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Tuesday, May 6th, 2025
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| 1:14a | [Botany • 2025] Begonia ebo sp. nov. (Begoniaceae, sect. Filicibegonia), endangered in Ebo, a highly threatened forest in Littoral Region, Cameroon
Abstract Begonia ebo H.Lockwood sp. nov., a terrestrial herb endemic to Cameroon cloud forest, is described, mapped and illustrated. It is the first species of Begonia Section Filicibegonia known to have yellow flowers (vs pink or white), to have inflorescences that are epiphyllous, appearing to emerge from the upper leaf surface (vs ordinarily axillary) and, also, the first species of the section known to be endemic to Cameroon. It is also endemic to the Cross-Sanaga River Interval. In contrast, six of the nine species of Sect. Filicibegonia are endemic to the interval between the Sanaga River of Cameroon and the Congo River. So far Begonia ebo is only known from inside or adjacent to the Ebo forest, Littoral Region, Cameroon, apart from a single record from the Chaine de Nkohom in Central Region c. 60 km distant. In view of the massive ongoing threats of industrial logging to the Ebo Forest, the stronghold and main centre of this species on current evidence, the conservation status of Begonia ebo is provisionally assessed as Endangered, EN B1 ab(iii) +B2ab(iii). Keywords: Cross-Sanaga River interval, epiphyllous, yellow-flowered
Begonia ebo H.Lockwood sp. nov. Diagnosis: Begonia ebo differs from all known species of Begonia Sect. Filicibegonia due to its yellow (not white or pink) perianth lobes, and also in the peculiar posture of the inflorescence, which lie along the groove of the adaxial petiole leaf-blade midrib, the flowers appearing superficially to arise from the middle of the leaf-blade (vs inflorescence sessile, or held above or below the leaf blades). Etymology: Named as a noun in apposition for the forest of Ebo, Littoral Region, whence most of the known specimens were found. Helen Lockwood and Eric Ngansop Tchatchouang. 2025. Begonia ebo sp. nov. (Sect. Filicibegonia-Begoniaceae), endangered in Ebo, a highly threatened forest in Littoral Region, Cameroon. Webbia. Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Geography. 80(1); 77-87. DOI: doi.org/10.36253/jopt-17739 [2025-04-17] | ||||||||
| 1:17a | [Crustacea • 2025] Louisea cataracta • A New Species of Louisea Cumberlidge, 1994 (Brachyura: Potamonautidae: Liberonautinae), A Freshwater Crab from the Ekom-Nkam Waterfall, Cameroon
Abstract A new species of Louisea Cumberlidge, 1994 (Brachyura: Potamonautidae: Liberonautinae) is described from the Nkam River below the Ekom Nkam Waterfalls, near Melong (5.06__°N, 10.03__°E), in the tropical rainforests of Cameroon. The new species is recognized by a unique combination of characters of the carapace, thoracic sternum, and male cheliped, and is supported as a separate lineage by a phylogenetic analysis of species of Louisea based on mtDNA (COI and 16S rRNA). Notes are provided on the ecology and the conservation of Louisea cataracta sp. nov.. Crustacea, Central Africa, taxonomy, Louisea cataracta n. sp., ecology, conservation
Louisea cataracta n. sp. Etymology. The species name, cataracta, is derived from the Latin for waterfall in reference to the Ekom Nkam waterfalls where the specimens were collected. The specific epithet is used as a Latin noun in apposition. Pierre A. Mvogo NDONGO, Thomas Von RINTELEN, Paul F. CLARK and Neil CUMBERLIDGE. 2025. A New Species of Louisea Cumberlidge, 1994, A Freshwater Crab from the Ekom-Nkam Waterfall, Cameroon (Brachyura: Potamonautidae: Liberonautinae). Zootaxa. 5590(1); 113-123. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5590.1.6 [2025-02-20] Researchgate.net/publication/389152443_A_new_species_of_Louisea_from_the_EkomNkam_Waterfall_Cameroon | ||||||||
| 1:17a | [PaleoEntomology • 2025] Tacola kamitanii • A New Species of fossil Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Limenitidinae) from the Upper Pliocene to Lower Pleistocene Teragi Group, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
Abstract This study describes a new fossil butterfly species, Tacola kamitanii sp. nov., from the Upper Pliocene to the Lower Pleistocene Teragi Group in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The new fossil is characterized by remarkably large wings, with an estimated forewing length of 48 mm and a wingspan of 84 mm. This new fossil species belongs to the genus Tacola based on the following characteristics: both discal cells open, smoothly curved humeral veins, and a thick thorax and abdomen. However, it does not identify with any modern relatives of Tacola with a small discal cell, straight 1A+2A anal vein of the forewing, or long hindwing median vein. Therefore, the fossil was identified as a new species of the genus Tacola and one of the largest species in the subfamily Limenitidinae. The modern relatives of Tacola are distributed in the subtropics and tropics, while this fossil species may have survived in the temperate zone. This is the first named Limenitidini fossil and the youngest example of an extinct butterfly. Keywords: butterfly fossil, fossil insect, Haruki Mudstone, Limenitidini, Tacola, Teragi Group 
Order Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758 Superfamily Papilionoidea Latreille, 1802 Family Nymphalidae Rafinesque, 1815 Subfamily Limenitidinae Behr, 1864 Tribe Limenitidini Behr, 1864 Genus Tacola Moore, 1898 Tacola kamitanii sp. nov. [New Japanese name: Kamitani-onimisuji] Diagnosis.—Large nymphalid butterfly (estimated forewing length 48 mm, estimated wingspan 84 mm). Both wings with completely open discal cells. Forewing discal cell relatively small. The forewing has cell streaks and an upper postdiscal band with a straight anal vein 1A+2A. Vein R2 arises from the cell. Hindwing has smoothly curved humeral vein and longer vein M. Thorax and abdomen thick. Type locality and horizon.—The Umigami, Shin’onsen Town, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan (Figure 1). However, exact locality remains unknown. Based on the lithofacies of tuffaceous siltstone, the stratigraphic horizon is correlated with the Upper Pliocene to Lower Pleistocene, Haruki Mudstone of the Teragi Group (Kinugasa, 1981; Kamitani, 1990). Etymology.—After Kiyoshi Kamitani, a fossil collector. Hiroaki Aiba, Yui Takahashi and Kotaro Saito. 2025. New Species of fossil Butterfly (Nymphalidae: Limenitidinae) from the Upper Pliocene to Lower Pleistocene Teragi Group, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Paleontological Research. 29; 76-86. DOI: doi.org/10.2517/prpsj.240023 |
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