The first Tanyderidae (Diptera) from Lower Cretaceous Álava amber (Spain)

A new genus and species, Espanoderus barbarae gen. et sp. nov., belonging to the family Tanyderidae (Diptera, Nematocera), is described from Lower Cretaceous amber of Spain (Álava amber). The new genus is the smallest member of Tanyderinae and the first member of the family from the Álava amber. The position of the new genus in a phylogenetic tree of Tanyderidae is presented.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EC3284BA-C07F-48AC-8AF5-4F9D2EF4EA6C     

A new species of ant-loving cricket Myrmecophilus Berthold, 1827 from Cyprus (Orthoptera: Myrmecophilidae)

A new species of ant-loving cricket, Myrmecophilus cyprius sp. n., collected in the Republic of Cyprus from the nests of Messor structor (Latreille, 1798) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is described and illustrated. The species belongs to the subgenus Myrmophilina Silvestri, 1912.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B588546E-FC72-4996-A0C2-583BCE46905E     

Pseudobithynia guldeni sp. n., a new gastropod species from the Mediterranean region of Turkey (Gastropoda: Truncatelloidea)

A new Bithyniidae species Pseudobithynia guldeni sp.n. is described from the Mediter-ranean region of Turkey based on shell and male genitalia morphology. An identification key for the species of Pseudobithynia of Turkey is given.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FA659D77-5B02-4C2F-9A6D-D61E676778E1     

A new species of the genus Megasis Guenée, 1845 from Turkey (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

A new species in the family Pyralidae is described: Megasis kocaki sp. n., of which the adult, head and the male genitalia are illustrated. The new species is compared with the closely allied Megasis hyrcanella Ragonot, 1893.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0136DD7F-0E91-4114-9B3B-A42E6114A985     

Dyspessa peri (Lepidoptera: Cossidae), a new species of Cossidae from Afghanistan

Dyspessa peri sp. n. (Lepidoptera: Cossidae) is described from Sarobi in Central Afghanistan. The new species is closely related to D. tristis A. Bang-Haas, 1912, and is distinguished by peculiarities of the wing pattern and structure of the male genitalia.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D58AAAC5-90F2-4D06-9DB2-C4D3CDE36265     

A new species of Pomatoschistus (Teleostei: Gobiidae) from Southern Anatolia

Pomatoschistus anatoliae sp. n. is described from estuary of Göksu River on the Mediterranean coast of the Anatolia. It is distinguished from its congeners by the suborbital papilla pattern, meristic, and ecological features. DNA barcoding based on COI sequences revealed that there is a high nucleotide sequence divergence to the nearest neighbour. Kimura’s two parameter distances between P. anatoliae sp. n. and other species of Pomatoschistus and Knipowitchia have found to be at least 5.1%.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4592CF50-07B5-4C25-892F-5D009057675B     

A new species of Penion P. Fischer, 1884 from northern New Zealand (Mollusca: Neogastropoda: Buccinoidea)

We describe a new, morphologically distinct species of Penion found off the Three Kings Islands, Middlesex and King banks, and Cape Reinga, in the far north of New Zealand.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:573BCBA0-1FFB-490D-8AEF-AC156354E48B     

Description of a new pseudoscorpion species of the genus Amblyolpium Simon (Pseudoscorpiones: Garypinidae) from north-western Iran

A new species of pseudoscorpion, Amblyolpium atropatesi n. sp. is described and illustrated on the basis of the adult specimens extracted from soil by Berlese funnel.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0150B850-E80D-46F5-983C-7E958FE69B87     

A new species of the genus Haba Semenov, 1954 (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae) from Iran,with a key to species

Haba persica Strumia & Fallahzadeh sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae: Elampini), from mountains in southwestern Iran, is described and illustrated.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9D537878-6215-4874-8970-7F7DE8F57422     

Three new ground wētā species and a redescription of Hemiandrus maculifrons

Taxonomy lies at the heart of species conservation, yet many large New Zealand orthopterans remain undescribed. Among New Zealand’s anostostomatid wētā, Hemiandrus (ground wētā) is the most speciose genus but also the most poorly characterised and thus most in need of taxonomic and ecological work. Here we redescribe H. maculifrons and describe two new species of ground wētā previously encompassed by the specific name Hemiandrus maculifrons: Hemiandrus luna sp. nov. and H. brucei sp. nov. We also describe a morphologically similar and related species, Hemiandrus nox sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:71EA0879-A2F9-46B2-A105-E97A9AB25061

http://zoobank.org/References/71EA0879-A2F9-46B2-A105-E97A9AB25061     

Contribution to the knowledge of the click beetle genus Zorochros (Coleoptera: Elateridae) from Saudi Arabia

