IS23024Rare yet everywhere: phylogenetic position of the enigmatic deep-sea shrimp Physetocaris microphthalma Chace, 1940 (Decapoda, Caridea)

Pedro A. Peres and Heather Bracken-Grissom

pp. 529-537

The deep-sea shrimp, Physetocaris microphthalma Chace, 1940, remains a phylogenetic mystery for carcinologists due to the rarity in nature and peculiar morphology. Phylogenetic analyses on new collections from the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific provide definitive evidence that this species is nested within the family Pandalidae (superfamily Pandaloidea) and current assignments as a monotypic species within the family Physeteocarididae and superfamily Physetocaridoidea are not valid. This study provides an updated classification for the Infraorder Caridea and suggests the need for further revisions within the extremely diverse Pandalidae.

IS23004An unusual lineage of Helotidae in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar (Coleoptera: Nitiduloidea)

Yan-Da Li , Zhenhua Liu , Diying Huang and Chenyang Cai

pp. 538-551

Helotidae is a small family in Nitiduloidea. We report an unusual form of helotids, represented by Lobatihelota lescheni gen. nov., sp. nov. and L. iridescens sp. nov., from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. Lobatihelota is unique within the family in having a leg morphology typical of some Nitidulidae and Kateretidae. Additionally, new diagnostic characters are suggested for Trihelota from the same deposit, and the morphological divergence of representative genera of Erotyloidea, Nitiduloidea and Cucujoidea is visualised using a phylomorphospace approach.

IS23009Neolucia bollami Eastwood, Braby & Graham, sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): speciation of a new allochronic cryptic butterfly from south-western Western Australia

Rodney G. Eastwood , Michael F. Braby and Matthew R. Williams

pp. 552-570

South-western Western Australia is a global biodiversity hotspot in a landscape of subdued topography, so the processes that have generated such diversity are not clear. We investigated an unusual form (Julimar) of the butterfly Neolucia agricola occidens that is sympatric but flies at a different time of year. Using integrative taxonomy, we demonstrated that ‘Julimar’ is a distinct species, Neolucia bollami Eastwood, Braby & Graham, sp. nov. Speciation was likely initiated by a host plant shift reinforced by strong host fidelity and temporal divergence.

IS23012Molecular phylogeny of the land snail family Euconulidae in Thailand and its position in the superfamily Trochomorphoidea (Stylommatophora: Limacoidei), with description of a new genus

Arthit Pholyotha , Somsak Panha, Chirasak Sutcharit, Parin Jirapatrasilp, Teerapong Seesamut, Thor-Seng Liew and Piyoros Tongkerd

pp. 571-605

Euconulidae is one of the most diverse families in the superfamily Trochomorphoidea with a distribution that is almost world-wide but there is no record of this family from Thailand. We describe four new species of Siamoconus gen. nov., a new euconulid genus and also perform phylogenetic analyses of one nuclear and two mitochondrial gene fragments to clarify the systematic position of this new genus and the relationships to other genera in the superfamily Trochomorphoidea. In addition, the family Geotrochidae, previously synonymised with the Trochomorphidae, is resurrected as sister clade of the Dyakiidae within the superfamily Trochmorphoidea.