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Sunday, July 13th, 2025
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| 5:50a | [Botany • 2025] A Synopsis of the Genus Jacquemontia (Convolvulaceae) in the Indo-Pacific with the Description of One New Species, Jacquemontia mohotaniensis
Abstract Examination of specimens from the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia, disclosed the presence of an undescribed species of Jacquemontia Choisy from the uninhabited island of Mohotani: the new species Jacquemontia mohotaniensis is described here and its conservation status is proposed as critically endangered. To place this novelty in context, a review of the native and naturalized Indo-Pacific taxa of Jacquemontia is provided; 14 names are accounted for and some taxonomic problems are highlighted for future study. New combinations are made for two Australian species, J. distigma (Benth.) Halford and J. flexuosa (Spreng.) Halford; a second step typification is provided for the latter name to stabilize the nomenclature. KEYWORDS: biodiversity, Oceania, Marquesas, French Polynesia, Australia
Jacquemontia mohotaniensis Staples & Butaud, sp. nov. TYPE: French Polynesia. Society Islands: ... DIAGNOSIS: Jacquemontia mohotaniensis resembles most closely J. paniculata but differs from that species in the larger flowers, 1.5–1.8 cm long and up to 1.9 cm in diameter, the corolla subsalverform, 5-lobed, pure white, with exserted stamens and stigmas (Figure 1). The unequal sepals, the outer 2 larger and covering the inner, narrowly ovate-elliptic and 6–8 mm long 2–2.5 mm broad (Figure 2) serve to distinguish this new species from all other known Jacquemontia. G. Staples, Jean-François Butaud and David A. Halford. 2025. A Synopsis of the Genus Jacquemontia (Convolvulaceae) in the Indo-Pacific with the Description of One New Species. Pacific Science 78 (2), 153-163. DOI: doi.org/10.2984/78.2.3 (6 January 2025) | ||||||||
| 6:14a | [Herpetology • 2025] Boulenophrys daxuemontis • A New Species of the Genus Boulenophrys (Anura: Megophryidae) from Southwest China
Abstract Background: The Asian horned toad subfamily Megophryinae (Bonaparte, 1850) currently comprises more than 140 species and is widely distributed in southern China, as well as in Tropical Asia from India and Bhutan to the Philippines. During amphibian surveys conducted at Mt.Daxue Nature Reserve on June 28-30, 2023, we collected specimens of within the genus Boulenophrys. Based on molecular phylogenetic analyses and morphological comparisons, we describe this taxon as a new species from southwestern China. New information: Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA strongly support the new species as a sister species of B. jiangi. The uncorrected genetic distances between the 16S rRNA and COI genes between the new species and its closest congener were 9.3% and 8.1%, respectively. The new species could be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: (1) adult males have a moderate body size (SVL 37.1–40.6 mm), differing from B. jiangi in having longer hindlimbs when adpressed anteriorly—the tibiotarsal articulation reaches the mid-level of the eye when extended (vs. only reaching the area between the tympanum and the eye in B. jiangi); (2) vomerine ridge present and vomerine teeth absent; (3) tongue not notched behind; (4) a small horn-like tubercle at the edge of each upper eyelid; (5) tympanum distinctly visible, rounded; (6) toes lacking lateral fringes and webbing; (7) Distinct relative finger lengths: II < I < V < III in the new species (vs. I < II < V < III in B. jiangi); (8) heels overlapping when thighs are positioned at right angles to the body; (9) tibiotarsal articulation reaching the level of the middle of the eye when leg is stretched forward; (10) an internal single subgular vocal sac in male; (11) dense nuptial spines on dorsal bases of fingers I and II in breeding adult males;(12) Eye diameter (ED) significantly smaller than that of B. jiangi (ED: 4.00±0.28 in the new species vs. 5.00±0.38 in B. jiangi, P < 0.05). Keywords: Taxonomy, new species, molecular phylogenetic analysis, morphology
Boulenophrys daxuemontis Liu, Li, Cheng, Wei, Wang & Cheng, sp. nov. Etymology: The specific name daxuemontis refers to the distribution of this species, Daxue Mountain. We propose the common name “Daxueshan horned toad” (English) and 大雪山角蟾 (Chinese). Nomenclature: The specific name daxuemontis refers to the distribution of this species, Daxue Mountain, Sichuan province, China. Jing Liu, Shize Li, Yanlin Cheng, Gang Wei, Bin Wang and Gang Cheng. 2025. A New Species of the Genus Boulenophrys (Anura, Megophryidae) from Southwest China. Biodiversity Data Journal. 13: e153987. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e153987  | ||||||||
| 9:06a | [Entomology • 2025] Cotesia ginginensis • A New Species of parasitoid wasp (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Microgastrinae) from Queensland, Australia
Cotesia Cameron, 1891 is the third largest genus of the braconid subfamily Microgastrinae, both in terms of described species (>320 worldwide) and estimated true diversity (1500+ species) (Fernández-Triana et al. 2020). The genus is cosmopolitan and has a broad host range, with 30 different families of lepidoptera recorded as hosts, and with many species acting as important biological control agents of pest lepidopterans (Fernández-Triana et al. 2020). The Australian Cotesia fauna was recently reviewed; there are 22 species currently known from the country, including several species introduced for biological control (Fagan-Jeffries et al. 2024; Fagan-Jeffries & Austin 2020). Whilst there are likely to be many undescribed species of Cotesia in Australia and surrounding regions, we take the opportunity to add a single new species to the list of named biodiversity that was collected as part of a citizen science project, Insect Investigators. This citizen science project (insectinvestigators.com.au) ran in 2022 and involved 50 regional schools in Queensland, South Australia, and western Australia (Howe et al. 2025; insectinvestigators.com.au). Students and teachers ran Malaise traps on or near their school property, the samples were sorted and DNA barcoded, and a selection of specimens were sent to taxonomists to identify or include in current taxonomic projects. Two Queensland schools, gin gin State High School and Prospect Creek State School, each caught a single female specimen of a species in the genus Cotesia. Students and teachers at gin gin State High School collaborated with the authors to name the new species in 2023, and we here formally describe the species and raise the number of Cotesia from Australia to twenty-three. ...
