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Wednesday, March 5th, 2025
| Time | Event | ||||||
| 1:34a | [Botany • 2024] Fritillaria nevzatcaglari (Liliaceae) • A New Species from southern Anatolia, Turkey
Fritillaria nevzatcaglari Yıldırım & Tekşen (Liliaceae) is described and illustrated as a new species from Turkey. It morphologically resembles F. ozdemir-elmasii, F. bithynica and F. elwesii, but differs from them by several characters, the most distinct one being a pale purple outer surface of the perigon. Due to human activities and grazing pressure in the are where F. nevzatcaglari grows, we assess its conservation status as critically endangered (CR).   Mehtap Tekşen, Aşkın Öykü Çimen and Hasan Yıldırım. 2024. Fritillaria nevzatcaglari (Liliaceae), A New Species from southern Anatolia, Turkey. Annales Botanici Fennici. 61(1); 41–46. DOI: doi.org/10.5735/085.061.0107 | ||||||
| 3:31a | [Entomology • 2025] Eupithecia anfala & E. kurdistanica • New geometrid Species of the Genus Eupithecia (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from Iraqi Kurdistan
Abstract Based on the newly collected geometrid moths in Iraqi Kurdistan, two new geometrid species are described: Eupithecia anfala sp. n., and Eupithecia kurdistanica sp. n. Differential diagnoses and images of adult moths, male and female genitalia are presented. The status of E. kurdica Prout, 1938 has been elevated from the subspecies of E. irriguata (Hübner, 1813) to species rank based on both morphological and molecular evidences. Additionally, morphological and genetic data are presented to clarify the taxonomy of the species complex around E. unedonata Mabille, 1868. Keywords: Genetic data, macro-moths, new taxa, pug moth  Eupithecia anfala sp. n. Eupithecia kurdistanica sp. n.  Farhad A. Khudhur, Vladimir Mironov and Axel Hausmann. 2025. New geometrid Species of the Genus Eupithecia from Iraqi Kurdistan (Lepidoptera: Geometridae). Zoology in the Middle East. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2025.2459502 | ||||||
| 4:16a | [Botany • 2025] Columnea golondrinensis (Gesneriaceae) • A New Species from Cerro Golondrinas in the northern Andes of Ecuador
Abstract Exploratory field expeditions to the Chocó forests in the northern Andes of Ecuador resulted in the discovery of a new species of Columnea (Gesneriaceae). Columnea golondrinensis J.L.Clark, sp. nov., is described as a narrow endemic from the cloud forests of Cerro Golondrinas in the Carchi Province near the northern Ecuadorian border with Colombia. The oval leaves with a rust-colored multicellular hispid indumentum, terrestrial subwoody habit and deeply bilabiate dark purple corollas with glandular trichomes differentiate this taxon from all other congeners. Based on IUCN guidelines, a preliminary conservation status of Vulnerable (VU) is provided for C. golondrinensis. Key words: Chocó, Colombia, Columnea, Ecuador, Gesneriaceae, taxonomy
Columnea golondrinensis J.L.Clark, sp. nov. Diagnosis. Vegetatively similar to Columnea suffruticosa J.F. Sm. & L.E. Skog due to the presence of ovate leaves with a rust-colored multicellular hispid indumentum, but differing in the terrestrial habit (vs. epiphytic habit in C. suffruticosa) and deeply bilabiate corolla (vs. uniformly tubular corolla in C. suffruticosa). The deeply bilabiate corolla, dark purple corolla tube, and glandular trichomes throughout the upper and lower lobes are unique characters not found in any other known species of Columnea. Etymology. The specific epithet reflects the type locality, Cerro Golondrinas, where this species is presumably endemic. John L. Clark. 2025. Columnea golondrinensis (Gesneriaceae), A New Species from Cerro Golondrinas in the northern Andes of Ecuador. PhytoKeys. 253: 57-65. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.253.144114 Resumen: Las expediciones de campo exploratorias a los bosques del Chocó en los Andes del norte de Ecuador resultaron en el descubrimiento de una nueva especie de Columnea (Gesneriaceae). Columnea golondrinensis J.L.Clark, sp. nov., se describe como una endémica restringida a los bosques nublados del Cerro Golondrinas, en la provincia de Carchi, cerca de la frontera norte de Ecuador con Colombia. Las hojas ovaladas con un indumento híspido multicelular de color óxido, el hábito subleñoso terrestre y las corolas profundamente bilabiadas de color púrpura oscuro con tricomas glandulares diferencian a este taxón de todos sus congéneres. Según las directrices de la UICN, se proporciona un estatus preliminar de conservación de Vulnerable (VU) para C. golondrinensis. | ||||||
| 6:10a | [Entomology • 2025] Microdera abdullohi & M. uzbekistanica • A Review of the Genus Microdera Eschscholtz, 1831 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of Uzbekistan
Abstract A review of darkling beetles of the genus Microdera Eschscholtz, 1831 from Uzbekistan is presented. In total, 12 species are known in this country. Two new species are described: M. abdullohi N. Bekchanov et Nabozhenko, sp. nov. (Sulton Uvays Mts.) and M. uzbekistanica N. Bekchanov et Nabozhenko, sp. nov. (Kuldzhuktau Mts.). The following new synonym is introduced: Microdera globulicollis Ménétriés, 1849 = Microdera extabesa Skopin, 1961, syn. nov. The species M. ferghanensis Kaszab, 1957 is resurrected from the synonymy of M. globulicollis Ménétriés, 1849. In describing the ranges of the species mentioned in the paper, we corrected some errors in previous publications and clarified the distribution, including as a result of taxonomic changes. A species rank status is restored for Microdera kaszabi Skopin, 1961, stat. resurr. (from a subspecies of M. convexa (Tauscher, 1812)), as a consequence