Worldwide, Mexico is well-known for a lot of things: its cuisine, tequila, mariachis, pyramids, and beaches, as well as being the country with the most Spanish-speaking residents (more than 120 million people).
In contrast, however, little is known for the country’s chondrichthyan fauna: a class of fishes containing the sharks, chimaeras, rays, and skates.
To fill the gap in the knowledge of the Mexican marine fauna, scientists from the Instituto Politécnico Nacional – Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas (IPN-CICIMAR) conducted a multidisciplinary study on the extant species of the country’s Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) and, as a result, reported a total of 217 extant chondrichthyan species. Their findings are published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
In their updated taxonomic list, the team of Dr. José De La Cruz-Agüero, Dr. Jorge Guillermo Chollet-Villalpando, and Venezuelan graduate students Lorem González-González and Nicolás R. Ehemann report eight chimaeras, 111 sharks and 98 ray and skate species. These numbers equate to 18% of the world’s chondrichthyans.
Split between the Mexican coasts there are 92 species recorded from the Mexican Pacific and the Gulf of California, whereas 94 fishes are identified for the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Additionally, 31 species are known from both coasts.
“The species richness will undoubtedly continue to increase, due to the current investigations in progress, as well as the exploration of deep-water fishing areas in the EEZ,” comment the scientists.
Considered to be primitive fishes, sharks, skates, chimaeras, and rays are believed to have been inhabiting the planet for the last 420-450 million years. To put it in perspective, the earliest evidence of our species – Homo sapiens – is pretty ‘young’ at 315,000 years.
Not only do these species are peculiar with their lack of a bony skeleton when compared to the more recently evolved fishes, but they also have an unusual digestive system, featuring a spiral valve, where the lower intestine is twisted like a corkscrew to increase the surface area. They don’t have a swimming bladder either. Further, there are about 650 extant species, whereas the known bony fishes are estimated to be over 35,000.
As if to make matters worse, these fishes are also particularly susceptible to overfishing and have a low rate of growth and fecundity (females give birth to between 1 and 25 pups a year).
Original source:
Ehemann NR, González-González LV, Chollet-Villalpando JG, Cruz-Agüero JDL (2018) Updated checklist of the extant Chondrichthyes within the Exclusive Economic Zone of Mexico. ZooKeys 774: 17-39. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.774.25028
Thanks to their conspicuous structures, the mollusks have been added to a brand new species group of land snails to be commonly known as the ‘scaly’ snails, so that they can be set apart from the rest in the genus Georissa. Why it is that only some of the species in the genus sport the unique ‘scales’, remains unknown.
Fascinated with the minute ‘scaly’ snail fauna of Borneo, the researchers carried out fieldwork between 2015 and 2017 to find out how these curious shells evolved. In addition, they also examined material deposited in museum and private snail collections.
Apart from DNA data, which is nowadays commonly used in species identification, the team turned to yet-to-become-popular modern tools such as 3D modelling, conducted through X-ray scanning. By doing so, the researchers managed to look at both the inner and outer surfaces of the shells of the tiny specimens from every angle and position, and examine them in great detail.
The researchers note that to identify the ‘scaly’ snails to species level, one needs a combination of both DNA and morphological data:
“Objective species delimitation based solely on molecular data will not be successful for the ‘scaly’ snails in Georissa, at least if one wishes for the taxonomy to reflect morphology as well.”
The six new species are all named after the localities they have been originally collected from, in order to create awareness for species and habitat conservation.
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Watch rotation and cross-section of the 3D models of the studied species here.
Original source:
Khalik MZ, Hendriks K, Vermeulen JJ, Schilthuizen M (2018) A molecular and conchological dissection of the “scaly” Georissa of Malaysian Borneo (Gastropoda, Neritimorpha, Hydrocenidae). ZooKeys 773: 1-55. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.773.24878
So here we are, 10 years from that very first issue of ours published on a very special date – the 4th of July – and the result of a seemingly ordinary breakfast conversation between two respected entomologists, Prof Lyubomir Penev and Dr Terry Erwin, during the Entomological Society of America meeting in San Diego, USA, seven months earlier.
