[Herpetology • 2014] Description of Four New West African Forest Geckos of the Hemidactylus fasciatus Gray, 1842 complex, revealed by coalescent species delimitation

Fig. 1. [A] Living specimen of Hemidactylus fasciatus (not collected) from Liberia;
[B] Living specimen of Hemidactylus kyaboboensis sp. n. from the type locality.

Fig. 6. [A] Living specimen of Hemidactylus ituriensis (AMNH 10273) from Akenge;
[B] Living specimen of Hemidactylus coalescens sp. n. (ZFMK 87679, holotype) from the type locality;
and [C] uncollected living specimen of Hemidactylus biokoensis sp. n. from Bioko Island
(Reserva científica de la Caldera de San Carlos, 3°14’2.39”N, 8°37’38.60”E.).

Abstract

The gecko Hemidactylus fasciatus is widespread in rainforest regions of equatorial Africa, from Guinea to Cameroon. Recently, this taxon was identified as a cryptic complex of at least five species, using multilocus genetic data and coalescent models for species delimitation. Here, we provide the formal descriptions of four new species from tropical West and Central Africa. As typical for cryptic species, the new species are genetically distinct, but difficult to distinguish using external morphology. However, coloration, shape of the body crossbands, and body size, are important distinguishing characters for this complex.

We provide a new taxonomy for this complex that includes the following forest gecko species: H. fasciatus is now restricted to West Africa occurring eastwards to the Dahomey Gap, Hemidactylus kyaboboensis sp. n. is known only from within the Dahomey Gap, H. eniangii sp. n. is distributed from the Dahomey Gap to western Cameroon, H. coalescens sp. n. occurs from central Cameroon to southern Gabon, H. biokoensis sp. n. is restricted to Bioko Island, and H. ituriensis, herein recognized as full species, is known from several localities in eastern Africa.

Key words: Africa, rainforest, Sauria, Gekkonidae, Hemidactylus fasciatus complex, Hemidactylus ituriensis.

Fig. 7. Species tree for the Hemidactylus fasciatus species group based on a coalescent-based Bayesian analysis of 1,087 single nucleotide polymorphisms (Leaché et al. 2014). Posterior probabilities are shown on branches. Museum specimen records were downloaded from the HerpNET database, and geographic distribution was predicted using Maxent. Populations with uncertain taxonomic placement are indicated with “?”. Type localities are: [A]= H. kyaboboensis sp. n.; [B]= H. eniangii sp. n.; [C]= H. biokoensis sp. n.; and [D]= H. coalescens sp. n.

Philipp Wagner, Adam D. Leaché & Matthew K. Fujita. 2014. Description of Four New West African Forest Geckos of the Hemidactylus fasciatus Gray, 1842 complex, revealed by coalescent species delimitation. Bonn zoological Bulletin. 63 (1): 1–14

http://www.zoologicalbulletin.de/BzB_Volumes/Volume_63_1/001-014_BzB63_1_Wagner_et_al.pdf

[Ichthyology • 2014] Tanakia latimarginata • A New Species of Bitterling (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from the Nakdong River, South Korea

Tanakia latimarginata

Kim, Jeon & Suk, 2014

ABSTRACT

 Tanakia latimarginata, new species, is described from the Nakdong River, South Korea. It is distinguished from closely related species in that it has a black distal margin on the anal-fin of mature males that is greater than the diameter of the pupil posteriorly to the midpoint of the fin, a light colored ovipositor in mature females, an irregularly shaped fifth infraorbital bone, and a parietal branch of the supraorbital sensory canal that reaches to or extends past the border between the frontal and parietal. Phylogenetic analyses utilizing mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and nuclear (myh6) DNA sequences support a sister group relationship between T. latimarginata and T. lanceolata.

 Daemin Kim, Hyung-Bae Jeon and Ho Young Suk. 2014. Tanakia latimarginata, A New Species of Bitterling from the Nakdong River, South Korea (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 25(1):59-68.
http://www.pfeil-verlag.de/04biol/pdf/ief25_1_05.pdf

researchgate.net/publication/265907793_Tanakia_latimarginata_a_new_species_of_bitterling_from_the_Nakdong_River_South_Korea_(Teleostei_Cyprinidae)

facebook.com/294682373885900/photos/893854510635347

Chang, Chia-Hao; Li, Fan; Shao, Kwang-Tsao; Lin, Yeong-Shin; Morosawa, Takahiro; Kim, Sungmin; Koo, Hyeyoung; Kim, Won; Lee, Jae-Seong; He, Shunping; Smith, Carl; Reichard, Martin; Miya, Masaki; Sado, Tetsuya; Uehara, Kazuhiko; Lavoué, Sébastien; Chen, Wei-Jen; Mayden, Richard L. (in press). Phylogenetic relationships of Acheilognathidae (Cypriniformes: Cyprinoidea) as revealed from evidence of both nuclear and mitochondrial gene sequence variation: Evidence for necessary taxonomic revision in the family and the identification of cryptic species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.  81; 182–194 doi: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2014.08.026

