Granitohyoidea calycopeplusgen. nov. and sp. nov: a new plant bug taxon (Heteroptera: Miridae) affiliated with granite outcrops in south-west Western Australia, and its Palearctic affinity and host plant associations

2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerasimos Cassis ◽  
Celia Symonds
2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerasimos Cassis ◽  
Celia Symonds

New surveys from the Bush Blitz and Planetary Biodiversity Inventory programs has revealed a largely unknown biota of plant bugs in Australia. The mirid subfamily Orthotylinae has exploded in Australia, in association with perennial shrubs in arid and semi-arid Australia. This work documents the discovery of a new clade of 18 new species of the plant bug subfamily Orthotylinae. These new species belong to Naranjakotta, gen. nov., which was analysed phylogenetically and found to be monophyletic. The distribution of Naranjakotta and included species are documented, and analysed in reference to the distribution of all other orthotylines across continental Australia. A paralogy-free subtree analysis was conducted based on a recent phytogeographic classification, which resulted in the recognition of eastern and western subclades, with Tasmania and the Eyre Peninsula unresolved. The host plant associations were optimised at generic and ordinal levels to the Naranjakotta phylogeny and an ancestral Lamiales association for Naranjakotta and an ancestral Acacia association for a subclade of Naranjakotta were found. The eighteen new species described in this work are: N. bicolorata, sp. nov., N. chinnocki, sp. nov., N. cryptandraphila, sp. nov., N. dimorpha, sp. nov., N. graphica, sp. nov., N. hakeaphila, sp. nov., N. hibbertiaphila, sp. nov., N. hyalina, sp. nov., N. keraudrenia, sp. nov., N. lochada, sp. nov., N. macfarlanei, sp. nov., N. minor, sp. nov., N. myrtlephila, sp. nov., N. rosa, sp. nov., N. splendida, sp. nov., N. unicolorata, sp. nov., N. wanarra, sp. nov. and N. watheroo, sp. nov. Orthotylus sidnicus (Stål) is transferred to Naranjakotta.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Cheng ◽  
Gerasimos Cassis

A new Australian genus of Orthotylini, Xasmasoma, gen. nov. is described, with 12 new included species: X. acuminatus, sp. nov., X. agana, sp. nov., X. carrollae, sp. nov., X. celiae, sp. nov., X. chamelaucieaphila, sp. nov., X. mareeba, sp. nov., X. mimae, sp. nov., X. mungallala, sp. nov., X. nillinghoo, sp. nov., X. schuhi, sp. nov., X. silveirae, sp. nov. and X. woodstocki, sp. nov. These species were analysed phylogenetically using 25 morphology-based characters and molecular alignments (COI, 16S, 18S and 28S; 2096 base pairs), with the genus found to be monophyletic based on molecular, morphological and combined analyses. An analysis of host plant associations demonstrated no pattern of co-divergence and limited phylogenetic conservatism, aside from two subclades with respective Calytrix and Myrtaceae preferences. The biogeographic analysis revealed a south-western (South-west Interzone, Western Desert) area relationship, which is in distinction to the orthotyline genus Naranjakotta. The taxonomic component includes an identification key to species and diagnostic characters are illustrated, with detailed documentation of the male genitalia, and the genus uniquely possesses tile-like texture on the apex of the apophysis of the left paramere, and a single endosomal spicule.


2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 538-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenna M. Malcolm ◽  
Gretchen A. Kuldau ◽  
Beth K. Gugino ◽  
María del Mar Jiménez-Gasco

Much of the current knowledge on population biology and ecology of soilborne fungal pathogens has been derived from research based on populations recovered from plants displaying disease symptoms or soil associated with symptomatic plants. Many soilborne fungal pathogens are known to cause disease on a large number of crop plants, including a variety of important agronomical, horticultural, ornamental, and forest plants species. For instance, the fungus Verticillium dahliae causes disease on >400 host plants. From a phytopathological perspective, plants on which disease symptoms have not been yet observed are considered to be nonhosts for V. dahliae. This term may be misleading because it does not provide information regarding the nature of the plant–fungus association; that is, a nonhost plant may harbor the fungus as an endophyte. Yet, there are numerous instances in the literature where V. dahliae has been isolated from asymptomatic plants; thus, these plants should be considered hosts. In this article, we synthesize scattered research that indicates that V. dahliae, aside from being a successful and significant vascular plant pathogen, may have a cryptic biology on numerous asymptomatic plants as an endophyte. Thus, we suggest here that these endophytic associations among V. dahliae and asymptomatic plants are not unusual relationships in nature. We propose to embrace the broader ecology of many fungi by differentiating between “symptomatic hosts” as those plants in which the infection and colonization by a fungus results in disease, and “asymptomatic hosts” as those plants that harbor the fungus endophytically and are different than true nonhosts that should be used for plant species that do not interact with the given fungus. In fact, if we broaden our definition of “host plant” to include asymptomatic plants that harbor the fungus as an endophyte, it is likely that the host ranges for some soilborne fungal pathogens are much larger than previously envisioned. By ignoring the potential for soilborne fungal pathogens to display endophytic relationships, we leave gaps in our knowledge about the population biology and ecology, persistence, and spread of these fungi in agroecosystems.


2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob Manning ◽  
Kate Lancaster ◽  
April Rutkay ◽  
Linda Eaton

The parasite, Nosema apis, was found to be widespread among feral populations of honey bees (Apis mellifera) in the south-west of Western Australia. The location, month of collection and whether the feral colony was enclosed in an object or exposed to the environment, all affected the presence and severity of infection. There was no significant difference in the probability of infection between managed and feral bees. However, when infected by N. apis, managed bees appeared to have a greater severity of the infection.


Author(s):  
David Worth

Over the past 30 years in Western Australia (WA), there has been heated debate about the future use of the remaining karri and jarrah forests in the south-west of the State. This debate revolves around policy proposals from two social movements: one wants to preserve as much of the remaining old-growth forests as possible, and an opposing movement supports a continued


2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 715-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Song ◽  
Yun Li ◽  
Bryson Bates ◽  
Christopher K. Wikle

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