Blog

Scientists from the Natural History Museum London are facing the challenges of mass digitization of museum specimens by inventing a creative, functional and most importantly quite cheap way to capture old and fragile specimens.

Whoever said scientists are not creative will think twice at the face of the new LEGO® pinned insect manipulator (IMp).

The idea came to life after years of using commercial manipulators which come in standard sizes and set up and are often hard to use with some groups of insects.

Available DIY on the other hand are also not convenient as they are made from materials and tools that are not readily available to everyone. Furthermore most DIY setups are specifically designed for a particular group of insects and may not be of an appropriate size for other insect groups.

So what will make for a good, easy to use and customizable pinned insect manipulator? This is where creativity kicks in for Dr. Steen Dupont and colleagues from the NHM London. To answer the challenges of mass digitization in their day-to-day digitization tasks they invented a pinned insect manipulator (IMp) made entirely of LEGO® bricks.

The new invention holds several advantages among which are universal applicability, availability, affordability and the opportunity to customization for the need of each case at all times. Most importantly they ensure minimum handling of fragile specimens to take the risks of damage to a minimum.

“We believe the LEGO® insect specimen manipulators are a valuable addition to any entomologist’s toolbox and that the use of any insect manipulator is in the interest of anyone dealing with valuable specimens as the actual handling of the specimen is reduced to a minimum during examination.”, explains Dr. Steen Dupont.

###

Original Source:

Dupont S, Price B, Blagoderov V (2015) IMp: The customizable LEGO® Pinned Insect Manipulator. ZooKeys 481: 131-138. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.481.8788

A new genus and species of flowering plants from the custard apple family, Annonaceae, has been discovered in the jungles of Gabon by French and Gabonese botanists. The extraordinary genus was named Sirdavidia, after Sir David Attenborough to honour his influence on the life and careers of the scientists who discovered it. The study was published in the open access journalPhytoKeys.

But what is so special about this new discovery? The new genus was in fact erected to accommodate an unusual new species, found in Monts de Cristal National Park, Gabon during an expedition focusing on the study of Magnoliidae floral diversity in rain forests, to which the Annonaceae family belongs.

It was a great surprise for the researchers to discover an unusual Annonaceae plant not only in one of the botanically best known areas in Gabon, but also very close to a main road. Perhaps its rarity was the reason why no one had stumbled upon it before. Despite the careful study of the area the new species Sirdavidia solannona was only present in two localities, which also led to this species being preliminarily classified as Endangered.

“This new discovery underlines once again the importance of the Gabonese national parks for conserving the wonderful yet incompletely known biodiversity for the country and Africa.” indicates Raoul Niangadouma, senior botanist at the Herbier National du Gabon, Libreville.

“The last thing on my mind when starting this expedition was to discover a new species, let alone a new genus!” indicates Dr. Hervé Sauquet, senior author and Associate Professor atUniversité Paris-Sud. “We aimed for well-known regions in Gabon because we wanted to be sure to find the necessary flowers for our project”.

With its unusual flower structure characterised by red petals contrasting with its bright yellow loosely arranged stamens, the flowers of this newly discovered small tree did not quite fit any of the previously described genera.

DNA sequence analyses led by Dr. Bonaventure Sonké, Professor at the Université de Yaoundé I in Cameroon, proved the authors right – the newly discovered plant required the erection of a completely new genus to accommodate it. But what struck the scientists even more was that the closest relative of Sirdavidia was to be found some 3000 km away in an isolated forest in Tanzania.

“It is funny that the new genus is a close relative to Mwasumbia, endemic to Tanzania, a genus I also described a few years ago,” explains the lead author Dr. Thomas Couvreur, Researcher at Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France, currently based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. “When I saw the results of the DNA analysis confirming its position I thought someone was pulling my leg. Discovering two new genera on opposite sides of Africa and they turn out to be closely related!”

The authors of the study decided to commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime discovery, by naming the new genus after Sir David Attenborough. Sirdavidia is in fact the first plant genus named after him, although several plant species already bear his name.

“Sir David Attenborough has been such a wonderful and important influence in my life and the life of so many,” comments Dr. Couvreur. “I was really surprised when I realised that no one has named a genus after him before, so I found this discovery an excellent opportunity to honor him with a genus name.”

