margaret 's batis or boulton 's batis ( batis margaritae ) is a species of small bird in the wattle-eyes family , platysteiridae .

it is found in south western central africa .

margaret ' s batis

margaret ' s batis <EOT> margaret ' s batis ( batis margaritae ) is a species of bird in the platysteiridae family .

the senegal batis is monotypic and any proposed subspecies are considered to be untenable . it appears to forma superspecies with grey - headed batis , chinspot batis , pririt batis and pale batis , with a possible overlap with pale batis in cameroon .

boulton , r ( 1934 ) new birds from angola . proc . biol . soc . wash . 47 : 45–48 . [ type description of margaret ' s batis , collected at mount moco ]

the gabon batis or verreaux ' s batis ( batis minima ) is a species of small bird in the family platysteiridae . it occurs in the humid forests of western central africa .

this coexistence , along with the geographical distribution of certain subspecies populations ( e . g . of margaret ' s batis ) , suggests that speciation occurred in cryptosepalum forest fragments when bird populations were isolated there during drier climate cycles .

( vieillot , 1818 ) – c & s botswana and w south africa ( e to free state , in s from s namaqualand e to w eastern cape ) .

the forest batis or short - tailed batis ( batis mixta ) is a species of bird in the wattle - eye family , platysteiridae occurring in eastern africa .

the angolan batis ( batis minulla ) is a species of bird in the family platysteiridae . it is found in western central africa .

mills , m . s . l . ( 2007a ) swierstra’s spurfowl pternistis swierstrai : a bibliography and summary of museum skins . bull . abc 14 : 175–180 .

( elliot , 1897 ) – s ethiopia , djibouti , n & s somalia and locally ne uganda ( mt moroto ) and n kenya ( moyale area ) .

louette , m . & de juana , e . ( 2018 ) . margaret ' s batis ( batis margaritae ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .

c . m . n . white , 1941 – s drcongo ( shilatembo , in s katanga ) and nw zambia ; possibly also extreme e angola ( e moxico ) .

the ecoregion lies within the eastern portion of the cameroon and gabon lowlands endemic bird area ( eba ) , and includes forest batis ( batis minima ) , rachel ' s malimbe ( malimbus racheliae ) , and forest swallow ( hirundo fuliginosa ) .

779 species . 1 endemic species : chaplin ' s barbet , on 1977 birds of zambia .

bingham , m . 1995 . zambia’s vegetation . retrieved ( 2000 ) from : urltoken vegetati . htm

( heuglin , 1870 ) – e sudan , ethiopia ( except sw & s ) and eritrea .

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the dark batis has a variety of whistling and harsh churring calls and its wings make a whirring sound in flight . the male ' s song is a series of short , low whistles .

the cape batis ( batis capensis ) is a small passerine bird in the wattle - eye family . it is resident in the highlands of southern and eastern south africa and zimbabwe .

b . m . ultima is smaller than the nominate with the make having a narrow white supercilium and a norrower breastband and b . m . reichenow shows a poorly defined chispot and otherwise looks closer to the cape batis batis capensis . genetic studies have shown that reichenowi , which was previously split either as a species in its own right or as a subspecies of cape batis , nestles within mixta but that the previously lumped dark batis batis brypta is a separate species .

the main call of the pygmy batis is a ling series of repeated sharp high pitched whistles .

ili nepre ne batis lin , they could not have ( surely did not ) beat him .

ili batis lin same kiel vin , they beat him the same as ( they did ) you .

mostly resident . some n - s movement in sw cape province , where it arrives during austral winter ; . . .

ili batis lin same kiel vi , they beat him in the same way as you ( did ) .

the pririt batis ( batis pririt ) also known as the pririt puff - back flycatcher or pririt puffback , is a small passerine bird in the wattle - eye family . it is resident in western and central southern africa .

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this species is very similar to the west african batis batis occulta and this somewhat masks its true distribution but the gabon batis has been found in gabon , the monte alen national park in equatorial guinea , the lowland dja area in southern cameroon and it has recently been discovered in the dzanga - ndoki national park in the extreme south of the central african republic .

the senegal batis inhabits low dry thorny scrub , sparsely treed grasslands and woody savannahs , including open acacia and baobab woodlands .

the pygmy batis ( batis perkeo ) is a very small insectivorous bird which finds its food foraging among leaves , it is a member of the wattle - eyes family , the platysteiridae . it occurs in the dry savannahs of north - eastern africa .

. cd - rom . cambridge , uk : birdlife international . [ information on the status of threatened birds , including swierstra ' s fracolin ] ]

( wahlberg , 1855 ) – sw angola ( s from benguela ) , namibia , w botswana and nw south africa ( nw northern cape ) .

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huntley , b . j . ( 1974 ) outlines of wildlife conservation in angola . j . s . afr wildl . management assoc . 5 : 157–166 .

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the family is overwhelmingly sedentary . however , some batis species undertake season migrations as well as some local movements due to changing local conditions .

others feed on grubs , such as the chaffinch , the sparrow , the ‘ batis ’ , the green linnet , and the titmouse .

mills , m . s . l . ( 2007b ) vocalisations of angolan birds . volume 1 . cd - rom . cape town : birdsangola and birding africa .

muleta , s . , p . simasiku , g . kalyocha , c . kasutu , m . walusiku and s . mwiya . 1996 . proposed terms of reference for the preparation of the management plan for liuwa plains national park . report prepared for iucn upper zambezi wetlands and natural resources management project , western province , zambia .

mills , m . s . l . ( 2009 ) vocalisations of angolan birds : new descriptions and other notes . bull . abc 16 ( 2 ) : 150–166 .

the pygmy batis occurs in southern ethiopia , extreme south eastern south sudan , southern somalia , eastern uganda , inland kenya and north eastern tanzania .

mills , m . s . l . ( in prep . ) vocalisations of angolan birds . volume 2 . cd - rom . cape town : birdsangola and birding africa .

au levant , au septentrion et au midi , elle a une grande plaine ; au ponant , une montagne au pied de laquelle sont batis les faubourgs .

the senegal batis is found from southern mauritania , senegal and gambia east to nigeria and north and central cameroon , east to the benoué plain and mandara mountains .

collar , n . j . and stuart , s . n . ( 1985 ) threatened birds of africa and related islands . cambridge , uk : international council for bird preservation / iucn .

ruiz - esparza , j . , da rocha , p . a . , ribeiro , a . d . , ferrari , s . f . & araujo , h . f . p .

the main call of the senegal batis is a series of medium piched double and triple note whistles which do not vary in pitch and are frequently introduced with buzzy notes .

benson , c . w . and m . p . s . irwin . 1965 . the birds of cryptosepalum forests , zambia . arnoldia ( rhodesia ) 28 ( 1 ) : 1 - 12 .

alexander , 1908 – ne nigeria ( just w of l chad from arege to malamfatori ) , ne cameroon , s chad , n central african republic , sw sudan , south sudan and w ethiopia .

collar , n . j . and stuart , s . n . ( 1988 ) key forests for threatened birds in africa . icbp monograph no 3 . cambridge , uk : international council for bird preservation .

mills , m . s . l . and dean , w . r . j . ( 2007 ) notes on angolan birds : new country records , range extensions and taxonomic questions . ostrich 78 : 55–63 .

the gabon batis is suspected to be experiencing a reduction in range and population as a result of forest clearance and degradation , however the rate of the suspected decline has not been estimated .

hall , b . p . ( 1960 ) the ecology and taxonomy of some angolan birds . bull . br . mus . ( nat . hist . ) 6 : 367–463 . [ notes on swierstra ' s francolin ]

mills , m . s . l . , franke , u . , joseph , g . , miato , f . , milton , s . , monadjem , a . , oschadleus , d . and dean , w . r . j . ( in press ) cataloguing the lubango bird skin collection : towards an atlas of angolan bird distributions . bull . abc mills , m . s . l . , olmos , f . , melo , m . and dean , w . r . j . ( submitted ) . the avifauna of the highlands of western angola and the importance of conserving shrinking afromontane forests at the proposed mount moco special reserve . bird conserv . int .

collar , n . j . and s . n . stuart . 1985 . threatened birds of africa and related islands . the icbp / iucn red data book , part 1 . 3rd edition . icbp , cambridge , uk .

louette , m . ( 2018 ) . pririt batis ( batis pririt ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .

louette , m . ( 2018 ) . grey - headed batis ( batis orientalis ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .

the forest batis has a slightly shorter tail . males of the two species are very similar but forest batises have a narrower breastband and usually some hint of a white supercilium which is lacking in the male dark batis . the females are more distinctive : female forest batises have a paler breast and chin with more white tips giving a mottled appearance . there is a conspicuous white supercilium and a broad rufous wing - stripe .

schulze , r . e . and o . s . mcgee . 1978 . climatic indices and classification in relation to the biogeography of southern africa . m . j . a . werger , editor . biogeography and ecology of southern africa . w . junk , the hague .

the calls of the angola batis are little known , the territorial call is a series of high - pitched notes , " zee - zee - zee - zee - zee " , which has been likened to a squeaky bicycle pump .

the presence of the angola batis in south eastern gabon is yet to be confirmed but the species occurs in the southern congo through western democratic republic of congo into northern angola south to the quiçama national park , 70 km from luanda .

one species , the banded wattle - eye , is considered threatened by human activities . the species has a restricted range in cameroon that is vulnerable to forest clearance and is listed as endangered by the iucn . two further species are considered near - threatened , the gabon batis and the white - fronted wattle - eye ; both species are threatened by habitat loss . some species are also very poorly known , and one species , the dark batis , was only identified as a species in 2006

taxonomy : batis diops jackson , 1905 , ruwenzori , drcongo . this species and b . margaritae probably belong to the superspecies that also contains b . capensis , b . reichenowi , b . mixta , b . crypta and b . fratrum . monotypic .

