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We describe two new frog species of the genus Guibemantis Dubois, 1992 (Mantellidae) from northern Madagascar. Both species are placed in the subgenus Pandanusicola Glaw & Vences, 1994 and, like most of their relatives, appear to only inhabit the leaf axils of Pandanus plants. Guibemantis albomaculatus sp. nov. is distinguished from other closely related species by light colored dorsolateral stripes and abundant small white spots found on its flanks and limbs. Guibemantis woosteri sp. nov. also has light-colored dorsolateral stripes and small white spots, but differs by having strongly banded forelimbs and a reddish coloration around the eye orbits. Mitochondrial DNA sequences corroborate the identity of these two new species, which appear to be regional endemics in northern and north-eastern Madagascar, respectively. These descriptions bring the species count in Pandanusicola to thirteen.
Four species of mole crickets (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) are known from the West Indies: Neocurtilla hexadactyla (Perty), Scapteriscus abbreviatus Scudder, S. didactylus (Latreille), and S. imitatus Nickle and Castner. All are adventive (not native). We document their distributions in West Indian islands/countries by use of records from the literature and examination of specimens. Scapteriscus abbreviatus has been suggested to have arrived in, and been transported about the West Indies in ship ballast (immigration). Based on records of arrival in various parts of the West Indies and the species’ inability to fly, this suggestion seems reasonable. Scapteriscus imitatus pparently was released in Puerto Rico as a result of mistaken identification (introduction – arriving with assistance from humans – although inadvertent), and has not expanded its range in the West Indies. Although the principal mode of dispersal for the other two species also has been suggested to be ship ballast, we present an alternative based on flight which would seem at least equally as plausible. We suggest that S. didactylus could have dispersed by flight from South America through the Lesser Antilles; likewise N. hexadactyla probably from the Yucatan Peninsula to Cuba, and from South America northward through the Lesser Antilles, in at least some localities assisted by wind. Our zoogeographical alternative, if correct, means that the natural range expansions of these latter two species began very long ago and without human assistance – they were not introduced recently to the West Indies.