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A new species of rare and beautiful plant has been described from the biodiversity rich Peninsular Malaysia. Ridleyandra chuana is endemic to the region and only known from two small montane forest populations. The conservation status of this recently described delicate flower is assessed as Endangered due to its restricted distribution. The new species was described and illustrated in the open access journal PhytoKeys.

Ridleyandra chuana is a perennial herb with a woody usually unbranched stem crowned by an asymmetrical rosette of dark green leaves covered in fine hairs. The beautiful and delicate cone-like flowers are white with dark maroon purple stripes. They rarely appear in more than two in one go usually flowering in succession. Ridleyandra chuana grows on moss-covered granite rock embedded in soil or on low moss-covered granite boulders, in extremely damp, deeply shaded conditions on steep slopes in valleys.

Although the species is only formally described now, it was in fact first encountered as early as 1932 at Fraser’s Hill, Pahang. However, it was only in 1999 when another population was discovered by L.S.L. Chua on Gunung Ulu Kali, Pahang, that sufficient material was available for its description. Since then, both these localities have been revisited and the Gunung Ulu Kali population is now the focus of conservation.

The new species is named in honour of Dr. Lillian Swee Lian Chua, botanist and conservationist, who first discovered this species on Gunung Ulu Kali while making an ecological inventory of the summit flora. Under the IUCN criteria, this species is assessed as Endangered because it is known from two localities, one of which is threatened, and only 130 known individuals.

“The population at Fraser’s Hill falls within a Totally Protected Area and consists of about 30 plants that grow in an undisturbed site away from tourist trails and is too remote to be affected by development. The other population consists of less than 100 plants at Gunung Ulu Kali, which is on private land in a hill resort that is severely threatened by road widening and associated landslips, by changes in microclimate due to edge effect as the forest becomes more and more fragmented and that is in danger of encroachment from future development. The chances of this latter population surviving is very slim. On the other hand, the rediscovery of the Fraser’s Hill population after a hundred years illustrates the resilience of species to survive if the habitat remains undisturbed.”, explains Dr. Ruth Kiew, the author of this study.

Original Source:

Kiew E (2013) Ridleyandra chuana (Gesneriaceae), a new species from Peninsular Malaysia. PhytoKeys 25: 15. doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.25.5178

Scientists discovered a tiny new species of catfish in the waters of Rio Rio Paraíba do Sul basin, Brazil. The new species Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis belongs to a genus of armored catfishes native to South America where and found only in Brazil. These peculiar fish get their name from their strange elongated mouth barbels that remind of cat’s whiskers. The new species is distinguished from others species of the genus by the presence of a conspicuous ridge on the trunk posterior to the dorsal fin (postdorsal ridge). The description of the diminutive new species was published in the open access journal Zookeys.

Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis is only about 3-3.5 cm in length, making one of the smallest representatives of the catfish order. Although the new species is only the size of a decorative fish, there are even smaller representatives in the group. Some of the smallest species of Aspredinidae and Trichomycteridae for example reach sexual maturity at only 1 cm in total.

On the other side of the scale is the wels catfish whose representatives can reach more than 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in length and sometimes exceeded 100 kilograms (220 lb). This fish has been also recorded to feed on frogs, rats, mice and even some aquatic birds. Many of the large catfish species are farmed or fished for food thus being of significant scientific importance. Small representatives, on the other hand, are often used as aquarium decorative fish.

Original Source:

Silva GSC, Roxo FF, Oliveira C (2013) Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis, a new catfish species from Rio Paraíba do Sul basin, southeastern Brazil (Siluriformes, Loricariidae). ZooKeys 315: 65. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.315.5307

The wasp family Platygastridae is a large group of tiny, exclusively parasitoid wasps distributed worldwide. The genera Odontacolus and Cyphacolus, belonging to this family, are among the most distinctive wasps because of the peculiar hump-like formation on the rear part of their bodies. Despite their intriguing body shape, the generic status of these two groups has remained unclear. A new extensive study published in the open access Zookeys presents a morphological phylogenetic analysis including an astonishing 32 new species.

