Reassessment of the taxonomic status of Cyperaceae on Rapa Iti, Austral Islands, French Polynesia, with a new combination, Morelotia involuta

We reassess the current taxonomic status and distribution of Cyperaceae on Rapa Iti, Austral Islands, French Polynesia. This includes the poorly known Machaerina involuta H.St John (Cyperaceae, tribe Schoeneae), 86 years after it was first collected. Detailed morphological examination revealed that M. involuta belongs in Morelotia Gaudich., and the new combination, Morelotia involuta (H.St John) J.J.Bruhl & R.L.Barrett, is made here. Nineteen species of Cyperaceae are reported for Rapa Iti (10% of the vascular flora). The high diversity of Cyperaceae invites further discussion of the biogeographic connections and environmental conditions of Rapa Iti and a summary is provided. Notes on additional Cyperaceae named from Rapa Iti (Carex rapaensis (H.St John) K.L.Wilson, Carex stokesii F.Br., C. stokesii var. aristata F.Br., Cyperus rapensis F.Br., Eleocharis caribaea var. stokesii F.Br., Gahnia stokesii F.Br. and Rhynchospora stokesii F.Br.) are presented and a presently unidentified Carex is noted.

A new extinct species of Polynesian sandpiper (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae: Prosobonia) from Henderson Island, Pitcairn Group, and the phylogenetic relationships of Prosobonia

We describe a new species of Polynesian sandpiper from Henderson Island, Prosobonia sauli sp. nov., based on multiple Holocene fossil bones collected during the Sir Peter Scott Commemorative Expedition to the Pitcairn Islands (1991–92). Prosobonia sauli is the only species of Prosobonia to be described from bone accumulations and extends the record of known extinct Polynesian sandpipers to four. It is readily differentiated from the extant Tuamotu Sandpiper P. parvirostris in several features of the legs and bill, implying ecological adaptations to different environments. The geographically nearest Prosobonia populations to Henderson Island were found on Mangareva, where it is now extinct. A previous record of a species of Prosobonia from Tubuai, Austral Islands, is here shown to belong to the Sanderling Calidris alba. Our analyses of newly sequenced genetic data, which include the mitochondrial genomes of P. parvirostris and the extinct Tahiti Sandpiper P. leucoptera, confidently resolve the position of Prosobonia as sister-taxon to turnstones and calidrine sandpipers. We present a hypothesis for the timing of divergence between species of Prosobonia and other scolopacid lineages. Our results further provide a framework to interpret the evolution of sedentary lineages within the normally highly migratory Scolopacidae.

Pacifigeron indivisus (Asteraceae: Astereae), a new species endemic to Rapa, Austral Islands, and a new delimitation of the Celmisia group

This study reports, based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and a morphological assessment, the second species of Pacifigeron, an endemic genus of Rapa Island in French Polynesia. Detailed morphological and ecological descriptions, illustrations, IUCN Red List assessment, and a distributional map are provided. Our results support the exclusion of Pacifigeron from the Celmisia group and also allow the re-circumscription of the Celmisia group. The new species Pacifigeron indivisus can be differentiated from P. rapensis, among other characters, by its larger leaves, larger number of capitula per capitulescence, corollas lacking long uniseriate multicellular trichomes, style of the disc florets undivided, and absence of twin trichomes on the cypsela epidermis. Molecular data indicates that Pacifigeron is related to South American Andean genera rather than to the Celmisia group as was previously proposed. The Celmisia group is here re-circumscribed to include ca. 159 species distributed in Australasia within the following genera: Celmisia, Damnamenia, Olearia pro parte, Pachystegia, and Pleurophyllum. Given the taxonomic complexity and polyphyletic nature of Olearia, its taxonomy is briefly reviewed based on history, morphology, and phylogenetic evidence, which in turn allows delineation of its species composition within the Celmisia group. None of the Olearia species in the Celmisia group can be retained in Olearia since the type species, O. tomentosa, does not belong to the Celmisia group.

Stomatopod Crustacea of the Austral and Gambier Islands, French Polynesia

The stomatopods from the Austral and Gambier Islands, southern French Polynesia, collected primarily by the BENTHAUS Expedition (2002) are reported herein. Prior to the present study, only one species of stomatopod, Bathysquilla microps (Manning, 1961), was known from the Austral Islands and two from the Gambier Islands, Gonodactylus chiragra (Fabricius, 1781) and Pseudosquilla ciliata (Fabricius, 1787). Seven of nine species in the present collection are reported for the first time from the area, of which Gonodactylellus rubriguttatus (Erdmann & Manning, 1998) and Odontodactylus hawaiiensis Manning, 1967, are reported for the first time from French Polynesia. The series of specimens of G. rubriguttatus includes the largest known of the species, which also shows significantly longer accessory median carinae of the telson than previously reported. Owing to previous taxonomic instability in Chorisquilla excavata (Miers, 1880), the type species of its genus, it is redescribed based on type and other material.