Zootaxa

**On the American spider species formerly placed in Trachelas, with the proposal of the new genus Neochelas and a revision for southern South America (Araneae: Trachelidae)**

2026-04-20T11:30:11+12:00

The members of the trachelid spider genus Trachelas L. Koch, 1872 are taxonomically revisited in the Americas, and the fauna from southern South America is revised. The new genus Neochelas is diagnosed and described to accommodate these species, as well as six new species and 61 transferred species, making Neochelas the most diverse genus of trachelids with 67 nominal taxa. Four species are redescribed: N. robustus (Keyserling, 1891) comb. nov., N. rugosus (Keyserling, 1891) comb. nov., N. submissus (Gertsch, 1942) comb. nov., and N. vitiosus (Keyserling, 1891) comb. nov.; the males of N. submissus are described for the first time. Six new species are described from Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay: N. amambay sp. nov., N. cerroleon sp. nov., N. calilegua sp. nov., N. gualamba sp. nov., N. iguazu sp. nov., and N. itapua sp. nov. Neochelas niger (Mello-Leitão, 1922) comb. nov. and Neochelas tridentatus (Mello-Leitão, 1947) comb. nov. are transferred from Trachelas and considered nomina dubia due to insufficient descriptions and descriptions based on immature specimens; their types are illustrated here. The remaining new combinations proposed (from Trachelas to Neochelas) are the following: Neochelas amacayacu (Sherwood & Arzuza Buelvas, 2025), Neochelas anomalus (Taczanowski, 1874), Neochelas barroanus (Chamberlin, 1925), Neochelas bicolor (Keyserling, 1887), Neochelas bispinosus (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899), Neochelas borinquensis (Gertsch, 1942), Neochelas bravidus (Chickering, 1973), Neochelas bulbosus (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899), Neochelas cadulus (Chickering, 1973), Neochelas cambridgei (Kraus, 1955), Neochelas contractus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas crassus (Rivera-Quiroz & Alvarez-Padilla, 2015), Neochelas daubei (Schmidt, 1971), Neochelas depressus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas digitus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas dilatus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas ductonada (Rivera-Quiroz & Alvarez-Padilla, 2015), Neochelas ecudobus (Chickering, 1973), Neochelas erectus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas femoralis (Simon, 1898), Neochelas fuscus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas giganteus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas gloriamarielae (Chamé-Vázquez & Chamé-Vázquez, 2025), Neochelas hamatus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas hassleri (Gertsch, 1942), Neochelas huachucanus (Gertsch, 1942), Neochelas inclinatus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas jamaicensis (Gertsch, 1942), Neochelas lanceolatus (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899), Neochelas latus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas mexicanus (Banks, 1898), Neochelas mombachensis (Leister & Miller, 2015), Neochelas mulcetus (Chickering, 1973), Neochelas oculus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas odoreus (Rivera-Quiroz & Alvarez-Padilla, 2015), Neochelas organatus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas pacificus (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1935), Neochelas panamanus (Chickering, 1937), Neochelas parallelus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas planus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas prominens (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas quadridens (Kraus, 1955), Neochelas rotundus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas santaemartae (Schmidt, 1971), Neochelas similis (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899), Neochelas sinuosus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas speciosus (Banks, 1898), Neochelas spicus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas spinulatus (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899), Neochelas spirifer (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899), Neochelas tomaculus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas tranquillus (Hentz, 1847), Neochelas transversus (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899), Neochelas triangulus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas trifidus (Platnick & Shadab, 1974), Neochelas truncatulus (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899), and Neochelas volutus (Gertsch, 1935). Finally, we propose the new combination Trachelopachys nigrifemur (Mello-Leitão, 1941) comb. nov., transferred from Trachelas. After this study, we propose that Trachelas does not occur in the Americas. We present a phylogenetic analysis of Trachelidae based on six genetic markers, confirming the monophyly of Neochelas and showing that it is not closely related to Trachelas sensu stricto.

