Showing papers on "Genus published in 1999"
TL;DR: A new semaphorin is defined as a fully sequenced gene, cDNA, or protein which by sequence homology falls into the semaphOrin family of proteins.
429 citations
TL;DR: The results indicate the need for systematic revision of the delphinid family; a provisional classification is presented and compared to previous studies and suggested revisions are suggested.
Abstract: Complete cytochrome b gene sequences from all but one species of delphinid plus four outgroups were analyzed using parsimony, maximum likelihood, and neighbor-joining methods. The results indicate the need for systematic revision of the family; a provisional classification is presented and compared to previous studies. Among the suggested revisions are removal of Orcinus from the Globicephalinae, placement of Grampus within the Globicephalinae, removal of all Lagenorhynchus spp. from the Delphininae, and placement of Sousa in the Delphininae. The genus Lagenorhynchus is found to be polyphyletic. L. albirostris (type species for the genus) and L. acutus are not closely related to each other or to nominal congeners. L. acutus is therefore assigned to the genus Leucopleurus. The remaining four Lagenorhynchus species are closely related to Lissodelphis and Cephalorbynchus and are placed in the genus Sagmatias. These three genera constitute the revised Lissodelphininae. Within the Delphininae, a well-supported clade includes the two species of Delphinus, Stenella clymene, S. frontalis, S. coeruleoalba, and the aduncus form of Tursiops truncatus. Accepting the monophyly of this group renders the genera Stenella and Tursiops polyphyletic. Apart from this finding, phylogenetic resolution within the Delphininae was poor, so comprehensive taxonomic revision of this group awaits further study.
307 citations
TL;DR: Almost 80 taxa of fish have been recorded in the Iranian South Caspian Basin (both inland and coastal waters), belonging to 17 families and 53 genera, and four species are critically endangered, seven vulnerable, seven conservation dependent, seven near threatened, and 24 least concern.
Abstract: 80 taxa of fish have been recorded in the Iranian South Caspian Basin (both inland and coastal waters), belonging to 17 families and 53 genera. The two most diverse families are Cyprinidae with 39.7% of all species, followed by Gobiidae with 13.2%. Seven families have only one genus and one species. Alien species with a wide distribution range contribute 18.7% of the total number of fish species. All species were classified according to their IUCN Red List Categories: four species are critically endangered, seven vulnerable, seven conservation dependent, seven near threatened, and 24 least concern species.
250 citations
TL;DR: AFLP is reliable molecular technique and provides one of the most informative approaches to ascertain genetic relationships in Oryza, which may also be true for other related species/organisms.
Abstract: The genus Oryza to which cultivated rice belongs has 22 wild species. Seventy-seven accessions of 23 Oryza species, five related genera, and three outgroup taxa were fingerprinted using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). A total of 1191 polymorphic markers were obtained using five AFLP primer combinations. AFLP data were analyzed to study species relationships using different clustering algorithms, and the resulting phenograms were tested for stability and robustness. The findings suggest a common ancestry to the genus Oryza. Moreover, the results demonstrate that: (1) evolution in Oryza has followed a polyphyletic path wherein multiple lineages underwent independent divergence after separation early in the evolution from a common ancestor/pool of related taxa; (2) newly assigned genomes, GG for O. meyeriana and HHJJ for O. ridleyi complexes, are among the most diverged in the genus; (3) CCDD tetraploids have a relatively ancient origin among the Officinalis complex; (4) O. malampuzhaensis, O. indandamanica, O. alta, and O. grandiglumis are diverged enough to deserve species status; (5) O. officinalis and O. eichingeri (CC) are putative progenitors of O. minuta
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O. malampuzhaensis and tetraploid O. punctata, respectively, (6) O. brachyantha is most diverged species in the genus. AFLP is reliable molecular technique and provides one of the most informative approaches to ascertain genetic relationships in Oryza, which may also be true for other related species/organisms.
203 citations
TL;DR: Internal transcribed spacer sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA from 44 taxa of the genus Lupinus and five outgroup taxa were used for phylogenetic analysis, revealing an unexpectedly close relationship between the diverse sections Angustifoli and Lutei.
