An integrative taxonomic analysis is used to delimit and describe three new species of Pseudocalotoes from the sky island archipelago of the Banjaran (=mountain range) Titiwangsa of Peninsular Malaysia. Pseudocalotes drogon sp. nov., from Fraser's Hill, Pahang is basal to the sister species P. larutensis from Bukit Larut, Perak in the Banjaran Bintang and the new species P. rhaegal sp. nov. from Cameron Highlands, Pahang. Pseudocalotes drogon sp. nov. is differentiated from all other species of Psuedocalotes by having the combination of a flat rostrum; seven postrostrals; an interparietal; 11 circumorbitals; five canthals; 7-10 superciliaries; one scale between the rostral and nasal; nine supralabials; eight infralabials; 10 postnasal-suborbital scales; four postmentals; five or six sublabials; five or six chinshields; 47 smooth, wide, gular scales; weak transverse gular and antehumeral folds; two enlarged scales between the ear and eye; enlarged upper and lower posttemporals; a single enlarged supratympanic; no enlarged postrictals; three large scales bordering the dorsal margin of the ear opening; large pretympanic scales; eight scales in the nuchal crest not separated by a gap; enlarged vertebral scales extending to the tip of the tail; keeled and non-plate-like scales on flanks; 51 midbody scales; midventrals smaller than dorsals; 19 subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger; 23 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe; preaxial scales on third toe enlarged and spinose; subdigital lamellae not unicarinate; HW/HL 0.52; HL/SVL 0.31; no elbow or knee patches; and a male dewlap color of lime-green bearing a central yellow spot. Pseudocalotes rhaegal sp. nov. is differentiated from all other Psuedocalotes by having the combination of a convex rostrum; 6-8 postrostrals; an interparietal; nine or 10 circumorbitals; five canthals; 7-10 superciliaries; one or two scales between the rostral and nasal scales; eight or nine supralabials; seven or eight infralabials; 11 or 12 postnasal-suborbital scales; four postmentals; four or five chinshields; 40-45 smooth, wide, gular scales; no transverse gular fold; a weak antehumeral fold; three or four enlarged scales between the ear and eye; an enlarged upper and lower posttemporal; an enlarged supratympanic; no enlarged postrictals; no large scales bordering the upper margin of the ear opening or in the pretympanic region; 6-8 enlarged nuchal crest scales not separated by a gap; enlarged vertebral scales extending to the base of the tail; weakly keeled, non-plate-like scales on the flanks; 52-58 midbody scales; midventrals smaller than dorsals; 19-21 subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger; 22-26 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe; preaxial scales on the third enlarged and rounded; subdigital lamellae not unicarinate; HW/HL 0.50-0.54; HL/SVL 0.28-0.30; no elbow or knee patches; and female dewlap color yellow bearing a purple base. The analyses also indicated that the new species, P. viserion sp. nov. from Genting Highlands, Pahang in the southern section of the Banjaran Titiwangsa is the sister species of P. flavigula from Cameron Highlands 121 km to the north and can be separated from all other species of Psuedocalotes by having the combination of three postrostrals; 10 circumorbitals; four or five canthals; 5-7 superciliaries; rostral and nasals in contact; supralabials contacting the nasal; six or seven supralabials; six or seven infralabials; two or three postmentals; 47 or 48 smooth, flat, gular scales; three chinshields; weak transverse gular and antehumeral folds; two enlarged scales between the ear and eye; an enlarged upper and lower posttemporal; an enlarged supratympanic; no enlarged postrictals; 7-9 nuchal crest scales lacking gaps and not extending beyond midbody; weakly keeled and plate-like scales on the flanks; 35-38 midbody scales; ventrals smaller than dorsals; 22 or 23 subdigital lamellae on the fourth finger; 26 or 27 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe; preaxial scales on the third toe not modified; subdigital scales not unicarinate; HW/HL 0.62; no white marking below the eye; dewlap in males yellow; and no elbow or knee patches. Pseudocalotes rhaegal sp. nov. most likely occurs in syntopy with P. flavigula in Tanah Rata at Cameron Highlands and its discovery adds to a growing body of literature detailing the recent descriptions of several new, upland, closely related, sympatric species in Peninsular Malaysia. Another new population referred to here as Pseudocalotes sp. nov. from the Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, Betong District, Yala Province, Thailand is discussed. The discovery and description of these three new Pseudocalotes from the upland regions of Peninsular Malaysia continues to underscore the remarkably high herpetological diversity and ecological complexity in this sky island archipelago that is still underestimated, unappreciated, and unprotected.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
A new species of Bent-toed Gecko, Cyrtodactylus gunungsenyumensis sp. nov. of the sworderi complex, is described from Hutan Lipur Gunung Senyum, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia and is differentiated from all other species in the sworderi complex by having a unique combination of characters including a maximum SVL of 74.7 mm; low, rounded, weakly keeled, body tubercles; 34-40 paravertebral tubercles; weak ventrolateral body fold lacking tubercles; 38-41 ventral scales; an abrupt transition between the posterior and ventral femoral scales; 20-23 subdigital lamellae on the fourth toe; enlarged femoral scales; no femoral or precloacal pores; no precloacal groove; wide caudal bands; and an evenly banded dorsal pattern. Cyrtodactylus gunungsenyumensis sp. nov. is a scansorial, karst forest-adapted specialist endemic to the karst ecosystem surrounding Gunung Senyum and occurs on the vertical walls of the limestone towers as well as the branches, trunks, and leaves of the vegetation in the associated karst forest. Cyrtodactylus gunungsenyumensis sp. nov. is the seventh species of karst forest-adapted Cyrtodactylus and the sixteenth endemic species of karst ecosystem reptile discovered in Peninsular Malaysia in the last seven years from only 12 different karst forests. This is a clear indication that many species remain to be discovered in the approximately 558 isolated karst ecosystems in Peninsular Malaysia not yet surveyed. These data continue to underscore the importance of karst ecosystems as reservoirs of biodiversity and microendemism and that they constitute an important component of Peninsular Malaysia's natural heritage and should be protected from the quarrying interests of foreign industrial companies.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
