A revision of Vanneaugobius (Teleostei: Gobiidae), with description of a new species

The small eastern Atlantic-Mediterranean gobiid genus Vanneaugobius Brownell, 1978 (type-species: V. dollfusi Brownell, 1978) is redefined to include new skeletal and head lateral-line criteria. Provisionally, V. dollfusi is retained as distinct from V. pruvoti (Fage, 1907), the latter being now recorded from the Canary Islands, and a new species, V. canariensis, is described from the Canaries and Guinea. Originally associated with the Indo-Pacific Valenciennea and Asterropteryx, Vanneaugobius is actually synapomorphic with two other small eastern Atlantic genera, Wheelerigobius Miller, 1981, and Odondebuenia De Buen, 1930, in virtual separation of the pelvic fins and a trend for modification of upper and lower scales at the caudal fin origin. Vanneaugobius occupies an intermediate position between the two former genera in head lateral-line specialization. The genus-group shares a modal vertebral number of 28 with the north-eastern Atlantic-Mediterranean Gobius-Thorogobius complex.     

Taxonomic revision and phylogeny of the genus Erichsonella with a discussion on Ronalea (Isopoda,Valvifera)

The present revision recognizes six species of Erichsonella. E. angulata (Dana, 1849) is synonymized with E. filiformis (Say, 1818); E. isabelensis Menzies, 1951 is elevated to specific rank; Ronalea Menzies and Bowman, 1956 is considered a valid genus. A key to species is furnished, data on morphological and meristic variability are provided for E. filiformis, E. floridana and E. attenuata. Cladistic analysis indicates that E. attenuata and E. floridana present the greatest number of primitive and derived characters, respectively. The phylogeny of the species is discussed as well as their geographical distribution.     

Four new freshwater gobies of the genus Rhinogobius (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from northern Vietnam

Four new freshwater gobies of the genus Rhinogobius Gill, were collected from the river running into the Gulf of Tonkin in northern Vietnam. They are Rhinogobius boa new species, Rhinogobius variolatus new species, Rhinogobius virgigena new species and Rhinogobius sulcatus new species. These four new species can be distinguished from other congeneric species by a combination of characters such as the meristic features, shape of body, shape of first dorsal fin and coloration pattern.     

Gobiid fishes from the Cape Verde Islands,including two new species of Gobius (Teleostei: Gobioidei)

Ten species of gobiid fishes (Teleostei: Gobioidei) now listed from the Cape Verde islands fall into several zoogeographical categories, including tropical West African Bathygobius casamancus, Mauligobius nigri, Porogobius schlegelii (unconfirmed) and Vanneaugobius canariensis, tropical amphiatlantic B. soporator and Gnatholepis thompsoni, and Canarian Didogobius kochi. Two new species of the eastern Atlantic, predominantly temperate genus Gobius are described: G. ateriformis sp. nov. and G. tetrophthalmus sp. nov., known so far only from the Cape Verdes, but reported occurrence of the congeneric Atlantic-Mediterranean G. paganellus has not been confirmed. The pattern of free neuromast organs (sensory papillae) of the head lateral-line system in Mauligobius nigri and the habitat of this species are described for the first time and its distribution further discussed. Diversity of gobies and other inshore fishes at the Cape Verdes is briefly indicated.     

The blackfly fauna of Majorca and other Balearic Islands (Diptera: Simuliidae)

Results are presented of a survey of the Simullidae of the Balearic Islands, an archipelago not previously studied for its blackfly fauna. Four morphospecies occur, none endemic, of which Prosimulium aculeatum is a rare species previously known only from Sardinia and Sicily, and Simulium cryophilum, S. velutinum and S. intermedium widespread in western Europe and North Africa.     

The postcranial skeleton of Proterorhinus marmoratus with remarks on the relationships of the genus Proterorhinus (Teleostei: Gobiidae)

The postcranial osteology of the Ponto-Caspian tubenose goby Proterorhinus marmoratus is described and its relevance to the systematic position of Proterorhinus is discussed. Proterorhinus marmoratus differs significantly from the gobioids of the Ponto-Caspian and Atlantic-Mediterranean in the anterior displacement of the origin of the first dorsal fin. The first dorsal-fin pterygiophore of the tubenose goby inserts in the second interneural space between the neural spines of the second and third vertebrae. The first pterygiophore of the other gobioids inserts in the third interneural space between the neural spines of the third and fourth vertebrae. The increased number of precaudal and caudal vertebrae and the dorsal pterygiophore formula starting with 2-12 in Proterorhinus marmoratus are derived character states. This 2-12 starting sequence and a single interneural space anterior to the first dorsal-fin pterygiophore are unique for gobioids and autapomorphies of Proterorhinus. It is proposed that Proterorhinus be placed in the subfamily Gobiinae.     

