A taxonomic revision of the Oriental spittlebug genus Paphnutius Distant (Homoptera: Cercopidae)

The spittlebug genus Paphnutius is transferred from the Tomaspidini to the Considiini. The genus is revised and redescribed to contain nine species. A key to species is given and all species are redescribed and illustrated with their distributional data provided. One new species is described and one new generic synonymy, six new specific synonymies and four new combinations are established. Five lectotypes are newly designated. Paphnutius costimaculus Metcalf and Horton is considered as a species incertae sedis.     

Australian thrips of the Haplothrips lineage (Insecta: Thysanoptera)

Keys are presented to the 11 genera and 50 species, including 21 new species, of Thysanoptera in Australia that are related to the worldwide genus Haplothrips Amyot and Serville. These taxa belong to what, in recent literature, has been called the “Haplothrips‐lineage”, that is, one of the three major radiations among the 2700 species and 350 genera of Thysanoptera Phlaeothripinae. The group is redefined, and the available tribal name Haplothripini shown to be appropriate. The character states on which the definition is based are discussed, and a list given of the 34 genera worldwide that can be included. The Australian species in these genera exhibit a diversity of biologies. Three genera involve species that invade galls induced by other thrips: Androthrips monsterae (Moulton) from New Guinea is newly recorded from Australia; Mesothrips jordani Zimmermann from South‐East Asia is newly recorded from Australia, with two new synonyms; the Asia‐Pacific genus, Euoplothrips Hood, includes two species in northern Australia. Three haplothripine genera are associated with grasses: one widespread genus, Apterygothrips Priesner, considered polyphyletic, includes only one Australian species; the only known species of Dyothrips Kudo is Oriental but extends into tropical Australia; Podothrips Hood, a circum‐tropical genus of thrips predatory on grass‐living coccoids, has 11 Australian species, six newly described. One grass‐associated genus, Bamboosiella Ananthakrishnan, is excluded from the Haplothripini. An Oriental genus of leaf‐ and flower‐living species, Dolichothrips Karny, includes one species in northern Australia, D. reuteri (Karny); Membrothrips Bhatti in which this species has been placed is considered a synonym. Karnyothrips Watson includes two species introduced to Australia, both predators of coccoids. Priesneria Bagnall includes three species from Australia, of which one fungus‐feeding species is newly described. Xylaplothrips Priesner is a widespread but ill‐defined, polyphyletic genus that currently includes three little‐known Australian species. Haplothrips is the main focus of this study, and character state variation among the Australian species is discussed. In total 24 species of Haplothrips from Australia are recognised, 14 being new species. Also included are the following, one new generic synonym, four new species synonyms, and one new combination. The 250 species worldwide in the genus are usually associated with the flowers of Asteraceae and Poaceae. In Australia, several of the species are specific to flowers, particularly of Poaceae and Cyperaceae but not Asteraceae. Almost half of these Australian species are presumed to be predatory on other small arthropods, and two have unusual host associations—with salt marsh Chenopodiaceae, and with the sori of Dicksonia tree ferns.     

Species of Oswaldella Stechow, 1919 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Kirchenpaueriidae) from US Antarctic expeditions,with the description of three new species

Seventeen species of the genus Oswaldella Stechow have been studied, three of which are new to science (Oswaldella frigida sp. nov., O. medeae sp. nov. and O. monomammillata sp. nov.). The material studied was collected by several US Antarctic expeditions. Each species is described and figured, the systematic position amongst allied species is discussed and available data concerning autecology and geographical distribution are given. The remaining eight known species of the genus are also considered, regarding synonymy, autecology and geographical distribution. Finally, a general survey of the bathymetrical and biogeographical distribution of the known species of Oswaldella is given.     

A new species of the nematode genus Thoracostoma from the Antarctic

Sixteen species of the encrusting bryozoan genus Chaperiopsis Uttley are described from material collected by Discovery Investigations. Six species are considered to be new to science. The type-species, Membranipora galeata Busk, 1854, is redescribed.     

