[Paleontology • 2026] Nabia civiscientrix • New albanerpetontid Species (Lissamphibia) from the Late Jurassic of Portugal

 

Nabia civiscientrix 

Guillaume, Evans, Jones, Puértolas-Pascual & Moreno-Azanza, 2026

DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2025.2580623

Illustration by Eva Carret

Abstract

The Albanerpetontidae are a group of small extinct lissamphibians ranging from the Bathonian to the early Pleistocene. The Upper Jurassic of Portugal is known to yield a large collection of albanerpetontid remains, ascribed to the genus Celtedens. However, recent studies have shown that the frontal bones used for species diagnosis display important intraspecific variation. Here, we describe 468 bones from the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian Lourinhã Formation, together with thousands of remains from the Guimarota beds of the Kimmeridgian Alcobaça Formation. They support the erection of a new genus and species, Nabia civiscientrix gen. et sp. nov., characterized by a unique combination of five synapomorphies: a bulbous/flabellate outline of the internasal process of the frontal in dorsal or ventral view; no sculpture on the postorbital wing of the parietals; the dorsal condyle of the axis with a recurved edge; the long axis of the iliac shaft strongly tilted posteriorly; and a limited pubic/ischial articulation flaring. This material represents the oldest albanerpetontid species from the Iberian Peninsula and potentially the third described from the Jurassic, during which time it played a major palaeobiogeographical role in relation to Europe, north-western Africa and North America. Our results further confirm the need to revise Celtedens. The material from the Lourinhã Formation suggests that other multi-specific microfossil vertebrate bonebeds should contain a greater variety of elements than is reported. We stress the need to review unpicked and unidentified material to look for postcranial bones rather than focusing only on cranial elements, as in combination they aid a better characterisation of this group.

 

Keywords: Albanerpetontidae, Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Lourinhã Formation, Guimarota, systematics

Nabia civiscientrix gen. et sp. nov.

Alexandre R. D. Guillaume, Susan E. Evans, Marc E. H. Jones, Eduardo Puértolas-Pascual and Miguel Moreno-Azanza. 2026. New albanerpetontid Species (Lissamphibia) from the Late Jurassic of Portugal. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 24(1); 2580623. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2025.2580623 [23 Jan 2026]

  

[Paleontology • 2025] Gadusaurus aqualigneus • A New ichthyosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Portugal (Iberian Peninsula)

Gadusaurus aqualigneus 

 Sousa, Roldão, Ríos & Puértolas-Pascual, 2025

    

DOI: doi.org/10.4202/app.01199.2024

  x.com/EduardoSuchus

Ichthyosaurs were a group of marine Mesozoic reptiles. Their presence in the Portuguese fossil record is scarce and ranges from the Sinemurian to the Toarcian. In this work we describe a new specimen—a nearly complete skull discovered in the Sinemurian of Praia de Água de Madeiros, São Pedro de Moel, Municipality of Marinha Grande (Portugal). This specimen represents the most complete and best preserved cranial remains from the Iberian Peninsula published to date. Phylogenetic analyses performed identified this specimen as a new genus and species, Gadusarus aqualigneus, the first to be identified in the Iberian Peninsula. The species is phylogenetically recovered as a baracromian ichthyosaur, part of the Neoichthyosauria and Parvipelvia clades.

Key words: Parvipelvia, Ichthyosauria, Gadusaurus aqualigneus , phylogeny, Sinemurian, São Pedro de Moel.

 Ichthyosaur reptile Gadusaurus aqualigneus gen. et sp. nov. (ML 2750) from from the Lower Jurassic of São Pedro de Moel (Marinha Grande, Portugal). Nearly complete skull in laterodorsal view. 

Ichthyopterygia Owen, 1859 

Ichthyosauria Blainville, 1835 

Parvipelvia Motani, 1999 

Neoichthyosauria Sander, 2000 

Thunnosauria Motani, 1999 

Baracromia Fischer et al., 2013

 Genus Gadusaurus nov.  

Type species: Gadusaurus aqualigneus sp. nov. 

Etymology: From combination of Latin gadu, codfish, and Ancient Greek, sauros, lizard; in reference to both the ichthyosaur fish-like body shape, and the proclivity for codfish in Portuguese cuisine. 

 

Gadusaurus aqualigneus sp. nov.  

 Etymology: From Latin aqua, water and lignum, wood; in reference to Água de Madeiros, which roughly translates to “water of woods”, the beach where the specimen was found. 

Holotype: ML 2750, nearly complete skull (Fig. 2), in a flattened state, the right side fully observable in lateral view, and elements of the left side observable in dorsal view. 

