<strong>Three new species of <em>Idiops</em> Perty, 1833 (Araneae: Idiopidae) from India</strong>

Three new species of the front-eyed trapdoor genus Idiops, viz., Idiops joida sp. nov. from the Western Ghats of Karnataka, I. mettupalayam sp. nov. from the foothills of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and I. oriya sp. nov. from Odhisa, are described. Natural history information for all these species is provided as is an identification key to Idiops species from South andSoutheast Asia.

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Three new species of Protosticta Selys, 1885 (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platystictidae) from the Western Ghats, India, with taxonomic notes on P. mortoni Fraser, 1922 and rediscovery of P. rufostigma Kimmins, 1958

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4858.2.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4858 (2) ◽

pp. 151-185

Author(s):

SHANTANU JOSHI ◽

K.A. SUBRAMANIAN ◽

R. BABU ◽

DATTAPRASAD SAWANT ◽

KRUSHNAMEGH KUNTE

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Biodiversity Hotspot ◽

Wildlife Sanctuary ◽

Evergreen Forests ◽

Tiger Reserve ◽

New Material ◽

Three New Species ◽

The Western Ghats

Three new species of Protosticta Selys, 1885 (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platystictidae) from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in India: P. cyanofemora sp. nov. (wet evergreen forests in Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary, Kollam, Kerala and Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu), P. myristicaensis sp. nov. (Myristica swamp at Kathalekan, Shivamogga, Karnataka) and P. sholai sp. nov. (montane sholas of Upper Manalar, Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Theni, Tamil Nadu) are described and illustrated. We compare these three new species with other Protosticta spp. from the Western Ghats based on new material and provide comprehensive differential diagnoses with determination key for males of all species occurring in the Western Ghats. The taxonomic validity of P. mortoni Fraser, 1922 is established with fresh specimens from Hassan, Karnataka, and rediscovery of P. rufostigma Kimmins, 1958 is reported from Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu.

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Impatiens megamalayana, a new species of Impatiens from the Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India

Phytotaxa ◽

10.11646/phytotaxa.302.2.10 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 302 (2) ◽

pp. 193 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

R. RAMASUBBU ◽

C. DIVYA ◽

N. SASI KALA ◽

ANJANA SURENDRAN ◽

A.K. SREEKALA

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Pollen Grains ◽

Critically Endangered ◽

Floral Structure ◽

Effective Strategies ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

A New Species

Impatiens megamalayana, a new species from Tamil Nadu, India is described and illustrated. This species is characterized by a ridged stem, ensiform and villous leaves, a wrinkled boat-shaped lower sepal with outwardly curved tip, ornamented seeds and strictly ovate pollen grains. This combination of characters makes determining the relationships of I. megamalayana difficult. The floral structure of I. megamalayana is closely allied to I. herbicola Hook.f. and I. inconspicua Benth. in Wall., the latter with three varieties, but it differs by several unique vegetative and floral features. Impatiens megamalayana is assessed as Critically Endangered in accordance with the IUCN guidelines. The habitat of the species is severely affected by landslides. As a result, effective strategies should be developed to protect I. megamalayana from exinction.

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A new species of rock-dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Tamil Nadu, southern India

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4571.3.6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4571 (3) ◽

pp. 383

Author(s):

AKSHAY KHANDEKAR

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Endemic Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Southern India ◽

Peninsular India ◽

Tamil Nadu State ◽

The Rich ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

A New Species

A new species of the gekkonid genus Cnemaspis is described based on a series of nine specimens from near Sankari in Salem district, Tamil Nadu state, southern India. The new species is diagnosable by the following suite of characters: a small-sized Cnemaspis (adult snout to vent length less than 33 mm); heterogeneous dorsal pholidosis consisting of weakly keeled granular scales intermixed with large strongly keeled, conical tubercles, 9–11 rows of dorsal tubercles, 12–17 tubercles in paravertebral rows; spine-like scales absent on flank, 17–20 lamellae under digit IV of pes. Males with 4–6 femoral pores on each thigh, separated on either side by eight poreless scales from four precloacal pores; precloacal pores separated medially by a single poreless scale; two single dorsal ocelli on occiput and between forelimb insertions, two pairs of ocelli on either side just anterior and posterior to forelimb insertions. Cnemaspis agarwali sp. nov. is the fifth endemic species of Cnemaspis from peninsular India outside the Western Ghats and highlights the rich and unique diversity of this understudied region.

