Description of a new species of Indomolgus (Copepoda: Lichomolgidae) associated with corals in the Bay of Bengal,South India

Indomolgus humesi (Poecilostomatoida: Lichomolgidae) is the fifth member of the genus Indomolgus Humes and Ho, 1966. I. humesi was collected from corals while the other four members are associated with sea anemones. It is perhaps significant that all the known species of Indomolgus were collected from the tropical parts of the Indian Ocean, namely Madagascar and India.

I. humesi is closest to I. diversus Humes and Ho but can be easily distinguished by the relatively broad caudal rami of the male. The armature of the second segment of the endopod of leg 4 is I-2, which is different from that of all the other known species.     

Three new species of the deep-sea genus Neotanais Beddard (Crustacea: Peracarida)

Three new species of the deep-water family Neotanaididae Lang are described. Neotanais minimus n. sp. and N. curvimanus n. sp. were collected from the Gulf of Mexico and are the first species to be described from this region. Neotanais minimus cannot be grouped with other Neotanais species, since it displays characters from all groupings. Neotanais curvimanus has strong affinities to the ‘americanus’ group but can be separated by the short pereonite 6 and by the presence of many setulose setae lateral on the pleonites. Male N. curvimanus can easily be separated from all other species of the genus by the cheliped fixed finger being only half as long as the dactylus and the dactylus being incurved from fixed finger at an angle of about 40°. Neotanais noelietaiti n. sp. was found off south-east Australia and is the first Neotanais species to be described from Australian waters. It also has strong affinities to the ‘americanus’ group but can be distinguished by the complete lack of a midventral keel and by the uropodal exopod being as long as the endopod article 1.     

A new genus of hemibranchiate sphaeromatid isopod crustacean from tropical Western Australia

A new genus and species of marine sphaeromatid isopod is described from the North West Shelf (Indian Ocean) tropical Western Australia. Kranosphaera haptomela gen. nov. sp. nov. (Sphaeromatinae) is distinguished from other hemibranchiate genera by the strongly rugose and deeply pitted body surfaces, projecting epistome, uniramous uropodal rami, and in the male by modified pereopod 5 which is greatly expanded and 6 which has a coupling flange on the ischium. It is known only from the vicinity of the type locality.     

Two new species of Bonnetina tarantulas (Theraphosidae: Theraphosinae) from Mexico: contributions to morphological nomenclature and molecular characterization of types

Two new species of tarantulas from Mexico are described and illustrated: Bonnetina tenuiverpis and Bonnetina juxtantricola, from the states of Mexico and Guerrero, respectively. Male palpal bulbs, tibial apophyses and spermatheca are among the most taxonomically informative characters. Male bulb microstructure is revealed from scanning electron microscopy; both new and homologous structures to other Theraphosinae genera are identified and described. Nomenclatural changes for male tibial apophyses are also proposed. The holotype male and allotype female of one of the species are molecularly characterized and matched from CO1 partial sequence.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BBDBBEDE-6983-4F5C-B34C-4622DF494C84     

Four new freshwater gobies of the genus Rhinogobius (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from northern Vietnam

Four new freshwater gobies of the genus Rhinogobius Gill, were collected from the river running into the Gulf of Tonkin in northern Vietnam. They are Rhinogobius boa new species, Rhinogobius variolatus new species, Rhinogobius virgigena new species and Rhinogobius sulcatus new species. These four new species can be distinguished from other congeneric species by a combination of characters such as the meristic features, shape of body, shape of first dorsal fin and coloration pattern.     

Two new species of Microprosthema from the Western Atlantic (Crustacea: Decapoda: Stenopodidea)

Two new species of shrimp in the genus Microprosthema are described and figured on the basis of materials collected recently from the tropical western Atlantic. Specimens of one, Microprosthema manningi, have been collected from Florida, Mexico, Belize and Old Providence Island. The other new species, Microprosthema looensis, was taken from a single site in the Florida Keys. Microprosthema manningi is closely related to the western Atlantic M. semilaeve, while M. looensis is closely related to the Indo-Pacific M. scabricaudatum. However, both new species can be distinguished by numerous morphological differences, as well as by coloration.     

