Recent examinations of some marine fishes from off the southern coast of Iraq revealed the presence of five species of Philometra Costa, 1845 (Nematoda: Philometridae): Philometra arabiensis sp. n. (males and females) from the ovary of the shrimp scad Alepes djedaba (Forsskål) (Carangidae, Carangiformes), Philometra psettoditis Moravec, Walter et Yuniar, 2012 (females) from the body cavity of the Indian halibut Psettodes erumei (Bloch et Schneider) (Psettodidae, Pleuronectiformes), Philometra terapontis Moravec, Gopalakrishnan, Rajkumar, Saravanakumar et Kaliyamoorthy, 2011 (female) from the ovary of the jarbua terapon Terapon jarbua (Forsskål) (Terapontidae, Centrarchiformes), Philometra sp. (females) from the ovary of the Arabian blackspot threadfin Polydactylus mullani (Hora) (Polynemidae, Carangariformes) and Philometra sp. 2 of Moravec et al. (2016a) (females) from the ovary and body cavity of the bartail flathead Platycephalus indicus (Linnaeus) (Platycephalidae, Perciformes). Philometra arabiensis sp. n. is mainly characterised by the length of spicules (198-243 µm) and gubernaculum (75-99 µm), the gubernaculum/spicule length ratio (1 : 2.33-2.79), the structure of the gubernaculum distal portion and the male caudal end, and the body length of males (1.86-2.73 mm). The present findings of P. psettoditis and P. terapontis in fishes of the Arabian Gulf represent new geographical records for these parasites.
The examination of eight spotted skates, Raja straeleni Poll, resulted in the discovery of four new species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1849, namely A. microhabentes sp. n., A. microtenuis sp. n., A. crassus sp. n., and A. dolichocollum sp. n., located off the Western Cape of South Africa. With a total of over 200 valid species of Acanthobothrium recognised worldwide, the use of an integrative approach becomes imperative in the interest of simplifying interspecific comparisons between congeners. In accordance with this, the four new species were incorporated into the category classification system established by Ghoshroy and Caira in 2001, where they were identified as category 2 species, which, at present, includes 47 recognised species of Acanthobothrium. Nevertheless, each of the four new species exhibits postovarian testes, a most intriguing and highly unusual feature among Acanthobothrium, instantly differentiating them from most congeners. This feature has been reported in 12 congeners, which have previously been considered to be restricted to waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Not only do the four new congeners represent the first species of Acanthobothrium reported from southern Africa, but they also represent the first reported species with postovarian testes from the southern Atlantic Ocean. and Regarding the legitimacy of the four new species, only two other category 2 species are reported to exhibit this feature, namely A. popi Fyler, Caira et Jensen, 2009, and A. bobconniorum Fyler et Caira, 2010, to which the four congeners were compared to. Acanthobothrium microhabentes sp. n. is the smallest of the congeners and differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer testes and postovarian testes, a shorter body, fewer proglottids, a shorter scolex, and longer cephalic peduncle. Acanthobothrium microtenuis sp. n. differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer testes and postovarian testes, a shorter scolex, longer cephalic peduncle, and the possession of columnar spinitriches on the anterior region of the terminal proglottid. Acanthobothrium crassus sp.n. differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer postovarian testes, a narrower cirrus-sac, larger vitelline follicles, and a longer cephalic peduncle. Acanthobothrium dolichocollum sp. n. is the longest of the four new species and differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer postovarian testes, more postporal testes, a larger body, more proglottids, larger testes and vitelline follicles, and an exceptionally long cephalic peduncle. Apart from differences in overall size, the four new species differ in a combination of measurements for the scolex, vitelline follicles, muscular pad and cephalic peduncle, and the number of proglottids and testes. The four species were recovered from a previously unexplored host and locality, expanding the host associations and geographical distribution of the genus.
