Showing papers in "American Museum Novitates in 2004"
TL;DR: Thirty-nine available family-group names are identified within the insect order Isoptera (termites) and the correct author, date, type genus, and combining stem are provided for the first time in this nomenclatural compilation to stabilize the usage of family- group names in the isoptera in advance of a world catalog.
Abstract: Thirty-nine available family-group names are identified within the insect order Isoptera (termites). For all names the correct author, date, type genus, and combining stem are provided for the first time. This nomenclatural compilation is done to stabilize the usage of family- group names in the Isoptera in advance of a world catalog. Several problems of priority are identified and discussed. The little understood subfamily Foraminitermitinae is diagnosed; while generally believed by many authors to be a new, unnamed subfamily, it was in fact established by Holmgren nearly a century ago. The subfamilies Syntermitinae and Sphaerotermitinae are newly proposed for the mandibulate genera of nasute termites and for Sphaerotermes, respectively. The classification of Isoptera is briefly outlined.
90 citations
TL;DR: The paper wasp genus Marimbonda Richards, 1978, is synonymized with Leipomeles Möbius, 1856, n.syn.
Abstract: The paper wasp genus Marimbonda Richards, 1978, is synonymized with Leipomeles Mobius, 1856, n.syn. A key to all the currently recognized paper wasp genera in the Western Hemisphere is provided.
77 citations
TL;DR: This new form of Zosuchus davidsoni is found to be a late-appearing basal crocodyliform, forming a monophyletic group with two other taxa from the Early Cretaceous of China.
Abstract: Here we report on a new fossil crocodyliform from Cretaceous Redbeds in the Zos Canyon, Gobi Desert, Mongolia. This new taxon, Zosuchus davidsoni, is described based on the information provided by five specimens collected during expeditions of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences–American Museum of Natural History. Zosuchus davidsoni is identifiable by numerous characters, including a posteriorly extensive secondary palate that opens through a secondary choana bordered by the palatines and pterygoids near the posterior edge of the skull, and a lacrimal–premaxillary contact on the dorsal surface of the snout. The phylogenetic relationships of Zosuchus davidsoni are shown through a parsimony analysis in the context of Crocodyliformes. This new form is found to be a late-appearing basal crocodyliform, forming a monophyletic group with two other taxa from the Early Cretaceous of China. Because of the basal position of Zosuchus within Crocodyliformes, the marked posterior extension of the secondary palat...
70 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the reproductive castes in species of swarming wasps representing all currently recognized genera of Epiponini (Polistinae) and revealed several syndromes relating reproductive and non-reproductive individuals.
Abstract: Reproductive castes are compared in species of swarming wasps representing all currently recognized genera of Epiponini (Polistinae). New morphometric data for nine measures of body parts and ovarian data are presented for 13 species. These are integrated with all similarly conducted available studies, giving a total of 30 species. Analysis reveals several syndromes relating reproductive and nonreproductive individuals: no meaningful distinction, physiological differences only, reproductives larger than nonreproductives with intermediate individuals present, reproductives different in shape from nonreproductives with no intermediates, and reproductives smaller in some aspects than nonreproductives. Distribution of these syndromes among species is consistent with phylogenetic relationships derived from other data. Optimizing these syndromes on the cladogram indicates that the basal condition of Epiponini is a casteless society that is not comparable to the primitively social genus Polistes where d...
69 citations
TL;DR: Zaraasuchus shepardi as mentioned in this paper shares numerous derived characters with Gobiosuchus kielanae, also known from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia (Bayn Dzak locality).
Abstract: We describe a new fossil crocodyliform, Zaraasuchus shepardi, found in the Cretaceous Red Beds of Zos Canyon (Gobi Desert, Mongolia). Z. shepardi shares numerous derived characters with Gobiosuchus kielanae, also known from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia (Bayn Dzak locality). However, it is distinguished from the latter by the presence of a moderately large infratemporal fenestra, anterior margin of infratemporal fenestra almost completely formed by the postorbital, retroarticular process with a well-developed ornamented posterolateral pointed process, and extremely well-developed keels on dorsal and lateral cervical osteoderms (the heights of which are approximately as long as the lateromedial extension of the dorsal osteoderms). A phylogenetic analysis indicated that these two taxa form a monophyletic group located basally among crocodyliforms. This clade is diagnosed by 14 synapomorphies (e.g., anterior and posterior palpebrals sutured to each other and to the frontal, excluding it from the o...
