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Tuesday, April 16th, 2024
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| 3:00a | [Herpetology • 2024] Zhangixalus thaoae • A New green treefrog Species (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from Vietnam
Abstract We describe a new treefrog species from Lao Cai Province, northwestern Vietnam. The new species is assigned to the genus Zhangixalus based on a combination of the following morphological characters: (1) dorsum green, smooth; body size medium (SVL 30.1–32.2 in males); (2) fingers webbed; tips of digits expanded into large disks, bearing circum-marginal grooves; (3) absence of dermal folds along limbs; (4) absence of supracloacal fold and tarsal projection. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by: (1) dorsal surface of the head and body green without spots; (2) axilla and groin cream with a black blotch; (3) ventral cream without spot; (4) chin creamy with grey marbling; anterior part of the thigh and ventral surface of tibia orange without spots; posterior parts of thigh orange with a large black blotch; (5) ventral side of webbing orange with some grey pattern (6) iris red-bronze, pupils black; (7) finger webbing formula I1¼-1¼II1-2III1-1IV, toe webbing formula I½-½II0-1½III¼-1¾IV1¾-½V. Phylogenetically, the new species is nested in the same subclade as Z. jodiae, Z. pinglongensis, and Z. yaoshanensis, with genetic distances ranging from 3.23% to 4.68%. The new species can be found in evergreen montane tropical forests at an elevation of about 1,883 m a.s.l. This new discovery brings the number of known genus Zhangixalus species to 42 and the number of species reported from Vietnam to 10. Key words: 16S rRNA gene, Lao Cai Province, molecular phylogeny, morphology, new species
Zhangixalus thaoae sp. nov. Diagnosis: The new species is placed in the genus Zhangixalus based on some morphological characters: dorsum green and smooth; body size medium (SVL 30.1–32.2 in males); fingers webbed; tips of digits expanded into large disks, bearing circum-marginal grooves; absence of dermal folds along limbs; absence of supracloacal fold and tarsal projection (Fig. 2). Etymology: The species is named after the first author’s wife, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao, as a token of gratitude for her understanding and strong support of his research activity. We recommend Thao’s Tree Frog as the English common name and Ếch cây thảo as the Vietnamese common name. Tao Thien Nguyen, Huy Hoang Nguyen, Hoa Thi Ninh, Linh Tu Hoang Le, Hai Tuan Bui, Nikolai Orlov, Chung Van Hoang and Thomas Ziegler. 2024. Zhangixalus thaoae sp. nov., A New green treefrog Species from Vietnam (Anura, Rhacophoridae). ZooKeys. 1197: 93-113. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1197.104851 | ||||||||
| 3:04a | [PaleoMammalogy • 2024] Protemnodon viator, P. mamkurra & P. dawsonae • Systematics and Palaeobiology of Kangaroos of the late Cenozoic Genus Protemnodon (Marsupialia: Macropodidae)
Abstract Species of the kangaroo genus Protemnodon were common members of late Cenozoic communities across Australia and New Guinea until their extinction in the late Pleistocene. However, since the genus was first raised 150 years ago, it has proven difficult to diagnose, as have the species allocated to it. This is due primarily to the incompleteness of the type material and a heavy reliance on cheek tooth size and slight variations in premolar form. Along with the rare association between cranial and postcranial material, this has hampered understanding of the palaeobiology of these large-bodied kangaroos. Here we review and re-diagnose Protemnodon, recognising a total of seven species and providing a hypothesis of species interrelationships. The following new synonymies are made: Protemnodon chinchillaensis is synonymised with P. otibandus and P. hopei with P. tumbuna. The following are considered nomina dubia: Protemnodon brehus, P. roechus, P. mimas, P. antaeus, and P. devisi. We reveal that the morphology of the cheek dentition is not as consistently useful for differentiating species of Protemnodon as features of the cranium and postcranial skeleton. As a whole, the species share anatomical features that reflect stability and power in the limb joints, yet they differ in body proportions, and axial and limb morphology. This we interpret as showing locomotory adaptations to different habitats. Of the three Pliocene species, Protemnodon snewini is interpreted as a medium- to high-geared hopper, suggesting proficiency in more open environments, whereas P. dawsonae sp. nov. we infer to have been a medium-geared inhabitant of eastern Australian forests and woodlands. Protemnodon otibandus, with a range extending through the woodlands and forests of eastern Australia into the rainforests of eastern New Guinea, displays adaptations to slower hopping. Its Pleistocene descendant, P. tumbuna, is convergent on the morphology of modern New Guinea forest wallabies, and was likely facultatively quadrupedal. Of the three Australian Pleistocene species, the long-necked P. anak is hypothesised to have been a