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Sunday, December 8th, 2024
| Time | Event | ||||||
| 5:08a | [Botany • 2024] A Taxonomic Monograph of the Eurasian holoparasitic plant Genus Lathraea L. (Orobanchaceae)
Abstract A taxonomic monograph is presented for Lathraea L. (Orobanchaceae), a genus of holoparasitic plants distributed across Europe and Asia. Plants in this genus are characterised by their underground stems, achlorophyllous scales with internal gland-lined cavities, and, in some species, explosive seed dehiscence. Despite their conspicuousness, no taxonomic treatment of the genus has been written since 1930. Our work draws upon extensive international field data and a comprehensive survey of herbarium specimens. Detailed descriptions are provided for each species, along with full synonymy, distribution maps, and notes on habitat, host specificity, phenology, ecology, ethnobotany and threat risk. We present evidence to consolidate Lathraea into five species, resolving taxonomic confusion. The infrageneric classification is reviewed and a key to species is provided. Species are illustrated with photographs of living and dried material. Lamiales, Lathraea, Orobanchaceae, Lathraea squamaria, Lathraea clandestina, parasitic plants, holoparasite, Lathraea japonica, Lathraea rhodopea, Lathraea purpurea, Eudicots  Sebastian A. Hatt, Spyros Tsiftsis and Chris J. Thorogood. 2024. A Taxonomic Monograph of the Eurasian holoparasitic plant Genus Lathraea L. (Orobanchaceae). Phytotaxa. 672(1); 1-29. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.672.1.1 | ||||||
| 2:19p | [Botany • 2021] Ceropegia heidukiae (Apocynaceae: Ceropegieae) • a morphologically intriguing and rare novelty from South Africa
Abstract A new species of Ceropegia (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae-Ceropegieae-Stapeliinae) Eudicots, Ceropegieae, endemism, geophyte, glaucous leaves, KwaZulu-Natal, Ngome, mistbelt grassland, trap flower  Ceropegia heidukiae David G.A. Styles and Ulrich Meve. 2021. Ceropegia heidukiae (Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae)—a morphologically intriguing and rare novelty from South Africa. Phytotaxa. 497(1); 20–28. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.497.1.2 | ||||||
| 2:29p | [Herpetology • 2024] Pristimantis vrazi • A New Species of Pristimantis (Anura: Strabomantidae) from a montane forest of the Pui Pui Protected Forest in central Peru
Abstract Herpetological inventories conducted in the Pui Pui Protected Forest in the central Peruvian Andes between 2012 and 2014 revealed unusually high local anuran richness and endemism. Herein, we describe a new species of Pristimantis discovered in the buffer zone of the protected area between 1550 and 1730 m a.s.l. The description is based on one subadult male (snout–vent length 14.4 mm), one adult female (snout–vent length 26.4 mm), and six juvenile specimens collected in the montane forest between 1550 and 1730 m a.s.l. DNA barcoding placed P. vrazi sp. nov. as the sister taxon to P. rhabdocnemus and in the clade also containing P. lindae, P. sinschi, P. quaquaversus, and one still unnamed Pristimantis species. Pristimantis vrazi sp. nov. differs from all these closely related species by the combination of the following characters: tuberculate dorsum, presence of the tympanum, presence of dentigerous processes on the vomer, absence of vocal slits, a red median horizontal streak across the iris, a narrow black median vertical streak on the lower half of the eye, cream to dark brown dorsal ground coloration, and cream to gray ventral ground coloration. Key words: Andes, cryptic species diversity, Enrique Stanko Vráz, Pristimantis vrazi new species