[Ichthyology • 2014] Rhinobatos whitei • A New Shovelnose Ray (Batoidea: Rhinobatidae) from the Philippine Archipelago

Rhinobatos whitei 

Last, Corrigan & Naylor, 2014
 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3872.1.3

Abstract

A new shovelnose ray, Rhinobatos whitei sp. nov., is described from material collected at fish markets of the southern Philippines. This ray was first formally indentified as an undescribed species more than a decade ago as part of a WWF funded survey of sharks and rays of the Philippines. It was considered to be most closely related to another shovelnose ray found nearby in the western North Pacific, R. schlegelii, but differs from that species in body shape and aspects of coloration, meristics and morphometry. It differs from all other shovelnose rays of the region in its NADH2 sequence, clustering together with an Indonesian species R. jimbaranensis, and another undescribed species from Borneo.

Keywords: Rhinobatos, Rhinobatidae, new species, Philippines, western Pacific

Rhinobatos whitei 

facebook.com/SharkReferences/photos/824792787540827

Last, P.R., Corrigan, S. & Naylor, G. 2014. Rhinobatos whitei, A New Shovelnose Ray (Batoidea: Rhinobatidae) from the Philippine Archipelago. Zootaxa. 3872 (1): 31–47. 

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3872.1.3

[Orchidology • 2014] Paphiopedilum robinsonianum • A New Species of Paphiopedilum from Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Paphiopedilum robinsonianum Cavestro

rao.free.fr | carnivorousockhom.blogspot.com

Abstract 
A new species of Paphiopedilum from Sulawesi is described. This species belongs to the subgenus Paphiopedilum Karas. & Saito and the section Barbata (Kraenzlin) V.A. Albert & Börge Pett. The plant and the flower have some morphological affinities with P. javanicum (Reinw. ex Lindl.) Pfitzer but the dorsal sepal is white with esmerald-green center, the margins of the petals are twisted and heavily ciliated (margins entire for P. javanicum), the staminode is transversely elliptic (reniform for P. javanicum).

Paphiopedilum robinsonianum Cavestro

rao.free.fr | carnivorousockhom.blogspot.com

Cavestro W. 2014. Paphiopedilum robinsonianum sp. nov.
Rhône-Alpes Orchidées. 52 : 10-15.

http://rao.free.fr/article_cavestro_paphio_robinsonianum/2pages_paphio_robinsianium.pdf

http://carnivorousockhom.blogspot.com/2014/02/paphiopedilum-robinsonianum-new-species.html

[Orchidology • 2014] Paphiopedilum rungsuriyanum • A New Species of Paphiopedilum discovered in northern Laos

Paphiopedilum rungsuriyanum

O. GRUSS, N.RUNGRUANG, Y. CHAISURIYAKUL et I. DIONISIO

A new and very distinct species of the genus Paphiopedilum from north-Laos 

In the last few years, a large number of plants of the genus Paphiopedilum as well as other species, came from Laos on the market in Thailand. Frequently in the past few months, a number of very small size plants of the genus Paphiopedilum appeared as Paph. canhii in the trade. Niwat RUNGRUANG, a grower from Thailand also received a number of plants from these collections and when the plants came to bloom in May 2014, he was surprised because he realized that these Paphs were not Paph. canhii. Therefore Niwat RUNGRUANG sought contact with slipper orchid specialists in Thailand and Germany and asked for an analysis and identification of the plants, based on several Iowering plants and detailed picture material (in particular by Olaf Gruß in Germany). 

While the plants with their marbled leaves appear quite similar to Paph. canhii, the blossom at first glance clearly show much broader petals an intensive red-purple coloring, as well as an entirely different staminodium. Also the underside of the leaves differs significantly in the new species. While Paph. canhii is rather red- purple speckled, this new species shows a gray green bottom with wide purple veins.

the naming is in honor of Niwat RUNGRUANG in the 2rd part of his name, but also means rung = flowering period, success, prosperity and Suriya = growing, increasingly

Olaf Gruß, Niwat Rungruang, Yongyouth Chaisuriyakul and Ibn Dionisio. Paphiopedilum rungsuriyanum, a new species discovered in Northern-Laos. [Paphiopedilum rungsuriyanum, eine neue Art aus Nord-Laos]. OrchideenJournal. 

http://orchideen-journal.de/permalink/GRUSS_RUNGRUANG_CHAISURIYAKUL_DIONISIO_Paphiopedilum.pdf

[Herpetology • 2014] Oedura murrumanu | Limestone Range Velvet Gecko • A New Species of Velvet Gecko (Oedura: Diplodactylidae) from the Limestone Ranges of the southern Kimberley, Western Australia

  Limestone Range Velvet Gecko | Oedura murrumanu 

Oliver, Laver, Melville & Doughty, 2014

FIGURE 3. (A) Holotype of Oedura murrumanu sp. nov. (WAM R173368) in life, (B) close-up of head
and fringed fingers. Photographs—P. Horner. 