A revision of the genus Platythelphusa A. Milne-Edwards, 1887 from Lake Tanganyika,East Africa (Decapoda: Potamoidea: Platythelphusidae)

The genus Platythelphusa is revised and six species are recognized. These species are P. armata A. Milne-Edwards, 1887, P. maculata (Cunnington, 1899), P. conculata Cunnington, 1907, P. tuberculata Capart, 1952, P. polita Capart, 1952 and P. echinata Capart, 1952. A seventh taxon, P. denticulata Capart, 1952 is considered here to be a junior synonym of P. conculata. A diagnosis for each species is provided and most are figured from the type. Keys to the families of African freshwater crabs and to the genus Platythelphusa are also provided.     

Species of genus Schizotheca Hincks (Bryozoa,Cheilostomata) described in the Atlantic‐Mediterranean region,with notes on some species of Parasmittina Osburn

Material held in collections, originally ascribed to the genus Schizotheca and originating from the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean, is revised. Two new species are described: Schizotheca carmenae sp. nov. from Azores and Portugal, originally cited as Strophiella tubigera [sic], and Schizotheca buski sp. nov. from Cape Verde and Brazil, originally cited as Schizotheca fissa. Schizotheca talismani, also from Cape Verde, is redescribed from original material and transferred to the genus Parasmittina. The Atlantic species Schizotheca tuberigera is redescribed and a new synonymy is established. Schizotheca aviculifera, from Morocco, is also redescribed and a lectotype designated. A lectotype is also chosen for Schizotheca fissa, type species of the genus. Schizotheca lepida, from north France, is considered to be an unrecognizable species.     

The amphipod genus Alexandrella (Amphipoda,Stilipedidae): taxonomic status,allometric growth and description of two new species

Two new species of the genus Alexandrella are described: A. mandibulata and A. martae. One species, A. mixta, is considered a junior synonym of the type species A. dentata. The genus now comprises six species, all of which are restricted to either the Antarctic or sub‐Antarctic region or the South Pacific. Oostegites are observed to be present on pereopod 1 in two Alexandrella species. This is a novel morphological trait among the Amphipoda. Developmental information is presented for two other Alexandrella species, in which the mandibular incisor is seen to be modified from strongly toothed in marsupial young to totally smooth in mature specimens. Also the armature dorsally on their body and the morphology of the telson undergo conspicuous allometric changes. A key to all known Alexandrella species is provided.     

A systematic review of the genus Uroplatus (Reptilia: Gekkonidae), with comments on its biology

The gekkonid lizard genus Uroplatus is comprehensively reviewed for the first time. Six species are recognized—U. fimbriatus, U. sikorae, U. lineatus, U. ebenaui, U. alluaudi and U. guentheri—and their potential interrelationships are examined. Numerous bizzare morphological features, characteristic of the highly derived species U. fimbriatus, are found to be shared with other members of the genus, but are not universal for this taxon. Thus, while U. fimbriatus exhibits an overall morphology that has been employed in the past as justification for elevating the genus to monotypic familial status, this represents only an extreme of a continuum. U. guentheri and U. alluaudi are much less unusual in their morphological features. The potential biological roles of the more extreme features found within the genus are considered.     

A re-assessment of the genera Holorusia Loew (=Ctenacroscelis Enderlein), Ischnotoma Skuse and Zelandotipula Alexander (Diptera: Tipulidae), with notes on their phylogeny and zoogeography

Summary

A short historical background to the genera considered is given. A review is made of a number of characters which had previously only been treated inconsistently, or not at all. As a result, the old-world genus Ctenacroscelis is merged with Holorusia sensu stricto, as represented by the isolated Californian type-species. All other species previously referred to Holorusia sensu lato are redistributed to two genera; the tropical South American and New Zealand forms are united into Zelandotipula; the Chilean element and the Australian species are united into Ischnotoma, the name Icriomastax Enderlein being resurrected as a subgenus to receive most of the Chilean species.

