The diverse Grania fauna (Clitellata: Enchytraeidae) of the Esperance area,Western Australia,with descriptions of two new species

Seven species of the marine enchytraeid genus Grania Southern, 1913 are described from sediments sampled during the 2003 International Workshop on the Marine Flora and Fauna of Esperance Bay and the Recherche Archipelago, on the southern coast of Western Australia. Two species are new to science, the euryhaline Tasmanian G. dolichura Rota and Erséus, 2000 Rota, E. and Erséus, C. 2000. Two new and peculiar species of Grania (Annelida: Clitellata: Enchytraeidae) inhabiting Tasmanian estuaries.. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 27: 245–254. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] represents a new record for the state, and the remaining four species were known from other parts of Western Australia. Grania quaerens sp. n. is recognized by having a high chaetal index ( = short chaetal foot), small coelomocytes, penial apparati with long whip‐like terminal stylets, conspicuous spermathecae with ectally bulbous ducts, and ectally granulated ampullae housing sperm rings in their ental region. Grania sperantia sp. n. is readily distinguishable by the complete lack of lateral chaetae, a multiple‐banded pattern of the clitellum, extremely long sperm funnels, and the intrasegmental location of the spermathecal pores. The latter new species and four others in the collection (G. bykane Coates, 1990 Coates, K. A. 1990. “Marine Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta, Annelida) of the Albany area, Western Australia.”. In The marine flora and fauna of Albany, Western Australia, 1, Edited by: Wells, F. E, Walker, D. I, Kirkman, H and Lethbridge, R. 13–41. Perth: Western Australian Museum.  [Google Scholar], G. crassiducta Coates, 1990 Coates, K. A. 1990. “Marine Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta, Annelida) of the Albany area, Western Australia.”. In The marine flora and fauna of Albany, Western Australia, 1, Edited by: Wells, F. E, Walker, D. I, Kirkman, H and Lethbridge, R. 13–41. Perth: Western Australian Museum.  [Google Scholar], G. dolichura, and G. ersei Coates, 1990 Coates, K. A. 1990. “Marine Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta, Annelida) of the Albany area, Western Australia.”. In The marine flora and fauna of Albany, Western Australia, 1, Edited by: Wells, F. E, Walker, D. I, Kirkman, H and Lethbridge, R. 13–41. Perth: Western Australian Museum.  [Google Scholar]) are remarkable in possessing the head organ, a sensory structure unique to Grania that was not noted previously in Western Australian species. When considering the whole genus, the geographic pattern of the head organ appears southern‐centred: of the 17 species of Grania reported to possess it, as many as 13 inhabit the southern latitudes. The seventh species of the Esperance collection, G. vacivasa Coates and Stacey, 1993 Coates, K. A. and Stacey, D. 1993. “The marine Enchytraeidae (Oligochaeta, Annelida) of Rottnest Island, Western Australia.”. In The marine flora and fauna of Rottnest Island, Western Australia, Edited by: Wells, F. E, Walker, D. I, Kirkman, H and Lethbridge, R. 391–414. Perth: Western Australian Museum.  [Google Scholar], is notable for the kind of items found in its gut and the unusual appearance of its pygidium.     

Two new species of the genus Alloclubionoides (Araneae: Amaurobiidae) in Korea

Two new species of the genus Alloclubionoides from two National Parks of Korea are described with detailed illustrations, leg spination, trichobothrium patterns and scanning electron micrographs. Alloclubionoides wolchulsanensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from other Alloclubionoides spiders by a heart-shaped conductor with rounded base in the male palp and a large genital opening situated in the middle of the atrium, and a broadly cylinder-like copulatory duct in female. Alloclubionoides jirisanensis sp. nov. resembles Alloclubionoides napolovi (Ovtchinnikov, 1999 Zhang, ZS, Zhu, MS and Song, DX. 2007. Three new species of the genus Ambanus Ovtchinnikov, 1999 from China (Araneae: Amaurobiidae: Coelotinae). Zootaxa., 1425: 21–28.  [Google Scholar]) but can be distinguished from it by the ‘Y’-shaped conductor dorsal apophysis and wound distal part of conductor.     