Abstract: ¨Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA from 44 taxa of the genus Lupinus and five outgroup taxa were used for phylogenetic analysis. Lupinus appears as a strongly supported monophyletic genus, which is unambiguously part of the Genisteae. The lupines are distributed into five main clades in general accordance with their geographical origin. In the Old World, almost all the recognized taxonomic units are well resolved. The ITS data reveal an unexpectedly close relationship between the diverse sections Angustifoli and Lutei. The ITS results suggest a geographical division between the western New World lupines and the eastern ones. They also indicate the presence of some moderately to strongly supported groups of taxa, such as the Microcarpi‐Pusilli group, the L. spariflorus‐L. arizonicusgroup, the L. mexicanus‐ L. elegans group in the western New World, and the notable L. multiflorus‐L. paraguariensisgroup in the eastern New World. The latter group strongly suggests that the eastern South American compound- and simple-leaved perennial lupines derive from a common ancestor. However, apart from some exceptions, relationships within the genus still remain largely unresolved based on ITS data. The lack of resolution at the base of the genus is suggestive of a rapid initial radiation of the lupines subsequent to the dispersal of their common ancestor. Relative rate tests demonstrate the presence of rate heterogeneity of ITS sequences within Lupinus. In many pairwise comparisons between taxa, substitution rate inequalities are correlated with the habit (annual, perennial), suggesting some role for the generation time effects in the evolutionary history of lupines. Lupinus L. (Fabaceae) is a large and diverse genus comprising 200‐500 (Dunn and Gillett, 1966) annual and perennial herbaceous species, as well as a few soft-woody shrubs and small trees (Dunn, 1984; Turner, 1995), which occur in a wide range of ecogeographical conditions in both the New and the Old World. Lupines are more diverse in the New World with over 90% of the species in 1
152 citations
TL;DR: A phylogenetic analysis of combined data reveals a strongly supported monophyletic Phaseolus, which is strictly New World, concentrated in tropical and warm temperate North America, and diagnosed by foliage bearing hooked hairs, keel petals that are laterally and tightly coiled, and inflorescence nodes that lack extrafloral nectaries.
Abstract: The species of Phaseolus were exhaustively sampled for both ITS/5.8S DNA sequence and non-molecular data. With all related New World genera designated as outgroups, a phylogenetic analysis of combined data reveals a strongly supported monophyletic Phaseolus. Other well supported relationships include nine monophyletic species clades within Phaseolus, designated as the P vulgaris, P filiformis, P lunatus, P polystachios, P leptostachyus, P pauciflorus, P tuerckheimii, and P pedicellatus groups, and P microcarpus. Only the last of these is monotypic and consistently resolved in a sensitivity analysis as the earliest branch in the Phaseolus clade, though with poor bootstrap support. The five most commonly domesticated species in the genus arise from within the P vulgaris and P lunatus groups. The "gene pools" traditionally recognized for the domesticated species P vulgaris and P lunatus are not detected with ITS sequence variation. This is in spite of a very high degree of interand intra-specific ITS sequence divergence in Phaseolus. Though the genus Phaseolus has a complex taxonomic and nomenclatural history, recent circumscriptions of the genus are narrow (e.g., Verdcourt 1970) and most of the species with uncertain affinities have been relegated to Vigna. Vigna rather than Phaseolus has become the large "catch-all" pantropcial genus (Marechal 1982; Delgado-Salinas 1985; McVaugh 1987). In this modern circumscription, Phaseolus is strictly New World, concentrated in tropical and warm temperate North America, and diagnosed by foliage bearing hooked hairs, keel petals that are laterally and tightly coiled, and inflorescence nodes that lack extrafloral nectaries (Baudet 1977; Lackey 1978, 1981, 1983). Still retained in the genus are five economically important species: P acutifolius (tepary bean), P coccineus (scarlet runner bean), P lunatus (lima bean), P polyanthus (year bean), and P vulgaris (common bean). Little has been done to test the hypothesis of monophyly for the modern circumscription of Phaseolus. The traits supposedly diagnostic of