[Crustacea • 2017] Euastacus vesper • A New Giant Spiny Crayfish (Decapoda, Parastacidae) from the Great Dividing Range, New South Wales, Australia

Euastacus vesper

McCormack & Ahyong, 2017

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4244.4.6 

Abstract

Euastacus vesper sp. nov., is described from the upper Cudgegong River, Coricudgy State Forest, New South Wales, Australia. The new species occurs in the western drainage of the Great Dividing Range, and is most closely related to E. spinifer (Heller, 1865), which occurs on the eastern side of the range. Euastacus vesper differs from E. spinifer by its considerably smaller maximum size (OCL 67.9 mm versus 116.7 mm), greater degree of thoracic spination loosely arrayed in three instead of two rows and absence of the antennular basipodite and coxopodite spines. Observations on burrowing, ecological preferences and biology are presented.

Keywords: Crustacea, Euastacus, Parastacidae, spiny crayfish, freshwater, Australia

 Euastacus vesper sp. nov., male paratype (ACP1130), Cudgegong River. 

Etymology. Named vesper (Latin), meaning “western”, alluding to the western distribution of the new species relative to its closest relative, E. spinifer.

Suggested common Name: the Cudgegong Giant Spiny Crayfish

Distribution. Presently known only from the Cudgegong River and its tributaries; 743–1123 m a.s.l.

McCormack, Robert B. and Shane T. Ahyong. 2017. Euastacus vesper sp. nov., A New Giant Spiny Crayfish (Crustacea, Decapoda, Parastacidae) from the Great Dividing Range, New South Wales, Australia. Zootaxa. 4244(4); 556–567. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4244.4.6

A New Spiny Crayfish in Western Drainage, NSW.

http://www.aabio.com.au/a-new-spiny-crayfish-in-western-drainage-nsw/

[Entomology • 2017] Coeliccia mientrung spec. nov. from Central Vietnam (Odonata: Platycnemididae)

Coeliccia mientrung 

 Kompier & Phan, 2017

OdonataVietnam.blogspot.com

 DOI:  10.11646/zootaxa.4247.2.4 

Abstract

Coeliccia mientrung spec. nov. is described from central Vietnam. Detailed differences from the very similar C. pyriformis Laidlaw, 1932, are provided. The female of C. pyriformis is described for the first time.

Keywords: Odonata, Platycnemididae, Coeliccia mientrung spec. nov., Coeliccia pyriformis, new species, Vietnam

FIGURE 4. Male Coeliccia mientrung in nature, 5.VIII.2016, Bach Ma National Park, Thua Thien—Hue Prov. Note three–colored eyes, white spots in prothorax, short truncated antehumeral stripes and limited yellow on S9. 

Etymology. The specific name mientrung, a noun in apposition, refers in Vietnamese to the area of central Vietnam where the species occurs

 Tom Kompier and Quoc Toan Phan. 2017. Coeliccia mientrung spec. nov. from Central Vietnam (Odonata: Platycnemididae). Zootaxa. 4247(2); 131–140. DOI:  10.11646/zootaxa.4247.2.4

 researchgate.net/profile/Phan_Quoc_Toan2

[PaleoBotany • 2017] Protofrullania cornigera • A Fossil Genus of the Frullaniaceae (Porellales, Jungermanniopsida) from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar

Protofrullania cornigera Heinrichs

DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2017.02.023

Highlights

• A liverwort inclusion in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber is described.

• The fossil is interpreted as a stem group element of extant Frullaniaceae.

• The fossil genus Protofrullania gen. nov. is established.

• Diagnostic are strap-shaped underleaves producing an apical rhizoid bundle.

• Protofrullania cornigera sp. nov. was an epiphyte.

Abstract

Recent findings established the Albian-Cenomanian amber of Myanmar (Burmese amber) as an important source of Mesozoic cryptogams. Here, we describe an inclusion within Burmese amber as Protofrullania cornigera gen. et sp. nov. in the extant family Frullaniaceae (Porellales, Jungermanniopsida). Diagnostic characters include its incubous leaves consisting of a dorsal lobe and a ventral lobule forming a watersac, and strap-shaped, prominent underleaves producing a rhizoid bundle from the uppermost sector of the long, narrow disc. Bark fragments connected to some of the rhizoid bundles provide evidence that the fossil was an epiphyte.