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Two new Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Shevaroy massif, Tamil Nadu, India, with a preliminary ND2 phylogeny of Indian Cnemaspis

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4609.1.3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4609 (1) ◽

pp. 68

Author(s):

AKSHAY KHANDEKAR ◽

NIKHIL GAITONDE ◽

ISHAN AGARWAL

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Body Size ◽

South Asian ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Elevation Gradient ◽

Sequence Divergence ◽

Colour Pattern ◽

Peninsular India ◽

The Western Ghats

We present a preliminary ND2 phylogeny of South Asian Cnemaspis, recovering a number of deeply divergent clades within Indian Cnemaspis, endemic to the southern and northern Western Ghats besides the Mysore Plateau and hills of Tamil Nadu. There are a number of unnamed lineages that are >5% divergent on ND2 across the phylogeny, including three from the gracilis clade on an elevation gradient (800–1400 m asl.) around Yercaud in the Shevaroy massif, Salem district, Tamil Nadu. We describe two of these as new species— Cnemaspis shevaroyensis sp. nov. and Cnemaspis thackerayi sp. nov. are both allied to Cnemaspis gracilis and can be diagnosed from all other Indian Cnemaspis by the absence of spine-like scales on flank, heterogeneous dorsal pholidosis, presence of femoral and precloacal pores, tail with enlarged, strongly keeled, conical tubercles forming whorls, a median row of enlarged and smooth sub-caudals. They differ from C. gracilis and each other in body size, the number of tubercles around midbody, the number of tubercles in paravertebral rows, the number of femoral and precloacal pores, the number of poreless scales in-between precloacal pores and between femoral and precloacal pores, and subtle colour pattern differences; besides uncorrected mitochondrial sequence divergence (7.9–16.6 %). We also provide a description of Cnemaspis yercaudensis from its type locality and an additional locality. The discovery of two endemic species and a third unnamed divergent lineage from an isolated massif in peninsular India outside the Western Ghats indicate that many other such understudied hill ranges may harbour high endemic biodiversity.

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Two more new Hemiphyllodactylus Bleeker, 1860 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Tamil Nadu, India

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4729.2.6 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4729 (2) ◽

pp. 249-265

Author(s):

ISHAN AGARWAL ◽

AARON M BAUER ◽

SAUNAK PAL ◽

ACHYUTHAN N SRIKANTHAN ◽

AKSHAY KHANDEKAR

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Southern India ◽

Meristic Characters ◽

Two New Species ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

Nd2 Gene

Two new species of the gekkonid genus Hemiphyllodactylus are described from mountains of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, southern India. Hemiphyllodactylus nilgiriensis sp. nov. and H. peninsularis sp. nov. are > 5 % divergent in the mitochondrial ND2 gene from each other and members of the H. aurantiacus complex and differ from each other and members of the H. aurantiacus complex in several meristic characters and colouration. The description of these two new species takes the number of Indian Hemiphyllodactylus to six and the number of endemic geckos from Tamil Nadu to 15.

