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Wednesday, October 13th, 2021
| Time | Event | ||
| 8:07a | [Botany • 2021] Aenigmanu alvareziae (Picramniaceae) • A New Genus from Western Amazonia
Abstract An unusual tree was collected in the Manu National Park in Peru in 1973 and although recollected many times, remained unidentified for decades. Preliminary molecular analysis indicated that it belonged to the Picramniaceae, even though the vegetative features were discordant. Using the nuclear marker ITS and the chloroplast marker rbcL, sequences were analyzed using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods. The molecular analyses and study of the morphology showed that it is a new genus and species of Picramniaceae, herein described as Aenigmanu alvareziae. We provide a full morphological description, illustrations, and a distribution map of the new taxon, as well as a revised key to the genera of Picramniaceae. Keywords: Aenigmanu, Manu National Park, Nothotalisia, Peru, taxonomy    Aenigmanu alvareziae William Wayt Thomas, Nancy Hensold, Robin Foster, Richard H. Ree and Raimundo Luciano Soares Neto. 2021. Aenigmanu, A New Genus of Picramniaceae from Western Amazonia. TAXON. Early View. DOI: 10.1002/tax.12588 Aenigmanu alvareziae. The genus name, Aenigmanu, means “mystery of Manu,” while the species name is in honor of Patricia Álvarez-Loayza, who collected the first specimens used for the genetic analysis. (It’s worth noting that while Aenigmanu alvareziae is new to scientists, it has long been used by the Indigenous Machiguenga people.) | ||
| 1:51p | [Mammalogy • 2021] Histiotus mochica • A New Species of Histiotus Gervais, 1856 (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae), from the Pacific Coast of Northern Peru
Abstract The Pacific coastal desert of Peru harbors a unique bat fauna, including narrowly endemic taxa adapted to arid environments. This region was also the setting where several pre-Incan civilizations flourished. The Moche culture (100–850 CE) was one of those, with a rich and diverse material culture that included strikingly realistic ceramic representations of the regional flora and fauna. In particular, one Mochica pottery vessel is in the form of a bat that, based on external characteristics (large pinnae and tragus, pinnae connected by high band of membrane across the forehead, and lack of noseleaf), clearly represents an individual of the vespertilionid genus Histiotus. The morphological characteristics observed in this vessel, in addition to the area of influence of the Moche culture, suggests that this vessel depicts a species previously unknown to science that we describe here as new on the basis of two specimens obtained in 2012 in the Peruvian department of Piura. Our new species, Histiotus mochica, can be distinguished from other congeners by having unicolored dorsal fur, medial lobes of pinnae greater than 9.5 mm wide, and a well-developed (>4.3 mm high) transverse band of skin connecting the pinnae. Cytochrome b sequence data indicate that the new species is sister to H. humboldti from the Andes of Colombia and northern Ecuador. The new species is a medium-sized Histiotus that clusters with H. laephotis, H. velatus, and with small specimens of H. montanus in our multivariate analyses. With the description of H. mochica, the diversity of the genus increases to 11 species. We provide a key based on external characters of all known species of Histiotus.   Histiotus mochica Paúl M. Velazco, Francisca Cunha Almeida, Vinícius C. Cláudio, Analía L. Giménez and Norberto P. Giannini. 2021. A New Species of Histiotus Gervais, 1856 (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae), from the Pacific Coast of Northern Peru. American Museum Novitates. (3979); 1-30. DOI: 10.1206/3979.1 |
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