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Sunday, October 9th, 2022
| Time | Event | ||||||||
| 7:50a | [Invertebrate • 2020] Astrodia duospina • Description of Two Species of the Genus Astrodia Verrill, 1899 (Ophiuroidea: Euryalida: Asteronychidae), including A New Species from Seamounts in the West Pacific
Abstract Five specimens of Ophiuroidea from deep-sea seamounts in the West Pacific were collected and identified as two species, Astrodia duospina sp. nov. and Astrodia abyssicola. The new species, Astrodia duospina sp. nov., can be distinguished from its congeners by having indistinct or underdeveloped oral papillae, relatively short genital slits, crescent-shaped lateral arm plates, and plate-shaped external ossicles on the aboral surface of the disc. One specimen was identified as Astrodia abyssicola, which has been reported in the north-western Pacific and the north-eastern coast of Japan. The most recent tabular key of Astrodia was revised with two more key characteristics added, the shape and presence of oral papillae and the number of arm spines. The phylogenetic relationship of Astrodia and Asteronyx was analyzed based on 16S and COI sequences. The discovery of the two species further expanded the geographical distribution of the genus Astrodia. Keywords: Deep sea, molecular phylogeny, morphology, ophiuroids, taxonomy Systematics Class Ophiuroidea Gray, 1840 Order Euryalida Lamarck, 1816 Family Asteronychidae Ljungman, 1867 Genus Astrodia Verrill, 1899
 Astrodia duospina sp. nov. Diagnosis: Disc raised high above the arm. Aboral disc with plate-shaped external ossicles in the center and on the periphery. Radial shield narrow, longer than wide. Teeth triangular, oral papillae indistinct or underdeveloped. Genital slits short, approximately one-fourth of the height of the disc. Lateral arm plates crescent and not projecting on arms. Arm spines no more than two. Etymology: The species name duo is derived from the Latin numeral word, meaning two, and Latin feminine noun, spina, meaning spine, referring to the presence of no more than two arm spines throughout the arm. Xiaojun Xie, Bo Lu, Jie Pang and Dongsheng Zhang. 2022. Description of Two Species of the Genus Astrodia Verrill, 1899 (Ophiuroidea, Euryalida, Asteronychidae), including A New Species from Seamounts in the West Pacific. ZooKeys. 1123: 99-122. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1123.87397 | ||||||||
| 7:50a | [Entomology • 2022] Duvalius djokovici • A New Subterranean Ground Beetle Species (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Trechini) from Western Serbia
Abstract A new species Duvalius djokovici Ćurčić, Pavićević & Vesović is described, illustrated and compared with its closest relatives. It is tentatively placed in the subgenus Neoduvalius Müller, 1913. The new species is weakly pigmented, mid-sized, with no traces of eyes, with deep and complete frontal furrows, two pairs of elytral discal setae, and a distinctive form of aedeagus. It inhabits a subterranean site on Mt. Povlen (western Serbia), and is endemic to this mountain. We provide data on the distribution and biology of this new species. Additionally, we discuss the relations among other species of the subgenus Neoduvalius from western and southwestern Serbia, and provide a provisional key for their identification and an annotated list of Serbian Neoduvalius taxa.    Srećko Ćurčić, Dragan Pavićević, Nikola Vesović, and Miloš Kuraica. 2022. Duvalius djokovici (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Trechini), A New Subterranean Ground Beetle Species from Western Serbia. Annales Zoologici Fennici. 59(1); 215-229. DOI: 10.5735/086.059.0118   | ||||||||
| 8:19a | [PaleoEntomology • 2022] Amplectister terapoides • A Remarkable New Fossil Species of Amplectister (Coleoptera: Histeridae) with Peculiar Hindleg Modifications: Further Evidence for Myrmecophily in Cretaceous Clown Beetles
