Two new amphipod crustaceans of the genus Bahadzia from ‘blue holes’ in the Bahamas and some remarks on the origin of the insular stygofaunas of the Atlantic

Bahadzia setimana sp. nov. from South Andros, and B. obliqua sp. nov. from Cat Island, both in the Bahamas, are described. The recently described genus Bahadzia now contains five closely related taxa, each apparently confined to a single island or isolated group of islands, in a restricted area of the West Indies, ranging from Haiti in the south to the northern Bahamas.

The present discoveries show not only that low-salinity groundwaters of the West Indies have a marked degree of insular endemism, but that the high-salinity anchihaline habitats possess endemics in certain groups as well.

Current models which seek to explain the evolution of stygobionts on Atlantic Islands are reviewed critically and the most likely synthesis is provided.     

CVIII.—The African spiders of the family Ctenidae in the collections of the British Museum (Natural History)

Summary

The African Ctenidae in the Collections of the British Museum (Natural History) are revised. Thirty species are contained in the subfamilies Cteninae and Acantheinae. Ctenus batesii Pocock, 1903, is a synonym of Ctenus capulinus (Karsch), 1879, Ctenus dirus Thorell, 1899, is a synonym of Ctenus kingsleyi F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1898, Ctenus marshalli F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1898, is a synonym of Ctenus melanogastra (Bösenberg & Lenz), 1895, and Ctenus spenceri F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1898, is a synonym of Ctenus pulchriventris Simon, 1896.

The subfamily Acantheinae is recorded from Africa for the first time. A new genus, Africactenus, is erected for a group of allied species. The genotype is Ctenus agilior Pocock, 1899, and the following new species are described:—A. depressus, A. desartsi, A kribiensis, A. pococki, A. sandersoni, A. simoni, A. sladeni, A. tridentatus and A. trilateralis. Ctenus longurio Simon, 1909, is transferred to the genus Africactenus on examination of the type-material.

Certain species from the Simon Collection are listed in the Appendix and figured for the first time.     

Review of the harvest mice (genus Reithrodontomys ) in the Mexican state of México

We examined 590 specimens of Reithrodontomys from 95 localities in the state of México. Four species of the subgenus Reithrodontomys and 1 of the subgenus Aporodon were identified. The former subgenus included R. chrysopsis , R. sumichrasti , R. megalotis , and R. fulvescens , which has 2 subspecies— R. f. toltecus and R. f. mustelinus — in the state. The representative of the subgenus Aporodon is R. microdon wagner , which is recorded for the first time in the state. We give information on taxonomy, morphometrics, reproduction, habitat characteristics, and related fauna. A discriminant analysis correctly classified 100% of specimens from the 6 taxa with 5 canonical variates, and accounted for 96.1% of the variance with the first 3 canonical variates.     

Pycnogonida of the Galápagos Islands

Summary

Eleven species from the shallow water of the Gálapagos are recognized. Of these, two are also found on the Pacific coast of Central America and one occurs in the Caribbean region. Eight species appear to be endemic, of which five are described as new: Anoplodactylus torus, Ammothella dawsoni, Eurycyde encantada, Rhynchothorax barnardi, Tanystylum distinctum. A deepwater species, Ascorhynchus laterospinum Hilton, is redescribed. The pycnogonid fauna shows close relationship to that of mainland Central America, but does not suggest insular speciation on the basis of the collections studied. Indo-Pacific representation is lacking in the material studied.     

Tanaidacea (Crustacea: Peracarida) of the North-east Atlantic: the genera Leptognathioides and Portaratrum of the ‘Atlantic Margin’

The tanaidomorphan genera Leptognathioides and Portaratrum from the Benthic Invertebrates of Icelandic waters (BIOICE), Marine Benthic Fauna of the Faroe Islands (BIOFAR), and Atlantic Frontier Environmental Network (AFEN)-related surveys are examined. The diagnosis for Leptognathioides polita is amended and additional size data are given. A new species, L. biarticulata, is described although the differences from L. polita are slight. It occurs in the bathyal Iceland Basin with a distribution that does not overlap with that of L. polita. A new species of Portaratrum, P. holdichi, is described and the apparent similarities (parallelisms) between this former colletteid genus and the akanthophoreid Chauliopleona are discussed. The distribution and rarity of both genera in the region are analysed, Leptognathioides being more common in the cold-water areas or along the cold–warm interface. Portaratrum holdichi n. sp. is more common and abundant in the Rockall-Biscay region of the NE Atlantic.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:81262671-0665-49C3-9A02-F243C60FC334     

The Tanaidacea (Crustacea,Peracarida) of the North-East Atlantic: the shelf and bathyal Paratyphlotanais of the ‘Atlantic Margin’