65 citations
TL;DR: This paper studied the postnatal ontogeny of the skull in Dromiciops gliroides by analyzing qualitative and allometric aspects of the development of cranial structures and concluded that most cranial development in D. glirods is highly conservative and that some peculiarities may be shared with other marsupials of similarly small body size.
Abstract: Dromiciops gliroidesis the single extant representative of the marsupial family Microbioth- eriidae. The importance of D. gliroides stems from its peculiar cranial anatomy (specifically the configuration of the tympanic region) and dentition and from its controversial position in the phylogenetic tree of marsupials—a South American form more closely related to Austra- lasian marsupials. We studied the postnatal ontogeny of the skull in D. gliroides by analyzing qualitative and allometric aspects of the development of cranial structures. We compared re- cently weaned young individuals with adults and described the bivariate and multivariate allometric trends of 14 cranial dimensions for a sample of 37-51 specimens. Most cranial components develop in a way similar to didelphids studied so far. However, some trends (e.g., growth of the orbit) seem particular to D. gliroides. The microbiotheriid bulla of D. gliroides, a structure to which five basicranial bones contribute parts, is already present in its highly derived condition in the youngest specimens of our series. We conclude that except for the bulla, most of the cranial development in D. gliroides is highly conservative and that some peculiarities may be shared with other marsupials of similarly small body size. Data on aus- tralidelphians and small-size didelphids are needed to contrast these patterns.
62 citations
TL;DR: In 2000, herpetological surveys of Ha Giang Province, Vietnam, near the Chinese border were undertaken as discussed by the authors, which yielded 36 species of amphibians and 16 species of reptiles.
Abstract: In April and May of 2000, herpetological surveys of Ha Giang Province, Vietnam, near the Chinese border were undertaken. Surveys concentrated on isolated forests of Mount Tay Con Linh II (contiguous with the highest peak in eastern Vietnam, Mt. Tay Con Linh). The 26-day survey yielded 36 species of amphibians and 16 species of reptiles. The collection contains elements of Himalayan as well as Indo-Malayan assemblages and documents a new country record (Philautus rhododiscus), eight new records east of the Red River (Bombina microdeladigitora, Megophrys parva, Amolops chapaensis, Chaparana delacouri, Chirixalus gracilipes, Philautus odontotarsus, Polypedates dugritei, Rhacophorus hoanglienensis ), seven species complexes (Fejervarya limnocharis, Hoplobatrachus rugulosus , Limnonectes kuhlii, Rana chloronota, R. maosonensis, Polypedates dugritei, and P. leucomystax), three unidentified amphibian species, and two previously undescribed species of cascade ranid (Rana iriodes, new species and Rana tabaca, new species). Rana iriodes differs from R. daorum and Amolops chunganensis in having an iridescent green-gold dorsum, orange-red dorsolateral folds, a goldwhite flank spot, vomerine teeth, and webbing to toe disks. Rana tabaca, new species, can be differentiated from other cascade ranids by a combination of characters: mottled brown upper lip, gold lip line below the eye to the arm insertion, shagreened dorsum, dorsolateral folds, and unpigmented eggs. Species accumulation curves indicate that the diversity of the region is still underestimated, which, along with the relatively extensive remnant forest, underscores the importance for a greater faunal understanding and conservation effort for the montane forests of the region.
56 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarize the currently accepted species-level taxonomy, provide full bibliographic citations for original descriptions of all 36 included nominal taxa, map their type localities, and list their type material (if known).
Abstract: In order to facilitate much-needed revisionary research on Marmosops, we summarize the currently accepted species-level taxonomy, provide full bibliographic citations for original descriptions of all 36 included nominal taxa, map their type localities, and list their type material (if known). We rediagnose the genus Marmosops, compare it with three other didelphid genera to which misidentified specimens of Marmosops have often been referred, and review the phylogenetic evidence that Marmosops is monophyletic. After describing a new species from the eastern-slope montane forests of Bolivia, we review the taxonomy of other Bolivian congeners based on morphological characters and published cytochrome-b gene sequences. Among our taxonomic results, we synonymize albiventris Tate (1931), dorothea Thomas (1911), and yungasensis Tate (1931) with M. noctivagus (Tschudi, 1845). By contrast, M. ocellatus (Tate, 1931), currently considered a synonym of dorothea, appears to be a valid species. Whereas publish...