A new species of Didogobius (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from the Adriatic Sea

Didogobius schlieweni sp. nov. is described from a single specimen collected among pebbles in shallow water at Unije island, near Cres, in the northern Adriatic Sea. The holotype has vivid dark and pale patterning, and is assigned to Didogobius on the basis of head neuromast patterns and meristic features. Diagnostic values of the latter are D2 I/12, A I/11, P 17, and LL 55–56. A key to species of the Chromogobius and Didogobius complex is provided.     

Diversity and distribution of marine Gastrotricha along the northern beaches of the state of São Paulo (Brazil), with description of a new species of Macrodasys (Macrodasyida,Macrodasyidae)

Forty-three putative species were found in this first-ever survey of the marine gastrotrich fauna of Brazil. Samples from 23 locations and 37 sites along the northern coasts of the state of São Paulo yielded 21 species of Macrodasyida (12 genera and five families) and 22 species of Chaetonotida (seven genera and two families). Based on morphology, 26 species appear to be taxa not previously described and thus far endemic to Brazil, 13 are known species, while one in each of the genera Diplodasys, Paradasys and Tetranchyroderma remains undetermined. The overall high diversity contrasts with the generally low number of species from single locations, averaging 4.3 (SD 3.5) spp. per location; very few species were found in sites characterized by very fine sand sediment loaded with detritus and by high water turbidity (e.g. 1 sp. in praia da Fazenda), whereas a well-diversified gastrotrich community was found in localities characterized by medium or fine sand with little detritus and clear water (e.g. 14 spp. in praia de Castelhanos). The macrodasyidans, Paraturbanella sp. 1, Pseudostomella sp. 1 and Tetranchyroderma sp. 1, and the chaetonotidan Heteroxenotrichula sp. 1 were the most common species, often sympatric and particularly frequent and abundant along the continental shoreline (recorded in 50–65% of these localities); on the other hand, Macrodasys fornerise n. sp., Ptychostomella sp. 1, Tetranchyroderma sp. 3 and Thaumastoderma sp. 2, while occurring sometimes in very high numbers, exhibited a much narrower range, being encountered only once or twice during the survey. The main morphometric traits are described of the 13 species considered to be cosmopolitan or with at least an amphi-Atlantic distribution, including Chaetonotus apechochaetus and Halichaetonotus marivagus, reported here for the first time from the Americas; of the 26 species thus far endemic to Brazil, Macrodasys fornerise n. sp., which is characterized by a noticeable 145?µm-long frontal organ, is also described and figured.     

Systematics and ecology of the caecilian Crotaphatrema lamottei (Nussbaum) (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Scolecomorphidae)

New observations on Crotaphatrema lamottei are reported based on fieldwork on Mount Oku between 2006 and 2008. This species was encountered by pitfall trapping and digging, but encounter rates were low. Six new specimens of C. lamottei add substantially to the previous hypodigm for the species and genus, and new morphometric and meristic data are presented. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequence data supports strongly the monophyly of Crotaphatrema. The genetic and morphological distance between C. lamottei and Crotaphatrema tchabalmbaboensis is small, although there is a clear difference in colour pattern. The Data Deficient IUCN conservation status of all three species of Crotaphatrema is likely to change most readily as a result of better data on distribution.     

New records of rare deep-water fish species in the Eastern Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea)

We report new species records and information related to meristic, morphometric, bathymetric and biological characteristics that increase our knowledge of the deep ichthyofauna of the Ionian Sea (E. Mediterranean). The material was collected with long lines from 300 to 800 m deep in the Eastern Ionian Sea in June and October 2010. The fish species Schedophilus ovalis (Cuvier, 1833) (Osteichthyes: Centrolophidae), Sudis hyalina Rafinesque, 1810 (Osteicthyes: Paralepididae), Brama brama (Bonnaterre, 1788) (Osteichthyes: Bramidae) and Trachipterus trachypterus (Gmelin, 1789) (Osteichthyes: Trachipteridae) were recorded for the first time in the Eastern Ionian Sea. The absence of these new or rare species from the ichthyofauna of the study area to date is probably related to the absence of adequate sampling and catching techniques, although environmental factors could also be involved.     

