A new box turtle from the Miocene/Pliocene boundary (latest Hemphillian) of Oklahoma and a refined chronology of box turtle diversification

2012 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter G. Joyce ◽  
Andrea Petričević ◽  
Tyler R. Lyson ◽  
Nicholas J. Czaplewski
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Crown Group ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Terrapene Ornata ◽  
Box Turtles ◽  
Box Turtle ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Correlated Characters

A near complete shell from the Hemphillian 4 (Miocene/Pliocene boundary) Buis Ranch local fauna of Beaver County, Oklahoma, represents a fossil box turtle. An anterior contact of neural III and neural V with costal III and costal V only, respectively, presence of a small contact between the suprapygal and eleventh peripherals, development of a thin peripheral lip for articulation with the posterior plastral lobe, placement of the vertebral III/IV sulcus on neural VII, presence of two anterior musk duct glands, a rounded posterior plastral lobe, an elongate shell outline, and a complete neural series diagnose the fossil as a new species, Terrapene parornata n. sp. A phylogenetic analysis of fossil box turtles places T. parornata along the phylogenetic stem of the extant taxon T. ornata. The holotype of ‘Terrapene longinsulae’ cannot be distinguished from Terrapene ornata and is therefore synonymized. Finally, ‘Terrapene’ corneri lacks characters of crown group Terrapene and may therefore represent a stem box turtle. The provenance of the holotype of ‘Terrapene longinsulae’ is more poorly known than previously recognized and this specimen may originate from Kansas or Nebraska and be early Miocene to late Pleistocene in age. Terrapene parornata is therefore the oldest demonstrable representative of crown group Terrapene (ca. 5.3–4.6 Ma). ‘Terrapene’ corneri from the late Barstovian of Nebraska and fragmentary material from the middle Barstovian of Nebraska by contrast are the oldest representative of the Terrapene lineage (ca. 14.5–11.5 Ma). A review of morphological characters related to shell kinesis reveals that most are highly correlated. The results of the phylogenetic analysis converge upon those of molecular data when these correlated characters are omitted from the analysis.

Entomophilic nematodes, Diploscapter coronatus and Oscheius tipulae from Afghanistan

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4926 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-416
Author(s):  
MOHAMMAD HUSSAIN FALAHZADAH ◽  
EBRAHIM SHOKOOHI ◽  
GHOLAM HOSSEIN MORAVEJ ◽  
PHATU WILLIAM MASHELA ◽  
ABDUL KHALID MADADI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Genetic Distance ◽  
Galleria Mellonella ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
The Body ◽  
Morphometric Data ◽  
Molecular Approaches ◽  
The Relationship

Several soil samples from different habitats in Badakhshan province of Afghanistan were collected to isolate and characterize bacteria feeding nematodes. The Galleria mellonella-baiting method was used for the isolation of the Afghan insect-associated nematodes. The nematodes were studied using morphological and morphometric data. The Oscheius specimen was characterized by a longer body (630–820 µm) and shorter pharynx (125–145 µm), whereas other morphological characters were not unusual. The Diploscapter specimen had an annulated cuticle, with lip region width 1.5 times shorter than the stoma, and had separated pharyngeal corpus from the isthmus and vulva located in the middle of the body. The molecular data were derived using three loci; 18S, 28S (D2/D3 segment), and ITS rRNA region, which were utilized to measure the genetic distance. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted to reconstruct the relationship tree. Both morphological and molecular approaches confirmed the identity of nematode isolates as Oscheius tipulae and Diploscapter coronatus. This is the first report of insect-associated nematodes from the soil of Afghanistan. Both species were capable of infecting and killing G. mellonella larvae in less than 96 h. 

