We report the discovery of a new species of Enyalioides from the premontane forest of the Río Huallaga basin in central Peru. The most similar and phylogenetically related species are E. binzayedi and E. rudolfarndti. However, the new species differs from E. binzayedi (state of character in parentheses) by having dorsal scales strongly keeled on paravertebral region and feebly keeled or smooth elsewhere (prominent medial keel on each dorsal scale), more dorsals in transverse row between dorsolateral crests at midbody 26–39, x̄ = 30.44 (22–31, x̄ = 27.57), and a conspicuous posteromedial black patch in the gular region of males (absent). Contrarily, adult males of the new species and E. rudolfarndti are readily distinguished by having a conspicuous posteromedial black patch in the gular region, absent in E. rudolfarndti, and by lacking a conspicuous orange blotch (faint if present) on the antehumeral region, as in E. rudolfarndti. We also present an updated molecular phylogenetic tree of hoplocercines, which strongly supports both referral of the newly discovered species to Enyalioides and its status as distinct from those recognized previously.

A new species of the genus Gonyosoma Wagler is described from Yunnan Province, China. The new species closely resembles G. prasinum (Blyth), but it is differentiated from the latter species by the following characters: precloacal plate divided, iris blue and inside of mouth greyish-white in life. Based on phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence data, the new species is recovered as the sister species to G. prasinum by Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analyses. The uncorrected pairwise distance between the new species and other species of the genus Gonyosoma ranged from 11.78% to 17.07% calculated using the mitochondrial cytochrome b sequence. This discovery increases the number of Gonyosoma species to seven.

Lycodon deccanensisGanesh, Deuti, Punith, Achyuthan, Mallik, Adhikari, Vogel, 2020 was recently described from the Mysore plateau of Karnataka based solely on morphology but lacking in-depth descriptions and comparisons. A scrutiny of the description reveals that the type series, of two specimens, comprise specimens of two different species along with discrepancies throughout the paper. Surveys conducted near the type locality of the species led to the discovery of additional specimens, which allow us to provide an elaborate description of the species and present data on its phylogenetic relationship with members of the genus and comments on the systematics ofLycodonof India. Results from molecular phylogenetics suggest thatLycodon deccanensisis a member of theL. aulicusclade based on molecular data for mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and shows an un-corrected p-distance (sequence divergence) of 14–17% from other members of theLycodon aulicusclade.

For years, the identification ofArtibeusspecies has been controversial due to the overlap of morphometric characteristics between species. From February 2015 to September 2019, we sampled 25 sites in 10 departments of Honduras, and captured 81Artibeusindividuals using mist-nets. We determined the morphometric measurements that may be helpful in the identification of adult individuals of the Honduran Fruit-eating Bat,Artibeus inopinatus, in the field. We analyzed 648 morphometric measurements using a linear discriminant analysis, and determined that the forearm length, third metacarpal length, the length of the second phalanx of digit III, and body length are the main characteristics for the external identification ofA. inopinatus.

The Australian fauna of Jumping spiders (family Salticidae) is highly diverse and includes iconic lineages such as the peacock spiders (genus Maratus Karsch, 1878) that are well-known for their vibrant colours and fascinating behaviours. Many other jumping spiders in Australia are also highly attractive but almost nothing is known about their diversity and taxonomic identity. Here, we describe and illustrate eight species of ‘brushed’ jumping spiders (genus Jotus L. Koch, 1881). Three of these were described more than 140 years ago and are redescribed and illustrated here: Jotusauripes L. Koch, 1881, J.braccatus L. Koch, 1881 and J.minutus L. Koch, 1881. Five new species are also described: Jotusalbimanussp. nov., J.fortiniaesp. nov., J.karllagerfeldisp. nov., Jotusmoonensissp. nov., and J.newtonisp. nov. While Jotus is a diverse and frequently observed genus in Australia, specimens are strangely rare in museum collections. A comprehensive revisionary framework including targeted field work and molecular methods will be required to fully document this charismatic and attractive group of spiders.

