Species New to Science: Spain

Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts

Saturday, December 21, 2024

[Paleontology • 2024] Early–middle Permian Mediterranean gorgonopsian suggests an equatorial origin of therapsids

a gorgonopsian from the island of Mallorca, western Mediterranean

in Matamales-Andreu, Kammerer, Angielczyk, Simões, Mujal, Galobart et Fortuny, 2024.

DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54425-5

Reconstruction by Henry Sutherland Sharpe

Abstract

Therapsids were a dominant component of middle–late Permian terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, eventually giving rise to mammals during the early Mesozoic. However, little is currently known about the time and place of origin of Therapsida. Here we describe a definitive therapsid from the lower–?middle Permian palaeotropics, a partial skeleton of a gorgonopsian from the island of Mallorca, western Mediterranean. This specimen represents, to our knowledge, the oldest gorgonopsian record worldwide, and possibly the oldest known therapsid. Using emerging relaxed clock models, we provide a quantitative timeline for the origin and early diversification of therapsids, indicating a long ghost lineage leading to the evolutionary radiation of all major therapsid clades within less than 10 Myr, in the aftermath of Olson’s Extinction. Our findings place this unambiguous early therapsid in an ancient summer wet biome of equatorial Pangaea, thus suggesting that the group originated in tropical rather than temperate regions.

Systematic palaeontology

Synapsida Osborn, 190313

Therapsida Broom, 190514

Gorgonopsia Seeley, 189415

Gorgonopsia indet.

Most relevant elements of DA21/17-01-01 and silhouette showing their positions

Life reconstruction of the gorgonopsian from Mallorca in a floodplain setting.

Reconstruction by Henry Sutherland Sharpe

Rafel Matamales-Andreu, Christian F. Kammerer, Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Tiago R. Simões, Eudald Mujal, Àngel Galobart and Josep Fortuny. 2024. Early–middle Permian Mediterranean gorgonopsian suggests an equatorial origin of therapsids. Nature Communications. 15: 10346. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-54425-5

Saturday, September 21, 2024

[Paleontology • 2024] Decapod Crustacean Diversity through time and space in a middle-upper Eocene carbonate-siliciclastic platform (southern Jaca Basin, Pyrenees, Spain)

Simplified reconstruction of the study area with the distribution of different facies and the different assemblages of crabs found in different environments. A-F: different decapod assemblages of the studied area (only Brachyura).
A: Belsué Platform beds (Proximal-shallow); B: Arguis platform beds (proximal); C: Coral buldups; D: Pectinid platform beds; E: Bryozoan beds; F: Arguis platform beds (distal) and Belsué platform beds (deep). The geographical subdivisions produced by the different anticlines have been omitted to simplify the scheme. Individually framed taxa have larger distribution areas, marked with a dashed line of the same colour as each box where their record is less fragmentary preservation and scattered remains, and a solid line of the same colour where their record is less fragmentary and continuous.
Taxa: 1: Carpiliidae indet. 1; 2: Calappilia sp.; 3: Lophoranina sp.; 4: Notopus sp.; 5: Galenopsis crassifrons; 6: Liopsalis anodon; 7: Carpiliidae indet. 2; 8: Gemmellarocarcinus riglosensis; 9: Daira corallina; 10: Pyreneplax cf. basaensis; 11: Portunus catalaunicus; 12: Montezumella cf. amenosi; 13: Retrocypoda almelai; 14: Retropluma eocenica; 15: Magyarcarcinus yebraensis; 16: Harpactocarcinus punctulatus; 17: Micromaia priabonensis?; 18: Leucosidae indet.; 19: Quasilaeviranina sp.; 20: Hepatiscus sp.; 21: Periacanthus horridus Bittner, 1875 . (A11–13, B20–21, D17, E1–2, F14 and 16 reused from Ferratges, 2017 ; C5 and 9 reused from Ferratges et al., 2020a ).

in Ferratges, Zamora, Klompmaker et Aurell, 2024.

DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112373

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Highlights:

• Diverse Eocene invertebrate fauna assemblage found in the Spanish Pyrenees.

• One of first regional studies on decapod distribution in various environments.

• We quantify diversity and abundance of decapod crustaceans in different facies.

• Faunal changes across stratigraphic sequences controlled by tectonics and sediment input.

Abstract

The south-central margin of the Jaca Basin (South-central Pyrenees, Spain) offers well-exposed outcrops ideal for studying the distribution of decapod crustaceans across a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic depositional system during the middle-late Eocene (Bartonian-Priabonian). This study encompasses an area of 1000 km2, featuring environments from siliciclastic coastal plains and deltaic complexes to shallow carbonate and mixed platforms, including coral reefs, extending to prodelta/outer platform deeper conditions. Detailed sampling in four depositional sequences yielded 372 fossil decapod specimens from various lithofacies across 20 localities.

