Search results for " zoology"

A taxonomic revision helps to clarify differences between the Atlantic invasive Ptilohyale littoralis and the Mediterranean endemic Parhyale plumicor…

2018

Ptilohyaleexplorator (formerly Parhyaleexplorator), described by Arresti (1989), can be considered to be a synonym of west-Atlantic Ptilohyalelittoralis (Stimpson, 1853), based on morphological observations of paratypes and specimens recently collected in the type locality of Ptilohyaleexplorator. The first collections of Ptilohyalelittoralis, from the eastern Atlantic were from the port of Rotterdam (The Netherlands) in 2009 and later in Wimereux, Opal Coast (France) in 2014; however, the synonymy of Ptilohyaleexplorator with Ptilohyalelittoralis backdates to the first European record of Ptilohyalelittoralis in 1985 at La Vigne, Bay of Arcachon (France). This indicates that Ptilohyalelitto…

Chemosensory enrichment as a simple and effective way to improve the welfare of captive lizards

2018

Phylogeny of the ant genus Aphaenogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Iberian Peninsula, with the description of a new species

2018

A phylogenetic tree of the Iberian Aphaenogaster species - except for A. splendida (Roger) - and a key to the worker caste of all Iberian Aphaenogaster species are proposed. The position of A. striativentris Forel and A. cardenai Espadaler is discussed, stating the possibility that this second species may belong to a new, undescribed genus. Aphaenogaster ulibeli n. sp. is described from the Iberian Peninsula. Its closest relatives are A. gibbosa (Latreille) and A. striativentris. Its habitat seems to be restricted to caducifolia forests in the Western Central Massif. 

Small but smart: the interaction between environmental cues and internal state modulates host-patch exploitation in a parasitic wasp

2007

International audience; The reproductive success of insect parasitoids depends on two activities, searching for hosts to obtain immediate fitness rewards (offspring) and searching for food to extend life span and enhance future reproductive opportunities. Models suggest that to deal with this trade-off and to cope with the variability of the resources they depend on, parasitoids should simultaneously integrate information originating from three distinct sources: host and food availabilities in the environment (environmental information) and the metabolic reserves of the parasitoid (internal information). We tested whether, in the parasitic wasp Venturia canescens, these three types of infor…

Rediscovery and identity of Pumilomyia protrahenda De Stefani (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) in Sicily with redescription and reassessment of its taxonomic…

2016

Abstract A population of the gall midge Pumilomyia protrahenda De Stefani, 1919 causing galls on Artemisia arborescens (Asteraceae) was discovered near Palermo (Sicily) in 2008. This species had not been found since 1918. Detailed study of morphological characters of adults, larvae and pupae revealed that Pumilomyia protrahenda belongs to the genus Rhopalomyia Rübsaamen, 1892, tribe Rhopalomyiini. The monotypic genus Pumilomyia De Stefani, 1919 is therefore synonymized under Rhopalomyia Rübsaamen, 1892. Rhopalomyia protrahenda comb. n. is redescribed, with important morphological characters illustrated. Adults have one-segmented palpi, antennae with 12–13 short flagellomeres and long legs w…

Diplurans of subsurface terrestrial habitats in the Iberian Peninsula, with a new species description (Diplura: Campodeidae)

2017

Although Iberian subsurface terrestrial habitats have been sampled for a half century, they remain poorly known. During the last five years much more sampling of these subsurface habitats has been made, mainly in scree slopes (also called colluvial Mesovoid Shallow Substratum habitats, MSS) but also in alluvial debris of temporal watercourses (alluvial MSS). In our study, diplurans, a basal hexapod group, were extracted from two hundred traps installed in 69 locations in the mountain ranges of six different regions of the Iberian Peninsula, from north to south: Cantabrian, Pyrenees, Iberic System, Central System, Prebaetic and Penibaetic Mountains. A total of 1251 specimens in fifteen diplu…

Standardised spider (Arachnida, Araneae) inventory of Kilpisjarvi, Finland

2020

Abstract Background A spider taxonomy and ecology field course was organised in Kilpisjarvi Biological Station, northern Finland, in July 2019. During the course, four 50 × 50 m plots in mountain birch forest habitat were sampled following a standardised protocol. In addition to teaching and learning about spider identification, behaviour, ecology and sampling, the main aim of the course was to collect comparable data from the Kilpisjarvi area as part of a global project, with the purpose of uncovering global spider diversity patterns. New information A total of 2613 spiders were collected, of which 892 (34%) were adults. Due to uncertainty of juvenile identification, only adults are includ…

DNA barcoding the phyllosoma of Scyllarides squammosus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) (Decapoda: Achelata: Scyllaridae)

2016

Scyllarides has the largest number of species with commercial importance within the Scyllaridae family. As for other achelate lobsters, however, little is known of the unique long-lived planktonic phyllosoma stages of any of these tropical and temperate species. Recently, a large and diverse collection of Scyllaridae phyllosoma, compiled from cruises along the Coral Sea and spanning several years, has been analysed. Molecular evidence from DNA-barcoding and phylogenetic analyses is provided here on the identity of S. squammosus phyllosoma larvae, including stages that were previously undescribed or poorly known. As a consequence, the growth and morphological changes that occur during the mi…

Review of the genusiLanchnophorus/i(Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Rhyparochromidae) with description of three new species and other nomenclatural changes.

2017

The generic name Lanchnophorus Reuter, 1887, deemed for a long time to be unavailable as incorrect original spelling of Lachnophorus (in fact Lachnophorus Distant, 1903 is an unjustified emendation of the former), is restored as a valid name of the genus. Lachnesthus Bergroth, 1915, syn. nov. (new name for the preoccupied Lachnophorus Distant, 1903) is considered junior synonym of Lanchnophorus. The following nomenclatural changes are proposed: Lanchnophorus flavus (Scudder, 1971) comb. nov. = Lachnesthus chinai Scudder, nomen nudum; Lanchnophorus guttulatus Reuter, 1887, comb. restit. = Lachnophorus albidomaculatus Distant, 1913, syn. nov. = Lachnesthus rodriguezensis China, 1925, syn. nov…

Another alien bug in Europe: the first case of transcontinental introduction <br />of the Asiatic burrower bug Macroscytus subaeneus (Dallas, 1…

2019

The Oriental burrower bug Macroscytus subaeneus (Dallas, 1851) (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cydnidae: Cydninae), presently known only from single localities in Flores (Indonesia), the Philippines and Thailand, is recorded from the United Kingdom (hereafter U.K.). A single female specimen was collected on the semi-rural edge of Bath city by a Starling (Sturnus vulgaris L.) and taken to its nest from which it was retrieved during 2015. The specimen is illustrated and its diagnostic characters are provided. We hypothesize that this specimen could have been imported with a shipping container from Thailand.