Tentative phylogenetic and zoogeographic observations are made. Holorusia and Ischnotoma are considered and discussed as sister-groups, whilst Zelandotipula is believed to be only distantly related. Zoogeographically Holorusia is seen as a successful Asiatic genus; Ischnotoma as a receding group, with extreme southern-continental distribution, having had a much wider distribution as indicated by the European Oligocene fossil Holorusia vasifera, transferred here to Ischnotoma. Zelandotipula is viewed as an essentially Neotropical genus, which has made one ‘invasion’ of New Zealand, probably in the geologically recent past.

Résumés of the principal features of the re-defined genera are given, together with systematic notes on certain species, and species catalogues giving distributions and all new name combinations.     

A new hyaliodine genus for Megacoelum nigroscutellatum Distant with new combinations and tribal reassignment for some other species of Miridae (Heteroptera)

Summary

A new genus is erected for Megacoelum nigroscutellatum Distant in the Hyaliodinae as opposed to the Mirinae where the species was originally described. Two species previously described in the genus, Araspus Distant, viz. A. scutellaris Poppius and A. bicolor Poppius, are considered not congeneric with the genotype of the genus and are therefore transferred tentatively to Imogen Kirkaldy in the Saturniomirini. The genus Attractotomelus recently erected by Linnavuori (1975) for Attractotomus serosus Odhiambo is synonymized with Millermiris Carvalho while the transfer of the latter to the Phylinae by Schuh (1974) is confirmed. Proboscidocoris nitidus Odhiambo is transferred to Polymerus Hahn while Polymerus capitatus (Distant) is transferred to Proboscidocoris Reuter and P. antennatus (Distant) to Charagochilus Fieber.     

A new genus and species of Ricaniidae from Palaeocene deposits in North Dakota

Summary

A new genus and species, Cotradechites lithinus Fennah, are proposed for a fossil tegmen of a Ricaniid (Homoptera : Fulgoroidea) collected in clay deposits of Latest Palaeocene age near Dickinson, North Dakota. The new genus is considered to be most nearly related to the modern tropical American genera Cotrades and Semestra.     

A revision of the genus Prionocrangon (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea: Crangonidae)

Additional specimens belonging to the rare crangonid genus Prionocrangon Wood‐Mason and Alcock, collected from recent deep‐sea expeditions in the West Pacific enable a revision of this poorly known genus. The four previously described species are all valid. The type species P. ommatosteres Wood‐Mason and Alcock, , originally known only from the Andaman Sea, is considered to be also distributed in the Philippines and Indonesia. However, the material previously assigned to “P. ommatosteres” by de Man () and Chace () from Indonesia and the Philippines actually represents a new species, P. demani sp. nov., close to P. pectinata Faxon, . Prionocrangon pectinata and P. curvicaulis Yaldwyn, are still only known by their types. The distribution of P. dofleini Balss, is now extended from Japan to Taiwan. Two more new species are recognized. Prionocrangon formosa sp. nov. from Taiwan is closely related to P. curvicaulis while P. paucispina sp. nov. from Taiwan and New Caledonia is unique in having very few dorsal carapace spines. The genus Prionocrangon is newly diagnosed and a key to the species is provided. Nevertheless, a damaged specimen from the Sulu Sea could not be satisfactorily assigned to any of the above seven species, suggesting that this genus may have even higher diversity.     

