scholarly journals Lost, forgotten, and overlooked: systematic reassessment of two lesser-known toad species (Anura, Bufonidae) from Peninsular India and another wide-ranging northern species

2021 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 451-470
Author(s):  
Karan Bisht ◽  
Sonali Garg ◽  
A. N. D. Akalabya Sarmah ◽  
Saibal Sengupta ◽  
S. D. Biju
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Original Description ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Coastal Regions ◽  
Peninsular India ◽  
Molecular Analyses ◽  
The Status ◽  
New Material ◽  
First Time ◽  
Northern Species

We rediscovered two species of toads, Bufo stomaticus peninsularis and Bufo brevirostris, which were described from Peninsular India 84 and 101 years ago, respectively, but have not been reported since. Because the name-bearing types of both species are either damaged or lost, we provide detailed redescriptions, morphological comparisons, and insights into phylogenetic relationships with closely related members of the genus Duttaphrynus sensu lato, based on new material from the type locality of each species. We clarify and validate the identity of D. brevirostris, which was rediscovered from multiple localities in the Malenadu and adjoining coastal regions of Karnataka. We also demonstrate that Bufo stomaticus peninsularis, which was considered a synonym of Duttaphrynus scaber, is a distinct species. Bufo stomaticus peninsularis differs from Duttaphrynus scaber morphologically and genetically, and is more closely related to members of the Duttaphrynus stomaticus group. We also clarify the identity of the namesake species of the Duttaphrynus stomaticus group, which is reported widely in India and neighbouring countries, but lacks sufficient taxonomic information due to its brief original description and reportedly untraceable type material. We located and studied the complete syntype series of D. stomaticus, probably for the first time in over a century, and we report on the status of available specimens, provide detailed description of a potential type, compare it to related species, and clarify the species’ geographical range. Our molecular analyses suggest that D. stomaticus is minimally divergent from, and possibly conspecific with, D. olivaceus. Our analyses also clarify its relationship to the closely-related D. peninsulariscomb. nov., with which it was previously confused. Finally, our study provides other insights into the phylogenetic relationships and genetic differentiation among various species of Duttaphrynus toads.

Status of Family Fissidentaceae in Gujarat

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D.G. Shah ◽  
D.N. Mehta ◽  
R.V. Gujar
Keyword(s):  
Distinct Species ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Land Plants ◽  
Reproductive Structures ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Status ◽  
Vegetative Characters ◽  
First Time ◽  
Different Parts

Bryophytes are the second largest group of land plants and are also known as the amphibians of the plant kingdom. 67 species of bryophytes have been reported from select locations across the state of Gujrat. The status of family fissidentaceae which is a large moss family is being presented in this paper. Globally the family consists of 10 genera but only one genus, Fissidens Hedw. has been collected from Gujarat. Fissidens is characterized by a unique leaf structure and shows the presence of three distinct lamina, the dorsal, the ventral and the vaginant lamina. A total of 8 species of Fissidens have been reported from the state based on vegetative characters as no sporophyte stages were collected earlier. Species reported from the neighboring states also showed the absence of sporophytes. The identification of different species was difficult due to substantial overlap in vegetative characters. Hence a detailed study on the diversity of members of Fissidentaceae in Gujarat was carried out between November 2013 and February 2015. In present study 8 distinct species of Fissidens have been collected from different parts of the state. Three species Fissidens splachnobryoides Broth., Fissidens zollingerii Mont. and Fissidens curvato-involutus Dixon. have been identified while the other five are still to be identified. Fissidens zollingerii Mont. and Fissidens xiphoides M. Fleisch., which have been reported as distinct species are actually synonyms according to TROPICOS database. The presence of sexual reproductive structures and sporophytes for several Fissidens species are also being reported for the first time from the state.

Phylogenetic relationships and evolution of reproductive modes within flattened syllids (Annelida : Syllidae) with the description of a new genus and six new species

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Álvarez-Campos ◽  
Sergio Taboada ◽  
Guillermo San Martín ◽  
Carlos Leiva ◽  
Ana Riesgo
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Reproductive Strategy ◽  
New Genus ◽  
Entire Group ◽  
Reproductive Modes ◽  
Taxonomic Descriptions ◽  
The Status ◽  
New Material ◽  
Phylogenetic Hypotheses

