As a part of ongoing cytogenetic studies on the bug family Nabidae (Heteroptera), the karyotypes and meiotic patterns of male Nabis (Aspilaspis) viridulus Spinola, 1837, N. (A.) indicus (Stål, 1873) (subfamily Nabinae) and Prostemma guttula (Fabricius, 1787) (subfamily Prostemmatinae) are described.
N. viridulus and N. indicus differ from P. guttula in their chromosome numbers, which are 2n = 32 + XY and 2n = 26 + XY, respectively, and behaviour of the sex chromosomes in male meiosis, which, respectively, show "distance pairing" and "touch-and-go pairing" in spermatocyte metaphase II. The karyotype of 2n = 34 and "touch-and-go pairing" are considered to be plesiomorphic characters in Nabidae. The evolutionary mechanisms that might underlie different chromosome numbers, the taxonomic significance of karyotype variation and the distribution of meiotic patterns in the family, are discussed.
A new genus and species, Horakia kubani gen. n., sp. n., of Meligethinae from Thailand are described and compared with the closely related genus Cryptarchopria Jelínek. Cryptarchopria infima (Grouvelle) is recorded from the islands Ambon and Seram (Maluku, Indonesia), and its association with flowers of the palm Areca catechu L. is established for the first time. Diagnostic characters of the genus Kabakovia Kirejtshuk, 1979 are discussed, and Kabakovia latipes (Grouvelle, 1908) is recorded from Nepal for the first time.
New palaeodictyopterid Namuroningxia elegans sp. n. (Namuroningxiidae fam. n.) and archaeorthopterid Sinopteron huangheense gen. n., sp. n. (uncertain family assignment) are described from the Tupo Formation (Upper Carboniferous, Namurian, northern China, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region). Both new taxa exhibit a unique structure of their wing venation pattern. The Namuroningxiidae fam. n. bears a mosaic of characters diagnostic of several "palaeopteran" families throughout Palaeodictyopteroida and Eupalaeoptera. This fact is highly interesting in reference to the Namurian age known for the occurrence of the first winged insects as well as the palaeogeographical position of the locality far from all sites in Laurussia. The preliminary study of entomofauna diversity exhibit frequent occurrence of archaeorthopterid wing fragments (e.g., Sinopteron huangheense) forming up to 40 percent of all insect specimens demonstrate high abundance of this group in the early Late Carboniferous ecosystems.
Rubus perpedatus Žíla et H. E. Weber (sect. Rubus ser. Radula Focke) is described as a new species. It differs from R. radula Weihe in having distinctly pedate leaves, terminal leaflets with an emarginate base, longer pedicels with longer stalked glands and with many more prickles. It is distributed in the Bavarian Forest, the Bohemian Forest and in Upper Austria. An illustration, a list of herbarium specimens and a map showing the distribution of this new species are provided.
Examples of Taraxacum species (sect. Ruderalia) that have a well-known main distribution area and, a few rather isolated, obviously introduced occurrences, are given. The lack of a long tradition of specific knowledge and collection of Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia specimens have impeded our understanding of the origin of the present distributions. Some views are presented. Taraxacum ancistratum, T. crassum, T. deltoidifrons, T. infuscatum, T. jugiferum, and T. lundense, all belonging to Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia, are described as new species. Three or four of these species were first found as introductions far away from their supposed main distribution area.
A comparative study of material of Sempervivum marmoreum Griseb. from the type locality (Mt Athos, Greece) and the northern part of its distribution revealed a distinct morphotype occurring in an isolated enclave along the Slovak–Hungarian border. As its karyotype differs it is formally described here as a new species – Sempervivum matricum Letz. The name Sempervivum assimile Schott, formerly considered as a possible name for this species is here critically examined. A morphological characterization of the new species, photographs of the plant and a distribution map based on revised herbarium specimens are provided.
The occurrence of common gudgeon in the River Morača drainage of southern Montenegro was investigated. Low numbers of specimens were recorded in four out of five localities investigated on the Zeta River and at a single locality on the lower part of the River Morača. Allozyme analysis revealed that the specimens examined belong to the species Gobio gobio (Linnaeus, 1758). The lower number of lateral line scales in common gudgeon from the Ohrid-Drim-Skadar system, as compared with other European populations, probably indicates clinal variability. The results also demonstrate that the subspecies Gobio gobio ohridanus Karaman, 1924 is not a valid taxon.
The monotypic genus Seychellesius Carvalho is transferred from the subfamily Cylapinae to Deraeocorinae, tribus Termatophylini Renter. Redescriptions and illustrations of the genus and its single species Seychellesius niger (Distant) are given.
A Potamogeton hybrid found growing in the absence of parental species in a South Bohemian stream, Czech Republic, was subjected to molecular analyses to identify its exact identity. RFLP of the ITS region confirmed its previous morphological identification as P. natans × P. nodosus (= P. ×schreberi). A comparison of its RFLP pattern with those of P. gramineus, P. lucens and P. polygonifolius unambiguously excluded the possibility that the investigated plants are specimens of other similar hybrids (P. ×fluitans, P. ×sparganiifolius, P. ×gessnacensis). The discovery of P. ×schreberi in South Bohemia is the first record of this hybrid for the Czech Republic. So far, it is known only from five countries and the Czech clone is one of a few extant clones of this hybrid in Central Europe. Chloroplast DNA sequencing identified P. nodosus as the maternal parent although at present this species neither occurs at the locality, nor upstream, nor in the entire drainage basin. The other species, P. natans, only occurs downstream of the locality in isolated side pools in a former stream bed and fishponds in an adjacent drainage basin. The available data indicate that this hybrid has persisted vegetatively at this locality for some time in the absence of its parents.
In this paper some taxonomic observations on the Australian flea beetle genus Pepila Weise, 1923 are reported. The following species are transferred to the genus Pepila and lectotypes for them designated: Chaetocnema carinata Baly, 1877; Plectroscelis crassipennis Blackburn, 1896; Chaetocnema fuscomaculata Baly, 1877; Plectroscelis hypocrita Blackburn, 1896; Chaetocnema laticeps Baly, 1877; Plectroscelis meyricki Blackburn, 1896; Dibolia ochracea Waterhouse, 1838; Plectroscelis pallidior Blackburn, 1896; Dibolia pygmaea Waterhouse, 1838; Plectroscelis quadraticollis Blackburn, 1896; Chaetocnema submetallescens Baly, 1877; Plectroscelis tumbyensis Blackburn, 1896; Chaetocnema waterhousei Baly, 1877. The synonymy of Chaetocnema submetallescens Baly, 1877 with Plectroscelis longior Blackburn, 1896 is proposed. In addition, the megalopoides species-group, including P. megalopoides Weise, 1923, P. uptoni n.sp., and P. longifallica n.sp., is analyzed.