Type locality: Praia de Água de Madeiros, São Pedro de Moel, Municipality of Marinha Grande, (Portugal). 

Type horizon: Upper part of the Polvoeira Member of the Água de Madeiros Formation, upper Sinemurian (Lower Jurassic). 

Diagnosis.—Small-sized ichthyosaur, with an estimated length of approximately 2 m, diagnosed by the following combination of ambiguous synapomorphies: absence of a supranarial process in the premaxilla; and the parietal foramen being entirely surrounded by the frontals. Gadusaurus aqualigneus gen. et sp. nov. is also characterized by the following potential autapomorphies within Parvipelvia: presence of a subcircular depression in the lacrimal just below the posterior region of the external naris (Fig. 3C); big and well-developed elliptical internasal foramen with about 5 times bigger surface area than that of the parietal foramen (Fig. 3A); presence of a well-marked longitudinal groove on each side of the anterolateral region of the excavatio internasalis (Fig 3B).

João Pratas E Sousa, Isabel Morais Roldão, María Ríos, and Eduardo Puértolas-Pascual. 2025. A New ichthyosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Portugal (Iberian Peninsula). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 70(1); 179-192. DOI: doi.org/10.4202/app.01199.2024

  x.com/EduardoSuchus/status/1906793836375835069

[Entomology • 2025] Chillcottomyia ovaticornis • Chillcottomyia Saigusa (Diptera: Empidoidea: Hybotidae) new to Europe

 

Chillcottomyia ovaticornis

 Sinclair, Andrade & Gonçalves, 2025

DOI: doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.9.165936

Abstract

A new species of Chillcottomyia Saigusa, 1986 is described from Portugal, C. ovaticornis sp. nov. This species represents the first record of Chillcottomyia from Europe.

Key Words: Dance flies, Hybotinae, new genus record, new species

Chillcottomyia ovaticornis sp. nov.
3. Male holotype, lateral habitus (prior to genitalia dissection); 4. Female paratype, lateral habitus; 5. Female paratype, head and thorax, oblique lateral view; 6. Female paratype, head and thorax, dorsal view; 7. Male holotype (prior to genitalia dissection), abdomen and terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.75 mm (3, 4); 0.5 mm (5, 6); 0.25 mm (7).

Chillcottomyia ovaticornis sp. nov.

 

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin ovatus (egg-shaped) and cornu (horn), in reference to the ovate-shaped postpedicel.

Diagnosis. This small species is distinguished from all other species of the genus, except an un-named species from Morocco by the ovate-shaped postpedicel. The male terminalia is similar to the type species, characterized by left epandrial lamella with subapical dorsal row of stout, stiff setae; right epandrial lamella with outer row of long, stiff setae and inner row of shorter, stout, stiff setae. Male with single, very long anterodorsal seta on mid tibia, female with pair of anterodorsal setae.

Bradley J. Sinclair, Rui Andrade, Ana Rita Gonçalves. 2025. Chillcottomyia Saigusa new to Europe (Diptera, Empidoidea, Hybotidae). Evolutionary Systematics 9(2): 167-172. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.9.165936

[Paleontology • 2025] Cariocecus bocagei • A New basal hadrosauroid from the Lower Cretaceous of Portugal

 Cariocecus bocagei

Bertozzo, Camilo, Araújo, Manucci, Kullberg & Cerio, 2025

 

 DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2025.2536347  

  facebook.com: Bruno Camilo Silva   

Artwork by Victor F. Carvalho  

Abstract

In Portugal, iguanodontian dinosaurs are mostly known from the Late Jurassic of the Lourinhã Formation and are represented by dryosaurids and basal styracosternans. The Early Cretaceous record of iguanodontians in Portugal is scarce in comparison, with scattered and uninformative remains referred to Styracosterna indet. Here, we describe SHN.832, the first iguanodontian skull from Portugal, named Cariocecus bocagei gen. nov. sp. nov. The specimen was found in Praia do Areia do Mastro (Cabo Espichel, Sesimbra) in the Papo Seco Formation (lower Barremian), and comprises the right side of the skull, part of the skull vault and a nearly complete basicranium. Cariocecus bocagei is diagnosed based on autapomorphies such as the co-ossified maxillo-jugal complex and the trilobated shape of the supraoccipital. The phylogenetic analysis retrieves C. bocagei as a basal hadrosauroid in a clade with Comptonatus chasei and Brighstoneus simmondsi. Our biogeographical analysis emphasizes the effects of insular endemism during the Hauterivian–Aptian range in the European regions. We show that Iguanodontia originated in South America, and through a dispersal event towards North America during the Upper Jurassic, expanded their latitudinal range. Cariocecus and other early-diverging iguanodontians emerged during an eastward dispersal event in the Lower Cretaceous. We reconstructed the endocast, cranial nerves and inner ear of Cariocecus via segmentation of micro-computed tomography scanning, showing similarities with other Hadrosauriformes such as Iguanodon and Proa. We propose the most detailed inner ear soft-tissue reconstruction for a dinosaur so far, including the macula and sub-branches of the vestibulocochlear nerve, supported by the extant phylogenetic bracket. Based on the unossified suture of the cranial elements, we hypothesize that SHN.832 had not yet reached full skeletal maturity, and our restoration suggests a total skull length of about 45 cm. The supraorbital membrane was reconstructed based on the well-preserved supraorbital bone and comparison with modern taxa. 