Increasing oil-exploration activity and associated ecological surveying west of the Shetlands is leading to the discovery of many poorly known or undescribed tanaidaceans. Three species of the typhlotanaid genus Paratyphlotanais Kudinova-Pasternak and Pasternak, 1978 Kudinova-Pasternak R. K Pasternak F. A 1978 Deep sea Tanaidacea collected from the Caribbean Sea and Puerto Rico trench during the 16th cruise of RV ‘Akademik Kurchatov’ and the resemblance between the fauna of deep-sea Tanaidacea of the Caribbean region and the Pacific Trudy Instituta Okeanologiii. Akademiya Nauk SSSR, 113, 115–135 (in Russian)  [Google Scholar] have been recorded from shelf and bathyal depths between Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the western margin of the British Isles. Two, P. gracilipes (Hansen) and P. microcheles (G. O. Sars), formerly belonging to the genus Typhlotanais, are redescribed and a new species is described. A key to their identification is included. Inhabiting largely discrete zoogeographic areas, these species help define regional macrofaunal associations.     

Eucharitidae new to the fauna of Saudi Arabia (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea), with the description of a new species and the previously unknown male of Eucharis (Psilogastrellus) albipennis Bouček

The present study summarizes additions to the known fauna of Eucharitidae of Saudi Arabia. Cherianella arabica Gadallah &; Soliman sp. nov. and the male of previously known female Eucharis (Psilogastrellus) albipennis Bou?ek, 1956 are described and illustrated. Three new records are also added to the fauna of Saudi Arabia: Eucharis (Eucharisca) intermedia Ruschka, 1924, Eucharis (Psilogastrellus) acuminata Ruschka, 1924 and Eucharis (Psilogastrellus) punctata Förster, 1859.

http:/zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F1B1C493-AA83-4696-AF8B-3B3F62C09B41     

Revision of the hirsuticornis‐like species of Macrothrix Baird, 1843 (Cladocera: Anomopoda: Macrothricidae) from Subantarctic and temperate regions of the southern hemisphere

The aim of this paper is to revise populations of Macrothrix cf. hirsuticornis (Cladocera: Anomopoda: Macrothricidae) from different regions of the southern hemisphere. It is demonstrated that M. hirsuticornis Norman and Brady, 1867 Norman, A. M. and Brady, G. S. 1867. A monograph of the British Entomostraca belonging to the families Bosminidae, Macrothricidae and Lynceidae.. Natural History Transactions of Northumberland and Durham, 1: 354–408.  [Google Scholar] s. str. is absent there, and five related species occupy different Subantarctic islands and the southernmost portions of South America, and Africa. Macrothrix boergeni Studer, 1878 Studer, T. 1878. Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte wirbelloser Tiere von Kerguelensland.. Archiv für Naturgeschichte, 44: 102–121.  [Google Scholar] from the Kerguelen Archipelago is redescribed and a neotype is selected. All populations in the southernmost portion of continental South America, Tierra del Fuego, Falklands, South Georgia, South Orkney Islands, and on the Antarctic Peninsula belong to M. oviformis Ekman, 1900 Ekman, S. 1900. Cladoceren aus Patagonien, gesammelt von der schwedischen Expedition nach Patagonien 1899.. Zoologische Jahrbücher, Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere, 14: 62–84.  [Google Scholar]. All the taxa described from this region—M. ciliata Vávra, 1900 Vávra, W. 1900. “Süsswasser‐Cladoceren. Ergebnisse der Hamburger magalhaensische Sammelreise 1892/93. II Band. Arthropoden.”. In Hamburg 1–25.  [Google Scholar], M. odontocephala Daday, 1902 Daday, E. 1902. Mikroskopische Süsswasserthiere aus Patagonien, gesammelt von Dr. Filippo Sylvestri.. Természetrajzi Füzetek, Budapest, 25: 201–310.  [Google Scholar], M. propinqua Sars, 1909 Sars, G. O. 1909. Fresh‐water Entomostraca from South Georgia.. Archiv for Mathematik og Naturvidenskab, 30: 1–35.  [Google Scholar], and, probably, M. inflata Daday, 1902 Daday, E. 1902. Mikroskopische Süsswasserthiere aus Patagonien, gesammelt von Dr. Filippo Sylvestri.. Természetrajzi Füzetek, Budapest, 25: 201–310.  [Google Scholar]—are junior synonyms of M. oviformis. Two new species are established: M. sarsi sp. nov. from the Cape region of South Africa and M. ruehei sp. nov. from Crozet, Marion islands, and Île Amsterdam. Macrothrix cf. flagellata Smirnov and Timms, 1983 Smirnov, N. N. and Timms, B. V. 1983. A revision of the Australian Cladocera (Crustacea).. Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement, 1: 1–132. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], previously known only from Tasmania, is found on Macquarie Island too. Differences between species from the southern hemisphere and Palaearctic M. hirsuticornis are summarized. It is demonstrated that characters of the general body shape (i.e. presence of a hood or a tooth on posterior head border) have a limited value for the systematics of Macrothrix. In contrast, some fine details, mostly missed by previous authors, are valuable for species discrimination. The present study increases the number of species recorded from the Antarctic‐Subantarctic region. Probably, the current pattern of Macrothrix distribution results from a disruption of a pan‐continental (early Mesozoic?) species complex.     