BRACONIDAE Latreille, 1829 MICROGASTRINAE Foerster, 1862 Cotesia ginginensis Fagan-Jeffries & Davies, sp. nov. Diagnosis. Cotesia ginginensis can be separated from all other species of Cotesia currently described from Australia and Papua New guinea by the following combination of characters: mesosoma not dorsal-ventrally flattened (i.e., not as in Cotesia nonagriae (olliff, 1893)); fore wing r vein clearly longer than 2rS (r length >1.4 × length of 2rS); centre of the medial band of the mesoscutellar disc smooth; propodeum strongly sculptured with the medial carina clearly distinct for the whole length; T1 slightly broadening posteriorly but not strongly wedge-shaped (i.e., not as in C. ruficrus (Haliday, 1834)); T2 not strongly sculptured and T3 not densely setose (i.e., not as in C. rubecula (Marshall, 1885)). Eeinn P. FAGAN-JEFFRIES, Emily DAVIES and Andy G. HOWE. 2025. Cotesia ginginensis sp. nov., A New Species of parasitoid wasp (Braconidae: Microgastrinae) from Queensland, Australia. Zootaxa. 5660(2); 293-296. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5660.2.11 [2025-07-09] | ||||||||
| 9:17a | [Ichthyology • 2025] Sewellia pudens • A New Species of loach (Cypriniformes: Gastromyzontidae) from Dakchung Plateau, southern Laos
Abstract Sewellia pudens, new species, is described from the Xe Kaman watershed on Dakchung Plateau, Sekong
Province, southern Laos. It is distinguished from other species of the genus in having a yellowish brown body;
no markings on the fins; in males, a patch of tubercles on the snout divided longitudinally by a deep groove; no
modified pelvic-fin rays with dorsal bone extension. The mouth of Sewellia and the tubercles and ornamentation
on the fins of several species are described; the ‘pelvic valve’ is figured. Key words. Cobitoidei, loach, pectoral fin, pelvic fin, tubercles, bony extensions
Sewellia pudens, new species Diagnosis. Sewellia pudens is distinguished from all species
of Sewellia by the poorly developed patterning of the body
and fins. On the body, black pigments are present in a
vague midlateral stripe and 3–8 small saddles on the back,
especially on caudal peduncle. Some irregular markings are
also present on the body of some specimens, but not forming
a clear pattern. The fins of most specimens have no colour
marks, except for thin black lining along rays in the dorsal,
anal and caudal fins, and, rarely, 1 or 2 faint blotches along
lower edge of the caudal fin. The pectoral and pelvic fins ... Etymology. The Latin adjective ‘pudens’ means modest,
humble, reserved, discreet. It refers to the absence of
conspicuous pattern on the body and fins (compared to most
other species of the genus) and the absence of ostentatious
modification on pectoral- and pelvic-fin rays. Pudens is
indeclinable. MAURICE KOTTELAT. 2025. Sewellia pudens, A New Species of loach from Dakchung Plateau, southern Laos (Teleostei: Gastromyzontidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 73; 304–317. | ||||||||
| 9:58a | [PaleoMammalogy • 2025] Novaculadon mirabilis • A new multituberculate (Mammalia: Allotheria: Plagiaulacidae) from the Lulworth Formation (Cretaceous, Berriasian) of Dorset, England
Abstract A new genus and species of plagiaulacid multituberculate (Mammalia, Allotheria, Multituberculata) is described from the Cherty Freshwater Beds, Warbarrow Tout Member of the Lower Cretaceous Lulworth Formation of the Purbeck Group, Dorset, United Kingdom. The new taxon is represented by a complete, well preserved left dentary containing the incisor, p2–4, with alveoli for m1–2. This new specimen is the most complete multituberculate material yet recovered from the Purbeck Group. It is also the first mammal to be recovered from the so-called ‘Flint Bed’ (DB97). Keywords: Mammalia, Multituberculata, Early Cretaceous, Purbeck Group, United Kingdom
Systematic palaeontology Mammalia Linnaeus, 1758 Allotheria Marsh, 1880 Multituberculata Cope, 1884 Plagiaulacida Simpson, 1925 (nomen correctum McKenna, 1971 ex Plagiaulacoidea, Ameghino, 1889) Plagiaulacoidea Hahn and Hahn, 2004 Plagiaulacidae Gill, 1872 (synonym: Bolodontidae Osborn, 1887) Novaculadon gen. nov. Etymology. From the Latin novācula, razor, and don, from the Greek οδóς (odós) meaning teeth. Pertaining to the sharp occlusal crest formed by the premolar series. Novaculadon mirabilis gen. et sp. nov. Etymology. From the Latin mīrābilis, miraculous. An allusion to the exceptional preservation of the holotype.