Then and there, under the California sun, an idea about a brand new taxonomic journal meant to revolutionise the scholarly publishing in zoology – in terms of both openness and technological innovation, was born. The rest, like they say, is history.
Ten years in, we stand as the most prolific open-access journal in zoology with a total of 4,103 published articles, 45 newly described animal families, 650 genera and 8977 species, authored by a total of 5,720 researchers coming from 131 different countries. We also take pride in having set an excellent example for the rest of the academic titles in Pensoft’s already extensive portfolio of open access journals.
Find more about our achievements and milestones in our special Editorial, authored by Editor-in-Chief Dr Terry Erwin, founder Prof Lyubomir Penev and Managing editor Prof Pavel Stoev as part of our anniversarial 770th journal issue.
In the present blog post, we’ll take the opportunity to look back on ZooKeys’ top appearances on ‘the big scene’, because we believe it’s nothing but our shared fondness and homage to the kingdom of animals which has brought us here. Most importantly, it’s also the key to getting to know, save and protect our planet’s priceless biodiversity.
Here are some cool displays of ZooKeys-inspired zoo-affection to remember:
The Hollywood-worthy beauty from the photos turned the heads of professional taxonomists in such a way that, with the help of citizen scientists, the team of Dr Shaun Winterton, California Department of Food & Agriculture tracked down the insect all the way to Sabah, Malaysia, to subsequently describe it as a species new to science in 2012.
Beyond all our furriest dreams, in a world where everybody thought humans have found every single animal they’d like to add on their ‘To-pet’ wishlists, the smaller and, to be honest, cuter sibling of the tree-dwelling olingos had remained undercover up until 2013, when Prof. Kristofer M. Helgen of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and his team described the species Bassaricyon neblina, better known as the Olinguito.
This is a baby Olinguito, a new carnivorous mammal discovered in Colombia this year. pic.twitter.com/45oJNfJVkM
Surprise, surprise: as a result, there’s now a special World Olinguito Day (look up #WorldOlinguitoDay on Twitter), which the world we’ll be celebrating for the fifth time around next month, on 15th of August.
A bit less cuddly is the next spectacular species, which is also a first for science.
Photo courtesy: Somsak Panha
While centipedes can be found at various habitats, ranging from rainforests to deserts and pitch-black caves, Scolopendra cataracta still manages to impress with its unique taste for… water, as well as its giant size of up to 20 cm in length.
In fact, the species, described by the team of Dr Warut Siriwut, Chulalongkorn University, is the very first known amphibious centipede.
Moreover, it swims “powerfully like an eel,” George Beccaloni, who spotted the striking arthropod during his honeymoon in Thailand in 2001, told National Geographic.
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“Nah, they’re just big teddy bears,” smiles tarantula expert Dr Chris Hamilton, when the Sky News’ presenter asks him whether his latest discovery is in any way dangerous, after seeing her interviewee drop the black spider on camera, during their LIVE Skype chat.
Video source: Newsy: https://www.newsy.com/
The reason why the “laid back” tarantula, described as Aphonopelma johnnycashi got all that attention, however, was the undeniable and all too curious similarities between the arachnid and its famous namesake, the singer-songwriter Johnny Cash.
The Johnny Cash tarantula happened to be discovered in California, precisely near Folsom Prison – the place from Cash’s famous song “Folsom Prison Blues”. Further, the all-black males of the species are reminiscent of the singer’s nickname – ‘The Man in Black’.
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At one hand, rupturing one own’s body apart in what could be best described as ‘an explosion’, so that a toxic liquid is shot into the enemy when confronted, might sound as a vicious act of violence.
Photo courtesy: Alexey Kopchinskiy
However, in social insects like the ants, and, more specifically, in a species of the so-called ‘exploding ants’, aptly named Colobopsis explodens, this is merely the way the minor worker caste of infertile females contributes to its colony when its survival is at stake.
Did you see the video? No wonder it got everyone fascinated (including kids such as this young charming lady here!) enough to have the hashtag #ExplodingAnts become a thing on Twitter.