Phaseolus occur in species of other genera (e.g., Vigna adenantha has laterally coiled keel petals, and species of Dolichos and Dipogon have inflorescence nodes lacking nectaries). A phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast DNA restriction site data suggests that Phaseolus is monophyletic (Delgado-Salinas et al. 1993). Taxon sampling, however, was not addressed, and this is a concern given that only 10 of approximately 50 species in the genus were sampled. Phaseolus is suggested to be part of a weakly supported monophyletic group of about 10 Old and New World genera that have poorly resolved relationships (Doyle and Doyle 1993; Bruneau et al. 1995). However, other studies suggest that the sister group relationships of Phaseolus include only New World genera. Analysis of chloroplast DNA restriction sites (Delgado-Salinas et al. 1993) resolved a New World clade where the genera Macroptilium and Strophostyles were sister to Phaseolus. A close relationship of Phaseolus to other New World genera is also suggested by an additional analysis of chloroplast DNA restriction sites (Vaillancourt et al. 1993-a study that focused on Vigna), a phenetic analysis of morphological data (Marechal et al. 1978, 1981), and a traditional taxonomic classification (Lackey 1981, 1983). A comprehensive phylogeny including both the wild and cultivated species of Phaseolus has been neglected, possibly because of an emphasis on the study of the domesticated species. What is known comes from phenetic and cladistic analysis of isozyme banding profiles (Jaaska 1996), phenetic analysis of morphological characters (Marechal et al. 1978), and cladistic analysis of chloroplast DNA restriction site data (Delgado-Salinas et al. 1993; Llaca et al. 1994). Yet character or taxon sampling has been insufficient to make any definitive conclusions about the infra-generic phylogenetic relationships
148 citations
TL;DR: The 16S rDNA-based phylogenetic analysis of the genus Clostridium has been completed by determination of the phylogenetic position of the type strains of 15 species and two non-validated species, which can at present not be reclassified as long as taxon-specific, phenotypic properties are not available.
Abstract: The 16S rDNA-based phylogenetic analysis of the genus Clostridium has been completed by determination of the phylogenetic position of the type strains of 15 species and two non-validated species. These strains are members of phylogenetic clusters I, III, IV, V, IX, XIVa and XVIII as defined previously by Collins et al. [Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 44 (1994) 812-826]. Members of the genus Clostridium span a large evolutionary distance and the genus is not a phylogenetically coherent taxon but is intermixed with members of different genera, exhibiting a combination of Clostridium- and non-Clostridium-type properties. Anaerobacter polyendosporus, Syntrophococcus sucromutans and Acetivibrio multivorans also cluster within the radiation of Clostridium species. Although several taxa have been described for former Clostridium species with distinct phenotypic properties, the majority of Clostridium species, which are not members of the core cluster I, can at present not be reclassified as long as taxon-specific, phenotypic properties are not available.
144 citations
01 Jan 1999
132 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: A synopsis of the family Callianassidae is presented and the following new taxa are described: Calliapaguropinae subfamily nov., Podocallichirus genus nov, CallianASSa whitei spec.
Abstract: A synopsis of the family Callianassidae is presented. Defenitions are given of the subfamilies and genera. Keys to the sufamilies, genera, as well as seperate keys to the species occurring in certain biogeographical areas are provided. At least the synonymy, type-locality, and distribution of the species are listed. The following new taxa are described: Calliapaguropinae subfamily nov., Podocallichirus genus nov., Callianassa whitei spec. nov., Callianassa gruneri spec. nov., Callianassa ngochoae spec. nov., Neocallichirus kempi spec. nov. and Calliax doerjesti spec. nov.
117 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: This multivolume field guide covers the species of interest to fisheries of the major marine resource groups exploited in the Western Central Pacific and outlines the environmental, ecological and biogeographical factors influencing the marine biota as well as the basic components of the fisheries.