Keywords: Bryophytes; Liverworts; Mesozoic; Seed-free land plants

Fig. 1. Holotype of Protofrullania cornigera gen. et sp. nov. in Burmese amber (GZG.BST.21956).
A. Upper sector of plant in ventral view. The arrowhead points to a bubble not belonging to the fossil. B. Branch in dorsal view. C. Underleaf (arrowhead) accompanied by watersacs. D–E. Branches in ventro-lateral view with helmet-shaped watersacs. Arrowhead points to an underleaf. Most leaf lobes detached or turned back. F. Detail of plant in ventral view. Arrowheads indicate underleaves. G. Detail of plant in ventral view. Each white arrowhead points to an underleaf, black arrowhead indicates a rhizoid bundle.

Scale bars: 300 μm (A), 150 μm (B, D, F); 50 μm (C), 100 μm (E, G). 

DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2017.02.023

Systematic palaeontology

Classification Marchantiophyta, Jungermanniopsida, Porellales, Frullaniaceae

Protofrullania Heinrichs, gen. nov.

Etymology. The name indicates a stem group element of Frullaniaceae.

Diagnosis. Plants with incubous leaves consisting of a dorsal lobe and a ventral lobule forming a watersac by enclosure of the anatomical dorsal leaf surface, lobule with narrow stem insertion, and strap-shaped, prominent underleaves carrying a rhizoid bundle in their uppermost sector.

Type species: Protofrullania cornigera Heinrichs, sp. nov.

Holotype. Geoscientific Collections of the Georg August University Göttingen, collection number GZG.BST.21956;  

Locality. Amber mines near Tanai, Ledo Road, 105 km northwest of Myitkyina, Kachin State, Myanmar.

Etymology. The species name points to the ciliately toothed upper sector of the underleaves.

Specific diagnosis. Species of Protofrullania with ciliately toothed underleaves.

Jochen Heinrichs, Kathrin Feldberg, Julia Bechteler, Patrick Müller, Matthew A.M. Renner, Jiří Váňa, Alfons Schäfer-Verwimp and Alexander R. Schmidt. 2017. A Fossil Genus of the Frullaniaceae (Porellales, Jungermanniopsida) from the mid-Cretaceous of Myanmar.
 Cretaceous Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.cretres.2017.02.023

ResearchGate.net/publication/314162077_A_fossil_genus_of_the_Frullaniaceae_Porellales_Jungermanniopsida_from_the_mid-Cretaceous_of_Myanmar

[Herpetology • 2017] The Phytotelm Tadpoles of Microhyla arboricola (Anura: Microhylidae) from Vietnam, with Comments on Reproductive Biology and Development

Microhyla arboricola Poyarkov, Vassilieva, Orlov, Galoyan, Tran, Le, Kretova & Geissler, 2014

 DOI:  10.11646/zootaxa.4247.4.4 

Abstract

The reproductive biology of Microhyla arboricola (Microhylidae) was studied in two regions of the southern Annamite Mountains in Vietnam. M. arboricola is an obligate phytotelm-breeder that reproduces in water-filled tree hollows in montane evergreen forests. Clutches are attached above the water level in the hollows and contain 5–37 pigmented, relatively large eggs. Larvae hatch at markedly advanced stages and develop in water until metamorphosis is completed. The developing tadpoles are obligately oophagous and feed on conspecific eggs and embryos. M. arboricola tadpoles differ from tadpoles of pond-dwelling Microhyla species in their external morphology (extremely long tails, dorsolateral position of the eyes, dark pigmentation), digestive tract morphology (large, extensible larval stomach and short intestine), and oral morphology. The larval chondrocranium and hyobranchiumof M. arboricola is described. M. arboricola shares its habitat with other hollow-breeding species of anurans. To date, M. arboricola is the only known arboreal species of the genus Microhyla that has a unique reproductive mode. The ecological niche of this species differs greatly from those occupied by other microhylids of Indochinese Peninsula.

Keywords: Amphibia, embryonization, oophagy, phytotelmata, Southeast Asia, tadpole

Adult Microhyla arboricola in a tree hollow 

 Anna B. Vassilieva, Vitaly L. Trounov, Nikolay A. J. Poyarkov and Eduard A. Galoyan. 2017. The Phytotelm Tadpoles of Microhyla arboricola (Anura: Microhylidae) from Vietnam, with Comments on Reproductive Biology and Development.    

