An updated, annotated checklist of the marine mammals of Hong Kong

Most species of Scydmaenus Latreille described by Herbert Franz are impossible to identify without re-examination of the type material. The Chinese fauna is no exception and it is easy to find specimens whose aedeagi resemble those illustrated by Franz, but the only way to identify them is to directly compare new material with types. On the other hand, the aedeagi of type specimens often look slightly or even strongly different from those illustrated in original descriptions, which increases the confusion. Six species of Scydmaenus described by Franz and occurring in continental China are here redescribed, and the aedeagi of holotypes are illustrated in detail: S. chinensis, S. fukiensis, S. kunmingensis, S. sinensis, S. szechuanensis, and S. kiautunensis. The first five species are confirmed to belong in the nominotypical subgenus; S. kiautunensis is transferred from Scydmaenus (s. str.) to the subgenus Nepaloscydmaenus Franz. As previous checklists of Palaearctic or Eastern Asian Scydmaeninae contain incomplete data, an updated and annotated checklist of Scydmaenus species so far recorded from the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong is given, with comments on possible misidentifications, possible synonymies and distributional issues.

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Annotated checklist of Hongkong Lichens

Bryophyte Diversity and Evolution ◽

10.11646/bde.17.1.12 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 57-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

André Aptroot ◽

Mark R.D. Seaward

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Hong Kong ◽

East Asia ◽

New Records ◽

Distribution Patterns ◽

The Past ◽

Habitat Disturbances ◽

Annotated Checklist

An annotated checklist of the lichens of Hong Kong, based on all available literature reports and specimens, including those recently collected by the authors, is presented. In total, 261 species are reported, of which 176 are new records for Hong Kong, 132 of which are new for China, 43 are new for East Asia, and 27 are new for Asia. The lichen vegetation is mainly tropical, as is shown by the distribution patterns of the identified species: 53 species are cosmopolitan, 40 northern temperate, 122 pantropical, 17 paleotropical and 29 endemic to tropical East Asia. With regard to substrata, 129 species are corticolous, 148 saxicolous, 17 foliicolous and 19 terricolous. Four species are newly described: Anisomeridium conorostratum Aptroot, A. hydei Aptroot, Caloplaca pulicarioides Aptroot and Placidiopsis poronioides Aptroot. The flora is rather poor in species; for example, no Caliciales have been found. In the past, the numbers of species of several groups such as the Graphidaceae, Heterodermia and Xanthoparmelia have been overestimated, whereas few pyrenocarps have been reported. The flora of wet granitic outcrops is surprisingly well developed in Hong Kong. Although not a single Peltula species was reported before, six species were identified, including one that was previously only known from Africa. In addition, several other cyanophilic genera are present, such as Euopsis, Psorotichia, Pyrenopsis and, most unexpectedly, Vestergrenopsis, each with one species. A comparison between old and recent records shows that many Lobarion species are now extinct. The drastic decline of species of the Lobarion vegetation indicates that air pollution and other habitat disturbances, mainly deforestation, to which these species are very sensitive, are seriously threatening the lichen biodiversity of Hong Kong.

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