Oriental Region Research Articles

Two new species of Parascatopse Cook, 1955 (Diptera: Scatopsidae) from China, with a key to species in the Palearctic and Oriental Regions

Two new species of the genus Parascatopse are reported from China: P. rotunda sp. nov. and P. concava sp. nov.. A key to the species of Parascatopse in the Palearctic and Oriental Regions is also provided.

Review of the genus Statherotis Meyrick, 1909 (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutinae) from Thailand, with description of a new species

The genus Statherotis belongs to the tribe Olethreutini and is mostly distributed in the Oriental region. Four Statherotis species have been recorded from Thailand. S. muangmaithongi Pinkaew, sp. nov. is described from World Heritage Site, Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. Illustrations of adult and genitalia are provided. A key to species of the genus Statherotis from Thailand is also provided. This new taxon increases the number of described Statherotis species in Thailand to five.

Taxonomic review of the Rhagonycha flava species group (Coleoptera, Cantharidae), with descriptions of fourteen new species from China

The species of Rhagonycha Eschscholtz, 1830 with yellowish elytra from the Oriental Region are reviewed and defined as Rh. flava species group. Fourteen new species are described, including Rh. nigricolor sp. nov. and Rh. trimacula sp. nov. (China, Sichuan), Rh. falcata sp. nov., Rh. tibetanimima sp. nov., Rh. similis sp. nov., Rh. maculaticeps sp. nov., Rh. curtiapicis sp. nov., Rh. acutiapicis sp. nov., Rh. ocula sp. nov. and Rh. weixiensis sp. nov. (China, Yunnan), Rh. longicornis sp. nov. and Rh. zayuensis sp. nov. (China, Xizang), Rh. flavimima sp. nov. (China, Hubei), and Rh. guizhouensis sp. nov. (China, Guizhou). The new species are illustrated, and figures of their habitus, aedeagi, abdominal sternites VIII and internal genitalia of females are provided. Ten previously known species are supplementarily described, and illustrations of their habitus and female reproductive systems are provided for the first time: Rh. albolimbata Pic, 1926, Rh. bimucronata Švihla, 2005, Rh. flava (Pic, 1926), Rh. furcatiformis Wittmer, 1997, Rh. hubeiana Wittmer, 1997, Rh. limbatella Wittmer, 1997, Rh. spinosa Wittmer, 1997, Rh. tibetana Švihla, 2002, Rh. weichowensis Wittmer, 1997, and Rh. yunnana Wittmer, 1997. Besides, the habitus photos of the following species are provided with for the first time: Rh. furcata Wittmer, 1997, Rh. testaceopallipa Wittmer, 1997, Rh. tryznai Švihla, 2002, Rh. albidipennis Pic, 1923, Rh. bomdiensis Wittmer, 1989, Rh. disconigra (Pic, 1907), Rh. manipurensis Wittmer, 1989 and Rh. meghalayana Wittmer, 1989. Additionally, distribution maps are presented for the similar species either in the appearances or aedeagi. Now the Rh. flava species group includes a total of 39 species, for which an identification key and a checklist of the Rh. flava species group are provided, respectively.

The era of cybertaxonomy: X-ray microtomography reveals cryptic diversity and concealed cuticular sculpture in Aphanerostethus Voss, 1957 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae).

Weevils represent one of the most speciose and economically important animal clades, but remain poorly studied across much of the Oriental Region. Here, an integrative revision of the Oriental, flightless genus Aphanerostethus Voss, 1957 (Curculionidae: Molytinae) based on X-ray microtomography, multi-gene DNA barcoding (CO1, Cytb, 16S), and traditional morphological techniques (light microscopy, dissections) is presented. Twelve new species, namely, A.armatus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.bifidus Kojima & Lewis, sp. nov., A.darlingi Lewis, sp. nov., A.decoratus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.falcatus Kojima, Lewis & Fujisawa, sp. nov., A.incurvatus Kojima & Lewis, sp. nov., A.japonicus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.magnus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.morimotoi Kojima & Lewis, sp. nov., A.nudus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., A.spinosus Lewis & Kojima, sp. nov., and A.taiwanus Lewis, Fujisawa & Kojima, sp. nov. are described from Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia. A neotype is designated for A.vannideki Voss, 1957. The hitherto monotypic genus Darumazo Morimoto & Miyakawa, 1985, syn. nov. is synonymized under Aphanerostethus based on new morphological data and Aphanerostethusdistinctus (Morimoto & Miyakawa, 1985), comb. nov. is transferred accordingly. X-ray microtomography is successfully used to explore for stable interspecific differences in cuticular, internal and micro morphology. Remarkable species-specific sexual dimorphism in the metatibial uncus is described in seven of the newly described Aphanerostethus species and the evolution of this character is discussed.

