[Most Recent Entries] [Calendar View]
Friday, June 5th, 2020
| Time | Event | ||||||
| 2:05a | [PaleoMammalogy • 2020] The late Middle Miocene Mae Moh Basin of northern Thailand: the Richest Neogene Assemblage of Carnivora from Southeast Asia and A Paleobiogeographic Analysis of Miocene Asian Carnivorans
Abstract The late middle Miocene fossil-bearing lignite zones of the Mae Moh Basin, northern Thailand, have yielded a rich vertebrate fauna, including two species of Carnivora described thus far: the bunodont otter Siamogale thailandica (known from over a 100 specimens) and the large amphicyonid Maemohcyon potisati. Here we describe additional carnivoran material from Mae Moh comprising new remains of Maemohcyon potisati as well as remains of seven new carnivorans belonging to at least four families: a new species of Siamogale (S. bounosa), a new species of another otter (Vishnuonyx maemohensis), one representative of the genus Pseudarctos (a small amphicyonid), a new genus of Asian palm civet, Siamictis, one representative of another civet (cf. Viverra sp.), a new species of mongoose (Leptoplesictis peignei) and a Feliformia indet. This carnivoran assemblage constitutes one of the richest for the middle Miocene of eastern Asia and by far the richest for the Neogene of Southeast Asia. While the presence of new species indicates a certain degree of endemism for the Mae Moh Basin, paleobiogeographic cluster analyses conducted on carnivoran faunas from the middle and late Miocene of Asia indicates that a southern Asian biogeographic province, analogous to the current Oriental Realm, has existed since at least the middle Miocene. These results strengthen the observation that the Himalayan Mountains and Tibetan Plateau constitute significant physical barriers as well as an important climatic barrier (through the strengthening of monsoon systems) preventing north-south mammal dispersals in Asia since at least the middle Miocene.
SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY Order Carnivora Bowdich, 1821 Suborder Caniformia Kretzoi, 1943 Superfamily Arctoidea Flower, 1869 Family Mustelidae Fischer, 1817 Subfamily Lutrinae Bonaparte, 1838 Siamogale Ginsburg et al., 1983 Type species: Siamogale thailandica Ginsburg et al., 1983. Included species: Siamogale thailandica Ginsburg et al., 1983, S. melilutra Wang et al., 2018, S. bounosa, n. sp. Siamogale bounosa, new species Etymology: From Greek bounos (masculine), “hill”; for the bunodont teeth morphology of this species. Vishnuonyx Pilgrim, 1932 Type species: Vishnuonyx chinjiensis Pilgrim, 1932. Included species: Vishnuonyx chinjiensis Pilgrim, 1932, V. angololensis Werdelin, 2003, V. maemohensis, n. sp. Vishnuonyx maemohensis, new species Etymology: The species name derives from the locality where it was originally found, Mae Moh. Family Amphicyonidae Haeckel, 1866 Subfamily Amphicyoninae Haeckel, 1866 Maemohcyon Peigné et al., 2006 Maemohcyon potisati Peigné et al., 2006 Pseudarctos Schlosser, 1899 cf. Pseudarctos sp.
