Papilio king cricket (Anabropsis papiliomaculata) and Dulongjiang king cricket (Anabropsis dulongjiangensis)

NEWS - Papilio king cricket (Anabropsis papiliomaculata sp. nov.) and Dulongjiang king cricket (Anabropsis dulongjiangensis sp. nov.) from Yunnan were described, while Anabropsis (Pseudapteranabropsis) nigrimaculatis Pang, Lu & Bian 2023 from a male was reported for the first time and this species was transferred to Anabropsis (Apteranabropsis) Gorochov, 1988.

Up to now, Anabropsis is divided into 7 subgenera, excluding Anabropsis (Anabropsis), the other 6 subgenera with 27 species and one subspecies are distributed in China. The characters of the wings, tibial tympanum, metasternal processes, paraproctal growth of males and subgenital plates are important inter-subgeneric differences.

Anabropsis (Apteranabropsis) papiliomaculata is named after the large black butterfly-shaped spots on the pronotal disc. Chinese name 蝶斑黯螽. The new species has dimensions (mm): BL ♂24.0, ♀22.0; PL ♂6.3, ♀6.2; HFL ♂23.2, ♀21.8; HT ♂22.0, ♀21.5; OvL 14.6. Examined material.

This species is similar to A. ailaoshanica Gorochov 2021, but the pronotal disc has large black butterfly-shaped spots, the external tympanic foretibia is reduced, the basal area of the male paraproctal process is connected, the male subgenital plate is short and wide, about 3/4 of its length, and the spiny apical area of the female subgenital plate is short, about 1/3 of its length.

Anabropsis (Apteranabropsis) dulongjiangensis was given its epithet based on the type locality, Chinese name 独龙江黯螽. The new species has dimensions (mm): BL ♂20.5, ♀24.3–25.5; PL ♂6.0, ♀6.3–6.9; HFL ♂20.3, ♀20.0–21.8; HT ♂20.6, ♀19.0–20.8; OvL 8.1–9.3.

This species is similar to A. magnimaculatus (Bian & Shi, 2019), but the pronotum has incomplete longitudinal yellow lines on the disc, no black spots, the posterior edge of the male subgenital plate is concave.

Anabropsis (Apteranabropsis) nigrimaculatis was originally described based on 3 females. This study is the first to describe a male. The subgenus Anabrospsis (Pseudapteranabropsis) has two branches at the apex of the paraproctal process which is clearly different from the description of the male.

This study proposes to move the species to the subgenus Anabropsis (Apteranabropsis) based on the character of the unbranched apex of the paraproctal process of the male in lateral view and the armed ventral surface of the hind femur.

Original research

Hao Xu & Fuming Shi (2024). Two new species of the genus Anabropsis Rehn, 1901 (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae) from Yunnan, China. Zootaxa 5523 (3): 387–395, DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.5523.3.7

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Korean mulberry (Morus indica)

Murbei or Korean mulberry ( Morus indica ) is a species of plant in Moraceae, shrub or small tree, up to 10 meters tall, slow growing, cylindrical stem, light brown with white nodules, M. indica has heart-shaped or oval-shaped leaves and sometimes three-lobed, 4-12.5 cm long, 2.5-7.5 cm wide, pointed tip, serrated margin, green and has a stalk. Monoecious inflorescences with male and female grow on the same tree, though often on different branches. Male flowers have a size of 9-11.5 mm and are covered with fine hairs. The female flowers are subglubose or only round in shape, measuring 6-9.5 mm. Stigma is 3.5 mm long with short, thick hair. The female flowers form compound fruit and are fleshy, green and white-haired to white, red and black when ripe. Korean mulberry is used in regulating blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Moraceae Genus: Morus Species: Morus indica

Swietenia mahagoni and Swietenia macrophylla, the differences

SPECIES HEAD TO HEAD - To date, mahogany ( Swietenia Jacq.) is recorded as having four species: West Indian mahogany or small-leaved mahogany ( Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq.), big-leaf mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla King), Honduran mahogany ( Swietenia humilis Zucc.) and Swietenia × aubrevilleana Stehlé & Cusin. The debate over the number of taxa in the genus is still not resolved. Some researchers believe that there are only two species: S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla . I agree with that opinion and the two species can only be differentiated by the size of the leaves. All species in this genus have similar morphology except for leaf size. The following is the key to identifying these two species. S. mahagoni has a stalk length of around 37 cm with 5-6 pairs of strands. The strands are about 10 cm long and about 3.5 cm wide. S. macrophylla has a stalk length of up to 45 cm with 4-5 pairs of strands. The strands are up to 31 cm long and up to 8 cm wide. By Aryo Bando...

Aquatic bacteria Comamonas testosteroni eats plastic waste into carbon for microbial growth

NEWS - Researchers report an enzyme that breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in a somewhat unlikely place: Comamonas testosteroni , a microbe that lives in sewage sludge. The enzyme could be used by wastewater treatment plants to break down microplastic particles and recycle plastic waste. Plastic pollution is everywhere, and it mostly consists of PET. The polymer is used to make bottles, containers and even clothing. PET beads are an increasingly common microplastic found in places ranging from remote oceans to inside our bodies. But the particles are so small that they can escape water treatment processes and end up in wastewater that re-enters the environment. On the other hand, wastewater also contains microorganisms that like to eat these plastic particles, including C. testosteroni, so named because it degrades sterols like testosterone. “It’s important to note that PET plastic represents 12% of global plastic use. And it accounts for up to 50% of microplastics in wastew...

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