Species New to Science

The spider suborder Mesothelae, containing a single extant family Liphistiidae, represents a species-poor and ancient lineage. These are conspicuous spiders that primitively retain a segmented abdomen and appendage-like spinnerets. While their classification history is nearly devoid of phylogenetic hypotheses, we here revise liphistiid genus level taxonomy based on original sampling throughout their Asian range, and on the evidence from a novel molecular phylogeny. By combining morphological and natural history evidence with phylogenetic relationships in the companion paper, we provide strong support for the monophyly of Liphistiidae, and the two subfamilies Liphistiinae and Heptathelinae. While the former only contains Liphistius Schiödte, 1849, a genus distributed in Indonesia (Sumatra), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, we recognize and diagnose seven heptatheline genera, all but three removed from the synonymy of Heptathela: i) Ganthela Xu & Kuntner, gen. n. with the type species G. yundingensis Xu, sp. n. is known from Fujian and Jiangxi, China; ii) a rediagnosed Heptathela Kishida, 1923 is confined to the Japanese islands (Kyushu and Okinawa); iii) Qiongthela Xu & Kuntner, gen. n. with the type species Q. baishensis Xu, sp. n. is distributed disjunctly in Hainan, China and Vietnam; iv) Ryuthela Haupt, 1983 is confined to the Ryukyu archipelago (Japan); v) Sinothela Haupt, 2003 inhabits Chinese areas north of Yangtze; vi) Songthela Ono, 2000 inhabits southwest China and northern Vietnam; and vii) Vinathela Ono, 2000 (Abcathela Ono, 2000, syn. n.; Nanthela Haupt, 2003, syn. n.) is known from southeast China and Vietnam.

Keywords: East Asia, Southeast Asia, biogeography, classification, trapdoor spiders, living fossils

 

Paepalanthus magistrae  Sano, F.N. Costa, Trovó & Echtern.,  in Sano, Costa, Trovó et Echternacht, 2015.  DOI: 10.1590/2175-7860201566202   Researchgate.net/publication/278032202

We describe and illustrate Paepalanthus magistrae, a remarkable new species of Eriocaulaceae from Northeastern Brazil. The species is placed into Paepalanthus subsect. Dichocladus by the presence of trimerous flower, elongated dichotomous branched stem, and small rigid leaves. Within the section it may be easily distinguished by its leaves with glabrescent adaxial surface and lanose abaxial surface. As the species is narrowly distributed and known from a few populations, it is considered endangered.

Key words: Caatinga; Paepalanthoideae; Serra das Confusões National Park; taxonomy

Paepalanthus magistrae Sano, F.N. Costa, Trovó & Echtern. sp. nov.

Diagnosis: Paepalanthus magistrae differs from all the other species of P. subsect. Dichocladus by its leaves with glabrescent adaxial surface and lanose abaxial surface. It is morphologically differentiated from Paepalanthus bonsai Trovó & Sano, the most closely related species, also by its leaves with round apex, spathe tip acute, longer scapes, spherical capitula, and involucral bracts completely glabrous.

Etymology: The epithet magistrae - belonging to the master - is a tribute to Prof. Ana Maria Giulietti Harley, who has guided three generations of specialists in Eriocaulaceae. As in this species, she has her roots in the Caatinga. To her we offer our gratitude and our acknowledgement.

Habitat, Distribution, and Conservation: Paepalanthus magistrae is known from a few populations growing on rock crevices in mountains of Serra das Confusões, Piauí (Fig. 1). The species occurs within the Capivara National Park and is considered endangered according to criteria B1a and B2a of IUCN (2011). Additional populations may be found in the vicinities, as the area is poorly sampled.

Paulo Takeo Sano, Fabiane Nepomuceno Costa, Marcelo Trovó and Lívia Echternacht. 2015. Paepalanthus magistrae (Eriocaulaceae), A remarkable New Species in honor of Ana Maria Giulietti-Harley.  Rodriguésia. 66(2);. DOI: 10.1590/2175-7860201566202 

 Researchgate.net/publication/278032202_Paepalanthus_magistrae_a_remarkable_new_species

 