large, medium-geared, eastern Australian species, and P. mamkurra sp. nov. a robust, low-geared resident of well-wooded southern Australia habitats. By contrast, P. viator sp. nov. was larger but more gracile, suggested to be a medium- to high-geared species convergent in some traits on large extant kangaroos. This and a wide inland distribution point to adeptness in open, arid environments. Protemnodon mamkurra sp. nov. and P. viator sp. nov. occupy the morphospace previously occupied by P. roechus and P. brehus. Overall, the species of Protemnodon exhibit a degree of ecomorphological variation suggestive of a broader array of ecological adaptations than hitherto envisioned. Australia, New Guinea, Biogeography, Pliocene, Pleistocene, morphology, adaptation, Megafauna, taxonomy, Mammalia
Isaac A.R. Kerr, Aaron B. Camens, Jacob D. van Zoelen, Trevor H. Worthy and Gavin J. Prideaux. 2024. Systematics and Palaeobiology of Kangaroos of the late Cenozoic Genus Protemnodon (Marsupialia, Macropodidae). Megataxa. 11(1); 1-261. DOI: 10.11646/megataxa.11.1.1 Giant kangaroos bounce back from the past  | ||||||||
| 12:08p | [PaleoIchthyology • 2024] Toarcocephalus morlok • First Occurrence of A coccolepidid fish (?Chondrostei: Coccolepididae) from the Upper Lias (Toarcian, Early Jurassic) of southern Germany
ABSTRACT The non-neopterygian group †Coccolepididae, a moderately diverse predominantly freshwater family, remains an imperfectly known Mesozoic group of actinopterygians, currently classified within Chondrostei based on the presence of several acipenseriform synapomorphies. Coccolepidids first appear during the Early Jurassic in marine sediments, although their fossils are poorly known from this time, and none have yet been described from the Toarcian (Upper Lias). Here, we describe a new genus and species of coccolepidid fish, †Toarcocephalus morlok gen. et sp. nov. from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) Posidonienschiefer Formation of Holzmaden in southern Germany. †Toarcocephalus morlok is diagnosed by a unique combination of characters including a shallow lower jaw with a massive angular, opercle and subopercle equal in size, preopercle that only borders the subopercle but does not reach the opercle; dermal skull bones strongly punctate, with externally smooth upper and lower jaw bones. Discovery of a coccolepidid at Holzmaden represents the first occurrence of the group from a Toarcian deposit, as well as the oldest record of the family in mainland Europe. Both described specimens of †T. morlok were victims of successful predation events: one individual was likely decapitated (pabulite) and the other preserved within a regurgitalite (fossilized oral ejecta). The evolution of Coccolepididae is discussed briefly in relation to a marine/freshwater origin. Keywords: Coccolepididae; Chondrostei; Posidonienschiefer Formation; Early Jurassic; paleobiogeography; regurgitalite
SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY Class ACTINOPTERYGII Cope, 1887 Subclass ?CHONDROSTEI Müller, 1845 sensu Grande and Bemis (1996) Family †COCCOLEPIDIDAE Berg, 1940 sensu López-Arbarello et al. (2013) †Toarcocephalus gen. nov. †Toarcocephalus morlok gen. et sp. nov. Diagnosis. †Toarcocephalus morlok gen. et sp. nov. is diagnosed from all other coccolepidid fishes by the following unique combination of characters: upper and lower jaws smooth and unornamented; mandible well elongated and gracile, longer than maxilla and shallow posteriorly; angular large and lenticular; large postorbital expansion of maxilla strongly convex and twice as long as deep with a strongly recurved ventral margin; short premaxilla holding several recurved teeth that are slightly larger than those on the maxilla; skull roof very weakly tuberculated with pronounced striated ridges that are marginally serrated; subopercle trapezoidal and equal in size to opercle; preopercle slender, forming a posteroventral lobular expansion, only as tall as the subopercle and extending no further than the midpoint of the postorbital plate of the maxilla; operculum and supracleithrum mostly smooth with fine, regularly spaced punctae; supracleithrum massive, accounting for more than 80% of operculum height; large triangular dorsal process on the supracleithrum; nine branchiostegal rays, each thin, lacking distal expansions and confined to the posterior corner of the mandible; gular plate egg-shaped and placed roughly at the midpoint of the lower jaw length; elongated hyomandibula obliquely inclined forward, thin and weakly bow-shaped; ceratohyal well elongated but thin; hypohyals short and robust; sclerotic ring thin and delicate; scales weakly developed; vertebral column aspondylous, composed of simple arcocentral arches with proportionately short spines. Etymology. Generic name chosen for its discovery in Toarcian-aged strata, with suffix -cephalus for head, denoting the diagnostic cranium. Species epithet morlok named after the savage subterranean antagonists in H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine (1895), due to their similarly grotesque appearance characterised by large eyes, a blunt face and pointed teeth.