Pristimantis vrazi Moravec, Lehr, Wang & Uvizl, sp. nov. Suggested English name: Vráz’s Robber Frog Suggested Spanish name: Rana cutín de Vráz Diagnosis: A new species of Pristimantis not assigned to any species group having the following combination of characters: (1) skin on dorsum shagreen with scattered conical tubercles; skin on venter areolate; weak discoidal fold present; short dorsolateral ridges present; (2) tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus present; (3) snout moderately long, acutely rounded in dorsal view, rounded in profile; (4) upper eyelid bearing small conical tubercles; EW narrower than IOD; cranial crest absent; (5) dentigerous processes of vomers present, oblique; (6) vocal slits and nuptial pads absent; (7) finger I shorter than finger II; discs of digits broadly expanded, round, bearing ... Etymology: We dedicate this new species to the Czech explorer and patriot Enrique Stanko Vráz (1860–1932), who explored Africa, South America, and eastern Asia (Todorová 2006). In South America, he spent several years working in Venezuela and traveling by boat from Venezuela to Peru via the Rio Orinoco, Rio Negro, and Rio Amazonas before crossing the Andes and working around Cajamarca. His specimen collections (animals, artifacts) were sent to the National Museum in Prague. He published his travels and observations in South America in a book (Vráz 1900) that provides valuable original insights into South American nature and indigenous peoples at the end of the 19th century and still inspires people. The specific epithet is used as a noun in apposition. Edgar Lehr, Jiří Moravec, Yingtong Wang and Marek Uvizl. 2024. A New Species of Pristimantis (Amphibia, Anura, Strabomantidae) from a montane forest of the Pui Pui Protected Forest in central Peru. ZooKeys. 1219: 143-163. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1219.129773 | ||||||
| 2:37p | [Arachnida • 2021] Nihonella chika • A New troglophilic Genus of Dwarf Spiders from Japan with a discussion on its phylogenetic position within the subfamily Erigoninae (Araneae: Linyphiidae)
Abstract A new monospecific genus belonging to the family Linyphiidae Blackwell, 1859, Nihonella gen. nov., is described using an integrative taxonomic approach based on the species N. chika gen. et sp. nov. The new genus is endemic to Western Honshu, Japan, and it shows distinctive genitalic and somatic characters of other genera of the subfamily Erigoninae Emerton, 1882. Nihonella gen. nov. is found only in the twilight and transition zones of caves in Okayama and Nara Prefectures. The phylogenetic position of Nihonella gen. nov. within the subfamily Erigoninae, and its relationship as a sister clade of the species of the group of Savignia Blackwell, 1833 (sensu Millidge 1977), is discussed on the basis of both, morphological and molecular evidence. Keywords: Caves, endemism, new species, phylogeny, subterranean environment
 Class Arachnida Cuvier, 1812 Order Araneae Clerck, 1757 Family Linyphiidae Blackwall,1859 Subfamily Erigoninae Emerton, 1882 Nihonella gen. nov. Diagnosis: The new genus is distinguished from any other genera belonging to the distal Erigoninae clade by the following unique combination of somatic and genitalic characters: Femur I with 1 prolateral spine; Tibia I with 1 dorsal spine; tibial spine formula: 1.1.1.1; male palp with a well-developed distal suprategular apophysis and a hypertrophic ʻsecondaryʼ DSA (Figs 2A–B, 3A–C, 4A–E) (usually presented in Erigoninae as a simple tooth and protruding form a different side of the DSA); a well-developed and uniquely-shaped prolateral tibial apophysis, the same length as the cymbium and partially covering it (Figs 2A–C, 3A–B, D, 4E–F). The unusual chaetotaxy and unique shape of the epigyne, with anteriorly converging lateral walls and two distinct, flat, ovoid inflations of the copulatory ducts, also distinguishes the female of this genus from females of any other genera in distal Erigoninae. Etymology: The generic name is a combination of the word ʻNihonʼ and the Latin suffix ʻ-ellaʼ. The former refers to the country of Japan where the genus is endemic; the latter is the feminine suffix of ʻ-ellusʼ commonly used in Latin to form the feminine diminutive of a noun. Name in apposition, feminine in gender Distribution: Endemic to Western Honshu, Japan. Currently known from three caves only (Figs 1H, 6). Nihonella chika gen. et sp. nov. Etymology: The specific name is derived from the Japanese word ʻchikaʼ (地下) meaning ʻunderground, subterraneanʼ and thus refers to the habitat of the species, but it is also the pronunciation of a feminine given name in the Japanese language. Name in apposition. Francesco Ballarin and Takeshi Yamasaki. 2021. Nihonella gen. nov., A New troglophilic Genus of Dwarf Spiders from Japan with a discussion on its phylogenetic position within the subfamily Erigoninae (Araneae, Linyphiidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 733; 1–18. DOI: doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.733.1215 | ||||||