“I show David Attenborough’s The Private Life of Plants BBC series every year to my students” adds Dr. Sauquet. “This will be a nice story to tell them. David Attenborough’s legacy is exactly about that: stimulating passion and interest about the natural world around us.”

Sir David was “truly thrilled” when hearing about this new genus: “I know very well that such a decision is the greatest compliment that a biologist can pay to another and I am truly grateful,” he indicated.

But the wonders of the new discovery did not stop here for the team. Curiously the flowers ofSirdavidia solannona are probably “buzz pollinated”, a very specific type of pollination whereby bees use the vibration of their wings to extract the pollen grains onto their bellies. The flowers of Sirdavidia have a striking resemblance with those of the nightshade or Solanaceae family – champions of buzz pollination. This resemblance with Solanaceae inspired the name of the new species.

“What is really special about this is that buzz pollination is unknown in Magnoliideae and early divergent angiosperms in general, which represent around 10,000 species worldwide.” add Drs. Couvreur and Sauquet. “If confirmed by our further studies, this will prove to be another very exciting aspect of this discovery!”

A “species page information” on this new species can be found at the World Annonaceae Scratchpad.

###

Original Source:

Couvreur TLP, Niangadouma R, Sonké B, Sauquet H (2015) Sirdavidia, an extraordinary new genus of Annonaceae from Gabon. PhytoKeys 46: 1-19. doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.46.8937

Scientists discovered a new water frog species from the Pacific slopes of the Andes in central Peru. The discovery was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

The name of the new species Telmatobius ventriflavum comes from the Latin venter, meaning belly, and flavus, meaning yellow and refers to the golden yellow and orange coloration on the body.

The Telmatobiinae, water frogs, are a subfamily of frogs endemic to the Andes of South America. The populations of several species of Telmatobius have declined dramatically over the past 30 years, and the genus is now thought to be extinct in Ecuador. These declines have been associated with the spread of the fungal disease chytridiomycosis.

The new species was discovered in the species-poor coastal valleys of central Peru, a region well studied but apparently still hiding surprises.

“The discovery of a new species in such arid and easily accessible environments shows that much remains to be done to document amphibian diversity in the Andes.” comments the lead author of the study Dr. Alessandro Catenazzi of Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

The study detected the presence of the chytrid fungus, but the impact of chytridiomycosis on the new species is unknown. The authors recommend disease surveillance to prevent outbreaks that might endanger the survival of this endemic species.

The new species was found during a survey in 2012 for the Biodiversity and Monitoring Assessment Program of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Center for Conservation Education and Sustainability.

###

Original Source:

Catenazzi A, Vargas García V, Lehr E (2015) A new species of Telmatobius(Amphibia, Anura, Telmatobiidae) from the Pacific slopes of the Andes, Peru. ZooKeys 480: 81-95. doi:10.3897/zookeys.480.8578

The five-day discussions and decisions of the Nomenclature Section of the XVII International Botanical Congress took place in Vienna, Austria in July 2005. This meeting was held in association with the International Botanical Congress, which takes place every six years and is where the world’s premier experts on the rules for naming plants, fungi and algae get together to debate and update the rule book for naming the organisms they study.

The primary product of the meeting, theInternational Code of Botanical Nomenclature, or “Vienna Code”, was published in 2006. Another other important product is the official report for the historical record, which has just been published as an open-access forum paper in PhytoKeys.

The Nomenclature meeting in Vienna was attended by 198 delegates. This particular meeting was fairly conservative in comparison with those at some earlier International Botanical Congresses. Relatively few changes to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature were accepted, but a small number of significant changes and many useful clarifications and improvements were adopted.

Perhaps the most important decision regarded the publication status of theses submitted for a higher degree from 1953 onward. These would no longer be considered as effectively published for nomenclatural purposes unless a statement to that effect or other evidence was included. Three important sets of changes applying to the naming of fossils and fungi were also accepted.

###

The inclusion of a Glossary in the Code for the first time was a notable achievement. It was very closely linked to the wording of the Code, and only nomenclatural terms defined in the Code were included. The new Glossary was initiated by Paul C. Silva (1922-2014), a specialist in algae and long-serving member of the Editorial Committee of the Code.