Keywords: Ornithopoda, Barremian, Papo Seco Formation, supraorbital, biogeography

 

Cariocecus bocagei gen. nov. sp. nov. 

  

 

Filippo Bertozzo, Bruno Camilo, Ricardo Araújo, Fabio Manucci, José Carlos Kullberg, Donald G. Cerio. 2025. Cariocecus bocagei, A New basal hadrosauroid from the Lower Cretaceous of Portugal. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 23(1); 2536347. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2025.2536347 [15 Sep 2025] 

  facebook.com/BrunoCamiloSilva5/posts/24587424554281291

 

[Paleontology • 2025] Megaglomerospora lealiae • A new fossil fungus (Glomeromycetes) from upper Carboniferous of Portugal: the Largest glomeromycotan fungal spores

 

Megaglomerospora lealiae

in Correia, Sá et Pereira, 2025.

DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.010 

 facebook.com: Pedro Correia

 

Highlights: 

• Fossil fungi discovered in the continental Carboniferous of Portugal.

• New fossil fungus is erected based on a dense cluster of unusual silicified large spores.

• Megaglomerospora lealiae is the first record of Glomeromycotan fungal spores from the Carboniferous of Iberia.

• Megaglomerospora lealiae represents the largest Glomeromycotan fungal spores documented so far.

• New insights on the diversity of the Glomeromycotan spores and the Carboniferous endomycorrhizal fungi.

Abstract

A new genus and species of fossil fungus, Megaglomerospora lealiae, is described from the Buçaco Carboniferous Basin (upper Stephanian C, Upper Pennsylvanian, upper Carboniferous), in central western Portugal. The new fossil fungus consists of a dense cluster of silicified large spores. These new fungal spores are oblong, subelliptical to subspherical-shaped, with a glabrous surface characterized by having a lipid-filled lumen, and display a strong septate-like hypha attached. The presence of lobe-shaped germination shields suggests close affinities to Diversisporales (Glomeromycota). Megaglomerospora lealiae nov. gen., nov. sp. is remarkably distinctive because it is by far the largest fossil fungal spore (∼1.6 mm long) documented for the phylum Glomeromycota. This is the first report of an endomycorrhizal‐like fungus from the Carboniferous of Iberia.

 

Systematic palaeomycology

Domain Eukaryota Chatton, 1925

Kingdom Fungi Moore, 1980

Division Glomeromycota Walker et Schüßler, 2004

Class Glomeromycetes Cavalier-Smith, 1998

Order Diversisporales Walker et Schüßler, 2004

Family Incertae sedis

Genus Megaglomerospora Correia, Sá et Pereira, nov.

 

Pedro Correia, Artur A. Sá and Zélia Pereira. 2025. Megaglomerospora lealiae nov. gen., nov. sp. from the upper Carboniferous of Portugal: the Largest glomeromycotan fungal spores. Geobios. 91; 1-9. DOI: doi.org/10.1016/j.geobios.2024.11.010

  facebook.com/PedroCorreia372/posts/10237198422838704

[PaleoMammalogy • 2025] Cambelodon torreensis • A New pinheirodontid multituberculate from the Upper Jurassic of western Portugal

 

Cambelodon torreensis

Carvalho, Camilo, Araújo, Castro, Kullberg, Desmet, Nerinckx, Leite & Reis, 2025

DOI: doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70012

 

