Subdivision de la tribu KodaianelliniWang, Zhang & Bourgoin, 2016 (Hemiptera, Fulgoroidea, Issidae), avec la description de deux nouvelles sous-tribus et d'une nouvelle espèce. La tribu Kodaianellini Wang, Zhang & Bourgoin, 2016 (Issidae Spinola, 1839, Issinae Spinola, 1839) est révisée. Une nouvelle sous-tribu, Samantigina n. subtrib., est créée pour accueillir Samantiga Distant, 1906 et une autre nouvelle sous-tribu, Narayanina n. subtrib., est créée pour accueillir Lusanda Stål, 1859, Narayana Distant, 1906, Sivaloka Distant, 1906, et Radha Melichar, 1903 connus d'Inde et du Sri Lanka. Une nouvelle espèce du genre Kodaianella Fennah, 1956, Kodaianella coomani n. sp., est décrite du nord du Vietnam. La structure des genitalia males et femelles de Samantiga abdominalis Distant, 1906 et Narayana umbrosa Distant, 1906 est décrite et illustrée pour la première fois. Lusanda fissiceps Stål, 1859 est redécrite et illustrée à partir de l'holotype. Une clé d'identification des sous-tribus et des genres des Kodaianellini est fournie.
Giraffe (Giraffa spp.) are some of the most iconic representatives of African megafauna; yet, published data on their pathologies in general remain scarce. Our study reported multiple cases of craniodental pathologies and irregularities in all four species of giraffe based on a large dataset comprising 516 skulls. Dental irregularities included abnormal morphologies, misaligned or absent teeth, irregular dental wear, and dental fractures. Cranial cases include periodontitis (observed in a considerable proportion of the dataset; n=206, 39.9%), ossicone asymmetry in size and orientation (due to developmental variations or trauma), trauma possibly caused by intraspecific aggression, neoplasia, wry nose, and cleft palate. The causes of these pathologies appear to be either congenital (e.g., wry nose), behavioural (e.g., fighting injuries), or environmental (e.g., diet-related periodontitis). This preliminary report of giraffe cranial pathologies/irregularities serves as a foundational dataset to enable the detection of similar deformities in different giraffe species, and perhaps in other species as well.
A homolid crab of the genus Yaldwynopsis Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995, collected using traps at a depth of 310 m off Guadeloupe Island, Lesser Antilles, Caribbean Sea, represents the first record of the genus in the Atlantic Ocean. The specimen, an ovigerous female, is compared with the four known species of the genus, all previously described from the Pacific Ocean. It is identified as a new species (Y. couppeyi n. sp.) and formally described in this study. Additionally, a key to all known Yaldwynopsis species is provided, along with discussions on geographic distributions and fishing gear selectivity.
The separate collections of Heteroptera (Insecta, Hemiptera) preserved in the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (Paris). One of the peculiarities of the insect collections of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) in Paris is to have preserved, in many orders, quantity of private collections, also called “nominal collections”, next to the general collection. Over the course of two centuries (19th and 20th) and right up today, these collections, acquired by donation, bequest or purchase, have enriched the national collections, and many have remained in their original state. At the request of several French and foreign colleagues, and in response to frequently-asked questions, we present here an annotated inventory of the 32 private collections of Heteroptera currently separated from the general collection. For each of them, we give biographical details about the author, as well as the following information: state of the collection, presence of typical material, scientific interest and, where applicable, historical interest. Details are also given on the specimens from three dismantled old collections (Bosc d'Antic, Fieber and Lethierry), now scattered throughout in the general collection, or in other private collections. In addition, information is provided on the old general collection of Heteroptera collection created at MNHN during the 19th century and kept separately from the current general collection under the name of “Collection Amyot & Serville”. This inventory highlights an all-too-often forgotten fact: having a collection in its original state is always a rich source of information, and dismantling it is an irretrievable loss of information.
To date, there is no real consensus on the taxonomic status of the family Gecarcinidae H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (land crabs or terrestrial crabs), which is generally considered to comprise seven genera (without including Epigrapsus Heller, 1862) and is currently subordinate to the superfamily Grapsoidea MacLeay, 1838. The congruence between adult morphology and larval data allows us to elevate Gecarcinidae to a higher rank and, by providing a diagnosis, to formally establish the Gecarcinoidea H. Milne Edwards, 1837 n. stat. Contrary to the current view, morphology alone, with its unique characters, argues in favour of a superfamily Gecarcinoidea very distinct from the Grapsoidea. Furthermore, the adult morphology and larval data highlight the heterogeneity of Gecarcinoidea n. stat. and, in addition, the existence of separately evolving lineages within it, as documented by Guinot et al. (2018). Recent genetic studies have confirmed the diversity of the group, so that, despite unambiguous morphological and biological similarities supporting the Gecarcinoidea n. stat., this group can be divided into two groups of genera sharing a set of characters that allows the relevant criteria for their delimitation to be explicitly recognised. These two groups therefore deserve formal nomina, as follows: Gecarcinidae restrict. to encompass the genera Gecarcinus Leach, 1814, Gecarcoidea H. Milne Edwards, 1837, Hartnollius Guinot, Rodriguez Moreno & Toledano-Carrasco, 2025, and Johngarthia T & uuml;rkay, 1970; and Cardisomatidae n. fam. to encompass the genera Cardisoma Latreille in Le Peletier, Serville & Gu & eacute;rin, 1828, Discoplax A. Milne Edwards, 1867 and Tuerkayana Guinot, N. K. Ng & Rodriguez Moreno, 2018. The case of the genus Discoplax, whose three species all live in caves, often in water, and which are included in the family of terrestrial crabs Gecarcinidae sensu lato despite significant morphological differences, is discussed. Cardisomatidae n. fam. forms a group of land crabs that are less terrestrial than Gecarcinidae restrict., and this difference in the degree of terrestriality is reflected in morphological characters that allow them to be differentiated. The morphological study of a series of new characters, practically never used in carcinological taxonomy, namely the female pleon and telson, as well as the female pleopods, provides a new informative dataset for the family-level discrimination of Gecarcinoidea n. stat. The Gecarcinoidea n. stat. becomes a crown group of Thoracotremata Guinot, 1977. Based on morphological, biological, larval, and genetic data, Epigrapsus Heller, 1862, generally considered a Gecarcinidae sensu lato, though often in an isolated position, and containing only two species, is here split into two genera, namely Epigrapsus restrict. and Grapsodes Heller, 1865 (which we are reviving), each with a new diagnosis. These two genera share no characters that could link them to either the Cardisomatidae n. fam. or the Gecarcinidae restrict.: rather different from each other, each could represent a distinct family within the Grapsoidea sensu lato, unless they can be incorporated into other existing families of shore crabs or others groups.