The report was co-authored by: Christina Flann, Species 2000, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; John McNeill, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK, and Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; Fred R. Barrie, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO, USA; Dan H. Nicolson, US National Herbarium, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA; David L. Hawksworth, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, The Natural History Museum, London, UK and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK; Nicholas J. Turland, Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Germany; and Anna M. Monro, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Canberra, Australia. Production of the report was supported by funds from the International Association for Plant taxonomy (IAPT; http://www.iapt-taxon.org/index_layer.php), while its publication as an open-access forum paper was sponsored by Pensoft.

Original Source:

Flann C, McNeill J, Barrie FR, Nicolson DH, Hawksworth DL, Turland NJ, Monro AM (2015) Report on botanical nomenclature – Vienna 2005 XVII International Botanical Congress, Vienna: Nomenclature Section, 12-16 July 2005. PhytoKeys 45: 1-341. doi:10.3897/phytokeys.45.9138

Research primarily conducted in Okinawa, Japan, by graduate student Yuka Irei and associate professor James Davis Reimer from the University of the Ryukyus, along with Dr. Frederic Sinniger from JAMSTEC, has found two new species of encrusting anemones, or colonial zoantharians, in unexpected locations. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

The two species belong to the genus Palythoa, which is commonly found on shallow coral reefs in subtropical and tropical waters worldwide. Surprisingly, the two new species were found living in cracks and caves in the reefs, and do not have zooxanthellae, unlike almost other known Palythoa species. Zooxanthellae are symbiotic, photosynthetic, single-celled algae that can provide host species with energy from the sun.

Species of Palythoa are sometimes the dominant benthic organism on shallow coral reefs, and are also common in the pet trade. Their success may in part be due to their ability to host zooxanthellae while also being efficient planktonivores, allowing them to live in a wide variety of coral reef conditions from shallow reef flats to steep and deep reef slopes. However, specimens first found by Irei and Sinniger from shallow caves and cracks in Okinawa and New Caledonia appeared to be unique in their habitat preference. Additionally, analyses showed these specimens lacked zooxanthellae.

“One of the species is described from just in front of a landfilled reef coastline on Okinawa Island and it is encouraging to see that there is still some unknown biodiversity just in front of our door”, commented Sinniger.

“At first, we were surprised at the discovery of specimens, and thought we had one undescribed and unusual species on our hands,” said Irei, “but we were even more surprised when DNA analyses showed clearly that there were two different species.” Further research by Irei and Reimer in Okinawa revealed additional minor morphological differences between the two species. The new study formally describes these new specimens as two species.

“These two species are morphologically very similar,” stated Reimer, “with long tentacles to acquire plankton from the water column, and polyps that are curved towards the entrances of cracks or caves for better access to their food source.” While genetically distinct, each species appears to have evolved very similar features to adapt to its life in the dark. “These two species provide an excellent example of parallel evolution, as each evolved independently from each other,” added Irei. The only reliable way to tell the two species apart asides from DNA are the patterns and markings on their tentacles.

Palythoa species are usually colonial, often forming large groups with many polyps. They are known from coral reef environments worldwide, and many species have been shown to contain the palytoxin, a lethal toxin named after the genus. It is not known if the two new species contain toxin.

###

Original source:

Irei Y, Sinniger F, Reimer JD (2015) Descriptions of two azooxanthellate Palythoa species (Subclass Hexacorallia, Order Zoantharia) from the Ryukyu Archipelago, southern Japan.ZooKeys 478: 1-26. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.478.8512

Recently, field research by the Brazilian zoologists Lívia Cordeiro and Rodrigo Borghezan, of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), recorded the first obligate cave-dwelling planarian of the suborder Continenticola (Platyhelminthes) in South America. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

The new species Girardia multidiverticulatabelongs to the genus Girardia, in which species recognition is difficult, because of the great morphological resemblance between species. However, the new species can be easily recognized by a unique feature in its reproductive apparatus, namely a large bulbar cavity with multiple diverticula.

G. multidiverticulata was described by the south brazilian research group on triclads, led by Dr. Ana Leal-Zanchet, of the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), in São Leopoldo, southern Brazil The type-locality of the new species is a limestone cave, located at 266 m a.s.l. in the karst area of Bodoquena Plateau. The flatworms were directly sampled from a lake (10 m2) in the cave, at a depth of 25 m.

Despite a significant development of the speleobiology in Brazil over the last two decades, species diversity of Brazilian cave fauna, especially of invertebrates, has been highly underestimated. The Bodoquena Plateau, which is located in the Cerrado Biome (Brazilian savanna), in central Brazil, has about 200 recorded caves with a rich system of subterranean water resources and high troglobitic diversity.