The peculiar shape of the so called horn structure on the back of these wasps is believed to be linked to the ovipositor system of the species. Only between 1 to maximum 2.5 mm long, these tiny wasps are actually vicious parasitoids, using their ovipositor to inject eggs into spider eggs, thus ensuring the development of their offspring at the expense of other species.

Previously considered to be relatively rare based on material available in collections, recent intensive collecting using Malaise and yellow-pan traps has revealed that some species of Odontacolus are moderately common, leading to the description of 32 species from across Africa, Australia and Asia.

“This has been an intriguing study for several reasons; it has uncovered many new species of this group of wasps; their biology is particularly fascinating given they parasitise the eggs of spiders, and their horn like structure makes them very easy to identify.”, comments Professor Andy Austin.

Original Source:

Valerio AA, Austin AD, Masner L, Johnson NF (2013) Systematics of Old World Odontacolus Kieffer s.l. (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae s.l.): parasitoids of spider eggs. ZooKeys 314: 1. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.314.3475

The white toothed shrew genus Crocidura is known as the largest mammal genus, with more than 180 species distributed around the world. A recent genetic analysis of the white toothed shrew fauna of Vietnam revealed the misinterpretations of previous morphological studies of the species, including the description of a new species of these very small mammals. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

Describing new mammal species is an unusual event nowadays when mammal fauna has been by and large already thoroughly studied by zoologists during the previous centuries. Molecular analysis, however, presents an additional tool for the complex cases of morphological analysis, thus helping scientists to uncover previous mistakes, and even to find previously overlooked separate species.

The new species Crocidura sapaensis is a dark-grey and relatively small white toothed shrew, named after the Sa Pa District in Vietnam, where it was collected. During the study, the animals were found dwelling in a variety of the beautiful habitats in the vicinity of Tram Ton Station of Hoang Lien National Park, including mixed evergreen forest, banks of small streams and open grassy glades.

Previously confused with another species featured in this study (C. wuchihensis), the new species remained long unrecognized due to the great extent of morphological resemblance between the two. Judging solely by the looks, however, proved to be insufficient for the accurate recognition of species, with molecular analysis now offering scientists an opportunity to look under the surface.

“Our study concerns three species of Crocidura occurring in Vietnam, namely C. attenuata, C. tanakae and C. wuchihensis, and we came across an undescribed fourth species revealed by molecular analysis. While the molecular studies of Vietnamese material confirmed some of the results of the contemporaneous morphological studies, a number of anomalies were equally revealed, indicating the presence of several morphologically similar but molecularly distinct taxa.”, explains Paulina Jenkins, a zoologist at London’s Natural History Museum, about the horizons of the molecular analysis.

Original Source:

Jenkins PD, Abramov AV, Bannikova AA, Rozhnov VV (2013) Bones and genes: resolution problems in three Vietnamese species of Crocidura (Mammalia, Soricomorpha, Soricidae) and the description of an additional new species. ZooKeys 313: 61-79. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.313.4823

 

Notes to editors:

Winner of Best of the Best at the Museums and Heritage Awards 2013, the Natural History Museum welcomes more than five million visitors a year. It is also a world-leading science research center. Through its collections and scientific expertise it is helping to understand and maintain the diversity of our planet, with groundbreaking partnerships more than 70 countries around the world. For more information go to http://www.nhm.ac.uk

The new phase of the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) Open Access Support Project (EOASP) is starting today, 1 July 2013, with some slight changes in eligibility criteria.

The aim of the EOASP project is to increase the data flow into EOL, promulgate the open access publishing model in taxonomy and support and educate the next generation of taxonomists in open science principles. It provides assistance for taxonomists living in developing countries to publish their results in quality journals and pays tribute to retired taxonomists by continuously supporting their research. EOASP is also an initiative aiming to motivate publishers to modernize their publishing models and workflows.

The main change in the eligibility criteria concerns the content of the publication. Manuscripts will be considered for funding only if they contain at least 4 taxon treatments; they do not need to be newly described taxa. A good example is a genus treatment (re-description) consisting of at least three species treatments, either new or re-described.

The total amount of funding per paper is increased to USD 500. The support for larger papers (e.g., larger revisionary works or monographs) will be limited to the same maximum of USD 500; authors should meet the remaining costs themselves. 