Benjamin T. Weston, Steven C. Sweetman, Jake Kean, Charles Wood, David M. Martill and Roy E. Smith. 2025. A new multituberculate (Mammalia, Allotheria) from the Lulworth Formation (Cretaceous, Berriasian) of Dorset, England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. In Press, 101128. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2025.101128 [9 July 2025]  | ||||||||
| 2:52p | [Paleontology • 2025] Pulaosaurus qinglong • A New neornithischian Dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of northern China
Abstract The Middle and Late Jurassic Yanliao Biota is different from other contemporaneous fossil assemblages in that it lacks neornithischian dinosaurs. Here, we report a new, early-diverging neornithischian, Pulaosaurus qinglong gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of Qinglong, Hebei Province, of northern China. Diagnostic or noteworthy morphological characteristics of P. qinglong include: five premaxillary teeth; a small boss is present on the caudoventral corner of the dorsal ramus of the jugal; a nuchal crest is located along the parietal; the manus has five digits; a supra-acetabular crest is present on the ilium; the paired arytenoids are gracile and leaf-like in form; the obturator process along the ischium is located near the pubic peduncle; a notch-like shaped obturator opening is present within the pubis; a robust fibular condyle forms a dorsoventrally extending crest on the tibia; a subtriangular flange on the anterior surface of the astragalus extends dorsolaterally along three distal tarsals; three of the distal tarsals are unfused, including a small drop-shaped distal tarsal 3; distal tarsal 3 is pierced by a foramen. A phylogenetic analysis places P. qinglong as one of the earliest-diverging neornithischians yet described. Moreover, P. qinglong represents the second known dinosaur to preserve ossified laryngeal elements, thus suggesting that a bird-like vocalization evolved early in non-avian dinosaur evolution.
Dinosauria Owen, 1842 Ornithischia Seeley, 1887 Neornithischia Cooper, 1985 Pulaosaurus qinglong gen. et sp. nov. Etymology: The generic name is derived from Chinese Pinyin for “Pulao”, a mythical creature resembling the Chinese dragon. According to Chinese legends, the “Pulao” engages in loud shouting, thus referencing the possible bird-like vocalizations of this species. The specific name is derived from the Chinese Pinyin for “Qinglong”, which is the name of the county in Province Hebei, China, where the specimen was found. Locality and horizon: Southern Shimen Gou, County Qinglong, Province Hebei, People’s Republic of China. Tiaojishan Formation, Callovian-Oxfordian (Middle-Upper Jurassic). Diagnosis: A small-bodied neornthischian dinosaur characterized by the combination of the following characteristics (autapomorphies preceded by an asterisk): five premaxillary teeth; a small boss is located on the caudoventral corner of the dorsal ramus of the jugal; a nuchal crest that is located on the parietal the mani have five digits; a supra-acetabular crest is located on the ilium; a pair of gracile, leaf-like arytenoids are present; the obturator process is near the pubic peduncle; the opening of the obturator on the pubis is notch-shaped; *a robust fibular condyle forms a dorsoventrally extending crest on the tibia; a subtriangular flange extends dorsolaterally on four distal tarsals; *three distal tarsals are unfused with distal tarsal three that is drop-shaped; distal tarsal three is pierced by a foramen. ... Conclusions: Pulaosaurus qinglong gen. et sp. nov. is an early-diverging neornithischian species found in the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of Province Hebei, China. A phylogenetic analysis places Pulaosaurus at the base of Neornithischia close to Agilisaurus, which is the earliest-diverging neornithischian. Pulaosaurus represents the first neornithischian found in the Yanliao Biota, and helps to fill the temporal and geographical gap in the distribution of Neornithischia within China. A pair of arytenoids are preserved in the Pulaosaurus holotype and represents the second case of an ossified laryngeal apparatus among non-avian dinosaurs. The arytenoids of Pulaosaurus indicates that ossified laryngeal apparatuses were present in Neornithischia, thus suggesting that the ossified laryngeal apparatus could be widespread across Dinosauria. As the morphology of Pulaosaurus arytenoids resembles the arytenoids of extant birds, it is possible for Pulaosaurus to have an avian-like vocalization. Yunfeng Yang, James L. King and Xing Xu. 2025. A New neornithischian Dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation of northern China. PeerJ. 13:e19664 DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.19664 [July 11, 2025]  |
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