Utah flora: Malvaceae

This paper is the third in a series dealing with a revision of the flora of Utah. Treated herein are 9 genera and 23 species, including both commonly cultivated, escaped, and indigenous representatives. Proposed new taxa include Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia (H. and A.) Rydb. var. moorei Welsh, Sphaeralcea leptophylla (Gray) Rydb. var. janeae Welsh, and Sphaeralcea psoraloides Welsh.       

A new species of Australian bioluminescent ostracod (Myodocopina: Cypridinidae) with an unreported iridescent structure

A new species of cypridinid (Myodocopina) ostracod is described. This species, from off the west coat of Tasmania, is a scavenger. It occurs in an area of relatively high diversity of scavenging crustaceans, and exhibits feeding limbs well equipped for scavenging. Vargula karamu produces bioluminescence but displays subordinate iridescence as compared to the non-bioluminescent Skogsbergia sp. (Skogsbergia sp. uses iridescence during courtship, Parker 1995). It bears a long terminal seta on the endopodite of the second antenna which iridesces blue and is positioned very close to the other iridescent structures in the whole animal. This is the first report of iridescence from the second antenna of Myodocopina.     

A new Stelis (Dolichostelis) from northern Colombia (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae): first records for South America and a synopsis of the bee fauna from the Caribbean region of Colombia

The cleptoparasitic anthidiine bee genus Stelis Panzer is primarily Holarctic in distribution, extending as far south as Costa Rica. A new species of Stelis subgenus Dolichostelis Parker and Bohart is described and illustrated based on females collected in dry forests of the Caribbean region of Colombia. Stelis (Dolichostelis) costaricensis Friese is also recorded from dry forests but in western Colombia. These are the first records of the genus, as currently recognized, for South America. An updated key to the species of Dolichostelis and a synopsis of the diversity and biogeography of the bee fauna from the Caribbean region of Colombia are provided. Based on reports from the literature and data from collections, we provide a checklist consisting of 125 species in 48 genera of five families. The complex composition of this bee fauna parallels that of the flora, with taxa having the following origins or distributions: West Indian, North or Central American, Andean, xeric or temperate South American, and Neotropical widespread. A brief account on the contribution of George Salt to the knowledge of the biology of this Colombian bee fauna is also provided.     

A new genus of Parabathynellidae (Crustacea: Bathynellacea) in New South Wales,Australia

A new genus and species of the family Parabathynellidae, Octobathynella peelensis gen. nov. sp. nov., is described from New South Wales, Australia. The new genus displays several exclusive characters: a very large and distinctive male thoracopod VIII with one crest-like projection containing two lobules on the basipod; and four aesthetascs on segments six and seven of the antennule. It also has several combinations of characters that make it unique in the Parabathynellidae, specifically that: the antennule is eight-segmented (a new character in the Australian species); there are seven segments in the antenna; the labrum has 18–20 teeth; the exopod of thoracopod I has three to four segments and the exopod of thoracopod II has four segments; the endopod has one dorsal seta on the first and second segments and the epipod is absent on thoracopod I; pleopods are absent; the endopod of the male thoracopod VIII has two setae and the exopod has setules; there are 10–12 spines on the sympod, three or four spines on the endopod and five setae on the exopod of the uropod. The new genus and species is placed into context with all known Bathynellacea in Australia, and the biogeographic patterns are discussed for this ancient group of subterranean crustaceans.     

Polyphagy and florivory prevail in a leaf-beetle community (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) inhabiting the canopy of a tropical lowland rainforest in southern Venezuela

