Zootaxa

Further records of the tribe Gigantometopini (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Isometopinae) with descriptions of three new genera and five new species

ARTUR TASZAKOWSKI — 2025-12-04

Gigantometopini Herczek, 1993 is a small tribe of jumping tree bugs (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Isometopinae). Of the 16 extant species classified in Gigantometopini, 13 have been described in this century. In this paper, we described three new genera, Malaymetopidea gen. nov., Utarametopus gen. nov., and Wallacemetopus gen. nov. Five new species are described: Malaymetopidea maculata sp. nov. from Malaysia (Malay Peninsula), Planicapitus brunneus sp. nov. from South Thailand (Malay Peninsula), and Utarametopus linuspitti sp. nov., Utarametopus striatus sp. nov., and Wallacemetopus anteriotenebrosus sp. nov. from Indonesia (North Sulawesi). Habitus images and scanning electron micrographs of the selected structures of the new taxa are provided. New localities for Planicapitus luteus Taszakowski, Kim & Herczek, 2020, and Sulawesimetopus henryi Herczek, Gorczyca & Taszakowski, 2018 are recorded. Male genitalia of Malaymetopidea maculata sp. nov., Planicapitus brunneus sp. nov., and Wallacemetopus anteriotenebrosus sp. nov., and a distributional map of all Gigantometopini species are presented.

**Hidden biodiversity on the highest mountain in southern Vietnam: the fourth species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1927 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Tay Ninh Province**

QUYEN HANH DO — 2025-12-04

We describe a new species of the Cyrtodactylus irregularis complex from Ba Den Mountain, Tay Ninh Province, southern Vietnam based on molecular divergence and morphological differences. Cyrtodactylus tayninhensis sp. nov. is distinguished from the remaining congeners of the C. irregularis group by having the unique combination of: size medium (SVL 73.4–80 mm); dorsal tubercles in 13 or 14 irregular rows; 36–39 ventral scale rows; enlarged femoral scales absent; precloacal pores absent in females, 4–6 in males, in a continuous row; femoral pores absent; postcloacal spurs two or three on each side; lamellae under toe IV 16–18; a U-shaped continuous neckband, dorsal pattern between limb insertions consisting of two or three irregular yellow-brown bands and tail with 8–10 thin light bands (with two bands near vent light brown, others white); the absence of transversely enlarged median subcaudal scales. In terms of phylogenetic analyses, the new species is recovered as a member of the Cyrtodactylus irregularis species group without any clear sister taxon. Genetically, Cyrtodactylus tayninhensis sp. nov. is separated from the remaining taxa of the Cyrtodactylus irregularis group by a minimum of 13.13% and 16.09% based on fragments of the mitochondrial COI and ND2 genes, respectively.

A checklist of the fishes of the Motagua River drainage of western Honduras

CLAUDIA C. LARDIZABAL — 2025-12-04

The Motagua River Basin is a transboundary watershed shared by Guatemala and Honduras. To create a comprehensive checklist of fish species in the Honduran section of this basin, we conducted an extensive review of scientific and gray literature, followed by fieldwork to verify occurrence data. Our results show that the Honduran Motagua fish fauna comprises 52 species from 45 genera, 23 families, and 15 orders. The family Poeciliidae is the most diverse with 11 species, followed by Cichlidae with 10. We newly report 11 species for the Motagua River Basin. This study provides the most complete checklist for this basin to date, establishing a foundational reference for future biogeographic, ecological and conservation research in the region.

**A new species of Cnemaspis (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Temburong District, Brunei Darussalam**

TAKAKI KURITA — 2025-12-04

A new species of sandstone-dwelling rock gecko of the genus Cnemaspis is described from Bukit Patoi, Temburong District, Brunei Darussalam. This is the first country record for the genus, expanding the known distribution of Bornean Cnemaspis and advancing our understanding of its species diversity. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences confirm that the new species, Cnemaspis gituen sp. nov., represents a distinct evolutionary lineage, inferred to be the sister taxon of C. lagang from northeastern Sarawak. Cnemaspis gituen sp. nov. can be morphologically distinguished from all Bornean congeners by a unique combination of characters, most notably the presence of patches of aggregated tubercles on the lower flank associated with brilliant yellow spots in males. It further differs from C. lagang by having prominent trunk tuberculation (versus indistinct) and a suite of colouration differences in males (e.g., dark brown head versus grey). Unlike members of the nigridia species group, it is differentiated by its distinctive flank spots (versus faint vertical lines), fewer paravertebral tubercles (16–20 versus 23–38), and a continuous median row of slightly enlarged, keeled subcaudals (versus smooth median subcaudals). The new species is also distinguished by its small maximum SVL (50.8 mm) and 7–10 precloacal pores (in total) and unique caudal colouration in males.

