Zootaxa

Checklist and identification key for clingfishes (Actinopterygii: Gobiesocidae) from the Mediterranean Sea

2026-02-09T10:59:27+13:00

We provide a comprehensive checklist and identification key of the 13 known species of clingfishes (Actinopterygii: Gobiesocidae) occurring in the Mediterranean Sea, including five species described within the last decade. The species included in this checklist are confirmed based on rigorous evidence-based records. To date, all clingfishes in the Mediterranean are native and no alien species have been recorded.

**Description of the female and natural history of Clothoda tocantinensis Krolow & Valadares, 2016 (Embioptera: Clothodidae)**

2026-02-09T11:00:24+13:00

The genus Clothoda, endemic to South America, comprises four valid species, three of which occur in the Amazon basin and one, C. tocantinensis, restricted to the Cerrado domain. This species was previously known from type locality in Taquaruçu, an area combing seasonal forests and cerrado vegetation but sharing climate similarities with Amazon. Of the four species, only C. nobilis and C. tocantinensis are recorded in Brazil. Because the taxonomy of female and immature Embioptera remains poorly= studied, we conducted fieldwork in Taquaruçu to collect colonies containing eggs, immatures and females. The collected specimens were reared under laboratory conditions. Here, we describe the female and immature stages of C. tocantinensis and provide illustrations, behavioral observations and development time data.

The evolutionary relationships of marine hatchetfishes (Stomiiformes: Sternoptychidae) based on genomic and morphological data

2026-02-09T11:01:18+13:00

The dragonfishes and allies (Stomiiformes) are among the most species rich and ecologically important clades of deep-sea fishes. Within the Stomiiformes, the marine hatchetfishes (Sternoptychidae) are the second largest family with 10 genera and 79 species. Sternoptychids are well known for their highly reflective bodies and bioluminescent photophores that are hypothesized to aid camouflage and allow communication with conspecifics in the deep sea. While sternoptychids in Argyropelecus, Polyipnus, and Sternoptyx have anteriorly deep and posteriorly shallow bodies that resemble a hatchet or an ax in lateral view, the seven other sternoptychid genera have a more uniform, slender body; these differences have been used to separate these clades into two subfamilies. Despite their ecological importance and captivating life history, the phylogeny of this group has not been studied as extensively as other deep-sea fish groups. To date, phylogenetic studies have primarily used morphological characters to examine sternoptychid evolutionary relationships, and, perhaps surprisingly, prior molecular studies with sufficient genus-level sampling have never recovered the family as monophyletic. Herein, we investigate the evolutionary relationships of the Sternoptychidae using 415 mitochondrial and nuclear loci (including ultraconserved elements [UCEs]) and 149 morphological characters. We present the results of concatenated and species-tree molecular analyses and combined phylogenetic analysis. Based on these results, we provide a revised monophyletic classification that recognizes a monophyletic Sternoptychidae without any subfamilies because our results recovered a paraphyletic Sternoptychinae and a polyphyletic Maurolicinae. Specifically, our combined analyses revealed that the slender-bodied species in Maurolicus were nested within the traditionally recognized deeper-bodied sternoptychines (Argyropelecus, Polyipnus, and Sternoptyx). This four-genus clade was found sister to a slender-bodied clade composed of Araiophos, Argyripnus, Danaphos, Sonoda, Thorophos, and Valenciennellus. Unlike previous molecular analyses, all genera that included more than one species in our analyses were recovered as monophyletic. Our revised sternoptychid phylogeny provides a comprehensive framework for subsequent researchers interested in exploring evolutionary scenarios for the marine hatchetfishes.

**Taxonomical notes on the genus Anthaxia Eschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) from Malaysia and Indonesia and a new record for Brunei**

2026-02-09T11:02:04+13:00

Two new species and one subspecies of the genus Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) Reitter, 1911 are described, compared with the most similar species and illustrated here: Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) erjani sp. nov. from Indonesia, Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) serramera sp. nov. from Malaysia and Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) javanica continentalis ssp. nov. from Malaysia, all belonging to the Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) aeneocuprea species-group. Anthaxia (Merocratus) priska Bílý, 2019 is synonymized with Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) dayaka Bílý, 1991. A lectotype is designated for Anthaxia (Haplanthaxia) javanica Obenberger, 1924 and new distributional records for this species are given.

Labiobaetis ludmilae sp. nov., a new mayfly species from Indochina (Ephemeroptera, Baetidae)

2026-02-09T11:02:51+13:00

Larvae, subimagines, imagines of both sexes and eggs of a new species, Labiobaetis ludmilae sp. nov., are described from Laos and Thailand. The larva of the new species agrees with the diagnosis of the «Labiobaetis difficilis group of species» (according to Kaltenbach & Gattolliat 2019) and differs from known species of this group and all other species of Labiobaetis by having inclined denticles on abdominal terga. The mode of folding of the subimaginal gonostyli developing under the larval cuticle is of the «Acentrella-type», rather than of the «Labiobaetis-type».