The genus Orionis Shaw (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Euphorinae) in the Old World

The euphorine braconid genus Orionis Shaw, 1987 is found to be more diverse in the Old World than had previously been recognised. Orionis was regarded previously as largely Neotropical, with one Oriental species (Orionis orientalis Shimbori & Shaw, 2016) known from Thailand, but we recognise an additional three species from the Oriental and Palaearctic regions. Three species of Euphorinae are transferred to Orionis Shaw, 1987 and are new combinations: Orionis coxator (Belokobylskij, 1995), comb. nov., Orionis erratus (Chen & van Achterberg, 1997), comb. nov., and Orionis flavifacies (Belokobylskij, 2000), comb. nov. Previously known from the Far Eastern Palaearctic, O. coxator has surprisingly been found in Europe, in Belgium, England and the Netherlands. The inclusion of these species in Orionis, whereas most previous species have been described from the Neotropics, is justified by Bayesian analysis of the D2 region of 28S, Cytochrome Oxidase I barcode sequences, and morphology.

Thirteen new species of Chilecicada Sanborn, 2014 (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadidae: Tibicininae) expand the highly endemic cicada fauna of Chile

The genus Chilecicada Sanborn, 2014 is shown to be a complex of closely related species rather than a monospecific genus. Chilecicada citatatemporaria Sanborn & Cole n. sp., C. culenesensis Sanborn & Cole n. sp., C. curacaviensis Sanborn & Cole n. sp., C. impartemporaria Sanborn & Cole n. sp., C. magna Sanborn & Cole n. sp., C. mapuchensis Sanborn n. sp., C. oraria Sanborn & Cole n. sp., C. parrajaraorum Sanborn n. sp., C. partemporaria Sanborn & Cole n. sp., C. pehuenchesensis Sanborn & Cole n. sp., C. trifascia Sanborn n. sp., C. trifasciunca Sanborn & Cole n. sp., and C. viridicitata Sanborn & Cole n. sp. are described as new. Chilecicada occidentis Walker, 1850 is re-described to facilitate separation of the new species from the only previously known species. Song and cytochrome oxidase I analysis available for most species support the separation of the new taxa from the type species of the genus. Known species distributions and a key to the species of the genus are also provided. The new species increases the known cicada diversity 61.9% to 34 species, 91.2% of which are endemic to Chile.

Snails associated with the coral-killing sponge Terpios hoshinota in Okinawa Island, Japan

Terpios hoshinota is a thin encrusting sponge that overgrows live scleractinian corals and it is linked to coral loss in many reefs. However, our knowledge of the species associated with this sponge species is poor. During a periodical survey of T. hoshinota in 2020, we found tiny snails crawling on the sponge in the subtropical waters around Okinawa Island, Japan. We observed egg capsules inside the sponge tissue and veliger larvae released from the egg capsules. Molecular analyses of both the snails and veliger larvae (cytochrome oxidase I, COI) showed that they were identical and belonged to Joculator sp. (family Cerithiopsidae). There was no direct observation of predation on the sponge by this snail; however, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on a close association between a snail and the sponge T. hoshinota.

Diversity and distribution of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) haplotypes of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys Stål (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae), along the eastern front of its invasive range in Eurasia

The arrival, establishment and pest status of Halyomorpha halys in Europe and non-native countries in Asia have been well-documented, with thorough characterisation of the genetic diversity and occurrence of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) haplotypes in Switzerland, France, Hungary, Italy and Greece. However, a number of gaps exist in terms of the characterisation of the haplotype diversity and occurrence of H. halys along the invasion front that covers eastern Europe, western and central Asia. To contribute towards filling this gap, the COI haplotype diversity and distribution were investigated for H. halys collected in Serbia, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia and Kazakhstan. A total of 646 specimens were analysed and five haplotypes were found (H1, H3, H8, H33 and H80). Haplotype H1 was present in all five countries investigated and was the only haplotype detected amongst > 500 specimens collected from Ukraine, Russia and Georgia. H1 (82%) was the dominant haplotype found in Kazakhstan, alongside H3 (18%). In contrast to the low or no diversity observed in these four countries, Serbia had higher haplotype diversity and was represented by five haplotypes. Although H3 was dominant (47%) in Serbia, H1 was also prevalent (40%); the remaining haplotypes (H8, H33 and H80) were minor contributors (1–11%) to the haplotype composition. The results are discussed in context with other known populations in neighbouring countries and patterns of haplotype diversity indicate the movement of successful invasive populations in Europe to generate secondary invasions along the eastern front of the invasion in Eurasia. Possible scenarios regarding the spread of particular haplotypes in these regions are discussed, along with suggestions for future research to fill existing gaps.

