Natural History Museum Vienna

Abstract Myrmeleontini is a widespread antlion tribe within the lacewing family Myrmeleontidae, well known for its larvae building cone‐shaped pits in sandy soil to trap prey. The monophyly of the tribe is well supported, but the monophyly of many genera within the tribe as well as the definition of the genus Myrmeleon Linnaeus has long been questioned. Here, we present a phylogenomic analysis of Myrmeleontini with emphasis on the Eurasian fauna, using ultraconserved elements (UCE) data. Our results recovered Myrmeleon as a diverse grade, with Baliga Navás, Callistoleon Banks, Euroleon Esben‐Petersen, Hagenomyia Banks and Megistoleon Navás deeply nested within it. Based on our sampling of type species of many genera (including those synonymized with Myrmeleon ) and detailed morphological comparisons, we provide a new phylogeny‐based classification of Myrmeleontini. Accordingly, Myrmeleon s. str . only refers to the formerly recognized M. formicarius group from Palaearctic region. The status of 12 genera that were previously considered as junior synonyms of Myrmeleon is restored (i.e., Banyaleon Zheng & Liu nom. n ., Bordus Navás stat. rev ., Callistoleon Banks stat. rev ., Cocius Navás stat. rev ., Enza Navás stat. rev ., Macroleon Banks stat. rev ., Moreyus Navás stat. rev ., Morter Navás stat. rev ., Neleon Navás stat. rev ., Neseurus Navás stat. rev ., Myrmeleodes Navás stat. rev . and Tafanerus Navás stat rev .), while Neohornius stat. rev ., previously treated as a subgenus of Myrmeleon, is herein elevated to genus. Additionally, based on comprehensive sampling from the Oriental region, five new genera from this region are described, that is, Ancyroleon Zheng & Liu gen. n ., Baligaptes Zheng & Liu gen. n . Melanobaliga Zheng & Liu gen. n ., Orientaleon Zheng & Liu gen. n . and Sinobaliga Zheng & Liu gen. n .

Constraining the surface uplift history of mountain belts is difficult because – due to erosion – the surface is made of ever-changing rock levels and changes in surface elevation over time can only be indirectly inferred. Here we present 26 Al/ 10 Be burial ages of siliceous fluvial sediments that were deposited into karst caves as a proxy for surface uplift of the Eastern Alps. We present a consistent and homogenized dataset for the Eastern Alps that includes 31 new burial ages, together with 36 previously published burial ages that have been recalculated. Most of the sampled caves are now inactive and are located at between 600 and 2400 m a.s.l.. The cave sediments were deposited when they formed at the phreatic-vadose transition at base level, which we assume has remained at constant elevation through time. The samples are from regions that were variably affected by Pleistocene glaciation. Cosmogenic 21 Ne concentrations in samples from 20 caves record prolonged and complicated Neogene exposure. Generally 21 Ne/ 10 Be burial ages cannot be used to determine cave level ages, but the 21 Ne data preserve a record of denudation and burial since the Oligocene. The homogenized dataset of 67 of 26 Al/ 10 Be burial ages allows us to infer 1200–1500 m of surface uplift for the Northern Calcareous Alps and ~ 500 m in the transition zone towards the Pannonian Basin in the east during the last 3–5 Ma. The fastest surface uplift rate is estimated for the ranges around the Salzach valley (407 ± 34 m/Ma), followed by the Gesäuse region (357 ± 19 m/Ma). For the Dachstein Massif, the Hochschwab and the Schneealm regions we interpret post-Miocene surface uplift rates of 224 ± 21 m/Ma, 272 ± 12 m/Ma and 283 ± 13 m/Ma, respectively. Uplift rates decrease to the east: the Mur valley and the Semmering uplifted at 137 ± 11 m/Ma and 125 ± 3 m/Ma, respectively. The data support the notion that much of the topography of the Eastern Alps was created in the last 5 Ma rather than the 30 Ma timescale that previous studies have suggested. The long wavelength nature of the uplift over formerly glaciated and unglaciated regions implies that the surface uplift was caused by sub-lithospheric processes and that climatic factors played only a minor role.

