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Fossils assigned to the predominantly deep-sea asteroid family Benthopectinidae Verrill, 1894 are described and their affinities reappraised. Detailed comparative morphology of ambulacrals, adambulacrals and marginal ossicles has revealed that only some extinct taxa fall within the morphological range of the modern representatives of the family. These include Jurapecten hessi Gale, 2011, J. infrajurensis sp. nov. (both Jurassic), J. dhondtae sp. nov. (Upper Cretaceous) and Nearchaster spinosus (Blake, 1973) comb. nov. (Lower Oligocene). A new Late Cretaceous genus, Punkaster gen. nov. (P. spinifera gen. et sp. nov. and P. ruegenensis gen. et sp. nov.), appears to be a highly derived benthopectinid. A possible benthopectinid is described from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) of China. Other described records are distantly related to, but convergent in gross morphology with, benthopectinids. Thus, Plesiastropecten hallovensis Peyer, 1944 is here referred to the Jurassic spinulosidan family Plumasteridae Gale, 2011 and Xandarosaster hessi Blake, 1984 is interpreted as Spinulosida Perrier, 1884 incertae sedis. The mid-Cretaceous Alkaidia sumralli Blake & Reid, 1998 is reassigned to the Forcipulatida (Zorocallina). The “fossil benthopectinid” of Spencer & Wright in Moore (1966) is shown to belong to the goniopectinid genus Chrispaulia Gale, 2005, of which two new Cretaceous species are described, C. wrightorum sp. nov. and C. spinosa sp. nov. Finally, we consider Henricia? venturana Durham & Roberts, 1948 to be an indeterminate asteroid.
Many early taxonomic works on North American bees were published by Europeans using specimens collected in the New World, some with type locations so imprecise that uncertainty on the nomenclatural status remains to this day. Two examples come from Fabricius (1745–1808) who described Andrena virescens Fabricius, 1775 and Apis viridula Fabricius, 1793 from “America” and “Boreal America”, respectively. The former species of Agapostemon Guérin-Méneville, 1844 occurs across most of the United States and southern Canada, the latter presumed an endemic to Cuba. The type materials of these two taxa have never been compared to each other, though a morphology-based phylogenetic analysis placed both in distinct species groups. Here we synonymize Apis viridula under Ag. virescens, thereby making Ag. femoralis (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) available as the name for the Cuban species. A lectotype for Ag. femoralis (the type species for the genus Agapostemon) is hereby designated to stabilize this taxonomy. We also synonymize Ag. obscuratus Cresson, 1869 under Ag. femoralis, suggesting that it represents a dark colour polymorphism. As Ag. cubensis Roberts, 1972 is a junior secondary homonym of Ag. cubensis (Spinola, 1851), we offer Ag. robertsi as a replacement name for the former.
Three new species of Phaea Newman, 1840 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) are described from Mexico: P.quadrimaculata Wappes and Santos-Silva, new species; P.aurantia Wappes and Santos-Silva, new species; and the third, P.tavakiliani Wappes and Santos-Silva, new species, whose specimens were found within the type series of Phaea rufiventris Bates, 1872. Hence, a lectotype is designated for the latter and the new species is described herein.