A review of the genus Strigivenifera Hering, 1937 (Lepidoptera, Chrysopolomidae) with a description of ten new species

Twelve species are considered within the Afrotropical genus Strigivenifera Hering, 1937, and ten of them are described as new ones: S. eborea sp. n.,S. livingstonei sp. n., S. marina sp. n., S. tanja sp. n., S. ocellaris sp. n., S. cruisa sp. n., S. bartschi sp. n., S. oris sp. n., S. tatooifera sp. n., and S. neo sp. n. The species S. albidiscalis (Hampson, 1910) is raised from synonymy with S. venata (Aurivillius, 1895) and considered as a separate species.     

The use of muscle morphology of Chrysopolomidae (Lepidoptera) genitalic appendages in developing a family system

The male genitalia of Chrysopolomidae were found to include by nine pairs of muscles: m1, m2(10), m3(2), m4, m5(7), m6(5), m7(6), m8(3), m20, and the unpaired muscle m21, fully corresponding to their ground plan in Zygaenoidea. The archaic muscles m20 were found in both Chrysopolomidae and Limacodidae, for the first time for the superfamily Zygaenoidea. Muscles m3(2) and m4 in all the studied chrysopolomids are attached to the base of a gnathos-like complex sclerite, which proves its origin from the transtilla. The genital apparatus of Chrysopolomidae and its muscles are completely symmetrical. The bases of intravalval muscles m5(7) have moved from the sacculus to the juxta; this feature is not found in any other related family of the limacoid complex. The gnathos of Chrysopolomidae is reduced and functionally replaced by the transtilla separated from the valvae; some parts of the true gnathos may be incorporated in the gnathos-like structure of the transilla. A characteristic feature is the presence of strong muscles m3(2), which are reduced in all the studied limacodids. These muscles are running from the modified transtilla deep inside the uncus and provide not the abduction of the valvae but the depression of the uncus and the lifting of the arms of the transtilla. Thus, Chrysopolomidae are morphologically separated from Limacodidae; it is suggested that the former group should be treated as a separate family closely related to Limacodidae. The tribe Achroceridini is transferred from Chrysopolominae into Ectropinae based on the similar structure of the male genitalia and the presence of two pairs of spurs on the hind tibia.     

Muscles of the genital appendages of Megalopygidae (Lepidoptera) and their significance for the family systematics

Nine muscles were found in the genital complex of Megalopygidae: the paired m1, m2(10), m4, m5(7), m6(5), m7(6), the unpaired m20, m21, and the phallobase muscles. This arrangement corresponds to the ground plan of Zygaenoidea with some reductions. The archaic muscles of the “musculi phallici internus” system, located inside the phallotheca and aedeagus, were revealed for the first time in representatives of the entire superfamily Zygaenoidea. We suggest that the traditional interpretation of m21 as the inner longitudinal muscle of the aedeagus should be preserved, while the inner muscles of the phallotheca should be designated as musculi phallobasi interni m36. Division of the family into two subfamilies, Megalopyginae and the more archaic Trosiinae, is supported by our results, and the homology of the modified appendages of the tergal complex and vinculum is refined. A list of autapomorphies of the family is given.     

A Comparative Analysis of Biochemical Parameters in the Liver of Round Goby Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) from Two Regions of the Taganrog Bay (Sea of Azov)

Russian Journal of Marine Biology - Bioindication assessment of two areas in the Taganrog Bay (Sea of Azov) was carried out using biochemical parameters (activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide...     

Distribution,Population Structure,and Selected Biological Characteristics of Fish in the Genus Coilia (Engraulidae) in the Mekong Delta

Journal of Ichthyology - Data on species composition and frequency of occurrence of the grenadier anchovies (Coilia) spp. is reported from the Mekong Delta (Vietnam) based on fieldwork materials....