Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research
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Acceptance rate26%
Submission to final decision84 days
Acceptance to publication22 days
CiteScore3.400
Journal Citation Indicator0.930
Impact Factor2.424

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Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research is a peer-reviewed, international forum for publication of high-quality research on systematic zoology and evolutionary biology.

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Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research maintains an Editorial Board of practicing researchers from around the world, to ensure manuscripts are handled by editors who are experts in the field of study.

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Research Article

Evolutionary History and Taxonomic Reclassification of the Critically Endangered Daggernose Shark, a Species Endemic to the Western Atlantic

The family Carcharhinidae includes the most typical and recognizable sharks, although its internal classification is the subject of extensive debate. In particular, the type genus, Carcharhinus Blainville, 1816, which is also the most speciose, appears to be paraphyletic in relation to a number of morphologically distinct taxa. Isogomphodon oxyrhynchus (Valenciennes, 1839) (the daggernose shark) is a carcharinid, which is endemic to a limited area of the Western Atlantic between Trinidad and Tobago and the Gulf of Maranhão in northern Brazil, one of the smallest ranges of any New World elasmobranch species. In recent decades, I. oxyrhynchus populations have been decimated by anthropogenic impacts, which has led to the classification of the species as critically endangered by the IUCN. However, there is considerable debate on both the validity of the species (I. oxyrhynchus) and the status of Isogomphodon Gill, 1862 as a distinct entity from the genus Carcharhinus. The present study is based on a molecular assessment of the genetic validity of the I. oxyrhynchus that combines mitochondrial and nuclear markers, which were used to identify the biogeographic events responsible for the emergence and dispersal of the species in northern Brazil. The genetic distance analyses and phylogenetic trees confirmed the paraphyly of the genus Carcharhinus, recovering a clade comprising Carcharhinus+I. oxyrhynchus+Prionace glauca (Linnaeus, 1758). Our results indicate not only that the daggernose shark is actually a member of the genus Carcharhinus, but that it is genetically more closely related to Carcharhinus porosus (Ranzani, 1839) than it is to the other Carcharhinus species analyzed. Given this, I. oxyrhynchus and P. glauca are therefore reclassified and recognized as Carcharhinus oxyrhynchus and Carcharhinus glaucus. The daggernose shark, Carcharhinus oxyrhynchus, diverged from C. porosus during the Miocene, when significant geomorphological processes occurred on the northern coast of South America, in particular in relation to the configuration of the Amazon River. It is closely associated with the area of the Amazon plume, and its distinctive morphological features represent autapomorphic ecological adaptations to this unique habitat and do not reflect systematic distinction from Carcharhinus.

Research Article

Catch-All No More: Integrative Systematic Revision of the Genus Allolobophora Eisen, 1874 (Crassiclitellata, Lumbricidae) with the Description of Two New Relict Earthworm Genera

The taxonomy of earthworms has been riddled by instability, lack of systematically useful characters, and lax diagnoses of some genera. This has led to the use of some genera such as Allolobophora Eisen, 1874 as taxonomic wastebaskets, blurring their evolution and biogeographical history. The implementation of molecular techniques has revolutionized the systematics of the genus; however, some of its species have not been previously included in molecular phylogenetic analyses. Thus, the molecular markers COI, 16S, ND1, 12S, and 28S were sequenced for six endemic species including several taxa of Allolobophora and Aporrectodea Örely, 1885 (another related catch-all genus). Phylogenetic relationships determined by Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses support the status of two of the six taxa examined (Allolobophora burgondiae Bouché, 1972 and Aporrectodea icterica Savigny, 1826) as part of Allolobophora sensu stricto and a presumed synonymy between Allolobophora and Heraclescolex Qiu and Bouché, 1998. Branch lengths and average pairwise genetic distances support the transfer of Allolobophora satchelli Bouché, 1972 to the genus Panoniona Mršić and Šapkarev, 1988 and the emergence of two new genera, Heraultia gen. nov. and Vosgesia gen. nov., endemic to France, hosting Allolobophora tiginosa Bouché, 1972 and Allolobophora zicsii Bouché, 1972, respectively. The aforementioned changes of status and the diagnosis for Heraultia and Vosgesia are presented. These results provided more evolutionarily and biogeographically coherent earthworm groups and highlighted that the Maghreb and the area around the Alps are potential key locations for the diversification of Allolobophora and several lineages of Lumbricidae.

Research Article

Reevaluation of the Systematic Status of Branchinotogluma (Annelida, Polynoidae), with the Establishment of Two New Species

Branchinotogluma is one of the most diverse genera among the polynoids inhabiting deep-sea chemosynthetic environments. A total of 14 species have been described from the hydrothermal vents and cold seeps worldwide. Our phylogenetic analyses based on four genes (COI, 16S, 18S, and 28S rRNA) recovered the current Branchinotogluma as paraphyletic, with seven clades scattered in two main clades. The monophyly of the main clade composed of Branchinotogluma (except Branchinotogluma segonzaci), Branchipolynoe, and Peinaleopolynoe is supported by the presence of 20–21 segments with 9–10 pairs of elytra, ventral papillae starting from segment 12 in males, and arborescent branchiae. The monophyly of another main clade composed of B. segonzaci, Bathykurila, Lepidonotopodium, Levensteiniella, and Thermopolynoe is supported by the presence of usually 22–30 segments with 11 pairs of elytra and the lack of ventral papillae in females. In addition, our study recognized two new species, Branchinotogluma nanhaiensis sp. nov. and B. robusta sp. nov., based on specimens collected from the deep-sea cold seeps in the South China Sea. Both the morphology and molecular phylogenetic analyses support the validity of the two new species and the sister relationships between B. nanhaiensis and B. japonicus and between B. robusta and B. pettiboneae as well.

