Biodiversity Data Journal最新文献

Background: Hydromedusae are a group of planktonic cnidarians that represent the medusoid phase in the life cycle of most members of the class Hydrozoa, whose primary function is to produce and release gametes. These organisms are generally small and translucent, with slight pigmentation, except for those that inhabit great depths and exhibit the typical body shape of a jellyfish. In Colombia, studies on this group are limited due to the scarcity of updated taxonomic information and the small number of expert scientists. The most recent inventory records 71 species in the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

New information: In this study, we report for the first time the presence of Eucheilotaduodecimalis and Eutoninascintillans in Colombia, based on 28 zooplankton samples collected from seven stations between February and May 2024, using horizontal tows with a simple conical zooplankton net. Our research emphasises the significance of scientific exploration in new geographic regions and provides valuable data on the distribution and ecology of these species, contributing to a deeper understanding of their population dynamics.

Background: Knowledge about the caddisfly fauna of Kosovo has expanded significantly in recent years; however, new species continue to be described from less-studied regions.

New information: In this paper, we describe a new species, Tinodeslumbardhi sp. nov., from the Lumbardhi i Deçanit River in the Bjeshkët e Nemuna Mountains of Kosovo. The new species is closely related to Tinodesurdhva Olah, 2010 and Tinodeskimminsi Sykora, 1962, but differs in the shapes of segment IX, coxopodites, harpago, phallicata and the basal plate process.Tinodeslumbardhi sp. nov. represents the sixth recorded species of the genus Tinodes Curtis, 1834, in Kosovo. The species was found in a small, isolated population within a region highly impacted by anthropogenic activities, especially the construction of hydropower plants. Tinodeslumbardhi sp. nov. was found in sympatry with some species rarely encountered in Kosovo, such as Plectrocnemiageniculata McLachlan, 1871, Rhyacophilaloxias Schmid, 1970 and Rhyacophilasiparantum Ibrahimi, Bilalli & Kučinić, 2021. Ongoing human activities have placed increasing pressures on the river's ecosystem, further emphasising the conservation importance of identifying and protecting these rare and specialised species within Kosovo's freshwater habitats.

The introduction and spread of invasive insects is accelerating worldwide owing to human activities, such as trade and transportation development; in particular, ports are hubs and routes for invasive insects, including ants. We surveyed ant populations in eight ports from 2021 to 2023 using pitfall traps. A total of 316,975 ants belonging to four subfamilies, 26 genera and 44 species were identified as Tetramoriumtsushimae, Lasiusniger, Brachyponerachinensis and Nylanderiaflavipes. The statistical analysis showed that the highest values by index were for the Incheon Port (0.25), the diversity index was for the Daesan Port (2.00), the evenness index was for the Daesan Port (0.71) and the richness index was for the Gamman Port (2.13). Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMDS) indicated that ants around the Ports of Gamman, Ulsan and Gwangyang had more dominant species than those around the other ports. Five species of alien ants, including Solenopsisinvicta, Solenopsisgeminata, Paratrechinalongicornis, Trichomyrmexdestructor and Nylanderiabourbonica were identified at Gamman Port, Paratrechinalongicornis at Ulsan Port and Gwangyang Port. This study provides comprehensive insights into the distribution and status of ants around ports, offering foundational data for the early detection of alien ants to reduce the risk of their settlement and spread and to respond proactively.

Mangroves and mudflats are essential intertidal habitats that support benthic communities, providing critical feeding grounds for waterbirds. However, the degradation of these habitats due to coastal reclamation poses significant threats to prey availability and waterbird populations along the South est Johor Coast. While most avian research in Johor focuses on forest birds, studies on coastal waterbirds, particularly their feeding ecology, remain scarce. Understanding the feeding ecology of waterbirds is crucial for strengthening conservation efforts in vulnerable intertidal habitats. This study investigated the feeding behaviour and diet composition of waterbirds along the South West Johor Coast, Malaysia. Fieldwork was conducted in three coastal mudflats from November 2020 to May 2021, employing the direct observation technique. A total of 576 hours of observation were recorded, averaging 2 hours and 19 minutes per focal observation. Of 17 waterbird species recorded, only 11 species were included in the analysis based on sufficient data. The results revealed that waterbirds primarily consumed fish, molluscs, worms, crabs and unidentified prey, with fish comprising 25% of their overall diet. Feeding behaviour varied significantly by morphology traits, with larger waterbirds demonstrating higher feeding efficiency. Despite lower feeding rates and shorter feeding durations, larger species had a greater percentage of successful feeding attempts, indicating their superior ability to meet energy requirements. These findings provide crucial baseline data for understanding waterbird feeding ecology and highlight the importance of conserving the intertidal habitats. This research contributes to the development of targeted conservation strategies for waterbirds in the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) of the South West Johor Coast, Malaysia, an area increasingly at risk from habitat degradation.