A legacy of passion and dedication: new taxa and notes on Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) from the late James Cope collection

ANTONIO SANTOS-SILVA — 2025-12-04

The material examined in this work belongs to the collection of James S. Cope (1941-2024). His collection of over 10,000 specimens of Cerambycidae is currently housed in the California State Collection of Arthropods at the California Department of Food & Agriculture Sacramento, California, USA. Two new species are described: Odontogracilis copei sp. nov. (Cerambycinae, Rhinotragini) from Mexico: and Sternacutus monnei sp. nov. (Lamiinae, Acanthocinini) from Panama. Euderces reichei LeConte, 1873 is redescribed based on an entirely dark specimen from Mexico. Lithargyrus Martins & Monné, 1979 (Lamiinae, Acanthocinini) is recorded from Mexico for the first time; the possible synonymy between L. guadeloupensis (Villiers, 1980) and L. melzeri Martins & Monné, 1979 is discussed. The female of Alphinellus minutus Bates, 1881 (Lamiinae, Desmiphorini) is described for the first time.

**Notes on the genus Coelocraera from Cameroon with the description of four new species (Coleoptera: Histeridae: Exosternini)**

PIERPAOLO VIENNA — 2025-12-04

Four new species of Coelocraera (Histeridae: Histerinae: Exosternini) are described from Cameroon: Coelocraera lucida sp. nov., C. parumstriata sp. nov., C. punctatifrons sp. nov. and C. tishechkini sp. nov. New Cameroon country records of five species are reported. A list of Coelocraera species of Cameroon is provided and accompanied by photos of all reported species.

**What was known as Rhyothemis variegata (Linnaeus, 1763) and R. phyllis (Sulzer, 1776) (Odonata, Libellulidae) are the same species**

OLEG E. KOSTERIN — 2025-12-04

Rhyothemis variegata (Linnaeus, 1763) and R. phyllis (Sulzer, 1776) are conspicuous, widespread and well-known species described in 18^th century, the former by Linnaeus himself. They are considered broadly co-occurring in south-east Asia, with the former extending to the Indian subcontinent and the latter to Sundaland and Oceania. They are assumed to strongly differ in wing coloration, however this concerns females only, while the differences in males were characterised by Ris (1913) and Fraser (1936) as subtle. This circumstance is scarcely known to people interested in dragonflies, so that many of them got an impression that in the regions where both species co-occur, R. variegata is represented by females only. No structural difference between these two species has ever been reported. Fifteen years ago the first author supposed that the dragonflies associated with these two species names in fact represent the same biological species. Here, this statement is proved by sequencing two molecular markers, the mitochondrial COI gene fragment and the nuclear histone H3–H4 region, from eight females collected in the same swarm in Cambodia and classified to four distinct phenotypes, of which one formally corresponds to R. phyllis and three to R. variegata. The sequences were nearly identical: only three positions in COI and four (one with a two nucleotide indel) in the histone H3–H4 region (ca 0.5% of positions in both cases) were variable, without correspondence to phenotypes. Two specimens of R. variegata from Western Ghats of India shared the same haplotypes. Analysis of the COI sequences from GenBank proved the same near identity and the lack of correspondence to identifications as R. phyllis or R. variegata. Based on this, R. phyllis is claimed to be a junior subjective synonym of R. variegata. The nominotypical subspecies of the former is re-attributed to the latter, as Rhyothemis variegata phyllis comb. nov., while validity of other subspecies earlier proposed under R. phyllis is left for further studies.

**A new deep-water species of the alpheid shrimp genus Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 (Decapoda: Caridea) from East Flower Garden Bank off Texas, USA**

ARTHUR ANKER — 2025-12-04

Salmoneus karenae sp. nov. is described based on a single specimen found in debris recovered from a depth of 84.9 m, in the East Flower Garden Bank off Texas, USA. The new species is unique within Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 in having a domed carapace combined with completely exposed eyestalks and pale orange colour of the body and appendages. It represents the 14th species and first deep-water member of the genus in the western Atlantic.

**New data on harvestmen (Opiliones) of Georgia with the description of a new Rilaena species**

BEKA CHITADZE — 2025-12-04

In this study, we diagnose, illustrate, and describe a new harvestman species of the family Phalangiidae, Rilaena kopala sp. nov., based on male specimens collected in Georgia. We also report the first records of Zachaeus shachdag Snegovaya & Starega, 2008, and Calathocratus minutus Snegovaya, 2011 in Georgia, along with new records of Odiellus lendlii (Sørensen, 1894) and Phalangium mcheidzeae Snegovaya, 2014. Additionally, we provide the first COI sequences for C. minutus, C. caucasicus (Šilhavý, 1966), Z. shachdag, P. mcheidzeae, and R. kopala sp. nov..

**Erratum: YURI M. MARUSIK (2025) On six poorly known species of Thomisidae (Arachnida: Araneae) described by Ludovico di Caporiacco. Zootaxa, 5723 (3): 437–443.**

YURI M. MARUSIK — 2025-12-04