In 1844, the famous German biologist Fritz Müller published his dissertation about the leech fauna of lakes in Berlin. This study not only addressed the occurrence of leeches in the different lakes, but also contains the description of a new species -Glossiphoniaverrrucata(Fr. Müller, 1844). Unfortunately, he never mentioned how many specimens he found and where he deposited the material of his dissertation research. Thus, it came as a surprise that the material appeared in the small leech collection of the Zoological Museum of the University of Greifswald. Here, we provide an overview of the material focusing especially on the four syntypes ofG.verrucata. Since this is a rarely found species, we further explored historical material from the type locality, Lake Tegel, held in other museums. Our survey revealed that the material collected by Müller is the only one known to date from the species-rich Lake Tegel, which is inhabited by 14 species of freshwater leeches.

Spiders of the gnaphosid genus Pterotricha Kulczyński, 1903 occurring in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are surveyed on the basis of a large collection deposited in the American Museum of Natural History. Within the examined material, six species were recognized, four of which are described as new to science: P.arabicasp. n. (♂♀), P.esyuninisp. n. (♂), P.nadolnyisp. n. (♂) and P.stevensisp. n. (♂), and two are newly recorded for the fauna of the UAE: P.dalmasi Fage, 1929 (hitherto known from Algeria, Egypt, Sudan, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and possibly Iran) and P.kovblyuki Zamani & Marusik, 2018 (hitherto known only from Iran). Illustrations for all treated species and a map of collection localities are provided.

Two new species in the tube-web spider genus Ariadna Audouin, 1826 (Segestriidae Simon, 1893) are described from South Australia based on morphological features of both males and females. Ariadnaclavatasp. n. and Ariadnatangarasp. n. are widespread and sympatric on eastern Kangaroo Island, where they are found beneath bark, in borer holes in dead wood, and in short burrows under rocks. They have also been found in south-eastern mainland South Australia and bring the total number of described Australian Ariadna to 13 species. We showcase intraspecific variation in both species based on a significant number of specimens, including substantial size variation in females and variations in patterns of leg spination. For male Ariadna, we also establish the previously unknown functions of apophyses and spines on the metatarsi and tibiae on the first legs, which are used during mating to clasp the female.

Tooth wear induced by abrasive particles is a key process affecting dental function and life expectancy in mammals. Abrasive particles may be plant endogenous opal phytoliths, exogene wind-blown quartz dust or rain borne mineral particles ingested by mammals. Nano-indentation hardness of abrasive particles and dental tissues is a significant yet not fully established parameter of this tribological system. We provide consistent nano-indentation hardness data for some of the major antagonists in the dental tribosystem (tooth enamel, tooth dentine and opaline phytoliths from silica controlled cultivation). All indentation data were gathered from native tissues under stable and controlled conditions and thus maximize comparability to natural systems. Here we show that native (hydrated) wild boar enamel exceeds any hardness measures known for dry herbivore tooth enamel by at least 3 GPa. The native tooth enamel is not necessarily softer then environmental quartz grit, although there is little overlap. The native hardness of the tooth enamel exceeds that of any silica phytolith hardness recently published. Further, we find that native reed phytoliths equal native suine dentine in hardness, but does not exceed native suine enamel. We also find that native suine enamel is significantly harder than dry enamel and dry phytoliths are harder than native phytoliths. Our data challenge the claim that the culprit of tooth wear may be the food we chew, but suggest instead that wear may relates more to exogenous than endogenous abrasives.

The fauna of whip spiders (Amblypygi) in Western Africa is poorly known but probably diverse. Here, I describe the new speciesCharinuskakumsp. n.based on female morphology, and accompanied by DNA sequence data. The species is small and differs from other African species ofCharinusin the low number of pseudosegments on leg IV, female genital features, spination patterns of the pedipalp, and small body size. It was collected from wet tropical rainforest in Kakum National Park, Ghana and is only the fourth species ofCharinusto be recorded from the highly diverse Western African biodiversity hotspot. With a total body length of not even 6 mm it is also one of the smallest whip spiders in the world.