Zootaxa.  4247(4); 413–428.  DOI:  10.11646/zootaxa.4247.4.4

[Paleontology • 2017] The Dinosaurian Ichnofauna of the Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian–Barremian) Broome Sandstone of the Walmadany Area (James Price Point), Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia

hypothetical Walmadanyichnus trackmakers

 @implexidens  DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1269539 

Abstract  

Extensive and well-preserved tracksites in the coastally exposed Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian–Barremian) Broome Sandstone of the Dampier Peninsula provide almost the entire fossil record of dinosaurs from the western half of the Australian continent. Tracks near the town of Broome were described in the late 1960s as Megalosauropus broomensis and attributed to a medium-sized theropod trackmaker. Brief reports in the early 1990s suggested the occurrence of at least another nine types of tracks, referable to theropod, sauropod, ornithopod, and thyreophoran trackmakers, at scattered tracksites spread over more than 80 km of coastline north of Broome, potentially representing one of the world's most diverse dinosaurian ichnofaunas. More recently, it has been proposed that this number could be as high as 16 and that the sites are spread over more than 200 km. However, the only substantial research that has been published on these more recent discoveries is a preliminary study of the sauropod tracks and an account of the ways in which the heavy passage of sauropod trackmakers may have shaped the Dampier Peninsula's Early Cretaceous landscape. With the other types of dinosaurian tracks in the Broome Sandstone remaining undescribed, and the full extent and nature of the Dampier Peninsula's dinosaurian tracksites yet to be adequately addressed, the overall scientific significance of the ichnofauna has remained enigmatic.

 At the request of the area's Goolarabooloo Traditional Custodians, 400+ hours of ichnological survey work was undertaken from 2011 to 2016 on the 25 km stretch of coastline in the Yanijarri–Lurujarri section of the Dampier Peninsula, inclusive of the coastline at Walmadany (James Price Point). Forty-eight discrete dinosaurian tracksites were identified in this area, and thousands of tracks were examined and measured in situ and using three-dimensional photogrammetry. Tracksites were concentrated in three main areas along the coast: Yanijarri in the north, Walmadany in the middle, and Kardilakan–Jajal Buru in the south. Lithofacies analysis revealed 16 repeated facies types that occurred in three distinctive lithofacies associations, indicative of an environmental transgression between the distal fluvial to deltaic portions of a large braid plain, with migrating sand bodies and periodic sheet floods. The main dinosaurian track-bearing horizons seem to have been generated between periodic sheet floods that blanketed the preexisting sand bodies within the braid plain portion of a tidally influenced delta, with much of the original, gently undulating topography now preserved over large expanses of the present day intertidal reef system. Of the tracks examined, 150 could be identified and are assignable to a least eleven and possibly as many as 21 different track types: five different types of theropod tracks, at least six types of sauropod tracks, four types of ornithopod tracks, and six types of thyreophoran tracks. Eleven of these track types can formally be assigned or compared to existing or new ichnotaxa, whereas the remaining ten represent morphotypes that, although distinct, are currently too poorly represented to confidently assign to existing or new ichnotaxa. Among the ichnotaxa that we have recognized, only two (Megalosauropus broomensis and Wintonopus latomorum) belong to existing ichnotaxa, and two compare to existing ichnotaxa but display a suite of morphological features suggesting that they may be distinct in their own right and are therefore placed in open nomenclature. Six of the ichnotaxa that we have identified are new: one theropod ichnotaxon, Yangtzepus clarkei, ichnosp. nov.; one sauropod ichnotaxon, Oobardjidama foulkesi, ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov.; two ornithopod ichnotaxa, Wintonopus middletonae, ichnosp. nov., and Walmadanyichnus hunteri, ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov.; and two thyreophoran ichnotaxa, Garbina roeorum, ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov., and Luluichnus mueckei, ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov. The level of diversity of the main track types is comparable across areas where tracksites are concentrated: Kardilakan–Jajal Buru (12), Walmadany (11), and Yanijarri (10).

