Wahlenbergia cordiformis sp. nov. (Campanulaceae: Campanuloideae), a new woody species from Western Cape,South Africa

Wahlenbergia cordiformis, a new species of the Lightfootia‐type is described and illustrated. It is currently only known from the farm Knolfontein, in the Swartruggens region, north east of Ceres in the Western Cape, South Africa. The closest relative of W. cordiformis is unclear, but it may be closely related to either W. tenella, W. nodosa, W. tenerrima, W. oligantha or W. neorigida. Wahlenbergia cordiformis is distinguished from them by its cordate, leaf‐like calyx lobes.     

Nesticus baeticus sp. n., a new troglobitic spider species from south-west Europe (Araneae, Nesticidae)

We describe a new species of carcinoecium-forming sea anemone, Stylobates birtlesisp. n., from sites 590-964 m deep in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. An anemone of this genus settles on a gastropod shell inhabited by a hermit crab, then covers and extends the shell to produce a chitinous structure termed a carcinoecium. Stylobates birtlesisp. n. is symbiotic with the hermit crab Sympagurus trispinosus (Balss, 1911). The nature of marginal sphincter muscle and nematocyst size and distribution distinguish Stylobates birtlesi sp. n. from other species in the genus. The four known species of Stylobates are allopatric, each inhabiting a separate ocean basin of the Indo-West Pacific. We also extend the known range of Stylobates loisetteae in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia.     

Annesorhiza asparagoides (Apiaceae), a new species from the Cederberg Mountains, Western Cape Province, South Africa

A highly localised new species from the Cederberg Mountains near Wuppertal in the Western Cape Province is described. Annesorhiza asparagoides B.-E. Van Wyk, collected for the first time in 2009, differs from all other species of Annesorhiza (and the closely related Chamarea) in the unusual leaf structure, with crowded, subsessile, acicular leaf segments, resulting in dense, bottlebrush-like pinnae. The new species has a cluster of 10 or more slender roots, small (< 150 mm long), sparsely hairy leaves and small (± 8 mm long), oblong, conspicuously ribbed, homomericarpic fruits.     

Annesorhiza calcicola (Apiaceae), a new limestone endemic species from the Western Cape Province of South Africa

The new species, Annesorhiza calcicola Magee and J.C. Manning, is described. It is known only from a few limestone outcrops around Jacobsbaai on the Saldanha Peninsula on the West Coast of South Africa. The species differs from all others in the genus in its small stature (inflorescence less than 0.3 m and leaves less than 150 mm long), the hysteranthous, pilose leaves which are completely absent at flowering (in the other species dead or dying at flowering and usually glabrous), the greyish-black, pilose inflorescence (yellowish-brown and glabrous in the other species) and the smaller homomericarpic fruit less than 5 mm long.     

Sociality in a bark-dwelling huntsman spider from Australia,Delena cancerides Walckenaer (Araneae: Sparassidae)

Summary Social behavior is reported for the first time in a member of the family Sparassidae (Araneae), the Australian huntsman spiderDelena cancerides Walckenaer. Unlike any previously known social spider, this is a bark dwelling species and, thus, its sociality cannot have its basis on an aerial web, the structure that has been considered central to the evolution of sociality in other spider species. Colonies ofD. cancerides may comprise up to 300 individuals living in close physical contact under the exfoliating bark of deadAcacia, Callitris andCasuarina species. Specimens maintained in the laboratory feed communally and capture prey jointly. Although this intranest tolerance and communal feeding behavior is reminiscent of other highly social spiders,D. cancerides notably differs from these other species in the extreme aggression shown towards members of foreign colonies, its outbred population structure, and lack of sex ratio bias. We suggest that sociality in this species may have been facilitated by the presence of extended maternal care in the ancestral phylogenetic lineage, as suggested by the occurrence of such behavior in related nonsocial species, and that colonial living may have arisen as a consequence of the reduction and fragmentation ofDelena's habitat associated with the rise to dominance of the eucalypts. The apparent colony recognition observed may have evolved becauseDelena's hunting habits may require mechanisms to locate one's own colony after foraging expeditions and to exclude wandering outsiders from entering one's nest, in contrast to web-bound species that do not need to leave their nest to forage. How the observed outbreeding is accomplished in the face ofDelena's extreme intolerance to members of other nests, as well as how new colonies are formed, are issues that have yet to be investigated.     

