A new armored catfish species of the genus Hypostomus Lacépède, 1803 (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the upper rio Xingu basin, Brazil

A new armored catfish species of the genus Hypostomus is described from the upper rio Xingu basin, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The new species is diagnosed from congeners by having high number of teeth (58 to 101, mean 77 on premaxilla, and 58 to 105, mean 80 on dentary), dark spots over body and fins, and abdomen mostly naked. The new species is known from the rapids of the rio Culuene, where it is sympatric with Hypostomus faveolus.

The cascudos of the genus Hypostomus Lacépède (Ostariophysi: Loricariidae) from the rio Iguaçu basin

We reviewed several large collections of the genus Hypostomus from the rio Iguaçu basin summing up to 793 specimens mainly from the Laboratório de Ictiologia do Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva from Universidade Federal de São Carlos, from fish collection of Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura da Universidade Estadual de Maringá, and from the Museu de História Natural do Capão da Imbuia. Hypostomus albopunctatus, H. commersoni, H. derbyi, and H. myersi are redescribed and Hypostomus nigropunctatus is described as a new species. A practical key for identification of Hypostomus species from the rio Iguaçu is also provided.

A new species of Hydrogamasellus (Acari: Mesostigmata: Ologamasidae) from Brazil, with a key to the world species of the genus

Hydrogamasellus alagoensis n. sp. is described based on the morphology of adult females and males collected from litter in the State of Alagoas, Brazil. Six new combinations are proposed, namely Acugamasus avium (Karg, 1976) n. comb., Ologamasus lanceolatus (Karg, 1976) n. comb., Ologamasus microcrinis (Karg, 1979) n. comb., Ologamasus testudinis (Karg, 1976) n. comb., Rykellus longopilus (Karg, 1976) n. comb. and Rykellus ubatubaensis (Hirschmann, 1966) n. comb., and a key for the separation of females of the eighteen recognizable world Hydrogamasellus species is provided.

Two new species and a review of the inseminating freshwater fish genus Monotocheirodon (Characiformes: Characidae) from Peru and Bolivia

Two new species of inseminating freshwater fishes of the genus Monotocheirodon, family Characidae, are described from Peru. Males and females of both new species have an external, visually obvious urogenital papilla that was not detected in the females in previous studies, with this longer in males, which use it as an inseminating organ. A third inseminating species from Bolivia, Monotocheirodon pearsoni, unstudied in any detail since its original description in 1924, is redescribed. This latter species lacks an inseminating organ. Monotocheirodon is redescribed, its phylogenetic relationships are briefly discussed and it is suggested that it is possibly related to the stevardiin genera Ceratobranchia, Othonocheirodus, and Odontostoechus.

Zygonemella: the forgotten genus of the family Xyalidae (Nematoda)

FAPESP 2009/14019-0

Cradoscrupocellaria, a new bryozoan genus for Scrupocellaria bertholletii (Audouin) and related species (Cheilostomata, Candidae): taxonomy, biodiversity and distribution

A new genus, Cradoscrupocellaria n. gen., is erected for Scrupocellaria bertholletii Audouin, 1826), reported as widespread in tropical and subtropical waters. Here we select a neotype of this species in order to establish its identity and distinguish it from morphologically similar species. We include redescriptions and figures of additional species now assigned to this new genus: Cradoscrupocellaria curacaoensis (Fransen, 1986) n. comb., Cradoscrupocellaria hirsuta (Jullien & Calvet, 1903) n. comb., and Cradoscrupocellaria macrorhyncha (Gautier, 1962) n. comb. Five additional species are assigned to the genus: Cradoscrupocellaria ellisi (Vieira & Spencer Jones, 2012) n. comb., Cradoscrupocellaria nanshaensis (Liu, 1991) n. comb., Cradoscrupocellaria reptans (Linnaeus, 1758) n. comb., Cradoscrupocellaria serrata (Waters, 1909) n. comb., and Cradoscrupocellaria tenuirostris (Osburn, 1950) n. comb. Eighteen new species are described: Cradoscrupocellaria aegyptiana n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria arisaigensis n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria atlantica n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria calypso n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria floridana n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria galapagensis n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria gautieri n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria gorgonensis n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria hastingsae n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria insularis n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria jamaicensis n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria lagaaiji n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria macrorhynchoides n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria makua n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria marcusorum n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria normani n. sp., Cradoscrupocellaria odonoghuei n. sp., and Cradoscrupocellaria osburni n. sp.

