[Herpetology • 2024] Platyceps gallagheri, P. hajarensis & R. masirae • Three New Cliff Racer Species (Serpentes: Colubridae) from the Sultanate of Oman and Zoogeographic Traits of its Herpetofauna

Platyceps hajarensis

Schätti, Tillack, Stutz & Kucharzewski, 2024

DOI: doi.org/10.35929/RSZ.0132  

 Abstract 

This study investigates the distribution and geographic variation of East Arabian taxa of the Platyceps rhodorachis complex. Platyceps hajarensis sp. nov. from the Eastern Oman Mountains and their periphery deviates in morphological characters from P. r. rhodorachis (Jan, 1863) distributed beyond the Gulf (Iran) and P. gallagheri sp. nov. of the Ras Musandam area. Cliff racers from Masirah Island and central Al-Wusta (P. masirae sp. nov.) considerably differ vis-à-vis polymorphic P. hajarensis and Dhofar populations with as yet unresolved taxonomic status. Morphologically, the latter are most similar to East Yemen cliff racers. The distribution of the new Omani taxa is compared to geographic patterns observed among the regional terrestrial herpetofauna. Ranges of certain southern Arabian reptiles and the systematics of P. variabilis (Boulenger, 1905) are briefly reviewed.

KEYWORDS: Platyceps spp. nov., Dhofar, Hajar, Masirah, Musandam, Endemism, systematics, P. variabilis

Platyceps gallagheri sp. nov.

Gallagher's Cliff Racer

Diagnosis: Ventrals 243-245, subcaudals ≥141 (n=1, extreme tail tip possibly missing), sum ≥386 (1); a single subocular (presubocular or postsubocular absent); neck transversely patterned; 19-19-13 dsr, first transverse reduction level lateral or paravertebral; 18 maxillary teeth.

Etymology: The species name honours Michael Desmond Gallagher (1921-2014), the collector of the holotype and an unlocated Khasab specimen, for his invaluable impact on the investigation of reptiles in the Sultanate of Oman and the support he offered to this project.

Platyceps hajarensis sp. nov. (♂ holotype, MHNG 2664.71) from Fanjah, Ad-Dakhiliyah, Sultanate of Oman.

Platyceps hajarensis sp. nov.

Hajar Cliff Racer

Diagnosis: Ventrals usually 226-235 (as few as at least 222 along Gulf of Oman), subcaudals 126-140, sum usually 354.5-374 (as few as 349); usually a single subocular (presubocular uncommon, postsubocular absent); barred or banded at least on neck (zipper-shaped or chequered behind), or unmarked throughout; 19-19-13 dsr (19-19-11 in some ♂♂), first transverse reduction level variable; usually 17-18 (16, rarely 19) maxillary teeth.

Etymology: The species' scientific name refers to its distribution centre in the Hajar Range.

General aspect of Platyceps masirae sp. nov. (Masirah Island) in life. Courtesy of Roberto Sindaco.

Platyceps masirae sp. nov.

Masirah Cliff Racer

Diagnosis: Ventrals 203-209, subcaudals 110 (MCZ paratype) and 115-124, sum 317 (ibid.) and 318-333; regular subocular present, presubocular (40% of bilateral counts in insular sample) and postsubocular (50%, ibid.) common; dorsum barred or with two mid-dorsal rows of marks; 19-19-13 or 19-19-11/13 (♂♂) dsr, first reduction lateral; 17-18 maxillary teeth.

Etymology: The species' scientific name alludes to the origin of its type series, Masirah Island (Sultanate of Oman) in the Arabian Sea.

Platyceps forma inquirenda

Diagnosis: Ventrals 215-233, subcaudals 119-135, sum 335-361; usually a single subocular (presubocular uncommon, unilateral postsubocular exceptional); chequered or with transverse pattern on forebody, or unmarked throughout; 19-19-13 dsr (occasionally 19-19-11 in ♂♂) and first reduction usually paravertebral; 15-16 maxillary teeth in Dhofar (up to 17 in Yemen).

Beat Schätti, Frank Tillack, Andrea Stutz and Christoph Kucharzewski. 2024. Three New Cliff Racer Species from the Sultanate of Oman (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubrinae) and Zoogeographic Traits of its Herpetofauna. Revue suisse de Zoologie. 131(2); 451-486. DOI: doi.org/10.35929/RSZ.0132  

[Cnidaria • 2024] Zancleopsis grandis & Melicertum tropicalis • Additional Observations on Hydromedusae during Night Dives in the Gulf Stream

Zancleopsis grandis 

Schuchert & Collins, 2024

 

DOI: 10.35929/RSZ.0113

Abstract

This work is a supplement of our previous study (Schuchert & Collins, 2021) on hydromedusae observed and collected during night-time dives in the Gulf Stream off Florida. Close-up photos and collection of selected specimens for DNA extraction and 16S barcode sequencing permitted us to distinguish 49 distinct morphotypes or species of hydromedusae. Eighteen of them are new additions to the ones reported in our 2021 paper. Seven potential species of the 49 were only identified to the genus level, one to the family level. Two new species are described: Zancleopsis grandis sp. nov. and Melicertum tropicalis sp. nov. 16S sequences permitted us to identify the previously unknown subadult medusa of Podocoryna martinicana Galea & Ferry, 2013. Three species are new records for the Northwest Atlantic: Leuckartiara adnata Pagès, Gili & Bouillon, 1992, Corymorpha valdiviae (Vanhöffen, 1911), and Cnidocodon leopoldi Bouillon, 1978. The 16S data indicated the potential presence of cryptic species in Thecocodium quadratum (Werner, 1965), Laodicea undulata (Forbes & Goodsir, 1853), Orchistoma pileus (Lesson, 1843), and Pseudaegina rhodina (Haeckel, 1879).

