The Oriental leafhopper genus Kalasha Distant is reviewed with redescriptions and photos of all known species, and two new species are described and illustrated. The female ovipositor of K. nativa Distant is described and photographed. Kalasha sondaica Jacobi, 1914 is proposed as a junior synonym of K. nativa Distant, 1908. A key to species of the genus is provided. Kalasha nativa Distant, originally described from India (Assam), is recorded from Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam for the first time, also representing the first records of the genus from Malaysia and Thailand.
The Oriental leafhopper genus Balala Distant is reviewed and newly recorded from Malaysia and Thailand. Four known species are redescribed and illustrated, with Balala lui newly recorded from Malaysia. And four new species are reported with descriptions and figures. A key to males of Balala species is provided. The female ovipositor of B. nigrifrons is described and photographed for the first time.
Recent linyphiid collections from Laos as well as some additional specimens from Thailand and West Malaysia are examined. Six species and two genera are described as new to science: Bathyphantes paracymbialis n. sp., Nematogmus asiaticus n. sp., Theoa hamata n. sp.; Asiagone n. gen. is erected for Asiagone signifera n. sp. (type species) and A. perforata n. sp.; Laogone n. gen. is established for Laogone cephala n. sp. The following new synonyms are proposed: Gorbothorax Tanasevitch, 1998 n. syn. = Nasoona Locket, 1982; Paranasoona Heimer, 1984 n. syn. and Millplophrys Platnick, 1998 n. syn. = Atypena Simon, 1894; Gorbothorax ungibbus Tanasevitch, 1998 n. syn. = Oedothorax asocialis Wunderlich, 1974; Hylyphantes birmanicus (Thorell, 1895) n. syn. = H. graminicola (Sundevall, 1830). The following new combinations are proposed: Atypena cirrifrons (Heimer, 1984) n. comb. ex from Paranasoona; A. pallida (Millidge, 1995) and A. crocatoa (Millidge, 1995) both n. comb. ex Millplophrys; Nasoona asocialis (Wunderlich, 1974) n. comb. ex Oedothorax Bertkau, 1883; N. asocialis (Wunderlich, 1974), N. comata (Tanasevitch, 1998), N. conica (Tanasevitch, 1998), N. setifera (Tanasevitch, 1998) and N. wunderlichi (Brignoli, 1983), all n. comb. ex Gorbothorax. Eight linyphiid species are newly recorded from Laos: A. cirrifrons (Heimer, 1984), Bathyphantes floralis Tu & Li, 2006, Hylyphantes graminicola (Sundevall, 1830), Nasoona asocialis, N. crucifera (Thorell, 1895), Nasoonaria sinensis Wunderlich & Song, 1995, Neriene birmanica (Thorell, 1887), and N. oxycera Tu & Li, 2006. The linyphiid spider fauna of Laos currently contains 15 species and is unusually highly specific. All species, except the Palearctic H. graminicola, are probably represented by Southeastern Asian or Oriental autochthons.
Linyphiid spiders collected from the Indo-Malayan Region and kept at three European Museums are studied. Twenty-three known species are newly recorded from continental or insular parts of Southeastern Asia and from the Oriental area of India. Seven new species are described: Asiagone komannai n. sp. (from Thailand), Erigone apophysalis n. sp. and E. sumatrana n. sp. (Sumatra, Indonesia), Gnathonarium luzon n. sp. (Philippines), Ketambea acuta n. sp. (Thailand, Myanmar), Oedothorax myanmar n. sp. (Myanmar) and Theoa malaya n. sp. (West Malaysia).
A new species of freshwater crab is described from southern Thailand, near the border with Peninsular Malaysia. Species of Stoliczia are characterised by their relatively flat carapace, a third maxilliped exopod that possesses no or a very short flagellum, and a conical male gonopod terminal segment that lacks or only has a very low dorsal fold. Stoliczia setoiyenica, new species, most closely resembles S. perlensis and S. kedahensis from northern Peninsula Malaysia but can be easily distinguished from congeners by differences in carapace and male gonopod morphology. Comparisons to the two known Thai Stoliczia species, S. panhai and S. ekavibhathai, are also provided for completeness.
The taxonomy of poorly known Mesagraecia Ingrisch, 1998 is reviewed. A new species of Mesagraecia spine-headed katydid (Conocephalinae: Agraeciini) is described from Bukit Larut, Perak, Peninsular Malaysia: Mesagraecia larutensis sp. n. A key to species is also presented.
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.
Four new species from three genera of Agraeciini from Malay Peninsula are described: Paragraecia temasek sp. n., Peracca mirzai sp. n., Peracca macritchiensis sp. n. from Singapore, and Lichnofugia malaya sp. n. from Peninsular Malaysia. The first records and descriptions of the female of Liara alata Ingrisch, 1998 and the male of Paragraecia gracilis Ingrisch, 1998 are given.
