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Friday, March 7th, 2025
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| 3:02a | [Botany • 2025] Spatholirion wuorum (Commelinaceae) • A New Species from Thai Nguyen Province in North Vietnam
Abstract A new species of Spatholirion (Commelinaceae), S. wuorum, from North Vietnam is here described and illustrated. Spatholirion wuorum resembles S. cucphuongense in its dwarf habit and variegated leaves, but differs in having (sub)appressed sericeous or tomentose petioles (vs. retrorse velutinous), lamina sparsely pilose on the adaxial surface (vs. minutely appressed puberulous), the staminate part of the inflorescence a panicle (vs. raceme), and the sepals and petals whitish green or very pale creamy white tinged grayish mauve towards the apex (vs. uniformly dark indigo). Keywords: biodiversity, Commelinaceae, endemism, Indochina, plant taxonomy, Spatholirion wuorum, tropical broad-leaved forest  Spatholirion wuorum C. W. Lin & C. H. Nguyen, sp. nov. Spatholirion wuorum is somewhat similar to S. cucphuongense in being a dwarf rhizomatous herb with ovate, colorful leaves and a hairy inflorescence. However, S. wuorum differs in having appressed or subappressed sericeous stems and petioles (vs. retrorsely velutinous stems and petioles in S. cucphuongense), the adaxial surface of the lamina scattered erect pilose (vs. minutely appressed puberulous), the staminate part of the inflorescence a panicle (vs. a raceme), and the sepals whitish green or very pale creamy white tinged grayish mauve towards the apex (vs. dark indigo). Etymology. The specific epithet honors the first author’s maternal family, the ‘Wu’ family, particularly his grandmother Hsiu-E Wu Chen (吳陳綉娥), grandfather Tsung-Chi Wu (吳宗琦), mother Yi-Ching Wu (吳怡靖), aunts Yi-Min Wu and Hung-Me Wu (吳怡敏 & 吳宏美) and uncles Hung-Kuan Wu and Hung-Cheng Wu (吳宏寬 & 吳宏正), who have always supported his interest in natural organisms and research.  Che-Wei Lin and Cuong Huu Nguyen. 2025. Spatholirion wuorum (Commelinaceae), A New Species from Dai Tu District, Thai Nguyen Province in North Vietnam. Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 76(1); 13–20. DOI: doi.org/10.18942/apg.202420 [2025/03/07] | ||||||
| 9:39a | [Paleontology • 2025] Jeholia longchengi • First Mesozoic Scorpion (Scorpiones: Buthida) from China and its Ecological Implications
The top predators of arthropods, such as scorpions, spiders, and centipedes, are less commonly discovered in Mesozoic terrestrial Lagerstätten. Scorpiones belong to the class Arachnida within Arthropoda, with relatively few fossil records [Dunlop, et al., 2023]. The earliest scorpions come from the mid Silurian, and at least some of them have been interpreted as transitional forms from sea to land [Waddington, et al., 2015]. Despite being among the earliest terrestrial arthropods, fossil and living scorpions retain a largely conservative body plan [Dunlop, et al., 2008]. Mesozoic scorpions are mainly from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber [Xuan, et al., 2023], whereas compression fossils of scorpions normally deposited in the strata are relatively rare except in the Late Triassic Keuper Sandstone Formation of England and the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil [Dunlop, et al., 2023]. Three fossil scorpions have been reported from China, including a Miocene scorpion Sinoscorpius shandongensis Hong [1983] from Shandong Province, a Devonian scorpion Hubeiscorpio gracilitarsis Walossek et al. [1990] from Hubei Province, and a Permian scorpion Eoscorpius sp. [Lei et al., 2020] from Wuda, Nei Mongol. The Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota is internationally famous thanks to discoveries of exceptional fossils, including feathered dinosaurs, early birds, diverse mammals and pterosaurs, as well as some arthropod fossils which are mainly represented by insects and a few crustacean species [Chang. et al., 2003]. Here, we document the first scorpion, Jeholia longchengi gen. et sp. nov., from the Yixian Formation of Nei Mongol, uncovering a new member for this terrestrial ecosystem and the first Mesozoic scorpion form China. This scorpion is unusually large among fossil taxa. We tentatively infer the potential predation relationships of the new fossil scorpion and reconstruct the trophic dynamics of Early Cretaceous Jehol palaeo-food webs. ...
