A new species of the processid shrimp genus Nikoides Paul’son, 1875 (Decapoda: Caridea) from Japan

A new species of the processid shrimp genus Nikoides Paul’son, 1875, N. subdistalis, is described and illustrated on the basis of five specimens collected from Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, at depths of 7–12 m. The new species appears most similar to N. maldivensis Borradaile, 1915 among the 10 known congeners, but is notable in the unique dentition of the rostrum and the characteristic shape of the antennular stylocerite. A partial segment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene was sequenced from one of the paratypes of the new species, and genetic divergence among four congeneric taxa, of which three was downloaded from the GenBank database, is shown. An identification key to 11 species of Nikoides, including the new species, is given.

Redescription of the brackish water crab Ptychognathus glaber Stimpson, 1858 based on the topotypic material from the Ogasawara Islands and new record of P. lipkei N.K. Ng, 2010 from Japan (Decapoda: Brachyura: Varunidae)

Examination of material from various Japanese localities clarified that the estuarine crab Ptychognathus glaber Stimpson, 1858 is possibly restricted to the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. Specimens from the Ryukyu Islands, thought to represent P. glaber, actually represent P. lipkei N.K. Ng, 2010 instead, previously known only from Cebu, the Philippines. Ptychognathus glaber is redescribed in detail, and differentiating characters between it and P. lipkei are reassessed. Previous literature records of P. glaber are reviewed in the light of our findings. Genetic analysis using partial sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene suggests that P. glaber is genetically closer to P. ishii Sakai, 1939 than to P. lipkei, and thus P. ishii is also compared morphologically with P. glaber.

Two new species of freshwater crab of the genus Aparapotamon Dai & Chen, 1985 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Potamidae) from Yunnan, China

Two new species of freshwater crab of the genus Potamid Aparapotamon Dai & Chen, 1985 are described from Yunnan Province, southwest China. Morphological comparisons were made between the two new species and type materials of other 11 species of Aparapotamon. Aparapotamon binchuanensesp. nov. and A. huizeensesp. nov. can be separated from their congeners by the shape of the epibranchial tooth, the frontal view of the cephalothorax, the male first gonopod, and the female vulvae. The molecular analyses based on partial mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene are also included. This study brings the number of Aparapotamon species to 13.

A new country record of Raorchestes cangyuanensis Wu, Suwannapoom, Xu, Murphy & Che 2019 and additional record of Kurixalus yangi Yu, Hui, Rao & Yang 2018 (Anura: Rhacophoridae: Rhacophorinae) from India

Most studies on the diversity of amphibians in northeast India were based on classical morpho-taxonomy, which have a high probability of errors in species identification. DNA barcoding of amphibians using the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene has been used successfully for the identification of species and detection of cryptic species. In the present study, we carry out DNA barcoding of two rhacophorid species of the genus Raorchestes and Kurixalus that are not readily identifiable to the species level based on their morphology. Our analysis on the 16S rRNA gene revealed that these species were Raorchestes cangyuanensis and Kurixalus yangi, species which were recorded for the first time and second time from India respectively. We discuss on the records of R. longchuanensis from Bangladesh and India, which were based on the misidentification of R. cangyuanensis. We therefore propose to delist this species from the faunal list of Bangladesh and India. We further raise a question as to why the population of Kurixalus from Motuo, Xizang province of China was assigned as K. naso and not the population described as K. yangi, which is morphologically similar to K. naso and is also recorded from a locality close to the type locality of K. naso.