Climatology of Orographic Precipitation Gradients Over High Mountain Asia Derived From Dynamical Downscaling

AbstractWithin High Mountain Asia (HMA), the annual melting of glaciers and snowpack provides vital freshwater to populations living downstream. Precipitation over HMA can directly affect the freshwater availability in this region by altering the mass balance of glaciers and snowpack. However, available reanalyses and downscaling simulations lack the resolution required to understand important glacier‐scale variations in precipitation. This study aimed to determine the current characteristics of orographic precipitation gradients (OPG) by curve‐fitting daily precipitation as a function of elevation from a 15‐year, 4‐km grid spaced Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulation focused on the Himalayan, Karakoram, and Hindu‐Kush mountain ranges. To facilitate precipitation curve‐fitting, the WRF model grid points were separated into regions of similar orientation, referred to as facets. Akaike Information Criterion‐corrected values and an F‐test p‐value identified the need for a curvature term to account for a varying OPG with elevation. Regions with similar seasonal variability were found using ‐means clustering of the monthly mean OPG coefficients. The central Himalayan slope's intra‐seasonal variability of OPG depended on synoptic scale conditions, in which cyclonically‐forced heavy‐precipitation events produced strong sublinear increases in precipitation with elevation. Initial testing of precipitation estimates using monthly coefficients showed promising results in downscaling daily WRF precipitation; the daily mean absolute error at each grid point had a lower magnitude than the daily mean precipitation total, on average. Results provide a physically‐based context for machine learning algorithms being developed to predict OPG and downscale precipitation output from global climate models over HMA.

New genus, species, and faunistic records of the tribe Ripidiini (Coleoptera: Ripiphoridae) from the mainland of China

Anatoripidius cylindricus gen. & sp. nov., a new genus and species of Ripidiinae Gerstaecker, 1855 from Guangdong, China, is described and illustrated. The new genus is distinguished from other ripidiine genera by the combined characters that include postocular ommatidia missing, mouthparts strongly reduced, 11-segmented antennae, and others dealing with hind wings, and tarsal formula. A key to the extant genera of Ripidiini from the Palaearctic and Oriental regions is presented. Furthermore, Ripidius longicollis (Schilder, 1923) is newly recorded for the mainland of China, as well as redescribed and illustrated.

Establishment of two species groups of Ichthyurus Westwood (Coleoptera: Cantharidae), with description of two new species from China and Vietnam

Two species groups of the genus Ichthyurus Westwood, 1848 in the Oriental Region are proposed based on the anatomical comparison. One is the I. vandepolli species group, which is composed of two species, namely I. vandepolli Gestro, 1892 and I. opacus Gestro, 1906 (newly recorded to China). The other is the I. bourgeoisi species group, consisting of four species, including I. bourgeoisi Gestro, 1892, I. savioi Pic, 1928, I. niger sp. nov. (Vietnam, Vinh Phue) and I. bilineatimimus sp. nov. (China, Yunnan). The above species are illustrated with habitus and genital segments of both sexes, prothoracic leg and aedeagus of the male and internal genitalia of the female. A key for identification and distribution maps of these species are provided.

Hymenopterous parasitoids of the fig leaf roller moth, Phycodes radiata (Ochsenheimer, 1808) (Lepidoptera: Brachodidae) in Iran

ABSTRACT The fig leaf roller (FLR), Phycodes radiata (Ochsenheimer, 1808) (Lepidoptera: Brachodidae), is an Oriental defoliator pest of Ficus spp. In the Oriental region, only two parasitic wasps, belonging to the Chalcididae and Eulophidae (Hymenoptera) families have been identified as natural enemies of FLR. Therefore, attempts are being made to discover parasitoids for biological control in Iran. In the laboratory condition (25 ± 1°C, 50%RH), two parasitoid species were successfully reared from FLR pupae. A chalcid species, Psilochalcis ceratoniae Delvare, 2011 (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae) was obtained for the first time on FLR, previously known to parasitise the carob moth, Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Additionally, an ichneumonid species, Goryphus nursei (Cameron, 1907) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), was also recorded parasitising FLR for the first time. These newly discovered associations bring the total count of parasitoids of FLR to four species from three different families.

A new species of Bolbelasmus (Coleoptera, Bolboceratidae) from Guangdong Province, China.

