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Sunday, August 31st, 2025
| Time | Event | ||||||
| 2:01p | [Ichthyology • 2025] Forgotten for Decades: Revalidation and Redescription of Raiamas harmandi (Sauvage, 1880) (Cypriniformes: Danionidae) from the Mekong River Basin
Abstract The genus Raiamas currently comprises 18 valid species, only 2 of which occur in Asia; the remaining 16 are endemic to Africa. Raiamas harmandi was originally described by Sauvage in 1880 as Bola harmandi, which is distributed in the Great Lakes, Cambodia, the Mekong River Basin. It was considered a synonym of R. guttatus by later researchers. In this study, we examined 49 Raiamas individuals from the Mekong, Irrawaddy, and Salween river basins, recording both meristic counts and morphometric measurements. Based on the morphological evidence, we revised the taxonomy of Raiamas in the Mekong River Basin, confirming R. harmandi as a valid species and providing a comprehensive redescription. Raiamas harmandi can be distinguished from R. guttatus mainly by having more predorsal scales (25–28 vs. 21–23) and a different color pattern on the lateral body. Utilizing a total of 44 aligned COI and Cyt b sequences—including eight newly sequenced individuals of Raiamas from three river basins—we reconstructed its phylogenetic relationships. The analysis strongly supported four R. harmandi individuals from the Mekong River Basin forming a distinct clade, which was the sister to the clade comprising five R. guttatus individuals from the Irrawaddy and Salween river basins. Genetic distances between R. harmandi and R. guttatus ranged from 14.0 to 14.9% for COI and 16.1 to 17.0% for Cyt b. Distributionally, R. harmandi occurs throughout the Mekong River Basin, as evidenced by combined voucher specimens and molecular sequence data. Keywords: Raiamas guttatus; taxonomy; systematics; DNA barcoding; morphology; freshwater fish; Southeast Asia
Raiamas harmandi stat. rev. (Sauvage, 1880) Diagnosis. Raiamas harmandi can be distinguished from all other Asian Raiamas species by the following combination of characteristics: a distinctive color pattern of numerous small spots irregularly scattered on the lateral body; predorsal scales 25–28; lateral-line scales 45–50; total number of vertebrae 41–44; caudal vertebrae 20–22. It can be further distinguished from the most similar species, R. guttatus, by a proportionally longer upper jaw (57.9–68.6% HL vs. 56.3–61.9% HL). Etymology. The name of this species, harmandi, is in honor of the French Navy surgeon, naturalist, and explorer François-Jules Harmand (1845–1921), who collected the holotype. Distribution. Raiamas harmandi is widely distributed in the Mekong River Basin, with records from China (the lower Lancang River), Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia (Figure 1). Species of the genus Raiamas have also been recorded in the Chao Phraya River Basin, Peninsular Malaysia, and South Sumatra, and it remains to be confirmed whether they are R. harmandi. Cai-Xin Liu, Yi-Yang Xu, Yu-Yang Zeng, Thaung Naing Oo and Xiao-Yong Chen. 2025. Forgotten for Decades: Revalidation and Redescription of Raiamas harmandi (Sauvage, 1880) (Cypriniformes: Danionidae) from the Mekong River Basin. Taxonomy. 5(3), 42; DOI: doi.org/10.3390/taxonomy5030042 [20 August 2025] (This article belongs to the Special Issue Taxonomy in the 21st Century: Celebrating a New Chapter—First Impact Factor Received) | ||||||
| 2:01p | [Ichthyology • 2025] Balitora dehouensis • A New Species of Cave-dwelling Hillstream Loach (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae) from the upper Red River, southwestern China
Abstract A new species of cave-dwelling hillstream loach (Balitoridae, Cypriniformes), Balitora dehouensis sp. nov. is described from a cave in Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Balitora dehouensis sp. nov. is confirmed to be a distinct species by morphological and phylogenetic analysis based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cyt b) gene and cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene as well as the nuclear recombination activating gene 1 (RAG1), interphotoreceptor retinoid binding protein (IRBP), and early growth response protein 2B (EGR2B). Balitora ludongensis is confirmed to be the third cave-dwelling member of Balitora, after B. anlongensis and B. dehouensis. Key Words: Balitora, Balitoridae, Cavefish, morphology, phylogeny Family Balitoridae Swanson, 1839 Type Genus: Balitora Gray, 1830. Genus Balitora Gray, 1830
Balitora dehouensis Lei, Pu & Yang, sp. nov. Hao-Tian Lei, Xin-Rui Pu, Hong-Fu Yang, Ming-Xin Zhu, Hao-Lin Mo, Xiao-Yu Liu, Mo Wang and Bao-Liang Bi. 2025. Balitora dehouensis, A New Species of Cave-dwelling Hillstream Loach (Teleostei, Cypriniformes, Balitoridae) from the upper Red River, southwestern China. Zoosystematics and Evolution. 101(4): 1569-1584. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.157180 | ||||||
| 2:01p | [Entomology • 2024] Vagitanus venetus • A New Cicada Species of Vagitanus (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) from northern and central Vietnam
Abstract A new species of Vagitanus Distant is described from north and central Vietnam. V. venetus sp. nov. inhabits forested woodland at altitudes of >1000 m. Its distribution currently limited to the coastal areas and hinterland in the eastern provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Binh, Kon Tum and Hue and north in Yen Bai province. Keywords: Cicadatrini, Cicadinae, Cicadettinae, Vagitanus, taxonomy
Family Cicadidae Latrielle, 1802 Subfamily Cicadettinae Buckton, 1890 Tribe Cicadatrini Distant, 1905 Genus Vagitanus Distant, 1918 Vagitanus venetus sp.n. Etymology. The species name is derived from Latin for the deep green coloration of fresh specimens of this cicada. David Lyall Emery and Young June Lee. 2024. A New Cicada Species of Vagitanus (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) from northern and central Vietnam. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity. 17(1); 240-244. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2024.01.003 [1 June 2024] |
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