On the relevance of regional collections

Biological collections are the basis of the Earth’s biodiversity knowledge and most of them are regional collections. Here we present two collections from the Federal University of Espírito Santo—Mammal Collection (UFES-MAM) and the associated Animal Tissue Collection (UFES-CTA)—which have been the main repository for mammal specimens collected in Espírito Santo, mostly georeferenced (~ 90%), and available in public databases. Thus, our objective with this essay was to point out the contributions of these collections to the knowledge of the diversity of mammals in the Atlantic Forest. At the same time, we present the contributions they return to society and the scientific community, highlighting the main obstacles and challenges those regional collections face. Despite being regional, UFES-MAM and UFES-CTA stand out nationally for having biological material from a wide variety of species—mainly rodents, marsupials, and bats—also counting on a series of primate tissues collected during the outbreak of wild yellow fever in Southeastern Brazil from 2017 to 2018. These collecting efforts contributed to 42 new mammal species records for Espírito Santo, and 25 species that had already been registered in the state but were listed only in out-of-state collections or reported in literature without voucher specimens. We hope that the information reported here are examples of good practices and increase knowledge and visibility of the rich collection that these regional collections house.

Mammal Collection of the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro (UENFMZ):

The Mammal Collection of UENF was created in 2013 to document the biodiversity of northern Rio de Janeiro, and house voucher specimens collected during field research held by professors from the university and collaborating institutions. The collection currently holds 440 physical vouchers, mostly bats, and includes noteworthy records, such as the first Promops nasutus reported for the state of Rio de Janeiro. To these physical vouchers, we recently added a digital bioacoustics collection (343 files of bat distress calls) and a camera-trap multimedia collection (2683 videos or photographs of small to large-sized mammals). In this paper, we provide an overview of these holdings, and highlight and discuss the importance of regional scientific collections, along with the fundamental role of publishing their records in online databases in order to increase their visibility and scientific use. Finally, we discuss the importance of natural history collections to society, emphasizing that improving the awareness of the general public on the role of these collections to scientific development will be crucial for their conservation over the next centuries.

Halyomorpha halys fixed as the type species of the genus Halyomorpha (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

The genus Halyomorpha Mayr, 1864 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae: Cappaeini) was established based on a single species, Halys timorensis Westwood, 1837 (currently a junior subjective synonym of Halyomorpha picus (Fabricius, 1794)). The examination of the voucher specimens identifi ed as Halyomorpha timorensis by Mayr, a syntype of Halys timorensis, and syntypes of Pentatoma halys Stål, 1855 revealed that: i) Halyomorpha timorensis (Westwood), stat. restit., must be reinstated as a valid species, and not considered as a junior subjective synonym of H. picus; ii) Mayr’s specimens belong to two different species, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) and H. picus. The problem of double misidentification of the type species of Halyomorpha is resolved by action of the first revising author(s) according to the Article 70.3 of the ICZN (1999): we fi x here Pentatoma halys Stål, 1855 (= Halys timorensis sensu Mayr, nec Westwood) as the type species of Halyomorpha Mayr, 1864. A list of 36 valid species currently placed in Halyomorpha and their synonyms is compiled. We also issue a warning concerning the use of the citizen science approach for monitoring H. halys in Southeast Asia (which may also apply to other taxa): It is necessary to keep in mind that H. halys belongs to a group of habitually similar species (distributed from Pakistan and southern China to Indonesia and the Philippines) which cannot be identified with certainty without examination of their male genitalia; records merely based on observations or habitus photographs cannot be accepted as reliable.

