Zootaxa

**The genus Baetodes Needham & Murphy (Ephemeroptera-Baetidae) in Colombia, with the description of twelve new species**

2026-01-20T11:12:58+13:00

Baetodes Needham & Murphy is one of the most diverse genera of Baetidae with 51 species distributed from the United States to Argentina. In Colombia, seven species have been recorded; here, based on the description of new species, we increase the number to 19. Diagnoses of all of them are presented. Twelve new species are described based on nymphs (B. acanthosternus sp. nov., B. caldensis sp. nov., B. colobranchius sp. nov., B. colombiensis sp. nov., B. dicyrtus sp. nov., B. huilensis sp. nov., B. ironmaiden sp. nov., B. notospinae sp. nov., B. proterochaetus sp. nov., B. speciosus sp. nov., B. unbranchomerus sp. nov., and B. wiphala sp. nov.). An identification key is developed for the species from Colombia and new characters for nymphs of Baetodes are proposed.

**A new stonefly species Neoperla lamesae sp. nov. (Plecoptera: Perlidae) from Quezon City, Philippines, with associated life stages and notes on Neoperla recta Banks, 1913 taxonomy**

2026-01-20T11:13:53+13:00

A new Plecoptera species Neoperla lamesae sp. nov. Ricafort & Uy-Yabut, 2025 is described and figured from La Mesa Watershed Reservation, Quezon City, Philippines. The description includes all the life stages from egg to adult, confirmed to be from the same species using DNA barcoding. The male adult penis closely resembles a locality morphotype of N. recta. The associated female adult is differentially diagnosed against the N. recta female lectotype by the vaginal sclerites and the polygonal chorion pattern of the egg. The COI data suggest species divergence of two N. recta male penis morphotypes, the Makiling and Imugin morphotypes. The observed COI divergence and previously documented penis variability of N. recta suggest a reevaluation of the species complex.

Four newly recorded species of the family Coleophoridae (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea) from Korea

2026-01-20T11:14:49+13:00

We report four species of the family Coleophoridae (Gelechioidea) for the first time in Korea: Coleophora citrarga Meyrick, 1934; C. helgada (Anikin, 2005); C. obscuripalpella Kanerva, 1941; and C. varilimosipennella Li & Zheng, 2000. Among these, the host plant of C. varilimosipennella is reported here for the first time. The diagnostic characteristics and redescriptions of each of the four species are provided. With this report, a total of 47 coleophorid species are known from Korea. In addition, a revised Korean vernacular name for Coleophora montaniella Oku & Kusunoki, 2018 is proposed to avoid confusion due to name duplication.

Actinopyga atypica sp. nov. plus two new holothuroid records from the coastal waters of Pakistan (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)

2026-01-20T11:15:35+13:00

A new species, Actinopyga atypica sp. nov., in the sea cucumber family Holothuriidae, plus two new holothuroid records from the Pakistan coastal waters are here described. The new species differs from all known species of Actinopyga in possessing a cucumariid-type of calcareous ring accompanied by slender, straight, terminally forked rods in the body wall, unlike the thick, usually well-branched rods of other species of the genus, setting it apart from all known congenerics. Of the two additional records one is another holothuriid herein attributed to the Indo-West Pacific species Holothuria (Selenkothuria) erinacea Semper, 1868. It is suspected to be a juvenile of this species in possessing, in addition to the perforated rods and plates in the body wall, well-formed tables, suspected to be a juvenile character, as pertains in its consubgenerics H. (S.) parva Krauss (in Lampert, 1885) and H. (S.) moebii Ludwig, 1883. The third species is a thyonid, Thyonina bijui Thandar, 2017, belonging to the family Thyonidae (sensu Smirnov 2012), originally described from Kerala, India.

**Myrmecophily in focus: taxonomy and systematics of Termitoquedius Bernhauer (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae: Staphylinini) with descriptions of two new species**

2026-01-20T11:16:27+13:00

The genus Termitoquedius Bernhauer, 1912 (Staphylininae: Staphylinini) comprises myrmecophilous rove beetles with a Neotropical distribution. Until recently, it included only two species from Brazil recorded in association with army ants of the genus Eciton Latreille, 1804. Recent phylogenetic analyses have assessed its systematic placement, initially recovering the genus as incertae sedis within Staphylinini and later placing it within the Neotropical lineage of the subtribe Philonthina (Staphylinini). Based on this phylogenetic evidence, Termitoquedius is formally transferred to Philonthina, providing new insights into the evolutionary history of myrmecophily within the subtribe. Additionally, a lectotype is designated for its type species, Termitoquedius iheringi Bernhauer, 1912. Two new species are described: Termitoquedius ecitonis sp. nov. from Peru and Termitoquedius andinus sp. nov. from Bolivia. These, along with additional records from Colombia and Ecuador, represent the first records of the genus for these four countries. A taxonomic key, diagnostic characters, descriptions or redescriptions, illustrations, and a distributional map are also provided for all Termitoquedius species treated in herein.

**A new species of the genus Cnipsomorpha (Phasmatodea: Phasmatidae: Clitumninae) from China**

2026-01-20T11:17:17+13:00

A new species named Cnipsomorpha liangheensis sp. nov. is described for the first time in this paper, which belongs to genus Cnipsomorpha Hennemann, Conle, Zhang & Liu, 2008. Detailed morphological descriptions were provided for both female and male. A key to identifying Cnipsomorpha is presented.

**One more new species of silverfish of the genus Ctenolepisma (Zygentoma: Lepismatidae) from India**

2026-01-20T11:18:07+13:00

A new species of the genus Ctenolepisma Escherich, 1905 is described from Maharashtra and Telangana, South India: Ctenolepisma (Ctenolepisma) tredecimum sp. nov. This species is compared with related previously described species belonging to the subgenus Ctenolepisma s. str. A key to the Indian species of the genus is provided.

Kudoa stigmatias sp. nov. (Cnidaria: Multivalvulida) infecting the brain of the marine fish Chaeturichthys stigmatias (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae) in the Yellow Sea, China

2026-01-20T11:18:59+13:00

In this study, 20 specimens of Chaeturichthys stigmatias were collected from a fishing dock in Qingdao city, Shandong Province, China, and examined for parasitic infections. Kudoa spores were detected in the brains of 35% of the specimens. The mature spores were quadrate and hemispherical in lateral view, measuring 8.1±0.4 (7.1–8.8) μm in length, 13.5±0.4 (12.1–13.8) μm in width, and 11.8±0.4 (10.6–12.5) μm in thickness (n = 50). Each spore possessed four shell valves and four pyriform polar capsules measuring 4.0±0.2 (3.5–4.2) × 3.1±0.2 (2.7–3.5) μm. Morphological comparisons revealed distinct differences from previously described Kudoa species. Sequence analysis of the partial LSU rDNA further confirmed that this species did not match any known Kudoa species. Furthermore, the phylogenetic tree showed that it clusters with muscle-infecting Kudoa species but is distantly related to brain-infecting taxa. Based on morphological and molecular evidence, we describe Kudoa stigmatias sp. nov. as a novel species, representing the first documented case of myxosporean infection in Chaeturichthys species.

Plecoptera primary types in the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids & Nematodes (CNC)

2026-01-20T11:19:56+13:00