Rypticus africanus: A new species of Soapfish from the eastern Atlantic.

Soapfish, Grammistes and Rypticus spp., are bottom-dwelling Perciform Fish related to Groupers, generally found on reefs and other rocky marine environments. They get their common name from their ability to secrete a toxic, soapy, mucus as a defence mechanism. The genus Grammistes is restricted to the Indo-Pacific region, while members of the genus Rypticus are found in the Western Pacific, Atlantic and Caribbean. Only two species of Rypticus have been found on the African coast, the Greater Soapfish, Rypticus saponaceus, and the Spotted Soapfish, Rypticus subbifrenatus. The Greater Soapfish is known from both sides of the Atlantic being found from the coast of Florida, throughout the Caribbean, and as far south as Brazil in the western Atlantic, and from Mauritania south as far as Angola in the eastern Atlantic. However, a genetic study of museum specimens published in 2003 suggested that the eastern and western populations of the Greater Soapfish might in fact be separate species.

In a paper published in the Journal of Fish Biology on 21 July 2025, Gabriel Soares Araujo of the Center for Marine Biology at the University of São Paulo, Cláudio Sampaio of the Laboratório de Ictiologia e Conservação at the Universidade Federal de Alagoas, Luiz Rocha of the  Department of Ichthyology at the California Academy of Sciences, and Carlos Eduardo Ferreira Leite of the Departamento de Biologia Marinha at the Universidade Federal Fluminense, re-examine the genetics of the Greater Soapfish, and formally describe the populations from the African coast as a separate species.

Araujo et al. examined specimens from Cape Verde, Ghana, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Togo. All were found to be genetically distinct from western Atlantic specimens of Rypticus saponaceus, forming a distinct population which is estimated to have split from the west Atlantic population in the Early Pleistocene, about 2.5 million years ago, at the onset of the Pleistocene, and surprisingly being more closely related to the Pacific Rypticus bicolor. Since Rypticus saponaceus was originally described from specimens from Florida, the east Atlantic population is described as a new species, which Araujo et al. name Rypticus africanus.

Time-calibrated phylogeny of the genus Rypticus based on mitochondrial COI gene sequences. Values near the nodes represent estimated divergence times (Mya). The 95% highest posterior density intervals are shown in parentheses. Coloured circles represent the biogeographic regions where species of Rypticus are distributed. Vertical bars depict the results of lineage delimitation tests. Araujo et al. (2025).

Specimens of Rypticus africanus examined range from 112 to 215 mm in length, and have three dorsal fin spines, 22-24 dorsal fin rays, 15-17 anal fin rays, 16-18 pectoral fin rays, and 24-25 caudal (tail) fin rays. The head is distinctly pointed, the dorsal fin originates slightly posterior to upper end the of gill opening, and the tail is rounded. They are brown or dark grey in colour, with numerous pale round spots of variable size on their flanks.

(a)–(c) Rypticus africanus from São Tomé and Príncipe, illustrating the variation in colour pattern between individuals: (a) São Tomé Island, (b), (c) Príncipe Island and (d) Rypticus saponaceus from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, shown for comparison. Araujo et al. (2025).

Although Rypticus africanus has only been sampled from four areas (Cape Verde, Ghana, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Togo), Araujo et al. believe the name should be applied to all African populations currently described as Rypticus saponaceus, from Mauritania to Angola.

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Ptychognathus dajie: A new species of Pom Pom Crab from East and Southeast Asia.

