Hornschuchia mellosilvae (Annonaceae) a new species endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

The Atlantic Forest is a biodiversity hotspot that includes different types of phytophysiognomies, mainly forests. Hornschuchia, Annonaceae, is one of its endemic genera. Eight Hornschuchia species are found in the tropical moist forest, three of them both occurring in tropical moist forest and tabuleiro forest, a semideciduous seasonal forest, one occurs in the coastal semideciduous seasonal forest and two inhabit the semideciduous seasonal forest and deciduous seasonal forest far from the coast in Bahia. Here we describe the twelfth species of Hornschuchia, which occurs in the Bahian semideciduous seasonal forest, and present a morphological description, illustration, distribution map and assessment of its conservation status.

Inventory of Rubiaceae species in Mt. Pao Range, Ilocos Norte, Northwestern Luzon, Philippines

Batuyong MAR, Calaramo MA, Alejandro GJD. 2021. Inventory of Rubiaceae species in Mt. Pao Range, Ilocos Norte, Northwestern Luzon, Philippines. Biodiversitas 22: 3604-3612. Botanical assessments in the Philippines are mostly conducted on declared Protected Areas (PAs). However, many remaining potentially interesting and largely unexplored floristic sites are not considered PA, one of which is the Mt. Pao Range in the Municipality of Adams, located in Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Among the flowering plant family, Rubiaceae is one with the largest number of endemic species and genera in the Philippines Thus, floristic surveys of Rubiaceae species were conducted, and collections were made from September 2019 to March 2021. A total of 39 species belonging to 13 tribes and 24 genera of the family were recorded. These constitute 7.09% of the total Philippine Rubiaceae. Of these species, 18 are Philippine endemics while two are considered narrow endemic to Mt. Pao. Two endemic genera were also found in the area Antherostele and Kanapia. According to the Updated National List of Threatened Philippine Plants, their conservation status in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order No. 2017-11 found one species assessed as Critically Endangered (Antherostele callophylla). This study contributes to the data on the distribution and occurrence of Philippine Rubiaceae. Moreover, it also highlights the area's importance with the presence of threatened and endemic species as an area of concern for protection and conservation.

Barcoding pest species in a biodiversity hot-spot: the South African polyphagous broad-nosed weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae)

Polyphagous broad nosed weevils (Curculionidae: Entiminae) constitute a large and taxonomically challenging subfamily that contains economically significant agricultural pests worldwide. South Africa is a hot-spot for biodiversity and several species of indigenous and endemic genera of Entiminae have shifted on to cultivated plants, with some being phytosanitary pests. The sporadic pest status of many species (where the species has an occasional economic impact on the agricultural industry, but is not encountered often enough that is is readily recognisable by researchers and agricultural extension workers) and the presence of pest complexes and cryptic species represent an identification challenge to non-specialists. Furthermore, no comprehensive identification tools exist to identify immature stages that may be found in crops/soil. In this paper, a curated barcoding database with 70 COI sequences from 41 species (39 Entiminae, 2 Cyclominae) is initiated, to assist with the complexity of identification of species in this group.

Arganiella Giusti & Pezzoli, 1980 (Caenogastropoda: Truncatelloidea: Hydrobiidae): a widespread genus or several narrow-range endemic genera?

Most valvatiform genera of the gastropod family Hydrobiidae are narrow-range taxa. One exception is the genus Arganiella, which is comprised of three congeners: the type species A. pescei from the Apennine Peninsula, A. wolfi from the Iberian Peninsula and A. tabanensis from the Balkans. The genus assignment of the latter two species was based on morphological similarities with A. pescei in the shell, operculum, radula and genitalia. Given that the morphology of hydrobiids is sometimes susceptible to convergence, this study re-evaluates the taxonomic status of species of Arganiella by analysing mitochondrial (mtCOI) and nuclear (18S rRNA) sequences of topotypes or near topotypes to infer their phylogenetic position. Our phylogenetic analyses depicted Arganiella as a non-monophyletic group within Hydrobiidae, and sequence divergence among the three species ranged from 14.5 to 16.7% for mtCOI and 2.0 to 3.8% for 18S. We also re-examined the extent of morphological variation among species of Arganiella and found a few differences among them and other valvatiform genera. Consequently, we propose two new genera for A. wolfi and A. tabanensis. Our results conflict with the classification of valvatiform hydrobiid species solely based on traditional phenotypical methods and suggest further taxonomic evaluation within a molecular framework.

The Australian endemic genera Mesystoechus Waterhouse, 1878, Amblochilus Blanchard, 1851, and Bilobatus Machatschke, 1970 revisited (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Anoplognathini)

The endemic Australian ruteline genus Mesystoechus Waterhouse, 1878 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Anoplognathini: Schizognathina) is revised and compared with Amblochilus Blanchard, 1851 and Bilobatus Machatschke, 1970. Mesystoechus lithgowae new species is described from inland southeastern Queensland. Diagnostic characters and information on the distribution, natural history, and ecology of the two previously described species (M. ciliatus Waterhouse, 1878 and M. costatus Carne, 1958) and a description of the female of M. costatus are given. A key to males of the genus is proposed. Lectotypes are designated for Amblochilus bicolor Blanchard, 1851, Mesystoechus ciliatus Waterhouse, 1878, Homotropus luridipennis Waterhouse, 1878 (now Bilobatus luridipennis), and Homotropus testaceipennis Ohaus, 1901 (now Bilobatus testaceipennis), and their distributions are clarified.

