Rediscovery of Forficula iberica Steinmann, 1981 (Dermaptera: Forficulidae)

Forficula iberica Steinmann, 1981 was described from Spain (Province of Zaragoza), but since its description it has remained an unknown taxon, usually ignored or treated as a synonym of F. auricularia Linnaeus, 1758. Field work in central Spain allowed us to collect some specimens of Dermaptera that matched the original description of F. iberica. In addition, the collection of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC, Spain) held some specimens assignable to F. iberica confused among other Iberian species. The main objective of this work is to validate the specific status of F. iberica, report its rediscovery in central Spain, and evaluate the diagnostic characters provided by Steinmann (1981). The original description provided by Steinmann is quite complete, and fits precisely the specimens located in the field or at the MNCN, which cannot be associated to any other species of Forficulidae. The comparison of Steinmann´s paratypes of F. iberica at the Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum (MTM, Budapest), with the specimens obtained in the field, confirms that they can be assigned to F. iberica. The shape of the tegmina of F. iberica is most similar to that of F. lesnei, but differs from that of G. pubescens (obliquely truncated posteriorly). Shape of the cerci of F. iberica is similar to that of G. pubescens and G. brignolii, but different from that of F. lesnei. The genus Guanchia Burr, 1911 was created based on the shape of tegmina (obliquely truncated), but this character is quite variable. In agreement with Vigna Taglianti (2011), we consider that a phylogenetic study of the subfamily Forficulinae is necessary to revise the generic status of the continental species of Forficula included in Guanchia by Steinmann (1993).

Review of the subtribe Psilommina (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae, Belythinae) from Russian fauna

Three species of the Acanopsilus Kieffer, 1908, six species of Acanosema Kieffer, 1908, two species of Polypeza Förster, 1856, and four species of Psilomma Förster, 1856 of the Russian fauna are reviewed, keyed and illustrated. Six of these species are described: Acanopsilus comadensis sp. n. (Russia: Primorsky krai), A. minimus sp. n. (Russia: Primorsky krai), Acanosema (Cardiopsilus) dentigastrum sp. n. (Russia: Primorsky krai), A. (C.) epicnemium sp. n. (Russia: Primorsky krai) A. (C.) setigerum sp. n. (Russia: East Siberia, Yakutia; Sweden), Psilomma calaris sp. n. (Russia: Kunashir Island; Japan). The generic status of Cardiopsilus Kieffer, 1908 is reduced to subgeneric one under Acanosema Kieffer, 1908 and a new combination is proposed for A. productum (Kieffer, 1908), comb. n. from Cardiopsilus Kieffer, 1908.

Chromosomal Analysis of Ctenolucius hujeta Valenciennes, 1850 (Characiformes): A New Piece in the Chromosomal Evolution of the Ctenoluciidae

Ctenoluciidae (Characiformes), a family of freshwater fishes, comprises 2 genera, <i>Ctenolucius</i> and <i>Boulengerella</i>, with 7 recognized species. Up to now, only species of the genus <i>Boulengerella</i> have been subjected to cytogenetic studies. Here, we investigated the karyotype and other cytogenetic features of pike characin, <i>Ctenolucius hujeta</i>, using conventional (Giemsa staining, C-banding, Ag-NOR staining) and molecular (rDNA, telomeric sequences, and fiber-FISH mapping) procedures. This species has a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 36, and a karyotype composed of 12m + 20sm + 4a and FN = 68, similar to that found in <i>Boulengerella</i> species. However, differences regarding the number and distribution of several chromosomal markers support a distinct generic status. Colocalization of the 18S and 5S rDNA genes is an exclusive characteristic of the <i>C. hujeta</i> genome, with an interspersed distribution in the chromosomal fiber, an unusual phenomenon among eukaryotes. Additionally, our results support the view that Ctenoluciidae and Lebiasinidae families are closely related.

Another puzzle piece in the systematics of the chewing louse genus Myrsidea, with a description of a new genus Apomyrsidea

A new avian chewing louse genus Apomyrsidea gen. nov. is described based on species parasitizing birds in the family Formicariidae. Diagnostic characteristics and phylogenetic analyses were used to evaluate and confirm the generic status and merit its recognition as unique and different from Myrsidea Waterston, 1915. Three species previously belonging to the genus Myrsidea are placed in the new genus Apomyrsidea gen. nov. and are discussed: Apomyrsidea circumsternata (Valim & Weckstein, 2013) gen. et comb. nov., Apomyrsidea isacantha (Valim & Weckstein, 2013) gen. et comb. nov. and Apomyrsidea klimesi (Sychra in Sychra et al., 2006) gen. et comb. nov.

On the identity of Lepidodexia (Orosarcophaga) ornata (Townsend, 1927) (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) and a new generic synonym

The revision of the sarcophagid species Lepidodexia (Orosarcophaga) ornata (Townsend, 1927) reveals its identity and a generic synonym. The male terminalia of this species was studied in detail for the first time and revealed its congeneric affinities with Oxyvinia Dodge, 1966. Consequently, the generic status of Orosarcophaga Townsend, 1927 was revalidated, including Oxyvinia Dodge, 1966 as its junior synonym, and O. ornata was corroborated as a valid species and name. Moreover, we provide an updated generic diagnosis of Orosarcophaga, a list of the eleven species of the genus with their distribution, and a detailed diagnosis of O. ornata.

