Actinia ebhayiensis sp. nov., a new species of sea anemone (Anthozoa: Actiniaria: Actiniidae) from South Africa

In this work we describe Actinia ebhayiensis sp. nov. from South Africa. The species is externally similar to the type species of the genus, Actinia equina, from which it can be distinguished by nematocyst and allozyme data. Actinia ebhayiensis has a smooth, red column, with well-delimited parapet leading to a deep fosse where conspicuous blue acrorhagi can be found. Tentacles and oral disc are crimson red, and the pedal disc has a lighter pink colour. The microbasic p-mastigophores and b-mastigophores of the mesenterial filaments of the new species are significantly smaller than those of A. equina. Actinia ebhayiensis can also be clearly distinguished from other species of the genus in nematocyst measurements, genetic data and muscle morphology.

How many Archaeolacerta inhabit the Corso-Sardinian Plate? Allozyme variation and differentiation in Archaeolacerta bedriagae (Camerano, 1885)

Archaeolacerta bedriagae is a rock lizard endemic to Corsica and Sardinia. Four subspecies have been recozied to date on the basis of morphological traits. Previous allozyme investigations revealed high genetic differentiation among populations of the species. Based on these results some authors hypothesized that more than one species of Archaeolacerta may occur on Corsica and Sardinia. In this paper we investigated allozyme variation at 19 gene loci in 5 populations belonging to all subspecies of A. bedriagae in order to study genetic differentiation among populations from Corsica and Sardinia, and to compare our results with those obtained in previous studies carried out on allozyme variation and taxonomy of the species. Low levels of genetic differentiation (average Nei's D = 0.026) and heterogeneity (mean FST = 0.147) were found comparing the A. bedriagae populations, and there was no evidence of interruption or restriction of gene flow. This is in agreement with the available molecular and morphometric data, while it is not in accordance with allozyme data reported in the previous studies. Our data do not support the hypothesis of an unrecognized criptic species of Archaeolacerta in Corsica and Sardinia, and indicate that the definitive assessment of the taxonomic status of the A. bedriagae populations requires further investigation.

Phylogeny of genus Wyeomyia (Diptera: Culicidae) inferred from morphological and allozyme data

Phylogenetic relationships within the genus Wyeomyia Theobald are presented, based on a cladistic analysis of 88 morphological characters (from adults, larvae, and pupae) of 38 named species and 1 unnamed species and 46 allozyme markers from a subset of 19 of these species. Two taxa are used as outgroup (Sabethes aurescens Lutz and Limatus durhami Theobald). The analysis indicates that, as currently defined, the genus Wyeomyia is not a monophyletic lineage: firstly, the genus Onirion Peyton and Harbach is nested within the genus Wyeomyia, and secondly, the subgenus Phoniomyia Theobald is a monophyletic lineage outside the genus Wyeomyia. Our results also demonstrate that the subgenera Cruzmyia Lane and Cerqueira, Decamyia Dyar, Dendromyia Theobald, Spilonympha Motta and Lourenço-de-Oliveira, and Prosopolepis Lutz are monophyletic lineages nested within the genus Wyeomyia. Triamyia Dyar is resurrected as a subgenus of Wyeomyia to include W. aporonoma Dyar and Knab and W. staminifera Lourenço-de-Oliveira, Motta, and Castro. The subgenus Miamyia Dyar is resurrected to include seven species: W. codiocampa Dyar and Knab, W. lutzi (Costa Lima), W. limai Lane and Cerqueira, W. serrata (Lutz), W. hosautos Dyar and Knab, W. oblita (Lutz), and W. sabethea Lane and Cerqueira.