Latest Articles from Zoosystematics and Evolution Latest 15 Articles from Zoosystematics and Evolution https://zse.pensoft.net/ Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:09:36 +0200 Pensoft FeedCreator https://zse.pensoft.net/i/logo.jpg Latest Articles from Zoosystematics and Evolution https://zse.pensoft.net/ A new species of land snail, Xanthomelon amurndamilumila, from the North East Isles off Groote Eylandt (= Ayangkidarrba), Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia (Stylommatophora, Camaenidae) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/113243/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 100(1): 61-68

DOI: 10.3897/zse.100.113243

Authors: Frank Köhler, Richard C. Willan, Adam J. Bourke, Paul Barden, Michael Shea

Abstract: This paper introduces Xanthomelon amurndamilumila sp. nov., a newly-discovered land snail species inhabiting the North East Isles, offshore from Groote Eylandt (= Ayangkidarrba), north-western Gulf of Carpentaria, in the Northern Territory, Australia. Specimens of this species were first collected during the 2021 Bush Blitz expedition to Groote Eylandt, a large offshore archipelago previously unexplored for land snails. The taxonomic status of the new species was established through a comprehensive analysis of comparative morphology and mitochondrial genetics: X. amurndamilumila forms a maximally supported clade closely related to X. arnhemense and is characterised by a unique combination of morphological characteristics, including smaller shell size, distinctive sculpture of collabral ridges and specific features of its reproductive anatomy. The genetic divergence and phylogenetic relationships suggest historical isolation. While the discovery of X. amurndamilumila sp. nov. enriches our understanding of land snail diversity in the Northern Territory, its conservation status is of concern on North East Island because of habitat degradation caused by feral deer.

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Research Article Fri, 26 Jan 2024 19:00:06 +0200
Kangaraneus, a new genus of orb-weaving spider from Australia (Araneae, Araneidae) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/101417/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 99(2): 307-323

DOI: 10.3897/zse.99.101417

Authors: Pedro de S. Castanheira, Volker W. Framenau

Abstract: A new Australian genus in the orb-weaving spider family Araneidae Clerck, 1757 is described, Kangaraneus gen. nov., with K. arenaceus (Keyserling, 1886) comb. nov. (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia) as the type species and also including two other species: Kangaraneus amblycyphus (Simon, 1908) comb. nov. (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia) and K. farhani sp. nov. (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania). The new genus is included in the informally termed Australasian ‘backobourkiine’ clade due to the presence of its putative synapomorphies, specifically a single patellar macroseta on the male pedipalp and its median apophysis forming an arch over the radix. It includes medium-sized orb-weaving spiders (total length 3–12 mm) with distinct humeral humps on the almost triangular abdomen. Therefore, within the backobourkiines, it is somatically most similar to Novakiella Court & Forster, 1993 but differs considerably in male genitalic characters, including a C-shaped median apophysis with an acute tip. Genitalia are most similar to those in Quokkaraneus Castanheira & Framenau, 2023 from which the new genus differs by the lack of the white colouration and the shape of the abdomen.

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Research Article Wed, 31 May 2023 18:12:51 +0300
A new cryptic species of land snail from the Northern Territory, Australia (Stylommatophora, Camaenidae, Parglogenia) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/93851/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 98(2): 427-433

DOI: 10.3897/zse.98.93851

Authors: Frank Köhler, Michael Shea

Abstract: Parglogenia cobourgensis sp. nov., a new species of camaenid land snail is described from Cobourg Peninsula, Top End of the Northern Territory in Australia. This new species has a shell that is identical to the type species of the genus, Parglogenia pelodes, which also occurs in the Top End. However, both species clearly differ in their reproductive anatomy and are also well-differentiated in terms of mitochondrial phylogenetics. A single specimen of a Parglogenia species from Croker Island, West Arnhem Land, is hypothesized to represent a third species based on details of its reproductive anatomy. However, only a single historical specimen was available for study. We therefore refrain from formally naming this species because of the incomplete information at hand. Helix subgranosa Le Guillou, 1842, a nominal species previously placed in Parglogenia, is synonymized with Xanthomelon durvillii (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841).

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Research Article Mon, 31 Oct 2022 10:09:29 +0200
A new species of crayfish of the genus Cherax from Indonesian New Guinea (Crustacea, Decapoda, Parastacidae) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/94753/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 98(2): 411-425

DOI: 10.3897/zse.98.94753

Authors: Christian Lukhaup, Rury Eprilurahman

Abstract: A new species of the genus Cherax is described and illustrated. Cherax wagenknechtae sp. nov., endemic to the Beraur and Klasabun River drainages in the western part of the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia, is described, figured and compared with its closest relatives, Cherax pulcher Lukhaup, 2015. The new species may be easily distinguished from Cherax pulcher by the shape of the chelae, rostrum and body, and coloration.

