Biology of tiny animals: three new species of minute salamanders (Plethodontidae:Thorius) from Oaxaca, Mexico

We describe three new species of minute salamanders, genusThorius, from the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca, Mexico. Until now only a single species,T. minutissimus, has been reported from this region, although molecular data have long shown extensive genetic differentiation among geographically disjunct populations. AdultThorius pinicolasp. nov.,T. longicaudussp. nov., andT. tlaxiacussp. nov. are larger thanT. minutissimusand possess elliptical rather than oval nostrils;T. pinicolaandT. longicaudusalso have longer tails. All three new species occur west of the range ofT. minutissimus, which has the easternmost distribution of any member of the genus. The new species are distinguished from each other and from other namedThoriusin Oaxaca by a combination of adult body size, external morphology and osteology, and by protein characters (allozymes) and differences in DNA sequences. In addition, we redescribeT. minutissimusand a related species,T. narisovalis, to further clarify the taxonomic status of Oaxacan populations and to facilitate future studies of the remaining genetically differentiatedThoriusthat cannot be satisfactorily assigned to any named species. Populations of all five species considered here appear to have declined dramatically over the last one or two decades and live specimens are difficult to find in nature.Thoriusmay be the most endangered genus of amphibians in the world. All species may go extinct before the end of this century.

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Three new species of the genus Coddingtonia from Asia (Araneae, Theridiosomatidae)

ZooKeys ◽

10.3897/zookeys.886.35492 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 886 ◽

pp. 113-126

Author(s):

Chengcheng Feng ◽

Yucheng Lin

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Current Paper ◽

Distribution Map ◽

Three New Species

The current paper expands knowledge of the genus Coddingtonia Miller, Griswold & Yin, 2009. Based on morphological characters and molecular data, three species are documented as new to science: C. erhuan Feng & Lin, sp. nov. (♀) from China, C. lizu Feng & Lin, sp. nov. (♀) from China, and C. huifengi Feng & Lin, sp. nov. (♂♀) from Indonesia. The type of C. euryopoides Miller, Griswold & Yin, 2009 is also reexamined. DNA sequences (COI), detailed illustrations of habitus, male palp and epigyne are provided for these four species, as well as a key and a distribution map for Coddingtonia species.

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Three new species of leaflitter frogs from the upper Amazon forests: cryptic diversity within Pristimantis "ockendeni" (Anura: Strabomantidae) in Ecuador

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.1784.1.2 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 1784 (1) ◽

pp. 11 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

KATHRYN R. ELMER ◽

DAVID C. CANNATELLA

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Amazon Basin ◽

Single Species ◽

Cryptic Diversity ◽

Morphological Differences ◽

Three New Species ◽

Multiple Species

We describe three new species of Pristimantis leaflitter frogs from the upper Amazon basin of Ecuador: Pristimantis achuar, Pristimantis altamnis, and Pristimantis kichwarum. Each of these new species was previously considered to be part of a single species, formerly known as Eleutherodactylus ockendeni (Boulenger) morph B. However, analysis of DNA sequences together with examination of the morphology of more than 600 specimens from Ecuador reveals that multiple species were confused under the same name. The morphological differences among the three new species are subtle but consistent: presence or absence of a black canthal stripe and/or supratympanic ridge, snout-vent length, and ventral colouration. The three species are generally allopatric and geographically restricted, although at some localities two of the species occur sympatrically.Describimos tres especies nuevas de ranas del sotobosque de la cuenca Amazónica Ecuatoriana: Pristimantis achuar, Pristimantis altamnis y Pristimantis kichwarum. Estas especies fueron consideradas antes como una sola especie bajo el nombre Eleutherodactylus ockendeni (Boulenger) morfo B. Sin embargo, el análisis de secuencias de ADN y la examinación de la morfología de más que 600 especímenes Ecuatorianos indican que en realidad existen tres especies. Sus diferencias morfológicas son sutiles pero constantes: presencia o ausencia de una raya cantal negra y/o de un pliegue supratimpánico y su coloración ventral. Las tres especies tienen distribuciones alopátricas y distintas aunque en algunas localidades se puede encontrar dos de las tres especies juntas.