To protect threatened with extinction species, we first need to learn about their existence. We’ve been hearing this a lot.
Photo courtesy: Vazrick Nazari
However, it’s easy to think of the fluffy olinguito if you happen to be someone responsible for the conservation of the montane rainforest of the Colombian and Ecuadorian Andes, for example.
But how do you draw the attention of the public and policy makers to a tiny and rarely seen species of moth living in a limited and highly populated and disturbed patch of land shared between the states of California, USA, and Baja California, Mexico?
Metrics available from Altmetric. The numbers account for publications from across online sources (i.e. news outlets, social media, blogs etc.) which cite the DOI link of the article. Check out detailed data in real time.
Simply name it after the US President-to-be, is what entomologist Dr. Vazrick Nazari must’ve thought while deciding on the name of his lepidopteran discovery, going by the name of Neopalpa donaldtrumpi.
“It inhabits endangered dune habitats – very fragile – and should be protected, the kind of motivation I needed to name it after Trump,” the scientist tells BBC Radio 5.
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As a final for our special anniversarial blog post, we’ve kept a few record-breakers. Who doesn’t love to be in first place, after all?
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Fitting about 10 times within the eye of a needle, the 0.86-millimetre Angustopila dominikae, known from China, became the world’s smallest land snail species when Dr Barna Páll-Gergely, Shinshu University, published it in ZooKeyson 28th September, 2015.
Photo courtesy: Dr. Barna Páll-Gergely and Nikolett Szpisjak
Yet, its fame wasn’t meant to last.
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It took only about a month for Acmella nana to steal the spotlight thanks to its even tiniest measures of 0.70 mm. The Malaysian species was described in ZooKeys by Prof Dr Menno Schilthuizen, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, and his team in addition to other 47 species, including endemic snails known from single localities, on 2nd November, 2015.
Photo courtesy: Menno Schilthuizen
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As if themed “The Year of the Smallest”, it was also at the end of 2015 when the smallest known free-living insect, called Scydosella musawasensis, was published with ZooKeys.
Photo courtesy: Alexey Polilov
To describe the 0.325-millimetre species, discoverer Dr. Alexey Polilov, Lomonosov Moscow State University, had to leave behind the preserved specimens and collect new material from the Chicaque National Park, Colombia, and, then, use a specialised software and digital micrographs to provide the exact measures.
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Fortunately, the world-record setters didn’t abandon ZooKeys with the conclusion of 2015.
In early 2016, we published the deepest-dwelling centipede, Geophilus hadesi, discovered in Croatia by the team of our Managing editor, Prof Pavel Stoev.
Photo courtesy: J. Bedek
Living at depths of 1,100 metres below the ground, the multi-legged creature surely lives up to its name inspired by the Greek god of the Underworld, Hades.
The species also comes as a nice complement to another cave-dweller of the same genus – Geophilus persephones, which carries the name of the mythological god’s wife, Persephone.
Did we overlook your own most beloved ZooKeys-published species? We’ll be happy for you to let us know about it in the Comments section below, Twitter (@ZooKeys_Journal) or Facebook (@ZooKeysJournal).
While 2018 marks the centenary of the death of the last captive Carolina parakeet – North America’s only native parrot, a team of researchers have shed new light on the previously known geographical range of the species, which was officially declared extinct in 1920.
The new study provides unprecedented information on the birds range providing a window into the past ecology of a lost species.
“Making these data freely available to other researchers will hopefully help unlock the mysteries surrounding the extinction and ecology of this iconic species. Parrots are the most at-risk group of birds and anything we can learn about past extinctions may be useful going forward,” says the study’s lead author, Kevin Burgio.
The observational recordings included in the study have been gleaned from a wide variety of sources, including the correspondence of well-known historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and the explorers Lewis and Clark.
The study team referenced recorded sightings spanning nearly 400 years. The oldest recorded sighting dates back to 1564, and was found in a description of the current state of Florida written by Rene Laudonniere in 1602.
Alongside the written accounts, the researchers included location data from museum specimens. These include 25 bird skins from the Natural History Museum’s Tring site, whose skin collection is the second largest of its kind in the world, with almost 750,000 specimens representing about 95 per cent of the world’s bird species. Thereby, the study proves what invaluable resources museum collections can be.
