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Species descriptions of reptiles historically have relied exclusively on the use of morphological data; however, these external, phenotypic data do not always co-vary with lineage divergence. Consequently, it has become increasingly clear that species diversity has been underestimated in many evolutionary radiations. With the use of an integrative approach, we examined the genetic and morphological diversity present in a nearly endemic Philippine radiation of Eutropis. Results demonstrated that current taxonomy does not reflect evolutionary history and that in many cases, morphological divergence has become decoupled from genetic divergence. As a consequence, species diversity is significantly underestimated. Here, we rectify the major taxonomic problems present in Philippine Eutropis by providing formal descriptions for eight new species. Three of the four new species in the E. multicarinata species complex are sympatric with (and have long been confused with) previously described subspecies (which we also elevate to full species here). The fourth species is endemic to the Caroline Islands, clearly derived from a long-distance dispersal event from the Philippines. The new species in the E. indeprensa species complex are allopatrically or parapatrically distributed across the archipelago. In contrast to the last review of Philippine Eutropis, which suggested the endemic radiation was composed of five species (one of which was composed of two subspecies), we demonstrate that this group includes at least 14 distinct evolutionary lineages, with potential for additional diversity to be discovered pending further study.

Seven new species of Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960 (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) isolated from the gills of six cichlid host species belonging to four tribes and sampled from the Congolese coastline of Lake Tanganyika (LT) are described: Cichlidogyrus adkoningsi sp. nov. from Cyphotilapia frontosa (tribe Cyphotilapiini); C. koblmuelleri sp. nov. from Cardiopharynx schoutedeni (Ectodini); C. habluetzeli sp. nov. from C. schoutedeni and C. frontosa ; C. antoineparisellei sp. nov. from Interochromis loocki (Tropheini); C. masilyai sp. nov. from Petrochromis orthognathus (Tropheini); C. salzburgeri sp. nov. from P. trewavasae , and C. sergemorandi sp. nov. from Tylochromis polylepis (Tylochromini). This study represents the first parasitological examination of cyphotilapiine cichlid hosts. Representatives of the Tanganyikan ectodine, tropheine, and tylochromine cichlids previously sampled from various localities in the lake yielded nine, twelve, and two described species of Cichlidogyrus , respectively. The study further includes a morphological characterization of the male copulatory organ of six undescribed species of Cichlidogyrus found on the gills of the tropheines I. loocki and P. orthognathus, and on those of Callochromis melanostigma and Xenotilapia flavipinnis (both Ectodini). Geographical variation in the monogenean fauna of I. loocki was observed. The most closely related cichlid species investigated in this study harboured Cichlidogyrus spp. exhibiting some similarities in their sclerotized structures. Thus, our paper provides additional evidence of the high species richness of Cichlidogyrus and the link with their hosts’s phylogenetic affinities in LT.

The genus Bryaxis Kugelann (Goniaceritae: Bythinini) is the most species-rich genus of the subfamily Pselaphinae and is mainly distributed in the Palearctic region. Although previous studies have documented 14 species in the Korean Peninsula, the true diversity, ecology, and immature stages of the genus are still inadequately known. In this study, five new Korean species are described: B. grandinodus sp. nov. , B. uljinensis sp. nov. , B. fabaiformis sp. nov. , B. girinensis sp. nov. , and B. nemorosus sp. nov. Illustrations of the habitus and other morphological details, and a distribution map are provided. In addition, Bryaxis leechanyoungi Nomura & Lee, 1993 is proposed as a new synonym of B. mahunkai Löbl, 1975 based on the original description and illustrations of diagnostic characters.

A revision of the New Zealand Kunzea ericoides complex is presented. This paper is the final of a series that has explored the systematics of the New Zealand Kunzea complex using cytological and molecular variation, as well as experimental hybridisations between postulated segregates. As a result of those studies ten species, all endemic to New Zealand, are recognised; seven of these are new. One species, Kunzea triregensis sp. nov. , is endemic to the Three Kings Islands and another species Kunzea sinclairii , endemic to Aotea (Great Barrier Island). The North Island of New Zealand has seven species, Kunzea amathicola sp. nov. , Kunzea salterae sp. nov. , Kunzea serotina sp. nov. , Kunzea robusta sp. nov. , Kunzea tenuicaulis sp. nov. , Kunzea toelkenii sp. nov. , and Kunzea linearis comb. nov. Of these, Kunzea linearis , Kunzea salterae , Kunzea tenuicaulis and Kunzea toelkenii are endemic to the North Island, and Kunzea amathicola , Kunzea robusta and Kunzea serotina extend to the South Island which also supports one endemic, Kunzea ericoides . Typifications are published for Leptospermum ericoides A.Rich., Leptospermum ericoides var. linearis Kirk, Leptospermum ericoides var. microflorum G.Simps., Leptospermum ericoides var. pubescens Kirk, and Leptospermum sinclairii Kirk, names here all referred to Kunzea . The ecology, conservation, extent of natural hybridisation and some aspects of the ethnobotany (vernacular names) of these Kunzea are also discussed.

