by | January 5, 2024 · 7:56 pm

New Species: December 2023

by Piter Kehoma Boll

Here is a list of species described this month. It certainly does not include all described species. You can see the list of Journals used in the survey of new species here.

Bacteria

Archaeans

Borghiella ovum is a new dinoflagellate found in Germany.

SARs

Olifantiella gondwanensis is a new diatom from Indonesia and Australia.

Plants

Casearia isthmica is a new Casearia from Panama.

Excavates

Amoebozoans

Fungi

Upretia zeorina is a new lichen from China.

Cnidarians

Actinopterygians

Amphibians

Reptiles

Trimesurus ayeyarwadyensis is a new snake from Myanmar.

Mammals

Rotiferans

Flatworms

Mollusks

Annelids

Bryozoans

Nematodes

Arachnids

Crustaceans

Sinodina ashima is a new shrimp from China.

Myriapods

Hexapods

Colyphus lostuxtlas is a new beetle from Mexico.

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by | December 2, 2023 · 12:45 am

New Species: November 2023

by Piter Kehoma Boll

Here is a list of species described this month. It certainly does not include all described species. You can see the list of Journals used in the survey of new species here.

Bacteria

Archaeans

SARs

Plants

Paraboea zunyiensis is a new gesneriacean from China.

Excavates

Fungi

Hydnotrya oblongispora is a new ascomycete from China.

Poriferans

Santjordia pagesi is a new species of jellyfish from Japan.

Cnidarians

Pocillopora tuahiniensis is a new coral from French Polynesia.

Actinopterygians

Poyntonophrynus fernandae is a new toad from Angola.

Amphibians

Reptiles

Mammals

Flatworms

Mollusks

Annelids

Loriciferans

Nematodes

Tardigrades

Chelicerates

Myriapods

Crustaceans

Anotia cerebro is a new planthopper from Costa Rica.

Insects

Pseudoanthidium jacobii is a new carter bee from the Canary Islands.

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by | November 3, 2023 · 1:20 pm

New Species: October 2023

by Piter Kehoma Boll

Here is a list of species described this month. It certainly does not include all described species. You can see the list of Journals used in the survey of new species here.

Bacteria

Winogradskyella bathintestinalis is a new bacteroidote isolated from the intestine of the deep-sea loosejaw dragonfish in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.

Archaens

Kaonashia inesperata is a new stramenopile from a new lineage found in the USA.

SARs

Primula xilingensis is a new primula from China.

Plants

Panax siamensis is a new ginseng from Thailand.
Saccharomycopsis praedatoria is a new predatory yeast from the Amazon rainforest.

Fungi

Ophiocordyceps tortuosa is a new zombie-ant fungus from China.

Cnidarians

Echinoderms

Turcinoemacheilus ekmekciae is a new loach from Turkey.

Actinopterygians

Xenophrys pangdaensis is a new frog from Southern Tibet.

Amphibians

Mammals

Oecomys jamari is a new rodent from Brazil.

Reptiles

Paroedura manongavato is a new gecko from Magadascar.

Rotiferans

Flatworms

Nemerteans

Cayo margarita is a new gastropod from the Caribbean.

Mollusks

Annelids

Bryozoans

Tetranemertes bifrost is a beautiful new nemertean from the Caribbean Sea.

Nematodes

Onychophorans

Epiperipatus puri is a new velvet worm from Brazil.

Arachnids

Passiena duani is a new spider from China.

Myriapods

Crustaceans

Songpotamon malipoense is a new freshwater crab from China.

Hexapods

Proutia cornucervae is a new moth from South Korea.

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by | October 5, 2023 · 4:22 pm

New Species: September 2023

by Piter Kehoma Boll

Here is a list of species described this month. It certainly does not include all described species. You can see the list of Journals used in the survey of new species here.

Bacteria

Archaeans

Pseudovampirella minor is a new endomyxan from Germany.

SARs

Johansenicoccus eremophilus is a new green alga from the United States.

Plants

Eulophia edwardii is a new orchid from South Africa.
Cochlospermum adjanyae is a new bixacean from Angola.

Excavates

Amoebozoans

Fungi

Trechispora laxa is a new mushroom from China.
Mallocybe pakistanica (top) and Mallocybe pinicola (bottom) are two new mushrooms from Pakistan.

Sponges

Cnidarians

Echinoderms

Actinopterygians

Callogobius williamsi is a new goby from the Marquesas Islands.
Opistognathus ctenion is a new jawfish from Japan.

