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We review the diagnosis of the genus Eugenys Quate, 1996 (Diptera: Psychodidae) which occurs in the Neotropical Region. Initially known from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama, we describe one additional species from Costa Rica, Eugenys singularis sp. nov., and two species from Ecuador, namely, Eugenys micra sp. nov. and E. upsilon sp. nov., bringing the total known species to six. This study provides detailed descriptions of the new species based on male and female specimens, along with the first DNA barcodes for the genus and some of the newly described species. We also provide an identification key for identifying male specimens of the genus worldwide. Finally, we discuss the morphological characteristics of Eugenys and compare the genus with other taxa, tentatively suggesting a placement within the tribe Pericomaini.
The use of integrative taxonomy has confirmed the existence of a new distinct crab species, cryptic, within the group of the former genus Liocarcinus, now Polybius, closely related to P. holsatus, P. vernalis and P. marmoreus. Previous reports have considered it to be the Atlantic form of P. vernalis, or as a species “affinis” or “comparable to” P. holsatus. Diagnostic morphological characters are presented for identification and the morphological variability in these species, mainly within P. vernalis (the most related) is analysed. Furthermore, based on molecular and other previous data, a new combination (genus change) is proposed. This new species, Polybius dioscurus sp. nov., lives on infralittoral sandy bottoms, coexisting with the other species mentioned, in the temperate and subtropical zone of the North Atlantic Ocean, including the Alboran Sea (westernmost Mediterranean).
The genus Armillipora Quate is recorded for the first time in Ecuador, with a new geographical record for Armillipora selvica Quate, 1996 and the descriptions of two new species, namely Armillipora muyu sp. nov. and Armillipora imitata sp. nov., doubling the total number of species in the genus. In addition, we make available the first DNA barcodes for the genus, providing a sequence of the 5´-end of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene for A. imitata, A. muyu, and, A. selvica. Moreover, we describe the second known female of the genus and we provide a taxonomical key for the known males of the world. Finally, we build Species Distribution Models and discuss the potential distribution of the genus in the Neotropical region.
A new species of the spider genus Latrodectus Walckenaer, 1805 from Mexico is described based on an integrative taxonomic approach. Latrodectus occidentalis Valdez-Mondragón sp. nov. is described using the molecular markers cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), morphology of male and female specimens, and Species Distribution Models (SDM). Four molecular methods for species delimitation were implemented. The new species is characterized by having a unique dorsal coloration pattern on the abdomen. Latrodectus occidentalis sp. nov. is considered a distinct and valid species for four reasons: (1) it can be distinguished by morphological characters (genital and somatic); (2) the average interspecific genetic variation is > 2%; (3) 12 haplotypes were recovered within the species, being separated by the next close haplogroup of L. hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935 (30 mutations); and (4) congruence was observed among the four molecular methods. The number of recorded species of Latrodectus from Mexico increases to four: Latrodectus mactans (Fabricius, 1775), L. hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935, L. geometricus C.L. Koch, 1841 (introduced), and L. occidentalis sp. nov. The diversity of the genus Latrodectus from Mexico is surely underestimated, and more sampling is needed from the different biogeographical provinces and ecoregions to fill in these gaps.
Aname L. Koch, 1873 is an incredibly diverse genus of mygalomorph spiders endemic to Australia, occurring from coast to coast in tropical, semi-arid and arid bioregions. They are relatively gracile mygalomorph spiders that build open burrows, sometimes with a secondary entrance that functions as an escape chute. The genus currently contains 48 species, but the true diversity is likely to be closer to 200 species. Here we describe five new species (A. ningaloo sp. nov., A. salina sp. nov., A. tatarnici sp. nov., A. tenuipes sp. nov. and A. wongalara sp. nov.), primarily based on specimens collected on Bush Blitz expeditions in Western Australia (Cape Range, 2019), South Australia (Great Victoria Desert, 2017) and the Northern Territory (Wongalara, 2012). We complement these descriptions with a molecular phylogenetic analysis to place all new species into an existing phylogenetic framework.
