Halone Walker (1854) is one of the small genera within the tribe Lithosiini of subfamily Arctiinae (Erebidae). It was established for its type species, Halone sobria Walker, 1854, from Australia. The genus Halone is distributed in Southeast Asia (total 14 spp.: 3 spp. from India; 1 sp. from Thailand; 9 spp. from Malay Peninsula; 1 sp. from Papua New Guinea) to Australia (total 14 spp.), with 28 species described by several authors in various genera: Halone sobria Walker (1854), Setina sinuata Wallengren (1860), Pitane sejuncta Felder Rogenhofer (1875), Mosoda consolatrix Rosenstock (1885), Mosoda servilis and M. ophiodes Meyrick (1886), Sorocostia interspersa Lucas (1890), Halone coryphoea and H. ebaea Hampson (1914), Eurypepla pteridaula Turner (1922), Halone epiopsis and H. prosenes Turner (1940), Psapharacis camptopleura and Scaphidriotis xylogramma Turner (1899) from Australia; Halone furcifascia Hampson (1914) from Papua New Guinea; Halone ariadna, H. bifornica, H. dissimulata, H. oblimarea, H. pillea, H. iuguma, H. marketae, H. solitus and H. viktorai Bucsek (2012; 2014) from Malay Peninsula; Halone straturata Černý (2009) from Thailand; Aemene diffusifascia Swinhoe (1896), Aemene flavescens Hampson (1898), and Halone flavinigra Hampson (1907) from India. The genus is cataloged in Poole (1989) and Edwards (1996).
Seven new Psechrus species are described from South East Asia: P. arietinus sp. nov.(♂♀, Vietnam), P. insulanus sp. nov.(♂, Thailand), P. ampullaceus sp. nov.(♂♀, Vietnam), P. omistes sp. nov.(♂, Indonesia, Sumatra), P. quasillus sp. nov.(♂♀, Malaysia, Borneo), P. huberi sp. nov.(♀, Philippines), and P. wade sp. nov.(♂, Philippines). For the following species, new records are listed and intraspecific variation is discussed and illustrated: P. libelti Kulczyński, 1908, P. norops Bayer, 2012, P. rani Wang & Yin, 2001, P. khammouan Jäger, 2007, P. luangprabang Jäger, 2007, P. jaegeri Bayer, 2012, P. obtectus Bayer, 2012, P. kenting Yoshida, 2009 and P. crepido Bayer, 2012, and Fecenia protensa Thorell, 1891. The latter species is recorded from Vietnam for the first time. P. norops, P. libelti and an unidentified Psechrus species from Baluno, Mindanao are for the first time characterised and illustrated by their pre-epigynes and pre-vulvae.
Two new species of Pharta, P. sudmannorum sp. nov. (♂♀, Borneo) and P. koponeni sp. nov. (♂, Thailand) are described. Furthermore, Ibana senagang gen. nov. & sp. nov. from Malaysia is described based on its exceptional palp, which has a reduced, movable conductor and thick-long spines on the distal, ventral surface of the tibia, reminiscent of Epidius Thorell, 1877.
The crab spider genus Angaeus Thorell, 1881 currently contains 10 described species (Benjamin 2013; WSC 2017). All species of the genus are restricted to tropical Asia. The aim of this correspondence is to illustrate and describe a new species of the genus characterized by a number of features previously found in the genera Angaeus, Borboropactus Simon, 1884, Epidius Thorell, 1877 and Geraesta Simon, 1889. The most unusual feature is the elongated tibia of the male palp that was previously thought to be diagnostic of Epidius (Figs 1, 2, 8; character 1 in Benjamin 2011; Benjamin 2017). However, the new species lacks tibial macrosetae (Figs 1, 2, 8) and lacks a flexibly attached MA, both also being characteristics of Epidius (characters 2 and 18 in Benjamin 2011). Furthermore, this new species differs considerably in general appearance from all known species of Epidius.
