Zootaxa

**A revision of “crowned” Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) atkinsoni species group (Cladocera: Daphniidae) combining morphological and genomic evidence**

2026-04-13T11:33:31+12:00

The cladoceran subgenus Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia) Dybowski & Grochowski, 1895 (Cladocera: Anomopoda: Daphniidae), particularly diverse in temporary waters of temperate regions, contains several species groups with distinct morphologies. Among these, populations with a “head plate”, a prominent anterior median projection of the carapace to the head shield, have been described multiple times since the mid-19th century. In our previous paper, we have demonstrated that the “crowned” Eurasian daphniids, the head plate of which may be flanked with conspicuous thorns, represent two strongly divergent clades separated tens of millions years ago that are not in a sister-group relationship: D. (C.) triquetra Sars, 1903 and D. (C.) atkinsoni group. Here, we focus on a detailed final revision of the atkinsoni group based on morphology, mitochondrial and whole-genome phylogenies. Both molecular (including genomic) and morphological analyses of available samples confirmed existence of three species: D. (C.) atkinsoni Baird, 1859 s. str. nomen protectum, D. (C.) ulomskyi Behning, 1941, and D. (C.) nuda Keiser, 1931. The overall diversity of the group may be higher, e.g., as a fourth genetic lineage was reported from Hungary. As we had no material for its revision, its taxonomic status needs to be checked in the future. The three studied species are redescribed in detail. They mainly differ in the adult male morphology, while their parthenogenetic females are similar. Our pessimistic conclusion is that the taxonomy based solely on morphological characters is already reaching the limits of its resolution in intensively studied cladoceran taxa such as Daphnia (Ctenodaphnia), following the fate of D. (Daphnia) morphological taxonomy. Only a few, and very minute, morphological differences support the discrimination of taxa described above.

**Phylogenomics, taxonomy and conservation of the White’s skink (Scincidae: Liopholis whitii) species complex in south-eastern Australia**

2026-04-13T11:34:45+12:00

White’s Skinks, Liopholis whitii (Lacépède 1804) are widely distributed throughout rocky habitats of temperate south-eastern Australia, with a highly disjunct population occurring in Mutawintji National Park in arid far western New South Wales. Based on an analysis of genome-wide nuclear single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and an assessment of variation in morphology, we provide an appraisal of the group’s evolutionary history and re-evaluate the taxonomic status of candidate lineages. We reveal the presence of three major genetic lineages, including two lineages from temperate south-eastern Australia, and another representing the isolated arid population from Mutawintji National Park. We herein apply the name Liopholis whitii to the temperate “southern” lineage which occurs in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania; resurrect the name Liopholis compressicauda (Quoy & Gaimard 1824) for the temperate “northern” lineage from southern Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and north-eastern Victoria; and describe the arid lineage from Mutawintji National Park as Liopholis mutawintji sp. nov. Liopholis mutawintji sp. nov. is of particular conservation concern and likely eligible for listing as Critically Endangered under multiple IUCN Red List Criteria.

Ralvenia, a new genus of ennomine moth from the Americas with cryptic species diversity (Lepidoptera: Geometridae)

2026-04-13T11:36:27+12:00

Ralvenia Matson gen. nov. is established to accommodate a lineage of ennomine moths that includes several undescribed cryptic species and others formerly assigned to four unrelated genera. The following new combinations are proposed: Ralvenia accentuata (Barnes & McDunnough) comb. nov. (transferred from Prochoerodes Grote); Ralvenia cervina (Warren) comb. nov. and Ralvenia cervinoides (Schaus) comb. nov. (both transferred from Periclina Guenée); Ralvenia arge (Druce) comb. nov. (transferred from Sabulodes Guenée); and Ralvenia lapa (Dognin) comb. nov. (transferred from Certima Walker). Four new species are described: Ralvenia dactyvalva Matson sp. nov., Ralvenia hamifurca Matson sp. nov., Ralvenia nuda Matson sp. nov., and Ralvenia serrata Matson sp. nov. Adults and male and female genitalia are illustrated. The larva of Ralvenia cervinoides is illustrated. DNA barcode data, when available, are reviewed for each species.

**Revision of the Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene Patagonian species of Cellaria (Bryozoa, Cheilostomatida) described by Ferdinand Canu**

2026-04-13T11:37:26+12:00

The genus Cellaria Ellis & Solander is characterized by erect, jointed, dichotomously branching colonies composed of cylindrical internodes, attached to the substrate by rhizoids. In Argentina, species of Cellaria have been documented from the Danian (Paleocene) to the present. We revised the Late Oligocene to Early–Middle Miocene material published by Ferdinand Canu from the San Julián, Chenque and Gaiman formations deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris) and the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales (Buenos Aires). Three new species, Cellaria fallax sp. nov., C. roborata sp. nov., and C. comodorensis sp. nov. are described, and the status of other three species, C. ramosa Canu, C. subsetigera Canu, and C. unguiculata Canu is confirmed. Cellaria crassicollis Canu, C. semiluna Canu, C. elongata Canu and the material assigned by Canu to C. rigida perampla Waters are regarded as junior synonyms of other species described by F. Canu. The extant Magellanic species C. malvinensis (Busk) and C. variabilis (Busk) were not represented in the Patagonian Miocene. After the revision of the type material of C. minima Canu and the internodes assigned by Ortmann to the European extant species C. fistulosa (Linnaeus), we conclude that these species should be regarded as unrecognizable. The genus Erinella Canu & Bassler, based on a single eroded internode assigned to E. patagonica Canu, is here regarded as a junior subjective synonym of Cellaria, resulting in the new combination C. patagonica comb. nov. New material from the Chenque and Monte León formations is described and illustrated. Cellaria is herein recorded for the first time in the Monte León Formation. This study adds to our knowledge of the Cenozoic bryozoans of the Atlantic coast of southern South America.

