scholarly journals Discovering insect species based on photographs only: The case of a nameless species of the genus Scaria (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-184
Author(s):  
Niko Kasalo ◽  
Maks Deranja ◽  
Karmela Adžić ◽  
Roberto Sindaco ◽  
Josip Skejo

A heated debate on whether a new species should be described without a physical specimen, i.e., by designating a photographed specimen to serve as a holotype, has been ongoing for a long time. Herewith, without nomenclatural actions, a new species of the Batrachidein pygmy grasshoppers belonging to the genus Scaria Bolívar, 1887 is identified from the Andean rainforest in Peru. This species is clearly different from all its congeners by morphology and coloration. Two individuals of this peculiar species are known only from the photographs found on iNaturalist. The species has not been observed since 2008 when the photographs were taken. A short historical overview of the topic is given, illustrating the pros and cons of photograph-based species description. The concepts of names, holotypes, research effort, and conservation are discussed and related to the problem at hand. The current state of the taxonomic community’s beliefs regarding this issue is reflected by the authors’ three unsuccessful attempts to name this new species.

Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4317 (2) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
JIŘÍ SKUHROVEC ◽  
PETER HLAVÁČ ◽  
JAN BATELKA

The genus Pselactus in the Cape Verde Islands is reviewed. Pselactus obesulus (Wollaston, 1867) from São Vicente is redescribed and P. strakai sp. nov. from São Nicolau is described. Both species are diagnosed and illustrated; their larvae are described, larval morphology is discussed and the current state of knowledge about immature stages of Cossoninae is summarized. The systematic position of the genus within Onycholipini is reviewed, and the placement of genus in Cossoninae is discussed. A short note on biogeography of Pselactus is provided. 


2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Lopes ◽  
E. Hajdu ◽  
H. M. Reiswig

The present study reports three species of Farrea Bowerbank, 1862 from Campos Basin (southwestern Atlantic): Farrea herdendorfi Duplessis and Reiswig, 2004, Farrea occa Bowerbank, 1862, and Farrea campossinus sp. nov. This is the first record of F. herdendorfi for the South Atlantic and only the second record of the species worldwide. Farrea occa is described and reported to form mass occurrences in the area’s sponge and coral banks, as seen in extensive video recording undertaken between 900 and 1100 m depth. The new species approaches Farrea foliascens Topsent, 1906 very closely, but differs in that its hooked anchorate clavules are much larger and the meshes of its dictyonal framework rather more irregular. Our thoughts on whether the proposed new species deserved species or subspecies rank led to an investigation on the usage of subspecies rank in Porifera. A historical overview, mainly contrasting Demospongiae and Hexactinellida is offered here. We concluded that no rule of thumb is readily made out from the comparative analysis of various authors’ taxonomic decisions. Until one such agreement is achieved, it appears to us that naming new subspecies should be objectively argued for, or better, totally avoided, as a useless further dimension to taxonomic uncertainty in poriferan classification.


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5020 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-165
Author(s):  
DMITRY TELNOV

Steriphodon Abeille de Perrin, 1895, a small genus of Eurygeniinae (Anthicidae) is reviewed. Critical morphology of the genus is reassessed and discussed. An annotated checklist, key to species and new records are provided. Steriphodon ottomerkli sp. nov. from the Balochistan Province, Pakistan is described and illustrated.  


The Auk ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 122 (1) ◽  
pp. 292-305
Author(s):  
Luís Fábio Silveira ◽  
Flávio César Thadeo de Lima ◽  
Elizabeth Höfling

Abstract We describe a new species of Aratinga—A. pintoi (Sulfur-breasted Parakeet)—from open areas on the northern bank of the lower Amazon River in the state of Pará, Brazil. It was for a long time misidentified as a juvenile of A. solstitialis or a hybrid between that species and A. jandaya. It can be distinguished from other Aratinga species by the combination of the following characters: mantle and wing coverts green, suffused with pale yellow; underparts pale yellow, with pale orange restricted to belly and flanks; and feathers on the underparts with a dark rachis. On the basis of color characters and general morphology, we suggest that this new species should be a member of a group composed of A. solstitialis, A. jandaya, A. auricapillus, and, possibly, Nandayus nenday. A review of taxonomy and distribution of the group is also presented. Uma nova espécie de Aratinga (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae) do Brasil, com comentários sobre a taxonomia do complexo de espécies Aratinga solstitialis


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2746 (1) ◽  
pp. 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLEMENS GROSSER ◽  
HASKO F. NESEMANN ◽  
VLADIMIR PEŠIĆ

The new species described here has, for a long time, been confused with Dina stschegolewi (Lukin & Epshtein, 1960), a species described from Krym (the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine). Both species are similar in having rows of yellow spots on the dorsal surface. As the latter species had been poorly defined in the past, all yellow spotted specimens of the genus Dina Blanchard, from the area of the Near and Middle East, were attributed to Dina stschegolewi (Rückert 1985, Nesemann 1993, Nesemann & Neubert 1999). Prof. V. M. Epshtein (Wuppertal/Germany, oral communication) suspected that the specimens attributed to Dina stschegolewi by Nesemann (1993) and Nesemann & Neubert (1999) differed from the species from Krym. Furthermore, Grosser & Pešić (2006) mentioned that populations of Dina stschegolewi sensu Nesemann, 1993 most probably belong to a new species.