The genus Morphosphaera Baly, 1861 is revised. Eleven species are considered as valid, including, M. takizawai sp. nov. (Mt. Basor, 90 km N of Gua Musang, Malaysia, W. Kelantan), described from Malaysia and Indonesia. Color photos of habitus and drawings of diagnostic characters from eleven species are presented. The following synonymies are proposed: M. sodalis Chen, 1935 and M. brunnea Maulik, 1936 are junior synonyms of M. albipennis Allard, 1889; M. margaritacea Laboissière, 1930, M. viridipennis Laboissière, 1930, and M. prava Maulik, 1936 are junior synonyms of M. coomani Laboissière, 1930; M. gracilicornis Chen, 1963 is a junior synonym of M. maculicollis Baly, 1861; M. cavaleriei Laboissière, 1930, M. cincticollis Laboissière, 1930, M. marginata Laboissière, 1930, M. purpurea Laboissière, 1930, M. gingkoae Gressitt & Kimoto, 1963, and M. metallescens Gressitt & Kimoto, 1963 are junior synonyms of M. sumatrana Jacoby, 1886. The type material of M. impunctata Allard, 1890 from the Philippines was not found and its taxonomic status remains uncertain. Morphosphaera peregrina Weise, 1913 is transferred to the genus Borneola Mohamedsaid, 1998 nov. comb. A neotype is designated for Chrysomela japonica Hornstedt, 1788. Lectotypes are designated for the following species: Adorium chrysomeloides Bates, 1866, A. japonicum Baly, 1874, Morphosphaera albipennis Allard, 1889, M. bimaculata Chûjô, 1938, M. caerulea Jacoby, 1896, M. cavaleriei Laboissière, 1930, M. collaris Laboissière, 1930, M. formosa Laboissière, 1930, M. marginata Laboissière, 1930, M. montivaga Maulik, 1936, M. prava Maulik, 1936, M. purpurea Laboissière, 1930, M. sumatrana Jacoby, 1886, M. viridipennis Laboissière, 1930, and Galerucida simplex Weise, 1922.
The genus Theopea Baly, 1864 is redefined. Seventeen species from Sundaland and the Philippines are recognized and classified into four species groups (including seven new species): T. impressa (Fabricius, 1801), T. longicollis (Jacoby, 1896), T. louwerensi Jolivet, 1951, T. lunduensis Mohamedsaid, 1998, T. chungi sp. nov. in the T. impressa group; T. flavipalpis Laboissère, 1940, T. guoi sp. nov., T. lui sp. nov., T. sabahensis sp. nov. in the T. flavipalpis group; T. elegantula Baly, 1864, T. pulchella Baly, 1864, T. fairmairei Duvivier, 1885, T. kedenburgi Weise, 1922, T. houjayi sp. nov., T. tsoui sp. nov., T. yuae sp. nov. in the T. pulchella group; and T. costata (Allard, 1889) in the T. costata group. The following new synonyms are established: Theopea pulchella Baly, 1864 = T. nigricollis Jacoby, 1892 syn. nov.; Theopea impressa (Fabricius, 1801) = T. impressa flavicornis Laboissère, 1940 syn. nov. and T. impressa malaccana Laboissère, 1940 syn. nov.; T. lunduensis Mohamedsaid, 1998 = T. sepilokensis Mohamedsaid, 2000 syn. nov. Lectotypes are designated for Crioceris impressa Fabricius, 1801, Ozomena longicollis Jacoby, 1896, Theopea elegantula Baly, 1864, T. fairmairei Duvivier, 1885, T. nigricollis Jacoby, 1892, and T. pulchella Baly, 1864. Theopea obliterata Jacoby, 1884, T. variabilis (Jacoby, 1887), T. incostata (Allard, 1889), T. clypeata Jacoby, 1896, T. modiglianii Jacoby, 1896, T. dohrni (Jacoby, 1899), T. viridipennis (Jacoby, 1899), and T. weberi (Weise, 1913) are removed from Theopea and regarded as species incertae sedis.
The species of the genus Coeligetes Jacoby, 1884 distributed in Malaysia and Indonesia are revised, illustrated and keyed. New species, C. howardi sp. nov. from Borneo is described. New synonymy Coeligetes submetallica Jacoby, 1884 = C. wilcoxi Mohamedsaid, 1994 (syn. nov.) is proposed. New genus and species Coeligetoides trifurcatus gen. nov., sp. nov. (Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand) is described, illustrated and compared with related genera.
