scholarly journals Uncovering the species diversity of subterranean rodents at the end of the World: three new species of Patagonian tuco-tucos (Rodentia, Hystricomorpha, Ctenomys)

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Teta ◽  
Guillermo D’Elía

Ctenomys Blainville 1826 is one of the most diverse genera of South American caviomorph rodents. Currently, six species of this genus are reported from Patagonia, south of 42°S. In this contribution, we assessed the taxonomic status of several populations from eastern and central Chubut province, northern Patagonia. Based on phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences, morphology assessment (qualitative and quantitative), and previously published karyological data, we describe three new species of this genus, one formed by two subspecies, endemic to northern Patagonia. In addition, we include C. coyhaiquensis Kelt and Gallardo 1994 into the synonymy of C. sericeus J.A. Allen 1903. Finally, we discussed the need for additional integrative approaches, including field collection of specimens, to better understand the diversity of this highly speciose rodent genus.

ZooKeys ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1012 ◽  
pp. 21-53
Author(s):  
Francisco Andres Rivera-Quiroz ◽  
Booppa Petcharad ◽  
Jeremy A. Miller

The family Symphytognathidae is reported from Thailand for the first time. Three new species: Anapistula choojaiaesp. nov., Crassignatha seeliamsp. nov., and Crassignatha seedamsp. nov. are described and illustrated. Distribution is expanded and additional morphological data are reported for Patu shiluensis Lin & Li, 2009. Specimens were collected in Thailand between July and August 2018. The newly described species were found in the north mountainous region of Chiang Mai, and Patu shiluensis was collected in the coastal region of Phuket. DNA sequences are provided for all the species here studied. The relations of these symphytognathid species were tested using previously published phylogenetic analyses on micro orb-weavers. Also, we used micro CT analysis to build 3D models of the male genitalia and somatic characters of two species of Crassignatha Wunderlich, 1995. The molecular phylogeny and 3D models were used to discuss the taxonomy and circumscription of the currently valid symphytognathid genera, with focus on Crassignatha and Patu Marples, 1951. Based on this, three new combinations are suggested: Crassignatha bicorniventris (Lin & Li, 2009), comb. nov., Crassignatha quadriventris (Lin & Li, 2009), comb. nov., and Crassignatha spinathoraxi (Lin & Li, 2009), comb. nov. A new record of Crassignatha danaugirangensisMiller et al. 2014 is reported from Brunei.


PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2694 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Parra-Olea ◽  
Sean M. Rovito ◽  
Mario García-París ◽  
Jessica A. Maisano ◽  
David B. Wake ◽  
...  

We describe three new species of minute salamanders, genusThorius, from the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca, Mexico. Until now only a single species,T. minutissimus, has been reported from this region, although molecular data have long shown extensive genetic differentiation among geographically disjunct populations. AdultThorius pinicolasp. nov.,T. longicaudussp. nov., andT. tlaxiacussp. nov. are larger thanT. minutissimusand possess elliptical rather than oval nostrils;T. pinicolaandT. longicaudusalso have longer tails. All three new species occur west of the range ofT. minutissimus, which has the easternmost distribution of any member of the genus. The new species are distinguished from each other and from other namedThoriusin Oaxaca by a combination of adult body size, external morphology and osteology, and by protein characters (allozymes) and differences in DNA sequences. In addition, we redescribeT. minutissimusand a related species,T. narisovalis, to further clarify the taxonomic status of Oaxacan populations and to facilitate future studies of the remaining genetically differentiatedThoriusthat cannot be satisfactorily assigned to any named species. Populations of all five species considered here appear to have declined dramatically over the last one or two decades and live specimens are difficult to find in nature.Thoriusmay be the most endangered genus of amphibians in the world. All species may go extinct before the end of this century.


Parasite ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Lidiane Franceschini ◽  
Aline Aguiar ◽  
Aline Cristina Zago ◽  
Priscilla de Oliveira Fadel Yamada ◽  
Mariana Bertholdi Ebert ◽  
...  

Diversity of Creptotrema was investigated using morphological and molecular tools, including data for Creptotrema creptotrema (type-species). Three new species, parasites of Brazilian fishes, are described: Creptotrema conconae n. sp. (type-host, Imparfinis mirini Haseman), Creptotrema schubarti n. sp. (type-host, Characidium schubarti Travassos) and Creptotrema megacetabularis n. sp. (type-host, Auchenipterus osteomystax (Miranda Ribeiro)). The diagnosis of the genus was amended to include new features. The new species differ from each other mainly in terms of body shape, relative sucker size, and testes position. DNA sequences were obtained from Creptotrema spp. from Brazil, including 28S, ITS and COI. Genetic divergences among the new species and C. creptotrema varied from 2.1 to 5.2% (21–49 bp) for 28S, and 6.6 to 16.4% (21–45 bp) for COI. Phylogenetic analysis (28S) placed the newly generated DNA sequences of Creptotrema in a clade (Creptotrema clade sensu stricto) composed of C. creptotrema, the new species described herein, and all species previously described as Auriculostoma, revealing that Auriculostoma is best interpreted as a synonym of Creptotrema based on the principle of priority of zoological nomenclature. Creptotrema funduli, the single sequence of the genus previously available, was not grouped within the Creptotrema clade sensu stricto, suggesting the need for reevaluation of the taxonomic status of this species. Our results showed that Creptotrema represents a monophyletic genus of trematodes widely distributed across the Americas, which currently comprises 19 valid species of parasites of teleosts and anurans.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 338 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
SAROJ RUCHISANSAKUN ◽  
PIYAKASET SUKSATHAN ◽  
TIMOTHEÜS VAN DER NIET ◽  
ERIK F. SMETS ◽  
SAW LWIN ◽  
...  

