An exceptionally preserved euarthropod with unique feather-like appendages from the Chengjiang biota

Micro-CT scanning of the Cambrian euarthropod Chuandianella ovata reveals unprecedented three-dimensional soft-part details. It has an elongate uniramous antennule and a short uniramous second appendage, followed by ten homonomous biramous appendages, each comprising a short paddle-shaped exopod and a unique feather-like endopod with at least 27 podomeres each of which bears a long blade-like endite with a short terminal seta. Based on its carapace and previously known soft-part anatomy C. ovata was compared with the Burgess Shale mandibulate euarthropod Waptia. However, Waptia has recently been shown to bear specialized head appendages that are interpreted as a mandible and maxillula, posterior to which are four appendages each with five-segmented endopods. In contrast, we interpret Chuandianella as an ‘upper’ stem-group euarthropod that possessed neither a differentiated mandible nor a maxillula. Chuandianella further demonstrates that early Cambrian ‘upper’ stem-group euarthropods were experimenting with a range of different limb arrangements and morphologies.

­­First description of the male of Dendrothrips karnyi (Thysanoptera, Thripidae)

Dendrothrips is one of 12 genera currently recognised in subfamily Dendrothripinae (ThripsWiki 2020). The species of Dendrothrips have the fore wing anteromarginal cilia arising ventrally behind the margin, but in contrast to species in other genera with this character state the wing apex is recurved without a terminal seta (Mound & Tree 2016). Species of Dendrothrips breed on leaves, and many have been recorded from species of plant family Oleaceae (Marullo 2003). The species of Dendrothrips are recorded from Europe to Australia, including Africa and Asia. In Iran so far, six species are known in the genus, including: D. aspersus Bhatti, D. degeeri Uzel, D. jasminum Ramakrishna & Margabandhu, D. karnyi Priesner, D. phyllireae (Bagnall) and D. saltator Uzel (Alavi et al. 2014, Minaei 2015, Mirab-balou & Dosty 2015). Recently the male of D. aspersus was described from Fars province, Iran (Minaei 2017), and the aim here is to describe the previously unknown male of D. karnyi, based on specimens collected in Ilam province, western Iran. Females of D. karnyi are recorded from Poland and northern Italy to Croatia and Turkey, but the male has remained unknown (zur Strassen 2003). Females have previously been recorded from Iran (Bagheri & Alavi 2007), but we recently collected one male with a series of females from Vitex agnus-castus, the host plant indicated by zur Strassen (2003).

Xenosinelobus balanocolus, a new tanaidid genus and species (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) from barnacles on intertidal rocky shores and seawalls in the Singapore Strait

This study describes a new genus and new species of Tanaidacea that was collected from inside the tests of dead Tetraclita barnacles in Singapore. Xenosinelobus n. gen. is most similar to Sinelobus but can be distinguished by the (1) unusually short antennal fifth article, (2) tooth-like lacinia mobilis on right mandible, (3) long terminal seta on epignath, (4) plumose inner seta near dactylus insertion on cheliped propodus, (5) spiniform seta on pereopod 1 coxa, (6) presence of setae on inner margins of pereopod 1 propodus and dactylus, (7) claw-like terminal articles on pereopods 2 and 3, (8) row of setulose and flattened denticulate setae along distal margin of pereopod 6 propodus, (9) dorsal seta on claws of pereopods 4–6, (10) complete row of dorso-transverse setae on pleonites 1 and 2, (11) one seta on pleopod basis outer margin, (12) two or three setae on pleopod endopod inner margin and (13) three-articled uropod with final article 1.6 times as long as preceding article. A new diagnosis and key to genera is provided for the subfamily Sinelobinae.

Amended diagnosis of the genus Nannodiaptomus (Copepoda, Calanoida), based on redescription of N. phongnhaensis and description of a new species from caves in central Vietnam

Nannodiaptomus phongnhaensis Dang & Ho, 2001, an endemic stygobiotic diaptomid from Vietnam and the type species of the genus Nannodiaptomus Dang & Ho, 2001, is redescribed on the basis of a new material from its type locality: Hang Phong Nha Cave, Quang Binh province, central Vietnam. We also designated a neotype, because the type material has been lost. The diagnosis of the genus is amended, based on the description of the neotype. The taxonomic position of the genus in the subfamily Speodiaptominae is proposed, and its relationships with other genera of this subfamily are discussed. A new cave-dwelling species Nannodiaptomus haii sp. nov., from a cave near the type locality of N. phongnhaensis, is also described and illustrated. The new species differs from the type species of the genus, among other things, by the structure of male’s left swimming leg 5, where the inner margin of the apical process and the sub-terminal seta on the swimming leg 5 Exp-2 have small serrated membranes, but these bear 3–4 distinct denticular protrusions in N. phongnhaensis.