Palpoxena hajeki sp. nov. from continental Malaysia, characterised by completely reddish brown body and deeply excavated anterior of male head with a pair of large twisted tufts of setae, is described and compared with the similar species. Colour photos of habitus, body details and penis are presented.
The adults of Calochromini with male flabellate antennae were studied. Two new Calochromus Guérin-Méneville, 1833 species with flabellate antennae, C. kelantanensis spec. nov. and C. harauensis spec. nov. are described. Dumbrellia Lea, 1909 (Calochromini) is proposed as a new junior synonym of Plateros Bourgeois, 1879 (Lycinae: Platerodini). Flabellochromus Pic, 1925 is transferred to Calochromus from synonymy with Dumbrellia based on the similar shape of the pronotum. Consequently, Calochromus lamellatus Kleine, 1926, comb. nov. from Sarawak and Flabellochromus pallidus Pic, 1925, comb. nov. (=Calochromus (Flabellochromus) pallidus Pic, 1925) from Luzon are returned to Calochromus. New combinations are proposed for three Australian species previously classified in Dumbrellia: Plateros brevicornis (Lea, 1898), comb. nov. (=Calochromus brevicornis Lea, 1898), P. pilosicornis (Lea, 1898), comb. nov. (=C. pilosicornis Lea, 1898) and P. melancholica (Lea, 1921), comb. nov. Plateros barronensis nom. nov. is proposed to replace Plateros pilosicornis (Lea, 1898), a junior secondary homonym of P. pilosicornis (Blanchard, 1853) (=Lycus pilosicornis Blanchard, 1853).
Platybaetis bishopi Müller-Liebenau, 1980 was originally described from Malaysia only at the larval stage. We provide the first description of the imaginal stage of P. bishopi based on materials from Thailand. The imago of this species can be separated from the known species by coloration of abdominal terga and coloration of wings. A new species, Platybaetis nayokensis sp. nov., is described based on male and female imagos and larvae from Thailand. The larva of this species is mainly distinguished by medium acute spines on the posterior margin of the abdominal terga and two apical setae on the glossa, which seem to be shorter than in other species. The imago can be separated by the abdominal color pattern. The larva of this genus is adapted to live on wet rocks projecting out of water; it prefers large stones near small waterfalls or areas between two large rocks in running water.
Species of the bopyrid isopod genus Rhopalione Pérez, 1920, are parasites of Indo-West Pacific pinnotherid crabs. Unlike other bopyrid parasites of brachyurans that occupy the branchial chambers, however, species of Rhopalione (subfamily Pseudioninae) infest the abdominal cavity. Prior to the present study, four species of Rhopalione were recognized: R. atrinicolae Page, 1985 (New Zealand), R. incerta (Bonnier, 1900) (Madagascar), R. sinensis Markham, 1990 (East Asia), and R. uromyzon Pérez, 1920 (Persian Gulf). A fifth species of Rhopalione, from Perhentian Besar, Malaysia, is described herein, parasitic on the pinnotherid crab Serenotheres besutensis (Serène, 1967). Keys are provided to females and males of the species in the genus.
The family Xenophidiidae is an extremely rare and little-known family of snakes that contains only two species, Xenophidion acanthognathus Günther Manthey and X. schaeferi Günther Manthey that are each known only from their holotypes. We report on the rediscovery of X. schaeferi from two new locations in southern Peninsular Malaysia. The new specimens differ markedly from the holotype of X. schaeferi in colour pattern and are more akin to the patterning of X. acanthognathus from Borneo. However, molecular analyses of one of the new specimens reveal that it only differs from the holotype of X. schaeferi by a minimum sequence divergence of 0.27%. An expanded description of the species based on these specimens is provided and phenotypic variation within the species is discussed. We also report the first record of the genus Xenophidion from West Sumatra, Indonesia. These sensational discoveries continue to underscore the fact that southern Peninsular Malaysia and upland areas of Southeast Asia in general still harbour unrealized herpetological diversity and are still in need of field research-based taxonomic studies.