“The unique combination of historical research and museum specimens is the only way we can learn about the range of this now-extinct species. Museums are archives of the natural world and research collections like that of the Natural History Museum are incredibly important in helping to increase our understanding of biodiversity conservation and extinction,” says Alex Bond.
“By digitising museum collections, we can unlock the potential of millions of specimens, helping us to answer some of today’s big questions in biodiversity science and conservation.”
It is hoped that this research will be the beginning of a wider reaching work that will explore further into the ecology of this long lost species.
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Original source:
Burgio KR, Carlson CJ, Bond AL (2018) Georeferenced sighting and specimen occurrence data of the extinct Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) from 1564 – 1944. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e25280. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.6.e25280
Sibon bevridgelyi is arguably the prettiest of the lot. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
The existence of five delightfully weird snail-sucking snakes slithering through the forest floors of Ecuador was announced by a group of scientists in a study in the open access journal Zookeys.
Believe or not, there is an entire group of snakes for which snails are number one on their menu. This is why their jaws are modified in such a way that they can suck the viscous slimy body of a snail right out of its shell.
Dipsas bobridgelyi trying to suck a snail out of its shell. Photo by Matthijs Hollanders.
Luckily for us, these snakes are harmless to humans. However, humans are not harmless to them. Four out of the five newly discovered species are already facing the possibility of becoming extinct, as the forest remnants they call home are currently being destroyed.
In a bid to take care after the unfortunate reptiles, the scientists auctioned the naming rights for the new species at a recent event in New York City. The money are to purchase and save a previously unprotected 72 ha (178 acre) plot of land where some of these species live.
To do so, Fundación Jocotoco is to add the purchased plot to the Buenaventura reserve, in order to expand the only protected area where two of the new snakes are found, and prevent these endangered snake species from going extinct.
Dipsas bobridgelyi. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
Three of the five species were discovered during a series of expeditions to three rainforests in Ecuador between 2013 and 2017, conducted by Alejandro Arteaga, an Ecuadorian–Venezuelan PhD student at the American Museum of Natural History and scientific director of Tropical Herping, who partnered with Dr. Alex Pyron, The George Washington University and National Museum of Natural History, USA.
“We had to let people know that these cool snakes exist,” Alejandro said, “and that these species might soon stop to exist, and we need people’s help to protect the snake’s habitat.”
In order to confirm these five snakes as new species, the team of researchers, particularly Drs. Konrad Mebert, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Nicolás Peñafiel, Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Gabriela Aguiar, Tropical Herping, and Timothy Colston, The George Washington University and National Museum of Natural History, USA, counted scales and gathered measurements from more than 200 museum specimens, and extracted DNA from nearly 100 snakes.
PhD student Alejandro Arteaga measured snake specimens at various museums, including the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Having made the highest bid at the auction, Rainforest Trust (RT) and Bob Ridgely got to name three of the five new snakes.
Thus, the species Dipsas georgejetti now honors George Jett, who supported the inception of Fundación Jocotoco’s reserves in Ecuador; while Dipsas bobridgelyi is a tribute to Dr. Robert “Bob” S. Ridgely, a leading ornithologist and distinguished conservationist who helped the establishment of the Buenaventura reserve. Bob, who was at the auction, chose the name Sibon bevridgelyi (Bev Ridgely’s Snail-Eater) to honor his father.
Dipsas georgejetti is found in only in dry forests in the coast of Ecuador. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
The remaining two snail-eating species, Dipsas oswaldobaezi and D. klebbai, were named after Dr. Oswaldo Báez and Casey Klebba, respectively, in recognition for their passion for Ecuador’s biodiversity and conservation.
Dipsas klebbai is the only one among the new species currently not threatened with extinction. Photo by Alejandro Arteaga.
“Several companies let you name a star after a loved one,” Alejandro says, “but, generally, such names have no formal validity. Naming an entire species after someone you love or admire is different. With few exceptions, this is the name that both the general public and the whole scientific community will use. So, why not let people choose the name of a species in exchange for a donation that protects its habitat?”