Suborder Feliformia Kretzoi, 1945 Family Viverridae Gray, 1821 Subfamily Paradoxurinae Gray, 1964 Siamictis carbonensis, new genus, new species Etymology: Generic name derived from Siam, referring to Thailand, and ictis, meaning “marten” in Greek. Species name derived from carbo, meaning “coal” in Latin, in reference to the open coal mine of Mae Moh. Subfamily Viverrinae Gray, 1964 cf. Viverra sp. Family Herpestidae Gray, 1964 Leptoplesictis Major, 1903 Type species: Herpestes filholi Gaillard, 1899. Other species included: L. aurelianensis (Schlosser, 1888), L. atavus Beaumont, 1973, L. rangwai Schmidt-Kittler, 1987, L. mbitensis Schmidt-Kittler, 1987, L. senutae Morales et al., 2008, L. namibiensis Morales et al., 2008, L. peignei, n. sp. Leptoplesictis peignei, new species Etymology: Species name in memory of Stéphane Peigné, who greatly contributed to carnivoran systematics and evolution. CONCLUSIONS: Nine species of Carnivora are now recorded from the Mae Moh Basin. This fauna appears endemic at the species level. It includes two semiaquatic mustelid genera: the piscivorous otter Vishnuonyx and the bunodont otter Siamogale, represented by two species and the remains of which are the most abundant among Mae Moh Carnivora. It is worth mentioning that Vishnuonyx maemohensis fossils provide the first undoubted record of the lower dentition of the genus and is the most completely known species of this genus. In addition, four smaller feliforms are also present at Mae Moh: two viverrids (including one new genus of Asian palm civet, Siamictis), one herpestid (Leptoplesictis, which represents the oldest Asian member of the family) and a Feliformia indet. Amphicyonids are reported by a very small species (cf. Pseudarctos sp.) and by the largest carnivoran mammal of the Mae Moh community (Maemohcyon potisati). By conducting paleobiogeographical cluster analyses based on middle and late Miocene carnivorans, we highlight the existence of a southern Asian biogeographic province, analogous to the current Oriental Realm, since at the least the middle Miocene. This province results from the physical barrier created by the Himayan Mountains and Tibetan Plateau as well as the climatic changes they generated through the strengthening of the monsoon systems in Asia. Our study also demonstrates that carnivoran taxa can be used for the reconstruction of biogeographical provinces, and therefore should be integrated in future analyses. Camille Grohé, Louis De Bonis, Yaowalak Chaimanee, Olivier Chavasseau, Mana Rugbumrung, Chotima Yamee, Kantapon Suraprasit, Corentin Gibert, Jérôme Surault, Cécile Blondel and Jean-Jacques Jaeger. 2020. The late Middle Miocene Mae Moh Basin of northern Thailand: the Richest Neogene Assemblage of Carnivora from Southeast Asia and A Paleobiogeographic Analysis of Miocene Asian Carnivorans. American Museum Novitates. 3952: 1–57. DOI: 10.1206/3952.1 digitallibrary.amnh.org/handle/2246/7223 | ||||||
| 9:27a | [PaleoMammalogy • 2020] New Insights Into the Giant Mustelids (Carnivora, Mustelidae) from Langebaanweg Fossil Site (West Coast Fossil Park, South Africa, early Pliocene)
Abstract Giant mustelids are a paraphyletic group of mustelids found in the Neogene of Eurasia, Africa and North America. Most are known largely from dental remains, with their postcranial skeleton mostly unknown. Here, we describe new craniodental and postcranial remains of the large lutrine Sivaonyx hendeyi and the leopard-size gulonine Plesiogulo aff. monspessulanus from the early Pliocene site Langebaanweg, South Africa. The new material of the endemic S. hendeyi, includes upper incisors and premolars, and fragmentary humerus, ulna and a complete astragalus. Its postcrania shares more traits with the living Aonyx capensis than the late Miocene Sivaonyx beyi from Chad. Sivaonyx hendeyi could therefore be tentatively interpreted as a relatively more aquatic taxon than the Chadian species, comparable to A. capensis. The new specimens of Plesiogulo comprise two edentulous maxillae, including one of a juvenile individual with incomplete decidual dentition, and a fragmentary forelimb of an adult individual. The new dental measurements point to this form being amongst the largest specimens of the genus. Both P3-4 differs from the very large species Plesiogulo botori from late Miocene of Kenya and