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Friday, March 29th, 2024
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| 1:00a | [Botany • 2023] Oxytropis teestae (Fabaceae) • A New Species from Sikkim Himalaya
Abstract A new species, Oxytropis teestae D.Maity, Midday & J.Ghosh (Fabaceae), is described from North Sikkim, India. The distribution of this species is restricted to the mountains in between Thangu and Gurudongmar. The taxonomic relationships of the new species with close relatives, O. malloryana, O. pauciflora and O. platysema are examined and discussed. Keywords: Fabaceae, Himalaya, Oxytropis, Sikkim   Oxytropis teestae D.Maity, Midday & J.Ghosh, sp. nov. Etymology: The species epithet has been chosen after the holy River Teesta, the lifeline of the state Sikkim. The specimens of the new species were growing near the river. Debabrata MAITY, Mrinmoy MIDDAY and Jayanta GHOSH. 2023. Oxytropis teestae (Fabaceae), A New Species from Sikkim Himalaya. The Journal of Japanese Botany. 98(5); 233-239. DOI: 10.51033/jjapbot.ID0143 | ||||||||||
| 2:34a | [Herpetology • 2024] Trimeresurus kraensis • A New Species of Karst-associated Pitviper (Serpentes: Viperidae: Trimeresurus) from the Isthmus of Kra, Peninsular Thailand
ABSTRACT We describe a new species of karst-dwelling pitviper from Chumphon Province of Peninsular Thailand, in the Isthmus of Kra, based on morphological and molecular data (2427 bp from cyt b, ND4 and 16S rRNA mitochondrial DNA genes). Morphologically, Trimeresurus kraensis sp. nov. is distinguished from other congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: a dark/bottle-green dorsum with reddish-brown or purple crossbands; pale green venter lacking dark dots; stripes present on the lateral sides of the ventrals; internasals generally in contact; one large supraocular scale on each side of the head; iris pale copper; tail brown with dark purplish-brown crossbars; dorsal scales in 21–21–15 rows; ventral scales 167 in a single male, 169–171 in females; subcaudal scales 62 in a single male, 52–54 in females, all paired. White vertebral spots present in males, located on approximately every two or four dorsal scales; dark brown spots forming discontinuous pattern present on 1–3 lateral dorsal scale rows; males with reddish-brown postocular stripe with jagged edges. The new species differs from the morphologically similar species Trimeresurus venustus s. str. by a notable divergence in cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA gene sequences (p = 5.9%). Keywords: Crotalinae, Trimeresurus kanburiensis complex, Peninsular Thailand, karst, taxonomy Class Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Order Squamata Oppel, 1811 Suborder Serpentes Linnaeus, 1758 Family Viperidae Oppel, 1811 Subfamily Crotalinae Oppel, 1811 Genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804  
Trimeresurus kraensis sp. nov. Diagnosis: The new species is assigned to the subgenus Trimeresurus based on the following morphological attributes: a long papillose hemipenis and partially fused first supralabial and nasal scales (Malhotra & Thorpe 2004a; Idiiatullina et al. 2023). The new species Trimeresurus kraensis sp. nov. is distinguished from all other species of the subgenus Trimeresurus by the following combination of morphological characters: (1) a dark olive-green or bottle green dorsum; (2) dorsal pattern consisting of about 60 reddish-brown or purple blotches, transversally elongate but not reaching the lower part of the flanks, two or three series of dark brown spots forming a discontinuous pattern on the 1st to 3rd dorsal scale rows and white vertebral spots present in males, located approximately on every two or four dorsal scales; (3) venter creamish-green with some dark brown spots; (4) tips of the ventral plates both cream and dark brown, forming a discontinuous, alternating pale and dark, ventrolateral stripe; (5) males with a reddish-brown postocular stripe; (6) internasals generally in contact behind the posteror tip of the rostral; (7) single large supraocular scale; (8) iris pale copper, (9) tail brown with dark purplish-brown crossbars; (10) dorsal scales in 21–21–15 rows; (11) ventral scales 167 in a single male, 169–171 in females; (12) subcaudal scales 62 in a single male, 52–54 in females, all paired. Etymology: The species name is the modern Latin adjective ʻkraensisʼ in the nominative singular, masculine gender, combining the noun ʻKraʼ, from the name of the Kra Isthmus in Peninsular Thailand where the type locality of the species is located, and the Latin suffix ʻ-ensisʼ (-is, -e),meaning ʻfromʼ. The species name therefore means, ʻfrom Kraʼ. We suggest the following common names for the new species: งูหางแฮ่มชุมพร (Ngu Hang Ham Chumphorn) (in Thai), and Kra Isthmus Pitviper (English).