size and body proportions are quite variable within this family . the genus dyaphorophyia is very short - tailed , and most batis species are rather short - tailed , but the platysteira wattle - eyes have a moderately long tail . among the shrike - flycatchers , megabyas . . .

the angola batis occurs in secondary and riverine gallery forest , thick woodland dominated by croton spp as well as adjacent bush , tickets and the ecotone between forest and savannah . occasionally recorded in dry woodland , especially in the southern part of its range , as well as coffee plantations .

disclaimer : itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available , and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties . however , it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes . while every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up - to - date information available , ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the united states is a party , wildlife statutes , regulations , and any applicable notices that have been published in the federal register . for further information on u . s . legal requirements with respect to protected taxa , please contact the u . s . fish and wildlife service .

recommended citation birdlife international ( 2018 ) species factsheet : batis margaritae . downloaded from urltoken on 09 / 07 / 2018 . recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species : birdlife international ( 2018 ) iucn red list for birds . downloaded from urltoken on 09 / 07 / 2018 .

the breeding biology of the gabon batis is little known but young have been observed during the rainy season following the short dry season , september and february in gabon , and the young stay with their parents for an extended period . solitary , probably dispersing immatures were seen in the long dry season in july and august .

taxonomy : batis margaritae boulton , 1934 , mount moco , 6500 feet [ c . 1980 m ] , angola . this species and b . diops probably belong to the superspecies that also contains b . capensis , b . reichenowi , b . mixta , b . crypta and b . fratrum . two subspecies recognized .

the gabon batis is found in lowland forest , normally lower than 800m . it avoids primary rainforest , other than at the forest edge , and prefers secondary forest with a dense but broken canopy and thick , low undergrowth , as well as overgrown cacao and coffee plantations . it avoids cultivated land and the vicinity of villages and other man - made habitats .

warm , cloudy nights , with a little wind stirring , are generally the most favourable ; but one of the best nights i ever had amongst the " peach blossoms " and " buff arches " ( thyatira batis and derasa ) was in a wood in warwickshire , when the rain fell in torrents , accompanied with fierce lightning and thunder , from about 11 p . m .

the gabon batis is an arboreal forager , preferring to find food above heights of 5m from the ground . it is attracted by flowering trees and prefers to forage in small leafed trees . prey is gleaned from leaves by hovering beside the tree , or in flight or is disturbed by the moving bird and swooped on . the favoured prey is various insects between 5mm and 15mm in length .

description location and general description this small but distinctive ecoregion consists almost entirely of dense evergreen forest dominated by cryptosepalum exfoliatum pseudotaxus , known locally as " mavunda . " it falls into white’s ( 1983 ) zambezian regional center of endemism and is mapped as ‘zambezian dry evergreen forest . ’ the two main blocks of cryptosepalum forest are found to the north and south of the kabompo river . together they constitute the largest area of tropical evergreen forest in africa outside the equatorial zone ( bingham 1995 ) .

it is an arboreal forager and its insect prey is mostly gleaned from foliage , in the outer patrts of branches , sometimes on trunks or stems but almost never on the ground . it will flycatch or hawk insects in the air , making sallies of up to 2m to catch prey from a perch , has also been known to impale larger prey on thorns . the fork - tailed drongo has been recorded as kelptoparasitising prey from the senegal batis .

only one protected area , the west lunga national park , falls within this ecoregion . it is surrounded in the east , north and west by game management areas , which provide some protection to game in the form of hunting restrictions . details of the park are found in wcmc’s protected areas database ( http : \ \ www . wcmc . org . uk ) . the large lavushi manda national park falls within the central zambezian miombo woodland ecoregion , but includes some cryptosepalum forest patches along rivers within miombo brachystegia - julbernardia woodland vegetation .

the pygmy batis is an active , arboreal bird which lives in pairs or small family groups . its habits are considered to be likely to be similar to other savannah batises . they feed mainly within the foliage and glean most of their insect prey from leaves and twigs , with a small proportion taken on the wing . it will join other bird species in mixed foraging parties . the breeding biology is almost unknown but egg laying probably occurs in february and march .

the habits of the forest batis are little known , there have been indications of breeding behaviour in may and june in kenya , september and october in tanzania and a single nest with a clutch of 2 eggs has been recorded . like other batises the largest groups seen are small family groups and pairs are territorial . calling males make a repetitive , slow series of hu - hu - hu - hu whistles and they puff their white throat feathers out while performing this song .

the pygmy batis , as its name suggests , is a tint , rather dumpy but dapper black , white and grey bird with similarities to the flycatchers . the male has a bluish - grey head and back with a contrasting black face mask and short white supercilium above the yellow eye . the rump and lower back are spotted with white and the rump feathers are relatively long giving a fluffy appearance . it has black wings which have a broad white strip formed by the broad white edges to feathers of the median and greater coverts , and the inner secondaries and tertials . the tail is black but the outer tail feathers have white edges and tips . the underparts are white , broken with a narrow black breast band . the females are similar to the males but have a pale rufous - buff breast band and chin and the face mask , supercilium and wing stripe are buffy brown . the bill and legs are black . the pygmy batis has a body length of 8–9 cm and a weight of 5–9g .

taxonomy : batis reichenowi grote , 1911 , mikindani , tanzania . forms a superspecies with b . capensis , b . mixta , b . crypta and b . fratrum , probably also with b . margaritae and b . diops . formerly considered a race of b . capensis or , more often , of b . mixta ; has some characteristics of both , and recent genetic and morphological information links it most closely to latter ; contrary to some published statements , however , there is no acoustic evidence for its inclusion in either . monotypic .

the habits of the angola batis are little known , it feeds on insects which are often caught in the air by sallying from a perch , a behaviour called " flycatching " . the appear to be rather solitary , like other batises , being recorded mainly as single or in pairs . the cup shaped nest is built by both sexes from strips of bark and spider webs and is placed in the fork of a small tree at around head height . the only recorded cluches have consisted of 2 eggs . breeding behaviour has been observed in the democratic republic of congo in july .

the dark batis is about 10 centimetres in length and weighs 10 - 15 grams . it has a dark bill and legs and red eyes . the male is white below with a broad black breastband . above it has a dark grey crown , grey back with some black feather - tips , a black face - mask and black wings with a white stripe . the female has a greyish crown , brownish back , dark mask , slight white supercilium and a narrow rufous stripe on the wing . below it has a rufous chin - spot and breast with whitish tips to some of the feathers .

taxonomy : batis crypta fjeldså et al . , 2006 , mdandu forest , kipengere range west of njombe , ludewa district , iringa region , tanzania . until very recently was included as part of nominate race of b . mixta , but , following study of clear - cut morphological change in c tanzania and genetic differences , found to be a separate species ; related also to b . capensis , range of which it approaches without overlap in n malawi . these three belong to a superspecies that also includes b . reichenowi and b . fratrum , and probably also b . margaritae and b . diops . monotypic .

the senegal batis maintains a territory throughout the year which the male patrols daily , sitting on high open perches and singing . the territory is shared with the female and with any immatures from the previous years , and they are sometimes seen in family groups . if intruders are seen then the male undertakes and aggressive display which involves an upright stance with the bill held vertically , the breast and crown feather fluffed out , swinging his rear end while jerking his tail . in flight the aggressive display is a bouncing flight with the bill held up and the crown and rump fluffed out . it will also aggressively mob shrikes , especially the brubru with bill snapping and wing fripping but uses different behaviour when mobbing hornbills , cuckoos and pearl - spotted owlets or snakes . when mobbing the owlet it crouches , raises its head and shoulders and flicks its tail , the snakes are mobbed by hovering , rattling calls and bill snapping .

the angola batis is a small pied songbird with a rather dumpy appearance and a restless nature . the adult males have a buish greyforehead and crown with a small white spot on the lores and a glossy black mask across the eyes , extending on to the nape and down the sides of the neck with a white spot on the nape . it has a grey mantle , blackish scapulars with the back , rump and uppertail covers being blackish grey with white spots . the wings have black flight feathers with narrow white edges . there is a white wing stripe . the trail is black with white outer tail feathers . the underparts are white except for a black band across the breast and the greyish undertail coverts . the eyes are bright yellow while the bill and legs are black . the female is similar to the male but her breast band is chestnut rather than black . they are about 10 cm long and weigh 10 . 4g

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del hoyo , j . , collar , n . j . , christie , d . a . , elliott , a . , fishpool , l . d . c . , boesman , p . and kirwan , g . m . 2016 . hbw and birdlife international illustrated checklist of the birds of the world . volume 2 : passerines . lynx edicions and birdlife international , barcelona , spain and cambridge , uk .

justification : although this species may have a restricted range , it is not believed to approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the range size criterion ( extent of occurrence < 20 , 000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size , habitat extent / quality , or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation ) . the population trend appears to be stable , and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the population trend criterion ( > 30 % decline over ten years or three generations ) . the population size has not been quantified , but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the population size criterion ( < 10 , 000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be > 10 % in ten years or three generations , or with a specified population structure ) . for these reasons the species is evaluated as least concern .

the global population size has not been quantified , but the species is reported to be not uncommon to locally common ( urban et al . 1997 ) . trend justification : the population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats .

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) . small flycatcher - like and shrike - like bird with contrasting black , grey and white ( and some rufous ) colours . male . . .

call note a soft whistle , repeated usually about ten times ( up to 26 times recorded ) ; loud alarm . . .

nominate race occurs in evergreen forest on upper slopes of mt moco , which rises to over 2500 m . . . .

a nest found at mt moco , angola , in mid - jul contained 2 eggs ; the nest , placed in the fork of a sapling at c . 90 cm above the ground , was . . .

not globally threatened . has in the past been considered near - threatened . common in its very small range in angola and zambia , but known to occur at only a few localities ; . . .