Dipsas oswaldobaezi photographed at Reserva la Ceiba. Photo by Jose Vieira.
The act of naming species is essential in raising awareness about the existence of a species and its risk of extinction, but it also provides an opportunity to recognize and honor the work of the people and institutions fighting to protect the species.
“Naming species is at the core of biology,” says Dr. Juan M. Guayasamin, co-author of the study and a professor at Universidad San Francisco in Quito. “Not a single study is really complete if it is not attached to the name of the species, and most species that share the planet with us are not described.”
“Everybody knows elephants and orangutans,” says Dr. Martin Schaefer of Fundación Jocotoco, “but some reptiles and amphibians are even more threatened. Yet, we still lack even the basic information to protect them better. This is why the work by scientists is so important; it provides the necessary information to guide our conservation decisions.”
“Through photography or by joining a scientific expedition, the general public can learn more about hidden biodiversity and how threatened it is,” says Lucas Bustamante of Tropical Herping. “This is a model to obtain support for research and conservation while recruiting more environmental ambassadors.”
Watch the video below to follow entomologist and science communicator Phil Torres as he joins Alejandro Arteaga for one of his expeditions to document what it takes to find a new snake.
Academic paper:
Arteaga A, Salazar-Valenzuela D, Mebert K, Peñafiel N, Aguiar G, Sánchez-Nivicela JC, Pyron RA, Colston TJ, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Yánez-Muñoz MH, Venegas PJ, Guayasamin JM, Torres-Carvajal O (2018) Systematics of South American snail eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Ecuador and Peru. ZooKeys 766: 79–147. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.766.24523
Two new species of tiny symbiotic shrimps are described, illustrated and named by biology student at Leiden University Werner de Gier as part of his bachelor’s research project, supervised by Dr. Charles H. J. M. Fransen, shrimp researcher of Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Leiden, the Netherlands).
Inspired by the extremely hairy feet of one of the species, the authors decided that they should honour Middle Earth’s greatest halfling, Bilbo Baggins.
The newly described shrimps were collected during the Ternate expedition to the Indonesian islands of Tidore and Ternate, organised by Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) in 2009.
Typically for the Odontonia species, the new shrimps do not reach sizes above a centimetre in length, and were found inside tunicates. It is believed that these symbiotic crustaceans are fully adapted to live inside the cavities of their hosts, which explains their small-sized and smooth bodies.
Photo by Charles Fransen.
Unlike most Odontonia species, which live inside solitary tunicates, the new species Odontonia plurellicola was the first one to be associated with a colonial tunicate. These tunicates have even smaller internal cavities, which explains the tiny size of the new species.
To determine the placement of the new species in the tree of life, the scientists compared the shrimps’ anatomical features, including the legs, mouthparts and carapace. As a result, they were assigned to Odontonia. Further, the available genetic information and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of the unusual feet of the newly discovered shrimp provided a new updated identification key for all members of the species group.
“Being able to describe, draw and even name two new species in my bachelor years was a huge honour. Hopefully, we can show the world that there are many new species just waiting to be discovered, if you simply look close enough!” says Werner de Gier, who is currently writing his graduate thesis at Naturalis Biodiversity Center and working together with Dr. Charles Fransen on crustaceans.
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Original source:
de Gier W, Fransen CHJM (2018) Odontonia plurellicola sp. n. and Odontonia bagginsi sp. n., two new ascidian-associated shrimp from Ternate and Tidore, Indonesia, with a phylogenetic reconstruction of the genus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Palaemonidae). ZooKeys 765: 123-160. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.765.25277
Coyotes now live across North America, from Alaska to Panama, California to Maine. But where they came from, and when, has been debated for decades.
Using museum specimens and fossil records, researchers from the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University have produced a comprehensive (and unprecedented) range history of the expanding species that can help reveal the ecology of predation as well as evolution through hybridization. Their findings are published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
The geographic distribution of coyotes has dramatically expanded since 1900, spreading across much of North America in a period when most other mammal species have been declining. Although this unprecedented expansion has been well-documented at the state/provincial scale, continent-wide picture of coyote spread been coarse and largely anecdotal. A more thorough compilation of available records was needed.