Synopsis of the terrestrial and freshwater gastropod fauna of southern Bahia, Brazil

The terrestrial and freshwater malacofauna of southern Bahia is little known, especially in comparison to the well-studied eastern portion of the state covered by remnants of Atlantic Forest. We present here a synopsis of all gastropod species known from the central southern region of Bahia state, known as ‘Centro-Sul Baiano’, focusing on four municipalities: Condeúba, Cordeiros, Mortugaba, and Piripá. The list herein contains data from the literature, historical material deposited in museum collections, and two recent expeditions undertaken in the region. The survey resulted in 21 species of gastropods, with nearly 700 voucher specimens (mostly freshwater) deposited in the collection of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil). Circa 30% of the species are non-indigenous; previously, the only known exotic in the region was Melanoides tuberculata (Müller, 1774). The family Achatinidae was the most diverse group in number of native species, while the typically diverse superfamily Orthalicoidea was represented by only two species.

The process of discovery in and new species from northern Peru, Cerro Colán, Department Amazonas, Province Bagua

A review of discoveries of plants and animals by a 1978 expedition from Louisiana State University to Peru is presented. Genesis of this study was owing to the senior author’s observation of unusually high species richness in Araceae among a collection of plants made in northern Peru. A subsequent review showed that the region was rich in many ways. Determinations to date include 983 species belonging to 513 genera and 145 families of which 81 species are endemic. Included are 59 plant taxa new to science described elsewhere. Eleven aroids (Araceae) from northern Peru are described and illustrated as new. Some records represent new taxa described from voucher specimens independently collected by botanists at prior or later dates and different localities. A collection was assigned the nov. sp. category of noteworthiness if Tropicos database (http://www.tropicos.org) showed either the Alwyn H. Gentry, et al. and or the Philip J. Barbour accession to be the first such collection known. Specimen searches in Tropicos by senior collector as Philip Barbour and separately by Gentry and constrained by appropriate dates revealed 1687 independent determined voucher specimens of which 1545 are noteworthy (92%) by the designated categories. Noteworthy categories are described and presented in appendices 2 and 3. Extralimital plant distribution records are not described here. Four new bird species/subspecies and seven new frog species were discovered on this expedition. It is important to note that after only 42 years much of the region where many of these discoveries were made is now largely devoid of natural vegetation. Appendix 4 provides detailed descriptions of habitat on Cerro Colán as recent as 2017. This study is a reminder that areas newly opened for exploration should be thoroughly and quickly studied to capture the greatest scientific benefit. It shows how much could be attained in a small span of time by a small but dedicated group of biologists.

Vascular flora of the Outer Banks, North Carolina, U.S.A.

A complete catalogue of the vascular flora of the North Carolina Outer Banks is presented. Rarity, habitat, distribution within the Outer Banks, and earliest and latest specimens are given for each taxon. The flora contains 1020 species and infraspecific taxa, plus an additional 80 taxa that lack voucher specimens. Some 770 taxa are considered native; 250 non-native. Fifty-one taxa reach their northern range limit on the Outer Banks; 11 their southern limit. Fifty-five taxa are listed as rare in North Carolina; one of them also listed Threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Twenty-four natural communities are described and assessed for vulnerabil-ity to sea level rise. Prior botanical research is listed chronologically.

Updated Checklist of Vascular Plants Endemic to Mongolia

The aim of the present study is to update the checklist of vascular plants endemic to Mongolia using previous checklists, publications, herbarium collections, and field observations. The revised checklist includes 102 endemic taxa (95 species, five subspecies, and two nothospecies) from 43 genera and 19 families. The majority of endemic taxa were distributed in western and central Mongolia, and high endemic species richness was identified in four phytogeographical regions, namely Mongolian Altai, Khangai, Dzungarian Gobi, and Gobi Altai, which harbor 49, 27, 20, and 16 endemic taxa, respectively. For each endemic taxon, we compiled information about growth form, conservation status (if already assessed), phytogeographical distribution, and voucher specimens. Data on each taxon’s type specimen were also collected, and the majority of the type specimens were accessioned at the LE (58 taxa), MW (20 taxa), and UBA (7 taxa) herbaria.

Lectotypification of names of three species of Poa (Poaceae) and their morphological affinities

Poa aitchisonii, P. falconeri and P. wardiana are lectotypified with nomenclatural notes. In absence of proper icons with analysis, worked out plant parts of two species from voucher specimens are provided as photoplates. Due to high degree of variability and in absence of concrete morphological features to distinguish species, morphological affinities of the three species with that of other close species are provided.