FIGURE 7. Deeply dissected limestone formations at type locality of
Oedura murrumanu sp. nov. in the Oscar Range. Photograph—P. Oliver.

Abstract

We describe a new species of large Oedura from the Oscar Range on the southern edge of the Kimberley Craton in north-western Australia. Oedura murrumanu sp. nov. can be distinguished from all congeners by the combination of large size (snout-vent length to 103 mm), moderately long and slightly swollen tail, tiny scales on the dorsum, fringe of laterally expanded lamellae on each digit, and 6–7 paired distal subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe. The new species is the first endemic vertebrate known from the limestone ranges of the southern Kimberley; however, this area remains poorly surveyed and further research (particularly wet season surveys and genetic analyses) is required to better characterise regional biodiversity values.

Keywords: Australian Monsoonal Tropics, endemism, lizard, mesic refigia, Oscar Range, saxacoline

Oedura murrumanu sp. nov.

Limestone Range Velvet Gecko

Etymology. ‘Murru manu’ (‘u’ pronouced as ‘oo’) is the word for gecko in the language of the Bunuba people of the south-west Kimberley. This new species is probably entirely restricted to the traditional lands of the Bunuba. 

Distribution. All museum and sight records are from around the type locality (Fig. 1). Further survey work is required to determine if it occurs elsewhere in the Oscar Range, however, there are no obvious barriers between the type locality and large areas of similar limestone to the east, west and north.

Ecology. The type series of O. murrumanu sp. nov. was collected towards the start of the ‘wet season’ (late October) following a brief rain shower. Individuals were observed on horizontal rock platforms and associated with deep horizontal crevices among smooth, weathered limestone (Fig. 7). Several were observed drinking water that had pooled on the rocks. The single adult female paratype (WAM R176699) contains well-developed eggs (approximately 10 mm in diameter and shelled), suggesting that at least some egg-laying occurs early in the wet season. Other geckos recorded at the same time and place were Gehyra cf. multiporosa, Heteronotia planiceps, and Nephrurus sheai.

At the same locality in the late wet season (late February, 2013) several individuals were observed in inaccessible spots on limestone pillars, and one further individual was observed on lower rocks as it appeared to be stalking smaller Gehyra species (G. Gaikhorst, pers. comm.).

Oliver, Paul M., Rebecca J. Laver, Jane Melville & Paul Doughty. 2014. A New Species of Velvet Gecko (Oedura: Diplodactylidae) from the Limestone Ranges of the southern Kimberley, Western Australia. Zootaxa. 3873(1): 49–61. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3873.1.4

[Paleontology • 2014] Tachiraptor admirabilis • New Dinosaur (Theropoda, stem-Averostra) from the earliest Jurassic of the La Quinta Formation, Venezuelan Ande

Tachiraptor admirabilis, unearthed in Venezuela, attacking the herbivorous dinosaur Laquintasaura.

PaleoArt: Maurílio Oliveira | DOI: 10.1098/rsos.140184

Abstract 

Dinosaur skeletal remains are almost unknown from northern South America. One of the few exceptions comes from a small outcrop in the northernmost extension of the Andes, along the

western border of Venezuela, where strata of the La Quinta Formation have yielded the ornithischian Laquintasaura venezuelae and other dinosaur remains. Here, we report isolated bones (ischium and tibia) of a small new theropod, Tachiraptor admirabilis gen. et sp. nov., which differs from all previously known members of the group by an unique suite of features of its tibial articulations. Comparative/phylogenetic studies place the new form as the sister taxon to Averostra, a theropod group that is known primarily from the Middle Jurassic onwards. A new U–Pb zircon date (isotope dilution thermal-ionization mass spectrometry; ID-TIMS method) from the bone bed matrix suggests an earliest Jurassic maximum age for the La Quinta Formation. A dispersal–vicariance analysis suggests that such a stratigraphic gap is more likely to be filled by new records from north and central Pangaea than from southern areas. Indeed, our data show that the sampled summer-wet equatorial belt, which yielded the new taxon, played a pivotal role in theropod evolution across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary 

Tachiraptor admirabilis attacking the herbivorous dinosaur Laquintasaura.
Tachiraptor, a 1.5-meter-long theropod dinosaur (center) that lived in what is now Venezuela just over 200 million years ago,

PaleoArt: Maurílio Oliveira

Theropoda Marsh 1881 sensu 

Neotheropoda Bakker 1986 sensu 

stem-Averostra Paul 2002 sensu  

Tachiraptor admirabilis new genus and species

Etymology: The generic name derives from Táchira, the Venezuelan state where the fossil was found, and raptor (Latin for thief), in reference to the probable predatory habits of the animal. The specific epithet honours Simon Bolivar’s ‘Admirable Campaign’, in which La Grita, the town where the type locality is located, played a strategic role.