Abstract: This multivolume field guide covers the species of interest to fisheries of the major marine resource groups exploited in the Western Central Pacific. The area of coverage includes FAO Fishing Area 71 and the southwestern portion of Fishing Area 77 corresponding to the South Pacific Commission mandate area. The marine resource groups included are seaweeds, corals, bivalves, gastropods, cephalopods, stomatopods, shrimps, lobsters, crabs, holothurians, sharks, batoid fishes, chimaeras, bony fishes, estuarine crocodiles, sea turtles, sea snakes and marine mammals. The introductory chapter outlines the environmental, ecological and biogeographical factors influencing the marine biota as well as the basic components of the fisheries in the Western Central Pacific. Within the field guide, the sections on the resource groups are arranged phylogenetically according to higher taxonomic levels such as class, order and family. Each resource group is introduced by general remarks on the group, an illustrated section on technical terms and measurements and a key or guide to orders or families. Each family generally has an account summarising family diagnostic characters, biological and fisheries information, notes on similar families occurring in the area, a key to species, a checklist of species and a short list of relevant literature. Families that are less important to fisheries include an abbreviated family account and no detailed species information. Species in the important families are treated in detail (arranged alphabetically by genus and species) and include the species name, frequent synonyms and names of similar species, an illustration, FAO common name(s), diagnostic characters, biology and fisheries information, notes on geographical distribution and a distribution map. For less important species, abbreviated accounts are used. Generally, this includes the species name, FAO common name(s), an illustration, a distribution map and notes on biology, fisheries and distribution. Each volume concludes with its own index of scientific and common names.
TL;DR: It is found that C. aegagrus and C. ibex are polyphyletic species, and a new scenario for Capra immigration into Europe is proposed, and the presence of two clades in the Caucasus and the hypothesis of a domestication event in the Fertile Crescent is proposed.
TL;DR: The phylogeny of ticks and their closest known mite relatives using 18S rRNA sequences indicated that the suborder Holothyrida is more closely related to Ixodida than to Mesostigmata, the group used as outgroup in earlier molecular studies.
TL;DR: A molecular phylogenetic study was conducted to identify major clades within Uroleucon and to address the cladistic validity of current subgeneric categories, the evolution of host plant associations, the age of origin, and intercontinental movements in this genus.
Abstract: The genus Uroleucon, and the related genus Macrosiphoniella, represent a large Tertiary radiation of aphids, with a total of about 300 species distributed throughout the world, primarily on host plant species in the family Asteraceae. A molecular phylogenetic study was conducted to identify major clades within Uroleucon and to address the cladistic validity of current subgeneric categories, the evolution of host plant associations, the age of origin, and intercontinental movements in this genus. The seventeen study species included members of the three major subgenera of Uroleucon, species from Europe and North America, one member of Macrosiphoniella, and two outgroups. Data consisted of DNA sequences for three mitochondrial regions and the nuclear gene EF1alpha, for a total of 4287 sites. Nodes supported strongly in both parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses suggest that: (1) Nearctic Uromelan are a monophyletic group branching near the base of the genus and not related to European Uromelan, (2) the New World subgenus Lambersius is possibly monophyletic but is not a tightly related group and is not closely related to other North American species, and (3) Nearctic members of subgenus Uroleucon are a closely related monophyletic group not allied with Nearctic Uromelan or Lambersius. Instead they represent a separate colonization by an Old World ancestor, as they are nested within a strongly supported clade containing European members of both subgenera Uroleucon and Uromelan. Neither of these subgenera is monophyletic. Molecular clock calculations, based on calibrations of mitochondrial divergences from other insects, suggest that Uroleucon + Macrosiphoniella is a relatively recent radiation, probably no more than 5-10 million years old. Although largely confined to Asteraceae, this clade did not radiate in parallel with its host plants. Rather, lateral movement between lineages of Asteraceae must have occurred repeatedly.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: Palaeozoic stromatoporoids comprise an extinct class of non-spiculate poriferans that are represented as fossils by their basal carbonate skeleton and a revised terminology for the description of these fossils is presented.