 The overall diversity of the dinosaurian ichnofauna of the Broome Sandstone in the Yanijarri–Lurujarri section of the Dampier Peninsula is unparalleled in Australia, and even globally. In addition to being the primary record of non-avian dinosaurs in the western half of Australia, this ichnofauna provides our only detailed glimpse of Australia's dinosaurian fauna during the first half of the Early Cretaceous. It indicates that the general composition of Australia's mid-Cretaceous dinosaurian fauna was already in place by the Valanginian–Barremian. Both sauropods and ornithopods were diverse and abundant, and thyreophorans were the only type of quadrupedal ornithischians. Important aspects of the fauna that are not seen in the Australian mid-Cretaceous body fossil record are the presence of stegosaurians, an overall higher diversity of thyreophorans and theropods, and the presence of large-bodied hadrosauroid-like ornithopods and very large-bodied sauropods. In many respects, these differences suggest a holdover from the Late Jurassic, when the majority of dinosaurian clades had a more cosmopolitan distribution prior to the fragmentation of Pangea. Although the record for the Lower Cretaceous of Gondwana is sparse, a similar mix of taxa occurs in the Barremian–lower Aptian La Amarga Formation of Argentina and the Berriasian–Hauterivian Kirkwood Formation of South Africa. The persistence of this fauna across the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary in South America, Africa, and Australia might be characteristic of Gondwanan dinosaurian faunas more broadly. It suggests that the extinction event that affected Laurasian dinosaurian faunas across the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary may not have been as extreme in Gondwana, and this difference may have foreshadowed the onset of Laurasian-Eurogondwanan provincialism. The disappearance of stegosaurians and the apparent drop in diversity of theropods by the mid-Cretaceous suggests that, similar to South America, Australia passed through a period of faunal turnover between the Valanginian and Aptian.

Steven W. Salisbury, Anthony Romilio, Matthew C. Herne, Ryan T. Tucker and Jay P. Nair. 2017. The Dinosaurian Ichnofauna of the Lower Cretaceous (Valanginian–Barremian) Broome Sandstone of the Walmadany Area (James Price Point), Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36(6, Supplement).   DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2016.1269539

ResearchGate.net/publication/315656137_The_Dinosaurian_Ichnofauna_of_the_Lower_Cretaceous_Broome_Sandstone_of_the_Walmadany_Area_Dampier_Peninsula_Western_Australia

World's biggest dinosaur footprint discovered in 'Australia's own Jurassic Park' http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/worlds-biggest-dinosaur-footprint-discovered-in-australias-own-jurassic-park-20170327-gv7s0n.html via @smh

'Australia's Jurassic Park' the world's most diverse http://tinyurl.com/k5pz4y6 via @uq_news

[Fungi • 2017] Beauveria araneola • A New Araneogenous Fungus in the Genus Beauveria from Guizhou, China

Beauveria araneola   W.H. Chen, Y.F. Han, Z.Q. Liang & D.C. Jin

DOI:  10.11646/phytotaxa.302.1.5 

Abstract

Beauveria araneola sp. nov., a fungus parasitic on spiders, was isolated from a spider at the Experimental Farm of the Institute of Entomology, Guizhou University, China; and described with morphological and phylogenetic evidences. This species differs morphologically from other species in the genus by its long slender denticulate rachis, cylindrical to ellipsoid conidiogenous cells, and ellipsoidal to globose conidia. Phylogenetic analyses based on three-locus (TEF, RPB1 and Bloc) data strongly support the distinction of this fungus within the genus. Based on the phylogenetic results, B. araneola shares some pleiomorphic traits with soil-borne or entomogenous members of the genus, and is likely to have jumped from soil or insect hosts to spider.

Keywords: Beauveria, host shift, morphology, phylogeny, spider, Fungi, China

Beauveria araneola W.H. Chen, Y.F. Han, Z.Q. Liang & D.C. Jin, sp. nov. 

Type:— CHINA. Guizhou Province: Huaxi, 17 March 2015, Shuai Li (holotype GZAC150317, ex-type culture GZU0317bea and dried ex-type culture GZU0317bea.1).

Etymology:— araneola, referring to its host spider.

Distribution:— Guizhou Province, China.