Description of four new species of the genus Ampelisca (Amphipoda,Ampeliscidae) from the northeastern and southeastern coasts of Brazil and designation of a neotype for Ampelisca soleata Oliveira, 1954

The present study raises the number of Ampelisca species recorded from the Brazilian coast from 18 to 21. The amphipod fauna of the Brazilian northeast coast is hardly known compared to that of the southeast coast. In this study, we describe three new species from the northeast coast: Ampelisca pseudobicarinata sp. nov., Ampelisca rocasensis sp. nov. and Ampelisca cristianae sp. nov, recorded previously as Ampelisca aff. lobata (Serejo et al. 2000 Serejo, CS, Wakabara, Y and Valério-Berardo, MT. 2000. Taxonomy and geographic distribution of Ampelisca (Amphipoda: Gammaridea) from the Brazilian coast. Polsk Archiw Hydrobiol., 47(3–4): 495–510.  [Google Scholar]). We also report a new record of Ampelisca burkei Barnard and Thomas, 1989 Barnard, JL and Thomas, JD. 1989. A new species, Ampelisca burkei, (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from Florida. Proc Biol Soc Washington., 102(2): 375–384.  [Google Scholar]. From the southeast coast a new species Ampelisca angraensis sp. nov. is described. An obscure species, Ampelisca soleata, which is very similar to Ampelisca brevisimulata, is herein redescribed and a neotype is designated. An updated key with all species of Ampelisca recorded from the Brazilian coast and comments on geographic distribution are given.     

Revalidation of Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861) (Characiformes: Hepsetidae) from the Quanza,Zambezi and southern part of the Congo ichthyofaunal provinces

Hepsetus cuvieri (Castelnau, 1861 Castelnau, FL. 1861. Mémoire sur les poissons de l'Afrique australe, Paris: Mem Poiss Afr Australe. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), originally described from “lac N'gami” (Botswana) and synonymized with H. odoe (Bloch, 1794 Bloch, ME. 1794. Naturgeschichte der ausländischen Fische. Berlin., 8: 1–174.  [Google Scholar]) by Roberts (1984 Roberts, TR. 1984. “Hepsetidae”. In Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA), Edited by: Daget, J, Gosse, JP and Thys van den Audenaerde, DFE. 138–139. Tervuren and Paris: ORSTOM. p.  [Google Scholar]), is revalidated. Hepsetus cuvieri can be readily distinguished from H. odoe based on a lower total number of gill rakers (8–13 versus 14–21); a generally higher number of scales between the dorsal fin and the lateral line (10½–11½ versus 7½–10½) and a higher number of scales between the adipose fin and the lateral line (6½–7½ versus 4½–6½) and other characters. A neotype is designated, as the holotype of this nominal species is apparently lost. Hepsetus cuvieri is restricted to the Quanza, Zambezi ichthyofaunal provinces and the southern part of the Congo Basin, i.e. the Congo ichthyofaunal province.     

Redescription and life cycle of Eutima sapinhoa Narchi and Hebling, 1975 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa,Leptothecata): a hydroid commensal with Tivela mactroides (Born) (Mollusca,Bivalvia, Veneridae)

The commensal hydroid Eutima sapinhoa Narchi and Hebling, 1975 Narchi, W and Hebling, N. 1975. The life cycle of the commensal Hydromedusa Eutima sapinhoa n. sp. Marine Biology, 30: 73–78. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] lives attached to the mantle, gills, labial palps and foot of the bivalve Tivela mactroides. The solitary polyps bud off medusae that become free, leaving the host through the exhalant water current. Newly liberated medusae were cultivated in the laboratory, attaining 7.8?mm in bell height, 13.3?mm in diameter and having eight marginal tentacles, while developing the typical eutimid medusa characters of a long peduncle, four radial canals and marginal statocysts with many statoliths. Eutima sp., previously reported from Florida, USA, is probably referable to Eutima sapinhoa. Like the other bivalve-inhabiting species of Eutima [E. ostrearum (Mattox and Crowell, 1951 Mattox, N. T and Crowell, S. 1951. A new commensal hydroid of the mantle cavity of an oyster. Biological Bulletin, 101: 162–170. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) and Eutima sp.] from the Atlantic Ocean, Eutima sapinhoa has no trace of marginal cirri, thereby differing from the eutimid medusae of the Pacific Ocean.     

