Clown beetles (Histeridae) are stable components of carrion communities, but their prey range is poorly recognised. An indirect way to deduce species’ diet is to study the functional morphology of their mandibles. The use of a multimodal approach in the study of Margarinotus brunneus, Margarinotus striola succicola, Saprinus semistriatus, and Saprinus planiusculus revealed a hidden morphological diversity

Crocodyliforms are poorly known from the Early Jurassic Lufeng Formation of China, and a new specimen of Platyognathus hsui is by far the most complete specimen yet known. It shares with the missing holotype and the neotype the very unusual features of a dentary caniniform that is polygonal in cross-section and the complete fusion of the dentary symphysis, and the new specimen provides four additional

The genus Zigrasimecia, also known as the iron maiden ant, represents a peculiar lineage spanning most of the Cretaceous period and characterized by armed mouthparts. Despite recent publications that have contributed to our understanding of the past diversity within this genus, its true extent remains underestimated and its morphological variations poorly comprehended. In this study, we introduce two

Neotheropoda is the core clade of predatory dinosaurs that originated in the Triassic and became highly diversified and globally distributed by the Early Jurassic. Currently, six species of Neotheropoda have been described from Early Jurassic localities in Yunnan Province, south-western China. Here we describe a new specimen from the Lufeng Formation in central Yunnan, representing a non-coelophysoid

The genus Scolopendra is a taxonomically complex group, with species displaying intricate evolutionary radiation across Mediterranean islands. The present work aims to explore the diversity patterns of the Mediterranean banded centipede S. cingulata across Sicily, some surrounding islands, and Southern Calabria, investigating its genetic (COI and 28S) and phenotypic variation. Through extensive sampling

Therian mammals possess numerous unique morphological features in their auditory system. Many of these have been well studied in attempts to understand their functional importance, and some aspects of cochlear morphology have been shown to correlate with hearing ability across taxa. Among the unique features of the therian inner ear is the presence of bony structures supporting the sensory epithelia

Allosaurus fragilis was first described in the Upper Jurassic of Portugal in 1999 based on a set of postcranial remains collected at the Andrés fossil site in Pombal. The description of a second species, Allosaurus europaeus, based on a posterior part of an articulated skull and a sequence of cervical vertebrae (ML 415) collected at Praia de Vale Frades in Lourinhã, has been controversial, and its

Cavefish are of considerable interest owing to the remarkable adaptations for surviving in harsh subterranean conditions. These adaptations, often described as constructive traits or regressive features, reflect trade-offs in metabolic requirements and energy utilization in response to life in darkness. In this study, we describe two new cavefish species, Triplophysa yangi sp. nov. and Triplophysa

The actual diversity of Hygromia land snails is unknown. Typically, three or four species were recognized based on morphology. Here, we applied an integrative taxonomic approach to assess species limits through combined analyses of shell and genital morphology, including love darts, as well as genetic data in 205 specimens from 90 localities across Europe. The results revealed two monophyletic groups

Colour pattern variations in animals range from a small number of discrete morphs to continuous variations. However, the possibility that the degree itself is shaped by bias produced by limited observations cannot be excluded. Through a community science approach, also known as citizen science, we refined the definitions of the colour pattern morphs of the Japanese natricine snake, Rhabdophis tigrinus

The genus Cyerce Bergh, 1870 has been a model for the study of defensive strategies, including chemical defences, ceratal autotomy, and crypsis or aposematism. Specialization on different algae and diverse genital armatures also make Cyerce a useful system for investigating speciation by host shift versus sexual selection. Here, we review the genus Cyerce in the Pacific and Indian oceans using molecular

Originally described from the bluntnose sixgill shark, Hexanchus griseus (Bonnaterre), Phyllobothrium sinuosiceps Williams, 1959 (Cestoda: Phyllobothriidea) is apparently a common parasite of this elasmobranch host. However, reports of this species are limited, and its morphological characteristics remain poorly known. This study presents a molecular phylogenetic framework to reassess the taxonomic