“We began by mapping the original range of coyotes using archaeological and fossil records,” says co-author Dr. Roland Kays, Head of the Museum’s Biodiversity Lab and Research Associate Professor in NC State’s Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources. “We then plotted their range expansion across North America from 1900 to 2016 using museum specimens, peer-reviewed reports, and game department records.”
In all, Kays and lead author James Hody, a graduate student at NC State University, reviewed more than 12,500 records covering the past 10,000 years for this study.
Their findings indicate that coyotes historically occupied a larger area of North America than generally suggested in the literature. Previous maps, as it turns out, had ancient coyotes only located across the central deserts and grasslands. However, fossils from across the arid west link the distribution of coyotes from 10,000 years ago to specimens collected in the late 1800s, proving that their geographic range was not only broader but had been established for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, which also contradicts some widely-cited descriptions of their historical distribution.
It wasn’t until approximately 1920 that coyotes began their expansion across North America. This was likely aided by an expansion of human agriculture, forest fragmentation, and hybridization with other species. Eastern expansion, in particular, was aided by hybridization with wolves and dogs, resulting in size and color variation among eastern coyotes.
Before too long, coyotes may no longer be just a North American species. Kays notes that coyotes are continually expanding their range in Central America, having crossed the Panama Canal in 2010. Active camera traps are now spotting coyotes approaching the Darien Gap, a heavily forested region separating North and South America, suggesting that they are at the doorstep of South America.
“The expansion of coyotes across the American continent offers an incredible experiment for assessing ecological questions about their roles as predators, and evolutionary questions related to their hybridization with dogs and wolves,” adds Hody.
“By collecting and mapping these museum data we were able to correct old misconceptions of their original range, and more precisely map and date their recent expansions.”
“We hope these maps will provide useful context for future research into the ecology and evolution of this incredibly adaptive carnivore,” he concludes.
Hody JW, Kays R (2018) Mapping the expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) across North and Central America. ZooKeys 759: 81–97. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.759.15149
Two different kinds of Lachrymose Mountain-Tanager (Anisognathus lacrymosus) occurring in Colombia on different mountain ranges (left: Santa Marta; right: Yariguies). Their measurements and songs were as distinct as those in the group which co-occur. Therefore, they can therefore be treated as different species.
Nature is replete with examples of identifiable populations known from different continents, mountain ranges, islands or lowland regions. While, traditionally, many of these have been treated as subspecies of widely-ranging species, recent studies relying on molecular biology have shown that many former “subspecies” have in fact been isolated for millions of years, which is long enough for them to have evolved into separate species.
Being a controversial matter in taxonomy – the science of classification – the ability to tell apart different species from subspecies across faunal groups is crucial. Given limited resources for conservation, relevant authorities tend only to be concerned for threatened species, with their efforts rarely extending to subspecies.
Figuring out whether co-habiting populations belong to the same species is only as tough as testing if they can interbreed or produce fertile offspring. However, whenever distinct populations are geographically separated, it is often that taxonomists struggle to determine whether they represent different species or merely subspecies of a more widely ranging species.
British bird expert Thomas Donegan has dedicated much of his life to studying birds in South America, primarily Colombia. To address this age-long issue of “what is a species?”, he applied a variety of statistical tests, based on data derived from bird specimens and sound recordings, to measure differences across over 3000 pairwise comparisons of different variables between populations.
Having analyzed the outcomes of these tests, he developed a new universal formula for determining what can be considered as a species. His study is published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
Essentially, the equation works by measuring differences for multiple variables between two non-co-occurring populations, and then juxtaposing them to the same results for two related populations which do occur together and evidently belong to different “good” species. If the non-co-occurring pair’s differences exceed those of the good species pair, then the former can be ranked as species. If not, they are subspecies of the same species instead.
The formula builds on existing good taxonomic practices and borrows from optimal aspects of previously proposed mathematical models proposed for assessing species in particular groups, but brought together into a single coherent structure and formula that can be applied to any taxonomic group. It is, however, presented as a benchmark rather than a hard test, to be used together with other data, such as analyses of molecular data.