First Report of Powdery Mildew Caused By Golovinomyces monardae on Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) in China

Scarlet Beebalm (Monarda didyma) is a perennial ornamental flowering plant in the mint family, Labiatae. Due to low-maintenance, and a long blooming period, it is commonly cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant in China. In May 2021, a disease was observed on the leaves of a capitals beebalm plant in a Ten Mile Flower Sea in Xiayi county (116°13′8″E, 34°14′45″N), Henan province of China. Symptoms first appeared as nearly circular, small, white, powdery mildew-like spots on the leaves which gradually expand, covering the entire leaves. The lesions spread from the lower leaves to the upper canopy, and the stems were also covered by white mycelia. In severe cases, early defoliation occured. About 30% plants were affected. Representative voucher specimens (SQNUMd04, SQNUDn4) were deposited in the herbarium of Shangqiu Normal University (SQNU), Shangqiu, China. Conidiophores (n = 30) were cylindrical, 92.0 to 142.2 µm long and 10.8 to 14.2 µm wide, and produced 5 to 7 immature conidia in a chain. Foot-cells of conidiophores were mostly curved at the base. Conidia (n = 30) were hyaline, ellipsoid, 23.3 to 29.8 μm (avg. 26.6 μm) long, and 11.2 to 16.9 μm (avg. 14.5μm) width, a length/width ratio of 1.5 to 2.1, and germ tubes were produced at the perihilar position. No chasmothecia were observed. Based on morphological comparison using the description by Scholler et al. (2016) description the fungus was tentatively identified as Golovinomyces monardae (G.S. Nagy) M. Scholler, U. Braun & Anke Schmidt. For molecular identification, DNA was extracted from mycelia and conidia, which were collected by scraping symptomatic leaves.The ITS regions and LSU were amplified using primers ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990) and NL1/NL4 (Horisawa et al. 2013). BLASTn analysis of the (MZ303741) and LSU (MZ305434) sequences showed 100% identity with those of G. monardae (AB307667, LC076800, LC076802, LC076808, and AB077691) reported on Monarda species (Matsuda et al. 2003; Takamatsu et al. 2013; Scholler et al. 2016). Pathogenicity tests were carried out by gently dusting conidia from infected leaves onto healthy leaves of five M. didyma plants and five non-inoculated plants used as controls. After 9 days, typical powdery mildew colonies started to appear on the inoculated leaves while control plants remained disease free. All plants were placed in a greenhouse without temperature and humidity control. Based on morphology, fungus was identified as the same as that used for inoculum, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Although G. monardae has been reported on various genera in the Labiatae and Verbenaceae (Farr and Rossman 2021), to our knowledge, this is the first report of G. monardae causing powdery mildew of Scarlet Beebalm(M. didyma) in China.

Halyomorpha picus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae): first confirmed record from Pakistan and two new junior synonyms

We provide the first confirmed record of Halyomorpha picus (Fabricius, 1794) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomoidea: Pentatomidae: Pentatominae: Cappaeini) from Pakistan: Islamabad Capital Territory, and provide habitus photographs and electron scanning micrographs of the male genitalia of the voucher specimens. Two species previously described from Pakistan are found to fit within the morphological variability of H. picus and the following two junior subjective synonyms are proposed: Halyomorpha picus (Fabricius, 1794) = Halyomorpha punjabensis Ahmad & Kamaluddin, 1977, syn. nov., = Halyomorpha azhari Ahmad & Zaidi, 1989, syn. nov. The record of Halyomorpha scutellata Distant, 1879, from Pakistan by Sharif et al. (2020) is based on misidentification of a species of Neohalys Ahmad & Perveen, 1982 (Pentatominae: Halyini) and excluded from Pakistan fauna. Based on the analysis of female genitalia figures provided by Gadalla (2004), the record of H. picus from Egypt represents a misidentification of H. halys Stål, 1855, which extends the distribution of that invasive species to North Africa.