Correction to: Communications Earth & Environmenthttps://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-03021-6, published online 15 January 2026 In the version of this article initially published, in the Fig. 2 legend, the descriptions for panels C and D were interchanged and have now been amended to read “C Thorax of mummy 2. D Soft tissues in the cranium” in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

ABSTRACT Global sustainability policy demands coordination among domain‐specific policies, yet a major challenge persists in policy monitoring and reporting, where various, often uncoordinated indicator initiatives exist. To address this challenge, we apply a network approach to investigate linkages between the indicators of the Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG 15, Life on Land), the indicators of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and those used in assessments of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and the Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs). Network analysis is a well‐known tool but to the best of our knowledge remains largely unexplored to analyse indicator linkages. Our findings indicate limited interconnectivity (number and type of cross‐set linkages) among the selected indicator sets. Nevertheless, we identify direct network linkages showing that most SDG 15 indicators could draw upon data or other information (e.g., methodological) from Aichi indicators, IPBES indicators, or EBVs. Findings show the potential of EBVs to deliver policy‐relevant information, but this warrants further research. We identify indicators and EBVs with a key role in the network and discuss advantages and limitations of our network approach. We show the utility of the approach to linking multiple policy agendas, and argue that—if applied more widely—it can promote a more coordinated sustainability policy monitoring and reporting.

We present a revised diagnosis of the extinct galeomorph shark †Bavariscyllium based on dental and skeletal material from the Upper Jurassic of Germany and test its purported carcharhiniform affinity through morphometric and phylogenetic analyses. Although †Bavariscyllium possesses a whisker-like throat barbel suggesting a closer relationship with orectolobiforms, our findings reveal insufficient evidence to confidently assign †Bavariscyllium to either Orectolobiformes or Carcharhiniformes. Additionally, we present quantitative evidence indicating that early galeomorphs, despite probably not being placed among extant orders, were exploring a variety of body forms, predating the divergence of most major body plans among modern representatives. †Bavariscyllium exhibits generalised clutching-type teeth with a hemiaulacorhize root characterised by strongly flared root lobes, closely resembling the supposed earliest carcharhiniforms from the Middle Jurassic. However, these features neither confirm nor refute a carcharhiniform affinity, questioning the reliability of these early galeomorphs as calibration fossils for dating the divergence of carcharhiniforms in phylogenomic analyses.

New Caledonia is a biodiversity hotspot with high levels of micro-endemism, yet its gracillariid fauna remains poorly documented. Here, two new species of Caloptilia Hübner, 1825 (Gracillariidae) are described from Glochidion J.R.Forst. & G.Forst. (Phyllanthaceae) host plants in Parc des Grandes Fougères, New Caledonia: Caloptilia augeas Guiguet, Lopez-Vaamonde, van Nieukerken & Ohshima, sp. nov., and Caloptilia ceryneia Guiguet, Lopez-Vaamonde, van Nieukerken & Ohshima, sp. nov. Both species induce leaf galls on Glochidion billardierei Baill., co-occurring on the same host species, sometimes even on the same leaf. They exhibit distinct wing patterns, but very similar male and female genitalia, and DNA barcoding supports their status as separate species. These findings provide evidence for potential within-host sympatric speciation, as documented in other gall-inducing insects. The larval biology of C. augeas and C. ceryneia reveals a unique frass disposal behaviour, whereby waste is excreted through a hole and the aperture is subsequently sealed-an adaptation not previously reported in gall-inducing Lepidoptera. Our findings double the known number of gall-inducing species in Gracillariidae, highlighting that this life history strategy may be more common than currently appreciated. We also provide new information on distribution and host plants of Caloptilia xanthopharella (Meyrick, 1880), a leaf roller found on the same host plant, G. billardierei. These findings mark the first records of the subfamily Gracillariinae in New Caledonia. This study underscores the underexplored diversity of New Caledonian gracillariids and emphasises the conservation value of Parc des Grandes Fougères. Further surveys in the Indo-Pacific region may reveal additional yet undescribed Caloptilia species associated with Phyllanthaceae and help clarify the evolutionary mechanisms underpinning their diversification.

Many studies in the past few decades have investigated the evolution of young stellar objects based on their spectral energy distribution. This distribution is heavily affected not only by the evolutionary stage, but also by the morphology of the forming star. This study is part of the NEMESIS project, which aims to revisit star formation with the aid of machine-learning techniques and provides the framework for this work. In a first effort toward a novel spectro-morphological classification, we analyzed the morphologies of young stellar objects and linked them to the currently used observational classes. Thereby, we laid the foundation for a spectro-morphological classification and applied the insights learned in this study in a future revisited classification scheme. We obtained archival high-resolution survey images from VISTA for approximately (10,000) young stellar object candidates from the literature toward the Orion star formation complex. Using a self-organizing map algorithm, which is an unsupervised machine-learning method, we created a grid of morphological prototypes from near- and mid-infrared images. Furthermore, we determined the prototypes that best represent the different observational classes we derived from the infrared spectral index via Bayesian inference. We present our grids of morphological prototypes of young stellar objects in the near-infrared. The prototypes were created from observational data alone. They are thus independent of theoretical models. In addition, we show maps that indicate the probability for a prototype to belong to any of the observational classes. Self-organizing maps created from near-infrared images are a useful tool, with limitations, for identifying the characteristic morphologies of young stellar objects in different evolutionary stages. This first step lays the foundation for a spectro-morphological classification of young stellar objects that is to be developed in the future.

