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Monday, June 10th, 2019
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| 10:12a | [Herpetology • 2019] Rediscovery of Micryletta inornata (Boulenger, 1890) from Sumatra: Redescription, Molecular Identity, and Taxonomic Implications
Abstract Micryletta inornata (Boulenger 1890), the type species of the genus Micryletta, was originally described from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Subsequently, this species has been widely reported from Sundaland (Sumatra and Malay Peninsula), Indo-China, Northeast India and South Andaman, up to southern China and Taiwan. However, since the original description there has been no further report of this species from the type locality or the island. During a herpetofaunal survey in Sumatra, several specimens that are morphologically concordant with the original description and the syntypes of M. inornata were found, and thus the species was rediscovered after 125 years. Here, we provide a redescription of the species based on the freshly collected specimens, along with a detailed morphological and molecular comparison with known congeners. Further, using molecular data from the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, our study recovered the Sumatran M. inornata as a phylogenetically distinct lineage from all other populations previously referred to this species. This confirms that all known Micryletta ‘inornata’ populations from regions outside Sumatra constitute several other lineages representing either new species or previously available names currently considered as synonyms, consequently requiring taxonomic validation in the future. Keywords: Amphibians, Asia, Indonesia, Microhylidae, mtDNA phylogeny, cryptic species, systematics, 16S rRNA        Farits Alhadi, Amir Hamidy, Achmad Farajallah, Misbahul Munir, Vestidhia Y. Atmaja, Sonali Garg, S. D. Biju and Eric N. Smith. 2019. Rediscovery of Micryletta inornata (Boulenger, 1890) from Sumatra: Redescription, Molecular Identity, and Taxonomic Implications. Zootaxa. 4613(1); 111–126. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4613.1.5     | ||||||||
| 1:03p | [Arachnida • 2019] Pionothele gobabeb • A New Species of Pionothele (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Nemesiidae) from Gobabeb, Namibia
Abstract The mygalomorph spider genus Pionothele Purcell, 1902 comprises two nominal species known only from South Africa. We describe here a new species, Pionothele gobabeb sp. n., from Namibia. This new species is currently only known from a very restricted area in the Namib Desert of western Namibia. Keywords: Biodiversity, New species, Spider taxonomy, Pionothele, Nemesiidae, Mygalomorphae
Taxonomy Family Nemesiidae Simon, 1889 Genus Pionothele Purcell, 1902 Pionothele Purcell, 1902: 380 (type species by monotypy Pionothele straminea male holotype from South Africa). – Tucker 1917: 117. – Raven 1985: 93. Pionothele gobabeb sp. n. Etymology: The specific epithet is a noun taken in apposition and is in reference to the type locality. Diagnosis: Male and female specimens (Figs 2–4) can be differentiated from the other two described species of Pionothele by having posterior median eyes that are reduced in size (Fig. 7), nearly half the diameter of the posterior lateral eyes and much smaller than the anterior median eyes. Like P. capensis the male palpal tibia is more slender than in P. straminea but like the latter lacks spines (Fig. 8); leg I has more mid-retrolateral spines than P. capensis, with a single large mid-distal spine and only two proximal prolateral spines (Figs 5, 6). Males and females both are very light in coloration similar to that of P. straminea (Figs 2–4), noted by Raven (1985) as “faded,” whereas the abdomen of P. capensis is pigmented and mottled. Spermathecal bulbs of P. gobabeb are moderately thin and sinuous whereas those illustrated for P. capensis are described as “wide and flattened” (Fig. 9); females also appear to have far fewer endite cuspules (25 vs 80).
 Jason E. Bond and Trip Lamb. 2019. A New Species of Pionothele from Gobabeb, Namibia (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Nemesiidae). ZooKeys. 851: 17-25. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.851.31802 |
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