Bulinus coulboisi of Lake Tanganyika: assessment of its taxonomic position and role as intermediate host for S. haematobium

Summary

The freshwater snail Bulinus coulboisi (Bourguignat) has been reported by previous authors to occur in a large area of central and eastern Africa, and to be a potential intermediate host for Schistosoma haematobium. In order to establish the taxonomic position of B. coulboisi, the present authors made observations on preserved specimens from the type-locality on the western shore of Lake Tanganyika, and on snails collected alive at Kigoma on the eastern shore. Information is presented for the shell, radula, copulatory organ, egg proteins, certain enzymes and chromosome number. The tetraploid chromosome number (2n=72), biochemical features and morphological characteristics of our materials provide evidence that B. coulboisi is a southern form of B. truncatus (Audouin, 1827). The latter species is widespread in northern Africa and is an important intermediate host for S. haematobium, particularly in Egypt and Sudan. The present observations and those of other authors indicate that B. coulboisi lives in small waterbodies, marshes and tributaries associated with Lake Tanganyika, but not in the main body of the lake.

Laboratory-bred B. coulboisi originating from Kigoma gave no patent infections following exposure to a strain of S. haematobium normally carried by a member of the B. africanus group. Only a low degree of compatibility was observed with one of the two tested parasite strains which are normally carried by a member of the B. truncatus group. From the known distribution of urinary schistosomiasis it appears that S. haematobium is represented in western Tanzania by a strain adapted, perhaps exclusively, to the B. africanus group. It is concluded that if B. coulboisi and B. truncatus have any potential importance as intermediate hosts in this region, it will depend upon the introduction of a compatible strain of parasite.     

A description of the song of Chorthippus cazurroi (Orthoptera: Acrididae) with notes on its taxonomic position and distribution

The highly characteristic calling and courtship songs of Chorthippus cazurroi are described for the first time and are used, together with a number of morphological characters, as a basis for discussing the differences between this species and C. pullus, C. pulloides, C. nevadensis and Omocestus llorenteae, with which it has been or might be confused. Despite the superficial resemblance between cazurroi and these species, clear and reliable characters are described for distinguishing it from all of them. The distribution of cazurroi is also discussed and it is suggested that its inclusion in the Libro Rojo de los Ortópteros Ibéricos as extinct or in danger is, as the authors of that work suspected, unduly pessimistic. A lectotype is designed from the type material of C. cazurroi.     

The taxonomic status of the rosy boa Lichanura roseofusca (Serpentes: Boidae)

Evidence is presented indicating that Lichanura roseofusca and Lichanura trivirgata are conspecific. Data include the report of an intermediate specimen from El Arco, Baja California Norte, a site midway between the previously known peninsular ranges of the two species; captive hybridization provides additional support for the conclusion.     

The radular cusp formulae of Neotricula aperta (Gastropoda: Pomatiopsidae): taxonomic questions

The polytypic snail Neotricula aperta (Temcharoen, 1971) is found in the Mekong River of Northeast Thailand and southern Laos (α- and γ- strains) and in the Mul River of Northeast Thailand (β-strain). The γ -strain is known to be the intermediate host for human schistosomiasis in southern Laos and Cambodia. Populations were sampled in Northeast Thailand and cusp formulae recorded for all four types of taenioglossate teeth of the radula. Unlike earlier studies, which considered only the α- and γ-strains, the present work involved all three strains. Observations of tooth cusping patterns agree well with those of earlier studies of the α- and γ-strains but disagree with those of Temcharoen (1971) when describing the holotype of Lithoglyphopsis aperta (N. aperta). The implications of these findings for the taxonomy of N. aperta are discussed. Radular formulae do not appear to be useful additional characters in the distinction of the three strains of N. aperta. Radular data call for resampling of the type population in southern Laos and a comparative study of the related sympatric snail Manningiella conica Temcharoen, 1971.     

A taxonomic evaluation of Elymus simplex (Poaceae)

An investigation was made of Elymus simplex to evaluate the current taxonomy and cytology. The study included herbarium specimens from Wyoming and Colorado and population samples from the type location in Wyoming. The most important taxonomic characters noted are: numbers of spikelets per node, lemma awn length, and habitat. The chromosome number of E. simplex is reported as 2 n =28. E. simplex is a distinct species and should not be confused with E. salina, from which it differs morphologically.     