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.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
Twelve species of Ansonia occur on the Thai-Malay peninsula, of which, five from Peninsular Malaysia, form a monophyletic group. One of these, A. jeetsukumarani, is endemic to the Titiwangsa Mountain Range, in which, we discovered a new population of Ansonia that is not A. jeetsukumarani or even its closest relative. Based on morphology, color pattern, and molecular phylogenetic analyses using the mitochondrial genes 12s and 16s rRNA, we have determined that this new species, A. smeagol sp. nov., forms the sister lineage to an upland, monophyletic group composed of A. jeetsukumarani, A. lumut, A. malayana, and A. penangensis. We have noted similar biogeographic patterns in other taxa from the Titiwangsa Mountain Range in a number of upland lineages in Peninsular Malaysia. We hypothesize that the phylogeographic structure of these upland populations is a result of stochastic processes stemming from interaction of climate-driven forest dynamics and life histories.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
The presence of the Afro-Australian genus Conochironomus Freeman, 1961 (Diptera: Chironomidae) in Asia has been recognised only informally. An unpublished thesis included Conochironomus from Singapore, and the genus has been keyed from Malaysia without named species. Here, the Sumatran Conochironomus tobaterdecimus (Kikuchi & Sasa, 1980) comb. n. is recorded from Singapore and Thailand. The species is transferred from Sumatendipes Kikuchi & Sasa, 1980, rendering the latter a junior synonym (syn. n.) of Conochironomus Freeman. Conochironomus nuengthai sp. n. and Conochironomus sawngthai sp. n. are described as new to science, based on adult males from Chiang Mai, Thailand. All species conform to existing generic diagnoses for all life stages, with features from male and female genitalia, pupal cephalic tubercles and posterolateral 'spurs' of tergite VIII providing evidence for species distinction. Some larvae are linked to C. tobaterdecimus through molecular barcoding. Variation in other larvae, which clearly belong to Conochironomus and are common throughout Thailand, means that they cannot be segregated to species. Larval habitats include pools in river beds, urban storage reservoirs, drains with moderately high nutrient loadings, and peat swamps. Endochironomus effusus Dutta, 1994 from north-eastern India may be a congener but may differ in adult morphology, thereby precluding formal new combination until discrepancies can be reconciled. Many problems with vouchering taxonomic and molecular material are identified that need to be rectified in the future.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
A new species of limestone cave-adapted gecko of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex, C. hidupselamanya sp. nov., is described from an isolated karst formation at Felda Chiku 7, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. This formation is scheduled to be completely quarried for its mineral content. From what we know about the life history of C. hidupselamanya sp. nov., this will result in its extinction. A new limestone forest-adapted species, C. lenggongensis sp. nov., from the Lenggong Valley, Perak was previously considered to be conspecific with C. bintangrendah but a re-evaluation of morphological, color pattern, molecular, and habitat preference indicates that it too is a unique lineage worthy of specific recognition. Fortunately C. lenggongensis sp. nov. is not facing extinction because its habitat is protected by the UNESCO Archaeological Heritage of the Lenggong Valley due to the archaeological significance of that region. Both new species can be distinguished from all other species of Cyrtodactylus based on molecular evidence from the mitochondrial gene ND2 and its flanking tRNAs as well as having unique combinations of morphological and color pattern characteristics. Using a time-calibrated BEAST analysis we inferred that the evolution of a limestone habitat preference and its apparently attendant morphological and color pattern adaptations evolved independently at least four times in the C. pulchellus complex between 26.1 and 0.78 mya.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
Telosticta fugispinosa sp. nov. (holotype male, from Borneo, Sabah, West Coast division, Crocker Range National Park, Inobong, Kimamabang waterfall stream system, 21 ix 2012, deposited in RMNH) is described from Kinabalu National Park and Crocker Range National Park in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. It is distinguished from all other species of Telosticta by the form of the male anal appendages.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
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.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
A new species of Gryllotalpa mole cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae) is described from Bukit Larut, Perak, Peninsular Malaysia: Gryllotalpa permai sp. n. Acoustic analysis of the male calling songs were also provided for Gryllotalpa permai sp. n. and the morphologically similar Gryllotalpa fulvipes.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