Ethiopia. This confirms the existence of two distinct large species of Plesiogulo in Africa during the Mio/Pliocene, P. botori in the Late Miocene of Eastern Africa (6.1–5.5 Ma) and Plesiogulo aff. monspessulanus at the beginning of the Pliocene in southern Africa (5.2 Ma). Lastly, we report for the first time the presence of both Sivaonyx and Plesiogulo in MPPM and LQSM at Langebaanweg, suggesting that the differences observed from the locality may be produced by sedimentation or sampling biases instead of temporal replacement within the carnivoran guild. Systematic Paleontology Order Carnivora Bowdich, 1821 Suborder Caniformia Kretzoi, 1943 Family Mustelidae Fischer von Waldheim, 1817 Subfamily Lutrinae Bonaparte, 1838 Genus Sivaonyx Pilgrim, 1931 Type species: Sivaonyx bathygnathus (Lydekker, 1884) by original designation. Other included species: S. africanus (Stromer, 1931); S. beyi; S. ekecaman Werdelin, 2003b; S. hendeyi; S. kamuhangirei Morales & Pickford, 2005; S. soriae Morales & Pickford, 2005 (=S. senutae Morales & Pickford, 2005 following Peigné et al., 2008); S. hessicus (Lydekker, 1890); Sivaonyx gandakasensis Pickford, 2007. Remarks: Sivaonyx and Enhydriodon represent the largest African genera of bunodont otters, and their systematic position are debated (Morales & Pickford, 2005; Geraads et al., 2011; Grohé et al., 2013; Werdelin & Lewis, 2013, 2017; Werdelin, 2015; Ghaffar & Akhtar, 2016). Morales & Pickford, 2005 reassigned most of the African specimens with available dentition from Enhydriodon to Sivaonyx, a suggestion followed later by many authors (Pickford, 2007; Peigné et al., 2008; Lewis, 2008; Haile-Selassie, 2008; Haile-Selassie & Howell, 2009; Werdelin & Peigné, 2010; Grohé et al., 2013; Koufos, Mayda & Kaya, 2018), although recently new findings questioned this proposal (Geraads et al., 2011; Werdelin & Lewis, 2013; Werdelin, 2015). The aim of this work is not to resolve this controversy, and below we refer these taxa following the proposal of Morales & Pickford (2005). We also accept the presence of very large Enhydriodon in Africa with E. dikikae and Enhydriodon sp. from Woranso-Mille Area, Afar Region, Ethiopia, 3.6 Ma (Werdelin, Lewis & Haile-Selassie, 2014). Sivaonyx hendeyi (Morales, Pickford & Soria, 2005)  Subfamily Guloninae Gray, 1825 Genus Plesiogulo Zdansky, 1924 Type species: Plesiogulo brachygnathus (Schlosser, 1903) by original designation. Other included species: Plesiogulo marshalli (Martin, 1928); Plesiogulo monspessulanus Viret, 1939; Plesiogulo crassa Teilhard de Chardin, 1945; Plesiogulo praecocidens Kurtén, 1970; Plesiogulo lindsayi Harrison, 1981; Plesiogulo botori Haile-Selassie, Hlusko & Howell, 2004. Plesiogulo aff. monpessulanus Viret, 1939 Locality: Langebaanweg, early Pliocene, LQSM and MPPM. New material from Langebaanweg: SAM-PQL-40117, edentulous left maxillary of an adult specimen with P2-4 and M1 alveoli; SAM-PQL-47086, edentulous left maxillary of a juvenile specimen including a fragmented DP4 and alveoli for P3-M1 and DP3; SAM-PQL-6246, left distal part of a humerus; SAM-PQL-L3440, right distal part of a radius; C. SAM-PQL-6414, right proximal fragment of an ulna. Alberto Valenciano and Romala Govender. 2020. New Insights Into the Giant Mustelids (Mammalia, Carnivora, Mustelidae) from Langebaanweg Fossil Site (West Coast Fossil Park, South Africa, early Pliocene). PeerJ. 8:e9221 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9221 peerj.com/blo New insights into the giant mustelids from Langebaanweg fossil site: Author Interview with Alberto Valenciano | ||||||
| 9:58a | [Entomology • 2020] Bradinopyga konkanensis • A New Dragonfly (Odonata: Anisoptera: Libellulidae) from the Coastal Region of Maharashtra
Abstract Bradinopyga konkanensis sp. nov. is described based on three males and one female collected from the coastal region of Maharashtra, India. Important characters are illustrated and compared with morphologically similar species Bradinopyga geminata (Rambur, 1842), Indothemis carnatica (Fabricius, 1798), and Indothemis limbata sita Campion, 1923. Bradinopyga konkanensis sp. nov. is so far the only Western Ghats endemic Odonata species associated with lateritic coastal habitats. Keywords: Odonata, dragonfly, new species, description, taxonomy, Western Ghats, Bradinopyga, geminata, Indothemis 