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Uncovering the species diversity of subterranean rodents at the end of the World: three new species of Patagonian tuco-tucos (Rodentia, Hystricomorpha, Ctenomys)

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.9259 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e9259 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Pablo Teta ◽

Guillermo D’Elía

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Subterranean Rodents ◽

South American ◽

Northern Patagonia ◽

Karyological Data ◽

Three New Species ◽

Genus One

Ctenomys Blainville 1826 is one of the most diverse genera of South American caviomorph rodents. Currently, six species of this genus are reported from Patagonia, south of 42°S. In this contribution, we assessed the taxonomic status of several populations from eastern and central Chubut province, northern Patagonia. Based on phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequences, morphology assessment (qualitative and quantitative), and previously published karyological data, we describe three new species of this genus, one formed by two subspecies, endemic to northern Patagonia. In addition, we include C. coyhaiquensis Kelt and Gallardo 1994 into the synonymy of C. sericeus J.A. Allen 1903. Finally, we discussed the need for additional integrative approaches, including field collection of specimens, to better understand the diversity of this highly speciose rodent genus.

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A Gondwanan concept of Simplimorpha Scoble (sensu lato): a step toward clarity in the generic diagnostics of global Nepticulidae (Lepidoptera)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4521.2.1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4521 (2) ◽

pp. 151 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

JONAS R. STONIS ◽

ARŪNAS DIŠKUS ◽

ANDRIUS REMEIKIS ◽

M. ALMA SOLIS

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

South America ◽

Southern Hemisphere ◽

New Taxa ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Single Species ◽

Southern Andes ◽

Three New Species ◽

First Time ◽

One New Species

The genus Simplimorpha Scoble is recognized for the first time from South America. We describe a subgenus, Myrtinepticula Stonis & Diškus, subgen. nov., for three new species from the southern Andes (Chile and Argentina): Simplimorpha (Myrtinepticula) cercaria Diškus & Stonis, sp. nov., S. (M.) nielseni Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov., S. (M.) sapphirella Remeikis & Stonis, sp. nov.; and one new species from the southwestern Amazon (Peru): S. (M.) kailai Stonis, sp. nov. We provide a pictorial differentiation scheme for Simplimorpha Scoble and Pectinivalva Scoble. We synonymize the recently erected, predominantly Australian Menurella Hoare, syn. nov. and Cosanovula Hoare, syn. nov. with Pectinivalva Scoble. We also revise the taxonomic status of the Australian Roscidotoga Hoare as a subgenus of Simplimorpha which now exhibits a Gondwanan distribution in the Southern Hemisphere, with the presence of a single species in the Mediterranean. All new taxa are illustrated with photographs of the adults and the genitalia; the leaf mines of Simplimorpha (Myrtinepticula) nielseni sp. nov. are also provided.

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Three new species of Creptotrema (Trematoda, Allocreadiidae) with an amended diagnosis of the genus and reassignment of Auriculostoma (Allocreadiidae), based on morphological and molecular evidence

Parasite ◽

10.1051/parasite/2021065 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 ◽

pp. 69

Author(s):

Lidiane Franceschini ◽

Aline Aguiar ◽

Aline Cristina Zago ◽

Priscilla de Oliveira Fadel Yamada ◽

Mariana Bertholdi Ebert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Sensu Stricto ◽

