Redescription of three cyclocypridine freshwater ostracods (Crustacea,Ostracoda) from Southeast Asia

Summary

All three species of cyclocypridine freshwater ostracods, Cypria javana Müller, 1906, Cypria spinifera Tressler, 1937 and Physocypria crenulata (Sars) 1903 presently known from Southeast Asia are redescribed. Valves, appendages and internal organs are illustrated for females and males and detailed remarks are given for all the species.     

Notes on Simulium ovazzae Grenier and Mouchet (Diptera: Simuliidae) and river crabs (Malacostraca: Potamidae) and their association

Summary

Collections of crabs in the forest zone of West Cameroon produced three species—Potamonautes africanus, P. orthostylis and P. pobeguini. The P. africanus carried populations of immature Simulium ovazzae.

Analysis of crabs collected by hand and those collected in traps indicates very little overlap in the sizes of the crabs obtained by the two techniques. This problem is discussed.

The infestation rates of S. ovazzae on P. africanus were found to be highest on medium-sized crabs. The attachment sites of the S. ovazzae on the crabs were found to vary with both the size of the crab and the size of the Simulium larva.

The size distributions of S. ovazzae larvae on small crabs were found to be different from those on medium and large crabs. The characteristic deficiency of smaller larvae on medium and large crabs reported for other crab-phoretic species was also found with S. ovazzae but the smaller crabs showed a deficiency of larger larvae. A hypothesis is put forward to explain the dearth of larger larvae on the smaller crabs and the higher infestation rate on medium crabs.

S. ovazzae are shown to arrive on their hosts as single larvae carried by the current.

Six adult S. ovazzae were reared from pupae in the laboratory. Small numbers of presumed S. ovazzae biting man in Cameroon are reported.     

IX.—On a new species of Serpulid Polychæte from the Shoreham Harbour Canal,Sussex

Summary

The zoogeography of the Cayman Islands is discussed. Two species of Lutzomyia were found on Cayman Brac and they are described and their relation to other forms discussed. One is a Cuban species, or a close relative, and the other is allied to a Jamaican sand-fly.

A nematode parasite was found in one sand-fly.     

New species of the cave-dwelling genus Huasteca (Opiliones: Stygnopsidae: Karosinae), from Northern Oaxaca,Mexico, with a SEM survey of the sexually dimorphic areas on legs and structures related to chelicerae in the genus

ABSTRACT

The new species Huasteca kardia sp. nov. is described from material collected in the Huautla cave system, Oaxaca, Mexico. Based on recent literature on morphology and male genitalia, the diagnosis of the genus is amended and an identification key of the species of the genus is provided. Using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), all Huasteca species were reviewed in detail for the following: describing and reporting an unusual modification of the lateral channels on H. kardia sp. nov., searching for any evidence of sexual glandular openings on swollen parts of legs II on males which were absent, and recording the cheliceral comb on the fixed finger in Karosinae, reported previously only in Podoctidae.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FDB9EDDA-63A8-43C9-903C-48BF15C45F03     

III.—Idatiella China: Two new species,with a key (Hemiptera,Miridæ)

Summary

Nine soil, freshwater, and marine species of Thecamoeba have been isolated and investigated, and nine other probably or possibly valid species were reviewed from the literature. Locomotive form/behaviour and interphase nuclear structure are adequate to distinguish all known species, and on that basis the diagnoses of several species have been clarified and questions of possible synonymy resolved.

Most known species can be placed into either a rugose or a smooth group, but it is not yet clear that the genus can be formally divided along that line.

Feeding experiments and observations on six soil and freshwater species showed interspecific differences in the kind of protozoan prey ingested. Species also differed in their rate of multiplication in culture.

One recently discovered species, T. proteoides, approaches Amoeba proteus in both morphological and cultural characteristics more than does any other known species of Thecamoeba but is clearly a member of the latter genus.     

Breeding preferences in the treefrogs Dryophytes japonicus (Hylidae) in Mongolia

ABSTRACT

When a species occurs over a broad range of climates and landscapes, the breeding ecology of that species is expected to vary locally. Additionally, a basic knowledge of breeding ecology is required before other types of studies may be conducted, such as physiology or conservation. In North East Asia, Dryophytes japonicus is distributed from Japan to Mongolia, where its breeding ecology is unknown. The objectives of this study were to understand the breeding requirements of D. japonicus in this part of its range. We collected data for Dryophytes japonicus at 56 sites located within 23 independent localities in Northern Mongolia during the breeding season 2017. The data collected included habitat type and co-occurring amphibian, fishes and bird species. Our results show that the species prefers circa 70 m long oxbow lakes for breeding, while habitat characteristics, water quality and co-occurring species were not significantly associated with the occurrence of the species. We therefore conclude that D. japonicus is behaviourally plastic in Mongolia, as it is in other portions of its range, and that the species can use several types of environments and co-occur with different species at its breeding sites. Corvus dauuricus was the only bird species significant predicting the occurrence of D. japonicus, likely because of overlapping ecological preferences.     