The genus Ptychognathus comprises 32 species of brackish-water Crabs found in estuaries and the lower parts of river systems across the Indo-Western Pacific region. They are known as Pom Pom Crabs in the aquarium industry because of the clusters of fine setae (hairs) on their claws (although they are widely traded as freshwater Crabs rather than brackish-water Crabs). Most species of Ptychognathus have very localised distributions, being found on a single island, estuary, or river system, although one species, Ptychognathus barbatus, is found over an extremely wide area, including Japan, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and New Caledonia. However, as part of a PhD thesis completed in 2006, carcinologist Ngan Kee Ng, then a graduate student at the National University of Singapore, examined the systematics of Ptychognathus barbatus, concluding that the populations described under this name represented two, rather than a single, species. Ng went on the lead a highly successful research group, specialising in the study of Crabs, for many years, before passing away in 2022, but never formerly published her PhD thesis. This means that all taxonomic nomenclature presented in the thesis is considered unusable under the terms of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, even if specialists in the field believe it to be generally correct.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 27 June 2025, Jhih-Wei Hsu of the Department of Life Science at the National Chung Hsing University, Jose Christopher Mendoza, of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at the National University of Singapore, and Hsi-Te Shih, also of the Department of Life Science, and of the Global Change Biology Research Center at the National Chung Hsing University, build upon Ngan Kee Ng's work, to formally divide Ptychognathus barbatus into two, and describe a new species.

The new species is named Ptychognathus dajie, where 'dajie' means 'elder sister', a title often used for women in leadership roles in Chinese-speaking countries, in honour of Ngan Kee Ng. A genetic analysis of museum specimens suggests that this species is found in estuaries and tidally-influenced portions of rivers, in Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand. Surprisingly, Ptychognathus dajie is not particularly closely-related to Ptychognathus barbatus, instead forming a sister species to Ptychognathus guijulugani, a species found on Negros and Mindanao islands in the Philippines, placing it close to the base of the Ptychognathus family tree.

A neighbor-joining tree for species of Ptychognathus, based on the COI gene. Probability values at the nodes represent support values. Only values greater than 50% are shown. Hsu et al. (2025).

Specimens of Ptychognathus dajie have almost square carapaces, slightly wider than they are long, with a glossy upper surface and a concave frontal margin. The lower part of the claw is covered by long, thin setae; claws are larger in males than in females. The largest male specimen found was 20.2 mm wide and 16.8 mm long, the largest female found was 16.8 mm wide and 14.5 mm long. Colour is extremeley variable, and tends to match the substrate upon which the Crabs live.

Ptychognathus dajie. (A), (B) Holotype male (13.2 × 11.6 mm, ZRC 2024.0072); (C), (D) Paratype female (10.6 × 9.2 mm, NCHUZOOL 17356); (E) Male (NCHUZOOL 17341); (F) Male (NCHUZOOL 17343); (G), (H) Males (NCHUZOOL 7342). (A), (C) Dorsal view; (B), (D) Ventral view; (A)–(D) Preserved specimens; (E)–(H) Colour in life. Hsu et al. (2025).

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Caprimulgus ritae: A new species of Nightjar from Timor and Wetar.

The Wallacean bioregion lies between the Asian and Australian continents, and has been recognised as significant for our understanding of evolution and biogeography since the nineteenth century. The islands of Wallacea are separated from the Asian and Australian landmasses by areas of deep water, and have never been connected to either area by a land-bridge, which means that every Animal and Plant there is descended from individuals that managed to cross by sea or air, leading to a huge number of endemic species (species not found anywhere else). Despite this significance, many groups of organisms are relatively understudied in Wallacea, and new species are still discovered there on a regular basis.

Nightjars are nocturnal Birds with highly cryptic plumage, seldom observed by Humans despite a near-global distribution. Their highly unobtrusive nature, combined with the similar appearance of different species of Nightjar makes them extremely hard to study, although in recent years, some progress has been made on differentiating Nightjar species by their songs, aided by the fact that Nightjars will respond to the recorded calls of members of their own species, but not those of other species.

The islands of Timur and Wetar, in the Lesser Sunda Islands, are known to be home to a form of Long-tailed Nightjar (Caprimulgus sp.), which is small in size, leading to the suggestion that it might be a population of Caprimulgus manillensis, otherwise known from the Philippines, Caprimulgus celebensis, otherwise known from Sulawesi, or Caprimulgus macrurus, which is distributed from Pakistan to Australia, and generally accepted to be a species complex rather than a single species.