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Research Article Mon, 24 Oct 2022 10:16:59 +0300
A new genus of Australian orb-weaving spider with extreme sexual size dimorphism (Araneae, Araneidae) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/82649/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 98(1): 137-149

DOI: 10.3897/zse.98.82649

Authors: Volker W. Framenau, Pedro de S. Castanheira

Abstract: The new Australian orb-weaving spider genus Mangrovia in the family Araneidae Clerck, 1757 is described. It is characterised by extreme sexual size-dimorphism (eSSD) with females (total length 8–10 mm) ca. 3 to 5 times larger than males (2.5–3 mm). Whilst Mangrovia shares with the informal Australian ‘backobourkiine’ clade a single seta on the male pedipalp patella, the genus is probably more closely related to the ‘zealaraneines’ or associated genera. In addition to eSSD and the single patellar spine, the genus is characterised by a distinct subterminal embolus branch in males. The new genus includes two species: the type species Mangrovia albida (L. Koch, 1871) comb. nov. (= Epeira fastidiosa Keyserling, 1887, new syn.) from Queensland and Mangrovia occidentalis sp. nov. from Western Australia. Both species are apparently coastal and occur in mangroves, but also in riparian woodland. Spiders were found resting in rolled-up leaves adjacent to their orb-web.

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Research Article Thu, 5 May 2022 13:36:28 +0300
Review of the Australian and New Zealand orb-weaving spider genus Novakiella (Araneae, Araneidae) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/67788/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 97(2): 393-405

DOI: 10.3897/zse.97.67788

Authors: Volker W. Framenau, Cor J. Vink, Nikolaj Scharff, Renner L. C. Baptista, Pedro de S. Castanheira

Abstract: The orb-weaving spider genus Novakiella Court & Forster, 1993 (family Araneidae Clerck, 1757) is reviewed to include two species, N. trituberculosa (Roewer, 1942) (type species, Australia and New Zealand) and N. boletus sp. nov. (Australia). Novakiella belongs to the informal, largely Australian ‘backobourkiine’ clade and shares with the other genera of the clade a single macroseta on the male pedipalp patella and a median apophysis of the male pedipalp that forms an arch over the radix. The proposed genus synapomorphies are the presence of a large basal conductor lobe expanding apically over the radix and the shape of the median apophysis, which extends into a basally directed, pointy projection. Males have an apico-prolateral spur on the tibia of the second leg that carries a distinct spine. Females have an epigyne with triangular base plate bearing transverse ridges and an elongate triangular scape, which is almost always broken off. The humeral humps of the abdomen are distinct. Novakiella trituberculosa build characteristic dome-shaped webs; however, the foraging behaviour and web-shape of N. boletus sp. nov., currently only known from museum specimens, are not known.

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Research Article Mon, 26 Jul 2021 18:32:53 +0300
No longer based on photographs alone: refuting the validity of golden-crowned langur Presbytis johnaspinalli Nardelli 2015 (Mammalia, Primates, Cercopithecidae) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/62235/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 97(1): 141-145

DOI: 10.3897/zse.97.62235

Authors: Vincent Nijman

Abstract: Increasingly, new species are being described without there being a name-bearing type specimen. In 2015, a new species of primate was described, the golden-crowned langur Presbytis johnaspinalli Nardelli, 2015 on the basis of five photographs that were posted on the Internet in 2009. After publication, the validity of the species was questioned as it was suggested that the animals were partially and selectively bleached ebony langurs Trachypithecus auratus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812). Since the whereabouts of the animals were unknown, it was difficult to see how this matter could be resolved and the current taxonomic status of P. johnaspinalli remains unclear. I present new information about the fate of the individual animals in the photographs and their species identification. In 2009, thirteen of the langurs on which Nardelli based his description were brought to a rescue centre where, after about three months, they regained their normal black colouration confirming the bleaching hypothesis. Eight of the langurs were released in a forest and two were monitored for two months in 2014. The description of their behaviour, photographs and analysis of their cytochrome b genes confirms them as ebony langurs. There is no evidence to support the notion that the golden-crowned langur represents intermediates between melanistic and erythristic ebony langurs, nor that it represents a new species. As such, Presbytis johnaspinalli Nardelli, 2015 is a junior synonym of Trachyptihecus auratus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1812). This case underscores the importance of assembling a sufficiently varied amount of data prior to describing new species and studying the actual type specimens.