Investigating patterns of homoplasy can improve our understanding of macroevolutionary processes by revealing evolutionary constraints on morphology and highlighting convergent form–function relationships. Here, we test the performance of several widely-used methods that provide measures of homoplasy, including the consistency (CI) and retention indices (RI), using simulated and empirical discrete

The mitogenomes of Australonura wellingtonia, Womersleymeria aff. bicornis, and Megalanura aff. tasmaniae from Satan’s Lair, Tasmania, Australia, are newly sequenced and assembled, and their characteristics are detailed. A phylogeny including 37 species of Poduromorpha based on mitochondrial genomes is also presented. Australonura wellingtonia was placed together with Rambutanura hunanensis, and W

Understanding genetic relationships within species is essential for identifying distinct genetic lineages and informing conservation strategies, particularly for species with fragmented or widespread geographic distributions. One such widespread species that has suffered declines across Australia, despite remaining common in some areas, is the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), a nocturnal

Diplozoids are parasitic flatworms known for their unique development, whereby two hermaphroditic individuals fuse to form a single adult. They exhibit varying host specificity, with Paradiplozoon homoion having the widest known distribution, making it a suitable model for population genetic studies. In this study, the genetic variability of P. homoion was assessed from 60 cyprinoid fish species at

Glossogobius, a species-rich gobiid genus with 42 recognized species distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, lacks a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis. The highest diversity of the genus occurs in the tropical West Pacific, highlighting this region as a centre of endemism. In contrast, the Indian Ocean has lower diversity (nine species). This study offers the first thorough description of Glossogobius

The taxonomically chaotic Asian genus Pomponia is one of the more species-rich genera in Cicadidae, with multiple species groups and species complexes. To help understand the evolution of Pomponia, establish a time frame, and define species, we studied morphology and conducted molecular phylogenetic and phylogeographical analyses of 394 individuals belonging to the Pomponia linearis species group and

The evolution of colouration and patterns is a captivating aspect of biological research shaped by multiple factors. Pachyrhynchus weevils, known for their unpalatable nature owing to their tough elytra, inhabit the tropical regions of the Philippines and display intricate elytral patterns that contribute significantly to species diversity. To investigate the evolution of patterns in Pachyrhynchus

Italy hosts 27 species of Dermaptera, five belonging to Forficula, which were never thoroughly investigated. We integrated morphological (morphometric measurements) and molecular data (mitochondrial COI, 16S and nuclear 28S, ITS2) to revise the Italian species, focusing on the endemic taxa, and on the diversity within F. auricularia to reveal the presence of cryptic species. Our data were integrated

In Strigiformes, which comprise the Tytonidae and Strigidae families, hindlimbs play a crucial role in prey capture. Yet, their bone proportions remain understudied despite the established link between avian hindlimb skeletal morphology and ecological traits. We examined the proportions of the femur, tibiotarsus, and tarsometatarsus in 18 owl species, investigating their associations with prey preferences

Several comprehensive studies have greatly contributed to the clarification of Odonata phylogeny, paying special attention to the damselflies (Zygoptera). Nearly half of the species of Zygoptera are included in the family Coenagrionidae, but the status of some previously recognized families is still debated. Here, we present the results of phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear and mitochondrial sequences

In biological taxonomy, eponyms have become controversial, mostly because some believe that eponyms represent social injustice and include biases against women and people in non-western countries. Unfortunately, there are very few comprehensive quantitative studies of eponyms to inform this debate. In a data set of 28 395 names of valid bird genera, species and (non-nominate) subspecies, 6135 (21.6%)

The stingless bees of the genus Partamona comprise 32 recognized species, all endemic to the Neotropical region, ranging from Mexico to southern Brazil. This study is the first to examine species delimitation, phylogenetic relationships, and divergence-time estimates within the Partamona Eastern group. Of the 21 species in this group, 19 were included in our analysis. Utilizing both mitochondrial and

This study examines the brain morphology of Pliocene specimens of the South American Echimyidae rodent Eumysops chapalmalensis through virtual endocasts and comparisons with extant members of the family. Shape variation is analysed through geometric morphometrics, and the relative sizes of the brain and its components are estimated using phylogenetic regression models. The influence of phylogeny and

