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Friday, March 11th, 2022
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| 1:23a | [Botany • 2022] Chrysopogon densipaniculatus (Poaceae: Andropogoneae) • A New Species from Chhattisgarh, India
Abstract Chrysopogon densipaniculatus, a remarkable new species has been described and illustrated from Korba district of Chhattisgarh, India. The species is allied to C. serrulatus but may be distinguished by the dense panicle inflorescence, glandular peduncle, upper lemma and palea of the pedicelled spikelet bi-dentate to tridentate, the latter of which is reduced a minute scale. Detailed morphological description, distribution, habitat and ecology, illustration of floral parts and colour photographs, IUCN conservation status and relevant taxonomic notes of the species are provided. A key for the identification of Chrysopogon species in India is also given to facilitate the proper identification. Keywords: Endemic species, Critically Endangered, Chhattisgarh, Gramineae, Taxonomy, Monocots
Chrysopogon densipaniculatus Landge & A.P.Tiwari, sp. nov. Diagnosis:— It is a very distinct species, may easily be distinguished by the presence of transverse glandular patches on the laterally compressed peduncle; very dense panicle inflorescence i.e. 15 × 8.0 (–10) cm; 35–76 racemes from the lower nodes on rhachis; rhachis terminally divided; leaf blades ca. 90 × 2.0 cm, indistinct from the sheath (quite continuous); sheaths distinctly terete not keeled; lemma and palea in the pedicelled spikelet bi-dentate to tridentate, the latter of which is reduced to a minute scale, ca. 1.0 mm long. Etymology:— The epithet “densipaniculatus” alludes to the nature of highly dense panicle inflorescence. Distribution:— Chhattisgarh, Korba district, Chaiturgarh hills, India. Hitherto, it is the only locality where this species occurs, apparently endemic to the region. Arjun Prasad Tiwari and Shahid Nawaz Landge. 2022. Chrysopogon densipaniculatus (Poaceae: Andropogoneae): A New Species from India. Phytotaxa. 538(3); 241-248. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.538.3.7 | ||||||
| 1:30a | [Botany • 2022] Torreya dapanshanica (Taxaceae) • A New Species of Gymnosperm from Zhejiang, East China
Abstract Torreya dapanshanica X.F.Jin, Y.F.Lu & Zi L.Chen, a new species endemic to central Zhejiang, East China, is described and illustrated. This new species is most similar to T. jiulongshanensis (Z.Y.Li, Z.C.Tang & N.Kang) C.C.Pan, J.L.Liu & X.F.Jin, but differs in having leaves with an acuminate apex (vs. leaves with an acute apex), broadly ovoid-globose or globose seeds (vs. obovoid to narrowly obovoid seeds), slightly emarginate at the apex and obtuse-rounded at the base (vs. both acute at the apex and base), testa with irregular shallow grooves (vs. testa smooth or sometimes slightly concave). The diagnostic characters are critically compared and an IUCN assessment for the risk to the new species is estimated. Keywords: Gymnosperm, new species, Torreya dapanshanica, Zhejiang
Torreya dapanshanica X.F.Jin, Y.F.Lu & Zi L.Chen, sp. nov. Latin diagnosis: Species nova haec T. jiulongshanensi (Z.Y.Li et al.) C.C.Pan et al. affinis est, sed a qua foliis apice acuminatis, basi cuneatis, seminibus late ovoideo-globosis vel globosis, basi obtusis, testis irregulariter et vadose canaliculatis differt. Distribution and habitat: This new species is known only from Mount Dapanshan of Pan’an County, central Zhejiang. It grows at a single location on a forested slope by a stream margin at an elevation of 420‒485 m. Etymology: The specific epithet ‘dapanshanica’ refers to the type locality of the new species.  Yi-Fei Lu, Zi-Lin Chen, An-Guo He, Ju-Lian Liu, Pan Wang, Wei-Jie Chen and Xiao-Feng Jin. 2022. Torreya dapanshanica (Taxaceae), A New Species of Gymnosperm from Zhejiang, East China. PhytoKeys. 192: 29-36. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.192.79506 | ||||||
| 1:37a | [PaleoMammalogy • 2022] Rododelphis stamatiadisi • The Origins of the Killer Whale Ecomorph: A New False Killer Whale (Odontoceti: Delphinidae) from the Pleistocene of Rhodes (Greece)
Highlights: • New fossil false killer whale, Rododelphis stamatiadisi, found on island of Rhodes • Discovered with fish remains as its last meal and unlikely that it fed on other dolphins • Killer whales are the sole survivors of a clade that flourished 4 million years ago • Tooth wear in fossil killer whales suggest preying on dolphins evolved recently Summary The killer whale (Orcinus orca) and false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) are the only extant cetaceans that hunt other marine mammals, with pods of the former routinely preying on baleen whales >10 m in length and the latter being known to take other delphinids. Fossil evidence for the origins of this feeding behavior is wanting, although molecular phylogenies indicate that it evolved independently in the two lineages. We describe