Morphological and phylogenetic diversity of <i>Waminoa</i> and similar flatworms (Acoelomorpha) in the western Pacific Ocean

The genus Waminoa currently contains two described species, which each contains two types of endosymbiotic algae. Warninoa individuals are basically brown in body color, derived from these algal symbionts, and their body shape has been described as "discoid to obcordate". They have been found as associates of various anthozoans (Cnidaria) in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and the Red Sea. In order to reveal the diversity of the genus Wanunoa and their hosts, we conducted phylogenetic and morphological analyses on acoelomate flatworms specimens collected from Japan, Palau and Indonesia. At least 18 Waminoa morphotypes were found on at least 20 anthozoan host species, and two specimens were found on species of two sea stars. Overall, there were two main body shapes of specimens; obcordate, as seen in W. Titus and W. brickneri, and the other molar-like with an elongated body. These two body shapes each represented a separate Glade in 18S rDNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) phylogenetic trees, with W. brickneri included in the obcordate subclade. Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) analyses on COI sequences of our specimens revealed the presence of at least five operational taxonomic units (OTUs). These five OTUs consisted of one large group of all obcordate animals, three OTUs consisting of one specimen each within the molar-like Glade, and one large group of the remaining molar-like specimens. Both clades contain numerous morphotypes and were associated with a variety of hosts. Finally, based on genetic distances, the molar-like specimens are considered as an unnamed genus group separate from Waminoa, which needs to be clarified in future studies

Ancient DNA Elucidates the Controversy about the Flightless Island Hens (Gallinula sp.) of Tristan da Cunha

A persistent controversy surrounds the flightless island hen of Tristan da Cunha, Gallinula nesiotis. Some believe that it became extinct by the end of the 19th century. Others suppose that it still inhabits Tristan. There is no consensus about Gallinula comeri, the name introduced for the flightless moorhen from the nearby island of Gough. On the basis of DNA sequencing of both recently collected and historical material, we conclude that G. nesiotis and G. comeri are different taxa, that G. nesiotis indeed became extinct, and that G. comeri now inhabits both islands. This study confirms that among gallinules seemingly radical adaptations (such as the loss of flight) can readily evolve in parallel on different islands, while conspicuous changes in other morphological characters fail to occur

Geographical variation in the golden-striped salamander, Chioglossa lusitanica Bocage, 1864 and the description of a newly recognized subspecies

Arntzen, Jan W., Groenenberg, Dick S. J., Alexandrino, João, Ferrand, Nuno, Sequeira, Fernando (2007): Geographical variation in the golden-striped salamander, Chioglossa lusitanica Bocage, 1864 and the description of a newly recognized subspecies. Journal of Natural History 41 (13-16): 925-936, DOI: 10.1080/00222930701300147, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0022293070130014