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borrow , n . ( 2005 ) angola , 22 november - 14 december 2005 , tour report . unpublished report . available : urltoken ( accessed 30 / 4 / 2006 ) . [ report on birding in angola , including mount moco ]

brooke , r . k . ( 1970 ) geographical variation and distribution in apus barbatus , a . bradfieldi and a . niansae . ( aves : apodidae ) . durban mus . novit . 8 : 363–374 . [ discussses the moco specimen ]

cleere , n . ( 1995 ) the identification , taxonomy and distribution of the mountain nightjar caprimulgus poliocephalus / fiery - necked nightjar c . pectoralis complex . bull . abc 2 : 86–97 . [ information on ruwenzori nightjar , found at mount moco ]

dean , w . r . j . ( 2000 ) the birds of angola . bou checklist series : 18 . tring , uk : british ornithologists’ union .

dean , w . r . j . ( 2001 ) angola . pages 71–91 in fishpool , l . d . c . and evans , m . i . ( eds ) . important birds areas in africa and associated islands : priority sites for conservation . birdlife conservation series no . 11 . newbury and cambridge , uk : pisces publications and birdlife international .

heinrich , g . ( 1958a ) zur verbreitung und lebensweise der vögel von angola . j . ornithol . 99 : 121–141 .

heinrich , g . ( 1958b ) zur verbreitung und lebensweise der vögel von angola . systematischer teil i ( galli - muscicapidae ) . j . ornithol . 99 : 322–362 .

heinrich , g . ( 1958c ) zur verbreitung und lebensweise der vögel von angola . systematischer teil iii ( hirundinidae - fringillidae ) . j . ornithol . 99 : 399–421 .

huntley b . j . and matos , e . m . ( 1994 ) botanical diversity and its conservation in angola . stelitzia 7 : 53–74 .

pinto , a . a . ( 1983 ) ornitologia de angola . vol . 1 . lisbon : instituto de investigacão cientifica tropical .

sinclair , i . , spottiswoode , c . , cohen , c . mills , m . , cassidy , r . , vaz pinto , p . and ryan , p . ( 2004 ) . birding western angola . bull abc 11 ( 2 ) : 152–159 .

stattersfield , a . j . , crosby , m . j . , long , a . j . and wege , d . c . ( 1998 )

. birdlife conservation series no . 7 . cambridge , uk : birdlife international .

found mostly in zambia , this distinctive evergreen forest is confined to an area around the kabompo river . dominated by crypotsepalum exfoliatum pseudotaxus , this is the largest area of tropical evergreen forest outside the equatorial zone . growing on infertile kalahari sands and with no permanent surface water , the cryptosepalum dry forest has remained relatively uninhabited . these forests represent a transition from guineo - congolian rain forest to zambezian woodlands and are hence species - rich , but contain few endemics . the avifauna is especially rich , with a mixture of moist evergreen species , woodland species and wide - ranging species . however , little research has been conducted in this inaccessible region and basic ecological and habitat use assessments are still needed .

the ecoregion has a tropical savanna climate with mean annual temperatures between 20° and 22° c . the annual temperature range averages around 8° c . mean maximum temperatures are 28° to 30° c , and minimum temperatures are around 7° to 8° c ( schulze and mcgee 1978 ) . mean annual precipitation ranges from 800 to 1 , 200 mm . three seasons can be distinguished : a hot , dry season from august to october ; a hot , wet season from november to april ; and a cool , dry season from may to july .

biodiversity features although the flora and fauna of the cryptosepalum dry evergreen forests is distinct from surrounding ecoregions , there is only moderate species richness for most taxonomic groups and low levels of endemism . the area is , however , relatively poorly known biologically , and species values are likely to be underestimated .

cryptosepalum forests have a distinct and relatively rich avifauna with 381 known species , comprising a mixture of moist evergreen forest species , elements of the brachystegia woodland avifauna , and some widespread species . the highest levels of species richness are found where local habitat disturbance ( such as shifting cultivation ) has resulted in a mosaic of tree savanna , thicket , savanna woodland and forest ( oatley 1969 ) .

the ecoregion supports 34 species of reptiles and 14 species of amphibians , with no endemics . its reptile and amphibian fauna falls into a broad transition zone between the tropical fauna that has its centre in the mozambique plain , and the cape fauna of southwestern south africa . relatively few reptiles inhabit evergreen forest , and those that do are most likely to be encountered at the forest edge in clearings where the sun penetrates ( poynton and broadley 1978 ) .

types and severity of threats this ecoregion does not appear to be seriously threatened , although a lack of knowledge prevents a detailed assessment . for reasons discussed above , habitat fragmentation and destruction have not yet occurred on a large scale , and are unlikely to do so in the short - to medium - term given the sparse ( if growing ) human population , lack of water , and poor agricultural potential .

poaching is a general threat to wildlife in southwestern zambia , even within protected areas . lack of management , infrastructure and funds in protected areas make poaching very difficult to control , and although no data is available , west lunga is unlikely to be an exception . however , due to their remoteness and impenetrability , the cryptosepalum forests are probably less heavily poached than other , more open reserves in more populated areas .

this ecoregion forms part of larger complex of caesalpinoid woodland ecoregions that support wet and dry miombo , mopane , thicket , dry forests , baikiaea woodland , and flooded grassland habitats , among others . the dominance of caesalpinoid trees is a defining feature of this bioregion ( i . e . , a complex of biogeographically related ecoregions ) . major habitat types ( e . g . , mopane and miombo ) and the geographic separation of populations of large mammals are used to discriminate ecoregions within this larger region . all of these ecoregions contain habitats that differ from their assigned biome or defining habitat type . for example , patches of dry forest occur within larger landscapes of miombo woodlands in several areas . more detailed biogeographic analyses should map the less dominant habitat types that occur within the larger ecoregions .

references ansell , w . f . h . 1960 . mammals of northern rhodesia . government printer , lusaka .

darling , f . f . 1960 . wild life in an african territory . oxford university press , london .

oatley , t . b . 1969 . bird ecology in the evergreen forests of northwestern zambia . the puku 5 : 141 - 179

poynton , j . c . and d . g . broadley . 1978 . the herpetofauna . m . j . a . werger , editor . biogeography and ecology of southern africa . w . junk , the hague .

sibley , c . g . and b . l . monroe , jr . 1993 . distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world . ibis , vista , ca .

van der straeten , e . 1980 . a new species of lemniscomys ( muridae ) from zambia . annals of the cape provincial museums , natural history 13 : 55 - 62 .

van gils , h . 1988 . environmental profile of western province , zambia . itc report to provincial planning unit , mongu , zambia .

werger , m . j . a . and b . j . coetzee . 1978 . the sudano - zambezian region . m . j . a . werger , editor . biogeography and ecology of southern africa . w . junk , the hague .

white , f . 1983 . the vegetation of africa . a descriptive memoir to accompany the unesco / aetfat / unso vegetation map of africa ( 3 plates , northwestern africa , northeastern africa , and southern africa , 1 : 5 , 000 , 000 ) . unesco , paris .

wild , h . and l . a . grandvaux barbosa . 1967 . vegetation map of the flora zambesiaca area . flora zambesiaca supplement 1 - 71 . collins , salisbury .

winterbottom , j . m . 1978 . birds . m . j . a . werger , editor . biogeography and ecology of southern africa . w . junk , the hague .

world wildlife fund 1250 24th street , n . w . washington , dc 20037

it is found in the eastern arc mountains of east africa from the ukaguru mountains and uluguru mountains of central tanzania south - westwards as far as the misuku hills in northernmost malawi .

it inhabits evergreen forest from 540 to 2 , 140 metres above sea - level and is most common around 1 , 500 metres . it forages mainly in the lower and middle levels of trees , feeding on insects such as termites .

the preferred habitat is scrub made up of senegalia spp , commiphora spp and other " thorn " species in arid and semi - arid lowlands with rainfall falling between 250mm and 500mm per year . also found in wooded and bushy grassland , but avoids riverine forest .

the adult male has a velvety black head with a white loral spot and narrow supercilium , the head colour fades to blackish - grey on the hindcrown and is separated from the back by a white collar . the mantle and back are velvety - black with a mottled rump which has long , fluffy feathers . the wings are very black with a contrasting white wingstripe . the tail is black with white outer tail feathers . the underparts are white except for a glossy black breast band . the bill and legs are black and the eyes are golden yellow . the females is similar to the male but has a smaller loral spot and supercilium and has a narrower dark grey breast band . they are small birds measuring 9–10 cm in length and weighing 8–12g .

the song is a series of high , evenly pitched thin short notes " pee - pee - pee - pee " which resembles a squeaky bicycle pump .

greeney , h . f . , martin , p . r . , gelis , r . a . , solano - ugalde , a . , bonier , f . , freeman , b . & miller , e . t .

first records of white - winged nyctibius leucopterus and rufous potoos n . bracteatus in venezuela

gender agreement of avian species - group names under article 31 . 2 . 2 of the iczn code

handschuh , m . , van zalinge , r . n . , olsson , u . , samphos , p . , chamnan , h . & evans , t . d .

remarks concerning the all - black coastal boubous ( laniarius spp . ) of kenya and southern somalia

dowsett - lemaire , f . , demey , r . & dowsett , r . j .

silva , m . , albuquerque frança , b . r . , lima hagi , l . y . g . , neto , m . r . , oliveira , d . v . & pichorim , m .

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c . h . b . grant & mackworth - praed , 1940 – e red sea province of ne sudan .

10–11 cm ; 8·8–13·4 g . small flycatcher - like and shrike - like bird with contrasting black , grey and white ( and some rufous ) colours . male nominate race has forehead . . .

described as bell - like , usually 4 notes or metallic clicking and a series of high - pitched notes ; . . .

vegetation near large rivers in arid and semi - arid regions . habitat also described as dry savanna . . .

diet insects ; ants ( hymenoptera ) recorded . uses lower part or centre of tree . very active . gleans from foliage .

circumstantial evidence indicates season from feb to , probably , jul . territorial . nest a neat small cup of bark and lichens , bound with . . .

not globally threatened . status not well known , as very few ornithologists have field experience with this species and probably only few are able to identify it correctly . . . .

marginal range overlap with b . molitor from n namibia e to n south africa ; some interaction between the two ( including imitation of call in order to establish interspecific territories ) , also interspecific response to playback of sounds , recorded by researchers . two subspecies recognized .