In a paper published in the journal Ibis on 24 June 2024, the late Ben King of the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History, George Sangster of the Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, Colin Trainor of the College of Engineering, IT and Environment at Charles Darwin University, Martin Irestedt, also of the Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Dewi Prawiradlilaga of the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense at the Cibinong Science Centre, and Per Ericson, again of the Department of Bioinformatics and Genetics at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, formally describe the Nightjars found on Timor and Wetar islands as a new species.

King et al. compared recordings of Nightjars from Timor and Wetar to recordings of Nightjars from other areas, finding that these calls were quire distinct. They then compiled a genetic phylogeny for the genus Caprimulgus including two museum specimens collected from Timor and Wetar, again recovering these as a separate species, most closely related to Mees's Nightjar, Caprimulgus meesi, which is found on Flores and Sumba islands, but separated from this by a mean sequence divergence of 5.8%, considered sufficient to differentiate species (the mean sequence divergence between Humans and Chimpanzees is only 1.23%).

The new species is named Caprimulgus ritae in honour of Rita Bobbin, a long-term friend of Ben King. It is described on the basis of four museum specimens in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History and the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre.

Male Caprimulgus ritae, Wetar, 13 October 2014. James Eaton in King et al. (2024). 

Caprimulgus ritae is brownish in colour with a white and cinnamon speckled pattern and a distinct white bar on its tail. It is found only on the islands of Timor and Wetar. It is a forest specialist, although it appears to be quite flexible about the forests it will live in, having been recorded in a range of environments from tall evergreen forest to highly deciduous dry forest. It generally appears to favour lowlands, but has been recorded as high as 1500 m above sealevel. 

The island of Wetar still retains more than 95% of its original vegetation cover, including extensive areas of forest, while both West Timor and Timor-Leste have extensive forest reserves, which appear to form primary habitats for the Nightjar, which King et al. estimate to have a population probably numbered in the hundreds or thousands.

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Ctenomys uco: A new species of Tuco-tuco from Mendoza Province, Argentina.

Tuco-tucos, Ctenomys spp., are a large group of burrowing Rodents found in South America from southern Peru to the southern tips of Chile and Argentina. There are currently 68 living members of the genus, eleven of which have beed described in the last decade, during which time the application of genetic analysis to phylogenetic studies has led to the genus being divided into eight well-supported species groups, as well as several other groups with less clear relationships. The Ctenomys mendocinus species group has been the subject of several recent studies, which have led to several new species being erected, as well as a number of previously described species having been recognised as populations of other species, and several lineages identified which appear to be as yet undescribed species. One such population is found in northwestern Mendoza Province, Argentina, with populations at Tupungato and the Valley of Arenales which were previously thought to belong to the species Ctenomys mendocinus having been identified as genetically distinct, although the morphological distinctness of these Tuco-tucos has not been assessed.

In a paper published in the journal Vertebrate Zoology on 8 March 2024, Raquel Alvarado-Larios of the Laboratorio de Filogeografía at the Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas, Pablo Teta of the División Mastozoología at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 'Bernardino Rivadavia', Pablo Cuello, also of the Laboratorio de Filogeografía at the Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas, Pablo Jayat of the Unidad Ejecutora Lillo and the Departamento de Ciencias Básicas y Tecnológicasat the Universidad Nacional de Chilecito, Andrea Tarquino-Carbonell, again of the Laboratorio de Filogeografía at the Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas, Guillermo D’Elía of the Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Evolutivas and the Colección de Mamíferos at the Universidad Austral de Chile, and Paula Cornejo and Agustina Ojeda, again of the Laboratorio de Filogeografía at the Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas, formally describe the Mendoza Tuco-tuco as a new species, based upon genetic and morphological data.

The new species is named Ctenomys uco, in reference to the Valle de Uco, the region in which the new species was discovered. It is a small Tuco-tuco, reaching 215-263 mm in length, with a drab or dusky drab coat, lighter on the flanks and underside, with the underside sometimes also having a brownish tinge. 