Reproduction,planula development,and substratum selection in three species of Stylactaria (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from Hokkaido,Japan

Modes of reproduction, morphology and behaviour of planulae, and substratum specificity were studied and compared in three species of the hydrozoan genus Stylactaria from Hokkaido, S. conchicola, S. uchidai, and S. multigranosi. Observed differences in these attributes provide additional characters for discrimination of the three species. Stylactaria conchicola is oviparous, its planulae are sedentary, and its hydroid is substratum specific (living only on shells of the gastropod Homalopoma amussitatum). Stylactaria uchidai differs in being ovoviviparous, in having crawling planulae, and in being a substratum generalist. Stylactaria multigranosi is parthenogenetic, its planulae are sedentary, and it is substratum specific (occurring exclusively on the gastropod Nassarius multigranosus). Only female colonies of S. multigranosi are known, and gonophores of this species differ from those of S. conchicola and S. uchidai in being eumedusoid rather than styloid. Correlations were noted between attributes of the planula larva and substratum specificity in the three species. The cnidome differences between the species suggest that penetrant nematocysts are particularly important for sedentary planulae colonizing moving substrata. These characters are also considered useful in the taxonomy of species of Stylactaria. The phylogenetic significance of different gonophore types in the genus is considered.     

On a new genus and new species of xanthid crab (Crustacea,Decapoda, Brachyura,Xanthinae) from the South China Sea,with notes on the genus Liagore De Haan, 1833

A new genus and new species of xanthid crab, Ovatis simplex, is described from the South China Sea. The genus is closest to Liagore but can be distinguished by a suite of carapace and male gonopod characters. The systematic position of Liagore is also considered, and both genera, Liagore and Ovatis, are here referred to the subfamily Xanthinae. Comparisons with the allied genera, Paratergatis and Pulcratis, are also provided.     

Revision of the genus Pseudodiphascon (Tardigrada,Macrobiotidae), with the erection of three new genera

A flexible but non-annulated buccal tube was used to erect the subgenus Pseudodiphascon, later raised to genus level (type species Macrobiotus inflexus). However, the presence of a flexible (but non-annulated) buccal tube in the holotype and paratype is due to the moulting simplex stage of both animals. Therefore Macrobiotus inflexus must be considered species dubia. The other species to date attributed to Pseudodiphascon differ from the type species of the genus in the presence of a pharyngeal tube that appears annulated. Because of this and other characters, they do not conform to the definition of Pseudodiphascon and cannot be attributed to this genus, which must be considered genus dubium. The characters of the claws and of the buccal—pharyngeal apparatuses led us to describe three new genera: Biserovus gen. n.: claws without a differentiated basal portion, annulated pharyngeal tube, peribuccal lamellae present; Minilentus gen. n.: claws of ‘hufelandi type’, annulated pharyngeal tube, peribuccal lamellae absent; Insuetifurca gen. n.: claws of modified' hufelandi type, annulated pharyngeal tube, peribuccal lamellae present, stylet furcae of a peculiar shape. Pseudodiphascon diphasconides lacks annulation in the buccal tube and is transferred to the genus Minibiotus.     

Shamshevia,a new genus of long-legged flies from Namibia (Diptera: Dolichopodidae: Diaphorinae)

The genus Shamshevia Grichanov, gen. nov. is described from Namibia to accommodate a new species, Shamshevia hoanibensis Grichanov sp. nov. Despite flattened posterior mesonotum, the new genus is placed in the subfamily Diaphorinae and is considered close to the genus Dactylonotus Parent, differing from the latter in peculiar characters of male antenna, wing and genitalia.     

Species of Staurotheca Allman, 1888 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Sertulariidae) from US Antarctic expeditions,with the description of three new species

Seventeen species of the genus Staurotheca Allman have been studied, three of which are new to science (Staurotheca abyssalis sp. nov., S. densa sp. nov. and S. profunda sp. nov.). The material studied was collected by several US Antarctic expeditions. Each species is described and figured, the systematic position amongst allied species discussed and available data concerning autecology and geographical distribution given. The remaining six known species of the genus are also considered, regarding synonymy, autecology and geographical distribution. The type material of two poorly known species of Staurotheca, S. juncea (Vanhöffen) and S. pachyclada (Jäderholm) has been re-examined, re-described and figured. Finally, a general survey of the bathymetrical and biogeographical distribution of the known species of Staurotheca is given.