Samuel L.A. Cooper, Adriana López-Arbarello and Erin E. Maxwell. 2024. First Occurrence of A †coccolepidid fish (?Chondrostei: †Coccolepididae) from the Upper Lias (Toarcian, Early Jurassic) of southern Germany. Palaeontologia Electronica. 27(1):a23. DOI: 10.26879/1326 | ||||||||
| 3:58p | [Herpetology • 2024] Cyrtodactylus thalang • A New Species of the Cyrtodactylus brevipalmatus group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Phuket Island, Thailand with a discussion of the group’s potential biogeography
Abstract Model based integrative analyses supports the recognition of a new species of the Cyrtodactylus brevipalmatus group from Phuket Island, Thailand. Cyrtodactylus thalang sp. nov. is most closely related to the sister species C. brevipalmatus from the Thai-Malay Peninsula and C. cf. brevipalmatus from Langkawi Island, Kedah State, Peninsular Malaysia. Based on the mitochondrial gene ND2, C. thalang sp. nov. bears an uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence of 14.7% and 15.1% from C. cf. brevipalmatus and C. brevipalmatus, respectively, significantly different (p<0.05) mean values of meristic and morphometric characters, and discrete categorical morphological differences. A multiple factor analysis morphospatially statistically placed C. thalang sp. nov. well outside all other species of the brevipalmatus group. The BAYAREALIKE model of a BioGeoBEARS analysis indicated the origin of the brevipalmatus group was in western Indochina with subsequent south to north speciation along the Tenasserim Mountains followed by a west to east invasion of northern Thailand, Laos, and northwestern Vietnam northeast of the Chao Phraya Basin and north of the Khorat Plateau. Reptilia, Indochina, phylogeny, integrative taxonomy, gecko, ND2, BioGeoBEArS       Etymology. The name of the new species is a noun in apposition and is therefore invariable; the species name “thalang” is given in reference to the historical name of Phuket Island, formerly known as Thalang (in Thai: “ถลาง”, Tha-Laang). The name also refers to the northern district of the Phuket Province, where the type locality is located. We recommend the names “Thalang Bent-toed Gecko” and “Tuk-Kai Tha-Laang” (ตุ๊กกายถลาง) as common names of the new species in English and Thai, respectively. L. Lee Grismer, Parinya Pawangkhanant, Andrey M. Bragin, Alexey V. Trofimets, Roman A. Nazarov, Chatmongkon Suwannapoom and Nikolay A. Poyarkov. 2024. A New Species of the Cyrtodactylus brevipalmatus group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Phuket Island, Thailand with a discussion of the group’s potential biogeography. Zootaxa. 5437(2); 193-222. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5437.2.2 | ||||||||
| 3:58p | [Paleontology • 2024] Titanomachya gimenezi • A New titanosaur (Sauropoda: Titanosauria) from the La Colonia Formation (Campanian-Maastrichtian), Chubut Province, Argentina
ABSTRACT Knowledge of the Campanian-Maastrichtian titanosaurian sauropods from southern South America has increased markedly in recent years. Several taxa have been reported from northern Patagonia, as well as few taxa from southern Patagonia that were described in the last years. However, titanosaurs from the end-Cretaceous of Central Patagonia are poorly known. Here we report the associated remains of a new species of a titanosaurian sauropod from the La Colonia Formation found in northern Chubut Province. Titanomachya gimenezi gen. et sp. nov. is represented by a caudal vertebra and appendicular elements. Titanomachya, is interpreted as a member of Lithostrotia, sharing derived features with saltasaurids and bearing unique characteristics in the astragalus. The astragalus morphology of Titanomachya display an intermediate form between Colossosauria and Saltasauroidea, allowing articulation between zeugopodium and autopodium with contributions from both the tibia and fibula. The