Abstract

Cambelodon torreensis gen. et sp. nov. is described based on a recently discovered, well-preserved right hemimandible of a pinheirodontid multituberculate from the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) Freixial Formation at the Ulsa quarry, Cambelas, Portugal. This discovery marks a pivotal advancement in understanding the anatomy of Pinheirodontidae, a family previously known only from isolated teeth. Cambelodon torreensis has a distinctive suite of morphological characteristics, including high-crowned premolars with prominent subtriangular lobes, an elongated diastema, a well-developed masseteric fossa, and a large complement of basal cusps on the fourth lower premolar. Notably, it may have had a non-sequential posteroanterior tooth replacement, a pattern previously documented only in paulchoffatiids from the Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian. This finding extends the temporal range of this dental developmental trait to include late Tithonian multituberculates, providing new insights into the dental evolution of early mammals. Geological and palynological analyses of productive sites at the Freixial Fm. suggest a low-energy depositional environment with periodic soil formation in an arid or semi-arid palaeoclimate. The composition and taphonomy of the bonebed, which contains both macrofossils and microfossils, indicate a mud-entrapment episode. Parsimony-based phylogenetic analysis confirms the placement of Cambelodon torreensis in Pinheirodontidae, validating this family as a distinct and monophyletic group within multituberculates. This research fills gaps in our knowledge of the early multituberculate fossil record and provides insights into the ecological dynamics that shaped the ancient environments of the Iberian Peninsula.

Keywords: Multituberculata, Pinheirodontidae, tooth replacement, Lusitanian Basin, Tithonian, palaeoenvironment

 The image shows a fossil jawbone (SHN.830) from both outer (lateral) and inner (medial) sides.
3D model showing unerrupted incisor.

Scale bar is 2 mm.  

Cambelodon torreensis gen. et sp. nov.

Victor F. Carvalho, Bruno Camilo, Ricardo Araújo, Lígia Castro, José C. Kullberg, Hilde G. B. Desmet, Ignace Nerinckx, Marco Leite and Diego Reis. 2025. Cambelodon torreensis, a new pinheirodontid multituberculate from the Upper Jurassic of western Portugal. Papers in Palaeontology. 11(2); e70012. DOI: doi.org/10.1002/spp2.70012 [10 April 2025]

https://x.com/raraujopaleo/status/1910304976078790945

[Paleontology • 2019] Portugalosuchus azenhae • A New Eusuchian Crocodylomorph from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Portugal reveals Novel Implications on the Origin of Crocodylia

Portugalosuchus azenhae 

Mateus, Puértolas-Pascual & Callapez, 2019

DOI: doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zly064

Abstract

The fossil record of Eusuchia extends back to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), with the English species Hylaeochampsa vectiana being the oldest known representative of the clade so far. However, the eusuchian record from the Barremian to the Santonian is scarce and fragmentary worldwide. Here we described a new eusuchian crocodylomorph based on a partial skull and lower jaw from the Early Upper Cenomanian of the Tentugal Formation, in the Baixo Mondego region, west-central Portugal. The specimen exhibits a series of characters not seen in other taxa, allowing its assignment to a new genus and species named Portugalosuchus azenhae gen. et sp. nov. The results of a cladistic analysis place this specimen within Crocodylia, as the sister taxon to all other non-gavialoid crocodylians. Therefore, this Portuguese specimen represents the only well-documented and valid eusuchian species in the Cenomanian in Europe, and may be the oldest representative of Crocodylia known so far, helping to fill a gap in the fossil record of Eusuchia from the Barremian to the Campanian. In addition, the discovery of this new taxon sheds light on the radiation of Eusuchia and the origin of Crocodylia, which probably took place in Europe.  

Crocodylomorpha, Eusuchia, phylogeny, systematics

 

  

  

Octávio Mateus, Eduardo Puértolas-Pascual and Pedro M Callapez. 2019. A New Eusuchian Crocodylomorph from the Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous) of Portugal reveals Novel Implications on the Origin of Crocodylia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, zly064.  DOI: doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zly064 

 

Descoberto em Portugal o mais antigo crocodilo fóssil do mundo tsf.pt/sociedade/interior/descoberto-em-portugal-o-mais-antigo-crocodilo-fossil-do-mundo-10286846.html

Portugalosuchus: Paleontólogos portugueses descobrem nova espécie: o mais antigo crocodilo fóssil conhecido dct.fct.unl.pt/investigacao/portugalosuchus

Paleontólogos portugueses descobrem o mais antigo crocodilo fóssil do mundo em Tentúgal: observador.pt/2018/12/06/paleontologos-portugueses-descobrem-o-mais-antigo-crocodilo-fossil/ via @observadorpt

Paleontologia. O fóssil de crocodilo mais antigo do mundo é de Tentúgal publico.pt/2018/12/06/ciencia/noticia/fossil-crocodilo-antigo-mundo-tentugal-1853821

[Paleontology • 2025] Novel Record of Placodont Remains including A Henodus Cranium from the Upper Triassic Silves Group of the Algarve, southern Portugal

 

in Ruciński, Campos, Mateus et Werneburg, 2025. 

DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2025.2460445 

ABSTRACT

Recent fieldwork in the Upper Triassic deposits of the Silves Group in the Algarve, southern Portugal revealed novel cyamodontid placodont material. The collection includes a partial skull and numerous isolated armor plates from four localities in Silves and Loulé municipalities. The skull shows a strong affinity to henodontid placodonts, especially to Henodus chelyops from Tübingen-Lustnau in Germany. It shares features such as a rectangular outline of the cranium, occurrence of a broad spatulate rostrum, and toothless maxillae with curved longitudinally extending grooves. The only unambiguous difference observed pertains to the more robust and convex snout shape of the new specimen. Based on these multiple similarities, the specimen is identified as Henodus sp., but poor preservation prevents species-level identification. The new specimen from Portugal represents the second record of Henodus and illustrates a wider geographic distribution of that genus, extending beyond the Germanic Basin and reaching coastal areas near the westernmost branch of the Neotethys. The age of the deposits where the cranium was found is not well-established but refers to a time interval within the upper Carnian–Rhaetian, suggesting the specimen may be younger than other henodontid records. The novel Henodus material found in the continental, but likely the near-coastal depositional setting, concurs with the known records of brackish to the freshwater habitat of the other henodontid placodonts. The occurrence of abundant armor plates assigned to Cyamodontidae at multiple sites and stratigraphic horizons indicates that placodonts were common in the south Iberian margin.

Paleogeographic context of recorded Henodontidae remains.
A, paleogeographic map of the world during the Late Triassic (Colorado Plateau Geosystems Inc., license nr. #110719).
B, magnification of the map of the Late Triassic world illustrating the area of the western Neotethys. Approximate locations of Henodontidae-bearing sites are indicated by a star. Drawing of Henodus chelyops after Rieppel et al. (2000). Drawing of Parahenodus atacensis after de Miguel Chaves et al. (2018). Photos of the Portuguese specimen ML. A9182 is referred to as Henodus sp. with shape contour and established bone extensions (compare with Figs 4, 5). Scale bars represent 20 mm.

 Abbreviations: AB, Algarve Basin; AV, Avalonia; BM, Bohemian Massif; CEB, Central European Basin (which includes Germanic Basin); EEP, East European Platform; IB, Iberian Basin; IM, Iberian Massif; MG, Maghrabian-Gibraltar rift; SP, Sahara Platform.

 Summary of the placodont material from Upper Triassic of the Algarve.
A, reconstruction of Henodus by Jakub Kowalski and Piotr Janecki.
B, transversely expanded armor plate from Algarve, interpreted to possibly stem from the medial portion of Henodus carapace. C, equilateral armor plate from the Algarve interpreted to possibly stem from the marginal portion of Henodus carapace. D, photogrammetry-based image of Henodus cranium (ML. A9182).

Maciej Ruciński, Hugo Campos, Octávio Mateus and Ingmar Werneburg. 2025. Novel Record of Placodont Remains including A Henodus Cranium from the Upper Triassic Silves Group of the Algarve, southern Portugal. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e2460445. DOI: doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2025.2460445 

[PaleoBotany • 2025] Palaeopteridium andrenelii • A New noeggerathialean Species from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Portugal with new insights on the Noeggerathiales

 Palaeopteridium andrenelii  

 Correia & Góis-Marques, 2025 

DOI: doi.org/10.1017/S0016756824000438  

 

Abstract

Noeggerathiales were until recently a group of plants with uncertain systematic position that existed in the Carboniferous and Permian times. Recent discoveries classify them as heterosporous progymnosperms. Despite the discovery of additional specimens, the group still remains highly artificial because their reproductive organs are rarely preserved in organic connection. Within the Carboniferous of Iberian Massif, the noeggerathialeans are poorly represented. Here, we describe Palaeopteridium andrenelii sp. nov. from the uppermost Carboniferous of Portugal. This is the second representative of Noeggerathiales reported in the Portuguese Carboniferous after Carlos Teixeira have described the noeggerathialean Rhacopteris gomesiana in the 1940s from Douro Carboniferous Basin (Stephanian C/lower Gzhelian, Upper Pennsylvanian). Palaeopteridium andrenelii was found in upper Asturian (upper Moscovian, Middle Pennsylvanian) strata from the classical Westphalian outcrops of Ervedosa, located in the region of Alto da Serra (Fânzeres), Gondomar, in northwestern Portugal. Two reproductive structures are associated with the frond of the new fossil species. Although not organically linked, both structures could belong to parent plant (frond) and represent possible detached macrosporangia. This reenforces the Palaeopteridium as a noeggerathialean and the first reproductive structures found for this genus.