Thomas hopes that his mathematical formula for species rank assessments will help eliminate some of the subjectivity, regional bias and lumper-splitter conflicts which currently pervade the discipline of taxonomy.
“If this new approach is used, then it should introduce more objectivity to taxonomic science and ultimately mean that limited conservation resources are addressed towards threatened populations which are truly distinct and most deserving of our concern,” he says.
The problem with ranking populations that do not co-occur together was first identified back in 1904. Since then, most approaches to addressing such issues have been subjective or arbitrary or rely heavily upon expert opinion or historical momentum, rather than any objectively defensible or consistent framework.
For example, the American Herring Gull and the European Herring Gull are lumped by some current taxonomic committees into the same species (Herring Gull), or are split into two species by other committees dealing with different regions, simply because relevant experts at those committees have taken different views on the issue.
“For tropical faunas, there are thousands of distinctive populations currently treated as subspecies and which are broadly ignored in conservation activities,” explains Thomas. “Yet, some of these may be of conservation concern. This new framework should help us better to identify and prioritize those situations.”
Two different kinds of Three-striped Warblers (Basileuterus tristriatus) occurring in South America (left: East Andes of Colombia; right: a recently discovered population from the San Lucas mountains of Colombia). Note the differences in plumage coloration. While somewhat differing in voice, plumage and some measurements, the couple did not diverge as much as other related warblers that actually co-occur did. These are about as close as subspecies occurring on different mountain ranges could be. However, they marginally failed the proposed new benchmark for species rank.
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Original source:
Donegan TM (2018) What is a species? A new universal method to measure differentiation and assess the taxonomic rank of allopatric populations, using continuous variables. ZooKeys 757: 1-67. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.757.10965
Biological invasions are widely recognised as one of the most significant components of global change. Far-reaching and fast-spreading, they often have harmful effects on biodiversity.
Therefore, acquiring knowledge of potentially invasive non-native species is crucial in current research. In particular, it is important that we enhance our understanding of the impact of such invasions.
To do so, Prof Sabrina Lo Brutto and Dr Davide Iaciofano, both working at the Taxonomy Laboratory of the University of Palermo, Italy, performed research on an invasive alien crustacean (Ptilohyale littoralis) known to have colonised the Atlantic European Coast. Their findings are published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
The studied species belongs to a group of small-sized crustaceans known as amphipods. These creatures range from 1 to 340 mm in length and feed on available organic matter, such as dead animals and plants. Being widely distributed across aquatic environments, amphipods have already been proven as excellent indicators of ecosystem health.
While notable for their adaptability and ecological plasticity, which secure their abundance in various habitats, these features also make amphipods especially dangerous when it comes to playing the role of invaders.
Having analysed specimens stored at the Museum of Natural History of Verona and the Natural History Museum in Paris, the scientists concluded that the species has colonised European waters 24 years prior to the currently available records.
The problem was that, back in 1985, when the amphipod was first collected from European coasts, it was misidentified as a species new to science instead of an invader native to the North American Atlantic coast.
A closer look into misidentified specimens stored in museum collections revealed that the species has been successfully spreading along the European coastlines.
Male of the invasive amphipod species (Ptilohyale littoralis), sampled in October 2015, from Bay of Arcachon, France.
Moreover, it was predicted that the amphipod could soon reach the Mediterranean due to the high connectivity between the sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Gibraltar – a route already used by invasive marine fauna in the past.
In the event that the invader reaches the Mediterranean, it is highly likely for the crustacean to meet and compete with a closely related “sister species” endemic to the region. To make matters worse, the two amphipods are difficult to distinguish due to their appearance and behaviour both being extremely similar.
However, in their paper, the scientists have also provided additional information on how to distinguish the two amphipods – knowledge which could be essential for the management of the invader and its further spread.
The authors believe that their study demonstrates the importance of taxonomy – the study of organism classification – and the role of natural history collections and museums.