External appearance of Ctenomys uco. (A) CMI 7712 (holotype), from Cajón de Arenales, Tunuyán, Mendoza, Argentina; (B) CMI 7737, from Finca Caicayén II, Tupungato, Mendoza, Argentina. Alvarado-Larios et al. (2024).

While the populations assigned to Ctenomys uco were formerly assigned to Ctenomys mendocinus, but a genetic study based upon the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene found that not just were these populations distinct from Ctenomys mendocinus, but also that they aren't particularly closely related, with Ctenomys uco instead forming a sister species to Ctenomys fochi, and these two together forming the sister taxon to a clade which includes Ctenomys verzi, Ctenomys mendocinus, and Ctenomys flamarioni, as well as two as yet un-named lineages.

Ctenomys uco is known from only two locations, 39 km appart, but Tuco-tucos have been reported elsewhere in the region, which are likely to belong to the same species, for which reason Alvarado-Larios et al. decline to make a detailed assessment of the species distribution or conservation status at this time. The species seems to be solitary in nature, and lives in an environment between the Low Monte and the Southern Andean Steppe at altitudes of 1000 and 2710 m above sealevel. One of the known populations lives largely within vineyards, digging burrows at the foot of vines.

Views of the landscapes at the two known localities of Ctenomys uco. (A )Mendoza, Tunuyán, Cajón de Arenales (type locality), (B) Mendoza, Tupungato, vineyards of Finca Caicayén II (note the burrows at the lower right corner on this photograph). Alvarado-Larios et al. (2024).

The region is close to the Andes, and has a temperate climate with harsh winters, hot summers with cool nights. The mean annual temperature varies between about 10°C and about 15°C, with an average of about 300 mm of rain each year, most of which falls in winter.

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Promyrmekiaphila korematsui: A new species of Trapdoor Spider from California.

Cryptic species are species which resemble one-another physically yet are reproductively isolated from each other. While such species clusters can come about due to convergent evolution, the vast majority are closely related species which have become reproductively isolated, but which have not diverged morphologically, usually as a result of a physical barrier splitting a population, followed by genetic drift. This is particularly common among morphologically conservative groups with low distribution rates, such as Mygalomorphs (Tarantulas, Trapdoor Spiders etc.), which are large Spiders occupying silk-lined burrows, typically remaining at a single site for their entire lives. 

In a paper published in the journal Ecology and Evolution on 1 March 2024, James Starrett, Emma Jochim, Iris Quayle, Xavier Zahnle, and Jason Bond of the University of California, Davis, present the results of a genetic study of the Trapdoor Spider genus Promyrmekiaphila, which is known only from California, and describe a new species, the third within the genus.

The genus Promyrmekiaphila was first described in 1950 by the Swiss arachnologist and herpetologist Ehrenfried Schenkel to describe a morphotype of Trapdoor Spider found across California, which he named Promyrmekiaphila gertschi. This was later found to have previously been described by the French naturalist Eugène Simon as Aptostichus clathratus in 1891, though it was later recognised that the assignation of the species to the genus Aptostichus was wrong, and Schenkel's name Promyrmekiaphila was adopted, leading to the combination Promyrmekiaphila clathratus.

In 2007 and 2008 Amy Stockman and Jason Bond, then both at the Department of Biology at East Carolina University, carried out a study of the population of Promyrmekiaphila clathratus using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), coming to the conclusion that there were in fact two species within the genus, Promyrmekiaphila clathratus found throughout the coastal ranges in central and northern California, and a new species, which they named Promyrmekiaphila winnemem, which was found at the northern end of the Central Valley. 

However, Stockman and Bond recognised that a study based upon mtDNA alone had its limitations, and that there still remained the possibility of other, cryptic, species of Promyrmekiaphila being found in California. 

Starrett et al.'s new study is based upon a wider gene set. This identified a number of deeply separated lineages within the Promyrmekiaphila clathratus  population, although Starrett et al. decline to name these as new species at this time, reasoning that they are not yet sufficiently genetically different to be reproductively isolated. However, a small group of Spiders found close to the San Andreas Fault line, from mid-San Francisco Peninsula to the Diablo Range, east of Paicines, were found to comprise a sister group to the Promyrmekiaphila clathratus and Promyrmekiaphila winnemem pair, therefore clearly representing a new species.