Our analysis identifies 39 decapod species within 22 families and demonstrates ecological zonation of decapods in shallow to relatively deep environments. Diversity peaks in siliciclastic shallow proximal prodelta areas and carbonate bryozoan meadows. Species distribution between carbonate and siliciclastic facies is similar, though taxonomically distinct. Articulated specimens predominantly occur in shallow proximal and relatively deep distal siliciclastic areas, linked to sudden sediment input and high sedimentation rates. These findings elucidate the spatial and temporal distribution factors of decapod crustaceans during the middle-late Eocene, contributing to the broader understanding of palaeoecological patterns in mixed depositional systems.

Keywords: Crustacea, Taxonomy, Bartonian, Priabonian, Palaeoenvironments, Palaeoecology

Fernando A. Ferratges, Samuel Zamora, Adiël A. Klompmaker and Marcos Aurell. 2024. Decapod Crustacean Diversity through time and space in a middle-upper Eocene carbonate-siliciclastic platform (southern Jaca Basin, Pyrenees, Spain). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 650; 112373. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112373

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Friday, September 13, 2024

[Crustacea • 2024] Armadillidium boalense • A New Species (Isopoda: Oniscidea: Armadillidiidae) from northern Spain, with Remarks and A Key of the Genus in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands

Armadillidium boalense

Cifuentes, Robla & Garcia, 2024

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5497.1.4

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Abstract

A new woodlice species of the genus Armadillidium Brandt, 1831 is described and illustrated from Asturias (northern Iberian Peninsula). Armadillidium boalense sp. nov. is ascribed to the ‘pictum group’ and is characterized by its eusphaeric conglobation, duplocarinate-type cephalon and strong sexual differentiation of the seventh pair of male pereopods. Furthermore, its diagnostic characteristics and its affinities with the rest of species of this group are discussed. The main diagnostic characteristics of a sometimes-questioned species Armadillidium galiciense Schmölzer, 1955 are also commented and illustrated. To facilitate the separation of the current known Iberian species of Armadillidium, an updated identification key is provided, and some new distributional and ecological data of other Armadillidium species of the Asturian region are also included.

Crustacea, Asturias, Armadillidium album, Armadillidium galiciense, ecological data, identification key, Spanish woodlouse, terrestrial isopods

Julio Cifuentes, Jairo Robla and Lluc Garcia. 2024. Description of Armadillidium boalense sp. nov. from northern Spain, with Remarks and A Key of the Genus in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands (Isopoda: Oniscidea: Armadillidiidae). Zootaxa. 5497(1); 83-99. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5497.1.4

facebook.com/100063608645581/posts/1036570961806516

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Thursday, September 5, 2024

[Paleontology • 2024] Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra • A Spanish saltasauroid Titanosaur reveals Europe as a Melting Pot of Endemic and Immigrant Sauropods in the Late Cretaceous

Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra

Mocho, Escaso, Marcos-Fernández, Páramo, Sanz, Vidal & Ortega, 2024.

DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06653-0

Abstract

A new lithostrotian titanosaur, Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a single partial skeleton from the late Campanian-early Maastrichtian fossil-site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain). This new taxon is supported by an exclusive combination of characters that highlights strong convergences with members of the South American Aeolosaurini. Qunkasaura allows to reorganise the complex phylogenetic relationships of the increasingly diverse finicretaceous sauropods of Europe. Phylogenetic analyses places Qunkasaura within Saltasauridae and possibly Opisthocoelicaudiinae, together with Abditosaurus. A new clade is established, Lohuecosauria, including Saltasaurus, Lohuecotitan, their most recent common ancestor and all its descendants. Two distinct Ibero-Armorican Campanian-Maastrichtian saltasauroid lineages are recognised: (i) Lirainosaurinae that is exclusive from Europe, and (ii) a saltasaurid lineage with possible opisthocoelicaudiine affinities, with a Laurasian distribution. Lirainosaurinae was a relict lineage including possible dwarf forms that evolved in isolation after reaching Europe before the Late Cretaceous through the Apulian route. The occurrence of opisthocoelicaudiines in Europe may be the result of a Late Cretaceous interchange between Europe and Asia. No evidence of insular dwarfism is found in the Ibero-Armorican opisthocoelicaudiines suggesting that they may have been newcomers to the area that arrived before the ‘Maastrichtian Dinosaur Turnover’ in southwestern Europe.

Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra

Pedro Mocho, Fernando Escaso, Fátima Marcos-Fernández, Adrián Páramo, José Luis Sanz, Daniel Vidal and Francisco Ortega. 2024. A Spanish saltasauroid Titanosaur reveals Europe as a Melting Pot of Endemic and Immigrant Sauropods in the Late Cretaceous. Communications Biology. 7: 1016. DOI: doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-06653-0

Friday, July 12, 2024

[Entomology • 2024] Notes on Iberian Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) Part I: A New Species, New Records and some taxonomic and faunistic remarks

Physetopoda fresnoi Romano & Parejo-Pulido,

in Parejo-Pulido & Romano. 2024.

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5477.5.1

x.com/DanielParejo8

Abstract

In this work, we contribute to the knowledge of Iberian mutillids by addressing and solving the problems associated with some taxa. A new species, Physetopoda fresnoi Romano & Parejo-Pulido, sp. nov., is described from the male sex. The type material of Ph. defixa (Invrea, 1953), comb. nov., Mutilla rufipes var. dusmeti Mercet, 1905 (S. dusmeti stat. resurr.) confirming its synonymy with S. verhoeffi Suárez, 1959, and S. andradei Suárez, 1954, stat. resurr. =S. andradei notomelanicus Suárez, 1954, syn. nov. are revised. New synonymies are proposed for Dasylabris egregia (Klug, 1835) =Mutilla (Dasylabris) egregia var. atriventris (André, 1902), syn. nov. and Ph. nuptura (Mercet, 1905) =M. nuptura var. bofilli Mercet, 1905, syn. nov. We also provide the first Iberian records of S. inermus (Schwartz, 1984) and S. sicanus (De Stefani, 1887). The validity of the Iberian records of M. marginata Baer, 1848, Ronisia barbara (Linnaeus, 1758) and R. brutia (Petagna, 1787) is discussed and the distribution of S. pardoi Suárez, 1953 is clarified. A key to the males of the Iberian Physetopoda Schuster, 1949 and Smicromyrme Thomson, 1870 is provided. Our study underscores the need for further research on Iberian mutillids and emphasises the importance of type-material studies to clarify the mutillid species inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula and their current taxonomic status.

Hymenoptera, Iberian Peninsula, velvet ants, Dasylabris, Physetopoda, Smicromyrme, systematics, new combination, new synonymy, redescription

Physetopoda fresnoi Romano & Parejo-Pulido

Daniel Parejo-Pulido and Marcello Romano. 2024. Notes on Iberian Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) Part I: A New Species, New Records and some taxonomic and faunistic remarks. Zootaxa. 5477(5); 501-536. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5477.5.1

x.com/DanielParejo8/status/1811290311030669701

Monday, July 1, 2024

[PaleoMammalogy • 2024] New insights on the Ecology and Behavior of Machairodus aphanistus (Carnivora: Felidae: Machairodontinae) through the Paleopathological Study of the Fossil Sample from the Late Miocene (Vallesian, MN 10) of Cerro de los Batallones (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain)

Reconstruction of a hunting scene in the Cerro de los Batallones during the Late Miocene:
Machairodus aphanistus killed a three-toe horse of the genus Hipparion.

in Salesa, Hernández, Marín, Siliceo, ... et García-Fernández, 2024.

DOI: 10.1007/s10914-024-09721-8

facebook.com/ManuelSalesa

Artwork by Mauricio Antón

Abstract

The Late Miocene natural traps of Cerro de los Batallones (Madrid, Spain) have yielded thousands of fossils of vertebrates, mostly carnivoran mammals such as hyaenids, amphicyonids, ailurids, mustelids, ursids, and felids, especially Batallones-1 and Batallones-3. Among these carnivorans, the tiger-sized saber-toothed felid Machairodus aphanistus was the top predator of the association, and one of the most abundant taxa, represented by thousands of fossils, including several examples of bone pathologies that have never been studied. In this work, we carry out a paleopathological analysis of some of these pathologies from the Batallones sample of this large early machairodontine, with a description of the pathological changes that occurred in the affected bones, a possible diagnosis, and the ethological and ecological consequences of the presence of these diseases in the living animal. The pathological sample of M. aphanistus studied here included a calcaneus and a Mc III from Batallones-1, and a mandible from Batallones-3. The fossils were X-rayed, and their pathologies were described and compared to non-pathological bones. The calcaneus showed a bone callus indicative of osteitis/osteomyelitis or a tumor; the mandible had evidence of the development of an abscess located in the left mandibular body; and the Mc III shows a marked osteosclerosis. These injuries affected the hunting ability of these individuals and gradually weakened them, very likely contributing to their final entrapment in the Batallones cavities, where they were attracted by the presence of previously trapped animals.

