Africa - Latest works

In the context of producing a revised phylogenetic Linnean taxonomy of angraecoid orchids, the monotypic and narrow-endemic genus Ossiculum is synonymised with Calyptrochilum. Acc…

A revision of the 45 species of the pantropical genus Xylopia in Tropical Africa includes descriptions of six new species and a new section of the genus. The fruits and seeds of X…

Plant species tend to retain their ancestral ecology, responding to temporal, geographic and climatic changes by tracking suitable habitats rather than adapting to novel condition…

A recent phylogenetic study showed that species assigned to the newly recognised genus Pectinariella Szlach., Mytnik & Grochocka (previously treated as Angraecum Bory sect. Pectin…

A new species of the troglobitic spider genus Typhlonesticus is described from specimens found in Keloğlan Cave (Denizli Province, Dodurgalar Town), Turkey. Typhlonesticus gocmeni…

The Assimineidae are a family of amphibious microgastropods that can be mostly found in estuaries and mangroves in South Africa. These snails often occur in great numbers and are …

Recent survey work in the Seychelles has revealed two new species of Paraparatrechina that are here described: P. illusio sp. n. and P. luminella sp. n. A revised key to the worke…

The Malagasy giant pill-millipede genus Sphaeromimus de Saussure & Zehntner, 1902 is revised. Seven new species, S. titanus sp. n., S. vatovavy sp. n., S. lavasoa sp. n., S. andoh…

The taxonomy of the Tetramorium naganum, T. plesiarum, T. schaufussii, and T. severini species groups are revised for the Malagasy region. A total of 31 species are treated, of wh…

In this study we synonymise the genus Decamorium Forel under Tetramorium Mayr, revise the new T. decem species group by providing a diagnosis of the group, an illustrated identifi…

A recent targeted entomological survey in the Republic of Rwanda has produced two conspecific male and female specimens of an undescribed species of praying mantis (Mantodea). The…

A specimen of the African weakly electric fish genus Petrocephalus (Osteoglossomorpha, Mormyridae) collected in the Congo River at Yangambi, Orientale Province, Democratic Republi…

The genus Ceratothoa Dana, 1852 is revised for South African waters and re-diagnosed. Ceratothoa retusa (Schioedte & Meinert, 1883) is recorded from the eastern coast, and Ceratot…

Despite its wide, almost worldwide distribution, the mayfly genusCloeonLeach, 1815 (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae) is restricted in the Western hemisphere to North America, where a sing…

The genus Micatagla Argaman (Bradynobaenidae: Apterogyninae) is reviewed from Egypt, based on specimens collected from Wadi Allaqi (Aswan, Southern Egypt) and Kom Osheim (Fayoum) …

The genus Mystrium is revised for the Malagasy region. Six species, Mystrium barrybressleri sp. n., M. labyrinth sp. n., M. eques sp. n., M. mirror sp. n., M. shadow sp. n., and M…

The genus Scelio is a cosmopolitan and speciose group of solitary parasitoids of the eggs of short-horned grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae). A number of these hosts are importa…

The description of a new genus Nannodromus and a new species Nannodromus reveilleti (Acari: Anystides: Saxidromidae) from South Africa, based on adult males and females.

The family Xeniidae (Octocorallia) constitutes an abundant benthic component on many Indo-West Pacific coral reefs and is ecologically important in the Red Sea. The genus Ovabunda…

Two new genera and species parasitizing passalid beetles from the Democratic Republic of Congo are described. Batwanema congo gen. n. et sp. n. is characterized byfemales with the…

We use a combination of cytochrome b sequence data and karyological evidence to confirm the presence of Mus indutus and Mus minutoides in Botswana. Our data include sampling from …

We assess the diversity of Ptychadena species in Rwanda based on re-examination of voucher specimens in museum collections and our own data from recent assessment of the species c…

A recent molecular phylogeny of the Arid clade of the genus Hemidactylus revealed that the recently described H. saba and two unnamed Hemidactylus species from Sinai, Saudi Arabia…

We revise the 10 genera and 23 species of the tribe Phaeogenini (Ichneumonidae: Ichneumoninae) known to occur in the Afrotropical region. We describe the following 13 new taxa: Ki…

The fog-basking beetle, Onymacris unguicularis (Haag, 1875), is currently listed as a polytypic form comprising two subspecies. A flightless substrate specialist, the beetle is en…

