Geothelphusa boreas, a new montane freshwater crab (Crustacea: Potamidae: Geothelphusa) from northeastern Taiwan, and the identity of G. hirsuta Tan & Liu, 1998

A new freshwater crab is described from the montane area in northeastern Taiwan based on morphological and molecular evidence. Geothelphusa boreas sp. nov., from the Fushan Botanical Garden situated around New Taipei City and Yilan County, is distinct from similar congeners by the structure of the male first gonopod and the proportions of the male thoracic sternites. In addition, after comparing the holotypes of G. takuan and G. hirsuta Tan & Liu, 1998, no substantial difference could be found. Molecular evidence from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I also supports the recognition of the new species and the conspecificity of G. hirsuta with G. takuan.

Morphology and molecular phylogeny of ornamental freshwater prawns of the genus Macrobrachium (Decapoda, Caridea, Palaemonidae) from China with the description of a new species

This study dealt with three species of ornamental palaemonid freshwater prawns of the genus Macrobrachium, based on morphological and molecular analysis. Macrobrachium pentazona He, Gao & Guo, 2009; M. laevis Zheng, Chen & Guo, 2019; and M. bilineare sp. nov. are distinguishable from closely related species by segmental ratios, spination of the second pereiopods and the slender scaphocerite. Macrobrachium bilineare sp. nov. can easily be recognized in the field by its bright colour pattern. Molecular evidence of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI), also supports the characterization of this new species, raising the total number of Macrobrachium spp. known from China to 41. Detailed description, illustrations, colour photographs, habitat information, distribution maps and features of conservation significance are also briefly discussed.

Emergence of Parafilaria bovicola in Austria

Veterinarians reported cases of cutaneous bleeding in cattle in Austria in the spring and summer of 2020. It was our goal to confirm the tentative diagnosis of parafilariosis by identifying Parafilaria bovicola in exudate samples using molecular methods for the first time in Austria. We asked veterinarians in the field to collect exudate from typical lesions on cattle. We performed polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) and sequenced a 674-bp section of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I in all positive samples. Overall, in 57 of 86 samples, P. bovicola was confirmed by PCR in cattle from Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Salzburg, Carinthia, and Tyrol. Sequencing detected four different haplotypes or genotypes, respectively, indicating multiple routes of introduction. We conclude that parafilariosis has spread in Austria and we expect that the number of reports of clinical signs and losses due to carcass damage will increase in the future.

New data on the valvatiform-shelled Hydrobiidae (Caenogastropoda, Truncatelloidea) from southern Greece

The minute valvatiform-shelled Hydrobiidae are less studied than other hydrobiid gastropods. In this paper, new data on these snails are presented, which have been collected at twelve springs in southern Greece: one in Boeotia, one on Evvoia Island, and ten on the Peloponnese Peninsula. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and nuclear histone (H3) have been used to confirm the determinations and infer the relationships of the studied gastropods. They represent the genera Daphniola, Graecoarganiella and Isimerope. New localities, expanding the known geographic ranges, have been presented for Daphniola hadei and Daphniola louisi. A species of Daphniola found at two localities has been identified as a species new to science, and its description, including the shell, penis, and female reproductive organs is given. Possible relationships between Graecoarganiella and Isimerope are discussed; their representatives are possibly new species. At one locality a single specimen likely represents a new genus: it was found to be most closely related with Islamia, but genetically (p-distance) too distant to be congeneric with Islamia.

Morphological characteristics and mitochondrial COI gene of the green water dragon in Phu Quoc island, Vietnam

The green water dragons of Phu Quoc island, Vietnam have been given a VU rating (vulnerable) by the Vietnam red data book and the International Union for conservation of nature and natural resources. A description of the morphological characteristics and sequenced mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 COI gene was completed following a survey of thirty individuals from September 2018 to May 2019. Their body weights ranged from 115 to 850 g and their snout-vent length ranged from 120 to 280 mm. They were identified to have the highest similarity to the species Physignathus cocincinus by the barcode of life data system. Their COI gene sequence was compared to GenBank (KM272197.1) and the following alternations were found: C5483T, A5486C, C5537A, A5564G, A5591G, T5633C, G5684A, A5771G, A5849C, C5927T, T5942C, C5993T, G6002A, and A6020G. The neighbourjoining tree of their COI sequence divergence indicated a distance (compared to the same published species) from 2.3 to 2.8%. Thus, it might be possible that the green water dragons of Phu Quoc island are evolving into a specific subspecies. However, more green water dragon specimens from Phu Quoc should be sequenced to ensure a conclusion and further research into farming should be initiated to protect this vulnerable species.