Adenomera is a genus of Neotropical leaf-litter frogs widely distributed in South America and regarded taxonomic-wise challenging. One of these is the open-habitat Adenomera diptyx from Paraguay, which may correspond to a species complex. An integrative analysis of morphological variation, in combination with acoustic and molecular data of several populations from Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil resulted in the recharacterization of nominal A. diptyx and the description of a new, closely related species. Adenomera diptyx is recognized by its advertisement call given at a high repetition rate (176–299 per minute), and the dorsal color pattern consisting of a light mid-dorsal line and a dark brown interorbital bar with irregular black edges. In comparison with A. diptyx, the new species, Adenomera guarani sp. nov., produces its advertisement call at a lower repetition rate (73–147 per minute), and the dorsal color pattern consists of a light, broad, mid-dorsal stripe and a mask-like patch in the interorbital region. The redefinition of A. diptyx will contribute to future studies focusing on the taxonomic status of other genetic lineages tentatively assigned to this species complex, which could represent additional unnamed species in the open-habitat Adenomera clade.
Five new species of freshwater gastropods of the tateid genus Sulawesidrobia are described from the ancient Lake Matano on Sulawesi, Indonesia: S. wilsoni sp. nov., S. carsonae sp. nov., S. ehrlichi sp. nov., S. crutzeni sp. nov., and S. dinersteini sp. nov. The descriptions were based on shell morphology, anatomy as well as phylogenetic analysis using DNA sequence data of a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I. All three suits of characters were included into the diagnoses. The new species formed a clade with two species from Lake Towuti, but separate from already known species from Lake Matano. The species were discovered between 2003 and 2005. However, not a single specimen of Sulawesidrobia was found when several sites were revisited in 2018 and 2019. This may be a consequence of the release of South American flowerhorn cichlid fish into the lake, in combination with heavy eutrophication of the once ultra-oligotrophic lake. It seems likely that several populations or even entire species of Sulawesidrobia in Lake Matano may be extinct. The species names given reflect this by acknowledging important conservationists.
Specimens of munidid squat lobsters belonging to the genera Heteronida Baba & de Saint Laurent, 1996 and Torbenella Baba, 2008 were collected in scientific expeditions made by several French cruises along the southwestern Pacific. These specimens were identified as two species (one new) of Heteronida and six species (four new) of Torbenella. The present paper provides systematic accounts of the five new species, along with new locality records of known species shown by this material and color information where available. Molecular data is provided to support the systematic status of each new species. A key to species for each of the genera is also presented.
This study presents the inventory of sea spiders (Pycnogonida) sampled during the Madibenthos Expedition in Martinique (West Indies). Species were discriminated leaning on morphological and molecular data. A total of 761 specimens are classified in 72 species, 16 genera and nine families. Thirteen new species are described: Ammothella dirbergi sp. nov., A. krappi sp. nov., Tanystylum boucheti sp. nov., T. ingrallis sp. nov., Ascorhynchus iguanarum sp. nov., Eurycyde kaiouti sp. nov., Nymphon dorlis sp. nov., N. ludovici sp. nov., N. martinicum sp. nov., N. timons sp. nov., Anoplodactylus madibenthos sp. nov., Pycnogonum cesairei sp. nov. and Rhynchothorax sidereus sp. nov. We describe a neotype for Anoplodactylus micros Bourdillon, 1955 from the type locality. Martinique now includes 79 species of sea spiders, mostly endemic to the Tropical Northwestern Atlantic, cosmopolitan or shared with the South America Atlantic coast. Some species are potentially introduced. However, our knowledge of the distribution of species found in Martinique is probably biased by the scarcity of diagnostic morphological characters. Also, nine potentially cryptic species (discriminated on genetic data alone), are identified, shedding light on the overlooked diversity of sea spiders in the Tropical Northwestern Atlantic. Therefore, we call for a more widespread use of barcoding in sea spiders.