Resurrection of the genus Licornia for Scrupocellaria jolloisii (Bryozoa) and related species, with documentation of L. jolloisii as a non-indigenous species in the western Atlantic

Recent studies of the large cheilostome bryozoan genus Scrupocellaria have shown a greater degree of taxonomically informative morphological variation in zooids, opesia, and polymorphic structures than previously recognized. Only one subgenus has been named within the genus, Retiscrupocellaria d'Hondt, 1988, erected for Scrupocellaria jolloisii. In this work we further analyse S. jolloisii and its related species, resurrecting an earlier genus name, Licornia van Beneden, 1850 for Licornia jolloisii, and nine relatives, L. annectens, L. cervicornis, L. cyclostoma, L. diadema, L. ferox, L. gaspari, L. longispinosa, L. macropora, and L. prolata. Licornia jolloisii was originally described from the Red Sea, and most species of the genus occur in the Indo-Pacific region. The species, however, has now been found in the Western Atlantic, in the Florida Keys, US, and in Bahia de Todos Santos, Brazil.

Among -and within- genus variability of the UV-absorption capacity in saxicolous mosses

Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (CIBIO--?UP)

Phytosociology of halophilic species from the genus "Tamarix L. (Tamaricaceae)" on the island of Gran Canaria

[EN] Forested Tamarix L. species found in the Canary Islands as in the Western Mediterranean Basin and the Saharo-Arabian area are included in the class Nerio-Tamaricetea within the order Tamaricetalia africanae order recognized by the Canaries that does not include Tamarix africana Poir., and the halophilic and halotolerant their communities are included in the alliance Tamaricion boveano-canariensis with the new partnership Atriplici ifniensis Tamaricetum canariensis endemic to the Canary Islands, which is also poor in the characteristic species of the class and to be defined almost exclusively for Tenerife requires a broader review.

Species identification, distributioin and reproductive interactions of common smoot-hound and blackspotted smooth-hound shark (Genus mustelus) in the Adriatic Sea

Longstanding taxonomic ambiguity and uncertainty exist in the identification of the common (M. mustelus) and blackspotted (M. punctulatus) smooth-hound in the Adriatic Sea. The lack of a clear and accurate method of morphological identification, leading to frequent misidentification, prevents the collation of species-specific landings and survey data for these fishes and hampers the delineation of the distribution ranges and stock boundaries of the species. In this context, adequate species-specific conservation and management strategies can not be applied without risks of population declining and local extinction. In this thesis work I investigated the molecular ecology of the two smooth-hound sharks which are abundant in the demersal trawl surveys carried out in the NC Adriatic Sea to monitor and assess the fishery resources. Ecological and evolutionary relationships were assessed by two molecular tests: a DNA barcoding analysis to improve species identification (and consequently the knowledge of their spatial ecology and taxonomy) and a hybridization assay based on the nuclear codominant marker ITS2 to evaluate reproductive interactions (hybridization or gene introgression). The smooth-hound sharks (N=208) were collected during the MEDITS 2008 and 2010 campaigns along the Italian and Croatian coasts of the Adriatic Sea, in the Sicilian Channel and in the Algerian fisheries. Since the identification based on morphological characters is not strongly reliable, I performed a molecular identification of the specimens producing for each one the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene sequence (ca. 640 bp long) and compared them with reference sequences from different databases (GenBank and BOLD). From these molecular ID data I inferred the distribution of the two target species in the NC Adriatic Sea. In almost the totality of the MEDITS hauls I found no evidence of species sympatry. The data collected during the MEDITS survey showed an almost different distribution of M. mustelus (confined along the Italian coasts) and M. punctulatus (confined along the Croatian coasts); just one sample (Gulf of Venice, where probably the ranges of the species overlap) was found to have catches of both the species. Despite these data results suggested no interaction occurred between my two target species at least during the summertime (the period in which MEDITS survey is carried out), I still wanted to know if there were inter-species reproductive interactions so I developed a simple molecular genetic method to detect hybridization. This method is based on DNA sequence polymorphism among species in the nuclear ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 locus (ITS2). Its application to the 208 specimens collected raised important questions regarding the ecology of this two species in the Adriatic Sea. In fact results showed signs of hybridization and/or gene introgression in two sharks collected during the trawl survey of 2008 and one collected during the 2010 one along the Italian and Croatian coasts. In the case that it will be confirmed the hybrid nature of these individuals, a spatiotemporal overlapping of the mating behaviour and ecology must occur. At the spatial level, the northern part of the Adriatic Sea (an area where the two species occur with high frequency of immature individuals) could likely play the role of a common nursery area for both species.