Liyang stonefly (Kamimuria liyangensis) from Jiangsu, China, which has penis similar to Kamimuria hainana

Dlium Liyang City stonefly (Kamimuria liyangensis) from Jiangsu, China, which has penis similar to Kamimuria hainana

NEWS - Liyang stonefly (Kamimuria liyangensis sp. nov.) from Jiangsu Province is located in the southeastern coast of China which has no mountains on the plateau with only a few hilly areas mostly distributed in the southern part has a penis similar to Kamimuria hainana Li, Wang & Yu 2012.

Kamimuria Klapálek 1907 is the most species-rich genus in the subfamily Perlinae with about 93 species known worldwide, distributed in the Oriental and Palaearctic Realms, mainly in China. Over the past 30 years, the number of Kamimuria species recorded in China has increased dramatically to 60 species.

Jiangsu Province is located in the southeastern coast of China and has no mountains on the plateau, with only a few hilly areas mostly distributed in its southern region. Recently researchers examined Kamimuria materials from Jiangsu and described a new species.

Male K. liyangensis has a generally brown to dark brown colouration (Due to being preserved in alcohol, the colours in the specimens appear faded in the photograph). Head pale yellow with black marking covering ocellar area.

Antennae and palpi dark brown. Pronotum dark brown with darker rugosities, anterior margin and stripes along median suture darker. Legs yellow brown with dark knees. Wings membranous grey, veins brown.

Tergum 1–8 unmodified. Tergum 9 centre with sensilla basiconica. Hemitergal lobe slender, hook-like, apex slightly re-curved and nearly reaching the posterior margin of tergum 9.

Penis membranous, with a ring-shaped group of large spines at the tip, interrupted by a spongy membranous projection in the middle. The base of the penis on the dorsal side is densely covered with small dot-like spines.

This species is known only from the type locality, Liyang City, Jiangsu Province. The penis of the new species is similar to that of K. hainana. Both species have a spine-free membranous area at the apex of the dorsal side of the endophallus, while the base is densely covered with small spines. In addition, the ventral side of the endophallus has a spine-free membranous region.

However, K. hainana has a patch of basal spinules divided by a funnel-shaped region on the dorsal surface, which terminates subapically. The spines on both lobes form a heart-shaped ring when viewed from the ventral side.

In K. liyangensis, the dorsal side of the base of the penis is densely covered with small, point-like spines. In ventral view, there is a cluster of large, ring-shaped spines at the tip, interrupted in the middle by a spongy, membranous prominence.

Original research

Zeng L-L, Huo Q-B, Du Y-Z (2024). A new species of the genus Kamimuria (Plecoptera, Perlidae) from Jiangsu, China with re-description of K. microda Du, 2002. Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e137424, DOI:10.3897/BDJ.12.e137424

Dlium theDlium

Purhepecha oak (Quercus purhepecha), new species of shrub oak endemic to the state of Michoacán, Mexico

NEWS - In Mexico, several Quercus shrubby species are taxonomically very problematic including 8 taxa with similar characteristics. Now researchers report the purhepecha oak ( Quercus purhepecha De Luna-Bonilla, S. Valencia & Coombes sp. nov.) as a new tomentose shrubby white oak species with a distribution only in the Cuitzeo basin in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB). Quercus Linnaeus (1753) subdivided into 2 subgenera and 8 sections of which section Quercus (white oaks) has the widest distribution in the Americas, Asia and Europe. This section is very diverse in Mexico and Central America with phylogenomic evidence indicating recent and accelerated speciation in these regions. The number of shrubby oak species in Mexico is still uncertain. De Luna-Bonilla of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and colleagues found at least 3 taxa in the TMVB, specifically Quercus frutex Trelease (1924), Quercus microphylla Née (1801) and Quercus repanda Bonpland (1809). In 2016,...

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...

Lesser banded hornet (Vespa affinis)

Tawon ndas or lesser banded hornet ( Vespa affinis ) are medium wasps with queens up to 30mm, males 26mm and average workers 22-25mm. The head is dark red, brown and black. Segmented stomachs are dark brown except the first and second segments are yellowish orange to brown. V. affinis has at least 10 subspecies with different color variations is V. a. alduini , V. a. alticincta , V. a. archiboldi , V. a. continentalis , V. a. hainensis , V. a. indosinensis , V. a. moluccana , V. a. nigriventris , V. a. picea and V. a. rufonigrans . Tawon ndas forages in grassy areas, farmland, forests and deserts. They eat carbohydrates such as tree sap, nectar and fruit, while proteins such as larvae, carrion, paper wasps (Polistinae) and bees (Apidae). These insects often carry meat from new dead animals and flies that perch on the carcass. Nests are built on trees and people's homes. Nests are generally elongated or pear in the tropics and oval with rounded tops in subtropical regions. ...

Dlium