55 citations
TL;DR: The Sciaroidea, or fungus gnats, comprises approximately 4000 described species in eight families: Bolitophilidae, Cecidomyi, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Lygistorrhinidae, Mycetophilides, and Sciaridae as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Recent world fauna of Sciaroidea, or fungus gnats, comprises approximately 4000 described species in eight families: Bolitophilidae, Cecidomyiidae, Diadocidiidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Lygistorrhinidae, Mycetophilidae, and Sciaridae. Larvae live primarily in decaying vegetation, feeding on fungal mycelia, and they can be among the most abundant insects of temperate forests. Stem-group families appeared in the Jurassic, with large Tertiary deposits being composed almost entirely of living genera, so the Cretaceous is essential for understanding the origins and diversification of Recent families. Sixty-six specimens were studied from six major deposits of Cretaceous amber, spanning 40 million years from the Early to Late Cretaceous: Lebanon (ca. 125 Ma), northern Spain (120 Ma), northern Myanmar (Burma) (ca. 105 Ma), northern Siberia (two sites, 105 and 87 Ma), New Jersey (90 Ma), and western Canada (80 Ma). New taxa are the following: Docidiadia burmitica (n.gen., n.sp.) (Diadocidiidae); ...
51 citations
TL;DR: New craniodental evidence confirms earlier cladistic results showing that the Antillean monkeys (Xenothrix mcgregori, Paralouatta varonai, and Antillothrix bernensis) are closely related and that Callicebus is their closest joint extant mainland relative.
Abstract: The Jamaican monkey Xenothrix mcgregori is one of several extinct endemic platyrrhines known from the late Quaternary of the Greater Antilles. Until recently, the hypodigm of Xenothrix was limited to the holotype partial mandible and a handful of tentatively referred postcranial elements. Here we describe several additional fossils attributable to Xenothrix, including the first cranial remains, all of which were recovered in cave deposits in the Jackson's Bay region of southern Jamaica. In addition to a partial face from Lloyd's Cave and a maxillary fragment of a different individual from the same site, the craniodental collection includes two incomplete mandibles with poorly preserved cheekteeth from nearby Skeleton Cave. The new specimens confirm a distinctive derived feature of Xenothrix, i.e., reduced dental formula in both jaws (2/2 1/1 3/3 2/2). Although no examples of the maxillary canine are yet known, its alveolus is notably small. Similarly, although the upper face of Xenothrix is also ...
50 citations
TL;DR: Gomphos elkema is a typical Bumbanian taxon, previously known only from Mongolia as discussed by the authors, and lower and upper dentition and pedal elements from the Huheboerhe locality, Erlian Basin, Nei-Mongol (Inner Mongolia) are described.
Abstract: Dental and postcranial specimens of Gomphos elkema, including lower and upper dentition and pedal elements, from the Huheboerhe locality, Erlian Basin, Nei-Mongol (Inner Mongolia), are described. Postcranial elements of Gomphos are similar to those of Mimolagus, suggesting affinity with lagomorphs. Gomphos elkema is a typical Bumbanian taxon, previously known only from Mongolia. Gomphos elkemaspecimens at Huheboerhe indicate occurrence of Bumbanian-equivalent beds and fauna in the region and suggest potential presence of the Paleocene‐Eocene boundary in the Huheboerhe section.
TL;DR: Chacodelphys formosamay as mentioned in this paper is the only known specimen of Marmosa formosa Shamel, a nominal species currently synonymized with Gracilinanus agilis Burmeister, is strikingly unlike any other known didelphid marsupial.
