Broadening the definition of the genus Thalassaphorura Bagnall, 1949 (Collembola,Onychiuridae) with a new aberrant species from China

A new species belonging to the tribe Thalassaphorurini, Thalassaphorura problematica sp. n., is described from Northeast China. The new species is closest to the large genus Thalassaphorura by its simple vesicles in PAO and its furcal rudiment, but it does not fit the definition of the genus by the absence of chaeta d0 on head, the number of chaetae in the distal whorl of tibiotarsi and the labium type. We discuss the relative weakness of these last characters at generic level, which lead us to assign the new species to Thalassaphorura instead of erecting a new genus. The diagnosis of Thalassaphorura is broadened accordingly.     

Two new species of Mediomastus (Annelida,Capitellidae) from Tokyo Bay,Japan

Two undescribed species of polychaetes in Mediomastus (Annelida: Capitellidae) were collected from intertidal to shallow habitats in Tokyo Bay, Japan. These are M. duobalteus sp. n. and M. hanedaensis sp. n. Mediomastus duobalteus sp. n. is distinguishable from all congeners by the following characters: 1) segments 3, 4, 8–11 stainable with methyl green, 2) thoracic capillary chaetae unilimbate, 3) abdominal capillary chaetae absent, 4) paddle-like chaetae in the thorax absent, and 5) abdominal hooded hooks not flared. Mediomastus hanedaensis sp. n. is similar to M. warrenae Green, 2002, but differs from the latter in the shapes of the thoracic capillary chaetae and the abdominal hooded hooks, and the staining pattern with methyl green. In addition, a key to all Mediomastus species is provided.     

Two new species of Coecobrya (Collembola,Entomobryidae) from China,with an updated key to the Chinese species of the genus

Two new Coecobrya species, which were newly collected in 2014, are described from China. Coecobrya sanmingensis sp. n. from southeast China (Fujian) is the fourth 1+1 eyed species in the genus; it can be distinguished from other three species by the ciliate chaetae X and X_2-4 on the ventral side of head, the abundant chaetae on the trochanteral organ, a large outer tooth on the unguiculus, the absence of smooth manubrial chaetae, and the dorsal chaetotaxy. Coecobrya qinae sp. n. from southwest China (Yunnan) is characterized by paddle-like S-chaetae of Ant. III organ, ciliate chaetae X, X₂ and X₄ posterior to labium, medial macrochaetae on the mesothorax, and 5+5 central and 2+2 lateral macrochaetae on the fourth abdominal segment. An updated key to the Chinese species of Coecobrya is given.     

Review of Chinese Oligaphorurini (Collembola, Onychiuridae) with descriptions of two new Palaearctic species

A checklist of Chinese Oligaphorurini is given. Two new Chinese species, Micraphorura changbaiensissp. n. and Oligaphorura pseudomontanasp. n., are described from Changbai Mountain Range. Micraphorura changbaiensis sp. n. has the same dorsal pseudocelli formula and number of papillae in Ant. III sensory organ as Micraphorura uralica, but they can be easily distinguished by number of chaetae in Ant. III sensory organ, ventral pseudocelli formula, ventral parapseudocelli formula, number of pseudocelli on subcoxa 1 of legs I-III, dorsal axial chaeta on Abd. V and number of chaetae on tibiotarsi. Oligaphorura pseudomontana sp. n. is very similar to the species Oligaphorura montana having an increased number of pseudocelli on body dorsally, well marked base of antenna with 1 pseudocellus and 3 pseudocelli outside, subcoxa 1 of legs I-III with 1 pseudocellus each, dorsally S-chaetae formula as 11/011/22211 from head to Abd. V, S-microchaeta present on Th. II-III, claw without inner teeth and with 1+1 lateral teeth, and unguiculus with basal lamella; but they can be separated easily by the number of pseudocelli on Abd. V and VI terga, parapseudocelli on the body, number of chaetae on Th. I tergum, and number of chaetae on tibiotarsi. A key to Chinese species of Oligaphorurini is provided in the present paper.     

