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Sur la présence en France de Trocheta taunensis Grosser, 2015 (Hirudinida, Erpobdellidae)

Naturae 2021 (25)

Since the 1950s, a leech species of the genus Trocheta has been cited from France and named Trocheta bykowskii Gedroyć, 1913. Work by Košel in 2004 and then by Grosser in 2015 on the populations of eastern Europe made it possible to better understand the taxonomy of this taxon which turn out to be a junior synonym of Trocheta cylindrica Örley, 1886. This species, whose distribution is restricted to the Carpathians, is in fact not present in Western Europe. The unicoloured species named bykowskii from these western countries has been described under the name Trocheta taunensis Grosser, 2015. Investigation of leeches named Trocheta bykowskii from France showed that these related to the newly described species T.

Shrews (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla) from a biodiversity hotspot, Mount Nimba (West Africa), with a field identification key to species

Zoosystema 43 (30)

In this study, we collected 226 shrew specimens originating from 16 localities on the Guinean and Liberian sides of Mount Nimba. We surveyed all major vegetation zones from 400 to 1600 m above sea level (asl), including forest and savannah habitats. We recorded 11 species, whose identifications were confirmed by genetic analyses and classical morphometrics. Furthermore, we provide cytogenetic data for five of these species. The shrew community at Mount Nimba is composed of a mix of both savannah- and forest-dependent species, which is related to the peculiar position of Mount Nimba situated at the transition between lowland rainforest to the south and Guinean woodlands to the north.

Correction d’une erreur à propos de Pachypodium cactipes K. Schum.

Adansonia 43 (23)

An error in the type locality of Pachypodium cactipes K. Schum. is corrected here. Its type, the herbarium sample Hildebrandt 3114, comes from the province of Mahajanga, and not from the region of Tôlanaro. We therefore conclude that Pachypodium cactipes is a synonym or a subspecies of Pachypodium rosulatum. The plant from Tôlanaro (Fort-Dauphin), incorrectly known as Pachypodium cactipes, becomes Pachypodium stenanthum (Costantin & Bois) J.B. Castillon, J.-P. Castillon & Rapanarivo, comb. et stat. nov.

Moss diversity of a pine-oak forest in Oaxaca, Mexico

Cryptogamie, Bryologie 42 (17)

The pine-oak forests of Mexico are reservoirs of high biological diversity, largely due to their high richness of vascular flora. However, mosses have received little attention. We studied the floristic composition, diversity, and species richness of the moss community in the pine-oak forests of the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, Mexico. A comprehensive list of the species occurring in the region was made by reviewing herbarium databases and conducting fieldwork. We analyzed alpha and beta diversity, as well as community structure, based on 60 sampling sites. Our results show the occurrence of 339 species of mosses in the study area, distributed in 168 genera and 52 families. We found high α and β diversity values compared with other vegetation types in Mexico.

A new look at the Cretaceous Lamprey Mesomyzon Chang, Zhang & Miao, 2006 from the Jehol Biota

Geodiversitas 43 (23)

Lampreys, one of the remaining two living jawless vertebrates, carry great weight in the study of vertebrate evolution. They have a long history dating back to the Devonian but left a scarce fossil record. So far, only five unequivocal fossil lampreys have been described, of which four are Paleozoic. Mesomyzon Chang, Zhang & Miao, 2006, the only known Mesozoic lamprey bridging the Paleozoic and extant relatives, was originally considered similar in morphology and life history to modern forms. Although being repeatedly referred to in early vertebrate phylogeny, the morphology of Mesomyzon is far from adequately known.

Pliensbachian corals from the Western Tethys

Geodiversitas 43 (22)

Late Liassic in the Western Tethys has been the cradle of Middle and Late Jurassic diversity of corals. This is what revised and enhanced taxonomy of corals from Pliensbachian and Toarcian stages reveals. The current new taxonomic study of Pliensbachian corals describes 66 species distributed in 41 genera and 20 identified families. It includes four new genera: Podosmilia n. gen., Tubulosmilia n. gen., Prismastrea n. gen. and Spongiocoenia n. gen.; and 20 new species: Axosmilia amellagouensis n. sp., Apocladophyllia guigouensis n. sp., Coryphyllia bicuneiformis n. sp., Coryphyllia capillaria n. sp., Proleptophyllia calix n. sp., Proleptophyllia magna n. sp., Proleptophyllia subphaceloida n.