Ten new species of the genus Brevisomabathynella Cho,Park and Ranga Reddy, 2006 (Malacostraca,Bathynellacea, Parabathynellidae) from Western Australia

Ten new species of Brevisomabathynella Cho, Park and Ranga Reddy, 2006 Cho, JL, Park, JG and Ranga Reddy, Y. 2006. Brevisomabathynella gen. nov. with two new species from Western Australia (Bathynellacea, Syncarida): the first definitive evidence of predation in Parabathynellidae. Zootaxa., 1247: 25–42.  [Google Scholar] are described and illustrated from the arid region of Western Australia. Comparison of the external morphology revealed the presence of three common characters distributed among the 10 species: the five-segmented antenna, the absence of the basipodal seta on the male thoracopod VIII and the absence of a basiventral seta on the uropodal exopod. This character combination is not found in Notobathynella and Billibathynella, but only in Brevisomabathynella, a genus known from two described species both with unusual characters. Despite the three common attributes, the 10 new species differ remarkably from these two described species, but could not be defined by their own synapomorphy. Consequently, and cognizant of a previously performed molecular analysis, we assign the 10 new species to Brevisomabathynella and amend the generic diagnosis. The species inhabit shallow aquifers in groundwater calcretes and each appears to be endemic to a given calcrete formation. The two species previously known and the 10 species now described include four sympatric species pairs, with similar-sized sympatric species differing markedly in body form. Brevisomabathynella inhabit groundwater up to at least marine salinity.     

The systematics of the dusky striped squirrel,Funambulus sublineatus (Waterhouse, 1838) (Rodentia: Sciuridae) and its relationships to Layard's squirrel,Funambulus layardi Blyth, 1849

The systematics of the dusky striped squirrel, Funambulus sublineatus (Waterhouse, 1838 Waterhouse, GR. 1838. On a new species of squirrel … Sciurus sublineatus. Proc Zool Soc Lond. (part VI), : 19–20.  [Google Scholar]) are reassessed against new evidence following a revision of its genus, Funambulus Lesson, 1835 Lesson, RP. 1835. Illustrations De Zoologie, ou Recueil De Figures D'animaux peintes d'aprés nature, Paris: Arthur Bertrand.  [Google Scholar]. Mitochondrial DNA suggests that the Sri Lankan subspecies of F. sublineatus is the sister taxon of Funambulus layardi Blyth, 1849 Blyth, E. 1849. Note on the Sciuri inhabiting Ceylon and those of the Tenasserim provinces. J Asiatic Soc (Bengal), 18(1): 600–603.  [Google Scholar], despite its phenotypic similarity to the nominate species. Morphological and mtDNA evidence is presented for these species plus additional mtDNA data from Funambulus palmarum (Linnaeus, 1766 Linnaeus, C. 1766. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, 12th, Holmiae: Laurentii Salvii.  [Google Scholar]) and Funambulus pennantii Wroughton, 1905 Wroughton, RC. 1905. The common striped palm squirrel. J Bombay Nat Hist Soc, 16: 406–413.  [Google Scholar]. Morphometric data indicate that the two taxa conventionally considered subspecies of F. sublineatus are sufficiently distinct for them to be ranked separately, resulting in two further endemic mammal species in India and Sri Lanka and an increase in Funambulus diversity. The name of the Sri Lankan species changes to Funambulus obscurus (Pelzeln and Kohl 1886 Pelzeln, Av and Kohl, FF. 1886. Ueber eine Sendung von Saugethieren und Vogeln aus Ceylon. Verhandel zool bot Ges Wien, 35: 525–528.  [Google Scholar]). Whether the mtDNA phylogeny is a true reflection of F. obscurus and F. layardi remains unresolved pending further data.     

