A new species of vermicular chiton, Cryptoplax bella sp. nov., is described from a single specimen collected in the South China Sea, approximately 170 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, at a depth of 20 m. The new species is small for the genus (13 mm in body length) and is characterised by transverse colour bands on the girdle, nearly straight margins on the longitudinal ribs of the pleurolateral area, and blunt-topped large dorsal girdle spicules with fine longitudinal grooves. In these characters, C. bella sp. nov. resembles C. vittata Ang, 1967 and C. acerocostata Sirenko, Saito et Nguyen, 2024, but differs from C. vittata in having a shorter insertion plate in the head valve and wider apophyses with a well-sinuate jugal sinus in the tail valve, and from C. acerocostata in having more ribs on the pleurolateral area, a deeper jugal sinus in the tail valve, and a distinct sculpture of the large dorsal girdle spicules.
After examination of several collections and type specimens, here I propose some contributions to the taxonomy of the Chrysididae with discussion on 215 taxa and proposal of 212 new taxonomic and nomenclatural changes. The generic name Istiochrysis Rosa et Xu, 2016, syn. nov., is synonymised with Adscitis Linsenmaier, 1997, which is elevated to genus rank. Papuachrysis Linsenmaier, 1968 is elevated to genus rank. Other synonymisations are proposed for 50 taxa. Forty-seven species names are resurrected from previous synonymies; six subspecies are elevated to species rank, namely Chrysis papuana Mocsáry, 1899, stat. promotus, Chrysis violacea Bischoff, 1910, non Schrank, 1802, stat. promotus, Hedychridium mavromoustakisi Enslin, 1950, stat. promotus, Hedychridium sculpturatissimum Linsenmaier, 1959, stat. promotus, Hedychrum uniformis Trautmann, 1927, stat. promotus, and Holopyga proteus Balthasar, 1952, stat. promotus. Eight new replacement names are proposed: Chrysis angustamacula, nom. nov., for Chrysis violacea Bischoff, 1910, non Schrank, 1802; Chrysis basilisca, nom. nov., for Chrysis concinna Mocsáry, 1902, non Gribodo, 1884; Chrysis bonaespei, nom. nov., for Chrysis confluens Mocsáry, 1890, non Dahlbom, 1845; Chrysis eocenica, nom. nov., for Chrysis amoena Förster, 1891, non Eversmann, 1858; Chrysis paradisaea, nom. nov., for Chrysis lyncea var. papuana Mocsáry, 1899, non Chrysis papuana Mocsáry, 1899; Chrysis trinominata, nom. nov., for Chrysis dentiincisa Linsenmaier, 1999, non Chrysis dentaincisa Linsenmaier, 1968; Chrysis verecunda, nom. nov., for Chrysis modesta Mocsáry, 1904, non Tournier, 1878; and Chrysis wagyl, nom. nov., for Chrysis violacea (Smith, 1874, non Schrank, 1802). Papuachrysis alces (Linsenmaier, 1968), comb. nov., and Papuachrysis paradoxa (Linsenmaier, 1968), comb. nov., are transferred from the genus Primeuchroeus Linsenmaier, 1968; Praestochrysis antennata (Mocsáry, 1912), comb. nov., Praestochrysis brachyceras (Bischoff, 1910), comb. nov., and Praestochrysis benardi (du Buysson, 1908), comb. nov., are transferred from the genus Chrysis Linnaeus, 1761. Thirty-eight species are included for the first time in a species group or transferred to another species group. Thirty-one names are considered nomina dubia for different reasons, mostly because the types are lost and the descriptions are insufficient to compare them with any currently known species. Twelve taxa are recognised as nomina nuda because their descriptions did not comply with the requirements of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. The lectotypes of Chrysis lativentris Tournier, 1879, Tetrachrysis benardi du Buysson, 1908, and Hedychridium minutissimum García Mercet, 1915 are designated. In total, discussions concern 215 species and subspecies: 126 taxa from the Palaearctic Region, 48 Afrotropical, 18 Australian, 17 Oriental taxa, and six taxa described from unknown localities. Images of 133 type specimens are provided.