The parasites of the psyllidae—3. Some notes on the biology and host relationships of Parapsyllae-Phagus Adulticolus Robinson (Hymenoptera)

Abstract

Parapsyllaephagus Adulticolus Robinson (CHALCIDIDAE: Encyrtinae) is an endoparasite of the adults of Psylla melanoneura Förster and Psylla subferrigenea Edwards. The life histories and biology of the hosts and parasite are described. Parapsyllaephagus adulticolus has five larval instars, which feed selectively upon the developing internal genitalia of the host at first, and eventually, as the final instar, upon the whole of the abdominal viscera. Pupation within the psyllid is followed by emergence of the adult parasite through the posterior dorsal surface of the abdomen of the host. The effect of these activities upon the migration of the adult psyllid from a winter shelter plant to a summer host plant is discussed and a relationship between the stimulus to migrate and the state of development of the internal genitalia is postulated. Some aspects of the orientation of the parasite larva within the host and the phenomenon of larval reversal are discussed.     

Another inordinate fondness†: diversity of the tanaidacean fauna of Australia,with description of three new taxa

The shallow-water tanaidacean fauna of the Bass Strait has been the subject of recent intensive studies. The present paper extends this work into the deeper waters of the region, describing two new species and one new genus. The new species of the genus Paradoxapseudes has a combination of three maxillule palp setae, no plumose setae on the basis of pereopod 1 nor proximal serration on the antennal peduncle. The second species represents a new genus of the family Anarthruridae, having six marginal setae on the third maxilliped palp article and spines on the merus and carpus of the anterior pereopods. The high diversity of Tanaidacea in Australian waters is discussed. In particular, we conclude that Australian coasts suffer a diversity of immigration routes, have sufficient marine longevity, and afford such a diversity of available niches to have allowed multiple colonization and subsequent allopatric speciation of Tanaidacea. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EE309A5A-E06D-416F-95BD-4C8D0D2BEB97     

Comparison of the species composition of Gamasina mite communities (Acari: Mesostigmata) in selected caves of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (southern Poland) and their immediate surroundings

This paper presents the results of a study performed in eight caves located in the area of the Kraków-Cz?stochowa Upland. In total, 586 samples (400 cm³ each) were taken from the caves and sites located up to one metre from the main entrances of the caves. Of 109 species belonging to 13 families that were identified, four were species new for Polish fauna. In this study, cluster analysis and correspondence analysis were used to compare the species composition of mite communities living in the caves and their immediate surroundings. We also examined the possibility of isolating troglophilic species based on IndVal analysis. Those results showed distinct differences between Gamasina mites living in two distinct habitats. We also established indicator species for the examined caves.     

Ciliate—decapod epibiosis in two areas of the north-west Mediterranean coast

A study was carried out of the protozoan ciliate epibionts present on diverse decapod crustaceans from two areas of the north-west Mediterranean. A total of 92 crustaceans was examined (65 brachyurans and 27 anomurans, belonging to 15 species). Seventeen ciliate species were identified (two heterotrichs, two chonotrichs, ten suctorians, and three peritrichs). This is the first record of the family of folliculinid ciliates as epibiont on crustaceans in Mediterranean waters. The suctorian Acinetides symbiotica, considered endemic to Lake Nyassa, was found in the sampling areas. Local variations, microlocation on the surface and anatomical units of the decapods, and differential distribution of epibionts were also considered.     

VII.—Notes on the Braconidæ in the British Museum.—II. On the Australian species of Cardiochilinæ and Doryctinæ

Summary

A key to the beetles of the 33 families of Heteromera (Cucujoidea) is presented for the world and a summary of about 67 imaginal characters (where known) for each family is also included. The key is intended not only for those who wish to identify beetles with heteromeroid aedeagi but also for those who want to learn the existing gaps in our knowledge on this subject and problems for future researches. Sincere efforts to distinguish or discover the primitive and derivative characters and groups for all families of beetles (Coleoptera including Strepsiptera) are urgently required.