Cryptic lineages require identification and delimitation to guide their conservation and management. In the absence of type material that can be genotyped, designating a neotype becomes necessary: such is the case for Aporrectodea trapezoides and Octodrilus complanatus. These widely distributed earthworms are very common in Mediterranean habitats and harbour cryptic lineages. Specimens from the type

The fossil reptile Milleretta holds a prominent role in phylogenetic analyses of early reptile relationships. It has often been used as the sole marker for the anatomically diverse middle to late Permian Millerettidae, a clade that has been hypothesized as the earliest diverging parareptiles and therefore only distantly related to the reptile crown group. However, the anatomy of Milleretta remains

The present study deals with the intricate phylogenetic relationships within an important clade of the caridean shrimp family Alpheidae, which includes the genera Salmoneus, Deioneus, and Triacanthoneus. Using molecular data from four genes (16S, 18S, COI, and H3), we herein provide the most comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis for this alpheid clade, with 161 terminals representing 117 ESUs, i.e

Giant short-faced bears (Arctodus simus) were the largest carnivoran of Pleistocene North America and are one of the most extensively studied extinct megafaunal species from the continent. Smaller and larger forms of A. simus have previously been recognized and are sometimes considered subspecies (A. s. simus and A. s. yukonensis, respectively). However, researchers have also proposed that this size

Gastrotricha encompass a diversity of free-living micrometazoans typically associated with aquatic or semi-aquatic environments. The discovery of a gastrotrich species in limno-terrestrial habitats challenges existing taxonomic classifications and expands our understanding of their ecological diversity. This study describes Dendroichthydium ibyrapora gen. et sp. nov., a new gastrotrich from epiphytic

Piatnitzkysaurus floresi is a theropod dinosaur from the Cañadón Asfalto Formation (Chubut Province, Argentina) and one of the few Early Jurassic tetanurans known worldwide. This species is known from two specimens and plays a key role in our understanding of the early evolution of tetanuran theropods. Nevertheless, the published information about its postcranium is limited to the original description

Among the five known Trogidae genera, Polynoncus is the only one endemic to South America. Although the systematics within Trogidae is well established, the evolutionary relationships among Polynoncus species remain poorly understood. Here, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis based on maximum parsimony, using the equal and implicit weighting algorithm with all characters, in TNT v.1.5 software. The

Saicini comprise 24 genera and 147 species worldwide. Here, we include additional taxa and characters to the morphological dataset of Castro-Huertas and Melo (2023) into a new one composed of 181 characters, which was analysed cladistically with 63 terminals, comprising 18 genera (75% of the generic diversity), 49 species of Saicini, and 12 outgroups. Saicini was recovered as monophyletic, with Carayonia

Noblella is a genus of 17 recognized nominal species of ground-dwelling, direct-developing frogs. It consists of two clades that do not form a monophyletic group: a northern clade from northern Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil and a southern clade from southern Peru and Bolivia. Herein, we present a systematic review of Noblella with emphasis on the northern clade, including a new phylogeny based

The extinct scorpion family Chaerilobuthidae Lourenço and Beigel, 2011, endemic to Burmese amber, was initially established due to its unique pedipalp trichobothrial pattern related to the Type A and Type B patterns of families Buthidae C.L. Koch, 1837 and Chaerilidae Pocock, 1893, respectively. The present contribution describes 11 new specimens, representing seven species of Chaerilobuthidae from

The evolutionary relationships among genera within the nudibranch family Discodorididae remain poorly understood, with comprehensive molecular studies still largely absent. Discodoris, the most species-rich genus within this family, has historically represented a wastebasket taxon where species with ‘discodoridid’ morphology were placed. In this study, we present molecular data to evaluate the taxonomic