This new species is named Promyrmekiaphila korematsui, in honour of Fred Toyosaburo Korematsu, who  was awarded the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998 in recognition of his lifelong dedication as a civil rights activist and his resistance to the  incarceration of Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II.

Promyrmekiaphila korematsui, male live habitus photographs, side and dorsal views. Starrett et al. (2024).

Promyrmekiaphila korematsui is found d in shaded ravines and along roadcuts in Oak woodland habitat. Its distribution overlaps with that of Promyrmekiaphila clathratus, which may have implications for evolution of the genus, although the small sample size available for the genus so far prevents any detailed  analysis at this time.

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Hieracium elizabethae-reginae: A new species of Hawkweed from Gloucestershire, England.

Hawkweeds (Hieracium spp.) are herbaceous flowering plants in the Aster Family (Asteraceae), closely related to Dandelions. There are numerous species in Europe, Africa, Asia, and North and South America, though the precise number of species is open to dispute, as most Hawkweeds are triploid (have three sets of chromosomes, which means that they cannot reproduce sexually (which requires an even number of chromosomes sets, which can then divide and recombine); the plants instead produce seeds asexually that are genetically identical to the parent plant. These triploid species are thought to have arisen by hybridization of diploid species (i.e. species with two sets of chromosomes that can reproduce sexually). This has led to some dispute over the classification of Hawkweeds, with American botanists tending to regard only the diploid, sexual, species as truly valid taxa with other plats regarded as hybrids of these, while in Europe botanists have tended to recognize the triploid, asexual, varieties as species as well, arguing that they may be of hybrid origin, and incapable of reproducing sexually, but are clearly successful organisms capable of sustaining large stable populations and competing against diploid plants.

In June 2022, botanist John Warren was searching on Painswick Beacon, a hill in East Gloucestershire, England for Hieracium subplanifolium, a rare endemic Hawkweed last seen in the area in 1986, when he came across a glossy-leaved Hawkweed, which differed from Hieracium subplanifolium in lacking hairs on the bracts at the base of the flowers. The Plants were subsequently shown to Hawkweed expert Tim Rich, also a botanist, who was unable to identify them, and suggested they might be a new species. They then consulted two further Hawkweed experts, Brian Burrow and David McCosh, neither of whom was able to identify the Plants.

In a paper published in the journal British & Irish Botany on 28 December 2023, John Warren and Tim Rich formally describe the Painswick Hawkweed Plants as a new species, which they name Hieracium elizabethae-reginae, in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as it was first discovered on her Platinum Jubilee Weekend 2-5 June 2022. Queen Elizabeth II passed away on 8 September 2023.

Hieracium elizabethae-reginae, in its natural habitat. Warren & Rich (2023).

Hieracium elizabethae-reginae is a flattened perennial herb, with flower stems which reach 45 cm tall. These stems are stout, green or purple, and have a sparce covering of white hairs. The leaves are glossy, up to 9 cm long, and become reddish as they age, the underside is often purple, and has a covering of white hairs. Stems can produce multiple mid-yellow flowers.

The new species has been found at only two sites, both in Gloucestershire. About 400 Plants are present on Painswick Beacon, all growing within an area of about 70 m by 20 m on a steep west-facing calcareous grassland. It was also found at the Barrow Wake nature reserve, about 7 km to the northeast of Painswick Beacon, where about 100 Plants were found within an area of about 100 m by 20 m, on a very steep west-facing grassland with small cliffs and outcrops of a former Oolite limestone quarry. All of the Plants at both sites were growing at altitudes of between about 220 m and 230 m above sealevel.

Based upon the small number of Plants discovered, and the very limited area within which they are found, Hieracium elizabethae-reginae is assessed to be Endangered under the terms of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. Warren and Rich note that both populations lie within designated Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and therefore receive a degree of protection.

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