Abstract: The holotype and only known specimen of Marmosa formosa Shamel, a nominal species currently synonymized with Gracilinanus agilis Burmeister, is strikingly unlike any other known didelphid marsupial. Phylogenetic analyses based on nonmolecular characters and IRBP sequences suggest that formosa is either the sister-taxon of Thylamys (including Lestodelphys) or Monodelphis. Because neither alternative is strongly supported by the data at hand, and because including formosa in Thylamys or in Monodelphis would compromise the diagnosability of those taxa, a new genus— Chacodelphys—is proposed to contain it. Currently known only from northern Argentina, Chacodelphys formosamay be widely distributed in the Chaco and other adjacent Neotropical biomes.
TL;DR: The eggs and all four larval instars of Austroconops mcmillani Wirth and Lee and A. annettae Borkent, new species, are described in this article.
Abstract: The eggs and all four larval instars of Austroconops mcmillani Wirth and Lee and A. annettae Borkent, new species, are described. The pupa of A. mcmillani is also described. Life cycles and details of behavior of each life stage are reported, including feeding by the aquatic larvae on microscopic organisms in very wet soil/detritus, larval locomotion, female adult biting habits on humans and kangaroos, and male adult swarming. Austroconops annettae Borkent, new species, is attributed to the first author. Cladistic analysis shows that the two extant Austroconops Wirth and Lee species are sister species. Increasingly older fossil species of Austroconops represent increasingly earlier lineages. Among extant lineages, Austroconops is the sister group of Leptoconops Skuse, and together they form the sister group of all other Ceratopogonidae. Dasyhelea Kieffer is the sister group of Forcipomyia Meigen 1 Atrichopogon Kieffer, and together they form the sister group of the Ceratopogoninae. Forcipomyia has no synapomorphies and may be paraphyletic in relation to Atrichopogon. Austroconops is morphologically conservative (possesses many plesiomorphic features) in each life stage and this allows for interpretation of a number of features within Ceratopogonidae and other Culicomorpha. A new interpretation of Cretaceous fossil lineages shows that Austroconops, Leptoconops, Minyohelea Borkent, Jordanoconops
TL;DR: It is suggested that Santanichthys diasii, at present the earliest otophysan fish known, displays at least one synapomorphy of modern characiforms (large and globular lagenar capsules that extend well lateral to the cranium) and it represents a significant temporal extension for charACiforms.
Abstract: A detailed redescription of Santanichthys diasii is presented, based on several new acidprepared and very well-preserved specimens. S. diasii has a complete Weberian apparatus and is at present the earliest otophysan fish known (early Cretaceous, Albian). In addition, this fish displays at least one synapomorphy of modern characiforms (large and globular lagenar capsules that extend well lateral to the cranium) and we consequently suggest that it is a stem characiform. If this is correct, it represents a significant temporal extension for characiforms. We discuss the phylogenetic implications of its unique combination of features in light of earlier phylogenetic hypotheses.
TL;DR: The Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China has yielded abundant turtle remains which were described previously as Manchurochelys liaoxiensis as discussed by the authors, which were assigned to Ordosemys.
Abstract: The Yixian Formation, in Liaoning Province, northeastern China, has yielded abundant turtle remains which were described previously as Manchurochelys liaoxiensis. Study of a new collection in the Geological Museum of China and reexamination of previously studied IVPP collection allow us to assign this turtle to Ordosemys. Additional primitive features observed in Ordosemys liaoxiensis confirm its basal position among Centrocryptodira.
TL;DR: Limited data on tadpole transport provide additional evidence for the validity of several species of Colostethus that occur in western Colombia and Central America: Nurse frogs of C. panamensis and C. pratti appear to be exclusively female, and specimens that agree with the neotype have yet to be discovered in Colombia.
Abstract: For the past several decades, it has been thought that Colostethus inguinalis (Cope, 1868) (type species of Prostherapis Cope, 1868) is distributed in the Choco region of western Colombia and throughout much of Panama This study shows that C inguinalis is a Colombian endemic known only from the lowlands of the Choco and Magdalena Valley—an unusual distribution pattern among dendrobatids but one shared with a several other anuran species typically known from the Choco region Colostethus cacerensis Rivero, 2000 “1995” is argued to be a junior synonym of C inguinalis The available name for the tetrodotoxin-possessing species found in Panama is C panamensis (Dunn, 1933), which is redescribed The first record of C panamensis in Colombia is also reported Colostethus inguinalis and C panamensis differ from each other in ventral coloration of adult males and adult females, flank coloration, head coloration, relative tympanum size, and mean adult female snout-vent length Colostethus latinasus (
TL;DR: It is shown that the evolution of the leiognathid LOS can be traced from a “simple” non-sexually dimorphic circumesophageal light organ to a complex and species-specific luminescence system involving not only major structural modifications of the light organ itself but also numerous associated tissues.
