Phylogenetic Placement of the Plesioclytini (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae)

The tribe Plesioclytini was recently erected for a single genus of cerambycine longhorn beetle. The group was diagnosed from a proposed sister lineage, the diverse Clytini; however, a formal phylogenetic analysis was not performed due to limitations in data availability. Here, we present a phylogenetic reconstruction from five loci, that Plesioclytini is not sister to Clytini, but is instead only distantly related. Subsequent morphological investigations provide additional support for this placement.

Cymbopleura natellia – a new species from Transbaikal area (Russia, Siberia) described on the basis of molecular and morphological investigation

A new cymbelloid diatom species from the genus Cymbopleura (Krammer) Krammer is described on the basis of molecular and morphological investigations. Cymbopleura natellia Glushchenko, Kulikovskiy & Kociolek, sp. nov. is, on the basis of results with molecular data, close to C. naviculiformis (Auerswald ex Heiberg) Krammer. The two species differ both by molecular distance and morphological features. Morphologically, C. natelliasp. nov. is compared with several other species in the genus. This work is a pioneer investigation of cymbelloid taxa using molecular tool from Transbaikal area.

Effect of Strain on Heating Characteristics of Silicone/CNT Composites

In this work, silicone/carbon nanotube (CNT) composites were produced using a spread coating process, followed by morphological investigations and determination of their electrical properties and heating behaviour through the application of electric potential. Composites containing varying amounts of CNT (1–7%) were investigated for their thermal behaviour with the use of an IR camera. Subsequently, thermal behaviour and electrical properties were measured when the samples were stretched (up to 20%). With the 7% CNT composites, which had a conductivity of 106 S/m, it was possible to achieve a temperature of 155 °C at a relatively low voltage of 23 V. For high CNT contents, when the potential was controlled in such a way as to maintain the temperature well below 100 °C, the temperature remained almost constant at all levels of strain investigated. At higher potentials yielding temperatures around 100 °C and above, stretching had a drastic effect on temperature. These results are critical for designing composites for dynamic applications requiring a material whose properties remain stable under strain.

“That’s Opuntia, that was!”, again: a new combination for an old and enigmatic Opuntia s.l. (Cactaceae)

The genus Opuntia is one of the most emblematic of the cactus family (Cactaceae) and a species-rich clade within subfamily Opuntioideae. After molecular phylogenetic studies showed that the traditional broad circumscription of Opuntia could not be retained as the genus was polyphyletic, various segregated genera were recognize based on both morphological data and phylogenetic studies. Here, we reassessed an old and enigmatic taxon, O. schickendantzii, through molecular and morphological investigations. Our results support that O. schickendantzii was best circumscribed within the Salmonopuntia lineage based on molecular and morphological features. As a consequence, a new combination is proposed, and an epitype from the herbarium BAF is designated. An updated description of the taxon with illustrations is also given.

Toward a revision of the genus Chelidura Latreille, 1825: designation of the Neotype for Chelidura aptera (Megerle in Charpentier, 1825) (Dermaptera: Forficulidae)

Since it is not possible, after several years of research, to locate the type material of Chelidura aptera (Megerle in Charpentier, 1825), type species of the genus Chelidura latreille, 1825, and not being able to define in any way, even vaguely, the terra typica, it was decided to fix a neotype. This neotype is here selected on the basis of its matching with the original description and with the support of molecular data. Three Alpine populations, two Italian and one Swiss, of what is actually considered C. aptera were sampled and sequenced; COI sequences were then compared with Chelidura pyrenaica arverna David & Van Herrewege, 1973 from the Massif Central in France, and other species of the genera Chelidurella, Mesochelidura and Forficula. The separation between C. aptera and C. pyrenaica is strongly supported by DNA barcodes and substantial differences among the three Alpine populations have been detected. The genetically intermediate among the Alpine populations (Italy, Piedmont (Biella), Pennine Alps, lago del Mucrone) is chosen as neotype of Chelidura aptera, furthermore largely matching the original description. Further genetic and morphological investigations will clarify the relations among the Alpine populations and in the early future we expect to extend the analyzes to the majority of the Alpine and non-Alpine populations of Chelidura. In addition, the updated view about the taxonomy and distribution of Chelidura and the first illustration of male genitalia of Chelidura pyrenaica arverna David & Van Herrewege, 1973 are provided.

The African Species of Drepanolejeunea Vesiculosa Group with Description of Drepanolejeunea Vanderpoortenii Spec. Nova (Jungermanniopsida) from Madagascar

Drepanolejeunea clavicornis and D. friesii were previously synonymised with D. physaefolia or all of them with D. vesiculosa. In the meantime, Drepanolejeunea vandenberghenii was described from the same species group, as new. In this paper many African specimens are compared with the original descriptions of the above species. Morphological investigations of these and their distributional patterns suggested that the former synonymisation was not justified. In addition, a new, rheophytic species from the same group: Drepanolejeunea vanderpoortenii, is described, as new to science. As a result, from the taxa related to Drepanolejeunea vesiculosa, now six species are recognised from Africa, including its Indian Ocean islands. For these 6 morphotaxa an identification key is provided. The results need confirmation by a future molecular analysis.