Bukit Larut is a hill station at the southern tip of the Bintang Range, Perak of Peninsular Malaysia. While the biodiversity of Bukit Larut has been previously documented, its entomofauna, including the Orthoptera, remains relatively unknown. A faunistic survey was conducted in 2015 as part of the continuous exploration of the highlands in Malay Peninsula. An annotated species list of 71 (24 Caelifera and 47 Ensifera) species of Orthoptera from ten families (five from each order) is presented here. While the coverage of lineages in the orthopteran phylogeny is well-represented, the diversity in Bukit Larut is dominated by the three main families: Acrididae, Gryllidae and Tettigoniidae. Eight new locality records for Bukit Larut and/or Peninsular Malaysia and potential new species awaiting description highlight that the orthopteran diversity in Bukit Larut is not exhaustive.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
The survey of Thysanoptera in peninsular Malaysia has been concentrated largely in areas growing crops and flowers around Kuala Lumpur, and the Cameron Highlands, and there are few records of these insects from native forests particularly in the northern part of the country. The two species described here were collected during a recent visit to Belum-Temengor Forest Complex, in Perak State, part of the second largest forested area on the peninsular, and connected to the Bang Lang National Park, in Yala Province, Thailand. This forest has been well known as home to a number of endangered animals, including Malayan tigers and Asian elephants, as well as remarkable plant species such as Rafflesia with the world's largest flowers (Abdullah et al. 2011). Despite this, forest areas are facing a major challenge from the insatiable demand for timber, palm oil and minerals, with an 80% increase in deforestation rate in Malaysia between 1990 and 2005 (FAO 2010). Forested land in peninsular Malaysia has been estimated at 5.88 million-ha or 44% of total area, but the coverage of reserved virgin forest is about 0.40 % or 23,002-ha (Dahlan 2008).
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
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.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
Two new species of the genus Asprothrips Crawford, A. bucerus sp. n. and A. punctulosus sp. n. are described and illustrated from China. A. bimaculatus Michel & Ryckewaert, previously known only from Martinique in the French West Indies and Malaysia, is newly recorded from mainland China and Taiwan, along with the first descriptive notes of the male, and the record from China of A. fuscipennis Kudô is considered a misidentification of A. bucerus sp. n. The generic diagnosis of Asprothrips is briefly summarized and an updated key to world species of the genus is also presented.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
Study of Ephemeroporus Frey, 1982 populations from Peninsular Malaysia revealed a new species. Ephemeroporus malaysiaensis sp. nov. is characterized by the presence of four-five large denticles on anal margin of postabdomen instead of two-three, and five distinctive pigmented spots on each valve. Pigmented spots on the valves were never recorded for any species of family Chydoridae. E. malaysiaensis sp. nov. seems to be another endemic Chydoridae species of South-East Asia. E. malaysiaensis sp. nov. is a rare species, associated with emergent macrophytes in the littoral zone of shallow lake. Most of Ephemeroporus populations from Peninsular Malaysia belong to eurybiotic Paleotropical species Ephemeroporus barroisi (Richard, 1984).
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
We describe two new species of skinks from Gunung Penrissen, Sarawak, Malaysia, in northern Borneo, Tytthoscincus batupanggah sp. nov. and T. leproauricularis sp. nov. Morphological and molecular analyses both corroborate the two new species as unique compared to all other Tytthoscincus and additional Sphenomorphus that are candidates for taxonomic placement in the genus Tytthoscincus. Despite their phenotypic similarity and sympatric distribution, a molecular analysis shows that the new species are not sister taxa and exhibit a deep genetic divergence between each of their respective sister taxa. We discuss how historical climatic and geographic processes may have led to the co-distribution of two relatively distantly related phenotypically similar species. In light of these discoveries, we also emphasize the importance of conserving primary montane tropical rainforest for maintaining species diversity.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
Species of Signoretia Stål from the Oriental region are reviewed and types of five species described by Baker, two species described by Distant and one species described by Schmidt are illustrated. A checklist of 20 species of the genus from the Oriental region including 9 new species is given. The new species described and illustrated are Signoretia dulitensis sp. nov. (Malaysia: Mt Dulit), S. lunglei sp. nov. (India: Mizoram), S. mishmiensis sp. nov. (Myanmar: Mishmi Hills), S. quoinensis sp. nov. (Malaysia: Quoin Hill), S. rubra sp. nov. (Thailand: Chiang Mai), S. sahyadrica sp. nov. (India: Kerala), S. similaris sp. nov. (Vietnam: Fyan), S. sinuata sp. nov. (India: West Bengal) and S. takiyae sp. nov. (India: Andaman Is.). Both S. aureola Distant and S. maculata Baker are redescribed and illustrated. Lectotypes are designated for S. greeni Distant and S. aureola Distant.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
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.
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development
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].
Matched MeSH terms: Animal Structures/growth & development