Revision of Aleiodes (Hemigyroneuron) parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Rogadinae) with reappraisal of subgeneric limits,descriptions of new species and phylogenetic analysis

The parasitic rogadine braconid wasp subgenus Hemigyroneuron, previously and inappropriately synonymized with Aleiodes (Chelonorhogas) as a result of misidentification, is here synonymized with Aleiodes (Pholichora). A key to the 26 species of Aleiodes (Hemigyroneuron) is presented, including 16 which are described and illustrated as new: A. (H.) amoretae Butcher and Quicke, A. (H.) faddenae Butcher and Quicke, A. (H.) glandularis Butcher and Quicke and A. (H.) plurivena Butcher and Quicke from South Africa; A. (H.) bakeri Butcher and Quicke from Indonesia; A. (H.) bengalensis Butcher and Quicke from India; A. (H.) cusackae Butcher and Quicke from Uganda; A. (H.) elgon Butcher and Quicke, A. (H.) meruensis Butcher and Quicke and A. (H.) pappi Butcher and Quicke from Kenya; A. (H.) fenwickae Butcher and Quicke from Congo; A. (H.) pseudospeciosus Butcher and Quicke from Brunei; A. (H.) roberti Butcher and Quicke from Thailand; A. (H.) sharkeyi Butcher and Quicke from Madagascar; A. (H.) trianguliscleroma Butcher and Quicke from Malawi and Kenya; and A. (H.) ugandaensis Butcher and Quicke from Uganda. A. (H.) apicale (Brues) comb. nov., A. (H.) dubiosus (Fullaway) comb. nov., A. (H.) speciosus (Baker) comb. nov. and A. (H.) suffusus (Baker) comb. nov. are redescribed and illustrated. Males of most species of A. (Hemigyroneuron) are shown to possess a glandular pore opening near the mid-posterior margins of metasomal tergites 4–6, though the situation in A. (H.) dubiosus is different. Results of morphological phylogenetic analysis are presented and indicate clear separation between African and Asian species groups. Two of the new species have been reared from Geometridae and one apparently from Pieridae.     

Ten new species of the subgenus Steganina (Diptera: Drosophilidae: Stegana) from southern China

Ten new species of the subgenus Stegana (Steganina) are described from southern to south-western China: S. (S.) convena sp. nov., S. (S.) cylindrica sp. nov., S. (S.) eurystoma sp. nov., S. (S.) hamata sp. nov., S. (S.) hirticeps sp. nov., S. (S.) latigena sp. nov., S. (S.) planiceps sp. nov., S. (S.) rhomboica sp. nov., S. (S.) setivena sp. nov. and S. (S.) sphaerica sp. nov. They cannot be placed under any established species groups. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D4B6C5A7-3700-4B0C-8355-E4564C2A7296     

Smicridea McLachlan (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae) from northwestern Argentina and Bolivia: new species,redescription, association and new records

Four new species of Smicridea (Rhyacophylax) are described from Argentina and Bolivia. Smicridea (Rhyacophylax) bifida sp. nov., S. (R.) elisae sp. nov. and S. (R.) valeni sp. nov. are described from the male; S. (R.) thermophyla sp. nov. is described as the first species of Smicridea from thermal springs. The larva and pupa of S. (R.) thermophila were associated using the metamorphotype method. New distributional records of S. (R.) dithyra, S. (R.) atrobasis, S. (R.) peruana and S. (R.) pampeana are included. Morphological characters of male S. (R.) peruana that were not mentioned before are included. Illustrations of all taxa named in this paper are included.     

Nine new species of the subgenus Stegana (Oxyphortica) from the Oriental region,with morphological and molecular evidence based on Chinese species (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Nine new species of the subgenus Stegana (Oxyphortica) have been discovered from the Oriental Region: S. (O.) chuanjiangi Zhang and Chen, sp. nov., S (O.) dainuo Wang and Chen, sp. nov., S. (O.) dawa Zhang and Chen, sp. nov., S. (O.) laohlie Zhang and Chen, sp. nov., S. (O.) luchun Wang and Chen, sp. nov., S. (O.) mengwan Wang and Chen, sp. nov., S. (O.) triodonta Cheng and Chen, sp. nov. from southern China; S. (O.) dehiscens Cheng and Chen, sp. nov. and S. (O.) spinosa Cheng and Chen, sp. nov. from eastern Malaysia. One newly recorded species from China: S. (O.) maichouensis Sidorenko is re-described. The DNA sequences of the mitochondrial COI gene with BOLD Process ID and GenBank accession numbers are provided for the above seven new species and five known species from China: S. (O.) acutipenis Xu, Gao and Chen, S. (O.) adentata Toda and Peng, S. (O.) hirtipenis Xu, Gao and Chen, S. (O.) latipenis Xu, Gao and Chen, and S. (O.) maichouensis Sidorenko. Intra- and interspecific pairwise K-2P distances among these species are summarized and the phylogenetic relationships are reconstructed based on the neighbour-joining (NJ) analyses.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2FA403F6-5535-40A4-9FD0-ADB9913EDE83.     