Bradinopyga konkanensis spec. nov. Etymology. This species is named after the ‘Konkan’ region of Western India, which includes coastal areas of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.  Shantanu Joshi and Dattaprasad Sawant. 2020. Description of Bradinopyga konkanensis sp. nov. (Odonata: Anisoptera: Libellulidae) from the Coastal Region of Maharashtra, India. Zootaxa. 4779(1); 65–78. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4779.1.4   | ||||||
| 10:03a | [Entomology • 2020] Five New Species of Dolichomitus Smith (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae) from the tropical Andes, with A Key for the South American Species
Abstract Dolichomitus Smith is a widely distributed pimpline genus with more than seventy known species. There are eight species previously reported from South America: D. annulicornis (Cameron), D. bivittatus Townes, D. hypermeces Townes, D. jatai Loffredo & Penteado-Dias, D. longicauda Smith, D. megalourus (Morley), D. moacyri Loffredo & Penteado-Dias and D. zonatus (Cresson). In this paper, we describe five new species: D. mariajosae Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., D. menai Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., D. orejuelai Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., D. pimmi Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., and D. rendoni Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov. All have been collected in cloud forests in the Colombian tropical Andes. An illustrated key to the South American species of the genus is also provided. Keywords: Colombia, Darwin wasps, Ephialtini, Mesenia-Paramillo, Neotropical, ovipositor, parasitoid wasps, taxonomy 
Dolichomitus mariajosae Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov. Diagnosis: Dolichomitus mariajosae sp. nov. may be distinguished from other Neotropical species by the combination of the following characteristics: general color pattern (yellow with various specifics black marks); malar space 0.30× as long as basal mandibular width; areolet not petiolate; wings hyaline with strongly contrasting apical darkened area, pterostigma dark brown; hind wing with proximal abscissa of CU inclivous; ovipositor sheath ca. 1.30× as long as body, and ca. 4.20× as long as hind tibia. Etymology: The specific epithet is in honor of Maria Jose Valencia, daughter of Carlos Eduardo Valencia, Colombian entrepreneur, who supports conservation initiatives in the Andes and Chocó ecoregions, and enjoys the natural world and the challenges of exploring the outdoors. Dolichomitus menai Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov. Diagnosis: Dolichomitus menai sp. nov. may be distinguished from other Neotropical species by the combination of the following characteristics: head mostly black with clypeus predominantly dark brown, anterior margin of clypeus, inner orbit, frontal orbit, outer orbit yellow; fore leg mostly black with ventral surfaces of femur and tibiae yellow; wings iridescent rainbow colors with strongly contrasting subapical darkened area, pterostigma black; areolet not petiolated; malar space 0.55× as long as basal mandibular width; areolet ca. 1.80× as wide as height; fore wing with vein 1cu-a vertical; hind wing with proximal abscissa of CU slightly inclivous and straight; metasoma mostly black, with posterior membranous section of first metasomal sternite, sternites II–VI and part of sternite VII white; ovipositor sheath ca. 1.25× as long as body, and ca. 3.60× as long as hind tibia. Etymology: The specific epithet is in honor of Luis Fernando Mena for his continued support of the Mesenia-Paramillo nature reserve in the acquisition of forested areas for conservation. Mr. Mena is known for his support of important causes and has supported many NGO’s in Colombia that have an important social impact. Dolichomitus orejuelai Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov. Diagnosis: Dolichomitus orejuelai sp. nov. may be distinguished from other Neotropical species by the combination of the following characteristics: head and mesosoma mostly reddish black; metasoma mostly yellowish brown with anterior half of tergite I dorsally, posterior margin of tergites II–V, a semicircular dorsal spot based on the anterior margin of tergite V, tergites VI–VIII reddish black; face with abundant setiferous