Species delimitation of colour polymorphic Cladophorus (Coleoptera: Lycidae) from New Guinea

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4320 (3) ◽  
pp. 505 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROMANA KALOUSOVA ◽  
LADISLAV BOCAK
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Mitochondrial Dna ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Species Delimitation ◽  
Morphological Differentiation ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Dna Fragment ◽  
Colour Patterns

Cladophorus Guérin-Méneville, 1830 are endemic Papuan net-winged beetles which take part in highly diverse Müllerian mimicry rings. Available specimens were sequenced for cox1–tRNA-Leu–cox2 mitochondrial DNA fragment and the species delimitations were based on the genetic distance, phylogenetic analysis, and morphology. Three earlier described species were identified in the recently collected material and further 10 species are described: C. pallescens sp. nov., C. bicolor sp. nov., C. craterensis sp. nov., C. motykai sp. nov., C. mindikensis sp. nov., C. kailakiensis sp. nov., C. manokwarensis sp. nov., C. haiaensis sp. nov., C. humeralis sp. nov., and C. boceki sp. nov. DNA-based identifications provided some ambiguous results and closely related species could not be robustly delimited using solely molecular data. Additionally, the species limits were based on clearly defined morphological characters and the morphological differentiation was found unlinked from the genetic divergence. Colour patterns cannot be used for identification because all species available in more specimens were polymorphic and followed various local co-mimics. The Papuan fauna of Cladophorus is very diverse and the closely related species regularly occur in limited regions. Differentiation within restricted ranges is therefore considered as the main speciation mode. 

Paris lihengiana (Melanthiaceae: Parideae), a new species from Yunnan, China

Phytotaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 392 (1) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZHUN XU ◽  
NENG WEI ◽  
YING TAN ◽  
SHUAI PENG ◽  
VERONICAH MUTELE NGUMBAU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
New Species ◽  
Yunnan Province ◽  
Leaf Surface ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Abaxial Leaf Surface ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic ◽  
Plastid Markers ◽  
A New Species

Paris lihengiana (Melanthiaceae), a new species from Yunnan Province, China, is described and illustrated based on evidence from morphological characters and molecular phylogeny. It differs from other species of Paris in its pubescent stem, pedicel and abaxial leaf surface, as well as other characters. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of 33 taxa in Paris was conducted based on nuclear ribosomal ITS and six plastid markers. Paris lihengiana is supported as a new species by both morphological characters and molecular data.

scholarly journals Cretaceous origin and repeated tertiary diversification of the redefined butterflies

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1731) ◽  
pp. 1093-1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Heikkilä ◽  
Lauri Kaila ◽  
Marko Mutanen ◽  
Carlos Peña ◽  
Niklas Wahlberg
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Phylogenetic Relationships ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Sister Group ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Bayesian Approaches ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Level ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data

Although the taxonomy of the ca 18 000 species of butterflies and skippers is well known, the family-level relationships are still debated. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the superfamilies Papilionoidea, Hesperioidea and Hedyloidea to date based on morphological and molecular data. We reconstructed their phylogenetic relationships using parsimony and Bayesian approaches. We estimated times and rates of diversification along lineages in order to reconstruct their evolutionary history. Our results suggest that the butterflies, as traditionally understood, are paraphyletic, with Papilionidae being the sister-group to Hesperioidea, Hedyloidea and all other butterflies. Hence, the families in the current three superfamilies should be placed in a single superfamily Papilionoidea. In addition, we find that Hedylidae is sister to Hesperiidae, and this novel relationship is supported by two morphological characters. The families diverged in the Early Cretaceous but diversified after the Cretaceous–Palaeogene event. The diversification of butterflies is characterized by a slow speciation rate in the lineage leading to Baronia brevicornis , a period of stasis by the skippers after divergence and a burst of diversification in the lineages leading to Nymphalidae, Riodinidae and Lycaenidae.

Thread trailing of turtles: methods for evaluating spatial movements and pathway structure

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (12) ◽  
pp. 2120-2128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis L. Claussen ◽  
Michael S. Finkler ◽  
Meghan M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Directional Bias ◽  
Turning Angle ◽  
Nebraska Sand Hills ◽  
Terrapene Ornata ◽  
Similar Information ◽  
Box Turtles ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Mean Vector

