A review of the African snake-eyed skinks (Scincidae: Panaspis) from Angola, with the description of a new species

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4747 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUIS M. P. CERÍACO ◽  
MATTHEW P. HEINICKE ◽  
KELLY L. PARKER ◽  
MARIANA P. MARQUES ◽  
AARON M. BAUER

The genus Panaspis in Angola is represented by four species, most of them part of taxonomically and nomenclaturally challenging species-complexes. We present a taxonomic revision of the group in the region and describe one new species, Panaspis mocamedensis sp. nov., endemic to the lowland areas of the Namibe province, southwestern Angola. Phylogenetic analysis using a combination of mitochondrial (16S, cytb) and nucleares (RAG1, PDC) markers, as well as morphological and meristic data support the recognition of the new species. In addition, these data support the presence of nominotypical Panaspis cabindae, P. wahlbergi and P. maculicollis in Angola. Reexamination of the Angolan population of P. breviceps was based on morphological analysis, as no molecular data from Angola is available for this species. According to our results, this population likely represents the nominotypical form, but due to its complex taxonomic and nomenclatural history and the lack of molecular data, this population needs to be reconsidered when molecular data become available. The description of a new species and revision of the Angolan Panaspis contributes to a better understanding of the true species richness of the Angolan herpetofauna, as well as to understanding the major biogeographic patterns of the region. A key to Angolan Panaspis species is also presented. 

Author(s):  
Marie L Verheye ◽  
Cédric D’Udekem D’Acoz

Abstract Among Antarctic amphipods of the genus Eusirus, a highly distinctive clade of giant species is characterized by a dorsal, blade-shaped tooth on pereionites 5–7 and pleonites 1–3. This lineage, herein named ‘crested Eusirus’, includes two potential species complexes, the Eusirus perdentatus and Eusirus giganteus complexes, in addition to the more distinctive Eusirus propeperdentatus. Molecular phylogenies and statistical parsimony networks (COI, CytB and ITS2) of crested Eusirus are herein reconstructed. This study aims to formally revise species diversity within crested Eusirus by applying several species delimitation methods (Bayesian implementation of the Poisson tree processes model, general mixed Yule coalescent, multi-rate Poisson tree processes and automatic barcode gap discovery) on the resulting phylogenies. In addition, results from the DNA-based methods are benchmarked against a detailed morphological analysis of all available specimens of the E. perdentatus complex. Our results indicate that species diversity of crested Eusirus is underestimated. Overall, DNA-based methods suggest that the E. perdentatus complex is composed of three putative species and that the E. giganteus complex includes four or five putative species. The morphological analysis of available specimens from the E. perdentatus complex corroborates molecular results by identifying two differentiable species, the genuine E. perdentatus and a new species, herein described as Eusirus pontomedon sp. nov.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1889-1900
Author(s):  
Vladimir Pešić ◽  
Andrzej Zawal ◽  
Aleksandra Bańkowska ◽  
Milica Jovanović ◽  
Miroslawa Dabert

A new species of water mites from Montenegro and Bulgaria, Atractides anae Pešić sp. nov., is described, combining traditional morphological techniques with the analysis of partial mtDNA COI sequences (DNA-barcodes). Based on our molecular and morphological analysis, the new species is most closely related to the crenobiontic A. pennatus (K. Viets 1920) from which it differs by 6.4 (SD = 1.12)% K2P distance. A dataset including the novel COI sequences of 10 Atractides species from Montenegro and Iran is assembled in order to facilitate further studies on the genus by using molecular tools.


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2902 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
RENEE A. CATULLO ◽  
PAUL DOUGHTY ◽  
J. DALE ROBERTS ◽  
J. SCOTT KEOGH

We generated a multi-locus phylogeny to test monophyly and distributional limits in Australian toadlets of the genus Uperoleia from the western arid zone of Australia. The molecular data were used in combination with a detailed assessment of morphological variation and some data on call structure to complete a taxonomic revision of the species that occur in this region. Our work reveals the existence of not two but five species in the region. Uperoleia russelli is restricted to the Carnarvon and Gascoyne Regions south of the Pilbara. Uperoleia micromeles is distributed from the Tanami Desert through the Great Sandy Desert and along the northern edge of the Pilbara. Uperoleia talpa was previously believed to be a Fitzroyland region endemic but it is further distributed along Dampierland and into the Roebourne Plain. Uperoleia glandulosa is a larger species than previously described as well as a greater habitat generalist, inhabiting the rocky Pilbara region and the sandy region around Port Hedland. We also describe a new species, U. saxatilis sp. nov., endemic to the Pilbara craton.


