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Whitney South Sea Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History. Letters and journal of Rollo H. Beck, 1923-1928.
Get PDFNew Uroplectes (Scorpiones, Buthidae).
No full text32 pages : illustrations (some color), color map ; 26 cm.The scorpion fauna of tropical central Africa is poorly known and may be more diverse than generally recognized. The present contribution describes three morphologically similar, and probably monophyletic species of Uroplectes Peters, 1861, which have gone undetected, despite being distributed across a large area, extending from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Uroplectes malawicus, sp. nov., and Uroplectes zambezicus, sp. nov., occurring south of Lake Malawi and in the Zambezi River Valley, respectively, appear to be sister species. Uroplectes katangensis, sp. nov., is based on a single female from the southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Based on their punctate metasomal segments, the new species appear to be most closely related to Uroplectes chubbi Hirst, 1911. The markedly concave, shagreened dorsomedian surfaces on metasomal segments I-IV resemble the stridulatory surfaces on the metasomal segments of most Parabuthus Pocock, 1890, and, together with the robust metasoma and worn tips of the aculeus observed in some specimens, suggest that these species may also be capable of stridulation. Based on examination of type material, the following synonyms were confirmed: Scorpiobuthus apatris Werner, 1939 = Uroplectes chubby Hirst, 1911; Uroplectes jutrzenkai Penther, 1900 = Uroplectes vittatus (Thorell, 1876). The following new synonyms are presented: Uroplectes andreae Pocock, 1899 = Uroplectes occidentalis Simon, 1876, new synonym; Uroplectes chubbi briodi Schenkel, 1932 = Uroplectes vittatus (Thorell, 1876), new synonym. Lectotypes are designated for U. chubbi and U. jutrzenkai
Notoungulate caudal cranium.
No full text69 pages : illustrations ; 26 cmThe composition of the caudal cranium in Notoungulata, an extinct group of endemic South American "ungulates," has never been properly clarified. Some investigators have claimed that so-called "adventitious" elements, or elements not known to occur in other placentals, existed in the auditory regions of certain typotheres and toxodontians. Others have disputed this, arguing that sutures or other indicia that supposedly provide evidence of the developmentally independent origins of these alleged ossifications are either misinterpreted or inconstant. This study attempts to resolve the question of composition, as far as it is possible to do in the case of a wholly extinct clade, with detailed micro-CT investigations of several key taxa, including Oldfieldthomasia (Oldfieldthomasiidae), Paedotherium (Hegetotheriidae), and Cochilius (Interatheriidae). Results show that Santiago Roth was incorrect in asserting that certain notoungulates, such as pachyrukhine hegetotheres, possessed cranial elements (serrialis, posttympanicum, etc.) that are unrepresented in other placentals. George Gaylord Simpson also thought Roth was wrong, but erred in claiming to have discovered concrete evidence of two other ossifications, denoted by him as Xa and Xp, in the auditory region of Oldfieldthomasia. In adult notoungulates the interparietal complex is usually fused with the parietal, or supraoccipital, or both elements. As in certain other mammals, dorsal exposure of the supraoccipital is limited in notoungulates because it is often overplated by the interparietal complex, which thus provides a sort of "second" roof for the caudal cranium. However, there is no interparietal involvement in the middle ear cavity. Finally, for the first time plausible grounds can be offered for the existence of an entotympanic in a notoungulate (Cochilius). Evidence is increasing for the proposition that entotympanics are much more widespread than previously thought, and may in fact be present in most of the major groups of placentals. In summary, this study shows that in terms of participating elements there is nothing unique about the notoungulate caudal cranium, which was evidently as tightly constrained compositionally as it is in other placentals. Nevertheless, this portion of the skull, still notably underutilized in notoungulate studies, could be a crucial source of new characters for assessing higher-level relationships not only among notoungulates, but also among South American ungulates and their possible relatives
New species of Thyroptera.