The morphometric variability of the dhole, Cuon alpinus (Pallas, 1811), skull across its contemporary geographic range was analysed using univariate and multivariate statistical methods, based on measurements taken from 73 male and female specimens. No sexual dimorphism was detected in cranial measurements. Northern populations exhibited larger skulls than southern populations. Two distinct geographical patterns of variation were identified. The primary pattern divides specimens into three morphological clusters based on a set of metric characters: (1) northern continental populations (C. a. alpinus from the southern part of Eastern Siberia and C. a. hesperius (Afanasiev et Zolotarev, 1935) from Altai and Tien Shan); (2) other continental populations [C. a. primaevus (Hodgson, 1833), C. a. adustus Pocock, 1941, C. a. dukhunensis (Sykes, 1831)]; and (3) insular and peninsular populations [C. a. javanicus (Desmarest, 1820), C. a. sumatrensis (Hardwicke, 1821), C. a. infuscus Pocock, 1936 from Java, Sumatra, and southern Indochina]. The second pattern, independent of the first, reflects relatively weak differentiation within each of the three morphological groups. It is hypothesised that the primary pattern resulted from intraspecific differentiation during the Middle to Late Pleistocene, whereas the second pattern likely emerged independently within each group no earlier than the end of the Late Pleistocene, and possibly during the Holocene.
A new species of free-living marine nematode, Parodontophora gracilis sp. nov., found in the coral reefs of Vietnam, is described and illustrated. This new species is closely related to P. marisjaponici Platonova, 1971 and P. fluviatilis Gagarin et Nguyen Vu Thanh, 2008. It differs from the former species by having shorter cephalic setae, a longer stoma, a longer ventral branch of the amphidial fovea, and longer spicules. Compared to P. fluviatilis, it has longer cephalic setae, a longer stoma, a longer ventral branch of the amphidial fovea, and longer spicules.
Coleophora novisqualorella Li et Zheng, 1998 is transferred to the genus Carpochena Falkovitsh, 1972 and is recorded from Crimea and Europe for the first time. The male of Carpochena novisqualorella, comb. nov., including its genitalia, is described and illustrated for the first time. Additionally, the life cycle of this species is described for the first time, and the larval host plant, seepweed Suaeda acuminata (C.A. Mey) Moq., is identified.
Three new species of cave-dwelling mites from the family Rhagidiidae are described from the Crimean Mountains: Dentocheles cimmerica sp. nov., Rhagidia (Noerneria) khaustovi sp. nov. and Traegaardhia taurica sp. nov. The subgenus Dentocheles Zacharda, 1980 of the genus Poecilophysis O.P. Cambridge, 1876 is promoted to the genus rank (stat. promotus). An identification key for all known species of Dentocheles is presented. A new genus, Miloslavia gen. nov., is proposed for Kouchibouguacia transcendata Zacharda, 1995. Positions of the new species in the ecological classification based on their association with caves are discussed. Possible scenarios for the colonisation of subterranean habitats in Crimea by rhagidiid mites are considered. A zoogeographical analysis of the Rhagidiidae of Crimea is carried out in the context of paleogeographical and paleoclimatic events.
A taxonomic revision of the species of Nemesia Audouin, 1826, distributed in the vicinity of Córdoba City, southern Spain, is presented. Four new species are described: Nemesia morana sp. nov. (female), N. kodama sp. nov. (male and female), N. rosae sp. nov. (male and female), and N. tamajoni sp. nov. (male and female). These species are distinguished by distinct morphological characters, including the shape of the spermathecae, palpal bulbs, and spinnerets, as well as by burrow architecture. Fieldwork was conducted across two of the three major habitat types in the region—the humid, forested mountains of Sierra Morena and the croplands and riparian forests of the Guadalquivir Valley—while the third, the “campiña”, which is mainly composed of agricultural landscapes, remains poorly explored. Sampling methods included pitfall trapping and the direct excavation of burrows. The study also provides an identification key to the species from Córdoba and emphasises the importance of microhabitat features in species distribution. The present results suggest that the regional diversity of Nemesia is likely underestimated. They underscore the significance of fine-scale biodiversity surveys of cryptic mygalomorph spiders in achieving a more comprehensive understanding of the Mediterranean arachnofauna.
Tipula (Yamatotipula) colchica sp. nov. from Abkhazia and western Georgia is described and illustrated. The new species is clearly distinguished from other Palaearctic species of the subgenus Yamatotipula Matsumura, 1916 by the distinctive structure of the posterior part of the inner gonostylus. Based on several characters—including the microscopic apical antennal segment, tibial spur formula, shape of tergite IX, and the presence of a tuft of setae on the posterior outgrowth of the inner gonostylus—the new species is closely related to the Palaearctic T. (Ya.) marginella Theowald, 1980. However, it differs from the latter in body and wing coloration, the absence of a basal tooth on the claw of the last tarsal segment, and the coloration of the scape, pedicel, and first segment of the flagellum. A key is provided to the nine species of the subgenus Yamatotipula known from the Caucasus.
