Two new monotypic spittlebug genera and their type species in the family Machaerotidae, subfamily Enderleiniinae, are described and illustrated: Labramachaerota korupa gen. & sp. n. (with type locality in Cameroon) and Kyphomachaerota maaia gen. & sp. n. (with type locality in Sarawak, Malaysia).
Miyagiella Harbach, subgen. nov., is introduced as a new subgenus of Topomyia Leicester for a remarkable male mosquito, Topomyia discors Harbach, sp. nov., from Sabah, Malaysia. A diagnosis of the subgenus is provided that features unique anatomical characters of the genitalia of the holotype male. Miyagiella is very distinct from the two previously recognised subgenera of Topomyia, but is perhaps more closely related to the nominotypical subgenus than to subgenus Suaymyia Thurman. Salient differences that distinguish the three subgenera are contrasted; the holotype male of To. discors is described and its unique genitalia are illustrated.
The island of Borneo lies within one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. Despite this, its documented gekkonid diversity is not commensurate with other areas of Southeast Asia. The megadiverse genus Cyrtodactylus is especially underrepresented. Limestone-karst ecosystems, in particular, harbor many endemic Cyrtodactylus species, but only one karst-dwelling species is currently recognized from Borneo. This paper adds two additional karst-dwelling Cyrtodactylus species-C. muluensis sp. nov. and C. limajalur sp. nov.-from Sarawak, Malaysia. Cyrtodactylus muluensis sp. nov. is endemic to Gunung Mulu and is distinguished from its congeners by having a precloacal groove, 31-38 ventral scales, a maximum SVL of at least 88 mm, enlarged subcaudals, 19-20 subdigital lamellae, and a banded dorsal body pattern. Cyrtodactylus limajalur sp. nov. is endemic to the Serian region and is distinguished from its congeners by having 33-42 ventral scales, enlarged subcaudals, a precloacal pit, a maximum SVL of at least 94 mm, 5-6 enlarged femoral scales, 19-22 subdigital lamellae, and five distinct bands on the dorsum. Both species are phylogenetically distinct and deeply divergent from all other congeners. The description of two new karst-dwelling species highlights the need to conserve karst habitats and the endemic species they harbor.
A new species of stream toad of the genus Ansonia is described from Gunung Murud, Pulong Tau National Park, of northern Sarawak, Malaysia, Borneo. Ansonia vidua, sp. nov., is morphologically distinguished from its Bornean congeners by the following combination of characters: medium size (SVL of adult females 33.5-34.4 mm); body uniformly black-brown in life; absence of a visible pattern on dorsum or limbs; presence of two low interorbital ridges; shagreened skin on dorsum, sides and upper surfaces of the limbs with numerous homogeneously small, rounded warts; first finger shorter than second; reduced webbing between the toes and an absence of a sharp tarsal ridge. Uncorrected genetic distances between related taxa of > 4.3% in 16S rRNA gene support its status as a hitherto undescribed species.
A new species of the genus Tropidophorus is described from Putai, upper Baleh, Kapit districts, Sarawak, East Malaysia (Borneo). Tropidophorus sebi sp. nov. is diagnosable from congeners from Borneo by the combination of the following characters: head shields present, dorsal and lateral scales smooth; parietal scales in two pairs; supraciliaries eight; supraoculars four; supralabials seven; infralabials four; postmental undivided; longitudinal scale rows 58; ventrals 53; transverse scale rows at midbody 34; subcaudals 98; preanals enlarged, single; and subdigital lamellae of Toe IV 19. In addition, we determine the phylogenetic position of this species within the Tropidophorus group based on mitochondrial markers, and present a key to identification of the known Bornean species in the genus.
A new species of Philautus is described from western Sarawak. The new species was collected in lower montane forest in two national parks in Sarawak and recorded from another park. It differs from its congeners by a unique combination of morphological characters, including a long, acuminate snout, long legs, and comparatively extensive toe webbing. The advertisement call of the new species differs from all calls of other species that have been analyzed so far. Comparison of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene sequence corroborates its distinct specific status.
The ground beetle genus Hexachaetus Chaudoir, 1871 is re-defined and reviewed. Bearing six setae on ligula is no more considered as a crucial characteristic for Hexachaetus. Members of Hexachaetus share the following combination of morphological features: body polish, smooth, and impunctate, ligula more or less dilated at apex, bearing 4, 6, or even 12 setae apically, prosternal process unbordered at apex, elytra distinctly and obliquely truncated at apex, with the apical inner angles very sharp in most species (except for H. mulan n. sp.), and interval 3 with anterior and posterior setiferous pores (median one lacking). The members of Hexachaetus are about 20 species which could be divided into six species groups. All except angulatus species group are dealt with in this paper, with descriptions of four new species: H. kirschenhoferi n. sp. (Indonesia: Kalimantan), H. brunki n. sp. (Malaysia: N. Borneo), H. vietnamensis n. sp. (Vietnam: Annam) and H. mulan n. sp. (Malaysia: Perak and Pahang). H. maindroni Tian & Deuve, 2006 is proposed as a subspecies of H. lateralis Guérin, 1843, n. stat. A key to species groups and species of the genus is also provided.