**Revision of Neotropical Cariocamyia Snyder (Diptera: Muscidae), including first description of male of Cariocamyia vibrissata (Stein)**

2026-04-20T11:31:28+12:00

Cariocamyia Snyder, 1951 is a Neotropical genus of Cyrtoneurininae (Diptera: Muscidae) with two known species from Brazil and Colombia. Here, we redescribe both Cariocamyia species, including the first male description of Cariocamyia vibrissata (Stein, 1918), as well as images of the male and female habitus, images of the holotype habitus, and drawings of the male and female terminalia. Additionally, we present an updated distributional map and an identification key, and provide a brief discussion of the morphology of both species.

**Three new species of Sarasaeschna Karube & Yeh, 2001 (Odonata: Anisoptera: Aeshnidae) from northeastern India; with a new record of Sarasaeschna khasiana (Lieftinck, 1968)**

2026-04-20T11:32:24+12:00

We erect three new species of Sarasaeschna Karube & Yeh, 2001 (Odonata: Anisoptera: Aeshnidae): Sarasaeschna dosdewaensis sp. nov., S. nuboides sp. nov. and S. sigotaayo sp. nov., and provide a new record of S. khasiana (Lieftinck, 1968) based on specimens collected from northeastern India. We illustrate male caudal appendages of all Sarasaeschna and provide taxonomic keys to males (n=20) of all Sarasaeschna spp.

**The genus Macrosiphoniella (Hemiptera, Aphididae, Macrosiphini) in Spain, with description of two new species**

2026-04-20T11:33:28+12:00

The Spanish fauna of the genus Macrosiphoniella (Hemiptera, Aphididae, Macrosiphini) has been studied through (1) a complete bibliographic review and (2) the study of the specimens preserved in the aphid collection of the University of León. Twenty-four species, belonging to four subgenera, are now known in Spain. Macrosiphoniella aetnensis is removed from the Spanish aphid catalogue. The subgenus Papillomyzus, and the species M. (M.) subterranea, M. (M.) szalaymarzsoi and M. (P.) papillata are recorded for the first time in Spain. Two species are described: M. (M.) valdeorresa Mier Durante & Nieto Nafría, sp. nov. from apterous viviparous females collected on Helichrysum stoechas in Valdeorras natural region (Orense province), and M. (M.) monegrina Nieto Nafría & Mier Durante, sp. nov. from apterous and alate viviparous females collected on Artemisia herba-alba in Los Monegros natural region (Huesca and Zaragoza provinces). Additionally, data are presented on some alate viviparae collected with traps in two localities in the province of León that could belong to an unnamed species. Thirty-two first provincial records are provided, as well as nine aphid-host plant relationships not compiled in the on-line book “Blackman & Eastop’s Aphids on World’s Plants” (Favret & Aphid Taxon Community 2025).

**Morphological and genetic evidence support new species of Stenocercus (Iguania: Tropiduridae) from the Peruvian Andes**

2026-04-20T11:34:37+12:00

The genus Stenocercus comprises a diverse group of 80 recognized species distributed across South America, with approximately 65% (52 species) occurring in Peru. The Department of Ancash, situated in the central Andes and encompassing the Cordillera Negra and Cordillera Blanca, is a topographically complex region marked by prominent geographic barriers that may promote allopatric speciation and influence patterns of Andean biodiversity, particularly within Stenocercus lineages. Populations previously assigned to S. chrysopygus from the puna habitats of Ancash exhibit notable variation in diagnostic traits and coloration, suggesting that this taxon may represent a species complex. However, inconsistent morphological diagnoses and limited genetic data have hindered accurate taxonomic resolution, underscoring the need for integrative approaches. Furthermore, a recent study showed that only populations from the Santa River Valley correspond to S. chrysopygus sensu stricto, while the other populations assigned to the distribution of S. chrysopygus constitute lineages of different species. In this study, we describe Stenocercus aguilari sp. nov. from Huari Province, Ancash Department, and present a phylogenetic hypothesis of its position based on the mitochondrial ND2 gene. We applied multivariate morphological analyses of scale counts using MANOVA and Gaussian Mixture Models, as well as molecular species delimitation approaches based on both distance-based and tree-based single-locus methods. All analyses support the taxonomic distinctiveness of S. aguilari sp. nov. Morphologically, the new species belongs to the group characterized by granular scales on the posterior surface of the thighs, vertebral scales similar in size and shape to adjacent rows, and three caudal whorls per autotomic segment. It is distinguished from other members of this group by the absence of a posthumeral mite pocket, the presence of a Type 1 postfemoral mite pocket, higher number of midbody scales and the presence of a distinct black patch on the pelvic region of the venter in adult males. Finally, the focal lineage is divergent from all nominal species in the Stenocercus genus for which respective data are available by >14.8% uncorrected pairwise distance in the ND2 gene.

