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Thursday, March 6th, 2025
| Time | Event | ||||||||
| 1:06a | [Herpetology • 2025] Nidirana shyhhuangi • A New Music Frog (Anura: Ranidae: Nidirana) critically endangered in Taiwan
Abstract Nidirana okinavana (Boettger, 1895) is a small-sized ranid species belonging to the East Asian genus Nidirana Dubois, 1992. Previous studies have indicated that this species was exclusively distributed on Ishigaki and Iriomote islands in the southern Ryukyus, as well as two extremely small wetland habitats in central Taiwan. Such a restricted distribution makes it one of the most endangered frog species in both Taiwan and Japan. By using molecular, morphological, and acoustic analyses, our study reveals significant divergence between the Taiwanese and Japanese clades, supporting the recognition of the Taiwanese clade as a distinct species, described herein as Nidirana shyhhuangi sp. nov. Compared to Nidirana okinavana sensu stricto from the southern Ryukyus, the Nidirana shyhhuangi sp. nov. is characterized by a significantly smaller and non-overlapping body size, relatively longer forelimbs and hindlimbs, smaller internostril and interorbital distances, with a higher number of cross bands on thigh and shank. Acoustic analyses reveal that the Nidirana shyhhuangi sp. nov. produces calls with a rapid tempo and higher pulse number, with a higher dominant frequency compared to the Japanese clade. Due to the extremely limited distribution of this species to two small sites on Taiwan, and continuing decline in quality of its habitat, we propose that it should be classified as Critically Endangered (CR) under the IUCN criteria. Immediate and comprehensive in situ and ex situ conservation actions are necessary to ensure the sustainable viability of the population. Key words: Acoustic analysis, Iriomote Island, Ishigaki Island, morphology, Nidirana okinavana 
Nidirana shyhhuangi sp. nov. Diagnosis. Nidirana shyhhuangi sp. nov. is characterized by a combination of the following characters: (1) a small-sized ranid, body moderately slender; (2) SVL of preserved specimens in adult males 31.6–36.5 mm (mean ± SD = 33.8 ± 1.2 mm, n = 15), females 33.7–38.3 mm (35.9 ± 1.9 mm, n = 4); (3) head triangular, slightly longer than wide; (4) snout comparatively long, triangular in dorsal view with a slightly obtuse tip, moderately pointed in profile; (5) canthus rostralis distinct, contacting with the upper margin of nostril; (6) loreal region dark brown, extending posteriorly over eye and beyond tympanum; (7) upper lip pale white, white line extending posteriorly, forming a white stripe from below nostril to base of forelimb; (8) iris golden above canthus rostralis, dark brown below; (9) tympanum dark brown and conspicuous, dark zone extending posteriorly forming a trapezoid shape; (10) males with a single subgular vocal sac; (11) dorsum brown or yellowish-brown, sometimes ... Etymology. The specific epithet of the new species shyhhuangi is a Latinized patronymic noun in genitive case. It is dedicated to Prof. Shyh-Huang Chen, a herpetologist and arachnologist who first discovered this species in the early 1980s. We propose the common name “Yuchi music frog” in English to demonstrate the only two sampling sites of the species in Yuchi (meaning the “fish pond”) Township, or “魚池琴蛙” (pronounced as Yú-Chí-Qín-Wā) in Mandarin for this species.
