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Thursday, January 12th, 2023
| Time | Event | ||||||||
| 1:34a | [Entomology • 2022] Austrocarausius coronatus, A. eirmosus, A. truncatus, etc. • Integrative Taxonomy of the Stick Insect Genus Austrocarausius Brock, 2000 (Phasmatodea: Lonchodidae) reveals Cryptic Species in Remnant Queensland Rainforests, Australia
Abstract Austrocarausius Brock, 2000 is a stick insect (Phasmatodea: Lonchodidae) genus containing two species restricted to the tropical rainforests of northern Queensland. Recent specimen collections between the two species’ type localities, Lizard Island and Rockhampton, have suggested that Austrocarausius might represent more than the two nominal species. Here, we apply morphological and molecular analyses to revise the taxonomy of this genus. Using both field-collected and historic museum samples, we developed morphological species hypotheses and descriptions. Genetic sequencing of mitochondrial COI and 16S were undertaken for species delimitation and phylogenetic analysis, including an estimate of the evolutionary timescale of the genus. Based on these results, we propose nine new Austrocarausius species, increasing the number of species in the genus to eleven: A. nigropunctatus (Kirby, 1896), A. mercurius (Stål, 1877), A. coronatus sp. nov., A. decorus sp. nov., A. eirmosus sp. nov., A. gasterbulla sp. nov., A. tuberosus sp. nov., A. macropunctatus sp. nov., A. truncatus sp. nov. A. waiben sp. nov. and A. walkeri sp. nov. Our results suggest Austrocarausius species diversified over the last c. 25–70 Ma, resulting in the now endemic distributions in the tropical rainforests of the central and northern Queensland coasts. This is the first integrative systematic study of an Australian phasmid genus, combining morphological, molecular and biogeographical methods. Additional species of Austrocarausius likely remain undescribed as can be inferred from methodical sampling of rainforest patches along the Queensland coast. Keywords: biogeography, dispersal, integrative taxonomy, molecular dating, morphological analysis, phylogenetic, systematics, taxonomy.
Braxton R. Jones, Paul D. Brock, Barbara Mantovani, Perry Beasley-Hall, David K. Yeates and Nathan Lo. 2022. Integrative Taxonomy of the Stick Insect Genus Austrocarausius Brock, 2000 (Phasmatodea: Lonchodidae) reveals Cryptic Species in Remnant Queensland Rainforests. Invertebrate Systematics. 36(9); 849-873. DOI: 10.1071/IS21076 | ||||||||
| 2:51a | [Herpetology • 2023] Cyrtodactylus santana • Scratching the Surface: A New Species of Bent-toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from Timor-Leste of the darmandvillei group marks the potential for future discoveries
Abstract A new species of limestone-dwelling Bent-toed gecko (genus Cyrtodactylus) is described from Nino Konis Santana National Park in the far-east region of Timor-Leste. Both genetic and morphological data strongly support the evolutionary distinctness of the new species, which we describe herein as Cyrtodactylus santana sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ND2 mitochondrial gene inferred the new species as part of the C. darmandvillei group with close genetic affinities to C. batucolus, C. seribuatensis, C. petani, C. sadleiri, and two undescribed lineages from the Moluccas in Indonesia. The new species represents the first species of Cyrtodactylus identified at the species level from Timor-Leste and fills an important gap in our understanding of the biogeography and evolutionary history of Cyrtodactylus especially in the Wallacean region. Our results strongly suggest that the diversity of Cyrtodactylus in Wallacea is still underestimated and many more unnamed species remain to be described. Keywords: Biogeography, Gekkota, lizards, phylogenetics, systematics, taxonomy, Wallacea
Cyrtodactylus santana sp. nov. (Nino Konis Santana Bent-toed Gecko) Diagnosis: The new species is a distinct evolutionary lineage that is closely related to C. batucolus, C. seribuatensis, C. petani, and C. sadleiri. It can be differentiated from other congeners by the following combination of characters: strong dorsal tuberculation present, 23–27 paravertebral tubercles, 15–19 subdigital lamellae on 4th toe, 42–48 ventral scales across midbody, deep precloacal groove absent, enlarged femoral and precloacal scales present, distinct blotches on top of the head absent, dorsal bands faint, whitish, lightly counter-shaded with dark brown. Etymology: Nino Konis Santana was a freedom fighter who led the Falintil militia against the Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste. He was not only a fearless leader of the armed wing of the Resistance but also played a key role in peace initiatives, earning him a reputation as a peacemaker, diplomat, and statesman. The Nino Konis Santana National Park was named in honor of this national hero who was born in the suco (village in Tetum) of Tutuala, located within the boundaries of the park. The specific epithet santana is used as a noun in apposition referring to Nino Konis Santana National Park, which is the type locality of the new species. Kin Onn Chan, L. Lee Grismer, Fernando Santana, Pedro Pinto, Frances W. Loke and Nathan Conaboy. 2023. Scratching the Surface: A New Species of Bent-toed Gecko (Squamata, Gekkonidae, Cyrtodactylus) from Timor-Leste of the darmandvillei group marks the potential for future discoveries. ZooKeys. 1139: 107-126. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1139.96508 | ||||||||