Syllid annelids from the so-called ‘ribbon clade’ are flattened, ribbon-shaped worms of the genera Parahaplosyllis Hartmann-Schröder, 1990, Eurysyllis Ehlers, 1864, Xenosyllis Marion & Bobretzky, 1875, Trypanosyllis Claparède, 1864, Ramisyllis Glasby, Schroeder & Aguado, 2012, Trypanobia Imajima & Hartman, 1964, Plakosyllis Hartmann-Schröder, 1956, Pseudosyllis Grube, 1863 and Trypanedenta Imajima & Hartman, 1964. Some species possess a remarkable reproductive strategy using multiple stolons that has been recently suggested to be ancestral to the group. Here, to evaluate the evolution of reproductive modes in the group, we assess, for the first time, the phylogenetic relationships within the ribbon clade and related genera. We collected new material of Trypanobia and Trypanosyllis from Japan, Spain, Philippines and Indonesia and sequenced it for the nuclear markers 18S rRNA and the mitochondrial markers 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase I for phylogenetic inference and also performed ancestral character reconstruction for the reproductive strategy in the entire group. Formal taxonomic descriptions of a new genus and six new species are provided. The new genus, Trypanospina, gen. nov., is characterised by the spines that cover its surface. Most genera within the ‘ribbon clade’ are monophyletic and the relationships appeared well supported in most cases. However, our phylogenetic hypotheses are not conclusive in regard to the relationships of the genera Trypanedenta and Trypanobia, nor to the status of those to genera as distinctive, since they seem to be paraphyletic and they appear in low-supported clades. In contrast, our results shed light on the evolution of the reproductive modes within the group, showing that scissiparity (development of a single stolon each time) is the ancestral character for the entire group and gemmiparity (development of more than one stolon at the same time) then appeared twice in two independent clades.

Three new species and four new species records of earthworms of the genus Moniligaster Perrier, 1872 (Clitellata: Moniligastridae) from Kerala region of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, India

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4949 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-397
Author(s):  
S. PRASANTH NARAYANAN ◽  
S. SATHRUMITHRA ◽  
R. ANUJA ◽  
G. CHRISTOPHER ◽  
A.P. THOMAS ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Original Description ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspot ◽  
Andaman Islands ◽  
Peninsular India ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Indian State ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Western Ghats

Three new species of Moniligaster Perrier, 1872, namely M. bahli Narayanan & Julka, sp. nov., M. blakemorei Narayanan & Julka, sp. nov. and M. keralensis Narayanan & Julka, sp. nov. are described from materials collected from the Indian state of Kerala. Moniligaster cernosvitovi Gates, 1962, Moniligaster horsti Gates, 1940, Moniligaster michaelseni Gates, 1940 and Moniligaster stephensoni Gates, 1940 are recorded for the first time from the state. With the new findings, a total of 10 Moniligaster species are known from Kerala. Moniligaster species are restricted to southern peninsular India, except Moniligaster ivaniosi Manazhy, 2011, decribed from the Andaman Islands, outside the currently known distributional range of the genus. Hence we critically reviewed the original description and reinvestigated the holotype. As a result, Moniligaster ivaniosi is considered a junior synonym of Drawida nepalensis Michaelsen, 1907. 

Rediscovery, taxonomic status, and phylogenetic relationships of two rare and endemic snakes (Serpentes: Psammophiinae) from the southwestern Angolan plateau

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4590 (3) ◽  
pp. 342 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLIAM R. BRANCH ◽  
NINDA BAPTISTA ◽  
CHAD KEATES ◽  
SHELLEY EDWARDS
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Taxonomic Resolution ◽  
Additional Material ◽  
Specific Level ◽  
Precise Locality ◽  
The Status ◽  
New Material ◽  
Taxonomic Assignments

Two rare and endemic psammophines (Serpentes: Psammophiinae) occur in Angola. The taxonomic status of Psammophylax rhombeatus ocellatus Bocage, 1873 and Psammophis ansorgii Boulenger, 1905 have long remained problematic, with both having varied past and present taxonomic assignments, and whose distributions may therefore present zoogeographic anomalies. Little was known of their biology, habitat associations, or phylogenetic relationships. New material was collected during biodiversity surveys of the Humpata Plateau, near Lubango, Angola. It allowed fuller descriptions of scalation and live coloration for both species, and resolution of their taxonomic status. Genetic analysis confirms that both are distinct at the specific level. In addition, within Psammophis, Jalla’s Sand Snake (Psammophis jallae Peracca, 1896), of which P. rohani Angel, 1925, remains a synonym, is sister to P. ansorgii, and Boulenger’s comment on similarities with P. crucifer are not supported. The status of an unusual skaapsteker from Calueque, Cunene Province, Angola, is discussed and its assignment to Ps. ocellatus is provisional and requires additional material for taxonomic resolution. The new P. ansorgii records from Tundavala represent a range (+400 km southwest) and altitude (1800 m to 2286 m a.s.l) extension from the previous only known precise locality of Bela Vista (= Catchiungo), Huambo Province, whilst that for Ps. ocellatus doubles the known altitude from 1108 m to 2286 m a.s.l and extends the range about 122 km to the northwest from historical material from the plateau of Huíla and Cunene provinces.