The taxonomic identity of Anthidium fasciatellum Friese, 1917 (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthidiini)

Anthidium fasciatellum, described in 1917 by Heinrich Friese on the basis of a single female, has long been regarded as a synonym of Trachusa laticeps (Morawitz, 1873). Examination of a new series of specimens from Turkey shows that the two taxa overlap in many characters, but both males and females are clearly distinct in some features of the colour pattern and in the fine structure of the mandibles. None of nine morphometric characters of the head examined alone allowed the two species to be distinguished, but in a multivariate discriminant analysis the combination of these parameters revealed conspicuous differences, especially in the shape of the head; 96.2% of all specimens could be classified correctly with the help of these metric parameters. Anthidium fasciatellum Friese, 1917 should be regarded as a valid species: Trachusa fasciatellum (Friese, 1917), comb. nov. While T. laticeps has an almost circum-Mediterranean distribution, it is replaced in the eastern Mediterranean by T. fasciatellum, which is endemic to Turkey and probably to some eastern Aegean islands of Greece. Archianthidium laticeps ssp. anatolicum Mavromoustakis, 1939, is placed as a synonym of Trachusa fasciatellum (syn. nov.).

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:755E60D9-E2D6-4956-B4D1-619DAA73EBD9     

The Moxee City (Washington) mammoth: morphostratigraphic, taphonomic, and taxonomic considerations

A nearly complete, but highly fractured, proboscidean tusk was unearthed during parking lot construction near Moxee City in central Washington in May 2001. Schreger angle analysis revealed that the tusk was from a mammoth. AMS radiocarbon dating of the tusk established that the mammoth died 14,570 14C yr BP. The age, combined with the biogeography of proboscidean finds in the Pacific Northwest, suggests the tusk is from a Columbian mammoth ( Mammuthus columbi ). The condition of the tusk and its association with basalt and crystalline erratics suggest that a locally derived tusk was swept up in the advancing flood and transported to ～320 m elevation, where it was deposited in the sediments of the 3rd of 3 Missoula Floods that are preserved in the area. The tusk's weathering indicates subaerial exposure prior to burial in the slackwater sediments. Slackwater deposits at the site are pale, ～30-100 cm thick, calcareous, fine-textured strata that include occasional coarse basalt and crystalline sand and gravel. They are intruded by numerous clastic dikes. The sediments encapsulating the tusk lack rhythmites because of their deposition in the nearshore zone of an ephemeral slackwater lake. The first 2 floods inundated the site between 15,300 14 C yr BP and 14,570 14 C yr BP, stripping the A horizon from a well-developed soil formed in alluvial fan sediments sitting above an Ellensburg Formation pediment. The last flood to reach the site occurred later than 14,570 14 C yr BP, as indicated by the presence of the dated tusk. Post-flood and post-MSH S tephra loess derived from the Yakima River floodplain mantles these slackwater deposits. The Warden soil is forming in the now-stable loess parent material.     

On the taxonomic position of Indiacypridinae (Crustacea,Ostracoda), with the description of a new species of Indiacypris Hartmann, 1964 from Chalakkudy River (Kerala,India)

A new species of Indiacypris, I. chalakkudensis n. sp., is described from Chalakkudy River in Kerala, India; an asexual population of I. dispar occurred sympatrically with the new species and is here briefly redescribed. This is only the third species reported in this genus, and indeed also in the subfamily. The taxonomic position of this lineage is discussed in light of new morphological evidence. The subfamily could either belong to Cyprididae, or to Ilyocyprididae, or could represent an intermediate branch. Until molecular phylogeny can test these hypotheses, the subfamily remains in Ilyocyprididae.     

A taxonomic review of the Rhinotermitidae (Isoptera) of Thailand

Ninety series of rhinotermitid termites were collected from 19 localities distributed across much of Thailand, and compared with specimens deposited in the NHML. Eleven species belonging to five genera of Rhinotermitidae are recorded from Thailand. Three species of two genera, Reticulitermes (Reticulitermes assamensis) and Parrhinotermes (Parrhinotermes microdentiformisoides and Parrhinotermes buttelreepeni), are new records from Thailand. Keys to the genera and species based on the soldier caste are given. Soldiers of all species are illustrated and morphological measurements are given.     

