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Thursday, September 7th, 2023
| Time | Event | ||||||
| 2:19a | [Botany • 2023] Isoglossa pareensis (Acanthaceae) • A New Species from the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania
Summary Isoglossa pareensis I.Darbysh. & Hemp (Acanthaceae), from submontane moist forest at Mwala in the South Pare Mountains of northeastern Tanzania, is described and illustrated. This species is considered to be related to I. gregorii (S.Moore) Lindau and I. punctata (Vahl) Brummitt & J.R.I.Wood, which are widespread in the montane forests of eastern Africa, but it clearly differs from these species in inflorescence structure and indumentum and in anther morphology. Notes on the habitat requirements and extinction risk of this new species are provided; it is considered to be Vulnerable under IUCN criterion D2 because of its extremely limited range and a plausible future threat from wildfires. The recent discovery of the Critically Endangered acanthaceous herb Asystasia masaiensis Lindau at lower, drier elevations at the same site is also reported and the first known photograph of that species is reproduced Key Words: Conservation, extinction risk, Isoglossinae, IUCN Red List, taxonomy.
Isoglossa pareensis I.Darbysh. & Hemp sp. nov. RECOGNITION. Isoglossa pareensis is similar to I. gregorii in foliage and to both I. gregorii and I. punctata in corolla form and in having seeds with elongate, minutely glochidiate tubercles, but differs from both in the inflorescence being a panicle-like thyrse with pedunculate dichasial or monochasial cyme units (vs inflorescence a simple spike or, if branched, the branches being spiciform with (sub)sessile cyme units); in the anther thecae overlapping for c. half their length (vs thecae fully superposed to widely separated); in the capsule being puberulous with eglandular and occasional glandular hairs (vs capsule glabrous or occasionally with few eglandular hairs towards apex and/or with scattered glandular and/or long eglandular hairs); and in the inflorescence axes and calyces having a more dense indumentum including more numerous glandular hairs. It additionally differs from I. gregorii in having linear-lanceolate bracts, 1.3 – 3.6 × 0.3 – 0.5 mm (vs bracts elliptic, somewhat obovate or basal pairs ovate, (3.5 –) 4.5 – 14 × 0.7 – 6 mm) (Fig. 5; Table 1). ETYMOLOGY. The species epithet “pareensis” denotes that this species is, so far as is known, endemic to the Pare Mountains of Tanzania. Iain Darbyshire and Andreas Hemp. 2023. A further New Species of Isoglossa (Acanthaceae) from the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. Kew Bulletin. DOI: 10.1007/s12225-023-10103-1 | ||||||
| 3:12a | [Paleontology • 2023] Fujianvenator prodigiosus • A New Avialan Theropod from an emerging Jurassic Terrestrial Fauna
Abstract Birds are descended from non-avialan theropod dinosaurs of the Late Jurassic period, but the earliest phase of this evolutionary process remains unclear owing to the exceedingly sparse and spatio-temporally restricted fossil record. Information about the early-diverging species along the avialan line is crucial to understand the evolution of the characteristic bird bauplan, and to reconcile phylogenetic controversies over the origin of birds. Here we describe one of the stratigraphically youngest and geographically southernmost Jurassic avialans, Fujianvenator prodigiosus gen. et sp. nov., from the Tithonian age of China. This specimen exhibits an unusual set of morphological features that are shared with other stem avialans, troodontids and dromaeosaurids, showing the effects of evolutionary mosaicism in deep avialan phylogeny. F. prodigiosus is distinct from all other Mesozoic avialan and non-avialan theropods in having a particularly elongated hindlimb, suggestive of a terrestrial or wading lifestyle—in contrast with other early avialans, which exhibit morphological adaptations to arboreal or aerial environments. During our fieldwork in Zhenghe where F. prodigiosus was found, we discovered a diverse assemblage of vertebrates dominated by aquatic and semi-aquatic species, including teleosts, testudines and choristoderes. Using in situ radioisotopic dating and stratigraphic surveys, we were able to date the fossil-containing horizons in this locality—which we name the Zhenghe Fauna—to 148–150 million years ago. The diversity of the Zhenghe Fauna and its precise chronological framework will provide key insights into terrestrial ecosystems of the Late Jurassic.   Fujianvenator prodigiosus gen. et sp. nov.   Liming Xu, Min Wang, Runsheng Chen, Liping Dong, Min Lin, Xing Xu, Jianrong Tang, Hailu You, Guowu Zhou, Linchang Wang, Wenxing He, Yujuan Li, Chi Zhang and Zhonghe Zhou. 2023. A New Avialan Theropod from an emerging Jurassic Terrestrial Fauna. Nature. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06513-7 https://phys.org/news/2023-09-chinese-pa | ||||||
