 700m inland fromthe coast and exhibiting further reduced salinity down to 1.8 ppt. One species, B. parapurgata n. sp., is very closely relatedto B. purgata Fosshagen & Iliffe, 1989 from Bohol island in the Philippines, the other B. munaensis n. sp., is very closelyrelated to B. crassicephala Fosshagen & Iliffe, 1989 also from Bohol island, but a number of fine scale differences in the leg 5 of both sexes are recognised in each case. Keys to valid species of both genera are provided.


Author(s):  
J. Pérez-Torrijos ◽  
P. Hernández-Alcántara ◽  
V. Solís-Weiss

The aim of this study is to analyse the Nephtyidae from the Gulf of California. Previous studies about the family Nephtyidae from the continental shelf of the Gulf include 21 species of which seven have been synonymized by several authors, so that at present only 14 species are recognized. In this study, 1763 specimens of Nephtyidae from the continental shelf of the Gulf of California were examined. Eight species were identified, from which Aglaophamus longicirrata sp. nov. and Aglaophamus foliosa sp. nov. are newly described. Aglaophamus longicirrata sp. nov. is characterized by the presence of very long dorsal cirri in median parapodia and by having 16 rows of subterminal papillae with 3–7 papillae per row, and a pair of middorsal papillae on the proboscis. Aglaophamus foliosa sp. nov. is characterized by foliaceous long dorsal cirri; the proboscis bears 16 rows of subterminal papillae and an irregular number of papillae per row, from 5 to 15. A taxonomic key is presented for the species of Nephtyidae recorded from the continental shelf of the Gulf of California, including the two new species of Aglaophamus.


1947 ◽  
Vol 79 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 232-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Burks

This paper presents descriptions of three new species of Ephemeroptera from Illinois, all belonging to the genus Ephemerella. These are forms segregated from material in the Illinois Natural History Survey collection; the types are deposited in that collection. Two of these species are closely related to the genotype, E. excrucians Walsh, and it was thought for some time that one or the other of them would prove to be that species. Study of the lectotype of excrucians showed, however, that both of these species are recognizably distinct from excrucians.


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