Zoological Nomenclature ◽

Valid Species ◽

Molecular Evidence ◽

Type Host ◽

Three New Species ◽

Single Sequence

Diversity of Creptotrema was investigated using morphological and molecular tools, including data for Creptotrema creptotrema (type-species). Three new species, parasites of Brazilian fishes, are described: Creptotrema conconae n. sp. (type-host, Imparfinis mirini Haseman), Creptotrema schubarti n. sp. (type-host, Characidium schubarti Travassos) and Creptotrema megacetabularis n. sp. (type-host, Auchenipterus osteomystax (Miranda Ribeiro)). The diagnosis of the genus was amended to include new features. The new species differ from each other mainly in terms of body shape, relative sucker size, and testes position. DNA sequences were obtained from Creptotrema spp. from Brazil, including 28S, ITS and COI. Genetic divergences among the new species and C. creptotrema varied from 2.1 to 5.2% (21–49 bp) for 28S, and 6.6 to 16.4% (21–45 bp) for COI. Phylogenetic analysis (28S) placed the newly generated DNA sequences of Creptotrema in a clade (Creptotrema clade sensu stricto) composed of C. creptotrema, the new species described herein, and all species previously described as Auriculostoma, revealing that Auriculostoma is best interpreted as a synonym of Creptotrema based on the principle of priority of zoological nomenclature. Creptotrema funduli, the single sequence of the genus previously available, was not grouped within the Creptotrema clade sensu stricto, suggesting the need for reevaluation of the taxonomic status of this species. Our results showed that Creptotrema represents a monophyletic genus of trematodes widely distributed across the Americas, which currently comprises 19 valid species of parasites of teleosts and anurans.

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Evidence for Cryptic Diversity in the “Pan-Antarctic” Springtail Friesea antarctica and the Description of Two New Species

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects11030141 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 141

Author(s):

Antonio Carapelli ◽

Penelope Greenslade ◽

Francesco Nardi ◽

Chiara Leo ◽

Peter Convey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Morphological Study ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Single Species ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Cryptic Diversity ◽

Molecular Tools ◽

Polar Environment ◽

Continental Antarctica ◽

Systematic Relationships

The invertebrate terrestrial fauna of Antarctica is being investigated with increasing interest to discover how life interacts with the extreme polar environment and how millions of years of evolution have shaped their biodiversity. Classical taxonomic approaches, complemented by molecular tools, are improving our understanding of the systematic relationships of some species, changing the nomenclature of taxa and challenging the taxonomic status of others. The springtail Friesea grisea has previously been described as the only species with a “pan-Antarctic” distribution. However, recent genetic comparisons have pointed to another scenario. The latest morphological study has confined F. grisea to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, from which it was originally described, and resurrected F. antarctica as a congeneric species occurring on the continental mainland. Molecular data demonstrate that populations of this taxon, ostensibly occurring across Maritime and Continental Antarctica, as well as on some offshore islands, are evolutionarily isolated and divergent and cannot be included within a single species. The present study, combining morphological with molecular data, attempts to validate this hypothesis and challenges the taxonomic status of F. antarctica, suggesting that two additional new species, described here as Friesea gretae sp. nov. and Friesea propria sp. nov., are present in Continental Antarctica.

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New species, diversity, systematics, and conservation assessment of the Puppet Toads of Sumatra (Anura: Bufonidae: Sigalegalephrynus)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4679.2.9 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4679 (2) ◽

pp. 365-391

Author(s):

GOUTAM C. SARKER ◽

ELIJAH WOSTL ◽

PANUPONG THAMMACHOTI ◽

IRVAN SIDIK ◽

AMIR HAMIDY ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Iucn Red List ◽

Red List ◽

Conservation Assessment ◽

Suitable Habitats ◽

Morphological And Molecular Data ◽

Three New Species ◽

Highland Forests

Using a combination of morphological and molecular data we recognize three new species of Puppet Toad, Sigalegalephrynus Smart, Sarker, Arifin, Harvey, Sidik, Hamidy, Kurniawan & Smith, a recently described genus endemic to the highland forests of Sumatra, Indonesia. Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences recovered a monophyletic relationship among all Puppet Toads, with two distinct evolutionary clades, a northern and a southern. The northern clade includes Sigalegalephrynus gayoluesensis sp. nov., and S. burnitelongensis sp. nov., and the southern clade includes S. harveyi sp. nov., S. mandailinguensis, and S. minangkabauensis. With the discovery of these three new species, Sigalegalephrynus contains more endemic species than any other genus of toad in Indonesia. We used maximum entropy, implemented in MaxEnt, to identify suitable habitats and occurrence probability of additional undescribed new species from the island. The most important predictors of Sigalegalephrynus distribution were elevation (64.5%) and land cover (7.11%). Based on the probability of presence, it is likely that there are many more species of the genus awaiting discovery in Sumatra. Our analysis, based on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species category and criteria, shows that all of the five species of Sigalegalephrynus are in great risk of extinction and should be placed into the Endangered (EN) category of IUCN Red List.

