Zootaxa

**New species of snakes of the genus Dendrelaphis (Squamata: Colubridae) from the Milne Bay Islands, Papua New Guinea**

FRED KRAUS — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +1300

Australo-Papuan snakes of the genus Dendrelaphis have historically been a taxonomically confusing group, with 28 nomina applied to snakes in this region. Recent taxonomic revision has established the presence of nine valid species in this area, though few specimens were examined from across most of the large island of New Guinea. This lacuna, along with unreliable application of names to Melanesian Dendrelaphis in museum collections, means that the ranges of each species remain to be properly resolved on New Guinea and islands immediately to the east. Herein I examine the taxonomic status of Dendrelaphis specimens from outlying large islands in Milne Bay Province, off the southeastern tip of New Guinea, and I find that each of the three large islands of the Louisiade Archipelago, as well as Woodlark Island, contain their own endemic species. Based on hemipenial morphology, three of these species (D. anthracina sp. nov., D. melanarkys sp. nov., D. roseni sp. nov.) belong to the D. papuensis group and the last (D. atra sp. nov.) to the D. punctulatus group. Identification of the first three species requires reassessment and rediagnosis of D. papuensis. Two of the new species are characterized by ontogenetic melanization of animals, and a third is also uniformly black with a white chin when adult, though juveniles are unavailable to determine whether melanization also occurs ontogenetically in that species. Melanesian species of Dendrelaphis are largely diagnosed by unique color-pattern features, and this work identifies additional diagnostic features of color pattern for these species and confirms the critical importance of hemipenial differences in distinguishing among similar-appearing species in this region.

The Stiletto Flies (Diptera: Therevidae) of British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska

JOEL F. GIBSON, ROBERT A. CANNINGS — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +1300

Therevidae (Stiletto Flies) is a cosmopolitan family of flies in the superfamily Asiloidea, containing over 1250 described species. There is no previously published treatment of the family in British Columbia, Yukon, and Alaska. An updated checklist of 34 species known in this region is presented based on over 2100 specimens, database records, photographs, and published records. A key based on non-genitalic characters provides identification to genera and to species where only one species of a genus is known in the region. Geographical distribution for species in each jurisdiction is given and is summarized using an ecoprovince approach for each of the 31 species in British Columbia, a comparable ecozone treatment for the 15 species known in the Yukon, and a generalized ecoregion system for the six species reported from Alaska. Where available, conservation ranks for each species are included. Ecological and behavioural information for each species, including known flight period in the region, is presented. Acrosathe vialis (Osten Sacken) is recorded new to Canada and British Columbia and Pallicephala quebecensis Webb and Irwin is reported from the Yukon for the first time.

Hypoplectrus espinosai sp. nov. (Teleostei: Serranidae), a new hamlet on coral reefs in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +1300

The hamlets (Hypoplectrus spp., Teleostei: Serranidae) are a group of small predatory reef-associated fishes endemic to the tropical northwestern Atlantic that are characterized by an exceptionally high diversification rate. Currently 18 species are recognized, with seven described or redescribed in the last 14 years. Here, we describe the Campeche Bank hamlet, Hypoplectrus espinosai sp. nov. As indicated by its common name, this species is distributed throughout the Campeche Bank in the southwest Gulf of Mexico. Hypoplectrus espinosai sp. nov. differs from two similar hamlets, the butter hamlet H. unicolor (Walbaum) and the Veracruz hamlet H. castroaguirrei Del Moral Flores, Tello-Musi & Martínez-Pérez in terms of geographic distribution and color pattern. Furthermore, phylogenetic and population genetic analyses based on whole-genome data from 68 individuals indicate that H. espinosai sp. nov. is genetically distinct from H. unicolor and H. castroaguirrei.