| 12:18p | [Herpetology • 2023] Gonocephalus inauris & G. doriae brevis • A Contribution to the Systematics of Sunda Shelf Angle-Headed Dragons (Reptilia: Agamidae: Gonocephalus) with the Description of New Taxa from Sumatra
Abstract We review morphology of Sunda Shelf Gonocephalus with an emphasis on Sumatran and Javan species. At least 15 species and subspecies inhabit Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and adjacent smaller continental islands. Following analysis of external morphology, we provide a dichotomous key to Sunda Shelf Gonocephalus and resolve two taxonomic problems with this group of lizards. Three populations of Gonocephalus doriae on Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra are recognized as subspecies, because they lack concordance of multiple morphological differences and have low genetic divergence in a 556 base-pair fragment of the 16S rRNA gene. Described as new herein, G. doriae brevis from Aceh and North Sumatra differs from G. d. abbotti and G. d. doriae in usually having more scales around midbody and a relatively shorter tail with fewer dark bands. Though previously reported as lost, a syntype of G. d. doriae (MSNG 29152) is designated as lectotype, illustrated, and described. Also described as new, G. inauris from high elevations of the Bukit Barisan Range of Bengkulu, Sumatra, is a species of the G. megalepis Group differing from all congeners in having 7/6 (vs. 8–19) loreals separating the last canthal and supralabials, 8/8 (11–27) infraorbitals, and 58 (73–153) scales around midbody. In this new species, distinctly enlarged suboculars broadly contact its supralabials, whereas 1–4 lorilabials separate the suboculars and supralabials in congeners. High genetic divergence in the new species mirrors its high level of morphological divergence. KEYWORDS: dichotomous key, Gonocephalus doriae brevis subsp. nov, Gonocephalus doriae doriae lectotype, Gonocephalus inauris sp. nov, Indonesia, Malaysia, phylogeny  Gonocephalus inauris Harvey, Sarker, Sidik, Kurniawan, & Smith, 2023 Michael B. Harvey, Goutam C. Sarker, Irvan Sidik, Nia Kurniawan and Eric N. Smith. 2023. A Contribution to the Systematics of Sunda Shelf Angle-Headed Dragons (Agamidae: Gonocephalus) with the Description of New Taxa from Sumatra. Herpetological Monographs. 37(1); 1-40. DOI: 10.1655/HERPMONOGRAPHS-D-22-00001 facebook.com/100088301342746/posts/166554836297894 | ||||||
| 12:31p | [Entomology • 2023] Austrospirachtha carrijoi • A New Species and Morphological Notes on the remarkable termitophilous Genus Austrospirachtha Watson (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) from Australia
Abstract Termitophilous rove beetles in Australia encompass diverse genera and species from several tribes in Aleocharinae. While some taxa have been well-documented, others remain poorly known due to the scarcity of available material. The existing knowledge of Austrospirachtha Watson for instance, is based solely on Austrospirachtha mimetes, described from two specimens collected in an old termite mound. The genus is known for its highly developed physogastry and potential mimicry adaptations. Herein, we present the description of a new species, Austrospirachtha carrijoi sp. nov., representing the second known species for the genus. Keywords: Coleoptera, physogastry, rove beetles, Corotocina, Termitophily  Bruno Zilberman and Carlos M. Pires-Silva. 2023. A New Species and Morphological Notes on the remarkable termitophilous Genus Austrospirachtha Watson from Australia (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae). Zootaxa. 5336(3); 424-432. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5336.3.8 www.science.org/content/article/beetle-g |
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