First record of Roederiodes Coquillett (Diptera: Empididae: Clinocerinae) from South America, with description of a new species from Colombia, and key to males of species south of the United States of America

2026-04-13T11:38:39+12:00

Among Empididae, the genus Roederiodes is easily recognizable by its narrow wings, broad gena and narrow, elongated proboscis. Currently, 13 species are recognized in the New World, distributed from Canada to Costa Rica. This is the first record of Roederiodes in South America. Roederiodes primus sp. nov. is described from Colombia (type locality: Parque Natural Regional Cerro Páramo de Miraflores, Garzón, Huila). Illustrations and an updated key and distribution map are presented.

**First record of genus Aspicolpus Wesmael (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from India, with description of a new ovo-larval parasitoid of Xylotrechus stebbingi (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)**

2026-04-13T11:39:34+12:00

The genus Aspicolpus Wesmael, 1838 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Brachistinae) is recorded for the first time from India. A new species, A. kashmirensis sp. nov. from the Kashmir Himalayas, is described and illustrated. This ovo-larval endoparasitoid was reared from Xylotrechus stebbingi Gahan (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), infesting walnut trees. Parasitoid development and its potential implications for biological control are briefly discussed. This study represents the first documentation of ovo-larval parasitoidism in the genus Aspicolpus.

Reniuristis brevicoxus gen. et sp. nov. (Amphipoda, Lysianassoidea, Uristidae) described from Site F cold seep in the South China Sea

2026-04-13T11:40:42+12:00

The biodiversity of Site F, a cold seep in the South China Sea, still has some knowledge gaps. Reniuristis brevicoxus gen. et sp. nov. is the first epibenthic amphipod reported at Site F. The new genus Reniuristis gen. nov. differs from other genera of the family Uristidae Hurley, 1963 by the combination of the following characters: a callynophore only weakly developed, the inner plate of the maxilliped almost extending to the end of the outer plate, a vestigial coxa 1, a constricted inner ramus of uropod 2 and a notched telson. Morphologically, this study describes the new genus Reniuristis gen. nov. with R. brevicoxus gen. et sp. nov. as its type species.

**First report of the king crab Neolithodes asperrimus Barnard, 1947 (Crustacea: Lithodidae) from the Brazilian Amazon continental slope**

2026-04-13T11:41:37+12:00

The family Lithodidae Samouelle, 1819 is composed of deep-sea crabs that inhabit continental and insular slopes, cold seeps, hydrothermal vents and abyssal plains. In the Atlantic Ocean, five species of the genus Neolithodes A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1894 have been reported, of which only two species were recorded from Brazilian waters, with all occurrences restricted to northeastern and southeastern regions. Herein we report a new occurrence of the lithodid Neolithodes asperrimus Barnard, 1947, from the Brazilian Amazon continental slope, highlighting the morphological comparisons with the closely related species, Neolithodes agassizii (Smith, 1882), based on data available in the literature. The male specimen of N. asperrimus was collected during surveys conducted under the ReviZEE Program [Assessment of the Sustainable Potential of Living Resources of the Exclusive Economic Zone (Northern Brazil)], using a commercial fishing net at depths of up to 1100 m, between 1996 and 2001. Our specimen of N. asperrimus was morphologically compared to N. agassizii from the literature, and we observed that both species share several morphological characters. We consider only the proportion of merus length relative to carapace length and the spinulation of the walking legs to be useful in separating these two species. Additionally, the presence of N. asperrimus in the Amazon continental slope increases its geographic distribution, corresponding to the second observation of this species in Brazilian deep waters. This new record is an important contribution to the understanding of distributional patterns of lithodid species in Brazil and to the increase in biodiversity data of crustaceans from the Brazilian Amazon region.

A new genus and species of bee-mimicking clearwing moths from Mozambique (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae: Sesiini)

2026-04-13T11:42:37+12:00

This article provides a description of a new genus and species of Sesiini, Osmiasphex gorongosus gen. nov. & sp. nov., from central Mozambique. The new genus is characterized by an unusually short and broad head, with short, clavate antennae and short labial palpus with a greatly reduced terminal segment. It appears to be a mimic of bees of the genus Osmia Panzer, 1806.

**On two species of the indica group of Gyrophaena Mannerheim, 1830 from East Africa (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae)**

2026-04-13T11:43:39+12:00

Two African species of the genus Gyrophaena Mannerheim, 1839 are (re-) described and illustrated: G. (Gyrophaena) aenescens Bernhauer, 1915 (Tanzania) and G. (G.) protoindica sp. nov. (Rwuanda). A lectotype of G. (G.) aenescens is designated. Both species belong to the indica group, previously known from the Eastern Palaearctic and Oriental regions. The genus Gyrophaena is recorded from Rwuanda for the first time.

**A new species and new continental record for the genus Aclitus Foerster (Hymenoptera: Braconidae, Aphidiinae)**

2026-04-13T11:44:43+12:00

Aclitus wyomingensis Martens new species is described and Aclitus Foerster is reported from North America for the first time. A revised key to all described Aclitus species is presented, and the potential host associations and biology of Aclitus species are summarized.

**A new replacement name, Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) sakhalinensis nom. nov. for T. (A.) levis Khaustov & Döker, 2021 (Parasitiformes: Phytoseiidae)**

2026-04-13T11:45:46+12:00