A NEW CRYPTIC SPECIES OF BUSH FROG (AMPHIBIA: ANURA: Raorchestes) FROM THE SOUTHERN EASTERN GHATS, INDIA

A new cryptic lineage of bush frogs of the genus Raorchestes from the understudied Eastern Ghats of India is described. Molecular phylogenetic reconstructions using mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequences suggest that the new species belongs to the Raorchestes charius clade, is sister to the allopatric R. charius of the Western Ghats and support the species-level distinctiveness of the lineage. The new species morphologically resembles R. charius from which it can be distinguished using the following characters: narrower head (HW/SVL 0.31 vs 0.34–0.36), wider inter upper eyelid (IUE/SVL 0.14–0.16 vs 0.11–0.13), greater maximum upper eyelid width (UEW/SVL 0.10–0.12 vs 0.06–0.09) and shorter thigh (TL/SVL 0.32–0.43 vs 0.44–0.51). Acoustic observations from the breeding males further corroborate the distinct specific status of the new species. The discovery of this new species of bush frog from an understudied landscape suggests that additional extensive surveys in the Eastern Ghats would yield several more amphibian lineages yet unknown to science.

First record of Zhangixalus franki Ninh, Nguyen, Orlov, Nguyen & Ziegler, 2020 (Anura, Rhacophoridae) from China

We record Zhangixalus franki Li, Jiang, Ren & Jiang, 2019 for the first time from China based on two specimens collected from Laoshan Nature Reserve, Yunnan Province. Morphologically, the newly collected specimens from China mostly agree with the type series from Vietnam. Phylogenetically, these individuals were placed in a clade with Z. franki from Vietnam based on DNA sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. Our finding brings the species number of the genus Zhangixalus to 29 in China.

First Record of Gracixalus quangi Rowley, Dau, Nguyen, Cao et Nguyen, 2011 (Anura, Rhacophoridae) from China

We record Gracixalus quangi Rowley, Dau, Nguyen, Cao et Nguyen, 2011 for the first time from China based on fourteen specimens collected from southern Yunnan. Morphologically the newly collected specimens from China mostly agree with the type series from Vietnam. Phylogenetically these individuals were placed in a clade with G. quangi from Vietnam and pairwise genetic distances in DNA sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene between these individuals and G. quangi from Vietnam is 0.6%. Our finding brings the species number of the genus Gracixalus to 9 in China.

Description of two new species of the genus Heterochelamon Türkay & Dai, 1997 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Potamidae), from southern China

This study describes two new species of freshwater crab of the genus Heterochelamon Türkay & Dai, 1997 from southern China, H. huidongense from Guangdong Province and H. jinxiuense from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The two new species can be differentiated from congeners by characters derived from the shape of the epibranchial tooth, external orbital angle, cheliped proportions and structure of the male first gonopod. The present study brings the number of Heterochelamon species to seven. We used the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene for a molecular analysis and the results are consistent with the morphological features that support the recognition of two new taxa.

Frogs of the genus Platypelis from the Sorata massif in northern Madagascar: description of a new species and reports of range extensions

We describe a new species of arboreal microhylid frog, genus Platypelis, from northeastern Madagascar and report the expansion of distribution ranges of two other species. Platypelis laetussp. nov. is small to medium-sized (24.3–25.6 mm snout-vent length) compared to other Platypelis, exhibits a greenish colored throat and was found in bamboo forest of the Sorata Massif. Its advertisement call consists of a single short tonal note repeated at regular intervals in long call series. Based on DNA sequences of a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene, the new species was placed in a clade with Platypelis olgae from the Tsaratanana Massif, and with two other, unconfirmed candidate species from the Sorata Massif and from Andravory, herein named Platypelis sp. Ca12 and Ca13. Molecular divergences among these lineages were substantial, amounting to 7.6‒8.1% uncorrected 16S p-distance to the closest nominal species, P. olgae, from which the new species is also distinguished by a lack of allele sharing in the nuclear RAG-1 gene. We also provide new records of Platypelis alticola and P. tsaratananaensis from the Sorata Massif, supported by molecular analysis. This confirms a wider distribution of these two species that previously were considered to be endemic to the Tsaratanana Massif. However, their populations in Sorata were characterized by a certain degree of genetic differentiation from Tsaratanana populations suggesting they require more detailed taxonomic assessment.