New species of Isotomiella Bagnall, 1939 from Southeast?of Brazil (Collembola,Isotomidae)

Two new species of the genus Isotomiella Bagnall, 1939 are described and illustrated, the first: Isotomiella macedoi sp. n., based on males and females, from the “Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos” (Teresópolis municipality, State of Rio de Janeiro) differs from the other by tibiotarsus III thickened and blunt and two antero-lateral chaetae of labrum strongly thickened. The second species Isotomiella uai sp. n. from “Serra da Gandarela”, (Caeté municipality, State of Minas Gerais) differs from the other by presence of short sensilla on antennal IV and tergites, two anterolabral chaetae thickened and falcate mucro.     

A pair of closely linked genes controlling high scutellar chaeta number in Drosophila

Summary 1. A line selected for high scutellar chaeta number reached a mean of about 16 chaetae in females and 13.5 in males at the 69th generation of selection following an accelerated response to selection which commenced at generation 65 and added five chaetae. 2. The accelerated response can probably be explained in terms of two recessive high chaeta number genes 1.05 cM apart, and which are located between po and vg on chromosome II. The gene closest to vg was found to be scabrous, sca, which causes rough eyes when homozygous and has a pleiotropic effect on scutellar chaeta number. The gene was found in one of the strains used in setting up the selection lines. 3. The results are discussed in relation to other theories of control of the scutellar chaeta system.     

New Chinese record of the genus Spinonychiurus (Collembola,Onychiuridae), with the description of a new species

A new collembolan species is described, Spinonychiurus sinensis sp. n., which has seven chaetae in the distal row of the tibiotarsi. It is placed in the genus Spinonychiurus due to two important characters: the two subsegments on Abd. III sternum and the absence of d0 on the head. This is the first report of the genus Spinonychiurus in China. The diagnosis of Spinonychiurus is broadened and the key to the world species is provided.     

A new species of Dicranocentrus (Collembola,Entomobryidae) from China with comments on the systematic position of the genus

Dicranocentrus liuae sp. n. is described from the northern subtropical region of China. The new species is most similar to D. wangi Ma & Chen, 2007, but differs from it in the relatively shorter Ant. V, the 1+1 central macrochaetae on Abd. III, the number of chaetae on tenaculum, and the absence of dental spines. The systematic position of Dicranocentrus is also discussed. Present evidence, particularly S-chaetotaxy, indicates that the genus is closer to Heteromurus than to the unscaled species of Orchesella and Orchesellides.     

A new highly specialized cave harvestman from Brazil and the first blind species of the genus: Iandumoema smeagol sp. n. (Arachnida,Opiliones, Gonyleptidae)

A new species of troglobitic harvestman, Iandumoema smeagol sp. n., is described from Toca do Geraldo, Monjolos municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Iandumoema smeagol sp. n. is distinguished from the other two species of the genus by four exclusive characteristics – dorsal scutum areas with conspicuous tubercles, enlarged retrolateral spiniform tubercle on the distal third of femur IV, eyes absent and the penial ventral process slender and of approximately the same length of the stylus. The species is the most highly modified in the genus and its distribution is restricted only to caves in that particular area of Minas Gerais state. The type locality is not inside a legally protected area, and there are anthropogenic impacts in its surroundings. Therefore, Iandumoema smeagol sp. n. is vulnerable and it must be considered in future conservation projects.     

