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Sunday, June 16th, 2024
| Time | Event | ||||||||
| 2:27a | [Ornithology • 2024] Museum Specimens, Photographs, and Sightings of White-eyed River Martin Pseudochelidon sirintarae (Passeriformes: Hirundinidae)
Abstract White-eyed River Martin Pseudochelidon sirintarae was described in 1968 and there have been no confirmed sightings since the 1970s. It is known only from Bueng Boraphet in central Thailand. Here, we compile the most comprehensive summary of museum specimens, photographic records (including two previously unpublished images) and sightings for this poorly known species. Specimens are held mainly in the Thailand Natural History Museum near Bangkok, with others at the Natural History Museum (Tring), American Museum of Natural History (New York) and National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC). At least three other mounts exist, all in Thailand, some of which may be composites from captive birds collected in the early 1970s. Photographs unearthed at Tring, and in unpublished reports, show birds that differ from the four previously known images and may represent individuals that are now museum specimens. With no confirmed sightings for more than 40 years, despite reasonable search effort (especially increasing citizen science data), it is very likely that White-eyed River Martin is now extinct.
 
  Alexander L. Bond and Alex J. Berryman. 2024. Museum Specimens, Photographs, and Sightings of White-eyed River Martin Pseudochelidon sirintarae. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club. 144(2):162-182. DOI: 10.25226/bboc.v144i2.2024.a9  | ||||||||
| 9:56a | [Botany • 2024] Amischotolype balslevii (Commelinaceae: Tradescantieae) • A New Species from Thailand
Abstract Amischotolype balslevii (Commelinaceae), a new species from Ban Dung, Udon Thani, northeastern Thailand is presented. The new species is distinguished from the resembling taxa, A. divaricata and A. gracilis, by its puberulent to glabrous stem nodes, glabrous leaf sheaths and pseudo-petioles, longer sepals, and ellipsoid and purplish white fruits. A morphological description and illustrations are provided, along with information on the species distribution, habitat, and conservation status. Keywords: Amischotolype; Commelinaceae; Thailand; fruit; sepal
Amischotolype balslevii Boonsuk, Chantar. & Kantachot, sp.
nov. Nodes puberulent to glabrous; leaf sheaths, lower surface of pseudo-petioles,
sepals and filaments glabrous; sepals 10–14 mm long; fruits ellipsoid, 16–18 mm
long, purple-white. Etymology. The name of this species honours Professor Henrik Balslev,
Aarhus University, Denmark, who encouraged the authors to conduct research on the Commelinaceae for the Flora of Thailand Project.  Boonchuang Boonsuk, Pranom Chantaranothai and Chortip Kantachot. 2024. A New Species of Amischotolype Hassk. (Commelinaceae: Tradescantieae) from Thailand. Blumea - Biodiversity, Evolution and Biogeography of Plants. DOI: 10.3767/blumea.2024.69.01.06  ม่วงศรีอุดร (Amischotolype balslevii Boonsuk, Chantar. & Kantachot) พืชชนิดใหม่ของโลก ในวงศ์ผักปลาบ (Commelinaceae) ถูกค้นพบโดย ผศ.ดร.บุญช่วง บุญสุข จากสาขาวิชาชีววิทยา คณะวิทยาศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยพะเยา ร่วมกับ ศ.ดร.ประนอม จันทรโณทัย จากภาควิชาชีววิทยา คณะวิทยาศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยขอนแก่น และ ผศ.ดร.ช่อทิพย์ กัณฑโชติ จากภาควิชาวิทยาศาสตร์ชีวภาพ คณะวิทยาศาสตร์ มหาวิทยาลัยอุบลราชธานี ในการดำเนินการศึกษาวิจัยทบทวนทางอนุกรมวิ พืชชนิดนี้มีลักษณะเด่นเป็นพืชล้มลุกปีนป่ | ||||||||
| 9:57a | [Entomology • 2024] The Most Remarkable Migrants — Systematic Analysis of the Western European Insect Flyway at a Pyrenean Mountain Pass