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Short Communication Thu, 11 Feb 2021 10:36:06 +0200
Taxonomic assessment of genetically-delineated species of radicine snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Lymnaeidae) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/52860/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 96(2): 577-608

DOI: 10.3897/zse.96.52860

Authors: Maxim V. Vinarski, Olga V. Aksenova, Ivan N. Bolotov

Abstract: The article represents an overview of 29 biological species of the radicine snails (genera Ampullaceana Servain, 1882, Bullastra Bergh, 1901, Racesina Vinarski & Bolotov, 2018, Kamtschaticana Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1984, Myxas G.B. Sowerby I, 1822, Orientogalba Kruglov & Starobogatov, 1985; Peregriana Servain, 1882, Radix Montfort, 1810, and Tibetoradix Bolotov, Vinarski & Aksenova, 2018) recovered during our previous molecular taxonomic study (Aksenova et al. 2018a; Scientific Reports, 8: 11199). For each species, the following information is provided: scientific name, a (non-exhaustive) list of synonyms, type locality, type materials, shell and copulative apparatus morphology, distribution, and nomenclatural and taxonomic remarks. The colour images of shell(s) of each species are also given as well as illustrations of the copulatory apparatuses. We revealed a great conchological variation in the radicines, both intra- and interspecific, alongside with striking uniformity in the structure of their copulatory apparatuses. The latter was once thought to be a reliable tool for species delineation and identification in this snail group. The total of 29 species characterised here represents, probably, only a subset of the global taxonomic richness of the radicine snails, which approaches 50 species.

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Research Article Tue, 1 Sep 2020 08:56:03 +0300
An overview of the sexual dimorphism in Echiniscus (Heterotardigrada, Echiniscoidea), with the description of Echiniscus masculinus sp. nov. (the virginicus complex) from Borneo https://zse.pensoft.net/article/49989/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 96(1): 103-113

DOI: 10.3897/zse.96.49989

Authors: Piotr Gąsiorek, Katarzyna Vončina, Łukasz Michalczyk

Abstract: Members of the genus Echiniscus C.A.S. Schultze, 1840 are mostly unisexual, with thelytokously reproducing females. Therefore, every newly described dioecious species in the genus is particularly interesting. Here, we describe Echiniscus masculinus sp. nov. from Gunung Kinabalu, the highest peak of Borneo and the entire Southeast Asia. The new species belongs in the predominantly parthenogenetic E. virginicus complex, and its females are confusingly similar to females of the pantropical E. lineatus Pilato et al., 2008, another member of this group. However, genetic evidence and noticeable sexual dimorphism clearly delineate the new species. Males of E. masculinus sp. nov. are unlike females in the body proportions, cuticular sculpturing, and appendage configuration. The new discoveries provide a justification to review the current knowledge about evolution and forms of sexual dimorphism within Echiniscus.

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Research Article Fri, 20 Mar 2020 09:09:03 +0200
A glimpse in the dark? A first phylogenetic approach in a widespread freshwater snail from tropical Asia and northern Australia (Cerithioidea, Thiaridae) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/34486/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 95(2): 373-390

DOI: 10.3897/zse.95.34486

Authors: Dusit Boonmekam, Duangduen Krailas, France Gimnich, Marco T. Neiber, Matthias Glaubrecht

Abstract: Thiaridae are a speciose group of freshwater snails in tropical areas including a high number of described nominal taxa for which modern revisions are mostly lacking. Using an integrative approach, the systematic status of a group of thiarids from the Oriental region, including the nominal species Melania aspera and M. rudis, is reassessed on the basis of shell morphology and biometry, radula dentition patterns, and reproductive biology along with molecular genetic methods. Our results suggest that populations from the Oriental region cannot be distinguished on the basis of shell morphology, radula characters and their reproductive mode and are monophyletic based on mitochondrial sequences. Hence, M. rudis with M. aspera are regarded as belonging to the same species along with several other nominal taxa that were previously included in M. rudis. Moreover, populations from Thailand and Australia, from where the species was not previously recorded, could be shown to form a monophyletic group together with samples from Indonesia. However, a generic affiliation with Thiara, in which the investigated taxa were often included in the past, was not supported in our phylogenetic analyses, highlighting the need for a comprehensive revision of the genus-group systematics of Thiaridae as a whole.

