Revisiting Aguabuena Pottery-making Through Discontinuity

Discontinuity plays an important role in the social and material world of Aguabuena potters, a small rural community in the Colombian Andes. Drawing on long-term ethnographic fieldwork, I explore the changes in modes of production and gender division of work during the last decades of the twentieth century and the fractures in space, memory, and materiality to address discontinuities in ceramic production. The wheel and its transformations are taken as an important factor of these processes. Against the common trend in the archaeology of Colombia to see pottery-making as a static craft, rooted in an indigenous past, this article aims to revisit ethnoarchaeological and ethnographic data to argue how cracks and gaps, besides empirical facts, can be seen as complex analytical lenses through which to embrace ruptures and less linear narratives.

Natural history of neotropical Ericaceae, 1

Gonocalyx pulcher (Ericaceae: Vaccinieae) has been rediscovered in the northeastern Colombian Andes after a lapse of over 135 years. Recent collections herein reported represent the only collections made since the type gathering by Schlim in 1851. The history of collections, cultivation, taxonomy, and nomenclature is re-viewed. Generic and species descriptions for G. pulcher are updated and photographic illustrations are provided. The vegetation in which G. pulcher occurs, a list of its commonly associated Ericaceae, and its conservation status are briefly described. A new second-step lectotypification is made and the associated type herbarium specimens are illustrated. A key to all 11 species of Gonocalyx is provided.

Five new species and three new varieties of Begonia section Casparya endemic to Colombia

Casparya, one of the most species-rich sections of Begonia in the Neotropics with 44 species, is distributed from Costa Rica to Peru, with the highest diversity in the Colombian Andes. The section is morphologically well-differentiated and can be distinguished from other Andean cane-like begonias by the 3-horned fruit and multifid or un-divided styles. Here we describe eight taxonomic novelties for Casparya from Colombia, five species and three varieties, descriptions include illustrations, distribution maps, taxonomic comments, and assessments of conservation status. The five species described here are: Begonia diegoi, Begonia galeanoi, Begonia mamapachensis, Begonia perijaensis, and Begonia vinagrera; and the three new varieties are: Begonia kalbreyerii var. orquidensis, Begonia silverstonei var. brevipetiolata, and Begonia vinagrera var. pomecensis. We also present a taxonomic key for the 32 species of Casparya so far known from Colombia.

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Hydroclimatology in the Upper Cauca River Basin in Southwestern Colombia: Pre- and Post-Salvajina Dam Perspective

The Cauca River rises in the Colombian Andes and is the main tributary of the Magdalena River, which drains to the Caribbean Sea. The La Balsa station monitors the Upper Cauca basin and is located just downstream of La Salvajina hydroelectric facility. At this station, the discharge time series for November–January during 1950–2019 shows a statistically significant downward break, and change of distribution after 1986 has been documented after La Salvajina started operation. We assessed the spatio-temporal variability of hydroclimatology in the upper Cauca River basin during the pre- and post-Salvajina dam periods to better understand this break. Post-Salvajina, low (high) discharge events are linked to negative (positive) precipitation and soil moisture anomalies that are greater in magnitude and extension than those recorded in the pre-Salvajina period in response to the more intense El Niño events (more intense and frequent central La Niña events) after 1986. Therefore, it is necessary to consider possible future rainfall scenarios and non-infrastructure measures (i.e., reforestation, territorial planning, integrated watershed management, etc.) to mitigate floods and droughts impacts. The contribution of this study is to provide evidence for the need for foresight in the design of any structural or non-structural flood measures.

Studies on raspy crickets: Caudafistulus rubrinervosus (Serville, 1838) n. comb. (Orthoptera: Gryllacrididae)

Caudafistulus n. gen. is described to accommodate Brachybaenus rubrinervosus, a species of Raspy Cricket from the Colombian Andes, endemic to the highlands of the Aburra Valley and the eastern subregion of the department of Antioquia. Caudafistulus rubrinervosus n. comb. differs from Brachybaenus species, due to its conspicuous frontal ocellus, male terminalia with processes on the tenth tergite, subgenital plate modified, and genitalia with sclerotized areas, being one of the few genera of gryllacridids known with this peculiarity in the world. Finally, the similarity of copulatory structures with old-world taxa and their possible function for mating is discussed.

A new species of Kohleria (Gesneriaceae) from Southwestern Colombia

A new species of Kohleria (Gesneriaceae) is described from the Colombian Andes, in the departments of Huila and Cauca. The new species, Kohleria huilensis, has long been documented from the Merenberg Natural Reserve (La Plata, Huila), but has been confused with K. inaequalis var. inaequalis and K. inaequalis var. ocellata. The new species is distinguished by the following characters: white sericeous and sparse villous indumenta on vegetative structures; calyx lobes elongate with revolute margins; corolla magenta to fuchsia, ventral lobe orbicular with apex truncate; filaments hirsute with glandular trichomes distally; and staminodes < 2.8 mm long.