Sabira S. Idiiatullina; Parinya Pawangkhanant, Chatmongkon Suwannapoom, Tanapong Tawan, Lawan Chanhome, Tan Van Nguyen, Patrick David, Gernot Vogel and Nikolay A. Poyarkov. 2024. Another New Species of Karst-associated Pitviper (Serpentes, Viperidae: Trimeresurus) from the Isthmus of Kra, Peninsular Thailand. European Journal of Taxonomy. 930(1), 20–52. DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.930.2489 | ||||||||||
| 6:20a | [Botany • 2024] Lilium shenxianjuense (Liliaceae) • A New Species from Zhejiang, China
Abstract Lilium shenxianjuense, a new species of Liliaceae from Zhejiang, China, is described with illustrations. Phylogenetic analysis based on complete plastomes places the new species as sister to a clade that comprises species of L. sect. Sinomartagon. Morphologically, L. shenxianjuense is like L. concolor and L. lancifolium, but differs in habitat preferences and morphology. The plastome is like those of other species of Lilium in gene content and structure. The new species is critically endangered and in need of urgent protection. Lilium concolor, Lilium lancifolium, Lilium sect. Sinomartagon, plastome structure, plastid phylogenetics, Monocots
Lilium shenxianjuense Yue L.Xu & X.F.Jin Etymology. The specific epithet ‘shenxianjuense’ refers to the type locality, Mount Shenxianju of Xianju County, which is situated in central Zhejiang Province, east China. Ming-Yue Ye, Xin Zhou, Ya-Jun Peng, Zhi-Ming Zhu, Pan Li, Yue-Liang Xu and Xiao-Feng Jin. 2024. Lilium shenxianjuense (Liliaceae), A New Species from Zhejiang, China. Phytotaxa. 640(2); 161-170. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.640.2.4  | ||||||||||
| 10:37a | [Herpetology • 2024] Cnemaspis vangoghi & C. sathuragiriensis • Two New Species of the Cnemaspis galaxia complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the eastern slopes of the southern Western Ghats
Abstract Two new species allied to Cnemaspis galaxia are described from the eastern slopes of the south Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. Both new species are members of the ornata subclade within the beddomei clade. The two new species can be easily distinguished from all other members of the beddomei clade and each other by a combination of nonoverlapping morphological characters such as small body size, distinct colouration of both sexes, the number of dorsal tubercles around the body, the number or arrangement of paravertebral tubercles, the number of midventral scales across the belly and longitudinal ventral scales from mental to cloaca, besides uncorrected pairwise ND2 and 16S sequence divergence of ≥ 7.4% and ≥ 2.7%. The two new species are distributed from low elevation, deciduous forests of Srivilliputhur, and add to the five previously known endemic vertebrates from Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve. Key words: Asia, biodiversity hotspot, dwarf geckos, integrative taxonomy, phylogeny, species complex
Cnemaspis vangoghi sp. nov. Etymology: The specific epithet is a patronym for Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890). The colouration of the new species is reminiscent of one of Van Gogh’s most iconic paintings, The Starry Night. Suggested common name is Van Gogh’s starry dwarf gecko.  Cnemaspis sathuragiriensis sp. nov. Etymology: The specific epithet is a toponym for the type locality of the new species, Sathuragiri mountain in Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve (SMTR), Virudhunagar District, Tamil Nadu. Suggested Common name is Sathuragiri dwarf gecko. Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray and Ishan Agarwal. 2024. Two New Species of the Cnemaspis galaxia complex (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from the eastern slopes of the southern Western Ghats. ZooKeys. 1196: 209-242. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.117947  | ||||||||||
| 1:47p | [Paleontology • 2024] Myrmarachne colombiana • A New Species of Ant-mimic Spider (Araneae: Salticidae) in Copal from Colombia, South America
ABSTRACT Ant-mimicking spiders (Araneae: Salticide) are fascinating creatures that have evolved modified morphology and behaviours to resemble those of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ant-mimicking spiders are cosmopolitan but currently, there are no records of such spiders in fossilised resin, nor any records of extant ant- mimicking spiders in Colombia, S.A. The present study describes Myrmarachne colombiana sp. n. (Araneae: Salticidae) as the first species of ant-mimicking spider in fossilised resin (copal) from Colombia, discusses possible ages of copal inclusions around the world, and examines various scenarios showing why spiders have become ant mimics.  George Poinar. 2024. Myrmarachne colombiana sp. n. (Araneae: Salticidae), A New Species of Ant-mimic Spider in Copal from Colombia, South America. Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2024.2320190 phys.org/news/2024-03-uncovers-rare-resi |
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