Catalog of the horse-flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) of Chile

A catalog of the Tabanidae from Chile is provided. All valid names and synonyms for the 116 species and 25 genera known for the country including information about name, author, year of publication, page number, type species, type locality and references are listed. The species Dasybasis albohirta (Walker) is cited for the first time for Chile. The type locality of Dasybasis nigrifrons (Philippi) is corrected to Chile (Todos Los Santos Lake). The dates of the description of Tabanus nigrifrons Philippi (now Dasybasis), and Pangonia australis Philippi (now Pseudoscione) are corrected from their original description by Philippi; the original description dates for Tabanus andicola (now Dasybasis), and Tabanus magellanicus (now synonym junior of Dasybasis trita (Walker)) are corrected from 1865 to 1862. Three species previously recorded from Chile are deemed to have been misidentified or misrecorded from Chile: Esenbeckia (E.) cisandeana Wilkerson & Fairchild and Esenbeckia (E.) enderleini Kröber, and Esenbeckia (E.) testaceiventris (Macquart, 1848). The genus Dasybasis Macquart is the richest genus in Chile, with 33 species. Seven genera (Mycteromyia Philippi, Promycteromyia Coscarón & Philip, Archeomyotes Philip & Coscarón, Austromyans Philip & Coscarón, Chaetopalpus Philippi, Pseudomelpia Enderlein, and Sixtomyia Krolow, Henriques & González), three subgenera (Esenbeckia (Astomyia) Burger, E. (Palassomyia) Fairchild, and Protodasyapha (Protodasyapha) Enderlein), and 64 species are known only from Chile. There are also one subgenus (Protodasyapha (Curumyia) Coscarón), and 36 specie with distribution shared only between Chile and Argentina.

Expanding the geographical distribution of Blastobotrys malaysiensis (Saccharomycetales) beyond the Asian continent – a cave fungus first reported in the Americas

Saccharomycetales are ascomycetic yeasts and among them the genus Blastobotrys has approximately 30 known species. Blastobotrys malaysiensis is a yeast species, described from cave samples, known until then only from Malaysia. In this study, we characterize a new strain and report the second occurrence record of this species. Here, Blastobotrys malaysiensis SXS675, was collected from soil samples from a cave in the Parque Estadual de Terra Ronca (PETER) in Goiás, Brazil. Phylogenetic analyzes revealed strong support with the sequence of the species type, as well as with other species of the clade. This new record contributes by providing new molecular data for the species and expanding the knowledge of its distribution beyond the Asian continent. First record of a yeast for the American continent and its second mention for the world.

Seven new species of Rhynchobombyx Aurivillius, 1909 from Congolian lowland forests (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae)

Seven new species of the Afrotropic Lasiocampidae genus Rhynchobombyx are described and illustrated: Rh. gavinfilippone Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. avadomenicarocchio Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. julianjameseaton Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. anthonychristophereaton Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. nicolasroberteaton Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. arijakefriend Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. madisonellafriend Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n. All species originate from the poorly studied Congolian lowland forests ecoregion of Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lectotype and paralectotype of Rh. nasuta Aurivillius, 1909 are designated here, the species type locality is specified.

Effects of knife-incising and longitudinal kerfing pretreatments on high-temperature drying of red pine and pitch pine timbers

Effects of knife-incising and longitudinal kerfing pretreatments were analyzed relative to the high-temperature drying of red pine and pitch pine timbers with cross-sections less than 15 cm. Specimens were prepared as round and square timbers with thicknesses of 9, 12, and 15 cm. They were divided into four groups: control, longitudinal kerf, knife-incised, and a combination of knife-incised and longitudinal kerf. Some results from this study, such as commercial availability and application methods of drying schedules, have immense commercial importance. The incising and kerfing treatment can be used not only to improve drying quality but also as a tool for deriving an optimal drying schedule. The kerfing treatment noticeably reduced the surface checks in square timber. However, the incising treatment caused a phenomenon in which the incisions connect to each other and develop into surface checks. The wood characteristics, such as species, type, thickness, and initial MC, had more influence on determining the drying defects than the pretreatments. For the commercial use of the drying schedule used in this study, it can be useful to determine the appropriate drying time in the third step according to the species, thickness, and shape.