**Unusually well-preserved fossil material dates the extant brittle star genus Actinozonella (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) to at least the Late Cretaceous**

2026-04-20T11:35:35+12:00

Recent advances in molecular phylogenies have revolutionised our understanding of brittle star systematics and evolutionary history. Although genetic data have provided new grounds for age estimates of phylogenetic divergences, direct fossil evidence is currently the only robust means to determine the minimum age of clades. The present study discusses an exceptional opportunity to robustly pinpoint the minimum age of an extant genus of brittle star. The presumed ophiolepidid brittle star species Ophiolepis? falsa Jagt & Kutscher, in Jagt, 2000, from lower upper Campanian (Upper Cretaceous, c. 79 Ma) deposits in north-east Belgium, is here recorded from coeval strata in the Münsterland Basin (northern Germany) and transferred to the previously monospecific extant hemieuryalid genus Actinozonella Stöhr, 2011. An unusually well-preserved specimen, completely free from mineralised matrix, allows both dorsal and ventral sides of the disc and short arm stumps to be examined. In this way, characters not visible in the holotype of Ophiolepis? falsa could be analysed; these revealed its taxonomic affinity with Actinozonella, dating that genus to at least 79 Ma. The close morphological similarity between Actinozonella and Ophiomisidium Koehler, 1914, and to some species currently assigned to Ophiomastus Lyman, 1878, is discussed.

**A new species of Stenoscelodes Konishi (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Cossoninae) from the Ogasawara Islands, Japan, with a taxonomic review of the genus in Japan and Taiwan**

2026-04-20T11:37:15+12:00

A new species, Stenoscelodes boninensis Inoue, sp. nov., is described from the Ogasawara Islands, Japan. Two previously known Japanese species, S. hayashii Konishi, 1962 and S. capitulus Konishi, 1962, are redescribed, and recorded from Taiwan for the first time, representing the first occurrence of the genus in the country. A key to all the Japanese and Taiwanese species is provided.

**A new deep-sea species of Stilipes Holmes, 1908 (Amphipoda, Amphilochidea, Stilipedidae) from western Mexico**

2026-04-20T11:38:01+12:00

A new species of the genus Stilipes Holmes, 1908, is described and illustrated from a single female specimen collected from the SW Gulf of California, Mexico, in 1500 m depth. Stilipes sp. nov. represents the sixth species of this genus worldwide, all documented from 200 to 1060 m depth. Characters that separate the new species from congeners include: head with eyes; first three pereonites subequal in length; presence of a conical subrostral lamina and a vestigial accessory flagellum of antenna 1; 6th coxa forming a very wide, rounded posteroventral lobe; epimeral plate 2 acute, directed posteriorly; epimeral plate 3 rounded; telson length and width subequal. A comparative table of diagnostic characters among species of Stilipes is provided, including the depth range and geographic distribution of each species.

**First record of the giant mango mealybug, Drosicha mangiferae (Stebbing) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Monophlebidae), in Kenya**

2026-04-20T11:38:50+12:00

**Designation of a lectotype for Trimeresurus porphyraceus Blyth, 1861 (Reptilia: Viperidae) and its recognition as a junior synonym of Trimeresurus erythrurus (Cantor, 1839)**

2026-04-20T11:39:35+12:00

**Taxonomic reassessment of Rana (Hylorana) sinica Ahl, 1927 “1925” (Anura: Ranidae), with its synonymy with Amolops mantzorum (David, 1872)**

2026-04-20T11:40:30+12:00

**A report of Raorchestes mindat Köhler et al., 2025 (Amphibia: Anura: Rhacophoridae) from Mizoram, India with comments on its phenotypic plasticity**

2026-04-20T11:41:40+12:00

**On a record of the smalltooth sandtiger shark, Odontaspis ferox (Risso, 1810) from Nigeria, Eastern Central Atlantic**

2026-04-20T11:42:38+12:00