A new Chilean genus and species of land planarian (Platyhelminthes: Tricladida,Geoplaninae) with cephalic retractor muscle and adenodactyl

ABSTRACT

A new genus and species of land planarian, Pichidamas piru gen. nov. sp. nov., is described from Pichidamas, province of Osorno in Southern Chile. Pichidamas piru is a sub-cylindrical and slender Geoplaninae characterized by the presence of a creeping sole extending 50% of the body width, a cephalic retractor muscle, five parenchymatic muscle layers, a male atrium with proximal tongue-like fold and distal adenodactyl; and ovovitelline ducts approaching the copulatory apparatus anteroventrally. Details of the organization of the cephalic retractor muscle, the absence of sensory pits, the existence of a parenchymatic muscle layer, located to the inside of the ventral peripheral nervous plexus, and an adenodactyl in the distal portion of the male atrium are unique traits seemingly reflecting an earlier branch of Geoplaninae.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:04423258-DB01-4CE3-A474-EF6B563C605C     

A new species of Orobdella (Hirudinida: Arhynchobdellida: Orobdellidae) from Primorye Territory,Russian Far East

A quadrannulate leech species, Orobdella ghilarovi sp. nov., from Primorye Territory in the southern Russian Far East is described. Phylogenetic analyses using nuclear 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, histone H3, mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, tRNA^Cys, tRNA^Met, 12S rRNA, tRNA^Val, 16S rRNA, tRNA^Leu and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 markers showed that O. ghilarovi forms a fully supported clade with a monophyletic lineage comprising two species, O. kawakatsuorum and O. koikei, inhabiting Hokkaido, Japan. Quadrannulate Orobdella leeches distributed in the southern Primorye Territory have been identified as O. whitmani, which was originally described in Japan; these past records should be amended based on the taxonomic conclusions of this study.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8D91AC1C-5868-4F0B-A09D-423F7B50206C     

Use of morphological and molecular data to identify three new sibling species of the genus Munida Leach, 1820 (Crustacea,Decapoda, Galatheidae) from New Caledonia

Three cryptic species of the genus Munida from New Caledonia, previously identified as M. tuberculata Henderson, , M. notata Macpherson, and M. clinata Macpherson, , are described and illustrated. The three species are identified by subtle and constant morphological characters, which match clear differences in molecular sequences (16S rDNA and COI genes). The results also confirm the importance of several of these characters (e.g. length of the antennular and antennal spines) in the taxonomy of the genus Munida.     

A new species of the genus Zhangixalus (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae) from Vietnam

ABSTRACT

A new rhacophorid species is described from Vietnam on the basis of nine specimens collected in Quan Ba District, Ha Giang Province, northeastern Vietnam. The new species is morphologically similar to Zhangixalus pinglongensis, Z. dorsoviridis, and Z. nigropunctatus, however, it differs from the latter by having the flank cream with large black blotches on axilla and groin. The genetic distance between the new species and Zhangixalus pinglongensis, Z. dorsoviridis and Z. nigropunctatus is >3.57% (16S mtDNA gene fragment). Zhangixalus jodiae sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other species of Zhangixalus and other small rhacophorid species from Southeast Asia by a combination of the following characters: size small (SVL 36.1–39.8 mm in males); head as long as wide; vomerine teeth present; dorsal surface of head and body green without spots; axilla cream with large black blotches, groin and front-rear parts of the thigh, ventral surface of tibia black with orange blotches; lower jaw region greyish, chest and belly cream.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:89597718-024F-4FFC-B0AE-2005F12CF66C     

On the taxonomic position of Indiacypridinae (Crustacea,Ostracoda), with the description of a new species of Indiacypris Hartmann, 1964 from Chalakkudy River (Kerala,India)

A new species of Indiacypris, I. chalakkudensis n. sp., is described from Chalakkudy River in Kerala, India; an asexual population of I. dispar occurred sympatrically with the new species and is here briefly redescribed. This is only the third species reported in this genus, and indeed also in the subfamily. The taxonomic position of this lineage is discussed in light of new morphological evidence. The subfamily could either belong to Cyprididae, or to Ilyocyprididae, or could represent an intermediate branch. Until molecular phylogeny can test these hypotheses, the subfamily remains in Ilyocyprididae.     