New phiocricetomyine rodents (Hystricognathi) from the Jebel Qatrani Formation, Fayum Depression, Egypt

Background The rich rodent assemblages from the Eocene–Oligocene deposits of the Jebel Qatrani Formation (Fayum Depression, Egypt) have important implications for our understanding of the origin and paleobiogeography of Hystricognathi, a diverse clade that is now represented by the Afro-Asiatic Hystricidae, New World Caviomorpha, and African Phiomorpha. Methods Here we present previously undescribed material of the enigmatic hystricognath clade Phiocricetomyinae, from two stratigraphic levels in the lower sequence of the Jebel Qatrani Formation—a new genus and species (Qatranimys safroutus) from the latest Eocene Locality 41 (~34 Ma, the oldest and most productive quarry in the formation) and additional material of Talahphiomys lavocati from that species’ type locality, early Oligocene Quarry E (~31–33.2 Ma). Results The multiple specimens of Qatranimys safroutus from L-41 document almost the entire lower and upper dentition, as well as mandibular fragments and the first cranial remains known for a derived phiocricetomyine. Specimens from Quarry E allow us to expand comparisons with specimens from Libya (late Eocene of Dur at-Talah and early Oligocene of Zallah Oasis) that have been placed in T. lavocati, and we show that the Dur at-Talah and Zallah specimens do not pertain to this species. These observations leave the Fayum Quarry E as the only locality where T. lavocati occurs.

The Marine Benthic Algal Flora of Puerto Rico, I. Ochrophyta: Phaeophyceae, Pelagophyceae, and Xanthophyceae

This treatment is a taxonomic study of the benthic species of Ochrophyta known from Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea. In all, 3 classes, 10 orders, 16 families, 33 genera, and 77 species occur in the benthic marine communities in Puerto Rico. Of these, three species of <i>Sargassum </i>are found only as unattached and free-floating. A brief summary of phycological studies in Puerto Rico and ecological descriptions of the most common marine habitats are presented. Along with date, place, and author(s) of valid publication for all genera and species, type locality information and descriptive accounts of vegetative morphological and reproductive anatomy are provided. Distribution of each species is given, and where relevant, comments on their habitat and their taxonomic and nomenclatural status are discussed. A key to the genera and keys to species within genera are included. Either an in situ or other illustration accompanies most species. Two new geographical distribution records for Puerto Rico and a description of one new species, <i>Lobophora brooksii</i> D. L. Ballant. et J. N. Norris, are included. <br>

The Reptile Database: Curating the biodiversity literature without funding

The Reptile Database (RDB) curates the literature and taxonomy for about 14,000 species and subspecies of reptiles (Uetz et al. 2021). Together with a few other databases, the RDB curates the literature for about 70,000 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. While it acts as a current name list for extant reptile taxa, including synonymies, it also collects images (currently ~18,000, representing half of all species), type information, diagnoses and descriptions, and a bibliography of 62,000 references, most of which are linked to online sources. The database is also extensively cross-referenced to citizen science projects (iNaturalist), the NCBI taxonomy, the IUCN Red List, and several others, and serves as data provider (for reptiles) for the Catalogue of Life. A major challenge for the Reptile database is the consistent curation of the literature, which requires the addition of about 2000 papers a year, including about 200 new species descriptions and numerous taxonomic changes. For instance, during the past five years, almost 1000 species changed their names, in addition to the ~900 species that were newly described, i.e., almost 20% of all reptile species were described or changed their name within just a half decade! While the database can keep track of name changes, it remains a largely unsolved problem of how these name changes can or should be translated into related databases such as the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), which keeps track of the literature independently (but exchanges data with the RDB). Some sites use the web services of the RDB to update their taxonomy, such as Calphotos or iNaturalist, but many do not or have not been able to implement automated name tracking. The RDB also works with the Global Assessment of Reptile Distributions (GARD Initiative) to keep track of range changes. After GARD published a collection of ~10,000 range maps for reptiles in 2017, more than half of these maps have changed in area size by more than 5% since the initial release. The database has developed several avenues for streamlining and optimizing curation of the literature, e.g., (semi-) automated requests for publications, species descriptions, and photos from authors, but the process is far from fully automated. Questions remain: how can taxonomic databases develop, share, and exchange better tools for curation? Can we standardize data collection and processing? How can we automatically exchange data with other data sources? How can we optimize the process of scientific publication to streamline databasing and automated information extraction?