Using an integrative approach (morphology of the adult and larvae, bioacoustics, osteology, karyotype, and molecular data), we described a new tetraploid species of Odontophrynus to the Mantiqueira mountain range, in southeastern Brazil. The data suggest that Odontophrynus toledoi sp. nov., O. juquinha and Odontophrynus sp. (aff. juquinha) comprise a clade with specimens distributed along three distinct mountain ranges in Brazil: Mantiqueira (O. toledoi sp. nov.) and Espinhaço (O. juquinha) mountains, both in southeastern Brazil, and Diamantina Plateau (O. aff. juquinha), in northeastern Brazil. The new species is morphologically similar and closely related to O. juquinha, but is distinguished in morphology (both adult and larval), karyotype (O. toledoi sp. nov. is tetraploid and O. juquinha is diploid), and corroborated by phylogenetic inferences. We also show that these species do not exchange haplotypes in the 16s gene. Furthermore, although the raw acoustic parameters of Odontophrynus toledoi sp. nov. and O. juquinha overlap at the limits of their ranges, we found a clear difference in the acoustic space structure.
The taxonomy of ribbon worms (Nemertea) is particularly challenging due to the sparsity of distinct morphological characters, causing a significant underestimation of the group’s true diversity. The number of named deep-sea species is very limited and there is a vast number of undescribed deep-sea nemerteans still to be discovered. In this paper we figuratively ‘cut the ribbon’ and name seven new species of monostiliferous hoplonemerteans from seeps and seamounts along the Costa Rican margin, one from seeps along the Oregon margin, and one from vents of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, USA. The species Chernyshevia escarpiaphila gen. et sp. nov. and five species of the genus Alvinonemertes gen. nov. (Alvinonemertes dariae gen. et sp. nov., Alvinonemertes dagmarae gen. et sp. nov., Alvinonemertes christianeae gen. et sp. nov., Alvinonemertes claudiae gen. et sp. nov., Alvinonemertes tatjanae gen. et sp. nov.) represent Oerstediina, whereas the three species Tetrastemma sundbergi sp. nov., Tetrastemma polyakovae sp. nov., and Tetrastemma strandae sp. nov. represent Amphiporina. One species of tubulanid palaeonemerteans is described but not provided with a species name due to lacking sequence data for comparison. Additionally, we provide sequence data for one lineid heteronemertean, one reptant hoplonemertean, and two further eumonostiliferan hoplonemertean species. We use an integrative, turbotaxonomic approach combining DNA sequence data with concise morphological descriptions and fully digitized serial histological sections made available as cybertypes.
The taxonomic status of Alcyonium aurantiacum Quoy & Gaimard, 1833, an octocoral endemic to New Zealand, was reviewed through morpho-molecular data comparisons in an integrative approach. Molecular phylogenetic analyses (nuclear 28S and mitochondrial mtMutS) resolved New Zealand taxa as more closely related to other genera and nominal Alcyonium Linnaeus, 1758 from South America than to the genus’ North Atlantic type species. Due to low genetic variation, species delimitation relied predominantly on identifying consistent differences in sclerite and colony morphology. The former A. aurantiacum is reassigned to Kotatea gen. nov. as K. aurantiaca gen. et comb. nov. and seven new species are described in this genus (K. amicispongia gen. et sp. nov., K. lobata gen. et sp. nov., K. kapotaiora gen. et sp. nov., K. kurakootingotingo gen. et sp. nov., K. niwa gen. et sp. nov., K. raekura gen. et sp. nov., and K. teorowai gen. et sp. nov.). Three new species in Ushanaia gen. nov. are also described (U. ferruginea gen. et sp. nov., U. fervens gen. et sp. nov. and U. solida gen. et sp. nov. ). These descriptions increase our understanding of New Zealand’s endemic octocoral diversity and contribute to ongoing systematic revisions of Alcyonium.
