Invertebrate Systematics最新文献

The antlion genera Gatzara and Nepsalus (Myrmeleontidae: Dendroleontinae) inhabit mountain forests and are characterised by camouflaging larvae. Both genera remain poorly known despite recent findings on systematics and distribution. We report the discovery of new specimens and the previously unknown larvae of the rare species Gatzara jubilaea Navás, 1915, Nepsalus insolitus (Walker, 1860) and N. decorosus (Yang, 1988). These provide new evidence regarding the affinities of these species, and updated knowledge of the distribution, larval morphology and biology. Moreover, a new species of Nepsalus , N. maclachlani Badano, Zheng & Liu, sp. nov. is described from Sri Lanka based on historical museum collections. The discovery of the immature stages of Gatzara shows that the larvae of this genus share the same specialised ecological characteristics and habits as those of Nepsalus but are less morphologically derived. We also reconstruct a molecular phylogeny of this lineage, estimating the divergence time and biogeographical history by adding the new samples. The evolution of the Gatzara + Nepsalus lineage is associated with two major mountain ranges on the southern Tibetan Plateau, i.e. the Himalayas and the Hengduan Mountains. ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:68E68211-DFC1-4D98-997B-8A23BA8F9B69.

Hymenoptera has some of the highest diversity and number of individuals among insects. Many of these species potentially play key roles as food sources, pest controllers and pollinators. However, little is known about the diversity and biology and ~80% of the species have not yet been described. Classical taxonomy based on morphology is a rather slow process but DNA barcoding has already brought considerable progress in identification. Innovative methods such as image-based identification and automation can further speed up the process. We present a proof of concept for image data recognition of a parasitic wasp family, the Diapriidae (Hymenoptera), obtained as part of the GBOL III project. These tiny (1.2-4.5mm) wasps were photographed and identified using DNA barcoding to provide a solid ground truth for training a neural network. Taxonomic identification was used down to the genus level. Subsequently, three different neural network architectures were trained, evaluated and optimised. As a result, 11 different genera of diaprids and one mixed group of 'other Hymenoptera' can be classified with an average accuracy of 96%. Additionally, the sex of the specimen can be classified automatically with an accuracy of >97%.

Syllis prolifera (Syllidae, Syllinae) is an abundant species of marine annelids commonly found in warm to temperate waters worldwide. Although morphological variability occurs among populations, S. prolifera has long been considered a cosmopolitan species, widely distributed in coastal environments, including acidified and polluted areas. However, the increasing number of cases of cryptic and pseudocryptic speciation in several polychaete families in recent years has led us to question whether S. prolifera represents a single globally distributed taxon or is a species complex. To address this question, we conducted an integrative study, combining morphological, ecological and molecular data of 52 S. prolifera specimens collected in different localities across the western Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Cadiz. Our phylogenetic and species delimitation analyses that included two mitochondrial DNA markers (COI and 16S rRNA ) were congruent in not considering S. prolifera a unique entity. Five distinct lineages that can also be recognised by certain morphological and ecological traits were identified from these analyses instead. Overall, our study does not support the homogeneity of S. prolifera across the Mediterranean Sea, providing a new example of pseudocrypticism in marine invertebrates.

Mitochondrial DNA gene organisation is an important source of phylogenetic information for various metazoan taxa at different evolutionary timescales, though this has not been broadly tested for all insect groups nor within a phylogenetic context. The cosmopolitan subfamily Doryctinae is a highly diverse group of braconid wasps mainly represented by ectoparasitoids of xylophagous beetle larvae. Previous molecular studies based on Sanger and genome-wide (ultraconserved elements, UCE; and mitochondrial genomes) sequence data have recovered a non-monophyletic Doryctinae, though the relationships involved have always been weakly supported. We characterised doryctine mitogenomes and conducted separate phylogenetic analyses based on mitogenome and UCE sequence data of ~100 representative doryctine genera to assess the monophyly and higher-level classification of the subfamily. We identified rearrangements of mitochondrial transfer RNAs (tRNAs) that support a non-monophyletic Doryctinae consisting of two separate non-related clades with strong geographic structure ('New World' and 'Old World' clades). This geographic structure was also consistently supported by the phylogenetic analyses preformed with mitogenome and UCE sequence data. These results highlight the utility of the mitogenome gene rearrangements as a potential source of phylogenetic information at different evolutionary timescales.