Figure 4. Strict consensus of the 1107 MPTs recovered with the inclusion of Tachiraptor admirabilis into the dataset of Xu et al. [12]. Branch colours represent extension of ghost lineages in millions of years (red, less than 15; purple, 15–35; blue, more than 35). Taxon bar lengths correspond to their chronologic distribution/uncertainty (based on various sources). Bar colours match those of the index Middle Jurassic palaeomap [70] and correspond to the provenance of Triassic/Jurassic theropods from the defined palaeobiogeographic provinces (SG, South Gondwana; EA, Euramerica; TU, Transurals; EB, Equatorial Belt) at the time of their occurrences.

Langer, M. C., Rincón, A. D., Ramezani, J., Solórzano, A., and O. W. M. Rauhut. 2014. New Dinosaur (Theropoda, stem-Averostra) from the earliest Jurassic of the La Quinta Formation,

Venezuelan Andes. Royal Society Open Science. 1: 140184. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.140184

http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/1/2/140184

New meat-eating dinosaur lived in the wake of a mass extinction @newsfromscience

http://news.sciencemag.org/latin-america/2014/10/new-meat-eating-dinosaur-lived-wake-mass-extinction

Newfound South American Predator Snacked on Little Dinosaurs http://shar.es/1mb4tC via @LiveScience

http://news.sciencemag.org/sifter/2014/10/pot-farmers-are-poisoning-weasel-relative

http://chinleana.fieldofscience.com/2014/10/tachiraptor-admirabilis-and-early.html

[Clitellata • 2014] Four New Species of the Earthworm Genus Amynthas Kinberg, 1867 (Clitellata: Megascolecidae) from Thailand, with Redescription of the Type Species

Fig. 12. Photographs of Amynthas arenulus, new species.
A, B, living specimen from the type locality showing the coloration; C, specimen from Sisaket, just after anesthesis step in 30% (v/v) ethanol showing the coloration of the ventral side.
Fig. 11. Photographs showing typical habitat types of the new species:
A, B, Amynthas arenulus, new species. A, earthen dyke around paddy field; B, casting. C, D, Amynthas longicaeca, new species. C, dipterocarp forest; D, casting. E, F, Amynthas thakhantho, new species. E, organic gardening; F, tower–like casting.

Abstract

 The type species of the genus Amynthas Kinberg, 1867 was re-investigated using type specimens from Biozentrum Grindel und Zoologisches Museum, University of Hamburg and Swedish Museum of Natural History. Also we described four new species of the genus Amynthas from Thailand, two species of the aelianus species group, namely Amynthas arenulus Bantaowong & Panha, new species, and A. longicaeca Bantaowong & Panha, new species, and two species of the corticis species group, A. thakhantho Bantaowong & Panha, new species, and A. phucheefah Bantaowong & Panha, new species, Amynthas arenulus and A. thakhantho occur in sandy habitats of dry dipterocarp and deciduous forest, respectively, and especially in the modified highland paddy fields, while the following two species, A. longicaeca and A. phucheefah occur in deciduous forest reserve areas in clay–rich topsoil.

Key words. Amynthas, Clitellata, systematics, biodiversity, Thailand

ไส้เดือนยักษ์สุรินทร์ | Amynthas arenulus Bantaowong & Panha, new species

Etymology. The specific epithet is from the Latin for a sandy place. This refers to the find-grained sandy area modified as a highland rice paddy system, which is the habitat of the new species.

Distribution. Surin, Sisaket and Ubon Ratchathani.

Habitat. The species lives in the sandy top soil at about 20–30 cm depth, in a highland paddy system modified from dipterocarp forest. Some forest patches are still present near the paddy fields.

ไส้เดือนป่าเต็งรังชัยภูมิ | Amynthas longicaeca Bantaowong & Panha, new species

Etymology. This species was named after the characteristic long intestinal caeca.

Distribution. The new species is known only from the type locality. 

Habitat. Top soil at about 20 cm depth in the dipterocarp forest at elevation 660 meters of Phu Lan Kha National Park, Chaiyaphum, at pH 7, silt loam soil.

ไส้เดือนยักษ์ภูชี้ฟ้า | Amynthas phucheefah Bantaowong & Panha, new species

Etymology. This species was named after the type locality, Mt. Phu Chee Fah.

Distribution. The new species is known only from the type locality. Our collections in nearby areas have also found some earthworm species of the genus Metaphire.

Habitat. The new species exhibited swarming in October 2008 at 1,205 m asl, and most of them were juveniles. The reason is still unknown. We collected some specimens by chance. The worms emerged from the top soil of deciduous forest and tried to migrate across a road to another side of 

the mountain.

ไส้เดือนยักษ์ท่าคันโท | Amynthas thakhantho Bantaowong & Panha, new species

Etymology. This species was named after Tha Khantho, Kalasin, the type locality of the new species.

Distribution. The new species is known only from the type locality.