The origin of snakes remains one of the most contentious evolutionary transitions in vertebrate evolution. The discovery of snake fossils with well-formed hind limbs provided new insights into the phylogenetic and ecological origin of snakes. In 2015, a fossil from the Early Cretaceous Crato Formation of Brazil was described as the first known snake with fore- and hind limbs (Tetrapodophis amplectus), and was proposed to be fossorial, to exhibit large gape feeding adaptations (macrostomy) and to possess morphologies suggesting constriction behaviours. First-hand examination of T. amplectus, including its undescribed counterpart, provides new evidence refuting it as a snake. We find: a long rostrum; straight mandible; teeth not hooked zygosphenes/zygantra absent; neural arch and spines present and tall with apical epiphyses; rib heads not tubercular; synapophyses simple; and lymphapophyses absent. Claimed traits not preserved include: braincase/descensus parietalis; ‘L’-shaped nasals; intramandibular joint; replacement tooth crowns; haemal keels; tracheal rings; and large ventral scales. New observations include: elongate retroarticular process; apex of splenial terminating below posterior extent of tooth row; >10 cervicals with hypapophyses and articulating intercentra; haemapophyses with articulating arches; reduced articular surfaces on appendicular elements; rows of small body scales; and reduced mesopodial ossification. The axial skeleton is uniquely elongate and the tail with >100 vertebrae is not short as previously claimed, although overall the animal is small (∼195 mm total length). We assessed the relationships of Tetrapodophis using a revised version of the original morphological dataset, an independent morphological dataset, and these two datasets combined with molecular data. All four were analysed under parsimony and Bayesian inference and unambiguously recover Tetrapodophis as a dolichosaur. We find that Tetrapodophis shows aquatic adaptations and there is no evidence to support constricting behaviour or macrostomy.

Keywords: Tetrapodophis amplectus, lizards, snakes, mosasauroids, pythonomorphs, phylogeny, fossils, character evolution, Cretaceous, Brazil, Crato Formation

Squamata Oppel, 1811 

Pythonomorpha Cope, 1869

Dolichosauridae Gervais, 1852

Tetrapodophis amplectus Martill, Tischlinger & Longrich, 2015

Michael W. Caldwell, Tiago R. Simões, Alessandro Palci, Fernando F. Garberoglio, Robert R. Reisz, Michael S. Y. Lee and Randall L. Nydam. 2021. Tetrapodophis amplectus is not a Snake: Re-assessment of the Osteology, Phylogeny and Functional Morphology of An Early Cretaceous Dolichosaurid Lizard. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2021.1983044 

Stigmaphyllon mikanifolium is described and illustrated and its distribution, conservation status, and taxonomy are presented. S. mikanifolium can be distinguished from S. auriculatum and S. macedoanum by its leaf laminas with lobate margins, and filiform glands on the apex of each lobule, sessile discoid glands between the lobules, a petiole apex with a pair of cupulate glands, yellow posterior petals with reddish veins, and the styles parallel and straight.

Key Words: Malpighiales, Ryssopterys, semideciduous forest, taxonomy

  Researchgate.net/publication/283643435_Stigmaphyllon_mikanifolium_a_new_species_from_Espirito_Santo_State_Brazil

A microhylid assigned to the genus Rhombophryne on the basis of overall morphology, including the possession of maxillary and vomerine teeth, absence of expanded toe pads, and absence of an enlarged prepollex. Confirmed as a member of the genus Rhombophryne on the basis of its phylogenetic relationships as assessed by mitochondrial DNA, as there are no known morphological characters by which Rhombophryne may be distinguished from Plethodontohyla.

Rhombophryne longicrus sp. n. is distinguished from all other Madagascan frog species by the following set of characters: SVL 23.8–27.9 mm, head wider than long, horizontal tympanum diameter 47% of eye diameter, absence of superciliary spines, weak supratympanic fold, dark supratympanic region and nostril, tibiotarsal articulation reaching the nostril, total hindlimb length 183–185% of SVL, second finger shorter than fourth, and fifth toe shorter than third. It is also separated by a pairwise genetic distance of at least 6.8% in the 16S mitochondrial gene from all other known species of the genus Rhombophryne.

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New species of the caesalpinioid legume genus Hymenaea (Detarieae s. str. clade) have not been discovered in the last 40 yr. This study describes and illustrates the striking new species Hymenaea fariana from the few known collections made in the Atlantic Forest biome of the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. The new species has close morphological affinities to H. altissima, from which it is readily distinguished by the mainly shrubby to small tree habit and lanceolate to oblanceolate petals with a well-differentiated petal claw. An updated identification key to the Atlantic Forest species of Hymenaea is also provided.

Keywords:— Caesalpinioideae, Detarieae, Fabaceae, morphology, restinga costal forest, taxonomy.

Hymenaea fariana R. D. Ribeiro, D. B. O. S. Cardoso & H. C. Lima, sp. nov.

Etymology—The specific epithet of the new species honours Sergio Miana de Faria, a Brazilian scientist at Embrapa Agrobiologia in Serope´dica, Rio de Janeiro, who has greatly contributed to the study of nitrogen fixation in nodulating legumes.