Lycosa Latreille, 1804 (Araneae, Lycosidae) of Israel, with a note on Geolycosa Montgomery, 1904
(2022)
Lycosa (Araneae, Lycosidae) is a wolf spider genus typical of subtropical latitudes in the western Palearctic. Despite being erected over 200 years ago, the taxonomy of Lycosa is still unclear. Many species formerly ascribed to it are currently being moved to other genera, while new species are still being described. The species of Lycosa of the western Mediterranean basin are relatively well known, yet the Levantine region, the easternmost part of the Mediterranean basin, has not received much attention since the early 20th century. Here, we study Lycosa from the southern Levant using morphological, molecular and behavioral characteristics, to delimit the species found in this region. We describe two new species: L. hyraculus sp. nov. and L. gesserit sp. nov. We re-describe the widespread and polymorphic species, Lycosa piochardi Simon, 1876. Lycosa piochardi infraclara Strand, 1913 is synonymized with Lycosa piochardi. By adding novel data to the molecular phylogeny of Lycosa created by Planas et al. (2013) and re-analyzing it, we explore the relationship of the Levantine species to other Mediterranean species of Lycosa. We discuss habitat preferences of the two species of Lycosa. Additionally, we report the burrowing species Geolycosa vultuosa (C.L. Koch, 1838) as a new record to Israel, thus extending the distribution of this species and genus into the Levant.
Tardigrades reports from British Columbia (Canada) trace back to 1908 and numerous species have been recorded from this region, despite the relatively few published sampling studies. We describe by integrative taxonomy (light microscopy morphology, morphometrics, and DNA sequencing) a new tardigrade species, Sisubiotus hakaiensis sp. nov. from the British Columbia central coast. The new species has been found in moss collected from a vertical rock outcrop near the Hakai Institute Calvert Island Field Station. Sisubiotus hakaiensis sp. nov. differs from all the other known species in the genus by the presence of a labyrinthine layer inside the egg process walls, whereas no consistent differences in the animals were found. This unique egg characteristic therefore required the amendment of the Sisubiotus generic diagnosis to account for the presence of the labyrinthine layer inside the egg process walls.
Potamophilus kelabitensis sp. nov., a new riffle beetle (Coleoptera, Elmidae) discovered in the Kelabit Highlands (northern Sarawak) and Sapulut environment (southern Sabah), is described. Illustrations of the habitus and diagnostic characters of the new species are presented. Differences from the type species P. acuminatus (Fabricius, 1792) from the Palaearctic region, based on DNA barcodes and morphological characters, are discussed. Selected morphological characters of all known species of Potamophilus from Vietnam, Myanmar, and Papua New Guinea are also compared with the new species. The systematic position of the genus relative to other sympatric genera of the subfamilies Larainae LeConte, 1861 and selected Elminae Curtis, 1830 belonging to three tribes is discussed based on phylogenetic trees inferred from the mitochondrial COI and nuclear ArgK as well as 18S rRNA gene sequences.
A new species of epigean ricinuleid of the genus Pseudocellus Platnick, 1980 from El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, Chiapas, Mexico is described. DNA barcoding utilizing mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and morphology were used for species delimitation. Molecular analyses and species delimitation included four methods: 1) General Mixed Yule Coalescent model (GMYC), 2) Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD), 3) Bayesian Poisson Tree Process (bPTP), and 4) Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning (ASAP). All molecular methods and morphology were consistent in delimiting and recognizing the new species described herein. The average interspecific genetic distance (p-distance) among analyzed species of Pseudocellus was 11.6%. The species is described based on adult males and females: Pseudocellus giribeti sp. nov. This is the seventh species described from Chiapas, which holds the highest number of ricinuleids species for the country. The total number of described species of Pseudocellus from Mexico increases to 21, having the highest species diversity of known ricinuleids worldwide.