a new extinct representative of the killer whale ecomorph, Rododelphis stamatiadisi, based on a partial skeleton from the Pleistocene of Rhodes (Greece). Five otoliths of the bathypelagic blue whiting Micromesistius poutassou are associated with the holotype, providing unexpected evidence of its last meal. The evolutionary relationships of R. stamatiadisi and the convergent evolution of killer whale-like features were explored through a broad-ranging phylogenetic analysis that recovered R. stamatiadisi as the closest relative of P. crassidens and O. orca as the only living representative of a once diverse clade. Within the clade of Orca and kin, key features implicated in extant killer whale feeding, such as body size, tooth size, and tooth count, evolved in a stepwise manner. The tooth wear in Rododelphis and an extinct species of Orcinus (O. citoniensis) are consistent with a fish-based diet, supporting an exaptative Pleistocene origin for marine mammal hunting in both lineages. If correct, predation by the ancestors of Pseudorca and Orca did not play a significant role in the evolution of baleen whale gigantism. Keywords: macropredation, apex predator, killer whales, Delphinidae    Rododelphis stamatiadisi  Giovanni Bianucci, Jonathan H. Geisler, Sara Citron and Alberto Collareta. 2022. The Origins of the Killer Whale Ecomorph. Current Biology. In Press. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.041  | ||||||
| 7:08a | [Diplopoda • 2022] Pandirodesmus jaggernauthi • The Millipede Genus Pandirodesmus Silvestri, 1932 (Polydesmida, Chelodesmidae, Pandirodesmini) in Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean, with the Description of A New Species from Trinidad
Abstract During several collecting surveys for terrestrial micro-molluscs across Trinidad and Tobago, millipedes of the genus Pandirodesmus were taken by MR on both islands. Samples of P. rutherfordi Shelley & Smith, 2015, from Tobago, were recovered in addition to those containing a new species from Trinidad: Pandirodesmus jaggernauthi sp. nov. Additional records, illustrations, and descriptive notes are given for P. rutherfordi. A key is presented to all three species of the genus, and their distributions are mapped. Keywords: Myriapoda, taxonomy, new species, key, map   Pandirodesmus jaggernauthi sp. nov. Didier VandenSpiegel, Sergei Golovatch and Michael G. Rutherford. 2022. The Millipede Genus Pandirodesmus Silvestri, 1932 in Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean, with the Description of P. jaggernauthi sp. nov. from Trinidad (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Chelodesmidae, Pandirodesmini). Zootaxa. 5104(4); 567-576. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5104.4.6  | ||||||
| 3:50p | [Herpetology • 2021] Mesoclemmys jurutiensis • A New Species of Amazon Freshwater Toad-Headed Turtle in the Genus Mesoclemmys (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from Brazil
Abstract We describe a new extant species of freshwater turtle from Brazil: Mesoclemmys sp. nov., a medium-sized toad-headed turtle (mean carapace length = 189.5 ± 25.8 mm), which to date has only been found in the Brazilian Amazon Basin, western Pará State, Central Amazon, and the lower Amazonas River Basin. It is easily distinguished from its sympatric congeners by differences in body size, head size, carapace shape, and coloration. The head is triangular and completely black, with large red eyes positioned anteriorly and a pair of long, light yellow barbels positioned anteriorly close the mandible. The carapace is oval and colored dark reddish brown. The plastron is black in the central region and burnt-yellow along the edges and ventral aspects of the marginal scutes and bridge, with dark seams. The plastral formula is 3-5-7-4-1-6-2. The new species inhabits temporary rainwater ponds under closed-canopy rainforest and has a known geographic range of 2183 km2. Sequences of fragment mitochondrial DNA (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S) of the new species were determined and compared with the available GenBank sequences. Our phylogenetic results indicate that the specimens represent a divergent taxon within Mesoclemmys and a robust analysis of morphological data corroborates the existence of a new distinct species of Mesoclemmys, described herein.      Mesoclemmys jurutiensis Fábio A.G. Cunha, Iracilda Sampaio, Jeferson Carneiro and Richard C. Vogt. 2021. A New Species of Amazon Freshwater Toad-Headed Turtle in the Genus Mesoclemmys (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from Brazil. Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 20(2)- 151-166. DOI: 10.2744/CCB-1448.1 Nova espécie de tartaruga de água doce foi descoberta no oeste do Pará Nome da nova espécie, Mesoclemmys jurutiensis, homenageia o município onde foi encontrada, Juruti. Pesquisa contou com a ajuda dos ribeirinhos da comunidade  |
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