“Studying and monitoring biodiversity can acquire great importance in European aquatic ecosystems and coastal Mediterranean areas, where biodiversity is changing due to climate change and invasions of alien species,” Prof Lo Brutto says. “In this context, specific animal groups play a crucial role in detecting such changes and they, therefore, deserve more attention as fundamental tools in biodiversity monitoring.”
“Regrettably, the steadily diminishing pool of experts capable of accurately identifying species poses a serious threat in this field.”
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Original source:
Lo Brutto S, Iaciofano D (2018) A taxonomic revision helps to clarify differences between the Atlantic invasive Ptilohyale littoralis and the Mediterranean endemic Parhyale plumicornis(Crustacea: Amphipoda). ZooKeys, 754: 47-62. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.754.22884
A total of fifteen new species of bees, where one honors the English broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough, are described by Thomas Onuferko, PhD candidate at York University in Toronto, Canada. His paper is published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
The new species, called Attenborough’s epeolus (pronounced ee-pee-oh-lus), is rare and known from only nine specimens observed at two localities, in Colorado and New Mexico.
To name the other new species, the author referred to colleagues or relatives, the species’ physical appearance, their collectors, or the flowers on which the insects have been found.
Currently, not much is known about any of the newly described species, except that they belong to a specialized group of bees called cuckoo bees. Much like cuckoo birds, these bees sneakily lay their eggs in the nests of other species. When they hatch, the younglings seek out and kill the host egg or larva and then feed on the pollen stored by the female who has built the nest.
Female of the newly described cuckoo bee species, Epeolus attenboroughi . This specimen is the holotype for the species, meaning it is the one used to describe the new bee.
All new species belong to the cuckoo bee genus Epeolus, known to invade nests of polyester bees in the genus Colletes. In his publication, Thomas speculates that the name ‘epeolus’ is probably a diminutive of Epeus/Epeius, the soldier in Greek mythology said to have come up with the Trojan Horse. The sinister nature of these cleptoparasitic bees must have been compared to the Greek’s famous war strategy.
Cuckoo bees are difficult to recognize as bees because they lack the characteristic fuzzy look, which comes from the numerous long branched hairs evolved to efficiently pick up pollen. Instead, cuckoo bees rely on other bees to collect pollen for their offspring, leading to the trait being lost.
While, as a result, these species would rather be likened to wasps, their appearance is not plain at all. Cuckoo bees, including Attenborough’s epeolus, possess very short black, white, red, and yellow hairs that form beautiful patterns.
“It only seemed appropriate to name a species with such an unusual life strategy and attractive appearance after someone who has dedicated his life to illustrating the beauty and complexity of the natural world,” explains Thomas.
Including the new species, there are now 43 known Epeolus species in North America.
“It may seem surprising to some that in well-researched places like Canada and the United States there is still the potential for the discovery of new species,” says the scientist.
Male of the newly described cuckoo bee species, Epeolus attenboroughi , with its proboscis (i.e. mouthparts) extended. These are elongated in order to reach and feed on the nectar within flowers.
Since cuckoo bees are rarer than their hosts – as predators are rarer than their prey – and relatively small (5.5–10.0 mm in body length), they are likely to go undetected, which partly explains why it’s taken so long to identify these new ones.
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Original source:
Onuferko TM (2018) A revision of the cleptoparasitic bee genus Epeolus Latreille for Nearctic species, north of Mexico (Hymenoptera, Apidae). ZooKeys 755: 1–185. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.755.23939.
In their updated taxonomic list, the team of Dr. José De La Cruz-Agüero, Dr. Jorge Guillermo Chollet-Villalpando, and Venezuelan graduate students Lorem González-González and Nicolás R. Ehemann report eight chimaeras, 111 sharks and 98 ray and skate species. These numbers equate to 18% of the world’s chondrichthyans. 
“Making these data freely available to other researchers will hopefully help unlock the mysteries surrounding the extinction and ecology of this iconic species. Parrots are the most at-risk group of birds and anything we can learn about past extinctions may be useful going forward,” says the study’s lead author, Kevin Burgio.
It is hoped that this research will be the beginning of a wider reaching work that will explore further into the ecology of this long lost species.
