Cheek Martin, Onana Jean Michel, Chapman Hazel M
Department of Science, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, United Kingdom.
Faculty of Science, Department of Plant Biology, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Centrale, Cameroon.
PeerJ. 2021 Mar 15;9:e11036. doi: 10.7717/peerj.11036. eCollection 2021.
We test the hypothesis that the tree species previously known as . is a new species for science. We formally characterise and name this species as (Sapindaceae-Litchi clade) and we discuss it in the context of the assemblage of montane tree species in the Cameroon Highlands of West-Central Africa. The new species is a shade-bearing, non-pioneer understorey forest tree species reaching 15 m high and a trunk diameter that can attain over 40 cm at 1.3 m above the ground. Seed dispersal has been recorded by chimpanzees () and by putty-nose monkeys () and the species is used by chimpanzees for nesting. Cameroon has the highest species-diversity and species endemism known in this African-Western Indian Ocean genus of 42, mainly lowland species. is an infrequent tree species known from six locations in surviving islands of montane (sometimes also upper submontane) forest along the line of the Cameroon Highlands, including one at Ngel Nyaki in Mambilla, Nigeria. is here assessed as Endangered according to the IUCN 2012 standard, threatened by severe fragmentation of its mountain forest habitat due to extensive and ongoing clearance for agriculture. The majority of the 28 tree species of montane forest (above 2000 m alt.) in the Cameroon Highlands are also widespread in East African mountains (i.e. are Afromontane wide). is one of only seven species known to be endemic (globally restricted to) these highlands. It is postulated that this new species is morphologically closest to a frequent species at a lower (submontane) altitudinal band of the same range. Detailed ecological data on from the Nigerian location, Ngel Nyaki, where it has been known under the name is reviewed.
我们检验了一个假设，即先前被称为……的树种是科学界的一个新物种。我们正式对该物种进行了特征描述并将其命名为……（无患子科——荔枝属分支），并在西非中西部喀麦隆高地山地树种组合的背景下对其进行了讨论。这个新物种是一种耐阴的、非先锋性的林下森林树种，高达15米，树干直径在离地面1.3米处可达40多厘米。黑猩猩（……）和白鼻猴（……）都有传播该树种种子的记录，黑猩猩还用该物种筑巢。喀麦隆在这个由42种主要为低地物种组成的非洲——西印度洋属中拥有已知的最高物种多样性和物种特有性。……是一种不常见的树种，在喀麦隆高地沿线现存的山地（有时也是亚山地上部）森林岛屿中的六个地点被发现，包括尼日利亚曼比拉的恩盖尔尼亚基的一个地点。根据世界自然保护联盟2012年的标准，……在此被评估为濒危物种，由于农业开垦广泛且持续，其山地森林栖息地严重破碎化，该物种受到威胁。喀麦隆高地海拔2000米以上的山地森林中的28种树种中的大多数在东非山区也很常见（即属于泛非山地分布）。……是已知仅有的七种特有于（全球仅分布于）这些高地的物种之一。据推测，这个新物种在形态上最接近……，后者是同一山脉较低（亚山地）海拔带的常见物种。对来自尼日利亚恩盖尔尼亚基地点的……的详细生态数据进行了综述，在那里它一直以……的名称为人所知。