Material based on a taxonomic collection in Bukit Fraser, Pahang of Malay Peninsula enables the review of two genera of bush katydid (Phaneropterinae). The female of Elimaea (Rhaebelimaea) pseudochloris Ingrisch, 1998 is described and recorded for the first time outside its type locality, Thailand. One new species of Pseudopsyra from Bukit Fraser is described: Pseudopsyra bispina sp. n.
One new species of Gryllotalpa from Bukit Fraser, Pahang of Malay Peninsula is described: Gryllotalpafraser sp. n. Pho tographs of Gryllotalpa hirsuta Burmeister, 1838 were examined and some remarks are made here, including a compari son with Gryllotalpafraser sp. n. and Gyllotalpa nymphicus Tan, 2012.
The taxonomy of the little-known cricket genus Changiola from the subfamily Pteroplistinae is reviewed here. This genus consisted of three species, two from Malay Peninsula and one from Indochina. Here, we describe a new species from Borneo, the first from the island: Changiola sarawakensis n. sp. We also provide a key to the species, although it is likely that more species will be added to this genus with more sampling in the region.
Three new species were described from Borneo: Itara (Bornitara) spinosa sp. nov. and Aphonoides duri sp. nov. from Brunei and Varitrella (Cantotrella) suikei sp. nov. from Sandakan in Sabah. We describe the call of Varitrella (Cantotrella) suikei sp. nov. In addition to the new species descriptions, we also report new locality records of other recently discovered species: Borneloria spinosa Gorochov, 2018 in Belait (Brunei Darussalam), species of Anemozara Gorochov, 2014 in Brunei Darussalam and Terrozacla borneo Gorochov, 2014 in Belait.
Here, taxonomic notes on species from three genera of bark crickets are presented. A new locality is recorded for Duolandrevus (Bejorama) parvulus Gorochov, 2016: Singapore. Two new species of Landrevinae are described: one species of Endodrelanva Gorochov, 1999 from Singapore: Endodrelanva jimini sp. nov.; one species of Odontogryllodes Chopard, 1969 from Fraser's Hill, Peninsular Malaysia: Odontogryllodes gratus sp. nov. The male of Odontogryllodes latus Chopard, 1969 is also described for the first time and female is redescribed. Keys to all known species of Endodrelanva and Odontogryllodes is provided.
There are now more than 28,000 described orthopterans globally (Cigliano et al., 2018) and this figure is likely to increase in the future. The same is true for Southeast Asia, where we are still at a stage of discovering species new to science, and this is partly an artefact of incomplete sampling (Tan et al., 2017a). In one of the most popular biodiversity hotspots, i.e., Borneo, is the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre. It is located in the primary lowland and ridge dipterocarp forests of the Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei Darussalam. Recent collection of orthopterans in the area led to the discovery of several new species of katydids (Tan et al., 2017b; Tan Wahab, 2017a) and crickets (Tan et al., 2017c; Tan Wahab, 2017b). Here, we describe another new species of katydid, from the genus Tapiena Bolívar, 1906. Tapiena currently consists of 26 species (Tan et al., 2015) and is distributed around Asia and even Africa. In Borneo, only one species is known: Tapiena incisa Karny, 1923 from Sarawak (see Karny, 1923). The new species Tapiena paraincisa sp. nov. represents the second species described from Borneo.
Three species new to science of the Gryllid subfamilies Gryllinae and Pteroplistinae are described from Brunei: (1) Mimicogryllus splendens Tan, Gorochov Wahab, sp. nov., (2) Pteroplistes bruneiensis Tan, Gorochov Wahab, sp. nov., and (3) Tembelingiola belaitensis Tan, Gorochov Wahab, sp. nov. A new species of cricket of the subfamily Phaloriinae is also described from Sandakan, eastern Sabah: Vescelia sepilokensis Tan, Gorochov, Japir Chung, sp. nov.
Orthoptera from Sandakan, Sabah are relatively understudied compared to some other parts of Borneo, and lack of information of species there can impede our understanding of the origins and biodiversity of orthopterans in Borneo and, in general, Southeast Asia. Based on a recent orthopteran survey in Sandakan, one new species of Lebinthus Stål is described: Lebinthus sandakan sp. nov. The male calling song of this new species is also presented. The calling song of Cardiodactylus borneoe Robillard Gorochov, 2014 is also described for the first time.
Type specimens carry valuable information that can facilitate biodiversity research, especially in an era of mass extinction and unprecedent anthropogenic climate change. For Orthoptera, a few initiatives, including the Orthoptera Species File and digitization of collections by numerous museums, have helped to make images and information about the type specimens available on the World Wide Web. However, many local collections, especially those from the poorly studied regions of Southeast Asia, are still not available to the public. The collection of Grylloidea and Tettigonioidea gathered at the Forest Research Center, Sepilok in Sandakan, Sabah (Borneo) is one such example. We examined, identified, and imaged 12 and 45 species of Grylloidea and Tettigonioidea respectively from the collection (deposited as of October 2019) to facilitate taxonomic research by making the species in the collection accessible for everyone.
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.