###

Original source:

Souza et al. (2015) The first troglobitic species of freshwater flatworm of the suborder Continenticola (Platyhelminthes) from South America. Zookeys, doi:10.3897/zookeys.470.8728.

Museums of Natural History are an important source of evidences of existing variety and diversity of animal species. Many species lie on shelf, waiting for years and years to be discovered. A new study published in the open access journal ZooKeys reveals 4 new genera and 4 new species of bush crickets discovered in museum collections to prove the value of these institutions.

One of the four new bush crickets, Arostratum oblitum, has in fact been waiting for over 100 years to be discovered and described. This curious fact also inspired the name of the new species to be ‘oblitum’, which means ‘forgotten’ translated from Latin.

During his research, the author of this study examined many specimens of Orthoptera Phaneropteridae of sub-Saharan Africa kept in different Natural History Museums across Europe (Berlin, Madrid, Terrasini, etc.).

“My study supported by Synthesys project demonstrates that we have missed many interesting taxa once collected and put in museum collections and the forgotten for a long time. Probably many other new species are waiting to be discovered.” comments the author of the study, Dr Bruno Massa from the Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo.

The new species of bush crickets come from Central Africa, which is one of the Orthoptera richest areas of the world. Even if many studies have been carried out since 1800, this wide geographic region still hides many unknown taxa.

###

Original Source:

Massa B (2015) New genera, species and records of Phaneropterinae (Orthoptera, Phaneropteridae) from sub- Saharan Africa. ZooKeys 472: 77-102. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.472.8575

Yellowhammers are small, colourful and apparently innocuous birds, but they were once considered to be enemies by farmers in New Zealand. Yellowhammers were introduced there to help fight insect crop pests, but instead became pests themselves. A new study published in the open access journal NeoBiota, uses newspapers and documents from the 19th century to reconstruct the history of how the yellowhammer went from hero to villain in New Zealand in just 15 years.

Research into the history of the yellowhammer in New Zealand began as part of a citizen-science project focused on the evolution of birdsong, Yellowhammer Dialects. However, the history turned out to be so interesting that it warranted telling in its own right. In a plot worthy of a historical detective novel, scientists used newspaper articles from 19th century, and original documents (letters, bills and minutes from meetings) kept by Acclimatisation Societies (organisations founded specifically to introduce new animals and plants to New Zealand), to follow the trail of the yellowhammer from Europe to New Zealand with a surprising level of precision. Their detective work revealed how it went from welcome guest to public enemy number one.

The population of New Zealand settlers in the middle 19th century was fast growing. The same was true, though, for insect crop pests, particularly caterpillars and black field crickets. Normally, pests like these would be kept under control by insectivorous birds. However, New Zealand had none available to do the job.

The settlers had cleared away New Zealand’s forests, and native birds had disappeared with them. In the circumstances, introducing insectivorous birds from England seemed to make sense. Yet, the bird species chosen by the Acclimatisation Societies for the task included some surprises, and the yellowhammer was one of the biggest. It is obvious to us today that this heavy-billed bunting is primarily a consumer of seeds rather than insects, but it seems it was not so obvious back then.

During the 1860’s and 1870’s, 25 ships set out from London to various ports around New Zealand with these birds on board. Some were ordered by Acclimatisation Societies, some were sent for privately. A quarter of these shipments were organised by one family, Bills & sons from Brighton, and many of the yellowhammers came from the area around this English coastal town.

The detective work by the scientists not only identified where the yellowhammers came from, but also where they ended up. They were able to pinpoint localities of release, and sometimes even how many birds were liberated there. The yellowhammers were initially warmly welcomed by the Kiwis (as New Zealanders have become known), but soon the local farmers started to complain about their taste for their cereal crops. Yet these complaints fell on deaf ears as the Acclimatisation Societies, with Government support, continued to promote the introduction of yellowhammers.

In 1880, the last shipment of yellowhammers arrived, but these birds were never set free. Public pressure forced the Acclimatisation Society to get rid of them, and they were sent to Australia. From then on, yellowhammers became the target of shooting, egg-collection, and poisoning: all means were allowed to rid the countryside of this now unwelcome guest. By then it was too late: yellowhammers were well and truly Kiwis, and they remain common and widespread in New Zealand to this day.