Abstract: Palaeozoic stromatoporoids comprise an extinct class of non-spiculate poriferans that are represented as fossils by their basal carbonate skeleton. A revised terminology for the description of these fossils is presented. Seven orders (Labechiida, Clathrodictyida, Actinostromatida, Stromatoporellida, Stromatoporida, Syringostromatida, Amphiporida) are recognized. The following is recorded for each genus: (1) type species, catalogue number and depository of the primary holotype; (2) synonyms and their type species; (3) diagnosis; (4) stratigraphic range; (5) estimate of the number of species assigned to the genus; (6) stratigraphic and geographic distribution of the genus. Problems in the definition and recognition of the genus are briefly discussed in annotations. One hundred and nine genera are considered valid, or doubtfully valid. Fifty three genera are placed in synonymy. An additional 14 genera are considered to be of uncertain placement in the classification.
TL;DR: Cladistic analyses using weighted and unweighted parsimony support Crambe as a monophyletic genus with three major lineages with a basal biogeographic split between east Africa and Eurasia and low levels of support in the basal branches do not allow resolution of which genera of the subtribes Raphaniae or Brassicinae are sister to Cram be.
TL;DR: The complete NADH Dehydrogenase Subunit 2 (ND2) mitochondrial gene is sequenced in representatives of the major divisions of the genus Poecilia in order to examine the phylogenetic relationships within the genus.
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: The genus was originally defined by Linnaeus for a natural group of American legumes within the Phaseolinae with the following main attributes: stipules not extending below insertion, presence of uncinate hairs, floral bracts persistent up to or past flowering, absence of extra floral nectaries, and style not extending beyond the stigma.
Abstract: The genus was originally defined by Linnaeus (see Delgado Salinas, 1985; Westphal, 1974). The poor initial definition of the genus, together with the biological wealth of tropical forms in this group of legumes, resulted in the naming of hundreds of species (over 400), especially in the period 1810–1910. Early reviews by Bentham (1840), Hassler (1923), and Piper (1926), however, contributed to the clarification of natural groups at a higher level, and lead to the definition of several sections. Consolidation of these sections, mostly after 1950, thanks to the contributions of Urban (1928), Verdcourt (1970), Marechal et al. (1978), and Lewis & Delgado Salinas (1994), resulted in several new genera, including Vigna, Phaseolus sensu stricto, Macroptilium, Ramirezella, and recently Misanthus. At the International Legume Conference of 1978, a definition of the genus was narrowly defined for a natural group of American legumes within the Phaseolinae with the following main attributes: stipules not extending below insertion, presence of uncinate hairs, floral bracts persistent up to or past flowering, absence of extra floral nectaries, and style not extending beyond the stigma.
TL;DR: Phylogenetic results indicate that in both Namalycastis and Namanereis there is a preference for freshwater habitats among species with apomorphic traits (corollary being that marine habitats are favoured by the plesiomorphic members).
Abstract: A cladistic analysis and taxonomic revision of the Namanereidinae (Nereididae: Polychaeta) is presented. The cladistic analysis utilising 39 morphological characters (76 apomorphic states) yielded 10,000 minimal-length trees and a highly unresolved Strict Consensus tree. However, monophyly of the Namanereidinae is supported and two clades are identified: Namalycastis containing 18 species and Namanereis containing 15 species. The monospecific genus Lycastoides, represented by L. alticola Johnson, is too poorly known to be included in the analysis. Classification of the subfamily is modified to reflect the phylogeny. Thus, Namalycastis includes large-bodied species having four pairs of tentacular cirri; autapomorphies include the presence of short, subconical antennae and enlarged, flattened and leaf-like posterior cirrophores. Namanereis includes smaller-bodied species having three or four pairs of tentacular cirri; autapomorphies include the absence of dorsal cirrophores, absence of notosetae and a tripartite pygidium. Cryptonereis Gibbs, Lycastella Feuerborn, Lycastilla Solis-Weiss & Espinasa and Lycastopsis Augener become junior synonyms of Namanereis. Thirty-six species are described, including seven new species of Namalycastis (N. arista n.sp., N. borealis n.sp., N. elobeyensis n.sp., N. intermedia n.sp., N. macroplatis n.sp., N. multiseta n.sp., N. nicoleae n.sp.), four new species of Namanereis (N. minuta n.sp., N. serratis n.sp., N. stocki n.sp., N. sublittoralis n.sp.), and three widespread species groups ( Namalycastis abiuma, Namanereis littoralis, N. quadraticeps). Fourteen species are newly placed