Larval structures associated with larva-to-adult trophallaxis in Platythyrea (Hymenoptera : Formicidae)

Larvae of Platythyrea arnoldi, P. modesta, P. schultzei and P. sp. (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) were found to have a well-developed, distinctive median tubercle on their 7th abdominal sternites. The first 2 species also had a tubercle on the 8th abdominal sternite. Specialised epithelial cells surround a deep invagination that opens through an orifice to the base of the tubercle on the 7th abdominal sternite of at least 3 of the species. P. lamellosa has a poorly developed tubercle. A secretion was seen at the base of the tubercle of a P. arnoldi larva, and adult ants of this species and of P. sp. and P. schultzei were often seen licking the posterior face of the tubercles for extended periods. They were feeding on a secretion originating from the orifice beneath the tubercle.     

Homology and Evolution of the Chaetae in Echiura (Annelida)

Echiura is traditionally regarded as a small phylum of unsegmented spiralian worms. Molecular analyses, however, provide unquestionable evidence that Echiura are derived annelids that lost segmentation. Like annelids, echiurans possess chaetae, a single ventral pair in all species and one or two additional caudal hemi-circles of chaetae in two subgroups, but their evolutionary origin and affiliation to annelid chaetae are unresolved. Since annelids possess segmental pairs of dorsal (notopodial) and ventral (neuropodial) chaetae that are arranged in a row, the ventral chaetae in Echiura either represent a single or a paired neuropodial group of chaetae, while the caudal circle may represent fused rows of chaetae. In annelids, chaetogenesis is generally restricted to the ventral part of the notopodial chaetal sac and to the dorsal part of the neuropodial chaetal sac. We used the exact position of the chaetal formation site in the echiuran species, Thalassema thalassemum (Pallas, 1766) and Echiurus echiurus (Pallas, 1767), to test different hypotheses of the evolution of echiurid chaetae. As in annelids, a single chaetoblast is responsible for chaetogenesis in both species. Each chaeta of the ventral pair arises from its own chaetal sac and possesses a lateral formation site, evidencing that the pair of ventral chaetae in Echiura is homologous to a pair of neuropodia that fused on the ventral side, while the notopodia were reduced. Both caudal hemi-circles of chaetae in Echiurus echiurus are composed of several individual chaetal sacs, each with its own formative site. This finding argues against a homology of these hemi-circles of chaetae and annelids’ rows of chaetae and leads to the hypothesis that the caudal chaetal rings evolved once within the Echiura by multiplication of ventral chaetae.     

Redescription of Triplophysa alticeps (Herzenstein, 1888), the type species of the subgenus Qinghaichthys Zhu, 1981, with notes on its taxonomic position

External morphology and osteology of Triplophysa alticeps, type species of the subgenus Qinghaichthys, is described. A detailed morphological comparison of this species with other species of the genus is also provided. The characteristic traits of T. alticeps include: a short and deep head, neurocranium swollen in the postorbital part, significantly reduced seismosensory system, absence of brushlike aggregations of tubercles on both sides of the head in males, three pectoral radialia, short ventroanal distance, absence of manubrium, and several other features. Possibly, the subgenus Qinghaichthys should be recognized as valid, and should include the species with three radialia of the pectoral fin, a direct contact of the swollen halves of the air-bladder capsule, short swollen head, and without brushlike aggregations of tubercles on the sides of the head in males.     

Chaetal arrangement and chaetogenesis of hooded hooks in Lumbrineris (Scoletoma) fragilis and Lumbrineris tetraura (Eunicida,Annelida)