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A new record of the family Isonychiidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from the Western Ghats, India with a description of new species

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4586.1.9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4586 (1) ◽

pp. 162

Author(s):

M. VASANTH ◽

C. SELVAKUMAR ◽

K. A. SUBRAMANIAN ◽

R. BABU ◽

K. G. SIVARAMAKRISHNAN

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

New Record ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Abdominal Segment ◽

Uniformly Convex ◽

The Family ◽

Lateral Margins ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

A New Species

A new species belonging to the subgenus Isonychia, of the genus Isonychia Eaton, 1871, is described based on larvae and imagoes collected from Moyar River, Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu, India. The imagoes of I. moyarensis n. sp. can be distinguished from other described Oriental species of Isonychia (Isonychia) by the combination of characters: (i) forewing with rusty brown maculae in the costal, subcostal, and median areas; (ii) femur and tibia brown, fore leg pale, apices of tarsal segments brownish; (iii) males with distal angles of penes rounded, without serrations; (iv) second segment of gonostylus uniformly convex; and (v) sterna of tenth abdominal segment in female deeply cleft. Isonychia (Isonychia) moyarensis n. sp. can be distinguished in the larval stage from other known Oriental species by the following combination of characters: (i) abdominal terga II–IX with median dark brown maculae progressively larger with dark brown slanting streaks in lateral margins; (ii) trachea of abdominal gills I–VII unbranched; (iii) posterolateral projections on abdominal segments I–VII blunt and progressively longer than those of segments VIII–IX, sharp and distinct; and (iv) abdominal terga X pale yellow in anterior ⅓, and dark brown in the posterior ⅔. A key to the known larvae of Oriental species of Isonychia is also provided.

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A new species of the genus Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) from the Western Ghats of India

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4221.4.6 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4221 (4) ◽

pp. 491

Author(s):

R.R. RACHANA ◽

R. VARATHARAJAN

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Sexual Dimorphism ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Brownish Yellow ◽

Hydrangea Macrophylla ◽

Western Ghats Of India ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

A New Species

Thrips laurencei sp.n. is described from specimens collected on flowers of Hydrangea macrophylla in Western Ghats range of Tamil Nadu, India. This new species shows sexual dimorphism in colour, with the females brownish yellow with brown shadings but the males uniformly yellow.

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Syzygium anamalaianum (Myrtaceae), a new tree species from the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India

Phytotaxa ◽

10.11646/phytotaxa.450.2.9 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 450 (2) ◽

pp. 237-242

Author(s):

RAJU RAMASUBBU ◽

ANJANA SURENDRAN ◽

KARUPPA SAMY KASI

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Tree Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Tamil Nadu ◽

Tiger Reserve ◽

The Western Ghats ◽

A New Species

Syzygium anamalaianum, a new species from Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India is described. This species is closely allied to Syzygium bharathii and S.caryophyllatum, but differs from it by having thick elliptic or ovate–lanceolate leaves with deeply grooved midrib, 4–angled prominently winged peduncle, smaller flower, funnel or pyriform hypanthium, inwardly curved stamens of varying lengths and obovate or subglobular seeds. This combination of characters makes determining the relationships of Syzygium anamalaianum difficult.

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The genus Diplommatina Benson, 1849 (Gastropoda: Caenogastropoda: Diplommatinidae) in Nepal, with the description of seven new species

European Journal of Taxonomy ◽

10.5852/ejt.2017.337 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Prem B. Budha ◽

Fred Naggs ◽

Thierry Backeljau

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Identification Key ◽

The Western Ghats

This paper deals with the taxonomy and faunistics of the genus Diplommatina in Nepal. Altogether 16 species are reported, seven of which are new to science viz. D. abiesiana sp. nov., D. fistulata sp. nov., D. godawariensis sp. nov., D. maipokhariensis sp. nov., D. salgharica sp. nov., D. shivapuriensis sp. nov. and D. syabrubesiensis sp. nov. Information on nine previously reported species is provided: D. exserta Godwin-Austen, 1886, D. folliculus (L. Pfeiffer, 1846), D. miriensis Godwin-Austen, 1917, D. munipurensis Godwin-Austen, 1892, D. oviformis Fulton, 1901, D. pachycheilus Benson, 1857, D. regularis Fulton, 1901, D. silvicola Godwin-Austen, 1886 and D. sperata W.T. Blanford, 1862. Although D. canarica was once reported from Nepal, it is not treated here as it is an endemic of the Western Ghats. A dichotomous identification key for all Nepalese species is presented.

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