European Journal of Taxonomy

First record of the genus Lissocnemis Kohl, 1907 (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Pompilidae: Ctenocerinae) from Korea, with a new species and an unrecorded species

Jeong-Kyu Kim — 2024-08-23

The genus Lissocnemis Kohl, 1907 of the subfamily Ctenocerinae is recorded from Korea for the first time. The diagnosis and characteristics of the genus, description of a new species, L. koreana Kim & Shimizu sp. nov. and redescription of another species, L. brevipennis hitherto known from Southeast Asia and Japan, are presented. The biogeographical distribution of the genus is discussed. Cryptosalius Turner, 1917 (type species: Pseudagenia rava Bingham, 1896; in part) and Dinagenia Banks, 1934 (type species: D. apollo Banks, 1934) are synonymized with Lissocnemis and the following new combinations are made: Lissocnemis tonkinensis (Turner, 1920) comb. nov. (= Cryptosalius tonkinensis Turner, 1920); Lissocnemis apollo (Banks, 1934) comb. nov. (= Dinagenia apollo Banks, 1934); and Lissocnemis satyrus (Banks, 1938) comb. nov. (= Dinagenia satyrus Banks, 1938). Lastly, L. satyrus (Banks, 1938) and L. nigricoxis Haupt, 1941 are rendered to be junior synonyms of L. apollo (Banks, 1934) comb. nov.

The beginning of a success story: basalmost members of the extant ophiuroid clade from the Silurian of Gotland, Sweden

Ben Thuy — 2024-08-21

Due to the fragility of the ophiuroid (brittle star) skeleton, the bulk of the group’s fossil record consists of dissociated ossicles preserved as microfossils. In spite of their great potential as basis for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies, however, ophiuroid ossicles from the Paleozoic have received very little attention so far. Here, we provide an exhaustive taxonomic assessment of such fossils retrieved from sieving residues from the Silurian of Gotland, Sweden. This material was used in a previous study to describe two key taxa that allowed constraining the origin of the extant ophiuroid clade. The remaining taxa belonging to that same lineage are described in the present paper. The evidence at hand suggests that the stem of the extant ophiuroid clade was formed by two genera, Ophiopetagno and Ophiolofsson gen. nov., including six and five species, respectively, and spanning at least the upper Llandovery through upper Ludlow. We conclude that Ophiopetagno and Ophiolofsson represent sister genera that coexisted through most of the Silurian in the shallow tropical seas of Gotland. They underwent repeated body size reductions in correlation with environmental perturbations, with Ophiopetagno paicei eventually giving rise to Muldaster haakei; the first member of the living Ophiuroidea. Herein, we also introduce two new clades, Ankhurida clade nov. and Ophiovalida clade nov., and the following eight new species: Ophiolofsson joelmciveri gen. et sp. nov., O. obituary gen. et sp. nov., O. immolation gen. et sp. nov., O. archspire gen. et sp. nov., O. hendersonorum gen. et sp. nov., Ophiopetagno bonzo sp. nov., O. kansas sp. nov., O. doro sp. nov.; and two probably new species in open nomenclature: Ophiopetagno sp. 1, and Ophiopetagno sp. 2.

Delimiting Cantheconidea Schouteden 1907, with the description of a new genus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae)

Ricardo Brugnera — 2024-08-15

Among the 44 genera of predatory stink bugs (Asopinae) described for the Old World, there is a notable lack of recent studies. In this research, we aim to fill this gap by investigating the taxonomic history and morphology of species of Cantheconidea. As results, we present the redescription of the genus and validate three species: C. humeralis, C. javana and C. mitis comb. nov. A lectotype for C. mitis is designated and comments on the type material are given. Additionally, we transfer four species from Cantheconidea to the genus Eocanthecona: E. acuta comb. nov., E. variabilis comb. nov., E. gaugleri comb. nov. and E. insularis comb. nov. To accommodate the unique characteristics of Cantheconidea cyanacantha, we describe a new genus, Cantheconesia Brugnera & Roca-Cusachs gen. nov., and transfer the species, resulting in Cantheconesia cyanacantha gen. et comb. nov. Our study provides detailed redescriptions of species and accompanying images to support taxonomic decisions and presents new distribution records.

Lactarius indohirtipes and L. sharmai (Russulales, Basidiomycota): two novel species from Jammu and Kashmir, India

Komal Verma — 2024-08-13

Exploration of macrofungi in the Jammu and Kashmir regions, India, led to the discovery of two novel species, described herein as Lactarius indohirtipes sp. nov. and L. sharmai sp. nov. This paper presents detailed morphological descriptions and illustrations, as well as a phylogenetic analysis based on nrITS sequences. A comparative analysis with related species is also included.