A taxonomic revision and phylogenetic analysis of the spider genus Glenognatha Simon, 1887 is presented. This analysis is based on a data set including 24 Glenognatha species plus eight outgroups representing three related tetragnathine genera and one metaine as the root. These taxa were scored for 78 morphological characters. Parsimony was used as the optimality criterion and a sensitivity analysis was performed using different character weighting concavities. Seven unambiguous synapomorphies support the monophyly of Glenognatha. Some internal clades within the genus are well-supported and its relationships are discussed. Glenognatha as recovered includes 27 species, four of them only known from males. A species identification key and distribution maps are provided for all. New morphological data are also presented for thirteen previously described species. Glenognatha has a broad distribution occupying the Neartic, Afrotropic, Indo-Malaya, Oceania and Paleartic regions, but is more diverse in the Neotropics. The following eleven new species are described: G. vivianae n. sp., G. caaguara n. sp., G. boraceia n. sp. and G. timbira n. sp. from southeast Brazil, G. caparu n. sp., G. januari n. sp. and G. camisea n. sp. from the Amazonian region, G. mendezi n. sp., G. florezi n. sp. and G. patriceae n. sp. from northern Andes and G. gouldi n. sp. from Southern United States and central Mexico. Females of G. minuta Banks, 1898, G. gaujoni Simon, 1895 and G. gloriae (Petrunkevitch, 1930) and males of G. globosa (Petrunkevitch, 1925) and G. hirsutissima (Berland, 1935) are described for the first time. Three new combinations are proposed in congruence with the phylogenetic results: G. argyrostilba (O. P.-Cambridge, 1876) n. comb., G. dentata (Zhu & Wen, 1978) n. comb. and G. tangi (Zhu, Song & Zhang, 2003) n. comb., all previously included in Dyschiriognatha Simon, 1893. The following taxa are newly synonymized: Dyschiriognatha montana Simon, 1897, Glenognatha mira Bryant, 1945 and Glenognatha maelfaiti Baert, 1987 with Glenognatha argyrostilba (Pickard-Cambridge, 1876) and Glenognatha centralis Chamberlin, 1925 with Glenognatha minuta Banks, 1898.
The phygadeuontine genus Apophysius (Ichneumonidae) is reviewed for the first time. Six new species are described, A. baolocensis Pham, Matsumoto Broad sp. nov., A. constrictus Pham, Matsumoto Broad sp. nov. and A. taynguyenensis Pham, Matsumoto Broad sp. nov. from the Central Highlands of Vietnam, A. latus Pham, Matsumoto, Konishi, Sheng Broad sp. nov. from China and Vietnam, A. takasukai Pham, Konishi Broad sp. nov. from the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia, and A. pentaceratops Broad sp. nov. from Sarawak, Malaysia. A key to the nine known species of the genus Apophysius is included.
A new species of Narrow-mouthed frog of the genus Kaloula is described from northern Peninsular Malaysia. Kaloula latidisca sp. nov. is genetically and morphologically most similar to K. baleata and K. indochinensis but differs from those and other congeners by the unique combination of the following characters: (1) adult males SVL 49.2-56.2 mm (x̅=53.5 ± 3.0; N=4); (2) finger tips expanded into large, transversely expanded discs (disc width 2.8-3.1 mm, x̅=3.0 ± 0.1); (3) inner metatarsal tubercle large, oval, distinctly raised, slightly shorter than first toe; (4) three subarticular tubercles on fourth toe; (5) toe webbing formula: I 1-2 II 1-3 III 2-3.5 IV 4-2 V; and (6) yellow to orange irregularly shaped patch on the axillary, inguinal and posterior region of thigh.
An integrative taxonomic analysis of the Ptychozoon lionotum group across its range in Indochina and Sundaland recovers P. lionotum sensu lato Annandale, 1905 as paraphyletic with respect to P. popaense Grismer, Wood, Thura, Grismer, Brown, Stuart, 2018a and composed of four allopatric, genetically divergent, ND2 mitochondrial lineages. Multivariate and univariate analyses of continuous and discrete morphological and color pattern characters statistically and discretely diagnose each lineage from one another and together, with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses, provide the foundation for the recognition of each lineage as a new species-hypotheses corroborated with a Generalized Mixed Yule Coalescent species delimitation analysis. Ptychozoon cicakterbang sp. nov. ranges throughout Peninsular Malaysia to Pulau Natuna Besar, Indonesia; P. kabkaebin sp. nov. is endemic to northern and central Laos; and P. tokehos sp. nov. ranges from southern Thailand south of the Isthmus of Kra northward to Chiang Mai, fringing the Chao Phraya Basin and ranging southward through Cambodia to southern Vietnam. Ptychozoon lionotum sensu stricto ranges from northwestern Laos through southern Myanmar to eastern India. The phylogeographic structure within each species varies considerably with P. lionotum s.s. showing no genetic divergence across its 1,100 km range compared to P. cicakterbang sp. nov. showing upwards of 8.2% sequence divergence between syntopic individuals. Significant phylogeographic structure exists within P. tokehos sp. nov. and increased sampling throughout Thailand may require additional taxonomic changes within this species.