the range of this species does not include southeastern Kazakhstan, and limited by Kazakh Hummocks in the east. Microdera deserta deserta (Tauscher, 1812) is recorded for Uzbekistan for the first time, and M. shasenema Medvedev & Nepesova, 1985 is firstly recorded for Tajikistan. The following species are removed from faunistic lists of different countries: M. laevigatula Reitter, 1915 from the list of Uzbekistan, M. heydeni Kraatz, 1882 from the list of Turkmenistan, M. minax Reitter, 1887 from the list of Kyrgyzstan, M. transversicollis Reitter, 1887 from the list of Armenia. Lectotypes for Tentyria deplanata Gebler, 1841 and Microdera semenoviana Bogatchev, 1947 are designated. Coleoptera, taxonomy, darkling beetles, Tentyriini, deserts, Central Asia  Microdera abdullohi N. Bekchanov et Nabozhenko, sp. nov. (Sulton Uvays Mts.) M. uzbekistanica N. Bekchanov et Nabozhenko, sp. nov. (Kuldzhuktau Mts.). Norbek Kh. BEKCHANOV, Maxim V. NABOZHENKO, Khudaybergan U. BEKCHANOV and Mokhira Kh. BEKCHANOVA. 2025. A Review of the Genus Microdera Eschscholtz, 1831 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of Uzbekistan. Zootaxa. 5590(4); 451-480. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5590.4.1 [2025-02-25] | ||||||
| 12:37p | [Paleontology • 2025] Infernodrakon hastacollis • A New azhdarchid Pterosaur from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, and the pterosaur diversity of Maastrichtian North America
ABSTRACT A considerable number of azhdarchid pterosaur fossils have been recovered from Maastrichtian deposits of North America. Historically, most of these specimens have been referred to Quetzalcoatlus based on a preliminary understanding of the genus. Further study of Quetzalcoatlus and other azhdarchids has increased our understanding of the anatomy and diversity of the clade, and warrants reappraisal of specimens previously referred to this genus. Here we redescribe an azhdarchid cervical vertebra recovered from the Maastrichtian Hell Creek Formation of Montana, U.S.A. Digitization of this specimen via laser scanning allows a more detailed assessment and reconstruction of this specimen’s morphology, revealing both unique characters and unique character combinations. We therefore assign this specimen to a new genus and species of medium-sized azhdarchid, Infernodrakon hastacollis gen. et sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis recovers Infernodrakon as more closely related to Arambourgiania than to Quetzalcoatlus. Review of Maastrichtian azhdarchid material from North America reveals a high diversity despite the relatively fragmentary fossil record for this clade.
Infernodrakon hastacollis gen. et sp. nov. Henry N. Thomas, David W. E. Hone, Timothy Gomes and Joseph E. Peterson. 2025. Infernodrakon hastacollis gen. et sp. nov., A New azhdarchid Pterosaur from the Hell Creek Formation of Montana, and the pterosaur diversity of Maastrichtian North America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2442476. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2442476 Welcome Infernodrakon – a new azhdarchid | ||||||
| 2:39p | [Paleontology • 2025] The Ecology and Geography of Temnospondyl Recovery after the Permian–Triassic Mass Extinction
Abstract One of the mysteries of the Permian–Triassic mass extinction was the subsequent success of temnospondyls. Temnospondyls were key early tetrapods in the Carboniferous and Permian and hardly seem to be ideal pioneers in a tough post-extinction world. Did they survive because of some unusual adaptations or by occupying some limited part of the world? We explore temnospondyl success in the Triassic by comparing their functional ecomorphology and palaeogeographic distributions. We find that Early Triassic temnospondyls exhibited all skull sizes and shapes, reflecting a wide diversity of feeding modes: abundant parabolic-snouted forms, and less common longirostrine (long-snouted) and insectivorous (short-skulled) forms. In fact, morphospace occupation by temnospondyls increased dramatically from Late Permian to Early Triassic, and then decreased in the Middle Triassic, but without emphasis on one feeding mode or another. Nor is there any evidence for unusual patterns of evolution: Temnospondyli and subclade Trematosauria follow an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck evolutionary model, suggesting evolution towards a common skull shape. Metoposauroidea, Brachyopoidea and basal Stereospondyli evolved by the stasis model. Further, these Early Triassic temnospondyls did not occupy a limited part of the world; they show temperate distributions, but with some specimens in equatorial regions, contradicting the idea of a permanently impermeable tropical dead zone. Keywords: geometric morphometrics, ecological function, temnspondyli, Triassic, Permian–Triassic mass extinction
Aamir Mehmood, Suresh A. Singh, Armin Elsler and Michael J. Benton. 2025. The Ecology and Geography of Temnospondyl Recovery after the Permian–Triassic Mass Extinction. R. Soc. Open Sci. 12: 241200. DOI: doi.org/10.1098/rsos.241200 [05 March 2025] Amphibians bounce-back from Earth’s greatest mass extinction Ancient frog relatives survived the aftermath of the largest mass extinction of species by feeding on freshwater prey that evaded terrestrial predators, University of Bristol academics have found. In the study, published today in the journal Royal Society Open Science, their findings suggest the amphibians’ success lay in their generalist feeding ecology, enabling them to feed on a wide variety of prey despite the array of environmental changes happening all around them through the Triassic. ... |
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