Taxonomical study on the newly-recorded genus Falsonnannocerus Pic from China (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Stenochiinae)

The genus Falsonannocerus Pic, 1947 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Stenochiinae, Cnodalonini) includes 13 known species occurring in West Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The bionomics of species in this genus are unknown. The genus Falsonnannocerus Pic, 1947 is recorded for the first time from China, including two species: F. thailandicus Masumoto, 1986 from Yunnan and F. haizhuensis sp. n. from Guangdong. Morphological characters of the two species are illustrated and compared. The photographs of female reproductive system, which were never shown for this genus before, are also presented.

Taxonomy, Distribution and Life Cycle of the Maghrebian Endemic Rhithrogena sartorii (Ephemeroptera: Heptageniidae) in Algeria

Despite being recorded in Algeria since the nineteenth century, the genus Rhithrogena has never been the object of a taxonomical study and no identified species is known from this country. Investigations of the relict mountain streams of El Kala, north-eastern Algeria, have led to the discovery of a Rhithrogena population. Morphological and molecular analyses identified the species as the Maghrebian endemic Rhithrogena sartorii, so far known only from neighboring Tunisia. We report on the species’ distribution, status, and life cycle and discuss its potential role as a bioindicator in environmental monitoring.

Middle Ordovician Drepanoistodus (Vertebrata, Conodonta) from Baltica, with description of three new species

Drepanoistodus basiovalis (Sergeeva, 1963) is a common conodont species in Middle Ordovician strata of Baltica. For many years it has been widely accepted that the species encompasses a wide range of morphological plasticity. Hence, several different morphotypes that significantly deviate from the holotype have nonetheless been included in the broad species concept. In this study, we performed a detailed taxonomical study on 112 predominantly well-preserved specimens (geniculate elements) from the St. Petersburg region of Russia; 37 of these were selected for morphometric analyses together with 21 well-illustrated specimens from the published literature. The results demonstrate that, among the morphotypes that share some characteristics with D. basiovalis sensu lato, at least five species can be readily distinguished. Hence, three new species – Drepanoistodus iommii sp. nov., D. svendi sp. nov. and D. viirae sp. nov. – are here added to the previously known D. basiovalis and D. contractus (Lindström, 1955). In addition, some specimens were left under open nomenclature and assigned to Drepanoistodus aff. basiovalis and D. cf. suberectus (Branson & Mehl, 1933). In order to objectively compare the Drepanoistodus taxa and test the validity of the new species, we performed a Principal Component Analysis combined with non-parametric (PERMANOVA) tests based on 21 morphological characters.

Taxonomical study of Japanese Aulodrilus Bretscher (Annelida, Clitellata, Tubificinae) with descriptions of two new species

Seven species of the genus Aulodrilus (Annelida, Clitellata, Tubificinae) are studied, based on new material from Japan. Aulodrilus dentosus sp. nov. is characterized as having tubular atrium, forked or bifid distal ends of dorsal crotchets, but no genital chaetae, and A. aestivus sp. nov. is characterized as having crescent-shaped atrium, median male bursa, and bifid chaetae in the dorsal bundles. Five other congeners are redescribed: A. limnobius Bretscher, A. pluriseta (Piguet), A. pigueti Kowalewski, A. japonicus Yamaguchi, and A. americanus Brinkhurst & Cook. Comparison of taxonomic characters among the 14 species recognized in the genus to date shows that three species differ from other congeners in several features: A. paucichaeta Brinkhurst & Barbour, A. adetus (du Bois-Reymond Marcus), and A. apeniatus Cui & Wang. They are provisionally maintained in the genus.

Mathematical interpretation of avian egg shapes

The general principles of ovoid shapes and their mathematical interpretation were considered concerning previous data and experience. Previously, bird egg description was carried out using the composite ovoid model. According to this model, an ovoid is considered as a set of arcs with a smooth transition between them. The studied group of eggs was named true ovoid. They differ from other forms in size of their infundibular zone radius (thick end) that is almost equal to half of the diameter (0.5D ± 0.01 ˂ ri = 0.5D).We suggested that this commonality, a priori, implies the presence of an abstract geometric model, which is a satisfactory solution and logical approach for analyzing the diversity of natural ovoids. Such a model is a system of circles passing into each other. This allows, within a single system, to assign a vendor code to each form, which involves the name, geometric shape, and quantitative parameters that can be implemented in bird taxonomy.Early, 0.01 D was chosen as the model difference value and the ratio of symmetrical eggs in the analyzed database was 1.1%. In this research, we extended the difference value to 0.05 D and this covered 6.0% of the egg shapes. This is the maximum interval at which the curvature of the polar zones does not visually differ. We revealed that the variability in the egg shapes depends on the radii of curvature of the lateral and polar arcs. The larger the radius of the lateral arches, the greater the degree of freedom for variation of the lateral arches. We supposed that our data could associate any form of bird egg with its biological content. In turn, many ovoid features relevant to other natural objects can be used in bird taxonomical study.