Sandflies (Diptera: Phlebotominae) of the Canary Islands

Of the four species of phlebotomine sandflies known from the Canary Islands one is endemic. The subgenus Phlebotomus (Abonnencius), created to accommodate this endemic species, is newly synonymized with Ph. (Anaphlebotomus). The biology of Canary Island sandflies is summarized and a comparison of the fauna to that of continental Africa suggests a closer affiliation to the eremic Palearctic than to the Afrotropical Region.     

Rediscovery of the Hawaiian endemic bark beetle Xyleborus pleiades Samuleson, 1981 on Moloka‘i,with records of three new exotic bark beetles for the island (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini)

ABSTRACT

During the course of a targeted bark beetle survey of the Hawaiian Islands, insect sampling undertaken in native forest biotopes on Moloka‘i island revealed the presence of one native and three exotic species of xyleborine bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini) hitherto not recorded from the island. We present detailed new island records for these species, which include the second record of Xyleborus pleiades Samuelson, 1981, an endemic Hawaiian species not recorded in over 50 years, and previously known only from two specimens from the island of Maui. The three newly recorded introduced species are widespread pantropical beetles of actual or potential pest status: Xyleborus affinis Eichhoff, 1867, Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg, 1837), and Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky, 1866). The importance of the records is briefly discussed, and all newly recorded species are illustrated in colour photographs.     

Species of Antarctoscyphus Peña Cantero,García Carrascosa and Vervoort, 1997 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Symplectoscyphidae) collected by US Antarctic expeditions: biogeographic implications

Antarctoscyphus is one of the most characteristic genera of Antarctic benthic hydroids, with nine of the 10 known species considered to be endemic to the Antarctic; only Antarctoscyphus elongatus is also present in the sub-Antarctic region of Kerguelen. Accordingly, the genus was considered to have an Antarctic–Kerguelen distribution. Here we present the results of the study of the species of Antarctoscyphus collected from different Antarctic areas and from the Magellan region, during several expeditions under the United States Antarctic Research Program between 1958 and 1986. A scanning electron microscopy survey of all known species of the genus was carried out. Eight of the 10 known species of Antarctoscyphus were found in the collection, with A. spiralis and A. elongatus being the most frequently found species, whereas A. biformis, A. fragilis and A. gruzovi were found only once. The type material of A. biformis was reviewed and re-described. This study represents the second records for A. biformis and A. fragilis. The new records allow updating of the biogeographic knowledge on the distribution of several species: A. mawsoni, so far considered endemic to East Antarctica, and A. asymmetricus, considered endemic to West Antarctica, are here considered to have a Circum-Antarctic distribution. Additionally, A. fragilis, previously considered endemic to the Weddell Sea, is now considered to have a West Antarctic–Patagonian distribution, as it was recorded off the Pacific Magellan region. The records gathered here allow us to change the distribution pattern of the genus from Antarctic–Kerguelen to Pan-Antarctic. The study has allowed us to increase the known bathymetric range for some species, some reaching much deeper waters than previously known. Hence, A. fragilis, A. grandis and A. mawsoni, hitherto considered shelf species, are reported from bathyal bottoms of the continental slope. A general discussion on the bathymetric and geographic distribution of all known species is included.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:1C7ED3F2-3FF1-4C5C-85BB-FAAF557AC2ED     

News from a small island – first record of a freshwater shrimp (Decapoda,Atyidae, Caridina) from Peleng,Banggai Islands,Indonesia

The Indonesian island Sulawesi is well known for its fascinating fauna. Among the atyid and palaemonid freshwater shrimps described from Sulawesi are also a number of endemic species. In contrast, freshwater shrimps have never been reported from the nearby and smaller Peleng Island. Here we describe Caridina thomasi sp. nov. as a first record of an atyid freshwater shrimp from Peleng and compare it with atyids from Sulawesi and other localities. The new species is probably endemic to the island and shows some characters never described in the genus Caridina before. However, a molecular phylogeny of atyid shrimps from the Indo‐West Pacific based on mitochondrial DNA (16S) places C. thomasi within a clade of typical species of Caridina. We tentatively assign the new species to the genus Caridina and discuss the possibility of future changes in the classification of species in this genus.     

