New records for crown wasps in Europe (Hymenoptera, Stephanidae)

New occurrence records for two species of Hymenoptera Stephanidae are provided from several states of Europe. Stephanus serrator (Fabricius, 1798) is recorded for the first time for Portugal and with precise locality for Switzerland. Moreover, it is recorded for the first time in the following regions: Navarre (Spain), Wallonia (Belgium), Hesse, Berlin and Bavaria (Germany), Aosta Valley, Lombardy, Veneto, Abruzzo, Campania and Calabria (Italy), and Attica (Greece). Megischus anomalipes (Foerster, 1855) is recorded for the first time in mainland Portugal and Campania (Italy).

Annotated checklist of the herpetofauna (Amphibia, Reptilia) of Lefkada Island (Ionian Islands, Greece)

The island of Lefkada is a popular and easily accessible tourist destination; nevertheless, there is no comprehensive checklist of its interesting herpetofauna. Indeed, most records are old, scattered in different papers, and lacking precise locality data. In order to summarize the knowledge on the herpetofauna of the island, we critically reviewed literature, we looked for reliable records in the web and we carried out a field survey in May 2019. The herpetofauna of Lefkada amounts to 28 species (six amphibians and 22 reptiles). The occurrence of Testudo graeca on the island is considered unlikely, while an additional species, Testudo marginata, is here reported based on web sources. Among the species recorded on the island, 25 have been recently confirmed, two of them (Rana dalmatina and Anguis graeca) over a century. For three species (Lissotriton graecus, Chelonia mydas, and Podarcis tauricus) the last records date back to over 30 years ago.

An annotated list of reptiles and amphibians from the 1905 Hamburg expedition to southwest Australia deposited in the Zoological Museum Hamburg

The herpetological material of the 1905 Hamburg expedition to southwest Australia is redetermined and listed with precise locality data and habitat details. Of this material, 275 specimens of 57 species are still part of the herpetological collection of the Zoological Museum Hamburg (ZMH). A map showing 47 (out of 167) collecting points is provided. Some of the type specimens described in the original material by Prof. Franz Werner have been destroyed. A single paratype of Crinia michaelseni (Werner, 1914) now Geocrinia leai (Flecher, 1898), formerly thought to be lost, was recovered in the ZMH collection. This historical collection is a valuable resource for understanding the composition of the herpetofauna of the previous century.

SYNTOPIC ELYMNIAS AGONDAS ARUANA FEMALE FORMS MIMIC DIFFERENT TAENARIS MODEL SPECIES (PAPILIONOIDEA: NYMPHALIDAE: SATYRINAE) ON ARU, INDONESIA

Wing patterns of female Elymnias agondas (Boisduval, 1832) butterflies are highly variable, presumably to mimic different Taenaris species throughout New Guinea and surrounding islands. Labels on most E. agondas museum specimens lack precise locality information, complicating efforts to match E. agondas female wing patterns with presumed Taenaris model species. This paucity of data also makes it impossible to determine where different forms occur and whether they are strictly allopatric. During fieldwork on the Aru Archipelago, we found two distinct forms of E. agondas females occurring syntopically. The “light form” resembles T. catops, while the “dark form” seems to mimic T. myops and T. artemis. We discuss the significance of this finding and illustrate species in the Taenaris mimicry ring encountered on Aru.

The Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) in Bohemia

The Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) erases of Czech Rarities Committee for Ornithology to December 15, 2011 from Czech bird’s checklist. The first discovery of Othmar Reiser (1861-1936) is located in Cheb in Bohemia, in Czech Republic (50°04′47″N/12°22′26″E; grid square 5940); not in Hungary. Jiří Janda's (1865-1938) locality “from Bohemia”, without precise locality (the evaluation of localities in entomology). Present is reply to emphasize absolutelly scientific competence of Czech zoologist Jiří Janda, personality in Czech and European ornithology. The presented text analyses the transfer of the literature until 1945.