11–12 cm ; 7·5–14 g . small flycatcher - like and shrike - like bird with contrasting black , grey and white ( and some orange - yellow ) colours . male is grey . . .

a long series of whistles . repeats same note slowly twice or three times , sometimes longer series . . .

diet insects , including large lepidopterans . forages in middle and lower layers of bushes and trees , seldom higher than 5 m . very active . . . .

season mainly oct–jan , vaguely related to rainfall pattern ; may breed opportunistically at any time of year . territorial , defends . . .

not globally threatened . locally common . virtual absence from arid woodland on the hartveld of e botswana is remarkable , particularly because this species occupies similar . . .

fatbirder - linking birders worldwide . . . wildlife travellers see our sister site : wand

platysteiridae is a family of small stout passerine birds of the african tropics . the family contains the wattle - eyes and batises . they were previously classed as a subfamily of the old world flycatcher family muscicapidae .

these insect - eating birds are found in usually open forests or bush . they hunt by flycatching , or by taking prey from the ground like a shrike . the nest is a small neat cup low in a tree or bush .

platysteiridae is a family of small stout passerine birds of the african tropics . the family contains the wattle - eyes and batises ( the shrike - flycatchers have also been re - located ) . they were previously classed as a subfamily of the old world flycatcher family muscicapidae .

this species has an extremely large range , and hence does not approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the range size criterion ( extent of occurrence < 20 , 000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size , habitat extent / quality , or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation ) .

taxonomy : megabyas flammulata j . verreaux and e . verreaux , 1855 , “rivière d’angers” = river muni , gabon . genus sometimes treated as a subgenus of bias . proposed race carolathi ( from angola ) considered synonymous with aequatorialis . two subspecies recognized .

platyrhynchos musicus vieillot , 1818 , malimbe , cabinda , north angola . some authors separate birds from angola as race pallidiventris , birds from uganda as femininus , those from kenya and e tanzania as changamwensis , and those from zimbabwe , malawi and mozambique as clarens , on basis mainly of paler and more spotted plumage ( of female and immature male ) ; these characteristics are variable , however , and naming of geographical races considered unwarranted . treated as monotypic .

the population size has not been quantified , but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the population size criterion ( < 10 , 000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be . . .

this species has a very large range , and hence does not approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the range size criterion ( extent of occurrence < 20 , 000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size , habitat extent / quality , or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation ) .

this species occurs in southern and central tanzania and extreme north - western malawi , where it is patchily distributed in montane areas .

taxonomy : pachyprora mixta shelley , 1889 , mount kilimanjaro , 6000 - 7000 feet [ c . 1830 - 2130m ] , tanzania . forms a superspecies with b . capensis , b . reichenowi , b . crypta and b . fratrum , probably also with b . margaritae and b . diops . until very recently included b . crypta as part of nominate race , but the two found to differ morphologically and genetically ; also , formerly often treated as conspecific with b . reichenowi . according to new study , race ultima , which has in the past been included in b . fratrum , is weakly differentiated from nominate . two subspecies tentatively recognized .

the population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats .

despite it not having a large range , this species is not thought to approach the thresholds for vulnerable under the range size criterion ( extent of occurrence < 20 , 000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size , habitat extent / quality , or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation ) .

the white - tailed shrike ( lanioturdus torquatus ) occurs only in western angola and namibia and inhabits thorn scrub brush . the species spends a great deal of its time foraging on the ground where it hops from bush to bush scanning the leaves for any insect prey .

n . a small genus of plants constituting the family batidaceae : low straggling dioecious shrubs .

n . a generic name applied to the rays or skates : equivalent to raia .

n . a genus of dicotyledonous shrubs , the type and only genus of the family batidaceæ .

from wordnet 3 . 0 copyright 2006 by princeton university . all rights reserved .

practical taxidermy a manual of instruction to the amateur in collecting , preserving , and setting up natural history specimens of all kinds . to which is added a chapter upon the pictorial arrangement of museums . with additional instructions in modelling and artistic taxidermy .

wordnik is a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) non - profit organization , ein # 47 - 2198092 .

the adult male has bluish grey upperparts with a black mask across the face , a white spot on the lores and white spots o the rump which are revealed when the long feathers are fluffed out . the underparts are white with a black breast band and blackish thighs . the wings are black with a white stripe , the bill and legs are black while the eyes are red . females are similar in pattern but the upper part colour is more olive in tone , the wings more reddish brown and has a mottled rufous breast band and browner wings . juveniles similar to female but markings less well differentiated . the short black tail is edged with white . it is a small species measuring 9·5–10 cm in length and weighing 10·5–14·2g .

east africa from the south eastern coast of kenya and north eastern tanzania including mount kilimanjaro , along the northern eastern arc mountains of tanzania , i . e . nguru , nguu , usambara mountains , pare and kilimanjaro , also in coastal south eastern tanzania .

at sea level found in coastal forest , miombo woodland and in montane forest up to 2300m on kilimanjaro . it frequents the lower levels of forest and the undergrowth .

small to medium - sized flycatcher - like birds , contrastingly coloured , with rather wide bill , short legs and upright stance .


alviniconcha is a genus of deep water sea snails , marine gastropod mollusks in the family provannidae .

these snails are part of the fauna of the hydrothermal vents in the indian and western pacific ocean .

these and another genus and species within the same family ( ifremeria nautilei ) are the only known currently existing animals whose nutrition is derived from an endosymbiotic relationship with proteobacteria : a member of bacteria from class epsilonproteobacteria occurs as an endosymbiont of the gills of alviniconcha hessleri .

alviniconcha

alviniconcha <EOT> provannidae » alviniconcha hessleri , id : 118698 , shell detail « shell encyclopedia , conchology , inc .

one of them , alviniconcha strummeri , is named after joe strummer , the lead singer of the clash .

the other four new species are alviniconcha kojimai , a . boucheti , a . marisindica and a . adamantis .

the mitochondrial coi gene sequences from the alviniconcha gastropods are available at the ddbj under accession numbers ab235211 to ab235227 .

“the name also recognizes the surface of alviniconcha shells : the spiky periostracum resembles the fashion of punk rock bands . ”

species alviniconcha adamantis s . b . johnson , warén , tunnicliffe , van dover , wheat , schultz & vrijenhoek , 2014

species alviniconcha boucheti s . b . johnson , warén , tunnicliffe , van dover , wheat , schultz & vrijenhoek , 2014

species alviniconcha kojimai s . b . johnson , warén , tunnicliffe , van dover , wheat , schultz & vrijenhoek , 2014

species alviniconcha strummeri s . b . johnson , warén , tunnicliffe , van dover , wheat , schultz & vrijenhoek , 2014

this spiky mollusk is called alviniconcha strummeri , named after joe strummer , the late frontman for the clash . taylor & francis online hide caption

only strummeri have been named after a musician : the other alviniconcha species get their monikers from things like research facilities and gastropod experts . “the name highlights the ‘hardcore’ nature of alviniconcha snails , that inhabit the hottest , most acidic and most sulphidic microhabitats at indo - pacific hydrothermal vents , ” researchers wrote . “the name also recognises the surface of alviniconcha shells : the spiky periostracum resembles the fashion of punk rock bands . ”

coupling of the host and endosymbiont lineages of alviniconcha gastropods showed that , although alviniconcha sp . type 2 is associated with bacterial endosymbionts from two related ε - proteobacterial lineages , each of the other alviniconcha lineages harbors bacterial endosymbionts from one distinct lineage within either the γ - or ε - proteobacteria . these host - symbiont relationships in alviniconcha gastropods could potentially be used to motivate for the recognition each host lineage as a separate species . furthermore , since alviniconcha sp . types 1 and 2 harbor γ - and ε - proteobacterial endosymbionts , respectively , and , given that they appear to exclusively inhabit adjacent hydrothermal vents in the manus and north fiji basins , then the possibility that they occupy separate ecological niches should be explored further .

novel chemoautotrophic endosymbiosis between a member of the epsilonproteobacteria and the hydrothermal - vent gastropod alviniconcha aff . hessleri ( gastropoda : provannidae ) from the indian ocean

alviniconcha kojimai , a . adamantis , a . marisindica and a . boucheti ( clockwise ) . image credit : shannon b . johnson et al .

“the name highlights the ‘hardcore’ nature of alviniconcha snails that inhabit the hottest , most acidic and most sulfidic microhabitats at indo - pacific hydrothermal vents . ”

alviniconcha strummeri is known from hydrothermal vent localities at 1 , 850 m depth in the southern lau basin , especially at the tui malila vent site .

novel chemoautotrophic endosymbiosis between a member of the epsilonproteobacteria and the hydrothermal - vent gastropod alviniconcha aff . hessleri ( gastropoda : provannidae ) from the indian ocean †

alviniconcha strummeri , a new species of deep - sea snail named after joe strummer of the clash . image credit : shannon b . johnson et al .

the principle aim of the present study was to identify and clarify the host - endosymbiont lineages of the alviniconcha gastropods from the southwest pacific ocean . in addition , we attempted to determine the nature of the carbon metabolism and the trophic relationships between alviniconcha and their endosymbionts using bulk and compound - specific carbon isotopic analyses .

worms - world register of marine species - alviniconcha strummeri s . b . johnson , warén , tunnicliffe , van dover , wheat , schultz & vrijenhoek , 2014

the alviniconcha sp . from the lau basin harbors a γ - proteobacterial endosymbiont that is phylogenetically distinct from those found in other alviniconcha lineages ( fig . 2 ) . the γ - proteobacterial endosymbiont is closely related to the endosymbiont of the “scaly - footed” hydrothermal gastropod from the central indian ridge with which it shares a sequence identity of ca . 95 % .

