Longulus soldier beetle (Ichthyurus longulus) is the first of dozens new species to be published

NEWS - Researchers report a new species of Ichthyurus longulus that is widely distributed in Shanxi, Gansu, Hubei, Chongqing, Guizhou and Guangxi in China. This species has some variation in pronotum coloration but can be easily distinguished from all other species.

I. longulus is easily distinguished from all species from China by its uniform black elytra, in contrast to the mixed black and yellow bicolor elytra in other species. Each mesotibia is present with an apical spur in males, while it is absent in other species.

In addition, the terminal abdominal tergite is characterized by a long lateral projection, about 3/5 of the tergite length. Furthermore, the aedeagus has a long setifore extension that is almost as long as the parameres. The legs are slender and the terminal abdominal tergite has a simple lateral projection in males.

The specific name is derived from the Latin word longus meaning long, referring to the long setifore extension. The body length for both sexes is 13.5-14.4 mm (13.5 mm in the holotype), the humeral width for both sexes is 1.9-2.0 mm (1.9 mm in the holotype).

The genus Ichthyurus Westwood (1848) is the largest taxonomic group in the soldier beetle family Ichthyurini, containing about 200 species distributed worldwide. China, with an area of 9,600,000 km2, is an important part of the global fauna, but only 10 species have been reported from this region to date.

Chinese ichthyurus have historically received little attention from specialists, and even some common species are still unknown in this region. Researchers from Hebei University in Baoding and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing have collected a large amount of Ichthyurus material and discovered dozens of new species that are in the process of being published.

Original research

Lin H, Liu H, Yang X, Yang Y (2024). A new and widely distributed species of Ichthyurus Westwood, 1848 (Cantharidae, Chauliognathinae, Ichthyurini) from China. Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e131829, DOI:10.3897/BDJ.12.e131829

Dlium theDlium

Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil)

Japanese morning glory ( Ipomoea nil ) is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae family, a climber with twining stems that grow up to 5 meters long. The green, finely hairy leaves are 14 cm long, heart-shaped at the base, entire or 3-5-lobed, tapering at the edges. The flowers are funnel-shaped, blue to reddish-purple with a whitish tube, 5 cm wide and up to 7 cm long. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Convolvulaceae Subfamily: Convolvuloideae Tribe: Ipomoeeae Genus: Ipomoea L. in Sp. Pl.: 159 (1753) Species: Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth in Catal. Bot. 1: 36 (1797) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Convolvuloides triloba Moench in Methodus: 452 (1794) Convolvulus nil L. in Sp. Pl., ed. 2.: 219 (1762) Pharbitis nil (L.) Choisy in Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 6: 439 (1833 publ. 1834) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Convolvulus caeruleus (Roxb. ex Ker-Gawl.) Spreng. in Syst. Veg., ed. 16. 1: 593 (1824) Convolvulus coelestis G.Forst. in Fl. Ins...

Moist pimpernel (Lindernia dubia)

Moist pimpernel ( Lindernia dubia ) is a species of plant in the Linderniaceae. It is a herbaceous, ground-growing, erect, cylindrical stem with red to light brown color. The leaves are green, oval, up to 10 mm long, up to 7 mm wide, with rounded tips and reddish veins. The flowers are funnel-shaped, bluish-white, with yellow veins. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Linderniaceae Genus: Lindernia All. in Auct. Syn. Meth. Stirp. Hort. Regii Taur. 3: 178 (1766) Species: Lindernia dubia (L.) Pennell in Monogr. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 1: 141 (1935) Variety: Lindernia dubia var. dubia, Lindernia dubia var. rhizomatosa Pennell ex D.Q.Lewis HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Ilysanthes dubia (L.) Barnhart in Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 376 (1899) Ilysanthes gratioloides Benth. in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 10: 419 (1846) Gratiola dubia L. in Sp. Pl.: 17 (1753) Limnophila dubia (L.) M.R.Almeida in Fl. Maharashtra 3B: 393 (2001)...

Philippine spinach (Talinum fruticosum)

Philippine spinach ( Talinum fruticosum ) is a species of plant in the Talinaceae family. It is an erect, non-woody herb, growing up to 100 cm tall. The leaves are radially arranged, up to 15 cm long and 5 cm wide, with a large central vein. The surface is smooth, shiny, dark green, and pinnate at the base. The inflorescences are in clusters. The flowers are fan-shaped with five red or white petals, with yellow anthers. Fruit round, up to 5 mm wide. This plant grows wild in colonies on forest floors, agricultural lands, roadsides, and abandoned areas. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Caryophyllales Family: Talinaceae Genus: Talinum Adans. in Fam. Pl. 2: 245, 609 (1763) Species: Talinum fruticosum (L.) Juss. in Gen. Pl.: 312 (1789) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS Portulaca fruticosa L. in Syst. Nat., ed. 10. 2 (1759) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Ruelingia triangularis (Jacq.) Ehrh. in Beitr. Naturk. Verw. Wiss. 3 (1788) Calandrinia andrewsii ...

Dlium