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Thursday, August 14th, 2025
| Time | Event | ||||||
| 2:22a | [Herpetology • 2025] Limnonectes meratusensis • Unveiling A New Species of Fanged Frog (Anura: Dicroglossidae) from southeastern Borneo, Indonesia
Abstract We describe a new species of anuran in the species complex of Limnonectes kuhlii (Tschudi, 1838) from the Meratus Mountain Range of Borneo Island, Indonesia. Mitochondrial DNA analysis places the new species as a sister of L. cintalubang Matsui, Nishikawa, and Eto, 2014. The new taxon differs from all other recognized species of L. kuhlii complex by a large genetic distance and a combination of morphological, bioacoustic, and larval characteristics. This discovery provides new insights into the taxonomic diversity of the L. kuhlii complex in Borneo, particularly within the Meratus Mountain Range, and highlights the importance of conserving this unique and understudied region. Keywords: Limnonectes, new species, Meratus Mountain Range, mitochondrial DNA, molecular phylogeny
 Ade Damara Gonggoli, Tomohiko Shimada, Kanto Nishikawa, Masafumi Matsui, Thornton Larson, Eric N. Smith and Amir Hamidy. 2025. Unveiling A New Species of Fanged Frog (Amphibia: Anura: Dicroglossidae) from southeastern Borneo, Indonesia. Species Diversity. 30(2); 177-191. DOI: doi.org/10.12782/specdiv.30.177 | ||||||
| 3:13a | [Herpetology • 2025] Scincella qianica • Discovery of A New skink of the Genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata: Scincidae) from Guizhou Province, China
Abstract Scincella potanini was long considered the only species of the genus Scincella recorded in Guizhou Province, China. This study describes a new species of the genus Scincella, Scincella qianica sp. nov., from Guizhou, China, based on an integrative taxonomic approach combining molecular and morphological data. The new species can be distinguished from all known congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: (1) medium body size in adults (SVL length up to 44.8 mm); (2) tail relatively long, TAL/SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 in original tail specimens; (3) toes not in contact with fingers when limbs adpressed; (4) infralabials six to seven; (5) supraciliaries six, rarely seven; (6) tympanum deeply sunk, without lobules; (7) primary temporal one; (8) three pairs of nuchals; (9) midbody scale row counts 26; (10) paravertebral scale row counts 61–66; (11) ventral scale row counts 46–53; (12) 9–10 enlarged lamellae beneath finger IV, and 13–14 beneath toe IV; (13) dark dorsolateral stripes with relatively straight upper edge, extending from the tip of snout to the end of tail, with 1/2+4+1/2 rows of dorsal scales in the middle; (14) ventral surface covered with discontinuous black longitudinal stripes. In the phylogenetic analyses, the new species was nested within a highly supported lineage, forming a sister taxon with S. alia, and exhibits at least 15.8% genetic divergence from other congeners based on the mitochondrial CO1 gene. Key Words: Molecular phylogeny, morphological characters, Scincella qianica sp. nov., taxonomy
Scincella qianica Xu, Weng, Poyarkov, Zhang, Deng & Peng, sp. nov. Etymology. The specific name “qianica” is a Latinized adjective in nominative singular (feminine gender), derived from Chinese “Qián” (黔), the traditional abbreviation for Guizhou Province, China, where the new species was discovered. For the common names, we suggested “Guizhou Ground Skink” in English and “Qián Huá Xī” (黔滑蜥) in Chinese. Diagnosis. Scincella qianica sp. nov. can be diagnosed from other Scincella species by the following unique combination of characters: (1) medium body size in adults (SVL length up to 44.8 mm); (2) tail relatively long, TAL/SVL ratio 1.76–2.14 in specimens with intact tails; (3) toes not in contact with fingers when limbs adpressed, FLL+HLL/AGD ratio 0.80–0.91; (4) infralabials six to seven; (5) supraciliaries six, rarely seven; (6) tympanum deeply sunk, without lobules; (7) primary temporal single; (8) three pairs of nuchals; (9) midbody scale row counts 26; (10) paravertebral scale row counts 61–66; (11) ventral scale row counts 46–53; (12) 9–10 enlarged lamellae beneath finger IV, and 13–14 beneath toe IV; (13) the dark dorsolateral stripes with relatively straight upper edge, extends from the tip of snout to the end of tail, with 1/2+4+1/2 rows of dorsal scales in the middle; (14) ventral surface covered with discontinuous black longitudinal stripes. Yuhao Xu, Shiyang Weng, Nikolay A. Poyarkov, Tierui Zhang, Zeyu Li, Jundong Deng, Lifang Peng. 2025. Discovery of A New skink of the Genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950 (Squamata, Scincidae) from Guizhou Province, China. Zoosystematics and Evolution. 101(4): 1495-1511. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.157713 | ||||||
| 6:39a | [Entomology • 2025] Nigrimacula laminoprotubera & N. dentiprotubera • Two New Species of the Genus Nigrimacula Shi, Bian & Zhou, 2016 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Meconematinae) from China
Abstract This paper reports two new species of the genus Nigrimacula Shi, Bian & Zhou, 2016 from China, i.e. Nigrimacula laminoprotubera sp. nov. and Nigrimacula dentiprotubera sp. nov. In addition, we provide the morphological photographs. All type specimens are preserved in the Museum of Hebei University. Orthoptera, Meconematini, Nigrimacula, new species, China
