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Sunday, March 23rd, 2025
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| 2:06a | [Ichthyology • 2025] Acrossocheilus dabieensis • A New Species of the Genus Acrossocheilus Oshima, 1919 (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from the Dabie Mountains, Henan, China
Abstract Acrossocheilus Oshima, 1919, a cyprinid genus of Cyprinidae in southern China and currently comprises 26 valid species. In this study, we describe Acrossocheilus dabieensis sp. nov. from the Dabie Mountains, China. This new species differs from its congeners by the following combination of characters: The second primary vertical bar (PB2) is situated beneath the anterior origin of the dorsal fin in females and subadult males. Vertical bars extend to the end of the ventral abdomen in juveniles, and they gradually recede above the lateral line in adult females, whereas they are absent in adult males. The last unbranched dorsal-fin ray is slender with a smooth posterior margin. Phylogenetic analyses based on the mitochondrial DNA sequences indicate that A. dabieensis sp. nov. is a monophyletic group, and it forms a sister group with A. kreyenbergii, reinforcing the status of the new species. A key to the barred species of Acrossocheilus is also provided. Keywords: biodiversity; Cyprinidae; Henan; new species; taxonomy   Acrossocheilus dabieensis Chen & Zhao, sp. nov.
Diagnosis. Acrossocheilus dabieensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners by the following morphological characteristics: (1) The second primary vertical bar (PB2) situated beneath the anterior origin of the dorsal-fin in females and subadult males (Figure 2B), (2) in juveniles: vertical bars are distinct and extend to the end of the ventral abdomen (Figure 2C). In adult males: vertical bars gradually vanish with increasing age. In adult females: vertical bars gradually recede above the lateral line with increasing age. (3) The last unbranched dorsal-fin ray is slender, and the posterior margin smooth. (4) Intestinal coiling is folded and elongated (Figure 2D,E). Etymology. The name of the new species, dabieensis, is derived from the name of the mountains, Dabie Mountains, the type locality of the new species (Figure 1). The suggested common English name is “Dabie Mountains Acrossocheilus” and the Chinese name is “Dà Bié Shān Guāng Chún Yú”. Tian-En Chen, Jia-Xin Xu, Peng-Ju Li, Huan-Fu Hu, Kai Gao and Hai-Peng Zhao. 2025. A New Species of the Genus Acrossocheilus Oshima, 1919 (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from the Dabie Mountains. Animals. 15(5), 734. DOI: doi.org/10.3390/ani15050734 [4 March 2025] Simple Summary: The family Cyprinidae Cuvier, 1817 includes more than 3000 species worldwide and has an important influence on the freshwater fishery economy. Acrossocheilus Oshima, 1919 is a group of small- to medium-sized barbine species, which are widely distributed in Laos, Vietnam and southern China. One new species, Acrossocheilus dabieensis sp. nov., from the Dabie Mountains, Henan Province, China, is described and illustrated in this study. | ||||||
| 2:07a | [Herpetology • 2025] Tantilla palamala • Morphological and Molecular Analyses of Mountain Centipede Snake (Serpentes: Colubridae: Tantilla) reveal A New Species from Venezuelan Andes
Abstract The highest elevations of the Tropical Andes form an archipelago of sky islands, where herpetological diversity is actively evolving. In this study, we combined morphological and molecular data to discover and describe a new snake species of the colubrid genus Tantilla from the middle-upper basin of the Boconó River on the lacustrine slope of the Cordillera de Mérida. This species belongs to the Tantilla melanocephala phenotypic group. Our results align with the previously published data, indicating that Andean populations diverged from a lowland ancestral lineage originating from the Guiana Shield and northern Brazil during the Miocene (~8 million years ago [Myr]). Morphologically, the new species is distinguished from the other members of the genus by its three longitudinal black stripes, the presence of two pale spots on the parietals instead of a pale nuchal band, noncontacting prefrontal and supralabial scales, the first pair of infralabial scales typically separated (rarely in contact), 138–145 ventral scales in males, <60 subcaudal scales in males, 12 maxillary teeth with a moderate diastema and an anterior process on the maxillary bone, and a unilobed, unicalyculate, and noncapitated hemipenis. We discuss the validity of certain available names and the zoogeographic patterns of Tantilla in its northernmost Andean distribution. Furthermore, our study provides the first evidence suggesting that Tantilla species richness may be underestimated in the mountainous regions of northern South America, where allopatric speciation driven by topographic complexity and niche conservatism has likely played a crucial role in the phenotypic and genotypic divergence of centipede snake populations.