Research Article

High Phenotypic Diversity Does Not Always Hide Taxonomic Diversity: A Study Case with Cheilosia soror (Zetterstedt, 1843) (Diptera: Syrphidae) in the Iberian Peninsula

Comprising nearly 500 species worldwide, Cheilosia Meigen is the largest genus of Syrphidae in the Palaearctic region. Within Cheilosia, phenotypic diversity has been assessed in different species groups, including the group of Cheilosia longula (Zetterstedt, 1838). However, the phenotypic variability of Cheilosia soror (Zetterstedt, 1843), a highly variable member of the C. longula group, has never been assessed in western Europe. In the present work, morphological and molecular analyses were conducted to assess the phenotypic variability found in 300+ specimens of C. soror from the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 16 variable characters were identified and defined for the C. soror morphology, with the highest variation found in the colour of the mesonotum pilosity and the metatibia colour. Morphological variation was assessed against molecular variation based on two molecular markers, one mitochondrial, the 5 end of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI-5), and one nuclear, the large subunit ribosomal DNA (28S). Phylogenetic analyses rendered trees with topologies in disagreement with the defined morphological variation. Two haplotypes were identified amongst the analysed specimens of C. soror, together with a haplotypic variant exclusive to the Iberian region. Potential distributions were used to identify unexplored areas of occurrence of C. soror and other species of the C. longula group in the Iberian Peninsula. Unassessed areas of occurrence of C. soror should be surveyed in the future to confirm the absence of hidden taxonomic diversity within the range of phenotypic variation for this species. Phenotypic variation of the other two Iberian species of the C. longula group, C. longula and C. scutellata (Fallén, 1817), was also assessed to find that they are species with less-variable morphology than C. soror and with molecular characters in accordance with other conspecific populations in Europe. New distributional data are provided for C. soror and C. scutellata from Spain, and a leg abnormality is identified for the first time in C. soror.

Research Article

The Paths of the Galls: Differences in the Ecology and Distribution of Two European Oak Gall Wasps Andricus dentimitratus and Andricus pictus

Andricus dentimitratus (Rejtõ, 1887) and Andricus pictus (Hartig, 1856) are two European gall wasps (Hymenoptera, Cynipidae) that induce galls on species of Quercus. The distribution and ecological niches of these species have not been studied in detail, though they are known to have a different distribution pattern in the Iberian Peninsula in Europe. To investigate this difference and its potential relationship with climate and host species distribution, we analysed the potential distribution of both species in the Iberian Peninsula using six algorithms and a consensus model based on 600 iterations for each species. We compared the models obtained for each species with the distribution of their host Quercus species. The results show that A. dentimitratus and A. pictus have a complementary distribution delimited by the Ebro valley, with A. dentimitratus occurring northeast of the valley and A. pictus southwest. The observed distribution patterns might be due to differences in the climatic requirements of each species or to the distribution of their host species given that A. dentimitratus is specific to Q. humilis and Q. cerris (except in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula) and A. pictus, to marcescent Mediterranean oaks (Q. faginea and Q. pyrenaica) and Q. suber. We propose two hypotheses to explain the nonoverlapping distribution of the two gall wasp species in the Iberian Peninsula: in the first scenario, A. dentimitratus arrived to the to the Iberian Peninsula from the eastern Palearctic by way of Europe and A. pictus, from the north coast of Africa; in the second, their distribution is a result of their speciation in different glacial refugia: A. dentimitratus in the Italian Peninsula and A. pictus in the Iberian Peninsula.

Research Article

Embryonic Development and Histological Analysis of Skeletal Muscles of Tenuidactylus caspius (Eichwald, 1831) Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata)

During embryonic development of the Caspian thin-toed gecko migration, formation of myoblast and myosatellite cells occurs in the cranial-distal direction. Somite formation begins in the body part close to the skull and ends in the tail. The time of separation of somites from the proximal mesoderm depends on the temperature of the air and the substrate. Myoblast cells reach their targets and are connected, and the membranes in the area of their contact are destroyed. Myoblast’s fusion creates myosymplasts. The intermediate stage is observed after the formation of small myosymplasts. After that, the chain shape of myosymplasts are transformed into an intermediate plaque form. At this intermediate stage, the number of a nucleus is small, the shape of the nucleus differs from each other, and the location of the nucleus varies. Afterward, the connection of the intermediate forms with each other and with myoblasts forms a rounded shape, where the initial development of myotubules takes place. A fully formed myotubular and myosatellite cells are surrounded by a basal membrane and shape a muscle fiber. The skeletal muscles of the adult Caspian thin-toed gecko are mainly composed of white fibers. Thus, it allows the gecko to move very fast in a short time. Due to the small number of mitochondria in the myotubes, oxygen gas demand is decreased and the body is prevented from overheating.

Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research
Publishing Collaboration
More info
Wiley Hindawi logo
 Journal metrics
See full report
Acceptance rate26%
Submission to final decision84 days
Acceptance to publication22 days
CiteScore3.400
Journal Citation Indicator0.930
Impact Factor2.424
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Article of the Year Award: Outstanding research contributions of 2021, as selected by our Chief Editors. Read the winning articles.