Keywords: Bone pathology, Cenozoic, Felidae, Paleontology

Reconstruction of a hunting scene in the Cerro de los Batallones during the Late Miocene: two adult males of Machairodus aphanistus have subdued and killed a three-toe horse of the genus Hipparion.

Artwork by M. Antón

Manuel J. Salesa, Bárbara Hernández, Pilar Marín, Gema Siliceo, Irene Martínez, Mauricio Antón, María Isabel García-Real, Juan Francisco Pastor and Rosa Ana García-Fernández. 2024. New insights on the Ecology and Behavior of Machairodus aphanistus (Carnivora, Felidae, Machairodontinae) through the Paleopathological Study of the Fossil Sample from the Late Miocene (Vallesian, MN 10) of Cerro de los Batallones (Torrejón de Velasco, Madrid, Spain). Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 31, 21. DOI: 10.1007/s10914-024-09721-8

facebook.com/ManuelSalesa/posts/10159810523766994

Friday, June 28, 2024

[Herpetology • 2024] Alytes obstetricans lusitanicus • A New Subspecies of Midwife Toad (Anura: Alytidae: Alytes Wagler, 1829) supported by Genomic Taxonomy

Alytes obstetricans lusitanicus

Ambu, Martínez-Solano & Dufresnes, 2024

biotaxa.org/Alytes/article/view/85334

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photo: Christophe Dufresnes

Abstract

The mapping, delimiting and naming of biodiversity forge the links between academic research, conservation efforts and communication about wildlife. Midwife toads from the subgenus Alytes are a group of high conservation concern widely popular among European naturalists, but for which the taxonomy remains unsettled. Six phylogeographic lineages that diversified during the Pliocene and the Pleistocene epochs have been identified and delimited in two species (A. obstetricans and A. almogavarii), but only five subspecies are presently recognized (A. o. obstetricans, A. o. pertinax and A. o. boscai; A. a. almogavarii and A. a. inigoi). Accordingly, two distinct lineages found in northwestern and western Iberia are still regrouped under the same taxon A. o. boscai. Contrary to the discordant findings of earlier studies based on a few genes, phylogenomic analyses of thousands of nuclear markers have confirmed their independent evolution, estimated to exceed two million years. In this article, we detail molecular, morphological and behavioral variation in the subgenus Alytes to provide a taxonomic description for the previously unnamed western Iberian lineage. Like other taxa of this subgenus, the new taxon is supported by robust evidence for genetic divergence despite little external differentiation. It is designated as a subspecies of A. obstetricans, as per its phylogenetic placement and young evolutionary age, which compares to freely admixing Alytes subspecies. Combining genetic barcoding and distribution information, we provisionally define its range in central Portugal and western central Spain, and prompt to evaluate its potentially worrisome conservation status. Our study highlights how phylogeographic diversity can be acknowledged in zoological systematics, even when phenotypic differences are subtle, and illustrates the advantages of genomic approaches to overcome the limitations of single-gene analyses when implementing taxonomic revisions.

Keywords: Alytes obstetricans; Iberian Peninsula; integrative taxonomy; species delimitation

The holotype MNCN 50839 of Alytes obstetricans lusitanicus ssp. nov., depicted live

photo: Christophe Dufresnes

Alytes obstetricans lusitanicus ssp. nov.

Diagnosis: A midwife toad from the subgenus Alytes, which becomes the fourth subspecies of A.

obstetricans. According to phylogenomic analyses, A. o. lusitanicus ssp. nov. is the sister

taxon of A. o. boscai, from which it diverged around the Plio-Pleistocene transition ca. 2.5

Mya (Ambu et al. 2023). It features 0.19 % of sequence divergence at ~ 282 kb of nuclear

(RAD) loci from that subspecies. The mitochondrial diversity of A. o. lusitanicus ssp. nov. is

counter-intuitive. The Spanish populations feature a “ghost” lineage different from the regular

A. o. lusitanicus ssp. nov. mtDNA predominantly found in Portugal (Ambu 2024b).

Accordingly, the mtDNA of A. o. lusitanicus ssp. nov. differs from the mtDNA of A. o.

boscai by 0.93 % (Portuguese lineage) or 0.99 % (Spanish ghost lineage) at 16S, and by 5.2

% (Portuguese lineage) or 3.3 % (Spanish ghost lineage) at ND4 (Table 1) – again noting that

these mtDNA distances do not reflect the true divergence between taxa due to a past

mitochondrial capture in A. o. boscai (Ambu et al. 2023). According to MOLD, the new

subspecies can be distinguished from all other taxa from subgenus Alytes by the following

diagnostic nucleotides in the ND4 gene ...