Abstract In autumn 1950 David and Elizabeth Lack chanced upon a huge migration of insects and birds flying through the Pyrenean Pass of Bujaruelo, from France into Spain, later describing the spectacle as combining both grandeur and novelty. The intervening years have seen many changes to land use and climate, posing the question as to the current status of this migratory phenomenon. In addition, a lack of quantitative data has prevented insights into the ecological impact of this mass insect migration and the factors that may influence it. To address this, we revisited the site in autumn over a 4 year period and systematically monitored abundance and species composition of diurnal insect migrants. We estimate an annual mean of 17.1 million day-flying insect migrants from five orders (Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera and Odonata) moving south, with observations of southward ‘mass migration’ events associated with warmer temperatures, the presence of a headwind, sunlight, low windspeed and low rainfall. Diptera dominated the migratory assemblage, and annual numbers varied by more than fourfold. Numbers at this single site hint at the likely billions of insects crossing the entire Pyrenean mountain range each year, and we highlight the importance of this route for seasonal insect migrants. Keywords: Pyrenees, insect migration flyway, monitoring, migration rates, movement ecology
   Will L. Hawkes, Toby Doyle, Richard Massy, Scarlett T. Weston, Kelsey Davies, Elliott Cornelius, Connor Collier, Jason W. Chapman, Don R. Reynolds and Karl R. Wotton. 2024. The Most Remarkable Migrants—Systematic Analysis of the Western European Insect Flyway at a Pyrenean Mountain Pass. Proc. R. Soc. B. 291: 20232831. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2831 | ||||||||
| 9:58a | [Entomology • 2024] A Taxonomic Revision of the South American Trilobite Cockroaches of Parahormetica (Blattodea: Blaberidae), with Description of Parahormetica museunacional sp. nov. from the Atlantic Forest
Abstract The taxonomically intricate genus of trilobite cockroaches, Parahormetica Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1865, is revised based on a comparative morphological analysis. The goals of this study are to review the nomenclature, propose hypotheses about specific delimitation, and provide diagnoses to allow identification of the taxonomic units in the genus. Based on the revised status of Parahormetica, we transferred Parahormetica hylaeceps Miranda-Ribeiro, 1936, and Parahormetica punctata Saussure, 1873, to the genus Bionoblatta Rehn, 1940. Therefore, the genus includes now four species of giant cockroaches which are predominantly distributed on the Atlantic Forest: Parahormetica bilobata (Saussure, 1864), Parahormetica cicatricosa Saussure, 1869, Parahormetica monticollis (Burmeister, 1838), and Parahormetica museunacional sp. nov. (holotype male deposited in DZUP: Brazil, Paraná). Diagnoses, key, distribution maps, images of living, non-type, and type specimens are made available. Our results make clear that the status and limits among Brachycolini genera pending a full revision. Keywords: Araucaria Forest, Blattaria, Blaberinae, New species, Systematics, Zetoborinae 
Leonardo Polizeli and Ângelo Parise Pinto. 2024. A Taxonomic Revision of the South American Trilobite Cockroaches of Parahormetica Brunner von Wattenwyl 1865 (Blattodea: Blaberidae), with Description of Parahormetica museunacional sp. nov. from the Atlantic Forest. Neotropical Entomology. 53, 277–303. DOI: 10.1007/s13744-024-01129-6  | ||||||||
| 9:58a | [Herpetology • 2024] Cnemaspis agamalaiensis, C. anuradhae, ... • Five New Species of the Cnemaspis beddomei clade (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from High Elevation, Evergreen Forests of the Southern Western Ghats, India
Abstract We describe five new species allied to Cnemaspis beddomei from the Southern Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India using morphological data and mitochondrial sequence divergence. The new species are members of the beddomei and anamudiensis subclades within the beddomei clade and are from boulder habitats in evergreen forests in Tenkasi (Cnemaspis tenkasiensis sp. nov.), and the Agamalai (C. agamalaiensis sp. nov.), Anaimalai (C. anaimalaiensis sp. nov. and C. valparaiensis sp. nov.) and Palani Hills (C. anuradhae sp. nov.). The new species can be distinguished from other members of the beddomei clade and each other by a combination of non-overlapping morphological characters including body size, distinct colouration in males, the number or arrangement of dorsal tubercles around the body and paravertebral tubercles, the number of ventral scales across midbody and longitudinal scales from mental to cloaca, tail tuberculation and arrangement of subcaudal scales, besides uncorrected pairwise ND2 and 16S sequence divergence of ≥ 5.4 % and ≥ 2.3 %. The beddomei clade is another