1937 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 264-266
Author(s):  
F. H. Wilson

The species description presented is based on specimens taken by E. R. Tinkham from the long-billed curlew (Numenius americanus Wils.) collected at Presidio, Texas, May 26, 1929. The specimens are a part of the University of Minnesota collection which has been loaned to the writer for study and identification during the past few years. I am deeply indebted to Prof. C. E. Mickel for his kindness in regard to the loans from the Minnesota collections.


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4613 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANCISCA C. CARVALHO ◽  
ANDRZEJ PISERA

Phymaraphiniidae Schrammen 1924 (Porifera: Astrophorina) is a family of lithistid demosponges that has received little attention in the past decades. The systematic problems within this family have not been addressed for a long time due to the absence of new records and material. The genus Exsuperantia Özdikmen 2009 was first described by Schmidt (1879) as Rimella to allocate the species Rimella clava, found in the Caribbean. In 1892, Topsent found what he thought to be the same species described by Schmidt in the Azores, and synonymized it with Racodiscula clava, as he thought this species belonged to the family Theonellidae Lendenfeld 1903. However, Rimella and Racodiscula belong to distinct families: Rimella to Phymaraphiniidae, and Racodiscula to Theonellidae. Due to the fact that the genus Rimella was already preoccupied by a gastropod, it was renamed as Exsuperantia. In result of the poor preservation of Schmidt’s material and the absence of new specimens, the attribution of Topsent’s specimens to the family level remained obscure. Here, we review the genus Exsuperantia based on the analysis of new material recently collected during various research expeditions in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. The comparison of these new specimens with Schmidt’s and Topsent’s type material, allowed us to assign Topsent’s specimens to a new species, Exsuperantia archipelagus sp. nov., and confirm its attribution to the family Phymaraphiniidae (not Theonellidae). Phylogenetic reconstructions using newly generated sequences of the cytochrome subunit (COI) marker also support the assignment of the new species to the family Phymaraphiniidae (not Theonellidae). 


Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4768 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-394
Author(s):  
BRENNA L. DECKER ◽  
JAMES P. PITTS ◽  
DAVID YUAN ◽  
JUANITA RODRIGUEZ

The genus Minagenia Banks, 1934 is reported for the first time from Australia. A new species, M. lasallei Decker, Rodriguez & Pitts, sp. nov. (Australia: from Queensland to Tasmania), is described and illustrated. A key to the four species from the Australasian and Oriental regions is given. Three species are removed from Asian Minagenia: granulosa Tsuneki, 1989, comb. nov., to the genus Priocnemis Schiødte, 1837; pempuchiensis Tsuneki, 1989, comb. nov., to the genus Nipponodipogon Ishikawa, 1965; and assimilis Smith, 1861, comb. nov., to the genus Dichragenia Haupt, 1950. Minagenia alticola Tsuneki, 1989 is a member of an undescribed genus. Placement of this species is maintained in Minagenia until the new genus can be described in a future work. Minagenia brevicornis (Banks, 1934) is redescribed. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 3602 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. TAYLOR ◽  
S. D. CAIRNS ◽  
D. J. AGNEW ◽  
A. D. ROGERS

A comprehensive revision of the genus Thouarella is presented. Thirty-five holotypes of the 38 nominal Thouarella species, two varieties, and one form were examined. The number of original Thouarella species has been reduced to 25, mostly through synonymy or new genus combinations. In the process several new species have also been identified, one of which is described here as Thouarella parachilensis nov. sp. The genus is split into two groups based on polyp arrangement: Group 1 with isolated polyps and Group 2 with polyps in pairs or whorls. An illustrated dichotomous key and detailed character table of the 25 Thouarella species are presented alongside an up-to-date account of all species described in the 19th and 20th centuries and summaries of the few described from 2000 onwards. We propose that Thouarella longispinosa is synonymous with Dasystenella acanthina, T. versluysi with T. brucei, and, T. tenuisquamis, T. flabellata, and T. carinata are synonymous with T. laxa. Lastly, we propose that T. bayeri and T. undulata be placed in Plumarella and support recent suggestions that T. alternata, T. recta, T. superba, and T. diadema are also Plumarella.


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