Abstract: A phylogeny was generated for Leiognathidae, commonly known as ponyfishes, using nucleotide characters from two mitochondrial genes. Results indicate that Leiognathidae comprises two major clades, one consisting of species that exhibit internally sexually dimorphic light-organ systems (LOS), and the Leiognathus equulus species complex, whose members exhibit neither internal nor external sexual dimorphism of the LOS. Species with internally sexually dimorphic LOS generally also exhibit associated male-specific external modifications in the form of transparent patches on the margin of the opercle, the midlateral flank, or behind the pectoral fin axil. The L. equulus species complex is the sister group to all other leiognathids, and a new species, L. robustus, recovered within this clade is described herein. Results demonstrate that Leiognathus is paraphyletic, whereas Gazza and Secutor are each monophyletic and are nested within the sexually dimorphic clade. The morphology of the LOS of non-sexuall...
TL;DR: A new fossil species of the recently described insect order Mantophasmatodea (Polyneoptera: Anartioptera), the “African rock crawlers”, is described and figured from Eocene (Lutetian) Baltic amber, resembling in these respects the living African genera Mantophasma and Praedatophasma.
Abstract: A new fossil species of the recently described insect order Mantophasmatodea (Polyneoptera: Anartioptera), the “African rock crawlers”, is described and figured from Eocene (Lutetian) Baltic amber. Adicophasma spinosa, new genus and species, differs from the only other fossil of this lineage, Raptophasma, by the strong spination of the fore- and midlegs, broad abdominal segments, and absence of dorsal carinae on the profemur, resembling in these respects the living African genera Mantophasma and Praedatophasma. The position of the fossil and of the order among polyneopterous insects is briefly discussed.
TL;DR: Three ammonite assemblages from the Severn Formation and their associated dinoflagellates are described, defining three successive ammonite zones in the upper Maastrichtian.
Abstract: The sedimentary deposits on the Atlantic Coastal Plain in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia span the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. We investigate the ammonites of the Severn Formation on the western and eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, and the Peedee Formation, North Carolina. We describe three ammonite assemblages from the Severn Formation and their associated dinoflagellates, defining three successive ammonite zones in the upper Maastrichtian. The lowest ammonite zone is the Discoscaphites conradi Assemblage Zone. It occurs near the top of the Severn Formation in Prince Georges County, Maryland, just below the Paleocene Brightseat Formation. The ammonite fauna consists of Sphenodiscus pleurisepta (Conrad, 1857), Sphenodiscus lobatus (Tuomey, 1856), Discoscaphites conradi (Morton, 1834), Discoscaphites gulosus (Morton, 1834), Jeletzkytes nebrascensis (Owen, 1852), Glyptoxoceras rugatum (Forbes, 1846), Baculites vertebralis Lamarck, 1801, and Eu...
TL;DR: The neurocranium in the hexanchiform shark Notorynchus cepedianus, a primitive modern elasmobranch (neoselachian), is presented, which revealed both the external and internal morphology of a wax-impregnated braincase.
Abstract: A detailed description is presented of the neurocranium in the hexanchiform shark Notorynchus cepedianus, a primitive modern elasmobranch (neoselachian). The study is based on high-resolution CT scanning and digital imaging, which revealed both the external and internal morphology of a wax-impregnated braincase. Besides providing new data concerning Notorynchus and neoselachians generally, the investigation also provides a control for establishing the reliability of morphological observations of fossil elasmobranch braincases based on CT scans. Many of the features described here have considerable phylogenetic potential, although comparative CT scan data are still unavailable for most modern and extinct elasmobranchs.
TL;DR: A fragmentary troodontid specimen from the sublocality of Grangers Flats at the Late Cretaceous locality of Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov, Mongolia was described in this article.