Between September and November 1991, 12 Owen Stanley skinks, Papuascincus stanleyanus (Booulenger) were collected from various localities on Papua New Guinea and examined for coccidians. Six (50%) were found to harbour four eimerians that we describe here as new. Oocysts of Eimeria burseyi sp. n. were elongate to ellipsoidal with a bilayered wall and measured (length × width, L × W) 36.0 × 24.0 µm, with a L/W ratio of 1.5. Both micropyle and oocyst residuum were absent, but a polar granule was present. Oocysts of Eimeria goldbergi sp. n. were ellipsoidal, with a bilayered wall, and measured 21.4 × 16.1 µm; L/W ratio was 1.3. Both micropyle and oocyst residuum were absent, but a single or fragmented polar granule was present. Oocysts of Eimeria boulengeri sp. n. were spheroidal to slightly subspheroidal, with a thin, single-layered wall that readily collapses, and measured 16.0 µm, L/W ratio was 1.0. Both micropyle and oocyst residuum were absent, but usually one (sometimes two) polar granule(s) were present. Oocysts of Eimeria niuginiensis sp. n. were oblong to tapered with a bilayered wall, and measured 20.0 × 13.1 µm; L/W ratio was 1.5. A micropyle, oocyst residuum and polar granule were absent. To our knowledge, these represent the only coccidians ever described from P. stanleyanus.
Plant names based on the original material from a restricted region are scientifically important for the study of local biodiversity. Names typified with or entirely based on the original material from the Czech Republic are studied in the present paper; the names are confined to cases of generally accepted names published and taxa described in the period 1753–1820. Some names with original material coming from a border region (mostly near the Polish border) are included, too. Brief notes and references are given to introduce the authors of names and the history of their herbarium collections. New data are given on publications and herbaria of F.W. Schmidt, T. Haenke and J. E. Pohl, including examples of their handwritings; the other authors being C. Linnaeus (and J. Burser), J. Zauschner, K. L.Willdenow, J. C. Mikan, K. Sternberg, H. A. Schrader, L. Trattinick, K. B. Presl, J. S. Presl, P. M. Opiz, I. F. Tausch and H. G. L. Reichenbach. Nomenclatural and taxonomic notes are given on Aconitum plicatum, Allium senescens subsp. montanum, Gagea bohemica, Plantago uliginosa, Spergularia salina, Valeriana officinalis, V. exaltata, V. sambucifolia and Veronica triloba. A number of names are typified (lecto-, neo- , epitypes): Allium montanum, Athyrium distentifolium, Erysimum arcuatum (= Barbarea vulgaris subsp. arcuata), Schmidtia (= Coleanthus) subtilis, Epilobium nutans, Ornithogalum bohemicum (= Gagea bohemica), Hieracium sudeticum, Myosotis sparsiflora, Cynoglossum (= Omphalodes) scorpioides, Pedicularis sudetica, Phyteuma nigrum, Plantago uliginosa (with an identification key), Poa laxa, Soldanella montana, Symphytum bohemicum, Thlaspi caerulescens, Valeriana exaltata (with notes on the typification of V. officinalis), V. sambucifolia, Veronica triloba (with a note on the status of names in Čelakovský‘s works), Viola sudetica and V. saxatilis. The other names included in the list are Avenula planiculmis, Cardamine amara subsp. opicii, Eriophorum vaginatum, Hieracium rupestre (= H. schmidtii), Luzula sudetica, Mentha longifolia, Potentilla lindackeri, Rosa elliptica, Salix silesiaca, Stipa capillata and Viola rupestris. A few cases of names excluded from the list are also analysed: Achillea millefolium subsp. sudetica, Alchemilla fissa, Carex bohemica, Dactylorhiza longebracteata, Gagea pusilla, Geranium bohemicum, Matricaria recutita, Veronica dentata, Spergularia salina (correct name: S. marina), Gentianella obtusifolia, Myosotis alpestris and Mentha rotundifolia. For most cases, conservation status and situation at the original localities (in many cases in protected areas) are discussed.