Amphibians

Leptobrachella wumingensis is a new frog from China.

Mammals

Reptiles

Achalinus sheni is a new snake from China.

Gastrotrichs

Flatworms

Annelids

Dina imeretiensis is a new cave leech from Georgia.

Mollusks

Nematodes

Tardigrades

Tetranychus algarrobus is a new spider mite from Peru.
Chilobrachys natanicharum is a new tarantula from Thailand.

Arachnids

Sphaerobelum turcosa is a new millipede from Thailand.

Myriapods

Candidiopotamon penglai is a new crab from Taiwan.

Crustaceans

Neoleptophlebia uncinata is a new mayfly from China.

Hexapods

Conosiphon janus is a new robber fly from Spain.

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by | September 3, 2023 · 6:19 pm

Call for Papers: Biodiversity Research in Central America

by Piter Kehoma Boll

Dear readers,

As you may know, I am the editor-in-chief of the journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation.

We are now preparing a Special Issue on Biodiversity and Research in Central America.

Central America hosts about 5–12% of the world’s biological diversity and is often referred to as a hyperdiversity hotspot in the Neotropical region. Amongst others, it is one of the top five most diverse regions for vascular plants. Because of its geographical placement, Mesoamerica is a key area for understanding both ecological and evolutionary processes to which tropical species are subjected. The dynamic landscape of Central America had a direct impact on the diversification and colonization of biota in the isthmus, thus creating new niches. Despite the region’s potential for investigation, relatively little attention has been given in comparison to other Neotropical regions. This special issue aims to create a space to promote research conducted in this unique and diverse region and to give it the recognition it deserves.

If you think your research is suitable for this Special Issue, we invite you to submit a manuscript. The submission deadline is 30 December 2023.

All manuscripts submitted and accepted to this special issue will be published free of charge. This is a great opportunity to publish your work open access for free!

The editors of this special issue are Monika Lipińska, Maria Mercedes Lopez-Selva and José Monzón Sierra.

We are looking forward to receiving your manuscripts!

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by | September 2, 2023 · 5:53 pm

The Cow Tongue’s taste revealed! Giant planarian found eating giant snail!

by Piter Kehoma Boll

Polycladus gayi is an iconic land planarian found in Chile and locally known as lengua de vaca (cow tongue). Despite being the largest land planarian in Chile and one of the first land planarians to be described, back in 1845, we know almost nothing about its ecology.

However, things are changing! In the past months, two specimens have been found eating in the wild, and, in both cases, the prey was the same species, the giant black snail, Macrocyclis peruvianus, the largest snail in Chile. Both observations occurred in Chilean protected areas, Villarrica National Park and Alerce Costero National Park, and were recorded by nonspecialists visiting the areas. One more important discovery that happened thanks to citizen science!

The land planarian Polycladus gayi attached to snail Macrocyclis peruvianus and feasting on its flesh. Photo by Yerko Lloncón.*

After almost two centuries since P. gayi was discovered, we finally know something about its place in the food chain! And, of course, it also helps us see M. peruvianus from a new perspective since this also seems to be the first record of one of its predators! Even though snails are a common item in the diet of land planarians, not all species feed on them, and we cannot assume that both groups are always directly connected in the food web.

Come see how chubby the planarian got after eating the whole snail!

There is still much more to discover about these two unique Chilean creatures, and the partnership between researchers and the general public is an important way to speed up the process of gathering knowledge about the creatures around us!

Reference:

Boll PK, Lloncón Y, Almendras D (2023) Records of the land planarian Polycladus gayi (Tricladida, Geoplanidae) preying on black snails Macrocyclis peruvianus (Gastropoda, Macrocyclidae). Austral Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13430

*Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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by | September 1, 2023 · 10:58 pm

New Species: August 2023

by Piter Kehoma Boll

It’s been 84 years, but we are finally having a new species post again! Yay!

Here is a list of species described this month. It certainly does not include all described species. You can see the list of Journals used in the survey of new species here.

Bacteria

Stratiformator vulcanicus is a new planctomycete from the Tyrrhenian sea.

Archaeans

Haptists

Illicium guansuense is a new tree from China.

SARs

Plants

Hohenbuehelia lageniformis is a new mushroom from Thailand.

Ancyromonads

Fungi

Neobelonopsis cinnabarina is a new ascomycete from Japan.
Bhushaniella rubra is a new zombie fungus found on spider egg sacs in Thailand.

Sponges

Cnidarians

Echinoderms

Sphoeroides camila is a new pufferfish from Brazil.