Taxonomy of the genus Gabrius Stephens, 1829 (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Philonthina) from China,with description of two new species

In this paper, two new species of the genus Gabrius from China are described and illustrated: G. zhoui sp. nov. from Sichuan and G. invisus sp. nov. from Beijing, Hubei, Hunan, Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Zhejiang. Gabrius imitator (Fauvel, 1895 Fauvel, A. 1895. Staphylinides nouveaux de l'Inde et de la Malaisie. Rev Entomol, 14: 180–286.  [Google Scholar]), G. lebedevi (Bernhauer, 1910 Bernhauer, M. 1910. Zur Staphylinidenfauna des palaearktischen Gebietes. Soc Entomol, 25: 71–71. 78–79 [Google Scholar]), G. tirolensis (Luze, 1903 Luze, G. 1903. Eine neue Art der Staphyliniden-Gattung Philonthus Curtis aus Mitteleuropa. Verhandlungen der k. k. Zool-botan Gesellschaft Wien, 53: 386 [Google Scholar]), G. kambaitiensis Scheerpeltz, 1965 Scheerpeltz, O. 1965. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Expedition 1934 nach Indien und Burma. Coleoptera Staphylinidae (except Megalopsidiinae et Steninae). Ark Zool, 17: 93–371.  [Google Scholar], G. cinctiventris Scheerpeltz, 1965 Scheerpeltz, O. 1965. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Schwedischen Expedition 1934 nach Indien und Burma. Coleoptera Staphylinidae (except Megalopsidiinae et Steninae). Ark Zool, 17: 93–371.  [Google Scholar], G. egens (Sharp, 1874 Sharp, DS. 1874. The Staphylinidae of Japan. Entomol Soc London Trans, : 1–103.  [Google Scholar]), G. smetanai Schillhammer, 1997 Schillhammer, H. 1997. Taxonomic revision of the Oriental species of Gabrius Stephens (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae). Mono Coleop, 1: 1–139.  [Google Scholar] and G. zerchei Schillhammer, 1996 Schillhammer, H. 1996. New genera and species of Asian Staphylinini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae). Koleopterol Rundsch, 66: 59–71.  [Google Scholar] are reported from China for the first time. Thus, a total of 53 species of the genus Gabrius are known from China.     

A new species of the genus Mawsonascaris Sprent, 1990 (Nematoda: Ascaridida) from Glaucostegus granulatus (Cuvier) (Rajiformes: Rhinobatidae) in the Taiwan Strait,with remarks on the systematic status of Raphidascaroides myliobatum Yin & Zhang, 1983

A new ascaridoid nematode Mawsonascaris zhoui sp. nov. collected from the granulated guitarfish Glaucostegus granulatus (Cuvier) (Rajiformes: Rhinobatidae) in the Taiwan Strait (off Xiamen, Fujian Province, China) is described and illustrated in this paper. The new species can easily be distinguished from its congeners by the absence of an intestinal caecum, the presence of a single, median precloacal volcaniform papilla, a pair of paracloacal double papillae and 10–11 precloacal papillae in the male. In addition, the paratypes of Raphidascaroides myliobatum Yin & Zhang, 1983 Yin, W-Z and Zhang, N-X. 1983. Notes on some nematodes of marine fishes from Fujian, China. Acta Zootaxon Sinica., 8: 11–16. In Chinese, English summary [Google Scholar] collected from the Japanese eagle ray Myliobatis tobijei Bleeker (Rajiformes: Myliobatidae) in the Taiwan Strait (off Chongwu, Fujian Province, China) were also re-examined and the morphology of the species reveals that it also belongs to the genus Mawsonascaris, as M. myliobatum (Yin & Zhang, 1983 Yin, W-Z and Zhang, N-X. 1983. Notes on some nematodes of marine fishes from Fujian, China. Acta Zootaxon Sinica., 8: 11–16. In Chinese, English summary [Google Scholar]) comb. nov. An identification key to the species of Mawsonascaris is provided.