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

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Red costate tiger moth (Aloa lactinea)

Red costate tiger moth ( Aloa lactinea ) is an animal species in the Erebidae, a moth with a wingspan of 40 mm, a yellow belly, black antennae with red basalt joints, dark red palpi on the sides and white below, black terminal joints, living in forests and agriculture in the lowlands to mountainous areas. A. lactinea has a white head with a red stripe on the back. Thorax is white. The wings are predominantly white in color with black dots on each corner of the cells and a red margin. The wings have branched pulse lines and a starchy surface. The wing-covered upper abdomen is black with large elliptical plots and is colored yellow forming cells. The lower abdomen is white and has fine hairs that fall out easily. A pair of antennas is black. The forelegs are red, white and black. The other legs are white on the top and black on the bottom. The final joints are white and black which form alternating rings. Tip and sole black all over. The larvae are black in color with a lateral crest ...

Javanese grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)

Wooden grasshopper or Javanese grasshopper ( Valanga nigricornis ) is an animal species of Acrididae, grasshoppers that have at least 18 subspecies, insects with very wide diversity in color and size, sexual dimorphism in which females are larger in size and paler in color. V. nigricornis in males has a length of 45-55 millimeters and females 15-75 mm. The head is square and green or yellow or brown or black in color. A pair of antennas has a black color. The eyes are large and gray or white or brownish. The hind legs are very large and have a green or yellow or brown or black color, plain or brindle. The limbs have two rows of large and long spines with black tips facing backward. The wings have a length exceeding the belly, a rough surface and are brown or green or yellow or black in color with pulse lines forming spaces filled with black color. The hind wings are rose red which will be visible when flying. Nymphs are pale green or yellow or brown or blackish in color. Javanese gr...

Dlium