Wan-Hao Chen, Yan-Feng Han, Zong-Qi Liang and Dao-Chao Jin. 2017.  A New Araneogenous Fungus in the Genus Beauveria from Guizhou, China.
Phytotaxa. 302(1); 57–64. DOI:  10.11646/phytotaxa.302.1.5

[Herpetology • 2017] Hemidactylus chipkali • A New Rupicolous Species of Gecko of the Genus Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 from the Satpura Hills, Central India

Hemidactylus chipkali  

  Mirza & Raju, 2017 

Central Indian Leaf-toed Gecko |  amphibian-reptile-conservation.org 

Abstract 

We here describe a new species of rupicolous gecko from the Satpura Hills of central India. The new species is a member of the Hemidactylus brookii complex, and can be distinguished based on the following suite of characters: moderate sized species (SVL 54.3–74.2 mm); anterior postmental width equal to first infralabial; posterior postmental width equal to second infralabial, posterior postmental not in contact with first infralabial; enlarged, keeled, tubercles, fairly regularly arranged in 15–16 longitudinal rows on dorsum; two angular series of seven precloacal femoral pores separated by diastema of eight non-pored scales; non-pored scales equal to size of pored scales; scales bordering anterior edge of pored scales half the size of pored scales; five lamellae on digit I and seven on digit IV of manus as well as pes; lamellae on digit IV and V of pes absent on basal 25% of the digit; legs long and slender; ventral aspect of tail with broad caudal scales covering ~80% of tail; two subconical post cloacal spurs, anterior spur slightly larger than posterior spur. 

Key words: Hemidactylus brookii, complex, taxonomy, bPTP, multivariate analysis, DNA

Hemidactylus chipkali sp. nov.

Etymology: The specific epithet “chipkali” is the Hindi word for gecko.

Suggested common name: Central Indian Leaf-toed Gecko 

Fig. 5. Hemidactylus chipkali sp. nov. (A and B) male holotype NCBS AT107 in life, (C) male paratype NCBS AT108 in life. 

Zeeshan A. Mirza and David Raju. 2017. A New Rupicolous Species of Gecko of the Genus Hemidactylus Oken, 1817 from the Satpura Hills, Central India. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation.  11(1) [General Section]: 51–71 (e137).

http://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/pdfs/Volume/Vol_11_no_1/ARC_11_1_[General_Section]_51-71_e137_high_res.pdf

 facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155251249596424

facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212623582813288

 

[Botany • 2017] New species of Xylopia (Annonaceae) from East Africa; Xylopia lukei, X. tenuipetala, X. tanganyikensis & X. keniensis

Fig. 1: Xylopia lukei: A buds; B open flowers, showing petal orientation.
X. tenuipetala: C flowers; D dehisced monocarp, showing red endocarp, black seed, and white aril.
X. keniensis: E flowers, lateral view; F flower, apical view.

photos:a – c, e – f Quentin Luke; d Jonathan Timberlake.
DOI:  10.1007/s12225-017-9681-x

Summary

Four new species of the pantropical genus Xylopia L. (Annonaceae) in East Africa are proposed. Two of the new species, Xylopia lukei D. M. Johnson & Goyder and X. tenuipetala D. M. Johnson & Goyder, most closely resemble the East African species X. mwasumbii D. M. Johnson. This species group is confined to the lowland coastal dry forests extending from central Tanzania to northern Mozambique. Problems with the circumscription of X. parviflora (A. Rich.) Benth. in eastern Africa are presented. East African plants identified as that species differ in numerous ways from the plants in central and western Africa, and in this paper are distinguished as X. parviflora sensu Verdcourt. Complicating the picture further is the fact that two rare but readily distinguishable species, X. tanganyikensis D. M. Johnson and X. keniensis D. M. Johnson, both described here, have been confused with X. parviflora sensu Verdcourt. The newly described species are narrowly distributed and most sites are threatened by habitat alteration, three of the four species having provisional IUCN conservation assessments of EN B1ab(iii)+ B2ab(iii).

Key Words: Coastal dry forest, endemism, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania 

David M. Johnson, Quentin Luke, David J. Goyder and Nancy A. Murray. 2017. 

