Zootaxa https://mapress.com/zt <p><strong>Zootaxa</strong> is a mega-journal for zoological taxonomists in the world</p> Mangolia Press en-US Zootaxa 1175-5326 <strong>Eggs of twelve Siberian and Far Eastern Isoperlinae (Plecoptera: Perlodidae)</strong> https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5642.3.1 <p lang="en-GB" align="left"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eggs of 12 Isoperlinae species from Siberia and the Russian Far East are examined, illustrated, and described using scanning electron microscopy images for the first time. Keys for their identification are proposed and included. East-Palaearctic <em>Isoperla eximia</em> Zapekina-Dulkeit, 1975 is recorded for Japan for the first time. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> VALENTINA A. TESLENKO Copyright (c) 2025 2025-05-29 2025-05-29 5642 3 201 224 10.11646/zootaxa.5642.3.1 <strong>Description of three new subspecies of <em>Eisenia nordenskioldi</em> (Annelida: Crassiclitellata) from Northeastern China</strong> https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5642.3.2 <p lang="en-GB" align="left"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The <em>Eisenia nordenskioldi</em> complex is known for its high karyotype diversity and morphological type, and there are many cryptic species present in this complex. The species is widely distributed in the Palearctic biogeographic region including Northeast China. However, the taxonomy of this species complex remains inadequately defined. In our study, we examined the morphological characters of the <em>Eisenia nordenskioldi</em> complex in Northeast China that have not been examined before and used mitochondrial marker COI and nuclear markers ITS2, AKAP17 and FLAD1 to analyze their genetic variation. We described three new subspecies namely, <em>E. nordenskioldi shenzi</em> <strong>ssp. nov.</strong> <em>E. n. jilinensis</em> <strong>ssp. nov.</strong> and <em>E. n. chinensis</em> <strong>ssp. nov.</strong>, which show morphological distinction and supported with molecular data. Molecular phylogenetic analyses show that the <em>Eisenia nordenskioldi</em> species complex is not monophyletic, supporting previous works. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> MINGYAN QIN HUIFENG ZHAO YUFENG ZHANG ANNE CHARIS N. HAN SERGEI V. SHEKHOVTSOV DONGHUI WU NONILLON M. ASPE Copyright (c) 2025 2025-05-29 2025-05-29 5642 3 225 244 10.11646/zootaxa.5642.3.2 <strong><em>Pristolepis pentacantha</em> Plamoottil 2015, and <em>Catopra tetracanthus</em> Günther 1862: two junior synonyms of <em>Pristolepis marginata</em> Jerdon 1849</strong> https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5642.3.3 <p lang="en-GB" align="left"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The identities of three species of <em>Pristolepis</em> described from the Western Ghats of India, <em>Pristolepis marginata</em> Jerdon 1849<em>, Catopra tetracanthus</em> Günther 1862, and <em>Pristolepis pentacantha</em> Plamoottil 2015, are resolved. Combined evidence from morphology and mitochondrial COI gene sequences reveals that <em>Pristolepis pentacantha</em> is a junior synonym of <em>P. marginata</em>, and comparison of morpho-meristic data from the two syntypes of <em>C. tetracanthus</em> and topotypic specimens of <em>P. marginata</em> demonstrate that they are conspecific. We show that <em>P. marginata</em> is restricted to tributaries of the east-flowing Cauvery River in the southern Western Ghats. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ANJANA PREETHA PRAKASH RAJEEV RAGHAVAN NEELESH DAHANUKAR V.K. ANOOP DENCIN RONS THAMPY RALF BRITZ ANVAR ALI Copyright (c) 2025 2025-05-29 2025-05-29 5642 3 245 259 10.11646/zootaxa.5642.3.3 <strong><em>Potamophylax rilaensis</em> sp. nov. (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae), a new species of the <em>Potamophylax winneguthi</em> Species Cluster from Bulgaria</strong> https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5642.3.4 <p lang="en-GB" align="left"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The <em>Potamophylax winneguthi</em> Species Cluster is recognized for its high diversity and microscale distribution across Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this paper, we describe <em>Potamophylax rilaensis</em> <strong>sp. nov.</strong>, a new species within this cluster from Bulgaria, which is morphologically most similar to <em>P. juliani</em> Kumanski 1999 (in Kumanski &amp; Malicky 1999) and <em>P. kosovaensis</em> Ibrahimi &amp; Bilalli 2024 (in Ibrahimi <em>et al.</em> 2024). The males of <em>P. rilaensis</em> <strong>sp. nov. </strong>differ from closest congeners by distinct morphological features, particularly in the shape of the inferior appendages, parameres, and paramere spine pattern.</span></span></span></p> <p lang="en-GB" align="left"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em> Potamophylax rilaensis </em><strong>sp. nov.</strong> was found at two localities in the Rila Mountains, at elevations ranging from 1462 to 1935 m above sea level. With the addition of <em>P. rilaensis </em><strong>sp. nov.