First report of the genus Pelossus Thomson, 1864 (Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Pelossini) from India with description of a new species.

A new species of longhorn beetle, Pelossus indicus sp. nov., is described from Chhattisgarh State, India. This is the first report of this genus from India and the sixth species of Pelossus from Asia. Images of the habitus and genitalia have been provided.

Redescription of Bagauda avidus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae) with notes on other species of the genus in India.

The thread-legged assassin bug Bagauda avidus Bergroth, 1903 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae: Leistarchini), the type species of the genus Bagauda Bergroth, 1903, is redescribed based on light microscopic observations and scanning electron microscopy images. Additional five species of Bagauda occurring in India are briefly reviewed.

Description of the adult of the thread-legged assassin bug Eugubinus araneus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) from India, with comments on other congeneric species.

The thread-legged assassin bug Eugubinus araneus Distant, 1903 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae: Emesini) was described from India on the basis of two nymphs. This paper provides the first description of the adult with illustrations of both the adult and the nymph. A checklist of and a key to species of Eugubinus Distant, 1903, and images of the type material of six additional species of the genus, i.e., E. intrudans Distant, 1915, E. reticolus Distant, 1915, E. canalanus (Distant,1914), E. annulatus (Villiers, 1948), E. forsteri Wygodzinsky, 1953 and E. papuensis Wygodzinsky, 1966, are provided.

Natural history of Platypria (Platypria) hystrix (Fabricius, 1798) on Fabaceae host plants, with notes on other Platypria species in India (Chrysomelidae, Cassidinae, Hispini).

The leaf-beetle genus Platypria Guérin-Méneville, 1840 comprises two subgenera and 34 species (Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae: Hispini). Host plants are documented for eight species and indicate mostly perennial species of Fabaceae and Rhamnaceae. Larvae and pupae have been documented for two Platypria species. This paper presents novel natural history data, based on a field study of populations of Platypria (Platypria) hystrix (Fabricius, 1798) on Erythrinastricta Roxb. and Puerariaphaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth. in Kerala, south India and on Erythrinavariegata L., Puerariamontanavar.lobata (Willd.) Maes. & S. Almeida and Mucunapruriens (L) DC in Assam, northeast India. Three new Fabaceae hosts are reported for P. (P.) hystrix. Brief notes and new host records, based on field observations, are also provided for the other three species of Platypria in India - P. (P.) chiroptera Gestro, 1899, P. (P.) echidna Guérin-Méneville, 1840 and P. (P.) erinaceus (Fabricius, 1801). Platypria females slit the leaf to lay a single egg which is covered with secretions that harden as an ootheca, the egg covering in Cassidinaes. l. There are five larval stages, each with the typical 'hispine' mining form and behaviour - a flattened cream-coloured body, chitinised head capsule and claws, and feeding on mesophyll and leaving irregular blotch mines on the host leaves. Pupation occurs in an independent pupal mine and lasts about a week. These observations suggest new potential phylogenetic character hypotheses that can stimulate better data collection on leaf-mining Cassidinae and help resolve evolutionary patterns amongst these basal mining genera.

A new species of Miccolamia Bates, 1884 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) from northeast India, with comments on related species.

A new species of Cerambycidae, Miccolamia (Miccolamia) arunachalensis Sreedevi Ghate sp. nov. (Lamiinae: Desmiphorini) is described from northeast India. This is the fourth species of Miccolamia from India. Additionally, an updated key to the Indian species is also provided along with comments on related species of the subgenus.

Description of a new species of the genus Pycanum (Hemiptera: Heteroptera:Tessaratomidae: Tessaratomini) from India with comments and key to extant species of the genus.

A new species of a tessaratomid bug, namely Pycanum occidentale sp. nov, is described with comments on the other species of the genus found in India. This species can be easily distinguished from the other species of Pycanum by the shape of male genitalia, especially pygophore and parameres. This becomes the fourth species of Pycanum in India and the first one from western India. A key to the extant species of the genus is also provided along with diagnostic images of pygophores and parameres for three species found in India.

