A new species of Paratheuma (Araneae: Dictynidae) from Southwestern Asia and transfer of the genus

The marine spider genus Paratheuma Bryant, 1940 Bryant, E. B. (1940): Cuban spiders in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 86, 247–532. [Google Scholar] is recorded in southwestern Asia for the first time, and a new species, P. enigmatica sp. n. is described from southern and southeastern Iran on the basis of both sexes. Based on morphological and molecular evidence, the genus is transferred from Desidae to Litisedinae, Dictynidae.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BC5B70CB-E6C9-4624-8BE8-22FF14AF6DC7     

First record of the genus Gynecaptera Skorikov, 1935 (Hymenoptera: Bradynobaenidae: Apterogyninae) from Saudi Arabia,with description of a new species

In the present study, the genus Gynecaptera Skorikov, 1935 Skorikov, A. S. (1935): Zur Mutilliden-Fauna Zentralasiens. Trudy tadzhikskoi basy Akademii Nauk. SSSR, 5, 257–349 + 7 plates. [Google Scholar] is recorded from the Arabian Peninsula for the first time, with a nocturnal new species, G. arabica Soliman &; Gadallah, which has been collected from the Riyadh region in Saudi Arabia and which is described and illustrated.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F7ACB779-3750-4DC6-B29B-B7F290E7C7B4     

Two new harvestmen species (Arachnida: Opiliones) from the Caucasus

Two new harvestmen species of the family Phalangiidae, Rilaena caucasica sp. n. and Rilaena silhavyi sp. n. are diagnosed, illustrated, and described from the Caucasus region. Comparative illustration of the related Rilaena anatolica (Roewer, 1956), R. atrolutea (Roewer, 1915) and R. kelbajarica Snegovaya &; Pkhakadze, 2014 Snegovaya, N. Y., &; Pkhakadze, V. D. (2014): New species of the genus Rilaena (Opiliones, Phalangiidae) from the mount Gyamish, Azerbaijan. Vestnik zoologii, 48, 313–318. doi: 10.2478/vzoo-2014-0037[Crossref] , [Google Scholar] are given.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7B29FD94-45A2-4E32-A41E-3276E016410B     

Description of the first endemic earthworm species from Cyprus (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae)

New earthworm samples from Cyprus are assessed and discussed. A re-evaluation of specimens previously relegated to the Southern Alpine species Perelia nematogena (Rosa, 1903), revealed two independent species: Perelia phoebea (Cognetti, 1913 Cognetti, L. (1913): Escursioni zoologiche del Dr. E. Festa nell’Isola di Rodi V. Oligocheti. Bollettino dei Musei di zoologia ed anatomia comparata della R. Università di Torino, 28, 1–6. [Google Scholar]) ,described originally from Rhodes Island, (Greece) and an undescribed species Perelia makrisi sp. n. The new species is similar also to the Levantine Pe. galileana Csuzdi &; Pavlí?ek, 2005 and corroborates the hypotheses that the autochthonous earthworm fauna of Cyprus is of Levantine origin.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FD1996DC-2FFC-42D5-A1D2-005B50E6FC64     

Glacidorbidae (Gastropoda: Heterobranchia) in South America: revision and description of a new genus and three new species from Patagonia

The Glacidorbidae, a family restricted to the Gondwanan realm (Tasmania, southeastern and southwestern Australia, and southern Argentina and Chile), previously included five genera with 20 identified species; 19 of them are Australian, with one genus and species, Gondwanorbis magallanicus (Meier-Brook & Smith, 1976 Meier-Brook, K. & Smith, B.J. (1976) Glacidorbis Iredale, 1943, a genus of freshwater prosobranchs with a Tasmanian-Southeast Australian-South Andean distribution. Archive für Molluskenkunde 106, 191–198. [Google Scholar]), from South America. Here we describe two new species of Gondwanorbis: Gondwanorbis fueguensis n. sp. from the freshwater gastropods province of Southern Patagonia (Argentina) and Gondwanorbis tricarinatus n. sp. from Chile, and a new genus and species from the freshwater gastropods province of northern Patagonia (Argentina), Patagonorbis nahuelhuapensis n. sp and n. gen.

http://www./zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:62EA0972-3AEF-4188-8E6D-F10895CE2BEF     

A checklist of the genus Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera: Pipunculidae) from the Middle East with the description of a new species

A checklist of 39 species of the genus Tomosvaryella Aczél (Diptera, Pipunculidae) known from the Middle East is provided. A new species, T. hamata Majnon Jahromi &; Kehlmaier sp. n. is described from southern Iran and diagnostic characters of male and female terminalia are illustrated. Tomosvaryella dentiterebra (Collin, 1949 Collin, J. E. (1949): Results of the Armstrong College Expedition to Siwa Oasis (Libyan Desert), 1935, under the leadership of Prof. J. Orner-Cooper. Diptera Empididae, Dolichopodidae, Aschiza and Acalypterae. Bulletin de la Societe Fouad I^erd'Entomologie, 33, 75–225. [Google Scholar]) is redescribed and male and female terminalia are illustrated for the first time. A phylogenetic maximum-likelihood analysis and uncorrected pairwise genetic distances of 18 out of 22 Iranian species of Tomosvaryella based on DNA barcodes of the mitochondrial COI gene are presented and also discussed.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FF8C116D-0C92-431A-B52C-11F3711B6A62     