into synonymy, Lycastis maxillo-falciformis Harms, L. maxillo-ovata Harms, L. maxillo-robusta Harms, Lycastis meraukensis Horst, L. nipae Pflugfelder, L. ouanaryensis Gravier, L. ranauensis Feuerborn, L. vivax Pflugfelder, Lycastopsis augeneri Okuda, L. tecolutlensis Rioja, Namalycastis rigida Pillai, N. tachinensis Rosenfeldt, N. vuwaensis Ryan, and Namanereis littoralis Hutchings & Turvey. A neotype is designated for Namalycastis hawaiiensis (Johnson), and lectotypes are designated for Namalycastis geayi (Gravier), N. senegalensis (Saint-Joseph), N. terrestris (Pflugfelder), Namanereis amboinensis (Pflugfelder) and N. littoralis (Grube). Keys to genera and species are given. Namanereidinae are generally confined to the tropics and subtropics. Maximum species-diversity occurs in the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific, in particular in coastal areas subjected to recent uplifting, where both littoral-zone and freshwater (riparian and subterranean) forms occur. Phylogenetic results indicate that in both Namalycastis and Namanereis there is a preference for freshwater habitats among species with apomorphic traits (corollary being that marine habitats are favoured by the plesiomorphic members). This suggests that the ancestor of the Namanereidinae was a euryhaline coastal species.
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: It is shown that Cranioleuca represents a recent burst of speciation and that a set of species thought by Maijer and Fjeldså to form a natural group is in fact a paraphyletic assemblage which also includes humid forest species with different pigmentations and vocalizations.
TL;DR: Although Anthus cytochrome b is found not to be behaving in a clocklike fashion across all taxa, speciation during the Pleistocene epoch can be reasonably inferred for the 66% of sister pairs that are diverging in aClocklike manner.
TL;DR: All of the analyses produced trees supporting the paraphyly of the genus Sarcocystis if Frenkelia was recognised as a valid genus and, thus, call for a revision of the current definition of these genera.
Book•
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: This dissertation deals with the ecology and the taxonomy of a group of dominant forest trees of the African high forest, one of the most troublesome genera of African Caesalpinioideae, and the phylogenetic history of these taxa and to see which characters are really indicating natural groups, a cladistic analysis was undertaken.
Abstract: This dissertation deals with the ecology and the taxonomy of a group of dominant forest trees of the African high forest. Their size and inaccessibility has accounted for their comparative rarity in herbarium collections. Recently, due to various original collection methods, particularly special tree mounting techniques, quite a number of new collections from the canopy were obtained which provided a better insight into these taxa. The core question at the start of this study was the generic and specific delimitation of Monopetalanthus , one of the most troublesome genera of African Caesalpinioideae. The genera Aphanocalyx and Tetraberlinia were supposedly closely related to or even congeneric with Monopetalanthus , so I have taken them into account as well. Since Aubreville had united Michelsonia with Tetraberlinia , that monotypic genus is dealt with as well. These genera are presently classified in the tribe Macrolobieae. All available material belonging to these four genera has been studied in the major herbaria or was received on loan. A large number of macromorphological characters were studied and evaluated for their taxonomic potential. During this study nine new species and one new subspecies have been discovered. Of the original taxa all have been maintained, although one of them has been reduced to subspecific level, resulting in a total of 33 species. For all species concerned extensive descriptions have been made with distribution maps and most of them have been illustrated. Keys to the genera and to the species have been added. Bikinia media Wieringa, type of the new genus In order to ascertain the phylogenetic history of these taxa and to see which characters are really indicating natural groups, a cladistic analysis was undertaken. To enhance resolution near the specific level some "minor" characters have been included as well. Characters that did not easily separate into discrete entities have also been used. They have been coded using a method similar to gap weighting. The resulting phylogeny proved to be strong on a number of points, but remains inconclusive on others. Since the stronger and most stable clades are those that are supported by several characters, these clades are the best to use for generic delimitation. When we treat the largest stable clades as genera, the species of the four old genera reshuffle into four new aggregates. Michelsonia remains a monospecific genus and Tetraberlinia hardly changes, only Monopetalanthus longiracemosus is now contained in