Redescription of Ploiaria mellea (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae) and its first report from India.

A macropterous species, Ploiaria mellea McAtee Malloch, 1926 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae: Leistarchini) is reported for the first time from India; the previously unknown male is illustrated and described. The species was originally described from the Philippines. Since the species was found in three climatically different localities near Pune, it must be a well-established emesine bug that has so far remained undetected or unidentified in India.

Description of a new species of the genus Bagauda (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae) from Maharashtra State, India.

A new Emesinae species, Bagauda atypicus sp. nov., is described from Maharashtra, India. It is an atypical member of the genus Bagauda and the tribe Leistarchini because both male and female are micropterous and display a character not found in any Leistarchini described so far, namely presence of prominent, erect and blunt, humeral tubercles. The species is cavernicolous because the specimens were collected in old caves. Association with spider webs was observed.

Giant assassin in the cave: a new species of the genus Myiophanes from Sri Lanka (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae).

A new thread-legged assassin bug species, Myiophanes (Myiophanes) wygodzinskyi sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae: Emesini), collected from Ravana Cave in Uva Province of Sri Lanka, is described. It is the largest species of the genus described so far.

Copelatus Erichson, 1832 from Maharashtra, India, with description of three new species and notes on other taxa of the genus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae: Copelatinae).

The Copelatus species occurring in Maharashtra State, India, are reviewed. Altogether, nine species are recorded, three of which are described as new: Copelatus deccanensis sp. nov. (C. nigrolineatus species group), C. maushomi sp. nov. (C. consors group) and C. bezdeki sp. nov. (C. irinus group). Habitus and male genitalia are illustrated for all Copelatus species from Maharashtra, a key to the species and distribution maps are presented. New distributional records along with short diagnoses of already known species are provided. In addition, the study of extensive material of Copelatus species from the Indian subcontinent outside Maharashtra revealed the following new synonymies: Copelatus freudei Guignot, 1955 = C. gibsoni Vazirani, 1974 syn. nov. = C. gibsoni Vazirani, 1975 syn. nov. = C. spangleri Vazirani, 1974 syn. nov. = C. spangleri Vazirani, 1975 syn. nov.; Copelatus oblitus Sharp, 1882 = C. karnatakus Holmen Vazirani, 1990 syn. nov.; C. sociennus J. Balfour-Browne, 1952 = C. bangalorensis Vazirani, 1970 syn. nov.; Copelatus tenebrosus Régimbart, 1880 = C. ceylonicus Vazirani, 1969 syn. nov. = C. assamensis Vazirani, 1970 syn. nov.

Redescription of the thread-legged assassin bug Ploiaria anak (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae) from India, with notes on its biology.

The thread-legged assassin bug species Ploiaria anak Distant, 1909 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae) from India is redescribed based on recently collected material from Pune District, India. Notes on the biology of the species and a key to species of the genus from India are provided. A lectotype is designated for P. anak. Both P. nuda and P. nude appear in the original description of the Ploiaria species described by Ravichandran Livingstone (1989); nuda is selected as the correct original spelling. As this name is a junior homonym of P. nuda Miller, 1950, it is replaced by the new name P. raviaspinosa nom. nov.

Revisiting DNA barcoding of true bugs of the infraorder Pentatomomorpha (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from India.

Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) sequences of roughly 509 bp length for various species of the Infraorder Pentatomomorpha were generated. K2P divergences within and between species and genera were calculated and compared using newly generated sequences and the ones available on online portals. Mean interspecific (within-genus) genetic divergence (14.23%) was ∼ eight times greater than mean intraspecific (within-species) divergence (1.79%). Distance-based as well as character-based approaches were used towards constructing (COI) trees. In total, 20 sequences were of the species that were previously not part of the Barcode Of Life Database (BOLD), hence representing additions to the barcode library of Indian Heteroptera. Some of the analyzed species are well-known agricultural pests. All the COI sequences and the associated specimen data have been deposited on BOLD.

