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Monday, September 8th, 2025
| Time | Event | ||||
| 4:27a | [Crustacea • 2023] Lebbeus cultrirostris & L. kexuei • Integrative Taxonomy reveals Two New Species of Lebbeus (Decapoda: Thoridae) from Seamounts in NW Pacific, and Questions the Validity of the Genus Paralebbeus
Highlights: • Two new species were described. • The validity of Paralebbeus was examined. • Paralebbeus should be synonymized with Lebbeus. Abstract During two expeditions to Caroline Plate seamounts and Zhenbei seamount in the NW Pacific, three Paralebbeus (we list Paralebbeus as a synonym of Lebbeus herein) specimens are sampled. Two of them are recognized as new to science herein after carefully morphological observations. L. cultrirostris sp. nov. collected with the keratoisidid coral at a depth of 866 m is characterized by the smooth rostrum, and the telson having three pairs of dorsolateral spines. L. kexuei sp. nov. collected at a depth of 796–1510 m is characterized by the rostrum only bearing two dorsal spines, and the carpus of pereopod 2 having two articles equal in length. Morphological characters and generic analysis of mitochondrial COI and 16 S rRNA genes using maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference, and pairwise uncorrected p-distances indicated that all species of Paralebbeus Bruce and Chace (1986 should be transferred into genus Lebbeus White, 1847. Keywords: Decapoda, Paralebbeus, Lebbeus, New species, Deep sea Superfamily Alpheoidea Rafinesque, 1815 Family Thoridae Kingsley, 1879 Genus Lebbeus White, 1847
Lebbeus cultrirostris sp. nov. Etymology: From the Latin cultr (= knife) and rostr (= rostrum), referring to the shape of the rostrum of the species. Lebbeus kexuei sp. nov. Etymology: The species name is derived from the oceanographic vessel “Kexue” of Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, which contributed substantially to biological studies of seamounts in Caroline Plate. Yanrong Wang, Zhongli Sha and Shao'e Sun. 2023. Integrative Taxonomy reveals Two New Species of Lebbeus (Decapoda: Thoridae) from Seamounts in NW Pacific, and Questions the Validity of the Genus Paralebbeus. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 197; 104044. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2023.104044 | ||||
| 2:51p | [Herpetology • 2025] Pachydactylus namibensis & P. ovahimba • Two New Species of Pachydactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Kaokoveld
Abstract Recent surveys in southwestern Angola uncovered cryptic diversity within Pachydactylus caraculicus. Phylogenetic analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA recover three distinct lineages. Two of these lineages, characterized by their typical banded dorsal pattern, show clear geographic structuring: a “northern” lineage corresponding to true P. caraculicus, and a distinct “southern” lineage extending into neighboring Namibia. The third lineage, sister to the clade of banded caraculicus, comprises morphologically divergent specimens resembling P. punctatus. All three lineages within the P. caraculicus complex are diagnosable based on morphological and coloration characters. We formally describe the two unnamed lineages of P. caraculicus as new species and discuss these findings in the biogeographic context of the Kaokoveld's lizard fauna. Pachydactylus namibensis, new species Namibe Thick-Toed Gecko Osga de Dedos Grossos do Namibe Etymology.—The specific epithet namibensis is here applied as a substantive in apposition and is given in reference to the known distribution of the species in Namibe Province, Angola. We suggest “Namibe Thick-Toed Gecko” and “Osga de Dedos Grossos do Namibe” as the English and Portuguese common names, respectively.  Pachydactylus ovahimba, new species Himba Thick-Toed Gecko Osga de Dedos Grossos Himba Etymology.—The specific epithet ovahimba is a noun in apposition, given in honor of the dominant ethnolinguistic group in the region where the species is known from. The OvaHimba are a semi-nomadic Herero people who inhabit the Kaokoveld of northwestern Namibia and southwestern Angola, a harsh and rugged region that roughly corresponds to the distribution of the newly described species. The name is given in recognition of the support and enthusiasm received from the Himba people during fieldwork. We suggest “Himba Thick-Toed Gecko” and “Osga de Dedos Grossos Himba” as the English and Portuguese common names, respectively. Diogo Parrinha, Mariana P. Marques, Amanda M. Picelli, Adriaan Jordaan, Lacey J. Bishop-Schouster, Matthew P. Heinicke, Aaron M. Bauer and Luis M. P. Ceríaco. 2025. Two New Species of Pachydactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Kaokoveld. Ichthyology & Herpetology. 113(3); 412-432. DOI: doi.org/10.1643/h2024108 (8 August 2025) |
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