Etymology: The nomen lusitanicus refers to the ancient Roman Province of Lusitania, which encompassed central and southern Portugal (south of the Douro River) and western central Spain (Extremadura, Castilla la Mancha and Castilla y León), thus broadly matching the distribution of the new taxon.

Johanna Ambu, ĺñigo Martínez-Solano, Christophe Dufresnes. 2024. A New Subspecies of Midwife Toad (Anura, Alytidae, Alytes Wagler, 1829) supported by Genomic Taxonomy. Alytes. 2024, 41 (1–4): 18–39. biotaxa.org/Alytes/article/view/85334

x.com/batracofistro/status/1790095552081780790

Friday, May 31, 2024

[Entomology • 2021] Valenciolenda fadaforesta • First Record of A cavernicolous Kinnaridae from the Old World (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Kinnaridae: Adolendini) provides testimony of an Ancient Fauna

Valenciolenda fadaforesta Hoch & Sendra,

in Hoch, Sendra, Montagud, Teruel et Ferreira, 2021.

DOI: 10.3897/subtbiol.37.60483

Abstract

A new obligately cavernicolous species in the planthopper family Kinnaridae is described from Spain. This is the first record of a cavernicolous kinnarid from the Old World, and the first record of a troglobitic fulgoromorphan hemipteran from mainland Spain, and also the 7th cavernicolous kinnarid species worldwide. Epigean Kinnaridae are not known from the present-day fauna of the Iberian Peninsula nor from Western Europe at large. The new species is regarded as a relict from an ancient fauna which is now extinct. The new cavernicolous species could not be assigned to any of the existing genera, thus a new genus is established. Molecular data (COI barcode sequence) for the new species are presented. For the first time, a detailed description of the nymphal morphology of a kinnarid is provided. Information on its ecology, behaviour, distribution and conservation status is given, and biogeographic implications are discussed.

Keywords: Caves, conservation, Iberian Peninsula, morphology, taxonomy, troglobite, troglomorphy

Kinnaridae Muir, 1925: 158

Prosotropinae Fennah, 1945: 449

Adolendini Emeljanov, 1984: 470 (51)

Valenciolenda Hoch & Sendra, gen. nov.

Type species: Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov.

(type locality: Spain, València, Murciélagos cave).

Diagnosis: Small kinnarid (ca. 3–4 mm body length), strongly troglomorphic: compound eyes and ocelli absent, tegmina reduced in length but surpassing lateral body margins, wings vestigial, body whitish, pigmentation largely reduced (Fig. 1a). Valenciolenda gen. nov. can be distinguished from all other genera of the Kinnaridae by the unique combination of the following characters: narrow and short vertex; short and wide tegmina, in life held nearly horizontally over the body and, in dorsal view, forming a near circle; male genitalia with genital segment in caudal aspect longish ovate, not constricted; anal segment short, ventrocaudally with two arm-like processes, genital styles slender at base, apically strongly enlarged, medially concave; aedeagus tubular stout, distally widening, ventrocaudal margin with a short, acute tip.

Etymology: The genus name is a combination of Valencia, the capital city of the Valencian Community, an autonomous region of Spain in the east of the Iberian Peninsula where the type locality is located, and the tribe of Kinnaridae, Adolendini, to which the type species is assigned. The gender is feminine.

Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov., habitus, dorsal view a adult male, dorsal view b nymph (IV. instar) from ‘Murciélagos’ cave (Vilamarxant, València) (photos by: Sergio Montagud Alario)
c morphological analogy in the troglobitic Solonaima baylissa Hoch & Howarth, 1989 (Cixiidae) from Australia: habitus, adult male, dorsal view. Body length 4.5 mm (photo by H. Reimer, Marburg, used with permission).

Valenciolenda fadaforesta Hoch & Sendra, sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Habitus (Fig. 1a). Strongly troglomorphic species, predominantly whitish colouration, compound eyes and ocelli absent, body dorsoventrally compressed, tegmina short and wide, in repose very shallowly tectiform, almost flat, caudally reaching or slightly surpassing tip of abdomen, laterally surpassing external body margin with about half of their width, together creating a nearly circular shape; with a light blue wax fringe – which in life is quite eye-catching – accompanying costal vein; hind wings vestigial.

Etymology: The species name is a combination of the Valencian word for „fairy“ (fada) and forest, thus meaning „fairy of the forest“. The gender is feminine.

Root habitat in `Raices´cave (Millares, València) a overview main room b roots along cracks in the cave ceiling c roots dangling from the ceiling
d Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov., adult, on cave floor in `Murciélagos´cave

(photos a–c by Teresa Molina Jiménez and Ricardo Giménez Mezquita, used with permission of UEE Fotogrup; photo d by Sergio Montagud Alario).