The final stadium larva of Onychargia atrocyana Selys, 1865, is described and illustrated based on two female specimens collected at Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, East Malaysia. The larvae were identified by matching the mitochondrial marker COI with that of known adult specimens from Gunung Mulu, Bintulu and Kuching in Sarawak and from Pahang state in West Malaysia. The specimens presented close matches with all adults in this gene. As O. atrocyana is a taxonomically isolated species with no close congeners in Borneo the determination is beyond doubt. O. atrocyana is the only member of the Onychargiinae for which the larva is known. It is compared with the known larvae of other platycnemidid subfamilies, and the possible significance of larval morphology in higher classification of the group is discussed.
T. iban sp. nov. is described from the Lanjak Entimau Wildlife Sanctuary in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Both sexes can be distinguished from all other species of Telosticta by the form of the antehumeral markings.
The final instar larva of Orthetrum borneense Kimmins, 1936, is described and figured for the first time based on exuviae from three male and six female larvae collected in Sarawak, Borneo (East Malaysia). It is compared with an early instar larva, which was matched to the adult O. borneense by DNA barcoding, and the known larvae of other species of this genus that occur in the region.
The final instar larva of Acrogomphus jubilaris Lieftinck, 1964, is described and figured for the first time based on exuviae from four male and one female larvae collected in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. The adults of A. jubilaris are very rarely encountered. The larvae, however, are surprisingly common in forest streams in Borneo. It is compared with A. malayanus Laidlaw, 1925 and A. walshae Lieftinck, 1935, and notes on behavior, distribution and habitat are included. A map including all known records of A. jubilaris is provided.
The geographic distribution and habitat association of most mammalian polymorphic phenotypes are still poorly known, hampering assessments of their adaptive significance. Even in the case of the black panther, an iconic melanistic variant of the leopard (Panthera pardus), no map exists describing its distribution. We constructed a large database of verified records sampled across the species' range, and used it to map the geographic occurrence of melanism. We then estimated the potential distribution of melanistic and non-melanistic leopards using niche-modeling algorithms. The overall frequency of melanism was ca. 11%, with a significantly non-random spatial distribution. Distinct habitat types presented significantly different frequencies of melanism, which increased in Asian moist forests and approached zero across most open/dry biomes. Niche modeling indicated that the potential distributions of the two phenotypes were distinct, with significant differences in habitat suitability and rejection of niche equivalency between them. We conclude that melanism in leopards is strongly affected by natural selection, likely driven by efficacy of camouflage and/or thermoregulation in different habitats, along with an effect of moisture that goes beyond its influence on vegetation type. Our results support classical hypotheses of adaptive coloration in animals (e.g. Gloger's rule), and open up new avenues for in-depth evolutionary analyses of melanism in mammals.
A cryptic Bornean torrent frog of the genus Meristogenys, which is divergent genetically and morphologically from all known congeners, is described from mountain streams of western Sarawak, East Malaysia (Borneo). The species occurs sympatrically with the type species of the genus, M. jerboa, but apparently differs from it in adult coloration and larval morphology, such as keratodont formulae and glands in tail fins. Females of the new species possess much larger and fewer eggs than in sympatric M. jerboa, suggesting significantly different reproductive traits between these species. A key to larvae of known species of the genus is provided.
The Strongylophthalmyia punctata subgroup, comprising 24 species with armored fore femora, and restricted primarily to SE Asia, is reviewed. Eighteen new species, S. albisternum, n. sp. (Thailand), S. borneensis, n. sp. (Borneo), S. caestus, n. sp. (Philippines), S. darlingi, n. sp. (Sumatra), S. federeri, n. sp. (Philippines), S. hauseri, n. sp. (Thailand, Vietnam), S. indochinensis, n. sp. (Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam), S. inundans, n. sp. (Philippines), S. laosensis, n. sp. (Laos), S. lowi, n. sp. (Peninsular Malaysia), S. malayensis, n. sp. (Peninsular Malaysia), S. nigripalpis, n. sp. (Peninsular Malaysia), S. oxybeles, n. sp. (Sumatra), S. pappi, n. sp. (Thailand), S. phillindablank, n. sp. (China), S. sichuanica, n. sp. (China), S. sumatrana, n. sp. (Sumatra), and S. thailandica, n. sp. (Thailand) are described and illustrated, S. microstyla Shatalkin and S. punctata Hennig are redescribed based on examination of the holotypes, and a key to species of the subgroup is presented. A general taxonomic overview of the genus Strongylophthalmyia is given with discussion of and keys to proposed species groups.
