The saproxylic hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) of Serbia

The revision of the saproxylic hoverflies collected in Serbia from 1950 to 2010 has revealed a total of 56 species, of which Sphiximorpha subsessilis (Illiger in Rossi) is new to the Balkan Peninsula and Arctophila superbiens (Muller), Blera fallax (Linnaeus), Brachyopa panzeri Goffe, Brachyopa testacea (Fallén), Brachyopa vittata Zetterstedt and Chalcosyrphus piger (Fabricius) are new to Serbia. According to “Syrph the Net, the database of European Syrphidae”, 16 of the 56 species are threatened with extinction in Europe, while 6 species are “strictly protected” and 13 are “protected” under Serbian legislation. Distribution maps for each species, as well as new data on adult habitats, are provided. The conservation status of the saproxylic hoverflies of Serbia is discussed. The present study attempts to provide a basis for the conservation of the saproxylic hoverflies of this Balkan country.     

Application of species-richness estimators for the assessment of earthworm diversity

This paper includes the current knowledge of earthworm distribution and richness in the central part of the Balkans, in the state of Serbia. The work is based on data obtained from fieldwork in the western part of Serbia. The aim is to follow a methodological and theoretical framework for the application of species-richness estimators in earthworm biodiversity research. We have evaluated the performance of various estimation techniques to assess the different species-richness estimators in EstimateS. The following estimators (EstimateS 8.2) were used to extrapolate species richness beyond our own data: ACE, ICE, Chao 1, Chao 2, Jackknife 1, Jackknife 2, Bootstrap, and Michaelis–Menten richness estimator. The Chao 2 and Jackknife 2 richness estimators were considered most appropriate to predict the number of earthworm species and can serve to provide a quantitative basis for assessing long-term changes in species richness.     

The association of Amphisbaena alba (Reptilia: Amphisbaenia) with the leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes in Trinidad

Evidence suggests that Amphisbaena alba is a facultative inquiline of nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes in Trinidad. The evidence is culled from three main sources: (i) direct excavation of Atta nests; (ii) the ability of A. alba to follow Atta trail pheromones; (iii) the analysis of A. alba intestinal or faecal contents. When inside ant nests, A. alba may feed primarily on arthropods, notably beetles, which are themselves inquilines in ant nests. Studies on the life-cycle of a pentastomid parasite of A. alba, which depends for transmission on ant and beetle inquilines, also indicates that A. alba and Atta are intimately associated. The literature suggesting a regular association between ants (and termites) and amphisbaenians in general is reviewed.     

XXXII.—Nouveaux Bruchidæ

The bush cricket Psorodonotus illyricus is indigenous to the Balkans. Singing males of this species are highly mobile. The acoustic factors which might influence the locomotion were investigated in the field. The mobility of the males results in an often random distribution pattern. Interactions between the males are purely acoustic, and the duets are characterized by periods of good and poor alternation. Playback experiments, field observations and tape recordings of duetting males indicate that singing rate and sound intensity affect alternation behaviour and locomotion. However, the effect of the two song parameters is related to the time of the day, a phenomenon which might be due to (a) changes in the sound field around a singing male, and (b) altering microclimatic factors during the activity period of the insects.     

Review and reclassification of Cataglyphis (Hymenoptera,Formicidae)

Exactly 100 years ago Forel made a misidentification of Cataglyphis viaticus as C. megalocolus, one of the most characteristic insects of North Africa. This farreaching error has influenced the systematics of the genus ever since. What really are the species of Cataglyphis? Cataglyphis is unique among formicine ants in that the morphology of the male genitalia is highly diverse: their characteristics are used for the differentiation of species groups and as a basis for postulated phylogenetic relationships within the genus. A synopsis, a key to the species-groups, and a full catalogue of all the available names are given. Of the 104 taxa currently recognized as valid, Cataglyphis albicans var. mixtus is a new combination, Cataglyphis cursor ssp. flavicornis is transferred to Alloformica, and Cataglyphis mauritanicus and Cataglyphis nigripes are given a new status. Camponotus phaenogaster is a new synonym, and Cataglyphis hispidus is a nomen nudum. A lectotype has been fixed for Cataglyphis savignyi.     

The status and conservation of the Asiatic black bear in Nikshahr County,Baluchistan District of Iran

Little information exists on the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus gerdrosianus) in the western part of its distribution. This study investigated the status of this species in the Baluchistan district of Iran, from April 2004 to February 2006. Sign surveys and interviews with elderly local‐born people revealed that although this bear was commonly seen by locals in many areas 20–30 years ago, at present, it only exists in four localities in Nikshahr County (Aband, Kushad, Shoshin and the Pozak Protected Area). Each of these four areas appears to be occupied by only a few individual bears. It seems that the largest number of black bear live in the Aband Mountains, followed by the Kushad Mountains, Shoshin and the Pozak Protected Area. Habitat fragmentation as the result of human habitation, livestock grazing and a continuous severe drought has caused insularization of these small bear populations in Nikshahr. The Asiatic black bear in Nikshahr is endangered in the entire area and is in need of urgent conservation action. The education and co‐operation of local people, and active management to restore habitat, are vital if this species is to persist in this region.     