A new Nebalia species (Crustacea, Phyllocarida, Leptostraca) from the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Nebalia mediterranea sp. nov. (Crustacea, Leptostraca) is described from the Aegean coast of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. The new species is closely related to other sympatric species in the eastern Mediterranean, N. strausi and N. kocatasi, according to general body appearance. The new species differs, however, from other Nebalia species in having a rostrum about 2.5 times as long as wide, the antennular scale is clearly more than twice as long as wide, the fourth article of the antennule has only one short thick distal spine, the third article of the antenna has three similar spine-like setae on external lateral face, the first article of the second maxilla endopod is 1.2 times as long as the second article, the exopod of the second maxilla is longer than the first article of the endopod, pleonites 5–7 have distally rounded to slightly truncated denticles along posterior dorsal borders, the protopod of pleopod 4 has 4 serrations along posterior border, and the terminal seta of the uropods is about 1.8 the length of rami.

Scottoecia—a new genus of halocyprid ostracod, with the description of Scottoecia arabica nov. sp. and the redescription of Bathyconchoecia darcythompsoni (Scott, 1909)

On re-describing two species originally attributed to the halocyprid genus Bathyconchoecia (B. darcythompsoni Scott,1909 from the North Atlantic and B. lacunosa sensu James 1973 from the Gulf of Oman) they were found to show substantive differences from the type species for the genus, B. paulula. These differences are:1. Several carapace characteristics including size, the structure of the rostra and incisure, and the locations of the openingsof the carapace glands.2. Limb structures notably of the mandibles.3. The exceptionally long dorsal terminal seta on the male sixth limb. 4. The structure of the copulatory appendage.These two species are placed in a newly defined genus Scottoecia, for which S. arabica is designated as the typespecies. The original descriptions of three other Bathyconchoecia species, show that they belong to Scottoecia, namely S.crosnieri (Poulsen, 1969a), S. subrufa (Angel, 1970a) and S. foveolata (Deevey, 1968). This has been confirmed for thefirst two species by the examination of the type material. Another species Bathyconchoecia baskiae Poulsen, (1969b) hassimilar mandibles, and is probably closely related, but does not share all the characteristics of the new genus.The validity of the previous classification in which Bathyconchoecia is included in the subfamily, the Euconchoecinae, is questioned.

Nebalia kocatasi sp. nov., a new species of leptostracan (Crustacea: Phyllocarida) from Izmir Bay (Aegean Sea, eastern Mediterranean)

Nebalia kocatasi sp. nov. (Crustacea: Leptostraca) is described from specimens collected off the coast of Turkey (Aegean Sea). The new species differs from the other known species of the genus in having a rostrum about 2.4 times as long as wide, the antennular scale is twice as long as wide, the third article of the antennule has up to four short distal spines, the third article of the antenna has three robust spines on the external lateral face, the two distalmost being the longest, the endopod of the second maxila is composed of two sub-equal articles, the exopod of the second maxilla is as long as the first article of the endopod, pleonites 6–7 have pointed denticles along the posterior dorsal borders, the protopod of pleopod 4 has 2–3 serrations along the posterior border and the terminal seta of the caudal furca is about twice the length of rami. This is the second leptostracan species reported to date from the eastern Mediterranean.

Comparative descriptions of the immature stages and ecology of five Finnish melitaeine butterfly species (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

The immature stages of five Finnish melitaeine butterfly species are described, together with a short discussion of the ecology of each species. The five species are Melitaea cinxia (L.), M diamina (Lang), M. athalia (Rottemburg), Euphydryas maturna (L.) and E. aurinia (Rottemburg). The eggs of the Euphydryas species are distinguished from the eggs of the Melitaea species by their bright yellow colouration when freshly laid which changes to brown after some days. Eggs of the Melitaea species are creamy yellow until hatching. Prediapause larvae are also distinct between these two groups, with Euphydryas species having fine spotting on the body and a very long terminal seta on the spines. These features are absent in the Melitaea species. All larvae diapause as mid-ins tar larvae, usually in the fourth instar. Behaviour of postdiapause larvae varies between species from highly gregarious (M. cinxia and .E. aurinia) through gregarious until diapause (M diamina and E. matuma) to solitary (M. athalia).

Non-marine harpacticoid copepods of Australia. I. Canthocampptidae of the genus Canthocamptus Westwood s.lat. and Fibulacamptus, gen. nov., and including the description of a related new species of Canthocamptus from New Caledonia

The external morphology of Canthocamptus s.lat. and Fibulacamptus, gen. nov. has been resurveyed and a number of new terms and abbreviations introduced. Separate keys are given to the females and males of these genera and of all their 28 Australian species, as well as a table of their setal formulae and maps of their respective distributions; 21 of the 28 species are new. The genus Canthocamptus, when defined as in section 6 for reasons given in section 3, contains 24 species which can be placed in six fairly well-defined groups; however, the previous descriptions of Australian Canthocamptus species are so lacking in detail that two of them must be regarded as completely unidentifiable. C. bidens (which is probably parthenogenetic anyway), C. longipes and C. sublaevis are known so far only as females and Canthocamptus sp. 1 from only a single male, each of the others described here being from both sexes. C. ablatifurcatus, sp. nov. from New Caledonia is described in Appendix 4; but other existing descriptions of non-Australian species are not sufficiently detailed to refer any of them to one or other of the six groups, to equate any of these groups to a named genus or subgenus of the Canthocamptidae, or to offer any basis for the much-needed revision of this family. Fibulacarnptus differs from all other harpacticoids in the grapnel-like outer terminal seta on the male P4exopod3, but is otherwise close to Canthocamptus as defined here; it contains four species, all new.