Re‐description of the lycosiformis species group of Anyphops Benoit and description of two new species (Araneae,Selenopidae)

Anyphops Benoit is a heterogeneous genus with 62 known species restricted to the Afrotropical region. It is split into four species groups using the number of ventral spine pairs on tibiae I–II. The lycosiformis species group (?=?B‐B1 species group of Lawrence) is characterized by four ventral pairs of spines and includes Anyphops lycosiformis (Lawrence), A. natalensis (Lawrence) and A. parvulus (Pocock). In this paper, I revise this species group and include here A. mumai Corronca, A. lawrencei (Roewer) and two new species: Anyphops ngome n. sp. and A. lucia n. sp. from South Africa. Drawings of the female and male genitalia and some somatic characters are given, in some cases for the first time. A key for the lycosiformis species group and a map showing the distribution of each species are provided.     

Water mites of the family Hygrobatidae Koch from southern Africa (Acari: Hydrachnidia)

New records are given of the water mite family Hygrobatidae (without the genus Atractides) from southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia). In addition to one new subgenus of the genus Hygrobates, namely Inflatibates, four new species are described, namely Hygrobates draconicus, H. laceratoides, H. okavangoensis, and H. inflatipes as well as one new subspecies, namely Hygrobates spathuliferus cederberg. The following synonyms are established: the subgenus Capobates Thor with Hygrobates Koch, Hygrobates sanguineus transvaalensis K. O. Viets with Hygrobates spathuliferus (Lundblad), and Ambiguobates permixtus agnewi K. O. Viets with Ambiguobates permixtus K. Viets. The male of Australiobates pilosus (K. Viets) is described for the first time. The synonymization of Diversibates with Australiobates can now be confirmed. Finally, keys are given for the known genera of southern Africa, as well as for all known species of the genus Hygrobates from southern Africa.     

Nesting behaviour and prey of Pseudoplisus Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

Nesting behaviour and prey of two species of Pseudoplisus, a gorytine wasp genus in the sphecid subfamily Nyssoninae, are described. P. natalensis is a solitary nester in southern Africa nesting often in the soil in flower-pots. P. ranosahae in Madagascar nests in the ground in large aggregations. Both species show a high degree of prey specificity. Nests are provisioned only with large adult froghoppers (Aphrophoridae), P. natalensis preying on Ptyelus grossus and P. ranosahae on Ptyelus goudoti.     

The species of Cellaria (Bryozoa: Cheilostomatida) with large avicularia from West Africa

The three species of Cellaria with large avicularia (the size of an autozooid) known from West Africa have been studied: C. atlantida Cook, C. cookae n. sp. and C. salicornioides Lamouroux. All three are figured by SEM. Cellaria cookae n. sp. is mainly distinguished by its avicularium, with arched and pointed rostrum and mandible and a cryptocyst with a rectangular lyrula. Cellaria atlantida is characterised by its bell shaped Cellaria avicularium. The recognition of C. salicornioides var. normani is considered to be unjustified, as the distinctive character, which is the existence of lateral branching, is only a feature of young colonies and tends to disappear later.     

The songs and taxonomy of the grasshoppers of the Chorthippus biguttulus group in the Iberian Peninsula (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

The Chorthippus biguttulus group includes a number of common European species that are difficult to distinguish morphologically but are easily recognized in the field by the distinctive calling songs of the males. These song-patterns have not previously been studied in Spain and as a result the Iberian members of the group have been misidentified in almost all the extensive Spanish literature on the ecology and cytogenetics of these insects. In this study the male calling songs of all six members of the group known from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa and fully described and illustrated with oscillograms at several different speeds. The songs of the three species known only from Iberia or North Africa, jacobsi, yersini and marocanus, are fully described for the first time (marocanus is here raised in rank from subspecies). Notes on recognition, using both morphology and song, are given for each species, and two identification keys are provided, one based on morphology and the other on song. It is shown that the three species biguttulus, brunneus and mollis, previously believed to be widespread in Iberia, are absent from most of the peninsula.     

Two new species of freshwater crabs from Mount Elgon,East Africa (Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae) and a re-diagnosis of Potamonautes niloticus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) with notes on their natural history and onchocerciasis

Two new species of potamonautid freshwater crabs from eastern Uganda, Africa are described, and Potamonautes niloticus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) is re-diagnosed with key characters illustrated photographically. A total of four species of crabs are now known to occur on Mount Elgon, which borders both Kenya and Uganda. Two of these species are endemic to the mountain and the distribution patterns of all four species indicate a distinct altitudinal preference. All taxa are compared with similar species and their distributions and natural history are reviewed. Furthermore, three of the crabs recorded from Mount Elgon have been implicated in the transmission of onchocerciasis in East Africa.     