Delimitation of Ophioderma teres (Lyman, 1860) and Ophioderma unicolor H.L. Clark, 1940 stat. nov. (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea), including the description of two new species

Karla J. Humara-Gil — 2024-08-06

Ophioderma teres (Lyman, 1860), an ophiuroid previously believed to have a wide distribution in the eastern Pacific, has been found to have an unclear taxonomic identity. While considered a well-known species, recent studies have revealed that O. teres lacks a holotype and has vague boundaries with its congeners Ophioderma teres unicolor H.L. Clark, 1940 and Ophioderma sodipallaresi Caso, 1986, as well as with two additional new morphotypes detected in Mexico and Nicaragua, causing continuous misidentifications. This study utilized an integrative taxonomy approach based on morphologic, morphometric, and molecular evidence to clarify the taxonomic status of O. teres, O. sodipallaresi, O. teres unicolor, and the two new morphotypes. Data integration led to the following results: 1) the neotype designation and redescription of O. teres; 2) the proposal of O. sodipallaresi as a junior synonym of O. teres; 3) the status change of O. unicolor stat. nov. from subspecies to species, and 4) the description of the morphotypes as the new species Ophioderma aija sp. nov. and Ophioderma bichi sp. nov. An identification key to the eastern Pacific species of Ophioderma was also developed. This work contributes to the knowledge of Ophioderma in the region, increasing the number of described species and providing resources for their accurate identification.

Five new species of the spider genus Heteropoda Latreille, 1804 (Araneae: Sparassidae) from China

Shakal Khan Korai — 2024-08-02

Five new species of Heteropoda (Araneae, Sparassidae, Heteropodinae) are described from China: H. bawanglingensis sp. nov. (female; Hainan), H. dulongensis sp. nov. (male, female; Yunnan), H. hainanensis sp. nov. (male, female; Hainan), H. longa sp. nov. (female; Guizhou), and H. vaginalis sp. nov. (female; Yunnan). We provide descriptions and illustrations for each species as well as a distribution map in the current paper.

On species of Asclerocheilus Ashworth, 1901 (Annelida: Scalibregmatidae) from Brazil

Samuel Lucas Da Silva Delgado Mendes — 2024-08-01

Scalibregmatidae Malmgren, 1867 is a family of annelids, with only few taxa reported from Brazil. In this work, we describe two new species of Asclerocheilus Ashworth, 1901. The new species A. geiseae sp. nov. and A. blakei sp. nov. were collected during scientific expeditions to the Espírito Santo and Campos sedementary basins. These expeditions were coordinated by PETROBRAS/CENPES. The species A. geiseae sp. nov. is unique among its congeners by the presence of acicular spines with rounded and curved tips in two rows. The second species, A. blakei sp. nov., differs from its congeners by the combination of the presence of a trapezoidal prostomium, acicular spines on chaetigers 1–3, lyrate chaetae from chaetiger 3 on notopodia and 2 on neuropodia. Moreover, we report the species A. tropicus Blake, 1981 from the localities sampled on this study. We also provide an identification key to all species of Asclerocheilus of the world.

New species of tarantulas from Brazil and notes on the Hapalopini tribe (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Theraphosinae)

Wolf Moeller — 2024-07-31

The monophyly of Theraphosinae is supported by both morphological and molecular phylogenies. However, intergeneric relationships often show polytomies and branches with low support. A previous phylogenetic study proposed an intergeneric relationship for the subfamily based on molecular data and divided it into three tribes: Grammostolini, Hapalopini and Theraphosini. However, not all genera of Theraphosinae were sampled, and some relationships were inferred based on morphological similarities. Regarding the Hapalopini from Brazil, the relationships of some genera are still uncertain, such as Kochiana, Catanduba, and Munduruku. In this paper, we describe four new species of Hapalopini from Brazil: Cyriocosmus paresi sp. nov., Hapalopus akroa sp. nov., H. guidonae sp. nov., and K. fukushimae sp. nov. In addition, we propose an updated diagnosis for these three genera and for the species K. brunnipes and M. bicoloratum.

Integrative description of two new species of the genus Mesobiotus (Eutardigrada, Macrobiotoidea) from Russia, with an updated phylogeny of the genus

Denis V. Tumanov — 2024-07-30

In this study, we describe two new species of Mesobiotus based on morphological data collected through light and scanning electron microscopy. Descriptions include DNA sequences of four commonly used molecular markers (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, ITS-2, and COI). Mesobiotus efa sp. nov. was discovered in North-West Russia and belongs to the group of species with smooth cuticle, harmsworthi-type OCA, typical Mesobiotus claws IV with unindented lunules, and egg chorion with reticulated processes in form of ‘sharp wide cones’ or ‘cones with long slender endings’, egg process bases with well-developed crone of dark thickenings without finger-like projections, and egg shell surface between the processes with ridges without reticulation, areolation or semi-areolation. It can be distinguished from all know species of this group by a unique combination of morphological and morphometric characters. Mesobiotus vulpinus sp. nov. was found in the Russian Far East, and is similar to Mesobiotus mauccii by having an egg chorion with polygonal relief. The new species can be distinguished from M. mauccii by having a narrower buccal tube, by details of oral cavity armature, and by longer egg chorion processes. Furthermore, we provide results of the phylogenetic analyses of the genus Mesobiotus conducted in this study.

Description of four new species of the Neotropical genus Scione Walker, 1850 (Diptera: Tabanidae)

Lia Pereira Oliveira — 2024-07-29

After 94 years after the last revision of the genus and after 22 years since the last species was named, we describe four new species of Scione from Ecuador and Peru: S. cooperi sp. nov., S. gertrudeae sp. nov., S. kroeberi sp. nov. and S. merianae sp. nov. We provide diagnoses, descriptions, photographs and discussions for each of the species.