Review of the southern temperate fish family Aplodactylidae (Pisces: Perciformes)

The southern temperate perciform fish family Aplodactylidae is reviewed. The monotypic genus Crinodus is relegated to the synonymy of the genus Aplodactylus, which is recognized as containing five species: A. arctidens Richardson from New Zealand and Australia (Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania); A. lophodon (Günther) restricted to south-eastern Australia (New South Wales and Victoria); A. westralis Russell restricted to south Western Australia; A. etheridgii (Ogilby) from the south-west Pacific (north-eastern New Zealand, Kermadec Islands, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island); and A. punctatus Valenciennes from the west coast of South America (Peru and Chile). A key to the species is given.     

Biogeography and phylogeny of Paraergasilus Markevich, 1937 (Copepoda: Ergasilidae) with descriptions of two new species from the gills of grey mullet

Two new species of Paraergasilus are reported from the gills of four species of grey mullet (Mugilidae). Paraergasilus dichotomus n. sp. was recorded on M. cephalus Linn. from New South Wales, Australia. Paraergasilus curtus n. sp. was found on the same host in Western Australia, on Valamugil cunnesius (Valenciennes) from the Philippines, on Valamugil seheli (Forsskal) from Sri Lanka and on Liza macrolepis (Smith) from Socotra, Yemen. Both new species differ from congeners in possessing a bifid antennary claw. The distribution of Paraergasilus species is summarized and the host specificity of Paraergasilus species is examined. Phylogenetic analysis of the relationships between Paraergasilus species indicated that there are two main lineages within the genus.     

Taxonomy and cladistic analysis of the subgenus Xenomorellia Malloch (Diptera: Muscidae: Morellia Robineau-Desvoidy) with description of two new species

Xenomorellia Malloch, a subgenus of Morellia Robineau-Desvoidy, is revised to include two new species, Morellia (Xenomorellia) inca Nihei and Carvalho sp. nov. from South America, and M. (X.) maia Carvalho and Nihei sp. nov. from Costa Rica and Mexico. Diagnoses for M. (X.) holti (Malloch) and M. (X.) montanhesa (Albuquerque) are provided, as well as an identification key to the four species of the subgenus. A cladistic analysis was performed to test the monophyly of Xenomorellia and to recover the phylogenetic relationships among its species. Tree searches resulted in one single most-parsimonious cladogram, wherein the monophyly of Xenomorellia is supported, as well as a sister-group relationship with the Neotropical subgenus Trichomorellia Stein. Xenomorellia was divided into two clades: one with Caribbean–Andean species (maia?+?inca), and another with species from southeastern South America (holti?+?montanhesa).     

Three new species of the subgenus Ashima (Diptera: Drosophildae: Phortica) from south-western China,with DNA barcoding information

Three new species of the subgenus Phortica (Ashima), P. (A.) libo sp. nov., P. (A.) yalianae sp. nov. and P. (A.) yiqini sp. nov., are described from south-western China. DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrom c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene with BOLD Process ID and GenBank accession numbers are provided for 29 specimens of 13 species. A key to the Chinese species of the subgenus Ashima is provided based on morphological characters.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F6FF55B2-B1D8-4B79-B559-68654CAF286C     

Stegana (Oxyphortica) convergens species group (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from the Oriental region,with morphological and molecular evidence

Three new species of the Stegana (Oxyphortica) convergens species group are described from South China: S. (O.) gonglui Wang and Chen, sp. nov., S. (O.) xiaoyangae Zhang and Chen, sp. nov., and S. (O.) zhulinae Wang and Chen, sp. nov. The diagnosis of S. (O.) setifrons is revised. A key to all eight species of this group is provided. The phylogenetic relationships among the eight species of this group are reconstructed using DNA sequences of the mitochondrial COI gene (cytochrome c oxidase, subunit I). The intra- and interspecific pairwise Kimura’s two-parameter (K-2P) distances for these species are summarised. Moreover, 35 COI sequences of the eight convergens species show the presence of 30 species-specific base substitutions in 28 nucleotide sites in the character-based analysis.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8AC2D398-96F2-4EE5-AE0D-16B8761BD55D     

