A new species of Simaba (Simaroubaceae) from Pará, Brazil,with a key to the species north of the Amazon River

A new species,Simaba cavalcantei, is described and illustrated. It is considered to be intermediate between sectionsGrandiflorae andFloribundae and is distinguished from potentially sympatric species in a key to the species occurring north of the Amazon River.     

A new species of Megischus Brullé (Hymenoptera, Stephanidae) from China, with a key to the Chinese species

A new species of Megischus Brullé from China, Megischus aplicatussp. n.,is described and illustrated. A key to the Chinese species of Megischus is added. The holotype is deposited in the Parasitic Hymenoptera Collection of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou.     

A new genus and a new species of Cladorchiidae (Digenea: Dadayiinae) from Podocnemis expansa (Chelonia) of the neotropical region, State of Pará, Brazil

A new species of amphistome digenean from the stomach and intestine of Podocnemis expansa (Pelomedusidae), of the tropical rain forest, from the State of Pará, Brazil, is described and allocated to a new genus ( Oriximinatrema noronhae ). The new species is characterized by the presence of an esophageal bulb, an esophageal extension uncovered by an extension of the pharyngeal sacs, a well-developed cirrus sac, post-bifurcal genital sucker, a ventro-terminal acetabulum with an anterior lip, and medium-sized eggs. This is the first report of a Dadayiinae trematode infecting a reptilian host.     

Phylohydrax (Rubiaceae-Spermacoceae)—a new genus to accommodate the African and Madagascan“Hydrophylax” species

Hydrophylax, a genus of maritime strand or dune plants, was previously thought to comprise three species, one from India, Sri Lanka and Thailand (H. maritima), and two from Africa and Madagascar (H. carnosa and H. madagascariensis respectively). Evidence is presented that the African and Madagascan species are better placed into a separate genus (Phylohydrax). Differential characters betweenH. maritima andP. carnosa—P. madagascariensis, the relationships between the three species, and the affinities ofPhylohydrax andHydrophylax to otherSpermacoceae are discussed in detail.     

A new ant species of the genus Tapinoma (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Saudi Arabia with a key to the Arabian species

Tapinoma wilsonisp. n. is described and illustrated from Saudi Arabia based on the worker caste collected from Al Baha, Saudi Arabia. It closely resembles Tapinoma lugubre Santschi 1917, from Zimbabwe in body measurements but can be distinguished from the latter species by the yellowish brown color; the yellowish pubescence, the two pairs of hairs present on the anterior part of the head; and the distinctly concave anterior clypeal margin. Biological and ecological notes of the new species are presented. An identification key to the workers of the Arabian species of the genus Tapinoma is given.     

A new species of genus Syntactus Förster (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Ctenopelmatinae) with a key to Oriental and Eastern Palearctic species

A new species, Syntactus jiulianicus Sun & Sheng, sp.n. belonging to the tribe Pionini of the subfamily Ctenopelmatinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), collected from Jiangxi Province, China, is reported. Illustrations of the new species and Syntactus delusor (Linnaeus, 1758), Syntactus minor (Holmgren, 1857) and Syntactus varius (Holmgren, 1858) are provided. A key to the species of Syntactus known from the Oriental and Eastern Palaearctic Regions is given.     

Contribution to the knowledge of the black‐fly fauna (Diptera: Simuliidae) of Lebanon,with description of a new species and ecological comments

The Aouali and Damour watersheds include the main river systems of southern Lebanon. Seven species of Simuliidae were collected from 27 sampling stations along these streams. Simulium nihan. sp. is described; it is related to the species of the monticola‐group. Three species have a restricted distribution within these streams, two of them being crenobiont. The others extend over wide altitudinal and ecological ranges. Eusimulium latizonum, Wilhelmia pseudequina and Simulium nitidifrons are the dominant species of the black‐fly community.     

A synoptic review of the genus Thaumaspis Bolívar (Orthoptera,Tettigoniidae, Meconematinae) with the description of a new genus and four new species

Two new species of the new genus Athaumaspis gen. n., Athaumaspis minutus sp. n. and Athaumaspis tibetanus sp. n. from Vietnam and China are described. The subgenus Pseudothaumaspis of Thaumaspis is elevated to generic status and another two new species Pseudothaumaspis bispinosus sp. n. and Pseudothaumaspis furcocercus sp. n. are described, the remaining species of Thaumaspis are reviewed and keyed with the four new species.     

A new species of Parspina Pearse, 1920 (Digenea: Cryptogonimidae) from Pimelodella gracilis (Valenciennes) (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae) in the Paraná River basin, Argentina, and a key to the genus

A new species of cryptogonimid belonging to the genus Parspina Pearse, 1920 is described from the intestine of Pimelodella gracilis (Valenciennes) in the Paraná River basin, Argentina. Parspina pimelodellae n. sp. is characterised by having: (i) a body length/width ratio of 1:3.6–5.3 at the level of the ventral sucker; (ii) 21 oral spines; (iii) an oral sucker larger than the ventral sucker, with a sucker width ratio of 1:0.6–0.7; (iv) a postcaecal region of 16–19% of the body-length; (v) a compact, transversely elongate ovary, anterior to and well separated from the testes; (vi) small, branched vitelline follicles, extending from the level of the ventral sucker to the anterior margin of the ovary; and (vii) a large seminal vesicle situated posterodorsal to the ventral sucker. A key to the species of Parspina is presented.     