As the structure and arrangement of chaetae are highly specific for annelid species and higher taxonomic entities, we assume that rather conservative information guarantees formation of specific chaetae. Each chaeta of an annelid is formed within an ectodermal invagination, and the modulation of the apical microvilli pattern of the basalmost cell of this invagination determines the structure of the chaeta. Any hypothesis of the homology of chaetae could thus be tested by examining the process of chaetal formation. Investigations into the ultrastructure and formation of hooded hooks in different capitellids and spionids revealed that these chaetae can be homologized. The hood of each of their hooded hooks is formed by elongation of two rings of microvilli peripheral to the chaetal anlage, which give rise to the inner and outer layers of the hood. The hood layers are well separated and surround an empty space. Superficially similar hooded hooks are described for certain Eunicida. Presently available cladistic analyses suggest that the hooded hooks of eunicidans evolved independently of those in Capitellidae and Spionidae. Compared with the latter two families, we therefore expected to find differences in chaetogenesis of the hooded hooks in the eunicids Lumbrineris (Scoletoma) fragilis and Lumbrineris tetraura (Lumbrineridae). This was the case. In these eunicidans, the hood was formed by the bisected apical wall of the chaetoblast right after the mid‐apical section of the chaeta had been sunk deeply into the chaetoblast during its formation. The apical wall generated a brush of microvilli that preformed the hood. Because the microvilli of the hood showed some accelerated differentiation, they soon merged with those of the slowly growing setal shaft to form the broad manubrium of the hooded hook in lumbrinerids. Our study confirms the predicted differences in chaetogenesis of the superficially similar hooded hooks of capitellids and spionids compared with those of eunicids.     

A peculiar cave species of Tomocerus (Collembola,Tomoceridae, Tomocerinae) from Vietnam,with a discussion of the postantennal organ and prelabral chaetae in Tomocerinae

The first Tomocerus species with a postantennal organ (PAO) in the adult stage is described from Vietnam. Tomocerus postantennalis sp. n. differs from the other PAO-possessing tomocerid, Tomolonus reductus Mills, 1948, mainly in the morphology of PAO, the number of ocelli, the number of chaetae in trochantero-femoral organ and several features of the furca. The new species is placed in Tomocerus because of the presence of a toothlet on the outer basal mucronal tooth and the absence of the diagnostic character states of Plutomurus Yosii, 1956 and Aphaenomurus Yosii, 1956. Besides the presence of PAO, the new species is peculiar in having six prelabral chaetae, instead of four as in other Tomocerus species. The new species is similar to Tomocerus folsomi Denis, 1929 and Tomocerus ocreatus Denis, 1948 in the type of dental spines but different from them in the body colour, the relative length of antennae to body, the number of unguis inner teeth and the number of mucronal intermediate teeth.     

A New Species of Microhyla (Anura: Microhylidae) from Nilphamari,Bangladesh

A new species of Microhyla frog from the Nilphamari district of Bangladesh is described and compared with its morphologically similar and geographically proximate congeners. Molecular phylogeny derived from mitochondrial DNA sequences revealed that although the new species – designated here as Microhyla nilphamariensis sp. nov. – forms a clade with M. ornate, it is highly divergent from M. ornata and all of its congeners, with 5.7 – 13.2% sequence divergence at the 16S rRNA gene. The new species can be identified phenotypically on the basis of a set of diagnostic (both qualitative and quantitative) characters as follows: head length is 77% of head width, distance from front of eyes to the nostril is roughly six times greater than nostril–snout length, internarial distance is roughly five times greater than nostril–snout length, interorbital distance is two times greater than internarial distance, and distance from back of mandible to back of the eye is 15% of head length. Furthermore, inner metacarpal tubercle is small and ovoid-shaped, whereas outer metacarpal tubercle is very small and rounded. Toes have rudimentary webbing, digital discs are absent, inner metatarsal tubercle is small and round, outer metatarsal tubercle is ovoid-shaped, minute, and indistinct.     

A New Species and Subgenus of the Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Toxicum</Emphasis> Latreille, 1802 (Coleoptera,Tenebrionidae, Toxicini) from the Russian Far East

A new tenebrionid species, Toxicum elviraesp. n. (Tenebrioninae: Toxicini), is described from Primorskii Territory of Russia. The new species belongs to the subgenus Mutiloxicumsubgen. n. and differs from the congeners in the absence of horns on the male head (only supra-orbital swellings and a small epistomal tubercle are present), in the erect pubescence on the outer surface of the mandible, and in the strongly projecting, acute anterior angles of the pronotum. The new species feeds on epiphytic foliose physcioid lichens, in contrast to the other Toxicum species which feed on bracket fungi (Polyporales). The taxonomic significance of the head armature in the subtribe Toxicina is discussed. A key to the genera of the subtribe Toxicini is given.     