Hannelore Hoch, Alberto Sendra, Sergio Montagud, Santiago Teruel and Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira. 2021. First Record of A cavernicolous Kinnaridae from the Old World (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Fulgoromorpha, Kinnaridae, Adolendini) provides testimony of an Ancient Fauna. Subterranean Biology. 37: 1-26. DOI: 10.3897/subtbiol.37.60483

Saturday, May 11, 2024

[Botany • 2024] Castrila latens (Rubiaceae: Rubieae) • A New plant Genus and Species from south-eastern Spain

Castrila latens Blanca, S.Ben-Menni, H.Blanca, Cueto, J.Fuentes, Ortega Oliv. & Suár.-Sant.,

in G. Blanca, Schuler, H. Blanca, Cueto, Fuentes, Ortega-Olivencia et Suárez-Santiago, 2024.

DOI: 10.1002/tax.13181

Abstract

A new genus and species, Castrila latens, native to the south-eastern Iberian Peninsula, is described here for the first time and compared with its closest relatives. The plant is characterized by being annual, glabrous, having reduplicate leaves in whorls of (5)6–7, inflorescences capitate and involucrate, corolla shortly hypocrateriform and white, with yellowish doliiform tube, stamens included, and ovary and mericarps densely papillose. An endemic plant, it grows on the calcareous mountains of the Sierra Seca, Sierra de Castril, and Sierra de la Cabrilla, between 1800 and 2100 m of elevation, in the Granada and Jaén provinces (eastern Andalusia, Spain). For this genus and species, a description, an illustration, a distribution map, the chromosome number, the assessment of the conservation status, an estimate of the breeding system, and the situation in the Rubieae phylogenetic tree are provided.

Keywords: endemic plants, Iberian Peninsula, monospecific genus, paraphyly, phylogeny, taxonomy

Castrila Blanca, S.Ben-Menni, H.Blanca, Cueto, J.Fuentes, Ortega Oliv. & Suár.-Sant., gen. nov.

– Type: Castrila latens Blanca et al.

Description: Herbaceous annual, glabrous. Stems erect, simple or divaricate, delicate. Stem leaves in whorls of (5)6 or 7, sessile, uninervous, reduplicate. Inflorescences capitate, 1–3 on the top of the stems, involucrate, composed of shortly pedunculated and bracteolate cymes. Flowers hermaphrodite, tetramerous; calyx absent; corolla shortly hypocrateriform, with tube doliiform, and lobes patent, triangular, obtuse, not apiculate, white. Stamens included, inserted near the base of the tube, with anthers linear, dorsifixed, yellow. Gynoecium with ovary papillose, topped in two globose stigmas. Mericarps ellipsoidal, densely papillose, blackish.

Castrila latens Blanca, S.Ben-Menni, H.Blanca, Cueto, J.Fuentes, Ortega Oliv. & Suár.-Sant., sp. nov.

Castrila latens. A, Habit; B, Leaves detail; C, Inflorescences detail; D, Ovary, style and stigmas; E, Fruits; F, Mitotic metaphase with 2n = 22 chromosomes (Castril, Sierra Seca, GDA 70863).

— Photos: A, D & E, Gabriel Blanca; B & C, Julián Fuentes; F, Víctor N. Suárez-Santiago.

Castrila latens (GDA 70863, holotype).
A, General appearance; B, Basal leaf; C, Stem leaf; D, Inflorescence detail; E, Flower front view; F, Flower lateral view; G, Flower longitudinal section; H, Fruits.

— Draw by Manuel García.

Etymology: The genus name refers to the municipality of Castril (Granada Province, eastern Andalusia, south-eastern Spain) where the species was first found. The specific epithet “latens” comes from Latin, meaning “hiding” or “escaping notice”, because of the difficulty of detecting this plant in the field, mainly due to its small size, its mimicry with depauperate specimens of other tetramerous species and its brief flowering period.

Gabriel Blanca, Samira Ben-Menni Schuler, Helena Blanca, Miguel Cueto, Julián Fuentes, Ana Ortega-Olivencia and Víctor N. Suárez-Santiago. 2024. A New plant Genus and Species from south-eastern Spain: Castrila latens (Rubieae, Rubiaceae). TAXON. DOI: 10.1002/tax.13181

Thursday, April 25, 2024

[Crustacea • 2024] Wollastenothoe minuta • “Hidden” Biodiversity: A New amphipod Genus (Amphipoda: Stenothoidae) dominates Epifauna in Association with a mesophotic Black Coral Forest

Wollastenothoe minuta Gouillieux & Navarro-Mayoral,

in Navarro-Mayoral, Gouillieux, Fernandez-Gonzalez, Tuya, Lecoquierre, ... et Otero-Ferrer, 2024.

DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02491-y

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Abstract

Black corals are important components of mesophotic and deep-water marine habitats. Their presence at great depths (e.g., 50 to 200 m) makes accessibility difficult, limiting our understanding of the associated biodiversity. Amphipods dominate vagile epifauna in marine habitats around the world, fulfilling important ecosystem functions. However, there are no studies on amphipods exclusively associated with black corals, including relationships between their ecological patterns (e.g., abundances) and the size of coral colonies. We investigated the epifaunal composition and abundance associated with black coral colonies of Antipathella wollastoni in the subtropical eastern Atlantic Ocean. In total, 1,736 epifaunal individuals were identified, of which 1,706 (98.27%) were amphipods, belonging to 6 taxa. We identified and described a new amphipod genus and species within the Stenothoidae family, Wollastenothoe minuta gen. nov., sp. nov., which outnumbered the amphipod assemblage (86.15%) and provided a complete taxonomic key of Stenothoidae family including this new finding. For the first time, the association between an amphipod species and a black coral was described, including a strong correlation between coral colony size and amphipod abundances. This study demonstrates that epifauna associated with mesophotic black corals remains largely undescribed.

Keywords: Stenothoidae, Key to species, Antipathella wollastoni, Epifauna, Marine animal forests

Wollastenothoe minuta gen. nov., sp. nov. SEM pictures, MNHN-IU-2021–8808.
a Lateral view; b Maxilla 2, left; c Lower lip; d Gnathopod 2, outer face, dactylus and propodus; e Gnathopod 1, inner face, dactylus and propodus; f Urosome, lateral view.

Scale bars: a: 0.25 mm; b: 0.01 mm; c: 0.01 mm, d, e: 0.02; f: 0.1 mm

Taxonomy

Class Malacostraca Latreille 1806

Order Amphipoda Latreille 1816

Suborder Senticaudata Lowry & Myers 2013

Family Stenothoidae Boeck 1871

Genus Wollastenothoe Gouillieux & Navarro-Mayoral gen. nov.

Diagnosis of the new genus: Body dorsally smooth. Head without rostrum. Antenna 1 article 1 not nasiform; accessory flagellum with 1 article. Mandible palp with 1 article, molar process conical. Maxilla 1 palp with 2 articles. Gnathopod 1 and 2 subchelate, subequal. P5 basis rectolinear without posterodistal lobe. P6-7 basis widened.

Etymology: The genus name, Wollastenothoe, refers the combination of host name corresponding to the species of black coral (i.e., Antipathella wollastoni) with the genus name Stenothoe belonging to the Stenothoidae family.

Wollastenothoe minuta Gouillieux & Navarro-Mayoral gen. nov., sp. nov.,

Diagnosis: Body length less than 1.5 mm. Antenna subequal, shorter than half length of body. Antenna 1 accessory flagellum with 1 small article. Gnathopod 1 and 2 subchelate, subequal. Pereonite 4 slightly longer than pereonite 3. Coxa 4 ventral margin concave. Coxae 5–7 posterior margin with a notch. P5 basis rectolinear without posterodistal lobe. P6-7 basis widened with posterodistal lobe reaching along half of ischium, merus posterodistal lobe reaching more than half length of carpus. Telson with dorsal spines.

Etymology. The epithet specific of the species, minuta, refers to its small size.

Type locality. Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain.

Sandra Navarro-Mayoral, Benoit Gouillieux, Victoria Fernandez-Gonzalez, Fernando Tuya, Ninon Lecoquierre, Lorenzo Bramanti, Lucas Terrana, Fernando Espino, Jean-François Flot, Ricardo Haroun and Francisco Otero-Ferrer. 2024. “Hidden” Biodiversity: A New amphipod Genus dominates Epifauna in Association with a mesophotic Black Coral Forest. Coral Reefs. DOI: 10.1007/s00338-024-02491-y

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Thursday, March 7, 2024

[Paleontology • 2024] Asiatosuchus oenotriensis • A New Crocodyloidea from the middle Eocene of Zamora (Duero Basin, Spain)