Mites of the superfamily raphignathoidea (Acarina: Prostigmata) associated with South African plants

Abstract

Nine new species and one new subspecies of the superfamily Raphignathoidea are described and figured. These are: Fam. Caligonellidae: Neophyllobius natalensis and N. cavumarboris; fam. Stigmaeidae: Ledermülleria neomaculata, L. lineolata, Villersia oudemanis, Mediolata africana and Eupalopsis brevipilus; fam. Raphignathidae: Raphignathus bathursti and Acheles aethiopica; fam. Cryptognathidae: Cryptognathus cucurbita cucurbitella. Apostigmaeus navicella is recorded for the first time from South Africa. Keys to the genera and species associated with plants are given.     

East African Agromyzidae (Diptera): further descriptions,revisionary notes and new records

Twenty-seven new species of Agromyzidae are described from Kenya and two from Uganda in the genera Melanagromyza, Ophiomyia, Tropicomyia, Agromyza, Cerodontha, Liriomyza, Phytoliriomyza, Napomyza, Phytomyza and Chromatomyia. The following new combinations are established: Cerodontha (Butomomyza) cariciphaga (Spencer 1963), Cerodontha (Butomomyza) pubicata (Spencer 1959), Napomyza eximia (Spencer 1964a) and Chromatomyia anonera (Séguy 1951); in addition Phytomyza natalensis Spencer 1964 a is raised to specific status.

New records are given of the important pest species Ophiomyia spencerella and Liriomyza trifolii.

The distribution of Kenyan species within Africa is discussed and the Palaearctic origin of new, high altitude species from Mt. Kenya is documented.     

Palaearctic species of Ammoplanus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae)

The Palaearctic species of the genus Ammoplanus Giraud are revised, based on material of over 1750 specimens from Europe, North Africa and Central Asia. For almost all species it was possible to examine the type material and in six species the lectotypes have been designated, in two cases (A. perrisi and A. marathroicus) the neotypes. As a result 38 species are recognized as valid, keyed out and commented on. Eight species are described as new and four species names are here placed in synonymy. Several species are of wide distribution, which made it necessary to include also those described from Central Asia and Mongolia. The keys are made to all Palaearctic species but no material is known from the regions east of Mongolia, although four undescribed species are available from South-East Asia. The Afrotropical species are listed and most of them were also examined. Two subgenera are recognized in the region; 32 species are classified in Ammoplanus sensu stricto and six in the subgenus Ammoplanellus. In the nominal subgenus the following species are described as new: A. atlasensis from Morocco, A. biscopula from Israel, A. biskrensis from Algeria, A. denesi from Turkey (Anatolia), A. freidbergi and A. kaplanae from Israel, A. minutus from Bulgaria and Turkey and A. strumae from Bulgaria and Greece. New synonymy: A. angelae becomes a junior synonym of rhodesianus (known before only from Africa), A. crudelis a synonym of A. kaszabi, A. handlirschi a synonym of A. marathroicus, A. suarezi a synonym of A. kohlii, A. subcompressus of A. gegen, A. orbiculatus of A. simplex and A. zarcoi of A. kohlii; A. wesmaeli is confirmed as a synonym of A. perrisi. Otherwise the synonymy is corrected under A. bischoffi and the names A. dusmeti and A. curvidens are re-established as valid. In a short review of the African species A. (Ammoplanellus) cradockensis Arnold, 1959 is placed as a new synonym under A. (Ammoplanellus) latiscapus Leclercq, 1959. The nomenclatural changes are explained under the relevant species.     

Further new species within the freshwater amphipod genus Paramelita (Crangonyctoidea: Paramelitidae) from South Africa

Four new species within the crangonyctoid amphipod genus Paramelita are described from material collected from small streams in the southwestern Cape, South Africa. Two of the species are large, with robust second antennae which exceed the first in length, especially in adult males. The third species is recognized by its slender pereopods and its densely setose second antennae, and the fourth by its small size and relatively short, slender, unmodified second antennae. All of these species have an unmodified pereopod 3, and lack teeth, spines, ridges or lobes on antenna 2, features common to many of the known Paramelita species. Morphological similarities between the four new species and 19 previously known species of Paramelita are discussed.     

Rediscovery of Disepyris semiruber (Kieffer) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) in Southern Africa,with first description of the male

Holepyris semiruber Kieffer is redescribed and illustrated based on freshly collected specimens. Holepyris semiruber var. striatipleura Kieffer is considered a colour variant of this species and therefore a junior synonym of H. semiruber syn. nov. This species is transferred to Disepyris, D. semiruber (Kieffer) comb. nov., based on the possession of a short 2r-rs&Rs vein in the fore wing and presence of long flat spine-shaped setae on the outer (posterior) surface of the protarsi. The male is described for the first time from new specimens collected in South Africa. This species is recorded for the first time from Namibia and Zimbabwe. All photographs are available on www.waspweb.org.     