Nigrimacula laminoprotubera sp. nov. 片突斑背螽 Etymology. The name of new species is derived from male cercus with a narrow lamellate expansion near the middle of dorsal inner margin, from Latin ‘lamino-’ (lamellate) and ‘protuber-’(process). Nigrimacula dentiprotubera sp. nov. 齿突斑背螽 Etymology. The name of new species is derived from apical and subapical dentoid processes on the internal surface of the male cercus, from Latin ‘denti-’ (dentoid) and ‘protuber-’ (process). Bibgyu REN, Hao XU, Qidi ZHU and Yanlin CHANG. 2025. Two New Species of the Genus Nigrimacula Shi, Bian & Zhou, 2016 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Meconematinae) from China. Zootaxa. 5679(3); 447-450. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5679.3.9 [2025-08-14] | ||||||
| 4:06p | [Entomology • 2025] Karillantu amazonaensis, K. ecuadoriensis, ... • Out of the Darkness - A New Genus of Paederinae from the Neotropics (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and its phylogenetic position
Abstract We describe a new genus of Paederinae rove beetles, Karillantu gen. nov., which occurs only in the Neotropics. The genus accommodates Lathrobium macrocephalum Sharp, 1876 as a type species Karillantu macrocephalus comb. nov., originally described more than 100 years ago. Intense surveys across museum collections allowed for describing eight new species: Karillantu amazonaensis sp. nov., Karillantu ecuadoriensis sp. nov., Karillantu lauretensis sp. nov., Karillantu napoensis sp. nov., Karillantu obidensis sp. nov., Karillantu paraensis sp. nov., Karillantu pastazaensis sp. nov., and Karillantu peruviensis sp. nov. We provide descriptions of the genus and species, a redescription of Karillantu macrocephalus comb. nov., an identification key, and a distribution map. To determine the sister-group relationships of Karillantu gen. nov., we conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on seven gene fragments, resulting in the largest Paederinae phylogeny up to date and a hypothesis about Karillantu gen. nov. placement. The analysis resolved the genus within the tribe Lathrobiini, nested in the informal clade of genera traditionally assigned to the subtribe Lathrobiina. We also provide information on the phylogenetic position of 17 newly sequenced taxa expanding our understanding of Paederinae relationships. The present research underscores the importance of museum collections in studying biodiversity of poorly-known groups, especially in the tropical regions. molecular phylogeny, museum collections, Neotropics, Paederinae, rove beetles, South America, systematics, taxonomy
Subfamily Paederinae Fleming, 1821 Tribe Lathrobiini Laporte de Castelnau, 1835 Subtribe incertae sedis Karillantu gen. nov. Diagnosis: The genus can be easily differentiated from other Lathrobiini by the following combination of features: head large, equal to or wider than pronotum (except for K. pastazaensis and K. obidensis), with invaginated posterior median emargination, coarsely punctured, most densely on temples, with glabrous mid-line, maxillary palpomere 3 elongate, maxillary palpomere 4 conical, thinner than 3, pronotum anterior angles well developed, almost straight, with invaginated line in the middle; dense golden setation on inner side of protarsi; aedeagus with parameres reduced to two small lateral lobes. Type species: Lathrobium macrocephalum Sharp, 1876. Description: Body length from 5.35 to 12.6 mm. Coloration lighter or darker brown, appendages sometimes yellowish, setation golden-brown, protibia with gold setae on inner side.
Etymology: Karillantu /ˌkærɪˈd͡ʒɑːntuː/ derives from the Ecuadorian Kichwa language. It is a composite word comprising ‘Kari’, a prefix denoting strength or markedness, particularly in reference to the pronounced shape of the head, and ‘llantu’ signifying darkness, attributed to the dark coloration of individuals within the genus and the hidden generic status of K. macrocephalus. Gender: masculine. Distribution: The genus occurs in the Amazon biome in different ecoregions of moist forests of the Amazon rainforest (Fig. 5). Katarzyna Koszela, Karen Bonilla Farinango and Dagmara Żyła. 2025. Out of the Darkness - A New Genus of Paederinae from the Neotropics (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) and its phylogenetic position. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 204(3); zlaf071. DOI: doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf071 [31 July 2025] | ||||||
| 4:24p | [Botany • 2020] Spathoglottis arunachalensis (Orchidaceae) • A New Species from Arunachal Pradesh, India
Abstract A new species of Spathoglottis, S. arunachalensis (Orchidaceae), from Sessa Orchid Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh is described and illustrated. Morphologically, the new species is allied to S. ixioides but differs in many attributes which are discussed here. An updated key for Indian Spathoglottis is also provided for easy identification. Orchid, Sessa Orchid Sanctuary, Yellow flowered, Monocots 
Spathoglottis arunachalensis J.Tsering & K.Prasad Jambey TSERING and Kothareddy PRASAD. 2020. Spathoglottis arunachalensis (Orchidaceae), A New Species from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Phytotaxa. 432(3); 289–295. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.432.3.6 [2020-02-12]  |
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