| 2:37p | [Mollusca • 2024] Fissidentalium aurae • A New Species of Fissidentalium (Scaphopoda: Dentaliidae) in association with an actinostolid Anemone from the abyssal Labrador Sea
Abstract The benthic biodiversity of the abyssal Labrador Sea was investigated using Agassiz trawl and in situ imagery. A megafaunal scaphopod associated with an epizoic anemone was recovered from soft sediments. Morphological and molecular investigations revealed the scaphopod to be an undescribed species in the dentaliid genus Fissidentalium P. Fischer, 1885. The new scaphopod species is characterised by a large size for the genus, is moderately curved, with numerous narrow, longitudinal ribs (60 ribs at 11 mm diameter ventral aperture), a dentaliid radula, and is described herein as Fissidentalium aurae sp. nov. The new species shows a close genetic relationship to congeners of Fissidentalium and separates from the sister genera Dentalium Linnaeus, 1758 and Antalis H. Adams & A. Adams, 1854. Genetic COI barcoding of the epizoic anemone suggests the species is a member of the family Actinostolidae Carlgren, 1932. The discovered association of a burrowing scaphopod with an epifaunal anemone at abyssal depth is a new record for the region and is indicative of how little is known about symbioses in the deep sea. Keywords: Species-pair-associations, Ocean seafloor observation system, Abyssal plain, Taxonomy, Lebensspuren 
Class Scaphopoda Bronn, 1862 Order Dentaliida Starobogatov, 1974 Family Dentaliidae Children, 1834 Genus Fissidentalium P. Fischer, 1885 Type species: Dentalium ergasticum P. Fischer, 1883: 275–277; accepted as Fissidentalium capillosum (Jeffreys, 1877) type by monotypy. Fissidentalium aurae sp. nov. Diagnosis: A large-sized, over 60 mm in length and 10 mm in ventral aperture width, Fissidentalium with numerous regular, fine longitudinal ribs. The white shells are robust and no posterior slit on the dorsal aperture was observed in the examined specimens. Most live specimens with shell lengths of 32–63 mm have a sea anemone attached to the concave, anterior surface of the shell. The ventral and dorsal apertures are slightly wider than high. Preserved, unrelaxed soft body dividable into a ventral buccal, a middle gut and a dorsal gonad region (following Shimek and Moreno 1996) and is about 2/3 of total shell lengths. Buccal and gonadal regions are of similar size and each about 3 times longer than the gut region. Etymology: “aura” means breeze in Latin and used in genitive case. This name refers to the windy conditions during SO286 as well as to the shipping company Briese Research operating RV Sonne. Katrin Linse and Jenny Neuhaus. 2024. A New Species of Fissidentalium (Scaphopoda: Dentaliidae) in association with an actinostolid Anemone from the abyssal Labrador Sea. Marine Biodiversity. 54, 88. DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s12526-024-01481-1  | ||||||
| 2:38p | [Botany • 2024] Primulina hsiwenii (Gesneriaceae) • A New Species from southeastern Yunnan, China
Abstract A new species of Gesneriaceae, Primulina hsiwenii Lei Cai, Ting Zhang & J.D.Ya, from the karst regions in southeastern Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated. Its morphological relationship with a similar species is discussed, and a detailed description, colour photographs, distribution and habitat information and an IUCN conservation assessment are provided. Keywords: Flora of China, Karst regions, New species, Primulina
