A new genus and species of hisponine jumping spider from Sarawak, Jerzego corticicola Maddison sp. nov. are described, representing one of the few hisponine jumping spiders known from Asia, and the only whose male is known. Although similar to the primarily-Madagascan genus Hispo in having an elongate and flat body, sequences of 28s and 16sND1 genes indicate that Jerzego is most closely related to Massagris and Tomomingi, a result consistent with morphology. Females of Jerzego and other genera of Hisponinae were found to have an unusual double copulatory duct, which appears to be a synapomorphy of the subfamily. Two species are transferred from Hispo, Jerzego bipartitus (Simon) comb. nov. and Jerzego alboguttatus (Simon) comb. nov. Diagnostic illustrations and photographs of living spiders are provided.
Six new species of marpissoid jumping spiders from Sarawak, Borneo, are described in the new genus Tisaniba Zhang & Maddison. They are the type species, T. mulu Zhang & Maddison sp. nov., as well as the species T. bijibijan Zhang & Maddison sp. nov., T. dik Zhang & Maddison sp. nov., T. kubah Zhang & Maddison sp. nov., T. selan Zhang & Maddison sp. nov., and T. selasi Zhang & Maddison sp. nov. The spiders are small and brown to black, living in leaf litter in the tropical forest. Phylogenetic analyses based on 28s and 16sND1 genes indicate that they are a distinctive group within the marpissoids. Diagnostic illustrations and photographs of living spiders are provided for all species.
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.
Three new species of black flies, Simulium (Nevermannia) langbiangense, S. (N.) phami, and S. (N.) bachmaense, are described on the basis of females, males, pupae and larvae collected in Vietnam. All three species are assigned to the Simulium feuerborni species-group of Simulium (Nevermannia). Simulium (N.) langbiangense sp. nov. is characterized by the female sensory vesicle with a large opening, and a short common basal stalk of the six pupal gill filaments, S. (N.) phami sp. nov. is most striking in having the pupal gill with five filaments, a character not reported in species of the S. feuerborni species-group, and S. (N.) bachmaense sp. nov. is characterized by the female genital fork with a triangular lobe-like projection pointed posteromedially on each arm, and the small larval postgenal cleft. This represents the first record of the S. feuerborni species-group from Vietnam.
The present study reports the first record of Apseudomorpha from Taiwan and includes descriptions of three new species and one new species record. Paradoxapseudes pangcahi sp. nov. differs from the most similar congener, Paradoxapseudes littoralis, by having one segment less in the antennal flagellum and fewer segments in the uropod endopod. Pseudoapseudomorpha tagopilosus sp. nov. is distinguished from its most similar congener, Pseudoapseudomorpha ornata, by having one long lateral seta on pleonite 4, a four-segmented antennular outer flagellum, and a male with smaller and thinner 'small' cheliped than that of the female and with vestigial pleopods on pleonite 3. Indoapseudes multituberculata sp. nov. stands out from its congeners by having pleopods only on the last two pleonites in females, many small tubercles terminally on the pleotelson, and mandibular palp article 1 with noticeable distal teeth. The Synapseudes species recorded in the present study morphologically agrees with Synapseudes hansmuelleri that was originally described from the Tioman Archipelago, Malaysia, South China Sea. Morphological comparisons between each of the three newly described species and its congeners are tabulated.
A new species of Opecarcinus Kropp & Manning, 1987, is described from Indonesia and Malaysia. Opecarcinus cathyae sp. nov. is associated with the scleractinian corals Pavona clavus (Dana, 1846) and P. bipartita Nemenzo, 1980, inhabiting crescent-shaped cavities or tunnels on the coral surface. The new species is the ninth assigned to the genus. It can be separated from congeners by the anterolateral orientation of the cornea, the carapace with shallow transverse depressions, lacking longitudinal depressions, and the smooth dorsal margin of the fifth female pereiopod carpus. The distinctive colour pattern can be used as a diagnostic character in live specimens.
Azaleothrips, a phlaeothripine genus of fungus-feeding species, is presumably endemic to the Oriental Region between India and Japan. Although only 10 species have been known in this genus until now, a total of 35 species is recorded here, of which 26 are newly described: from Indonesia--A. bali sp.n., A. bulelengi sp.n., A. dentatus sp.n., A. dorsalis sp.n., A. floresi sp.n., A. inflavus sp.n., A. simulans sp.n., A. sulawesicus sp.n., from the Philippines--A. apoensis sp.n., A. bifidius sp.n., A. luzonensis sp.n., A. mindanaoensis sp.n., A. philippinensis sp.n., from Taiwan--A. atayal sp.n., A. formosae sp.n., A. taiwanus sp.n., from Thailand--A. flavicollis sp.n., A. phuketanus sp.n., A. pulcher sp.n., A. toshifumii sp.n., from Vietnam--A. laocai sp.n., A. vietnamensis sp.n., from W. Malaysia--A. malaya sp.n., A. reticulatus sp.n., A. richardi sp.n., A. templeri sp.n. In addition A. magnus Chen, described from Taiwan, is newly synonymized with A. moundi. Azaleothrips laevigatus, described from southern Japan, is newly recorded more widely in Southeast Asia. A key to 33 species is provided, but A. bhattii and A. lineus cannot be recognized because of the poor information in the original descriptions.