Taxonomy of freshwater sponges of Maharashtra, India, with illustrated descriptions and notes on ecology and habitats (Porifera: Spongillida: Spongillidae).

We present additional taxonomic descriptions, with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) illustrations, field observations documented by colour photographs, and notes on habitats and ecology of Corvospongilla ultima (Annandale), Eunapius crassissimus (Annandale), Stratospongilla bombayensis (Carter), S. gravelyi (Annandale) and S. indica (Annandale) from recent sponge collections made in western Maharashtra, India. Stratospongilla gravelyi is rediscovered after a century, and along with it, C. ultima and S. indica are illustrated with SEM images for the first time, unequivocally differentiating these two species. Additional taxonomic, ecological data and illustrations of Corvospongilla lapidosa (Annandale), Dosilia plumosa (Carter), Ephydatia meyeni (Carter), Eunapius carteri (Bowerbank) and Radiospongilla cerebellata (Bowerbank) are also provided to supplement the previously published SEM illustrations. All ten spongillid species treated here were originally described from India and three of them are known to be endemic to the Indian region. Present study is the first re-examination of these Indian spongillid species using SEM, providing greater resolution of their important taxonomic characters and careful documentation of their habitats.

A new species of Leptestheria (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Spinicaudata) from Western Maharashtra, India.

We describe a new species of Leptestheria from a rock pool in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India. This species is distinguished from all other Indian congeners by its distinct telson characters and occipital condyle. We also present a comparative table of useful morphological characters of all described Indian Leptestheria species.

Illustrated redescription of Haliplus (Liaphlus) arrowi Guignot, 1936 (Coleoptera: Haliplidae) from the Western Ghats, India, and notes on the closely related H. angustifrons Régimbart, 1892.

In an ongoing survey of aquatic beetles, the crawling water beetles Haliplus (Liaphlus) arrowi Guignot, 1936 and Haliplus (Liaphlus) angustifrons Régimbart, 1892 were found only from four (three localities for H. arrowi and one locality for H. angustifrons) out of 85 localities sampled in and around the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. Digital images and scanning electron micrographs of diagnostic characters are provided for the first time for both the species. Intraspecific and interspecific variation in the elytral maculation of H. arrowi and H. angustifrons is illustrated.

A new cavernicolous assassin bug of the genus Bagauda Bergroth (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae) from the Western Ghats, India.

A new cavernicolous, thread-legged assassin bug, Bagauda ernstmayri sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae), collected from a cave near Satara, in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India, is described. Its interaction with the web of an uloborid spider Zosis geniculata (Olivier, 1789) (Araneae: Uloboridae) is discussed.

Large branchiopod (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) egg morphology of Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India.

The eggs of many large branchiopods have taxonomic value and are commonly used as traits in species and/or generic descriptions. In this paper we present detailed descriptions and SEMs of resting eggs of seven of the eight species of large branchiopods found in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India. We highlight the inter- and intrapopulation egg morphological variation in Streptocephalus.

Molecular phylogeny of the Notostraca.