Habitat. Top soil at about 15 cm depth, at pH 7, loamy soil. Worms produce columnar or tower-like castings about 20 cm high and 4 cm diameter.

Ueangfa Bantaowong, Pattana Somniyam, Chirasak Sutcharit, Samuel W James and Somsak Panha. 2014. Four New Species of the Earthworm Genus Amynthas Kinberg, 1867, with Redescription of the Type Species (Clitellata: Megascolecidae). Raffles. Bull. Zool. 62: 655–670.
http://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/nus/images/data/raffles_bulletin_of_zoology/zoology_volume_62/62rbz655-670.pdf

CU researchers discovered new species of earthworm :
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/social/436445/biologists-find-new-earthworm-species

ตื่นตา! จุฬาฯ เปิดตัวไส้เดือนพันธุ์ไทย 50 ชนิด - ปลิงควาย - ตะขาบม่วงสิมิลัน แห่งแรกในโลก http://astv.mobi/A5kj9y3

: http://www.matichon.co.th/news_detail.php?newsid=1412662631&grpid&catid=19&subcatid=1903 via @MatichonOnline

[Onychophora • 2013] Eoperipatus totoro • A New Species of Eoperipatus (Onychophora) from southern Vietnam, reveals novel morphological characters for the South-East Asian Peripatidae

 Eoperipatus totoro

Oliveira, Schaffer, Kvartalnov, Galoyan, Palko, Weck-Heimann, Geissler, Ruhbergh & Mayer 2013

the first velvet worm to be described from Vietnam. Velvet worms spit glue from two glands to entangle their prey

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcz.2013.01.001

Abstract

Although representatives of Peripatidae are widely distributed in South-East Asia, only three valid species of Eoperipatus and one species of Typhloperipatus have been described from this region. According to previous reports, the three species of Eoperipatus show little morphological variation and are difficult to distinguish from each other. In this study, we describe a new species of Eoperipatus from Vietnam, E. totoro sp. nov., using morphological (light and scanning electron microscopy) and molecular data (mitochondrial COI and 12S rRNA sequences). A comparison with specimens of an undescribed species of Eoperipatus from Thailand revealed novel species-specific characters, including the characteristics of male crural complexes, distinct types of scales on the ventral body surface, the inner structure of the circular pits on the male genital pad, and the position and size of the anal gland pads in males. The results of our molecular analyses correspond with those of morphological studies. In contrast to previous assumptions, our findings suggest a high diversity of the South-East Asian Peripatidae, which requires further exploration.

Keywords: Velvet worms; Morphological diversity; Distribution; Scanning electron microscopy; Taxonomy; Molecular phylogeny

Fig. 1. Distribution of the South-East Asian species of Peripatidae.
(A) Map showing the type localities of the species of Eoperipatus (red dots) and Typhloperipatus (blue triangle). Areas from which specimens of Eoperipatus have been recorded previously are highlighted in yellow. Question mark indicates the questionable type locality of Eoperipatus sumatranus in Sumatra. Purple asterisk indicates a recent record of an unidentified onychophoran in northern Vietnam ( Moler et al., 2013). (B) Detailed map of the Cát Tiên National Park in Vietnam and the collecting sites of Eoperipatus totoro sp. nov. (green squares). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

Fig. 2. Microhabitat and life colour of Eoperipatus totoro sp. nov.
(A) Typical habitat of E. totoro sp. nov. in the Cát Tiên National Park. Note the large stones under which the specimens are usually found. (B) Mid-body of a specimen in ventral view. Note the repeated bright spots along the ventral midline, which correspond to the ventral fields of modified scales (dashed circles) and to the ventral and preventral organs (arrows). Anterior is up. (C) Walking specimen in dorso-lateral view. Note the brown colour of dorsal integument without any pattern.

Etymology: Following the request of Pavel V. Kvartalnov, Eduard A. Galoyan and Igor V. Palko, the species is named after the main character of the cartoon movie “My Neighbour Totoro” by Hayao Miyazaki (1988, studio Ghibli), who uses a many-legged animal as a vehicle, which according to the collectors resembles a velvet worm.

I. S. Oliveira, S. Schaffer, P. V. Kvartalnov, E. A. Galoyan, I. V. Palko, A. Weck-Heimann, P. Geissler, H. Ruhberg, G. Mayer. 2013. A New Species of Eoperipatus (Onychophora) from Vietnam reveals novel morphological characters for the South-East Asian Peripatidae. Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of Comparative Zoology. 252:495–510.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2013.01.001

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/253240617_A_new_species_of_(Onychophora)_from_Vietnam_reveals_novel_morphological_characters_for_the_South-East_Asian_Peripatidae

Douglas Main. 2013. New Glue-Spitting Velvet Worm Found in Vietnam.
http://www.livescience.com/39047-new-velvet-worm-species.html

[Mammalogy • 2014] Systematics of Vampyressa melissa Thomas, 1926 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), with Description of Two New Species of Vampyressa; V. sinchi & V. elisabethae

  Vampyressa sinchi 

Tavares, Gardner, Ramírez-Chaves and Velazco, 2014

FIG. 10. Photograph of an adult female Vampyressa sinchi [Quechuan Yellow-eared Bat] (MHNUC 1514) captured at San Juan de Villalobos, Caquetá River basin, eastern Colombian slopes of the Eastern Cordillera, collected at 1620 m.