Extinct insular oryzomyine rice rats (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) from the Grenada Bank, southern Caribbean

The Lesser Antillean island chain in the eastern Caribbean formerly supported a diverse rodent fauna including multiple endemic genera of oryzomyine rice rats. The Caribbean rice rats are now all extinct, with most island populations known only from Holocene palaeontological and zooarchaeological material and with many remaining taxonomically undescribed. Rice rat material is reported from several pre-Columbian Ceramic Age (late Holocene) archaeological sites on the Grenada Bank, including sites on Grenada and Carriacou, but the taxonomic identity and diversity of the Grenada Bank rice rats has remained uncertain. We provide a morphology-based description of rice rats from Grenada and Carriacou, and analyze their phylogenetic and biogeographical affinities to other Caribbean and mainland Neotropical oryzomyines. We recognize two taxa from the Grenada Bank: we describe the new species Megalomys camerhogne from Pearls (Grenada), representing the largest-bodied member of the extinct endemic Caribbean genus Megalomys, and we refer smaller-bodied oryzomyine material from Pearls and Sabazan (Carriacou) to the widespread extant Neotropical species Zygodontomys brevicauda. Body size variation within Megalomys correlates with island bank area and might thus reflect historical rather than modern biogeography. Zygodontomys specimens from the Grenada Bank fall within the upper end of size variation in extant populations and may constitute an example of ‘island gigantism’, but it is possible that occurrence of this widespread species on the Grenada Bank might reflect prehistoric human-mediated translocation. We predict further endemic Caribbean rice rat taxa remain to be discovered, including a possible species of Megalomys on the neighbouring island of St. Vincent.

Barcoding pest species in a biodiversity hot-spot: the South African polyphagous broad-nosed weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionidae, Entiminae)

Polyphagous broad nosed weevils (Curculionidae: Entiminae) constitute a large and taxonomically challenging subfamily that contains economically significant agricultural pests worldwide. South Africa is a hot-spot for biodiversity and several species of indigenous and endemic genera of Entiminae have shifted onto cultivated plants, with some being phytosanitary pests. The sporadic nature of many species, and the presence of pest complexes and cryptic species presents an identification challenge to non-specialists. Furthermore no comprehensive identification tools to identify immature stages that may be found in crops/soil exist. In this paper a curated barcoding database with 70 COI sequences from 41 species (39 Entiminae, 2 Cyclominae) is initiated, to assist with the complexity of identification of species in this group.

Molecular evidence for deeper diversity in Australian Tanypodinae (Chironomidae): Yarrhpelopia and related new taxa

The diversity and endemism of Australian Tanypodinae (Diptera: Chironomidae) has been unclear from morphological comparisons with well-grounded northern hemisphere taxonomy. As part of a comprehensive study, here we focus on one of the few described endemic genera, Yarrhpelopia Cranston. Extensive and intensive new sampling and newly-acquired molecular data provides clarity for the type species, Yarrhpelopia norrisi Cranston and allows recognition of congeners and potential sister group(s). We describe Yarrhpelopia acorona Cranston & Krosch sp. n., and we recognise a third species from Western Australia, retaining an informal code ‘V20’ due to inadequate reared / associated material for formal description. We recognise a robust clade Coronapelopia Cranston & Krosch gen. n., treated as a genus new to science for two new species, Coronapelopia valedon Cranston & Krosch sp. n. and Coronapelopia quadridentata Cranston & Krosch sp. n., from eastern Australia, each described in their larval and pupal stages and partial imaginal stages. Interleaved between the independent new Australian clades Yarrhpelopia and Coronapelopia are New World Pentaneura and relatives, that allow a tentative inference of a dated gondwanan (austral) connection. Expanded sampling indicates that Y. norrisi, although near predictably present in mine-polluted waters, is not obligate but generally indicates acidic waters, including natural swamps and Sphagnum bogs. The inferred acidophily, including in drainages of mine adits, applies to many taxa under consideration here.

Phylogenetic position and relationships of mountain loaches (Teleostei: Balitoridae) of the Western Ghats as revealed by CO1 sequences

The teleostean family Balitoridae comprises small-sized freshwater fishes adapted to swift-flowing torrential mountain streams in South and South-East Asia. Little is known about their molecular phylogenetics and evolutionary biogeography, and much of the scientific literature that references them is focused on morphological taxonomy. In this paper, we generate CO1 sequences for the endemic balitorid lineages of the Western Ghats (WG) Hotspot in India, particularly for the endemic genera, Bhavania, Ghatsa and Travancoria. Integration of these data into a phylogeny revealed that the endemic WG genera together form a well-supported monophyletic clade that shows, subject to our limited taxon sampling, a sister-group relationship to the Southeast Asian genus Pseudohomaloptera. Three WG endemic species of the genus Balitora, namely B. chipkali, B. jalpalli and B. laticauda, though morphologically distinct, have low genetic divergence and barcode gap, suggestive of recent speciation. Interestingly, a fourth WG endemic, B. mysorensis, formed a clade with two species of Balitora from Eastern-Himalaya and Indo-Burma. We also show that all available CO1 sequences assigned to WG endemic balitorid genera in GenBank are misidentifications, and provide diagnostic characters for the accurate identification of these taxa in the future.