Molecular genetic analysis of stygobiotic shrimps of the genus Xiphocaridinella (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae) reveals a connection between distant caves in Central Abkhazia, southwestern Caucasus

Based on the morpho-genetic study of stygobiotic shrimps from the genus Xiphocaridinella Sadowsky, 1930 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Atyidae), a hydrogeological connection of a number of distant caves in Central Abkhazia of the southwestern Caucasus is satisfied, which indicates the possibility of using biospeleological studies in some cases to identify karst hydrosystems together with traditional hydrogeological methods. Moreover, a new stygobiotic atyid shrimp from the genus Xiphocaridinella, X. kelasuri sp. n., is described based on morphology and analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I DNA sequences from three distant caves. The new species is genetically divergent from relatives and phylogenetically related to Xiphocaridinella smirnovi Marin, 2020, described from the Besletka (=Tskaro) Cave. Recently, the number of described speciesof the genus Xiphocaridinella from Caucasus has increased to 13 species, while the diversity of Xiphocaridinella found in the Besletka (=Tskaro) Cave is increasing to 3 species, which is higher than in any other known cave where Troglocaris-like shrimps have been discovered.

Phylogenetic analysis of the grouper family (Serranidae) from various local markets in Indonesian waters using COI (cytochrome oxidase I)

Grouper fish (Serranidae) is a type of fish found in Indonesian waters. However, not many people have conducted further research on phylogenetics based on COI (Cytochrome Oxidase I). This study aims to explain the phylogeny of grouper fish from the Serranidae family based on COI (Cytochrome Oxidase I). This research is a literature study. The research samples were grouper fish from Lombok, Karimunjawa, Lampung, Kendari, Madura, Tanakeke, and Numfor. The research instrument was a grouper-type observation sheet and an observation sheet for the results of the MEGA 7 application test. The data were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis. The results showed that the level of kinship between the species tested was very close, including Epinephelus areolatus, E. merra, E. fasciatus, E. longispinis, E. coioides, E. ongus, and E. coeruleopunctatus with all genetic distance averages type. 0.02. The conclusion of this study is that in general the species relationships found are several species found in the same location with similar morphology and diet.

Karakteristik Molekuler Kelelawar (Microchiroptera), berdasarkan DNA Mitokondria (Gen COI) di Gua Sukabumi dan Sentul Jawa Barat

AbstrakCytochrome Oxidase I (COI) merupakan salah satu gen mitokondria untuk membantu konstruksi dari pohon filogeni yang dapat bertindak sebagai gen marker. Gen COI memiliki keakuratan dalam mengidentifikasi spesies dan umumnya digunakan sebagai “DNA Barcoding”. Informasi mengenai karakteristik genetik berdasarkan DNA mitokondria pada kelelawar di Sukabumi dan Sentul belum banyak dilaporkan. Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk mengetahui keragaman genetik kelelawar berdasarkan DNA mitokondria dengan penanda Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) sebagai DNA barcoding. Isolasi DNA total dilakukan menggunakan Kit Dneasy® Blood and Tissue Kit cat no 69504 (50) berdasarkan prosedur Spin-Column Protocol dengan modifikasi. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa gen COI telah berhasil mengidentifikasi karakteristik spesies. Dua haplotipe didapatkan dari masing-masing populasi. Berdasarkan barcode DNA menunjukkan populasi Sukabumi merupakan spesies Chaerephon plicatus dengan nilai identitas genetik sebesar 97,08%, sedangkan populasi Sentul menunjukkan perbedaan secara genetik dengan spesies Hipposideros larvatus dengan nilai identitas genetik sebesar 94,85%. Identifikasi secara genetik dengan menggunakan gen COI menunjukkan bahwa kelelawar yang berasal Sukabumi adalah spesies Chaerephon plicatus dengan jarak genetik sebesar 3,1%. Kelelawar yang berasal dari Sentul memiliki kedekatan dengan spesies Hipposideros larvatus namun memiliki jarak genetik sebesar 5,2%. AbstractCytochrome Oxidase I (COI) is one of the mitochondrial genes to help the construction of phylogeny trees that can act as marker genes. The COI gene has accuracy in identifying species and is commonly used as "DNA Barcoding". Information about genetic characteristics based on mitochondrial DNA in bats in Sukabumi and Sentul has not been widely reported. The purpose of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of bats based on Mitochondrial DNA with Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) markers as DNA barcoding. Total DNA isolation was carried out using the Dneasy® Blood and Tissue Kit paint no. 69504 (50) based on the Spin-Column Protocol procedure with modifications. The results of this study indicate that the COI gene has successfully identified species characteristics. Two haplotypes were obtained from each population. Based on DNA barcodes, the population of Sukabumi is a species of Chaerephon plicatus with a genetic identity value of 97.08%, while the Sentul population shows genetic differences with the Hipposideros larvatus species with a genetic identity value of 94.85%. Genetic identification using the COI gene shows that the bats originating from Sukabumi is a spesies Chaerephon plicatus with a genetic distance of 3.1%. The bats originating from Sentul are closely related to the species Hipposideros larvatus but have a genetic distance of 5.2%.