A new species of Larsia Fittkau, 1962 (Diptera: Chironomidae: Tanypodinae) from phytotelmata of Aechmea distichantha Lemaire, 1853 (Bromeliaceae) in Argentina

A new species of Larsia Fittkau, 1962 Fittkau, E.J. (1962), ‘Die Tanypodinae (Diptera: Chironomidae) (Die Tribus Anatopyniini, Macropelopiini und Pentaneurini)’, Abhandlungen zur Larvalsystematik der Insekten, 6, 1–453. [Google Scholar], viz. Larsia angusticornis sp. n., is described and adults and immatures are figured. The study is based on larvae collected from phytotelmata of the bromeliad Aechmea distichantha Lemaire, 1853 Lemaire, A.C. (1853), Le Jardin Fleuriste; Journal General des Progres et des Interets Horticoles et Botaniques, 3: pl. 269. [Google Scholar] in northeastern Argentina that were reared to the adult stage. The pupa bears thoracic horns unusual for the genus, which distinguish this new species from other Larsia species.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:41DFD96D-98E2-4FFC-9CDE-C290BCA84D45     

Revision of the Clytra subfasciata species group (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cryptocephalinae: Clytrini)

The Clytra subfasciata species group is proposed, to comprise Clytra subfasciata Lacordaire, 1848 Lacordaire, J. T. (1848): Monographie des coléoptères subpentamères de la famille des phytophages. Tome second. Mémoires de la Société Royale des Sciences de Liége, 5, 1–890 pp. [Google Scholar], C. hajeki Medvedev &; Kantner, 2002 Medvedev, L. N., &; Kantner, F. (2002): Some new and poorly know Clytrinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) of the Old World. Entomologica Basiliensia, 24, 259–269. [Google Scholar] and C. kadleci sp. n. (Yemen). The species of the group are characterised by the peculiar shape of the aedeagus, with a dorsal plate separated from the rest of aedeagus by a deep narrow slit. Colour photographs of habitus and drawings of genitalia are provided for all three species.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F6706A76-CD49-4A5A-A109-A6E6C23514A5     

Unexpected systematic affinities and geographic expansion of a marine alien hydroid (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa)

Biological systematics provides taxonomic information and expertise for biogeography and biological invasion research and management. However, the systematic classification of most taxa, including some alien and invasive species, relies only on morphology. This applies for example to Sertularella tongensis Stechow, 1919 Stechow, E. (1919). Zur Kenntnis der Hydroidenfauna des Mittelmeeres, Amerikas und anderer Gebiete, nebst Angaben über einige Kirchenpauer'sche Typen von Plumulariden. Zoologische Jahrbuecher (Systematik), 42, 1–172. [Google Scholar] (Cnidaria: Sertulariidae), an alien hydrozoan recently reported in the Mediterranean. Its genus affiliation is still unclear and controversial. Historically, it has been assigned to several existing genera. However, molecular data (COI, 16S, 18S, 28S) provided here do not support these previous assignments. Instead, integrative analyses combining morphological and molecular data support reassigning this species to a new genus, Bicaularia gen. nov. A biogeographic review revealed that this species is widely distributed in the mid- and low-latitude waters of the Indo-Pacific region, and is spreading to some tropical and temperate regions including the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, as well as Korea and Japan. This expansion may be attributable to human activity such as shipping through the Suez and the Panama Canals. However, the new record attached to a floating Sargassum algal fragment in the surface water of the open Pacific, might suggest a neglected cryptic spread pathway with the assistance of floating biological organisms. Our findings shed light on the complexity of the phylogeny and spread pathway of the investigated hydrozoan species. We regard the fine systematics as the first step towards future global sampling for molecular studies aiming to elucidate the origins and pathways for alien and invasive species.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org: pub: 45AB0849-1E3B-477FB643-1B3B4603C1FF     

A new species of Stenochironomus Kieffer, 1919 from the Atlantic Rainforest in southern Brazil (Diptera: Chironomidae)

Stenochironomus falcifer sp. n. is described and figured based on the characters of a male adult. The species was collected in Malaise traps in the Serra Furada State Park (PAESF), in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil. It can be separated from all other species of Stenochironomus Kieffer, 1919 Kieffer, J.J. (1919), ‘Chironomiden der Nördlichen Polarregion’, Entomologische Mitteilungen, 8, 40–48. [Google Scholar] by its unique thorax pigmentation, with two dark patches on the lateral vittae, brownish postnotum and dark stripes on the scutum, and also by the combination of a narrow, parallel-sided anal point, inferior volsella with a stout apical seta, rounded posterior margin of the tergite IX and green metallic eyes.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3646E02D-7E3F-487A-BED1-A7937AFF8040     