Although many authors have used thread trailing to monitor movements of turtles and other vertebrates, most have evaluated only a portion of the information contained in these pathways. We describe ways of extracting information from thread trails by determining length of trail, mean distance moved per unit time, net displacement, area encompassed by the trail, mean turning angle, and mean vector length. We further describe and compare four measures of trail sinuosity, the ratio of greatest distance to length of path (d/L), the square root of the ratio of area to path length [Formula: see text], fractal dimension (D), and sinuosity (S); we then applied these methods to the trails of a population of ornate box turtles (Terrapene ornata) from the Nebraska Sand Hills. Though preliminary, these data suggest that vegetation cover affects the sinuosity of turtle trails (based on D), that temperature affects the mean distance moved per day, that T. ornata ordinarily show little or no directional bias, and that injury can affect distance moved, trail sinuosity, and mean turning angle. Among these measures of trail sinuosity, D and S are highly correlated and provide similar information. Though less closely correlated with D and S, or with each other, [Formula: see text] and d/L also reflect trail sinuosity; of these indices, however, d/L best reflects trail directionality. This analysis suggests that a more comprehensive evaluation of pathways at this fine scale will provide new insights into the routine movements of animals.

A new species of the genus Lucasioides Kwon, 1993 (Isopoda, Oniscidea, Agnaridae) from Siberia, Russia

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4903 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-150
Author(s):  
KONSTANTIN B. GONGALSKY ◽  
PAVEL S. NEFEDIEV ◽  
ILYA S. TURBANOV
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
New Species ◽  
First Record ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Altai Mountains ◽  
The Family ◽  
Southwestern Siberia ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Preliminary Phylogenetic Analysis

A new species of the family Agnaridae, Lucasioides altaicus sp. nov., is described from the Altai Mountains, southwestern Siberia, based both on morphological characters and molecular data. This species is the first record of Lucasioides from Russia, whose location is the northernmost habitat of terrestrial isopods in indigenous habitats presently known to Eurasia. The diagnostic characters of the new species and a preliminary phylogenetic analysis within Agnaridae are provided. 

Variability, host range, delimitation and neotypification of Amanita simulans (Amanita section Vaginatae): collections associated with Helianthemum grasslands, and epitypification of A. lividopallescens

Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 280 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALFREDO VIZZINI ◽  
MIRCA ZOTTI ◽  
MIDO TRAVERSO ◽  
ENRICO ERCOLE ◽  
PIERRE-ARTHUR MOREAU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Extensive Discussion ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Colour Form ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data

Several collections of Amanita species from section Vaginatae have been reported to be strictly associated with Helianthemum plants growing in grasslands, a still largely under-explored ectomycorrhizal habitat. The main aim of this study was to investigate the taxonomic status and phylogenetic position of strictly Helianthemum-associated Amanita sect. Vaginatae taxa, informally named Amanita “helianthemicola”. Collections from Italy, England and France were included in this study. The morphologically closely related species complex A. lividopallescens was also examined. Analyses were carried out based on both morphological and molecular data (phylogenetic analysis of the nrITS sequences). All investigated Amanita collections, which are strictly associated with Helianthemum nummularium, turned out to be conspecific with A. simulans. Amanita simulans was recently described from Sardinia (Italy) from Populus nigra habitats based on morphological characters only. As the holotype of A. simulans was lost, a neotype is designated here based on a voucher from the original collecting area. Amanita simulans is re-described, and an extensive discussion on the morphological variability, host species range, distribution and related taxa is provided. Amanita lividopallescens was confirmed as a good species, and re-delimited based on our phylogenetic analysis; moreover, it was epitypified with a recent and well-documented collection from Corse (France). Amanita stenospora is a synonym of A. lividopallescens, being a colour form of the latter without taxonomic value.

scholarly journals Craniodental morphology and phylogeny of marsupials

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin M. D. Beck ◽  
Robert Voss ◽  
Sharon Jansa
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Data Types ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data ◽  
Dense Sampling

