Two new species of Lithobius on Qinghai-Tibetan plateau identified from morphology and COI sequences (Lithobiomorpha: Lithobiidae)

Lithobius (Ezembius) longibasitarsus sp. n. and Lithobius (Ezembius) datongensis sp. n. (Lithobiomorpha: Lithobiidae), recently discovered from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China, are described. A key to the species of the subgenus Ezembius in China is presented. The partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I barcoding gene was amplified and sequenced for eight individuals of the two new species and the dataset was used for molecular phylogenetic analysis and genetic distance determination. Both morphology and molecular data show that the specimens examined should be referred to Lithobius (Ezembius)

Population structure, historical biogeography and demographic history of the alpine toad Scutiger ningshanensis in the Tsinling Mountains of Central China.

Population genetic structure, historical biogeography and historical demography of the alpine toad Scutiger ningshanensis were studied using the combined data mtDNA cytochrome b (cyt b) and the mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) as the molecular markers. This species has high genetic variation. There was a significant genetic differentiation among most populations. Three lineages were detected. The phylogenetic relationship analyses and the SAMOVA (spatial analysis of molecular variance) results showed significant phylogeographic structure. 82.15% genetic variation occurred among populations whereas differentiation within populations only contributed 17.85% to the total. Mantel test results showed a significant correlation between the pairwise calculated genetic distance and pairwise calculated geographical distance of the populations (regression coefficient  = 0.001286, correlation coefficient  = 0.77051, p (rrand≥robs)  = 0.0185<0.05), indicating the existence of isolation-by-distance pattern of genetic divergence for cyt b + COI sequence, which suggests that the distribution of genetic variation is due to geographical separation rather than natural selection. The population expansion or contraction and genetic differentiation between populations or lineages could be explained by topography and the repetitive uplifts of the Tsinling Mountains and the climatic cycles during the late Pliocene and Pleistocene. S. ningshanensis experienced a rapid population expansion about 40,000 years before present. The current decline in population size was probably caused by anthropogenic disturbance. Current populations of S. ningshanensis are from different refugia though the location of these refugia could not be determined in our study. Topography, climatic changes and repetitive population expansion/contraction together led to the high level of genetic variation in S. ningshanensis. A total of three management units (MUs) was determined, which must be considered when conservation policy is made in the future

Two new species of lithobiid centipedes and the first record of Lamyctes africanus Porath (Chilopoda: Lithobiomorpha) in China

Penghai Qiao, Wen Qin, Huiqin Ma, Tongzuo Zhang (2019): Two new species of lithobiid centipedes and the first record of Lamyctes africanus Porath (Chilopoda: Lithobiomorpha) in China. Journal of Natural History 53 (15): 897-921, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.160635

Echiniscus semifoveolatus (Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae), a newly recorded species from China

Qiao, Penghai, Zhang, Pin, Sun, Xizhai, Li, Xiaochen (2013): Echiniscus semifoveolatus (Heterotardigrada: Echiniscidae), a newly recorded species from China. Zootaxa 3718 (2): 183-192, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3718.2.

Mismatch distribution analyses and neutrality test of <i>S. ningshanensis.</i>

<p><i>N</i>, number of sequences; <i>n</i>, number of haplotypes; <i>τ</i>, time in number of generations elapsed since the sudden expansion episode; <i>θ</i>₀, pre-expansion, and <i>θ</i>₁, post-expansion population size; <i>SSD</i>, sum of squared deviations; <i>R</i>, raggedness indexes.</p

Genetic diversity of each population of <i>S. ningshanensis</i>.

<p><i>S.D</i>., standard deviation.</p

Two new species of the genus Hessebius Verhoeff, 1941 from China (Lithobiomorpha, Lithobiidae)

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Sampling information and haplotypes based on cyt b and COI for 6 sampled populations of <i>Scutiger ningshanensis</i>.

<p>n, sample size.</p

Allele frequency spectrum indicated an excess of singleton mutations in the combined mtDNA cyt b and COI sequences.

<p>Numbers above the line represent the number of sites with singleton mutations.</p

Distribution of <i>s</i>-values from simulated genealogies constrained within the models of population divergence.

<p>Single-refugium hypothesis.</p