Annelids (Polychaeta and Oligochaeta) from the Sea of Marmara,with descriptions of five new species

This paper deals with annelids (Oligochaeta and Polychaeta) collected in the Sea of Marmara between 2006 and 2010 at depths from 0 to 66 m. A total of five oligochaete and 198 polychaete species were found. Five polychaete species, namely Prosphaerosyllis marmarae sp. nov., Levinsenia demiri sp. nov., Levinsenia kosswigi sp. nov., Levinsenia marmarensis sp. nov. and Levinsenia tribranchiata sp. nov. are new to science, and five oligochaete and 84 polychaete species are new to the fauna of the Sea of Marmara. A list of species found in the region and their maximum densities are presented at depth intervals. The present material includes six alien polychaete species, Paraprionospio coora, Polydora cornuta, Prionospio (Minuspio) pulchra, Pseudopolydora paucibranchiata, Chaetozone corona and Metasychis gotoi, of which the latter four species were new records for the region.     

African Derbidae (Homoptera,Fulgoroidea): taxonomic notes with descriptions of new species collected mainly from coconut

An annotated list of the African Derbidae described since Synave's 1973 monograph is given, with some corrections and additions to that work together with a revision of the genus Robigus from Africa. The following new species are described: Diostrombus schuilingi sp. nov., D. mkurangai sp. nov., Zorabana vipaku sp. nov., Patara minazi sp. nov., P. chambeziensis sp. nov., Paraphenice mawai, sp. nov., Phenice pongwei sp. nov., Robigus magawai sp. nov., Robigus synavei sp. nov. (= R. tortrinotatus sensu Synave, 1973), Kamendaka ukutu sp. nov. All of these new species with the exception of R. synavei were collected from coconut. The following new synonomies are made: Proutista fritillaris (Boheman) = P. tesselata (Westwood) syn. nov., Diostrombus abdominalis (Distant) = D. moerensis Synave syn. nov., Paraphenice dissimilis Synave = Pamendanga fuscinervis Van Stalle syn. nov., Zoraida fuligipennis Muir = Z. nigeriensis Synave syn. nov., Platocera africana Muir, omitted in error from Synave (1973), is described and figured. Proutista moesta (Westwood) is recorded from Africa for the first time.     

New taxa of the family Trochometridiidae (Acari: Heterostigmata) associated with insects from Iran

A new genus and two new species of mites of the family Trochometridiidae (Acari: Heterostigmata) are described from Iran: Neotrochometridium sensillum Hajiqanbar and Khaustov gen. nov., sp. nov. associated with two carabid beetles and Trochometridium iranicum Hajiqanbar and Khaustov sp. nov. associated with a halictid bee. We also present the first report of two previously described species. These findings provide the first record of the family Trochometridiidae from Iran. The chaetotaxy of tarsus I of the family is discussed and a key to world genera and species is provided.     

The genus Platypalpus Macquart (Diptera: Hybotidae) from Northeast Thailand with comments on the species groups in the Oriental region

The first records on the genus Platypalpus Macquart from Thailand are presented including 10 species new to science: P. fai sp. nov., P. gaemluang sp. nov., P. hualuang sp. nov., P. isaanensis sp. nov., P. nuadkhao sp. nov., P. phomyaaw sp. nov., P. seedam sp. nov., P. seeluang sp. nov., P. siamensis sp. nov., and P. thaicus sp. nov.. A key to these species is provided. All species of Platypalpus known from the Oriental Region (totally 54) are arranged into the species groups currently established for the genus. Eight species groups are recognized from the Oriental Realm and the distribution of each group is briefly discussed. The P. albiseta‐group is most diverse in the Orient with 16 species recorded. Two species of this group possess a modified structure and vestiture of certain abdominal segments that is the first record of this phenomenon in Platypalpus. Also, within the P. albiseta‐group a complex of closely related species sharing an apomorphous condition of the hypoproct has been recognized. In these species the structure of the hypoproct is likely to deal with clasping during copulation instead of the cerci and epandrial lamellae.     

A revision of the species of the Neoserica (sensu lato) vulpes group (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini)

This paper revises the species belonging to the Neoserica (sensu lato) vulpes group and results in one new combination, Neoserica (sensu lato) vulpes (Arrow, 1946) comb. nov., and 24 new species originating mainly from south-western China: N. baishuiensis sp. nov., N. baoshana sp. nov., N. biuncinata sp. nov., N. dundai sp. nov., N. ganhaiziana sp. nov., N. heishuiana sp. nov., N. kereni sp. nov., N. laocaiana sp. nov., N. lateriuncinata sp. nov., N. leiboensis sp. nov., N. luzhouana sp. nov., N. ningyuanensis sp. nov., N. nykli sp. nov., N. parausta sp. nov., N. pseudovulpes sp. nov., N. rubellula sp. nov., N. ruzickai sp. nov., N. shinkaisiensis sp. nov., N. sichuanica sp. nov., N. usta sp. nov., N. weishanensis sp. nov., N. xiaguanensis sp. nov., N. kunmingensis sp. nov. and N. yangjiapingensis sp. nov. A key to species and illustrations of genitalia and habitus of adults are given, including distribution maps of all species.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3FE6CC54-DB3A-4201-A6F9-332E4A397268     

Four new species of Platycephala with a key to the Chinese species (Diptera,Chloropidae)

The following four new species of the genus Platycephala from China are described: Platycephala apicinigra sp. nov., P. brevifemura sp. nov., P. lateralis sp. nov. and P. nanlingensis sp. nov. An updated key to the species of the genus Platycephala from China is presented.     