Discovery of the freshwater genus Sicyopus (Teleostei: Gobioidei: Sicydiinae) in Madagascar,with a description of a new species and comments on regional dispersal

In the Indo-Pacific area, insular rivers are mainly colonized by gobiids of the Sicydiinae subfamily. These species spawn in freshwater, where the free embryos drift downstream to the sea before returning to rivers to reproduce; they are amphidromous. These gobies are the greatest contributors to the fish diversity and have the highest levels of endemism. Among the nine known genera of Sicydiinae, only two have been found in the West Indian Ocean, and only one (Sicyopterus) is known from Madagascar. Recently, two surveys discovered a new species in the genus Sicyopus. Sicyopus lord sp. nov. differs from other species by a combination of characters that includes a particular colour pattern, similar in both sexes; more scales than its congeners in lateral series (35–43), transverse back series (12–18) and a shorter caudal fin length in male fish. This paper describes the new species and discusses the presence of this genus in Madagascar.     

Three new species of the genus Normanella Brady (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from the Gulf of Mexico

Three new species of Normanellidae are described from the Texas coast, Gulf of Mexico. Normanella texana sp. nov. has limited areolated patterns on the cephalothorax, short P5 exopod and endopod, short caudal ramus and short caudal seta VI-V. Normanella brevispina sp. nov. is characterized by its relatively long caudal rami, and areolated rostrum. Normanella chanhoi sp. nov. has well-developed areolated patterns on the cephalothorax, six-segmented antennule and a smooth apical margin of the rostrum. N. texana belongs to the bolini -lineage, and N. brevispina to the minuta -lineage. Normanella chanhoi establishes a new lineage of its own.     

The Pacific Iassine cicadellid genus Thalattoscopus (Homoptera)

The Pacific Iassine genus Thalattoscopus is revised and distinguished from Batracomorphus on external and male genitalic characters. Of 21 species included, 12 are newly described and two are treated as nomina dubia. A key to species is given, four new synonymies and eight new combinations are established.     

First record of the genus Agnara (Isopoda: Oniscidea) from Iran with descriptions of two new species

Terrestrial isopods of the genus Agnara Budde-Lund, 1908 have been recorded from Iran for the first time. Two new species, Agnara tarahomii n. sp. and Agnara haselii n. sp., are described and their diagnostic characters are figured. Agnara tarahomii is characterized by the shape of the male pleopod exopodite I with sinuous distal margin. Agnara haselii is distinguished by a setose area on the ventral margin of the male pereopod VII ischium and the sinuous distal margin of pleopod exopodite I.     

The first Leptanilloides species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Leptanilloidinae) from eastern South America

We describe a species of the exclusively Neotropical dorylomorph ant genus Leptanilloides (Leptanilloidinae), Leptanilloides atlantica sp. nov., based on workers collected in the Atlantic Forest, São Paulo, south-eastern Brazil. The 11 species of Leptanilloides described are known from relatively high altitudes in western America (from the Andes foothills in Bolivia to Sierra Morena in Mexico). The discovery of a Leptanilloides species in south-eastern Brazil represents a significant range extension for the genus; this new species shares characters with Leptanilloides biconstricta (Bolivia), Leptanilloides femoralis (Venezuela) and Leptanilloides gracilis (Mexico) and may be distinguished based on a combination of traits. The hypogaeic habits of Leptanilloidinae combined with inefficient collecting techniques may explain the paucity of information and of specimens of this group in most museum collections as well as its present apparent disjunct distribution. We compare Leptanilloides distribution to that of other organisms that show similar disjunct patterns in the Andes and montane sites in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E7E334AA-58C0-455D-A0A6-724D29226DD0     

A new species of the Neotropical genus Beebeomyia (Diptera: Richardiidae) with observations of its biology on Dieffenbachia oerstedii (Araceae)

A new species of the genus Beebeomyia Curran found in central Veracruz (Mexico) is described, including characters of the male and female terminalia, and a key to the identification of the known species is provided. This new species was found feeding within inflorescences of Dieffenbachia oerstedii Schott (Araceae). Larvae were found throughout the inflorescence, with a proportion nearly three times higher in the female (bottom) than the male (top) section. The life cycle from larval stage to adult emergence takes place in an average time of 42 days, while pupation occurs within the inflorescence. Observations of the oviposition behaviour suggest that after oviposition, the female marks the inflorescence with a deterrent pheromone to prevent further ovipositions by other conspecific females.