KEYWORDS: 16S DNA barcodes, blackwater diving, Cnidaria, Florida, Hydrozoa, taxonomy

Zancleopsis grandis sp. nov. Holotype, BFLA4559, total height size 29 mm. The brownish objects are crustaceans.
 Structural details: green arrows – the same individual capitulum; red arrows – filiform tentacles, blue arrows – broken ends of the long tentacles, yellow arrows – developmental zone of the side-branches, purple arrow – gonad folds.
(A) Lateral view. (B) Manubrium in lateral view. (C-D) Tentacle details. (E-F) Partially relaxed filiform and branched tentacles, the axis of the medusa is horizontal. 

Zancleopsis grandis sp. nov. Paratype, BFLA4561, size 25 mm, tentacles and capitula relaxed; green arrows indicate branched tentacles, blue arrows the shorter, filiform tentacles.
(A) Lateral view. (B) View on velar opening, the green arrow points to incipient side-branches of a long tentacle. (C) Long tentacle region with large capitula. (D) Higher magnification of capitula. Photos by Linda Ianniello.

Zancleopsis grandis sp. nov.

 

Zancleopsis dichotoma. – Bigelow, 1938: 102, figs 1-2. [not Zancleopsis dichotoma (Mayer, 1900)].

  

Type locality: USA, Florida, about 10 km east of Palm Beach; ...; depth 10 m.

Etymology: The specific epithet “grandis” refers to the relatively large size of this medusa and to the very large capitula of the tentacular side branches.

Diagnosis: Zancleopsis medusa with total bell height up to 29 mm, with large apical process, with two long tentacles with abaxial side branches, the latter ending in very large capitula, much larger than marginal bulbs, spherical or ovoid depending on state of contraction, other two tentacles relatively long, tapering, without swollen end or capitulum; gonads in vertical folds.

Peter Schuchert and Richard Collins. 2024. Additional Observations on Hydromedusae during Night Dives in the Gulf Stream. Revue suisse de Zoologie. 131(1):43-120. DOI: 10.35929/RSZ.0113

[Cnidaria • 2020] Plumularia roxanae • A New Epiphytic Hydroid (Hydrozoa: Plumulariidae) from the Indo-Pacific

Plumularia roxanae

Galea, 2020

DOI:  10.35929/RSZ.0026 

 Abstract 

A new epiphytic, small-sized species of Plumularia Lamarck, 1816, P. roxanae sp. nov., is described based on fertile material from Bali, Indonesia. Its deep hydrothecae are characteristically narrowed distally through a distinctive hypertrophy of the free portion of their adaxial wall. Its minute gonothecae, however, are comparable in shape and size to those of the well-known, circumtropical P. floridana Nutting, 1900.

Plumularia roxanae sp. nov.
(A) Portion of cormoid. (B) Detail of a portion of stem with proximal parts of four successive cladia. (C) Detail of a stem internode, showing centrally an apophysis and the proximal part of the corresponding cladium. (D) Proximal most hydrotheca. (E) Distalmost hydrotheca, note the absence of the distal part of its corresponding internode. (F) Portion of fertile stem with rows of gonothecae. (G) Gonotheca. (H) More detailed view of a gonotheca, showing apical aperture (arrowhead).

 Scale bars: 50 µm (H), 100 µm (C-E, G), 200 µm (B, F), 500 µm (A).

Plumularia roxanae sp. nov.  

  

Diagnosis: Small-sized, epiphytic Plumularia arising from stolon with perisarcal spurs, giving rise to monosiphonic stems divided homomerously by transverse nodes into rather short, collinear internodes, each with a subterminal cladial apophysis provided with an inconspicuous adaxial mamelon and a pair of axillar nematothecae; cladia heteromerously segmented by alternating straight and oblique nodes into short, ahydrothecate internodes occasionally provided with a nematotheca, and up to three, comparatively longer hydrothecate internodes accommodating a centrally-placed hydrotheca and its three associated nematothecae; hydrotheca deep, saccate, partly adnate, distal portion distinctly constricted through the hypertrophy of the free adaxial wall that adopts a triangular shape, considerably reducing the thecal lumen; abaxial wall slightly convex; gonothecae in two closely-set, parallel rows along the stem, borne on the cladial apophyses, minute, ovoid, thick-walled.

 Etymology: It is my great pleasure to dedicate this new species to the memory of my late mother, Roxana S. Galea (née Florescu, 5 Oct. 1946 – 18 Jan. 1994), a Romanian biologist, who passed on to me her interest for natural sciences.

Horia R. Galea. 2020. Plumularia roxanae, A New Epiphytic Hydroid (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Plumulariidae) from the Indo-Pacific. Revue suisse de Zoologie. 127(2); 367-376. DOI:  10.35929/RSZ.0026