Actinopterygians

Moenkhausia iris is a new characid from Brazil.

Amphibians

Tylototriton zaimeng is a new salamander from India.

Mammals

Uropsilus fansipanensis is a new shrew mole from Vietnam.
Neacomys marci is a new rodent from Ecuador.

Reptiles

Dixonius fulbrighti is a new gekko from Vietnam.

Rotiferans

Flatworms

Humbertium ithorense is a new hammerhead flatworm from Magadascar named after the Ithorians, an alien species from Star Wars.

Nemerteans

Annelids

Metaphire songkhramensis is a new earthworm from Thailand.

Mollusks

Nematodes

Tardigrades

Male (left) and female (right) of Pancorius guiyang, a new jumping spider from China.

Arachnids

Chaetopelma persianum is a new spider from Iran.
Massuria min is a new spider from China.

Myriapods

Plutogeophilus jurupariquibaba is a new cave centipede from Brazil.

Crustaceans

A new crayfish species from Indonesia is described. Cherax woworae has been in the pet trade for some while!

Hexapods

Demarchus hsui is a new beetle from Taiwan.
Protogygia pryorensis is a new moth from the USA.

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by | March 17, 2023 · 8:00 am

Friday Fellow: Common Lantana

by Piter Kehoma Boll

[Leia em português]

After almost four months I’m back with a new Friday Fellow! It’s been some busy times and I had little to no time left to dedicate to the blog, but I always come back!

Anyway, today’s fellow is a beautiful but also nightmarish shrub that you may know, at least in tropical regions of the world. Its scientific name is Lantana camara, known in English as the common lantana.

Forming sort of a mix between a shrub and a vine, the common lantana can grow up to 2 m in height if standing alone and up to 6 m if climbing through another plant. The leaves are broad, ovate, somehow rough and have a strong scent when crushed.

Specimen with yellow flowers in Argentina. Photo by iNaturalist user Fede y Vani.

The flowers are tubular, with four petals, and arranged in clusters. They can have a great variety of colors, including white, yellow, orange, red and pink. The outer flowers in the cluster usually open first and are reddish than the ones in the middle, not only because of their location but because of their age because, after being pollinated, the flowers change color to let pollinators know that they should not waste their time on them anymore and should look for younger flowers instead. This is the same that happens in the common lungwort, which was presented here about half a year ago.

Specimen in Taiwan with one of the most typical flower colors, between yellow and red. Notice how the outer, older flowers are redder, and the inner ones are not even open yet. Photo by iNaturalist user 葉子.

Native to Central and South America, the common lantana has become a popular ornamental plant due to the beauty of its flowers. As a result, it was taken to many other countries and became an invasive species in Florida, Hawaii, Australia, India and tropical Africa. In these areas, it is often described as a noxious weed, and it has even been called one of the worst weeds in recorded history. The main negative effects caused by its introduction outside its native range are that it can be toxic to some animals and releases allelopathic chemicals, which reduce the growth of other plants around it. In Australia, India and South Africa, the common lantana was introduced about two centuries ago and, despite aggressive measures by the governments of these three countries to eradicate it, it continued to spread more and more and currently covers about 2 million hectares in South Africa, 5 million in Australia and 13 million in India, a real nightmare for the local ecosystems.

In Australia the common lantana has become an enemy almost as worse as capitalism. Photo by Adam Morris.

It looks like fighting against this species is a lost battle all around the world and new strategies dealing with adapting to its presence are necessary. If we can’t beat it, let’s join it.

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References:

Bhagwat, S. A., Breman, E., Thekaekara, T., Thornton, T. F., & Willis, K. J. (2012). A battle lost? Report on two centuries of invasion and management of Lantana camara L. in Australia, India and South Africa. PLoS One, 7(3), e32407. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032407

Wikipedia. Lantana camara. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantana_camara. Access on 16 March 2023.

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by | March 13, 2023 · 1:16 am

Climate change will likely devastate cave ecosystems

by Piter Kehoma Boll

[Leia em português]

We are well aware of the drastic effects that the increase in the planet’s mean temperature is having and will have on ecosystems. The acidity of the oceans is increasing and causing problems for species with skeletons of calcium carbonate. The melting of polar ice caps destroys the habitat of polar species and raises the ocean levels, flooding lowland areas and destroying even more ecosystems. But these problems concern mainly species that live in the oceans or on the surface of continents.