example of extreme micro-endemism, all 23 known species are evergreen forest dwellers and are each known from just one or a few closely spaced localities, with three non-sister species known from within one kilometre straight-line distance of each other on the Valparai Plateau, Anaimalai Tiger Reserve. The beddomei subclade is distributed from Agasthyamalai to the Anaimalais while the anamudiensis subclade is restricted to the Anaimalai, Palani and Kannan Devan Hills. Reptilia, Asia, biodiversity hotspot, dwarf geckos, integrative taxonomy, phylogeny, species complex  Cnemaspis agamalaiensis sp. nov. C. anaimalaiensis sp. nov. C. anuradhae sp. nov. C. tenkasiensis sp. nov. C. valparaiensis sp. nov. Akshay Khandekar, Tejas Thackeray, Ishan Agarwal. 2024. Five New Species of the Cnemaspis beddomei clade (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from High Elevation, Evergreen Forests of the Southern Western Ghats, India. Zootaxa. 5469(1); 1-70. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.5469.1.1 | ||||||||
| 9:59a | [Botany • 2024] Aerides obyrneana (Orchidaceae: Aeridinae) • A New Species from Sulawesi, Indonesia
Abstract A new species of Aerides from Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, is described and illustrated. This new species is placed in Aerides sect. Falcata and is, so far, the only member of this section recorded from Indonesia. The species is endemic to the northern part of Sulawesi Island. Keywords: Aerides, Epiphyte, Wallacea
Aerides obyrneana Metusala, sp. nov. Aerides obyrneana is morphologically similar to A. upcmae Motes et al. but differs in having a broadly flabellate mid-lobe (vs elliptic ovate mid-lobe), mid-lobes deeply incised forming 4 unequally lobules (vs simple with bilobed apex), a low median callus that extends from the spur aperture to the centre of the mid-lobe (vs shallowly channelled at the posterior base), and a spur with an erect subquadrangular lower callus (vs an erect long oblong lower callus). Etymology. The specific epithet honours the late Peter O’Byrne, a Southeast Asian orchid specialist who kindly taught the author during his early career as an Indonesian taxonomist. D. Metusala. 2024. A New Species of Aerides (Aeridinae: Orchidaceae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Edinburgh Journal of Botany. 81; 1-8. DOI: 10.24823/ejb.2024.2001  | ||||||||
| 2:03p | [Chilopoda • 2024] Edgethereua chilensis & E. goloboffi • A New Genus of scutigerid centipede (Myriapoda) from southern South America with the Description of Two New Species and an updated molecular phylogeny of the myriapod Order Scutigeromorpha
Abstract Scutigeromorph centipedes are conspicuous, yet often ignored myriapods for which little work has been conducted in southern South America. After examining recent and museum collections from Chile and Argentina, two new species of generic uncertainty were identified. A new genus of scutigerid centipede, Edgethreua, is therefore described with two new species, E. chilensis from Central Chile (type species of the genus) and E. goloboffi from Argentinian Patagonia. The new genus is characterised by the presence of scattered setiform bristles with short paired spines and the absence of simple spinulae and spines on all stomatotergites, the presence of a single spine-bristle in the prefemur of the second maxilla, a patch of cuticular ridges and pores surrounding the sensilla of the proximal labral portion of the epipharynx, the morphology of the sensilla of the distal patch of the hypopharynx and the morphology of the female gonopods. A phylogenetic analysis of the new species using two nuclear ribosomal RNA genes (18S and 28S rRNA), two mitochondrial ribosomal RNA genes (12S and 16S rRNA) and the mitochondrial protein-encoding gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I show that the new genus does not cluster with any other described genus of scutigeromorph represented in molecular phylogenies. The data indicate that the new genus is probably sister group to a clade including the genera Lassophora, Ballonema and the subfamily Thereuoneminae, although one analysis suggests a position as sister group to Scutigerinae. Keywords: molecular systematics, morphology, myriapods, phylogenetic relationships, Scutigeridae, southern South America, taxonomy, Thereuoneminae.