Photograph by Ofelia Mejía-Egas.

Abstract

Vampyressa melissa is a poorly known phyllostomid bat listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Since its description in 1926, fewer than 40 V. melissa have been reported in the literature, and less than half of these may have been correctly identified. During revisionary studies of Vampyressa, we uncovered two previously unrecognized species related to V. melissa, all associated with higher elevation habitats (>1400 m), one from the Andes of Colombia (Vampyressa sinchi, new species) and the other from western Panama (Vampyressa elisabethae, new species) revealing that V. melissa, as traditionally defined, is a composite of at least three species. In this paper, we provide a restricted diagnosis for the genus Vampyressa, an emended diagnosis of V. melissa, and descriptions of the two new species. The separation of these frugivorous bats, previously identified as V. melissa, into three isolated upper-elevation species, each having restricted distributions further highlights their fragile conservation status.

Vampyressa sinchi, new species

Quechuan Yellow-eared Bat

Distribution: Know only from the type series from the eastern slope of the Central Cordillera (Llorente) and eastern slopes of the Eastern Cordillera (San Juan de Villalobos and Parque Nacional Cueva de los Guácharos) of the Andes in Colombia (fig. 3).

Etymology: A Quechuan word, sinchi conveys the meaning “robust and strong.” The name honors the Quechuan people of Colombia (the Ingas), and indicates the robustness of this species, the largest Vampyressa known. The name is to be treated as a noun in apposition.

Vampyressa elisabethae, new species

Elisabeth’s Yellow-eared Bat

Distribution: Know only from provincia de Bocas del Toro, Panama (fig. 3).

Etymology: The name elisabethae honors the legacy of the late Elisabeth Klara Victoria Kalko in the study of the natural history, ecology, conservation, vocal recognition, and behavior of bats.

Tavares, V.C., A.L. Gardner, H.E. Ramírez-Chaves, and P.M. Velazco. 2014. Systematics of Vampyressa melissa Thomas, 1926 (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), with Description of Two New Species of Vampyressa. American Museum Novitates. 3813: 1-27.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/27587202/Velazco_publications/2014_Tavares_etal_.pdf

facebook.com/AmericanSocietyofMammalogists/posts/709370349145719

[Crustacea • 2014] Geothelphusa cilan • Description of A New Montane Freshwater Crab (Crustacea: Potamidae) from northern Taiwan

FIGURE 2. Geothelphusa cilan sp. nov.
A, B, dorsal and frontal views of the holotype (NCHUZOOL 13617);
D–G, live coloration of the male, dorsal view (D, E) and frontal view (F, G); D, F, NCHUZOOL 13618 (CW 20.6 mm); G, NCHUZOOL 13620 (CW 15.5 mm);
H, habitat in a montane creek in the headstream of Danshuei River, Jianshih, Hsinchu County.

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3869.5.6

Abstract

A new freshwater crab is described from a montane area in northern Taiwan based on morphological characters and molecular evidence. Geothelphusa cilan sp. nov., from the Cilan Forest, situated on the boundary of Hsinchu and Yilan (= Ilan) counties, is close to G. monticola Shy, Ng & Yu, 1994, and G. takuan Shy, Ng & Yu, 1994, but can be distinguished by its male first gonopod (G1) and the ratio of thoracic sternites. Molecular evidence from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) also supports the identity of the new species.

Keywords: Potamidae, freshwater crab, new species, Taiwan, DNA, COI

Taxonomy

Family Potamidae Ortmann, 1896

Subfamily Potamiscinae Ortmann, 1896 (sensu Yeo & Ng 2003)

Geothelphusa Stimpson, 1858

Geothelphusa cilan sp. nov.

FIGURE 2. Geothelphusa cilan sp. nov.
A, dorsal views of the holotype (NCHUZOOL 13617);
D–G, live coloration of the male, dorsal view (D) and frontal view (F, G); D, F, NCHUZOOL 13618 (CW 20.6 mm); G, NCHUZOOL 13620 (CW 15.5 mm);
H, habitat in a montane creek in the headstream of Danshuei River, Jianshih, Hsinchu County.

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3869.5.6

Etymology. The species is named for the type locality, the Cilan Forest, in northern Taiwan. The name is used as a noun in apposition.

Coloration. Carapace and ambulatory legs grayish brown, mottled with dark brown spots; chelae orange-red, with dark brown spots; tip and inner edge of fingers white (Fig. 2D–G).