Abstract: Here we describe a fragmentary troodontid specimen from the sublocality of Grangers Flats at the Late Cretaceous locality of Ukhaa Tolgod, Omnogov, Mongolia. This specimen is provisionally referred to the coeval Saurornithoides mongoliensis. IGM 100/1083 displays a pattern of tooth replacement that is like that of basal avialans. The presence of this pattern in avialans has been used by some to refute a theropod origin for this group.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reported three new avialan specimens from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia, which were collected from the Nemegt Formation exposed at the locality of Tsaagan Khushu.
Abstract: Small vertebrates have remained relatively poorly known from the Nemegt Formation, although it has produced abundant and well-preserved large dinosaur remains. Here we report three new avialan specimens from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Omnogov Aimag, Mongolia. These fossils were collected from the Nemegt Formation exposed at the locality of Tsaagan Khushu in the southern Gobi Desert. All of the new finds are partial isolated bones with a limited number of preserved morphologies; however, they further understanding of dinosaur diversity in the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia and, specifically, from the Nemegt Formation. The new specimens are described and evaluated in phylogenetic analyses. These analyses indicate that all three fossils are placed as part of the clade Ornithurae. Avialan diversity of the Nemegt Formation is reviewed and briefly compared with that of the underlying Djadokhta and Barun Goyot Formations. These formations have been considered to represent at least two distinct ...
TL;DR: Maps of collection localities reveal large distributional voids, suggesting that Congo River lamprologine diversity remains incompletely sampled, and monophyly of the Congo River Lamprologus species is tentatively accepted.
Abstract: The Congo River Lamprologus are revised and two new species are described. Lamprologus teugelsi, n.sp., from Malebo Pool and the lower Congo River rapids, and L. tigripictilis, n.sp., from the lower Congo River rapids, are readily distinguished from the remaining Congo River Lamprologus based on counts, measurements, osteology, and color pattern. Monophyly of the Congo River Lamprologus species is tentatively accepted and a key to the group is provided. All available collection localities for re-identified Lamprologus material from the Congo River are plotted for each species. Maps of collection localities reveal large distributional voids, suggesting that Congo River lamprologine diversity remains incompletely sampled.
TL;DR: The type species, Z. doriai Simon, was previously known only from the Old World, but a male is newly recorded from Hispaniola, representing the first report of the family Prodidomidae from that island.
Abstract: The spiders of the prodidomine genus Zimiris Simon have a unique spinneret configuration; although seldom collected, they appear to be synanthropic and hence widely distributed. The type species, Z. doriai Simon, was previously known only from the Old World (Sudan, Yemen, and India), but a male is newly recorded from Hispaniola (representing the first report of the family Prodidomidae from that island). Zimiris mammillanaThorell from Java, Z. grisea Banks
TL;DR: Seven valid species are recognized, three of those being described as new, and extensive host and distributional information is provided for all species.
Abstract: Tuxedo Schuh is revised. Seven valid species are recognized, three of those being described as new. Tuxedo minor (Knight) is treated as a junior synonym of Tuxedo bicinctus (Van Duzee), new synonym. Habitus photographs, illustrations of male genitalic structures, and scanning micrographs of morphological structures are provided. Extensive host and distributional information is provided for all species.
TL;DR: Morphometric and molecular analyses revealed that X. clemenciae and the two new species constitute a monophyletic clade that exhibits a closer evolutionary affinity to the “northern” swordtails and the ‘platyfish’ group of the genus rather than to X. helleri and the other “southern’ swordtails.
Abstract: The swordtail, Xiphophorus clemenciae(Poeciliidae), has been considered a species of special concern because of its apparent limited range. Although described in 1959, it is officially still known only from three locations in the Rio Coatzacoalcos basin, Mexico. Zoogeographic studies have now shown that this species is widespread and abundant but restricted to the uplands of the Rio Coatzacolacos basin where it replaces in many areas the common swordtail, X. helleri. Two new swordtail taxa, X. mixei and X. monticolus, are described from headwater streams of the Rio Jaltepec, a major Rio Coatzacoalcos tributary, Oaxaca, Mexico. The new forms are sympatric in part of their range and replace both X. clemenciae and X. helleri. Morphometric and molecular analyses revealed that X. clemenciae and the two new species constitute a monophyletic clade that exhibits a closer evolutionary affinity to the ‘‘northern’’ swordtails and the ‘‘platyfish’’ group of the genus rather than to X. helleri and the other ‘‘southern’’ swordtails. The evolutionary relationships of these taxa are discussed.