The razor clam genus Novaculina is a secondary marine-derived freshwater taxa within the otherwise exclusively marine family Pharidae. Novaculina currently comprises four valid species that are distributed allopatrically across several drainages in Asia. We employed an integrated approach, combining morphology and molecular phylogenetic analyses to elucidate the taxonomic placement of members within this genus. The multi-locus phylogenetic trees based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), 16S rRNA and 28S rRNA gene sequences demonstrate that Novaculina is polyphyletic. Specimens identified as N. siamensis form a distinct clade that is not sister group to other currently recognised congeners. Furthermore, morphological examination reveals distinct characteristics in ‘N. siamensis’, namely a fused, fringed siphon, in contrast to the separated, smooth siphons observed in other species. Based on these findings, we propose the establishment of a new genus, Cenonovaculina gen. nov., to accommodate ‘N. siamensis’. The new genus is distinguished from other genera in having a short shell, deep pallial sinus, elongate, oval to bean-shaped anterior adductor scar and long fused siphons surrounded by conical tentacles.

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6E16FC43-5BBA-4791-A805-1C84859877A3

The pantropical genus Palaemonella Dana, 1852 (Caridea: Palaemonidae) currently includes 27 species of free-living and symbiotic marine shrimps. The monophyly of Palaemonella with respect to several closely related genera, however, has been questioned by recent analyses. We tested the monophyly of Palaemonella based on multigene phylogenetic analysis and the genus was revealed to be a paraphyletic assemblage by inclusion of species of the genera Eupontonia Bruce, 1971 and Vir Holthuis, 1952, and two genetic lineages of the western Atlantic Cuapetes americanus (Kingsley, 1878). We recognise one of the latter lineages as the previously described Periclimenes rhizophorae Lebour, 1949. Eupontonia and Vir are synonymised with Palaemonella. We also transfer Cuapetes americanus and Periclimenes rhizophorae to Palaemonella. Species previously assigned to Vir were revised; V. colemani Bruce, 2003, V. orientalis (Dana, 1852), V. philippinensis Bruce & Svoboda, 1984 and V. smiti Fransen & Holthuis, 2007 are regarded as valid species of Palaemonella; Vir longidactylus Marin, 2008 is synonymised with P. smiti; and the status of V. euphyllius Marin & Anker, 2005 remains unresolved. Palaemonella is currently regarded as a taxon with variable states of two main diagnostic characters, i.e. the plesiomorphic mandibular palp (fully reduced in P. americana) and the hepatic tooth (fully reduced in former species of Vir and Eupontonia – evidently due to symbiotic modes of life).

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7EEBC655-7EDE-4E46-BCB2-2A3BA16ED7DD

Despite the widespread use of integrative taxonomic approaches, many scleractinian coral genera and species remain grouped in polyphyletic families, classified as incertae sedis or simply understudied. Oculinidae Gray, 1847 represents a family for which many taxonomic questions remain unresolved, particularly those related to some of the current genera, such as Oculina Lamark, 1816 or recently removed genera, including Cladocora Ehrenberg, 1834 and Madrepora Linnaeus, 1758. Cladocora is currently assigned to the family Cladocoridae Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857 and a new family, Bathyporidae Kitahara, Capel, Zilberberg & Cairns, 2024, was recently raised to accommodate Madrepora. However, the name Bathyporidae is not valid because this was not formed on the basis of a type genus name. To resolve taxonomic questions related to these three genera, the evolutionary relationships are explored through phylogenetic analyses of 18 molecular markers. The results of these analyses support a close relationship between the species Oculina patagonica and Cladocora caespitosa, indicating that these may belong to the same family (and possibly genus), and highlighting the need for detailed revisions of Oculina and Cladocora. By contrast, a distant relationship is found between these two species and Madrepora oculata, with the overall evidence supporting the placement of Madrepora in the resurrected family Madreporidae Ehrenberg, 1834. This study advances our knowledge of coral systematics and highlights the need for a comprehensive review of the genera Oculina, Cladocora and Madrepora.

