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Loasaceae subfam. Loasoideae are a nearly exclusively American plant group with a center of diversity in Peru. Numerous new taxa have been described over the past decades; one of the most striking discoveries was that of the narrowly endemic Xylopodia with the single species Xylopodia klaprothioides in Peru, Dpto. Cajamarca in 1997. Surprisingly, field studies in the past years have resulted in the discovery of material clearly belonging to the same genus in both Bolivia and northern Argentina, approximately 1500 km SE of the next known population of Xylopodia in Contumazá, Peru. A closer examination shows that Argentinian and Bolivian material belongs to a single species, clearly different from Xylopodia klaprothioides. We here describe Xylopodia laurensis and the entire genus is revised. Both species are illustrated, all aspects of their biology and ecology are portrayed and their threat status is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We described, for the first time, a case of predation of a non-arthropod species by a dung beetle species. Canthon chalybaeus Blanchard, 1843 kills healthy individuals of the terrestrial snail Bulimulus apodemetes (D'Orbigny, 1835) showing an evident pattern of physical aggressiveness in the attacks using the dentate clypeus and the anterior tibiae. The description of this predatory behaviour was complemented with the analysis of the chemical secretions of the pygidial glands of C. chalybaeus, highlighting those main chemical compounds that, due to their potential toxicity, could contribute to death of the snail. We observed a high frequency of predatory interactions reinforcing the idea that predation in dung beetles is not accidental and although it is opportunistic it involves a series of behavioural sophistications that suggest an evolutionary pattern within Deltochilini that should not only be better studied from a behavioural point of view but also phylogenetically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species, Aa tenebrosa, from the Yungas Montane Grasslands is described, illustrated, and compared to similar species. Descriptions, brief taxonomic notes, and data on the ecology of Aa species from the Southern Central Andes (Argentina) are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Descriptions, brief taxonomic notes and data on the ecology of the two species of Myrosmodes known from Argentina (M. gymnandra & M. paludosa) are provided. In addition, an identification key to Myrosmodes species known from the south–central Andes is given. The descriptions are complemented with illustrations and distribution maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A floristic survey was carried out in Yungas forests of the San José de Chijra river basin (Jujuy, Argentina). This is the first comprehensive study of vascular plants made in the area, a region relatively unknown in terms of vegetation. We present the results of this field survey; 172 species, 127 genera and 51 plant families are documented. Of these, 149 are native and 17 are endemic. Of the latter, three are endemic to Argentina, 11 to northestern Argentina, and three to Jujuy province. Families with the greatest number of species were Asteraceae (50), Solanaceae (13), Fabaceae (12), and Poaceae (8). According to IUCN criteria, two species are classified as threatened. Our data substantially increase our knowledge of the diversity of the regional flora and will provide an important contribution in developing conservation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loasaceae subfam. Loasoideae are a nearly exclusively American plant group with a center of diversity in Peru. Numerous new taxa have been described over the past decades; one of the most striking discoveries was that of the narrowly endemic Xylopodia with the single species Xylopodiaklaprothioides in Peru, Dpto. Cajamarca in 1997. Surprisingly, field studies in the past years have resulted in the discovery of material clearly belonging to the same genus in both Bolivia and northern Argentina, approximately 1500 km SE of the next known population of Xylopodia in Contumazá, Peru. A closer examination shows that Argentinian and Bolivian material belongs to a single species, clearly different from Xylopodiaklaprothioides . We here describe Xylopodialaurensis and the entire genus is revised. Both species are illustrated, all aspects of their biology and ecology are portrayed and their threat status is discussed., (Claudia M. Martín, Christian A. Zanotti, Rafael Acuña-Castillo, Tilo Henning, Juan C. Catari, Maximilian Weigend.)