Deprea is a neotropical genus that comprises 51 species. Recent work based on molecular data has explored its monophyly and interspecific relationships, but the relationships amongst Deprea species were not entirely elucidated. The inclusion of more accessions and molecular markers in phylogenetic analysis is likely to produce more supported hypotheses. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to perform a combined phylogenetic analysis of Deprea including seven new samples representing six species and one more DNA plastid marker than in previous studies. In that process, a new species of Deprea from Colombia was discovered and is described and illustrated here. Deprea teresitae Deanna & A. Orejuela, sp. nov. is morphologically similar to D. dilloniana and phylogenetically closely related to D. hawkesii and D. harlingiana. This new species is distinguished by the combination of short calyx lobes, non-mucronate anthers, long staminal filaments and corolla lobes, and elongated appressed fruiting calyx around a subglobose green berry. The new phylogenetic results are presented, including discussion on phylogenetic interspecific relationships, taxonomy, geographic distribution, and conservation status from D. teresitae. The synonymy of Deprea sylvarum subsp. novogranatensis under D. glabra is also proposed and an identification key to the 10 Deprea species distributed in Colombia is included.

The Neotropical leaf litter frog genus Pristimantis is very species-rich, with 526 species described to date, but the full extent of its diversity is much higher and remains unknown. This study explores the phylogenetic processes and resulting evolutionary patterns of diversification in Pristimantis. Given the well-recognised failure of morphology- and community-based species groups to describe diversity within the genus, we apply a new test for the presence and phylogenetic distribution of higher evolutionary units. We developed a phylogeny based on 260 individuals encompassing 149 Pristimantis presumed species, sampled at mitochondrial and nuclear genes (3718 base pair alignment), combining new and available sequence data. Our phylogeny broadly agrees with previous studies, both in topology and age estimates, with the origin of Pristimantis at 28.97 (95% HDP =21.59 – 37.33) million years ago (MYA). New taxa that we add to the genus, which had not previously been included in Pristimantis phylogenies, suggest considerable diversity remains to be described. We assessed patterns of lineage origin and recovered 14 most likely (95% CI: 13–19) phylogenetic clusters or higher evolutionary significant units (hESUs) within Pristimantis. Diversification rates decrease towards the present following a density-dependent pattern for Pristimantis overall and for most hESU clusters, reflecting historical evolutionary radiation. The timing of diversification suggests that geological events in the Miocene, such as Andes orogenesis and Pebas system formation and drainage, may have had a direct or indirect impact on the evolution of Pristimantis and thus contributed to the origins of evolutionary independent phylogenetic clusters.

Areas of endemism represent territories (no matter the size) of non-random overlap in the geographic distribution of two or more taxa, reflecting a common spatial history of these taxa. The common spatial history is a result of different processes that connect areas of endemism to evolutionary theory. Numerous and diverse definitions of areas of endemism have been proposed. All of them have used as the conceptual foundation of the definition a certain degree of non-random congruence of geographic distribution amongst at least two taxa. ‘Certain degree’ means that geographic congruence does not demand complete agreement on the boundaries of those taxa's distributions at all possible scales of mapping. The words ‘certain degree’ mask the polythetic nature of areas of endemism. The polythetic characterization of areas of endemism implies that each locality of the study area has a large number of a set of species. Each species of this set is present in many of those localities and, generally, none of those species is present in every locality of the area. The converse will be a monothetic nature of areas of endemism where a taxon or group of taxa is present in all the localities of the study area. We propose here that the expansion of the definition of areas of endemism, including their polythetic characterization, will improve understanding of large biogeographic areas such as realms, regions, provinces, and districts, and will increase the scientific content (e.g., predictive capability and explanatory power) of areas of endemism.