Order Scorpiones C. L. Koch, 1837. Parvorder Buthida Soleglad & Fet 2003. Family incertae sedis. Jeholia gen. nov. Type species. Jeholia longchengi sp. nov., by monotypy. Etymology. The generic name is derived from the “Jehol Biota”, from where the specimen was discovered. “Jehol” refers to a historical and geographical region in northeastern China. The name is feminine in gender. Jeholia longchengi sp. nov. Etymology. The specific name ‘longcheng’ is derived from Longcheng District in Chaoyang City where the fossil was stored.
Qiang Xuan, Chenyang Cai, Yuangeng Huang and Diying Huang. 2025. First Mesozoic Scorpion from China and its Ecological Implications. Science Bulletin. In Press. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.01.035  | ||||||
| 10:38a | [Paleontology • 2024] Chadititan calvoi • New Fossiliferous Locality from the Anacleto Formation (Late Cretaceous, Campanian) from northern Patagonia, with the Description of A New titanosaur
Abstract Here we describe a new fossil invertebrate and vertebrate assemblage from a previously unknown locality of the Anacleto Formation (Campanian, Upper Cretaceous), near General Roca city, Río Negro Province, Argentina. The specimens were found in a single fossiliferous layer, which yielded bivalves and gastropods, including the first fossil record of the terrestrial clade Megalomastomatidae and the first undoubted record for the terrestrial subulinid Leptinaria. Vertebrates are represented by fishes (lepisosteids, percomorphs, and the dipnoan Metaceratodus kaopen), chelid turtles, a single crocodyliform scute, an indeterminate pterosaur, an incomplete meridiolestidan mammalian jaw, and abelisaurid and rinconsaurian titanosaur dinosaurs. The latter is represented by several individuals of a small and gracile-limbed form. The phylogenetic analysis recovers a monophyletic Rinconsauria including the new taxon, plus Rinconsaurus, Pitekunsaurus, Overosaurus, and Muyelensaurus. The new titanosaur indicates that rinconsaurians were characterized by a body shape that was different from other titanosaurs, with brachiosaur-like posture, gracile limbs, and protonic tail. The faunistic assemblage is characterized by the abundance, but low diversity, of chelid turtles and a very low number of crocodyliforms. This taxonomic composition is reminiscent of other faunal assemblages of the latest Cretaceous of northern Patagonia, but differs markedly from Campanian assemblages known from North America and Europe. Key words: Campanian, Argentina, Titanosauria, Rinconsauria, Chelidae, Gastropoda   SAUROPODA Marsh, 1878 TITANOSAURIA Bonaparte & Coria, 1993 RINCONSAURIA Calvo, González Riga & Porfiri, 2007 Chadititan calvoi nov. gen. et sp. Derivation of the name. Chadi, from the Mapundungum, meaning salt; the specific epithet honors the late Jorge O. Calvo (1962–2023) a great colleague that recently passed away, who described several titanosaurs and coined the name Rinconsauria.  Federico Agnolin, Matías Motta, Jordi García Marsá, Mauro Aranciaga Rolando, Gerardo Alvarez Herrera, Nicolás Chimento, Sebastián Rozadilla, Federico Brizzon-Egli, Mauricio Cerroni, Karen Panzeri, Sergio Bogan, Silvio Casadio, Juliana Sterli, Sergio Miquel, Sergio Martínez, Leandro Perez, Diego Pol and Fernando Novas. 2024. New Fossiliferous Locality from the Anacleto Formation (Late Cretaceous, Campanian) from northern Patagonia, with the Description of A New titanosaur. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales. 26(2); 217–259. DOI: 10.22179/REVMACN.26.885 | ||||||
| 4:34p | [Arachnida • 2025] Otacilia tongboshan • A New Species of Otacilia Thorell, 1897 (Araneae: Phrurolithidae) from Tongboshan National Nature Reserve, Jiangxi Province, China
Abstract Background: Sixty-four phrurolithid species were found from Jiangxi Province in the past five years. However, there are still many unknown phrurolithid species from this Province with unusual morphological characteristics. New information: A new species, Otacilia tongboshan Liu, sp. nov. is described from Tongboshan National Nature Reserve, Jiangxi Province, China. Morphological illustrations, SEMs and living photos and a distribution map are given. Keywords: Sac spiders, taxonomy, phrurolithid species
Otacilia tongboshan Liu, sp. nov. Zimin Jiang, Changyong Lin, Zhongjing Wang, Yanbin Yao, Keke Liu. 2025. A New Species of Otacilia Thorell, 1897 (Araneae, Phrurolithidae) from Tongboshan National Nature Reserve, Jiangxi Province, China. Biodiversity Data Journal. 13: e144804. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e144804 | ||||||