The present study of collembolan fauna is based on collections made during Aug-Sep 2008 from Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, as a part of the “Cold Desert Expedition” of Zoological Survey of India. Ladakh, which means “land of many passes”, is in northwestern India, bordering on China (Xinjiang and Tibet), and on its northwest it borders on Pakistan. The collembolans were collected from different parts of Ladakh district. The collections were mainly made through aspirators from leaf litter, mosses, under stones, a flower garden, agricultural fields, an embankment of a river, wetland and sand dunes. For the genera Corynothrix and Himalanura, an artic-alpine disjunction was found. Lepidocyrtus (Allocyrtus) lepidornatus was referred for a third time after 2 previous references from Philippines and Borneo. Seven new species belonging to Entomobryidae family are described: Entomobrya diskitensissp. nov., E. ladakhisp. nov., E. choudhuriisp. nov., E. mehtaisp. nov., Himalanura baijalisp. nov., Seira nidarensissp. nov. and S. hazraisp. nov.

Apatelodidae is a family of Neotropical bombycoids that still needs to be studied in several aspects, as many groups of species have not yet undergone a careful systematic revision. On the other hand, recent studies showed that some species known to be widely distributed in fact form species complexes. Until now, Olceclostera bifenestrata Schaus, 1912, described from Costa Rica, supposedly has a wide distribution, reaching the south of Brazil. We reviewed specimens from South America identified as O. bifenestrata . Using morphological data and DNA barcodes, we discovered that South American specimens belong to four new species: Olceclostera jairana sp. nov. , Olceclostera quilombola sp. nov. , Olceclostera xeta sp. nov. and Olceclostera wayana sp. nov. The four species can be distinguished mainly by characters of genitalia, mostly in aedeagus structures. However, wing characters (number of hyaline spots) and abdomen characters (number of patches of larger scales) may be useful for classifying species groups in Olceclostera . Additionally, we illustrate and describe for the first time all the life stages of an Olceclostera species, including its chaetotaxy and life history, and provide the first SEM images of the egg of an Apatelodidae species. We present a discussion about the morphological characters of adults and immatures and their relevance to the systematics of Apatelodidae.

A revision of the New Zealand endemic Lepidium oleraceum and allied species is presented. Sixteen species are recognised, 10 of these are new. The new species are segregated on the basis of morphological characters supported by molecular data obtained from three DNA markers (two rDNA and one cpDNA). One species, Lepidium castellanum sp. nov., is endemic to the Kermadec Islands where it is sympatric with Lepidium oleraceum. The North Island of New Zealand supports four species, with two of them, Lepidium amissum sp. nov. and Lepidium obtusatum, now extinct. The South Island supports six species, that, aside from Lepidium banksii, Lepidium flexicaule and Lepidium oleraceum, are all confined to the south-eastern half of the island (Lepidium aegrum sp. nov., Lepidium crassum sp. nov. and Lepidium juvencum sp. nov.). One of these, Lepidium juvencum sp. nov., extends to Stewart Island. The Chatham Islands support six species (Lepidium flexicaule, Lepidium oblitum sp. nov., Lepidium oleraceum, Lepidium oligodontum sp. nov., Lepidium panniforme sp. nov., and Lepidium rekohuense sp. nov.), one of which, Lepidium oligodontum sp. nov., extends to the Antipodes Islands group. The remote, subantarctic Bounty Islands group supports one endemic, Lepidium seditiosum sp. nov., which is the only vascular plant to be recorded from there. Lepidium limenophylax sp. nov. is known from islands off the south-western side of Stewart Island/Rakiura, The Snares and Auckland islands. Lepidium naufragorum, although not related to Lepidium oleraceum and its allies, is also treated because populations with entire leaves are now known. Typification is undertaken for Lepidium banksii, Lepidium oleraceum, Lepidium oleraceum var. acutidentatum, var. frondosum and var. serrulatum.