Chun-Fu Lin, Chunwen Chang, Masafumi Matsui, Chin-Chia Shen, Atsushi Tominaga and Si-Min Lin. 2025. Description of A New Music Frog (Anura, Ranidae, Nidirana) critically endangered in Taiwan. ZooKeys. 1229: 245-273. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1229.139344 | ||||||||
| 1:15a | [Botany • 2025] Viola xinchengensis (Violaceae) • A New Species from central Guangxi, China
Abstract Viola xinchengensis (Violaceae), a new species from Guangxi, China, is established on the basis of morphological and molecular evidence. This new species resembles V. lucens, but differs from the latter by its stipules margin long fimbriate-dentate (vs. fimbriate-dentate), stolon absent (vs. stolon slender, often producing a new plant at the top) and sepals 4–6 mm, glabrous (vs. 2.5–3 mm, villous). Viola xinchengensis is similar to V. fargesii, but it can be easily distinguished by its pedicels sparsely white villous (vs. densely spreading white puberulous), stolon absent (vs. stolon longer, elongated, puberulous, sometimes stem-like) and sepals 4–6 mm, glabrous (vs. 7–9 mm, puberulous). Our morphology analysis confirms that the new species belongs to V. sect. Plagiostigma subsect. Diffusae. Photographs, an illustration, a distribution map and comparisons with the most similar species are also provided. Key words: Morphology, new species, sinkhole, taxonomy, Viola
  Viola xinchengensis Y.Nong & G.Y.Wei, sp. nov. Chinese name. xīn chéng jǐn cài (忻城堇菜). Diagnosis. Viola xinchengensis is most similar to V. lucens, but differs from the latter by its stipules margin long fimbriate-dentate (vs. fimbriate-dentate), stolon absent (vs. stolon slender, often producing a new plant at the top) and sepals 4–6 mm, glabrous (vs. 2.5–3 mm, villous). Viola xinchengensis is similar to V. fargesii, but it can be easily distinguished by its pedicels sparsely white villous (vs. densely spreading white puberulous) and sepals 4–6 mm, glabrous (vs. 7–9 mm, puberulous). More detailed morphological differences amongst the three similar species are shown in Table 2. ... Etymology. The specific epithet “xinchengensis” refers to the type locality, Xincheng County (忻城县), which is situated in central Guangxi, southwest China. Gui-Yuan Wei, Chuan-Gui Xu, Ying-Jing Li, Bin Feng, Qi-Min Hu, Chao Yang, Xin-Cheng Qu and You Nong. 2025. Viola xinchengensis (Violaceae), A New Species from central Guangxi, China. PhytoKeys. 253: 143-154. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.253.128972 | ||||||||
| 1:37a | [Botany • 2025] Orobanche andryalae (Orobanchaceae) • A New Species from the Canary Islands
Abstract A new species of Orobanche is described from the Canary Islands. The plant belongs to the complicated Subsection Minores and has a distinct combination of morphological features, ecology, and host specificity. The markedly cernuous corolla, high filament insertion and colouration distinguishes Orobanche andryalae from closely related species with which it has been previously confused, and which do not occur in the Canary Islands, including O. amethystea subsp. castellana and O. calendulae; these features remain stable in cultivation. Orobanche andryalae appears to be parasitic almost exclusively on Andryala spp., and occurs on thermophilus volcanic substrates in northern Lanzarote, northwest Tenerife and Jandía in Fuerteventura. An updated key to the Orobanche of the Canary Islands is presented, including the new taxon we describe here. Key words: Andryala, broomrape, endemism, Macaronesia, parasitic plant 
 Orobanche andryalae | A habit B lower stem C corolla D corolla cross section E carpel F stamen G calyx lobe H bract.
Orobanche andryalae C.J.Thorogood, M. Hernández González, Rumsey & Reyes-Bet., sp. nov. Description: Stems 6–16(25) cm, glandular-hairy, pale orange to light reddish-brown. Stem scarcely swollen below; subterranean bracts broadly triangular, yellow; those above (reduced leaves) rather sparse, brown, 8–15 mm. Flowers 5–15(20), arranged on the upper quarter or third of the stem, lax. Bracts 10–12 mm, rather shorter than the corolla, broadly triangular, brown, glandular-hairy. Calyx 5–7 mm with segments fused, strongly unequal (rarely entire), not exceeding the corolla tube. Corolla 10–15 mm, pale yellow with faint reddish veins and scattered glandular hairs, strongly cernuous when mature, remaining so in fruit, sometimes abruptly geniculate; upper lip bilobed; lower lip 3-lobed, the lateral lobes slightly exceeding the central; all lobes minutely-toothed. Filaments sparsely hairy below, glabrous above; inserted conspicuously (c.5 mm) above the corolla base; anthers ± glabrous. Stigma lobes touching, mid to dark red-orange. Etymology. Orobanche andryalae is named in accordance with its main host species, Andryala perezii. Chris J. Thorogood, Matías Hernández González, Fred J. Rumsey and Jorge Alfredo Reyes-Betancort. 2025. Orobanche andryalae (Orobanchaceae): A New Species from the Canary Islands. PhytoKeys. 252: 275-285. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.252.141300 | |||||||
| 2:55a | [Ichthyology • 2025] Hampala siamensis • A New Species of Hampala (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from the Lower Tenasserim Basin of Thailand
Abstract Hampala siamensis, new species, is described from the Lower Tennasserim basin in Peninsular Thailand. This new species can be distinguished from its congeners by a saddle-like bar or inverted triangular marking on the body beneath the dorsal fin, rarely reaching the lateral-line scale row, by measurements of the head and body and scale counts. It is the fourth species of Hampala recorded from Thailand. Key words. aquatic biodiversity, Southeast Asia, freshwater fish, taxonomy, Cypriniformes
Hampala siamensis, new species Diagnosis. Hampala siamensis, new species, can be
distinguished from its congeners by the combination of the
following characters: lateral line scales 26–27; in adults: bar
1 saddle or inverted triangle shape, 5½–6 scales wide by
2½–3 scales deep, barely visible in preserved specimen; a
faint horizontal stripe along lateral side of body, 1½–2 scales
wide, visible in life only when stressed; upper and lower
edges of caudal fin with a gray to black marginal band; all
fins pale orange in life; head pointed, wedge-shaped, large
(length 32.3–35.0 % SL). Etymology: Named for Siam, historical name of Thailand
and of the website “siamensis.org”, run by a group of
Thailand-based conservationists. Proposed English name:
black-backed hampala, Thai name: ปลากระสูบหลังดำ.