The subfamily Metriorrhynchinae is the most species-rich clade of Lycidae (Coleoptera). A recent proposal suggests that the Erotinae is a sister group of the Metriorrhynchinae. Within the Metriorrhynchinae, evidence is presented for the monophyly of the Conderini and Metriorrhynchini and their sister group position. The Trichalina, Hemiconderina and Metriorrhynchina form the tribe Metriorrhynchini. The relationships between the basal lineages of this group are poorly understood. Several clades are distinguished within the Metriorrhynchina, but there is only weak evidence supporting a relationships between them. The distribution of individual clades is discussed. Carathrix Kleine, 1926 (= Pseudodontocerus Pic, 1921), Dilolycus Kleine, 1926 (= Metriorrhynchus Gemminger et Harold, 1869), Flabelloporrostoma Pic, 1923 (= Metriorrhynchus Gemminger et Harold, 1869), Rossioptera Kasantsev, 1988 (= Xylobanellus Kleine, 1930), Samanga Pic, 1921 (= Broxylus C.O. Waterhouse, 1879), Strophicus C. O. Waterhouse, 1879 (= Enylus C.O. Waterhouse, 1879), and Tapromenoeus Bocak et Bocakova, 1989 (= Prometanoeus Kleine, 1925) are proposed as junior synonyms. Pseudosynchonnus Pic, 1922 is transferred to the Erotinae (Taphini) and Pseudosynchonnus Pic, 1922, Protaphes Kleine, 1926, and Parapyropterus Kleine, 1926 are proposed to be junior subjective synonyms of Lycoprogenthes Pic, 1915. Redescriptions of Metriorrhynchinae genera and a key to genera are provided.
Genetic differentiation of Rana temporaria from the Pyrenean and Cantabrian mountains in Spain was studied by means of allozyme electrophoresis. 24 loci were analysed in 104 specimens from 15 populations: nine populations from the Pyrenean massif, five populations from the area of the Cantabrian mountain chain (regions of Galicia, Asturias, and Basque Country), and one population from Germany. Three distinct clusters were distinguished by phenetic analysis: (a) the Pyrenean samples and the single population from the Basque Country, (b) the populations from Galicia and Asturias) and (c) the German population. Ordination (PCA) resulted in one principle component (PC1) that separated Cantabrian from Pyrenean populations, and in a second one (PC2) that separated the single German population from the Iberian ones. PC1 indicated introgression that was corroborated by west-east clines in several alleles along the Cantabrian chain. The rather clear separation of the Cantabrian and Pyrenean clusters (mean genetic distance 0.121) suggests that two genetically different subspecies of R. temporaria may be distinguished in Spain. The absence of fixed allelic differences between populations refutes recent hypotheses of the existence of syntopic sibling species within R. temporaria in Spain. Biogeographically, the Pyrenean and Cantabrian populations possibly originated in two separate colonisation events starting from different glacial refuges. The strong morphological differentiation of Pyrenean R. temporaria populations is not paralleled by genetic divergence, and may better be explained by ecological factors such as climate, altitude and vegetation.
Based on light and scanning electron microscopical studies, the following five gonad-infecting species of the Philometridae (Nematoda: Dracunculoidea) are described from marine perciform fishes off the eastern coast of India (Bay of Bengal): Philometra sphyraenae sp. n. (males and females) from the pickhandle barracuda Sphyraena jello Cuvier (Sphyraenidae), Philometra gerrei sp. n. (males and females) from the whipfin silver-biddy Gerres filamentosus Cuvier (Gerreidae), Philometra otolithi sp. n. (single female) from the tigertooth croaker Otolithes ruber (Bloch et Schneider) (Sciaenidae), Philometra sp. (females) from the Belanger's croaker Johnius belangerii (Cuvier) (Sciaenidae), and Philometroides eleutheronemae sp. n. (females) from the fourfinger threadfin Eleutheronema tetradactylum (Shaw) (Polynemidae). All new species are distinguished from their congeners parasitizing gonads of marine fishes by morphological (mainly the gubernaculum structure in males and the shape and structure of the cephalic and caudal ends and of the oesophagus in females) and biometrical features. Philometra rajani Mukherjee, 1963 is considered a species inquirenda.