A new genus and species of Sarcoglanidinae (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) from southeastern Brazil,with a re-examination of subfamilial phylogeny

Microcambeva barbata, n. gen. et sp., is described from rio São João, Estado do Rio de Janeiro. It is proposed as the sister group of Malacoglanis and Sarcoglanis, on the basis of three characters: pectoral fin longer than the head, pectoral fin rays projecting well beyond the fin membrane, and a forked caudal fin. Monophyly of the Sarcoglanidinae is confirmed by the unique possession of a long lateral process on the premaxilla and a separate anterior ossification on the palatine. A sister group relationship between the Sarcoglanidinae and the Glanapteryginae is supported by four synapomorphies: a posteriorly directed dorsal process on the quadrate, a large dorsal anteriorly directed process on the hyomandibula, vomer reduced and generalized miniaturization. A more inclusive group composed of Sarcoglanidinae, Glanapteryginae, Tridentinae, Vandeliinae and Stegophilinae is considered monophyletic, since they all exhibit a reduced interopercular patch of odontodes, a reduced or absent metapterygoid, reduction in the number of pleural ribs, and lack an elongate process on the parasphenoid.     

Meristic studies of the Gulf of California species of Merluccius,with a description of a new species

Two distinct species of hake are found in the Gulf of California, and in view of the commercial importance of at least one of these, a detailed taxonomical study was carried out. A new species of hake is described from the northern Gulf of California: Merluccius hernandezi. A new population of Merluccius angustimanus was located off the coast of the state of Sinaloa, Mexico. A provisional examination of specimens from this population shows that it differs in important characteristics from the specimens described by Garman (1899) from Panama.

Merluccius hernandezi and M. angustimanus from Sinoloa are immediately separable by the shape of their caudal fin and the lengths of their pectoral fins: in M. hernandezi the caudal fin has a central lobe and in larger specimens it is truncate, while in M. angustimanus it is emarginate; the pectoral fin projects well beyond the anus in M. hernandezi but not in M. angustimanus.

A meristic index was devised which can be used successfully to distinguish between the two species in the field: only 4·13% of specimens studied would have been wrongly identified using this index.     

Integrative taxonomy at the nexus of population divergence and speciation in insular speckled rattlesnakes

ABSTRACT

We describe two diminutive species of rattlesnakes (genus Crotalus) from small nearshore islands off the coast of Baja California in the western Gulf of California, Mexico. In order to test the hypothesis that some island populations represent cohesive species entities, we applied linear discriminant analysis and uniform validation procedures to multiple classes of intrinsic trait data. By using previously recognised species to establish a threshold for species recognition, we found that assignment of specimens to either new species was as probable as with other established rattlesnake species within the speckled rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii) complex. We also found that assignment of specimens from other island populations was not as probable as for the established species, and these populations are referable to C. pyrrhus. The species endemic to Piojo Island is most closely related to other island and mainland populations of C. pyrrhus whereas the species endemic to Cabeza de Caballo Island is apparently most closely related to C. angelensis, a nearby island endemic of large body size. However, patterns from both mitochondrial and nuclear phylogenies, and phenotypic variation, indicate that evolutionary trajectories of both of these species have been influenced by introgression from C. angelensis. We speculate that collective evidence based on contrasting patterns of nuclear and mitochondrial evolution supports a hybrid origin of the species from Cabeza de Caballo Island followed by exceptionally rapid mitochondrial evolution. Consistent with small body size, both species show a reduction in various scale counts relative to other species of the C. mitchellii species complex, suggesting that dwarfism is not simply a plastic response to insular conditions.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn.lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FBC8A11B-04A3-4231-85CA-3972DF5A42FF     

Subspeciation or none? The hardun in the Aegean (Reptilia: Sauria: Agamidae: Laudakia stellio)

A study aimed at testing the contested validity of the subspecies Laudakia stellio daani yielded novel insights into the essence of subspecies. We examined morphologically museum specimens from Greece, Aegean islands, and Anatolia (n?=?118; not all could be used in all analyses). Beyond the conventional mensural, meristic and qualitative characters we quantified 14 coloration characters, thus totalling 34 characters (including sex). Biometry was statistically analysed within and between the two geographically defined presumed subspecies, L. s. daani and L. s. stellio. Excluding or including broken‐tailed specimens changed the outcome of tests. Significant minor directional asymmetry occurred in one of four character‐taxon combinations. Phenetic cluster analysis poorly separated the two presumed subspecies when all characters, including those with discordant variation, were included; after selection of characters, the separation improved. Some biometric characters distinguish the two presumed subspecies, confirming their validity. The associations of significant inter‐character correlations differed between the two subspecies. Additionally, the two differed in parameters reflecting selection pressures and social structure: L. s. stellio is more colourful than L. s. daani; its sexual dimorphism is mainly chromatic, versus mensural in L. s. daani; and its population seems to include many males with underdeveloped callous scales, presumably socially subordinate, versus very few in L. s. daani.