Caves are underground ecosystems that harbor an astonishing diversity, including many unique lineages that have been extinct on the surface long ago. Since many caves are small and not directly connected to other caves, species in these habitats are also highly endemic. It is not uncommon to find species living in a single cave, with a very small population. I already presented some cases like this before regarding planarians.

But today we will talk about another cave dude, Proasellus lusitanicus, an aquatic isopod measuring up to 8 mm in length that is endemic to the Estremenho karst massif in Portugal. Lacking eyes and pigmentation, this tiny isopod is completely adapted to life in the caves, and the water in which it lives has a relatively constant temperature of about 17 °C year round. However, the increase in mean global temperature on the surface of the planet can cause an increase in the water temperature inside caves as well.

Proasellus lusitanicus in Almonda Cave, Portugal. Credits to Di Lorenzo & Reboleira (2022).*

To understand how P. lusitanicus would cope with an increase in water temperature, researchers Tiziana di Lorenzo and Ana Sofia Reboleira took some specimens to the lab and monitored their response to temperatures between 17 and 22.5 °C, including oxygen consumption. The results were not good. Our tiny isopods show a drastic decrease in respiration with a temperature increase of only a few degrees. At 22.5 °C, they consumed 75% less oxygen than at 17 °C. In fact, 25% of the specimens died when the water temperature increased by only 2.5 °C.

Caves usually have very stable conditions, with little variation in light, temperature, and humidity across the year. As a result, many species, like P. lusitanicus, lose their ability to tolerate a wide range of conditions. If the water temperature in the Estremenho karst massif rises only a few degrees due to climate change, this tiny isopod will likely go extinct. But it will not be the only one. Many, if not most, cave species are similarly sensitive to changes and may have the same tragic end.

Now a place flourishing in amazing species, caves can end up as barren land very soon due to the human inability to care for the planet.

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Reference:

Di Lorenzo, T., & Reboleira, A. S. P. (2022). Thermal acclimation and metabolic scaling of a groundwater asellid in the climate change scenario. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 17938. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-20891-4

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*Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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by | December 2, 2022 · 8:00 am

Friday Fellow: Colorful Sidegill Slug

by Piter Kehoma Boll

[leia em português]

Some species are so peculiar and cute that they look like real-life Pokémon (well, at least what Pokémon used to look like back in the first generations). One of those species is Berthella martensi, the colorful sidegill slug.

A white specimen with dark spots in Australia. Photo by Steve Smith.*

Inhabiting the Indo-Pacific, from the intertidal zone up to a depth of about 25 m, the colorful sidegill slug measures about 5 to 6 cm in length as an adult and is often found in shallow lagoons in coral reefs. It is a pleurobranch, a group of sea slugs with an external gill located on the right side of the body, in contrast to the more famous nudibranchs, which have it on the back.

One of the most typical color patterns of the colorful sidegill slug. Photo by Karen (iNaturalist’s user kswt).*

The colorful sidegill slug has a prominent mantle that extends in the form of large lobes covering its body, including its gill. These lobes can be autotomized when the animal feels threatened so that it can escape and leave the predator behind with a small snack to get distracted. But the colorful sidegill slug is a predator itself, feeding on sponges and, according to some sources, also ascidians.

A specimen with all of its mantle lobes autotomized. The foot is clearly visible, and so is the gill on the right side (zoom in the detail at the lower left corner). Credits to W. B. Rudman. Extracted from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/defauto.
A specimen feeding on a sponge in Palawan, Philippines. Photo by Alain Bonnet. Extracted from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17244

But certainly one of the most remarkable features of the colorful sidegill slug is the variety of different color patterns that the species can present. It can be light cream, almost white, or dark purple, almost black, with many colors in between, such as yellow, orange, red, or purple-gray. Besides the background color, there are often several spots that are of a lighter color in dark-colored animals and of a darker color in light-colored ones. Specimens with a light background color can also have a dark margin on the mantle lobes, usually with the same color as the spots, although this is not always present. In dark-colored ones, the margin has always the same color as the background.

A dark-colored individual from Papua-New Guinea. Photo by Erik Schlogl.*

Despite its beauty and cuteness, the colorful sidegill slug is one more species whose ecology is almost completely unknown to us. Even though it has a charismatic look, no one cared to get to know it better until now.

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References:

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 28) Berthella martensi (Pilsbry, 1896). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/bertmart

Yonow, N. (2015). Sea Slugs: unexpected biodiversity and distribution. In The Red Sea (pp. 531-550). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-45201-1_30

Wikipedia. Berthella martensi. Available from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berthella_martensi. Access on 1 December 2022.

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*Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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