a group of marine biologists headed by dr robert vrijenhoek from the monterey bay aquarium research institute has described five new species of deep water alviniconcha snails from the western pacific and the indian ocean .

wittenberg , j . b . , and j . l . stein . 1995 . hemoglobin in the symbiont - harboring gill of the marine gastropod alviniconcha hessleri . biological bulletin 188 : 5 - 7 .

a snail so hardcore it ' s named after a punk rocker inspired by the snails ' spiky shells and acid - loving nature , researchers named the new species alviniconcha strummeri , after clash frontman joe strummer .

since johnson had such success in calling the spiky , acid - loving mollusks punk - rock snails , she and her colleagues decided to name them alviniconcha strummeri , after the late joe strummer , frontman for the clash .

five new alviniconcha species were collected during several expeditions ( 1993 - 2008 ) to various segments of the north fiji , lau , manus and mariana back - arc basins , the mariana volcanic arc and the central indian ridge .

hairy things aren’t just for ye landlubbers . the deep - sea is home to several hairy critters including the hairy vent snail , alviniconcha . the hairy appearance are actually spines protruding from the periostracum , a thin organic layer that coats the mineralized shell of a snail . alviniconcha ‘s shell is very thin . it is this biologist’s opinion that the spines might help keep off fouling creatures , such as drilling limpets . but no one knows for sure quite yet .

a species of deep sea snail with the bold , spiky aesthetic of early clash fans has been named after joe strummer . alviniconcha strummeri are golf ball - sized invertebrates that live around 2 , 000 metres beneath the surface of the ocean .

shannon b . johnson et al . molecular taxonomy and naming of five cryptic species of alviniconcha snails ( gastropoda : abyssochrysoidea ) from hydrothermal vents . systematics and biodiversity , published online december 3 , 2014 ; doi : 10 . 1080 / 14772000 . 2014 . 970673

denis , f . , d . jollivet , and d . moraga . 1993 . genetic separation of two allopatric populations of hydrothermal snails alviniconcha spp . ( gastropoda ) from two south western pacific back - arc basins . biochemical systematics and ecology 21 : 431 - 440 .

to better understand the phylogenetic relationships among host lineages , the upstream region of the coi gene was amplified by pcr using primers lco1490 and hco2198 ( 5 ) for each of the five host lineages : a . hessleri ( smr - 93 - 10 in reference 12 ) , alviniconcha sp . type 1 ( mb - 96 - 16 in reference 14 ) , alviniconcha sp . type 2 ( fb - 90 - 7 in reference 12 ) , alviniconcha aff . hessleri ( the first specimen in reference 11 ) , and alviniconcha sp . from the lau basin ( fig . 1 ) . the primers coi - 7 ( 20 ) and coi - d ( 16 ) were used to amplify the coi fragment of ifremeria nautilei , a member of the provannidae from the north fiji ( haplotype f4 in reference 13 ) and the manus basins ( haplotype m1 in reference 13 ) . ifremeria was used as the outgroup for phylogenetic analysis . the conditions for pcr were 94°c for 60 s , followed by 30 to 40 cycles of 92°c for 40 s , 50°c for 60 s , and 72°c for 90 s .

kojima , s . , r . segawa , y . fijiwara , k . fujikura , s . ohta , and j . hashimoto . 2001 . phylogeny of hydrothermal - vent - endemic gastropods alviniconcha spp . from the western pacific revealed by mitochondrial dna sequences . biological bulletin 200 : 298 - 304 .

phylogenetic analysis also revealed that the sequence identities between the host lineage from the lau basin specimen and the four other host lineages ranged from 88 . 3 to 91 . 6 % , which is markedly lower than the identities among these lineages themselves , which ranged from 98 . 8 to 100 % . it is therefore proposed that the gastropod from the lau basin represent a new distinct lineage in the genus alviniconcha . the finding of marked genetic differentiation in the lau basin specimen is consistent with a previous study in which 20 enzymatic systems in alviniconcha gastropods from the lau and north fiji basins were analyzed ( 1 ) .

specimens of alviniconcha sp . type 1 from the pacmanus field d in the manus basin and the white lady site in the north fiji basin were found to harbor closely related γ - proteobacterial endosymbionts ( fig . 2 ) . similarly , the sequence identities among γ - proteobacterial endosymbionts within the manus and north fiji basins were greater than 99 . 3 and 97 . 8 % , respectively . sequence identities between specimens from the two basins were greater than 97 . 7 % . the endosymbionts of alviniconcha sp . type 1 were related to free - living thiomicrospira spp . with sequence identities of less than 90 % .

kojima , s . , k . fujikura , t . okutani , and j . hashimoto . 2003 . phylogenetic relationship of alviniconcha gastropods from the indian ocean to those from the pacific ocean ( mollusca : provannidae ) revealed by nucleotide sequence of mitochondrial dna . venus ( japan journal of malacology ) 63 : 65 - 68 .

in the present study , the symbiotic relationship in alviniconcha gastropods from the southwest pacific was defined more clearly by using molecular phylogenetic analyses and carbon isotopic characterizations . further ecological and anatomical studies of these uniquely evolved gastropod assemblages might increase our understanding of the gastropod - proteobacterial endosymbioses that have been discovered in hydrothermal vent ecosystems around the globe .

phylogenetic relationships among the five alviniconcha lineages known to date . the tree was constructed by using the mp method with two lineages of ifremeria nautilei used as outgroup taxa . numbers at the branch nodes represent bootstrap values ( 1 , 000 replicates ) obtained from the mp , nj , and the ml methods ; only values greater than 50 % are indicated .

distance tree of the members of the γ - and ε - proteobacteria , as well as the alviniconcha endosymbionts based on near - complete 16s rrna gene sequences ( 1 , 160 nucleotides ) . bootstrap values ( in percent values ) are based on 1 , 000 replicates ( nj and mp ) and are shown for branches with more than 50 % bootstrap support .

alviniconcha also has blue blood due the respiratory pigment hemocyanin and carries very enlarged gills . my measurements indicate that the dry weight of the gills can get up to 21 % of the total dry mass ( excluding shell ) . for comparison , the average intertidal intertidal snail has 4 - 7 % of its total body weight devoted to the gills . this makes sense since alviniconcha has a very reduced stomach and digestive tract . it gets most , if not all , of it’s nutrition from chemoautotrophic bacteria housed in its gills . " chemoautotrophic " means that the bacteria oxidize hydrogen sulfide as an energy source , normally a toxic chemical to most animal life . but these extreme snails can bring in the goods for their bacterial helpers and thrive en masse .

alviniconcha strummeri will now vie with amaurotoma zappa , named for frank , in the collections of malacologist music fans . those who are not simply interested in snails may also pursue exemplars of the isopod cirolana mercuryi , named from freddie , jaggermeryx naida , an extinct “long - legged pig” named after mick , and myrmekiaphila neilyoungi , a spider who is apparently looking for a heart of gold .

suzuki , y . , t . sasaki , m . suzuki , y . nogi , t . miwa , k . takai , k . h . nealson , and k . horikoshi . 2005 . novel chemoautotrophic endosymbiosis between a member of the epsilonproteobacteria and the hydrothermal - vent gastropod alviniconcha aff . hessleri ( gastropoda : provannidae ) from the indian ocean . applied and environmental microbiology 71 : 5440 - 5450 .

the alviniconcha gastropods that harbor γ - proteobacterial endosymbionts have biomass δ 13 c values ranging from −30 . 0 to −30 . 7 with fatty acids depleted of 13 c relative to the biomass by 5 . 3 to 7 . 7 ( table 2 ) ; these findings are consistent with the chemoautotrophy of the calvin - benson cycle and the subsequent synthesis of fatty acids from 13 c - depleted acetyl - coa ( 21 ) . as with alvinoconcha aff . hessleri , the biomass δ 13 c value of other alviniconcha gastropods that harbor ε - proteobacterial endosymbionts have values ranging from −10 . 3 to −13 . 4 with fatty acids enriched in 13 c relative to the biomass by 2 . 9 to 7 . 3 ( table 2 ) . since the 13 c enrichment of fatty acids relative to biomass is a characteristic of fatty acid synthesis from 13 c - enriched acetyl - coa produced through the rtca cycle , the observed isotope fractionation patterns are most likely to reflect the chemoautotrophy typical of the rtca cycle . although the carbon isotopic composition of hydrothermal co 2 from the sites and enzymatic activity of key enzymes involved in the two chemoautotrophic cycles were not examined in the present study , it seems likely that the γ - and ε - proteobacterial alviniconcha endosymbionts assayed in the present study are chemoautotrophs that convert co 2 into organic matter via the calvin - benson and rtca cycles , respectively .

suzuki , y . , s . kojima , t . sasaki , m . suzuki , t . utsumi , h . watanabe , h . urakawa , s . tsuchida , t . nunoura , h . hirayama , k . takai , k . h . nealson , and k . horikoshi . 2006 . host - symbiont relationships in hydrothermal vent gastropods of the genus alviniconcha from the southwest pacific . appl . environ . microbiol . 72 : 1388 - 1393 .

