Taxonomic notes on Macromitrium densum (Bryopsida) with a new synonym,M. brevissimum

Macromitrium densum Mitt. (from Nepal) is well differentiated from other Asian congeners by its lingulate and strongly rugose leaves having cucullate, obtuse to retuse apices with a mucro, distinctly bulging upper and median leaf cells, and tuberculate lower and basal cells. Comparisons of the type and other specimens of M. brevissimum Dixon from Thailand with those of M. densum show that they belong to a single species, and hence, that the names are synonyms. By including M. brevissimum, the geographic range of M. densum is considerably expanded to cover Nepal, Thailand to north Peninsular Malaysia and Vietnam. The phenetic relationship between M. densum and other species of Macromitrium is also discussed.     

Revision of the cyprinid genus Placocheilus Wu, 1977 in China,with description of a new species from Yunnan

Placocheilus is re-diagnosed on the basis of oromandibular structures compared to those of closely related groups. It is represented in China by three species restricted to Yunnan, namely P. caudofasciatus from the Tengtiaohe River (Nam Na), P. cryptonemus from the Nujiang Rive (upper Salween River basin), and P. robustus, herein described as a new species from the Yuanjiang River (Red River basin). P. robustus n. sp. is differentiated from its congeners in having a stout caudal peduncle (depth 72.4–82.5% of its length) and the medium-sized scaleless midventral region of belly extended slightly beyond halfway from the pectoral- to pelvic-fin origin. It is further distinguished from P. caudofasciatusin having a coarsely crenulated rostral fold with 18–23 indentations on its distal margin and a smaller mental adhesive disc (length 66.7–71.4% of its width and 37.0–43.1% of the head length).     

Description of a new species of the genus Awaous Valenciennes, 1837 (Gobiiformes: Oxudercidae) from the middle stretch of the Mahanadi River,Odisha, India,with comments on the Awaous species from India

A new species of the genus Awaous (Oxudercidae), Awaous motla sp. nov., is described based on 18 specimens collected from the Mahanadi River near Sonepur, Subarnapur District, and 3 specimens from the same river near Boudh bridge, Boudh District of Odisha, India. This species is distinct from its congeners by having a combination of characteristics: relatively small eyes, diameter of 6.6–8.4 in head length (LH); robust and long snout, 2.0–2.6 in LH; eye diameter 2.7–4.1 in snout length; cephalic sensory pore system interrupted with eight pores; predorsal scales 13–15; longitudinal scale series 55–58; gill rakers 2 + 1 + (6–7) on the first gill arch; teeth small, conical, and in a single row on the upper jaw and multiserial (2–3) on the lower jaw. This species is also differentiated from some of its congeners in the nucleotide composition of the cytochrome c oxidase I gene by 8.3%–13.8% Kimura two-parameter (K2P) distance and belongs to a separate cluster in the maximum likelihood tree analysis. This finding is also supported by the species delimitation analysis based on Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning. The new species holds high commercial value in its locality and needs special conservation attention for sustainable utilization.     

Taxonomic revision and phylogenetic analysis of the cestode genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Paraprogynotaenia</Emphasis> Rysavy, 1966 (Cyclophyllidea: Progynotaeniidae)