Andrés O. Porta and Gonzalo Giribet. 2024. A New Genus of scutigerid centipede from southern South America with the Description of Two New Species and an updated molecular phylogeny of the myriapod Order Scutigeromorpha (Myriapoda: Chilopoda). Invertebrate Systematics. 38, IS24006. DOI: 10.1071/IS24006 House centipedes are conspicuous yet often ignored myriapods for which little work has been conducted in southern South America. After examining recent and museum collections from Chile and Argentina, a new genus of scutigerid centipede, Edgethreua, is described with two new species from Central Chile and Argentinian Patagonia. A phylogenetic analysis of the new species using five molecular markers shows that the new genus does not cluster with any other described genus of scutigeromorph represented in molecular phylogenies. This new genus is likely sister group to a clade including the genera Lassophora, Ballonema and the subfamily Thereuoneminae, although another analysis suggests a position as sister group to Scutigerinae. | ||||||||
| 2:08p | [Herpetology • 2024] Lygodactylus morii, L. herilalai & L. schwitzeri • Taxonomizing a truly morphologically cryptic complex of Dwarf Geckos from Madagascar: Molecular Evidence for New Species-level Lineages within the Lygodactylus tolampyae complex (Gekk
Abstract The Lygodactylus tolampyae complex includes several deep genetic lineages of small diurnal geckos from the West and North West of Madagascar whose taxonomy is largely unsolved. We sequenced DNA fragments of one mitochondrial and four nuclear-encoded genes for up to 70 samples across the entire known range of these geckos. We find as many as 11 mitochondrial lineages differentiated by >4% pairwise distances in the 16S rRNA gene fragment, with >9% pairwise distance for the majority of lineage comparisons. Many of these lineages were concordantly differentiated in all of the nuclear-encoded genes without any haplotype sharing, despite the syntopic occurrence of some of them. We therefore hypothesize that the complex contains seven candidate species, but a comprehensive taxonomic resolution is complicated by various hindrances. These include incomplete sampling, with two lineages each known only from a single specimen, and one further lineage with no voucher specimens available for examination. Further hurdles are the probably lost holotype of L. tolampyae and its imprecise type locality, as well as the apparent lack of any morphological differentiation between the majority of the genetic lineages. Based on a survey of historical literature and the travel routes of the original collector, A. Grandidier, we conclude that the provenance of the holotype of L. tolampyae is likely in the wider Morondava area in the West and assign the sole candidate species from this area to this name. We then proceed to describe three species that represent separate genetic lineages for all markers studied: Lygodactylus morii sp. nov., a species common in Ankarafantsika National Park and several nearby sites in the North West; L. herilalai sp. nov., a species occurring in close syntopy with L. morii in Ankarafantsika without any signal of genetic admixture; and L. schwitzeri sp. nov. from Sahamalaza Peninsula in the North West. This leaves three more lineages without a name and with the need to gather additional samples, two from Namoroka National Park and one from other sites in the North West. We confirm the L. tolampyae complex to be an apparently rare example of truly cryptic reptile species in Madagascar, where even detailed morphological examination does not reveal morphological differences among lineages that are clearly evolutionarily independent and require recognition as distinct species due to their co-occurrence without admixture. Key words: Squamata, Gekkonidae, Tsingy de Bemaraha, Ankarafantsika, Sahamalaza, Integrative taxonomy
Miguel Vences, Malte Multzsch, Milena Zerbe, Sven Gippner, Franco Andreone, Angelica Crottini, Frank Glaw, Jörn Köhler, Sandratra Rakotomanga, Solohery Rasamison, Achille P. Raselimanana. 2024. Taxonomizing a truly morphologically cryptic complex of Dwarf Geckos from Madagascar: Molecular Evidence for New Species-level Lineages within the Lygodactylus tolampyae complex. Zootaxa. 5468(3); 416-448. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5468.3.2 |
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