ABSTRACT

Embedded within the interdisciplinary research project ‘Towards an understanding of the structure and function of a Neotropical rainforest ecosystem with special reference to its canopy’ organised by the Austrian Academy of Science, the canopy beetle fauna was surveyed by means of a 42 m tall tower crane. This paper presents results of the chrysomelid beetle fauna observed and collected at canopy trees for 1 year. A total of 1783 adult leaf beetles were collected, representing 117 morphospecies (Bruchinae are not included) including 31 singletons. The most abundant family was Galerucinae sensu stricto with 827 individuals (46% of collection). The most speciose subfamilies were Galerucinae sensu stricto followed by Alticini, Cryptocephalinae and Eumolpinae. Nineteen species collected with at least two individuals were restricted to a single tree species whereas 68 species were found to feed on several canopy host trees. Only a few species fed on leaves; these were in Cassidinae, Cryptocephalinae, Eumolpinae and Galerucinae. Strikingly, most canopy chrysomelids were collected at flowers of canopy trees, although some species fed also on extrafloral nectaries or fruits. Alticini were restricted predominantly to flowers, but Cryptocephalinae, Eumolpinae and Galerucinae revealed broader plasticity in host tissue selection. Insights into beetle seasonality, diurnal/nocturnal activity and intra-canopy migration are provided. Abundant flower-visiting species occurred on their host trees commonly over the entire flowering season, with their abundances often correlated with the number of open flowers. After termination of one tree’s flowering season, many flower-visiting leaf beetles moved to other flowering trees. Certain congeneric species of Galerucinae and Eumolpinae occurred together at their host plants within the same periods.     

Temporal and seasonal variations in parasites of Metynnis lippincottianus (Characiformes: Characidae), a host from the eastern Amazon (Brazil)

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the influence of temporal and seasonal variation (rainy/dry cycle) on the component community structure and infracommunities of parasites in Metynnis lippincottianus from the eastern Amazon (Brazil). A total of 8,774 parasites representing 9 species and 22,765 parasites representing 12 species was collected in 2011 and 2016 respectively, but only 42.8% of the species were common to both study years. In both years, there was a dominance of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis and the component community was 51% dissimilar. The species richness of parasites and the Berger–Parker dominance were higher in 2016, while the evenness and Brillouin diversity were higher in 2011. The prevalence and abundance of I. multifiliis and P. pillulare, as well as the prevalence of Contracaecum sp. were higher in the rainy season. The abundance of Anacanthorus strongylophalus, Urocleidoides sp., Dadayus pacupeva and Dadaytrema oxycephala was higher in the dry season. Infection with Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) inopinatus was not influenced by the season, while by Trichodina sp. occurred only in the dry season and Ergasilus xinguensis only in the rainy season. The species richness of parasites, Brillouin diversity index and evenness were higher in the dry season, while the Berger–Parker index was higher in the rainy season. Temporal variation of communities and infracommunities of parasites was influenced by the body size of host populations and increase in anthropogenic impacts. Effect of seasons on environmental quality, host size and availability of infective stages of parasites were the determining factors in structuring the component communities and infracommunities of parasites.     

Mesembrioxylon obscurum , a new combination for Araucarioxylon? obscurum Knowlton, from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Wyoming

A reinvestigation of the type specimen of Araucarioxylon? obscurum Knowlton (1900) from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation in the Freezeout Hills of Wyoming has determined that this fossil should be transferred to Mesembrioxylon Seward (1919) as M. obscurum comb. nov. (Knowlton) Medlyn and Tidwell. Knowlton (1900), who was uncertain of its appropriate generic disposition, tentatively referred the wood to Araucarioxylon because it had obscure growth rings and relatively low ray height. Reexamination of Knowltons slides demonstrates that the wood has uniseriate, rarely biseriate rays, podocarpoid pitting, and diffuse axial parenchyma, none of which Knowlton mentioned. Tracheary pitting is mostly separate, round, uniseriate, occasionally biseriate and, when biseriate, opposite to subopposite. The smooth-walled crossfields exhibit 1-3 thin-bordered podocarpaceous pits per field. All of these features are present in Mesembrioxylon Seward.     