Chemical Characterization of Brown and Red Seaweed from Southern Peru, a Sustainable Source of Bioactive and Nutraceutical Compounds

The southern coast of Peru presents a wide diversity of seaweed, which could be used as a new sustainable source of nutritional and bioactive compounds. For the first time, we chemically characterized two species of brown (Macrocystis pyrifera) and red (Chondracanthus chamissoi) Peruvian seaweed. Both species contained significant amounts of proteins (5–12%), lipids (0.16–0.74%), carbohydrates (43.29–62.65%) and minerals (1300–1800 mg kg−1 dw: dry weight). However, the profiles of amino acids, fatty acids and minerals were highly dependent on species type. C. chamissoi had a higher content of essential amino acids and minerals than M. pyrifera (170% and 45%, respectively), while the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω 6) as well as the content of tocopherols was higher in M. pyrifera (15.77 g 100 g−1 and 2.37 μg 100 g−1, respectively). Additionally, both species presented significant concentrations of total polyphenols (39–59 mg GAE g−1) and a high antioxidant capacity (67–98 µM TE g−1). Although M. pyrifera and C. chamissoi seem to be excellent raw materials for the food and nutraceutical industry, both species contained toxic heavy metals (cadmium: Cd and nickel: Ni) which could affect the safety of their direct use. Therefore, new separation strategies that allow the selective recovery of nutrients and bioactive compounds from Peruvian seaweed are required.

A catalog of the Hybotidae of Chile (Diptera: Empidoidea)

A catalog of the Hybotidae of Chile is provided. We present all valid names and synonyms for the 27 species and 10 genera distributed in the country, including information about name, author, year of publication, page number, type species, type depository, type locality and references. The geographical distribution of the species was recorded from bibliographic data and revised collections. Two species previously recorded for the Hybotidae fauna of Chile must be deleted: Drapetis armipes Bezzi, described from Tacna – Peru, and Ocydromia philippii Bigot, a synonym junior of Hyperperacera nemoralis (Philippi), now in Brachystomatidae (Trichopezinae). Bicellaria collina (Philippi) and Austrodromia? valdiviana (Philippi) are maintained in Hybotidae waiting for clarification of correct taxonomic assignment.

Identification of some fiber characteristics in Rosa sp. and Nerium oleander L. wood grown under different ecological conditions

Climate-dependent changes in wood anatomical characteristics were studied for Rosa sp. and Nerium oleander sp. grown in phytosociological areas. For this purpose, wood samples were taken from the individual wood species grown in Antalya, Eskisehir, and Kastamonu provenances, where Terrestrial, Black Sea, and Mediterranean climate types prevail, and 11 anatomical characters were identified or calculated. As a result of the study, it has been determined that the climate has large effects on the characteristics that are the subject of the study and that each characteristic is at a higher level in individuals grown in areas where different climate types prevail. The highest values in Rosa species were obtained in the individuals grown under Terrestrial climate type in all characteristics except for LW (lumen widths), EC (elasticity coefficients), and FF (F-Factors.) Whereas in Nerium oleander, the highest values were obtained in individuals grown in the Mediterranean climate type in FL (fibre lengths), LW (lumen widths), FR (felting ratios), and EC (elasticity coefficients). For the same species type, in the Terrestrial climate, RIJID (rigidity coefficients), MUHT (Muhlstep ratios), and RUNK (Runkel ratios), and in the Black Sea climate DWT (double wall thicknesses) and WT (wall thicknesses) characteristics had high values.