\u3ci\u3eTomoxia bucephala\u3c/i\u3e A. Costa (Coleoptera: Mordellidae), a Palearctic tumbling flower beetle established in North America

Tomoxia bucephala A. Costa (Coleoptera: Mordellidae), a Palearctic tumbling flower beetle native to Europe, Asia, and northernmost Africa, is now known from North America. The first known occurrences were in 2015 in Essex and Union counties, New Jersey, U.S.A. and in 2019 in Passaic County, New Jersey, all in the New York City metropolitan area. An additional collection documents the species in 2016 from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The multiple occurrences, the large distance between those in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and multiple detections in natural areas indicate T. bucephala is established in North America and apparently invasive. Several morphological features differenti­ate T. bucephala from the two congeners native to North America, T. inclusa LeConte and T. lineella LeConte, especially coloration patterns of elytral and pronotal vestiture, and coloration of antennae and front legs. This is the first report of a non-native mordellid species established in North America. Tomoxia bucephala does not appear to pose a significant direct economic threat in North America since it feeds in decaying trees. However, T. bucephala occurrences are within the geographic ranges of T. inclusa and T. lineella, and the biology of T. bucephala is similar to these other Tomoxia species. Thus, T. bucephala likely will expand its range within North America, with probable ecological impact on communities of native saproxylic beetles, especially T. lineella and T. inclusa

Noteworthy Records of Hispines from Belize (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Cephaloleia consanguinea Baly, Cephaloleia fulvolimbata Baly, Cephaloleia ruficollis Baly, Chalepus amabilis Baly, Chalepus brevicornis (Baly), Chalepus pici Descarpentries and Villiers, Microrhopala erebus (Newman), Octhispa bimaculata Uhmann, Octotoma championi Baly, Pseudispa tuberculata Staines, Sceloenopla erudita (Baly), Stenispa guatemalensis Uhmann, Sumitrosis gestroi (Weise), and Sumitrosis terminatus (Baly) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) are new country records of hispine chrysomelids for Belize, based on collections cited herein. These collections also document new host records for Calyptocephala gerstaeckeri Boheman (Chamaedorea tepejilote Liebm., Arecaceae), Cephaloleia consanguinea (Heliconia bourgaeana Petersen, H. collinsiana Griggs, H. latispatha Benth., H. wagneriana Petersen; Heliconiaceae), and Cephaloleia perplexa Baly (Heliconia bourgaeana, H. latispatha; Heliconiaceae)

Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia) Provide a 21st-Century Perspective on Infraspecific Ranks and Interspecific Hybrids: A Modest Proposal for Appropriate Recognition and Usage

The taxonomic use of infraspecific ranks (subspecies, variety, subvariety, form, and subform), and the formal recognition of interspecific hybrid taxa, is permitted by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. However, considerable confusion regarding the biological and systematic merits is caused by current practice in the use of infraspecific ranks, which obscures the meaningful variability on which natural selection operates, and by the formal recognition of those interspecific hybrids that lack the potential for inter-lineage gene flow. These issues also may have pragmatic and legal consequences, especially regarding the legal delimitation and management of Threatened and Endangered Species. A detailed comparison of three contemporary floras highlights the degree to which infraspecific and interspecific variation are treated inconsistently. An in depth analysis of taxonomy of the North American flowering plant genus Sarracenia (Sarraceniaceae) provides an ideal case study illustrating the confusion that can arise from inconsistent and apparently arbitrary designation of infraspecific ranks and hybrid taxa. To alleviate these problems, we propose the abandonment of infraspecific ranks of “variety” and “form”, and discourage naming of sterile interspecific hybrids except for use in the horticultural or agronomic trade. Our recommendations for taxonomic practice are in accord with the objectives proposed in the Systematics Agenda 2000, Systematics Agenda 2020, and the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Allozyme variation and genetic relationships among species in the Carex willdenowii complex (Cyperaceae)

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142149/1/ajb20546.pd

Protecting stable biological nomenclatural systems enables universal communication: A collective international appeal

The fundamental value of universal nomenclatural systems in biology is that they enable unambiguous scientific communication. However, the stability of these systems is threatened by recent discussions asking for a fairer nomenclature, raising the possibility of bulk revision processes for “inappropriate” names. It is evident that such proposals come from very deep feelings, but we show how they can irreparably damage the foundation of biological communication and, in turn, the sciences that depend on it. There are four essential consequences of objective codes of nomenclature: universality, stability, neutrality, and transculturality. These codes provide fair and impartial guides to the principles governing biological nomenclature and allow unambiguous universal communication in biology. Accordingly, no subjective proposals should be allowed to undermine them.Fil: Jiménez Mejías, Pedro. Universidad Pablo de Olavide.; EspañaFil: Manzano, Saúl. University of Cape Town; Sudáfrica. Nelson Mandela University; SudáfricaFil: Gowda, Vinita. Indian Institute of Science Education and Research; IndiaFil: Krell, Frank Thorsten. Denver Museum Of Nature And Science; Estados UnidosFil: Lin, Mei Ying. Mianyang Normal University; ChinaFil: Martín Bravo, Santiago. Universidad Pablo de Olavide; EspañaFil: Martín Torrijos, Laura. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Real Jardín Botánico; EspañaFil: Nieto Feliner, Gonzalo. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Real Jardín Botánico; EspañaFil: Mosyakin, Sergei L.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Real Jardín Botánico; EspañaFil: Naczi, Robert F. C.. New York Botanical Garden; Estados UnidosFil: Acedo, Carmen. Universidad de León; EspañaFil: Álvarez, Inés. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Real Jardín Botánico; EspañaFil: Crisci, Jorge Victor. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Luceño Garcés, Modesto. Universidad Pablo de Olavide; EspañaFil: Manning, John. South African National Biodiversity Institute; SudáfricaFil: Moreno Saiz, Juan Carlos. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Muasya, A Muthama. University of Cape Town; SudáfricaFil: Riina, Ricarda. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Real Jardín Botánico; EspañaFil: Sánchez Meseguer, Andrea. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Real Jardín Botánico; EspañaFil: Sánchez Mata, Daniel. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Real Jardín Botánico; España. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Melo, María Cecilia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de Entomología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Laurito, Magdalena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Dellapé, Pablo Matías. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de Entomología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin

A tale of worldwide success: Behind the scenes of Carex (Cyperaceae) biogeography and diversification

The megadiverse genus Carex (c. 2000 species, Cyperaceae) has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution, displaying an inverted latitudinal richness gradient with higher species diversity in cold-temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Despite great expansion in our knowledge of the phylogenetic history of the genus and many molecular studies focusing on the biogeography of particular groups during the last few decades, a global analysis of Carex biogeography and diversification is still lacking. For this purpose, we built the hitherto most comprehensive Carex-dated phylogeny based on three markers (ETS–ITS–matK), using a previous phylogenomic Hyb-Seq framework, and a sampling of two-thirds of its species and all recognized sections. Ancestral area reconstruction, biogeographic stochastic mapping, and diversification rate analyses were conducted to elucidate macroevolutionary biogeographic and diversification patterns. Our results reveal that Carex originated in the late Eocene in E Asia, where it probably remained until the synchronous diversification of its main subgeneric lineages during the late Oligocene. E Asia is supported as the cradle of Carex diversification, as well as a “museum” of extant species diversity. Subsequent “out-of-Asia” colonization patterns feature multiple asymmetric dispersals clustered toward present times among the Northern Hemisphere regions, with major regions acting both as source and sink (especially Asia and North America), as well as several independent colonization events of the Southern Hemisphere. We detected 13 notable diversification rate shifts during the last 10 My, including remarkable radiations in North America and New Zealand, which occurred concurrently with the late Neogene global cooling, which suggests that diversification involved the colonization of new areas and expansion into novel areas of niche space.This work was carried out with financial support by the National Science Foundation (Award #1255901 to ALH and Award #1256033 to EHR), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project CGL2016–77401‐P to SM-B and ML), the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (McIntire Stennis project 1018692 to DS) as well as postdoctoral fellowships towards SM‐B (Universidad Pablo de Olavide, PP16/12‐APP), and PJ‐M (National Science Foundation, Award #1256033, and the Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellowship program)

Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Carnivorous Plant Family Sarraceniaceae

The carnivorous plant family Sarraceniaceae comprises three genera of wetland-inhabiting pitcher plants: Darlingtonia in the northwestern United States, Sarracenia in eastern North America, and Heliamphora in northern South America. Hypotheses concerning the biogeographic history leading to this unusual disjunct distribution are controversial, in part because genus- and species-level phylogenies have not been clearly resolved. Here, we present a robust, species-rich phylogeny of Sarraceniaceae based on seven mitochondrial, nuclear, and plastid loci, which we use to illuminate this family's phylogenetic and biogeographic history. The family and genera are monophyletic: Darlingtonia is sister to a clade consisting of Heliamphora+Sarracenia. Within Sarracenia, two clades were strongly supported: one consisting of S. purpurea, its subspecies, and S. rosea; the other consisting of nine species endemic to the southeastern United States. Divergence time estimates revealed that stem group Sarraceniaceae likely originated in South America 44–53 million years ago (Mya) (highest posterior density [HPD] estimate = 47 Mya). By 25–44 (HPD = 35) Mya, crown-group Sarraceniaceae appears to have been widespread across North and South America, and Darlingtonia (western North America) had diverged from Heliamphora+Sarracenia (eastern North America+South America). This disjunction and apparent range contraction is consistent with late Eocene cooling and aridification, which may have severed the continuity of Sarraceniaceae across much of North America. Sarracenia and Heliamphora subsequently diverged in the late Oligocene, 14–32 (HPD = 23) Mya, perhaps when direct overland continuity between North and South America became reduced. Initial diversification of South American Heliamphora began at least 8 Mya, but diversification of Sarracenia was more recent (2–7, HPD = 4 Mya); the bulk of southeastern United States Sarracenia originated co-incident with Pleistocene glaciation, <3 Mya. Overall, these results suggest climatic change at different temporal and spatial scales in part shaped the distribution and diversity of this carnivorous plant clade

Protecting stable biological nomenclatural systems enables universal communication: A collective international appeal.

peer reviewedThe fundamental value of universal nomenclatural systems in biology is that they enable unambiguous scientific communication. However, the stability of these systems is threatened by recent discussions asking for a fairer nomenclature, raising the possibility of bulk revision processes for "inappropriate" names. It is evident that such proposals come from very deep feelings, but we show how they can irreparably damage the foundation of biological communication and, in turn, the sciences that depend on it. There are four essential consequences of objective codes of nomenclature: universality, stability, neutrality, and transculturality. These codes provide fair and impartial guides to the principles governing biological nomenclature and allow unambiguous universal communication in biology. Accordingly, no subjective proposals should be allowed to undermine them