Insights into insect predatory behaviour can be inferred indirectly from specimens housed in Natural History Collections. In this work, we document a unique interaction, never recorded before, involving the remains of a Solenopsis Westwood, 1840 ant worker -probably S.saevissima (Smith, 1855)- whose head is firmly attached by its mandibles to an antenna of a female hawk moth Eumorphaphorbas (Cramer, 1775) (Sphingidae). This specimen is part of the Entomology Collection at the MNCN-CSIC in Madrid, Spain. As fire ants have very large colonies showing collective hunting behaviour, this worker was likely trapped while taking part in a group attack with nestmates attempting to subdue this comparatively large moth. This observation highlights the value of museum specimens in revealing aspects of predator-prey interactions that might otherwise remain undocumented.

Background: The standardisation and correction of taxonomic names in large biodiversity databases remain persistent challenges for researchers, as errors in species names can compromise ecological analyses, land-use planning and conservation efforts, particularly when inaccurate data are shared on global biodiversity portals.

New information: We present pytaxon, a Python software designed to resolve and correct taxonomic names in biodiversity data by leveraging the Global Names Verifier (GNV) API and employing fuzzy matching techniques to suggest corrections for discrepancies and nomenclatural inconsistencies. The pytaxon offers both a Command Line Interface (CLI) and a Graphical User Interface (GUI), ensuring accessibility to users with different levels of computing expertise. Tests on spreadsheets derived from datasets published in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) demonstrated its effectiveness in identifying and resolving taxonomic errors. By mitigating the propagation of inaccuracies from researchers' datasets to global biodiversity databases, pytaxon supports more reliable conservation decisions and robust scientific investigations. Its contributions enhance data integrity and promote informed biodiversity management in a rapidly evolving global environment.

Background: DNA barcoding and metabarcoding are now powerful tools for studying biodiversity and especially the accurate identification of large sample collections belonging to diverse taxonomic groups. Their success depends largely on the taxonomic resolution of the DNA sequences used as barcodes and on the reliability of the reference databases. For wild bees, the barcode sequences coverage is consistently growing in volume, but some incorrect species annotations need to be cared for. The COI (Cytochrome Oxydase subunit 1) gene, the most used in barcoding/metabarcoding of arthropods, suffers from primer bias and difficulties for covering all wild bee species using the classical Folmer primers.

New information: We present here a curated database for a 250 bp mini-barcode region of the 16S rRNA gene, suitable for low-cost metabarcoding wild bees in applications, such as eDNA analysis or for sequencing ancient or degraded DNA. Sequenced specimens were captured in Occitania (south-west of France) and morphologically identified by entomologists, with a total of 530 individuals belonging to 171 species and 19 genera. A customised workflow including distance-tree inferences and a second round of entomologist observations, when necessary, was used for the validation of 348 mini-barcodes covering 148 species. Amongst them, 93 species did not have any 16S reference barcode available before our contribution. This high-quality reference library data are freely available to the scientific community, with the aim of facilitating future large-scale characterisation of wild bee communities in a context of pollinators' decline.

Background Vespertiliomurinus belong to the genus Vespertilio and are widely distributed in Europe, the Middle East and Northeast Asia, Recently, the presence of the V.murinus has been confirmed in Japan, suggesting the possibility of its habitation on the Korean Peninsula. However, ecological information regarding its presence in the Korean Peninsula is extremely limited. New information In an urban area of Sejong City, South Korea, a bat within the genus Vespertilio was rescued by personnel of the Chungnam Wild Animal Rescue Center. The bat, which was believed to have been hibernating on an exterior wall of a building, was initially identified as Vespertiliosinensis. However, the confirmed presence of two pairs of nipples raised the possibility that the bat was a specimen of V.murinus. The measurement of the forearm length (FAL) of this bat was 45.67 mm, which is within the 95% confidence interval of the previously reported FALs of V.murinus. Additionally, the results of mtDNA sequence analysis indicated that the rescued bat could be differentiated from the closely-related species V.sinensis with respect to the sequences of 13PCGs, COI, Cytb and ND1. Finally, phylogenetic analysis revealed that this bat clustered in a clade with previously described V.murinus. Collectively, these findings provided convincing evidence to indicate that the rescued individual was a V.murinus, marking the first recorded observation of this species in South Korea.

Background: Sinarella Bryk, 1949 (Erebidae, Herminiinae) is a medium-sized, frail-bodied genus of moths that externally resembles other genera in the Zanclognatha generic complex. All known larvae of this genus feed on fresh leaves of moss. This genus is widely distributed from the Himalayas to Southeast Asia, Japan, Borneo, Sulawesi and New Guinea.

New information: A new species of the genus Sinarella Bryk, 1949, S.jinggangshana sp. nov., is described from Jinggangshan National Nature Reserve, Jiangxi Province, China. This species is morphologically similar to S.takasago Wu, Fu & Owada, 2013, S.cristulalis (Staudinger, 1892), S.formosensis Wu, Fu & Owada, 2013 and S.japonica (Butler, 1881), but differs in both external and male genitalia characters. Images of the male adults and their genitalia are provided.

Background: Falcileptoneta Komatsu, 1970 comprises 68 species, distributed in Japan (28), Korea (31) and southeast of China (9). This genus has not been recorded in the north-eastern part of China.

New information: A new species: Falcileptonetataoqii sp. nov. (♂♀) are reported from Jilin Province, China. This is also the first record of Leptonetidae Simon, 1890 in north-eastern China. Photos and morphological descriptions of the new species are presented; the type specimens of the new species are deposited in the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IZCAS), Beijing.