Two new species of genus Ateleute Förster (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Cryptinae) with a key to the Oriental species

Three species of Ateleute Förster 1869 belonging to the tribe Cryptini of the subfamily Cryptinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), collected from Jiangxi Province, China, are reported, of which two are new for science: Ateleute ferruginea Sheng, Broad & Sun, sp. n. and AAteleute zixiensis Sheng, Broad & Sun, sp. n. One, AAteleute densistriata (Uchida, 1955), was previously known from China and Japan. A key to the species of genus Ateleute known in the Oriental Region is provided.     

Description of a new subgenus and a new species of Thamnocephalus (Crustacea: Branchiopoda,Anostraca) from the Salinas Grandes Basin,Córdoba Province,Argentina

At present, the American genus Thamnocephalus has three species, recorded from several states of U.S.A., México and Venezuela: Thamnocephalus platyurus Packard, T. mexicanus Linder and T. venezuelensis Belk & Pereira. The new species Thamnocephalus salinarum, from a turbid saline temporary pond inside the Salinas Grandes of Córdoba, Argentina is described here. The new species differs from all other congeners by the presence in the male, of an unbranched frontal appendage and a pair of soft cordiform parapenial lobes; also, by the sexually dimorphic caudal fin-like lobe. This new species may represent a new genus, however since only five specimens were collected it was not possible to observe if the penial ornamentation conforms to the Thamnocephalus type. Therefore, a conservative position is taken until new material allows proper analysis, by keeping the new species in the genus Thamnocephalus under the new subgenus Simplicephalus.     

The Collothecidae (Rotifera,Collothecacea) of Thailand,with the description of a new species and an?illustrated key to the Southeast Asian fauna

Following previous reports indicating a remarkable high diversity of sessile rotifers in Southeast Asian freshwaters, we report on an extensive study of the diversity of Collothecidae rotifers from fifteen freshwater habitats in Thailand. A total of 13 species, including two additional infraspecific variants, of Collothecidae are recorded, one of which is described as a new species of Collotheca. We further add taxonomic remarks on some of the taxa on record and illustrate the uncinate trophi of several representatives by scanning electron microscopic images. Finally, we provide illustrated identification keys to the Collothecidae recorded to date from Southeast Asia.     

A new species of the sleeper goby (Gobioidei,Eleotridae) from the České Středohoří Mountains (Czech Republic,Oligocene) and analysis of the validity of the family Pirskeniidae

A new species of gobioid fish Pirskenius Obrhelová, 1961 (P. radoni sp. nov.) is described from Oligocene strata of the ?eské St?edoho?í Mountains and compared with related species. The new species is characterized by a unique combination of characters that allow it to be separated from P. diatomaceus Obrhelová, 1961. The taxonomic position of the genus Pirskenius is discussed, and its affinity to the family Eleotridae is indicated. The new record documents, together with P. diatomaceus, the oldest known skeletal record of the Eleotridae.     

A new species of the genus Himertosoma from the Ryukyus,Japan, with a key to species from the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions (Hymenoptera,?Ichneumonidae,Banchinae)

A new species of the genus Himertosoma Schmiedeknecht, Himertosoma kuslitzkii sp. n., was discovered in Amamioshima Island, the Ryukyus. This new species resembles two Oriental species, Himertosoma philippense Chandra & Gupta and Himertosoma townesi Chandra & Gupta, in the colour pattern of the head and metasoma, number of flagellomeres, and the relatively slender first metasomal tergite, but can easily be distinguished from them by the nearly evenly punctate propodeum, different length/width ratio of the first metasomal tergite, different length of the ovipositor sheath, tricoloured mesosoma, and the whitish band along the posterior margin of the second and following metasomal tergites. A key to the Palaearctic and Oriental species of Himertosoma is also provided.     

Darwin’s legacy to rove beetles (Coleoptera,Staphylinidae): A new genus and a new species,including materials collected on the Beagle’s voyage

A species of xanthopygine rove beetles is described and figured here as Darwinilus sedarisigen. n. and sp. n. The holotype was collected by Charles Darwin in Bahía Blanca, Argentina on the Beagle’s voyage. The contributions of Charles Darwin to rove beetle systematics are summarized briefly.     

An integrative assessment of the taxonomic status of putative hybrid leopard frogs (Anura: Ranidae) from the Chortís Highlands of Central America,with description of a new species

Integrative taxonomy seeks to approach the complex topic of species diagnosis using independent, complementary lines of evidence. Despite their ubiquity throughout North and Central America, taxonomy of the American leopard frogs (Anura: Ranidae: Rana: subgenus Pantherana) remains largely unresolved, and this is arguably nowhere truer than in the Central American country of Honduras, where there are two nominal species, the taxonomy of which remains unresolved. Leopard frogs from several mountainous areas along the continental divide in Honduras have previously been considered putative hybrids between Rana brownorum and R. cf. forreri, as opposed to two alternate hypotheses: one that they represent a high-altitude eco-morph of a single widespread species that included both lowland forms, or a second that there is an undescribed highland species distinct from either of the recognized lowland forms. We examine this set of hypotheses using three independent lines of evidence. First, we used species distribution modelling to examine potential geographic isolation of the highland form and the two putative parental lowland species, and found strong ecological separation between the highland and lowland forms. Second, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA supports the distinction of the highland form from both putative parental species, with mtDNA data refuting the hypothesis that representatives of either species may represent a matrilineal founder. Morphologically, the highland form is significantly smaller than, and otherwise readily differentiated from, both R. brownorum and R. cf. forreri, as well as all other Rana found in Honduras and adjacent areas. As a result, we formally describe the highland leopard frog as a new species.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BE53F587-3618-4433-9651-E495808E5474