Keywords: Palaeopteridium, Noeggerathiales, macrosporangia, Ervedosa flora, upper Asturian (upper Moscovian; Middle Pennsylvanian), Gondomar, Portugal

 Holotype MGUTAD-1121 of Palaeopteridium andrenelii sp. nov. from the Ervedosa’s outcrops (upper Westphalian D/upper Asturian, Middle Pennsylvanian) of the road Dom Miguel, Seixo (Fânzeres) region, Gondomar, northwestern Portugal.
1 – General view of the holotype (white arrows indicate a very developed petiole-like, a possible penultimate rachis). 2–3 – Enlargement of rectangular boxes in Figure 1, showing details of foliage (white arrows indicate the petiolate attachment of the pinnules on an ultimate rachis). 4 – Enlargement of rectangular box in Figure 1, displaying a putative ‘noeggerathialean’ macrosporangium with a probable micropyle (highlighted in dashed white circle). 5 – Putative ‘noeggerathialean’ macrosporangium, exhibiting a multicelled gametophyte extending from ruptured spore wall (white arrows) (holotype counterpart; see Plate II, 2B).

Division: †Progymnospermophyta Bold et al.

Class: †Noeggerathiopsida Kryshtofovich

Order: †Noeggerathiales Nĕmejc emend. Wang et al. (2021)

Fossil-family: Discinitaceae Zhifeng & Thomas

Fossil-genus: Palaeopteridium Kidston (1923)

Type species: Palaeopteridium reussii (Ettingshausen) Kidston (1923) from Westphalian Series of the Carboniferous Rocks of Great Britain.

Basionym: Asplenites reussii Ettingshausen (Ettingshausen, 1852), ‘Steinkohlenflora von Stradonitz in Böhmen’, Ablandl. K.K. geol. Reichsanst., Band I, Abth. 3, No. 4, p. 16, pl. I, Figures 8, 9 (Kidston, Reference Kidston1923, p. 201)

Palaeopteridium andrenelii sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Bipinnate frond with subopposite or alternate pinnules, relatively symmetrical and spaced, sometimes touching or slightly overlapping, obliquely attached to an ultimate rachis by a very narrow base (1.5–2.0 mm long and 0.8–1.0 mm wide) − petiolate attachment. Ultimate rachis very thin, straight or slightly flexuous, detached from a possible penultimate rachis. Fan-shaped (flabelliform or semiflabelliform type) pinnules, of 7–8 mm long and a maximum fan width of about 5−6 mm, with entire lateral and crenate/lobed distal margins. Distal margins bearing irregular and asymmetrical 12−14 crenate-shaped teeth/lobes of about 0.3−1.0 mm long. Venation pattern of open dichotomous showing a single vein entering each pinnule, giving rise to a series of radiating veinlets of equal strength which in their course to the margin divide three or four times. There are 14–20 veins on distal margin of pinnule.

Etymology. The specific name ‘andrenelii’ honours André Nel from Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (Paris), a world expert in palaeoentomology and honourable colleague who has been cooperating with us on the systematic study of new insect fossils recently described in the Douro and Buçaco Basins (Loureiro et al. 2010; Correia et al. 2014 b; Correia et al. 2021 c; Correia & Nel, 2023; Correia et al. 2023 c).

Type locality. Outcrops located in the northeast banks of road Dom Miguel, Seixo (Fânzeres) region, Gondomar, northwestern Portugal (Fig. 1).

Type horizon and age. Horizon composed of laminated and compact grey shales; late Westphalian D (late Asturian/late Moscovian, Middle Pennsylvanian).