Tantilla palamala Esqueda, Rojas-Runjaic, Correa, Ortiz, Guerrero, Jiménez, Bazó, Moreno-Pérez, Aguilar & Urra sp. nov. Definition: (1) 15–15–15 dorsal scales rows, smooth, and without apical pits; (2) eight dorsocaudal scales to the tenth subcaudal; (3) loreal scale is absent; (4) divided cloacal scale; (5) preocular scale is present; (6) rostral visible from above, lateral margins extended and slightly curved similar to gull wings, forming an open V with a >90° obtuse angle, without rostral medial projection and moderate cleft, and margins contacting the prenasal straight or slightly straight; (7) 7(3, 4)/7(3, 4) supralabials; (8) 6(4)/6(4) infralabials; (9) 138–145 ventral scales in males; (10) 53–58 subcaudal scales in males; (11) noncontact prefrontals-supralabial; (12) hexagonal front shield, longer than wide; (13) first infralabial pair ... Etymology: The specific name is a derived adjective from the Latin words “palam,” meaning in the presence of, openly and “ala,” meaning wing [Brown, 1956] to refer to a visible character in relation to the lateral margins of the rostral in dorsal view, that resemble a gull’s wing, that is, open and forming a V with a >90° obtuse angle and where the internasals tend to be laterally contracted.   Luis Felipe Esqueda, Fernando J.M. Rojas-Runjaic, Claudio Correa, Juan Carlos Ortiz, Pablo Guerrero, Juan David Jiménez-Bolaños, Santos Bazó, Pablo Athenogoras Moreno-Pérez, Melanio Aguilar and Félix Urra. 2025. Morphological and Molecular Analyses of Mountain Centipede Snake (Serpentes: Tantilla) reveal A New Species from Venezuelan Andes. Academia Biology. 3(1):1-25. DOI: doi.org/10.20935/AcadBiol7534 | ||||||
| 10:56a | [Ichthyology • 2025] Hypanus rubioi • A New Species of the Genus Hypanus (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) from the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean
Abstract A new species of stingray belonging to the genus Hypanus is described in this study based on data collected in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) region of Colombia. This new species stands out within the genus by its unique spade-shaped disc with a width-to-length ratio ranging from 1.0 to 1.1, whereas its obtuse snout extends 29–30% of the disc width (DW). This species also stands out due to its large size (125 cm DW). Notably, it has three distinctive rows of enlarged denticles on its mid-scapular area, with the central row extending back to the caudal sting. Additionally, it possesses a long tail that measures 2.2–2.5 times the DW, tapering smoothly. Molecular data also revealed significant differences between this new species and its congeners using COI. The phylogenetic analysis recovered Hypanus rubioi, new species, as the sister species to the western Atlantic Longnose Stingray H. guttatus, with an uncorrected genetic distance of 2.27 to 2.94%. The preliminary ecological niche modeling further indicates that this newly described species is likely associated with coastal regions in the ETP, ranging from central Mexico to northern Peru, with backlight and salinity as the most influential variables. These findings contribute to our understanding of the biodiversity within the genus Hypanus and the ecological distribution of this novel species in the ETP.
Hypanus rubioi, new species Longnose Pacific Stingray Spanish name: Raya picuda Etymology.—The name rubioi comes from the professor Efrain Rubio, who worked for many decades as ichthyology teacher at Universidad del Valle. Dr. Rubio was one of the first researchers interested in the fish fauna of the Colombian Pacific. During all these years at Universidad del Valle, he started the ichthyology collection (CIRUV) in addition to training many generations of young ichthyologists interested in the Pacific fishes of Colombia.  P. A. Mejía-Falla, A. F. Navia, D. Cardeñosa and J. Tavera. 2025. New Species of the Genus Hypanus (Dasyatidae) from the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. Ichthyology & Herpetology. 113(1); 44-60. DOI: doi.org/10.1643/i2024010 (18 February 2025) |
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