The Oriental pselaphine genus Horniella Raffray, 1905 (tribe Tyrini: subtribe Somatipionina) is redefined and revised. Twenty-five new species are described: H. centralis Yin & Li, sp. n., H. confragosa Yin & Li, sp. n., H. dao Yin & Li, sp. n., H. hongkongensis Yin & Li, sp. n., H. nakhi Yin & Li, sp. n., H. schuelkei Yin & Li, sp. n., H. sichuanica Yin & Li, sp. n., H. simplaria Yin & Li, sp. n., and H. tianmuensis Yin & Li, sp. n. from China, H. himalayica Yin & Li, sp. n. from Nepal and North India, H. asymmetrica Yin & Li, sp. n., H. burckhardti Yin & Li, sp. n., H. intricata Yin & Li, sp. n., H. kaengkrachan Yin & Li, sp. n., H. khaosabap Yin & Li, sp. n., H. loebli Yin & Li, sp. n., H. phuphaman Yin & Li, sp. n., H. prolixo Yin & Li, sp. n., and H. schwendingeri Yin & Li, sp. n. from Thailand, H. philippina Yin & Li, sp. n. from the Philippines, H. awana Yin & Li, sp. n., H. gigas Yin & Li, sp. n., H. pilosa Yin & Li, sp. n., and H. smetanai Yin & Li, sp. n. from Malaysia, and H. cibodas Yin & Li, sp. n. from Indonesia. The two previously described species, H. hirtella Raffray, 1901 (type species) from Sri Lanka and H. falcis Yin & Li, 2010 from China are redescribed, and a lectotype is designated for H. hirtella. Illustrations of habitus and important diagnostic features, an identification key, and distributional maps for all species are provided. Eleven unidentified species represented only by females are left unnamed. Illustrations of the habitus and the genital complex, and label data of these species are given to facilitate future study. All available data indicates that species of Horniella typically inhabit leaf litter of various kinds of forests, and can be most efficiently collected by sifting and use of Winkler-Moczarski extractors.
Scoloposcelis seidaii sp. nov. is described from the Malay Peninsula based on a single specimen collected under the bark of a decaying tree. This discovery represents the first distribution record of the genus Scoloposcelis from Malaysia. Habitus photographs and diagnosis of S. parallela (Motschulsky, 1863) are provided for comparison with S. seidaii.
The megophryid frogs Leptobrachella brevicrus, Leptolalax dringi and Megophrys dringi are species exclusively known from highly localised areas in isolated mountain ranges on Borneo. The tadpoles and adults in this study were collected at the shared type locality for the three species in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo). The species identities of larvae were determined via comparison to syntopic adults using DNA barcoding techniques based on partial 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene sequences. The genetic data supported the status of the three taxa as valid species. Descriptions of colouration in life and after preservation, external morphological features, morphometric measurements and ecological notes in comparison to congeneric species are supplied. The tadpoles of L. brevicrus and L. dringi show similar adaptations to a fossorial lifestyle. These include an elongated, vermiform body, a relatively long tail and small eyes. Both were found in the gravel beds of a small mountain stream. In contrast, the larvae of M. dringi are adapted to occupying and feeding at the surface of pools within the stream.
Species of the bark louse genus Trichadenotecnum Enderlein (Insecta: Psocodea) from Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore are revised with illustrations and identification keys. Twenty species are here recognised, with four new species and ten recorded for the first time from this region, together with an unnamed species represented by a single female. The previously described species T. marginatum New & Thornton is not included because its generic assignment is questionable. Females of T. cinnamonum Endang & New, T. imrum New & Thornton and T. sibolangitense Endang, Thornton & New, and the male of T. kerinciense Endang & New are described for the first time. A new species group is defined for T. krucilense Endang, Thornton & New.
This article is the first formal record of the genus Mallinella Strand, 1906 in Brunei Darussalam. Four Mallinella species are documented. Mallinella merimbunenis sp. nov., M. myrmecophaga sp. nov., and M. platyrhyncha sp. nov. are newly described. The females of M. bigemina Dankittipakul, Jocqué & Singtripop, 2012 are here recorded from Brunei for the first time. The latter species was previously known only from an evergreen hill forest at 2,000 m elevation at Mt. Kinabalu of Kinabalu Park in Sabah.