The type-series of Paraprogynotaenia jimenezi Rysavy, 1966 [type-species of Paraprogynotaenia Rysavy, 1966] from Charadrius wilsonia Ord in Cuba and P. charadrii (Yamaguti, 1956) (= Proterogynotaenia charadrii Yamaguti, 1956) from C. alexandrinus L. in Japan are redescribed. Two new species are described: Paraprogynotaenia minuta n. sp. from C. alexandrinus on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria [type-host and type-locality, based on specimens previously reported as P. charadrii], from the same host species in Tunisia and from "Tringa totanus" (the host identification is uncertain) in France [the latter two samples were previously reported as Progynotaenia odhneri Nybelin, 1916]; and Paraprogynotaenia canarisi n. sp. from C. marginatus Vieillot in the Republic of South Africa [type-host and type-locality] and from C. alexandrinus and Pluvialis dominica (Müller) in Taiwan [specimens from both localities were previously reported as Paraprogynotaenia charadrii]. P. jimenezi can be distinguished from its congeners by having 12 hooks of equal length. Among the remaining species with 18-22 hooks of varying length, P. minuta n. sp. can be distinguished by the smaller number of proglottides: up to 8 vs 15-20 for P. charadrii and P. canarisi n. sp. The latter two species can be differentiated from one another by the blade length/total length ratio of the smallest (lateral) rostellar hooks, which is less than 0.5 for P. canarisi n. sp. and 0.5 or more for P. charadrii. An identification key to the species of Paraprogynotaenia is provided and the generic diagnosis is amended. A phylogenetic analysis based on 17 morphological characters resulted in the following hypothesis for the relationships within the genus: (P. jimenezi (P. minuta (P. charadrii, P. canarisi))).     

A new species of Liniscus (Nematoda: Trichuridae) from Oxymycterus rufus and Akodon azarae (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina

Liniscus diazae n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae) is described from the urinary bladder of Oxymycterus rufus and Akodon azarae (Cricetidae: Sigmodontinae) from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Liniscus diazae can be differentiated from its congeners by having a much longer spicule and without an elevated vulva. In addition, L. diazae can be distinguished from L. incrassatus and L. himizu by having a longer body length. Males are similar in posterior width to L. papillosus and L. himizu, but thinner than L. incrassatus and L. maseri. This is the second record of a capillarid from mammals in Argentina. An updated list of capillarid species of rodents and insectivores from North America, with their synonyms, hosts, sites of infection, and geographic distribution, is provided.     

Ontogenesis of visual and olfactory kin recognition,in the ant Myrmica sabuleti (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

In the present work, firstly, ant emergence was observed: it is a long, stereotyped, precarious event which may require the help of congeners. Then, our experiments on Myrmica sabuleti Meinert 1861 callow ants emerging apart from or inside their colony showed the following points. 1. Newly emerged workers, even if having never olfactorily perceived nestmates, are attracted by congeners’ odor. They can distinguish such an odor from that of another species of Myrmica as well as somewhat from that of alien workers of the same species. So, they might have acquired, at least partly, the knowledge of their congeners’ odor during their larval life. 2. Callow ants having visually perceived congeners at their emergence move towards a presented congener’s washed corpse. Callow ants having emerged without seeing any congeners do not move towards such a corpse. Callow ants having emerged beside a piece of thyme moved towards a non-odorous (solvent-washed) piece of thyme. So, ants may acquire, at least partly, the knowledge of the visual aspect of their species just at their emergence, probably by imprinting. 3. Very young workers confronted with their congeners’ odor on one hand and their congeners’ visual aspect on the other hand, somewhat prefer the odor, even if these young ants belong to a species which exclusively uses its vision for navigating. So, for very young ants, whatever the species, odors are more important and better known than visual characters.     

Pseudophysaloptera enigmatica sp. nov. (Nematoda: Physalopteridae) from Dactylopsila trivirgata Gray, 1858 (Marsupialia: Petauridae) in Australia, with a review of the genus

The nematode Pseudophysaloptera enigmatica sp. nov. is described from the stomach of Dactylopsila trivirgata Gray, 1858, in Queensland, Australia. The new species is distinguished from congeners by its size and features present on the tail of the male. P. enigmatica sp. nov. is considerably larger than virtually all congeners, and can be differentiated by the presence of spicules and the shape and distribution of caudal papillae in the male tail. This is the first record of the genus in Australia and in marsupials. A review of the genus is provided.     