Three new species of Impatiens (Balsaminaceae) from Myanmar are here described: I. decurva Ruchis. & S.B. Janssens, I. hartnolliae Hook. f. ex Ruchis. & Suksathan, and I. oblongata Ruchis. &Van der Niet. The 5-lobed short fusiform fruit of all three species suggests that they are members of subgen. Impatiens sect. Uniflorae Hook. f. & Thomson. For I. decurva and I. oblongata, subgenus membership was corroborated by phylogenetic analyses of a combined dataset of nuclear ITS and plastid atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer DNA sequences. This was not possible for I. hartnolliae, which is only known from a single herbarium specimen.


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4779 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEANDRO A. DA SILVA ◽  
FELIPE M. MAGALHÃES ◽  
HANS THOMASSEN ◽  
FELIPE S. F. LEITE ◽  
ADRIAN A. GARDA ◽  
...  

Members of the Leptodactylus mystaceus species complex are widely distributed in forests and open formations of South America east of the Andes. Species of the complex are morphologically similar or indistinguishable among each other, but acoustic data have been the cornerstone for species discrimination across their geographic ranges. In this paper, we re-examine the monophyly, species diversity, and relationships in the L. mystaceus complex on the basis of morphology, coloration, acoustics, and DNA sequences. Morphological and color patterns originally used to the allocation of species to the L. mystaceus complex are also reassessed. Our results revealed three new species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, which are named and described herein, based mainly on acoustic and molecular data. Populations assigned to the lineage widely distributed across the South American Dry Diagonal (DD), reported in this study as L. cf. mystaceus, is likely paraphyletic with respect to the nominal species (Amazonian lineage), but additional data are still needed to address the taxonomic status of the DD lineage. 


Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 420
Author(s):  
María Eugenia Salgado Salomón ◽  
Carolina Barroetaveña ◽  
Tuula Niskanen ◽  
Kare Liimatainen ◽  
Matthew E. Smith ◽  
...  

This paper is a contribution to the current knowledge of taxonomy, ecology and distribution of South American Cortinarius (Pers.) Gray. Cortinarius is among the most widely distributed and species-rich basidiomycete genera occurring with South American Nothofagaceae and species are found in many distinct habitats, including shrublands and forests. Due to their ectomycorrhizal role, Cortinarius species are critical for nutrient cycling in forests, especially at higher latitudes. Some species have also been reported as edible fungi with high nutritional quality. Our aim is to unravel the taxonomy of selected Cortinarius belonging to phlegmacioid and myxotelamonioid species based on morphological and molecular data. After widely sampling Cortinarius specimens in Patagonian Nothofagaceae forests and comparing them to reference collections (including holotypes), we propose five new species of Cortinarius in this work. Phylogenetic analyses of concatenated rDNA ITS-LSU and RPB1 sequences failed to place these new species into known Cortinarius sections or lineages. These findings highlight our knowledge gaps regarding the fungal diversity of South American Nothofagaceae forests. Due to the high diversity of endemic Patagonian taxa, it is clear that the South American Cortinarius diversity needs to be discovered and described in order to understand the evolutionary history of Cortinarius on a global scale.


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2918 (1) ◽  
pp. 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. WESLEY GAPP ◽  
BRUCE S. LIEBERMAN ◽  
MICHAEL C. POPE ◽  
KELLY A. DILLIARD

The Early Cambrian olenelline trilobites are a diverse clade and have been the subject of several phylogenetic analyses. Here, three new species of Bradyfallotaspis Fritz, 1972 (B. coriae, B. nicolascagei, and B. sekwiensis) and one new species of Nevadia Walcott, 1910 (N. saupeae) are described from the Sekwi Formation of the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. In addition, new specimens potentially referable to Nevadia ovalis McMenamin, 1987 were recovered that may expand that species’ geographic range, which was thought to be restricted to Sonora, Mexico. The results of a phylogenetic analysis incorporating several olenelline taxa, including Judomia absita Fritz, 1973 from the Sekwi Formation, are also presented herein. This species has been assigned to various olenelline genera, including Judomia Lermontova, 1951 and Paranevadella Palmer & Repina, 1993. Phylogenetic analysis suggests this species is closely related to Judomia tera Lazarenko, 1960 from Siberia. This phylogenetic relationship provides further support for the hypothesis that a close biogeographic relationship existed between Laurentia and Siberia during the Cambrian.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 316 (2) ◽  
pp. 149 ◽  
Author(s):  
PEDRO LUÍS RODRIGUES DE MORAES ◽  
MATHEUS CARVALHO VERGNE ◽  
HENK VAN DER WERFF

Three South-American new species belonging to Cinnamomum, Mezilaurus, and Williamodendron, are described and illustrated from specimens collected in the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil. The new species are Cinnamomum baitelloanum, Mezilaurus sessiliflora, and Williamodendron itamarajuensis. Their putative relationships within the respective genus are discussed.


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.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 312 (1) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
HUAN-DI ZHENG ◽  
WEN-YING ZHUANG

A new species, namely Chlorociboria herbicola, is discovered on herbaceous stems in central China. Morphologically, the new fungus is distinctive by the combination of light blue-green apothecia, rectangular cells in ectal excipulum, and elongate-ellipsoidal ascospores with rounded ends. Phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer and large subunit of nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences confirm its ascription in Chlorociboria and distinction from the known species of the genus.


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