XII.—Description of a new genus and species of Cleridæ

Summary

Observations on the vertical distribution of earthworms in pasture confirm that Allolobophora longa, A. rosea and Lumbricus terrestris are relatively deep burrowers, and that the adults of these species burrow deeper than juveniles. Deep burrowing species have more elongated bodies than surface dwellers such as Dendrobaena mammalis and L. castaneus, and adults have more elongated bodies than juveniles. Long-bodied species tend to have more segments than short-bodied ones. On the limited evidence available, increase in relative thinness with age is not, apparently, associated with increased number of segments in A. rosea or L. terrestris but is in A. caliginosa and A. longa, and to a lesser extent in A. chlorotica. In adults and juveniles the diameter of the anterior region is greater than that of the posterior region of the body, and the latter is more strongly flattened dorsoventrally than the former. Such morphological differentiation is consistent with the differences in function of the anterior and posterior regions indicated by a simple model of earthworm locomotion. From the model it can be concluded that short-bodied earthworms will take relatively longer ‘steps’ when moving on the surface than will long-bodied ones, and that earthworms with relatively large anterior segments will take longer ‘steps’ than those with relatively small ones. This is in line with the results of observations on living earthworms. The mechanism of locomotion is just one of many factors influencing earthworm size and form. Others include feeding mechanics, vulnerability to predation and desiccation, and exposure to anaerobic conditions.     

Disentangling an Asian puzzle: Two new bathynellid (Crustacea,Syncarida, Parabathynellidae) genera from Vietnam

In this paper the 17 asiatic species of the family Parabathynellidae are reviewed from a taxonomic point of view using bibliographic data. Two new genera and two new species are described from caves in Vietnam. Paraeobathynella n. g. presents a unique combination of characters (antennule: seven segments; antenna: six segments; mandible: pars incisiva with five teeth and pars molaris with 10 teeth; maxillule: distal endite with seven claws; exopod of the thoracopods with three or more segments and epipods present in thoracopods 3–7; pleopods absent; endopod of the Th 8 male with two setae; seven spines on the sympod and two spines on the endopod of the uropod and the small minimum size of the adult body) and exclusive characters like the Th 8 female having two small spines and one long seta and the general size and aspect of the Th 8 male and its lobes. Sketinella n. g. presents a unique combination of characters (antennule: eight segments; antenna; six segments; mandible: pars incisiva with six teeth and pars molaris with eight teeth: maxillule: distal endite with seven claws; exopod of the thoracopods with three or more segments and epipods present in Th 3–7; endopod of the thoracopod 8 male with two setae; 12 spines on the sympod and two spines on the endopod and seven setae on the exopod of the uropod) and characters exclusive to the asiatic species are: a pair of pleopods reduced to a single seta; a very distinctive basipod and outer lobe of the Th 8 male and an exopod of the Th 8 male with a small tooth or protuberance. This is the first time that the Parabathynellidae has been found in Vietnam, this find extends the range of distribution of this family in Asia.     

Effects of nitrogen availability on growth and photosynthesis of Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis

This study examined the effects of alterations in soil nitrogen on the growth of Artemessia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis Nutt. Soil nitrogen content was altered by applying sugar (45 g/m 2 ), nitrate (4.5 g/m 2 ), or ammonium (4.5 g/m 2 ), and the results were compared with a control treatment (no soil amendments). Addition of either form of nitrogen significantly increased leaf nitrogen content, mean maximum length of ephemeral leaves, number of ephemeral leaves per terminal shoot, and current year's vegetative stem length over the control and sugar treatments. Both soil water and predawn xylem potentials during active growth were lower in the nitrogen-treated plots. The higher growth activity and greater leaf mass of A. tridentata in the nitrogen treatments may have been responsible for this result. Higher photosynthetic rates observed in the nitrogen treatments during an early June sampling period also lend support to this observation. This study suggests A. tridentata ssp. wyomingensis would opportunistically take advantage of increased availability of soil nitrogen. The ability of this species to respond positively to increased soil nitrogen may enhance its competitiveness over associated perennial species.     

Testing hypothesized evolutionary shifts toward stress tolerance in hybrid Helianthus species

We examined how plant traits related to growth and resource use have evolved during hybrid speciation and specialization into stressful habitats. Two desert sunflower species of homoploid hybrid origin are endemic to habitats with lower soil nutrient levels than those of their ancestral parent species. We hypothesized that the hybrid species would exhibit greater tolerance to low levels of soil nutrients than their parental species. The 2 hybrid species, Helianthus anomalus and H. deserticola , and their parental species, H. annuus and H. petiolaris , were compared for plant traits and growth through reproduction under 3 nutrient levels in a greenhouse study. An additional seedling study compared species for maximum seedling relative growth rate under optimum conditions. The hybrid species did have greater tolerance of nutrient limitation than the parental species, demonstrated by a resistance to change in stem height and diameter growth across treatments. A similar trend was observed in total biomass at final harvest. This ability to maintain growth may be partially explained by maintained investment in photosynthetic enzymes regardless of nutrient treatment. Though the hybrid species were more tolerant of nutrient stress, differences in the hybrid response to nutrient stress compared to the parental species' response were much smaller than expected from habitat comparisons. Helianthus anomalus has evolved a classic stress-tolerant phenotype, having long leaf lifespan, tough leaves, and slower early seedling relative growth rate. While both hybrid species have a conservative growth strategy, which confers greater stress tolerance than the parental species possess, functional trait differences among the hybrids suggest that the 2 species have experienced vastly different selective pressures.     