The genus Sibogasyrinx has to date included only four species of rare deep-water Conoidea, each known from few specimens. In shell characters it strongly resembles three distantly-related genera, two of which, Comitas and Leucosyrinx, belong to a different family, the Pseudomelatomidae. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of a large amount of material of Conoidea has revealed the existence of much additional undescribed diversity within Sibogasyrinx from the central Indo-Pacific and temperate Northern Pacific. Based on partial sequences of the mitochondrial cox1 gene and morphological characters of 54 specimens, 10 species hypotheses are proposed, of which six are described as new species: S. subula sp. nov., S. lolae sp. nov., S. maximei sp. nov., S. clausura sp. nov., S. pagodiformis sp. nov. and S. elbakyanae Kantor, Puillandre & Bouchet sp. nov. One of the previously described species was absent in our material. Most of the new species are very similar and are compared to Leucosyrinx spp. Species of Sibogasyrinx are unique among Conoidea on account of the high intrageneric variability in radular morphology. Three distinct radula types are found within Sibogasyrinx, two of which are confined to highly supported subclades.
The species of Elmomorphus Sharp, 1888 occurring in Japan and Korea are redescribed and illustrated: E. brevicornis Sharp, 1888 (Japan, Korea) and E. amamiensis Nomura, 1959 (Japan). The standard barcoding fragment of the mitochondrial gene coding for cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) was sequenced and used together with morphological characters to delimit the taxonomic boundaries of the two species. To assess their morphometric variation, eight morphometric characters were measured and statistically evaluated using principal component analysis. The two species of Elmomorphus formed distinct and well-separated clusters in the COI tree. Their interspecific divergence is very high, ranging from 22.7 to 23.9%. On the other hand, morphometric characters, including those previously presumed to be diagnostic, overlap and per se do not allow unambiguous species identification. Reliable morphological distinguishing characters are described for males and females. Molecular data along with the morphological evidence strongly confirm the species status of E. amamiensis. An identification key to the Japanese and Korean species is provided.
The ambersnails (Succineidae), found nearly worldwide, are considered a very challenging group to classify and identify with even genus-level identifications requiring dissection. In this study, we use mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers, shell morphometrics, and anatomical dissection to examine fresh material collected from the type localities of two nominal species in Oxyloma (Neoxyloma). We conclude from these evidence that Oxyloma salleanum (L. Pfeiffer, 1850) and Oxyloma effusum (L. Pfeiffer, 1853) are conspecific, and accordingly reduce O. effusum to the status of junior synonymy. We present a redescription of O. salleanum.
The majority of meiofaunal organisms have limited abilities to disperse over long distances, yet they may still have disjointed distributions. Many studies have found evidence of long distance meiofauna dispersal due to passive transport by wind and/or animals that serve as vectors for these widespread distributions. Our research on an archipelago in northeast Brazil uncovered a species of freshwater gastrotrich that at first sight appeared to be a ‘cosmopolitanʼ species that had surpassed the connectivity constraint to occupy an island more than 350 km from the mainland. However, through an integrative approach using molecular sequences and morphology, we have uncovered evidence of a pseudo-cryptic species in this freshwater gastrotrich. Polymerurus insularis sp. nov. closely resembles its congeners and can easily be mistaken for similar species such as P. nodicaudus, a cosmopolitan gastrotrich. Unique to P. insularis sp. nov. are (1) a cuticular armature composed of simple spined scales with polygonal shape (Type 1 scales), (2) a single, spineless dorsal scale with a triangular shape located terminally next to the furca base (Type 2 scale), (3) a spineless zone composed by a patch lacking cuticular ornamentation and flat, rounded or polygonal scales without spines (Type 4 scales) (4) particular sets of terminal spined or keeled scales located both dorsally and ventrally around the furca base (Types 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 scales). The presence of this species on a volcanic island is discussed, as is the relationship between pseudocryptism and dispersal in gastrotrichs and other meiofauna.