ABSTRACT
We report a new type of fossil margin galls arranged in a linear series on dicot leaf impressions from the latest Neogene (Pliocene) sediments of the Chotanagpur Plateau, Jharkhand, eastern India. We collected ca. 1500 impression and compression leaf fossils, of which 1080 samples bear arthropod damage referable to 37 different damage types (DT) in the 'Guide to Insect (and Other) Damage Types in Compressed Plant Fossils'. A few leaf samples identified as Ipomoea L. (Convolvulaceae) have specific margin galls that do not match any galling DT previously described. This type of galling is characterized by small, linearly arranged, irregular, sessile, sub-globose, solitary, indehiscent, solid pouch-galls with irregular ostioles. The probable damage inducers of the present galling of the foliar margin might be members of Eriophyidae (Acari). The new type of gall suggests that marginal gall-inducing mites on leaves of Ipomoea did not change their host preference at the genus level since the Pliocene. The development of marginal leaf galling in Ipomoea is linked to extrafloral nectaries that do not offer protection against arthropod galling but indirectly protect the plant against herbivory from large mammals.
Subject(s)
Ipomoea , Mites , Animals , Insecta , Plants , Plant Leaves , Plant Tumors , MammalsABSTRACT
Background: The subfamily Luciolinae Lacordaire, 1857, a group of flashing fireflies, is composed of approximately 400 described species in the world. Though the taxonomy of this group has been fairly well established in Southeast (SE) Asia and the Australopacific Region, there is scope of gathering further information regarding taxonomic knowledge on this group from India. Until now, 32 Luciolinae species from nine genera have been reported from India, which is only about 8% (32 out of 400) of the world Luciolinae fauna. With this in mind, several faunistic surveys were conducted in Odisha and West Bengal States of India to explore the firefly fauna of the two States. New information: The faunistic surveys conducted in the Odisha and West Bengal States of India have revealed six new distributional records of Luciolinae firefly species belonging to the genera Abscondita Ballantyne, Lambkin & Fu 2013, Asymmetricata Ballantyne 2009, Pteroptyx Olivier 1902 and Sclerotia Ballantyne 2016 in the two States, earlier which were recorded from other States of India. Of the already recorded species, Abs.perplexa is recorded for the first time from both the States, whereas Abs.chinensis, Asy.ovalis and Scl.aquatilis present new records for Odisha State and Pt.malaccae and Scl.substriata for West Bengal State. The newly-recorded taxa are presented with their examined materials, diagnoses and brief biological notes. Some more distinguishing characters were added for the male genitalia of Abs.perplexa and Asy.ovalis. Further, a checklist of Luciolinae firefly species already recorded from India is also presented.
ABSTRACT
Here, we investigated the diversity of Sericini in the faunistically rather unknown Lower Gangetic plains in North India, based on material from the collection of the Zoological Survey of India. We discovered one new species from West Bengal, Maladerakolkataensis Bhunia, Gupta, Sarkar & Ahrens, and provide further records of an additional 23 species belonging to five genera from the lowlands of the states Bihar and West Bengal. Out of these, 21 species represent new state records: 12 for Bihar and nine for West Bengal. All recorded species are briefly documented by diagnostic illustrations.
Subject(s)
Coleoptera , Animals , India , ZoologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Oniticellini Kolbe, 1905 is a paucispecific tribe of the scarab beetle subfamily Scarabaeinae. The tribe is composed of 256 described species worldwide, while from India, 26 species were recorded to date. Beetles belonging to this tribe are commonly known as paracoprid dung beetles and perform some remarkable ecological functions. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of knowledge on the occurrence of these beetles in the mega diverse tropical forests of the Himalayan foothills located in the north of the West Bengal state of India. NEW INFORMATION: A first faunistic account of the tribe Oniticellini Kolbe, 1905 from Baikunthapur Forest, located at the Himalayan foothills of the West Bengal state of India is presented. A total of five species of the tribe distributed over two genera Tiniocellus and Liatongus were recorded during multiple surveys of the scarab fauna of the Forest. All taxa were recorded for the first time from the area, while Tiniocellus spinipes (Roth, 1851) is a new record for the West Bengal State of India. Additionally, a preliminary checklist of Indian species of the tribe is also provided.