First record of the genus Gratia Thomas (Ephemeroptera,Baetidae) from China with the description of a new species

A new species of Baetidae, Gratia baibungensis sp. n., is described and illustrated based on nymphal stage collected from the southeastern Tibet (Xizang) and the genus is reported for the first time from China. This new species can be readily differentiated from its congeners by the absence of a protuberance on the posterior margin of the abdominal tergum X, glabrate simple submarginal setae on the labrum, and the posterior margin of sterna VI–IX having much longer spatulate setae.     

Megalophallus deblocki n. sp. (Digenea: Microphallidae) from Rostrhamus sociabilis (Vieillot) (Aves: Accipitridae) in Paraguay

A new species in the little-known digenean fauna of Paraguayan birds is described in detail, especially in relation to its terminal genitalia. The new form, Megalophallus deblocki n. sp., is a microphallid from the intestine of the snail kite Rostrhamus sociabilis (Vieillot). It is differentiated in detail from its congeners, but differs mainly in having a substantially larger phallus (e.g. in relation to the ventral sucker), a smaller ventral sucker and smaller eggs. Comments are included on the functional morphology of the terminal genitalia.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Olyra parviocula</Emphasis>, a new species of bagrid catfish (Actinopterygii: Siluriformes), from northeastern India

A new species, Olyra parviocula, is described from the Kameng River, Brahmaputra River drainage in Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. The new species differs from congeners in having small eye diameter 5–8% HL; short adipose fin, not confluent with caudal-fin, its base length 9–12% SL; dorsal-fin branched rays 6; anal-fin rays viii–xi, 8–10 and maxillary barbel almost reaching pelvic-fin base. A key to identification of all valid species of Olyra is provided.     

Pterocryptis buccata, a new species of catfish from western Thailand (Teleostei: Siluridae) with epigean and hypogean populations

Pterocryptis buccata sp. nov. is described from the vicinity of Sai Yok, Kanchanaburi Province, western Thailand. It can be distinguished from all other congeners by its prominent mandibular muscles causing the cheeks to appear inflated and the following unique combination of characters: 54–61 anal-fin rays, 7 pelvic-fin rays, 50–52 vertebrae, 4 mandibular barbels and vomerine teeth present in 2 separate patches. An achromatic population inhabits the Sai Yok Noi cave. This is the first report of a cavedwelling catfish from Southeast Asia.     

Redescription of Marstonia comalensis (Pilsbry & Ferriss, 1906), a poorly known and possibly threatened freshwater gastropod from the Edwards Plateau region (Texas)

Marstonia comalensis, a poorly known nymphophiline gastropod (originally described from Comal Creek, Texas) that has often been confused with Cincinnatia integra, is re-described and the generic placement of this species, which was recently allocated to Marstonia based on unpublished evidence, is confirmed by anatomical study. Marstonia comalensis is a large congener having an ovate-conic, openly umbilicate shell and penis having a short filament and oblique, squarish lobe bearing a narrow gland along its distal edge. It is well differentiated morphologically from congeners having similar shells and penes and is also genetically divergent relative to those congeners that have been sequenced (mtCOI divergence 3.0-8.5%). A Bayesian analysis of a small COI dataset resolved Marstonia comalensis in a poorly supported sub-clade together with Marstonia hershleri, Marstonia lustrica and Marstonia pachyta. The predominantly new records presented herein indicate that Marstonia comalensis was historically distributed in the upper portions of the Brazos, Colorado, Guadalupe and Nueces River basins, south-central Texas. The species has been live collected at only 12 localities and only two of these have been re-visited since 1993. These data suggest that the conservation status of this snail, which has a critically imperiled (G1) NatureServe ranking and was recently proposed for federal listing, needs to be re-assessed.     