Primulina hsiwenii Lei Cai, Ting Zhang & J.D.Ya, sp. nov. A species closely allied to Primulina luochengensis (Yan Liu & W.B.Xu) Mich.Möller & A.Weber in habit, flattened petiole, shape of leaf blade, and shape and structure of flower but mainly differing from the latter in leaf blade covered with appressed puberulent hairs adaxially, puberulent abaxially (vs pubescent on both surfaces), bracts ovate triangular, c.1 mm long (vs narrowly linear, 4–6 mm long), corolla narrow campanulate, 12–16 mm long (vs obliquely campanulate, 8–9 mm long), stamens adnate to ... Etymology. The specific epithet is in memory of Prof. Li Hsi-Wen of Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for his contribution to the taxonomy of the Gesneriaceae family in the Flora of China (Wang et al., 1998). Vernacular name. The Chinese name is Xī Wén Bào Chūn Jù Tái (锡文报春苣苔).  L. Cai, J. D. Ya and T. Zhang. 2024. PRIMULINA HSIWENII (GESNERIACEAE), A NEW SPECIES FROM SOUTHEASTERN YUNNAN, CHINA. Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 81; journals.rbge.org.uk/EJB/article/view/1912 | ||||||
| 2:39p | [Botany • 2024] Anthurium pedrovianae (Araceae) • A New Species from the canga vegetation of the Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brazil
Abstract A new species of Anthurium section Pachyneurium, A. pedrovianae sp. nov. is described and occurs in canga vegetation of Serra dos Carajás, Pará State, Brazil. Information on conservation status, taxonomy, habitat, geographic distribution, and phenology is provided. Morphologically, the new species is similar to A. lindmanianum but differs from that species peduncle > 3 times the size of the petiole and a spadix < 6 cm long., stipe 6.0–11.0 cm long., purple at the base at the junction with the peduncle, berries are entirely purple, obovate, brown, warty seeds. Additionally, an identification key to distinguish the Pachyneurium species present in Pará is included. Alismatales, biodiversity, canga (ferric soil), endemism, species discovery, Monocots
Mel C. Camelo and Marcus A.N. Coelho. 2024. A New Species of Anthurium (Araceae) from the canga vegetation of the Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brazil. Phytotaxa. 652(2); 142-148. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.652.2.6 | ||||||
| 4:36p | [Paleontology • 2024] Threordatoth chasmatos • A new procolophonid (Parareptilia: Procolophonidae)with complex dentition from the Late Triassic of southwest England
Abstract Fissure fill deposits from the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic of England and Wales preserve a diverse small tetrapod fauna including procolophonids, an important group of Permian and Triassic parareptiles that radiated across Pangaea following the end-Permian extinction event. Procolophonids are currently known from two fissure fill sites: incomplete and isolated remains from Ruthin Quarry (Wales) and type and referred material of Hwiccewyrm trispiculum from Cromhall Quarry (southwest England). The age of the Cromhall fissure deposits has been debated but recent radiometric dating suggests a Carnian age for at least some of the fossil assemblages. Here, we present material from several fissure assemblages at Cromhall, which are interpreted as stratigraphically older than the assemblage that yielded Hwiccewyrm. We describe a new species of leptopleuronine procolophonid based on partial remains with unique tooth morphology. Threordatoth chasmatos gen. et sp. nov. is characterized by maxillae with a reduced number of complex tricuspid teeth along with dentaries that bear labiolingually compressed monocuspid teeth and in some cases have a peculiar edentulous tip. These distinct tooth morphologies occlude closely, perhaps facilitated by a flexible dentary symphyseal connection. This unique combination of characters may suggest a high degree of oral food processing of a mode unlike other procolophonids, occurring among the broader leptopleuronine adaptation towards diets of high-fibre herbivory/omnivory and insectivory. Phylogenetic analysis places the remains of Threordatoth as a derived leptopleuronine, sister taxon to Hwiccewyrm, in a clade with taxa including Soturnia, Hypsognathus, Libognathus and two unnamed leptopleuronines from the southwest USA. Keywords: Procolophonidae, fissure fill, Late Triassic, Leptopleuroninae, Parareptilia, dental complexity SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY PARAREPTILIA Olson, 1947 sensu Laurin & Reisz (1995) PROCOLOPHONOIDEA Romer, 1956 PROCOLOPHONIDAE Seeley, 1888 LEPTOPLEURONINAE Ivakhnenko, 1979