The taxonomy of three genera of little-known Phaneropterinae from Malay Peninsula (Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia) is reviewed: Cesasundana Koçak & Kemal, 2009, Elbenia Stål, 1876 and Macedna Karsch, 1891. One new species each from the genera Cesasundana and Elbenia are described from Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia respectively: Cesasundana lorniensis sp. n. and Elbenia fraser sp. n. Keys to species of Cesasundana and Elbenia are also included. The taxonomic position of monotypic genus Macedna is validated, male is redescribed and the female is described for the first time.
A new species, Megatyrus femoralis sp. n., is described from the Koshi Zone, East Nepal, with major diagnostic features illustrated. Megatyrus masumotoi Nomura, Sakchoowong & Chanpaisaeng, originally described from southwestern Thailand, is recorded from the Noring Timur Mountain, West Malaysia. The above data extends the known range of Megatyrus about 1,200 km to the west, and 870 km to the south.
A newly discovered, diminutive, cave-dwelling, lowland species of the colubrid snake genus Lycodon Boie is described from a limestone cave along the Thai-Malaysian border in the state of Perlis, northwestern Peninsular Malaysia. Lycodon cavernicolus sp. nov. is most closely related to L. butleri Boulenger, an endemic, upland, forest-dwelling species from Peninsular Malaysia of the fasciatus group but is separated from L. butleri and all other species of the L. fasciatus group and the closely related L. ruhstrati group by having the combination of 245 (male) and 232 (female) ventral scales; 113 (male) and 92 (female) paired, subcaudal scales; a single precloacal plate; nine or 10 supralabials; 10 or 11 infralabials; a maximum total length of 508 mm (female); a relative tail length of 0.25-0.27; an immaculate venter in juveniles and dark-brown, posterior, ventral scale margins in adults; and dorsal and caudal bands in juveniles white. The discovery of L. cavernicolus sp. nov. adds to a rapidly growing list of newly discovered reptiles from karst regions and limestone forests of Peninsular Malaysia, underscoring the fact that these areas should be studied before they are quarried as they harbor a significant portion of the Peninsular Malaysia's herpetological diversity.
Mycomya Rondani specimens from the islands of South-East Asia, i.e. Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, are revised. The paper includes a key to the Mycomya species of the South-East Asian islands. The following six new species are described: M. shimai sp. n. from Java, Indonesia, M. pongo sp. n. from Sabah, Malaysia, and M. apoensis sp. n., M. nakanishii sp. n., M. paraklossi sp. n. and M. yatai sp. n. from Mindanao, the Philippines. The holotypes of M. klossi Edwards from Borneo, Malaysia, and M. minutata Edwards from Sumatra, Indonesia, were examined and their genitalia are described. M. occultans (Winnertz) is recorded from Java, Indonesia.
A new brightly-coloured (olive and red) species of microhylid frog of the genus Calluella Stoliczka 1872 is described from the upper elevations of Gunung Penrissen and the Matang Range, Sarawak, East Malaysia (Borneo). Calluella capsa, new species, is diagnosable in showing the following combination of characters: SVL up to 36.0 mm; dorsum weakly granular; a faint dermal fold across forehead; toe tips obtuse; webbing on toes basal; lateral fringes on toes present; outer metatarsal tubercle present; and dorsum greyish-olive, with red spots; half of venter bright red, the rest with large white and dark areas. The new species is the eighth species of Calluella to be described, and the fourth known from Borneo. A preliminary phylogeny of Calluella and its relatives is presented, and the new taxon compared with congeners from Malaysia and other parts of south-east Asia.
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.
A new species of cave crab, Stygothelphusa antu new species, is described from limestone formations in Temurang, Sarawak, Malaysia. The new species is the most highly adapted to a cavericolous lifestyle among the four known species of Stygothelphusa, having a pale body pigmentation, reduced eyes and elongated pereopods. In contrast, the other three species have normal eyes that almost completely fill the orbits. The new species also differs from its congeners by a number of carapace, pereopod and gonopod characters.
The genus Austronothrus was previously known from three species recorded only from New Zealand. Austronothrus kinabalu sp. nov. is described from Sabah, Borneo and A. rostralis sp. nov. from Norfolk Island, south-west Pacific. A key to Austronothrus is included. These new species extend the distribution of Austronothrus beyond New Zealand and confirms that the subfamily Crotoniinae is not confined to former Gondwanan landmasses. The distribution pattern of Austronothrus spp., combining Oriental and Gondwanan localities, is indicative of a curved, linear track; consistent with the accretion of island arcs and volcanic terranes around the plate margins of the Pacific Ocean, with older taxa persisting on younger island though localised dispersal within island arc metapopulations. Phylogenetic analysis and an area cladogram are consistent with a broad ancestral distribution of Austronothrus in the Oriental region and on Gondwanan terranes, with subsequent divergence and distribution southward from the Sunda region to New Zealand. This pattern is more complex than might be expected if the New Zealand oribatid fauna was derived from dispersal following re-emergence of land after inundation during the Oligocene (25 mya), as well as if the fauna emanated from endemic, relictual taxa following separation of New Zealand from Gondwana during the Cretaceous (80 mya).