Taxonomical Study of Spiders (Order, Araneae) from Different Localities of Iraq

This study represents the first molecular and morphological work on spiders of Iraq. Specimens were collected from different localities in seven provinces during June 2018-July 2019 in different climate conditions. Using both molecular and morphological approaches, eight families representing 17 genera and nine species were identified. Eight genera: Cryptachaea Archer, 1946; Micaria Western, 1851; Ozyptila Simon, 1864; Paramicromerys Millot, 1946; Tegenaria Latreille, 1804; Trachyzelotes Lohmander, 1944; Uroctea Dufour, 1820 and Zelotes Gistel, 1848; and five species: Cryptachaea riparia (Blackwall, 1834); Tegenaria pagana C. L. Koch, 1840; Trachyzelotes jaxartensis (Kroneberg, 1875); Pardosa amentata (Clerck, 1757) and Oecobius putus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1876 were first recorded for the Iraqi spider fauna. Identification keys for distinguishing families and genera based on the main characteristics were constructed. Molecular-identification was performed for specimens that were difficult to identify by morphological methods, and to confirm the results of the morphological identification. DNA was extracted from 28 spiders’ specimens; PCR-amplified the mtDNA fragment of 710bp of the Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit I (COI) gene using the primers LCO 1490 Forward / HCO-700ME Reverse. The results of DNA sequences showed 16 samples successful in sequencing. Sixteen local sequenced specimens were submitted to GenBank and edited and combined with COI gene sequences that are associated in GenBank using the neighbor-joining method and the phylogenetic tree was drawn. Eight species of 16 genera belonging to eight families were confirmed by molecular barcoding. The DNA sequences and associated information about the specimens (collection and locality date) deposited in GenBank.

On the hydroid genus Sibogella Billard, 1911 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Plumulariidae), with descriptions of two new species

The so far monotypic genus Sibogella Billard, 1911 is revised based on literature data. Its type species, S. erecta Billard, 1911, is thoroughly redescribed and illustrated, and accounts on two new congeners, S. flabellata sp. nov. from shallow waters of Indonesia and S. spissa sp. nov. from deep waters of New Caledonia, are provided. Single- (16S rRNA) and multi-locus (concatenated 16S, 18S, and 28S rRNA) phylogenetic assessments of the Plumulariidae, including newly-sequenced Sibogella material, supplement the alpha-taxonomical study.

Mapping customer experience: a taxonomical study using bibliometric visualization

Purpose This study aims to examine the trends and themes in the field of customer experience using a bibliometric analysis between 1957 and 2017. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyses 1,767 papers selected from Web of Science (WoS) database using VOS Viewer software tool to create bibliometric networks. The results of the study were classified under the following bibliometric indicators: evaluation of the number of studies analyzed; most cited documents; most influential authors; and highly influential journals, institutions and countries with the highest productivity. Additionally, the paper also presents three co-citation studies analyzing most co-cited references, first authors and journals. Findings Authors and institutes from the American and European countries dominate the contribution to the development of the field. The presence of Asian countries signifies the rising importance being given to the research field. The findings establish the argument that most of the ideas that follow today in the development of the field are mostly sourced from the works published in highly reputed journals. Co-citation analysis indicates the presence of multi-disciplinarity in the research field with journals representing different research areas such as management, strategy and psychology. Research limitations/implications The papers analyzed in the study were retrieved only from the WoS. Furthermore, the precise number of clusters obtained during the analysis depends on the parameter set by the authors which is subjective. Researchers are encouraged to draw further insights by manipulating the parameter criteria. Practical implications The findings in the study can be used to enrich the understanding of customer experience and future research on the topic. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first comprehensive papers offering a general overview of the leading trends in the field over a period of 60 years.