Cryptic subarctic diversity: a new bumblebee species from the Yukon and Alaska (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

It is nearly 90 years since a bumblebee species has been described for the first time from Canada or the USA that was previously unrecognised by science. We describe and illustrate Bombus(Alpinobombus) kluanensis sp. nov. and begin to map its distribution. This species was discovered through analysis of Cytochrome c Oxidase subunit I barcodes and had been unsuspected on the basis of morphological and colour characteristics. So far, 247 female specimens considered to belong to this species are known from the subarctic mountains associated with the Denali Fault running from the Alaska Range (Alaska, USA) to Kluane in the Saint Elias Mountains (Yukon, Canada). A checklist of all species of the subgenus Alpinobombus worldwide is provided.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:78D524DD-FFBA-4BC4-8D39-3EF4F6BDD39E     

A taxonomic review of the genus Exochus Gravenhorst (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Metopiinae) from South Korea with descriptions of ten new species

The South Korean species of the genus Exochus are revised. Ten new species, Exochus acostulatus Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus adentatus Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus areolaris Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus carinalis Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus dentisternum Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus depressus Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus nigritulus Lee & Choi sp. nov., Exochus occipitalis Lee & Choi, sp. nov., Exochus orbitalis Lee & Choi, sp. nov. and Exochus propodealis Lee & Choi, sp. nov., are described. Also, 21 species of this genus are reviewed and newly recorded from South Korea, with diagnoses provided. A key to the South Korean species of Exochus and illustrations of external characters are provided.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B28700A7-9CA7-4AE7-9816-9C8F4CD46160     

Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of Mount Kilimanjaro: Nymphalidae subfamilies Libytheinae,Danainae, Satyrinae and Charaxinae

This paper, which presents an annotated checklist of the ‘lower Nymphalidae’ (Libytheinae, Danainae, Satyrinae, Charaxinae), is the fourth in a series on the butterfly fauna of Mount Kilimanjaro. Four genera of lower Nymphalidae (Danaus, Amauris, Bicyclus, Charaxes), with a total of 11 included species, are known or believed to occur within the main forest zone, from c. 1800 to 2800 m. Of these, only three species of Charaxes (Charaxes berkeleyi, Charaxes ansorgei, Charaxes xiphares) may be restricted locally to this primary forest. The lower slopes fauna, below 1800 m, is considerably richer, with a total of 11 genera and 41 species listed (8 species of which extend into the forest zone). Possible additional species, dubious earlier records, problems with African subspecies of Danaus chrysippus, a need for more work on certain Satyrinae, and classification of the genus Charaxes are discussed. An identification key to the subfamilies of Nymphalidae, and the 19 genera of Libytheinae, Danainae, Satyrinae, Charaxinae that occur in Tanzania, together with a key to the adults of all the species of these four subfamilies considered to occur or have occurred on Kilimanjaro, with 206 colour images, are included as online Supplementary Information.     

A revision of Monocotyle Taschenberg, 1878 (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) with descriptions of three new species from Australia

Monocotyle is revised and three new species are proposed. Monocotyle corali sp. nov. is described from the gills of the cowtail ray, Pastinachus sephen (Forsskål) (Dasyatididae), and is distinguished from other members of Monocotyle by the large hamuli with a distinct tail on the guard and by the male copulatory organ with three loops and a wing-like accessory piece at the distal end. Monocotyle jordani sp. nov. from the gills of the southern eagle ray, Myliobatis australis Macleay (Myliobatididae), is differentiated by the male copulatory organ with a large, unique accessory piece. Monocotyle youngi sp. nov., from the gills of Himantura fai Jordan and Seale (Dasyatididae), has marginal haptoral papillae armed with 12 to 15 sclerites, a male copulatory organ with 20 loops and a unique accessory piece at the distal end. Monocotyle trygoni (Venkatanarsaiah and Kulkarni, 1980) Timofeeva, 1985 is synonymized with M. spirophallus Tripathi, 1959 and M. spirophallus is redescribed fully. There are now 16 valid species of Monocotyle and a key to species is presented. Additional data and illustrations of important taxonomic characters are provided. The developmental sequence of the male copulatory organ of M. spiremae Measures, Beverley-Burton and Williams, 1990 from juvenile to adult is described. The anterior glands and the type of secretion they contain are also documented for several species of Monocotyle.     

A review of the encyrtid wasp tribe Aenasiini,with descriptions of new Afrotropical taxa (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)

The tetracnemine tribe Aenasiini is discussed and a key is provided for the separation of the nine genera that can be attributed to this tribe. Neodiscodes is synonymized with Aenasius and the following seven species, which were originally assigned to the former genus, are transferred to Aenasius as new combinations: abengouroui (Risbec), comperei (Kerrich), lepelleyi (Kerrich), martinii (Compere), indicus (Narayanan & Subba Rao), parvus (Kerrich) and subbaraoi (Kerrich). A key is given for the separation of the four Afrotropical species of Aenasius and the male of A. comperei is described for the first time. Incisencyrtus gen. n. is described for the following three new Afrotropical species: secus (the type-species), sirus and afer. Cladiscodes incisius sp. n. is described from South Africa and it represents the first species of this genus from Africa. New distribution records are given for three Alfrotropical species of Metaphaenodiscus.     

A review of three species of Hesperonoe (Annelida: Polynoidae) in Asia,with descriptions of two new species and a new record of Hesperonoe hwanghaiensis from Korea

A taxonomic review of three Asian species of Hesperonoe (Annelida: Polynoidae) is presented. Hesperonoe hwanghaiensis Uschakov and Wu, 1959 Uschakov PV, Wu B. 1959. [The polychaete worms of the families Phyllodocidae and Aphroditidae (Polychaeta, errantia) from the Yellow Sea]. Arch Inst Oceanol Sinica. 1:1–40, pls. I–X. (In Chinese and Russian). [Google Scholar] (type locality: Qingdao, China) is redescribed based on five specimens collected from an intertidal site in the Korean coast of the Yellow Sea, as a new record of this species from Korea, which is the only known habitat outside the type locality. Hesperonoe coreensis sp. nov. is described based on nine specimens collected from two intertidal sites in the Korean coast of the Yellow Sea, including the same site as the habitat of H. hwanghaiensis. Hesperonoe japonensis sp. nov. is described by re-examination of many specimens collected from eight intertidal sites and a subtidal one in Japan, which was previously misidentified as H. hwanghaiensis. The three species are clearly distinguishable from one another by the species-specific morphology of the macrotubercles (or marked ridges) on the surface of elytra. All of the three species seemed to be commensal with the burrowing mud shrimp Upogebia major in intertidal flats, except for an additional probable host of another upogebid shrimp Austinogebia narutensis for H. japonensis sp. nov. in a subtidal habitat. The morphological characteristics and host species of the three Asian species are compared with all of the other five congeners known from the North American Pacific and Arctic Sea.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:51CB5C5B-0838-48AC-A0BA-8E63AA7628CB     

The genus Coralaxius redefined,with the description of two new species (Crustacea: Decapoda: Axiidae)

The genus Coralaxius is rediagnosed, and the type species C. nodulosus (Meinert, 1877), the holotype of which was found to be identical with C. abelei Kensley and Gore, 1982, is redescribed. The two new species of Coralaxius are described, viz. C. galapagensis from the Galapagos Islands, and C. indopacificus from Fiji and the Comoro Islands. On the basis of carapace, gill and appendage characters, it is concluded that C. indopacificus is more primitive than the other two species. The genus is thought to have had a tethyan distribution, with the eastern Pacific representative being cut off from the western Atlantic form with the raising of the Isthmus of Panama.