We used a combined analysis of one nuclear (28S rDNA) and three mitochondrial markers (COI, 12S rDNA, 16S rDNA) to infer the molecular phylogeny of the Notostraca, represented by samples from the six continents that are inhabited by this group of branchiopod crustaceans. Our results confirm the monophyly of both extant notostracan genera Triops and Lepidurus with good support in model based and maximum parsimony analyses. We used branchiopod fossils as a calibration to infer divergence times among notostracan lineages and accounted for rate heterogeneity among lineages by applying relaxed-clock models. Our divergence date estimates indicate an initial diversification into the genera Triops and Lepidurus in the Mesozoic, most likely at a minimum age of 152.3-233.5 Ma, i.e., in the Triassic or Jurassic. Implications for the interpretation of fossils and the evolution of notostracan morphology are discussed. We further use the divergence date estimates to formulate a biogeographic hypothesis that explains distributions of extant lineages predominantly by overland dispersal routes. We identified an additional hitherto unrecognised highly diverged lineage within Lepidurus apus lubbocki and three additional previously unknown major lineages within Triops. Within T. granarius we found deep differentiation, with representatives distributed among three major phylogenetic lineages. One of these major lineages comprises T. cancriformis, the T. mauritanicus species group and two hitherto unrecognised T. granarius lineages. Samples that were morphologically identified as T. granarius diverged from the most basal nodes within this major lineage, and divergence dates suggested an approximate age of 23.7-49.6 Ma for T. cancriformis, indicating the need for a taxonomic revision of Triassic and Permian fossils that are currently attributed to the extant T. cancriformis. We thus elevate T. cancriformis minor to full species status as Triops minorTrusheim, 1938 and include in this species the additional Upper Triassic samples that were attributed to T. cancriformis. We further elevate T. cancriformis permiensis to full species status as Triops permiensisGand et al., 1997.

Bacterial diversity in different regions of gastrointestinal tract of Giant African snail (Achatina fulica).

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract of invasive land snail Achatina fulica is known to harbor metabolically active bacterial communities. In this study, we assessed the bacterial diversity in the different regions of GI tract of Giant African snail, A. fulica by culture-independent and culture-dependent methods. Five 16S rRNA gene libraries from different regions of GI tract of active snails indicated that sequences affiliated to phylum γ-Proteobacteria dominated the esophagus, crop, intestine, and rectum libraries, whereas sequences affiliated to Tenericutes dominated the stomach library. On phylogenetic analysis, 30, 27, 9, 27, and 25 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from esophagus, crop, stomach, intestine, and rectum libraries were identified, respectively. Estimations of the total bacterial diversity covered along with environmental cluster analysis showed highest bacterial diversity in the esophagus and lowest in the stomach. Thirty-three distinct bacterial isolates were obtained, which belonged to 12 genera of two major bacterial phyla namely γ-Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Among these, Lactococcus lactis and Kurthia gibsonii were the dominant bacteria present in all GI tract regions. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis indicated significant differences in bacterial load in different GI tract regions of active and estivating snails. The difference in the bacterial load between the intestines of active and estivating snail was maximum. Principal component analysis (PCA) of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism suggested that bacterial community structure changes only in intestine when snail enters estivation state.

Determination of Wolbachia diversity in butterflies from Western Ghats, India, by a multigene approach.

Members of the genus Wolbachia are intracellular bacteria that are widespread in arthropods and establish diverse symbiotic associations with their hosts, ranging from mutualism to parasitism. Here we present the first detailed analyses of Wolbachia in butterflies from India with screening of 56 species. Twenty-nine species (52%) representing five families were positive for Wolbachia. This is the first report of Wolbachia infection in 27 of the 29 species; the other two were reported previously. This study also provides the first evidence of infection in the family Papilionidae. A striking diversity was observed among Wolbachia strains in butterfly hosts based on five multilocus sequence typing (MLST) genes, with 15 different sequence types (STs). Thirteen STs are new to the MLST database, whereas ST41 and ST125 were reported earlier. Some of the same host species from this study carried distinctly different Wolbachia strains, whereas the same or different butterfly hosts also harbored closely related Wolbachia strains. Butterfly-associated STs in the Indian sample originated by recombination and point mutation, further supporting the role of both processes in generating Wolbachia diversity. Recombination was detected only among the STs in this study and not in those from the MLST database. Most of the strains were remarkably similar in their wsp genotype, despite divergence in MLST. Only two wsp alleles were found among 25 individuals with complete hypervariable region (HVR) peptide profiles. Although both wsp and MLST show variability, MLST gives better separation between the strains. Completely different STs were characterized for the individuals sharing the same wsp alleles.