The identity of Senegalia saltilloensis (Fabaceae)

Background and Aims: The mimosoid genera Senegalia and Acacia are closely related. Acacia sensu lato is a polyphyletic group that can be split in the following genera: Vachellia, Senegalia, Acaciella and Mariosousa, remaining as Acacia (sensu stricto) only the “Australian species” and some others from the Pacific Islands. The American species of Senegalia and the new genus Mariosousa include the elements of Acacia subgenus Aculeiferum. We agree with this criterion. Senegalia saltilloensis was described by Britton & Rose in 1928, followed by synonymization with S. roemeriana, and was later re-evaluated as a valid species, creating a new nomenclatural combination in the genus Acacia. The aim of this study was to know the identity of the poorly known plants named as Senegalia saltilloensis.Methods: A morphometric analysis was carried out. A total of 70 specimens were examined and 21 characters were evaluated to find the similarity between Senegalia saltilloensis and Senegalia roemeriana.Key results: The results show no significant morphological difference between the two entities.Conclusions: The name Senegalia saltilloensis should be maintained as synonym of the well- known name of Senegalia roemeriana.

First record of tetrapod footprints from the Carboniferous Mesters Vig Formation in East Greenland.

A single slab with Late Palaeozoic tetrapod footprints from East Greenland has been housed at the Natural History Museum of Denmark for decades without scientific notice. The specimen comes from the Mesters Vig Formation of northern Scoresby Land in East Greenland and contains a monospecific assemblage of tetrapod footprints that we assign to Limnopus Marsh 1894. As there is no significant morphological difference from other records of this ichnogenus from North America, Europe and North Africa, the described tetrapod footprints can be referred to eryopoid temnospondyl trackmakers. Limnopus is well-known from Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian continental deposits of palaeoequatorial Pangea. Identification of Limnopus tracks is in agreement with the supposed Late Carboniferous age of the Mesters Vig Formation and thereby also the first evidence of Carboniferous tetrapods from Greenland.

Genetic and morphological diversity in Cousinia tabrisiana (Asteraceae) populations

Cousinia Cass. is one of the largest genuses in the Asteraceae. It contains 600 to 700 species in Southwest and Central Asia, in Iran with 270 species is the largest genus after Astragalus, Cousinia probably is unique in the degree of diversification of all its parts and definitely unique in the restricted distribution area of a high number of species. Some of Cousinia species have medicinal value. Perhaps the most important biological challenge today is the conservation of biodiversity. As human population increases, so does the need for natural resources and space for the growing population. In this investigation eighty-seven plant specimens of 8 geographical populations of Cousinia tabrisiana Bunge. were studied from morphological and genetic (ISSR) points of view. Both intra and inter-population morphological and genetic variability was observed in the studied populations. ANOVA and CVA tests revealed significant morphological difference among these populations. Similarly, AMOVA and Hickory tests revealed significant molecular difference among geographical populations. Mantel test produced significant positive correlation between genetic distance and geographical distance of the studied populations. Networking, STRUCTURE analysis and population assignment test revealed some degree of gene flow among these populations. LMFF test identified some of the ISSR loci to be correlated with environmental factors studied and consensus tree of morphological and genetic data identified divergent populations.

Trypanosoma bouffardi of West African Ploceidae (Aves)

Trypanosoma bouffardi Leger & Blanchard, 1911, is described from naturally infected Lagonosticta s. senegala, Estrilda b. bengalus, Vidua chalybeata, Estrilda t. troglodytes and Amadina f. fasciata, all of which are new host records for Nigeria; Vidua chalybeata is a new host record for trypanosomes.There was no significant morphological difference between populations of this trypanosome in the various natural and experimental vertebrate hosts.T. bouffardi was transmissible to nine species of Ploceidae belonging to the three subfamilies Estrilinae, Ploceinae and Viduinae; but not to Pycnonotus barbatus, chickens or pigeons.The parasitaemia produced by infections of T. bouffardi reached 4·1 × 105 parasites/mm3 of blood.Reproduction of the trypanosomes was synchronous and discontinuous and occurred in the blood by unequal binary fission of trypomastigotes. Occasionally longitudinal equal binary fission of trypomastigotes also took place. There was no concentration of dividing forms in the tissues.T. bouffardi did not grow on NNN medium although it has been grown for a short time on the medium described by Yesufu (1970).