The freshwater genus Arctodiaptomus Kiefer, 1932 is a Palaearctic genus, and comprises nearly 75 nominal species. Arctodiaptomus dorsalis (Marsh, 1907), a diaptomid species originally described within the genus Diaptomus, has long been reported throughout the Americas. Its morphology diverges from the generic diagnostic features; thus, its taxonomic position has been doubtful. Furthermore, its phenotypic variability has resulted in local synonymies and suggested it as a species complex. In this study, we reassign the taxonomic position of “A. dorsalis” based on the examination of type and non-type material from North and Central America, the analyses of mitochondrial COI, and biogeographic affinities. Our results show that the American populations attributed to “A. dorsalis” in the study area diverge genetically from the genus Arctodiaptomus by 27–29%, and share key diagnostic features with Mastigodiaptomus Light, 1939, therefore, this species should be transferred to that genus. Furthermore, the synonymized species Diaptomus alter Herbst, 1960 (Nicaragua), and D. dampfi Brehm, 1932 (Guatemala) were examined from type locality material and found to share the diagnostic characters of “A.” dorsalis. In addition, we describe Mastigodiaptomus cucapa sp. nov. linked before to “A”. dorsalis, thus contributing to disentangle this taxonomic problem.
The Neotropical ant genus Thaumatomyrmex Mayr, 1887 (Ponerinae, Ponerini) is currently represented by 13 valid species divided into three taxonomic groups, distributed between southern Mexico and northern Argentina, with a presence in the Caribbean islands. We propose the first morphological phylogeny and biogeographical hypotheses for the genus. Based on this morphological phylogeny, we redescribe the genus. The phylogeny revealed the “ferox species group” to be paraphyletic, while the mutilatus species-group forms a clade defined by 12 synapomorphies, which we used to give a new diagnosis. We give the definition of the two species already described of this mutilatus-group and compare them with the description of a new species, Thaumatomyrmex carranca Celante & Jahyny sp. nov. from the São Francisco Dunes district in the Caatinga Dominion, in northeastern Brazil. We present data on the natural history and conservation status of the new species. We provide an identification key for the three taxonomic groups and for the worker morphotype of all described Thaumatomyrmex species of the “ferox” and mutilatus species groups.
We herein describe two new species of the Rhinella margaritifera group from the eastern Guiana Shield. These two species have low cephalic crests, no vertebral apophyses or bony protrusion at jaw angles and were consistently recovered as candidate species in recent integrative studies combining morphological, acoustic and molecular data. The first species, Rhinella guianensis sp. nov., is related to R. proboscidea, R. castaneotica and R. teotoniensis and is characterized by a rounded snout in dorsal view, acute in lateral view and the absence of cranial crests, except for a low supratympanic crest. The second species, Rhinella latebrosa sp. nov., is related to R. unapensis and is characterized by a truncate snout in dorsal view, acute in lateral view, and the presence of small cranial crests. Both species are known to occur in French Guiana and the state of Amapá in Brazil, where they co-occur with Rhinella lescurei and the Rhinella margaritifera/dapsilis/martyi complex. The description of these two new species brings the number of currently recognized nominal species in the R. margaritifera group to 25. However, many species remain to be described in this clade and some boundaries need to be clarified using genomics, as well as the taxonomic status of modern populations using museomics.
Based on a collection made during the period 1999–2009, we record 27 aphid parasitoid species from Vietnam, of which 12 are new to the Vietnamese fauna (Aphidius autriquei Starý, 1985; Aphidius ervi Haliday, 1834; Aphidius urticae Haliday, 1834; Binodoxys basicurvus Shujauddin, 1973; Binodoxys centaureae (Haliday, 1833); Binodoxys communis (Gahan, 1926); Binodoxys greenideae Starý & van Harten, 1983; Binodoxys rubicola Shujauddin, 1973; Binodoxys shillongensis Starý, 1978; Ephedrus nacheri Quilis, 1934; Ephedrus plagiator (Nees, 1811); and Ephedrus trichosiphoniellae Takada, 1968), three species were previously recorded (Lysiphlebia mirzai Shujauddin, 1975, Lipolexis oregmae (Gahan, 1932), and Aphidius rapae (McIntosh, 1855)) and 12 species are new to science described by Tomanović & van Achterberg (Aphidius brevis sp. nov., Aphidius tonkinensis sp. nov., Binodoxys longipetiolatus sp. nov., Cristicaudus ninhbinhensis sp. nov., Ephedrus brevistigmus sp. nov., Ephedrus vietnamensis sp. nov., Lipolexis hirsutus sp. nov., Praon tonkinensis sp. nov., Toxares brevistigmus sp. nov., Toxares flavus sp. nov., Trioxys breviflagellaris sp. nov., and Trioxys glabrirostris sp. nov.). We diagnose the newly described species, discuss their relationships with known congeners, and examine the diagnostic morphological characters used. All recorded aphid parasitoid species represent a natural resource, and some are already used as biocontrol agents (Aphidius ervi Haliday, 1834; Aphidius rapae (McIntosh, 1855); Aphidius urticae Haliday, 1834; Binodoxys communis (Gahan, 1926); Ephedrus plagiator (Nees, 1811); and Lipolexis oregmae (Gahan, 1932)).
In this study, species of Entomobrya Rondani, 1861 from West China are studied based on molecular and morphological characters. One new species, Entomobrya guanshanensis sp. nov., is described from Chongqing Municipality and four new species, Entomobrya baqueroi sp. nov., Entomobrya jordanai sp. nov., Entomobrya rikazeensis sp. nov. and Entomobrya similis sp. nov., as well as a new record of Entomobrya unostrigata Stach, 1930 are described from Xizang Autonomous Region. Some characters of Entomobrya retingensis Baquero & Jordana, 2008 are also provided for the first time and a key to the Chinese species of Entomobrya is given.