| 6:01a | [Botany • 2023] Begonia fimbristipula subsp. siamensis (sect. Diploclinium, Begoniaceae) • A New Taxon of the Megadiverse Genus endemic to Thailand
Abstract The genus Begonia has not only been recognised to be one of the mega-diverse plant genera but also as one found to comprise many undiscovered species. In particular, the increase of extensive field surveys in tropical regions of Southeast Asia has added to the discovery of many new species that are often found only in a few localities. In this study, the new taxon Begonia fimbristipula subsp. siamensis subsp. nov. from Thailand is described. The Thailand accessions are highly similar in their morphology to accessions of B. fimbristipula from southern China but differ in their tuber shape, peduncle trichomes, petiole trichomes and number of female tepals. The new taxon has been found only in the northern parts of Thailand occurring at elevations above 1,300 meters. The new findings not only contribute to our knowledge of the plant diversity of Thailand but provide also critical information contributing to the protection of this species. In China, this species is endangered which is of special concern given its utilisation as a medical herb in traditional Chinese medicine. Considering IUCN Red List Categories, the new subspecies is considered to be Vulnerable. The disjunct distribution of the two subspecies of B. fimbristipula encourages urgently needed comparative taxonomic studies across the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. Keywords: China, endemic, new subspecies, taxonomy, Thailand 
Begonia fimbristipula Hance subsp. siamensis Phutthai & S.Radbouchoom, subsp. nov. Sirilak Radbouchoom, Thamarat Phutthai and Harald Schneider. 2023. Begonia fimbristipula subsp. siamensis (sect. Diploclinium, Begoniaceae), A New Taxon of the Megadiverse Genus endemic to Thailand. PhytoKeys 218: 1-10. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.218.85699 | ||||||||
| 6:26a | [Botany • 2023] Primula wolongensis (Primulaceae) • A New Species of the Primrose from Sichuan, China
Abstract This paper describes and illustrates a new species of Primulaceae, Primula wolongensis sp. nov. from Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, China. It is very rare and currently only known from its type locality. The new species belongs to subsection Chartacea of the section Petiolares on account of lacking bud scales at flowering, being efarinose and having distinct petiolate leaves with more or less rounded lamina. The new species can be differentiated from other members of the subsection by leaf blade margin dentate, and leaf veins which are not raised, scape shorter than or equal to pedicels, yellow flowers and location of stamens of the corolla tube at thrum flower. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ribosome internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) demonstrated that P. wolongensis was sister to subgen. Auriculastrum. Primula wolongensis is currently known from a single location in Wolong Town, and its conservation status is assessed as Data Deficient (DD). Keywords: Hengduan Mountains, morphological characters, phylogenetic analysis, Primula sect. Petiolares, taxonomy
  Primula wolongensis W.B.Ju, Bo Xu & X.F.Gao, sp. nov. Diagnosis: Amongst the Chinese members of subsect. Chartacea, the new species is easily recognized by the following combination of characters: leaf blade margin dentate, leaf veins which are not raised, scape which is shorter or equal with pedicel, corolla yellow and location of stamens of the corolla tube at thrum flower. The new species is morphologically similar to P. arunachalensis Basak & Maiti and P. fenghwaiana C.M.Hu & G.Hao, but can be easily distinguished from P. arunachalensis by its shorter rootstocks, petioles 3–5× as long as leaf blade (versus 1–2× as long as leaf blade), reticulation of veins obscure on both surfaces (versus veins slightly impressed adaxially and conspicuous abaxially), corolla lobes apex emarginate (versus corolla lobes margin denticulate to lacerate), heterostylous (versus homostylous). Compared with P. fenghwaiana, the difference of the new species is the petioles 3–5× as long as the leaf blade (versus ca.2/3 the length of the leaf blade), leaf blade base cordate (versus base broadly cuneate to almost rounded), leaf blade margin irregular dentate (versus margin remotely denticulate), scapes and pedicels sparsely short-stalked glandular (versus densely covered with minute glandular hairs), corollas yellow (versus pink to white), the position of stamens at thrum flower tube on the middle (versus on the apex). Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the type locality, Wolong National Nature Reserve. Vernacular name: A Chinese name, wo long bao chun (卧龙报春), is suggested here. Distribution and habitat: The species has so far only been found at its type locality in Wolong Town, Wenchuan county, Sichuan Province. It grows in the cracks of steep wet cliffs covered with moss above the tree-line. Xiong Li, Yue-Hong Cheng, Hong-Qiang Lin, Cheng Chen, Xin-Fen Gao, Heng-Ning Deng, Feng Yu, Plenković-Moraj Anđelka, Wen-Bin Ju and Bo Xu. 2023. Primula wolongensis (Primulaceae), A New Species of the Primrose from Sichuan, China. PhytoKeys. 218: 47-57. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.218.91161  | ||||||||