DNA Barcoding for Scorpion Species from New Valley Governorate in Egypt Reveals Different Degrees of Cryptic Speciation and Species Misnaming

(1) Background: Scorpions (Arthropoda: Arachnida) represent a diverse group of invertebrates, accounting for a significant proportion of earth’s predators and ecosystems’ modulators. Surviving mostly in hardly reachable nests, and representing key hazards to human health, they attracted major interest for characterizing their eco-, morpho-, and genotypes. (2) Methods: Four scorpion species were collected from the New Valley governorate in Upper Egypt, where a high level of scorpionism and related neurological symptoms are found, that were Leiurus quinquestriatus, Androctonus amoreuxi, Orthochirus innesi, Buthacus leptochelys. They were DNA barcoded, genetically and phylogenetically analyzed through PCR amplification and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene hypervariable 5′ region. (3) Results: New, morphologically authenticated scorpion barcodes could be added to the barcoding databases. However, several discrepancies and barcode database inadequacies could be revealed. Moreover, taxon-specific patterns for nitrogenous bases’ distribution could be identified, resulting in a significantly high percentage of COI barcode guanine in scorpionids, in comparison to araneids and opilions. (4) Conclusions: For a group of animals where both cryptic speciation and a high risk of human envenomation are evident, the findings of the current study strongly recommend continuous and comprehensive research efforts dealing with morphogenetic authentication for different species of scorpions.

Two new freshwater crab species of the genus Nanhaipotamon Bott, 1968 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Potamidae) from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, southern China

Two morphologically distinct new species of Nanhaipotamon Bott, 1968, are described from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, southern China. The smooth carapace and lack of flagellum on the third maxilliped exopod immediately separate N. incendium n. sp. from all other known Nanhaipotamon. It is also the first species of this genus to be recorded from a relatively high altitude of 700 m a.s.l. Nanhaipotamon aureomarginatum n. sp. is externally much more typical of species of its genus but can be distinguished from congeners by its unique male first gonopod. The two new species are more or less sympatric with a morphological disparate congener, which we tentatively assign as N. aff. aculatum Dai, 1997 and N. aff. hongkongense (Shen, 1940), respectively, but with different habitats. A genetic analysis using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I shows that while the two new species are sufficiently distinct from other known species of Nanhaipotamon, they have extraordinarily close relationships with their respective sympatric congeners, which calls for further investigation. The ecology of these two new species are also noted.

Crenobiont, stygophile and stygobiont molluscs in the hydrographic area of the Trebišnjica River Basin

In the paper the crenobiont, stygophile and stygobiont malacofauna of the karst area of Popovo Polje around Trebinje (Eastern Herzegovina, BiH) is presented. The materials were collected from springs, caves and interstitial habitats (with a Bou-Rouch pump) at 23 localities. The following species were found: Pisidium cf. personatum A.W. Malm, 1855, Theodoxus callosus (Deshayes, 1833), Sadleriana fluminensis (Küster, 1852), Radomaniola curta (Küster, 1852), Radomaniola cf. bosniaca (Radoman, 1973), Kerkia briani Rysiewska & Osikowski, 2020, Montenegrospeum bogici (Pešić & Glöer, 2012), Litthabitella chilodia (Westerlund, 1886), Travunijana vruljakensis Grego & Glöer, 2019, a new genus and species of the Sadlerianinae, Emmericia ventricosa Brusina, 1870, Iglica cf. absoloni (A.J. Wagner, 1914), Plagigeyeria tribunicae Schütt, 1963, Paladilhiopsis arion Rysiewska & Osikowski, 2021, Valvata montenegrina Glöer & Pešić, 2008, Radix labiata (Rossmässler, 1835), Galba truncatula (O. F. Müller, 1774), Ancylus recurvus Martens, 1783, Ancylus sp. and the amphibiotic Succinea cf. putris (Linnaeus, 1758). The redescription of the genus Travunijana Grego & Glöer, 2019, applying the characteristics of shell, female reproductive organs and penis, is also presented. The new genus and species are described, based on the shell, penis, radula and fragmentary data on the female reproductive organs. For all species, the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) is applied to confirm the determination; in the case of Travunijana and the new genus, the nuclear histone H3 locus is also used, in order to infer both their distinctiveness and phylogenetic relationships.

Two new species of the Balkan genus Paladilhiopsis Pavlović, 1913 (Caenogastropoda, Moitessieriidae)

The Balkan Peninsula is inhabited by the worldwide most diverse subterranean gastropod fauna. This fauna is still poorly studied, since its habitats are not easily accessible, and its sampled populations are mostly not rich in specimens’ numbers. Often only empty shells are known, but the shell is hardly useful, not only in phylogeny reconstruction, but even in species determination. The exclusively obligatory subterranean family Moitessieriidae is especially poorly studied. Representatives of the genus Paladilhiopsis Pavlović, 1913 (Moitessieriidae) collected at three localities, distributed in Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, were studied. The pigmentation of their shells and soft parts, as well as the female and male reproductive organs in one taxon, are presented. The partial sequences of the molecular markers mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and nuclear histone 3 (H3) were used to infer their systematic status and phylogenetic relationships. Two species new to science are described. For one of them, also studied anatomically, 15 specimens were sequenced for COI, and all show the same haplotype.