No full text28 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 26 cmSpecies of Thyroptera are insectivorous foliage-roosting bats that inhabit lowland moist forests (including gallery formations in savanna landscapes) from Mexico to southeastern Brazil. Although four species are currently recognized, only one or two species were previously known to occur at most localities. Recent inventory work in northeastern Peru has documented the local cooccurrence of four species of Thyroptera, one of which is here described as new. The new species (T. wynneae), which also occurs in Brazil, can easily be recognized by a combination of diagnostic morphological traits. The latter include small size, tricolored ventral pelage, long and woolly hairs between the shoulders, a uropatagium with the proximal half densely covered by long hairs, wing tips sparsely covered by long hairs, a calcar with two lappets and five tiny skin projections between the foot disk and the proximal lappet, a rostrum considerably shorter than the braincase, third lower incisors that are subequal in height to the first and second lower incisors, and third lower incisors with two well-developed accessory cusps. We illustrate the crania of all five known species of Thyroptera and provide a key based on craniodental and external characters. Unexpectedly high local diversity of these elusive bats poses a challenge for future inventory research and raises interesting questions about ecological-niche partitioning in Neotropical bat communities and the evolutionary history of thyropterids
Heterometrus latimanus.
No full text23 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 26 cm.Scorpions of the genus Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828, are distributed from India and Sri Lanka throughout the Southeast Asian mainland and archipelagos as far as Wallace's Line. Despite this widespread distribution, Heterometrus was not recorded from Pakistan until a single specimen from Azad Kashmir was reported from the collection of the Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Islamabad. Perhaps because the specimen was misidentified as Heterometrus wroughtoni (Pocock, 1899), a species that occurs much farther to the southeast in India, the presence of Heterometrus in Pakistan remained uncertain until fresh material of a distinctive species of Heterometrus was recently collected at several locations in Khyber Pakhtoon Khawa. After comparison of the material with the holotype and only known specimen of a little-known species, Heterometrus latimanus (Pocock, 1894), with an indefinite type locality in "India," the Pakistani material was determined to be conspecific. In the present contribution, H. latimanus is redescribed based on adult males and females from several localities, and the specimen from Azad Kashmir tentatively assigned to it, confirming the presence of Heterometrus in Pakistan. The new locality records extend the distribution of the genus considerably to the northwest, and west of the Indus River for the first time. The known records of H. latimanus appear to be isolated from other Heterometrus occurring on the Indian subcontinent by the Great Indian (Thar) Desert, an arid, sandy basin extending from eastern Pakistan to northwestern India
Kolotl.
No full text28 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 26 cm.The monophyly and phylogenetic position of Diplocentrus Peters, 1861, has remained ambiguous since the first published phylogenetic analysis of diplocentrid relationships, in which it was rendered paraphyletic by the placement of exemplar species from two other diplocentrid genera, Bioculus Stahnke, 1968, and Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905. The discovery of two diplocentrids with neobothriotaxic pedipalps, Diplocentrus magnus Beutelspacher and López-Forment, 1991, and Diplocentrus poncei Francke and Quijano-Ravell, 2009, from the central Mexican states of Guerrero and Michoacán, respectively, raised further questions about the limits of Diplocentrus. A recent phylogenetic analysis of 29 species of Diplocentrus and five exemplar species of the most closely related genera, based on 95 morphological characters and 4202 aligned nucleotides from DNA sequences of five markers in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, recovered the monophyly of Diplocentrus, excepting two neobothriotaxic species from central Mexico, justifying their removal from Diplocentrus. In the present contribution, Kolotl, n. gen. is created to accommodate the two species, Kolotl magnus (Beutelspacher and López-Forment, 1991), n. comb., and Kolotl poncei (Francke and Quijano-Ravell, 2009), n. comb., and both are redescribed
Simlops, new genus of goblin spiders
No full text60 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm. Part of the oonopid spider Planetary Biodiversity Inventory. (Acknowledgments)A new genus of goblin spiders, Simlops, is proposed for 15 species found in Brazilian and Colombian Amazonia and southern Caribbean (Venezuela and Guyana). The new genus belongs to the Scaphiella complex, a group of Neotropical genera that share a sexually dimorphic condition in which the abdominal dorsal scutum is present in males but absent in females. Simlops is hypothesized to be a monophyletic group united by a unique conformation of the male endites, which present three apical portions, a prolateral, curved process, with laminar apices, a retrolateral process and a median, more dorsal, unsclerotized portion. The species Triaeris bodanus Chickering, 1968, is transferred to Simlops and the female of this species is described for the first time. The remaining 14 species are newly described: S. bandeirante Ott, S. cristinae Santos, S. campinarana Brescovit, S. jamesbondi Bonaldo, S. juruti Bonaldo, S. machadoi Ott, S. miudo Ruiz, S. nadinae Ruiz, S. pennai Bonaldo (type species), S. platnicki Bonaldo, and S. similis Ott, all from Brazilian Amazonia; S. cachorro Ruiz from Colombian Amazonia; S. guatopo Brescovit from Venezuela; and S. guyanensis Santos from Guyana
Goblin spiders of the genus Ischnothyreus.