</strong>, there are now eight known species within the <em>P. winneguthi</em> Species Cluster identified from the Balkan Peninsula. A comprehensive overview of species distribution, habitat preferences, and diagnostic features of male genitalia is also provided. </span></span></span></p> <p> </p> HALIL IBRAHIMI JANOS OLÁH TIBOR KOVÁCS Copyright (c) 2025 2025-05-29 2025-05-29 5642 3 260 270 10.11646/zootaxa.5642.3.4 <strong><em>Cryptachaea pacoti</em>, a new species of spider from Brazil (Araneae: Theridiidae), with notes on parasitoid-host interaction under the influence of abiotic factors</strong> https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5642.3.5 <p lang="en-GB" align="left"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The spider theridiid genus <em>Cryptachaea</em> Archer (1946) include today 112 species distributed in tropical and temperate regions worldwide. These spiders are attacked by Ichneumonidae parasitoids of the Polysphincta group of genera. In one of the remaining Atlantic Forest areas of the state of the Ceará, Brazil, we recorded the spider <em>Cryptachaea pacoti</em> <strong>sp. nov.</strong> (Theridiidae) being parasitized by the wasp <em>Zatypota riverai </em>Gauld, 1991 (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). In this study we describe the new spider species <em>C. pacoti.</em> <strong>sp. nov.</strong> (Theridiidae); an unknown interaction between the parasitoid wasp <em>Z. riverai</em> (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) and the spider <em>C. pacoti </em><strong>sp. nov.</strong>, and the correlation of abiotic factors (temperature and precipitation) on the temporal variation of the parasitism rate and total abundance of <em>C. pacoti </em>spiders. Our study reveals that parasitoidism is more frequent between the months of May and April and that the parasitoidism rate correlates negatively with temperature, but positively with precipitation. Although we quantified parasitized and non-parasitized spiders, we did not systematically record the life stages of all collected individuals. However, observations during the sampling period indicated that only adult and subadult spiders were parasitized, suggesting possible wasp selectivity for more developed stages of the host spider. These patterns may reflect a synchronization between the life cycles of the host and the parasitoid, influenced by the region’s humid microclimate in contrast to the surrounding semiarid environment. Precipitation did not correlate with the total abundance of spiders, but temperature negatively correlated with both spider abundance and parasitism rate, likely due to changes in microhabitat structure and wasp reproductive dynamics. The spiders likely exhibit seasonal abundance patterns related to forest formation type. While Ceará is largely characterized by the Caatinga biome's dry and hot climate, the Brejos de Altitude function as humid refuges with milder microclimates, greater vegetation cover, and high moisture retention, promoting more stable arthropod communities throughout the year.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> FLÁILDO DA SILVA ARAÚJO ANTONIO DOMINGOS BRESCOVIT LUIS CAMPILI PEREIRA GERMAN ANTONIO VILLANUEVA-BONILLA JOBER FERNANDO SOBCZAK Copyright (c) 2025 2025-05-29 2025-05-29 5642 3 271 286 10.11646/zootaxa.5642.3.5 <strong>Description of two mountain midges (Diptera, Chironomidae, Diamesinae) from China</strong> https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5642.3.6 <p lang="en-GB" align="left"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two new species, <em>Pagastia </em>(s. str.) <em>laojun</em> <strong>sp. nov.</strong> and <em>Pseudodiamesa </em>(s. str.) <em>neobranickii</em> <strong>sp. nov.</strong> are described based on the males collected from Mt. Laojun, Yunnan Province, Oriental China. In addition, <em>Pseudodiamesa</em> (s. str.) <em>branickii</em> agg. collected from Mt. Tien is noted here. The first new species is characteristic by the anal point with round apical peg and gonostylus with distinct outer heel. While the latter is a typical member of <em>Pseudodiamesa </em>(s. str.) <em>branickii</em> group, distinguished from congeners by the prominent crista dorsalis in the middle of the gonostylus and a clear protuberance bearing several apical setae in the medio-outer surface of gonocoxite. This is the first report of the <em>branickii</em>-group species in China.</span></span></span></p> <p> </p> ZEHAO WU HONGQU TANG Copyright (c) 2025 2025-05-29 2025-05-29 5642 3 287 292 10.11646/zootaxa.5642.3.6 <strong>A nomenclature trilemma in naming the South American sea lion</strong> https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5642.3.7 CARL C. KINZE Copyright (c) 2025 2025-05-29 2025-05-29 5642 3 293 294 10.11646/zootaxa.5642.3.7 <strong>Taxonomy in Trouble—An impediment to Life on Earth</strong> https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5642.3.8 NAVNEET SINGH Copyright (c) 2025 2025-05-29 2025-05-29 5642 3 295 300 10.11646/zootaxa.5642.3.8