ABSTRACT Angola remains one of the least explored countries in Africa, and several groups of reptiles still require taxonomic and phylogenetic revision. To shed light on the true diversity of geckos in this gecko diversity hotspot of southwestern Africa, we conducted fieldwork in some of the less explored coastal regions of southern Angola. As a result, we identified previously unknown populations of Namib day geckos (genus Rhoptropus) which represent candidate new species. Through a comprehensive revision of the group, we describe three new endemic Rhoptropus spp. from the northern region of Namibe Province in Angola, based on morphological, phylogenetic and biogeographic data: R. minimus sp. nov., R. megocellus sp. nov., and R. crypticus sp. nov. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the biogeographic patterns of gecko diversity in Angola, highlighting the importance of this region as a significant center of endemism and diversification in Africa. In this work, we described three new endemic species of Namib Day geckos (Rhoptropus) from the northern Benguela Province, highlighting the importance of this region as an important center of endemism.

In Taiwan the algal reefs in Taoyuan County are the largest, composed of recent and fossil non-geniculate coralline algae. However, their diversity and phylogenetics in the region have never been documented. In this study, we analyzed the phylogenetic relationships of the non-geniculate coralline algae species collected from Taoyuan algal reefs and related non-geniculate species from other places in Taiwan and around the world based on psbA and SSU sequences. The molecular analyses revealed that at least 12 non-geniculate coralline species belonging in six evolutionary clades (Harveylithon, Lithophyllum, Pneophyllum, Crustaphytum gen. nov., and Phymatolithon, Sporolithon) occur in Taoyuan algal reefs. Eleven of these species do not match any described species and one (Lithophyllum margaritae) is a new record for the marine flora of Taiwan. We also describe a new genus (Crustaphytum gen. nov.) and three new non-geniculate coralline species (Crustaphytum pacificum sp. nov., Harveylithon rosea sp. nov., and Phymatolithon margoundulatus sp. nov.) for the most dominant and commonly seen species revealed by the molecular analyses. Among the latter three species, P. margoundulatus is only found in Taoyuan County and is the most dominant species there, comprising over 30% of the total cover, whereas C. pacificum has the widest distribution in the western Pacific Ocean (Taiwan and New Caledonia). Harveylithon rosea is a common species occurring in both algal reefs and rocky shores in the northern Taiwan. The other undescribed CCA species will be published when more specimens with reproductive structures are collected.

Three Gram-staining negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped and motile strains, FJAT-51800T, FJAT-52962T and FJAT-54481T were isolated from the sediment samples of Zhangjiang Estuary Mangrove National Nature Reserve in Fujian Province, China. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing results indicated they could be novel members of the genus Shewanella. The optimum temperature for growth was 30 °C. The respiratory quinones of the strains were ubiquinone Q-7 or Q-8, and menaquinone MK-7. Polar lipids of the strains FJAT-52962T and FJAT-51800T were phosphatidyl glycerol, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, and unidentified aminophospholipids while strain FJAT-54481 consist of phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, unidentified aminophospholipids, two unidentified aminolipids and four unidentified lipids. The major fatty acid of the three strains was iso-C15:0. The genomic DNA G + C contents of strains FJAT-51800T, FJAT-52962T and FJAT-54481T were 48.2, 55.3 and 48.1%, respectively. The average nucleotide identity and digital DNA–DNA hybridization values between strains FJAT-51800T, FJAT-52962T and FJAT-54481T and other closely related Shewanella members were below the cut-off level (95–96%) for species identification. Genome analysis showed that these strains encode genes for osmo-regulation. Based on the results of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genome analyses, strains FJAT-51800T, FJAT-52962T and FJAT-54481T represent three novel species of the genus Shewanella, for which the names Shewanella avicenniae sp. nov., Shewanella sedimentimangrovi sp. nov., and Shewanella yunxiaonensis sp. nov., are proposed. The type strains are FJAT-51800T (= GDMCC 1.2204T = KCTC 82448T), FJAT-52962T (= MCCC 1K05496T = KCTC 82445T) and FJAT-54481T (= GDMCC 1.2348T = KCTC 82646T).