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Sunday, January 5th, 2025
| Time | Event | ||||||||||
| 2:45a | [Entomology • 2024] Pacifimusotima kosrena • New Genus and Species of the Musotiminae (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) from the Federated States of Micronesia, including two newly combined species
Abstract Pacifimusotima kosrena Ko & Solis, gen. nov. & sp. nov., is described from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). We newly combine Parthenodes eugethes (Tams, 1935), comb. nov. and Parthenodes rectangulalis (Kenrick, 1907), comb. nov. in Pacifimusotima Ko & Solis. Illustrations of adults, genitalia, and brief remarks on related species are provided. Lepidoptera, new genus, new species, new combination, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Pacific Ocean
 Distribution. Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae), Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Borneo. Etymology. The generic name is a combination of the prefix " Pacifi," from "Pacific Ocean," and the suffix " Musotima ," from the type genus " Musotima ". Gender is feminine. Jae-Ho Ko, M. Alma Solis, David C. Lees, Austin Albert Dasari. 2024. Pacifimusotima Ko & Solis, New Genus and Species of the Musotiminae (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) from the Federated States of Micronesia, including two newly combined species. Zootaxa. 5497(1); 111-122. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5497.1.6 https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039960603  | ||||||||||
| 8:17a | [Entomology • 2024] Sufetula culshawi sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Lathrotelinae): a previously unrecognised species affecting cultivated palms
Abstract A new species of the pantropical genus Sufetula Walker, 1859 (Crambidae: Lathrotelinae) is described. A male specimen was found by Martin Culshaw as an accidental import in Stirlingshire, Scotland, whilst a female specimen was later found in the Natural History Museum collections, which had been reared in southernmost Kyushu, at Ibusuki, Japan. These specimens do not match externally the 31 currently accepted described species in the genus. We obtained a full 658 bp DNA barcode from both specimens (together with all of COI from the Japanese exemplar) that confirmed their conspecificity but showing at least 7.49% p-distance from any presently existing cluster. Phylogenetic analysis, including 14 other exemplars with DNA barcodes from BOLD/GenBank, failed to place the new taxon with any existing lathroteline species group. The Japanese specimen was reared from the roots of an Areca Palm Chrysalidocarpus lutescens Wendland in 1987, whilst the specimen imported to Scotland may have emerged from the same species. This information suggests that the new species is a previously unrecognised coloniser of horticulturally imported palms. Currently we cannot rule out the hypothesis that the species is native to habitats containing palms in the southern Japanese islands, and further specimens should be searched for in collections and in the wild. However, INaturalist images externally diagnostic for the species suggest it is widespread in South East Asia.
 Mark R. Young, Peter R. Hall, Nigel G.J. Richards, David C. Lees. 2025. Sufetula culshawi sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Crambidae, Lathrotelinae): a previously unrecognised species affecting cultivated palms. Nota Lepidopterologica. 48: 1-14. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/nl.48.126042 | ||||||||||
| 9:25a | [Herpetology • 2022] Prosymna lisima & P. confusa • Taxonomical Review of Prosymna angolensis Boulenger, 1915 (Elapoidea: Prosymnidae) with the Description of Two New Species
Abstract African Shovel-snout snakes (Prosymna Gray, 1849) are small, semi-fossorial snakes with a unique compressed and beak-like snout. Prosymna occur mainly in the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 16 currently recognised species, four occur in Angola: Prosymna ambigua Bocage, 1873, P. angolensis Boulenger, 1915, P. frontalis (Peters, 1867), and P. visseri FitzSimons, 1959. The taxonomical status and evolutionary relationships of P. angolensis have never been assessed due to the lack of genetic material. This species is known to occur from western Angola southwards to Namibia, and eastwards to Zambia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The species shows considerable variation in dorsal colouration across its range, and with the lower ventral scales count, an ‘eastern race’ was suggested. In recent years, Prosymna material from different parts of Angola has been collected, and with phylogenetic analysis and High Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography, the taxonomic status of these populations can be reviewed. Strong phylogenetic evidence was found to include the angolensis subgroup as part of the larger sundevalli group, and the existence of three phylogenetic lineages within the angolensis subgroup were identified, which each exhibit clear morphological and colouration differences. One of these lineages is assigned to the nominotypical P. angolensis and the other two described as new species, one of which corroborates the distinct eastern population previously detected. These results reinforce that a considerable part of Angolan herpetological diversity is still to be described and the need for further studies. Keywords: Africa, Angola, cryptic species, fossorial, Kalahari, Serpentes Reptilia Squamata Prosymnidae
Prosymna lisima sp. nov. Common names: Kalahari Shovel-snout snake (English); Cobra-de-focinho-de-pá-do-kalahari (Portuguese). Etymology: The name lisima is derived from the locally spoken Luchaze language in the region of the type locality meaning ‘source’. The full phrase used, ‘Lisima Lwa Mwondo’, is translated as “source of life”. This is a reference to central Angola, a high rainfall area where some of the most important rivers in Angola arise. This water makes it its way to the Okavango Delta, sustaining wildlife and local communities in Angola, Namibia and Botswana.
Prosymna confusa sp. nov. Common names: Plain Shovel-snout Snake (English); Cobra-de-focinho-de-pá-lisa (Portuguese). Etymology: When the late Bill Branch collected the holotype, he was unsure of its identification and referred to it as an unusual specimen that could not be assigned to any known species from Angola. He later referred to it as P. ambigua (Branch 2018), presumably based on its uniform grey colouration. The name confusa is a reflection of the confusion this specimen has caused and of the general confusion in the P. angolensis group. Werner Conradie, Chad Keates, Ninda L. Baptista and Javier Lobón-Rovira. 2022. Taxonomical Review of Prosymna angolensis Boulenger, 1915 (Elapoidea, Prosymnidae) with the Description of Two New Species. ZooKeys. 1121: 97-143. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1121.85693   Resumo: As cobras-de-focinho-de-pá africanas (Prosymna) são pequenas cobras semi-fossoriais com um focinho único, achatado e em forma de bico, que ocorrem principalmente na savana da África subsaariana. Das 16 espécies actualmente reconhecidas, quatro existem em Angola: Prosymna ambigua Bocage, 1873, P. angolensis Boulenger, 1915, P. frontalis (Peters, 1867), e P. visseri Fitz-Simons, 1959. O estatuto taxonómico e as relações evolutivas de P. angolensis nunca foram avaliados devido à falta de material genético. A espécie ocorre desde o oeste de Angola, para sul até a Namíbia, e para este em direcção à Zâmbia, Botswana e Zimbábue. Na sua área de ocorrência, esta espécie tem variação principalmente na coloração dorsal, e com base no menor número de escamas ventrais, foi sugerida a existência de uma raça oriental. Recentemente foi amostrado material de Prosymna de várias partes de Angola, e com recurso a análises filogenéticas e a tomografia computadorizada de raios-X de alta resolução, foi possível rever o estatuto taxonómico destas populações. Encontrámos fortes evidências filogenéticas para incluir o subgrupo angolensis como parte do grupo sundevalli. Revelámos a existência de três linhagens filogenéticas no subgrupo angolensis. Atribuímos uma dessas linhagens ao P. angolensis nominotípico, e descrevemos as outras duas como espécies novas, uma das quais corrobora a população oriental previamente detectada. Estes resultados reforçam a ideia de que uma parte considerável da diversidade herpetológica angolana está ainda por descrever, e a necessidade de mais estudos. Palavras-chave: África, Angola, espécies crípticas, fossorial, Kalahari, Serpentes |
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