johnson , s . b . ; warén , a . ; tunnicliffe , v . ; dover , c . v . ; wheat , c . g . ; schultz , t . f . ; vrijenhoek , r . c . ( 2014 ) . molecular taxonomy and naming of five cryptic species of alviniconcha snails ( gastropoda : abyssochrysoidea ) from hydrothermal vents . systematics and biodiversity . 1 - 18 . , available online at urltoken [ details ] available for editors [ request ]

johnson , s . b . ; warén , a . ; tunnicliffe , v . ; dover , c . v . ; wheat , c . g . ; schultz , t . f . ; vrijenhoek , r . c . ( 2014 ) . molecular taxonomy and naming of five cryptic species of alviniconcha snails ( gastropoda : abyssochrysoidea ) from hydrothermal vents . systematics and biodiversity . 1 - 18 . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 13 , fig . 2 . 4 [ details ] available for editors [ request ]

johnson , s . b . ; warén , a . ; tunnicliffe , v . ; dover , c . v . ; wheat , c . g . ; schultz , t . f . ; vrijenhoek , r . c . ( 2014 ) . molecular taxonomy and naming of five cryptic species of alviniconcha snails ( gastropoda : abyssochrysoidea ) from hydrothermal vents . systematics and biodiversity . 1 - 18 . , available online at urltoken page ( s ) : 13 , fig . 2 . 5 [ details ] available for editors [ request ]

description alviniconcha hessleri was discovered and described almost 20 years ago ( 7 ) and is a mesogastropod in the family provannidae ( 14 ) . it is named both after the submersible alvin ( “alvin’s shell” ) and the preeminent deep - sea biologist , robert r . hessler . the snail is roughly spherical in shape and has a thin carbonate shell ( if allowed to air - dry , it will fall to pieces within weeks ! ) the protoconch is almost never visible and juvenile shells show considerable variation in sculpture ( 3 , 14 ) . the spiny appearance of this snail is part of the periostracum and can erode away in larger specimens . speaking of size , we have seen specimens up to 88mm in length , larger than a softball !

biogeography originally described from the mariana trough west of the philippines , these snails populate many of the back - arc basins in the western pacific , including the manus , north fiji , and lau back - arc basins . additionally , a . hessleri is reported from the central indian ridge . genetic data suggest there is 2 genetically distinct populations living hundreds of meters apart in the north fiji basin , the dominant genotype being most similar to populations from the manus basin ( 5 ) . populations from the lau basin are also genetically separated from those from the north fiji basin ( 1 ) . furthermore , populations from southwest pacific back - arc basins are distinct from those from the mariana trough are distinct from all of the western pacific back - arc basins ( 6 ) . the central indian ridge populations of alviniconcha are distinct from all other populations ( 4 , 13 ) , though most closely related to populations from the mariana trough ( 4 ) .

html public " - / / w3c / / dtd xhtml 1 . 0 strict / / en " " urltoken "

corresponding author . mailing address : frontier research system for extremophiles , japan agency for marine - earth science and technology , 2 - 15 natsushima - cho , yokosuka 237 - 0061 , japan . phone : 81 - 468 - 67 - 9710 . fax : 81 - 468 - 67 - 9715 . e - mail :

shannon johnson , a researcher at the monterey bay aquarium research institute , found that when she talked to youngsters about sea snails , she communicated a little more effectively if she skipped the technical description and called them " punk - rock snails . "

" their entire shells are covered in spikes , " johnson explains . " and then the spikes are actually all covered in fuzzy white bacteria . "

these punk rock snails live thousands of feet underwater , crowded around the mouths of chimneys of hydrothermal vents — the kind of place that might survive the apocalyptic " nuclear error " in the clash album london calling .

" they live in hot , acidic poison , basically , so they ' re pretty hardcore , " she says .

" not only was a he a punk - rock icon — he ' s kind of one of the originators of the punk movement — but he also was kind of an environmentalist , " she says . " he started a foundation that was planting trees all over the world . he ' s a neat guy . "

strummer is not the only big name with his own namesake animal . a wooly lemur from madagascar is named after john cleese — the avahi cleesei . a frog in the amazon that makes a shrill , bat - like call is named after ozzy osbourne .

the ramones each have their own trilobite , and there ' s a parasitic wasp named after shakira . the scientists who discovered the wasp say it causes the caterpillar it inhabits to wriggle and writhe , which reminds them of shakira ' s energetic dancing .

warén a . & bouchet p . ( 1993 ) new records , species , genera , and a new family of gastropods from hydrothermal vents and hydrocarbon seeps . zoologica scripta 22 : 1 - 90 . [ details ]

desbruyères , d . , m . segonzac & m . bright ( eds . ) . ( 2006 ) . handbook of deep - sea hydrothermal vent fauna . second edition denisia 18 : 1 - 544 . ( copepods 316 - 355 ) ( polychaeta 183 - 296 ) , available online at urltoken [ details ]

intergovernmental oceanographic commission ( ioc ) of unesco . the ocean biogeographic information system ( obis ) , available online at urltoken [ details ]

photo on left courtesy of c . fisher / ridge2000 . photo on the right from linda zelnio .

want to know more about this hairy little friend ? i wrote a detailed article on this snail for deep sea news over a year ago . - kaz

@ doppleganger : don’t forget to send it to carl zimmer for his science tattoo gallery too .

these deep - sea animals live in the hottest and most acidic waters near hydrothermal vents .

because these snails live in these extreme conditions , they have severely degraded shells ( size varies between 2 . 5 - 10 cm ) covered in spikes or have no shells at all .

“collections were conducted with the remotely operated vehicles ( rov ) jason ii and ropos , with the st212 trenching rov , and with the human - occupied vehicle shinkai 6500 , ” dr vrijenhoek and his colleagues wrote in a paper in the journal systematics and biodiversity .

“named in honor of joe strummer , the lead vocalist and guitarist from the clash , a british punk band , ” the scientists wrote .

a . kojimai is known from hydrothermal vent localities at 1 , 480 to 2 , 700 m depths in the manus , fiji and lau basins , in the western pacific . a . boucheti lives near hydrothermal vents at 1 , 300 to 2 , 700 m depths in the manus , fiji and lau basins , in the western pacific .

a . marisindica occurs at hydrothermal vents at 2 , 400 to 3 , 300 m depths on central indian ridge , in the indian ocean : kairei and edmunds vent fields . and a . adamantis lives near hydrothermal vents at 350 m depth on east diamante seamount .

juvenile australopithecus climbed trees , 3 . 32 - million - year - old foot fossil shows

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when you think of hydrothermal vents , what comes to mind first ? is it the gushing black smoke out of a chimney ? perhaps you envision the enormous tubeworms with their red velvety plumes sticking out of their white tubes . some may even be familiar with the dense swarms of blind shrimp . what may not come to mind are big hairy snails !

physiology a . hessleri has blue blood due to hemocyanin , but also contains hemoglobin in concentrations similar to chemoautotrophic bivalves from other hydrothermal vents ( 15 ) . the gill of this beast is enlarged and can get up to 21 % of the total soft - body mass ( dry weight , unpublished data ) . a normal snail’s gills from the intertidal may weigh around 4 - 7 % of the total soft - body weight .

desbruyères , d . , a . - m . alayse - danet , s . ohta , and scientific parties of biolau and starmer cruises . 1994 . deep - sea hydrothermal communities in southwestern pacific back - arc basins ( the north fiji and lau basins ) : composition , microdistribution and food web . marine geology 116 : 227 - 242 .

hasegawa , k . , k . fujikura , and t . okutani . 1997 . gastropod fauna associated with hydrothermal vents in the mariana back - arc basin : summary of the results of 1996 “shinkai 6500” dives . jamstec journal of deep sea research 13 : 69 - 83 .

kojima , s . , s . ohta , t . miura , y . fujiwara , and j . hashimoto . 2000 . molecular phylogeny study of chemosynthetic - based communities in the manus basin . jamstec journal of deep sea research 16 : 7 - 13 .

okutani , t . , and s . ohta . 1988 . a new gastropod mollusk associated with hydrothermal vents in the mariana back - arc basin , western pacific . venus ( japan journal of malacology ) 47 : 1 - 9 .

pranal , v . , a . fiala - medioni , and j . guezennec . 1997 . fatty acid characteristics in two symbiont - bearing mussels from deep - sea hydrothermal vents of the south - western pacific . journal of the marine biological association of the uk 77 : 473 - 492 .

stein , j . l . , s . c . cary , r . r . hessler , s . ohta , r . d . vetter , j . j . childress , and h . felbeck . 1988 . chemoautotrophic symbiosis in a hydrothermal vent gastropod . biological bulletin 174 : 373 - 378 .

urakawa , h . , n . dubilier , y . fujiwara , d . e . cunningham , s . kojima , and d . a . stahl . 2005 . hydrothermal vent gastropods from the same family ( provannidae ) harbour e - and g - proteobacterial endosymbionts . environmental microbiology 7 : 750 - 754 .

van dover , c . l . , s . e . humphris , d . fornari , c . m . cavanaugh , r . collier , s . k . goffredi , j . hashimoto , m . d . lilley , a . l . reysenbach , t . m . shank , k . l . von damm , a . banta , r . m . gallant , d . götz , d . green , j . hall , t . l . harmer , l . a . hurtado , p . johnson , z . p . mckiness , c . meredith , e . olson , i . l . pan , m . turnipseed , y . won , c . r . young iii , and r . c . vrijenhoek . 2001 . biogeography and ecological setting of indian ocean hydrothermal vents . science 294 : 818 - 823 .

warén , a . , and p . bouchet . 1993 . new records , species , genera , and a new family of gastropods from hydrothermal vents and hydrocarbon seeps . zoologica scripta 22 : 1 - 90 .

hairy crabs , hairy snails , … what’s next ? nice article , kevin . thanks ! i hope you do more .

yep , they have a thin operculum . i’m not sure how they keep from being predated , but a few observations from the field : 1 ) many of these snails are covered in white bacteria 2 ) when i crushed some snails incidentally , the crabs came pouring out of the woodwork toward the crushed snails .

so , it is unclear what the palatability of the snails are but it seems they were probably being eaten by the crabs . now , the reason why this certain crab may be highly associated with the snail in the first place is because it might be grazing the the bacteria off the snails shell . crabs are very opportunistic and if they sense an easy snack they might go for an injured snail . we don’t have much evidence to back up the claim , but just one of several things to consider .

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joe strummer doing his best snail impression . photograph : george rose / getty images

the strummer - indebted snails are one of five new species identified in a paper that was published in the journal systematics and biodiversity . “because they look like punk rockers in the 70s and 80s and have purple blood and live in such an extreme environment , we decided to name one new species after a punk rock icon , ” shannon johnson , a researcher at california’s monterey bay aquarium research institute , told the santa cruz sentinel ( via exclaim ) .