A description of a new species of symbiont-harbouring trypanosomatids, Angomonas septentrionalis sp. nov., is presented, based on optical and electron microscopy, alongside molecular phylogenetic analyses. The species is known from a single isolate, M29-9, obtained from the gut of the fly Calliopum elisae Meigen, 1826 in the Pskov Province of north-western Russia. Based on available GenBank sequences, it has not previously been detected in surveys of trypanosomatid fauna from other regions of the world. Diagnostic features of the new species include a large longitudinal diverticulum of the flagellar pocket and the specific organisation of the contractile vacuole complex. The study also provides a detailed description of the cytostome-cytopharyngeal complex.
Three new harvestman species of the genus Nemaspela Šylhavý, 1966 (Opiliones: Nemastomatidae)—N. hastula sp. nov. (one male), N. nivea sp. nov. (three males), and N. shuvalovi sp. nov. (one male)—from the Snezhnaya Cave System (Abkhazia, Bzyb Mountain Range, karst massif of Khipsta Mountain) are diagnosed, illustrated, and described. Environmental preference data are provided for all species.
Lonchaea saratoviensis sp. nov. (Diptera: Lonchaeidae) is described from the Saratov Province in the southeastern part of European Russia. The male genitalia of the new species are illustrated, and the species is compared with similar species within the Palaearctic fauna. A key is provided to the Lonchaea affinis species–group within which the new species is placed.
Angustopila elevata (Thompson et Upatham, 1997) was originally described from northern Thailand. It is the most widespread species within the genus Angustopila Jochum, Slapnik et Páll-Gergely, 2014, as revealed by a recent revision. The distribution of this species extends from southern Thailand through northern Laos and northern Vietnam to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. Based on shells recently collected in India, conspecificity was established between A. milium (Benson, 1853) and A. elevata, syn. nov. Furthermore, A. milium is reported from Nepal for the first time. Angustopila milium thus becomes the most widespread species of this genus and one of the most widely distributed land-snail species in South and Southeast Asia.
The malacofauna of Lake Baikal is considered predominantly endemic. For example, the list of bivalve species inhabiting the littoral zone of this lake mainly comprises endemic representatives of the family Sphaeriidae. However, the absence of molecular data has hindered their precise identification. Here, the presence of the North Palaearctic fingernail clam Euglesa waldeni (Kuiper, 1975) in Lake Baikal is reported for the first time. This finding is confirmed using three molecular markers, including the Folmer fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), 16S rRNA, and ITS1. The phylogenetic relationships of Eu. waldeni and its congeners were estimated based on a maximum likelihood analysis of the COI marker. Morphological characteristics of Eu. waldeni collected from Lake Baikal are described, and individuals identified as sexually mature, with embryos at various developmental stages, have been documented. The population density of Eu. waldeni has been determined in the area around Ol’khon Island.
A new species, Ctenolepisma (Ctenolepisma) grandisetosum sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on the material collected in the Sultanate of Oman, near the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The new species is closely related to C. (C.) turkestanicum Kaplin et Shakula, 2022 from southern Kazakhstan and the psammophilous species C. (C.) barchanicum Kaplin, 1985 from eastern Karakum (Turkmenistan), which have no median bristle combs on urosternites. The new species differs from them in the body length, the number of sensory papillae on apical segment of labial palps, bristle combs on thoracic sterna, chaetotaxy of the urosternites and urotergites, and the number of the urostyli.
To clarify the taxonomic status of the Reed Bunting, Emberiza schoeniclus Pallas, 1811, nesting in Eastern Ciscaucasia, comparative studies of key diagnostic characters were conducted on 48 specimens from the collection of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. A sample of specimens from Eastern Ciscaucasia was compared with three other samples from Western Ciscaucasia, the Volga Delta and western Kazakhstan, and the Lower Volga region, each comprising 12 specimens. For the statistical analysis of wing length and bill depth, the non-parametric Mann–Whitney U test was employed. Based on the visual examination of plumage coloration and morphometric diagnostic characters, the assignment of the Reed Bunting nesting in Eastern Ciscaucasia to the subspecies E. s. pyrrhuloides Pallas, 1811, has been reliably confirmed. The misattribution of these birds to the subspecies E. s. volgae Stresemann, 1919 is shown.