The detective work of these scientists shows how much there is to be learnt about the natural histories of our countries by delving into their social histories. Today’s newspapers might be viewed as tomorrow’s waste paper, but who knows who might be interested in your story in a century’s time? Introduced species continue to cause major environmental and economic damage, as the yellowhammer once did in New Zealand. Detective work like this can help us to understand how and why particular species establish successfully in new regions, and so catch future public enemies before they have the chance to wreak their havoc.

###

Original Source:

Pipek P, Pyšek P, Blackburn TM (2015) How the Yellowhammer became a Kiwi: the history of an alien bird invasion revealed. NeoBiota 24: 1-31. doi: 10.3897/neobiota.24.8611

Scientists discover and describe three new species of the plant genus Begonia, which holds many of the world-favourite decoratives. The news species come from Brazil, where they are found dwelling on small, confined territories which makes them rare and hard to discover. The study was published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.

Begonia is one of the largest genera of flowering plants with the impressive 1,500 species known worldwide. These species are widely recognized as ornamentals, with numerous hybrids and cultivars popular in the horticultural market.

According to botanists the genus probably arose in Africa, but is nowadays most diverse in the Americas and Asia. The three new species are native and probably endemic to Brazil, judging from their narrow distribution.

“The three new begonia were discovered as a part of the preparation of the taxonomic treatment of Begonia for the state of Bahia, Brazil. In addition to field work in different habitats, we studied specimens from 24 Brazilian herbaria. We were happy to be able to describe three new additions to the diverse Begonia flora found in the region.” comments one of the authors of the study MSc Gregório, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana.

###

Original Source:

Gregório BS, Costa JAS, Rapini A (2015) Three new species of Begonia(Begoniaceae) from Bahia, Brazil. PhytoKeys 44: 1-13.doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.44.7993

While watching tiny flies in tropical forests in Brazil, Giar-Ann Kung puzzledly remarked to Brian Brown “they are cutting the ant heads off!” This unexpected find led to the discovery of a grisly new type of behavior reported this month in Biodiversity Data Journal.

In the world of small insects, there is an astonishing variety of bizarre behaviors, but one of the most extreme is that of the ant decapitating flies of the family Phoridae. These tiny (1 to 3 mm long) flies inject their eggs into the bodies of ants, where after hatching the resulting larvae feed inside the host ant’s head, eventually causing it to fall off. Such ant decapitating flies have been known for over 100 years, but recently scientists from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County have discovered a second, completely different type of ant decapitation in the Phoridae.

This new discovery involves a group of flies in a genus called Dohrniphora, best known as scavengers, because of one widespread, human associated species that is common in cities around the world. Another group of species native to South and Central America, however, do something different. Adult female flies are attracted to injured trap-jaw ants, from which they industriously sever the gut, nerve cord, and other connections of the head to the rest of the body. After working on it for a few minutes with their blade tipped mouthparts, the flies use their front legs to grab onto the ant head and tug until it pops off. The fly then drags the ant head off across the forest floor to a secluded spot where it either feeds on the head contents or lays an egg nearby.

The researchers were stunned the first time they saw this intricate headhunting behavior. Lead author, Dr. Brian V. Brown, says they were watching for another type of fly when theseDohrniphora turned up. At first, they were uninterested in these “scavengers”, but after Kung’s remark they watched, amazed, as the flies performed an intricate decapitation behavior, and then set off across the forest floor dragging their headhunting trophies.

In their paper, Brown, Kung, and co-author Wendy Porras document this ant – fly interaction with both photos and videos. Phorid flies are among the most biologically diverse families of insects, but the lifestyles of most are completely unknown. Nevertheless, as Brown quips, “you would think one type of ant decapitation would be enough for the family!”

###

Video 1: A female of D. conlanorum processing and eventually decapitating an injuredOdontomachus ant at La Suerre, Costa Rica. (Credit: Brian V. Brown) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8FZbcG91DA

Video 2: A female of D. oricilla cutting the head off an injured Odontomachus ant at La Cangreja NP, Costa Rica. (Credit: Brian V. Brown) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZNtZSlGEPc

 

Original source:

Brown B, Kung G, Porras W (2015) A new type of ant-decapitation in the Phoridae (Insecta: Diptera). Biodiversity Data Journal 3: e4299.doi: 10.3897/BDJ.3.e4299