Bolbelasmus is a group of small to medium-sized beetles distributed in the Holarctic and Oriental Regions and in Central America. It includes two subgenera (Bolbelasmus and Kolbeus) and 32 species known in the world fauna with seven species recorded from China. The new species, Bolbelasmusguangdongensis sp. nov., is described from south China and compared with B.coreanus, B.meridionalis and B.chifengi.

New species and records of Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960 and Xanthonomus Bernhauer, 1926 from the eastern Palaearctic, Oriental and Papuan regions (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Omaliinae)

New taxonomic and faunistic data for nine species of Paraphloeostiba Steel, 1960 and one species of Xanthonomus Bernhauer, 1926 (X. guineensis Shavrin, 2024) from the eastern Palaearctic, Oriental and Papuan regions are provided. Three new species of Paraphloeostiba are described and illustrated: P. acrolochaoides sp. nov. and P. brevicula sp. nov. from Papua New Guinea, and P. zingiberiphila sp. nov. from Malaysia (Sabah). Four species are recorded for the first time: P. gayndanensis (MacLeay, 1873) from Guangxi Province of China, Laos and Japan (Amami-Ōshima), P. papuana (Cameron, 1931) and P. riedeli Shavrin, 2024 from Papua New Guinea, and P. steeli Shavrin, 2024 from Indonesia (Sulawesi).

First record of the genus Palpostilpnus Aubert (Ichneumonidae: Phygadeuontinae) from Vietnam, with descriptions of eight new species

Palpostilpnus Aubert, 1961 is a genus of the subfamily Phygadeuontinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) with 17 currently recognized species from the Oriental and Australasian regions. In this paper, this genus is reported for the first time from Vietnam. Eight new species are described, comprising: P. cattienensis, P. hoanglienensis, P. incompletus, P. melanothoracicus, P. melinhensis, P. meovacensis, P. ngoclinhensis and P. taynguyenensis. Three species, P. maculata Sheng & Sun, 2013, P. pterodactylus Reshchikov, Santos, Liu, Barthélémy, 2019 and P. tamasek Reshchikov, Santos, Liu, Barthélémy, 2019 are recorded as new from the country. The key to the world species of Palpostilpnus by Reshchikov et al. (2019) is modified to include eight new species from Vietnam.

Rediscovery of lewisi Distant, 1903 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) from India after a Century from the Oriental Region with an Updated Checklist from The World

Rediscovery of lewisi Distant, 1903 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) from India after a Century from the Oriental Region with an Updated Checklist from The World

Description of a new species of potter wasp (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Eumeninae) from Northeast India

Pseumenes Giordani Soika, 1935 is a small genus of potter wasps occurring in Oriental, Australian and Palearctic Regions. Only one species, Pseumenes depressus (de Saussure, 1855) is known so far from India. A new species, Pseumenes siangensis sp. nov. from Arunachal Pradesh, is described. The morphological affinities of the new species are discussed. The new species is compared with the closely related P. depressus as well as P. laboriosus. Since P. depressus is similar to P. laboriosus, comparisons were made between P. laboriosus and P. siangensis sp. nov. The apical teeth of the propodeum are medium sized and blunt in P. siangensis sp. nov. (long and sharp in P. laboriosus); the posterior part of the first tergite is densely punctate in the middle P. siangensis sp. nov. (almost impunctate in P. laboriosus). The clypeus without a median black spot in P. siangensis sp. nov. (with median black spot in P. laboriosus).

Two new species of the genus Gonioctena Chevrolat, 1836 (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) from China.

Approximately 120 species of the chrysomelid genus Gonioctena are currently known from Palaearctic, Nearctic and Oriental Regions, amongst them, 51 occur in China. Two new species of the genus Gonioctena, G.klapperichi sp. nov. (Fujian) and G.oberthueri sp. nov. (Sichuan), are described and illustrated from China. Distinguishing characters from closely-related species are presented, respectively. The Gonioctena fauna of China now includes 53 species, of which about 60% are endemic. Ovoviviparity is newly recorded in G.oberthueri sp. nov.

A taxonomic revision of the genus Yelicones Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from India with description of two new species

The genus Yelicones Cameron, 1887 (Braconidae: Rogadinae) from India is revised. Two new species, Yelicones andamanensis sp. nov. and Y. elaeodendronicus sp. nov. are described and illustrated from India. Yelicones andamanensis sp. nov. was collected from Hut Bay, Little Andamans Island while Y. elaeodendronicus sp. nov. was reared from a pyralid caterpillar feeding on Elaeodendron glaucum (Rottb.) Pers in Bengaluru, India. The genus Yelicones is for the first time recorded from the Andaman & Nicobar group of islands. Both the species are compared with all the closely allied species from the Eastern Palearctic and the Oriental Regions. An illustrated key to the Indian species of the genus Yelicones Cameron is provided.

