Neotropical reef fish communities are species-poor compared to those of the Indo-West Pacific. An exception to that pattern is the blenny clade Chaenopsidae, one of only three rocky and coral reef fish families largely endemic to the Neotropics. Within the chaenopsids, the genus Acanthemblemaria is the most species-rich and is characterized by elaborate spinous processes on the skull. Here we c...

Although the phylogenetic position of brachiopods has always been subject to debate, many authors place them as a sister group to deuterostomes on the basis of morphological and developmental characters. However, molecular phylogeny consistently places them among protostomes. More precisely, brachiopods are predicted to branch inside the lophotrochozoan assemblage, together with annelids, mollu...

Phylogenetic Inference Morphological character data for living and fossil mysticetes were sourced from Marx and Fordyce’s comprehensive treatment, with the following edits and additions. All undescribed or unidentified fossil taxa (n=13) were removed, as were the 3 odontocete taxa. We retained the archaeocete Zygorhiza kochii. We also replaced the composite taxon Eubalaena spp. with coded chara...

Mesothoracic wings have been examined and compared in 32 species representing 20 genera of Afrotropical Scutelleridae. Morphological characters of the corium are described. Three main types of mesothoracic wing venation patterns can be recognized. The taxonomic significance of forewing characters in Scutelleridae is briefly discussed.

Aspergillus section Nidulantes includes species with striking morphological characters, such as biseriate conidiophores with brown-pigmented stipes, and if present, the production of ascomata embedded in masses of Hülle cells with often reddish brown ascospores. The majority of species in this section have a sexual state, which were named Emericella in the dual name nomenclature system. In the ...

When the morphological diversity of a clade of species is quantified as the among-species variance in morphology, that diversity is a joint consequence of the phylogenetic structure of the clade (i.e., temporal pattern of speciation events) and the rates of change in the morphological traits of interest. Extrinsic factors have previously been linked to variation in the rate of morphological cha...

The morphology and ultrastructure of the antennal sensilla of male Hydrotaea (Hydrotaea) armipes (Fallén) are examined via scanning electron microscopy in order to highlight the importance of antennal sensilla as a source of morphological characters for taxonomy and phylogeny of Hydrotaea. Antennal scape and pedicel have only one type of sensilla, the sharp-tipped chaetic sensilla, whereas ante...