Examination of specimens of Elateridae revealed new generic and species records for Saudi Arabia. Zorochros amalec (Peyerimhoff) is recorded from Al Majardah, and Zorochros yosrae sp. n. is described as a new species from Thalouth Almanazar.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E4B9EB99-BE55-4884-B220-BF9928926312     

A new species of frog-eyed gecko,genus Teratoscincus Strauch, 1863 (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae), from southeastern Iran

Herein we describe a new species of Teratoscincus Strauch, 1863 from remote desert areas of the Sistan and Baluchistan Province in southeastern Iran. Based on morphological characters, this species, Teratoscincus sistanense sp. n., has a close relationship with T. microlepis and is distinct from all other members of its genus by the number of small scales around the midbody. We provide information about the ecology, biology and conservation of this new species. A comparison with the other three Iranian species of Teratoscincus and an updated key to this genus in Iran are presented.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:77F54322-6CCA-46F1-A74B-B8A75E1F1F8D     

Description of a new species of Lytorhynchus (Squamata: Colubridae) from Iran

A new species of the genus Lytorhynchus is described from the Kabir-Koh Mountains, southwestern Iran. Known from a single specimen, it is readily distinguished from its congeners by the form of the rostrum, the number of scales, and the colouration and colour pattern.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:66BC88DF-C092-4F7D-8ECD2860EDAC17B1     

A new species of Hercostomus Loew, 1857 (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) from Turkey

A new species of Hercostomus is described from Turkey: Hercostomus anatoliensis sp. n. The new species is close to Hercostomus parvilamellatus (Macquart, 1827), but is distinguished by its genitalia.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:38B210E3-610D-4BAB-91AC-A212A8054474     

Re-evaluation of Chelichnus tazelwürmi,a non mammalian therapsid-grade track from the Upper Permian Arenaria di Val Gardena

In this paper, a revision of tracks referred to as Chelichnus tazelwürmi is reported. The performed analysis, consisting of a holistic approach by means of a mainly morphological analysis, and a secondarily functional one, led to the proposal of a new ichnogenus, named as Contiichnus tazelwurmi. The three dimensional morphology of the tracks allows for the inference of a complex cycle of locomotion by the trackmakers. The tracks were formed in the main phases (i.e. touch-down, weight-bearing and kick-off) by different axes of body load and transference, indicating that the whole fore autopod was involved in the cycle of locomotion and actively contacted the substrate, while for the hind autopod the functional prevalence was markedly centro-medial. Some track features suggest a therapsid-grade synapsid as potential trackmaker. However, the reconstructed autopodial structure does not correlate with known autopods from the Late Permian body fossil record. These observations stress the importance of tetrapod ichnology studies in improving knowledge in the field of vertebrate palaeontology. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B4EB4D42-1A3B-48EC-B83F-6942F741AF30

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B4EB4D42-1A3B-48EC-B83F-6942F741AF30     

A new species of Maladera from Jordan (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Sericini)

A new Maladera species is described from Jordan: M. schnitteri sp. n. A key to the species of the subgenus Eusericula is given, and the habitus and genitalia are illustrated.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D41D75B5-D700-4C2B-9058-04D14006C810     

A new rodent (Caviomorpha: Dinomyidae) from the upper Miocene of southwestern Brazilian Amazonia

Recently, the fossil record of rodents from southwestern Brazilian Amazonia has been reviewed with regards to its diversity as well as its ecological relationships. In the reviews, the necessity to report new specimens collected with stratigraphic control was stated. Here, a new dinomyid specimen collected during a 2015 expedition to the Niterói locality, Acre River, is reported. The material is a fragment of skull with the right P4–M1 and the left P4–M2 preserved. The cheek teeth are protohypsodont, a characteristic employed to differentiate Potamarchinae dinomyids from the euhypsodont dinomyids Eumegamyinae and Tetrastylinae. The occlusal surface of the cheek teeth is composed of lophs with interruptions, showing little wear, which suggests that the specimen is not fully ontogenetically developed. The specimen has a unique combination of characters (protohypsodont and pentalophodont cheek teeth, with the leading edges of similar thickness to the trailing edges, and presence of a groove on the bottom of the infraorbital foramen) not present in other known dinomyids, which led us to erect a new taxon. The abundant and diverse fossil record of protohypsodont dinomyids suggests that an important radiative event may have occurred during the middle–late Miocene of northern South America.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E082C3C6-47B6-4D83-9009-A64879AAFC7A

http://www.zoobank.org/NomenclaturalActs/16235A7B-A261-445E-8DD4-940AB21DCB06