| 4:35p | [Entomology • 2025] Psilocladia indica • A New Species of Genus Psilocladia Warren (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae) from India, bridging the boundaries of Africa and Asia
Abstract In the present manuscript, we describe a new species i.e., Psilocladia indica M. Singh, Lenka & N. Singh, sp. nov., from India and diagnose with its close congeners based on wing pattern and genitalia. Psilocladia indica sp. nov. is the fifth species of the genus. This study also reports Psilocladia Warren, 1898, a genus hitherto known only from Africa, for the first time from Asia. Psilocladia is closely similar to an African genus, Xenimpia Warren, 1895 and an Oriental genus Krananda Moore, 1868. The diagnostic attributes are explained and illustrated herein. Additionally, global checklist and identification key to all the species of the Psilocladia are provided. Lepidoptera, Checklist, Eastern Ghats, East Himalayas, global distribution, Gonodontini, identification key   Psilocladia indica M. Singh, Lenka & N. Singh, sp. nov.  Mandreet SINGH, Rajesh LENKA, Pallab CHATTERJEE and Navneet SINGH. 2025. A New Species of Genus Psilocladia Warren from India, bridging the boundaries of Africa and Asia (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae). Zootaxa. 5594(2); 316-324. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5594.2.4 [2025-02-28] New Moth Species Discovered in India, Bridging Gap Between Africa and Asia Researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have identified a previously undescribed species of the genus Psilocladia while studying geometrid moth collections from the Eastern Ghats and Eastern Himalayas. Psilocladia was previously believed to be restricted to central and southern Africa, making this discovery a significant biogeographical breakthrough. Psilocladia indica, The newly described species, the first of its kind recorded in India, provides crucial evidence of the genus’s wider distribution, linking Africa and Asia. | ||||||
| 4:39p | [Herpetology • 2025] Ovophis zhaoermii • A New Species of the Genus Ovophis (Serpentes: Viperidae) from southern Yunnan, China
Abstract A new species of Ovophis is described from Yuanyang Guanyinshan Provincial Nature Reserve in southern Yunnan Province, China. The new species can be distinguished from congeneric species by the following combination of characters: ratio of tail length to total length 0.191–0.206, internasals separated by one or two scales, dorsal scales in 22-21-17 rows, ventrals 146–148, subcaudals 57–64, most subcaudals paired and a few unpaired, third supralabial larger than fourth, white spots on dorsal tail continuous. This study further reveals that the species diversity of Ovophis has been seriously underestimated, and there is still a lot of work to be done on the taxonomy of this genus. Key words: cytochrome b gene, morphology, mountain pitvipers, systematics, taxonomy
Ovophis zhaoermii sp. nov. Diagnosis. Ratio of tail length to total length 0.191–0.206, internasals separated by one or two scales, second supralabial bordering loreal pit, dorsal scales in 22-21-17 rows, ventrals 146–148, subcaudals 57–64, 3–11 subcaudals unpaired and other subcaudals paired, third supralabial larger than fourth, dorsal surface of head unpatterned, dorsal surface of body brownish-black or reddish-brown with rectangular black blotches, series of white spots on dorsal surface of tail continuous, iris off-white with a black mesh pattern. Etymology. Named after the renowned Chinese herpetologist, Prof. Ermi Zhao (1930–2016). The designation of this specific epithet honors his great contribution to herpetological research in China, especially in snake research. According to the type locality of this species, we suggest the English common name “Guanyinshan mountain pitviper” and the Chinese common name “观音山烙铁头蛇 (Pinyin: guān yīn shān lào tiě tóu shé)”. Shuo Liu, Mian Hou, Mingzhong Mo, Mei Li, Biao Li, Xiong Luo, Dingqi Rao and Song Li. 2025. A New Species of the Genus Ovophis Burger in Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981 (Serpentes, Viperidae) from southern Yunnan, China. ZooKeys. 1230: 287-302. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1230.142967 |
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