type specimen is a small-sized adult, estimated at 5.8–9.8 tons. Comparative analyses reveal distinct sauropod faunas in different Patagonian regions and Brazilian formations during the Campanian – Maastrichtian. In northern Patagonia, aeolosaurines and saltasaurines predominate, while in southern Patagonia predominate colossosaurians and other large titanosaurs. The less well-known sauropod fauna from central Patagonia includes aeolosaurines, eutitanosaurs, and the addition of small-bodied saltasauroids such as Titanomachya. KEYWORDS: Titanomachya, Saltasauridae, phylogeny, osteology, Patagonia, Upper Cretaceous 
Systematic palaeontology DINOSAURIA Owen, 1842 SAUROPODA Marsh, Citation1878 NEOSAUROPODA Bonaparte, Citation1986 TITANOSAURIFORMES Salgado, Coria, and Calvo, Citation1997 TITANOSAURIA Bonaparte and Coria, Citation1993 TITANOMACHYA GIMENEZI gen. et sp. nov. Derivation of name: The Titanomachy, in Greek mythology, is the battle fought by the Olympians against the Titans, in which the latter are defeated. Titanomachya honours that battle since it comes from the time when the titanosaurs became extinct. The specific epithet gimenezi is in honour of the late Dr. Olga Giménez, who was the first female palaeontologist that studied the dinosaurs from Chubut Province.     Agustín Pérez-Moreno, Leonardo Salgado, José L. Carballido, Alejandro Otero and Diego Pol. 2024. A new titanosaur from the La Colonia Formation (Campanian-Maastrichtian), Chubut Province, Argentina. Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2024.2332997  | ||||||||
| 4:31p | [Botany • 2022] Pulvinatusia xuegulaensis (Brassicaceae) • A New cushion Genus from China and its systematic position
Abstract The new genus and species Pulvinatusia xuegulaensis (Brassicaceae) are described and illustrated. The species is a cushion plant collected from Xuegu La, Xizang, China. Its vegetative parts are most similar to those of Arenaria bryophylla (Caryophyllaceae) co-occurring in the same region, while its leaves and fruits closely resemble those of Xerodraba patagonica (Brassicaceae) from Patagonian Argentina and Chile. Family-level phylogenetic analyses based on both nuclear ITS and plastome revealed that it is a member of the tribe Crucihimalayeae, but the infra-/intergeneric relationships within the tribe are yet to be resolved. Keywords: Crucihimalayeae, cushion plants, molecular phylogenetics, new species, Xizang  
Pulvinatusia J.P. Yue, H.L. Chen, Al-Shehbaz & H. Sun, gen. nov. Pulvinatusia xuegulaensis J. P. Yue, H. L. Chen, Al-Shehbaz & H. Sun, sp. nov. Diagnosis: As indicated above, the monospecific Pulvinatusia xuegulaensis and Ladakiella klimesii are the only members of the tribe Crucihimalayeae with pulvinate and scapose habit and pink to whitish pink petals. The former differs by having simple and fewer forked trichomes, thin papery leaves, solitary flowers, caducous sepals, and glabrous, somewhat flattened fruits. By contrast, L. klimesii has subdendritic trichomes with finely branched rays, thick and fleshy leaves, 2–4-flowered racemes, persistent sepals, and pubescent and terete fruits. Name derivation: The generic name is derived from the pulvinate habit of the plant, and the species epithet from the Xuegu La (Xizang, China), where the type collection was made. Hong-Liang Chen, Ihsan A. Al-Shehbaz, Li-Shen Qian, Jian-Wen Zhang, Bo Xu, Ti-Cao Zhang, Ji-Pei Yue and Hang Sun. 2022. Pulvinatusia (Brassicaceae), A New cushion Genus from China and its systematic position. PhytoKeys. 189: 9-28. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.189.77926    | ||||||||
| 4:53p | [Botany • 2022] Benna alternifolia (Melastomataceae: Sonerileae) • A New herbaceous Genus and Species from Guinea, West Africa