Ecological notes. The specimens were collected from the headstream of Danshuei River (Fig. 2H) near the boundary of Hsinchu and Yilan counties, near Yuanyang Lake Nature Reserve, with an altitude about 2000 m. The mean monthly water temperatures were 10.3–14.6°C during April to December, 2012 (mean 12.6°C) for the adjacent Yuanyang Lake, with the same drainage

Shy, Jhy-yun, Hsi-te Shih & Jean-jay Mao. 2014. Description of A New Montane Freshwater Crab (Crustacea: Potamidae: Geothelphusa) from northern Taiwan.
Zootaxa. 3869(5): 565–572. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3869.5.6.
http://mapress.com/zootaxa/2014/f/zt03869p572.pdf

Shy, J.-Y., Ng, P.K.L. & Yu, H.-P. 1994. Crabs of the genus Geothelphusa Stimpson, 1858 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamidae) from Taiwan, with descriptions of 25 new species. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 42, 781–846. http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/42/42rbz781-846.pdf

[Ichthyology • 2014] A Review of the Glyptosternine Catfish genus Exostoma Blyth 1860 (Teleostei: Siluriformes) from Thailand, with Descriptions of Two New Species; Exostoma effrenum & E. peregrinator

Abstract

We review members of the sisorid catfish genus Exostoma known from Thailand. Three species are recognized, of which two from the headwaters of the Chao Phraya River drainage in northwestern Thailand, are described here as new: Exostoma effrenum and E. peregrinator. In addition to the two new species, E. berdmorei (which is here redescribed) is also known from the Salween River drainage in western Thailand. The three species can be distinguished from each other and other congeners by the morphologies of the adipose and caudal fins, as well as morphometric data for the eye diameter, head width, dorsal-to-adipose distance, body depth at anus, caudal-peduncle length, caudal-peduncle depth, and numbers of branched pectoral-fin rays and preanal vertebrae.

 Keywords: Sisoridae, Glyptosternini, Salween River, Chao Phraya River

Ng, Heok H. & Chavalit Vidthayanon. 2014. A Review of the Glyptosternine Catfish genus Exostoma Blyth 1860 from Thailand, with Descriptions of Two New Species (Teleostei: Siluriformes). Zootaxa. 3869(4): 420–434.

http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3869.4.6
http://www.academia.edu/8724863/A_review_of_the_glyptosternine_catfish_genus_Exostoma_Blyth_1860_from_Thailand_with_descriptions_of_two_new_species_Teleostei_Siluriformes_

[Ichthyology • 2014] Trichopodus poptae • A New Anabantoid Fish (Teleostei: Osphronemidae) from Borneo

Trichopodus poptae, new species, is distinguished from all other species in the genus by an almost non-discernible colour pattern, except for a single black blotch at the base of the caudal fin; fewer lateral scales (34-38, vs. 40-65); fewer total dorsal-fin rays than T. pectoralis (14-16, vs. 17-18); more total dorsal-fin spines than T. microlepis (6-7, vs. 3-4); fewer total anal-fin rays than T. microlepis and T. pectoralis (38-41, vs. 44-50). An artificial key to the genus is provided.

  Bi Wei, Heok Hui Tan and Ralf Britz. 2014. Trichopodus poptae, A New Anabantoid Fish from Borneo (Teleostei: Osphronemidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 25(1): 69-77.

http://www.pfeil-verlag.de/04biol/pdf/ief25_1_06.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265964427_Trichopodus_poptae_a_new_anabantoid_fish_from_Borneo_(Teleostei_Osphronemidae)

[Herpetology • 2014] Sea Snakes in Australian Waters (Serpentes: subfamilies Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae) — A Review with an Updated Identification Key

some Australian Sea snakes 

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3869.4.1

Abstract

Sea snakes (Elapidae, subfamilies Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae) reach high species richness in the South China Sea and in the Australian region; however, most countries in the two regions still lack up-to-date checklists and identification tools for these snakes. We present an updated reviewed checklist and a new complete identification key to sea snakes in Australian waters. The identification key includes 29 species documented and 4 possibly occurring taxa and is based mostly on easy-to-use external characters. We find no evidence for breeding populations of Laticauda in Australian waters, but include the genus on the list of possibly occurring taxa.