A taxonomic study on the Phtisicidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) of New South Wales,Australia

The present study reviews the taxonomy of the Phtisicidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the coast of New South Wales, Australia. The following seven species are described; Dodecas decacentrum Stebbing, 1910b, Dodecas hexacentrum Mayer, 1903, Hircella cornigera (Haswell, 1879b), Metaproto novaehollandiae (Haswell, 1879a), Notoprotomima smithi gen. nov., sp. nov., Paraproto sp. and Perotripus sp. Generic diagnoses of Notoprotomima gen. nov., Dodecas, Hircella and Metaproto are provided based on the present materials. Notoprotomima smithi is fully described as a new species of the new genus. Dodecas decacentrum differs from Dodecas hexacentrum by the presence of paired dorsodistal projections on pereonite 2, paired mid-dorsal projections on pereonites 3 and 4 and shorter gill length on pereonites 2 and 3. Hircella cornigera and Metaproto novaehollandiae are described in detail. The larger mature males of M. novaehollandiae possess the unusual massive type of the propodus of gnathopod 2. The extended distribution of Perotripus to the New South Wales coast is noted. A key for these phtisicid amphipods from New South Wales, Australia is provided.     

Stalked crinoids from Tasmanian seamounts. Part 1: Hyocrinidae

Faunal investigations conducted in 1997 on southern Tasmania seamounts, produced 10 specimens of stalked crinoids belonging to the family Hyocrinidae. These are the first hyocrinids to be recorded from this area. Three new species are described: Feracrinus koslowi sp. nov., Ptilocrinus tasmaniaensis sp. nov. and Ptilocrinus australis sp. nov. New data show that three previously described species should be referred to a single species Feracrinus aculeatus Mironov and Sorokina, 1998 and the genus Camaecrinus Mironov and Sorokina, 1998 becomes a junior synonym of Feracrinus. Although they have close affinities, the two species belonging to the genus Feracrinus live in different areas of the western Pacific. Ptilocrinus tasmaniaensis sp. nov. and P. australis sp nov. are the shallowest known species in the genus Ptilocrinus (sensu stricto). There is no evidence of endemism in hyocrinids living on south Tasmania seamounts.     

Notes on astogeny of some Petraliellidae (Bryozoa) from Australia

Members of the bryozoan family Petraliellidae share the capacity to develop basal rhizoids, which anchor the unilaminar, semi-repent parts of the colonies above the substratum, and enable them to overgrow other, competing sessile forms. Little is known of the larval behaviour and settlement, or the early astogeny of species. Ancestrulate colonies of the Australian Tertiary lunulitiform species Smittia biincisa are referred to the genus Riscodopa, and together with Riscodopa paucipora sp. nov. are described and compared with the Recent species R. cotyla and R. parva from New Zealand, and with R. hyalina sp. nov. from New South Wales, Australia. All the Recent species are known to develop basal rhizoids, and an early astogeny similar to that of many other small, rooted bryozoans, comprising the post-metamorphosis development of a binary complex, including rhizoid and feeding elements, is inferred for Riscodopa. Observations on living Hippopetraliella magna from Queensland suggest that both the ancestrular morphology and early astogeny show a capacity for semi-repent growth, even though they do not include rhizoid development. Larvae metamorphose without direct attachment, and the ancestrula develops elongated, partially calcified supporting processes, which raise the early stages of growth above the substratum. A similar kind of ancestrula has been found in preserved specimens of Mucropetraliella ellerii.     

New Aoridae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Tasmanian kelp holdfasts

Three new aorid amphipod species from Tasmanian kelp holdfasts are described: Microdeutopus varietensis sp. nov., Lembos clematis sp. nov. and L. verrucularum sp. nov. Strong sub-ocular regression of the head is a usual feature of the genus Microdeutopus and is shown by M. varietensis. It is not, however, typical of the other known Australian/NewZealand Microdeutopus species (M. haswelli and M. apopo). The Tasmanian Lembos species (L. chiltoni, L. clematis and L. verrucularum) are not known from New Zealand, where the genus is represented by L. pertinax, L. acherontis and L. hippocrenes. The Tasmanian Lembos species display the condition of the mandibular palp that typifies the genus, that is, article 3 longer than article 2 (cf. the New Zealand species which display the reverse, unusual, condition).     