Ant-like stone beetles (Coleoptera: Scydmaenidae) include more than 4,850 described species in about 90 genera maintained as a separate cosmopolitan family since 1815. Recent authors have hypothesised that Scydmaenidae might be rooted deep inside rove-beetles (Staphylinidae). To test this hypothesis we analysed 206 parsimoniously informative larval and adult morphological characters scored for 38 taxa. Strict consensus topologies from the shortest trees in all 12 analyses consistently placed Scydmaenidae as sister to (Steninae + Euaesthetinae) in a monophyletic Staphylinine Group (with or without Oxyporinae). The single fully resolved and most consistently supported topology maintains a monophyletic Staphylinine Group consisting of Oxyporinae + (Megalopsidiinae + (("Scydmaenidae" + (Steninae + Euaesthetinae)) + (Leptotyphlinae + (Pseudopsinae + (Paederinae + Staphylininae))))); Solierius lacks larval data and is ambiguously placed within the Group. Eight analyses of variably aligned 18S rDNA data for 93 members of Staphylinoidea under parsimony, neighbour-joining and Bayesian approaches were markedly inconsistent, although partly congruent with the Scydmaenidae + (Steninae + Euaesthetinae) hypothesis. Our results strongly suggest that ant-like stone beetles do not form an independent family, but are morphologically modified members of Staphylinidae and, consequently, should be treated as a 32nd recent subfamily within the megadiverse Staphylinidae sensu latissimo. Formal taxonomic acts are: Scydmaeninae Leach, 1815, status novus (= Scydmaenidae Leach, 1815); Scydmaenitae Leach, 1815, status novus (= Scydmaeninae Leach, 1815); Mastigitae Fleming, 1821, status novus (= Mastiginae Fleming, 1821); Hapsomelitae Poinar & Brown, 2004, status novus (= Hapsomelinae Poinar & Brown, 2004). The family Staphylinidae sensu latissimo becomes the largest in Coleoptera and in the whole of the Animal Kingdom, with 55,440 described species (extant plus extinct), thus surpassing Curculionidae with an estimated 51,000 described species.
A parasitic nematode from the stomach of Japanese eel Anguilla japonica Temminck et Schlegel in western Japan, previously identified as Heliconema longissimum (Ortlepp, 1922), was morphologically re-examined and compared with the previous descriptions. In addition, the third-stage larva of this nematode is described, based on the specimens of encapsuled larvae found in musculature of two crabs, Hemigrapsus sp. and Perisesarma bidens (De Haan), caught from the upper-intertidal zone of the same locality. As a result of the morphological observation, seven pairs of postcloacal papillae in adult males are confirmed. This matches with the character of H. longissimum, but the shape of the fifth postcloacal papillae differs between the present material and H. longissimum; the former possesses pedunculate papillae in the fifth pair whereas the latter has sessile papillae. Since the pedunculate papillae can be found in the original description and the syntype specimens of H. anguillae Yamaguti, 1935 that has been synonymised with H. longissimum, we thus here resurrect H. anguillae as an accepted species. For the life-cycle of the present nematode, littoral crabs, including the two infected species, are likely to be the source of infections for Japanese eels, acting as intermediate hosts., Hirotaka Katahira, Kazuya Nagasawa., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Myxobolus filamentum sp. n. was found infecting gill filaments of three of 39 Brycon orthotaenia Günther specimens examined (8%), which were taken from the river São Francisco in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Plasmodia of the parasite were white and long, measuring 5 mm in lenght. Mature spores of M. filamentum sp. n. were oval from the frontal view and biconvex from the lateral view, measuring 7.5-9.7 µm (9.0 ± 0.3 µm) in length and 5.2-7.3 µm (6.2 ± 0.4 µm) in width. The polar capsules were elongated and equal in size, measuring 3.8-5.5 µm (4.7 ± 0.3 µm) in length and 1.3-2.2 µm (1.7 ± 0.1 µm) in width. The development of the parasite led to compression of the adjacent tissues and inflammatory infiltrate with granulocytic cells. Ultrastructural observation revealed that the plasmodia were delimited by two membranes, which had numerous and extensive pinocytotic channels extending into the wide ectoplasm zone. The plasmodial wall exhibited abundant villi-like projections and a thin layer of granular material prevented direct contact between the plasmodial wall and the host tissue. Phylogenetic analysis, based on 18S rDNA, showed M. filamentum sp. n. as a sister species of Myxobolus oliveirai Milanin, Eiras, Arana, Maia, Alves, Silva, Carriero, Ceccarelli et Adriano, 2010, a parasite of other fish species of the genus Brycon Müller et Troschel from South America., Juliana Naldoni, Suellen A. Zatti, Kassia R.H. Capodifoglio, Tiago Milanin, Antônio A.M. Maia, Marcia R.M. Silva, Edson A. Adriano., and Obsahuje bibliografii