Glenochrysa minima: A new species of Green Lacewing from Western Australia.

The Neuroptera, or Net-winged Insects, first appeared in the Permian and reached their maximum diversity in the Permian, when they were the most numerous Insects in many ecosystems. They are non-metamorphic Insects, in that they do not go through a dramatic metamorphosis on reaching maturity in the way that Butterflies or Wasps do, but rather the larvae grow progressively more like the adults with each molt Nevertheless the larvae are often quite different from the adults and may have quite different ecological roles. Today the Neuroptera are somewhat of a relic group, with many of the Jurassic groups having become extinct and most of the surviving groups having much lower diversity. One group that are still very successful today are the Green Lacewigs, Chrysopidae, with around 2000 species in about 85 genera found living around the world.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 1 December 2015, Shaun Winterton and Ivonne Garzón-Orduña of the California State Collection of Arthropods at the California Department of Food & Agriculture describe a new species of Green Lacewing from the El Questro-Emma Gorge Resort in northern Western Australia.

The new species is placed in the genus Glenochrysa, which is notable for the large finger-like prothoracic gland which protrudes from the back of the males as well as for often having distinctively patterned wings. Five species of this genus have previously been described from Australia, with another eleven known from tropical Africa, East Asia and the wider Austolasian region. It is named Glenochrysa minima, meaning small, due to its small size, with a forewing length of 7.5-7.8 mm, smaller than most other members of the genus.

Glenochrysa minima, male specimen in lateral view. Winterton & Garzón-Orduña (2015).

See also...

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A new species of Osmylid from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Biota of Inner Mongolia. Osmylids (Osmylidae) are a group of Neuropteran Insects with a fossil record dating back to the Early Jurassic and are still in existence today. They appear to have been at their most numerous and diverse in the Middle-Late Jurassic, with a number of lineages apparently disappearing at the...

A new species of Snakefly from the Middle Jurassic of Inner Mongolia.                    Snakeflies (Raphidioptera) are a group of carnivorous flying insects related to the Lacewings, Antlions and Alderflies. They have long life cycles, with a number of larval stages, but still feed as adults. Modern Snakeflies are found throughout Europe and Temperate Asia...

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A new species of Velvet Gecko from the southern Kimberley of Western Australia.

Velvet Geckos of the genus Oedura are medium to large Geckos found across much of northern and eastern Australia, with isolated populations in the arid interior of the continent. The group is known to contain many highly endemic species (i.e. species with very limited distributions).

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 14 October 2014, PaulOliver, Rebecca Laver and Jane Melville of the Department of Zoology at the University of Melbourne and Museum Victoria and Paul Doughty of the Departmentof Terrestrial Zoology at the Western Australian Museum describe a new species of Velvet Gecko from the Oscar Range on the southern edge of the Kimberley Craton in northern Western Australia.

The new species is named Oedura murrumanu, which means Gecko in the Bunuba language, spoken in the area where it was found. Oedura murrumanuis a large Gecko reaching about 170 mm in length, a dark purplish brown in colour with lighter transverse bands (bands running across the body).

Oedura murrumanu in life. Paul Horner in Oliver et al. (2014).

The species was found living on rock platforms near deep horizontal crevices, and also seen on limestone pillars in the Oscar Range. The Geckos were observed drinking from pools on the rocks at the beginning of the wet season, and also pursuing smaller Geckos, apparently with the intention of predation. A single gravid female was collected, suggesting that eggs are laid during the wet season.

Deeply dissected limestone formations at the locality where Oedura murrumanuwas discovered in the Oscar Range. Paul Oliver in Oliver et al. (2014).

See also…

A new species of Phasmid Gecko from the Arnhem Plateau in Northern Territory, Australia.

Phasmid Geckos are small climbing Geckos of the genus Strophurus found across much of northern Australia, where they inhabit stands of...

Four new species of Forest Gecko from West and Central Africa.

The application of genetic studies to populations of widespread animals and plants in recent years has revealed that many widespread ‘species’ are in fact made up of several different cryptic species, which...

Three new species of Gecko from central Australia.

As with many other groups, studies of Australian Geckos have, in recent years, revealed the presence of many cryptic species; populations which resemble other species yet are genetically distinct and incapable of breeding with them. In 2013 Mark Sistrom of the...

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