Abstract Benna is a new monospecific genus in the Melastomataceae, from the Benna Plateau in Forécariah Prefecture in Guinea, West Africa. Molecular sequence data show the genus Benna is nested within the tribe Sonerileae but clearly unrelated to the other African Sonerileae genera. The genus is weakly supported as sister to the South American Sonerileae genus Phainantha. Similarities and differences with African and American Sonerileae genera are listed. The new species Benna alternifolia is a perennial evergreen herb, half-spherical in shape, up to 1.2 m in diameter. A plant may have up to 60 alternate leaves, with petioles up to 45 cm long and blades up to 31 × 28 cm. The flowers are actinomorphic, with 4 sepals and 4 pink petals, 8 dimorphic stamens, and an inferior 4-locular ovary. The fruit is a capsule. The seeds are obovoid or nearly so, with a smooth testa. Benna alternifolia occurs in deep shade in canyons, on vertical or overhanging sandstone rocks out of reach of falling rain drops, and only where water is seeping all year round, including during the 6-month dry season. About 680 plants were found. Benna alternifolia is assessed to the IUCN category Near Threatened. KEYWORDS: Africa, alternate leaves, Benna, Guinea, Melastomataceae, near threatened, new genus, Sonerileae
Taxonomy Benna Burgt & Ver.-Lib., gen. nov. Type: Benna alternifolia Burgt & Ver.-Lib. Diagnosis — The genus Benna differs from all other African Melastomataceae genera by the following combination of characters: Herbs. Leaves alternate, venation acrodromous, margin dentate. Inflorescence cymose, paniculate, axillary, branching alternate. Flowers actinomorphic, epigynous, 4-merous, 8 dimorphic stamens. Fruit a capsule, apically dehiscent, containing many seeds. Seeds obovoid or nearly so, glossy, testa smooth. The genus Benna is placed in the tribe Sonerileae. A morphological comparison between Benna and the seven currently accepted African Sonerileae genera is presented in Table 1. A morphological comparison between Benna and the six currently accepted American Sonerileae genera is presented in Table 2. Benna alternifolia Burgt & Ver.-Lib., sp. nov.
  Habitat and ecology — Benna alternifolia occurs on vertical sandstone rock, in deep shade in canyons 10–100 m deep (Fig. 3), and on vertical sandstone rock in deep shade of trees, at 300–800 m altitude. Plants occur only under overhanging rocks (Fig 3B), out of reach of falling rain drops, and only on vertical rock where water is seeping all year round, within reach of the several-meter-long roots. In this habitat, the perennial, evergreen, herbaceous plants, which do not have a rootstock, can continue to grow during the six-month dry season. Benna alternifolia is often found together with Cincinnobotrys felicis (A. Chev.) Jacq.-Fél. (Melastomataceae), Impatiens bennae (Balsaminaceae) and Mesanthemum bennae (Eriocaulaceae). On the same vertical rocks, but higher up and in sunny, seasonally dry habitat, two plant species endemic to Guinea occur abundantly: Cailliella praerupticola (Melastomataceae) and Pitcairnia feliciana (Bromeliaceae), the only member of the family that is native outside America. Etymology — The genus is named for the Benna Plateau or Benna Gadyah in the Susu language. The Benna Plateau holds the only known locations for the species. The specific epithet refers to the alternate leaf arrangement. Vernacular name — In the Susu language, the name of Benna alternifolia is Labalaba Khamè or Labalaba Hamey, which means “male soft leaf”. The name Labalaba is given to Piper umbellatum L. (Burkill 1997, vol 4: p. 441), a herb with leaves similar in size and appearance. On the Benna Plateau, Piper umbellatum is named Labalaba Guinè, which means “female soft leaf”. Xander M. van der Burgt, Pepe M. Haba, Sékou Magassouba and Marie Claire Veranso-Libalah. 2022. Benna alternifolia (Melastomataceae: Sonerileae), A New herbaceous Genus and Species from Guinea, West Africa. Willdenowia. 52(1); 25-37. DOI: 10.3372/wi.52.52102  |
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