A new deep‐water chimaerid species, Hydrolagus lusitanicus n. sp., from off mainland Portugal with a proposal of a new identification key for the genus Hydrolagus(Holocephali: Chimaeridae) in the north‐east Atlantic

A new chimaerid species closely related to Hydrolagus pallidus is described from 13 specimens captured on the Portuguese continental slope (north‐east Atlantic) by commercial longliners at depths of c . 1600 m. The new species is large‐bodied with a rose to light brown body colouration. Hydrolagus lusitanicus n.sp. presents a combination of external morphological characters that allow it to be clearly differentiated from its congeners, in particular, the ratios of pectoral fin length: pectoral fin width and pelvic fin length: pelvic fin width; in having a serrated posterior edge of the dorsal spine; a high number of ridges in the dental plates. Additionally in males, there are differences on the shape and number of hooks in the frontal tenacula, on the number of spines in the prepelvic tenacula and on the length of the pectoral fin margin.     

Review of the genus Tylopus Jeekel, 1968, with descriptions of five new species from Thailand (Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Paradoxosomatidae)

The genus Tylopus currently contains 41 species, all keyed and mapped, including five new from northern Thailand: Tylopus bispinosussp. n., Tylopus grandissp. n., Tylopus extremussp. n., Tylopus veligersp. n. and Tylopus parajeekelisp. n. Species of Tylopus are predominantly forest-dwellers, especially in montane habitats where up to 9-10 species can coexist per faunule. We expect many more congeners to be discovered in future, in particular from poorly or relatively poorly prospected regions such as Laos (only two species recorded), Cambodia (no species yet), Vietnam (a few species), Myanmar (a few species) and southern China (one species only). Because the genus is so species-rich and as yet so poorly sampled, a phylogenetic analysis of Tylopus would be premature.     

Review of the Eospilarctia yuennanica group (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae) from the Indo - Himalayan region, with description of two new species and one subspecies

Twonew Eospilarctia species and one new subspecies from China, Myanmar and Vietnam, respectively, are described. Superficially the new species Eospilarctia maciaisp. n., Eospilarctia naumannisp. n. and Eospilarctia yuennanica fansipanassp. n. resemble related congeners but they can be distinguished by the differences in wing pattern, genitalia and distribution provided. Eospilarctia yuennanica guangdonga Dubatolov, Kishida & Wang, 2008 is upgraded to species level. A checklist of the genus Eospilarctia and a key to the Eospilarctia yuennanica (Daniel, 1943) species-group, based on external characters and male genitalia, is presented.     

Megalophallus deblocki n. sp. (Digenea: Microphallidae) from Rostrhamus sociabilis (Vieillot) (Aves: Accipitridae) in Paraguay

A new species in the little-known digenean fauna of Paraguayan birds is described in detail, especially in relation to its terminal genitalia. The new form, Megalophallus deblocki n. sp., is a microphallid from the intestine of the snail kite Rostrhamus sociabilis (Vieillot). It is differentiated in detail from its congeners, but differs mainly in having a substantially larger phallus (e.g. in relation to the ventral sucker), a smaller ventral sucker and smaller eggs. Comments are included on the functional morphology of the terminal genitalia.     

Fauna of anemonefishes (Pomacentridae,Amphiprioninae) and their host sea anemones (Cnidaria,Actiniaria) on reefs of Phu Quy,Con Son,and An Thoi Islands (South China Sea,South Vietnam,and Gulf of Thailand) and a review of these groups from the coastal waters of Vietnam

A full species composition of anemonefishes (Pomacentridae, Amphiprioninae) and their host sea anemones (Cnidaria, Actiniaria) from reefs of Phu Quy and Con Son Islands (off South Vietnam) and An Thoi Islands (northeastern Gulf of Thailand) is presented for the first time. A comparison of the faunas of anemonefishes and their host sea anemones is conducted in the coastal waters of Vietnam and adjacent waters. The presence of intermittent ranges of the anemonefishes in the coastal waters of Vietnam is demonstrated. For example, the ranges of two species, Amphiprion clarkii and A. frenatus, include the coastal waters of Vietnam, excluding the Gulf of Thailand, where they are not found even at the eastern border of the gulf. A. perideraion is absent in the Gulf of Tonkin, but it is distributed to the south along the entire coastal zone of Vietnam, including the Gulf of Thailand. In the coastal waters of Vietnam, A. sandaracinos is distributed only between the Gulf of Tonkin and Gulf of Thailand. A. polymnus is reliably indicated in the coastal waters of Vietnam between 12°50′ and 9°54′ N, but, most likely, its range is continuous along the entire Vietnamese coast. The richness of species composition of host sea anemones decreases (from nine to three species) in the southern direction, from Central Vietnam to the eastern border of the Gulf of Thailand.     