The Larreoideae subfamily is the major representative of the family Zygophyllaceae in South America, where several of its members are common to dominant in arid regions of the Southern Cone. However, there are currently no phylogenetic analyses of the subfamily that may help to understand its origin and diversification. Additionally, there are taxonomic discrepancies around Bulnesia Gay (1845), one of its more important genera. Accordingly, we performed a phylogenetic analysis combining chloroplast (rbcL and trnL-F) and nuclear (ITS) DNA sequences. Bayesian and Parsimony analyses were performed to highlight the intergeneric relationships within Larreoideae. All genera with the exception of Bulnesia are monophyletic and we propose to redefine Bulnesia, dividing it in two genera. Furthermore, other taxonomic issues of the remaining genera are solved. This study represents the first approximation to clarify the phylogenetic relationships amongst all Larreoideae genera, producing a phylogenetic framework that can be used in future macro-ecological studies.

The aim of this study was to examine the diversity of, and differentiation between, 41 natural populations representing Juniperus phoenicea complex within their geographic range using the morphological characteristics of cones, seeds, and sprouts with leaves. Seven populations of J. phoenicea s.s., 25 J. turbinata and nine J. canariensis, each represented by ∼20–30 individuals, were studied. The characteristics describing the size of cones and seeds and their proportions were different between J. phoenicea s.s., J. turbinata, and J. canariensis, and were useful in distinguishing between these three taxa. The populations of J. canariensis had a significantly higher percentage of trimerous cones, a higher number of cone scales, but a lower number of seeds, which were also larger than the seeds from other taxa. Juniperus phoenicea s.s., J. turbinata, and J. canariensis revealed a high level of multivariate differentiation, but there were no single characteristics which allowed one to distinguish between these alone. We detected significant differences between populations of J. turbinata from Europe and Africa, which supports the role of the Gibraltar Straight in the structuring of conifer species. Significant differences were also detected between European and Asiatic populations in several characters examined, indicating the important role of the Aegean Sea in the structuring of this taxon.

Integrative taxonomy seeks to approach the complex topic of species diagnosis using independent, complementary lines of evidence. Despite their ubiquity throughout North and Central America, taxonomy of the American leopard frogs (Anura: Ranidae: Rana: subgenus Pantherana) remains largely unresolved, and this is arguably nowhere truer than in the Central American country of Honduras, where there are two nominal species, the taxonomy of which remains unresolved. Leopard frogs from several mountainous areas along the continental divide in Honduras have previously been considered putative hybrids between Rana brownorum and R. cf. forreri, as opposed to two alternate hypotheses: one that they represent a high-altitude eco-morph of a single widespread species that included both lowland forms, or a second that there is an undescribed highland species distinct from either of the recognized lowland forms. We examine this set of hypotheses using three independent lines of evidence. First, we used species distribution modelling to examine potential geographic isolation of the highland form and the two putative parental lowland species, and found strong ecological separation between the highland and lowland forms. Second, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA supports the distinction of the highland form from both putative parental species, with mtDNA data refuting the hypothesis that representatives of either species may represent a matrilineal founder. Morphologically, the highland form is significantly smaller than, and otherwise readily differentiated from, both R. brownorum and R. cf. forreri, as well as all other Rana found in Honduras and adjacent areas. As a result, we formally describe the highland leopard frog as a new species.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BE53F587-3618-4433-9651-E495808E5474

This study examines changing spatial patterns of botanical collections over a 400 year time frame, focussing on the collections at the Natural History Museum (BM) in comparison with global patterns. The Plant Collector Resource Database, which contains 68,000 collector records was used to generate 250,667 unique collector × country × date records. We observe an exponential increase in the number of collectors over time. The activities of collectors were investigated in 50-year time-slices from 1650–2000. We specifically considered the geographic scope of collections (i.e., countries in which collections were made), the depth of collections (i.e., the number of collectors per country) and the uniqueness of collections (i.e., the proportion not duplicated in other herbaria). Uniqueness was highest for the earliest time-slice. Collector activity is shown to be strongly influenced by extrinsic factors such as the development of trade and empire, which allowed for collections to expand in scope and depth, and conflicts, which reduced collecting activity. A striking finding concerns the uniqueness of collections through time. The considerable unique element of the collections in herbaria highlighted by this study provides a strong motivation for digitization efforts to ensure that collections are accessible to address key questions in systematics, biogeography, and ecology.

