Renteng (Freycinetia insignis)

Renteng (Freycinetia insignis) is a species of plant in the Pandanaceae, herbaceous, climber, stems grow elongated, cylindrical, densely branched, grow in the forest canopy by attaching to the host tree using aerial roots and creating a network that spreads across the forest floor.

F. insignis has leaves arranged spirally around the branch tips of the stem. Ribbon-shaped leaves, up to 80 cm long, 4 cm wide, shiny green on the upper side, pointed at the tip and prickly at the bottom of the midrib and along the edge. Flowers appear at the tips of the branches. The spikes are green and up to 7 cm long.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Pandanales
Family: Pandanaceae
Genus: Freycinetia
Species: Freycinetia insignis
Subspecies: Freycinetia insignis ssp. hispidula, Freycinetia insignis ssp. insignis

New living fossil, Amethyst worm lizard (Amphisbaena amethysta), from Espinhaço Mountain Range, Brazil

NEWS - New species from the northern Espinhaço Mountains, Caetité municipality, Bahia state, Brazil. Amethyst worm lizard ( Amphisbaena amethysta ) is the 71st species of the genus with 4 precloacal pores and the 22nd species of Caatinga morphoclimatic domain. Identification of the new species shows the reptiles of the Mountains are far from complete and may contain greater diversity of endemic taxa. A. amethysta can be distinguished by its anteriorly convex snout, slightly compressed and unkeeled, pectoral scales arranged in regular annuli, four precloacal pores, distinct head shield, 185-199 dorsal and half annuli, 13-16 caudal annuli, a conspicuous autotomy spot between the 4th-6th caudal annuli, 16-21 dorsal and ventral segments in the middle of the body, 3/3 supralabials, 3/3 infralabials and a smooth and rounded tail tip. A. amethysta occurs in areas with an average elevation of 1000 meters in patches of deciduous and semi-deciduous forests associated with valleys, slopes, fore

Foliaceous coastal worm (Thoracophelia foliformis) found in intertidal zone of Yellow Sea, South Korea

NEWS - Foliaceous coastal worm ( Thoracophelia foliformis sp. nov.) was discovered in the intertidal zone as the first species of the genus from the Yellow Sea, Korea. The new species is closely related to T. dillonensis (Hartman, 1938) from California and T. ezoensis Okuda, 1936 from Japan because it has pectinate branchiae. The new specific epithet is derived from the leafy ventral midplate shape of the pygidium. The name is a combination of the Latin words folium (meaning ‘leaf’) and formis (meaning ‘form’). The Korean name is Yip-sa-gwi-Keun-yo-jeong-get-ji-reong-yi (잎사귀큰요정갯지렁이). The specimen was collected from the upper intertidal zone consisting of sand or muddy sand in the Yellow Sea of South Korea. Although the number of branchial filaments in well-developed branchiae varies (12-15), there is no variation in the number of pairs of branchiae (15 pairs) or the first chaetiger containing branchiae (chaetiger 14) among specimens. Oocytes are contained in a coelomic cavity about

Xoconochcothelphusan to accommodate X. chiapensis and re-examined phylogenetic of Ehecatusa mixtepensis

NEWS - The researchers established Xoconochcothelphusan gen. to accommodate X. chiapensis comb. and re-examined the phylogenetic relationships of X. chiapensis gen., n. comb. and Ehecatusa mixtepensis with other genera of the subfamily Pseudothelphusinae Ortmann 1893 in Mexico. Species of the genera Ehecatusa Ng & Low (2010), E. chiapensis Rodríguez & Smalley (1972) and E. mixtepensis Rodríguez & Smalley (Smalley, 1970) were referred to as incertae sedis in the Pseudothelphusini classification system of Ortmann 1897 and as members of the subfamily Pseudothelphusinae based on morphology and molecular analysis. The discovery of a new specimen of E. chiapensis from Chiapas, Mexico, again reveals the unresolved taxonomic situation in the genus Ehecatusa. New morphological evidence from the first male gonopod and phylogenetic analysis based on partial DNA sequences of mitochondrial and nuclear genes (COI, 16S and H3) support the placement of both species in different gener

Dlium