The systematic position of Smittia inclusa Waters,an endemic Antarctic Bryozoan

Polirhabdotos gen. nov. is introduced for Smittia inclusa Waters (1904), within the umbonulacean cheilostome family Metrarabdotosidae Vigneaux (emend. Cheetham, 1968).     

An ecological and taxonomic investigation of Peromyscus maniculatus serratus in Idaho

Twenty - two sites in central Idaho were sampled to determine the geographic range of Peromyscus maniculatus serratus. Isolating mechanisms which exist between the P. maniculatus subspecies of region require further investigation.     

The effect of the environment and copulatory movements on the taxonomic characters of three species of Ecdyonurus (Ephemeroptera)

The majority of characters used to separate the nymphs of Ecdyonurus dispar, venosus and torrentis are related to the relative proportions of parts of the body. Extensive measurements suggest that at least certain of these characters are the consequence of heterogonic growth and are not of taxonomic significance. The characters of importance in the taxonomy of the imagines appear to be related either to the effect of the environment during nymphal development on the subsequent pigmentation, limb and body size of the adult, or to the changing spatial relationships between the sclerites of the genitalia during copulatory movements, relationships which are retained when the imago is killed.     

A taxonomic revision of the genus Stempellinella (Diptera: Chironomidae)

The species of the chironomid genus Stempellinella are revised, described, and figured, and keys to known larvae, pupae, and male and female adults are presented. Five species new to science are diagnosed and described. An emended generic diagnosis of Stempellinella is given and morphological differences from its putative sister genus Zavrelia are discussed. The partial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences (DNA barcodes) of 10 Stempellinella species are presented and the variation in genetic distances within and between species is compared. The results indicate that DNA barcodes are suitable molecular markers for identification of Stempellinella species. The following life stages and species are diagnosed and described: the larva, pupa, male, and female of S. brevis, S. chambiensis, S. ciliaris, S. edwardsi, S. fimbriata sp. n., S. flavidula, S. leptocelloides, S. saltuum, and S. truncata; the pupa, male, and female of S. reissi and S. tamaseptima; the larva, pupa, and male of Stempellinella boltoni sp. n.; the pupa and male of S. lamellata sp. n.; the male and female of S. coronata; and the male of S. apicula, S. brevilamellae, S. distincta sp. n., and S. sublettorum sp. n. Two pupal types are described but not formally named. The following changes of combination are made: Stempellina chambiensis and Stempellina truncata are transferred to the genus Stempellinella. Zavrelia inopinata is listed as a new junior synonym of Stempellinella ciliaris.     

Synopsis and taxonomic revision of three genera in the snake tribe Sonorini

ABSTRACT

Delimiting species is a crucial goal of integrative biology, and yet can be misled by homoplasy and high levels of morphological variation. The snake tribe Sonorini contains three genera that have long confounded taxonomists: Chilomeniscus, Chionactis and Sonora. Dynamic colour evolution in this group, including rampant geographic variation in colour and colour polymorphism, has led to a chaotic taxonomy. We used mitochondrial and high-throughput nuclear data (ddRADseq) and complete taxonomic sampling of each genus to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships and systematically revise the genus. Our research revealed that Sonora is paraphyletic with regards to Chilomeniscus and Chionactis and that at least one species (S. semiannulata) is paraphyletic with respect to at least one other recognized species. Additionally, we found substantial undescribed genetic diversity within multiple species which is incongruent with morphological variation in coloration. Accordingly, we proposed synonymizing Chionactis and Chilomeniscus with Sonora, which has taxonomic priority over both genera. As we found genetic evidence that supported some of the historically delimited diversity within multiple taxa, we revised species-level taxonomy accordingly. This new taxonomy recognizes a revised genus of Sonora that contains 15 species of diminutive and often brightly coloured snakes that are distributed from central Mexico to north-western USA.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:45A553D8-6435-4E0A-84ED-DF31E2CCD872