To read the new eligibility criteria or on our website please follow the link which is copied below: http://www.pensoft.net/page.php?P=29

With the help of phylogenetic analysis, scientists describe three new fungus species from New Zealand. The new species belong to the widespread genus Gymnopus, part of the Omphalotaceae family, the most famous representative of which is the favorite of many Shiitake mushroom. The study was published in the open access journal Mycokeys.

Gymnopus imbricatus, G. ceraceicola and G. hakaroa can be recognized by their strong, unpleasant odor when crushed. The smell produced by these species is most commonly described as rotting cabbage or garlic. The species grow in colonies of just a few up to an impressive display of hundreds of fruitbodies on dead tree trunks or on the lower trunk parts of still living trees. Another characteristic is the presence of a waxy layer from which the fruitbodies emerge, which is usually colored in green due to the algae commonly living in the substance.

The species are described as part of an on-going study on the common larger fungi of New Zealand. To date, and across all fungal groups, there are around 8,000 species of fungi known in New Zealand, of which around 2,000 are indigenous and the remainder introduced in recent times. However, the figure for indigenous species represents perhaps 20% of the total, with the remainder undescribed. In addition, some of the names applied to New Zealand fungi in earlier periods are incorrect uses of names applied to northern hemisphere species, and the New Zealand fungi are different and indigenous species.

Phylogenetic studies indicate that some of these fungi represent ancient southern hemisphere lineages, whereas as others originate from the dispersal of northern hemisphere species followed by local radiation. “This paper is a small contribution to filling the gap in the knowledge of New Zealand and Southern hemisphere species and their origins – there is still a long way to go.”, said the lead author of the study, Dr. Jerry Cooper.

Original Source:

Cooper JA, Leonard PL (2013) Three new species of foetid Gymnopus in New Zealand. MycoKeys 7: 31-44, doi: 10.3897/mycokeys.7.4710

A new species of the peculiarly shaped spoon worms has been recently discovered in Japan, and described in the open access journal Zookeys. These animals derive their name from their elongated and spoon-like projection (the proboscis), issuing from the barrel- or sweet potato-like roundish body proper (the trunk).

The new species Arhynchite hayaoi was discovered on a sandy tidal flat named Hachi-no-higata of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. Like most spoon worms, the new species has the typical peculiar spoon shaped proboscis. The animal is of a pinkish-yellow colour, and its body length reaches about 10 cm in total.

Spoon worms, scientifically called Echiura, are a small group of exclusively marine animals. Although they are members of annelid worms, most of which has segmented structure, they have lost segmentation during their evolutionary history. Like the new species from Japan, most spoon worms live in shallow waters, but some are connected with deep sea waters. Most representatives are deposit feeders, which means that they use their “spoon” to collect organic particles or fragments from their surroundings.

Previously confused with a different species, the newly described spoon worm used to be in fact rather abundant and collected in great numbers from intertidal to subtidal sandy bottoms for fish bait in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. Now that the true identity of the species is recognised, it seems to be in decline, with numbers dropping to a point where the spoon worm lost this economic importance.

Original Source:

Tanaka M, Nishikawa T (2013) A new species of the genus Arhynchite (Annelida, Echiura) from sandy flats of Japan, previously referred to as Thalassema owstoni Ikeda, 1904. ZooKeys 312: 13–21, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.312.5456.

Scientists discovered a new species of burying beetle, Nicrophorus efferens. Burying beetles are well known to most naturalists because of their large size, striking black and red colors, and interesting reproductive behaviors – they bury small vertebrate carcasses which their offspring eat in an underground crypt, guarded by both parents. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys.

This new species, known from only 6 specimens collected in 1968, sat unrecognized as an undescribed species for over 40 years. “It was a bit of good luck that led to our realization these specimens belonged to an undescribed species. My student, Tonya, was visiting Hawaii for some R&R and decided to look over the burying beetles held by the Bishop Museum. Her PhD research was focused on the biogeography and evolution of a subgroup of these beetles and she identified these six specimens as very interesting and possibly new. The discovery of new species in old collections is a common occurrence and one of the many reasons why museums like the Bishop play a vital role in helping us understand life on this planet.”, commented Dr. Sikes, University of Alaska Museum.