Reclassification of the doryctine tribe Rhaconotini (Hymenoptera, Braconidae)

The classification of the genera belonging to the doryctine tribe Rhaconotini (Braconidae) is updated. The following new taxa are described: Troporhaconotus gen. nov. (with 12 species), Afroipodoryctes subgen. nov. (of Ipodoryctes Granger, 1949) (with three species), Hexarhaconotinus subgen. nov. (of Rhaconotinus Hedqvist, 1965) (with ten species), Bathycentor zimbabwensis sp. nov., Ipodoryctes (Afroipodoryctes) reunionus sp. nov., I. (A.) saintphilippensis sp. nov., Platyspathius (Platyspathius) venezuelicus sp. nov., P. (P.) ranomafanus sp. nov., Rhacontsira haeselbarthi sp. nov., Rh. mozambiquensis sp. nov., Rh. saigonensis sp. nov. and Rh. toamasina sp. nov. The generic status of Euryphrymnus Cameron, 1910 is resurrected. The generic name Aptenobracon Marsh, 1965 is synonymised under Rhaconotus Ruthe, 1854 (syn. nov.); Rhaconotus asiaticus Belokobylskij, 1990 is synonymised under Rh. kerzhneri Belokobylskij, 1985 (syn. nov.). The new name, Rhaconotinus austrochinensis nom. nov., is suggested for the preoccupied name Rhaconotus chinensis Chen & Shi, 2004 (December) not Rhaconotus chinensis Belokobylskij & Chen, 2004 (June). New species contents, in many cases with numerous new combinations, are suggested for the genera Bathycentor Saussure, 1892, Euryphrymnus Cameron, 1910, Ipodoryctes Granger, 1949, Rhaconotinus Hedqvist, 1965 and Rhaconotus. The tribe Leptorhaconotini is synonymised with Rhaconotini based on previously published molecular phylogenetic studies, though we leave this group within the subtribe Leptorhaconotina.

Seneca’s Phoenician Women — Genre, Structure, Thematic Unity

This article revises current perspectives on the generic status, composition, and subject matter of Phoenician Women by Seneca. It adopts a new approach, focusing on selected elements of text organisation. In particular, emphasis is given to the construction of characters and the analogies and contrasts between them which were already of interest to ancient poetics and rhetoric. Moreover, the article refers to observations, accurate but isolated and largely ignored, made by scholars who recognised Seneca’s originality and suggested that his plays might have been inspired by the declamatory tradition and should be read in the context of evolving postclassical literature. By adopting this perspective, it becomes possible to bring together a large number of partial conclusions that are related to Phoenician Women as well as other plays by Seneca. What is more important, the work brings to light the purposeful composition of the drama and its thematic unity, allowing us to return to the MS versions that until now have been replaced by conjectures, which often distort the meaning of the text. After dismissing the emendations and adopting a new method of reading, Seneca’s Phoenician Women can be regarded as complete and well-organised. The play has certain characteristic features of a tragedy, of all Seneca’s dramas, it is the one most inspired by the genre of declamation and the poetics of Seneca the Elder’s anthology, and it is an example of the use of plot material typical of tragedy for presenting the problem of pietas in all its complexity.

Review of Lepidocyrtinus Börner, 1903 (Collembola, Entomobryidae, Seirinae): the African species

Herein Lepidocyrtinus Börner is reviewed based on African species and a new diagnosis to the genus is provided, including the description of intermediary stages of two species and a proposal for the interpretation of the dorsal chaetotaxy based in juveniles. In total, 17 species previously assigned as Seira Lubbock are transferred to Lepidocyrtinus, and three of them are redescribed: L. barnardi Womersley and L. dayi Yosii from South Africa, and L. voeltzkowi (Börner) from Madagascar. Neotypes are designated for these last two species. In addition, nine new species are described from Africa: one from Botswana, two from Republic of the Congo, two from South Africa, and four from Madagascar. Finally, identification keys for the current genera of Seirinae and for the African species of Lepidocyrtinus are provided. After our revision, Lepidocyrtinus has now its generic status revalidated with 36 species, 29 of them from African continent, two from Oceania and five from Brazil.

Touch of Evil

If Touch of Evil (1958) touches on what the director, commenting on the film, calls the “abuse of police power,” this Orson Welles picture is especially pertinent in the context of the ’50s “bad cop” film, since despite the fact that it’s dominated by his performance as corrupt police captain Hank Quinlan, Touch of Evil is not customarily thought of as a rogue cop movie. Just as, say, Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958) has transcended its generic status as a private-detective film, so too Touch of Evil--thanks to its extraordinary formal ingenuity and expressionist rhetoric as well as its investigation of the politics of race and sexuality, the law and the border--has long since transcended its origins in Whit Masterson’s pulp fiction, Badge of Evil (1956). Welles’s picture nevertheless remains a product of a particular cultural-historical moment in which it signifies, according to Jonathan Munby, the “end of the line” of gangster noir, as well as the “passing of two distinctive crime types”: “the femme fatale,” Tanya, and the “morally ambivalent rogue cop,” Hank Quinlan.