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Unraveling the species diversity and relationships in the Leptodactylus mystaceus complex (Anura: Leptodactylidae), with the description of three new Brazilian species

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4779.2.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4779 (2) ◽

pp. 151-189 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

LEANDRO A. DA SILVA ◽

FELIPE M. MAGALHÃES ◽

HANS THOMASSEN ◽

FELIPE S. F. LEITE ◽

ADRIAN A. GARDA ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Dna Sequences ◽

Taxonomic Status ◽

Molecular Data ◽

Species Discrimination ◽

Nominal Species ◽

South American ◽

Geographic Ranges ◽

The Andes ◽

Three New Species

Members of the Leptodactylus mystaceus species complex are widely distributed in forests and open formations of South America east of the Andes. Species of the complex are morphologically similar or indistinguishable among each other, but acoustic data have been the cornerstone for species discrimination across their geographic ranges. In this paper, we re-examine the monophyly, species diversity, and relationships in the L. mystaceus complex on the basis of morphology, coloration, acoustics, and DNA sequences. Morphological and color patterns originally used to the allocation of species to the L. mystaceus complex are also reassessed. Our results revealed three new species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, which are named and described herein, based mainly on acoustic and molecular data. Populations assigned to the lineage widely distributed across the South American Dry Diagonal (DD), reported in this study as L. cf. mystaceus, is likely paraphyletic with respect to the nominal species (Amazonian lineage), but additional data are still needed to address the taxonomic status of the DD lineage.

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Studies in Mexican Grasshoppers: Three new species of Dactylotini (Acrididae: Melanoplinae) from Mexico and a review of existing conspecifics with comments on their geographical distributions

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4337.3.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4337 (3) ◽

pp. 301 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

PAOLO FONTANA ◽

RICARDO MARIÑO-PÉREZ ◽

SALOMÓN SANABRIA-URBÁN ◽

DEREK A. WOLLER

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Volcanic Belt ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Southern Mexico ◽

Mexican Volcanic Belt ◽

The Pacific ◽

Sierra Madre ◽

Sierra Madre Del Sur ◽

Three New Species ◽

Distinct Morphology

Three new species of the tribe Dactylotini (Acrididae: Melanoplinae) are described from Central and Southern Mexico. 1) Dasyscirtus monicae sp. nov. Fontana, Mariño-Pérez, Sanabria-Urbán, & Woller is described from the eastern portion of the Balsas River Basin and the outer slope of the Mexican Volcanic Belt; 2) Perixerus obscurus sp. nov. Fontana, Mariño-Pérez, Sanabria-Urbán, & Woller is described from the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca mountain range; and 3), Perixerus triqui sp. nov. Fontana, Mariño-Pérez, Sanabria-Urbán, & Woller is described from the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range and towards the Pacific Coast of Oaxaca. Taxonomic placement of these species is justified based on distinct morphology and comparisons with congeneric species are provided. Finally, we provide a biogeographical explanation for the distribution of the species in both genera.

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A New Species of Montane Rain Frog, Genus Eleutherodactylus (Leptodactylus), from Guerrero, Mexico

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/156853884x-005-03-06 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 5 (3-4) ◽

pp. 253-260 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jay M. Savage

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Mexican State ◽

Sierra Madre ◽

Sierra Madre Del Sur ◽

A New Species

Eleutherodactylus uno n. sp . is described from the oak-pine zone of the Sierra Madre del Sur, in the Mexican state of Guerrero . The new species cannot be associated with any currently recognized supraspecific division within the genus and demonstrates the unsatisfactory nature of attempts to cluster the approximately 400 known species into groups.

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