© 2018 guardian news and media limited or its affiliated companies . all rights reserved .

total dna was extracted from the head - food region of the specimens from the three back - arc basins by grinding , digestion with sodium dodecyl sulfate , and extraction with phenol and chloroform . the downstream region of the coi mitochondrial gene ( approximately 690 bp ) was amplified by the pcr using primers coi - b (

) . the pcr conditions were as follows : 94°c for 60 s followed by 30 to 40 cycles at 92°c for 40 s , 50°c for 60 s , and 72°c for 90 s . the nucleotide sequence of the amplified fragment was determined by using an abi3100 sequencer and a prism big dye terminator sequencing kit ( applied biosystems , inc . , foster city , ca ) with primers coi - b , tw - 2 (

phylogenetic relationships were estimated by the maximum - parsimony ( mp ) method using a multiple , equally parsimonious , heuristic search with tree bisection - reconnection and 1 , 000 random addition sequence replicates , the maximum - likelihood ( ml ) method of the paup * package ( version 4 . 0b10 ) ( 23 ) , and the neighbor - joining ( nj ) method ( 19 ) of the mega package ( version 2 . 19 [ 16 ] ) .

) , except that the endosymbiont dna was extracted from the dissected gill tissue by using a dneasy kit ( qiagen , valencia , ca ) in accordance with the manufacturer ' s instructions . endosymbiont 16s rrna gene sequences were amplified by pcr using la

) . the pcr conditions were 96°c for 120 s , followed by 27 to 30 cycles of 96°c for 20 s , 53°c for 45 s , and 72°c for 120 s . the amplified 16s rrna gene sequence products were cloned by using an original ta cloning kit ( invitrogen , carlsbad , ca ) before being sequenced with an abi 3100 sequencer and drhodamine sequencing kit according to the manufacturer ' s recommendations ( perkin - elmer / applied biosystems ) .

a single phylogenetic clone type ( phylotype ) was obtained from the clone type analysis . the partial sequence was extended and manually aligned by using the secondary structures with arb ( 18 ) . evolutionary analysis was performed by the nj and mp methods using paup ( 23 ) based on 1 , 160 nucleotide positions ( 64 to 1417 [ escherichia coli numbering ] ) , which have more than 50 % identity across the sequences analyzed .

the bacterial 16s rrna gene sequences from the gill endosymbionts are available at the ddbj under the accession numbers ab235228 to ab235239 .

) . the gastropod specimens were dissected into gill and mantle tissues , which were then lyophilized . the carbon isotopic compositions of the cultures and the acid - fumed gastropod tissues were analyzed by using a thermo electron delta

advantage mass spectrometer connected to an elemental analyzer ( ea1112 ) through a conflo iii interface . the measured isotopic composition was expressed as δ

c abundance ratio for the pee dee belemnite carbonate standard . the values of δ

) . briefly , approximately 20 mg of the gastropod tissue was incubated in 1 ml of anhydrous methanolic hydrochloric acid at 100°c for 3 h . the fatty acid methyl esters ( fames ) were then extracted with

- hexane . the identities of the fames were subsequently determined by comparison of their retention times and spectra to those of known fame standards by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry ( gcq ; shimadzu , tokyo , japan ) . the oven temperature was set to 140°c for 3 min before being increased to 250°c at a rate of 4°c / min with he at a constant flow of 1 . 1 ml / min through a db - 5ms column ( 30 m by 0 . 25 μm by 0 . 25 mm ; j & w scientific , folsom , ca ) . standard nomenclature was used for fatty acids , which were designated in an

the δ 13 c values of the fames were determined using the gc - carbon - isotope ratio ms using a thermo electron delta plus advantage mass spectrometer connected to a gas chromatograph ( agilent 6890 ; agilent , mountain view , ca ) through a gc / c / c / iii interface as described previously ( 22 ) . the oven temperature was set to 120°c for 3 min before being increased to 300°c at a rate of 4°c / min with he at a constant flow of 1 . 1 ml / min through an hp - 5 column ( 30 m by 0 . 25 μm by 0 . 25 mm ; agilent ) . the isotopic compositions of the fames were measured with an internal isotopic standard ( 19 : 0 , δ 13 c = −29 . 80 ) with a correction made for the additional carbon atom from the methanol - derivatizing reagent ( δ 13 c = −39 . 04 ) . the internal isotopic standard reduced measurement errors to within 1 for all isotopic analyses .

gastropods and their distribution in the south west pacific basins , a nucleotide sequence for the downstream region of the coi mitochondrial gene ( 696 bp ) was determined for a single specimen from the vai lili site in the lau basin , as well as several sites in the manus and north fiji basins . as summarized in table

sp . type 2 occurred in pacmanus field e and at the vienna woods site in the manus basin and in the starmer ii site in the north fiji basin . consequently , it appears that the distribution of

spp . types 1 and 2 within the fields and sites examined in the present study does not overlap . instead , despite the relatively close geographic proximity of

to determine the phylogenetic affiliations of gill endosymbionts , the host lineages of which were identified above , were analyzed based on their 16s rrna gene sequences . the examination of at least eight clones generated from a 16s rrna gene - sequence library from the gill filaments of each gastropod showed only one 16s rrna gene sequence . as shown in fig .

in this and previous studies , the phylogenetic relationships of host gastropods and their bacterial endosymbionts were conducted in conjunction with bulk and compound - specific carbon isotopic analyses at a global scale across five tectonic settings . analysis of fatty acid profiles of gastropod tissues revealed that the symbiont - free mantle tissue contained substantially more monosaturated c

) . this finding suggests that endosymbiont cells are consumed by , and incorporated into , the host gastropods .

we thank the captains and crews of the r / v yokosuka and natsushima and the shinkai 2000 and 6500 for their technical expertise . we also thank toshiyuki yamaguchi and yasunori kano for helpful discussions .

corresponding author . mailing address : extremobiosphere research center , japan agency for marine - earth science & technology , 2 - 15 natsushima - cho , yokosuka , kanagawa 237 - 0061 , japan . phone : 81 - 46 - 867 - 9710 . fax : 81 - 46 - 867 - 9715 . e - mail :

spp . ( gastropoda ) from two south western pacific back - arc basins .

desbruyeres , d . , a . - m . alayse , s . ohta , et al .

. deep - sea hydrothermal communities in southwestern pacific back - arc basins ( the north fiji and lau basins ) : composition , microdistribution , and food web .

folmer , o . , m . black , w . hoeh , r . a . lutz , and r . c . vrijenhoek .

. wide variation of chemical characteristics of submarine hydrothermal fluids due to due to secondary modification processes after high temperature water - rock interaction : a review , p .

hasegawa , t . , t . yamaguchi , s . kojima , and s . ohta .

hashimoto , j . , s . ohta , a . fialamedioni , j . - m . auzende , s . kojima , m . segonzac , y . fujiwara , j . c . hunt , k . gena , t . miura , t . kikuchi , t . yamaguchi , t . toda , h . chiba , s . tsuchida , j . ishibashi , k . henry , m . zbinden , a . pruski , a . inoue , h . kobayashi , j . - l . birrien , j . naka , t . yamanaka , c . laporte , k . nishimura , c . yeats , s . malagun , p . kia , m . oyaizu , and t . katayama .

. hydrothermal vent communities in the manus basin , papua new guinea : results of the bioaccess cruises ' 96 and ' 98 .

. fractionation of the isotopes of carbon and hydrogen in biosynthetic processes , p .

kojima , s . , k . fujikura , t . okutani , and j . hashimoto .

gastropods from the indian ocean to those from the pacific ocean ( provannidae : mollusca ) revealed by nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial dna .

kojima , s . , r . segawa , y . fujiwara , k . fujikura , s . ohta , and j . hashimoto .

kojima , s . , r . segawa , y . fujiwara , j . hashimoto , and s . ohta .

, between the north fiji basin and the manus basin revealed by nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial dna .

kojima , s . , r . segawa , j . hashimoto , and s . ohta .

. molecular phylogeny of vestimentiferans collected around japan revealed by the nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial dna .

kumar , s . , k . tamura , i . b . jacobsen , and m . nei .

. mega2 : molecular evolutionary genetics analysis software . arizona state university , tempe .

. john wiley & sons , inc . , new york , n . y .

ludwig , w . , o . strunk , r . westram , l . richter , h . meier , yadhukumar , a . buchner , t . lai , s . steppi , g . jobb , w . forster , i . brettske , s . gerber , a . w . ginhart , o . gross , s . grumann , s . hermann , r . jost , a . konig , t . liss , r . lussmann , m . may , b . nonhoff , b . reichel , r . strehlow , a . stamatakis , n . stuckmann , a . vilbig , m . lenke , t . ludwig , a . bode , and k . h . schleifer .

. the neighbor - joining method : a new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees .

shimayama , t . , h . himeno , j . sasuga , s . yokobori , t . ueda , and k . watanabe .

suzuki , y . , t . sasaki , m . suzuki , k . h . nealson , and k . horikoshi .

suzuki , y . , t . sasaki , m . suzuki , y . nogi , t . miwa , k . takai , k . h . nealson , and k . horikoshi .

. paup * : phylogenetic analysis using parsimony ( * and other methods ) , version 4 . 0b10 . sinauer associates , sunderland , mass .

urakawa , h . , n . dubilier , y . fujiwara , d . e . cunningham , s . kojima , and d . a . stahl .

. hydrothermal vent gastropods from the same family ( provannidae ) harbour ε - and γ - proteobacterial endosymbionts .

. gastropoda and monoplacophora from hydrothermal vents and seeps ; new taxa and records .

the star system calculates the number of pieces that were handled by conchology , inc . in the last 15 years :

we want to point out that the star system is only very reliable for philippine shells only , as we handle very few foreign shells in general . as time goes , the system will become more and more performant .