Description of Ghatiana,a new genus of freshwater crab,with two new species and a new species of Gubernatoriana (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae) from the Western Ghat Mountains,India

A new genus of freshwater crab, Ghatiana, with two new species, Ghatiana aurantiaca and Ghatiana hyacintha, and a new species of Gubernatoriana Bott, 1970, are described from the Western Ghat Mountains in Maharashtra State, India. Ghatiana is most similar to Gubernatoriana by its wide, highly arched carapace and by the shape of the male abdomen. Nevertheless, the new genus can be distinguished from Gubernatoriana by the broadness of carapace, length of male abdomen, shape of sixth abdominal somite, length of telson and length of G1 terminal article. Ghatiana aurantiaca sp. nov. and G. hyacintha sp. nov. are distinguished by differences in body colour, carapace width, and G1 morphology, whereas Gubernatoriana triangulus sp. nov. is distinguished from two other known species [Gubernatoriana gubernatoris (Alcock, 1909) and Gubernatoriana pilosipes (Alcock, 1909)] by its triangular G1 subterminal segment and by its carapace morphology. Keys to the species of both the genera are provided.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:36BAA1EA-DC15-4B06-BA09-7BD26C63FF54     

A new large and colourful species of the genus Doto (Nudibranchia: Dotidae) from South Africa

A new species of the genus Doto is described from the Cape Peninsula of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. To date, the genus Doto is probably one of the more complex and poorly defined genera within nudibranchs. The very small body size and very similar external and internal features make this genus problematic and, therefore, poorly studied. Despite the large number of described species around the world, only three species are known to be present in South Africa: Doto coronata (Gmelin, 1791), Doto pinnatifida (Montagu, 1804) and Doto rosea Trinchese, 1881. Morphologically, Doto splendida sp. nov. is easily distinguished from all its South African congeneric species by its conspicuous colouration. In addition, mitochondrial and nuclear genes clearly separate the new species from other species from southern Africa. A molecular phylogeny based on two mitochondrial (COI and 16S) and one nuclear (H3) gene is herein presented. This phylogeny includes all available species of Doto (valid and unidentified) as well as several other traditionally closed related species retrieved from GenBank.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3764C38DF6BB-415F-958C-E3132A1A9524     

Five new species of Monocelis Ehrenberg, 1831 (Platyhelminthes: Proseriata) from eastern Australia

Six species of the genus Monocelis Ehrenberg, 1831 have been found in eastern Australia. All are new to science. Five of them are formally described here. Three species (M. rupisrubrae sp. nov., M. nexilis sp. nov., and M. corallicola sp. nov.) have two clearly set pigmented eyespots lateral to the statocyst. They differ in details of the copulatory organ and karyotype. No clear synapomorphies among them or with other species of the genus could be detected. Monocelis beata sp. nov. and M. macrobulbus sp. nov. present extremely elongate, longitudinally oriented copulatory organs. They are sister species, and phylogenetic relationships with M. galapagoensis Ax and Ax, 1977 and M. hopkinsi Karling, 1966 are proposed. Australian Monocelis have distributions limited to recognized biogeographical provinces in eastern Australia: M. corallicola, M. beata and M. macrobulbus in the northern Australian Zone, M. rupisrubrae and M. nexilis in the ‘Overlap Zone’ of the central east coast and Monocelis sp. A in the southern Australian Region.     

Descriptions of one new and two known species of Panagrolaimoidea (Nematoda) from India

Two known species of the genus Propanagrolaimus Andrássy, 2005 Andrássy, I. 2005. Free-living nematodes from Hungary (Nematoda Errantia), I. Pedozool Hung. 1, 518Budapest: Hungarian Natural History Museum and Systematic Zoology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.  [Google Scholar] and a new species of genus Plectonchus Fuchs, 1930 Fuchs, AG. 1930. Neue an Borken-und Rüsselkäfer gebundene Nematoden, halbparasitische und Wohnungseinmieter. Zool Jahrb (Syst)., 59: 505–646.  [Google Scholar] are described and illustrated. Propanagrolaimus filiformis de Man, 1880 is described with some additional features, namely presence of hypodermal glands; smaller intra-uterine eggs, relatively anterior vulva, rectum with expanded lumen and smaller tail. Propanagrolaimus hygrophilus (Bassen, 1940 Bassen, JL. 1940. Panagrolaimus hygrophilus, n. sp., a nematode found in decayed tubers of the waterlily root, Nelumbium nucifera Gaertn. Proc Helminth Soc Wash., 7: 101–103.  [Google Scholar]) is also described with minor variations. Plectonchus longevulvus sp. nov. is the first report of the genus from India collected from two different localities and characterized by thick cuticle; presence of crystalloids in pseudocoelom; indistinct lateral field; weakly sclerotized funnel-shaped stoma; posterior vulva; presence of ovoid glandular cells associated with dorsal and ventral uterine walls; spicules having prominent capitula and beak-like distal ends; lancet-shaped, proximally-hooked gubernaculum and seven pairs of caudal papillae in 1+1/1+P+1+2+1 configuration.     