Pedro Correia and Carlos A. Góis-Marques. 2025. Palaeopteridium andrenelii sp. nov., A New noeggerathialean Species from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Portugal with new insights on the Noeggerathiales. Geological Magazine. 162, e1. DOI: doi.org/10.1017/S0016756824000438  

[Herpetology • 2024] Alytes obstetricans lusitanicus • A New Subspecies of Midwife Toad (Anura: Alytidae: Alytes Wagler, 1829) supported by Genomic Taxonomy

  Alytes obstetricans lusitanicus  

 Ambu, Martínez-Solano & Dufresnes, 2024

 biotaxa.org/Alytes/article/view/85334 

 x.com/batracofistro

photo: Christophe Dufresnes

Abstract

The mapping, delimiting and naming of biodiversity forge the links between academic research, conservation efforts and communication about wildlife. Midwife toads from the subgenus Alytes are a group of high conservation concern widely popular among European naturalists, but for which the taxonomy remains unsettled. Six phylogeographic lineages that diversified during the Pliocene and the Pleistocene epochs have been identified and delimited in two species (A. obstetricans and A. almogavarii), but only five subspecies are presently recognized (A. o. obstetricans, A. o. pertinax and A. o. boscai; A. a. almogavarii and A. a. inigoi). Accordingly, two distinct lineages found in northwestern and western Iberia are still regrouped under the same taxon A. o. boscai. Contrary to the discordant findings of earlier studies based on a few genes, phylogenomic analyses of thousands of nuclear markers have confirmed their independent evolution, estimated to exceed two million years. In this article, we detail molecular, morphological and behavioral variation in the subgenus Alytes to provide a taxonomic description for the previously unnamed western Iberian lineage. Like other taxa of this subgenus, the new taxon is supported by robust evidence for genetic divergence despite little external differentiation. It is designated as a subspecies of A. obstetricans, as per its phylogenetic placement and young evolutionary age, which compares to freely admixing Alytes subspecies. Combining genetic barcoding and distribution information, we provisionally define its range in central Portugal and western central Spain, and prompt to evaluate its potentially worrisome conservation status. Our study highlights how phylogeographic diversity can be acknowledged in zoological systematics, even when phenotypic differences are subtle, and illustrates the advantages of genomic approaches to overcome the limitations of single-gene analyses when implementing taxonomic revisions.

Keywords: Alytes obstetricans; Iberian Peninsula; integrative taxonomy; species delimitation

The holotype MNCN 50839 of Alytes obstetricans lusitanicus ssp. nov., depicted live

photo: Christophe Dufresnes

Alytes obstetricans lusitanicus ssp. nov.

Diagnosis: A midwife toad from the subgenus Alytes, which becomes the fourth subspecies of A.

obstetricans. According to phylogenomic analyses, A. o. lusitanicus ssp. nov. is the sister

taxon of A. o. boscai, from which it diverged around the Plio-Pleistocene transition ca. 2.5

Mya (Ambu et al. 2023). It features 0.19 % of sequence divergence at ~ 282 kb of nuclear

(RAD) loci from that subspecies. The mitochondrial diversity of A. o. lusitanicus ssp. nov. is

counter-intuitive. The Spanish populations feature a “ghost” lineage different from the regular

A. o. lusitanicus ssp. nov. mtDNA predominantly found in Portugal (Ambu 2024b).

Accordingly, the mtDNA of A. o. lusitanicus ssp. nov. differs from the mtDNA of A. o.

boscai by 0.93 % (Portuguese lineage) or 0.99 % (Spanish ghost lineage) at 16S, and by 5.2

% (Portuguese lineage) or 3.3 % (Spanish ghost lineage) at ND4 (Table 1) – again noting that

these mtDNA distances do not reflect the true divergence between taxa due to a past

mitochondrial capture in A. o. boscai (Ambu et al. 2023). According to MOLD, the new

subspecies can be distinguished from all other taxa from subgenus Alytes by the following

diagnostic nucleotides in the ND4 gene ...

Etymology: The nomen lusitanicus refers to the ancient Roman Province of Lusitania, which encompassed central and southern Portugal (south of the Douro River) and western central Spain (Extremadura, Castilla la Mancha and Castilla y León), thus broadly matching the distribution of the new taxon.  

Johanna Ambu, ĺñigo Martínez-Solano, Christophe Dufresnes. 2024. A New Subspecies of Midwife Toad (Anura, Alytidae, Alytes Wagler, 1829) supported by Genomic Taxonomy. Alytes. 2024, 41 (1–4): 18–39.  biotaxa.org/Alytes/article/view/85334

  x.com/batracofistro/status/1790095552081780790

[Herpetology • 2024] Triturus rudolfi • Morphological and Genetic Diversification of Pygmy and Marbled Newts (Salamandridae: Triturus), with the Description of A New Species from the wider Lisbon Peninsula