Black corals occur as part of benthic assemblages from shallow to deep waters in all oceans. Despite the importance in many benthic ecosystems, where these act as biodiversity aggregators, antipatharians remain poorly studied, with 75% of the known species occurring below recreational SCUBA diving depth limits. Currently, information regarding the diversity and evolutionary history is limited, with most studies focusing on Hawaii and the South Pacific Ocean. Other regions of the world have received less attention, such as the Red Sea, where only two black coral families and four genera have been recorded. We provide the first analysis of the molecular diversity of black corals in the eastern Gulf of Aqaba and the northern and central Saudi Arabian Red Sea, based on a dataset of 161 antipatharian colonies collected down to 627 m deep. Based on specimen morphology, we ascribed our material to 11 genera belonging to 4 of the 7 known Antipatharia families, i.e. Antipathidae, Aphanipathidae, Myriopathidae and Schizopathidae. The genus level phylogeny of three intergenic mitochondrial regions, the trnW-IGR-nad2 (IgrW), nad5-IGR-nad1 (IgrN) and cox3-IGR-cox1 was reconstructed including previously published material. Overall, we recovered six molecular clades that included exclusively Red Sea sequences, with the highest diversity occurring at mesophotic depths. This study highlights that diversity of black corals in the Red Sea is much higher than previously known, with seven new generic records, suggesting that this basin may be a hotspot for antipatharian diversity as is known for other taxa. Our results recovered unresolved relationships within the order at the familial and generic levels. This emphasises the urgent need for an integration of genomic-wide data with a re-examination of informative morphological features necessary to revise the systematics of the order at all taxonomic levels.

Scutigeromorph centipedes are conspicuous, yet often ignored myriapods for which little work has been conducted in southern South America. After examining recent and museum collections from Chile and Argentina, two new species of generic uncertainty were identified. A new genus of scutigerid centipede, Edgethreua, is therefore described with two new species, E. chilensis from Central Chile (type species of the genus) and E. goloboffi from Argentinian Patagonia. The new genus is characterised by the presence of scattered setiform bristles with short paired spines and the absence of simple spinulae and spines on all stomatotergites, the presence of a single spine-bristle in the prefemur of the second maxilla, a patch of cuticular ridges and pores surrounding the sensilla of the proximal labral portion of the epipharynx, the morphology of the sensilla of the distal patch of the hypopharynx and the morphology of the female gonopods. A phylogenetic analysis of the new species using two nuclear ribosomal RNA genes (18S and 28S rRNA), two mitochondrial ribosomal RNA genes (12S and 16S rRNA) and the mitochondrial protein-encoding gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I show that the new genus does not cluster with any other described genus of scutigeromorph represented in molecular phylogenies. The data indicate that the new genus is probably sister group to a clade including the genera Lassophora, Ballonema and the subfamily Thereuoneminae, although one analysis suggests a position as sister group to Scutigerinae.

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A4D453F3-9031-4E21-84C7-87F16C07AD51

The rhinebothriidean tapeworm family Escherbothriidae has recently been expanded to include the genus Ivanovcestus, species of which parasitise arhynchobatid skates. Similarities in morphology and host associations between Ivanovcestus and Semiorbiseptum – a genus yet to be assigned to one of the families in the order Rhinebothriidea – led us to explore the possibility that Semiorbiseptum might also belong in the Escherbothriidae. Morphological similarities with Scalithrium ivanovae, Scalithrium kirchneri and Rhinebothrium scobinae, all of which also parasitise arhynchobatid skates, raised questions regarding the generic placements of these species. In addition, new collections from the skate Sympterygia brevicaudata revealed two new species that morphologically resemble species of Ivanovcestus. A combination of morphological and molecular data were used to assess the generic placement of the newly discovered species and refine our understanding of the membership of the family Escherbothriidae. Sequence data for the D1–D3 region of the 28S rDNA gene were generated de novo for 14 specimens of 7 rhinebothriidean species and combined with comparable published data to represent all 6 families in the Rhinebothriidea in the analysis. The phylogenetic tree resulting from maximum likelihood analysis strongly supports the inclusion of the genus Semiorbiseptum in the family Escherbothriidae. Our work also suggests that the skate-hosted species previously assigned to Scalithrium and Rhinebothrium are also members of Semiorbiseptum and that Ivanovcestus is a junior synonym of Semiorbiseptum. Six species are transferred to Semiorbiseptum, bringing the total number of species in the genus to ten. The diagnosis of Semiorbiseptum is amended to accommodate the additional species. A second species in the previously monotypic type genus of the family, Escherbothrium, is described. The diagnosis of the Escherbothriidae is amended to include the new and transferred species. This study underscores the importance of integrating morphological and molecular data in bringing resolution to cestode systematics. We believe our findings provide a robust foundation for future research into the evolutionary history and host associations of cestodes within the order Rhinebothriidea and beyond. These also highlight the importance of expanding our understanding of skate-hosted cestodes.

ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8052AFCA-5FBD-4430-95F4-0E5E368DEA3D