Daphniola Radoman, 1973 (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae): shell biometry,mtDNA, and the Pliocene flooding

Shell biometry and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) mtDNA were studied in Daphniola exigua (Schmidt, 1856), D. graeca Radoman, 1973 Radoman, P. 1973. New classification of fresh and brackish water Prosobranchia from the Balkans and Asia Minor.. Posebna Izdanja, Prirodnjacki Musej u Beogradu, 32: 1–30.  [Google Scholar], and D. louisi Falniowski and Szarowska, 2000 Falniowski, A. and Szarowska, M. 2000. A new species of Daphniola Radoman, 1973 (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae) from Greece.. Folia Malacologica, 8: 181–188.  [Google Scholar] from Greece. Principal component analysis of shell morphometry confirmed the distinctness of D. louisi along the PC3 axis. Kimura 2‐parameter (K2P) genetic distances within D. graeca and D. exigua were 0.016 and 0.003–0.008, respectively, all D. louisi sequences were identical. The distance between D. exigua and D. graeca was 0.013–0.027. The distances between D. louisi and D. graeca, and D. louisi and D. exigua, were 0.098–0.110 and 0.091–0.096, respectively. The mean distance between D. louisi and the other Daphniola species was 0.098±0.007, while between the eight Daphniola specimens and the so far closest species Grossuana codreanui (Grossu, 1946) was 0.102–0.123. A maximum likelihood tree was constructed for all Daphniola, with Grossuana codreanui and Bythinella austriaca (Frauenfeld, 1856) as an outgroup. This confirmed that D. louisi is a distinct species, and must have diverged after the Pliocene marine transgression.     

The north-east Pacific intertidal barnacle Pollicipes polymerus in India? A biogeographical enigma elucidated by 18O fractionation in barnacle calcite

Pollicipes polymerus Sowerby (1833) is an abundant and well-known intertidal barnacle of the north-east Pacific. However, a few decades ago a subspecies, P. polymerus madrasensis Daniel (1953), was reported from south-eastern India. This created a biogeographical enigma because, of the two species-groups of Pollicipes, that of P. polymerus would be considered the least likely to have a tropical representative. To test the validity of this surmise, a determination of oxygen isotope fractionation in the calcitic shell of the holotype of P. p. madrasensis was made. The ensuing analysis revealed that the specimen grew under cold temperate conditions that could not have been encountered on the south-east coast of India. It is concluded, therefore, that the specimen is not native to that region but rather was imported, one way or another, from the north-east Pacific.     

Nematodemus lumbricoides von Graff, 1899 (Platyhelminthes,Turbellaria, Tricladida) redescribed and transferred to the phylum Nemertea

The type specimen of Nematodemus lumbricoides von Graff, 1899, is redescribed and fully illustrated. The internal morphology of the worm, which has not previously been reported, confirms that the animal is not a planarian but a heteronemertean. A re-assessment of the species' systematic status indicates that it should be transferred to the genus Baseodiscus as B. lumbridoides (von Graff, 1899) comb. nov.     

A revision of the Fabriciin genus Augeneriella Banse, 1957 (Polychaeta: Sabellidae)

The Sabellidae polychaete genus Augeneriella Banse is revised based on a reexamination of the type material of most species. Augeneriella hummelincki hummelincki Banse is shown to have vascularized, ventral filamentous appendages which can display up to four branches in a pectinate arrangement, as opposed to only a single dichotomy as originally described. The status of A. hummelincki indica Banse is discussed. The species A. bansei Hartmann-Schröder is based on a single, probably aberrant, specimen in which ventral filamentous appendages are unbranched. Additional material will likely show that this species displays the typical branched condition for ventral filaments. Augeneriella dubia Hartmann-Schröder can be ascribed to an undescribed genus which has been found in Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Two new species of Augeneriella from the Aldabra Atoll, Indian Ocean, are described.     

An unusual song-pattern in the Chorthippus mollis group (Orthoptera: Acrididae): local variant or hybrid population?

Summary

Published accounts of geographical variation in the songs of Orthoptera are briefly reviewed. An unusual song-pattern produced by an isolated alpine population of a grasshopper belonging to the Chorthippus mollis group is described and illustrated with oscillograms. Both the song and morphological characters of this population are compared with those of typical C. mollis and C. biguttulus. The status of the population is discussed and it is concluded that the balance of evidence favours the hypothesis that it is a hybrid population resulting from a cross between these two species.     

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.     

Rediscovery of the southern California endemic American Keeled Slug Anadenulus cockerelli (Hemphill, 1890) after a 68-year hiatus

ABSTRACT

We report the first records of the southern California endemic American Keeled Slug Anadenulus cockerelli (Hemphill, 1890) in 68 years. Due to the restricted range of this species and lack of recent detection, it has received a NatureServe conservation status of Critically Imperilled or Imperilled. This species has always been difficult to detect, and will likely continue to be. This may be the result of genuine rarity, or may be the result of being cryptic and occurring in a microhabitat only ephemerally accessible to humans. We created a Species Distribution Model for A. cockerelli, which strongly predicts its occurrence where it is known, as well as some locations where it is currently unknown, such as in the northern Peninsular Ranges and in the San Bernardino Mountains in California. Threats to the continued existence of this species in southern California include human encroachment and resulting habitat loss, the climate changing to be hotter and drier, increased fire frequency, oak death due to beetle infestation, and other introduced species. Anadenulus cockerelli should continue to be surveyed and monitored into the future in order to better understand its distribution and level of conservation concern.     

Considerations about the genus Pentoniscus Richardson, 1913 (Crustacea: Isopoda: Oniscidea) with description of a new species

The status of the neotropical genus Pentoniscus Richardson, 1913 is reconsidered and a diagnosis of this genus is given. It is shown that Pentoniscus Richardson, 1913 is a valid genus and not a synonym of Philoscia Latreille, 1804 as discussed by Schultz (1968). The type species, Pentoniscus pruinosus Richardson, 1913 is redescribed and for the first time figured in detail. A new species of Pentoniscus Richardson, 1913 is described from Costa Rica, Central America, which differs remarkably from its congeners in being unpigmented and blind.