We revise the spider genus Cybaeolus Simon, 1884, endemic to Chile and Argentina, including three species, Cybaeolus delfini (Simon, 1904), Cybaeolus pusillus Simon, 1884, and Cybaeolus rastellus (Roth, 1967). The genus Clitistes Simon, 1902 is synonymized with Cybaeolus, and its type species Clitistes velutinus Simon, 1902 is synonymized with Cybaeolus pusillus. We provide a phylogenetic analysis

Neopilina galatheae Lemche, 1957, first collected in the 1950s, was presented as a critical species for understanding animal evolution, particularly in the context of segmentation. Decades later, we have now revisited this iconic species using a newly collected specimen and modern micro-computed tomography (µCT). A comprehensive 3D digital model of the internal anatomy of N. galatheae revealed new

Liogenys is a neotropical genus widely distributed in South America and characterized by rhizophagous feeding habits. Taxonomy survey of Liogenys from Chile revealed a species complex consisting of L. palpalis, L. obesula and an undescribed morphotype. Morphological data alone are not sufficient to distinguish between them. The three-species hypothesis was tested using phylogenetic and preliminary

Most adaptive traits evolved multiple times independently, but the conditions of their evolution remain obscure. Here I examine the origins of columellar folds, spiral ridges on the axial wall of the interior of many gastropod shells, in both extant and fossil gastropods. Analyses indicate that these features arose at least 46 times, primarily in caenogastropods and heterobranchs. Columellar folds

Red-blooded neritimorph gastropods in the subfamily Shinkailepadinae are specialists of chemosynthesis-based ecosystems, with the most diverse genus Shinkailepas endemic to deep-sea hydrothermal vents. All described Shinkailepas species have so far been from the western Pacific, despite reports of unidentified Shinkailepas from the Indian Ocean in the literature for decades. Here, we use an integrative

We reconsider the biodiversity and biogeography of Paralaoma servilis—believed to be one of the most globally invasive exotic land snails—through integrative empirical revision. Phylogenies obtained from nDNA (ELAV, ddRAD genomics) and mtDNA (COI) demonstrate that the current classification is in error, with there being at least five distinct species within P. servilis s.l. The P. servilis group as

Columbidae (the pigeon and dove family) are a speciose clade of non-passerine birds with a near global distribution. Recently, Young et al. (2024) undertook an evaluation of the systematics and nomenclature of the Dodo and its sister species the Rodrigues Solitaire. Therein, they also investigated the validity of columbid family-group names. Since publication, we have been made aware of corrections

The intriguing origin and distribution of subterranean amphipods of the family Niphargidae, particularly in north-western Europe and the British Isles, were heavily influenced by Pleistocene glaciations, which obscured most ancient events. The discovery of a new species in Brittany (described herein as Niphargus quimperensis sp. nov.) that is closely related to two tiny endemic species of the British

Local adaptation to environmental heterogeneity across a landscape can result in population divergence and formation of lineages. On Guadeloupe Island, the active volcano, La Grande Soufrière, peaks at 1460 m a.s.l., with rainforest at low elevations transitioning to humid savannahs at high elevations. Two endemic sister species of Eleutherodactylus frogs are co-distributed across this habitat gradient

Noasaurus leali is a small (~2 m) carnivorous theropod and the nominal genus of the clade Noasauridae, one of the two radiations of abelisauroid ceratosaurs predominantly present in the Southern Hemisphere during the Mesozoic. This eponymous theropod from the Maastrichtian Lecho Formation of Salta, Argentina, is known from an incomplete skeleton of which the strongly curved manual ungual is the most

Tardigrade taxonomy is undergoing a turbulent phase of reclassifying various species that have previously been gathered within large wastebasket genera, such as Diphascon or Hypsibius. The application of genetic sequencing, paired with detailed analysis of fine morphological features in 3D using scanning electron microscopy, allow for revealing new phenotypic characters used in systematics. At the

Venom is a metabolically expensive secretion used sparingly in a variety of ecological contexts, most notably predation and defence. Accordingly, few animals employ their toxins from a distance, and venom-squirting behaviour is only known from select taxa. In scorpions, species belonging to two genera are known to spray venom when threatened, and previous work in Parabuthus transvaalicus shows that