Scolytoplatypodini Blandford is a monotypic tribe of ambrosia beetles found in Asia, Madagascar and Africa. Only three species are currently known from Madagascar and four additio…

We review the diving-beetle genus Rhantus Dejean of Madagascar (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae, Colymbetinae) based on museum collection holdings and recently collected expedition materia…

The monotypic genus Mymarilla Westwood is known only from St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic Ocean. The peculiar species M. wollastoni Westwood (Mymaridae) is redes…

Recent collections in KwaZulu-Natal and Swaziland have led to the discovery of two new species of the flightless and highly threatened Scarabaeinae genus Gyronotus van Lansberge, …

During a study of the epipelagic zooplankton carried out near the fringing reef around Sharm El-Sheikh area, in the northern Red Sea, female and male specimens of the poorly known…

During the study of rotifers collected in Eastern DR Congo, we rediscovered specimens that correspond to Monostyla dorsicornuta Van Oye, 1926. This species, which we redescribe, h…

Representatives of the fish genus Carasobarbus Karaman, 1971 (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae) from the Middle East and North Africa were previously placed in 14 different genus-group …

Based on the results of recent phylogenetic analysis of the higher taxa of the Saprininae as well as external morphological characters, especially the presence of deep and large p…

A novel illustration technique based on scanning electron microscopy is used for the first time to enhance taxonomic descriptions. The male genitalia (gonopods) of six species of …

The leafhopper subfamily Signoretiinae is redescribed and includes two tribes: Signoretiini Baker and Phlogisini Linnavuori. Redescriptions of included tribes, diagnoses and a tax…

Among the mostly benthic gastrotrichs, the Neogosseidae (Gastrotricha, Chaetonotida) are particularly interesting from an evolutionary point of view in virtue of their planktonic …

The genera Odontacolus Kieffer and Cyphacolus Priesner are among the most distinctive platygastroid wasps because of their laterally compressed metasomal horn; however, their gene…

In this study we revise the taxonomy of the Tetramorium tortuosum species group members encountered in the Afrotropical region, which we have placed in its own subgroup: the T. ca…

Species of the genus Placospongia are common within the tropical Indo-West Pacific, demonstrating a wide variety of colors and either branching or encrusting growth forms. A revis…

Sternaspid polychaetes are common and often abundant in soft bottoms in the world oceans. Some authors suggest that only one species should be recognized, whereas others regard a …

A new genus is proposed for the strikingly patterned African vespertilionid “Glauconycteris” superba Hayman, 1939 on the basis of cranial and external morphological comparisons. A…

The cryptic ground-dwelling castianeirine genus Copa Simon, 1885 (Araneae: Corinnidae) is revised in the continental Afrotropical Region. The type species of the genus, C. flavopl…

Sinularia leptoclados (Ehrenberg, 1834) is re-described. Sinularia leptoclados var. gonatodes Kolonko, 1926 is synonymized with S. maxima Verseveldt, 1977. Two new species of Sinu…

Two new genera and species parasitizing passalid beetles from the Democratic Republic of Congo are described. Kongonema meyeri gen. n. sp. n. is characterized byfemales with the c…

A new species of the genus Nitocra Boeck, 1865, Nitocra taylori sp. n. is described from the St Lucia Estuary, Africa’s largest estuarine lake. It is also suggested that Nitocra s…

Description of a new Harutaeographa Yoshimoto, 1993 species, Harutaeographa shui sp. n. from China’s Sichuan province, is given. Harutaeographa yangzisherpani transformis Hreblay …

Among the thousands of non-tetractinellid (monaxonid) Demospongiae species, less than twenty possess polyactine (usually three- or four-claded) megascleres. These are currently as…

Decimiana Uvarov is a Neotropical genus of Mantodea with five South American species, three of them known from Brazil: Decimiana tessellata (Charpentier); Decimiana clavata Ippoli…

The Lispe longicollis species-group is revised. Lispe ethiopica sp. n. is described. The following 3 new synonyms are established: Lispe assimilis Wiedemann, 1824 (syn: cyrtoneuri…

The non-mimetic Afrotropical spider genus Cambalida Simon, 1909, placed within a subfamily of predominantly ant-mimicking spiders (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae), is revised…