Notes on the sinistral helicoid snail Bertia cambojiensis (Reeve, 1860) from Vietnam (Eupulmonata, Dyakiidae)

Since the time of the original description there have been no precise locality records in Cambodia of Bertia cambojiensis (Reeve, 1860) and it was believed to be extinct. In 2012, a joint Natural History Museum survey with Vietnamese colleagues rediscovered living populations of this huge sinistral helicoid snail in a protected area of southern Vietnam. The genitalia and radula morphology are re-assessed and type specimens of all recognised congeners are figured herein. The unique morphological characters of this species are a small and simple penis, well-developed amatorial organ complex that incorporates four amatorial organ ducts, a short gametolytic organ complex and spiked papilla, and radula morphology with unicuspid teeth. The type locality of B. cambojiensis, which has been contentious, is determined here to be in the vicinity of ‘Brelum’, Vietnam, near the border with Cambodia. In addition, the nucleotide sequences of barcoding genes COI, 16SrRNA and 28S fragments were provided for further comparison.

A review of the Malagasy species of the genus Trigonochilus Brenske (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Rutelinae: Adoretini) with description of a new species

Africa and Madagascar have a large and diverse fauna of the chafers of the ruteline beetle tribe Adoretini (Ohaus 1912, 1918). Many nominal taxa from Madagascar are still poorly known and many new ones were described recently (Akhmetova & Montreuil 2010; Montreuil 2010, 2013; Montreuil & Frolov 2014; Frolov & Montreuil 2018). One of the poorly known Adoretini taxa is the genus Trigonochilus Brenske, 1896. Trigonochilus was proposed to accommodate the East-African species T. coriaceus Brenske, 1896, based on the enlarged and curved metatibiae and a short, spur-like process of the labrum (Brenske 1896). Arrow (1901) noted that the enlarged metatibiae of this species (described from a single male) is a secondary sexual character and added another species to this genus, T. politus Arrow, 1901, from Angola. These species were revised by Krikken (1979). Fairmaire (1903) described Adoretus oedipus from Madagascar (without any precise locality) and noted its enlarged metatibia and the shape of the labrum similar to that in Trigonostonum Burmeister, 1844. Fairmaire was apparently unaware of the Brenske’s and Arrow’s works as he did not discuss the possible affinities of A. oedipus with Trigonochilus species. Ohaus (1912) moved A. oedipus to Trigonochilus after examination of the type series but he did not discuss the characters of the species in detail as well as its distribution on the island. Therefore, the genus Trigonochilus Brenske comprised three species described so far, two from Africa and one from Madagascar.

Rediscovery, taxonomic status, and phylogenetic relationships of two rare and endemic snakes (Serpentes: Psammophiinae) from the southwestern Angolan plateau

Two rare and endemic psammophines (Serpentes: Psammophiinae) occur in Angola. The taxonomic status of Psammophylax rhombeatus ocellatus Bocage, 1873 and Psammophis ansorgii Boulenger, 1905 have long remained problematic, with both having varied past and present taxonomic assignments, and whose distributions may therefore present zoogeographic anomalies. Little was known of their biology, habitat associations, or phylogenetic relationships. New material was collected during biodiversity surveys of the Humpata Plateau, near Lubango, Angola. It allowed fuller descriptions of scalation and live coloration for both species, and resolution of their taxonomic status. Genetic analysis confirms that both are distinct at the specific level. In addition, within Psammophis, Jalla’s Sand Snake (Psammophis jallae Peracca, 1896), of which P. rohani Angel, 1925, remains a synonym, is sister to P. ansorgii, and Boulenger’s comment on similarities with P. crucifer are not supported. The status of an unusual skaapsteker from Calueque, Cunene Province, Angola, is discussed and its assignment to Ps. ocellatus is provisional and requires additional material for taxonomic resolution. The new P. ansorgii records from Tundavala represent a range (+400 km southwest) and altitude (1800 m to 2286 m a.s.l) extension from the previous only known precise locality of Bela Vista (= Catchiungo), Huambo Province, whilst that for Ps. ocellatus doubles the known altitude from 1108 m to 2286 m a.s.l and extends the range about 122 km to the northwest from historical material from the plateau of Huíla and Cunene provinces.

New records for Lygaeus creticus Lucas, 1854 in Italy and Corsica (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeidae).

First occurrence records for Lygaeus creticus Lucas, 1854 in Trentino- Alto Adige, Apulia, Pantelleria Island, and Corsica are given. First records with precise locality for Tuscany are also provided.