The systematics of the south-east Asian genus Fangensis Rambla (Opiliones:Cyphophthalmi:Stylocellidae)

2005 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Schwendinger ◽  
Gonzalo Giribet
Keyword(s):  
East Asian ◽  
Original Description ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Ribosomal Genes ◽  
The Other ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Southern Thailand ◽  
New Material ◽  
Three New Species

The hitherto monotypic opilionid genus Fangensis Rambla, 1994 is re-evaluated from new material collected in northern, western and southern Thailand. The original description of F. leclerci Rambla (type material not traceable) was based on specimens belonging to at least three distinct species. Fangensis leclerci is thus redefined and the binomen restricted to specimens from a cave in northern Thailand only. Three new species are described, F. spelaeus, sp. nov. and F. cavernarus, sp. nov. from two caves in western Thailand and F. insulanus, sp. nov. from forests on two islands in southern Thailand. Taxonomic characters are discussed and relationships among Fangensis species and between Fangensis and other cyphophthalmids are evaluated using morphological data and ~4 Kb of molecular data from three loci, two nuclear ribosomal genes and a mitochondrial coding gene. Overall, data indicate monophyly of Stylocellidae and morphological and ribosomal data suggest monophyly of Fangensis, which is in turn divided into two clades, one composed of the three species from northern and western Thailand and the other represented by the species from southern Thailand. Observations on mating in F. leclerci are provided.

scholarly journals First description of the female of Clubiona milingae Barrion-Dupo, Barrion & Heong, 2013 (Araneae, Clubionidae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianshuang Zhang ◽  
Hao Yu ◽  
Jian Chen
Keyword(s):  
Hainan Island ◽  
Original Description ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Single Male ◽  
New Material ◽  
First Time ◽  
New Distribution

Clubiona milingae Barrion-Dupo, Barrion & Heong, 2013 was described from a single male and no additional specimens have been recorded. The original description was brief and the illustrations were inadequate. Clubiona milingae is redescribed and illustrated based on new material from the type locality and the new distribution region (Jianfeng Mountains and Limu Mountains of Hainan Island, China). The female is reported for the first time.

scholarly journals The Wolter Family: Ways and Contexts of Emigration to Lithuania

Lituanistica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurelijus Gieda
Keyword(s):  
Academic Career ◽  
Academic Work ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Material ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
First Time

It has been emphasised on several occasions that Professor Eduard Wolter was a prominent figure and a broad-profile humanitarian in the history of Lithuanian humanities, who for many decades was actively interested in Lithuanian studies, among other things. The revolutionary changes in Russia divided Wolter’s academic career into two unequal parts: nearly forty years of academic work in Tsarist Russia and thirteen years in Kaunas. Bearing in mind the status of academic Lithuanian studies at the beginning of the twentieth century, his was an unprecedented case in Lithuania until 1940. We can claim that before 1940, no other Lithuanian humanitarian had such a long academic career of several decades devoted to Lithuanian studies. However, we still do not have an academic biography of Wolter, and Stasė Bušmienė’s work Eduardas Volteris, published almost 50 years ago, remains the most comprehensive publication in the field. Because of these circumstances, we must search for new problematic aspects, updated interpretations, and new material-based approaches. The article analyses the context of the revolutionary changes in Russia, the role of Augustinas Voldemaras in the history of the Wolters’ emigration, and Prof. Wolter’s recurrent concern about the academic possessions he had left in St. Petersburg when he was already in Lithuania. This article seeks new solutions: the emigration of the Wolter family to Lithuania is viewed as a potentially crucial knot in the professor’s biography. It allows understanding and linking two seemingly very different stages in his biography (Tsarist Russia and independent Lithuania). Lithuanian research interests and the related circle of like-minded people that had evolved in the course of many decades form a consistent deep-rooted epicentre of Prof. Wolter’s biography. The research method chosen imparts inner integrity to the biography of Prof. Wolter and an opportunity to look into the path of this scholar, who was also a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in the long term perspective. This text develops and substantiates the thesis that scholars’ emigration from Bolshevik Russia took place under dire circumstances: they had to leave not only their homes but also their libraries behind, their manuscripts and much of the material accumulated over many decades of academic work. Also, from the point of view of a collective biography, the context of the loss of the old University of St. Petersburg after the Bolshevik takeover in Russia is shown. While in Lithuania, Prof. Wolter made great efforts to recover the manuscripts, the library, and the collections he had left behind in St. Petersburg. This moment justifies the emigration of the Wolter family to Lithuania as a relevant key to the whole biography of Prof. Wolter. For the first time in historiography, the article gives a detailed analysis of Augustinas Voldemaras’ 53 letters to Alexandra Wolter (translated and published by Gediminas Rudis). The letters offer an interesting and characteristic description of the actual circumstances of the emigration of the Wolter family to Lithuania. This correspondence reveals a special connection between Voldemaras and the Wolter family. Voldemaras, who had lived in the Wolters’ house in St. Petersburg for over a decade, became a true family member, and their communication in the process of the emigration of the Wolter family was best described as close familial relations. In this way, the article sheds light on the role of Prof. Voldemaras in the relocation of the Wolter family to Lithuania, which did not find reflection either in Wolter’s biography or in general historiography.

