Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Discoveries of the week #33

Uromunna naherba sp. nov. is described from eelgrass beds (Zostera marina and Z. noltii) of the NW Iberian Peninsula. This is the second species of the genus reported from the NE Atlantic, after U. petiti. The new species was more abundant on rhizomes than on the leaves of the plants. Seasonal samples show that ovigerous females are present throughout the year, but become more abundant in late spring and summer, when adult males decrease in frequency. Ovigerous females appear in only one size class. Owing to the yearly productivity cycle of the eelgrasses, these data suggest that the species is semelparous and completes its lifecycle within 1 year. The taxonomic characters of the genus are discussed.

This new isopod species was discovered in eelgrass beds in Spanish waters. The expression Na herba is Galician for “in the grass”.
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Enyalioides sophiarothschildae
The discovery of three new species of Enyalioides from the tropical Andes in Ecuador and northern Peru is reported. Enyalioides altotambo sp. n. occurs in northwestern Ecuador and differs from other species of Enyalioides in having dorsal scales that are both smooth and homogeneous in size, a brown iris, and in lacking enlarged, circular and keeled scales on the flanks. Enyalioides anisolepis sp. n. occurs on the Amazonian slopes of the Andes in southern Ecuador and northern Peru and can be distinguished from other species of Enyalioides by its scattered, projecting large scales on the dorsum, flanks, and hind limbs, as well as a well-developed vertebral crest, with the vertebrals on the neck at least three times higher than those between the hind limbs. Enyalioides sophiarothschildae sp. n. is from the Amazonian slopes of the Cordillera Central in northeastern Peru; it differs from other species of Enyalioides in having caudal scales that are relatively homogeneous in size on each caudal segment, a white gular region with a black medial patch and several turquoise scales in males, as well as immaculate white labials and chin. A molecular phylogenetic tree of 18 species of hoplocercines is presented, including the three species described in this paper and E. cofanorum, as well as an updated identification key for species of Hoplocercinae.

Finding three new species of woodlizards is quite unusual given that they are among the largest and most colorful lizards in South American forests. This discovery increases the number of species of woodlizards to 15. The first name refers to the type locality, the second to some unusual scales on the animal, and the third honors a financial supporter (Sophia Rothschild). The authors did some DNA work but unfortunately they did not include the DNA Barcode region. In fact they sequenced a longer mtDNA fragment stretching over some NADH subunites and tRNAs but end right at the very beginning of COI.
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The genus Eadmuna Schaus, 1928 is revised to include four species. Eadmuna guianensis sp. n., is described from French Guiana and Guyana. The holotype of Perophora pulverula Schaus, 1896, currently placed in Cicinnus Blanchard, 1852, is determined to be a previously unrecognized female Eadmuna, and is transferred accordingly as E. pulverula comb. n.. Eadmuna paloa Schaus, 1933, rev. status, is removed from synonymy with the type species E. esperans (Schaus, 1905). Eadmuna esperans, E. paloa, and E. pulverula may be of conservation concern due to their limited extent of occurrence and endemicity to the highly imperiled Brazilian Atlantic forest.

A new species of Sackbearer Moth named for the Guianas from where all the specimens were collected.
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According to the most recent taxonomic literature, three species of the genus Eresus are known in Central Europe, E. kollari, E. sandaliatus and E. moravicus. We recognized a fourth distinctive species from Hungary, which is described as Eresus hermani sp. n. Eresus hermani has an early spring copulation period, females have a light grey (grizzled) cephalothorax due to a heavy cover of lightly colored setae, and an epigyne with large flat areas posterior to the epigynal pit, while males are distinguished by a broad and blunt terminal tooth of the conductor. An updated and modified comparative table of Řezáč et al. (2008) to include all four Central European Eresus species, and a simple key to the species group’s species are given. Habitus, epigyne, vulva and conductor of E. kollari, E. moravicus and E. sandaliatus are also illustrated. An annotated list of papers illustrating E. hermani due to misidentifications is presented.

The velvet spiders (family Eresidae) are among the most attractive spiders (yes, spiders can be beautiful) with 96 described species. A new species was found in Hungary and named after Ottó Herman (1835–1914), Hungarian arachnologist and polymath, who first recognized color variants within Hungarian Eresus forms, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his passing.
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A new species, Psephellus vanensis A.Duran, Behçet & B.Dogan (Asteraceae) from Anatolia, Turkey, is described and illustrated. The species grows on the serpentine stony field of the village of Çaldıran in the district of Başkale (Van province) in eastern Anatolia. It is morphologically similar to Psephellus pyrrhoblepharus (Boiss.) Wagenitz. Diagnostic characters are discussed, and a key to the most similar species is provided. Ecology, conservation status and notes on biogeography of the species are also presented. In addition, the geographical distribution of the new species and other related species in Turkey is mapped.

Today two new plant species from Turkey. For the new member of the Asteracea no information on the Etymology was provided.
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During the taxonomic revision of the Turkish Dianthus species, specimens collected from Bilecik, Seben (Bolu), and Nallıhan (Ankara) were discovered that represent a new species. Its description, images, chorology, ecology, and threat category are provided. It was compared with a closely related species, D. zonatus, and differences are based on its general morphology and seed micromorphology.

Carnations are well known although there are about 300 species in this genus. The new species from Turkey was named in honour of the hydrobiologist Tahir Atıcı.
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