scholarly journals Cnemaspis flaviventralis, a new species of gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (14) ◽  
pp. 9619
Author(s):  
Amit Sayyed ◽  
Robert Alexander Pyron ◽  
Neelesh Dahanukar

Cnemaspis flaviventralis, a new species of day gecko, is described from the forests of Amboli, Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra State, northern Western Ghats, India.  The new species was previously confused with the sympatric species Cnemaspis girii, C. indraneildasii, C. kolhapurensis and C. goaensis.  It is distinguished from C. giri by having spine-like tubercles on flanks, granular dorsal scales intermixed with large, depressed, slightly keeled scales (vs. lack of spine-like tubercles on flanks, granular dorsal scales, intermixed with large smooth scales); from C. indraneildasii by having dorsal scales heterogeneous (vs. homogenous), lacking a series of enlarged median sub-caudal scales, and 28–29 (vs. 20) ventral scales across mid-body; from C. kolhapurensis by having heterogeneous (vs. homogenous) dorsal scalation, lacking spine-like tubercles on flanks and lacking pre-cloacal pores (vs. 24–28 pre-cloacal-femoral pores); and from C. goaensis by lacking pre-cloacal pores and lacking a series of enlarged median sub-caudal scales.  We further provide partial mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences for the new species and for the sympatric species C. girii, C. kolhapurensis and C. goaensis, and show that the new species is genetically distinct.  

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIANYU GUO ◽  
YI SUN ◽  
GUANG XU ◽  
LANCE A. DURDEN

SUMMARY The female and nymph of Ixodes (Pholeoixodes) kangdingensis n. sp. are described based on both morphology and analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. Specimens of this new tick species were collected from a Siberian weasel (Mustela sibirica) in Kangding County, Sichuan Province, China. The morphological features of the female and nymph are unique to distinguish I. kangdingensis n. sp. from other members of the subgenus Pholeoixodes, including the presence of distinctly shaped cornua, anterior and posterior processes on palpal article I and a large angular projection on each side of the hypostome. Partial sequence of 16S rRNA gene grouped this species with Ixodes arboricola and Ixodes lividus with sequence divergence of new species from I. arboricola 4·16% and from I. lividus 8·49%. Data on the phylogenetic position, hosts, geographic distribution and key to females of closely related species are also provided.


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4679 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
MISBAHUL MUNIR ◽  
AMIR HAMIDY ◽  
MASAFUMI MATSUI ◽  
DJOKO T. ISKANDAR ◽  
IRVAN SIDIK ◽  
...  

Within Sundaland, the species diversity of the genus Megophrys is richest in Borneo, with some species restricted to the northern highlands of the island. On the basis of molecular, morphological and acoustic evidence, we describe a new species of large-sized Megophrys, once confused with M. nasuta. The new species Megophrys kalimantanensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from all its congeners by large genetic distance more than 6.11% in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, much shorter rostral and orbital appendages, and unique advertisement call. This new species has been recorded from medium to high altitudes of mountain forest in southern and northernmost Borneo. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5057 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-126
Author(s):  
TOMOYUKI KOMAI ◽  
ISAO HIRABAYASHI

A new species of the processid shrimp genus Nikoides Paul’son, 1875, N. subdistalis, is described and illustrated on the basis of five specimens collected from Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, at depths of 7–12 m. The new species appears most similar to N. maldivensis Borradaile, 1915 among the 10 known congeners, but is notable in the unique dentition of the rostrum and the characteristic shape of the antennular stylocerite. A partial segment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene was sequenced from one of the paratypes of the new species, and genetic divergence among four congeneric taxa, of which three was downloaded from the GenBank database, is shown. An identification key to 11 species of Nikoides, including the new species, is given.  


Author(s):  
Gaurang G. Gowande ◽  
S.R. Ganesh ◽  
Zeeshan A. Mirza

A new cryptic lineage of bush frogs of the genus Raorchestes from the understudied Eastern Ghats of India is described. Molecular phylogenetic reconstructions using mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences suggest that the new species belongs to the Raorchestes charius clade, is sister to the allopatric R. charius of the Western Ghats and support the species-level distinctiveness of the lineage. The new species morphologically resembles R. charius from which it can be distinguished using the following characters: narrower head (HW/SVL 0.31 vs 0.34–0.36), wider inter upper eyelid (IUE/SVL 0.14–0.16 vs 0.11–0.13), greater maximum upper eyelid width (UEW/SVL 0.10–0.12 vs 0.06–0.09) and shorter thigh (TL/SVL 0.32–0.43 vs 0.44–0.51). Acoustic observations from the breeding males further corroborate the distinct specific status of the new species. The discovery of this new species of bush frog from an understudied landscape suggests that additional extensive surveys in the Eastern Ghats would yield several more amphibian lineages yet unknown to science.


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