A checklist of parasitic cymothoids from Malaysian waters is presented based on available literature and material collected from 2010 to 2020. Most of the collected specimens were recorded from waters of Terengganu, east coast of Peninsular Malaysia (facing the South China Sea), whereas literature records were included from Sarawak, along the Miri coast of northwest Borneo. The checklist comprises 19 species in ten genera, seven of which are new records from Malaysia: Anilocra nemipteri Bruce, 1987; Ceratothoa barracuda Martin, Bruce & Nowak, 2015; Ceratothoa carinata (Bianconi, 1869); Cymothoa epimerica Avdeev, 1979; Elthusa sigani Bruce, 1990; Joryma engraulidis (Barnard, 1936) and Renocila richardsonae Williams & Bunkley-Williams, 1992. Eight new host records are based on collected specimens: Anilocra nemipteri was dorsally attached on Nemipterus nemurus (Bleeker, 1857), Nemipterus nematophorus (Bleeker, 1854), Nemipterus tambuloides (Bleeker, 1853) and Nemipterus thosaporni Russell, 1991 (family Nemipteridae); Ceratothoa carinata was found in the buccal cavity of Decapterus macrosoma Bleeker, 1851 (family Carangidae); Cymothoa eremita (Brunnich, 1783) was attached in the buccal cavity of Nemipterus tambuloides (Bleeker, 1853) and Nemipterus furcosus (Valenciennes, 1830); Elthusa sigani was found attached on the gills of Pterois russelli Bennett, 1831 (family Scorpaenidae), and Renocila richardsonae was attached on the caudal fin of Upeneus japonicus (Houttuyn, 1782) (family Mullidae). All cymothoid species listed here are known to have a Central Indo-Pacific distribution, with some ranging as far as the Western Indian Ocean. A cymothoid-host association is here listed from 28 fish families, with the most commonly reported from Carangidae (pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, scads), Engraulidae (anchovies), and Leiognathidae (ponyfishes, slipmouths). This paper is the first comprehensive review of both verified literature records and deposited specimens. A key for the family of Cymothoidae in Malaysian waters is given.
Acizzia convector Burckhardt & Taylor, sp. nov., a psyllid originating from Australia, is described from material from Australia (NT), South and Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia [Sabah], Singapore and Thailand) and North America (USA [Florida from six counties]). The new species is diagnosed and illustrated, and a key is provided to identify the adults of Acizzia species adventive in the New World. The new species develops on Acacia auriculiformis and A. mangium (Fabaceae), two mimosoids planted and widely naturalised throughout the tropics. While the presence of A. convector sp. nov. in Florida is probably recent (earliest record from October 2014), it occurs in Southeast Asia at least since the 1980s. The wide distribution of the host plants in tropical Africa and South America would allow the psyllids also to occur there.
The generic assignment of the draconine lizard Gonocephalus robinsonii from the highlands of West-Malaysia has been uncertain since the original description. Here we present a study based on morphology, previously published karyotype data and molecular phylogenetics using 16S rRNA sequences to evaluate the systematic status of G. robinsonii. As a result we describe Malayodracon gen. nov. to accommodate the species.
To date, only the type species Lissonotocoris membranaceus Usinger & Matsuda 1959 is known and recorded from Vietnam and China, Hainan Island. Four new species of the previously monotypic genus Lissonotocoris are described and figured: loebli n.sp. (Thailand), glabronotus n.sp. (N.Vietnam), pachycerus n.sp. (Malaysia) and siamensis n.sp. (Thailand). A key for the identification of all 5 species is provided.