http://zoobank.org/lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DC19F7E5-3AAF-4E5C-A35C-F4872C89D3B4     

Taxonomic notes on the Asian frogs of the tribe Paini (Ranidae,Dicroglossinae): 1. Morphology and synonymy of Chaparana aenea (Smith, 1922), with proposal of a new statistical method for testing homogeneity of small samples

The species from northern Vietnam described as Rana fansipani Bourret, is shown to be a synonym of the species from northern Thailand described as Rana aenea Smith, . The male secondary sex characters of this species are described in detail for the first time. Combined with a few other characters, they allow this species to be distinguished from the closely related Rana unculuanus Liu, Hu and Yang, 1960 from southern China. Both species should be placed in a subgenus Chaparana (Chaparana), a member of the tribe Paini of the subfamily Dicroglossinae of the Ranidae. In this study, we propose a new statistical method for testing homogeneity of small samples: this consists of considering the values obtained for each specimen and for each regression factor score as morphometric characteristics of this specimen within the frame of this analysis; these values, or some of them, can be used to compare subgroups of specimens by non‐parametric tests such as the Mann–Whitney U test.     

Notes on the Amazonian genus Hyogonia China (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Proconiini) with a description of a new species

Oncometopia batesi Distant, described from northern Brazil (State unknown), is transferred to the genus Hyogonia China. Hyogonia brasiliana sp. nov. is described from Northern Brazil, Pará State, the easternmost record of the genus. The new species is easily distinguished from all other Hyogonia species by the following combination of characters: (1) pronotum without distinct transverse contrasting band; (2) pygofer with short processes that do not attain its apex; (3) both pairs of aedeagal atrial processes divergent and short, never longer than aedeagal shaft; and (4) aedeagal caudal pair of atrial processes with bases close to each other, appearing as a single bifurcated robust process. Hyogonia batesi and H. brasiliana, together with an unidentified female from Acre State, represent the first authentic records of the genus Hyogonia from Brazil. Previous records of H. reticulata (Melichar) and H. youngi Emmrich and Lauterer from Brazil are erroneous as their recorded locality ‘Cumbase’ is most probably located in Peru (San Martín Department). Other new records from countries and major federal divisions are noted as follows: the genus Hyogonia (unidentified species) from Barinas State (Venezuela); H. batesi from Ecuador (Orellana Province); H. reticulata from Amazonas and Junín Departments (Peru); and H. youngi from Ecuador (Napo Province). A key to the known species of Hyogonia is provided.     

Morphological variation of Eucyclops elegans (Herrick, 1884) (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) in the Americas and comments on records of Eucyclops conrowae Reid, 1992

Based on an examination of material from different areas of the American continent, we evaluate the morphological variations of Eucyclops elegans (Herrick, 1884) with an emphasis on characters used in the current taxonomy of the genus. Eucyclops elegans is clearly a member of the serrulatus group. Differences in both female and male specimens from North America and South America and the lack of records in southern Mexico and Central America suggest that it is possible that this nominal species contains at least two taxa. Characters such as the ornamentation of the antennal basis and coxa of P4 are described for the tropical species E. conrowae Reid, 1992. This species is clearly not a member of the serrulatus group and differences with respect to the type specimens indicate that records of E. conrowae in Mexico do not correspond to this taxon and should be reassigned to other species.     

Paranannopidae (Copepoda: Harpacticoida) from sublittoral soft sediments in Spitsbergen

Based on specimens of Paranannopidae collected from 30 to 123 m depth in Sassenfjord, Spitsbergen, two species of Paradanielssenia Soyer, 1970 (P. christineae sp. nov. and P. kathleenae sp. nov.) are described. These can be distinguished from known species by differences in the number of claviform aesthetascs on the mouthparts and in the arrangement or form of setae on the legs. A key to species of Paradanielssenia is provided. Mucrosenia gen. nov. (type species M. kendalli sp. nov.) is established on the basis of a single female and can be distinguished from all known paranannopid genera by the structure of the caudal ramus and the P2 endopod-2 which has no inner seta and a large mucroniform process at the outer distal corner. Psammis kliei Smirnov, 1946 is assigned to this genus as species incertae sedis. Danielssenia quadriseta Gee, 1988 is recorded for the first time outside its type locality in Oslofjord. Danielssenia spitsbergensis sp. nov. is described from a single male specimen and can easily be distinguished from other known species by the presence of only two outer spines on exopod-3 of P3-4. However, because of differences in the structure of the P2 endopod and P5, the species is placed incertae sedis within Danielssenia pending the discovery of the female.     