TL;DR: A new large-bodied species, Lonchophylla chocoana, is described from the subtropical rainforests of the Chocó in southwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador and the diagnostic external, craniodental, and mitochondrial characters are documented.
Abstract: Lonchophylla is a diverse genus of glossophagines characterized by large, forwardly projecting inner upper incisors and the absence of zygomatic arches. Seven species are currently recognized, including the large-bodied (greatest length of skull .24.5 mm) robusta, handleyi, hesperia, and bokermanni and the small-bodied (greatest length of skull ,24.5 mm) thomasi, dekeyseri, and mordax. Lonchophylla species range throughout the Neotropics and include endemics in Amazonia, the Cerrado, and the arid regions of coastal Peru and Ecuador. In this paper I describe a new large-bodied species, Lonchophylla chocoana , from the subtropical
TL;DR: In this article, the ontogeny of the relevant axial structures in the posterior region of the vertebral column is reported in representative siluriform taxa, including the families Amblycipitidae, Akysidae, Sisoridae, Erethistidae, and Aspredinidae.
Abstract: A well-developed second ural half-centrum is a peculiar characteristic of the caudal skeleton of certain siluriforms, not seen in other Recent ostariophysans. Although the character has been previously recorded in the literature, its exact taxonomic distribution, structure, ontogeny, and phylogenetic meaning within siluriforms are not yet determined. In this paper, the degree of development of the second ural half-centrum is surveyed across the order. The ontogeny of the relevant axial structures in the posterior region of the vertebral column is reported in representative siluriform taxa. The condition where the second ural centrum is well formed and forms a complete intervertebral joint anteriorly with the compound caudal centrum is considered derived within siluriforms, a character state homoplastic with the primitive state in more distant teleostean outgroups. Various catfishes display that derived condition, which is informative about relationships at different levels within the group. The most inclusive of those clades is the superfamily Sisoroidea, including the families Amblycipitidae, Akysidae, Sisoridae, Erethistidae, and Aspredinidae. The placement of the neotropical Aspredinidae into an otherwise exclusively Asian clade has important biogeographical implications and the structure of the second ural centrum provides additional support to that hypothesis. Based on the currently available knowledge on the relationships among catfishes, a well-developed second ural centrum is hypothesized to be a result of six different events in siluriforms.
TL;DR: The New World species of Europiella Reuter are revised in this paper, and three species from western North America are described as new, and a key and illustrations of the habitus and male genitalia for the 13 recognized Nearctic species are provided.
Abstract: The New World species of Europiella Reuter are revised. Three species from western North America are described as new. A key and illustrations of the habitus and male genitalia for the 13 recognized Nearctic species are provided. Scanning electron micrographs are given for structural details of four species. Detailed locality and host data are offered for all species. Europiella albipubescens Knight, 1968 is transferred to Knightopiella, new genus. Europiella lividella (Kerzhner, 1979) is returned to Plagiognathus Fieber.
TL;DR: The discovery of a hatched egg containing the first-instar exuviae indicates that the first instar remains mostly surrounded by the egg chorion, and the interpretation of the larval head anatomy of this species and that of D. pomonae Cockerell indicate that the genus has five larval instars.
Abstract: The fourth larval instar and pupa of Dioxys cincta are described and illustrated, and anatomical details of the first and last larval instar are interpreted from cast exuviae. The cocoon of this species is also described. The discovery of a hatched egg containing the first-instar exuviae indicates that the first instar remains mostly surrounded by the egg chorion. The second instar emerges through a hole in the thick dorsal surface of the chorion, presumably by chewing its way out. This discovery and the interpretation of the larval head anatomy of this species and that of D. pomonae Cockerell indicate that the genus has five larval instars. The second, third, and fourth instars are adapted to destroying the host egg or larva and any competing cleptoparasites. The fifth instar is not so adapted. As with Dioxys, other cleptoparasitic Megachilidae tend to have a sequential series of instars modified for attacking immatures of hosts and competing cleptoparasites, although which instars are so adapte...