Six new species of the genus Pseudostegana (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from the Oriental region

Six new species are described from China and Indonesia, belonging to the latiparma and zonaria species groups: Pseudostegana acutifoliolata sp. nov., Pseudostegana bilobata sp. nov., Pseudostegana bipartita sp. nov., Pseudostegana insularis sp. nov., Pseudostegana minutipalpata sp. nov. and Pseudostegana silvana sp. nov.. Updated keys to the species of the latiparma and zonaria groups are provided.     

Freshwater Ostracoda of the subfamily Cyprinotinae from Punjab,India, with the description of eight new species

Summary

Eleven species belonging to subfamily Cyprinotinae are described and illustrated from Punjab, India. These taxa of which eight are new to the science are: Cyprinotus indica sp. nov., Hemicypris derweshensis sp. nov., Hemicypris malerkotlaensis sp. nov., Hemicypris megalops Sars, Hemicypris pailensis sp. nov., Hemicypris pyxidata (Moniez), Heterocypris anitae sp. nov., Heterocypris arorai sp. nov., Heterocypris bhatiai sp. nov., Heterocypris gillensis sp. nov., and Heterocypris incongruens (Ramdohr).     

New species of Australian arid zone chelonine wasps from the genera Phanerotoma and Ascogaster (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) informed by the ‘Bush Blitz’ surveys of national reserves

Here we focus on the poorly studied braconid wasp subfamily Cheloninae for the arid zone of the Australian continent, using material, in part, resulting from comprehensive surveys of three arid zone reserves. The Bush Blitz programme is a multi-institutional project with the aim of documenting the diversity of the flora and fauna in Australia’s National Reserve System, with describing new species being a key focus of the programme. In total, 11 species from the genera Ascogaster and Phanerotoma are treated, with species’ delimitation based on both molecular and morphological data. Two species are redescribed (Phanerotoma behriae Zettel, 1988a and P. decticauda Zettel, 1988a) and nine species are described as new (Ascogaster brevivena sp. nov., A. ferruginegaster sp. nov., A. prolixogaster sp. nov., A. rubriscapa sp. nov., Phanerotoma bonbonensis sp. nov., P. bushblitz sp. nov., P. lutea sp. nov., P. nigriscapulata sp. nov. and P. witchelinaensis sp. nov.). Keys to the arid zone species of these two genera are provided, along with a species richness estimation of Australian chelonine wasps.     

Revision of the Australian endemic genus Hyptiogaster Kieffer (Hymenoptera: Gasteruptiidae), with descriptions of seven new species

The Australian hyptiogastrine wasp genus Hyptiogaster Kieffer is revised. Among other characters, species of Hyptiogaster can be readily distinguished from other Hyptiogastrinae by having an exserted ovipositor and the anterior face of the mesothorax truncate in lateral view. Ten species are recognised including seven which are newly described: H. arenicola Turner, H. humeralis (Schletterer), H. rufus (Westwood), H. cobarensis sp. nov., H. hulli sp. nov., H. kalbarrii sp. nov., H. kiefferi sp. nov., H. naumanni sp. nov., H. pinjarregaensis sp. nov., H. weowaniensis sp. nov. Two synonymies are proposed; H. flavosignata (Kieffer) with H. humeralis and H. crassiceps (Schletterer) with H. rufus. An illustrated key to species is presented and relationships among genera of Hyptiogastrinae and species of Hyptiogaster are discussed.     

The West Palaearctic species of Fidiobia Ashmead, 1894 (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea)

One new genus Songmachilis and six new species in family Machilidae are described from China: Songmachilis xinxiangensis gen. sp. nov., Coreamachilis songi sp. nov., Pedetontinus jiuzhaiensis sp. nov., Pedetontinus maijiensis sp. nov., Pedetontinus taishanensis sp. nov. and. Pedetontinus wudangensis sp. nov. A key to all Chinese species of Pedetontinus is given. We also examined the relationships among Chinese machilids based on partial sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI). The molecular study further supported the species status of the six new taxa.     

Casinaria,a paraphyletic ichneumonid genus (Hymenoptera), and a revision of the Australian species

The Australian species of the campoplegine ichneumonid genus Casinaria are revised and an illustrated key is provided for their identification. Eleven species are recognized, but one is not formally named. The Australian species are referable to two morphologically and biologically distinct groups, the meridionalis species-group (containing amarilla sp. nov., hesperiophaga sp. nov. and meridionalis (Turner)) which are parasitoids of hesperiid larvae, and the siccata species-group (containing eremica sp. nov., micra sp. nov., mythologica sp. nov., pavlova sp. nov., siccata sp. nov., virgata sp. nov., woowonga sp. nov. and species A) which parasitize the larvae of a variety of smaller moths. The holophyly of each of the two species-groups is demonstrated, but characters supporting the holophyly of the genus could not be found, suggesting that Casinaria, as currently recognized, may either be paraphyletic or polyphyletic.     

The Lepidoptera of Acacia domatia in Kenya,with description of two new genera and six new species

The contents of swollen-thorn domatia of three Acacia species are given. Lepidoptera bred from swollen thorns of Acacia are listed; two new genera, Endotera gen. nov. and Kenyatta gen. nov., and six new species: Phthoropoea chalcomochla sp. nov., Endotera nodi sp. nov., Hystrichophora vittana sp. nov., Hystrichophora griseana sp. nov., Hystrichophora bopprei sp. nov. and Kenyatta iodes sp. nov., are described.     

Genus Promalactis Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae) in northern Vietnam. Part II: six new species of the genus

This paper is the second part of a series on the genus Promalactis (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae) in northern Vietnam, describing six new species: Promalactis albipars sp. nov., Promalactis bitrigona sp. nov., Promalactis diorbis sp. nov., Promalactis forticosta sp. nov., Promalactis magnipuncti sp. nov. and Promalactis polyspina sp. nov. Adults and genitalia of the new species are illustrated.