New species of Xylopia (Annonaceae) from East Africa.
Kew Bulletin.  72:11.  DOI:  10.1007/s12225-017-9681-x

[Entomology • 2016] Aenictus shilintongae | มดทหารเทพา • An Army Ant of the Aenictus laeviceps Species Group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dorylinae) from China

 Aenictus shilintongae 

Jaitrong & Schultz, 2016 

มดทหารเทพา |   THNHMJournal.com

ABSTRACT

 Aenictus shilintongae, a new army ant from Southeast China, is described based on the worker caste. The new species belongs to the A. laeviceps species group and seems to be closely related to A. rotundicollis Jaitrong et Yamane, 2011 and A. sonchaengi Jaitrong et Yamane, 2011, but is easily distinguished from the latter two in having dense pilosity on head and mesosoma. It is named in honor of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of the Kingdom of Thailand after her name in Chinese.

KEY WORDS: Army ants, Aenictus shilintongae, Taxonomy, China.

        Weeyawat Jaitrong and Ted Schultz. 2016. Aenictus shilintongae sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dorylinae), An Army Ant of the Aenictus laeviceps Species Group from China. The Thailand Natural History Museum Journal. 10(2); 67-74.  www.THNHMJournal.com/attachments/view/?attach_id=34787

http://www.nsm.or.th/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=5626:2016-08-09-03-36-12&Itemid=187

[Arachnida • 2017] Larinia dubia & L. robusta • Two New Species of Orb-weaving Spiders of the Genus Larinia (Araneae, Araneidae) in meridional Brazil

Larinia dubia  

Ott & Rodrigues, 2017 

 DOI:  10.11646/zootaxa.4247.1.13 

Abstract

The araneid genus Larinia Simon currently includes 56 species, eleven of them with New World distribution (World Spider Catalog, 2016). North American species of the genus were revised first time by Levi (1975) and South American species by Harrod et al. (1991). According to these authors there are four species known from subtropical South America (Larinia bivittata Keyserling 1885; L. montecarlo (Levi, 1988); L. t-notata (Tullgren, 1905); L. tucuman Harrod, Levi & Leibensperger, 1991) and also four species known from tropical South America (L. ambo Harrod, Levi & Leibensperger, 1991; L. directa (Hentz, 1847); L. lampa Harrod, Levi & Leibensperger, 1991; L. neblina Harrod, Levi & Leibensperger, 1991). According to Buckup et al. (2010) a total of 209 species of Araneidae are recorded for state of Rio Grande do Sul, including the three species L. bivittata, L. montecarlo and L. t-notata.

Keywords: Araneae, Araneidae

Larinia dubia n. sp., Male (holotype, MCN 52123). 

Araneidae Clerck, 1757 

Larinia Simon, 1874 

Larinia dubia new species

Etymology. The species epithet is a Latin adjective meaning “dubious.” It refers to doubts among species, difficult to define.

Larinia robusta new species

Etymology. The species epithet is a Latin adjective meaning “robust, strong” due their large body size relative to other local species. 

 Ricardo Ott and Everton Nei Lopes Rodrigues. 2017. Two New Species of Orb-weaving Spiders of the Genus Larinia (Araneae, Araneidae) in meridional Brazil. Zootaxa. 4247(1); 89–93. DOI:  10.11646/zootaxa.4247.1.13

[Diplopoda • 2017] Four New Species of the Millipede Genus Eutrichodesmus Silvestri, 1910 (Polydesmida, Haplodesmidae) from Laos, Including Two with Reduced Ozopores

Figure 1.: Habitus photographs. 
B Eutrichodesmus deporatus sp. n., a male ecological photo from Cave Tham Pathok, sublateral view C E. paraster sp. n., male holotype (SMF) from Cave Tham Long Puang, lateral view D E. parvus sp. n., male paratype (ZFMK) from Cave Tham Nam Long, lateral view.  

Liu, Golovatch & Wesener, 2017 
 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.660.11780 

Abstract

Laos has large areas of primary forest with a largely unexplored fauna. This is evidenced by millipedes, class Diplopoda, with fewer than 60 species being recorded from the country. In the widespread Southeast Asian “Star Millipede” genus Eutrichodesmus Silvestri, 1910 (family Haplodesmidae), only two of 49 recorded species have been found in Laos. Four new species of Star Millipedes are here described from caves in Laos: Eutrichodesmus steineri Liu & Wesener, sp. n., E. deporatus Liu & Wesener, sp. n., E. paraster Liu & Wesener, sp. n. and E. parvus Liu & Wesener, sp. n.. A fifth species, for which only a female is available, remains unnamed. The defensive glands (ozopores) are found to be strongly or entirely suppressed in two of the new species, E. deporatus Liu & Wesener, sp. n. and E. paraster Liu & Wesener, sp. n., both troglobionts, which is new to the family. All of the Star Millipedes were collected during Northern Lao-European Cave Project faunal surveys conducted by the Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt. A key to the six species of Eutrichodesmus currently known to occur in Laos is provided.