it. Aphanocalyx engulfs the major part of Monopetalanthus , while for the remaining part of Monopetalanthus the name Bikinia is proposed. A new species from Mozambique, which seems to be related to this group, cannot be accommodated in any of these four genera and is described in the new genus Icuria . Three quite distinct species of Aphanocalyx are arranged in the new subgenus Antherodontus . The related genus Julbernardia , which was studies less comprehensive as the other taxa, proves to be a natural group when Paraberlinia is included. A small AFLP trial (DNA analysis) using only 7 ingroup samples resulted in a tree which is completely congruent with the tree based on morphological data. Moreover, the AFLP tree suggests that Bikinia is more closely related to Tetraberlinia than it is to Aphanocalyx , something which the morphological analysis was unable to prove. Ethanol extracts with different colour compounds found in various species were analyzed by chromatography (TLC). The method has proved to be useful, but our analysis was biased too much by initial problems to include the results in the cladistic analysis. The habitat of most species is dry-land evergreen forest. Only one species each of Bikinia and Tetraberlinia may be encountered in riverine forest as well, while a part of Aphanocalyx has become adapted primarily to riverine and gallery forests. Icuria comprises pure stands of coastal evergreen forest, but remains present in woodland-like vegetation after degradation by logging. Many trees of Macrolobieae have been recorded as growing gregariously. To assess such gregarious stands, the large trees in two 1-ha plots in Gabon have been mapped, and data from an existing line survey has been reanalysed. Several species of Bikinia and Tetraberlinia indeed grow in clusters. Most species of Bikinia occur in small clusters of only one or a few hectares, only B. le-testui and B. pellegrinii seem to form clusters with an area of a little less than 1 km 2. Four species of Tetraberlinia may become (co-)dominant over large areas, and such Tetraberlinia forests may extend over several square kilometres. Towards the margins of their distribution areas, the species tend to grow in smaller clusters or even singly. The gregarious nature of most Macrolobieae is considered the outcome of a rather complicated specialization process, including especially ectomycorrhizal relationships, but also factors of dispersal, germination and chemical defences. This set of ecological characters makes the species well adapted to life in a tropical evergreen forest. Inflorescences of Tetraberlinia longiracemosa , showing yellow petals, characteristic for the genus The flowers of the species studied are pollinated by a variety of animals, most of them insects (like bees, beetles, flies and butterflies), but birds also seem to play a role in some species. The two species that were found to attract sunbirds both have 'strobiliform' racemes, which may be better suited for birds than 'umbelliform' or open and lax inflorescences. The 'umbelliform' inflorescences especially attract longhorn beetles. All different types of structures did attract large numbers of both medium-sized and small bees, probably the major pollinators. All species with yellow petals possess a deep hypanthium. However, an animal that appreciates these flowers is still unknown. Flowering in most of the species is restricted to a definite period, often correlated with the rainfall pattern of the area. Most Gabonese species flower just before or during the main rainy season, a few (especially Aphanocalyx heitzii and Tetraberlinia bifoliolata ) during the shorter rainy season. Only rarely was flowering recorded during dry periods. The group is considered to be quite interesting for forestry, especially for plantation purposes. The trees are adapted to poor soils, they grow quite fast and produce tall, straight cylindrical boles. Moreover, the trees grow gregariously and are probably not much subject to diseases. The distribution patterns of this group prove that one should be cautious in speaking about the location of glacial forest refuges. It depends on the requirements of a species whether a certain forested area during the ice ages could serve as a refuge or not. Within the Congo basin probably many riverine forests have existed during these periods, but they were only suited for species that could cope with inundation and other unstable conditions. Most species of Bikinia and Tetraberlinia were not adapted to these conditions, but several species of Aphanocalyx were and hence they still occur in the Congo basin. Following the newest IUCN criteria, two of the treated species are possibly extinct, four classify as critically endangered and two as endangered.
TL;DR: The results, and the phylogenetic trees generated from the data, are incongruent with the current classification for the family, which is based on comparisons of phenotype, and it is proposed that Vahlkampfia species be divided between four genera.