punctures; malar space 0.30× as long as basal mandibular width; mandible bidentate, 1.40× as long as basal width; hind leg with femur ca. 5.50× as long as height; wings yellowish, pterostigma light brown; areolet not petiolated; dorsolateral carinae of first metasomal tergite present on petiole and stronger on postpetiole; posterior half of tergite II and tergites III–V densely and strongly punctuate; ovipositor sheath ca. 1.10× as long as body, and ca. 3.00× as long as hind tibia. Etymology: The specific epithet is a tribute to Jorge Enrique Orejuela Gardner, National Geographic 2007 Buffet prize winner for his work over three decades in Colombia on conservation education, protected area management and sustainable development. His accomplishments include the establishment of the cloud forest nature reserve La Planada, also helped establish Utría and Gorgona Island national parks, and the Quindío Basin and Calima River nature reserves. His mentoring for the creation of the Mesenia-Paramillo nature reserve was key to the success of this conservation project.  Dolichomitus pimmi Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov. Diagnosis: Dolichomitus pimmi sp. nov. may be distinguished from other Neotropical species by the combination of the following characteristics: general pattern of general color (orange yellow with various specifics black marks; wings yellowish with strongly contrasting apical darkened area, pterostigma light brown; areolet not petiolate; malar space 0.30× as long as basal mandibular width; mandible bidentate, 2.55× as long as basal width (front view); tergite I ca. 2.20× as long as posteriorly wide; ovipositor sheath ca. 0.90× as long as body, and ca. 3.00× as long as hind tibia. Etymology: The specific epithet is in honor of Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Chair of Conservation Ecology in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. Winner of the 2006 Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences, awardee of the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement in 2010, and recipient of the 2019 International Cosmos Prize – among the most prestigious honors in the environmental field – for his research on endangered species and his work to help reverse species’ declines by protecting their shrinking habitats. His support of the Mesenia-Paramillo nature reserve conservation project to restore areas and reconnect forest fragments has been invaluable. Dolichomitus rendoni Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov. Diagnosis: Dolichomitus rendoni sp. nov. may be distinguished from other Neotropical species by the combination of the following characteristics: malar space 0.35× as long as basal mandibular width; mesosoma mostly red with the tegula white; wings yellowish, pterostigma dark brown; areolet slightly petiolate; fore leg with a white concavity on it postero-dorsal margin; fore and mid legs mainly white; hind wing with vein cu-a ca. 1.20× as long as proximal abscissa of CU; metasoma mostly reddish black with ventro-lateral spots on tergites III–IV, lateral of tergites V–VIII red (except for the posterior margin of tergites V and VI laterally reddish black); posterior margin of tergite I–VII with a white band dorsally (small and narrow on tergite I); posterior membranous section of first metasomal sternite ca. 0.60 of length of tergite; ovipositor sheath ca. 0.90× as long as body, and ca. 2.90× as long as hind tibia. Etymology: The specific epithet is in honor of Ubiel Rendon, park ranger at the Mesenia-Paramillo nature reserve. A La Mesenia village native and once an avid hunter, his knowledge of the surrounding forests has been key for monitoring wildlife and helping with long-term studies using camera traps. He has made several important contributions to the scientific world, finding multiple new species of amphibians, reptiles and orchids at the reserve, including this Darwin wasp named in his honor. Rodrigo O. Araujo, Diego G. Pádua, Jorge Jaramillo and Luis A. Mazariegos. 2020. Five New Species of Dolichomitus Smith from the tropical Andes, with A Key for the South American Species (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae). ZooKeys. 937: 89-113. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.937.51361 |
| << Previous Day |
2020/06/05 [Calendar] |
Next Day >> |