Enrique Baquero

An alien ectosymbiotic branchiobdellidan (Annelida: Clitellata) adopting exotic crayfish: a biological co-invasion with unpredictable consequences

Abstract Invasive alien species present a global threat to biodiversity, particularly where pathogens and symbionts are involved. Branchiobdellidans are clitellate annelids with an obligate ectosymbiotic association primarily on astacoidean crayfish. There are several examples of branchiobdellidan species adopting a geographically exotic host where endemic and exotic crayfishes cohabit the same water body. The first records of a western North American branchiobdellidan, Xironogiton victoriensis, adopting the eastern North American crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, in 2 river basins in Spain provide further evidence of the ectosymbionts’ tolerance to adopt an exotic host. Given worldwide translocations of these and other commercial crayfish species, limnologists and agency managers need to be alert for further introductions of X. victoriensis and other branchiobdellidans. Impacts of these exotic ectosymbionts on habitat and biota at a new location are unknown, as are their consequences on native biodiversity.

Myosporidium merluccius n. g., n. sp. Infecting Muscle of Commercial Hake (Merluccius sp.) from Fisheries near Namibia

Abstract. A new species of Microsporidia classified to a new genus was observed in the trunk muscle of commercial hake (Merluccius capensis/paradoxus complex) from Namibian fisheries. Macroscopic examination revealed thin and dark filaments inserted among muscle fibers. Inside the filaments were many sporophorous vesicles with about 30–50 spores per vesicle. The shape of the spore was pyriform and the extruded polar filament was of moderate length (up to 4.29 μm, n=12). This new species of Microsporidia is described using macrophotography, microphotography, staining, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), as well as molecular methods. Its 16S rRNA was found to be similar to that of Microsporidium prosopium Kent et al., 1999, while both sequences were quite different from 16S rRNA sequences known for other Microsporidia. Nevertheless, this new species is separated morphologically from M. prosopium by the presence of 11–12 anisofilar coils and the formation of the xenoma at the site of infection. Type species

Reviews of the genera Schaefferia Absolon, 1900, Deuteraphorura Absolon, 1901, Plutomurus Yosii, 1956 and the Anurida Laboulbène, 1865 species group without eyes, with the description of four new species of cave springtails (Collembola) from Krubera-Voronya cave, Arabika Massif, Abkhazia

Summary Krubera-Voronya cave and other deep systems in Arabika Massif are being explored during many speleological expeditions. A recent Ibero-Russian exploration expedition (summer of 2010) took place in this cave with the aim of providing a study of the biocenosis of the deepest known cave in the world. Four new species of Collembola were found at different depths: Schaefferia profundissima n. sp., Anurida stereoodorata n. sp., Deuteraphorura kruberaensis n. sp., and Plutomurus ortobalaganensis n. sp., the last one at -1980 m deep. The identification and description of the new species have required the careful study of all congeneric species, implying a revision of each genus. As a result of this work tables and keys to all significant characters for each species are presented.

Biodiversity of the Collembola Fauna of Wetland Kerkini (N. Greece), with description of the sexual dimorphism of Entomobrya atrocincta Schött 1896 (Collembola: Entomobryomorpha)

abstract A report on the results of a research into some aspects of the collembolan fauna of the Greek Nature Reserve associated with Lake Kerkini, known as Wetland Kerkini, is presented. The nature reserve is large and includes a wide variety of habitats, many of which were not included in this preliminary survey. From the areas sampled we recorded 44 species, of which 39 were previously described, two (Folsomia potapovi Jordana & Baquero n. sp., Entomobrya naziridisi Jordana & Baquero n. sp. ), are new to science, while three are identified to generic level; a further 21 are new records for Greece, and an additional 11 species are new records to the Greek Mainland. Sampling with Berlese-Tullgren funnels and Malaise traps allowed us to capture species typical of soil and species present over vegetation. This summary is based on the records held in the online database of the Fauna Europaea Project.

Comparative analysis of the dorsal chaetotaxy of Troglopedetes, Trogolaphysa, and Campylothorax supports the synonymization of tribes Paronellini and Troglopedetini (Collembola: Paronellidae).

Abstract Genera in subfamily Paronellinae have been grouped into five tribes, in part based on chaetotaxy. Tribes Bromacanthini, Paronellini, and Troglopedetini are characterized by having rounded scales and reduced or no macrochaetae, and although Bromacanthini harbors two well-differentiated genera, the core genera in tribes Paronellini and Troglopedetini form a homogeneous group where even generic diagnoses were, until recently, unclear. The genera assigned to Troglopedetini ( Troglopedetes Absolon, Trogolaphysa Mills, and Cyphoderopsis Carpenter) harbor many species with reduced eyes number, whereas the tribe Paronellini (genera Paronella Schött, Dicranocentruga Wray and Campylothorax Schött) includes species with 6–8 eyes. Recent analyses of the chaetotaxy of Trogolaphysa and Cyphoderopsis suggest that these genera represent specialized forms related to species in Paronellini. The taxonomy of Troglopedetes , the type genus of Troglopedetini, is based almost exclusively on claw and mucro shape and dorsal macrochaetae pattern, and few details of the complete dorsal chaetotaxy of the species are known. This contribution presents a comparative analysis of the complete dorsal chaetotaxy of two species of Troglopedetes from Spain (one new to science), two new species of Trogolaphysa from the Dominican Republic and Martinique, and Campylothorax sabanus with the purpose of identifying aspects of the chaetotaxy that could provide diagnostic characters for the separation of Trogolaphysa and Troglopedetes , and a new diagnosis for tribe Troglopedetini. The analysis shows that neither the number of chaetae nor its organization or pattern of macrochaeta provides diagnostic differences between Trogolaphysa and Troglopedetes . It is also concluded that the separation of Paronellini and Troglopedetini is not justified. Troglopedetini is here synonymized with Paronellini, and a new diagnosis of Paronellini is provided.