01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: A phylogenetic analysis of Styrax was conducted using 34 morphological characters to provide evidence for a single origin of morphological gynodioecy within the genus and for affinities of at least part of the family (including Styrax) to the Ericales.
Abstract: It has been suggested that the characters on which the current infrageneric classification of the genus Styrax is based are not reliable. However, to date no alternative classification for the genus has been proposed. To address this problem, a phylogenetic analysis of Styrax was conducted using 34 morphological characters. Parsimony analysis suggested that none of the currently recognized subdivisions of Styrax are monophyletic except section Pamphilia. This section has traditionally been considered a distinct genus but the analysis placed it in a highly nested position, consistent with its recent transfer into Styrax. The biogeographical history of Styrax was inferred with Fitch parsimony analysis and dispersal-vicariance analysis. Results suggest that 1) the presence of Styrax in South America is the result of migration from southern North America; 2) back-migration from South America to North America has occurred in both montane and lowland tropical lineages; and 3) a migration from Eurasia to North America has occurred in four lineages. The phylogeny provides evidence for a single origin of morphological gynodioecy within the genus, a floral reduction series among the gynodioecious species, and a host shift by gall-forming aphids (tribe Cerataphidini) that parasitize Styrax. Included is a revised infrageneric classification based on the phylogeny with a key and descriptions, and the establishment of two new combinations (Styrax series Cyrta and Styrax series Benzoin). The genus Styrax L. consists of approximately 130 species of trees and shrubs distributed in eastern and southeastern Asia, the New World (mainly tropical), and the Mediterranean region (Fig. 1). Styrax is delimited from the other ten genera of Styracaceae by a stamen tube that is attached high on the petals, ovules with two integuments, and a thick, indurate seed coat. Traditionally the Styracaceae have been placed in the Ebenales (Cronquist 1988; Thorne 1992; Takhtajan 1997) but recent molecular data suggest affinities of at least part of the family (including Styrax) to the Ericales (Morton et al. 1996; Soltis et al. 1997). The most recent comprehensive taxonomic treatment of Styrax is that of Perkins (1907). In this treatment, Styrax was divided into section Foveolaria (Ruiz & Pav.) Perkins, comprising taxa with 3-5 ovules per ovary (two species, Greater Antilles and Peru) and section Styrax, with about 16-24 ovules per ovary (remaining species). Section Styrax was in turn divided into series Styrax (= "Imbricatae" [Giirke] Perkins; about 35 species) and series Valvatae (Giirke) Perkins (about 95 species). According to Perkins' (1907) infrageneric key, the species of series Styrax possess imbricate corolla aestivation, whereas the species of series Valvatae and section Foveolaria possess valvate corolla aestivation. Pamphilia Mart. ex A.DC., a strictly South American genus of six species, was maintained as a separate genus in Perkins (1907). However, it has recently been transferred to Styrax by Wallnofer (1997) as a section on the basis of its overall similarity to other species of Styrax from South America, particularly S. foveolaria Perkins and S. nui B.Walln. Section Pamphilia differs from the other members of Styrax by the possession of five (vs. ten or more) stamens and near-basal (vs. axile) placentation, and by the lack of placental obturators. Perkins' (1907) classification of Styrax has been used as a basis foI most regional treatments of Styracaceae (e.g., Hwang 1987; Svengsuksa and Vidal 1992; Hwang and Grimes 1996) despite suggestions in the literature that some of the infrageneric taxa may not be monophyletic (van Steenis 1932; Fritsch 1997). Perkins (1907) acknowledged a number of anomalous species within ser. Valvatae that were often polymorphic for aestivation type. This was affirmed by van Steenis (1932, 1949), who consequently did not recognize the two series in studies of the Malesian species of the genus. Wallnofer (1997) has documented infraspecific variation in the number of ovules per carpel in sections Pamphilia and Foveolaria. Although it is clear that corolla aestivation and ovule number are not likely to serve as a definitive basis for the infrageneric classification of Styrax, a comprehensive revision based on an alternative set of criteria has not been attempted. The objective of