| 9:40a | [Botany • 2022] Danxiaorchis mangdangshanensis (Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae) • A New Species from central Fujian Province, China based on Morphological and Genomic Data
Abstract Danxiaorchis mangdangshanensis, a new mycoheterotrophic species from Fujian Province, China, is described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically similar to D. singchiana, but its callus of labellum is a less distinctive Y-shape with three auricles on the apex, four pollinia that are narrowly elliptic in shape and equal in size, and it lacks fine roots. The plastome of D. mangdangshanensis is highly degraded. Phylogenetic analyses distinguished D. mangdangshanensis from its congeners, D. singchiana and D. yangii, with strong support based on nrITS + matK and plastomes, respectively. Keywords: Chloroplast genome, Epidendroideae, morphology, phylogeny, taxonomy
Danxiaorchis mangdangshanensis Q. S. Huang, Miao Zhang, B. Hua Chen & Wang Wu, sp. nov. Diagnosis: Danxiaorchis mangdangshanensis can be easily distinguished from D. singchiana by having no fine roots, fewer flowers in the raceme, the side lobes of the labellum are ivory-white rather than yellow, and it has only 3 colored strips rather than 4–5 pairs. Additionally, its callus is a less distinctive Y-shape and has three auricles, with a purple-red spot on each auricle at the front, and the callus has a remarkable striped appendage adaxially. Furthermore, there are narrow wings on the side of column, and the four pollinia are narrowly elliptic in shape and equal in size. Etymology: The Mang dang shan dang xia lang (茫荡山丹霞兰).The epithet mangdangshanensis (茫荡山) refers to Mangdangshan Mountain, Mangdangshan National Nature Reserve, Fujian Province where this new species was found. Miao Zhang, Xiao-Hui Zhang, Chang-Li Ge and Bing-Hua Chen. 2022. Danxiaorchis mangdangshanensis (Orchidaceae, Epidendroideae), A New Species from central Fujian Province based on Morphological and Genomic Data. PhytoKeys. 212: 37-55. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.212.91534 | ||||||||
| 10:18a | [Botany • 2023] Raphiocarpus taygiangensis (Gesneriaceae) • A New Species from central Vietnam
Abstract Raphiocarpus taygiangensis, a new species of Gesneriaceae family discovered in Tay Giang District, Quang Nam Province, Central Vietnam, is here described and illustrated. The new species is diagnosed by the combination of its stem up to 2 m long, sericeous hairs on young stem, leaf petiole and adaxial mid-vein, sparsely and minutely serrate leaf margin, axillary inflorescence spreading along stem, sparsely long gland-tipped hairs on peduncle, pedicel, calyx, outside corolla and pistil, calyx 5-disparted from base, purplish white flower with purple stripes inside corolla tube, and dish-shaped stigma formed by 2 semi-orbicular lobes horizontally expanding. Distinct features of the new species and its morphologically closest congener, Rhaphiocarpus axillaris, are compared and discussed. The conservation status of the described species is estimated as Vulnerable (VU D2) according to the IUCN Red List Criteria. Keywords: endemism, flora of eastern Indochina, new taxon, plant diversity, plant taxonomy
Raphiocarpus taygiangensis C.H.Nguyen, K.S.Nguyen & Aver., sp. nov. Diagnosis: The new species differs from closest R. axillaris in serrulate leaves, purple spots and glandular hairs on abaxial surface of corolla, purple longitudinal stripes on median lobe of lower lip, and pubescent filaments stamens and pistil (Table 1). Etymology: The species epithet refers to the name of the district of the type location (Tay Giang District in Quang Nam Province). Cuong Huu Nguyen, Khoa Van Phung, Khang Sinh Nguyen, Leonid V. Averyanov, Vuong Ba Truong, Chu Van Tran, Hai Xuan Cao, Quan Ngoc Chu, Hau Bich Thi Vu and Thoa Kim Thi Pham. 2023. Raphiocarpus taygiangensis (Gesneriaceae), A New Species from central Vietnam. PhytoKeys. 218: 19-27. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.218.96511 | ||||||||
| 10:29a | [Paleontology • 2023] Astrochelys rogerbouri • Ancient DNA elucidates the Lost World of western Indian Ocean Giant Tortoises and reveals A New Extinct Species from Madagascar
Abstract Before humans arrived, giant tortoises occurred on many western Indian Ocean islands. We combined ancient DNA, phylogenetic, ancestral range, and molecular clock analyses with radiocarbon and paleogeographic evidence to decipher their diversity and biogeography. Using a mitogenomic time tree, we propose that the ancestor of the extinct Mascarene tortoises spread from Africa in the Eocene to now-sunken islands northeast of Madagascar. From these islands, the Mascarenes were repeatedly colonized. Another out-of-Africa dispersal (latest Eocene/Oligocene) produced on Madagascar giant, large, and small tortoise species. Two giant and one large species disappeared c. 1000 to 600 years ago, the latter described here as new to science using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. From Madagascar, the Granitic Seychelles were colonized (Early Pliocene) and from there, repeatedly Aldabra (Late Pleistocene). The Granitic Seychelles populations were eradicated and later reintroduced from Aldabra. Our results underline that integrating ancient DNA data into a multi-evidence framework substantially enhances the knowledge of the past diversity of island faunas.