2020 ◽  
pp. 515-576
Author(s):  
Frank Bungartz ◽  
Ulrik Søchting ◽  
Ulf Arup

The lichen family Teloschistaceae from the Galapagos is revised. Most of the species belong to the Caloplacoideae, two to Teloschistoideae and a few to Xanthorioideae, three subfamilies not validly published, which is remedied here. Four different datasets were analyzed using Bayesian inference. For the bulk of the species, a combined dataset of nrITS, nrLSU and mrSSU was analyzed. Additionally, three analyses were performed using nrITS to further investigate phylogenetic relationships within and between species in each subfamily, and in the genera Xanthomendoza and Squamulea. Four new genera are described: Lacrima, Oceanoplaca, Phaeoplaca, Sucioplaca. Twenty-four species are reported, of which ten are new to science: Caloplaca nigra, Lacrima galapagoensis, Oceanoplaca chemoisidiosa, O. sideritoides, Phaeoplaca tortuca, Squamulea chelonia, S. humboldtiana, S. osseophila, S. oceanica, and Xanthomendoza leoncita. Several new combinations are proposed and three species of Xanthomendoza are reduced to synonymy. Several new combinations and species placed into synonymy do not occur in the Galapagos, but are treated as a consequence of our taxonomic revision. Morphology, anatomy, secondary chemistry, distribution and molecular phylogenetic affiliation are presented for each species and a key is provided. Eight different chemical patterns are quantitatively described based on HPLC analyses. The new genus Lacrima includes L. galapagoensis, a species without vegetative propagules, and two densely isidiate species, L. epiphora and L. aphanotripta that are morphologically similar to ‘Caloplaca’ wrightii. The only species of Galapagos Teloschistaceae that contains xanthones is placed into Huneckia. Oceanoplaca includes two species with the new anthraquinone isidiosin, O. isidiosa and O. chemoisidiosa, while a third species, O. sideritoides, does not contain this secondary metabolite. Phaeoplaca camptidia has previously been reported from Galapagos, but our phylogenetic analysis suggests that it is a new species, here named P. tortuca. An isolated position is occupied by ‘Caloplaca’ diplacia, which we place in it its own monotypic genus Sucioplaca. Some Galapagos Teloschistaceae can be considered a ‘residue’ of unresolved Caloplaca s.l., i.e. the corticolous C. floridana is possibly related to the saxicolous C. nigra, while C. cupulifera can currently not be placed. Squamulea remains particularly problematic and includes S. phyllidizans, that is nested among otherwise unresolved Squamulea species. Based on molecular data, S. phyllidizans is close to ‘Huriella’. ‘Huriella’ flakusii, described from Peru, is confirmed to occur in the Galapagos and the genus is reduced to synonymy with Squamulea. The Squamulea squamosa/subsoluta group remains largely unresolved, but the new species S. chelonia, S. humboldtiana, S. oceanica, and S. osseophila are phylogenetically distinct. Foliose Teloschistaceae are represented only by one species, described as Xanthomendoza leoncita, while the only fruticose species, Teloschistes chrysophthalmus and T. flavicans, are cosmopolitan.


PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9887
Author(s):  
Sarah Mângia ◽  
Ricardo Koroiva ◽  
Diego José Santana

The combination of different approaches has successfully delimited new species within many Neotropical species complexes traditionally classified as a single nominal organism. Recent studies have shown that the Amazonian endemic genus Amazophrynella, currently composed of 12 small-sized species, could harbor several additional species. Based on morphology and molecular data, we describe a new species of Amazophrynella from east of the Guiana Shield, in Pará state, Brazil. The new species is characterized by having one of the biggest size of the genus (SVL of males 16.0–17.8 mm and females 22.9–24.4 mm), presence of a large palmar tubercle (occupying 2/4 of the palmar surface), 5.6–8.1% uncorrected p-distance from its sister clade (including A. teko, A. sp.1, and A. manaos) for the 16S mitochondrial gene, and 8.8% for the COI. The new species described here represents a newly discovered lineage. Of the 12 Amazophrynella species currently recognized, two were describe in the last century (A. bokermanni and A. minuta) and the remaining species were recently discovered and described (in the last six years), which underscores the degree to which species richness of Amazophrynella is underestimated.