Some Pycnogonida from the Eastern (Hasa) District of Saudi Arabia

Seven pycnogonid species are described from the Arabian (Persian) Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia in its Eastern (Hasa) District. Two new species, Ascorhynchus dietheus and Nymphon enteonum, are fully described, illustrated and compared with similar congeners. Distributions and remarks are given for all seven species. A key is given for the 22 species in one of four discrete groups of the genus Ascorhynchus, including the new species. This group has longitarsal distal leg segments and scapes of one segment only. A parasitic juvenile Ascorhynchus species is described and illustrated, but left unnamed for lack of a presumed adult specimen. It is compared with the few other known parasitic specimens in this genus.     

Review of the Fridericia species (Oligochaeta: Enchytraeidae) possessing two spermathecal diverticula and description of a new species

A new Fridericia species (Fridericia lacii sp. nov.) is described. Including this new species the number of valid Fridericia species with two diverticula per spermatheca is 50. The present study provides an opportunity for the comparison and separation of Fridericia species on the basis of spermatheca and diverticulum characteristics. Nine tables summarize the two larger groups and five subgroups of species possessing bidiverticulate spermathecae. The new species is distinguished from all known valid congeners in this assemblage by the following combination of traits: (1) 4–7 mm long, 200–290 µm wide (in vivo) with 30–36 segments; (2) maximum four chaetae per bundle; (3) all pairs of pharyngeal glands with ventral lobes, the third is the largest with posterior projections; (4) only three pairs of preclitellar nephridia; (5) oesophageal appendages type a; (6) mucocytes type a, lenticytes small; (7) chylus cells in preclitellar segments; (8) clitellum girdle‐shaped, glands in transverse rows, between the bursal slits only granulocytes; bursal slit is longitudinal; (9) seminal vesicle small or absent; (10) sperm funnel one‐half as long as the body diameter, collar narrower than the funnel body; (11) subneural glands absent; (12) the ampulla of the spermatheca with two sessile (or with short stalks), spherical, thin‐walled diverticula, communication with the oesophagus separate, ectal duct about as long as body diameter, one floppy ectal gland at the orifice.     

XV.—Information respecting botanical travellers

Summary

A new species of mysid, Parvimysis pisciscibus, is described from leaf litter banks in the Igarapé Tarumazinho, a freshwater side stream of the Rio Negro, Brazil. This small species is the first freshwater mysid to be described from the Amazon basin.     

Pisolithus Tinctorius , a Gasteromycete, Assiciated with Jeffrey and Sierra Lodgepole Pine on Acid Mine Spoils in the Sierra Nevada

Basidiocarps of Pisolithus tinctorius , a gasteromycetous fungus adapted to harsh sites, were observed in association with Jeffrey and Sierra Lodgepole pine on acid mine spoils in northeastern California. Subterranean mycelial strands were traced from these basidiocarps to the root systems of the two pine species, which had ectomycorrhizae characteristics of those formed by this fungus in symbiotic relationships with conifer hosts.     

Larval feeding habits of the Hepialidae (Lepidoptera)

The host-plant relationships of the Hepialidae are discussed in relation to host range and larval tunnelling behaviour. Larvae are mostly phytophagous on live angiosperms, gymnosperms, pteridophytes and mosses. Generally they specialize as feeders of leaf, stem/branch or root tissue, but dietary transitions from leaf to stem and root to stem occur in some species. An early period of mycophagy where larvae feed on fungi or dead decaying plant tissue is recorded in a wide range of species that feed on live embryophytes in later instars. Feeding patterns of the Hepialidae are compared with those of other major lepidopteran taxa and the evolutionary implications of hepialid feeding habits for the origin and derivation of larval host-plant relationships in Lepidoptera are discussed. It is suggested that the developmental transition from mycophagy to phytophagy in the Hepialidae is the result of partial ‘suppression’ of mycophagy in the generalist feeding ancestor of Lepidoptera.     

