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The Western Ghats of India is considered one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in the world. Documenting scorpion diversity has always been of paramount importance due to their species richness, ecological role and endemism, which calls for conservation priority. Scorpion diversity of the Western Ghats is probably underestimated given the ancestry of the group, and more field work in the region is very likely to uncover numerous undescribed taxa. Several new Indian species have recently been discovered in the scorpion genus Isometrus Ehrenberg, 1828 (Scorpiones: Buthidae). In this communication, we resurrect I. sankeriensis Tikader & Bastawade, 1983 and describe two new species from the Western Ghats of India, I. nakshatra sp. nov. and I. wayanadensis sp. nov., using an integrative taxonomic approach. In order to replace the lost holotype of I. sankeriensis, we designate a neotype and reassess the identity of this species. This work elevates the number of species of Isometrus found in India to eight and we expect many more scorpion discoveries from India with continued research.
The Asplenium coenobiale complex is distributed in Eastern Asia and Southeast Asia with its distribution center in southwestern China. In this study, we carried out a detailed morphological, cytological, and phylogenetic study by adding two samples from Danxia landform in Guangdong. The sequences of five chloroplast markers and one nuclear marker of the A. coenobiale complex were analyzed with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference, respectively. The morphological and phylogenetic analyses support the recognition of a new species (A. danxiaense K.W.Xu sp. nov.) of the A. coenobiale complex from a cave of Danxia mountain, Guangdong province, southern China. This new species can be distinguished from A. coenobiale and A. pulcherrimum by having scales narrowly triangular to lanceolate, apex ending in a short apical tail, basal basiscopic pinnule usually largest, fertile segment scarce, and exospore length usually more than 50 μm and shows significant molecular differences from other species in this complex. A detailed description and illustrations are presented.
Initial analyses of DNA barcode data from Norwegian populations attributed to the water mite Lebertia porosa Thor, 1900 revealed large genetic divergence and potentially cryptic species-level diversity. We used one mitochondrial (COI) and two nuclear markers (18S and 28S) as well as comparative morphological analysis to redefine Lebertia porosa, and to further investigate the species boundaries of Norwegian populations of its close relatives. Our results show that Lebertia porosa, as currently defined, consists of multiple species that can be separated by molecular and morphological characteristics. Although we document the presence of the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia in two out of eight screened genetic lineages, we find no evidence of intraspecific genetic divergence caused by Wolbachia infections. The assignment of one of the genetic lineages to the nominal species could be made through morphological comparisons of specimens from the L. porosa type locality with the syntypes of L. obscura Thor, 1900. Thus, the diagnosis of L. porosa is emended and a neotype is defined. Two of the remaining genetic lineages could be assigned to existing names previously regarded as junior synonyms of L. porosa, namely L. obscura (lectotype defined here) and L. gibbosa Lundblad, 1926, which are both redescribed. The outstanding genetic lineages are unnamed, but from our work we conclude that the taxa Lebertia porosa britannica Thor, 1906, L. porosa dorsalis Thor, 1906, and L. porosa italica Thor, 1906 are nomina dubia that cannot be considered junior synonyms of L. porosa as proposed by K. Viets (1956). We also consider L. vigintimaculata Thor, 1900 a nomen dubium, probably identical to L. obscura.
Five species of Cautethia Grote (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) occur in the Lucayan (Bahamas) Archipelago, three of which are new to science. Cautethia simoni Miller, Matthews, and Gott, new species, is described and illustrated from Mayaguana Island, Bahamas, and Providenciales and Grand Turk of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Cautethia gossi Miller, Matthews, and Gott, new species, is described and illustrated from Great Inagua, Bahamas. Cautethia geraceorum Miller, Matthews, and Gott, new species, is described from San Salvador Island. Diagnoses are provided and new island records are reported for the two previously described Bahamas species, Cautethia grotei Edwards and Cautethia exuma McCabe. A taxonomic key based primarily on genitalia is provided for males and known females of the ten described species occurring in the West Indies. COI barcodes were obtained from representative Bahamas specimens and analyzed along with existing barcodes.
ZooBank registration. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D0590B45-FCBC-4411-B50B-A80940C5EA28