Triturus rudolfi 

 Arntzen, 2024

Malkmus’ pygmy newt or Lisbon pygmy newt  ||  DOI: 10.1163/18759866-bja10057 

 Researchgate.net/publication/378921494

Abstract

Iberian populations of large-bodied newts, with Triturus marmoratus in the north and T. pygmaeus in the south of the peninsula, were studied for external morphology, mitochondrial dna and for a panel of single nucleotide polymorphisms. This confirmed the species’ low level of interspecific hybridization and their parapatric, mosaic-like mutual range border across the peninsula. The genetic data also revealed substantial variation within T. pygmaeus, with narrow (0.43–35.2 km) clinal transitions in the very centre of Portugal. Similar clines were observed for body size and colouration pattern. Pygmy newts in the west of Portugal are larger, with a more striped (less reticulated) green dorso-lateral colouration pattern than those in the east and south of the country. The western group of populations is described as a new species, Triturus rudolfi sp. nov., on account of a long, ca. 2.5 Ma, independent evolutionary history and limited hybridization with its sister-species T. pygmaeus, suggesting selection against hybrid offspring. The range of the newly described species may be restricted to the wider Lisbon Peninsula, stretching northwards along the Atlantic coast to the river Vouga estuary. Inland, the range border may be set by the lower Tejo River, or by the currently wide area of agricultural land at either side of that river, that may accommodate a residual hybrid zone. The close contact between both pygmy newt species is effectively limited to a ca. 20 × 40 km area directly north of the town Entroncamento, where T. rudolfi sp. nov. is sandwiched in between T. marmoratus and the river Tejo.

Keywords: clinal variation; colouration pattern; hybrid zone; Lisbon pygmy newt; mitochondrial dna; morphometrics; Portugal; single nucleotide polymorphisms; Triturus marmoratus; Triturus pygmaeus; Triturus rudolfi sp. nov.

The Iberian Peninsula with the approximate distributions of four taxa of large-bodied newts as described in table 1. Colour codes are: blue – Triturus marmoratus, dark red – T. pygmaeus pygmaeus, light red – T. p. lusitanicus and brown – Triturus rudolfi nov. sp., i.e., the newly described species from the wider Lisbon Peninsula. Letters indicate the capital cities Lisbon, Portugal (L) and Madrid, Spain (M) as well as Peniche (P) at the Atlantic coast. Major rivers partially coinciding with (sub)species borders are the Guadalquivir, the Vouga and the Tejo. The new species’ type locality Lagoa Seca near Valado dos Frades is indicated by a long arrow.

The insert shows an adult male T. marmoratus.

Holotype of Triturus rudolfi sp. nov. at right (top) and left lateral view (middle), and in ventral view (bottom). Size bar is 1 cm.
Stored at the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain under catalogue number 51784.

Triturus rudolfi sp. nov. from Serra de Sintra (top) and from the Colares and Janas region (middle and bottom).

Triturus rudolfi sp. nov.

Diagnostic features – the newly recognized species is most closely related to, yet morphologically distinguishable from T. pygmaeus, on account of a lower number of green coloured dorso-lateral transversal bands (‘links’). Body size larger than in T. pygmaeus. Significant genetic differences for population groups at either side of the cline near Entroncamento were found at 34 out of 54 investigated nuclear markers, as well as for mitochondrial dna. Body size smaller than in T. marmoratus, with a higher number of links and with a light rather than dark coloured underside.

Derivatio nominis – the species name is chosen in honour of Mr. Rudolf Malkmus, in recognition of his contribution to the knowledge of the Portuguese herpetofauna. Mr. Malkmus placed the Portuguese herpetofauna on the map, not just as a figure of speech, but also literally (Malkmus, 2004).

Suggested vernacular name – Malkmus’ pygmy newt or Lisbon pygmy newt. I further advocate to restrict the name ‘marbled newt’ to T. marmoratus and to use ‘pygmy newts’ for T. pygmaeus and T. rudolfi sp. nov. (see also table 1).

Distribution – the Lisbon Peninsula in Portugal, reaching northward along the Atlantic Ocean up to the river Vouga estuary. Approximate range borders: bounded by T. marmoratus in the north at ca. 39.5 N, separated from T. pygmaeus in the east by the Tejo River and in the northeast by a narrow hybrid zone that is wedged in between T. marmoratus territory and the river Tejo.

  Jan W. Arntzen. 2024. Morphological and Genetic Diversification of Pygmy and Marbled Newts, with the Description of A New Species from the wider Lisbon Peninsula (Triturus, Salamandridae). Contributions to Zoology. DOI: 10.1163/18759866-bja10057

  Researchgate.net/publication/378921494_Morphological_and_genetic_diversification_of_Triturus_from_the_wider_Lisbon_Peninsula