Three new species of the brackish‐water copepod Halicyclops (Crustacea,Cyclopoida) from Ariake Bay,Japan

Three new species of the cyclopoid copepod Halicyclops are described from river estuaries of Ariake Bay, Japan. Halicyclops continentalis sp. nov. is most similar to H. laminifer, but differs by the shape of an angular protuberance on the genital double‐somite and a serrate hyaline frill of the fourth urosomite. Halicyclops sinensis described by Tai and Chen is widely distributed in China and is identifiable to H. continentalis, indicating that the population in Ariake Bay is probably a continental relict. Halicyclops uncus sp. nov., belonging to the thermophilus group, is distinguishable by the shape of the lateral process on the genital double‐somite, a frill of the fourth urosomite and caudal rami; it is probably endemic to Japan. Halicyclops ariakensis sp. nov. differs from the other congeners by a combination of the shape of the prosome, urosomal hyaline frills and caudal ramus length; it is considered endemic to Ariake Bay.     

Two new South American species of Acrobelus Stål (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae) with a key to the species of the genus

Two new leafhopper species of the Neotropical genus Acrobelus Stål, 1869 are described and illustrated: A. nessimiani sp. nov. from Peru (Amazonas Department) and A. rakitovi sp. nov. from Ecuador (Orellana Province). The two new species, distinguished from the other Acrobelus species by their remarkably long male subgenital plates and by the fusiform macrosetae present on these plates, seem to be closely related. A key to male specimens of the five known species of Acrobelus is provided. Taxonomic notes on the genus are included.     

Two new Asian species of the genus Scottolana Huys, 2009 (Copepoda: Canuelloida: Canuellidae)

Two new species of the family Canuellidae Lang, 1944, Scottolana jasani sp. nov. collected from Gusipo Beach, Korea and S. huysi sp. nov. from Kata Beach, Phuket Island, Thailand, are described. So far 14 species are currently known in the genus, of which only two, S. bulbifera from Russia, China, and Korea, and S. geei from China, have been reported from Asia. The new species, Scottolana jasani sp. nov. and S. huysi sp. nov., belong to the longipes-group, defined by the presence of two postgenital segments in the female, and caudal ramus with a proximal hook-like inner projection. Scottolana jasani sp. nov. closely resembles S. geei. However, it is easily distinguished by the following characters: (1) number of segments of antennal exopod (8 in the new species, but 9 in S. geei); (2) setae I, and II of caudal ramus; (3) shape of genital field in both sexes; (4) segmentation of mandibular exopod; and (5) spinular ornamentation of endopod-2 in P1. Scottolana huysi sp. nov. is also closely related to S. geei. However, it is unique and different from S. geei by (1) indistinctly 4-segmented antennule in the female; (2) 5-segmented male antennule; (3) larger genital field in female; (4) inner long seta on P4 coxa; and (5) the morphology of caudal seta II, being long and plumose, with a bulbiform base in the female only.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:33BFE1A2-8C95-4A9D-9E7A-B495CEEC3182     

Lernanthropus antofagastensis sp. nov. (Copepoda: Lernanthropidae) parasitic on Anisotremus scapularis in Chilean waters,and new records of Lernanthropus trachure (Brian, 1903)

Lernanthropus antofagastensis sp. nov., parasitic on Anisotremus scapularis, and inshore fish of Antofagasta, Chile, is described and illustrated. It resembles five other species of Lernanthropus in its dorsal plate and third leg, but can be distinguished from them by a combination of characters. L. trachuri Brian, 1903, is recorded, its male described and illustrated from specimens collected from Seriolella violacea and Trachurus murphy, taken in the same locality.