**On the taxonomy of Sibynophis grahami (Boulenger, 1904) with remarks on morphology, distribution, natural history, and conservation status (Squamata: Sibynophiidae: Sibynophis)**

TAN VAN NGUYEN, GERNOT VOGEL — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +1300

Based on preserved specimens, including examination of available type materials and a comprehensive literature review, we reassess the taxonomic status in the Sibynophis chinensis auctorum. Our morphological analysis, in conjunction with recent molecular evidence provided by Guo et al. (2023), supports the elevation of Sibynophis chinensis grahami previously considered a junior synonym or subspecies of Sibynophis chinensis to a full species level, Sibynophis grahami. We restrict the distribution of Sibynophis chinensis to Central and Southern China including Taiwan Island, South Korea, and Northern Vietnam. We suggest Sibynophis grahami is likely edemic to the Yunnan-Guizhou (or Yungui) Plateau and considered as Least Concern (LC) following the IUCN’s Red List categories.

**New Pygmy Gecko (Goggia: Gekkonidae) from the arid Northern Cape Province of South Africa**

WERNER CONRADIE, COURTNEY HUNDERMARK, LUKE KEMP, CHAD KEATES — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +1300

The genus Goggia is composed of ten small bodied leaf-toed gecko species endemic to South Africa and adjacent Namibia. Using a combination of phylogenetic and morphological analyses we assessed the taxonomic status of an isolated rupicolous population discovered south of Klein Pella in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. The newly collected material was recovered as a well supported clade by two independent phylogenetic algorithms (maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference), with little intraspecies structuring. While the particular interspecific relationships among closely related Goggia remain unresolved, the phylogenetic results suggest the novel material is related to G. rupicola, G. gemmula, G. incognita and G. matzikamaensis. This is supported by the similar ecologies (rupicolous lifestyle), geographies (arid western extent of South Africa) and morphologies (prominent dorsal chevrons and yellow-centred pale dorsal spots), which are shared among these closely related species. Despite their similarity, the novel population from Klein Pella remains geographically separate, differs from congeners by an uncorrected ND2 p-distance of 11.03–22.91%, and is morphologically diagnosable. Based on these findings we describe the Klein Pella population as a new species.

First reports of the soft scale insect genera Leptopulvinaria Kanda and Pulvinarisca Borchsenius (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) from India, with descriptions of two new species and identification keys

SUNIL JOSHI, ANIL KUMAR DUBEY, ANKITA GUPTA, SATYA NAND SUSHIL — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +1300

Two genera of soft scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae), Leptopulvinaria Kanda and Pulvinarisca Borchsenius are reported from India for the first time, each with a new species, namely Leptopulvinaria harishi Joshi, sp. nov. and Pulvinarisca greeni Joshi & Dubey, sp. nov., which are described and illustrated. The new species of Leptopulvinaria is most similar morphologically to L. sapinda He, Ha & Wu, while the new species of Pulvinarisca is morphologically close to P. serpentina (Balachowsky). Keys are provided to the adult females of all the species in both genera. An ant, Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) was found attending both the scale insects. Two hymenopterous parasitoids, Encyrtus noyesi Singh (Encyrtidae) and Coccophagus sudhiri Hayat (Aphelinidae) were recorded from L. harishi.

Taxonomic review of the Aulacidae of Taiwan (Hymenoptera: Evanioidea) with description of a new species

GIUSEPPE FABRIZIO TURRISI, WEN-CHI YEH, SHENG-SHAN LU — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +1300

The Taiwanese species of Aulacidae are revised. Four species are recognized, all belonging to the genus Pristaulacus Kieffer, 1900: P. comptipennis Enderlein, 1912, P. karinulus Smith, 2001, P. lanyuensis Turrisi, Yeh, Lu, sp. nov. (from Lanyu Island, south-eastern of Taiwan), and P. rufipes Enderlein, 1912. Pristaulacus karinulus Smith, 2001, previously known for its original description only, is redescribed based on the type series and newly collected material of both sexes. The four recognized species are diagnosed and illustrated and data on their distribution are provided. An updated key to Taiwanese Aulacidae is also provided.

Revisional notes on the genus Leluthia Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Doryctinae) from China, with description of a new species parasitizing Phloeosinus sinensis Schedle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

KE-RAN ZHANG, JUN-LING GENG, SHI CHEN, GUANG-HONG LIANG, MIN-LIN ZHENG — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +1300

Leluthia minqingensis sp. nov., a koinobiont endoparasitoid of Phloeosinus sinensis Schedle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), is described from Fujian (Southeast China) . Morphological characteristics and photographs differentiating it from similar species are provided.