Keywords: biodiversity, Australian sea snake species, identification key

Checklist of Sea Snake Species Known to Occur in Australia

Aipysurus apraefrontalis Smith, 1926
Aipysurus duboisii Bavay, 1869
Aipysurus foliosquama Smith, 1926
Aipysurus fuscus (Tschudi, 1837)
Aipysurus laevis Lacépède, 1804
Aipysurus mosaicus Sanders et al. 2012
Aipysurus pooleorum Smith, 1974
Aipysurus tenuis Lønnberg and Anderson, 1913
Emydocephalus annulatus Krefft, 1869
Ephalophis greyae Smith, 1931
Hydrelaps darwiniensis Boulenger, 1896
Hydrophis atriceps Günther, 1864
Hydrophis belcheri (Gray, 1849)
Hydrophis caerulescens (Shaw, 1802)
Hydrophis coggeri (Kharin, 1984a)
Hydrophis curtus (Shaw, 1802)
Hydrophis czeblukovi (Kharin, 1984a)
Hydrophis donaldi Ukuwela, Sanders and Fry 2012
Hydrophis elegans (Gray, 1842)
Hydrophis kingii Boulenger, 1896
Hydrophis macdowelli Kharin, 1983
Hydrophis major (Shaw, 1802)
Hydrophis ocellatus Gray, 1849
Hydrophis pacificus Boulenger, 1896
Hydrophis peronii (Duméril, 1853)
Hydrophis platurus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Hydrophis stokesii (Gray in Stokes, 1846)
Hydrophis zweifeli (Kharin, 1985)
Parahydrophis mertoni (Roux, 1910)

List of Sea Snakes Possibly Occurring in Australia
Hydrophis laboutei Rasmussen and Ineich, 2000
Hydrophis vorisi Kharin, 1984b
Microcephalophis gracilis (Shaw, 1802)
Laticauda sp. Laurenti, 1768

Arne Redsted Rasmussen, Kate Laura Sanders, Michael L. Guinea and Andrew P. Amey. 2014. Sea Snakes in Australian Waters (Serpentes: subfamilies Hydrophiinae and Laticaudinae) — A Review with an Updated Identification Key. Zootaxa. 3869 (4): 351–371 

http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3869.4.1

http://mapress.com/zootaxa/2014/f/zt03869p371.pdf

[Herpetology • 2014] Carlia wundalthini | Cape Melville Rainbow Skink • A New Skink (Scincidae: Carlia) from the Rainforest Uplands of Cape Melville, north-east Australia

Carlia wundalthini Hoskin, 2014
Cape Melville Rainbow Skink

Abstract

Carlia skinks are widespread in New Guinea, Wallacea, and northern and eastern Australia. Most Australian species occur in dry woodlands and savannas or marginal rainforest habitats associated with these. There are two rainforest species, parapatrically distributed in coastal mid-eastern Queensland (C. rhomboidalis) and the Wet Tropics of north-eastern Queensland (C. rubrigularis). These two sister species share a diagnostic morphological trait in having the interparietal scale fused to the frontoparietal. Here I describe a third species in this group, Carlia wundalthini sp. nov., from rainforest uplands of the Melville Range, a rainforest isolate 170 km north of the Wet Tropics. This species is diagnosable on male breeding colouration, morphometrics and scalation. The description of C. wundalthini sp. nov. brings the number of vertebrate species known to be endemic to the rainforest and boulder-fields of Cape Melville to seven. Carlia wundalthini sp. nov. is distinct among these endemics in being the only one that does not appear to be directly associated with rock, being found in rainforest leaf-litter.

Keywords: Carlia rubrigularis, Carlia rhomboidalis, Cape York, rainforest, boulder-field, lithorefugia, Queensland

Etymology. Wundalthini was the name of Charlie Monaghan, a Traditional Owner who was born in the Cape Melville area and who passed on much of the knowledge and responsibility for that country to the current generation of its Traditional Owners. The species was named by the bubu gudjin of Cape Melville, the Traditional Owners who have the responsibility to speak for the land where the species lives.

Distribution. Known only from the uplands of the Melville Range, Cape Melville, north-eastern Australia (Fig. 7). Recorded in the vicinity of the type locality (14°16'33" S, 144°29'32" E), at elevations between 450 and 520 m a.s.l., and also in the vicinity of the highest peak (14°16'59" S, 144°29'59" E) at about 600 m a.s.l. Carlia wundalthini sp. nov. was not recorded during surveys of lowland rainforest at the west and south-east of Melville Range.

Habitat and habits. Found in upland rainforest (Fig. 8). Individuals were found during the day active on the surface of leaf-litter or basking in small sun-patches. When disturbed the skinks hid under the leaf-litter or retreated to tangles of fallen branches or rock crevices. Male C. wundalthini sp. nov. were in breeding colour in December but not in March. The other skinks found in micro-sympatry were an undescribed species of Glaphyromorphus (Hoskin & Couper, in press) and a species of Lygisaurus (Hoskin & Hines, under investigation) in the leaf-litter, while Saproscincus saltus Hoskin, 2013 was found on rock surfaces in the same habitat. Carlia longipes (Macleay, 1877), Eulamprus brachysoma (Lönnberg & Andersson, 1915), Cryptoblepharus fuhni Covacevich & Ingram, 1978, Cryptoblepharus virgatus (Garman, 1901) and Bellatorias frerei (Günther, 1897) were found in more open, rockier habitats nearby.

Hoskin, Conrad J. 2014. A New Skink (Scincidae: Carlia) from the Rainforest Uplands of Cape Melville, north-east Australia. Zootaxa. 3869(3): 224–236.

http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3869.3.2

http://mapress.com/zootaxa/2014/f/zt03869p236.pdf