The current literature on marsupial phylogenetics includes numerous studies based on analyses of morphological data with relatively limited sampling of Recent and fossil taxa, and many studies based on analyses of molecular data that include a dense sampling of Recent taxa, but relatively few that combine both data types. Another dichotomy in the marsupial phylogenetic literature is between studies that focus on New World taxa, others that focus on Sahulian taxa. To date, there has been no attempt to assess the phylogenetic relationships of the global marsupial fauna, based on combined analyses of morphology and molecular sequences, for a dense sampling of Recent and fossil taxa. For this report, we compiled morphological and molecular data from an unprecedented number of Recent and fossil marsupials. Our morphological data consist of 180 craniodental characters that we scored for 97 species representing every currently recognized Recent genus, 42 additional ingroup (crown-clade marsupial) taxa represented by well-preserved fossils, and 5 outgroups (non-marsupial metatherians). Our molecular data comprise 24.5 kb of DNA sequences from whole-mitochondrial genomes and six nuclear loci (APOB, BRCA1, GHR, RAG1, RBP3 and VWF) for 97 marsupial terminals (the same Recent taxa scored for craniodental morphology) and several placental and monotreme outgroups. The results of separate and combined analyses of these data using a wide range of phylogenetic methods support many currently accepted hypotheses of ingroup (marsupial) relationships, but they also underscore the difficulty of placing fossils with key missing data (e.g., †Evolestes), and the unique difficulty of placing others that exhibit mosaics of plesiomorphic and autapomorphic traits (e.g., †Yalkaparidon). Unique contributions of our study are (1) critical discussions and illustrations of marsupial craniodental morphology, including descriptions and illustrations of some features never previously coded for phylogenetic analysis; (2) critical assessments of relative support for many suprageneric clades; (3) estimates of divergence times derived from tip-and-node dating based on uniquely taxon-dense analyses; and (4) a revised, higher-order classification of marsupials accompanied by lists of supporting craniodental synapomorphies. Far from the last word on these topics, this report lays the foundation for future research that may be enabled by the discovery of new fossil taxa, better-preserved material of previously described taxa, novel morphological characters, and improved methods of phylogenetic analysis.

Pseudosperma albobrunneum sp. nov. from coniferous forests of Pakistan

Mycotaxon ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 136 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-372
Author(s):  
Sana Jabeen ◽  
Zainab ◽  
Hira Bashir ◽  
Abdul Nasir Khalid
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
New Species ◽  
Its Region ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Nuclear Ribosomal Dna ◽  
Coniferous Forests ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic ◽  
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province ◽  
A New Species

A new species, Pseudosperma albobrunneum, is described and illustrated. The specimens are from different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. The identification is based on morphological characters, in combination with molecular phylogenetic analysis of sequences of the ITS region of nuclear ribosomal DNA. The species is found distinct morphologically from all closely related taxa, and molecular data confirm its novelty.

scholarly journals Congruence Between Molecular Data and Morphology: Phylogenetic Position of Senodoniini (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Kundrata ◽  
Alexander S. Prosvirov ◽  
Dominik Vondracek ◽  
Eliska Sormova
Keyword(s):  
Phylogenetic Analysis ◽  
Molecular Markers ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Systematic Position ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Monotypic Genus ◽  
Click Beetles ◽  
East And Southeast Asia

Senodoniini is a small lineage of click beetles currently comprising 21 species in two genera, distributed in the Himalayas and East and Southeast Asia. The definition and limits of this group have changed considerably during its history. Recent authors treat Senodoniini as a tribe within Dendrometrinae, usually close to Dimini, but this placement has never been rigorously tested. Here, we shed new light on the systematic position and limits of Senodoniini by performing a combined phylogenetic analysis of two nuclear and two mitochondrial molecular markers. Our results recovered Senodoniini not monophyletic, and placed them into the Lissominae complex, where they formed a clade with Austrelater Calder & Lawrence (Protelaterini). Molecular phylogeny is in agreement with the adult morphology. Additionally, we examined the morphology of a monotypic genus Rostricephalus Fleutiaux from Southeast Asia, which was previously classified in various Elateridae groups including Senodoniini, and its position was always uncertain. This genus shares morphological characters with Protelaterini. We provide morphological redescriptions as well as the figures of main diagnostic characters for Senodonia Laporte, Sossor Candèze, and Rostricephalus. Based on our results, we place these genera to Lissominae: Protelaterini, and hence synonymize Senodoniini Schenkling with Protelaterini Schwarz.

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