Pelargonium elandsmontanum (Geraniaceae: section Hoarea), a new species from the Western Cape Province, South Africa

The new species Pelargonium elandsmontanum is a local endemic from Elandsberg Nature Reserve near Malmesbury in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. One of six species of sect. Hoarea with just the posterior two petals developed, it resembles P. ternifolium in its trifoliolate leaves and pink petals but is distinguished from that species by the short, stout petioles, rhombic, acute leaflets with the upper surface glabrous or with spreading hairs (vs cuneate, apically incised leaflets with both surfaces adpressed-hairy), and five (vs four) fertile stamens.     

A new species of Arctotis (Compositae, Arctotideae) from kommetjie grassland in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Arctotis debensis R.J.McKenzie, a new species from the Albany Centre of Floristic Endemism, South Africa, is described and illustrated. It grows almost exclusively in grassland on kommetjies, a distinctive landform of depressions and mounds associated with giant earthworms, in a restricted area west of King William's Town, Eastern Cape Province. It is the first plant taxon reported to be endemic or near-endemic to this unusual habitat. The new species appears to have been collected rarely and previous collections examined have remained undetermined to species level. The new species is distinguished from closely allied species by the combination of its usually larger dimensions in all parts, prostrate habit, coriaceous leaves that are green, scabrous, and eglandular on the adaxial surface and densely lanate on the abaxial surface, and involucral-bract morphology.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 151 , 581–588.     

Eight new species of the spider genera Raveniola and Sinopesa from China and Vietnam (Araneae,Nemesiidae)

Eight new species, seven Raveniola Zonstein, 1987 and one Sinopesa Raven & Schwendinger, 1995 from China and Vietnam are described: Raveniolaalpinasp. n., Raveniolabellulasp. n., Raveniolachayisp. n., Raveniolagracilissp. n., Raveniolarugosasp. n., Raveniolaspirulasp. n. and Raveniolayajiangensissp. n. and Sinopesaninhbinhensissp. n. Keys to all East-Asian congeners, diagnoses of the new species, and new distribution data of Raveniolamontana Zonstein & Marusik, 2012, with a first record for Sichuan, China, are provided.     

Siamspinops, a new selenopid spider genus from Southeast Asia (Arachnida, Araneae)

Examination of a collection of selenopid spiders from Southeast Asia resulted in recognition of a new genus, Siamspinops gen. nov., which is erected to accommodate four new Southeast Asian species. Siamspinops spinosissimus sp. nov. (the type species; the male and female are described), S. spinosus sp. nov. (female) and S. allospinosus sp. nov. (female) are recorded from Thailand, S. spinescens sp. nov. (female) from the Malay Peninsula.     

中国广西绿蟹蛛属1新种(蜘蛛目:蟹蛛科)