The heteronemertean genus Lineus Sowerby, 1806 has been badly in need of revision because of its apparent non-monophyly. In this paper, we focus on Lineus torquatus Coe, 1901, one of the heteronemertean species that occur commonly in waters around the North Pacific, as well as a few other allied species distributed in the western North Pacific, including Lineus alborostratus Takakura, 1898 and Cerebratulus montgomeryi Coe, 1901. Based on phylogenetic analyses using 16S, COI, 28S, 18S, and H3 gene and ITS sequences, we detected a well-supported clade comprised of heteronemerteans with a frontal white band on the head, to which we add Kulikovia gen. nov. This genus is nested within a more comprehensive, highly supported clade, here named the Siphonenteron-clade, which contains Tenuilineus bicolour (Verrill, 1892), Lineus flavescens Coe, 1905, Siphonenteron bilineatum (Renier, 1804), S. cf. bilineatum, Lineus cf. caputornatus, and Lineus sp. from Guam. Our analyses confirmed the presence of a cryptic species of what was formerly known as the cherry-red and reddish forms of Lineus torquatus, herein described as Kulikovia manchenkoi sp. nov. based on some external characters, internal morphology, and the four genetic markers (COI, 16S, H3, and ITS). In contrast to the species pair K. torquata–K. manchenkoi, the reddish form of K. alborostrata does not differ genetically from the typical form of this species. The significance of the external and internal characters for distinguishing cryptic species is discussed.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9BECBC60-9C82-48EC-AD36-FC564D82A5BChttp://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D02B2339-4F65-4517-9B13-DD4AAB0C55C5http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8D239B62-E655-4721-90F0-A4944DD8A3C7

In this metaphorical ‘composition’, I comment on nine ‘dissonant chords’ related to the drowning out of cladistic performance: (1) DNA-based phylogenetic hypotheses supported only by bootstrap values and without molecular synapomorphies; (2) the use of molecular data to the exclusion of morphological data, with the classification of clades diagnosed by morphological plesiomorphies plus bootstrap values; (3) neglect of the results of the congruence test and how they are interpreted; (4) the combination of character optimization using both model-based and parsimony methods, and its consequences; (5) the need to effectively integrate ontogeny and phylogeny; (6) the estimation of the ages of clades based on molecular-clock analyses; (7) the belief that new methods, theories, and hypotheses are more reliable than old ones, with the idea that model-based analyses achieve better results than parsimony analyses; (8) the false assumption of the irrelevance of classification; and (9) clashes amongst cladists themselves, who endorse distinct methods, philosophies, and theories. Finally, I present 10 ‘refrains’ in order to intensify the cladistic performance.

In order to contribute to the understanding of the effect of geological and climatic changes on species diversification in the Neotropics, we employed molecular techniques to study the population dynamics of the glossophagine bat Glossophaga soricina, a widespread species in the Neotropical region. We aimed to assess the dispersal and distribution of mtDNA lineages of G. soricina and evaluate the possible effect of vicariant events in the population history and dynamics. Glossophaga soricina presented two main highly supported mtDNA lineages, which diverged between ∼2.4 and 5 million years ago, probably following a vicariant event caused by the Andes final uplift. The lower sea level during Pleistocene glaciations also made possible the occupation of Jamaica after an event of dispersion over the Caribbean Sea, although past climatic fluctuations had little effect over population dynamics of G. soricina. Our results corroborate the idea that the Andes uplift played an important role in the evolution of Neotropical biodiversity. In this context we suggest that geographic events causing large scale environmental disjunction, such as the uplift of mountains, are more likely to restrict gene flow amongst populations of tolerant species with broad geographic range than local climate driven environmental changes.