Metapocyrtus dagtum sp. nov., a new flightless weevil from Davao de Oro, Mindanao Island, Philippines (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Pachyrhynchini)

The genus Metapocyrtus Heller, 1912 is the most speciose and taxonomically complex genus in the tribe Pachyrhynchini. It is known to be endemic in the Philippines, with most species having a very narrow range of distribution. There are already more than 230 species of Metapocyrtus documented in the Philippines. Metapocyrtus dagtum sp. nov., a new species of the genus Metapocyrtus Heller, 1912 from Davao de Oro, Mindanao Island, Philippines, is described with brief notes about its ecology. Its specific epithet is from the Cebuano word “dagtum” which means pitch black referring to the colour of the integument of the species.

Taxonomic revision of the genus Oplognathus MacLeay, 1819 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Rutelini)

The genus Oplognathus MacLeay, 1819 is revised based on type material of two of the three described species and scattered additional material from several collections around the world. The diagnostic characters of the genus are confirmed, distinguishing it from other Brazilian Areodina mainly by: quadrangular clypeus with trilobate apex in males, rounded in females, extending beyond labrum in both sexes; mandibles with three distinct teeth; maxillae with six teeth; antenna with 10 antennomeres; 10 elytral striae; mesoventral process present; and asymmetrical parameres. The genus and all three species are redescribed, and the female of Oplognathus bahianus Ohaus, 1912 is described for the first time. We consider Oplognathus helmenreichi var. maculicollis Ohaus, 1914 an unavailable infrasubspecific taxon that is conspecific with Oplognathus helmenreichi Ohaus, 1905; its distribution is updated, and the different spelling of the specific epithet is discussed. A neotype is designated for Oplognathus kirbii MacLeay, 1819 since the holotype is currently considered lost. Additionally, an identification key and a distribution map are included.

Biology of Invasive Plants 2. Lycium ferocissimum Miers

The name of the genus Lycium originates from the Greek name lykion for a thorny shrub, derived from Lycia, the name of an ancient country in Asia Minor where a similar spiny shrub was found. The specific epithet ferocissimum comes from the Latin ferox, meaning “bold” or “fearless,” referring to the very spiny nature of the shrub (Green 1994; Parsons and Cuthbertson 2001).

Two new species of Andinopanurgus (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae: Panurginae), with a description of the female of A. amyae

Two new species of Andinopanurgus Gonzalez & Engel are described: Andinopanurgus chirosimpson Packer, new species, from northwest Argentina extends the range of the genus south by more than 2000 km and A. lynnae Packer, new species, from Peru. The new species seem to belong to Gonzalez & Engel’s “guarnensis species group” but differ from it in the highly modified setae on S4, which are divided into two to four branches (in A. chirosimpson, the four-branched ones of which look like a thumbless hand and are the source of the specific epithet) to two to five branches (in A. lynnae). The female of A. amyae (Gonzalez & Engel) is described for the first time.

Correction of the name Hymenaea osanigraseminae (Detarioideae, Leguminosae)

A new tree species of Hymenaea L. (Detarioideae, Leguminosae) from Costa Rica, named H. osanigraseminae, was validly published by Aguilar Fernández, Poveda Álvarez & Santamaría-Aguilar (2018) on March 28, 2018. The intention of the authors was to include in the specific epithet a mention of the type locality as well as the color of the seeds. Nevertheless, their final choice (“osanigraseminae”) was wrong, since this epithet does not follow the grammatical Latin rules. Consequently, an orthographical correction is required in accordance with the articles 23.5, 32.2, and 60.1 of the International code of nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Turland et al. 2018).

Specific epithet – a noun in the genitive case

The current article is included in the larger research “The linguistic structure of binomial botanical denominations– specific epithet”, based on “Conspectus of the Bulgarian vascular flora”, fourth revised and updated edition, Sofia, 2012, and deals with a less common type of specific epithets - nouns in the genitive case. The epithets are organized alphabetically in several groups according to their semantic.

Typification and nomenclatural clarifications of Mesembryanthemum purpurocroceum and M. insititium (Ruschioideae, Aizoaceae)

The typification of the names Mesembryanthemum purpurocroceum and M. insititium are discussed. A neotype (illustration by Duncanson) and a lectotype (a specimen at B in Willdenow’s Herbarium) are designated. Epitypes (deposited at BOL) are also selected for both names. Nomenclatural issues about the specific epithet “purpurocroceum” are discussed. The two names are accepted here in Malephora as heterotypic synonyms, with M. purpurocroceum having nomenclatural priority.

Nomenclature of the white-flowered variant of Viola reichenbachiana (Violaceae)

The white-flowered variant of the Early Dog-violet hasn’t been validly published under the specific epithet Viola reichenbachiana. We name it here as Viola reichenbachiana Jord. ex Boreau var. leucantha (Beck) M.S. Porter, M.J.Y. Foley & L. Lewis.

A reassessment of Eugenia astringens (Myrtaceae) and its synonyms, including their formal typification

Giovanni Casaretto published Eugenia rotundifolia Casaretto (1842: 40) using material that he collected in Restinga vegetation between Copacabana and Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Berg (1857: 287) treated E. rotundifolia Casaretto as a distinct species, and recognized two varieties. However, the binomial E. rotundifolia (Walker-Arnott 1836: 335) Wight (1841: 17) was previously published for a taxon occurring in Sri Lanka. Therefore, Casaretto’s name is a later superfluous homonym and illegitimate. In a recent article on the typification of plant names published by Casaretto, Delprete et al. (2019) proposed E. casarettoana Delprete (2019: 25) as a substitute name for E. rotundifolia Casaretto. However, Delprete and his collaborators overlooked that the name E. casarettoana O. Berg (1857: 520) was previously published using material collected by Martius near the town of Coari, state of Amazonas, Brazil, and belongs to a distinct species occurring in the Brazilian Amazon. Also, Berg (1857) spelled the specific epithet “casaretteana” without explaining to whom he dedicated the epithet. It is obvious that it was dedicated to Casaretto, as no other botanist or plant collector has a similar last name. Therefore, according to Recommendation 60C of the ICN (Turland et al. 2018), the spelling of this epithet should be corrected to casarettoana, as it has been done for this and other specific epithets dedicated to Casaretto (Delprete 2016).

Rediscovery of Aeschynanthus monetaria (Gesneriaceae) in Southeast Tibet, China after more than 100 years

Aeschynanthus monetaria, a beautiful epiphytic species of Gesneriaceae, was rediscovered in monsoon rain forest along the Yarlung Zangbo River in Motuo County, Southeast Tibet (Xizang), China. Its description is amended and completed with both fresh and dried specimens in this discovery. To better facilitate its identification, the color images in the field and line illustrations based on our specimens are given. A taxonomic note concerning its lectotype and the ending of specific epithet is discussed.