Two new Megalothorax species of the minimus group (Collembola,Neelidae)

Two new Megalothorax species, Megalothorax potapovi sp. n. from the Russian Far East and Megalothorax sanguineus sp. n. from the French Pyrénées are described. The two new species have a set of morphological characters (including a smooth mucro) that places them among the minimus group sensu Schneider and D’Haese (2013). Megalothorax potapovi characteristics include dorsal protuberance on forehead, peculiar chaetotaxy of antenna III and strong lanceolate chaetae on body. Megalothorax sanguineus characteristics include strong red pigmentation, large network of integumentary channels on head and elongated apex of the two postero-distal spines of dens. The DNA barcodes ( cytochrome oxidase subunit I–COI) of the two species are also provided and analyzed among a broader sampling of the genus in order to support further their specific status. A special focus is given to the labral morphological characteristics. Pseudopores-like elements are reported for the first time in the genus. Positions of the τ-chaetae near the dorsal sensory field of thorax II are compared for several species of the genus.     

Sylphella puccoon gen. n., sp. n. and two additional new species of aquatic oligochaetes (Lumbriculidae,Clitellata) from poorly-known lotic habitats in North Carolina (USA)

Three new species of Lumbriculidae were collected from floodplain seeps and small streams in southeastern North America. Some of these habitats are naturally acidic. Sylphella puccoon gen. n., sp. n. has prosoporous male ducts in X–XI, and spermathecae in XII–XIII. Muscular, spherical atrial ampullae and acuminate penial sheaths distinguish this monotypic new genus from other lumbriculid genera having similar arrangements of reproductive organs. Cookidrilus pocosinus sp. n. resembles its two subterranean, Palearctic congeners in the arrangement of reproductive organs, but is easily distinguished by the position of the spermathecal pores in front of the chaetae in X–XIII. Stylodrilus coreyi sp. n. differs from congeners having simple-pointed chaetae and elongate atria primarily by the structure of the male duct and the large clusters of prostate cells. Streams and wetlands of Southeastern USA have a remarkably high diversity of endemic lumbriculids, and these poorly-known invertebrates should be considered in conservation efforts.     

Fridericia larix sp. nov. (Enchytraeidae, Oligochaeta) from Irish soils

A new species of Fridericia (Enchytraeidae, Oligochaeta) is described from soils in Ireland. It was found during sampling campaigns in the framework of a comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus (Schmelz, 2003. Taxonomy of Fridericia (Oligochaeta, Enchytraeidae). Revision of species with morphological and biochemical methods. Abh. Naturw. Ver. Hamburg, N.F. 38, 1–415, figs. 1–73), but it was not included in that study. Fridericia larix sp. nov., named in reference to the type locality, belongs to the large and taxonomically difficult group of species with two diverticula per spermatheca. It is distinguished from all known congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) a maximum of four chaetae in ventral preclitellar bundles; (2) oesophageal appendages poorly branched; (3) no pharyngeal glands in segment VII; (4) coelomocytes without refractile vesicles; (5) clitellum girdle-shaped, cell distribution alike on all sides; (6) bursal slit of male copulatory organ mainly transverse; (7) no subneural glands; (8) spermathecal diverticula not stalked. Further distinguishing characters are: (9) an asymmetrical arrangement of chaetae in the first lateral postclitellar bundles, with one large chaeta and one small chaeta per bundle (Fig. 1b, “lc XVI”); (10) the length ratio of spermatozoa to spermatozoal nuclei (6:1–7:1); and (11) a wavy inner surface in parts of the epithelium of the spermathecal ampulla (Fig. 1i, arrow).See also Electronic Supplement at: http://www.senckenberg.de/odes/05-05.htm