The Galapagos finches represent a rapid radiation of birds across the remote oceanic archipelago that vary morphologically, behaviourally, and genetically. The level of diversity and rapid rate of speciation have created taxonomic difficulties in resolving phylogenetic relationships. While much of the phylogeny has recently been clarified with modern genomic methods, some of the diversity has been

Organisms in adaptive radiations are able to diversify and colonize multiple environments. Frequently, the evolution of key adaptations enables organisms to confront novel environmental challenges, promoting diversification. Here, we studied desert colonization in the Liolaemus radiation. We assessed the patterns of climatic niche evolution in the L. nigromaculatus section, one Liolaemus clade inhabiting

Dinosaurs arose in the Late Triassic and diversified during the subsequent periods of the Mesozoic Era. The oldest unequivocal dinosaurs come from Carnian deposits of Brazil, Argentina, India, and Zimbabwe, with sauropodomorphs representing the bulk of this record. Saturnalia tupiniquim was described from Brazilian strata in 1999 as the first Carnian member of that group. Although several new species

The classification and phylogenetic position of Haplotaxidae, an enigmatic family of clitellate worms, have long been discussed. We estimate the phylogeny for Clitellata as a whole, using a taxon sample adhering to current definitions of Haplotaxidae and including species attributable to Haplotaxis, plus a representation of other clitellates. Sequences of five markers, 4087 bp in total, were analysed

Neurocranial features appear to be phylogenetically informative and key in assessing the still contentious relationships within Crocodylomorpha. However, the braincases of many non-crocodylian taxa are incompletely studied precluding the assessment of evolutionary modifications at the base of Crocodylia. Here, we describe the braincase osteology and neuroanatomy of the paralligatorid crocodylomorph

Defining species boundaries may result challenging and has been a widely debated issue in the last decades. In cases of cryptic or “pseudocryptic” species, molecular approaches can be a valuable tool to provide taxonomic hypotheses and significantly complement morphological taxonomy. Here, two mitochondrial and one nuclear markers were used to study the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Tiroloscia

Cerambycidae (Coleoptera: Chrysomeloidea) are a widely distributed group of insects with significant economic importance. Despite substantial efforts and some advancements in inferring the phylogeny of Cerambycidae, high-level phylogenetic relationships within the family, including subfamily and tribe-level classification, remain contentious. In this study, we performed whole-genome sequencing on a

The Cyclophoroidea are a group of land snails possessing an operculum that seals the aperture when the snail withdraws its body into the shell. Several groups have developed snorkel-like tubes, which are open at their outer ends, for gas exchange when the operculum closes the aperture. The tube of the cyclophorid subfamily Alycaeinae is, however, closed at its outer end. Recent investigations revealed

Etymology is a key component in zoological nomenclature, often carrying key information for an organism. Greek and Latin languages have been used for centuries in synthesizing zoological names. However, there are surprisingly few studies about each language’s contribution, which is crucial for avoiding misunderstandings around names’ meaning and origin. This study examined the publications that described

The evolution of flower-visiting behaviour in pollen wasps remains poorly investigated. The females of oligolectic Celonites species show two fundamentally different behavioural patterns for pollen uptake from Heliotropium flowers with a narrow corolla tube. They remove pollen from the concealed anthers either with their forelegs or with their proboscis. Single-frame video analysis revealed that pollen

Diamesa is a cold-adapted genus of Diptera: Chironomidae colonizing cold freshwaters of the Northern Hemisphere and East Africa. Global warming and glacier shrinkage are threatening their survival. In this work, we aimed to provide new insights into taxonomical gaps and phylogeny of Diamesa species from the Pyrenees, Alps, and Karakorum mountains to understand the colonization processes better and

Within armadillos, two clades are currently recognized: Chlamyphoridae and Dasypodidae. Major evolutionary processes of Chlamyphoridae are linked to the main environmental and climatic events that occurred in South America in the Cenozoic. More precisely, the Euphractinae reached a high diversity concomitant with the cooling period of the Late Miocene–Pliocene. One of the largest euphractines is Macrochorobates