Genus Threordatoth nov. Derivation of name: The genus name is derived from Old English and recognizes the tricuspid nature of the maxillary teeth of this taxon: þrēo meaning ‘three’ (undeclined) in the Mercian dialect; orda meaning ‘points’, or ‘spear points’; and tōþ meaning ‘tooth’. Threordatoth chasmatos sp. nov. Derivation of name: The species name is derived from Greek: χάσμα meaning ‘yawning chasm’, or ‘fissure’, referring to the fissures in which Threordatoth and numerous other taxa are preserved. Diagnosis Distinguished from other procolophonids by the following combination of features: low maxillary tooth count (three or four); maxillary crowns are triangular in occlusal view, being strongly mesiodistally expanded at the labial margin (best developed in tooth 2); distal margins of the maxillary crowns are concave in occlusal view; maxillary crowns are tricuspid, with two clearly separated labial cusps; distolabial cusp of maxillary crowns is enlarged relative to mesiolabial cusp; two foramina on lateral surface of the maxilla, the anterior foramen being larger and positioned at the mid-height of the maxilla above the mesiolabial cusp of the second maxillary tooth, and the posterior foramen being positioned above the space between the second and third maxillary teeth and closer to the ventral margin.
Luke E. Meade, Richard J. Butler, Marc E. H. Jones and Nicholas C. Fraser. 2024. A new procolophonid with complex dentition from the Late Triassic of southwest England. Papers in Palaeontology x.com/ThePalAss/status/18650094675966282 | ||||||
| 5:25p | [Funga • 2024] Phellodon aquiloniniger, P. castaneoleucus, ... (Basidiomycota: Thelephorales) • The Genus Phellodon in Europe: Four New Species, One New Combination, Four New Typifications and A First European Record
Abstract Phellodon is a globally distributed genus of stipitate hydnoid fungi recognised by a white spore print and an ectomycorrhizal life strategy. In Europe, many Phellodon species have declining populations and are used as indicators of forests with high conservation values. However, their use in this context and the correct assessment of their extinction risk, according to IUCN guidelines, are currently hampered by inconsistent name usage and unclear species delimitations, primarily within the species complexes of P. melaleucus, P. niger and P. tomentosus. We analysed 286 ITS sequences of Phellodon, of which 51 were also analysed in conjunction with the corresponding LSU regions. This work included 102 newly sequenced collections, primarily sourced from Sweden and the UK. Our phylogenetic results show that four species are new to science and hence we formally describe P. castaneoleucus within the P. melaleucus morphological complex, P. aquiloniniger and P. frondosoniger within the P. niger complex and P. dititomentosus as a sister species to P. tomentosus. The combination P. melilotinus is made to accommodate an additional, previously described, species that belongs in the P. niger complex. We designate lectotypes and epitypes for P. melaleucus, P. niger and P. tomentosus as well as an epitype for P. melilotinus. Phellodon ellisianus is recorded as new to Europe and the ecological amplitude of P. secretus and P. violaceus is revealed to be wider than previously believed. We provide a key to all 13 species currently known in Europe and assign them to three habitat-based assemblages based on data from the Nordic countries and the UK. We hope this will facilitate the assessment of such habitats for legal protection and other conservation-related actions. Keywords: ECM fungi ; conservation; new taxa; stipitate hydnoid; tooth fungi  Phellodon aquiloniniger A.M. Ainsw. & Svantesson  Phellodon dititomentosus Svantesson, S.; Larsson, E.; Larsson, K.-H.; Parfitt, D.; Suz, L.M. and Ainsworth, A.M. 2024. The Genus Phellodon (Thelephorales, Basidiomycota) in Europe: Four New Species, One New Combination, Four New Typifications and a first European record. Fungal Systematics and Evolution. DOI: doi.org/10.3114/fuse.2025.15.01 |
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