Muhaka icipe,an enigmatic new genus and species of Kleidotomini (Hymenoptera: Figitidae: Eucoilinae) from an East African coastal forest

A remarkable new eucoiline genus and species, Muhaka icipe, is described herein. The genus is clearly a Kleidotomini, but is distinguished from other genera in the tribe by a unique head and scutellar morphology. The genus belongs to the ‘wedge-head’-syndrome group of species that, to date, is unique to Afrotropical eucoilines. The new genus and species is reminiscent of Stentorceps Quinlan and Nanocthulhu Buffington, but is readily distinguished from these genera. Muhaka was collected from a threatened kaya (sacred forest) of coastal Kenya. The biological importance of this and other kaya forests, as well as their protection, is discussed.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:6918ED2C-69A4-48FC-A1E4-2B5DFF58E876     

A new neobisiid pseudoscorpion species from Crete (Greece), with notes on its morphology,distribution, evolution,and phylogeny

This study, based on an analysis of some palaeo‐Mediterranean pseudoscorpions (Ernstmayria venizelosi n. sp. and E. apostolostrichasi ?ur?i? and Dimitrijevi? from the family Neobisiidae) represents an outstanding improvement of our knowledge of the diversity of relict and distributionally limited false scorpions from the ancient (or proto‐) Aegean area. Both E. venizelosi n. sp. and E. apostolostrichasi originated in the proto‐Balkan region; their ancestors are to be sought among extinct forms. Since Ernstmayria species presently inhabit the ‘peripheral’ location of the ancient Aegeis, it is evident that their remote ancestor gave rise to a number of recent genera which presently constitute two generic groups inhabiting the Mediterranean region: Neobisium Chamberlin, Occitanobisium Heurtault, Roncobisium Vachon, Protoneobisium ?ur?i?, and Pennobisium ?ur?i?, on the one hand, and Acanthocreagris Mahnert, Balkanoroncus ?ur?i?, Insulocreagris ?ur?i?, and Roncocreagris Mahnert, on the other.     

A new genus and species in the ostracod family Candonidae (Crustacea: Ostracoda) from Texas,USA

A new ostracod genus and species, Namiotkocypria haysensis gen. et sp. nov., of the subfamily Cyclocypridinae is reported from an artesian well in San Marcos, Texas, USA. The new genus has several unique characteristics that distinguish it from all other genera in the subfamily, including postero-dorsally inclined valves, absence of tubercles in marginal zones of the valves, very short swimming setae on A2, length of aesthetasc ya on A1, asymmetric clasping organs, and differences in the shape of the hemipenis and other cheatotaxial parts. A detailed comparison among related genera of the subfamily is provided.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:42FF41E3-E2FB-4BB6-B9F0-948ED0A0807A.     

A new species and illustrated records of Paracyclops Claus, 1893 (Copepoda: Cyclopoida: Cyclopinae) from Mexico

A new species of the freshwater cyclopid genus Paracyclops Claus, 1893 collected from the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico is described based on female and male specimens. It has affinities with other forms with profusely ornamented caudal rami, such as Paracyclops carectum Reid and Paracyclops pilosus Dussart, but it can be distinguished by a combination of characters including details of the ornamentation of the coxa of leg 1, third antennular segment with incomplete suture line, inner margin of the caudal rami with scattered hair-like elements, and relatively long caudal rami, among other characters. The male is distinguished mainly by having the caudal rami completely covered by pilosity, which differs from all other known Paracyclops, including Paracyclops carectum. The new species has affinities with neotropical Paracyclops. Illustrated records and a morphological analysis of two more species of Paracyclops from Mexico, Paracyclops poppei and Paracyclops chiltoni, are also included in this contribution.     

A new species of freshwater crab (Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamidae) from Dongyin Island,Matsu, Taiwan,defined by morphological and molecular characters,with notes on its biogeography

A new species of freshwater crab, Nanhaipotamon dongyinense sp. nov. (Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamidae), is described from Dongyin Island, Matsu, Taiwan. Based on morphological and molecular (mitochondrial 16S rRNA) evidence, it can be distinguished from its congeners. The biogeography of the species, found on an island 50 km from mainland China, is also discussed.