Abstract Myrmecophily is a phenomenon of the symbiosis of organisms that depend on various ant (Formicidae) societies. Such interspecies associations are found in several unrelated lineages within the clown beetle family Histeridae. Recent studies have suggested that the origin of myrmecophily can be traced back to mid-Cretaceous based on a few fossil records from Kachin amber from northern Myanmar. Here, we describe a remarkable new species, Amplectister terapoides n. sp., from Kachin amber. This is the second species of the extinct genus Amplectister Caterino and Maddison, which has been found from the same amber deposit and has also been considered to be myrmecophilous. The new species here described has the most heavily modified hindlegs in any fossil histerids or even beetles discovered until now, indicating further evidence for ant colony association. Our discovery demonstrates that significant and diverse morphological adaptations to myrmecophily had already occurred during the Cretaceous. Keywords: Histeridae, Mid-Cretaceous, Palaeodiversity, Inquiline, Kachin amber, Southeast Asia
Systematic palaeontology Superfamily Histeroidea Gyllenhaal, 1808 Family Histeridae Gyllenhal, 1808 Genus Amplectister Caterino and Maddison, 2018 Amplectister terapoides n. sp. Stratigraphic position and age: Kachin amber, unnamed horizon, mid-Cretaceous (near Albian–Cenomanian boundary). Type locality: The Noije Bum hill mines, Hukawng Valley, Kachin State, northern Myanmar. Etymology: The species name refers to the marked similarity in modifications of the posterior legs to those in the haeteriine genus Terapus Marseul, 1863 (see Fig. 6A). That name, in turn, translates to ‘mutant foot’.
Conclusions A remarkable new fossil species of clown beetles, Amplectister terapoides n. sp., is described from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber from northern Myanmar. Based on the well-preserved adult specimen, we could observe many morphological characters from various angles. The overall morphological characters found in the hindlegs are exceptional; they are markedly expanded and enlarged, also possessing dramatic features such as the presence of numerous peculiar, honeycomb-like large punctures on the metafemora and metatibiae, together with stiff long setae along the inner marginal surface on the metatibiae. We hypothesise that these specialised anatomical features strongly suggest the Mesozoic beetle was a true myrmecophile, a symbiont in some Cretaceous ant’s nest. Along with previous studies (Caterino and Maddison, 2018, Zhou et al., 2019), our discovery further reinforces an ancient origin of obligate behavioral symbioses between clown beetles and ants, and that these associates had diversified considerably by mid-Cretaceous. Shûhei Yamamoto and Michael S. Caterino. 2022. A Remarkable New Fossil Species of Amplectister with Peculiar Hindleg Modifications (Coleoptera: Histeridae): Further Evidence for Myrmecophily in Cretaceous Clown Beetles. Palaeoworld. In Press. DOI: 10.1016/j.palwor.2022.09.010  | ||||||||
| 9:40a | [Botany • 2022] Saussurea khunjerabensis (Asteraceae: Cardueae) • A New Species from Pamir (Xinjiang, China)
Abstract Saussurea khunjerabensis (Asteraceae, Cardueae), a new species from Taxkorgan county, Xinjiang, China, is described and illustrated. It belongs to Saussurea subgen. Eriocoryne because its capitula is aggregated in a densely congested hemispheric synflorescence and surrounded or half-surrounded by densely lanate uppermost leaves. This new species is similar to S. simpsoniana in its habit and linear uppermost stem leaves reflexed. However, it differs from S. simpsoniana by its stems usually unbranched and 11–25 cm high (versus usually branched and 2–12 cm high), lower leaf blade on both surfaces light green and densely white arachnoid lanate (versus adaxially dark green or purplish, sparsely arachnoid; abaxially grayish white, arachnoid tomentose to lanate), leaf margin usually pinnately lobed or divided (versus usually dentate to pinnately lobed, revolute), and lanate indumentum white or yellowish (versus lanate indumentum white or purple). Keywords: Eudicots, Compositae, Saussurea sect. Eriocoryne, Xinjiang, taxonomy
 Saussurea khunjerabensis Y. S. Chen, sp. nov. Etymology: Saussurea khunjerabensis is named after its type locality, Khunjerab pass, Xinjiang, China. Tian Li, Lian-Sheng Xu and You-Sheng Chen. 2022. Saussurea khunjerabensis (Asteraceae, Cardueae), A New Species from Pamir. Phytotaxa. 561(1); 65-74. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.561.1.6  |
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