The first record of the planktonic copepod Acanthodiaptomus pacificus (Burckhardt, 1913) (Calanoida: Diaptomidae) from the waters of the Darkhat Hollow in Mongolia is presented. The morphology of this species has been examined in detail for the first time using a scanning electron microscope; a complete description of the mouthparts is provided for the first time, and the description of the fifth leg in both males and females is supplemented. More reliable characters for differentiating males of A. pacificus and A. denticornis (Wierzejski, 1887) than those previously used are revealed. New diagnostic characters of the genus Acanthodiaptomus Kiefer, 1932 are proposed.
Three species described in the genus Halys Fabricius, 1803, but now considered incertae sedis—H. hedenborgi Stål, 1865 (distributed in Sudan and Eritrea), H. jizanus Linnavuori, 1986 (Saudi Arabia, Yemen), and H. persa Bergroth, 1919 (Iran, Afghanistan)—are transferred to the genus Salixocoris Ahmad et Abbasi, 1974. This decision is based on an analysis of the original descriptions and illustrations of three species from Pakistan, originally assigned to Salixocoris: S. peshawarensis Ahmad et Abbasi, 1974, S. sindellus Ahmad et Kamaluddin, 1978, and S. excavatus Memon et Shaikh, 2004, as well as on the examination of collection specimens and published descriptions and illustrations of the species previously regarded as incertae sedis. The fourth incertae sedis species, H. maculipennis Stål, 1865 (Guinea- Bissau, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Senegal), is placed in the new genus Ergamenes gen. nov., in which a new species, E. tetrodus sp. nov. from Sudan, is also described. The new genus is characterised by unique characters and a combination of characters that distinguish it from other members of the Halys genus–group. Illustrated redescriptions of S. hedenborgi, comb. nov., S. jizanus, comb. nov., and S. persa, comb. nov. are presented. The structure of the pygophore, paramere, completely inflated aedeagus, and the external and internal female terminalia of S. jizanus and S. persa is thoroughly described for the first time; for S. hedenborgi, the female terminalia are described for the first time, but most details of the male terminalia remain unknown. Salixocoris hedenborgi is recorded from Yemen for the first time.
Mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber preserves an exceptionally diverse assemblage of operculate land snails. Here, two new diplommatinid species are described: Euthema convexispira Bichain et Páll-Gergely, sp. nov. and Eu. torokzselenszkyi Páll-Gergely et Szabó, sp. nov. Newly found specimens of two previously known species, Hirsuticyclus canaliculatus Yu, 2022 and Cretadiostoma caperatum Yu, Zhuo et Páll-Gergely, 2023, are described and illustrated; the specimen of the former is characterised by a distinctive spiral operculum, while that of the latter provides additional data on the morphology of the aperture and the proportions of the shell whorls. Furthermore, the article reports three specimens that are tentatively attributed here to the species Euthema cf. annae Balashov, 2021 and to the genera Euthema Yu, Wang et Pan, 2018 and Pulchraspira Yu, Salvador et Jarzembowski, 2021.
Bovichtus veneris Sauvage, 1879 is a poorly studied species endemic to St Paul Island in the Indian Ocean. External morphology, teeth, axial skeleton and seismosensory system of three type specimens from the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris and one specimen from the collection of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg, were studied. A scheme of the seismosensory system of B. veneris is given. The investigated characters of B. veneris are compared with those of other species of the genus Bovichtus Valenciennes, 1832. The following diagnostic characters of B. veneris are established: snout length is less than the diameter of the eye and less than 25% of head length; the first predorsal distance is 1.2–1.5 times the interpelvic distance; caudal peduncle is 11.0–11.4%, opercular spine is 14.4–17.8% of standard length; outer teeth on the upper jaw are slightly enlarged; coloration is monotonous, without pronounced spots and saddles.
Cyathocotyle Mühling, 1896 is a genus of primitive diplostomoid digeneans parasitising birds. The results of recent studies suggest that this taxon is paraphyletic, which means that further phylogenetic assessment of species assigned to Cyathocotyle is necessary. In this study, two species, C. bithyniae Sudarikov, 1974 and C. fulicae Ginetzinskaja, 1952, from the Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758) are characterised based on morphological and molecular data. For C. fulicae, the size of the testes and the cirrus sac are clarified, and the presence of a poorly developed ventral concavity and the tegumental scale-like spines is noted. This study is the first report of infection of a bird host by C. bithyniae in nature. The new molecular data confirm the paraphyletic status of Cyathocotyle. The obtained results suggest that C. bithyniae is conspecific with an isolate of C. bushiensis Khan, 1962 molecularly characterised by Achatz et al. in 2019, and C. fulicae is conspecific with cyathocotylid cercariae previously found in Bithynia tentaculata (Linnaeus, 1758) from Central Europe.