The genus Bathysiphon (Protista,Foraminiferida) in the northeast Atlantic: SEM observations on the wall structure of seven species

The structure and composition of the test wall in seven species of Bathysiphon, a genus of large, tubular agglutinated foraminifers (Astrorhizacacea), have been studied using high-resolution SEM. In all cases the wall is composed mainly of quartz grains and varying proportions of sponge spicules which, in some species, show a characteristic orientation within the wall. Three species, B. capillare, B. flavidus and B. rufus, have a well-defined, but very thin (1 μm) outer layer consisting of flat-lying or imbricated plate-like mineral grains. Bathysiphon stictus has a less well-defined surface veneer of tiny mineral grains while in B. major the surface layer is composed of dark-grey or dark-brown particles of an indeterminate nature. The test fabric is rather open and, in all species, the intergranular spaces are partly occupied by an organic cement which forms either a meshwork of fine, branching and anastomozing fibres or shorter, column-like strands. All species also have an inner organic test lining. Thus, the basic structure and composition of the test wall is fairly uniform, but some features show interspecific variability. Some incidental observations on the organization of the protoplasmic body are also reported.     

Comparative larval morphology of the European bone-skippers,Thyreophora cynophila (Panzer, 1798) and Centrophlebomyia furcata (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera: Piophilidae), with notes on their coexistence and natural history

Considered at times as extinct, the European bone-skippers Thyreophora cynophila and Centrophlebomyia furcata (Diptera: Piophilidae) have been recently rediscovered in Spain, coexisting in some areas. Nevertheless, apart from their typical association with big mammal carcasses, little is known about them and the other species of subtribe Thyreophorina. In the present paper, the larval morphology of T. cynophila is described for the first time and compared with that of C. furcata. The morphology of cephalopharyngeal skeleton, the number and arrangement of the spines of ventral creeping welts, and the morphology and presence or absence of tubercles in the two last segments of the body, are the main characters allowing for larval identification of both species. Some preliminary field and laboratory observations on the behaviour and life cycle of the two species are also provided.     

The first record of the genus Vejdovskybathynella Serban and Leclerc, 1984 (Syncarida,Bathynellacea, Bathynellidae) in the Iberian Peninsula: three new species

Three new species of the genus Vejdovskybathynella are described from caves in northern Spain. It is the first time that this genus has been documented in the Iberian Peninsula. Vejdovskybathynella edelweiss n. sp. has several unique features: the setal formula of the antenna (0/2+exp/2+0/1+0/0+0/2+2/4); the form of the segments and claws of the mandibular palp of the mandible of the male; exopod of the female thoracopod VIII similar in size to the endopod (exopod is always longer than the endopod); small frontal projection of the basipod of the male thoracopod VIII, large or very large is common; the form and size of the lobes of the male thoracopod VIII is unique; the second spine of the furcal rami 2.5 times longer than the first spine. Vejdovskybathynella caroloi n. sp. has a unique male thoracopod VIII with a spur in the exopod that is a feature unknown in the genus, and additionally, this species has the smallest endopod of the thoracopod VIII male of the entire genus; the presence of three aesthetascs in segments VI and VII of the antennule had not been observed in this genus until now; the form of the segments of the mandibular palp of the mandible of the male are unique; the distal spine of the sympod of the uropod is larger than in other species, whereas in the rest of the species of the genus they are equal in size. Vejdovskybathynella pascalis n. sp. is the smallest species of the genus and has two and three aesthetascs in segments VI and VII of the antennule, respectively; it is the only species of the genus that has one seta on segment I and two setae on segment IV of the antenna; it has a unique male thoracopod VIII with a small spur on the frontal projection of the basipod and with the endopod larger than all other species in spite of its small size; the basal spine of the sympod of the uropod is smaller than the other three.