Taxonomy, Volume 2, Issue 3 (September 2022) – 8 articles

The intraorganismal variability of the shoot modules of three species of hydroids was studied to determine the degree of similarity between them. The strict form of the internodes (modules) of the shoots is repeated many times, which is useful for the study of intraorganismal variability. Against the general background of the high stability of the shape of the internodes, we found significant deviations from the norm. Some resemble the structure of the internodes in other genera of the same family. Their morphogenesis is different from that characteristic of the studied species. Most of the anomalies were characterized by stable forms and low frequencies of occurrence (<0.2%). After the appearance of abnormal internodes, normal ones were found to usually re-form. Thus, it is doubtful that the anomalies were caused by mutations. There is also no reason to believe that the anomalies were caused by environmental factors, since they always formed singly along with normal shoot modules of the same modular organism. In Dynamena pumila, Diphasia fallax, and Abietinaria abietina, the composition of their morphovariations was found to be similar, and their frequencies were comparable, which confirms the assumption that several latent phenotypes can be formed indeterminately based on one genotype. The study was conducted on samples of >20,000 internodes of each of the three species. Full article

Concepts in science have an important role: They delimit and specify objects, activities, processes, and abstract entities. When terms are diffuse, mean different things to different persons, and lead more to qualifications than demarcation, they cease to be concepts and may become labels, which are informal alternative designations. There are many labels in science and they have become abundant in taxonomy: α-taxonomy, integrative-taxonomy, iterative-taxonomy, etc., are only a few examples. α-taxonomy is a negative label that obtained popularity at the same time the term α-diversity became popular in ecology. The label α-taxonomy conveys a negative meaning to taxonomy because the nature of its evidence—originally morphological—is seen by many as “merely descriptive” and, thereby, supposedly inferior to other forms of evidence. This has contributed to substantial and unwarranted damage to the status of this science and to the careers of taxonomists. The recent history of methodologies for species delimitation shows that what some have considered of low value (morphology), compared to “new” data (molecular), is in many cases the critical factor to delimit species. We propose to eschew these kinds of labels and simply refer to taxonomy to avoid stigmatizing of any kind of practicing taxonomist, whether focused on morphology, cytology, molecular biology, or other fields of biology. Taxonomy implies the use of the current best evidence, theories, and methods to demarcate species and their relationships. Full article

Ceratozamia schiblii (Zamiaceae), a new species endemic to the highlands of eastern Oaxaca, Mexico, is described. The new species is part of the C. robusta species complex, which is a group of closely related species with very similar morphology. Among them, the new species can be distinguished by its brown leaflets in emerging leaves, a very long peduncle in seed cones, and the green color of mature pollen cones. Compared with the other species in the C. robusta species complex, C. schiblii has one of the longest rachides, and the highest number of leaflet pairs. The recognition of C. schiblii apparently resolves the total number of species within the C. robusta species complex. The region where C. schiblii populations occur coincides with the Neogene refugia areas of the Neotropical flora, which adds evidence to the importance of the mountain systems from Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico, in the diversification history of cycads. Full article

Silene taxonomy, traditionally based on morphological characteristics, is now driven by DNA sequence analysis. While the usefulness of both morphological and molecular methods remains undisputed, there is an interest in the identification of the morphological characteristics useful in taxonomy. A quantitative morphological analysis of seeds belonging to Silene species is presented here and is based on seed image samples for 95 populations belonging to 52 species (49 species of Silene and 3 related species). According to the silhouette of lateral views of their seed images, Silene species are classified into three groups: smooth, rugose and echinate. The measurements taken for the lateral and dorsal views of the seeds include area, circularity, roundness, aspect ratio and solidity; differences between groups are found for all characteristics. Solidity is the ratio between the area of the seed silhouette and the corresponding convex hull. It is related to seed convexity and is the measurement with the lowest coefficient of variation. In the lateral views, solidity values are conserved, while in the dorsal views, differences are found between the three groups. The group of echinate seeds has the highest values of solidity in the dorsal views, and their species belong to S. subg. Behenantha and S. subg. Lychnis. The group of smooth seeds contains mainly species corresponding to S. subg. Silene, while species of S. subg. Lychnis are absent. Full article

Euphorbia marciae, a new species from the lowlands of the Balsas Depression in southwestern Mexico, is described and illustrated. The species was first collected by the renowned botanist George B. Hinton during his explorations of the area in the 1930s. It is known from only five collections made in northwestern Guerrero and the extreme southwestern portion of the state of México, at elevations from 250 to 610 m. Vegetation of the area is tropical deciduous forest. Euphorbia marciae belongs to Euphorbia subg. Chamaesyce sect. Anisophyllum and resembles E. apatzingana, E. hyssopifolia, and E. nutans. However, it differs from these species in having smooth seeds. The seeds are nearly identical to those of E. pionosperma, an endemic species occurring in the Sierra Madre Occidental of eastern Sonora and western Chihuahua. However, the leaves of E. pionosperma are more conspicuously serrate and have larger stipules. In addition, Euphorbia pionosperma has smaller involucres and involucral appendages. Following IUCN Redlist criteria, E. marciae should be treated as Data Deficient (DD) until the species can be relocated and its populations field evaluated. Full article

In this paper, a new species from Central China, Amana hejiaqingii (Liliaceae), is described and illustrated. It resembles A. anhuiensis and A. tianmuensis but differs from A. anhuiensis as it has one white vein on its lower leaf and yellow anthers. It also differs from A. tianmuensis by possessing solitary pink flowers with longer and wider tepals. The principal coordinates analysis separated the three species based on morphological data. Cytological observation showed that A. hejiaqingii is diploid (2n = 2x = 24). Molecular phylogenetic analyses further supported its species delimitation. Full article

Chromosome numbers are reported for 67 individuals of 13 species of Solidago sect. Erectae, S. sect. Squarrosae, and S. sect. Villosicarpae from 65 locations in eastern Canada and the eastern United States: S. bicolor, S. erecta, S. hispida, S. jejunifolia, S. pallida, S. puberula, S. pulverulenta, S. rigidiuscula, S. roanensis, S. sciaphila, S. speciosa, S. squarrosa, and S. villosicarpa. Cytogeography maps based on new reports and all 258 previously published reports from 230 locations for the three sections plus S. sect. Brintonia (S. discoidea) are presented for 20 of the 30 species in the four closely related sections. The following are either first documented reports for the taxon or just first counts for a taxon from particular provinces and states: Solidago bicolor, 2n = 18 from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island; S. hispida var. hispida, 2n = 18 from New Hampshire, New Brunswick, and Wisconsin; S. jejunifolia, 2n = 18 from Michigan and Minnesota; S. pallida, 2n = 18 from Wyoming; S. puberula, 2n = 18 from Pennsylvania, Prince Edward Island, and Virginia; and first reports for S. sciaphila, 2n = 36 from Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Full article