scholarly journals Excessive proliferation of new dinoflagellate generic names: the case of Torquentidium (Ceratoperidiniaceae, Dinophyceae)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Gomez ◽  
Fernando Gomez ◽  
Fernando Gomez ◽  
Fernando Gomez ◽  
Fernando Gomez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Character ◽  
Original Description ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Morphometric Character ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Lsu Rrna Gene ◽  
Tree Topologies ◽  
First Time ◽  
Excessive Proliferation ◽  
High Support

New genera of unarmoured dinoflagellates represented by a single or very few species have largely increased in the last two decades. An example is the new genus name Torquentidium H.H. Shin, Z. Li, K.W. Lee & Matsuoka 2019 (Shin et al. , Eur. J. Phycol . 54: 249-262) recently proposed for species that were transferred into Pseliodinium in 2018. The SSU- and LSU rRNA gene sequences of the type species of Pseliodinium and Torquentidium only differed by 0.3% and 2%, respectively, and they clustered together as a monophyletic group with high support. Based on these tree topologies and/or the sequence divergences, each dinoflagellate species would be classified in its own genus. The morphological character proposed to distinguish Pseliodinium and Torquentidium is that the cingulum encircled the cell 1 and 1.5 times, respectively. This kind of arbitrary numeric morphometric character, proposed one century ago, is currently considered invalid for the generic split of unarmoured dinoflagellates. For example, Polykrikos geminatum (with ~1.5 cingular turns) clusters between species of Polykrikos (1 turn). Within the Ceratoperidiniaceae, the arrangement of the amphiesmal vesicles in apical structure complex was used for distinction at the genus level (i.e., Kirithra ), while this character is identical for Pseliodinium and Torquentidium . For the first time, an unarmoured dinoflagellate genus contains species with smooth cell covering ( T. convolutum , T. helix ) and species with longitudinal striae ( T. pirum ). However, the original description as Gymnodinium pirum in 1895 erroneously illustrated two distinct species, and since then nobody has ever reported surface markings in T. pirum . The morphological and molecular criteria used for the split of Torquentidium from Pseliodinium are unsupported, contributing to the excessive proliferation of monotypic genera. Torquentidium pirum and T. convolutum are synonyms, and Torquentidium is a superfluous generic name and junior synonym of Pseliodinium .

scholarly journals Reassessment of the taxonomic status of Pseudopaludicola parnaiba (Anura, Leptodactylidae, Leiuperinae), with the description of a new cryptic species from the Brazilian Cerrado

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felipe Silva De Andrade ◽  
Isabelle Aquemi Haga ◽  
Mariana Lúcio Lyra ◽  
Thiago Ribeiro De Carvalho ◽  
Célio Fernando Baptista Haddad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cryptic Species ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Advertisement Call ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
The Status ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
First Time ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Specific Identity

The Neotropical frog genus Pseudopaludicola includes 25 species distributed throughout South America. Herein we review the taxonomic status of P. parnaiba relative to P. canga and the specific identity of the population treated in previous studies as Pseudopaludicola sp. 3 from Barreirinhas in the Brazilian state of Maranhão. The lack of differentiation in advertisement call, morphology, and mitochondrial markers from topotypes and different populations rejects the status of P. parnaiba and Pseudopaludicola sp. 3 from Barreirinhas as distinct species. For these reasons, we suggest to formally consider P. parnaiba as a junior synonym of P. canga. We also found that a population previously reported as P. facureae from central Brazil (Palmeiras de Goiás, Goiás) corresponds to a cryptic species that we describe here as a new species. Lastly, we provide for the first time the phylogenetic positions of P. giarettai, P. llanera and P. pusilla.

Following the Gardner steps: re-collection of Campuloclinium alternifolium (Compositae) after 177 years

Phytotaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 309 (2) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
JOEL CALVO ◽  
NÁDIA ROQUE
Keyword(s):  
Original Description ◽  
New Material ◽  
First Time

Campuloclinium alternifolium was re-collected in southeastern Tocantins State, Brazil, after the Gardner collection in 1840. This new material reveals opposite, slightly decussate cauline leaves in contrast with the original description. Ecological insights are provided in order to locate new populations of this poorly known species, and detailed pictures are presented for the first time. The species name is lectotypified.

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