No full text144 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm. Part of the oonopid spider Planetary Biodiversity Inventory. (Acknowledgments)Goblin spiders of the genus Ischnothyreus are characterized by small, heavily sclerotized male pedipalps, reduced dorsal and ventral scutes, and heavy spination of the first and second legs. Species of this genus may be distinguished from each other by the variation in the embolic region of the male palp, female genitalia, color, degree and shape of dorsal and ventral sclerotization, and specializations of the chelicerae and endites in the male. A total of 34 Australian species of Ischnothyreus Simon are recognized, all of which are endemic and found throughout the tropical, monsoonal, and subtropical regions of the country. Ischnothyreus darwini Edward and Harvey is the only previously described species, and 33 are newly described: I. arcus, I. barratus, I. bifidus, I. binorbis, I. boonjee, I. bualveus, I. bupariorbis, I. collingwoodi, I. comicus, I. corniculatum, I. cornuatus, I. crenulatus, I. culleni, I. digitus, I. eacham, I. eungella, I. florence, I. hamatus, I. hoplophorus, I. julianneae, I. ker, I. meidamon, I. monteithi, I. nourlangie, I. ovinus, I. piricius, I. pterodactyl, I. puruntatamerii, I. raveni, I. rixi, I. stauntoni, I. tragicus, and I. tumidus. Many of the described species have extremely small geographic ranges, and the genus shows high diversity over relatively small areas. A key, detailed illustrations, and digital images are provided for all Australian species of Ischnothyreus
Dwarf deer of Crete.
No full text26 pages : illustrations (some color), map ; 26 cm.Age-graded fossils of Pleistocene endemic Cretan deer (Candiacervus spp.) reveal unexpectedly high juvenile mortality similar to that reported for extant mainland ruminants, despite the fact that these deer lived in a predator-free environment and became extinct before any plausible date for human arrival. Age profiles show that deer surviving past the fawn stage were relatively long-lived for ruminants, indicating that high juvenile mortality was not an expression of their living a "fast" life. Although the effects on survivorship of such variables as fatal accidents, starvation, and disease are difficult to gauge in extinct taxa, the presence of extreme morphological variability within nominal species/ecomorphs of Candiacervus is consistent with the view that high juvenile mortality can function as a key innovation permitting rapid adaptation in insular contexts
Madrean Archipelago amphibians and reptiles.
No full text23 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm.The Madrean Archipelago in southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico consists of 22 mountain ranges south of the Mogollon Rim. Herpetofaunal lists for these ranges and a segment of the rim were constructed based on museum specimens from Madrean evergreen woodland, petran montane conifer forest, and interior chaparral. Few or no species have been recorded from these communities in the Sierrita, Little Dragoon, and Big Hatchet mountains, emphasizing the need for additional sampling in the archipelago. A total of 83 species are found in the remaining 20 ranges, with lizards (28) and snakes (35) predominating. No two mountain ranges had the same herpetofauna. Species richness varies from 15 to 44 (mean 28.1). Phenetic analyses of herpetofaunal similarity among the ranges identify three groups: a northern group with eight ranges from the Rincon Mountains to the Pinaleño Mountains to the Sierra Ancha; a southwestern group consisting of the Baboquivari, Santa Rita, Pajarito, and Patagonia mountains; and a southeastern group with seven ranges from the Huachuca and Whetstone mountains to the Animas Mountains; the Mogollon Rim segment is placed as the first "branch" of the phenogram. The analyses place the Patagonia Mountains in the SW group and the Huachuca Mountains in the SE group, although the two are connected by woodland. The Madrean line separating the northern group from the two southern groups approximates the southern limit of interior chaparral. The ranges of the southwestern group are in contact with semitropical Sonoran desert scrub at low elevations, whereas Chihuahuan desert scrub and semidesert grassland surround the southeastern ranges. With few exceptions, published studies of phylogeography within species suggest that divergence among montane populations in the archipelago does not predate the Pleistocene. Phylogeographic analyses using nuclear and mitochondrial gene sequences and including all ranges of the Madrean Archipelago inhabited by a species are needed to determine the extent to which shared historic biogeographic events may underlie the groups of mountain ranges identified on the basis of herpetofaunal similarities in this study