The second author, Tonya Mousseau, added, “Without my background and training in the taxonomy of beetles, particularly the burying beetles, this new species might never have been uncovered. This really reinforces the idea that classic training in taxonomy and systematics is absolutely necessary to discovering and understanding the biodiversity of earth.”

As far as the authors of this new species know, no one has seen this species alive. “It’s likely they bury small vertebrate carcasses, like their close relatives do, but if they have any different behaviors we’ll have to wait for future studies to learn of them. ”

The data underpinning the analyses reported in this paper are deposited at GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility:
http://ipt.pensoft.net/ipt/resource.do?r=type_specimen_data_for_new_species_nicrophorus_efferens

 

Original Source:

Sikes DS, Mousseau T (2013) Description of Nicrophorus efferens, new species, from Bougainville Island (Coleoptera, Silphidae, Nicrophorinae). ZooKeys 83, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.311.5141

Scientist describe a new striking species of moth from China with an engaging wing pattern. The new species Stenoloba solaris has its name inspired by the orange circular patch on its wings that resembles the rising sun. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys.

“During a spring expedition to north-west Yunnan, a striking specimen of an undescribed Stenoloba was collected.”, explain the authors Drs. Pekarsky and Saldaitis, “Only a single male was caught at ultraviolet light on 24 May 2012 near Zhongdian in northwest China’s Yunnan province in the remote Baima Xue mountain range. The new species was collected in a wide river valley near mountain mixed forests dominated by various conifer trees, bushes and rhododendron.”

The newly described sun moth belongs to the family Noctuidae, also known as owlet moths, which refers to their robustly built bodies. With more than 35,000 known species out of estimated possibility for more than 100,000 in total total, they constitute the largest Lepidoptera family.

Several of the species from the family have economic importance with their larva living in the soil and feeding on the bases of some crops such as lettuce and cabbage. Other species have caterpillars which have the extraordinary ability to feed on some poisonous plants, the chemicals contained in which would definitely kill other insects.

Original Source:

Pekarsky O, Saldaitis A (2013) A new species of Stenoloba Staudinger, 1892 from China (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Bryophilinae). ZooKeys 310: 1, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.310.5125

A new peer reviewed open access data paper offers a comprehensive synthesis of the 36451 specimens preserved in the Herbarium of the University of Extremadura (UNEX Herbarium). The study was published in the open access journal Phytokeys.

The extensive collection mainly covers the region of Extremadura (Spain) and Portugal, although it also contains a smaller number of specimens from other places. Among these are the rest of peninsular Spain, the Baleares Islands, the Macaronesian region (Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores), the Northwest of Africa (Morocco), and Brazil. 98% of the total records are georeferenced.

Each data record in the collection has undergone a quality check by two separate procedures. The specimen records have undergone a taxonomic determination or identification as well as geo-referencing. For taxonomic identification, trusted experts were contacted with 85% of the material being identified by investigators of the Botany Area of the University of Extremadura to ensure quality and reliability.

“This paper describes the specimen-associated data set of the UNEX Herbarium, with an objective to disseminate the data contained in a data set to potential users, and promote the multiple uses of the data.”, explains Marta Espinosa, the lead author of the study.

The UNEX Herbarium is an active collection and it continues to grow. All data can be easily accessed through the GBIF data portal at http://data.gbif.org/datasets/resource/255 and http://www.eweb.unex.es/eweb/botanica/herbario/.

 

Original Source:

Espinosa M, López J (2013) Herbarium of Vascular Plants Collection of the University of Extremadura (Spain). PhytoKeys@: @–@. doi: 25: 1–13, doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.25.5341 Resource ID: GBIF key: http://gbrds.gbif.org/browse/agent?uuid=835d30de-f762-11e1-a439-00145eb45e9

 

Additional Information:

What is a Data Paper?
A Data Paper is a scholarly journal publication whose primary purpose is to describe a dataset or a group of datasets, rather than to report a research investigation.
As such, it contains facts about data, not hypotheses and arguments in support of those hypotheses based upon data, as found in a conventional research article.
Its purposes are three-fold:

• to provide a citable journal publication that brings scholarly credit to data publishers;
• to describe the data in a structured human-readable form;
• to bring the existence of the data to the attention of the scholarly community.