Keywords: Millipede, reduced ozopores, biodiversity, taxonomy, cave adaptation, Laos

Figure 1.: Habitus photographs. A Eutrichodesmus steineri sp. n., male paratype (SMF) from Cave Tham Dout, ventrolateral view B E. deporatus sp. n., a male ecological photo from Cave Tham Pathok, sublateral view C E. paraster sp. n., male holotype (SMF) from Cave Tham Long Puang, lateral view D E. parvus sp. n., male paratype (ZFMK) from Cave Tham Nam Long, lateral view.

 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.660.11780

 Weixin Liu, Sergei Golovatch and Thomas Wesener. 2017. Four New Species of the Millipede Genus Eutrichodesmus Silvestri, 1910 from Laos, Including Two with Reduced Ozopores (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Haplodesmidae). ZooKeys. 660: 43-65. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.660.11780

[Botany • 2017] Aframomum ngamikkense • A New Species of Aframomum (Zingiberaceae) from D.R. Congo

Aframomum ngamikkense  Eb.Fisch., Kirunda, Ewango, M.E.Leal & Plumptre

DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.298.3.7 

Abstract

Aframomum ngamikkense, a new species from the Misotshi-Kabogo Massif in the Albertine Rift, Eastern D.R. Congo, is described and illustrated. It differs from the superficially similar A. pseudostipulare in the shorter and obtuse ligules up to 5 mm long (vs. acute and up to 10 mm long), and the indistinctly 3-lobed apex of the stamen (vs. distinctly 3-lobed).

Keywords: Aframomum ngamikkense, Aframomum pseudostipulare, Albertine Rift, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, endemics, Monocots

Scientists from WCS have discovered a new species of wild ginger, spicing up a wave of recent wildlife discoveries in the Kabobo Massif -- a rugged, mountainous region in Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Aframomum ngamikkense Eb.Fisch., Kirunda, Ewango, M.E.Leal & Plumptre, spec. nov. (Fig. 1, 2) 

Differt ab Afromomo pseudostipulare ligulis brevioribus obtusisque usque ad 5 mm longis (ligulae acutae et usque ad 10 mm longae in A. pseudostipulare) et apice staminae indistincte trilobata (apex distincte trilobata in A. pseudostipulare).

 The new species differs from Aframomum pseudostipulare in the shorter and obtuse ligules up to 5 mm long (acute and up to 10 mm long in A. pseudostipulare) and the indistinctly 3-lobed apex of the stamen (distinctly 3-lobed in A. pseudostipulare). 

Type:— D.R.CONGO. Katanga Province, Kizamba area on the trail to to top of Kankamana Hill, 1570 m, .... (holotype NHN!; isotypes BR!, MHU!, LWI!). 

Etymology:— The new species is named after the proposed Ngamikka National Park in the Misotshi-Kabogo Massif. This includes the mountains Nganja, Misotshi, Kabogo and Kabili (Plumptre et al. 2010). 

Distribution:— Primary montane forest at elevations of 1500–2000 m, growing in large gregarious patches under closed canopy, mainly on slopes, in riverine vegetation, and on hill tops. ...

Eberhard Fischer, Ben Kirunda, Corneille Ewango, Miguel Leal, Deo Kujirakwinja, Arcel Bamba and Andrew J. Plumptre. 2017. A New Species of Aframomum (Zingiberaceae) from D.R. Congo. Phytotaxa.  298(3);  277–282. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.298.3.7 

Discovery of New Ginger Species Spices up Wildlife Surveys https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/9937/Discovery-of-New-Ginger-Species-Spices-up-Wildlife-Surveys.aspx 

Discovery of new ginger species spices up African wildlife surveys http://phy.so/409491267 via @physorg_com