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Research Article Wed, 3 Jul 2019 14:51:18 +0300
Three new species of the microhylid frog genus Choerophryne (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae) from Papua New Guinea https://zse.pensoft.net/article/11576/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 93(2): 265-279

DOI: 10.3897/zse.93.11576

Authors: Rainer Günther, Stephen Richards

Abstract: We describe three new species of the microhylid frog genus Choerophryne from the mountains and foothills of southern and northeastern Papua New Guinea. All three species lack elongated snouts and all are arboreal calling from elevated perch sites between ~1 and 10 m above the forest floor. Advertisement calls and habitat preferences are described for each species. Descriptions of these three frogs brings the total number of Choerophryne recognized to 34 but numerous additional species undoubtedly remain to be discovered in poorly-surveyed mountainous regions of New Guinea.

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Research Article Fri, 5 May 2017 10:40:59 +0300
Description of a striking new Mantophryne species (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae) from Woodlark Island, Papua New Guinea https://zse.pensoft.net/article/7629/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 92(1): 111-118

DOI: 10.3897/zse.92.7629

Authors: Rainer Günther, Stephen Richards

Abstract: We describe a striking new species of the microhylid frog genus Mantophryne from Woodlark Island in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. It is most similar to M. lateralis but is distinguished from that species by its more slender body, longer shanks, larger discs on the toes, and unique advertisement call. Most known specimens had, in life, a striking golden tan mid-dorsum bordered by broad blackish dorsolateral bands. The new species is currently known only from the rainforests of Woodlark Island, where males call from elevated perches up to 4 m above the ground from climbing Freycinetia plants, from crevices and hollows in elevated limestone outcrops, and from tree buttresses and on top of fallen logs on the forest floor. It is the most arboreal member of this predominantly terrestrial genus discovered to date.

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Research Article Wed, 11 May 2016 17:31:10 +0300
Remarks on the taxonomy and nomenclature of the genus Hypsilurus Peters, 1867 (Reptilia, Agamidae, Amphibolurinae) https://zse.pensoft.net/article/7469/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 92(1): 103-110

DOI: 10.3897/zse.92.7469

Authors: Wolfgang Denzer, Ulrich Manthey

Abstract: Specimens of Hypsilurus spp. corresponding to sequences deposited on GenBank were re-examined. The voucher specimens relating to GenBank sequences were tracked down and their species status confirmed. Sequences reported in earlier publication as H. “bruijnii” and H. “nigrigularis” turned out to be those of H. magnus and H. schultzewestrumi instead. Further confusion surrounded specimens of H. modestus, H. dilophus and H. papuensis. Based on these results a new phylogenetic tree was constructed and the genus name Lophosaurus Fitzinger, 1843 was resurrected.

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Research Article Thu, 17 Mar 2016 11:05:23 +0200
A review of the scopelocheirid amphipods (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Lysianassoidea), with the description of new taxa from Australian waters https://zse.pensoft.net/article/4819/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 91(1): 1-43

DOI: 10.3897/zse.91.8440

Authors: Niamh M. Kilgallen, James K. Lowry

Abstract: Scopelocheiridae is a small family of scavenging lysianassoid amphipods. There is a distinct shallow water group (Scopelocheirinaesubfam. n.) and a distinct deep-sea group (Paracallisominaesubfam. n.). We catalogue three genera and eight species in the scopelocheirines and move Scopelocheirus onagawae Takekawa & Ishimaru, 2000 to the genus Aroui. The deep-sea paracallisomines are not often collected and consequently their morphological diversity is not well understood. We catalogue seven genera and 15 species. We provide diagnostic descriptions and a key to all genera in the Scopelocheiridae. We describe two new genera, Austrocallisoma gen. n. and Tayabasa gen. n., and three new species from Australian waters, Austrocallisoma jerryi sp. n., Paracallisoma woolgoolga sp. n. and P. zivianii sp. n.

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Research Article Thu, 5 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0200
A redescription of the type species of Oedicerina Stephensen, 1931 (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Oedicerotidae) and the description of two new species https://zse.pensoft.net/article/4207/ Zoosystematics and Evolution 90(2): 225-247

DOI: 10.3897/zse.90.8559

Authors: Charles Oliver Coleman, Michael H. Thurston

Abstract: The poorly known species Oedicerina ingolfi Stephensen, 1931 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Oedicerotidae) is redescribed, based on new material from the Norwegian Sea. Oedicerina vaderi sp. n. from the northeast Atlantic Ocean and Oedicerina loerzae sp. n. from New Zealand waters are described raising the number of species in the genus to five. The three species treated here together with Oedicerina megalopoda Ledoyer, 1986 and Oedicerina denticulata Hendrycks & Conlan, 2003 are separated by characters of the rostrum, maxilliped, gnathopods, epimera, and by the dorsal armature of pleonites and urosomites. The genus is recorded from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, mainly at bathyal depths.

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Research Article Fri, 31 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0200