Taxonomy and genetic variation in the Australian lizards of the genus Pseudemoia (Scincidae: Lygosominae)

This study reviews the taxonomy of the southern Australian scincid lizards previously referred to Leiolopisma entrecasteauxii (Duméril and Bibron, 1839) and L. baudini Greer, 1982; here placed along with L. spenceri and the recently described L. rawlinsoni in the genus Pseudemoia. Electrophoretic, karyotypic and morphological data show that populations assigned to P. entrecasteauxii belong to three species. The name Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii is restricted here to a morphologically variable species which occurs in woodlands, forests and heathlands from the Blue Mountains, NSW, through the southeastern mainland, Bass Strait islands and Tasmania, to the islands of Spencer Gulf, SA. Populations designated as L. entrecasteauxii Form B by recent authors are mostly referrable to P. entrecasteauxii (s.s.). Pseudemoia pagenstecheri (Lindholm, 1901) is resurrected to apply to strongly striped populations disjunctly distributed in open grassland habitats from Tasmania, south-central Victoria, the southeast Australian highlands, Blue Mountains and New England Tableland. This species largely encompasses those populations referred to by several workers as L. entrecasteauxii Form A. A neotype for Lygosoma (Liolepisma) pagenstecheri is designated. A new species, P. cryodroma, is restricted to alpine and subalpine habitats on the high plains of Victoria. Pseudemoia cryodroma may have had a hybrid origin from P. entrecasteauxii and P. pagenstecheri. Pseudemoia baudini, hitherto known only from the unique holotype, is redescribed. This species extends eastward along the coast of the Great Australian Bight as far as the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. A key to the species of Pseudemoia is provided.     

The flower bug genus Orius Wolff, 1811 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Anthocoridae: Oriini) of Thailand

The flower bug genus Orius Wolff, 1811 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Anthocoridae: Oriini) in Thailand is reviewed. Eleven valid species are recognised; seven of them are described as new to science: Orius (O.) sakaerat, O. (O.) taksini, O. (O.) tomokunii, O. (O.) filiferus, O. (O.) machaerus, O. (O.) inthanonus and O. (Trichorius) crassus. Orius (Heterorius) dravidiensis Muraleedharan, 1977, which has been known from India, is recorded from Thailand for the first time, and is correctly placed in the subgenus Dimorphella Reuter, 1884. The subgenus Paraorius Yasunaga and Miyamoto, 1993 is proposed as a synonym of Dimorphella. Diagnoses, digital habitus images, scanning electron micrographs and illustrations of diagnostic features including both male and female genitalia are provided. Keys to the Thai species are offered to facilitate identification. Biology of Thai species is also discussed.     

From the subantarctic to the subtropics: a revision of the Davacaridae Kethley, 1977 (Acari: Trigynaspida: Mesostigmata) with the description of a new genus and three new species

The family Davacaridae is shown to consist of at least two genera (Davacarus Hunter, Acanthodavacarus n. gen.) and four species that are distributed from subantarctic islands (D. gressetti Hunter) to Tasmania (D. reginaldi n. sp.), and to mainland Australia (D. lindquisti n. sp., A. klompeni n. sp.) at least as far north as the subtropical rainforests of south-east Queensland. These mites share a number of striking synapomorphies including the paedomorphic retention of the deutonymphal pattern of sclerotized plates in the adult, a secondary thickening of the cuticle around those plates and a lateral cheliceral excrescence that adheres to the cheliceral teeth. Species of Davacarus have lost the pregenital shield, have an intricate endogynium and four pairs of large, sessile opisthosomal glands; species of Acanthodavacarus have a pregenital shield with a pair of setae and two pairs of hypertrophied opisthosomal glands on short horn-like protrusions.     

The Stegana shirozui species group (Diptera,Drosophilidae) from East Asia

One subgroup of the Stegana (Steganina) coleoptrata species group is elevated as a species group (i.e., the shirozui species group), so as to include the three known species, S. ctenaria Nishiharu, S. (S.) masanoritodai Okada and Sidorenko and S. (S.) shirozui Okada, as well nine new species reported from China and Japan: S. (S.) jiajinshanensis, S. (S.) jianfenglingensis, S. (S.) maoershanensis, S. (S.) multidentata, S. (S.) qinlingensis, S. (S.) saigusai, S. (S.) shennongi, S. (S.) wuyishanensis and S. (S.) xanthosticta spp. nov. A key to all the species of this group is provided.     

New taxa of Rhagidia and Foveacheles (Acari: Prostigmata: Rhagidiidae) from Italian and French caves,with keys to adults of subgenera Deharvengiella and Mediostella

Three new species of rhagidiid mites from France and Italy, Rhagidia (Deharvengiella) paralleloseta sp. nov., R. (D.) serpentiforma sp. nov. and Foveacheles (Mediostella) carnichensis sp. nov., are described. Keys to adults of the known species of Rhagidia (Deharvengiella) and Foveacheles (Mediostella) are presented.