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e - mail jecilia sisican if you do not receive your email with your username and password .

fiji . lau bassin . valufa ridge . site vailili . 23°13 ' s . 176°38 ' w . biolau expedition , taken by submarine , 1750 m . july 1989

© 1996 - 2018 guido t . poppe & philippe poppe - conchology , inc . ( 0 . 002 seconds . )

the digestive system is very reduced for the size of this snail . for instance , warén & bouchet ( 14 ) state , “the stomach is small , about 10mm3 in a specimen 45mm high and a shell volume of about 60 , 000 mm3 . a specimen of

living in the same environment , grazing the surface , has a stomach of 1 . 5mm3 at a shell of 75mm3 . this means that

has a stomach which is 100 times large in relation to the body volume . ” ( pg . 63 )

has separate sexes . they lay down flat , semi - transparent egg capsules on the rock which contains about 20 - 25 embryos ( 14 ) . larvae of

at north fiji and lau basins ( ( 2 ) , unpublished data ) . several copepods of the genus

commonly forms the center of a “bull’s eye” pattern we observe at the lau basin ( documented by warén & bouchet ( 14 ) for the north fiji basin ) , where is occupied the hottest part of the hydrothermal field with the highest concentrations of sulfide ( unpublished data ) . crabs of the genus

. my “pet hypothesis” is that the spines of the snail keep off fouling critters , perhaps those that might drill through its thin and fragile shell . still needs to be tested though…

originally described from the mariana trough west of the philippines , these snails populate many of the back - arc basins in the western pacific , including the manus , north fiji , and lau back - arc basins . additionally ,

are distinct from all other populations ( 4 , 13 ) , though most closely related to populations from the mariana trough ( 4 ) .

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“descriptions cannot be made full enough and accurate enough to satisfy later workers . each generation of taxonomists must see the actual specimens used by earlier generations , and i think the tendency now is , or should be , to make descriptions short , but of course explicit and carefully calculated , and to make specimens widely available . ”

the naming of organisms following standardized conventions is the basis for linking new information to existing knowledge . it is also the basis for biological classification , effective communication , and extrapolation of findings about organisms . the mere accession numbers of dna sequences ( or other strings of numbers lacking an agreed system of the numbers’ innate significance ) do not permit extrapolation of information about morphological traits , biogeographic ranges , or sharing of published knowledge across disciplines , all of which is possible with a widely used naming convention . most researchers are using the conventions of the linnaean system , with the fixed starting points being linnaeus’s treatments of plants and animals ( 1753 , 1758 ; persoon and fries for certain fungi and the names of lichens ) .

“the combined nucleotide sequences of the holotype strain . . . . the complete list of diagnostic d1 - d2 lsu , its ( iternal transcribed spacer ) / 5 . 8s and ssu gen - bank sequences which can be used as a genetic type for this species are reported in supplementary material . ” similarly for the other species

unspecified substitutions in nuclear its “ rhizoplaca polymorpha consists of specimens recovered within ‘clade ivc’ in leavitt et al . ( 2011a ) , which is supported as a lineage distinct from all other populations according to coalescent - based genetic analysis of multiple genetic loci . ”

“the least inclusive clade containing organisms with nuclear rrna its sequences with genbank accessions gq850318 , gq850355 gq850368 . . . ”

“with an its sequence ( genbank jq693160 ) that is distinct from other members of the gamsii / elongata clade , deviating in the its1 region from other species in the clade ; with a 94–97 % similarity . with a sister group relationship to a possibly polyphyletic clade containing mortierella sclerotiella ( basal ; genbank hq63031 , ex type ) , m . cogitans ( genbank hq630281 , ex type ) , and m . acrotona ( genbank hq630328 , ex type ) . ”

685 snails collected from 327 hosts , incl . type material , deposited in various collections

this species differs by ssu , lsu and its2 dna sequences ( jn636069 ) from all other species , listed in tables 1 and 2 . “note that these ribosomal dna sequences may vary within the species”

to date , two papers have discussed dna - based formal diagnoses ( cook et al . 2010 ; tripp and lendemer 2014 ) . both overlooked that the practice began 15 years ago ( westheide and hass - cordes 2001 ) , and they either focused on a hypothetical example ( ( cook et al . 2010 ) or examples from 2012 and 2013 ( tripp and lendemer 2014 ) . tripp and lendemer ( 2012 ) also raised a potential problem with one type of dna diagnosis , namely genetic distances , which i take up in the “discussion” section . no previous paper has surveyed the conceptual and factual history of dna - based formal naming , and the absence of a review of how taxonomists have incorsporated molecular characters into protologs has led to uncertainty and reinventing of the wheel ( cook et al . 2010 ; jörger and schrödl 2013 ) .

species are always delimited against already known species ( linnaeus 1753 , 1758 ; mayr 1992 ; naciri and linder 2015 ) . this holds true regardless of whether they are conceived as created ( linnaeus 1753 , 1758 ) or as the result of evolution ( mayr 1992 ) . huge numbers of “cryptic” species—a term only meaningful relative to the particular technology used for studying organisms—can be distinguished with genomic data , and taxonomists are facing the challenge of naming at least some of this organismal diversity as it may be relevant for their research interests . it is useful then to consider how earlier taxonomists facing large numbers of new species mastered the task .

the combination of the type method ( i . e . , name - bearing specimens deposited in one or more collections ) and the discrete nature of nucleotide characters ( substitutions or insertions / deletions of codons ) begs reconsideration of linnaeus’s focus of diagnosing species by features that distinguish them from their known closest relatives , instead of describing mixed sets of traits that vary at different hierarchical levels . here , i consider the ways in which taxonomists have incorporated dna characters directly into the publication of new species names , and i also review the history of dna - based formal naming . i conclude with recommendations about best practice dna - based diagnosis .

i compiled published molecular diagnoses through internet searches , surveying relevant journals and corresponding with colleagues . a molecular diagnosis involves the formal naming of a taxon by listing the dna or protein characters in which it differs from its closest relative ( s ) in the protolog , thus associating it with a binomial latinized name and the type material with its place of deposition . i checked that the molecular data indicated in the diagnosis were accessible in the cited database , usually the national center for biotechnology information ( ncbi : http : / / www . ncbi . nlm . urltoken , accessed 28 april 2016 ) .

my survey focused on species names . an example of a molecular diagnosis of a higher taxon is that of the family ambuchananiaceae seppelt & h . a . crum ex a . j . shaw , “fam . nov . plantae heterogeneae in morphologia , synapomorphis molecularibus in dna nuclei mitochondri et plasti unitae . type :

, p . 1523 ) . of course , this was before botanists abolished the latin requirement on 1 january 2012 . the baselines for bacterial names are

dna - based formal diagnoses of new species of eukaryotes ( mainly fungi , animals , and plants ) since 2000 ( based on data in table 1 ) . i am aware of only one molecular diagnosis published in 2015 ( irimia and gottschling 2016 ) .

the first to discuss how dna characters might be used in species diagnosis were don reynolds and john taylor ( 1991 ) who clarified that the exsisting rules of the international code of botanical nomenclature ( as it was then still called ) allowed dna - based species naming and that dna itself could serve as the type element . they provide two hypothetical examples of new fungal species names , one with a mix of dna and morphological type materials and the other with dna type material only , and call on herbaria to prepare for storing dna material as types . almost a quarter of a century has passed since this prescient article , but taxonomists are still feeling the need to defend the use of dna characters in protologs ( cook et al . 2010 ; jörger and schrödl 2013 ; tripp and lendemer 2014 ) , and the approach is only slowly becoming more common ( fig . 1 ) .

by november 2015 , 98 molecular diagnoses of species of acoelomorpha , alveolata , angiospermae , annelida , arachnida , arthropoda , ascomycota , chordata ( reptilia and pisces ) , fungi , lepidoptera , mollusca , and nematoda have been published ( table 1 ) . relatively few protologs refrain from also providing a morphological description ( brower 2010 ; molina et al . 2011 ; leavitt et al . 2013 ) .

this form of clade - based diagnosis ( “the least inclusive clade containing…” ) has been challenged by tripp and lendemer ( 2012 ) , who have requested the committee on the application of the code of nomenclature for algae , fungi , and plants to decide on the validity of this form , which in their view goes against the requirement in article 32 . 2 ( d ) that a diagnosis cannot describe properties such as purely aesthetic features , economic , medicinal or culinary usage , cultural significance , cultivation techniques , geographical origin , or geological age . this matter is currently unsolved , and i have not found examples from outside fungi and lichens of this form of diagnosis ( table 1 ) .

) . in most studies , dna diagnostic features serve to corroborate morphological differences . for example , diagnostic coi substitutions that agree with shell characters clearly diagnose species of parasitic snails , but “impoverished anatomical details [ alone ] do not allow identification” (

) , but fernández - triana and colleagues decided not to use dna barcoding traits as species diagnoses , instead using the form “sequences in bold : 2 , barcode compliant sequences : 2 . ”

between january 1935 and 2012 , botanists ( and mycologists ) had to write any diagnosis in latin ( table lists three such molecular diagnoses ) . since 2012 , however , a few plant species have been diagnosed with nucleotide substitutions described in english ( table 1 ) , and one study even provides both molecular and morphological diagnoses and molecular and morphological descriptions ( gonzález et al . 2013 ) .

a key advantage of molecular diagnoses is their utility for more precisely characterizing type material than is possible with morphological traits . the better a type collection ( including syntypes and paratypes ) is characterized , the more reliable the identification of future specimens . this does not mean that unidentified specimens in the future will need to be sequenced for identification . instead , identification may continue to rely on morphological matching of preserved specimens or , increasingly , of images using machine learning . having stringent diagnoses that specify dna differences among closely related species ( or subspecific taxa ) can facilitate identification in those cases where the correct identification of a specimen is crucial , for example , for parasites of crops or of animals , especially us , but also for specimens that are incomplete , poorly preserved , or immature , so that diagnostic features are missing . also , as pointed out by cook et al . ( 2010 ) , it is often quicker and cheaper to use diagnostic dna features than to rely on the traditional expert - centered paradigm of identification .