A new representative of the genus Bryocyclops Kiefer, 1927 from a karst cave in north-eastern Thailand (Copepoda, Cyclopoida, Cyclopidae) and comments on the generic affinities

The seventh Thai species of Bryocyclops Kiefer, 1927 – Bryocyclops jayabhumisp. nov. – was found in a karst cave in the Chaiyaphum Province of north-eastern Thailand. The new species differs from all previously-known species by the absence of an inner seta on the proximal endopod of the first four swimming legs. Bryocyclops jayabhumisp. nov. is most similar to B. maholarnensis Watiroyram, Brancelj & Sanoamuang, 2015 – the monotypic species of Group VII, which was previously described from Thailand. However, the new species differs from B. maholarnensis by having the following characteristics: i) posterior margin of urosomites serrated; ii) anal operculum triangular with acute-tip; iii) P1–P4Enp-1 without an inner seta; iv) armature on the female P2–P3Enp-2 and P4Enp; v) a transformed spine on the male P3Enp-2. In this study, the generic affinity of the genus Bryocyclops Kiefer, 1927 is discussed and redefined, based on the available literature concerning its principle morphology to fill the present knowledge gap about the characteristics of the genus.

A second species of Pseuduvaria in China: the identity of the enigmatic species Meiogyne kwangtungensis

Meiogyne kwangtungensis is a rare species endemic to Hainan, China, known just from two fruiting collections made in the 1930s. Although it was published under the name Meiogyne in 1976, it was suggested that it might be better placed within Pseuduvaria or Mitrephora. For decades, this species was never collected again, thus its true generic affinity remained unresolved due to the lack of flowers. During a field exploration in Hainan, we re-discovered this species and collected a flowering specimen for the first time. The flower immediately confirmed its affinity with Pseuduvaria. Phylogenetic analyses of five chloroplast regions (psbA-trnH, trnL-F, matK, rbcL, and atpB-rbcL; ca. 4.2 kb, 70 accessions) also unambiguously placed Meiogyne kwangtungensis in the Pseuduvaria clade (PP = 1.00, ML BS = 99%). Morphologically, it is most similar to P. multiovulata which is endemic to Myanmar and Thailand, both with often-paired flowers, long pedicels and short peduncles, and often 1–2 monocarps. However, it differs in having smaller flowers with kidney-shaped glands on the inner petals, fewer stamens and carpels, smaller ovoid monocarps with an apicule and fewer seeds. On the basis of the combined molecular phylogenetic and morphological data, we propose a new combination, Pseuduvaria kwangtungensis (P.T.Li) Qing L.Wang & B.Xue. A full description including floral characters and a color plate are provided here for this species. A key to species in the genus Pseuduvaria in China is also provided.

The Bitter Medicine of History

This chapter investigates how Seneca the Elder negotiates the generic position of declamation in his Controversiae and Suasoriae. It argues that his practice shows a perception of close generic affinity between declamation and poetry, and focuses on his attempt to force his readers into a closer engagement with historiography. In the course of critiquing declamations, Seneca not infrequently offers as extra-declamatory comparanda examples from poetry, and especially from epic. He appears to take for granted his audience’s acceptance of the models of poetic description and poetic pathos. History, by contrast, does not appear as a parallel genre in the Controversiae and is cited only in the divisio of the sixth suasoria, on whether Cicero should ask Antony to spare him. Seneca expects his audience to be distressed by the introduction of historiographical texts, but insists on an extensive engagement with historical treatments as non alienum to the subject. This juxtaposition of attitudes suggests awareness on the part of Seneca’s audience of a generic identity centred on fictionality (a crucial distinction from traditional oratory). By centring his discussion on this exemplum, moreover, Seneca uses the most temporally proximate subject, Cicero’s death, to make the strongest possible argument for the potential benefit of history to the future development of the declamatory genre.

The Battle of Muhammad Mahmoud Street in Cairo: The Politics and Poetics of Urban Violence in Revolutionary Time*

The battle of Muhammad Mahmoud Street in November 2011, pitching protestors against security forces in a five-day long stand-off, represented a crucial episode of Egypt's 25 January Revolution. Part riot and part carnival, this event opens up a number of questions for historians. This article examines the battle on three distinct scales, paying particular attention to time and temporality. The first scale is the battle's position within the temporality of the Egyptian revolution. The article argues that revolutionary situations are best understood through concepts of liminal time, and that the winter of 2011, rather than the initial stage of the Tahrir Square sit-in in January–February, represented the crucial phase of the revolutionary process in Egypt. A second scale zooms in on street action, focusing on the nexus of class, masculinity and urban violence. Here, raw experiences on the ground inform subjective meanings of ‘violence', ‘politics' and ‘revolution' from the perspective of those who were most directly involved in their making. These experiences also reveal different temporal horizons experienced by diverse participants, which, however, did not remain unchanged as events unfolded. The third scale is historically comparative, delving into spontaneously enacted riotous and carnivalesque urban violence as reflected in classic literature on riots and carnivals in different contexts. The battle of November 2011 allow us to see the generic affinity between these liminal events and the persistence of the riotous and carnivalesque within modern revolutionary situations, as it may help us understand the resurgence of riots within the contemporary world.

Talpapellis solorinae sp. nov. and an updated key to the species of Talpapellis and Verrucocladosporium

The genus Talpapellis Alstrup & M.S.Cole (1998: 227) was introduced for a lichenicolous hyphomycete on Peltigera venosa collected in British Columbia, Canada (Alstrup & Cole 1998). Details of the conidiogenesis, the generic affinity and application of this genus name have previously been unclear and largely confused. Based on a revision and reassessment of type material and examination of additional collections from North America and Asia, Heuchert et al. (2014) published an amended circumscription of Talpapellis, discussed the conidiogenesis of this genus, described a new variety of T. peltigerae Alstrup & M.S.Cole (1998: 227) and provided a key to the recognised taxa of Talpapellis and confusable species of Verrucocladosporium K.Schub. et al. (Crous et al. 2007, Braun et al. 2009).

Is morphology in Cercospora a reliable reflection of generic affinity?

Cercospora (Mycosphaerellaceae) is a large genus of fungi comprising many important plant pathogens. In recent years DNA-based studies have revealed multiple genera of cercosporoid fungi being poly- and paraphyletic. Among these genera, the genus Cercospora has always been perceived as monophyletic. In the present study, phylogenetic inferences based on partial gene sequences of the LSU, ITS, ACT, TEF1-α and HIS loci, elucidated a cercospora-like taxon from Ammi majus to cluster in a clade apart from Cercospora s. str. In spite of numerous Cercospora spp. presently known from their DNA sequence data, this collection represents the first concrete evidence to the fact that the morphological characters previously attributed to Cercospora s. str. evolved more than once in the Mycosphaerellaceae. The genus Neocercospora is subsequently introduced to accommodate the Iranian taxon occurring on A. majus. Further collections on other hosts and from different continents are now required to establish the prevalence and relative importance of species of Neocercospora.

Notes on Elleanthus muscicola (Orchidaceae) and description of a new Epilyna species from Panama

The generic affinity of Elleanthus muscicola Schltr. is clarified and a new combination within Epilyna Schltr. is proposed. The differences between Epilyna and morphologically similar genera are discussed. Epilyna trilobata Kolan. & Szlach., a new species so far known only from Panama, is described, illustrated and placed within a key to identification of all Epilyna species.