Astrochelys rogerbouri n. sp. Diagnosis: A large-sized extinct tortoise species of the genus Astrochelys with an estimated SCL of 50 cm, only known from a single tibia. Astrochelys rogerbouri n. sp. can be separated from the two extant species of the genus by 59 diagnostic mutations in the mitochondrial genome (table S4 and data file S1) and 23 mutations in the reference alignment of four concatenated nuclear loci (HMGB2, HNF1α, R35, and TB73; 3047 bp; table S5 and data file S2). The mitochondrial genome of the new species differs by an uncorrected p distance of approximately 8% from As. radiata and As. yniphora (data file S3); the concatenated nuclear loci of As. rogerbouri n. sp. differ by 0.9 to 1.3% from its two congeners (data file S4). Etymology: The new species is named for the late Roger Bour (9 July 1947 – 7 March 2020), who was an outstanding herpetologist and expert on western Indian Ocean giant tortoises. Without his pioneering studies and his advice regarding museum specimens, this investigation would not have been possible.
Christian Kehlmaier, Eva Graciá, Jason R. Ali, Patrick D.Campbell, Sandra D. Chapman, V. Deepak, Flora Ihlow, Nour-Eddine Jalil, Laure Pierre-Huyet, Karen E. Samonds, Miguel Vences and Uwe Fritz. 2023. Ancient DNA elucidates the Lost World of western Indian Ocean Giant Tortoises and reveals A New Extinct Species from Madagascar. SCIENCE ADVANCES. 9(2). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq2574 Molecular Archeology: 1200-Year-Old DNA Sequences From Madagascar Lead to the Discovery of an Extinct Tortoise twitter.com/geobiodiversity/status/1613466403058638848 | ||||||||
| 1:20p | [Crustacea • 2023] Munidopsis girguisi, M. nautilus, M. testuda, etc. • Cosmopolitan Abyssal Lineages? A Systematic Study of East Pacific Deep-sea Squat Lobsters (Decapoda: Galatheoidea: Munidopsidae)
Abstract Munidopsid squat lobsters are among the most abundant decapods at abyssal depths and the most diverse squat lobster group in the East Pacific region. During recent cruises along the East Pacific, many deep-sea squat lobsters were collected. Among these, we described five new munidopsid species supported both by morphological characters and molecular phylogenetics: Munidopsis girguisi sp. nov., M. nautilus sp. nov., M. testuda sp. nov., M. cortesi sp. nov. and M. hendrickxi sp. nov. We also report new records of several Munidopsis species across the East Pacific that increase the species distribution ranges. Here, we reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of the East Pacific species in relation to other Galatheoidea using one nuclear and two mitochondrial gene fragment(s); we also performed single locus species delimitation analyses to explore the species status of various East Pacific munidopsid taxa. The new taxa were photographed, illustrated and imaged with micro-computed tomography. The phylogenetic results show that: (1) Janetogalathea californiensis, previously included in the family Galatheidae, nests within Munidopsidae; (2) the phylogenetic position of Phylladiorhynchus and Coralliogalathea as belonging in Galatheidae is not supported; and (3) Munidopsis is paraphyletic, agreeing with recent systematic hypotheses. Short genetic distances and species delimitation analyses suggested that a clade mostly constituted by abyssal species might include fewer species than currently considered, as species show a wider geographic range than previously considered, conforming with traditional hypotheses of cosmopolitanisms in abyssal species. Keywords: crustaceans, long-distance dispersal, microCT, mitochondrial genes, morphology, new species, species delimitation, taxonomy.
Paula C. Rodríguez-Flores, Charlotte A. Seid, Greg W. Rouse and Gonzalo Giribet. 2023. Cosmopolitan Abyssal Lineages? A Systematic Study of East Pacific Deep-sea Squat Lobsters (Decapoda: Galatheoidea: Munidopsidae). Invertebrate Systematics. 37(1); 14-60. DOI: 10.1071/IS22030 https://phys.org/news/2023-01-discovery-d |
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