New dung beetle genus and species from a cave in the Espinhaço mountain range,Brazil (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae)

ABSTRACT

Based on a single specimen collected in a cave in the municipality of Diamantina, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, we describe Isacanthon mariaelinae Pacheco and Vaz-de-Mello, a new genus and species of dung beetles. The new genus is closely related to Paracanthon, Paracryptocanthon, Cryptocanthon and Tesserodoniella, but it can be distinguished by clypeus with two teeth, which appear to originate beneath clypeal margin, and metatibiae with one distinct tooth at basal two-fifth.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D810C791-D5CD-43BF-9277-BE90E66BFE15     

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     

Phylogenetic taxonomy of Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) with descriptions of three new species from Myanmar

ABSTRACT

A phylogenetic taxonomy of the gekkonid genus Hemiphyllodactylus based on molecular, morphological, and ecological data recovered 28 species, including three new species from the upland regions of the Shan Plateau in eastern Myanmar. Hemiphyllodactylus linnwayensis sp. nov. is a forest-adapted species that may also be a human commensal and H. montawaensis sp. nov. and H. tonywhitteni sp. nov. are karst forest-adapted species. The discovery of three new species from montane regions in eastern Myanmar extends the distribution of a larger monophyletic group of Hemiphyllodactylus westward to the eastern edge of the Ayeyrawady Basin through a series of semi-contiguous, parallel mountain ranges originating in western China and northern Thailand. The discovery of the karst forest-adapted H. montawaensis sp. nov. and H. tonywhitteni sp. nov. further emphasizes the unrealized herpetological diversity endemic to karst ecosystems and the need for increased field work throughout such habitats in South-East Asia.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E42FA075-E8E0-4005-98AB-12E8D5F23A07     

Food habits of the threatened bat Leptonycteris nivalis (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) in a mating roost in Mexico

The objective of this study was to collect and present data on the food plants that a vulnerable migratory nectarivorous bat, Leptonycteris nivalis, used during its seasonal stay at a cave in Tepoztlan, Mexico. This cave is the only mating roost known for this species. Pollen grains from faeces and fur were examined. Little is known about the diet of this bat, especially in the southern half of its distribution. Pollen belonging to 10 plant species was found from five families: Cactaceae (Stenocereus beneckei), Bombacaceae (Ceiba aesculifolia, Pseudobombax ellipticum), Convolvulaceae (Ipomoea arborescens), Fabaceae (Calliandra houstoniana, Bauhinia ungulata), and Amaryllidaceae (Agave dasylirioides, A. horrida, A. inaequidens, A. salmiana). Bats showed the highest dietary diversity in November. There were no significant differences in diet between sexes. Of the four Agave species, two have paniculate inflorescences that are commonly attributed to bat pollination, while the other two had spicate inflorescences, which are considered to be primarily insect‐pollinated.     

Leeches (Hirudinea) from Ethiopia

Summary

In the collection of Leeches submitted by Dr. Brown I found the following species:

• 1. Glossiphonia disjuncta Moore

• 2. Theromyzon tessulatum (O. F. Müller, 1774)

• 3. Theromyzon cooperi (Harding)

• 4. Batracobdella tricarinata (Blanchard)

• 5. Hemiclepsis marginata (O. F. Müller, 1774)

• 6. Helobdella stagnalis L.

• 7. Parabdella stuhlmanni (Blanchard)

• 8. Limnatis nilotica (Savigny)

• 9. Limnatis africana Blanchard

• 10. Limnatis oligodonta Johansson

• 11. Myxobdella africana Moore

• 12. Salifa perspicax Blanchard

Species No. 3 has been recorded only from Ethiopia; Nos. 1, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are African and Nos. 2, 5, 6 and 8 have been recorded also from Europe, Asia and America.

According to Moore (1939 a, 1958) the following three species are also known from Ethiopia:

• 13. Batracobdella quadrata Moore. African species (ex-Belgian Congo)

• 14. Helobdella conifera (Moore). African species (ex-Belgian Congo, South Africa, Uganda).

• 15. Parabdella garoui (Harding). African species (South Africa).

This is the total number of species of leeches reported from Ethiopia.     

V.—The shell of the ostracod genus Macrocypris

Summary

Robertgurneya smithi nov. sp. is described and figured from near Adelaide; notes are given on other species (including complete figures of the female of R. ilievecensis Monard), followed by a revised key to the members of this genus, of which R. smithi is the first to be found in Australian waters.     

Some European Processidae (Crustacea,Decapoda, Caridea)

Summary

The name Processa canaliculata Leach has been applied to a species other than that to which the holotype belongs. The species P. canaliculata Nouvel & Holthuis non Leach has no valid name; it is re-named P. nouveli, with type material from Monaco.

P. nouveli and P. canaliculata have been considered to be conspecific by one recent author. New characters for their separation are described from Irish Sea material.

The northern form of P. nouveli differs from the Mediterranean form sufficiently to be placed in a separate subspecies. The name P. nouveli holthuisi is proposed for it, with type material from the Irish Sea.

The distribution of the four species and subspecies of Processa known to occur in northern Europe is reviewed.     

Pycnogonida of the Galápagos Islands

Summary

Eleven species from the shallow water of the Gálapagos are recognized. Of these, two are also found on the Pacific coast of Central America and one occurs in the Caribbean region. Eight species appear to be endemic, of which five are described as new: Anoplodactylus torus, Ammothella dawsoni, Eurycyde encantada, Rhynchothorax barnardi, Tanystylum distinctum. A deepwater species, Ascorhynchus laterospinum Hilton, is redescribed. The pycnogonid fauna shows close relationship to that of mainland Central America, but does not suggest insular speciation on the basis of the collections studied. Indo-Pacific representation is lacking in the material studied.