Systematics of Haloniscus Chilton, 1920 (Isopoda: Oniscidea: Philosciidae), with description of four new species from threatened Great Artesian Basin springs in South Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 651-668
Author(s):  
Danielle N Stringer ◽  
Rachael A King ◽  
Stefano Taiti ◽  
Michelle T Guzik ◽  
Steven J B Cooper ◽  
...  

Abstract Recent surveys of Australian arid-zone groundwater ecosystems have uncovered considerable species diversity and extreme endemism for the oniscidean isopod genus Haloniscus Chilton, 1920. Phylogenetic and species delimitation analyses have recognised several distinct species from the Great Artesian Basin springs in South Australia, inspiring a morphological reassessment of the genus and examination of specimens from the iconic Lake Eyre and Dalhousie Springs. We present a revised diagnosis of Haloniscus, transfer the genus from the family Scyphacidae to Philosciidae and describe four new species, H. fontanus Stringer, King & Taiti n. sp., H. microphthalmus Stringer, King & Taiti n. sp., H. rotundus Stringer, King & Taiti n. sp., and H. yardiyaensis Stringer, King & Taiti n. sp., based on combined morphological and molecular evidence. We compare the results of molecular-based species delimitation analyses with morphological data, provide distribution information, and present a key to the described species of Haloniscus. Two species presently included in Andricophiloscia Vandel, 1973, A. stepheni (Nicholls & Barnes, 1926) and A. pedisetosa Taiti & Humphreys, 2001, from Western Australia are also transferred to Haloniscus.

Phytotaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 295 (1) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
ALUWANI A. TSHIILA ◽  
SAMSON B.M. CHIMPHANGO ◽  
JAN-ADRIAAN VILJOEN ◽  
A. MUTHAMA MUASYA

Unclear boundaries between species hinder identification in the field and in herbaria, especially in species groups that can only be distinguished on the basis of subtle morphological and ecological features. One such taxon is Ficinia indica, widespread in the Greater Cape Floristic Region, growing on deep sandy soils between sea level and 1000 m elevation. Within its range, several phylogenetically related and morphologically similar species co-occur or occupy distinct habitats. Studies in herbaria show species in the Ficinia indica complex to be largely misidentified based on the use of qualitative information. Here, we investigate whether the six taxa recognized, based on one or a few characters, are supported as distinct species based on multivariate analysis of macro-morphological data. Two of the taxa were mostly separated whereas the other four taxa overlapped in multivariate space, but all the taxa could be distinguished using a single or a combination of morphological and ecological characters. We uphold the four previously recognized taxa (Ficinia argyropus, F. elatior, F. indica, F. laevis) as species, describe two new species (F. arnoldii and F. montana), and provide a dichotomous key for their identification.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 205 (2) ◽  
pp. 90 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIN-LEI FAN ◽  
KEVIN D. HYDE ◽  
JIAN-KUI LIU ◽  
YING-MEI LIANG ◽  
CHENG-MING TIAN

The family Botryosphaeriaceae encompasses important plant-associated pathogens, endophytes and saprobes with a wide geographical and host distribution. Two dark-spored botryosphaeriaceous taxa associated with Rhus typhina dieback and canker disease were collected from Ningxia Province, in northwestern China. Morphology and multigene analysis (ITS, LSU and EF-1α) clearly distinguished this clade as a distinct species in the genus. Phaeobotryon rhois is introduced and illustrated as a new species in this paper. The species is characterized by its globose, unilocular fruiting bodies and small, brown, 1-septate conidia. It can be distinguished from the similar species P. cercidis, P. cupressi, P. mamane and P. quercicola based on host association and conidial size and colour.


ZooKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 939 ◽  
pp. 45-64
Author(s):  
Ping Wang ◽  
Jing Che ◽  
Qin Liu ◽  
Ke Li ◽  
Jie Qiong Jin ◽  
...  

The Asian snail-eating snakes Pareas is the largest genus of the family Pareidae (formerly Pareatidae), and widely distributed in Southeast Asia. However, potential diversity remains poorly explored due to their highly conserved morphology and incomplete samples. Here, on basis of more extensive sampling, interspecific phylogenetic relationships of the genus Pareas were reconstructed using two mitochondrial fragments (cyt b and ND4) and two nuclear genes (c-mos and Rag1), and multivariate morphometrics conducted for external morphological data. Both Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analyses consistently showed that the genus Pareas was comprised of two distinct, monophyletic lineages with moderate to low support values. Based on evidences from molecular phylogeny and morphological data, cryptic diversity of this genus was uncovered and two new species were described. In additional, the validity of P. macularius is confirmed.


ZooKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 851 ◽  
pp. 27-69
Author(s):  
Rong Yang ◽  
Zhenzhen Wang ◽  
Yanshuang Zhou ◽  
Zongqing Wang ◽  
Yanli Che

This study examined 504 Rhabdoblatta specimens sampled from China, of which, 86 Rhabdoblatta specimens were used for COI sequencing. A phylogenetic analysis using the ML method and MOTUs estimations by ABGD and GMYC based on COI sequences was performed. Eighteen Rhabdoblatta species were identified when these data were combined with morphological data. Six new species were established among these samples, i.e., Rh.similsinuatasp. n., Rh.densimaculatasp. n., Rh.gyroflexasp. n., Rh.chaulformissp. n., Rh.maculatasp. n., and Rh.ecarinatasp. n. For the first time, females including female genitalia of 14 known Rhabdoblatta species are described worldwide. Our study shows that combining molecular species delimitation methods with morphological data helps to delimit species and understand cockroach biodiversity.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 391 (2) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
MURAT KOÇ ◽  
ERGIN HAMZAOĞLU ◽  
AHMET AKSOY

The genus Minuartia is represented in Turkey by 34 taxa. Some interesting specimens were collected from Antalya province, and examined. These specimens resemble Minuartia meyeri, and M. multinervis from which differ by characters (macro-, and micromorphological) of inflorescence, alar pedicels, petals, sepals, capsules and seeds. Moreover, by using the DNA sequences of the ITS genes, phylogenetic relationships between this collected species, and the related species were investigated. As a result of the evaluation of molecular, and morphological data, we proposed to described the population from Antalya as a new species for the science. A description, pictures, distribution, habitat, and IUCN category are given.


2013 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 521-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Love ◽  
P. Shand ◽  
K. Karlstrom ◽  
L. Crossey ◽  
P. Rousseau-Gueutin ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Giribet ◽  
Caitlin M. Baker ◽  
Prashant P. Sharma

The Cyphophthalmi genus Troglosiro (the only genus of the family Troglosironidae) is endemic to New Caledonia, representing one of the oldest lineages of this emerged part of Zealandia. Its species are short-range endemics, many known from single localities. Here we examined the phylogenetic relationships of Troglosironidae using standard Sanger-sequenced markers (nuclear 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, and mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) and a combination of phylogenetic methods, including parsimony under Direct Optimization and maximum likelihood with static homology. We also applied a diversity of species delimitation methods, including distance-based, topology-based and unsupervised machine learning to evaluate previous species designations. Finally, we used a combination of genetic and morphological information to describe four new species – T. dogny sp. nov., T. pin sp. nov., T. pseudojuberthiei sp. nov. and T. sharmai sp. nov. – and discuss them in the broader context of the phylogeny and biogeographic history of the family. A key to the species of Troglosiro is also provided. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:93541314-8309-468C-BB77-B34C3A81137E


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4583 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
W.F. PONDER ◽  
W.-H. ZHANG ◽  
A. HALLAN ◽  
M.E. SHEA

Species from artesian springs associated with the Queensland Great Artesian Basin that were previously included in the tateid genus Jardinella are included in three new genera, namely Eulodrobia, with six species, five of them new and all from the Eulo Supergroup; Springvalia, with one species from the Springvale Supergroup; and Carnarvoncochlea with two previously-described species, from the Carnarvon Supergroup. The genus Edgbastonia is extended to include eight previously described species, in addition to the type species, and four new species-group taxa from the Barcaldine Supergroup springs; all but the type species are included in the new subgenus Barcaldinia. Three new species from non-artesian springs in north Queensland are included in Edgbastonia, one of them tentatively. Two additional related new genera, both with a single new species, are described from outside the Great Artesian Basin; Conondalia from southeast Queensland and Nundalia from north-eastern New South Wales. The genus Jardinella, previously used for all the Queensland spring tateids, is here restricted to three species found in coastal rivers and streams in northeast Queensland. A molecular phylogenetic analysis using COI and 16S mitochondrial genes in combination suggests that the Queensland Great Artesian Basin taxa may be more closely related to the tateid genera Austropyrgus, Pseudotricula, Posticobia and Potamopyrgus than to the South Australian GAB taxa, thus indicating the separate origins of these two desert spring faunas. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2293 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
RACHAEL A. KING

Amphipods within the family Chiltoniidae are an abundant yet taxonomically poorly known member of Australian freshwater habitats. With only four species known from Australia, the group is inadequately defined and marked by taxonomists as difficult to identify. Recent molecular analyses of chiltoniids from mound springs in South Australia detected several distinct species, prompting a morphological revision of material from the central and southern Lake Eyre region. Clear groups defined by unique combinations of morphological characters (focusing on uropodal, coxal, male gnathopod 2, and antennal morphology) were found that closely correlated with clades found in the molecular analyses. Arabunnachiltonia n. gen. is established for A. murphyi n. sp. from Strangways Springs in South Australia. Wangiannachiltonia n. gen. is established for W. guzikae n. sp. from Davenport Springs in South Australia. The chiltoniid genera are discussed and a key is presented to the known Australian species.


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