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The article deals with the information on lectotypification of five names, Bonnaya bracteoides Blatt. & Hallb., B. micrantha Blatt. & Hallb., Torenia diffusa D.Don, Vandellia hookeri C.B. Clarke ex...

Traditionally, Lindernia Allioni (1766: 178) in a broad sense was the largest genus within Linderniaceae with about 100 species and widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Fischer 2004, Rahmanzadeh et al. 2005). The generic circumscription was controversially discussed resulting in a complex taxonomic history with united several satellite genera into Lindernia, i.e., Bonnaya Link & Otto (1820: 25), Ilysanthes Rafinesque (1820: 13), Tittmannia Rchb. (1824: 26), Strigina Engler (1897: 516), and Vandellia Linnaeus (1767: 384).

Prasad, Mangavayal Govindan, Vimal, Kollancheri Puthanveettil, Shinoj, Kalathummarath, Sunojkumar, Purayidathkandy (2014): First record of Vandellia diffusa (Linderniaceae) in Asia. Phytotaxa 163 (1): 54-57, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.163.1.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.163.1.6

Hematophagous candirus (family Trichomycteridae Vandellia cf. plazaii) did not respond to potential chemical attractants (ammonia amino acids fresh fish slime and human urine) added to their aquarium water. They seemed to respond visually to live goldfish Carassius auratus and Amazonian cichlids Cichlasoma amazonarum. One hypothesis tested is that the goldfish (an ostariophysan) might be preferred to the cichlid (a perciform fish). Goldfish were attacked first significantly more often when both prey species were present (one-sided difference in proportions test, N = 15, p = 0.02). However neither the elapsed time to the first attack nor the duration of the attacks differed significantly (Mann-Whitney's U-test N = 32 p = 0.27 and p = 0.92). These two species seemed incapable (goldfish) or weakly capable (cichlid) of avoiding or repelling candiru attacks

V. plazai USNM 302683 (1 ex.), Published as part of Wolmar Benjamin Wosiacki, 2004, New species of the catfish genus Trichomycterus (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) from the headwaters of the rio S��o Francisco basin, Brazil., pp. 1-12 in Zootaxa 592 on page 10

Vandellia beccarii AMNH 55625 sw (1 ex.), Published as part of Wolmar Benjamin Wosiacki, 2004, New species of the catfish genus Trichomycterus (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) from the headwaters of the rio S��o Francisco basin, Brazil., pp. 1-12 in Zootaxa 592 on page 10

V. ix MZUSP 29155 (2 ex.) Paratypes, Published as part of Wolmar Benjamin Wosiacki, 2004, New species of the catfish genus Trichomycterus (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) from the headwaters of the rio S��o Francisco basin, Brazil., pp. 1-12 in Zootaxa 592 on page 10

V. cirrohosa AMNH 20497 (1 ex.), Published as part of Wolmar Benjamin Wosiacki, 2004, New species of the catfish genus Trichomycterus (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) from the headwaters of the rio S��o Francisco basin, Brazil., pp. 1-12 in Zootaxa 592 on page 10

Vandellia yamazakii, a new species of Linderniaceae from western Thailand, is described and illustrated.

Cytological studies were carried out in 14 N. Indian taxa. Centranthera hispida (n=15) and Verbascum celsioides (n=18) represent the first chromosome counts for the genus and the species respectively. Two cytomorphotypes with n=7 and n=14 in Vandellia crustacea were also unknown earlier. For the remaining taxa one or the other earlier chromosome reports are confirmed. Meiosis was normal in most of the taxa. Secondary associations were observed in Verbascum thapsus and V. celsioides. Multiple associations in Antirrhinum majus (2x) represents interchange heterozygosity. Intraspecific aneuploidy in Verbascum thapsus (2n=34, 36), Antirrhinum orontium (2n=14, 16), intraspecific polyploidy in Antirrhinum majus (2n=16, 32), Veronica anagallis (2n=18, 36, 54) and both polyploidy and aneuploidy are evident in Vandellia crustacea (2n=14, 28, 32, 42). Origin and evolution of the tetraploid taxon in the last species is discussed.