A new type of arthropod photoreceptor.

A new type of photoreceptor for the phylum Arthropoda, found in the class Collembola (Arthropoda, Hexapoda) is reported. This new light-sensitive structure consists of a pair of interocular vesicles present in the genus Vesicephalus Richards, 1964 and is anatomically related to the cluster of ommatidia. The absence of a lens, the presence of a rabdome in the upper part of the vesicle and the reflection and refraction of light by a hemolymph bubble with incidence to the rhabdomeric structure are the main traits of this new photoreceptor.

Invading the invaders: relationships of an exotic branchiobdellidan with its exotic host and environmental conditions

Abstract Environmental conditions and host features that influence the abundance of an exotic branchiobdellidan were studied. One of the most widespread invasive crayfish species in Europe is the signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus (Dana, 1825). Along with this invasive crayfish, other alien species that live on the crayfish’s body surface, such as bacteria, algae, fungi and invertebrates, were introduced. One of these symbiont species is a branchiobdellidan worm, Xironogiton victoriensis (Gelder and Hall, 1990). Because a previous study identified this exotic branchiobdellidan in 3 different and spatially separate populations of the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii (Girard, 1852), an investi-gation into the factors affecting its abundance was necessary. We sampled 1817 sites between 2005 and 2013 in the Ebro Basin (Spain), and the distributions of X. victoriensis and P. leniusculus were represented and interpreted. Furthermore, we sampled 2914 crayfish from 43 Spanish localities to investigate the influence of environmental conditions and host features (sex, body size, body condition, density and ecdysis) on the abundance of X. victoriensis. The abundance of the branchiobdellidan was higher in the largest individuals and in those showing the best body condition. The crayfish body condition (or welfare) increased significantly with the branchiobdellidan infestation, suggesting that mutualism is the biological relationship between X. victoriensis and P. leniusculus. Although 91.04% of the adult signal crayfish were infested with X. victoriensis, only 59.3% of the juveniles were infested. Nonmolted crayfish had higher branchiobdellidan abundance than that of recently molted host specimens; however, the abundance of the symbiont did not differ between sexes and host densities. Finally, biochemical oxygen demand, phosphates, coliforms, and potassium were positively related with the branchiobdellidan abundance. The relationships between some environmental variables and the abundance of branchiobdellidans have not been previously well studied, and these findings will be important for risk assessments and models predicting the spread of exotic branchiobdellidans.

Incidence of Anagrus obscurus (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) egg parasitism on Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis and Platycnemis pennipes (Odonata: Calopterygidae: Platycnemididae) in Italy

Very little is known about the incidence of egg parasitoids in odonates, perhaps because Odonata eggs are well protected by stems or leaves, sometimes below water. In Central Italy (Pontecorvo, Frosinone Province) two damselflies, Calopteryx haemorrhoidalis and Platycnemis pennipes, occur in high densities. In August 2007 we collected 30 stems of the aquatic plant Potamogeton sp. used as substrate for oviposition and incubated eggs in the laboratory. Most stems (24 for C. haemorrhoidalis and 23 for P. pennipes) contained Odonata eggs. Parasitoids emerged from 12 stems, with a mean parasitism of 2% for C. haemorrhoidalis and 6% for P. pennipes, and a maximum of 14% and 50%, respectively. Furthermore, we observed egg‐laying of 19 females of C. haemorrhoidalis and 11 of P. pennipes, and marked the stems where oviposition was observed. Clutches remained in the river for five days and were then collected and incubated. Parasitoids emerged from 11 of 30 stems, with an average parasitism of 8% for C. haemorrhoidalis and 3% for P. pennipes (maximums of 50% and 29%, respectively). All parasitoids belonged to the family Mymaridae, and were identified as Anagrus (Anagrus) obscurus Förster, 1861, sensu Soyka, 1955 . This is the first time that this species is described as an egg parasitoid of odonates, and that the egg parasitoid of C. haemorrhoidalis and P. pennipes is identified. Our data suggest that egg parasitism might be a significant selective factor for both odonates in the studied locality, affecting female oviposition behavior.

A DISJUNCT DISTRIBUTION FOR A NEW SPECIES OF ORCHESELLIDES (COLLEMBOLA, ENTOMOBRYIDAE, ORCHESELLINAE)

ABSTRACT A new species of Orchesellides is described from material collected in the Valsaín forest (Segovia, Spain), and conserved in the collection of the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN), CSIC, Madrid. The genus was known only from the eastern Palaearctic, Oriental, and Indo-Pacific (Hawaii) regions. This is the first reference for the genus from the western Palaearctic region, creating an interesting disjunct distribution. The value of the morphological characteristics for the identification of the species is discussed.

New species of Pseudosinella (Collembola : Entomobryidae) from karst caves of the Basque bio-speleologic district

Abstract This paper is part of a broader research in karst caves of the north of the Iberian Peninsula and southwestern France. Seven new species and a subspecies of Pseudosinella have been found in the karst caves of the Basque bio-speleologic district: P. aramendiai n. sp., P. arrasatensis n. sp., P. duprei n. sp., P. luquei n. sp., P. jesusi n. sp., P. eskualduna n. sp., P. jeanpierrei n. sp. and P. subterranea baztanensis n. ssp. Descriptions and geographical distribution are given.