We present a revision of the Early and Middle Miocene marine heterobranchs from the European Central Paratethys Sea. We document a surprisingly high diversity of 83 species of which 32 species are described as new species. As shown by many other gastropod families, discussed in previous papers of this series, maximum diversity occurred during the middle Badenian, 65 species, corresponding to the Miocene Climatic Optimum. The extant Indo-West Pacific genus Vellicolla Oskars, Too, Rees, Mikkelsen, Willassen & Malaquias, 2019 is recorded for the first time from the Miocene of the Circum-Mediterranean Region. Following species are described as new: Acteon antipinguis sp. nov., Acteon gutta sp. nov., Acteon romanicus sp. nov., Acteon trifasciatus sp. nov., Acteon viciani sp. nov., Acteon vindobonensis sp. nov., Rictaxis austriacus sp. nov., Rictaxis siedli sp. nov., Rictaxis ursulae sp. nov. (Acteonidae), Ringicula daisyae sp. nov. (Ringiculidae), Bulla? elalbanii sp. nov. (Bullidae), Pyrunculus microromanicus sp. nov., Pyrunculus szobiensis sp. nov., Pyrunculus zuschini sp. nov., Retusa mystica sp. nov. (Retusidae), Cylichna caudex sp. nov., Cylichna dolium sp. nov., Cylichna eschnerae sp. nov., Cylichna miosimplex sp. nov., Cylichna steiningeri sp. nov., Cylichna straussi sp. nov. (Cylichnidae), Chelidonura piseraii sp. nov. (Aglajidae), Roxania oviformis sp. nov., Roxania pila sp. nov. (Alacuppidae), Sabatia quasimodoi sp. nov., Scaphander alatissimus sp. nov., Scaphander catena sp. nov., Scaphander perforatus sp. nov., Scaphander quadratus sp. nov., Scaphander schollnbergeri sp. nov. (Scaphandridae), and Pseudavena bella sp. nov. (incertae sedis). Acrostemma anatolica sp. nov. (Cylichnidae) is described from the Middle Miocene of Turkey. Neubaueriella nov. gen. (Haminoeidae) is introduced as new genus. Roxania bomba nov. nom. is introduced as new name for the secondary homonym Roxania helvetica (Berger, 1949) non Roxania helvetica Peyrot, 1932.

As a follow-up to the investigation of the water beetle fauna of the upper course of the Neretva River in 2022, during the second »Neretva Science Week« in June 2023, additional tributaries were sampled and the presence of the endemic Bosnian species Hydraena bosnica has been confirmed (male specimens were collected). Additionally, three springs located at the slopes of the Neretva Valley were examined. Zalomka River exhibited an entirely different water beetle assemblage in comparison to that of the Neretva River and its tributaries, resulting from its intermittent character.

This is the first annotated checklist of the Hydraenidae of Croatia. It is based on reliable literature data and the examination of unpublished specimens identified by the authors. A total of 65 species is confirmed to occur in Croatia: 26 species of Hydraena Kugelann, 1794, nine species of Limnebius Leach, 1825, and 30 species of Ochthebius Leach, 1815. With regard to the biogeographical regions of Croatia, 47 of these species are found in the Mediterranean Region, 28 in the Continental and 14 in the Alpine Region. Four species are recorded from Croatia for the first time: Hydraena (s. str.) assimilis Rey, 1885, Limnebius (s. str.) aluta Bedel, 1881, Ochthebius ( Asiobates ) flavipes Dalla Torre, 1877, and O. (s. str.) pedicularius Kuwert, 1887. Four species are classified as “unconfirmed or doubtfully recorded” from Croatia. Ochthebius ( Asiobates ) bicolon Germar, 1824 is deleted from the Croatian checklist. An additional 29 species that potentially could occur in this country are discussed. Only one hydraenid species, Hydraena angustata Sturm, 1938, is currently regarded as endemic to Croatia, but it is assumed to be more wide-spread. A total of 14 Croatian hydraenid species is regarded as endemic or subendemic to the Balkan Region. Lectotypes are designated for Hydraena (s. str.) croatica Kuwert, 1888 and Ochthebius ( Aulacochthebius ) narentinus Reitter, 1885. A photograph of the dorsal habitus of H . (s. str.) croatica is published for the first time. The history of the exploration of the Hydraenidae of Croatia is outlined. Compared to other South European countries like Spain or Italy, the knowledge of the hydraenid fauna of Croatia is still remarkably poor, and very few Croatian hydraenid specimens have been barcoded so far; only one specimen was found databased in BOLD and GeneBank (accessed June 2025).