A new species of Metacyclops from a hyporheic habitat in North Vietnam (Crustacea,Copepoda, Cyclopidae)

A new species of Metacyclops is described from hyporheic waters and small rock depression with leaf litter in North Vietnam, the Tam Đao Mountains). Metacyclops amicitiae sp. n. can be distinguished from its congeners by the unique combination of the following characters: 12-segmented antennule, distal segment of P4 endopodite bearing a single apical spine, and the surface ornamentation of the intercoxal sclerites in P1–P4 (pilose on the distal margin of P1-P4 and spinulose on the caudal surface of P4). The latter character separates the new Metacyclops from its closest relative, Metacyclops ryukyuensis, known only from the Ryukyu Islands (Ishigaki). The genus Metacyclops with the new species described herein is also for the first time recorded from Vietnam. An identification key is provided to the south and east Asian species of the genus.     

Phylogenetic Relationships of the Genus Paramesotriton （Caudata： Salamandridae） with the Description of a New Species from Qixiling Nature Reserve,Jiangxi, Southeastern China and a Key to the species

The matrilineal genealogy of the genus Paramesotriton is hypothesized based on DNA sequences from mitochondrial NADH subunit two （ND2） and its flanking tRNAs （tRN^Arp and a partial tRNA^Ala）. The genealogy identifies a highly divergent, unnamed lineage from Qixiling Nature Reserve, Jiangxi, China and places it as the sister taxon of P. chinensis. The newly discovered population differs from other congeners by several features of external morphology including having large clusters of dark brown conical warts on the dorsum of the head, lateral surface of the body and dorsolateral ridges. Its intermittent dorsal vertebral ridge is the same color as other parts of the dorsum and tail narrows gradually from the base to the tip. Further, the new population differs from all congeners by an uncorrected P-distance of more than 9.38% in ND2. Consequently, we describe the new species of Asian warty newt （Salamandridae） as Paramesotriton qixilingensis sp. nov.     

Plagiorhynchidae Meyer, 1931 (Acanthocephala) from Australasian birds and mammals,with descriptions of Plagiorhynchus (Plagiorhynchus) menurae (Johnston, 1912) and P. (P.) allisonae n. sp.

New host and locality records are given for Plagiorhynchus (Plagiorhynchus) charadrii (Yamaguti, 1939) Van Cleave, 1951 and P. (Prosthorhynchus) cylindraceus (Goeze, 1782) Schmidt & Kuntz, 1966. The uncertainty of identification of a plover host of P. (P.) charadrii as well as the origins of P. (P.) cylindraceus (found in Australia but not New Zealand) and its occurrence in both bird and mammal hosts are discussed. P. (P.) menurae (Johnston, 1912) Golvan, 1956 is redescribed, including the male, and new host, Menura alberti Bonaparte, and locality records are given. P. (P.) allisonae n. sp. is described from Haematopus ostralegus finschi (Martens) and H. unicolor (Forster) from the South Island of New Zealand. P. (P.) allisonae can be differentiated from its congeners by having a proboscis armature of 18-23 rows of 14-20 hooks, thorns of hooks shorter than simple roots with short manubria, eight tubular cement glands and eggs of 134-154 x 33-36 microm in size. The presence of P. (P.) gracilis Petrochenko, 1958 in Australia is questioned. New host and locality records are given for Porrorchis hylae (Johnston, 1914) Schmidt & Kuntz, 1967 and the northern distribution of P. hydromuris (Edmonds, 1957) Schmidt & Kuntz, 1967 confirmed.