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  • Higgins Aagesen posted an update 10 months, 2 weeks ago

    Two new caeculid mite species, Andocaeculus beatrizrosso sp. nov. and Andocaeculus burmeisteri sp. nov., are described and A. weyrauchi (Franz, 1964) is redescribed based on material collected at the type locality. All post-larval stages are described for A. weyrauchi and Andocaeculus beatrizrosso sp. nov. and stochastic variation in the idiosomal and appendages chaetotaxy is considered. A clade of Andocaeculus containing the three species (the A. weyrauchi group) is established based on morphological characters, and confirmed with a Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of sequences from the CO1 marker. As result of the same analysis, the absence of the (st) pair of setae on leg II is proposed as a derived condition for the genus Andocaeculus, and the presence of the φ solenidion on leg IV is a derived condition for some Andocaeculus species of the A. weyrauchi species group.Philodoria Walsingham, 1907 is a threatened, Hawaiian endemic genus of leaf-mining gracillariid moths that feeds as larvae on many threatened and endangered Hawaiian endemic plants. These moths are poorly studied and species lack detailed descriptions of morphology, distribution data, and natural history information of adults and immatures. Based on extensive fieldwork from 2013 to 2016, and examination of museum specimens, we describe or redescribe 51 species, 13 which are new species and provide biological and distribution data for 41 species. The 13 new species and their host plants are P. alakaiensis Kobayashi, Johns Kawahara, sp. n. (Asteraceae Dubautia sp.), P. funkae Kobayashi, Johns Kawahara, sp. n. (Asteraceae Wilkesia gymnoxiphium), P. haelaauensis Kobayashi, Johns Kawahara, sp. n. (Urticaceae Pipturus albidus, P. rockii, Pipturus sp.), P. hesperomanniella Kobayashi, Johns Kawahara, sp. n. find more (Asteraceae Hesperomannia arborescens and H. swezeyi), P. keaensis Kobayashi, Johns Kawahara, sp. n. (host unkn conservation measures are taken.The model organism Pristionchus pacificus and the genus Pristionchus, Kreis, 1932 have been intensively studied in the last decade with contemporary work focusing on the development, evolution, ecology, behavior, neurobiology, and genomics of this group of organisms. In particular, mechanistic studies on the development and evolution of mouth-form plasticity, predation and associated self-recognition processes enabled unique insight into life history strategies and the evolution of novelty. These studies include a comparative research agenda making use of the 39 available species of Pristionchus, all of which can be studied in living cultures. Sampling efforts revealed that Asia represents a biodiversity hotspot for Pristionchus worms. However, previous samplings have a bias towards northern and island areas, largely for logistic reasons. Here, we report on two extensive sampling trips to the Yunnan and Shaanxi provinces in Mainland China. We report the isolation of nine new Pristionchus species by morphology, morphometrics, mating experiments and genome-wide sequence analysis.In 2009, Jones and Deitz published a tribe-level taxonomic revision and reclassification of the cryptic, arboreal leafhopper subfamily Ledrinae Kirschbaum, 1868 (Hemiptera Cicadellidae), based on cladistic analyses of 235 morphological features for 75 cicadellid species. Their evolutionary reconstructions found strong node support for a monophyletic ingroup comprising five lineages-each morphologically and geographically cohesive-and also identified numerous traditionally placed taxa (sensu Oman et al 1990) that did not belong. In light of the robustness of their results, the authors recognized the five independent ingroup clades as tribes of Ledrinae, and described three of these as new.The subfamily Parornichinae and thus the genus Parornix Spuler, 1910 are reported for the first time in China. Two new species, P. sinensis Liu, sp. n. feeding on Amygdalus davidiana and P. yuliella Liu Teng, sp. n. on Cerasus japonica, are described herein. Both host plant species belong to Rosaceae. Adult, genitalia of both sexes, and leaf mines are described and illustrated for both species. A Maximum Likelihood tree based on DNA barcodes available for Parornix is also provided for species separation. Reference barcodes for both new species are generated.The author describes Phaneroptera abdita n. sp., characterized by only two apical spurs; two new species of Eulioptera, E. iolandae n. sp. with unarmed fore coxae, E. atypica n. sp., with atypical opaque tegmina; and Scolocerca thomasi n. sp., all from West Tropical Africa. In addition, he discusses on the probable only African distribution of Phaneroptera sparsa Stål, 1857, and transfers Dithela longicaudata Massa, 2017 to the genus Eulioptera Ragge, 1956.Here we describe a new species of Flavalona Sinev Dumont, 2016 (Cladocera Chydoridae) based on material from Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. F. darkovi sp. nov. clearly differs from other species of Flavalona known to date by fine ornamentation of valves, proportions of head pores, proximal exopod spine and seta on the middle exopod segment of antenna II. This species may be considered as endemic taxon of high mountain water bodies of Bale Mountains at an altitude of about 4000 m.a.s.l. Investigated species of the genus Flavalona in Africa demonstrate strong local mountain endemism accompanied by morphological differences between closest taxa, but the real diversity of this group in Africa is underestimated yet, and further studies are urgently need. Since the high mountain water ecosystems in Africa are especially vulnerable to increasing anthropogenic impact and global climate warming, it is necessary to speed up the studies of high mountain invertebrates and develop special measures for protection of such ecosystems.Three new species of Rhyncocheilus from China are described R. huanghaoi sp. n. (Xizang), R. gonggashanus sp. n. (Sichuan) and R. yangxiaodongi sp. n. (Yunnan). The characters of R. griseosericans (Fairmaire, 1894) are clarified. Rhyncocheilus rugulipennis Cameron, 1932 is new to China, and R. henanensis Schillhammer, 2012 is new to Hubei. A key to the Chinese species of the genus is provided.