Asiatosuchus oenotriensis

Narváez, de Celis, Escaso, de Jesús, Pérez-García & Ortega, 2024

DOI: 10.1002/ar.25422

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Abstract

The eusuchian crocodyliforms recorded in the Eocene levels of the Spanish Duero Basin belong to three lineages: Planocraniidae, with the species Duerosuchus piscator; Alligatoroidea, represented by several specimens of the genus Diplocynodon; and Crocodyloidea, which includes several specimens traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus. The genus Asiatosuchus, established in 1940 based on a middle Eocene species from Mongolia, has subsequently served as a wastebasket taxon for Paleogene remains belonging to several species, not only from Asia but also belonging to the European and North American records. Many of these species are known by highly fragmentary remains, sharing the presence of characters such as a flat and triangular skull, and long symphyses in the lower jaw, recognized as characteristic for the crocodyloids. In addition to isolated cranial remains, among the material traditionally attributed to Asiatosuchus at the Duero Basin stands out a nearly complete skull and a left mandible, from the middle Eocene area of Casaseca de Campeán (Zamora Province). The present study analyses in detail these specimens, previously reported during the 1980s, but analyzed in a very preliminary way. They are included for the first time in a phylogenetic analysis to establish the systematic position of this Spanish form. The results confirm that it corresponds to a new species of basal crocodyloid, defined here as Asiatosuchus oenotriensis sp. nov.

Keywords: Asiatosuchus oenotriensis sp. nov., Crocodylidae, Lutetian, Spanish record, Zamora Province

Asiatosuchus oenotriensis sp. nov.

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SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

Crocodylomorpha Walker, 1970.

Crocodyliformes Hay, 1930.

Eusuchia Huxley, 1875.

Crocodylia Gmelin, 1789.

Crocodyloidea Fitzinger, 1826.

Asiatosuchus Mook, 1940.

Type species: A. grangeri Mook, 1940.

Distribution: Lutetian (middle Eocene) of Asia and Europe.

Asiatosuchus oenotriensis sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Basal crocodyloid characterized by the following exclusive combination of characters respect to other non Crocodylidae and non Mekosuchinae Crocodyloidea (sensu Rio & Mannion, 2021): nasals not contacting the external naris; palatine process extending significantly beyond the anterior margin of the suborbital fenestrae, reaching anteriorly the level of the eighth maxillary alveoli; ectopterygoid maxillary ramus forming more than two-thirds of the suborbital fenestra lateral margin; and presence of shallow depressions on the sutural intersection of the frontal with the postorbital and parietal.

...

Etymology. oenotri- refers to Oenotria (from the Greek, “the Land of Wine”) in reference to Tierra del Vino, the name of the natural region where the type locality is located; and -ensis, from the Latin, “belonging to.”

Type locality and horizon. Lutetian (middle Eocene) of Casaseca de Campeán (Zamora Province, Duero Basin, Castile and Leon Autonomous Community, central Spain) (see Ortega et al., 2022; and references therein).

CONCLUSIONS:

A detailed study of the remains of a crocodyloid from the middle Eocene of Casaseca de Campeán (Province of Zamora, Spain) reveals a set of exclusive characters allowing the establishment of a new crocodyloid taxon, A. oenotriensis sp. nov. Regardless of the phylogenetic analysis carried out, A. oenotriensis sp. nov. is recovered as an early branching crocodyloid closely related to the German synchronous species A. germanicus. Asiatosuchus oenotriensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from the other “Asiatosuchus-like complex” taxa from the European Paleogene on the basis of a unique combination of characters such as the absence of contact between the nasals and the external naris, the presence of a palatine process that extends significantly beyond the anterior end of the suborbital fenestrae, an ectopterygoid maxillary ramus forming more than two-thirds of the lateral margin of the suborbital fenestra, and shallow depressions on the sutural intersection of the frontal with the postorbital and parietal.

In addition, A. oenotriensis sp. nov. shares several characters widely observed in specimens related to the “Asiatosuchus-like complex”, such as the length of the mandibular symphysis, a large medial jugal foramen, the position of the surangular-angular suture, and a short dorsal premaxillary process. Among the “Asiatosuchus-like complex,” A. oenotriensis sp. nov. shows features only shared with the species A. germanicus, such as the participation of the splenial in the mandibular symphysis, a splenial having an anterior perforation for the mandibular branch of cranial nerve V, the presence of 16 mandibular alveoli, a lingual dental occlusion, and a linear frontoparietal suture with a modest entry into the supratemporal fenestrae.

Finally, the recognition of this new middle Eocene basal crocodyloid species increases knowledge on the diversity and distribution of the “Asiatosuchus-like complex” taxa, and adds valuable information to the knowledge of the systematics of the relatively diverse crocodyliform fauna from the Spanish Duero Basin.

Iván Narváez, Ane de Celis, Fernando Escaso, Santiago Martín de Jesús, Adán Pérez-García and Francisco Ortega. 2024. A New Crocodyloidea from the middle Eocene of Zamora (Duero Basin, Spain). The Anatomical Record. DOI: 10.1002/ar.25422

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