New ascothoracid crustacean endoparasites of Scleractinia

The ascothoracid crustacean genus Petrarca, endoparasites of scleractinian corals, is reviewed and revised. Petrarca bathyactidis, the type-species, is partly redescribed. The range of P. okadai is extended to East Africa. Three new species of Petrarca are described: P. indica in Flabellum deludens from the Indian Ocean near Ceylon; P. morula from Turbinaria sp. in the Banda Sea; P. azorica in Enallopsammia rostrata from the North Atlantic. Zibrowia auriculata gen. et sp. nov. infests Balanophyllia carinata off East Africa, and the same species appears to live in Tubastraea micranthus off East Africa and Dendrophyllia sp. at Réunion and in the Comoros. Unlike other ascothoracids, eggs and larvae are not brooded within the carapace valves, though they may be attached to them externally. Nauplii of P. okadai and Z. auriculata are described; they are generalized with familially distinct features. Adults of both genera have an overall neotenic appearance. They always occur in galls in groups of two or more, suggesting simultaneous infestation. Ahermatypic corals or their close hermatypic relatives seem to be preferred hosts, and Petrarca has a wider geographic and depth range than confamilial genera.     

A revision of the Fabriciin genus Augeneriella Banse, 1957 (Polychaeta: Sabellidae)

The Sabellidae polychaete genus Augeneriella Banse is revised based on a reexamination of the type material of most species. Augeneriella hummelincki hummelincki Banse is shown to have vascularized, ventral filamentous appendages which can display up to four branches in a pectinate arrangement, as opposed to only a single dichotomy as originally described. The status of A. hummelincki indica Banse is discussed. The species A. bansei Hartmann-Schröder is based on a single, probably aberrant, specimen in which ventral filamentous appendages are unbranched. Additional material will likely show that this species displays the typical branched condition for ventral filaments. Augeneriella dubia Hartmann-Schröder can be ascribed to an undescribed genus which has been found in Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Two new species of Augeneriella from the Aldabra Atoll, Indian Ocean, are described.     

Les espèces atlantiques du genre Eumunida Smith, 1883 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Chirostylidae)

Specimens of the genus Eumunida have been studied from various localities in the Atlantic Ocean. Comparisons of specimens from northwest and southwest Africa with material of E. picta from the western Atlantic Ocean has revealed two new species: E. bella nov. and E. squamifera sp. nov.

E. squamifera from the coast of Namibia, South West Africa, is distinguished from the two other atlantic species by a scaley striation of the carapace.

The northwest African E. bella and the western Atlantic E. picta, type of the genus, are closely related species, but differ from each other by the number and size of carapace marginal spines, shape of the anterior margin of the third thoracic sternum, and the ridges on the second abdominal segment. Their coloration is also different.

One specimen from the Tasman Sea identified by Gordon in 1930 as E. picta represents a further new taxon, E. australis sp. nov. It is readily distinguished from the three Atlantic species by the number of carapace anterio-lateral spines and the long acute projections of the third thoracic sternum.

All these species belong to the group A, as defined by Gordon (1930).     

Morphological diversity of habrobathynellids (Parabathynellidae,Bathynellacea) in India,with the description of a new species

A new species, Habrobathynella indica, is described. The male thoracopod VIII of this species is unique within the Parabathynellidae in its penis‐like extension of the internal lobe reaching thoracopod VII. The other two species known from India also have features unique to either the family or the genus. Habrobathynella schminkei has a seta on the uropod distally of the thick terminal spine of the spine row, a seta otherwise unknown in the family, and H. nagarjunai has a homonomous spine row on the uropod, which is lacking in other species of the genus.     

Generic nomenclature of freshwater snails commonly classified in the genus Bulinus (Mollusca: Basommatophora)

Summary

Freshwater snails of the genus Bulinus Müller (Basommatophora: family Planorbidae) live mostly in Africa and many species serve as intermediate hosts in the life cycles of parasitic helminth worms which belong to the genus Schistosoma and cause the disease schistosomiasis in man and livestock. Consideration is given here to a recent proposal by Biocca et al. (1979) to subdivide Bulinus sensu lato into three genera, including Mandahlbarthia Biocca et al. for members of the B. truncatus/tropicus complex. This subdivision is undesirable, it is suggested here, for three main reasons: the proposed genus-groups lack clear diagnostic characters, the proportion of known species so far investigated in adequate detail is small, confusion would be caused in the field of applied malacology by changes in the nomenclature of species of medical and veterinary importance. Reasons are put forward to regard Mandahlbarthia as a junior synonym of Isidora Ehrenberg (1831).     

The African grasshopper genus Acanthacris (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Cyrtacanthacridinae)

The genus Acanthacris Uvarov is revised and four species are recognized: A. aithioptera sp. nov., A. deckeni (Gerstäcker), A. elgonensis Sjöstedt and A. ruficornis (Fabricius). Acanthacris elgonensis is raised to specific status for the first time. Acanthacris ruficornis is considered as two distinct geographical races: A. r. ruficornis and A. r. citrina (Serville). The following nominal taxa have been synonymized with A. r. ruficornis: A. ruficornis yemenita Uvarov, Gryllus locusta lineatus Stoll and Acridium ruficorne var. subimmaculata Finot. An identification key is provided for males, based largely on external morphological characters combined with those of the phallic complex. All the valid taxa are redescribed. Measurements, figures of genitalia and distribution maps are provided.