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4564 (2) ◽  
pp. 573 ◽  
Author(s):  
MING KAI TAN ◽  
JESSICA B. BAROGA-BARBECHO ◽  
SHERYL A. YAP

The taxonomy of Old World Trigonidiinae (sword-tailed crickets) is in need of major revision. This includes its type genus Trigonidium. Various authors have different opinions on what constitutes the subgenera and species of Trigonidium s. l. and this has led to considerable confusion and inconsistencies. Recent use of molecular data has helped make some progress in resolving some of these problems, but there are still limitations. In this paper, we aim to provide a baseline to resolve the confusion in the taxonomy of Trigonidium s. l. Firstly, we provide a literature review of the contentious taxa related to Trigonidium and also provide some recommendations on future work for Trigonidium s. l. Secondly, we reanalysed the gene tree (sensu Lu et al., 2018) using more DNA sequences from GenBank to test whether Trigonidium s. str. and Paratrigonidium should be considered separate genera or subgenera of Trigonidium s. l. However, the gene tree based on current data was not conclusive. Lastly, we describe a new species of Trigonidium s. str. from Siargao Island, Mindanao (Philippines): Trigonidium solis sp. nov. 


Phytotaxa ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 176 (1) ◽  
pp. 174 ◽  
Author(s):  
HUI YANG ◽  
HIRAN A. ARIYAWANSA ◽  
HAI-XIA WU ◽  
KEVIN D. HYDE

Leptoxyphium is a relatively poorly known genus of sooty moulds in Capnodiaceae (Dothideomycetes). This paper introduces one new species of Leptoxyphium, L. glochidion and the first record of L. kurandae for China. L. glochidion is introduced as a new species based on morphology and molecular data and is compared with related taxa. Descriptions, illustrations and notes are provided for the two species, which are analyzed by ITS, LSU and SSU sequence data. The phylogenetic analysis shows that the two species cluster in Leptoxyphium (Capnodiaceae). L. glochidion separates from other species of the genus, while L. kurandae clustered with the type strain


PhytoKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 153 ◽  
pp. 37-48
Author(s):  
Zhiyou Guo ◽  
Zhaowen Wu ◽  
Weibin Xu ◽  
Zhenyu Li ◽  
Xiaoguo Xiang

Here we describe Paraboea dolomitica Z.Y. Li, X.G. Xiang & Z.Y. Guo, a new species of Gesneriaceae from Guizhou, China. Based on recent extensive observations, this new species is morphologically similar to Paraboea filipes (Hance) Burtt, in having obovate leaf blades, 1–4-flowered cymes and purplish corolla, but differs from that species by the combination of denticulate leathery leaves, sparsely brown haired peduncles, two woolly bracts, reniform anthers and two glabrous staminodes. Additionally, molecular data support this new species as a member of a clade that includes P. crassifolia, P. tetrabracteata, P. peltifolia, P. vetutina, P. dushanensis, P. dictyoneura, P xiangguiensis and P. guilinensis, but it is distinct from them in leaf position, inflorescence, penduncle, bract and capsule. The conservation status of this species is considered to be “Vulnerable” (VU) according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.


Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4434 (1) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
ACHYUTHAN N. SRIKANTHAN ◽  
PRIYANKA SWAMY ◽  
ASHWINI V. MOHAN ◽  
SAUNAK PAL

We describe a new species of rock-dwelling gecko, Hemidactylus paaragowlipaaragowli sp. nov., from the Agastyamalai Hill Range, in the southern Western Ghats. Morphological and molecular data support the distinctiveness of the species and its close relationship to other large-bodied, tuberculate Hemidactylus spp. from the H. prashadi group from India and Sri Lanka. This species belongs to a rupicolous complex and can be distinguished from other members of the group based on the following characters: 22–24 longitudinal rows of fairly regularly arranged, subtrihedral, weakly keeled, striated tubercles at midbody; 9–11 and 10–12 subdigital lamellae on the first and fourth digits, respectively, of both manus and pes; tail with transverse series of four enlarged tubercles on each tail segment; 10–12 femoral pores on each side separated by 16–18 scales without pores; 11–13 supralabials and 9–10 infralabials. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2765 (1) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
ISHAN AGARWAL ◽  
VARAD B. GIRI ◽  
AARON M. BAUER

A new species of gecko, Hemidactylus graniticolus sp. nov. is described from Karnataka state, south India. This largesized (SVL to at least 110.6 mm), rupicolous gecko differs from congeners in having 16–18 longitudinal rows of fairly regularly arranged, subtrihedral, weakly keeled, striated tubercles at midbody; 9–11 and 12–13 subdigital lamellae on the first and fourth digits, respectively, of both manus and pes; tail with transverse series of four enlarged tubercles on each tail segment; 23–28 femoral pores on each side separated by 1–3 poreless scales; 12–14 supralabials and 9–11 infralabials. Molecular data support the distinctiveness of the new species and its affinities with large-bodied, tuberculate Hemidactylus spp. from India and Sri Lanka.


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