  Nonn PANITVONG and TAN Heok Hui. 2025. A New Species of Hampala (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from the Lower Tenasserim Basin of Thailand. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 73; 67–72. | ||||||||
| 2:50p | [Ornithology • 2025] Myzomela babarensis • A Taxonomic Revision of Banda Myzomela Myzomela boiei (S. Müller 1843), including the Description of A New Species from Babar Island, Indonesia
Abstract Banda Myzomela Myzomela boiei (S. Müller 1843) is a small honeyeater distributed in two subspecies across three island groups in Maluku Province, Indonesia: M. b. boiei on the Banda Islands, and c.350 km to the south, M. b. annabellae on the Tanimbar Islands and Babar. We compare data from 28 museum specimens and 21 sound recordings, and report the results of 152 playback experiments, to investigate the taxonomy of these three populations. Compared to M. b. annabellae, M. b. boiei has a c.10% longer wing, bill and tarsus, more extensive black breast-band, duskier posterior underparts, and a highly divergent song; in playback experiments, M. b. boiei proved unresponsive to recordings of M. b. annabellae. However, the songs of M. b. annabellae on the Tanimbars and Babar are also highly divergent, with populations on both islands unresponsive to the song of the other. Birds on Babar are also slightly larger than annabellae on the Tanimbars (with a c.10% longer tail) and may have more scarlet on the back. We consider the vocal differences between the three populations to be highly indicative of reproductive isolation and recommend they be treated as three independent species under a modern interpretation of the Biological Species Concept. Because no nomen is available for the Babar population, we name it as a new species.
Myzomela babarensis sp. nov. Diagnosis.—Compared to M. boiei sensu stricto, male M. babarensis differs in having a much narrower black breast-band that is confined to the upper breast (vs. extending onto the lower breast in M. b. boiei; Figs. 3–4). The lower underparts (especially the vent and flanks) of M. boiei are dusky, but consistently much paler cream-white in the nine specimens of M. babarensis examined. In plumage, females of the two populations appear to be identical. M. boiei s. s. is larger in wing, bill and tarsus length (Table 1) than M. babarensis. Morphologically, M. babarensis is similar to M. annabellae (restricted here to the Tanimbar Islands) and only very subtly identifiable. Male M. babarensis has a larger wing, bill and tail with no overlap (Table 1 and Fig. 2), and the available specimens (n = 5 for M. annabellae) appear to consistently have more extensive scarlet-red on the upperparts, especially on the uppertail-coverts. Female plumages appear inseparable. All three species differ radically in song (Table 2, Fig. 5 and accompanying descriptions) and playback experiments show them to be unresponsive to one another's song. ... Etymology.—The species is named babarensis for the island of Babar, to which it is endemic. We propose the English name ‘Babar Myzomela’ (and ‘Tanimbar Myzomela’ for M. annabellae s. s.). Alex J. Berryman, Andrew J. Spencer, Puja Sharma and James A. Eaton. 2025. A Taxonomic Revision of Banda Myzomela Myzomela boiei (S. Müller 1843), including the Description of A New Species from Babar Island, Indonesia. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club. 145(1); 35-48. DOI: 10.25226/bboc.v145i1.2025.a4 [5 March 2025]  |
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