Resolving the intergeneric phylogeny of the large carrion beetles (Staphylinidae: Silphinae: Silphini)

AbstractThe worldwide distributed subfamily of rove beetles Silphinae contains two well‐established tribes, based on both morphological and molecular data. The relationships within the tribe Nicrophorini have been mostly resolved; however, the tribe Silphini still lacks a robust phylogeny. Thus, here we resolved the phylogeny of the tribe based on 42 species of the 114 known species, using five molecular markers. Heterotemna tenuicornis Brullé clustered as sister to Silpha tristis Illiger, making the subgenus Silpha Linnaeus paraphyletic. Consequently, Heterotemna Wollaston is considered a junior subjective synonym of Silpha Linnaeus; requiring the following combinations: Silpha (Silpha) britoi (García & Pérez), comb. nov., Silpha (Silpha) figurata Brullé, comb. rest., and Silpha (Silpha) tenuicornis Brullé, comb. rest. Our estimate of the phylogeny agrees with current generic limits except it revealed that the genus Aclypea Reitter arose from within the genus Silpha, thus making the latter paraphyletic. Some ambiguity remains regarding the confidence of this finding; therefore, we refrain from synonymizing Aclypea until further study. Furthermore, it includes biogeographical information for each genus, which estimates the history of distributions of the Silphini across the Australian, Neotropical, and Oriental regions.

Studies on the genus Sinochlora Tinkham, 1945 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae), I. Establishment of species groups and description of three new species

The genus Sinochlora Tinkham, 1945 is a diverse Phaneropterinae genus in the Oriental region. Previously, the genus included 16 species, distributed in East Asia region; most species are distributed in China. After examining numerous specimens of all known species of Sinochlora, we propose that the genus Sinochlora be divided into four species groups. We also describe three new species from Pan-Himalaya and Guangxi, China: S. dulongensis sp. nov., S. makuensis sp. nov. and S. latifolia sp. nov.. A key to the species group of Sinochlora, necessary illustrations and life images of Sinochlora species are presented. The distribution of the three new species is discussed and mapped.

Taxonomic Review of the Genus Didymocorypha Wood-Mason, 1877 (Mantodea: Eremiaphilidae) with description of a new species from India

The genus Didymocorypha Wood-Mason, 1877 (Mantodea: Eremiaphilidae: Iridinae), distributed in the Oriental Region, is revised with data on morphology, ecology, distribution and life history. A new species, D. wayanadensis sp. nov., is described from three specimens from India. This new species is the first record of Didymocorypha from Kerala and Punjab states, India. A key to the world species of Didymocorypha is included.

Study on the genus Onitis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) of the Indian Subcontinent, with three new species from India

Three new species of Onitis Fabricius, 1798 are described: Onitis bhomorensis sp. nov. from Assam (Northeast India), O. kethai sp. nov. and O. visthara sp. nov. from Karnataka (South India). Onitis bordati Cambefort, 1988 is recorded for the first time for the Indian subcontinent, from Meghalaya, India. Thus, the number of species of Onitis from the subcontinent has been raised to 20 and that of the Oriental region to 26. Illustrated identification keys to all the species of the genus Onitis from the Indian subcontinent are provided with distributional details and maps. Lectotype and paralectotypes designated for Onitis philemon Fabricius, 1801. Descriptions are provided for aedeagus of seventeen species of Onitis, as well as images of type specimens for nine species from their respective repositories. Distribution maps are provided for the species of Onitis of the Indian subcontinent.

First Record of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome for the Genus Borbo (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae): Characterization and Comparative Genomic Analysis

Butterflies of the genus Borbo are mainly distributed in the Oriental and Australian regions and are considered pests of important crops. However, no mitochondrial genomes have been reported for this genus until now, leaving the evolutionary characteristics and differentiation patterns of their mitogenomes unclear. In this study, we present the first complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the rice swift, Borbo cinnara. The circular double-stranded mitogenome was 15,508 bp in length, comprising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), and 1 non-coding control region (CR). Among the mitogenomes of Hesperiinae, the ND3 gene was found to be the most variable PCG, while COX1 was the most conserved. Selection pressure analysis revealed that ND3 was under relaxed purifying selection, whereas COX1 was subjected to strong purifying selection. Phylogenetic trees reconstructed using both the Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods yielded robust and identical topologies, confirming the sister relationship between B. cinnara and Pelopidas mathias at the mitogenome level. Methodologically, this research enriches novel molecular markers for the species identification of butterflies and enhances our understanding of mitogenomic evolution in Lepidoptera.