Going going gone: the loss of a reef building gastropod (Mollusca: Caenogastropoda: Vermetidae) in the southeast Mediterranean Sea

A new harvestman species, Rilaena artvinensis sp. n. (Opiliones: Phalangiidae), is described and illustrated based on males collected in north-eastern Anatolia, Turkey. The new species is similar to R. buresi (?ilhavý, 1965 ?ilhavý, V. (1965): Die Weberknechte der Unterordnung Eupnoi aus Bulgarien; zugleich eine Revision europäischer Gattungen der Unterfamilien Oligolophinae und Phalangiinae (Arachnoidea, Opilionidea). Acta Entomologica Bohemoslovaca, 62, 369–406. [Google Scholar]) and R. lenkoranica Snegovaya, 2007 Snegovaya, N. Y. (2007): Two new harvestman species from Lenkoran, Azerbaijan (Arachnida: Opiliones: Phalangiidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society, 14, 88–92. [Google Scholar]. The differences between these species are elaborated.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A53452BB-A85D-4BE8-8A6B-D0FC3421AFE3     

A taxonomic position of Armenian endemic freshwater snails of the genus Shadinia Akramowski, 1976 (Caenogastropoda: Hydrobiidae): combining morphological and molecular evidence

According to analyses of anatomical data and nucleotide sequences of three genes (16S, 18S rDNA and CO 1 mtDNA), the Armenian endemic genus Shadinia Akramowski, 1976 Akramowski, N.N. (1976) Fauna of Armenia SSR. Mollusca. Zoological Institute Academy of Science, Yerevan, Armenian SSR. [Google Scholar] should be considered as a separate subfamily, Shadiniinae of Hydrobiidae Stimpson, 1865. A combination of genetic resemblance and similarity in conchology, morphology of radula, male and female anatomy (except some details) assures us of the close relationship of Shadinia and the genera Persipyrgula and Intermaria recently described from riverine waters of Iran. We provisionally assign these two genera to the new subfamily, which also includes the genus Nicolaia, established in 2015 for small hydrobiids from the Kasach River (Armenia). The latter genus has not yet been studied genetically, but morphological evidence leads us to consider it as compatible with Persipyrgula and Intermaria. All three genera differ significantly from the genus Shadinia in only one respect: females of these snails have one seminal receptacle, while those of Shadinia have two. The subfamily Shadiniinae is a sister group to Pyrgulinae; the former differs morphologically from the latter in possessing a pigmented nervous system and odontophore, presence of basal cusps on the central tooth of the radula and a black pigmented coiled oviduct without the widening that characterises most of the Pyrgulinae.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3009CB4E-EE5B-44BE-B8E4-497B5CB3BE5D     

A new species of plume moth (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) from Jordan

The species Hellinsia jordanica Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. n. is newly described from Jordan.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EED698C9-1943-41BC-A503-13A2128A62C5     

A new species of Micragasma J. Sahlberg, 1900 (Coleoptera: Hydraenidae) from Crete

We describe a new species of Micragasma J. Sahlberg, 1900 (Coleoptera, Hydraenidae), which is here treated as a subgenus of Ochthebius Leach, 1815 Leach, W.E. (1815), ‘Entomology’, in The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia (Vol. 9), ed. D. Brewster, Balfour: Edinburgh, pp. 57–172. [Google Scholar]. The new species, O. (Micragasma) minoicus sp. n., was found at the margins of a coastal rockpool in the island of Crete. The species differs from the other two known species of Micragasma in both external and genital characters, but shares with them the presence of small setiferous tubercles on the surface of the head, pronotum and elytra, and a strong medial gibbosity on the head. In some characters, such as the structure and shape of the aedeagus, O. (M.) minoicus sp. n. is similar to other species of the genus Ochthebius, in particular of the subgenus Cobalius Rey, 1886 Rey, C. (1886), ‘Histoire naturelle des coléoptères de France (suite)’, Annales de la Société Linnéenne de Lyon, 32, 1–187, pl. 1–2.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], typical of coastal rockpools.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:BCEAE1EE-7C5E-4017-A753-559738221502     

A new species and new distribution records of Zaitunia from Iran (Araneae: Filistatidae)

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:856ED4E9-2DDE-4389-8020-CFA39C136A54     

A new species of the genus Chaetopelma Ausserer, 1871 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) from Turkey

A new species of Chaetopelma Ausserer, 1871 is described from Hatay province, Turkey. Differences between the new species and related species are discussed. The characteristic features of this species are described and illustrated.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:99C21605-5308-4363-8420-02F6151B4457