Human land use is continuously altering the natural environment, yet the greater ecological implications of this change for many groups that are key to healthy ecosystem functioning remains uncharacterised in the tropics. Terrestrial scavenging vertebrates are one such group, providing integral ecosystem services through the removal of carrion which is a crucial component of both nutrient cycling and disease dynamics. To explore how anthropogenic processes may affect forest scavengers, we investigated the changes in the relative occupancy of two important terrestrial scavengers along a gradient of land use intensity, ranging from protected forest to oil palm plantation in Borneo. We found the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga) had highest, albeit variable, occupancy in areas of low land use intensity and the Southeast Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator macromaculatus) had highest occupancy in areas of high land use intensity. Land use had no effect on the combined occupancy of the two species. In high land use intensity sites, individual water monitors were larger and had better body condition, but at population level had a highly biased sex ratio with more males than females and increased signs of intraspecific conflict. We did not assess scavenging rate or efficiency as a process, but the high occupancy rates and apparent health of the scavengers in high land use intensity landscapes suggests this ecological process is robust to land use change.
A sponge-associated species of the genus Nippontonia new to science is described from Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia. The only other species in the genus is also known to be a sponge-dweller. The new species can be distinguished from its con- gener by a suite of characters mainly of the anterior appendages.
The previously known distribution area of the genus Grossander Slater, 1976 (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Rhyparochromidae, Drymini) is broadened with the description of two new species: Grossander papuanus sp. nov. (New Guinea) and Grossander eylesi sp. nov. (Burma, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia). Grossander (Oculoander) subgen. nov. is created for these new taxa. Drawings of habitus and male genitalia are presented. Keys to the subgenera of Grossander, and to the species of the new subgenus are provided.
The bee fly genus Euchariomyia Bigot is reviewed and new records from the Oriental Region are given. Five names (for four species-level taxa) have been associated with species in the genus. Examinations of types, as well as homotypic and topotypic specimens, shows all five names to belong to a highly variable single species, Euchariomyia dives Bigot. The following species are here shown to be the same as Euchariomyia dives Bigot: Bombylius pulchellus Wulp, 1880, Bombylius scintillans Brunetti, 1909, and Bombylius brunettii Senior-White, 1922, n. syn. The genus is known primarily from the southern and eastern Oriental Region and ranges into the Palaearctic in eastern China. We extend the distribution of the genus with new records in the southeastern Oriental Region [Indonesia (Sumatra), Laos, Peninsular Malaysia, and Vietnam].
The net-winged beetle genus Alyculus Kasantsev is reported from Peninsular Malaysia for the first time and a new species, A. malaypeninsularis sp. nov., is described and illustrated. An expanded identification key to Alyculus males is provided and the biology and distribution of the species are discussed.
Homotherium was a genus of large-bodied scimitar-toothed cats, morphologically distinct from any extant felid species, that went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene [1-4]. They possessed large, saber-form serrated canine teeth, powerful forelimbs, a sloping back, and an enlarged optic bulb, all of which were key characteristics for predation on Pleistocene megafauna [5]. Previous mitochondrial DNA phylogenies suggested that it was a highly divergent sister lineage to all extant cat species [6-8]. However, mitochondrial phylogenies can be misled by hybridization [9], incomplete lineage sorting (ILS), or sex-biased dispersal patterns [10], which might be especially relevant for Homotherium since widespread mito-nuclear discrepancies have been uncovered in modern cats [10]. To examine the evolutionary history of Homotherium, we generated a ∼7x nuclear genome and a ∼38x exome from H. latidens using shotgun and target-capture sequencing approaches. Phylogenetic analyses reveal Homotherium as highly divergent (∼22.5 Ma) from living cat species, with no detectable signs of gene flow. Comparative genomic analyses found signatures of positive selection in several genes, including those involved in vision, cognitive function, and energy consumption, putatively consistent with diurnal activity, well-developed social behavior, and cursorial hunting [5]. Finally, we uncover relatively high levels of genetic diversity, suggesting that Homotherium may have been more abundant than the limited fossil record suggests [3, 4, 11-14]. Our findings complement and extend previous inferences from both the fossil record and initial molecular studies, enhancing our understanding of the evolution and ecology of this remarkable lineage.