作者在进行中国广西大明山无脊椎动物资源调查研究时,发现了蜘蛛目蟹蛛科绿蟹蛛属1新种,命名为饼绿蟹蛛Oxytate placentiformis sp.nov..所有标本均保存在河北大学生命科学学院.文中测量单位为mm.饼绿蟹蛛,新种Oxytate placentiformis sp.nov.(图1～6)正模♂,广西南宁大明山自然保护区浣纱瀑布,2011-05-23,王英楠采.鉴别特征 在分布于亚洲大陆的本属种类中,本新种与冲绳绿蟹蛛O.hoshizuna Ono,1978,钳绿蟹蛛O.forcipata Zhang&Yin,1998和小头绿蟹蛛O.capitulata Tang&Li,2009外形和触肢器十分相似,但具有以下不同:本种触肢胫节突长,端部弯曲呈"7"字形,而冲绳绿蟹蛛O.hoshizuna的胫节突末端强烈弯曲呈钩状,钳绿蟹蛛O.forcipata胫节突末端呈钳状,小头绿蟹蛛O.capitulata Tang&Li,2009胫节突末端弯曲呈鸟头状.词源学 本新种以雄蛛背甲的形状而拟定.正模 雄蛛体长7.75:头胸部长2.81,宽2.40; 腹部长5.20,宽1.38.背甲黄褐色,中窝纵向线状,颈沟和放射沟不明显; 背甲圆形,头区轻微隆起.8眼2列,背面观两眼列均后凹,后眼列较宽,前侧眼和后侧眼突出; 前中眼直径0.08,前侧眼直径0.10,后中眼直径0.08,后侧眼直径0.10;前中眼距0.13,前中侧眼距0.10,后中眼距0.10,后中侧眼距0.30; 中眼域梯形,前边大于后边(0.30:0.25).螯肢黄褐色,前后齿堤无齿.颚叶黄色,边缘有浓厚的长毛.胸板淡黄色,长大于宽.步足黄褐色,步足测量:Ⅰ 12.40 (3.83+1.38+3.42+2.60+1.17),Ⅱ 12.60 (3.88+1.38+3.57+2.60+1.17),Ⅲ 6.80 (2.09+0.77+1.79+1.33+0.82),Ⅳ7.05 (2.40+0.71+1.79+1.33+0.82); 足式:2143.腹部十分窄长,淡黄色,被有黑色长毛; 腹部背面前端有2对明显的肌痕,腹部后部有横纹,似分节状.触肢胫节腹突拇指状; 外侧突较长,末端骨化程度高,弯曲呈"7"字形状; 生殖球简单,内侧具亚盾板; 插入器刺状,末端较钝.分布:广西.     

Caesia sabulosa (Hemerocallidaceae), a new species from the Greater Cape Region of South Africa

The new species Caesia sabulosa Boatwr. and J.C.Manning from deep sands along the West Coast of South Africa and sandy flats in the Cederberg and Bokkeveld Escarpment is described. It is distinguished by its extensively branched rhizome resulting in a robust, clump-forming habit, and unique ‘palisade’ root system of closely packed, hard, vertical roots; mostly larger flowers; erect fruiting pedicels; and details of the seed testa sculpturing.     

A new species of the spider genus Baalzebub (Araneae,Theridiosomatidae) from Brazilian caves

A new species of the spider genus Baalzebub Coddington from Brazil, B. acutum sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on 95 specimens collected from caves around the Iron Quadrangle in the state of Minas Gerais. This species is recognized by male palpal bulb with strong and large conductor covering almost entire embolus, and epigyne of females with long and tapered scape, which extends towards the spinners. Baalzebub acutum sp. nov. is the second species recorded from Brazil, the first for Brazilian caves, bringing the total number of species in the genus to seven in the world.     

Stylodrilus californianus n. sp., a new lumbriculid (Annelida: Oligochaeta) from North America

A new species of the genus Stylodrilus is described from phreatic waters in California, North America. Tubular atria with bulbous penes and spermathecae with broad and short ducts characterize the new species. The habitat of Stylodrilus californianus n. sp., confirms that the distribution of the genus Stylodrilus in the Neartic biogeographical zone is mainly associated with subterranean waters.     

Helicopsyche trispina sp. n. (Trichoptera,Helicopsychidae) from New Caledonia

Helicopsyche trispina sp. n. is described from Grande Terre, New Caledonia, based on pharate males, larvae and pupae. The species appears to belong to the monophyletic New Caledonian Helicopsyche clade.