A review of Combretum falcatum (Welw. ex Hiern) Jongkind (Combretaceae) and related species from Africa, including Combretum baldwinii Jongkind, sp. nov., from Nigeria

Adansonia 43 (22)

Several new Combretum Loefl. (Combretaceae) collections from Central Africa have revealed a taxonomical confusion in that genus. To correct these mistakes two species, C. pellegrinianum Exell and C. littoreum (Engler) Engler & Diels, are resurrected and one variety, Quisqualis falcata var. mussaendiflora (Engl. & Diels) Liben, is transferred again to species level as C. mussaendiflorum Engl. & Diels. The related Combretum baldwinii Jongkind, sp. nov. from Nigeria is here newly descibed.

A comparison of aleurone cells in centenarian African and contemporary barley seeds to identify the geographic origin

Comptes Rendus Palevol 20 (43)

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the main domesticated cereals. For this reason, barley seeds have been found in numerous archaeological sites, and since the mid-19th century have been available in numerous natural museum collections. About a hundred years ago samples were collected in the African countries of Eritrea and Cyrenaica (now Libya), and have been preserved as ex-situ in the museum collection “L’Orientale” of the University of Naples. The varieties of contemporary barley selected for comparative analysis were grown in Tuscany and are used in the production of craft beer. To ascertain their vitality, the ancient and contemporary seeds were placed in Petri dishes to hydrate under a sterile hood at room temperature after a sterilization procedure.

First report of diversity of Cyanobacteria of Broknes Peninsula of Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica

Cryptogamie, Algologie 42 (15)

Antarctica is an extreme environment and contains many unique geological, glaciological and biological features. However, due to changes in climatic conditions Antarctica is affected by Global warming. The Larsemann Hills area is located in East Antarctica approximately halfway between Vest fold Hills and Amery Ice Shelf on South-eastern coast of Prydz Bay which includes two main peninsulas, the western named Stornes and the eastern named Broknes. The Antarctic environment is highly sensitive and susceptible to the impacts of human activities and has much less natural ability to recover from disturbance than the environment of other continents.

When did roosters start singing at Arslantepe? A preliminary assessment of the presence and spread of Gallus gallus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Iron Age Eastern Anatolia

Anthropozoologica 56 (16)

Among the faunal remains brought to light in the recent Iron Age excavations at the site of Arslantepe (South-East Turkey), the discovery of the bones belonging to an adult rooster is of particular interest. The red junglefowl, Gallus gallus (Linnaeus, 1758), is not autochthonous of Anatolia; the species is native to and was originally domesticated in south-eastern Asia, reaching the Mesopotamian region only at the beginning of the 3^rd millennium BC. Throughout the Bronze Age and up to the beginning of the Iron Age the evidence of domestic junglefowl remains sporadic. However, from the second half of the 2^nd millennium BC onwards, findings became more consistent, allowing us to trace its spread and evolution.

Quels facteurs limitent l’installation d’une graminée pérenne dominante pour la restauration écologique des pelouses sèches méditerranéennes ?

Naturae 2021 (24)

Ramose false brome, Brachypodium retusum (Pers.) P. Beauv., is a perennial herbaceous species that dominates French dry Mediterranean grasslands. In the Crau plain (South-East of France), its spontaneous re-establishment is very low after human interventions involving soil disturbance contrary to studies from other regions. The major objective of this PhD thesis was to test different hypothesis potentially explaining the different colonisation patterns for improving the re-establishment of this species in future ecological restoration projects. We tested whether these different colonisation patterns are the result of genetic differentiation among populations. We further studied the adaptive differentiation of phenotypic traits to several environmental factors.