The stomach contents of several Trichomycteridae and Cetopsidae were examined from wet-season collections in the Portuguesa River basin, Venezuela. Collections were from piedmont, high llanos, and low llanos habitats. Based on these and other published and unpublished observations the species were classified according to feeding habits. Among the trichomycterids, Trichomycterus kneri and T. meridae feed only on benthic insects, Vandellia feeds only on blood of fishes and other vertebrates, and Stegophilinae (Stegophilus, Homod'iaetus, and Ochmacanthus) are tentatively classified as scale eaters. The only cetopsid species taken contained terrestrial-winged insects. Cetopsids are also schooling piscivores, but none are confirmed to be parasites. Both cetopsids and trichomycterids bear the common name candiru or carnero, but their feeding habits do not indicate close phylogenetic relationship. Three parasitic species were found in the piedmont and four in the high Ilanos, but in the low llanos. where the greatest variety of fishes was found, only Ochmacanthus occurred. OF THE 13 FAMILIES AND ESTIMATED OVER 2500 SPECIES of South American freshwater catfishes, only Trichomycteridae and Cetopsidae are reported to include parasitic species (Gudger 1930, Eigenmann and Allen 1942, Kelley and Atz 1964, Roberts 1972), knowni collectively as candiru, or carnero. The two families were once considered to be closely related primarily because of this similar reputation, but recent taxonomic work has shown that the Trichomycteridae are more closely related to the Loricariidae and Callichthyidae (the armored catfishes) rather than to the Cetopsidae (Baskin 1972, Chardon 1968). The older literature contains many references to the habits of the candiru, but the actual species in question is often obscure, and the exact feeding habits of these catfish families have not been determined by systematic stomach-content analysis. The Trichomycteridae consists of about 30 genera and 136 species, divided into six subfamilies (Baskin 1972). Most are small, worm-like catfishes, characterized as having teeth on the external edges of the opercular bones, and lacking the pectoral and dorsal fin spines found in more typical catfishes. The Trichomycterinae are not considered to be parasitic, and are not included among the candiru; e.g. Eigenmann and Allen (1942) report Trichomycterus dispar feeding on molluscs, crustaceans, and fishes. The Vandelliinae and Stegophilinae contain the reported

THE grouper, Promicrops itaiara (Lichtenstein), is not infrequently found with curious hard, blackish, irregularly shaped objects in the visceral cavity. These are bound to the digestive tract or other parts of the viscera by folds of the mesentery. Usually, dissection fails to reveal any identifiable structure, except what seems to be a mass of more or less "cornified" tissue. They are at least clearly not parasitic cysts, both on the basis of size and structure. These curious objects have been frequently seen about the docks at Key West, Florida, where a large number of Promicrops may be butchered in the course of a week. The fishermen all seem to know of these objects but have no explanation for their occurrence. A particularly large specimen was found by one of us in 1928 at Key West. It was bound to the outer wall of the stomach by thin mesentery membranes. The object was removed from a Promicrops measuring about four feet in length. Its appearance on removal is shown in the photograph. It was clear from the start that this particular specimen possessed discernible structure. On softening in weak alcohol, dissection proved it to be nothing else than a "mummified" Myrichthys acuminatus (Gronow).1 The question and item of interest in this connection regards the mode of entrance of the eel into the body cavity of the grouper. The outstanding peculiarity of this species of eel is its hard, sharp, pointed and finless tail, which characteristic has given rise to one of its common names, "sharp-tailed eel." Anyone who has handled a living specimen, or watched one on a beach, can testify to the adroitness with which these eels can use the effectively sharp point in backing into or through things. The only likely road of entry into the body cavity by such a fish would seem to be that in the paroxysms caused by being swallowed, the sharp tail was plunged through the wall of the gut, after which it was easy and natural for the fish to follow. A case similar to, if not identical with, the present has been described by Deraniyagala (1932)2 for Ophichthus apicalis (Bennett) found in Serranus pantherinus (Bleeker), Lethrinus nebulosus (Forskal), L. miniatus (Schneider), Pristipomoides pristipoma (Bleeker) and Lutianus dodecacanthus (Bleeker) as well as other but unnamed lutianids. This investigator, after introducing his remarks with reference to the inquiline Fierasfer and the urinophilous Vandellia suggests that Ophichthus entered the species listed voluntarily, by backing into the "cloaca." Aside from the fact that these fishes possess no cloaca, the digestive and urogenital tracts having separate external apertures, numerous objections to this interpretation may be found. Since the eels measured from 140-180 mm and the infested fishes about 600 mm, it is difficult to visualize a specimen allowing such a sized eel to force entry with only the leverage of its swimming movements. This is especially noteworthy in reference to the small bore of either orifice. The urogenital duct is definitely too small for the diameter of the eels of the length